Boz Cup XVIII Season Preview

Remember this old blog? Reuse, repurpose, and recycle!

Boz Cup XVIII draft is complete. Here is the season outlook, in the order of how yahoo ranks our drafts.

After going through these, I realized that I have a bunch of 2nd-4th place finishers, but no favorite. Should make for an exciting season! Also, I clearly don't know what the fuck I'm talking about so take all this with a heap of salt.

1. Paul

• Strengths: RB (maybe?), WR1
• Weaknesses: TE, WR3
• Paul took the Zeke Elliott risk, which based on reports could turn into a steal if he is available Week 1. Elliott/Jones backed up by Jacobs/Lindsay is formidable and deep. Beckham is great at WR, but AB is a wildcard. QB should be fine. Just fine. Vance McDonald is another high-variance player: might be great, could be bad.
• Outlook: Playoff team, but not a contender. 3rd or 4th place.

2. Shane

• Strengths: QB, RB (maybe?)
• Weaknesses: TE, WR depth
• Shane took the Melvin Gordon risk, which is looking riskier than the Zeke flyer, but came at less cost. Gurley/Gordon is about as risky as it gets, because Gurley might be highly limited and we just don't know it yet. Mahomes/Jackson is the best QB combo. Smith-Schuster might be a one-man WR corp, but starting Corey Davis feels icky. Walker might be fine but is old and on the Titans, so likely not fine.
• Outlook: Sooo dependent on Gurley/Gordon, the outlook is entirely tied to them, so very hard to predict. My guess is that Gurley is good early but fades, meanwhile Gordon misses weeks but then signs late, and they don't overlap. Low playoff team, in the 6th place range.

3. Wendell

• Strengths: RB, WR
• Weaknesses QB2, TE
• The defending champ picked at the late turn, and stockpiled RB/WRs. RBs should be fine, although Freeman's health and workload is a questionmark. Tying WR3 and TE to Tampa Bay has pros and cons: they suck, but they will be behind a lot and therefore throw a lot. Josh Allen is a questionable QB2, more of a lottery ticket than a starter.
• Outlook: Seems solid but unspectacular. Playoffs for sure, 4th or 5th place.

4. Matt

• Strengths: QB, I think
• Weaknesses: RB depth, WR
• Apologies to Matt, but I dislike this squad. Mayfield is fine, but overhyped I think. Trubisky is a potential sleeper, but he also might just be bad. Kamara is the worst of the top RBs, because his value depends on being great and not valoume, which can disappear quickly. Derrick Henry is flatly not a RB starter. I personally don't like Hill, Diggs, or Kupp (obvious caveat: I'm often wrong). Engram is a low-end TE. Bench is full of lottery tickets who might or might not pan out, which is a good way to build a bench, really. High ceiling, low floor.
• Outlook: I think this is one of the two teams to miss the playoffs. But they play me in Week 1 so I'll probably eat this projection in a few days.

5. Fingz

• Strengths: QB, RB, TE
• Weaknesses: WR
• LeVeon Bell...I don't love him, but at the end of the second round is fine for him. Chubb/Bell should be top-helf RB duo at least. QB are very good; Cousins in particular was undervalued. Kittle is good. WRs could hold this team back. Thielen/Edelman/Jeffery isn't great even when healthy, and there's no way they all play all season. Fingz will be combing waivers for WRs all season...and hey he just picked up DK Metcalf! At least he's aware of his weaknesses.
• Outlook: I like this team, I think it is a contender. 2nd place.

6. Michael

• Strengths: TE
• Weaknesses: WR, Overall depth
• This is where I evaluate my own team and try not to be biased. I don't like how the draft unfolded after round 3. I waited too long for RB2 and RB depth, overvalued WR3 and WR depth (I think waiver guys are just as good as Ridley/Gordon), and I missed all my late QB targets. My bench is a dumpster fire. None of my backup RBs are worth a shit if the current starters on their teams remain healthy.
• Outlook: Low playoffs, possibly missed playoffs. 8th place.

7. Chris

• Strengths: QB, RB
• Weaknesses: WR, TE
• Strength at the glamour positions for sure. Rodgers/Brees plus Barkley/Cook can't be argued with. Depth is fine too. TE is just a hope-for-a-1-yard-touchdown guy, who will probably be replaced early. AJ Green could possibly help later in the season but who knows when. Robinson and Anderson should be depth, not starters. Lockett might be a steal, or his colarbone will fall off in Week 3.
• Outlook: Playoff team, maybe push for contention. Somewhere around 2nd to 4th I think.

8. Greg

• Strengths: WR + WR depth
• Weaknesses: RB1
• Please trade me a WR. Thomas/Cooper/Golladay is perhaps league-best, then Moore/Gallup on the bench is an embarrassment of riches. Goff/Rivers should be fine. David Johnson + Joe Mixon might be fine, but I think will disappoint. I don't like having to depdn on bad offenses that much. Cook could be good but has a track record of bust behavior.
• Outlook: Low playoffs, like 7th place.

