A Regular-Season Title

Thanks to the helpful input of you, the Internet, the People's Pigskin has made it to the top of the heap.

The Web's favorite fantasy football team defeated the t-bay cuervonatersXXL by a score of 96-75. While other People's League teams sweat out the Monday night game and hope for a playoff berth, the Pigskin has locked up a league-best 10-3 record and the top seed in the upcoming championship battle.

Here is how we got here.

Peyton Manning, QB: 36 of 48 passing, 2 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 1 rush for minus-1 yard and 14 fantasy points. Manning is having the worst season of his career. He even earned one of two "Goats of the Week" awards from Peter King.

Michael Turner, RB: 24 rushes for 88 yards, 1 touchdown and 14 fantasy points. Turner and the Atlanta Falcons keep rolling along. For Turner, that meant breaking the 1,000-yard barrier for the second time in his career.

Knowshon Moreno, RB: 23 rushes for 161 yards, 1 reception for 14 yards and 17 fantasy points. His performance was strong enough to be the best for the Pigskin this week, but it wasn't strong enough to beat the Kansas City Chiefs or save Josh McDaniels' job.

Calvin Johnson, WR: 3 receptions, 66 yards, 1 touchdown and 16 fantasy points. It seems as if the Detroit Lions could line up this quarterback under center, and Johnson would be able to get the ball into the end zone.

Dwayne Bowe, WR: 0 receptions, 0 yards and 0 fantasy points. The Pigskin survived this misfire, but we'll need Bowe to reintroduce himself to his quarterback before the playoffs begin.

Darren McFadden, Flex: 19 rushes for 97 yards, 3 receptions for 30 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 fumble and 16 fantasy points. McFadden and the rest of the Oakland Raiders ran over the San Diego Chargers, who are supposed to have a good defense.

Antonio Gates, TE: 6 receptions, 73 yards, 1 touchdown and 13 fantasy points. Now, there's the Gates that fantasy players know and love.

Olindo Mare, K: 1 for 2 on field goals, 4 for 4 on extra points and 6 fantasy points. It's a fact of life for kickers; the better the day is going for your team, the worse it's going to be for your fantasy stats. After all, every time Marshawn Lynch scored a touchdown, Mare is reduced to kicking an extra point.

Tennessee Titans, D/ST: 1 sack, 1 blocked kick, 17 points allowed and 4 fantasy points. These folks had better be able to recover quickly; they do face the Colts on Thursday.

Bench: Maybe all Chad Ochocinco needed was for someone to light a fire under him; he scored 9 fantasy points this week. Justin Forsett scored 6, while Chad Henne and Tony Moeaki scored 5 apiece.

We'll find out tomorrow who we'll be facing in a two-week semifinal. Until then, be sure to vote in the polls on your right. The waiver poll will close Tuesday night, and the others will close Thursday. Enjoy the game.

The People's Choice - Week 13

Thanks to everybody who voted on this week's lineup for the People's Pigskin. The Internet's favorite fantasy football team can wrap up the top spot in the People's League playoffs with a victory this weekend over the t-bay cuervonatersXXL. Here's who you selected to help us do that.

Quarterback: Once again, Peyton Manning dominated this poll. He starts a late afternoon game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Running back: The two top vote-getters in this poll were Michael Turner (who plays the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the late afternoon) and Knowshon Moreno (who plays the Kansas City Chiefs).

Wide receiver: Only two receivers drew votes this week. Calvin Johnson faces the Chicago Bears, while Dwayne Bowe faces the Denver Broncos.

Flex: Since no third receiver got any votes, this spot will go to the running back who finished third in his poll: Darren McFadden. He has a late afternoon date with the San Diego Chargers.

Tight end: Speaking of the Chargers, their tag team won this week's poll. If Antonio Gates is active for the game against the Oakland Raiders, he gets the start. If he's not, Randy McMichael will get the start. We'll update this post when we have a resolution. UPDATED 3:30 P.M. Gates is listed as active for this game, so he'll get the start.

No changes in kicker (Olindo Mare, facing the Carolina Panthers in the late afternoon) or defense/special teams (the Tennessee Titans, who face the Jacksonville Jaguars).

Thanks again for voting. The results appear below, and some new polls are now available for voting. The first one deals with replacing the injured Shaun Hill in our roster and will close Tuesday night. The other three deal with this week's Thursday night game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Tennessee Titans. Those will close before kickoff Thursday. Feel free to vote now, and enjoy the games.

[polldaddy poll=4169308] [polldaddy poll=4169320] [polldaddy poll=4169325] [polldaddy poll=4169333] [polldaddy poll=4169337] [polldaddy poll=4169342]

A Victory Worth the Wait

The People's Pigskin had to sweat out the Monday night game, but the result was a 101-87 win over the Chicago VinSethBears. The Internet's favorite fantasy football team maintained its lead in the People's League with a 9-3 record. Here is the breakdown.

