The 3.5-Point Question Revisited

Citizens across America -- at least, the ones who remembered that our democracy functions every year, not just once every four years -- did their patriotic duty and cast votes on all sorts of decisions Tuesday. They voted for legislators, executives, judges and ballot initiatives of every sort.

One referendum that passed in New Jersey covered a topic near and dear to the People's Pigskin's heart.

By a margin of nearly 2 to 1, residents of the Garden State authorized their legislature to amend the state's constitution to legalize sports betting there. Now, before you book your reservations, there are a few things you should know. First, the state still needs to overcome a federal law prohibiting sports betting in all but four states (including Delaware). New Jersey could get Congress to overturn the law, or it could get a court to declare the law unconstitutional. Either effort would take a while. Then, if the state got one of those things to happen, it would still have to work out the mechanics of sports betting. What games would be offered? Who would set the odds? Who would make sure everything was on the up and up? Et cetera.

Longtime readers of this blog know how we feel about the issue. It's silly to allow someone to walk into a convenience store, put a $50 bill on the counter and say, "Give me two Wheel of Fortunes, three Win $500 a Week for Lifes, five Minute to Win Its and 10 dollars on the Powerball," while arresting someone for going to that same counter and saying "Give me Cowboys minus the 3 for $50." And those who worry about betting scandals and game-fixing aren't paying attention. Neither college athletes nor their professional counterparts have needed legalized sports betting to corrupt themselves.

Of course, not everyone thinks that way. While New Jersey residents were passing their referendum, residents of Maine were defeating a casino proposal. Still, it's clear that progress is being made.

Quick reminder: The first fantasy football poll of the week will close on Thursday. We need to know whether the People's Pigskin should start Michael Bush on Thursday night against the San Diego Chargers. Your vote counts, so please make it now.

The People's Results - Dover

The leaves are starting to change in certain parts of the country (and so are the quarterbacks), but one thing that isn't changing is your level of enthusiasm for the People's Pitstop. You, the Internet, have selected the lineup that will represent the Web's favorite fantasy NASCAR team this weekend in Dover. Here are the results.

A List. Jimmie Johnson, who is gunning for a fifth straight Sprint Cup, won this week's vote (and starting spot) over Denny Hamlin.

B List. Another week, another tie. This time, it's a four-way draw between Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and David Reutimann. The two top qualifiers will start for the People's Pitstop. And if Matt Kenseth starts, it will be his last start for us this season.

C List. There must be something about Scott Speed. He won this poll yet again and will make his fifth start for us this season. Sam Hornish Jr., whose future is still up in the air, will sit on the bench.

You can see the poll results below. Thanks for voting, and if you haven't already voted on the People's Pigskin lineup, please vote on those polls now.

Oh, and if anyone is driving down to Dover for the weekend, would they mind picking me up a few football tickets? (Just kidding.)

UPDATED 6:30 P.M. The qualifying session is over, and Johnson confirmed your confidence in him by winning the freaking pole (and earning us a 10-point bonus). Hamlin qualified 4th; he stays on the bench but give us a 1-point bonus. Speed qualified 20th, or a single spot ahead of Hornish.

The B List qualifying competition was probably the tightest in the People's Pitstop's history. Your starters are Newman (13th) and Kenseth (14th; Sunday will indeed be his swan song for us). Kahne (16th) and Reutimann (17th) will sit on the bench.

And a football note. Knowshon Moreno was declared out for Sunday's game between the Denver Broncos and the Indianapolis Colts because of a hamstring injury. It's too late to alter the poll, but you can rest assured that the People's Pigskin will not start him Sunday. Who should we put in his place? If you haven't voted, do so now.

We'll be back with some predictions.

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The People's Facts - AAA 400

There's no time to bask in the glow of the People's Pigskin's 2-0 record. It's time to get back to work on the People's Pitstop. And it's time to discuss the track that will host Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race, the second in the Chase for the Cup.

Track basics: Dover International Speedway is the "Monster Mile," a highly banked concrete track that has hosted NASCAR events since 1969. It also holds a soft spot in our hearts, since it's one of the few places in America where you can bet on football (kind of) without risking a visit from your local law enforcement officers.

Last time we were here: Back in May, Kyle Busch won the Autism Speaks 400 with the help of a late penalty on Jimmie Johnson. The Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team scored 270 points, with the help of runner-up Jeff Burton.

Other recent winners: Johnson (fall 2009), Greg Biffle (2008), Carl Edwards (2007).

Who wins here a lot: Does it seem like Johnson is here a lot? Well, he leads active NASCAR drivers with five Sprint Cup victories on this track. His teammates Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin are right behind him with four wins apiece.