9. Vitello

• Strengths: QB
• Weaknesses: WR(1), RB
• At least we know the secret to last year was the autodraft. I don't like this team. WRs are a problem: Hilton is not a WR1, Boyd might be good, but Westbrook is bench filler. Damien Williams at RB is in a timeshare. He has high upside I suppose, but also could lose his job by Week 8. Kerryon Johnson... since when have the Lions been dedicated to the run? He's overrated. The bench may as well not be there at all. Watson and Cam are good fantasy QBs who get rushing yards and score rushing TDs, but they can't carry the rest of this roster.
• Misses playoffs.

10. Rob

• Strengths: RB, WRs 1&2, TE
• Weaknesses: QB, WR depth
• Fournette/Carson have basically the same outlook: they might be top-5 RBs if they stay healthy, but the liklihood they stay healthy is small. Hopkins/Jones leading a WR corp is excellent, but I think Rob forgot we start 3 WRs. Ertz is good, could end up as TE1 this year. QBs are a problem though. On paper they should be fine, but Big Ben lost his best receiver Kyler Murray is a rookie behind a terrible line. We can hope but we can't expect too much from either of them. Not sure why Golden Tate was drafted.
• Outlook: Middle of the pack. 5th place.

Weekend Preview: Season 12, Week 8

Welcome to the second half of Boz Cup 12! At the halfway mark Michael is threatening to run away with the title, and we have a huge game between him and second-place Paul. More on that a bit later.

There's a huge glut in 2nd-9th, with every team either 4-3 or 3-4. Josh M is struggling with a lackluster title defense at 2-5. But it is still very easy for everyone else to either finish in the money or playing in the Toilet Bowl.

Matt has fallen the last two weeks, and now faces some injury problems. Meanwhile Paul has rocketed upward with a 3-game streak. Shane has staged a mini-comeback as well, while Wendell and Chris are fading from contention.

But the Boz Cup has a funny history of being closer than people expect. No team ever runs away with the title after a fast start. Greg is nodding vigorously.


Here's a look ahead at Week 8 matchups:

Last week predictions: 4-1

Paul 4-3 (90-71) vs Michael 6-1 (82-79)
Michael has a slim 11-10 series edge, but Paul has won the last 2 and 4-of-5.
This game is important for Paul but also for the league behind Michael. If Michael wins, he is 7-1 with a minimum 2-game lead over everyone and possibly three depending on how Matt and Shane perform. If Paul wins, then he is just a game back and the whole pack moves a bit closer. This is the most important game of the season thus far. And who has the edge? Michael takes a hit if Jimmy Graham can't play, and Paul has a large advantage at running back, and a smaller but still decided advantage at WR. This could come down to MNF, with Russell Wilson and the Hawks D for Paul, and Steven Hauschka for Michael. But it shouldn't matter, look for Paul to win and keep the Cup chase exciting, because that's what happens in the Boz Cup.

Josh V 3-4 (80-81) vs Chris 3-4 (71-90)
Josh is 12-6 against Chris, and is on a 3-game win streak.
Josh has massive bye problems plus injury issues, which may be just what Chris needs to get back on track. Chris has scored the fewest points in the league by a wide margin, but despite that look for him to get past Josh this week. Too many byes.

Matt 4-3 (30-19) vs Wendell 3-4 (89-72)
Wendell leads 3-2, but Matt won the most recent game.
Michael Vick returns, and none too soon for Matt who has been in a tailspin without him. He has some bye problems, though Wendell does too. The terrible backups RBs playing this week cancel each other out, which should leave Matt to triumph because his Eagles are facing the terrible Giants D.

Josh M 2-5 (29-20) vs Rob 3-4 (65-96)
Josh is 3-1 against Rob, but Rob won the last game.
Byes and injuries are ravaging Josh this week, and it doesn't seen likely he'll be able to hold up against Rob. Solid matchups should allow Rob to coast to an easy win.

Shane 4-3 (83-78) vs Greg 3-4 (78-83)
Greg is 15-6 against Shane, one of the most lopsided series. And Greg is on a 7-game win streak, the longest active series streak.
Greg has truly severe bye issues this week, almost as if his draft planned to take this week off. Shane will take it, of course, all the way to 5-3 and a game behind Michael. Hard to see how Greg even fields a team this week, but he has total point tiebreakers to think about.

Weekend Preview: Season 12, Week 7

Time for Week 7, the last game of the first half of the Boz Cup season! The Seahawks already have their win this week, and Paul reaped the benefits with Russell Wilson and the Hawks’ D in his lineup, giving him a nice start to an important game against Matt.

