Reader Spike?

I don't regularly check the traffic on this site, but I couldn't help but notice a conspicuous spike in viewers recently. What exactly happened on September 5th?

As you can see, things came back down to earth shortly after; we're back to our regular 20-40 visitors per day. I'm glad you guys are still here at least.

Playoff Fantasy Hockey

Join the group, make a squad, embarrass your friend Joe:

http://games.espn.go.com/playoff-hockey-challenge/en/group?groupID=2063

Fantasy Baseball Previews

So historically, I've always done some fantasy baseball preview articles. Baseball is my favorite fantasy sport, and I love talking about it. But, I've always sort of tempered myself in my posts, for two main reasons:

1. I'm in an ultra-competitive league, and I don't want to give away any of my personal interests.
2. I could write a hundred articles on fantasy baseball, and it's tough to pick a few topics to actually write about.

I've got some ideas of articles I'll almost certainly write, but I wanted to extend an offer to all of you: tell me what you want to hear. If you've got any topics you think I should talk about, or if you want to take your own stance and have me respond to it, by all means, drop me a line and let me know. You can reach me at joe.joe.sports@gmail.com. I'm completely and utterly available.

That goes for you too, ladies. Holla!

Why I'm Siding With The Players

With the NBA and the NFL both facing labor disputes and potential work stoppages in 2011, I thought I would take a little time and outline why I'm siding with players. In fact, I'm siding with the players this time, next time and probably every time after that. Here's why:

1) The players won't propose a deal that's bad for ownership

No, you read that correctly, the players won't and can't propose a deal that is bad for ownership. A bad deal for ownership would be one in which their labor costs to the players and other operating costs are so high that they don't make an acceptable profit and consider shutting down the sport for an extended length of time. If this were to happen, the players are basically putting themselves out of business. Since the players are (at least semi) rational, they won't offer a deal that kills the golden goose. Thus, the players have no choice but to agree to a deal that keeps the owners happily in business. Sure, they'll try to push as far into the owners profits as far as possible, but ultimately the players have to present a deal that is good for both sides.

The flip side of this is that the owners don't have to present a deal that is good for both sides. In fact, they want to maximize profits by lowering operating costs as much as possible. As long as their deal would be good enough to keep the talented players from choosing other professions (probably not hard to do since the average American makes somewhere south of $40k), then the owners would be in business and raking in even more cash.

2) The players are what we want to see

The players ARE the game. Watching the world's greatest athletes play the most exciting games at the very highest level is the reason we tune in to professional sports. Want proof of this: How many WNBA games did you watch last year? How many Division III college football games did you watch? How many cricket matches did you watch? I'm guessing the sum of these three question is probably less than five. Now, how many NFL games did you watch? That number is a lot higher, isn't it?

The talent is really the reason we watch professional sports. Without extraordinarily gifted players performing remarkable physical tasks, nobody pays attention. It doesn't matter how good your marketing is, how nice the stadium is or how delicious the hot dogs are, if the players aren't highly skilled nothing else matters. This isn't to say that we don't need the business side of sports to make things operate, we do, but the players are what draw people to the game.

In addition, it's important to note how scarce talented players are. Approximately 400 guys play in the NBA every year. Maybe another 2000 guys play in the NFL each year. That's 2400 people out of roughly 300 million Americans (yes, yes, some of the NBA guys come from overseas, bear with me). That means that roughly 0.0008% of the country is talented enough to play in the NFL or NBA. I don't care what other profession you name, I'm guessing more that 0.0008% of the population can do it.

3) It's a zero sum game

I've heard it a thousand times: "The players are just a bunch of spoiled millionaires who should shut up and be thankful they are getting paid 100 times more than the average school teacher". Ok, that's true, but guess what, the owners are multimillionaires too, and in most cases billionaires. Either way somebody really, really, really rich is going to end up with the money. It makes no sense to tell the players just to be grateful when it essentially makes someone else richer. Both sides are trying to maximize their slice of the revenue, this is capitalism.

4) Ticket prices aren't going anywhere

Another favorite argument is that if the players would accept less money, the owners (who were then facing lower operating costs) would lower ticket prices. This is flat out wrong. Ticket prices are calculated based on what people are willing to pay to walk in the gate. It's based on market research and demand to see the product on the field. Do this thought experiment: If all the player's salaries dropped to $100,000 tomorrow, what would happen to ticket prices? That's right, the ticket prices would stay exactly where they currently are...and the owners would pocket the difference.

