The People's Choice - Phoenix

Thanks to all of you voted in our polls for the People's Pitstop lineup this week. The Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team will take the track with these drivers.
A List: This poll was all about family -- no, not that kind. The two poll winners were Kurt Busch and his brother, Kyle. Kurt qualified 2nd (giving us 5 bonus points), so he'll start over Kyle, who qualified 4th (giving us 1 bonus point).
B List: Four drivers found their way to the top of this poll, so we needed a qualifying session to select the two starters. Ryan Newman (qualified 14th) and A.J. Allmendinger (15th) sent Juan Pablo Montoya (22nd) and Mark Martin (23rd) to the bench.
C List: Michael Waltrip isn't entered in this field (thank goodness), so we needed some newcomers to step forward. Regan Smith had the votes and the lap speed (qualifying 5th) to get into the starting lineup. David Ragan will cool his heels on the bench.
The poll results appear below, and we have a new poll on the new NASCAR scoring system, because anyone who watched last season knows that what NASCAR needed to do more than anything else was change the way it keeps score. <Insert eye roll here.>
Enjoy the race. We'll be back with results.
[polldaddy poll=4612033] [polldaddy poll=4612052] [polldaddy poll=4612071]

Time to Bounce Back

The Daytona 500 was a great time to be a rookie but a rough time to be a piece of sheet metal, or the People's Pitstop.
The Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team compiled only 142 points during the Sprint Cup season opener. That leaves us in 13th place (out of 14) in the 9beersfantasysportstavern group on Yahoo Fantasy Auto Racing.
Here are some of the details.
Jeff Gordon: Started 2nd, finished 28th (35 laps behind the leaders), 1 lap led and 46 fantasy points, including 10 for leading a lap.
Jeff Burton: Started 4th, finished 36th (116 laps behind the leaders), 5 laps led and 30 fantasy points.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Started 1st (technically), finished 24th (6 laps behind the leaders), 9 laps led and 54 fantasy points. So much for that conspiracy theory.
Michael Waltrip: Started 8th, finished 40th and 12 fantasy points. Waltrip was our only started who did not lead a lap. Maybe he should stick to talking.
Anyway, we have a chance to rebound this weekend in Phoenix. The race is Sunday, and qualifying is Saturday. The polls are now open and will remain open through Friday night. Please vote now.
We'll be back.

The People's Choice - Daytona 500

We are just minutes away from the season-opening race on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule (the Daytona 500, in case you're living under a rock), and the People's Pitstop has the lineup to take the early lead in the 9beersfantasysportstavern group on Yahoo Fantasy Auto Racing. Here are the drivers that you, the Internet, selected.
A List. Jeff Gordon, who will start on the front row of today's Great American Race, edged out Matt Kenseth for the starting spot. This week, we used starting position as a tiebreaker, but next week, we'll start using points, since the lineups will have to be set before qualifying.
B List. On the 10th anniversary of his father's death, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is officially the polesitter (even though a practice crash will send him to the back). He's also one of our starters this week, along with the leading vote getter, Jeff Burton. Martin Truex Jr. and Kasey Kahne (winner of a five-way tie by virtue of starting position) will be on the bench.
C List. This is also the 10th anniversary of Michael Waltrip's first Daytona 500 victory, so it's fitting that he's the starter for this week. His better qualifying position gives him the edge over Paul Menard.
The poll results appear below, and a very simple poll is now available for voting. We'll be back with the results. Until then, enjoy the race.

[polldaddy poll=4582796] [polldaddy poll=4582852] [polldaddy poll=4582815]

And We're Back!

The People's Pigskin did not end up winning its group in the ESPN Fantasy Playoff Challenge, but the Internet's favorite fantasy sports site now can turn its sites to the track.
That's right; the People's Pitstop is back! We're going to use the collective wisdom of you, the Internet, to win fantasy NASCAR glory (or at least the 9beersfantasysportstavern group in Yahoo Fantasy Auto Racing). The rules are like those of last season. Each week, you'll be asked to vote in polls like the ones on the right side of this page. We need to pick 2 drivers from the A List, 4 from the B List and 2 from the C List. Each week, one of the A List drivers, 2 of the B List drivers and one of the C List drivers will start for us and earn fantasy points according to their performance in the race. Each driver may start for us only nine times during the NASCAR season.
Anyway, the polls are open. They will close Sunday morning before the start of the Great American Race. (Apparently, anyone talking about the Daytona 500 is contractually obligated to use that phrase. Who knew?) Please vote now. Thanks.