 

Michael is alone in first, after a poor performance by Trent Richardson on MNF held Matt just short of a win that would have kept him tied. As it stands, Michael was the only team of the top 4 in last week’s standings to win. He’s 5-1, his best start ever to any season, with Matt sitting at 4-2 and a glut of teams at 3-3.

 

When asked about his fast start, Michael said “I’d like to remind everyone to pay the $100 league dues.”

 

Only two teams on a bye this week, so most teams are at full strength (ignoring injuries). That should make for a nice, high-scoring week. When asked about his bye week issues, Josh V said “Wait, what day is it?”

 

 

 

 

Here's a look ahead at Week 6 matchups:

Last week predictions: 3-2

Paul 3-3 (89-71) vs Matt 4-2 (30-18)
The series is tied 2-2, but Paul has won the last two games.
Paul is making yet another midseason surge. Will Matt be his next victim? Not likely, with Drew Brees on a bye. Looks for Matt to overpower Paul and move to 5-2.

Josh M 2-4 (29-19) vs Michael 5-1 (81-79)
The series is tied 3-3, with Josh M having won the last meeting.
Josh helped Michael immensely with a close win over Matt last week. Will he continue to help Michael by losing this week, or will he become the season’s giant slayer? Michael’s secret weapon, Jimmy Graham, is out this week and DeMarco Murray is hurt, so Josh has a good chance. But overall, Michael’s quarterbacks are driving his bus while Josh’s QBs are inconsistent. Look for Michael to win again, moving to 6-1.

Chris 3-3 (71-89) vs Greg 2-4 (77-83)
Greg leads 13-8 all time, but Chris won the most recent game.
Greg lost his must-win game last week, and Chris’ squad is on life support after a promising start. Chris’ injury problems are completely unreasonable, which is too bad. Look for Greg to pull out a win.

Josh V 2-4 (79-81) vs Rob 3-3 (65-95)
Rob is 14-7 against Josh, the only series where he has a winning record. Rob has won the last 4 meetings.
Rob has dominated this series, but Josh appears to hold the edge in matchups if he can somehow get a kicker into his lineup before Sunday. Ultimately, Josh still has a strong team that appears ready to make a run if he can get out of his own way. Josh should be able to pull this week out.

Shane 3-3 (82-78) vs Wendell 3-3 (89-71)
Shane is 15-6 against Wendell, one of the most lopsided series. Wendell won the last meeting.
Shane pulled out a win last week despite bye issues, so he should be poised for a nice run, right? To do so he’d have to get through Wendell, who’s promising squad is showing some cracks at WR. Shane has WR problems of his own, but he should overcome them this week for a win.

Weekend Preview: Season 12, Week 6

Tonight is the first game of Week 6. The Bears are going to emasculate the Giants on national TV. Hide the children!

 

Matt and Michael are still in front at 4-1 and are the two highest scorers. Only two squads sit at 3-2, Wendell and Chris (Chris despite having the lowest-scoring team). And poor Josh M, the two-time defending champ, is bringing up the rear. We caught up with Josh after practice Wednesday to ask him about his team being in last place, and he said "Fuck you." Which ironically is exactly what Chris told us when asked why his team has scored so few points.

 

Injuries and bye problems abound this week. Calvin Johnson (sadly) and Stevan Ridley (mercifully) are the latest to go down. Depth is a problem for most teams, so expect overall scoring to dip in the coming weeks.

 

It continues to be a QB's league, with 9 of the top 12 scorers QBs. The only non-QBs? Jimmy Graham (whom everyone made fun of drafting in Round 2), Jamaal Charles (whom Paul immediately declared a mistake pick), and LeSean McCoy. Michael and Matt both have 3 members of the top 12, which is not a coincidence.

 

When asked why his draft was such a success, Michael said "Fuck you."

 

 

Here's a look ahead at Week 6 matchups:

Last week predictions: 3-2

Paul 2-3 (88-71) vs Wendell 3-2 (89-70)
Wendell is 15-5 all time vs Paul, and has won the last two games.
Paul seems to be rounding into form in midseason, but Wendell looks strong as well. the matchups seem pretty mixed, so the edge goes to historical trends. Wendell will pick up a win to keep pace with the leaders.

Josh M 1-3 (28-19) vs Matt 4-1 (30-17)
Matt is 2-1 versus Josh, and won the last meeting.
In a battle of expansion owners, Matt has pulled ahead in overall win percentage with his early success this season. Would it be very Boz Cup-esque for Josh to knock off Matt? Yes, yes it would. Can it happen? It can, and it will.

Rob 2-3 (64-95) vs Greg 2-3 (77-82)
Greg leads 13-7 all time, but Rob won the most recent game.
Is this a must-win game? It's early to think that way, but the loser could be 3 games out of first come Tuesday. This one should come down to MNF, but look for Rob to fend off a late charge by Greg.