So what do we know now? We know that Denny Hamlin is a legitimate threat to deny Johnson a fifth straight Sprint Cup. So is Clint Bowyer, as long as he can keep passing inspections. And we know that an exciting race does not guarantee a ratings bonanza.

Normally, this is where we would be directing you to the Yahoo Sports preview for this race. However, it's not up yet. Maybe they were waiting for Andy Reid to make up his mind first. Anyway, we'll get it to you as soon as possible.

Remember to vote on the NASCAR and football polls to the right of this post. Only you can help us set our lineups each week. We'll be back with some more football thoughts.

The People's Choice - Dover

Thanks to everyone who took time this week to cast their votes on the People's Pitstop lineup for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Dover. Here are the results.

A List. We had a two-way tie in this week's vote between Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch. To break that tie, we go to qualifying order. Busch qualified 12th, or three spots in front of Gordon, and he gets the start for the Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team.

B List. Here we had another two-way tie, but in this case, that was a good thing, since we had two starting spots to offer. They went to Jeff Burton (who qualified 17th) and Clint Bowyer (who qualified seventh -- yes, the People's Pitstop has a top 10 starter). Watching this race from our bench will be Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth. I wonder if they could stop by the Race Book and drop off a bet for us.

C List. This was the one poll where we had a clear-cut winner: Paul Menard. He gets the start, while A.J. Allmendinger gets the bench spot.

The poll results appear below. We'll be back before race time with the usual predictions. In the meantime, here's a free bonus forecast: Take Paddy O'Prado to win the Preakness Stakes, aka the People's Race. (You've got to love that slogan.) How did I come up with that prediction? The same way I come up with all the others.

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The People's Facts - Autism Speaks 400

Sorry this post took so long to get online. I was waiting to see if I would be named Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Anyway, you still have a few hours to vote on the People's Pitstop lineup for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race. Here is some information to help you form your decision.

Track basics: Dover International Speedway is nicknamed the "Monster Mile" because it is a mile of solid concrete. That is, it's a mile in perimeter, not in the depth of the concrete. That would be heavy. And even if you learned your math from these folks, the lap/mile count should be easy to remember. If you drive 400 laps on this track, you've driven 400 miles. Understand? Good. If not, click here.

Recent winners: Jimmie Johnson (2009), Kyle Busch (2008), Martin Truex Jr. (2007). One caveat: The schedule was slightly different when those three drivers won their races. Back then, the spring Dover race was the first race after the 600-mile one in Charlotte. This year, it's two weeks before that race.

Who wins here a lot: Johnson leads active NASCAR drivers with five Sprint Cup victories on this track. His teammates Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin are right behind him with four wins apiece.

Why does this place look familiar? Longtime readers of the People's Pigskin -- or at least those of you who were reading last fall -- will recall a trip to Delaware to take advantage of the state's recently established football lottery. Turns out that Dover Downs shares its real estate with Dover International Speedway. That means that in the fall, you could go down to Dover, make parlay bets on the NFL and watch a NASCAR race at the same time.

Better wrap up this post before I faint.

As always, you can click here to download a handy-dandy guide from our friends at Yahoo Sports. The lineup polls will close later tonight, so please vote now.

Saturday Afternoon Reading

If you're reading this, let me congratulate you on surviving your Thanksgiving dinner and Black Friday.

The People's Pigskin got off to a disappointing start against the Hawaiian Surfriders. Greg Jennings and Nick Folk scored 5 fantasy points each, giving us a 10-0 lead heading into Sunday's games. There is still time to vote on the rest of our lineup. That poll will close late Saturday night.

So before you settle into a plate of leftover turkey and a slate of college games, here are some fantasy football links to peruse.

Forget the budget! I've gotta set my lineup! Who says politicians can't make tough decisions? Twelve mayors from across the country are competing in the Yahoo Sports Mayoral Face-Off. The grand prize: a $15,000 donation to a nonprofit of the winning mayor's choice. One of the participants is Oklahoma City's Mick Cornett, a former sportscaster. How much has his sports background helped him in this competition? At the time the article was posted, his team was 11th.

Another set of opposing views. A couple of WordPress bloggers make this week's list. First, there's Big Rips, who offers this comparison of fantasy football versus gambling. The thesis: fantasy football "has turned many people into “that guy” at the bar." In this case, "that guy" means the guy who annoys everyone else in the bar, to the point where the barkeep tosses the guy out on his Oshiomogho Atogwe.