The People's Choice - Conference/Super Bowl Rounds

You, the Internet, have stepped up to the plate and helped the People's Playoffs pick its lineup for the final two rounds of the ESPN Gridiron Playoff Challenge. Our roster locks once the NFC Championship game starts, and it will stay locked all the way through the Super Bowl. The Internet's favorite playoff fantasy football team needs to make up a deficit against the Jersey Mob for control of the 9beersfantasysportstavern group. Here are the players who will help us do it.
Quarterback: In the NFC slot, we have a familiar face. Aaron Rodgers will start for the third -- and fourth -- straight week. On the AFC side, we have a newcomer (to our squad, not to the playoffs): Ben Roethlisberger.
Running back: Both our running backs from the previous round were eliminated, so we have two fresh faces here. From the AFC, we have Rashard Mendenhall. From the NFC, we have the Green Bay Packers rookie James Starks. By contrast ...
Wide receiver: Continuity carried the day in these polls. Greg Jennings and Mike Wallace keep their starting spots from last week.
Tight end: We had a nice run with Todd Heap, but the Pittsburgh Steelers stopped it dead in its tracks. It's appropriate, then, that Heath Miller of the Steelers take his place in our lineup.
Defense/special teams: Yes, there are questions about how effective Troy Polamalu will be this week. But that didn't stop you from selecting the Steelers to take over where the Baltimore Ravens left off.
Kicker: An incumbent has been unseated. Nick Folk was available to you, but you decided you didn't trust the New York Jets kicking game at Heinz Field. You went instead with Mason Crosby, who gets the relatively stable conditions at Soldier Field.
If you haven't noticed already, our lineup is filled with Packers and Steelers. If both teams make the Super Bowl, we'll be able to make a real splash. If the Jets and the Chicago Bears prevail ... well, at least we'll have time to discuss what's been going on in NASCAR.
The poll results appear below, and another Super Bowl poll is now available for voting. Enjoy the games!
[polldaddy poll=4427870] [polldaddy poll=4427874] [polldaddy poll=4427878] [polldaddy poll=4427884] [polldaddy poll=4427887] [polldaddy poll=4427895] [polldaddy poll=4427905] [polldaddy poll=4427913] [polldaddy poll=4427916]

Fearless Predictions - Conference Championships

There's still time to vote on the People's Playoffs roster for this week (and for Super Bowl week, since the rosters will lock on Sunday). While you contemplate your selections, it's time to tell you what will happen Sunday in the NFL conference championship games. Last week's predictions went 3-1, raising the playoff forecast record to a respectable 4-4.
NFC Championship: Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears. We'll set aside the question Bill Simmons fielded Friday about whether these two teams have a rivalry. Instead, we'll focus on what both teams bring to the table. Green Bay brings Charles Woodson, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, as well as Clay Matthews Jr., one of the favorites to take that honor this season. Chicago has Jay Cutler, who will be starting the second playoff game of his professional career. (By contrast, Mark Sanchez will be starting his sixth.) They also have Mike Martz, who sometimes still calls games as if he feels the words "blocking" and "tight end" don't belong in the same paragraph. Evidence? Cutler was sacked a league-leading 52 times this season, or 12 more times than runner-up Joe Flacco. When it comes down to it, the people who bring you the People's Pigskin trust Matthews, Woodson and their cohorts more than they trust Cutler and his offensive line. The Packers win a third straight road game and punch their ticket for the Super Bowl.
AFC Championship: New York Jets vs. Pittsburgh Steelers. There is no question that Mark Sanchez has evolved into a legitimate NFL quarterback. And Rex Ryan is proving that he can back up his big words with big games. But once again, it's a question of who do you trust. Pittsburgh has Ben Roethlisberger, who may have ridden Jerome Bettis' coattails to one Super Bowl ring but more than earned his second with a drive that culminated with one of the most famous catches in postseason history. On the other side of the line of scrimmage, we have Antonio Cromartie (remember him?), who can stand on his head one week and fall flat on his face the next. He stood on his head last week against the New England Patriots. But if the question is which player is more likely to come through again this week, the answer has to be Roethlisberger until someone proves otherwise. The Steelers march on to Arlington and the House That Texas Taxpayers Built.
We'll be back with the poll results.