Michael 4-1 (80-79) vs Josh V 2-3 (79-80)
The all-time series is even at 10 apiece, with Michael having won the last game.
Michael is riding high, and his superstar Peyton Manning faces the woeful Jaguars this week. Can he capitalize? Probably so, considering Josh forgot to put Cutler into his lineup before kickoff. Josh also has some injury issues at WR. Look for Michael to improve to 5-1, his best ever Boz Cup start.

Shane 2-3 (81-78) vs Chris 3-2 (71-88)
Chris is 11-9 versus Shane, and has won the last 2 matchups.
Shane has severe bye issues this week. Can Chris continue to win while scoring few points? It appears so, because at present Shane represents no threat at all. Despite his own issues, look for Chris to continue his run.

Weekend Preview: Season 12, Week 5

 

Week 5 starts today with Buffalo versus Cleveland, a titanic matchup with major fantasy implications! (not really)

 

Matt and Michael are in front at 3-1 and are the two highest scorers, a huge glut sits at 2-2, with Paul and Josh M bringing up the rear at 1-3. The league is wide open once again!

 

Scoring is led by Peyton Manning, who was Michael’s first round pick. Jimmy Graham is 5^th in scoring, whom Michael drafted in the 2^nd round. When asked about his amazing foresight in drafting Manning, Michael said “It was a mistake, I should have taken CJ Spiller and Steven Jackson. My 25 mock drafts composite and round-by-round values chart said so, but I didn’t follow it. I fucked up!”

 

Matt is dependent upon the Eagles combo of Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy. When asked after practice Monday about what he’ll do during the bye, Matt said “What’s a ‘bye’ week? There are bye weeks? No one told me!”

 

Josh M won Week 4. On his scoring outburst, he said “I’ve won the last two years, I have to start 0-3 just to make it challenging for me. The other coaches are so terrible.”

 

Josh V barely missed out on the weekly and had to settle for second. He didn’t sound happy about it when we caught up with him, “I wish I was Paul Rickey. I wanna be Paul Rickey so bad. Life would be so much better if I was Paul Rickey.”

 

 

Here's a look ahead at Week 5 matchups:

Paul 1-3 (87-71) vs Shane 2-2 (81-77)
Paul is 13-7 all time vs Shane, and Paul won the last matchup.
Paul has had a rough start to the season, but he normally gets back on track and finishes in the playoffs. Will he do it again? Shane’s squad gets Cam Newton back from a bye, but his weakness at RB with Adrian Peterson on a bye is significant. Paul is catching Shane on the right week, and will win the matchup.

Josh M 1-3 (28-18) vs Wendell 2-2 (88-70)
Josh is 3-2 vs Wendell all time, with a 2 game winning streak.
Wendell has some serious bye week problems at RB, plus an unoriginal team name. Josh M has decided to start the season, so watch out. Josh will climb up to 2-3.

Rob 2-2 (64-94) vs Chris 2-2 (70-88)
Chris leads 11-9 all time, but Rob won the most recent game.
Chris has some RB problems and injuries at WR, but Rob has severe bye week problems. This will likely be to lowest scoring matchup of the week, but look for Rob to pull out the cheap win.

Matt 3-1 (29-17) vs Josh V 2-2 (79-79)
Matt leads 5-1 all-time, but Josh V won the last meeting.
Matt’s Eagles have a great matchup against the Giants. Will that be enough to take the win? Josh V is at full strength as well, but Matt’s best is better than Josh’s best this season. Matt will win easily and move to 4-1.

Michael 3-1 (79-79) vs Greg 2-2 (77-81)
Michael leads the series 16-5 all time, and won the last two matchups.
Michael has dominated the historical series and holds a big edge in projected points. Meanwhile, Greg has some matchups problems and injury issues. This one is easy, Michael will move to 4-1.  

How to draft your team, not a team.

Before starting any fantasy football analysis, we need to start at the beginning and ask a simple question: What is your goal?  If your goal is to win your league, what does that mean?  It might mean to make the playoffs, then win the playoffs.  It might mean to win the regular season, with playoff success as a bonus.  My assumption is that to win a standard league, you need to make the playoffs then win the playoffs.  That means 8 wins, plus wins in weeks 15 and 16.  That’s the goal: 8 wins, plus two.  Throughout draft prep and the season, think about this goal first.

The most important event of the fantasy season is the draft. That's no secret. You can make shrewd trades or pick up a stud off the waiver wire, but those moves only supplement what you have already rostered during the draft.

There are lots of tools that will help you win a draft. Do enough mocks, and you will become good at mock drafting. But most of us are not in a hundred leagues we care about equally, we have one league we care about more than any other. So the problem is not winning a draft, the problem is winning your draft.

Do enough mocks, and you settle into a pattern. You find the same sleepers every time. And that's fine if your goal is to be better than average over a large number of drafts. But if your goal is to win one particular draft, mocks don't help.

To win one particular draft, you need several tools. Some of these are available on various fantasy sites, some you will have to do yourself. Consider it training camp.