Peyton Manning, QB: 31 of 48 passing, 285 yards, 2 touchdowns, 4 interceptions and 11 fantasy points. Manning had one of the worst outings of his career on Sunday night. At one point, a San Diego Charger knocked Manning down by shoving a guard into him.

Michael Turner, RB: 23 rushes for 110 yards, 1 reception for 4 yards, 1 touchdown and 17 fantasy points. Turner and the Atlanta Falcons just keep rolling along.

Darren McFadden, RB: 8 rushes for 2 yards, 7 receptions for 63 yards and 6 fantasy points. It was a rough day to be any Oakland Raider not named Jacoby Ford.

Calvin Johnson, WR: 4 receptions for 81 yards, 1 rush for 15 yards, 1 touchdown and 15 fantasy points. It's surprising Johnson didn't get even more attention as the Lions tried to come back in the second half of their Thanksgiving beating by the New England Patriots.

Chad Ochocinco, WR: 4 receptions, 41 yards and 4 fantasy points. Is this the type of season Ochocinco for himself? This might be his answer.

Dwayne Bowe, Flex: 13 receptions, 170 yards, 3 touchdowns and 35 fantasy points. Bowe was the top-scoring receiver in fantasy football. Again.

Antonio Gates, TE: 4 receptions, 46 yards and 4 fantasy points. Yes, Gates was active for San Diego's Sunday night game. He just wasn't all that active.

Tennessee Titans, D/ST: 2 sacks, 20 points allowed and 2 fantasy points. The only fight the Titans defenders seemed to put up this week was the one Cortland Finnegan waged with Andre Johnson.

Olindo Mare, K: 1 for 1 on field goals, 3 for 3 on extra points and 7 fantasy points. Mare did everything the Seattle Seahawks asked him to do on Sunday. They just didn't ask him to do nearly enough to beat the Kansas City Chiefs.

Thanks again for your help this week, but our work isn't done yet. There's one week to go in the regular season, and the Pigskin has to face the t-bay cuervonatersXXL. Your votes will determine who starts against the cuervonaters, so please vote now. Thanks.

A Sigh of Relief

Whew ... that was a close shave.

The People's Pigskin survived a Monday night charge by t-bay cuervonatersXXL and won by a score of 110-107. That puts your favorite fantasy football team at the top of the People's League with a record of 4-0. And we couldn't have done it without you. Here's the scoring breakdown.

Peyton Manning, QB: 33 for 46 passing for 352 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, 1 rush for minus-1 yards and 20 fantasy points. Manning won't be happy with his team's last-second loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but fantasy players will be happy if it means he's still playing when the fantasy playoffs come around.

Michael Turner, RB: 16 rushes for 50 yards, 3 receptions for 28 yards and 7 fantasy points. Obviously, the rushing numbers were not very good, but it would be good news if Turner is being used as a safety valve on passing plays.

Darren McFadden, RB: 12 rushes for 47 yards, 6 receptions for 82 yards and 12 fantasy points. The big story here is the hamstring injury McFadden suffered against the Houston Texans. Early reports indicate the injury is not serious, but it will warrant monitoring throughout the week.

Calvin Johnson, WR: 6 receptions for 86 yards and 2 touchdowns, 1 rush for 2 yards and 20 fantasy points. It's always a good sign when sports writers are advising NFL teams to keep calling your player's number.

Chad Ochocinco, WR: 3 receptions, 59 yards and 5 fantasy points. On the other hand, it's not such a good sign when your player lines up across the field from someone having an epic fantasy day.

Justin Forsett, Flex: 19 rushes for 65 yards, 2 receptions for 10 yards and 7 fantasy points. Forsett's situation changed dramatically Tuesday when the Seattle Seahawks traded for Marshawn Lynch. How dramatically it changed remains to be seen.

Antonio Gates, TE: 7 receptions, 144 yards, 2 touchdowns and 26 fantasy points. As far as the People's Pigskin is concerned, Vincent Jackson can just go ahead and take the season off. The San Diego Chargers clearly did not miss him Sunday.

Tennessee Titans, D/ST: 1 interception, 6 sacks, 1 kickoff returned for a touchdown, 26 points allowed and 13 fantasy points. Their opponents called them dirty, and their top draft pick was lost for the season, but the Titans defense did its job, at least for fantasy players, unlike ...

Jeff Reed, K: 0 for 2 on field goals, 2 for 2 on extra points and 0 fantasy points. The Cuervonaters started an inactive kicker, and the Pigskin might as well have done the same. Reed has a bye week, and it's safe to say he won't be missed around here.