Another blogger, Glenn's World, offers some thoughts on having NFL games on Thursday. In a nutshell, Glenn would prefer to have games on Sunday or Monday only. "With every Sunday spent watching football, I really don’t want to devote more time to watching more football other days."

(Glenn also invited me to give him a set of confidence picks to compare with his own. My picks, which skipped the already-played Thursday games, can be found in the comments section of his post.)

And just in case... you haven't seen this yet, here is video proof that Ray Lewis hasn't cornered the market on big defensive plays.

We'll be back tomorrow with an update on our lineup.

Saturday Afternoon Reading

This would have been posted earlier, but we were unavoidably detained at Sofia Restaurant, the unofficial second home of the People's Pigskin. Anyway, here are some links to peruse while you decide how you will vote in our polls. (Reminder: the lineup poll will close Saturday night.)

Maybe he and the producers should huddle. I wish I could find video to support my point here, but I can't, so you'll just have to trust me on this one.

The NFL Network has a show called Playbook, where several National Football League veterans, including the inimitable Sterling Sharpe, analyze game film and try to use what they see on that film to predict the outcome of the upcoming games. If it sounds familiar, it's because ESPN has been using that format for years for its "NFL Matchup" show with Ron Jaworski and Merrill Hoge. (If you're looking for that show on your TV listings, it's easy to find -- just look in the boxes marked "3:30 a.m. EST Sunday" and "7:30 EST Sunday." You know, the times when every football fan's TV is on.)

Anyway, this week on Playbook, Sterling and company were analyzing this week's titanic matchup between the Cleveland Browns and the Detroit Lions. Sterling was telling us that the Lions would prevail, because he likes what he's seeing from the Lions defense. While he was praising the defense, the producers were showing three plays from last week's game between the Lions and the Minnesota Vikings. The plays: a long Sidney Rice touchdown, a long reception by Percy Harvin and a touchdown run by Adrian Peterson. In at least two of the plays, the Vikings player broke at least one Lions tackle.

I still don't know whether the producers were paying tribute to Alanis Morissette's take on irony, or whether they didn't get the memo that all three analysts were picking the Lions to beat the Browns. Or maybe it was just easier to find three plays where the Lions were schooled.

Conflict of interest? By now you know that Maurice Jones-Drew's taking a knee at the 1-yard line last week hurt a lot of fantasy football players last week. Well, the Chicago Tribune learned that one of the players burned by the decision was Robbie Gould of the Chicago Bears. He has a team in the NFL Players Association league, and his team had Jones-Drew in its lineup.

That's right. The NFL Players Association has a fantasy football league. Now, it would be the height of hypocrisy for me to criticize NFL players for playing fantasy football. But it is interesting that a league that sued to keep Delaware from taking bets on football games allows its players to play fantasy football, a game where inside knowledge about who's starting and who's healthy (and who's lying about their injury reports) would be worth a king's ransom.

Your weekly "opposing view" update. A fellow WordPress blogger, Pigskin Is the New Pink, has something to say about fantasy football. In the post "Fantasy or Loyalty," the blog (which, to be fair, is written by a fantasy player) tells us that fantasy football "has shamed the way fans treat their rivals." The thesis: Playing fantasy football encourages you to root for players on your archrival's team, in the hopes that said players will reward you with points and victories.

"I encourage you all to stop playing fantasy football for money and start cheering for what really matters, when your most hated team and/or player has a TERRIBLE GAME and LOSES!"

Ummm...good luck with that.

Now to the important stuff. Remember what's truly important about football: the chance to enjoy whatever your favorite beverage may be, even if you feel the same way as this guy.

We'll be back Sunday morning with an update on our lineup.

Columbus Weekend Reading

The polls on what to do with our lineup and how you set up yours will close later tonight, but while you ponder how you will vote, I thought I'd offer you some links to visit.

Why Fooball Is Better Than Baseball. What does baseball say when the temperature drops below 30 degrees? No way, Jose Molina. What does football say when the temperature does that? Oh, yeah! Bring it on!

I Want My Vick TV. I'm not sure whether this should be called ridiculous or inevitable (or maybe both). Michael Vick (remember him?) will star in an eight-part documentary that will air on BET. Of course, the first thought that came into my mind was when the other Eagles backup QB was getting his show?

Don't Rush to Judgment. (Yes, I chose the cheap pun. Sue me.) Players like Bart Scott and Matthias Kiwanuka heard that someone's actually interested in the Rams and responded by saying they wouldn't play for Rush Limbaugh. Of course, before they say that, they should check out the histories of some of the people who have owned NFL teams in the past. George Marshall, for instance. Heck, at this point, I'd bet the Oakland Raiders would be glad to have an owner with a pulse.