1. A comprehensive draft sheet

I will not call it a "cheat sheet", because typical cheat sheets are woefully inadequate. This needs to be a page with tiered positions, point projections per tier, and tier round ranges.

2. A schedule strength sheet

Think about your goal: win enough weeks to make the playoffs, then win the playoffs. To make the playoffs you need 8 wins. So what you need to know during the draft is what those 8 weeks are, so you can optimize. Listing byes doesn't cut it.

3. A late-round streaming guide for each position.

You don't necessarily know which position you will be short on, if you are value-drafting. So make sure you know how to stream QBs or TEs or your third WR if you need to. Don't wait on RBs, streaming them isn't pretty.

First, the draft sheet.  A typical “cheat sheet” has a list of players at each position, with a bye week next to each name.  Can this be less helpful?  I prefer to vomit into a bucket and use that instead.

Any self-respecting draft sheet has tiers; players in groups of like-valued players.  For instance, Calvin Johnson and AJ Green might make up your WR Tier 1 (or WR1, as I’ll be using), while Brandon Marshall and Dez Bryant are in your Tier 2 (WR2).  This is better, but still inadequate to differentiate ourselves from our drafting opponents.  And importantly, this is as far or farther than nearly every out-of-the-box “cheat sheet” will go.

So we need a next step.  We need to keep in mind our Goal.  Let’s say we are sitting in round 4, and you have rostered three guys.  You have 5 guys left in a tier of WRs to choose from.  Which of those WRs will help your specific roster the most?  This isn’t about covering byes, it is about optimizing your lineup to win 8 weeks.  What additional info do we need to achieve this goal?

Basically, we need to quickly know what our strongest and weakest weeks are as we are drafting.  The info needs to be quick and clear, and it needs to change as players are added to the roster.  And it needs to show how adding certain players would affect it.  In the end, we should have maximized our odds of winning 8 weeks, plus the playoff weeks of course.

The first step is to take a look at the playoff weeks and eliminate some teams.  There’s no way to know how good defenses are going to be by the end of the season, but instead of predicting a top ten we can reasonably predict a couple teams to stay away from.  In the past 4 years, only 2 teams have finished in the top 2 of scoring defense, then outside of the top ten the following season: the 2010 Cowboys and 2011 Packers.  But those teams weren’t supposed to be good in those years; a drop-off was expected for each, though not as drastic as what occurred.  The top two scoring defenses in 2012 were Seattle and San Francisco, and both are expected to be excellent again.  So in the interests of winning in the playoff weeks, we should avoid players on the Giants (Sea Week 15) and Bucs (SF Week 15), and especially the Cardinals (@Sea Week 16) and Falcons (@SF Week 16).  Another options would be to draft those players but ultimately trade them prior to the playoffs, but the point stands: those teams face tough matchups in must-win weeks, so they should not be on our rosters for those weeks.  This is great info to use if you are debating between Roddy White, Larry Fitzgerald, and Dez Bryant (GB Week 15, @Was Week 16).

The first draft pick sets the tone for which weeks will make up your 8 wins.  If you select Adrian Peterson, you should expect to win Weeks 1 and 9 (@Det, @Dal), and he give you potentially a good matchup in the playoffs’ first round (home against Philly).  But his bye is Week 5, and he has tough matchups in weeks 2, 4, 11, 13, and 14, plus the potential super bowl week 16 (@Cincy).  So after drafting Peterson, your priority in subsequent rounds should be to strengthen at least one of the five weeks in which Peterson has tough matchups or a bye, without sacrificing any of the weeks where Peterson has more neutral matchups.  You may value Cam Newton or other Panthers a bit more, because they have favorable matchups in weeks 2, 13, and 14 to cover weaknesses in Peterson’s schedule, and it may help you solidify weeks 4 and 11 as weeks you don’t care about and won’t optimize for.  Panthers and Packers have week 4 byes; Cowboys and Rams have week 11 byes.  All else being equal, you should move players from those teams up in their tiers because they are more valuable to your team.

Knowing what weeks are your strongest and weakest has an added benefit.  Say you lose your first week.  No problem, right?  It’s a long season.  Then you lose your second week.  Is it time to panic?  If you know your weekly strengths and weaknesses, and the first two weeks were your strongest, then yes it is time to panic.  Have a firesale!  But if the first two week were your weakest, then hold on for a while longer.  It’s the fantasy equivalent of losing road games in the NBA playoffs: the season doesn’t start until you lose a strong week or win a weak one.