5) The owners have an investment, the players have a job

Due to the increasing popularity of American professional sports (both in America and expanding around the world), an NBA or NFL franchise is worth more today than it was ten years ago...approximately 50% more. For example, the Jacksonville Jaguars (the NFL's least valuable franchise), was worth $460 million in 2000 is now worth $725 million. The Oakland Raiders went from $315 million to $758 million over the same ten year period. Even my beloved Cleveland Browns went from $557 million to $1032 million proving that you don't need to win to make money. Even if the owners weren't making any money year to year (and believe me, they are as all but 6 franchises had profits of greater than $10 million in 2009), the act of simply owning the team is returning 50% over ten years. Obviously, past results don't guarantee future returns, but, damn.

The players are another story. The average NFL career is only a few years and when you are done, you're done. Of course there is the NFL pension plan, but that is only for players that played at least three years and you can't get full benefits until the age of 55. While this is a nice benefit that most American workers would probably kill to receive, it doesn't exactly seem to match up with the 50% return on investment the owners are seeing.


Highly skilled players, representing the only real commodity of their sport, presenting a reasonable, win/win offer to ownership that is seeing huge returns on their investments. That is why I'm supporting the players in the upcoming NBA and NFL labor disputes.

Back on the Radio

In case you missed it, I had a radio show with special guest Chris Reed last week, reviewing the tumultuous NBA offseason. Go here to listen.

Looking forward, I'm hoping to provide radio shows to preview all of the upcoming sports seasons (basketball, football, hockey). If you think you'd like to co-host, drop me a line at joe.joe.sports@gmail.com.

Finally, I'm looking at doing a "stretch run" fantasy baseball show. Again, if you'd like to co-host, let me know.

Vote in the poll!

Twi-Night Doubleheader - Week 12

Apologies for the late post. Luckily, I retrieved the information on Monday, so the stats are all correctly from last week. No need to thank me.

Fantasy Players of the Week

• AL Hitter: Chone Figgins, 2B/3B, Mariners (.190, 3 R, 1 RBI, 7 SB) - I know, ridiculous right? Well, I normally go with the most balanced performance, someone who put up good all-around stats, and while that's generally true, it's not much fun. Seven steals in one week is outstanding, so just this once, I'm going to give the award to a one-category player. Sue me. (Please don't sue me, I don't have any money.)
  
• NL Hitter: Rickie Weeks, 2B, Brewers (.435, 7 R, 3 HR, 7 RBI) - It was neck and neck between Weeks and David Wright (.500, 7 R, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 1 SB), so I opted for the 2B over the 3B. I did notice that, if you look out there and compare 2B versus 3B, the overall performance is actually pretty similar. I'll stand by my position that 2B is harder to fill, though.
  
• AL Pitcher: Mariano Rivera, RP, Yankees (2-0, 1 SV, 8 K, 0.00/0.80) - Closers getting wins has often been the bane of my fantasy existence, but there's no denying the value it brings. Getting a pair of wins in just five innings from Rivera this week was a boon for all of his owners. Jon Lester was in the mix with a pair of one-run games and 15 strikeouts, but he wen 1-1, and fantasy owners need those decisions.
  
• NL Pitcher: Jamie Moyer, SP, Phillies (2-0, 12 K, 1.80/0.60) - The news may have been that Moyer gave up his 506th career home run, setting the all-time mark, but just as newsworthy is Moyer's 2010 performance thus far. He's 9-6 with an ERA of 4.30 and a WHIP of 1.05. His strikeouts are low (of course), but with every quality start, he becomes more and more rosterable. Yovani Gallardo's 5-hit, 12-strikeout shutout put him in the conversation as well.
  

At this time, instead of offering some fairly witty but overall boring baseball information, I'm going to recommend all of you check out Grooveshark. You can listen to pretty much whatever music you want, in whatever order you want, without commercials. Some of you who visit my personal blog have already seen Grooveshark in action, but I recommend all of you go to the site, make an account, and see what it's got to offer. It's the second site ever that I've considered paying money to use, despite its free nature (the Sports-Reference suite of sites is the other).

I haven't actually paid for a VIP membership yet. Just saying, it's a sweet site.

Someone Get LaVar Arrington off My Radio

I've had very little nice to say about LaVar Arrington since about three years into his tenure as a Washington Redskin. He was a disappointing high draft pick, and perhaps served as a warning to other teams regarding early linebacker picks. Their skills don't always translate to the NFL, as they rely on being faster than college running backs, and strong enough to take them down.