Bench. It was a decent week to be a backup Pigskin quarterback. Chad Henne scored 14 points, while Vince Young scored 11. Kenny Britt scored 8, and Kevin Smith scored 3.

This week, the People's Pigskin will face the 3-1 Fighting Amish, and we need a new lineup. The polls are now open. The kicker poll will close Tuesday night, so we can make a waiver wire request. The other football polls (located below the NASCAR ones) will close Sunday morning. You know what to do.

We'll be back with a look at this week's NASCAR track.

Monday's Racing Summary

Before we get to the auto racing, here's a quick update on the People's Pigskin. The Internet's favorite fantasy football team currently leads t-bay cuervonatersXXL by a score of 110-97. That lead might not get us through the night, however. The Cuervonaters have Ronnie Brown and Anthony Fasano playing in the Monday night game between the Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots. The Pigskin will need them to have a night like Jay Cutler had Sunday night (without the concussion part, of course).

As for the People's Pitstop, your favorite fantasy NASCAR team scored 261 points during Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway. The season total is 7,740, leaving us 59,524th overall on Yahoo Sports and dropping us one spot, to 75th, in the Fans of From the Marbles league.

Here's how we got here.

Jimmie Johnson: Started 21st, finished 2nd and 88 fantasy points. Fantasy NASCAR players will be disappointed that Johnson did not lead a lap, but since Johnson moved into the points lead, it's a safe bet that he'll get over it.

Jeff Burton: Started 23rd, finished 18th, 2 laps led and 66 fantasy points, including 10 for leading a lap. This was Burton's last race for the People's Pitstop this season. From a fantasy perspective, it can be described the same way as his season: OK but nothing to write home about. Yes, he's one of the drivers who made the Chase, but he did not win a race, and he has to be considered a long shot to get a checkered flag, much less the Sprint Cup.

Ryan Newman: Started 6th, finished 9th and 74 fantasy points. Here's a very interesting chart of Newman's day. It shows that even though he spent a good portion of the day near the front of the pack, he never found a way to get to the front of the pack.

Sam Hornish Jr.: Started 18th, finished 36th and 20 fantasy points. To the growing list of words and phrases you never want to hear associated with your driver's performance, add the phrase "drive shaft."

And don't forget the 10 points we got from Kasey Kahne for taking the pole and the 3 points we got from Jeff Gordon for qualifying 3rd. Without their contributions, our performance would look a lot worse.

Now, NASCAR takes its act to California (Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, to be specific), and the People's Pitstop needs another lineup. The polls are now open and will stay open until Thursday night.

Also, for you fantasy football fans, we have a poll that asks which kicker should get Jeff Reed's spot in our lineup. That poll will close Tuesday night, so we can put in the waiver request before the Wednesday morning deadline. Please vote now.

We'll be back with a summary of our football team's performance.

The People's Choice - Week 4

We've made it to another Sunday, and once again, it's time for us to thank you, the Internet, for selecting the People's Pigskin lineup for this week's People's League matchup against t-bay cuervonatersXXL. Here are the results.

Quarterback. Raise your hand if you're surprised Peyton Manning was the unanimous choice this week. OK, put your hand down, Jon Lovitz. Manning gets the Jacksonville Jaguars today.

Running back. Knowshon Moreno's injury may have made this poll easier. We have a tie at the top: Michael Turner (playing the San Francisco 49ers) and Darren McFadden (playing the Houston Texans). They get the starting spots.

Wide receiver. Calvin Johnson wins this poll and gets to face the Green Bay Packers this afternoon. The runner-up was Chad Ochocinco, who need to forget about his cereal long enough to play the Cleveland Browns.

As for the flex spot, Justin Forsett got more votes than Kenny Britt, so Forsett plays for the Internet's favorite fantasy football team this week. He gets the St. Louis Rams.

There were no changes at tight end (Antonio Gates, who plays the Arizona Cardinals) or kicker (Jeff Reed, who plays the Baltimore Ravens). As we discussed earlier in the week, you chose to replace our previous defense with the Tennessee Titans. They face the Denver Broncos this afternoon.

Again, thanks for voting. A new poll dealing with the issue of bye weeks is available now. The results of the football polls appear below. Enjoy the games, everybody!

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The People's Facts - Price Chopper 400

First of all, a quick note of thanks to those of you who responded to the call for quick votes on which defense the People's Pigskin should pick up for this week's matchup against the t-bay cuervonatersXXL. As you can see at the bottom of this post, you, the Internet, voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Tennessee Titans. The waiver request was made and granted, and the Titans will start for the Internet's favorite fantasy football team.

That's one position down and eight to go. You can vote on the rest of our lineup from now to Sunday morning. You also can vote from now through Thursday evening on the drivers who will start for the People's Pitstop in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

Speaking of that race, it's time to offer some information about the site.