This is all great, but how do you determine what is a strong week versus a weak week?  This is where some personal investigation is needed, based on league scoring settings and history.  In my league, we have had the same scoring settings for the past three years, so I can easily determine what the average point total is that puts me in the upper half of weekly scoring, meaning I have a greater chance of winning the week than losing it (this all depends on opponent, which is uncontrollable; I’m talking probabilities here).  For simplicity, let’s say that the weekly tipping point is 100 points.  Score 100 every week, and you will score more than at least 5 of your leaguemates in a 10-team league, and possibly less than 4, which amounts to at least a 56% chance of victory, which over the course of the season means at least 7.8 wins.  So 100 points should be your target per week.

And how to get there?  That is where the point projections per tier come in.  Let’s say I attach 10 points to my WR2 tier.  My next step is to define up to ten defenses that I believe will be the best scoring defenses and up to ten that will be the worst.  To take it a step further, I could define them based on position, and have different lists for RBs versus QB/WRs.  Then I look at the NFL schedule, and for each time a player has a tough matchup I subtracts 2 points for that week, and for each time they have a good matchup, I add 2 points.  Using a spreadsheet, I can quickly add the columns from the players I draft (or players I might draft) to see what my totals are for each week.  I can use placeholders for kicker and defense, since of course I’m waiting until the end to draft them, and easily see what my 8 win weeks are, and which ones I need to augment.  Late in the draft, when choosing backups and filling out the roster, I can make educated decisions about which players will help my team the most, not just some generic team.

 

It takes some work, but it personalizes your team like no other method.  In addition, it gives you benchmarks to measure your team during the season.  As defenses reveal themselves to be great (or terrible), you can adjust your projected scores and evaluate trades based on getting you the points to reach 8 wins, and then set yourself up to succeed in the playoffs.  That the goal, after all.

 

 

 

2-QB Rules

As always when starting out with a league, you need to know the rules. Three years ago, when we expanded from 8 to 10 teams, my first and only priority was to make rules that preserved our ability to be a 2-QB league, because playing in a 1-QB league makes by far the most important position comically unimportant. With no more than 6 NFL teams on a bye in a week, there are always at least 26 starting QBs playing each week, which is enough for everyone to fill out their roster every week.

But not by much. My concern was that someone (perhaps me) would hoard quarterbacks and lead to situations where guys were playing QBs who didn't even start, or just leave the slot empty for the week. Fantasy Football is about fun, and it is no fun to get stuck in a corner with no way out except through extortion-type trades. I stepped up to become commissioner for the sole purpose of making the 2-QB system work in a 10-team league.

So our first solution: When you roster a QB, no one else can roster a QB from that team, and you have first right to pick up the backup if the starter is replaced or gets hurt. That season, this came into play when Michael Vick got hurt (I know, shocking). Other owners were not allowed to roster the backup, I believe it was Kevin Kolb at the time, until the Vick owner decided not to. Deadline was Tuesday at noon, and the Vick owner decided to drop Vick and grab Kolb. The rule served as basically an extra roster spot, and it required a lot of oversight.  While it worked okay, I didn't like it.

Our second solution: No team can roster more than 3 QBs, ever.  This is pretty straightforward, but again it required a lot of oversight by me to make sure nobody was sneaking extra QBs onto their roster. It had the benefit of ensuring that at least 2 NFL starting QBs were in the free agent pool at all times. But due to the oversight, and to the fact that no one likes roster restrictions, it didn't really work.

Our third solution: No team can draft more than 3 QBs, but after the draft there are no roster restrictions.  This one worked well.  There was a little oversight during the draft; I would announce when a team couldn't draft anymore QBs, so whomever drafted the 30th could wait until the last round (which no one had a problem with).  But once the draft ended, there was no more oversight required, and coaches didn't have to remember any roster-restrictive rules.  The downside was that in midseason there was an instance, maybe two, of a coach who didn't have a playing QB on his roster and the free agent pool was bone dry.  But in the end, it was that coach's fault for not thinking ahead (or it was his strategy of tanking for a week in favor of being stronger for the rest).

Another added benefit: since the scenario of a coach spamming QB picks during the draft was removed, coaches didn't have to worry as much about getting stuck with the dregs.  Therefore, QB picks didn't dominate the first three rounds like they do in so many 2-QB 10+ team leagues.  There was actually positional balance among the picks, which made for a very exciting and unpredictable draft (which are the most fun, of course).

Since I'm a tinkerer, I am pondering new rules surrounding the QBs for this season. Maybe we drop a bench spot from 6 to 5, so it is more likely a QB can be found in the FA pool.  Maybe we nerf the QB scoring further (its already only 4-per-td, 1-per-30-yards, -2-per-int).  Maybe we beef up the other positions by adding a half-point per reception.  My goal is for the positional scoring to be relatively even at the end of the year, which implies that there are multiple strategies to win.  In too many 2-QB leagues, QBs are the be-all, end-all.  If you don't finish near the top in QB scoring, you won't win.  I hate that.  I want a league where you can finish near the bottom of QB (or any position) scoring, but still win because the other positions are just as important.  This happened last season: our champion finished 8th in QB scoring, but 1st in RB and WR scoring and won the Boz Cup.