But I can get past a bad draft pick. He didn't work out, that's alright, it happens. I wouldn't be talking about Arrington today if that's where it stopped. But he's got his own radio show in the DC area. It's on from 2 PM - 6 PM, afternoon drive time, which means someone decided he was one of the best options they have, and whoever that is should be fired.

LaVar is awful. He comes across as naive and foolish, and he's just about the worst interviewer I've ever heard. Some commentators will offer leading questions; LaVar outright answers his own questions, then says, "Right?" He basically instructs his interviewee to use as many cliches as possible. His radio partner, Chad Dukes, has some more sense than Arrington, but he encourages LaVar enough that he's complicit in this crime. And make no mistake; what LaVar Arrington does to his radio listeners is criminal.

The worst part of it all is that I think Arrington is just not all that familiar with today's NFL. Just yesterday, the discussion focused on DeSean Jackson's comments about being happy that Donovan McNabb was out of town. That kind of discussion, a division rival talking smack about your quarterback, that's easy radio fodder. Arrington managed to make himself look like an idiot. First, he referred to McNabb's replacement as Schaub. Three times. Matt Schaub is the starting quarterback for the Houston Texans, and is fairly accomplished. Kevin Kolb is McNabb's replacement in Philadelphia.

If that were the only mistake he made, while silly, it could be chalked up to misspeaking once, then repeating the misspeak. But just a minute later, this exchange took place between LaVar and Dukes:

L: "How many teams are in the NFL? Thirty-five?"
C: "Thirty-two."
L: "Yeah, I guess there would have to be an even number."

Congratulations, LaVar Arrington. You've established yourself as the least qualified sports commentator in the Washington, DC area. Seriously, how many teams are in the NFL? I'll give you a clue, LaVar. No teams have been added to the league since you stopped playing football less than five years ago.

I mean, come on, this is the guy's job. If there's one expectation about a former NFL player when it comes to his radio show, it's that he'll be able to speak with some expertise about the NFL. I can accept that he's not a hockey expert, and doesn't know much about baseball, but he'd better know the NFL up and down.

I don't mean for this post to make you think I dislike LaVar Arrington as a person. He seems like a fine person, fairly good-natured, and while I personally don't care, he's got a history of being very charitable. But companies shouldn't (and overwhelmingly don't) employ people because they're good people. They employ people because they're good at their job. And LaVar isn't.

The Washington Redskins Offseason

Initially I was going to just talk about the Redskins' draft, but I figured there was no harm, and in fact something to gain by expanding the topic, so I did just that.

(Not So) Sexy Rexy

Rex Grossman was brought in, and while the company line was that Jason Campbell was still the starter, talk of an "open competition" festered, and the writing was pretty much on the wall. At this point, Sam Bradford and Jimmy Clausen looked like potential draft picks for the 'Skins, so the expectation was that either Grossman or Campbell would be a placeholder while the rookie got himself up to speed.

New Running Backs

Three new halfbacks are in town, and each of them has a level of intrigue.

Larry Johnson had back-to-back 1700+ yard seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs, but that was 4 years ago. It remains to be seen if he can recapture some of that magic.

Willie Parker was a home run threat for the Steelers during both of their Super Bowl runs, setting the all-time record for longest rush in a Super Bowl in 2006. But his productivity has slid recently, and last year he was relegated to a backup role when Rashard Mendenhall burst onto the scene.

Ryan Torain has essentially played in one game as a pro, and while he did well (12 rushes for 68 yards and a TD against Cleveland in 2008 as a member of Mike Shanahan's Denver Broncos), he obviously is unproven. Shanahan must like him, though, so you could see him breaking into the rotation.

These three acquisitions point to the Redskins potentially parting ways with Clinton Portis, or at least down-sizing his role. I'm not opposed to that, as Portis has been "too big for his britches" for a year and a half now.

Mc-Nabbing a Quarterback

You see what I did there? I incorporated the concept of theft into the title of this section, which is appropriate, because I really believe that the Redskins trade of their second round pick and a mid-round pick next year for Donovan McNabb is a steal. While he's not in the first tier of quarterbacks (where Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers reside), he's right behind them, and in watching the Eagles over the past few years, I think McNabb still has the ability to make a play at any time, which is something you haven't been able to say about a quarterback in Washington for...twenty years? Maybe more?

This was obviously by far the biggest acquisition the Redskins made this offseason, and I think it immediately puts them into wild card contention.

A Name Worth Mentioning

When Adam Carriker was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the first round of the 2007 draft, I didn't know much about him, but I knew he had the kind of name you'd expect out of an elite player, so I figured he must be pretty good. It's kind of silly to admit that, but seriously, when you hear names like Peyton Manning, Golden Tate, Knowshon Moreno, and Anquan Boldin, you just know they're football players. Carriker had that kind of name.