Quick Update, Fresh Polls

Rather than continuing to wait for Rex Ryan to say something provocative about the Pittsburgh Steelers, we'll catch you up on how the People's Playoffs are faring. The Internet's favorite playoff fantasy football team had a rough divisional round, scoring only 108 points and falling to second place in the 9beersfantasysportstavern group standings with a total score of only 221. We now trail the Jersey Mob (hopefully not that one) by 29 points.
Here's a quick statistical breakdown of our divisional round roster.
Tom Brady, QB: 29 of 45 passing for 299 yards, 2 rushes for 2 yards, 2 touchdowns and 19 fantasy points.
Aaron Rodgers, QB: 31 of 36 passing for 366 yards and 3 touchdowns, 2 rushes for 13 yards and 1 touchdown and 33 fantasy points.
Ray Rice, RB: 12 rushes for 32 yards, 7 receptions for 32 yards, 1 touchdown and 12 fantasy points.
Michael Turner, RB: 10 rushes, 39 yards, 1 touchdown and 9 fantasy points.
Mike Wallace, WR: 3 receptions for 20 yards, 2 rushes for minus-2 yards and 2 fantasy points.
Greg Jennings, WR: 8 receptions, 101 yards and 10 fantasy points.
Todd Heap, TE: 3 receptions, 43 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 touchdown.
Nick Folk, K: 4 extra points and 4 fantasy points.
Baltimore Ravens, D/ST: 6 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 defensive touchdown, 31 points allowed and 9 fantasy points.
Now that you know how we got here, it's time to discuss where we go from here. The conference championship games are Sunday afternoon, and we need to fill a roster. Unfortunately, ESPN rules state that the rosters will freeze after the conference championships. The team we pick this week will also represent the People's Playoffs at the Super Bowl. Therefore, our polls are constructed a little differently this time around. The quarterback, running back and wide receiver polls are divided into NFC and AFC spots, in order to maximize the chances of having players who will still be playing in two weeks.
Feel free to vote now, and feel free to encourage your friends, neighbors and acquaintances to do the same. We'll be back with some predictions.

The People's Choice - Divisional Round (and Predictions)

The votes are in, and you, the Internet, have made the following choices for the People's Pigskin for this divisional round of the ESPN Gridiron Playoff Challenge.
Quarterback: Aaron Rodgers returns to our lineup for a second week. He gets the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday night. He's joined this week by Tom Brady, who will play the New York Jets late Sunday afternoon.
Running back: Another returning player from last week is Ray Rice, who visits the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday afternoon. This week, he's joined by Michael Turner, who hosts the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night.
Wide receiver: Yet another player makes a second straight appearance for the Internet's favorite fantasy playoff football team -- Greg Jennings, who has to improve on last week's performance. He faces the Atlanta Falcons. The other receiver spot goes to Mike Wallace, who hosts the Baltimore Ravens.
There was no change at tight end (Todd Heap). The defense/special teams and kicker polls came down to ties. We used dollar value as the tiebreaker, and in both cases, the incumbent held off a challenger. The Ravens defense/special teams ($4.5) beat the Chicago Bears ($4.8), and Nick Folk ($4.0) took the kicker spot over Matt Bryant ($4.1).
And here are some quick predictions for this week's games. Last week's forecasts went 1-3, so take this with as many grains of salt as you wish.
Steelers over Ravens.
Packers over Falcons.
Bears over Seahawks.
Patriots over Jets.
Thanks for voting in this week's lineup polls. The results appear below, and a new poll on the Super Bowl is ready to take your votes now. We'll be back with a look at this week's scores.