2-QB leagues are the most fun because each week you have not one but two guys starting on your team who play the most important position in football, and so does your opponent.  It makes watching the games each week that much more fun, because more games matter.  You wouldn't watch a Browns game because you are starting Greg Little.  But you would watch it if you are starting Brandon Weeden  (God help me, I started Weeden a few times last season....and he wasn't bad).

But if you are in a 2-QB league, and Brandon Weeden is getting drafted ahead of Trent Richardson?  Then your commissioner is failing, in my humble opinion.  No one position should dominate the others.  So mind your rules!

Back

The last post in this blog was by me in 2008.  Even then I was the only one of us posting (or even viewing) the blog, so I suppose it stands to reason that I would come back to it first.  Those were heady days in 2008: my fantasy squad, despite the steep mountain to climb, did come back and win our league by a microscopic 6-point margin in the tiebreaker.  It was the best moment of my life (was, since now I am married, hi honey!).

Since then we expanded our league to 10.  Embarrassingly, in each of the three seasons since, one of the new coaches has won each time.  But fantasy football remains a highlight every year.

As for this year, I'm going to attempt to make posts about my draft preparation.  We do a 2-QB 10-team league.  I highly recommend 2-QB leagues, to the point where I don't understand why anyone would prefer the standard format, and having dealt with drafting for 2-QB leagues for so long, I feel it is time to put my thoughts down in writing (typing?).  Anyone can adjust their regular fantasy rankings and shit out a 2-QB draft strategy.  But when your only league is 2-QB, and every thought all offseason occurs in the 2-QB framework, then I believe more insight can be reached.  Guess what: the answer is not to move QBs up a round from a regular rankings list.  That advice is embarrassingly lazy.  Better advice would be to remove the names from your cheat sheet, instead make rankings based on your point projections, and draft that way (I'll take WR-10pt in round 3 please).

Yes We Can!

Three games out of first in the standings and nearly one hundred points behind in the total points tie-breaker, it would seem that my fantasy football team is dead. Some say that my team and I can't come back from such a deficit. But I say, Yes We Can! Change is coming to the Boz Cup standings, whether the fat cats like it or not.

John McCain's convention

Just a quick political rant because I don't have enough outlets:

The John McCain for President campaign has spent the entire time from primary season until last week saying that Barack Obama is too inexperienced and unqualified to be president. McCain himself has said on several occasions that the #1 qualification for his pick for vice president would be the ability to step in on day one and be president in the midst of a crisis (and the vice president having to step in for the president certainly qualifies as a "crisis", in no other circumstance would that happen). He even replays Hillary Clinton's primary commercials about the 3am phone call in the White House. In addition, he touts his himself as a man who puts his country first.

By all accounts, he wanted Joe Liebermann as his running mate. But the republican right wing balked at that idea, so McCain succumbed to right wing pressure and chose Sarah Palin.

What does this say about John McCain? Many things:
- he is willing to succumb to pressure from the far right wing, who oppose bi-partisanship of any kind.
- he is willing to put his campaign before his country by nominating someone who is deeply and obviously unqualified to be president, which contradicts his stated requirements.
- he is willing to roll the dice with a woman he only met one time, in the event that he cannot complete his term. Remember, he would be the oldest person to ever be elected to a first term, and he has had skin cancer recur four times.
- he is apt to panic and make rash, not-well-thought-out decisions based on his gut. Sarah Palin was not vetted by his team prior to her selection (how else to explain Palin's daughter's pregnancy announced on a random blog rather than by the candidate herself?). Only afterwards did a team of McCain's lawyer head to Alaska to begin the process.
- his rhetoric about Obama's experience was all for political gain. Palin can't hold a candle to Obama's experience, but she has no qualms about denigrating anyone who volunteers to serve their community as an organizer like Obama did at the age of 24, before he went to law school.
- he says the safety of American is the most pressing issue we face, yet would entrust that safety to someone with zero foreign policy experience.
- he chose Palin despite her saying that she didn't know what the vice president did, in an interview earlier this year.
- he doesn't care about completely contradicting himself.