So naturally, when he struggled early on, I was pretty surprised. The Redskins dropped back 28 picks in the 5th round to pick up the former first rounder, and I won't lie, I'm a little excited about what he could do. I mean, the talent was there for him to be an early pick in the draft. Hopefully Mike Shanahan and Jim Haslett can turn around Carriker's career, even if it's just to the point of being a starter. The price was right.

The Redskins' Brief Foray Into NFL Draft

Washington held the #4 overall pick in this year's NFL draft, and I don't think I'm the only one who was really hoping the 'Skins would be able to trade down a few slots, get some additional picks, and still acquire one of the top four offensive tackles, someone who can protect McNabb. They went 1/2, staying at the #4 slot and selecting Trent Williams out of Oklahoma. Everything I hear is that A) Williams is a great fit for Shanahan's zone-blocking scheme, and B) Williams and Rutgers tackle Anthony Davis have the highest upsides of offensive linemen in the draft. I have to trust other people on evaluating offensive linemen, so I feel pretty good about the move.

I can't speak much to the rest of the draft, because they only took players I've never heard of. The Redskins traded down a couple times in the later rounds and acquired extra picks, which I approve of as a general policy. I hope that their two late offensive linemen selections, C Erik Cook and OL Selvish Capers, are uniquely suited to the zone-blocking scheme, and will end up being shrewd moves. But that's really just blind hope.

The Campbell Era Ends

As expected, the Redskins finally traded away Jason Campbell. Somewhat surprising, though, was the marginal price that he commanded in the trade market. The Oakland Raiders acquired Campbell in exchange for a 4th round pick...in 2012. It would have been nice to trade Campbell for a commodity that helps right away, but I guess you take what you can get. If there's no market, there's no market. And really, you can't expect there to be much of a market for a QB outside of the top 20, which Campbell most certainly is.

I think a lot of local fans have a slightly misguided concept of how good Campbell was, and how good he could've been "if he had an offensive line," as the line tends to go. As a direct comparison, I offer Aaron Rodgers, superstar QB for the Green Bay Packers.

• Rodgers - 64.7% completions, 4,434 yards, 30 TDs, 7 INTs, 50 sacks for 306 yards, 10 fumbles, 4 lost.
  
• Campbell - 64.5% completions, 3,618 yards, 20 TDs, 15 INTs, 43 sacks for 285 yards, 11 fumbles, 3 lost.
  

Rodgers received just as much pressure as Campbell, completed about the same number of throws, and was unequivocally a better quarterback than Campbell. I can't in good conscience say that Campbell was put into a position to succeed, but I'm generally of the opinion that QB talent will bear out, and with Campbell it just never did. I never saw a game where Campbell made me think, "Holy cow, this guy is good."

I do wish the best for him this season and going forward, as I do think he was put into a tough situation and handled it with class. But I never want him to be either of my favorite teams' starting quarterbacks again.

Going Forward

So that's what we're looking at so far. I don't think the Redskins are done just yet; I could certainly see them signing former Cowboy Flozell Adams for a year or two to add some offensive line depth. And I think they'll still likely look at other opportunities to trade disgruntled defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. But even if no further changes are made, I think we're looking at a very productive offseason for the 'Skins. The addition of McNabb alone adds a couple of wins, and if Shanahan adds a couple more, we're looking at a playoff-caliber team.

And that's all we Washington fans want. We just want the opportunity to be disappointed in December and January. We want to care just enough to get slapped down by the hand of god.

And yes, I'm alluding to the Washington Capitals' crushing loss in seven games to the Montreal Canadiens. I'll try to talk about what happened at some point, but not now. I have not the heart to say. For me, the pain is still too near. But someday, when I've cooled off, we'll have a heart-to-heart about it, just you and me. Promise.

Layouts

We'll be trying out a few new layouts over the next couple of months. While I liked the colors of the previous layout, we were unable to adjust the width of the text area, which meant a lot of scrolling, and articles that appeared exorbitantly long. So, specifically, we'll be trying out templates that stretch the full width of the screen.

The current one, which has an orange headline bar, is called Sand Dollar. Let me know what you think of it, particularly if you dislike it.

NFL Draft 2010 - Rounds 2-7

First round analysis can be found here.

Picks

The Vikings traded out of the first round, but put themselves behind the Colts, Saints, and Rams, three teams who wouldn't take a quarterback. So, with Brett Favre's future in question and Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels unlikely to be long-term options, I expected/hoped that Minnesota would snag Jimmy Clausen at great value. They didn't, so hopefully Favre will be back in 2010.