Recommended Links. Sclike offers an insightful (and humorous) view on how Christians should feel about "Playing Fantasy Football for Money."

Also, a newcomer to the fantasy football game, Queen of the Savages, tells us how she got into the game. (Warning: The language here isn't safe for children, unless you want to have a certain conversation with said children.)

Again, vote on the polls. We'll be back with the results and a new poll on Sunday.

The People's Choice - Week 3

Once again, you, the Internet, have spoken in our grand fantasy football democracy experiment. We asked what we should do with the lineup, and the majority of you said Trent Edwards should start in Kurt Warner's place. So he shall.

Since Tinks Revenge is playing DeAngelo Williams of the Carolina Panthers and we have Nick Folk of the Dallas Cowboys, this Landshark Maniacs clash won't be settled until Monday night's game between the Panthers and the Cowboys.

As far as the other poll is concerned, it's unanimous: You, the Internet, say betting on NFL games should be legal. Frankly, I'm not surprised, since you are following a fantasy football blog, after all.

We'll be back Sunday (hopefully before game time) with another poll and pregame thoughts.

Saturday Morning Reading

Don't forget to vote on our lineup and the gambling question. While we wait for college football (aka the fantasy football scouting league) to get started, here are some links to visit.

Signs you have too much money. In fantasy football, "insurance" usually means drafting the backup for your stud running back in the event of injury. But these folks are taking it a step further -- they will sell you a policy that will pay you money if your team's star suffers a season-ending injury. (Be warned: This link offers no geckos, no cavemen, no former "24" actors, and no women named "Flo" who heart insurance.)

And this is different ... how? Right now, betting on NFL football games is legal in only two U.S. states: Nevada and Delaware. But when we were in Atlantic City last weekend, I noticed brochures for a Tropicana Football League. In a nutshell, you pick which teams will win each week, and if you pick correctly, you can win cash and "EZ Slot Dollars" (essentially, reward points that can be used at the Tropicana casino and hotel). Anyone who's read this far can figure out my stance on gambling, but I'm wondering why this is allowed in an Atlantic City casino but, say, going to the casino and betting $50 on the Packers is not.

Commitment to incompetence. The Oakland Raiders decided that the way to get Rich Gannon (now a CBS analyst) to stop pointing out his former team's flaws was to try to ban him from pregame production meetings. The Raiders relented (likely after hearing from someone in Roger Goodell's office) but maintain that the problem is not the message but the messenger. In case someone with the Raiders is reading this, let me say something: I think that your team botched the Lane Kiffin firing, that your first-round draft pick has been a bust so far, and that JaMarcus Russell (the quarterback you kept in the starting lineup while letting Jeff Garcia walk out the door) couldn't hit a cow in the rear end with a snow shovel right now. Are you going to try to ban me, too?

How lame is lame? Unlike the Raiders, I'm willing to listen to opinions that disagree with my own. For example, I'm willing to post a link to this blogger who asked which hobby is lamer: fantasy football or fan fiction (writing or posting stories exploring topics such as what would happen if Harry Potter married Hermione). His verdict: fantasy football is lame, but fan fiction is even lamer.

(I'm glad we won that matchup, at least.)

We'll be back later with the verdict on our lineup.

The Good, the Bad, and the People's Results

First of all, Dover Downs was worth the driving and ferry time. The Race and Sports Book, which now takes NFL parlays of at least three teams along with horse bets of all stripes, is small enough not to be intimidating but big enough to handle the NFL crowd. There are as many TV screens as you'll find in a large sports bar. The chairs were comfortable, the staff was friendly and helpful, and we won enough money to make back what we bet.

The one issue with this place, which clearly is still figuring out how to do things. The screens were covered with NFL games at 1 p.m. EDT, but at about 4:30 I counted five screens that read "Thank You for Watching NFL Sunday Ticket," three others with a DirecTV logo screen saver, and one showing ... a dog show. If I were running this facility (or a sports bar/restaurant/book of similar size), I would have one person whose primary job -- whose only job, in fact -- is to keep football on the TV screens. When one game ends, that person would be in charge of getting another one on right away. If there were five games on at 4 p.m. (as there were this Sunday), that person would be in charge of making sure all five was available for viewing.

Now, the ugly: the People's Pigskin took it on the chin this week, losing to Big Lough O by a score of 67-50. I'll have a more extensive analysis later, but for now let's say that the Eagles defense giveth, and the Eagles defense taketh away.

I also wanted to get this poll up, so folks could chime in on the gambling issue. More later.

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