Track basics: Kansas Speedway, a 1.5-mile tri-oval constructed in 2001, is one of the newest tracks on the circuit. It is also one of the hottest tracks on the circuit; less than a decade after its first race, it was awarded a second race for 2011. Are you upset that Atlanta Motor Speedway lost its second date? Here's one of the tracks to blame.

Recent winners: Tony Stewart (2009), Jimmie Johnson (2008), Greg Biffle (2007).

Who wins here a lot: In a word, nobody. Stewart and Jeff Gordon share the lead among active NASCAR drivers with ... drum roll, please ... two wins apiece.

Some complex geography: This week's track is located in Kansas City. Only it's not that Kansas City. It's in Kansas City, Kansas, which lies across the Missouri River from Kansas City, Missouri.

Maybe someone from that part of the country can answer this: Do Kansans get an inferiority complex from the fact that the primary city named for their state is located in Missouri? No? Moving on, then.

Here is the Yahoo Sports preview of this week's race. The polls (both football and NASCAR) are open. Take a minute to vote now.

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Quick Defense Poll and Week 3 Results

First things first: Bye week season is upon us, and for the People's Pigskin, that means finding a defense/special teams unit to fill in for the Minnesota Vikings. A new poll is up, and this one needs to close TONIGHT, because ESPN will process waiver requests on Wednesday morning. Here is a look at the candidates:

Seattle Seahawks: 2nd among D/STs with 42 fantasy points, including 26 last week. They visit the St. Louis Rams this week.

Tennessee Titans: 4th among D/STs with 32 fantasy points, including 14 last week. They host the Denver Broncos this week.

Chicago Bears: 5th among D/STs with 28 fantasy points, including 13 Monday night. They visit the New York Giants this week.

Indianapolis Colts: Tied for 7th among D/STs with 26 fantasy points, including 9 last week. They visit the Jacksonville Jaguars this week.

If our request is rejected (because someone who's actully lost a game made a request for the same defense), we'll offer another poll. In the meantime, please vote now. We'll wait.

(Whistling the "Jeopardy" theme)

OK, back to the football. Thanks to the frequently intelligent votes of you, the Internet, the People's Pigskin beat the Chicago VinSethBears by a score of 115-91. That means the World Wide Web's favorite fantasy football team is the only team in the People's League with a record of THREE-AND-OH, BABY!

Here's a breakdown of the results.

Peyton Manning, QB: 27 for 43 passing, 325 yards, 3 touchdowns, 2 rushes for minus-1 yard and 25 fantasy points. We're going to have to speak to Manning about that trying-to-run thing.

Michael Turner, RB: 30 rushes for 114 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 receptions for 11 yards and 18 fantasy points. Looks like that groin injury isn't a problem at all. The only thing hurt in Sunday's overtime game was Garrett Hartley's employment status.

Darren McFadden, RB: 25 rushes for 105 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 receptions for 17 yards and 17 fantasy points. Another running back who had a strong day while watching a kicker suffer.

Dwayne Bowe, Flex: 2 receptions, 61 yards, 1 touchdown and 12 fantasy points. Never underestimate the value of trickery.

Calvin Johnson, WR: 6 receptions, 56 yards, 1 rush for 2 yards and 5 fantasy points. Like the rest of Detroit Lions, Johnson can't wait for Matthew Stafford to heal.

Chad Ochocinco, WR: 4 receptions, 34 yards and 3 fantasy points. Mr. Eight-Five doesn't have a backup quarterback to use as an excuse. Looks like he's going the "Tweet about my injuries" route instead.

Antonio Gates, TE: 7 receptions, 109 yards, 1 touchdown and 16 fantasy points. Rotowire.com says it best: "Gates continues to be Philip Rivers' most trusted pass catcher and seems like the person who is benefiting the most from Vincent Jackson's absence."

Minnesota Vikings, D/ST: 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered, 1 sack, 10 points allowed and 11 fantasy points. Don't cry about losing them to a bye week. Despite the strong outing against the Lions, this defense ranks 17th with only 20 fantasy points.

Jeff Reed, K: 1 for 1 on field goals, 5 for 5 on extra points and 8 fantasy points. Ironically, the butt-whipping that the Pittsburgh Steelers delivered to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers held Reed's point total down.

Bench: Chad Henne put up 20 points, while Justin Forsett scored 9. Kenny Britt and Vince Young scored 8 apiece.

Next up for the People's Pigskin is a date with the 2-1 t-bay cuervonatersXXL. It's time for you, the Internet, to help us find the way to 4-0. The defense poll will close tonight, but the other football polls (located below the NASCAR ones) will close Sunday morning. Please vote.

We'll be back with a look at this week's NASCAR track.