Clausen meanwhile ended up with the Panthers. The Panthers, who were without a first round pick, ended up with a very appealing quarterback option with the 48th pick in the draft. I'm not sure why they took QB Armanti Edwards in the third round (though he's likely to change positions) and Tony Pike in the sixth round after grabbing Clausen, but one thing is for sure: the Panthers are committed to finding a new quarterback.

The Ravens traded out of the first round, picked up 3rd and 4th round picks, and still got a first-round talent in Sergio Kindle. Unbelievable how this team is able to constantly acquire great players at great value. If I didn't dislike them so, they'd be the kind of team I'd love to root for.

I saw mock drafts in March suggest that the Raiders might take Bruce Campbell with their first round pick because of his excellent combine performance. The fact that he was available in the fourth round makes me think two things: first, the league is cooling off on dramatically changing a player's draft stock based on a few workouts, and second, despite general opinion, the Raiders have some idea what they're doing.

Trades

The Vikings traded up to grab Toby Gerhart, an interesting player, but one who Minnesota must like a lot more than I do, because I just couldn't see giving up a third rounder to move up 11 spots to make the pick. I could be wrong, though; my brother thinks he's going to be fantastic.

The Seattle Seahawks traded down a couple picks to acquire RB LenDale White, who'll be reunited with his old coach at USC, Pete Carroll. White showed flashes of being a very good short yardage back, and he could be a nice complement to the speed and elusiveness of Justin Forsett. The Seahawks also traded their 5th round pick to the Jets for Leon Washington, giving them several options going into training camp. The backfield will give fantasy owners fits, but could be productive in the world of, you know, real football.

There were several other trades made in the later rounds, but mostly they involved teams selecting players I've never heard of, so I don't feel qualified to talk about them.

Coming up, I've got an all-Redskins article, which will evaluate the Redskins' offseason moves, with an obvious emphasis on the draft.

Drive home safely everybody.

Joe and Joe Sports Farewell

After an exciting last two years (and a fairly unexciting first two years), it is with a heavy heart that I report that Joe and Joe Sports will be closing down. I have a great opportunity to join Yahoo's fantasy sports team as a part-time assistant for Andy Behrens (yes, the Andy Behrens) on his Roto Arcade feature. Unfortunately, in order to join the Yahoo team, I have to sign a contract that stipulates that I won't compete for customers (web traffic in this instance), so I can no longer be a part of Joe and Joe Sports.

The agreement allows previously published content to remain published, so I will keep the site up for at least the duration of my contract with Google's web-hosting. I'm sure you'd all be heartbroken if you couldn't go back and see that I was dead-on about Matt Ryan being the right guy, right away for the Falcons in 2008. Heartbroken.

It's been a great run, everyone, and my work for Yahoo doesn't start until May 1st, so stick around while we clean up shop. Maybe you can take home a seat cover!

Sweet 16 Bracket

Yahoo's got a Second Chance Tournament Bracket that we can use to run our Sweet 16 bracket. Click here to join.

Who Should You Keep?

We here at Joe and Joe Sports have done some market research, and we've come to find that a lot of our traffic here arrives as a result of Google searches to determine if particular players are keepers, or which player among a list should be kept. As good as we are at reading minds, we can't be certain that we'll address your question unless you ASK! So if you've got a tough decision on your hands with regards to a keeper league (or any other league, really), don't hesitate to ask!

You can contact us anytime at joe.joe.sports@gmail.com. We'll guarantee a response via email, and if we like your question, we'll post it on the blog, along with our response!

Get Involved!

We'd like to extend an invitation to our readers to put their mark on their favorite sports blog. Unfortunately, we don't have any control over any of the blogs you actually like, so how about the next best thing, and you get to put your mark on this blog?

In our biweekly meeting, we reviewed some of our demographics, and we noticed we've got people from all over the country visiting the blog, and many people are returning over and over again. We want to thank you for your interest, and would like to specifically invite emails from anyone outside of the Baltimore/Washington area. Despite our infatuation with our own favorite teams, both Joe's have a pretty good understanding of all NBA, MLB, and NFL teams, and can offer commentary on most topics.

We'd love to hear what you want us to talk about, so drop us an email at joe.joe.sports@gmail.com, and let us know if you've got an idea for an article, or something you'd like us to discuss. Also, feel free to critique us on our newer features (Redskins Report Card, Is ____ A Keeper?), or anything else. Don't worry, we can take it.

Well, probably.