[polldaddy poll=4374582] [polldaddy poll=4374589] [polldaddy poll=4374593] [polldaddy poll=4374600] [polldaddy poll=4374603] [polldaddy poll=4374611]

Off to a Wild Start

Sorry this post is so late...I was waiting for Stephen Ross to return my calls.
Anyway, you, the Internet, came through once again. You helped the People's Playoffs rack up an amazing 113 fantasy points during the wild card round of the ESPN Gridiron Playoff Challenge. For those of you who forgot your secret decoder rings, we currently have a 7-point lead in the 9beersfantasysportstavern group.
Here's how the scoring happened.
Joe Flacco, QB: 25 of 34 passing for 265 yards, 7 rushes for 26 yards, 2 touchdowns and 20 fantasy points. The biggest headlines came from the other side of the ball (and we'll discuss that later), but Flacco, who now has four playoff victories on his resume, fully earned his own kudos from authorities like NFL.com's Vic Carlucci.
Aaron Rodgers, QB: 18 of 27 passing for 180 yards, 3 rushes for 4 yards, 3 touchdowns and 19 fantasy points. It's too bad fantasy football doesn't award bonus points for things like awkward congratulations hugs on national TV.
Ray Rice, RB: 17 rushes for 57 yards, 5 receptions for 42 yards, 1 touchdown and 15 fantasy points. It might be going too far to say he made the Kansas City Chiefs look like there were "trying to grab a wet bar of soap," but he did find his way to the end zone.
Jamaal Charles, RB: 9 rushes for 82 yards, 1 reception for 15 yards, 1 touchdown and 15 fantasy points. Charles also crossed the goal line to save his fantasy performance. Unfortunately, he was swallowed whole by Terrence Cody and won't be joining us for the rest of the postseason.
Jeremy Maclin, WR: 3 receptions, 73 yards and 7 fantasy points. Maclin also won't be with us the rest of the way. He ran into a solid Green Bay Packers defense, who gave him one big 44-yard catch and little else.
Greg Jennings, WR: 1 reception, 8 yards and 0 fantasy points. The big difference between Jennings and Reggie Wayne: Jennings had enough sense not to complain publicly about getting only one catch in a playoff game.
Todd Heap, TE: 10 receptions, 108 yards and 10 fantasy points. Maybe the Baltimore Ravens should make sure Heap is matched up against rookie safeties the rest of the playoffs.
Nick Folk, K: 1 field goal, 2 extra points and 5 fantasy points. His big kick was the last one.
Baltimore Ravens, D/ST: 3 sacks, 3 interceptions, 2 fumbles, 7 points allowed, 1 win and 22 fantasy points. That's right; our top fantasy scorer was our defense. They played their hearts out for one of their leaders, Ed Reed, who was playing with a heavy heart. Keep him and his family in your thoughts.
Now it's on to the divisional playoffs. Four new sets of players are joining in the fantasy playoff festivities. And six new polls are available for voting. Once again, they will stay open until shortly before the first game kicks off Saturday, so feel free to vote now.
We'll be back with some more football thoughts.

The People's Choice - Wild Card

Thanks to all of you who voted on the People's Playoffs lineup for the wild card round of the ESPN Gridiron Playoff Challenge. Our quest to dominate the 9beersfantasysportstavern group begins with this roster. (No need to race to your TV to follow these players; all but one play on Sunday.)
Quarterback. The clear winner in this poll was Aaron Rodgers, who plays the Philadephia Eagles late Sunday afternoon. For the second QB spot, we had a tie between Peyton Manning and Joe Flacco. As the tiebreaker, we chose the player will the lower salary, and Flacco (5.7) beat Manning (6.1) for the spot. He gets the Kansas City Chiefs early Sunday afternoon.
Running back. Again, we had a clear winner: Ray Rice, who plays the Chiefs. And once again, we had a tie for the second spot. In this tiebreaker, Jamaal Charles (5.8) edged LeSean McCoy (5.9). Charles plays the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
Wide receiver: Yes, we had one clear winner again: Greg Jennings, who faces the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. And once again, we have a tie for second. Jeremy Maclin (5.6) beats Dwayne Bowe (6.1) by virtue of the tiebreaker. He faces Jennings' Green Bay Packers.
Tight end: This time, there was only one spot available, and it came down to a tie between two players. Todd Heap (4.8) beat Jacob Tamme (4.9) and gets the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
Kicker: Another poll, another tie. Nick Folk (4.0) beat David Akers (4.2) to give us our only Saturday player. He faces the Indianapolis Colts.
Defense/special teams: Yes, even this one resulted in a tie to be broken by salary. And, believe it or not, the Baltimore Ravens (4.5) had a lower salary than the New Orleans Saints (4.6). They get the Kansas City Chiefs.
By the way, if you would have liked a different outcome, one solution would be to get a friend to vote on these polls, too.
Speaking of polls, a new one about the wild card teams is now available for voting. Enjoy the games, everybody.