Consider the last point:
- McCain says he values experience in governing: Palin was elected as a "city" council member and mayor of the "city" of Wasilla, Alaska: population 6,500, by attracting 900 votes. She was elected governor of Alaska in 2006 with 115,000 votes (less than 50% of the total). 20 months of governing one of the least-populous states does not qualify one to be president, male or female. The republican leader of the Alaskan state senate said that Palin isn't even qualified to be governor, much less vp or president.
- McCain says he is a moderate. Palin believes creationism should be taught in public schools, that abortion should be illegal even in cases of rape and incest (the only exception being when the mother's life is in danger), and doesn't believe the earth is warming despite the northern part of her very own state melting away in to the Arctic Ocean.
- McCain says he is anti-pork. While mayor of the pop. 6,500 town of Wasilla, Palin secured $27 million(!) of funds for the town via pork in Washington DC. And while running for governor, she was for the so-called Bridge to Nowhere. She now says she has always been against it, but there are public statements from her that prove otherwise. In any event, when Alaska got the money for the project she canceled the bridge but kept our tax dollars for various other projects in Alaska.
- McCain voted against the 2001 Bush tax cuts saying they were unfairly slanted towards the wealthy. He was right: in the past 8 years the only Americans who have benefited economically are the rich, also known as the same people who received those tax breaks. Now, he not only supports those tax cuts despite the evidence but he supports making them permanent, and even advocates more tax cuts for the wealthy.
- McCain helped author campaign finance legislation, legislation that despite the fact he wrote it he no longer supports.
- McCain helped author the immigration compromise bill supported by democrats and even President Bush, but now says that he opposes that bill (again, even though he helped write it) and would not vote for it if it came to a vote in the US Senate.

Despite these examples, McCain calls himself a "straight-talker".

Instead of running a candidate, I think the republican party should just abstain from this election and apologize to America for the corruption and mind-blowing incompetence of the last 8 years. But alas, we'll just have to vote for Obama instead.

Four #1 Seeds in the Final Four is Boring

On the surface, it may seem exciting that all four #1 seeds made it into the Final Four. UCLA, Memphis, Kansas, and North Carolina. Four high-profile programs with legitimate shots to win it all. So why is no one excited about it? Because it is boring.

Remember George Mason? Remember how exciting it was to watch them knowing full well that they were going to get their asses kicked by a better team? That was gripping drama. Why? Because everyone knew they were going to lose.

Hear me out. The most exciting games are those in which one team is assured of victory, and then somehow magically they get upended. The NCAA tournament is always about upsets. We will still remember Western Kentucky's amazing buzzer-beating and Davidson's great run long after we forget who actually wins it all this year. Who won the year Valpo's Bryce Drew made his miracle shot? Does anyone care?

Since no team left can claim the mantle of 'underdog', nobody cares who wins anymore. The only way to make the Final Four entertaining is to drink every time Tyler Hansborough doesn't take a play off. Or get invited to Matt Leinart's Final Four party.

"And you will know his name is Locker, when he lays his vengeance upon thee"

"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil players. Blessed is the Locker, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for Locker is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And he will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy his brothers. And you will know his name is Locker when he lays his vengeance upon thee."

*did we ever get a consensus on our God Locker shirts? "Locker 3:16" on the front, "Say your prayers" on the back.

*"For God so loved the world that he gave his only son to play quarterback for the Huskies."
Showing his infinite mercy in not sending him to Pullman

*I'd love to see a poster or banner with Locker throwing a pass while standing on water.

*"And Locker put his hand in his bag, and took thence a pigskin, and slang it, and smote the Trojan in his forehead, that the pigskin sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. So Locker prevailed over the Trojan with a pigskin and a pair of cleats, and smote the trojan, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of Locker." 1 Samuel 17:49-50

*"I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Locker." Amos 4:11

*Ahhh, now this is a conversation that could only happen during football season!
In the beginning, when Locker came to campus, the Husky football program was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss while a mighty wind swept over the waters. Then Locker said "Let there be wins." And so it happened: the Husky football program brought forth every kind of win that bears satisfaction and every kind of victory that causes grown men to cry. Locker saw how good this was.

*Maybe we should all grow beards, and wear sandals and purple togas with Locker's name across the back. And then prstelitize across the Syracuse campus.

*So the Husky fans shouted when Locker blew his trumpet: and it came to pass, when the Husky fans heard the sound of the trumpet, and the Husky fans shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the Husky fans went up into Pullman, every man straight before him, and they took the town. And they utterly destroyed all that was in Pullman, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of a sword. Joshua 6:20-21

The Summer of our Discontent

Thank the good lord that football season is nearly upon us. The dearth of entertainment from WUWS has reached epic proportions, but, in our defense, what the hell are we supposed to write about? Summer league NBA basketball? Tennis? Golf? Baseball? Don't be ridiculous.

So I'm going to officially open football season with an extensive dissertation on first round fantasy football draft strategy. Many fools posing as seers delve into this highly complicated topic. Some people will tell you to draft Joseph Addai before Peyton Manning. But what if your league starts two quarterbacks, like any self-respecting league should? Honestly, in your single-quarterback leagues, does it really make sense to draft Tom Brady in the 5th round right after Maurice Morris? How much fun is that?

But I digress; on to the good stuff! We at WUWS are in a league that I have seemingly sucked at but secretly been sand-bagging for the last several years, waiting for my league-mates to approach my massive intellectual reservior of NFL knowledge. So here is my first round strategy: draft LaDainian Tomlinson.

I know, I know. But hear me out. Choosing Tomlinson on the surface gives me a good chance to be competitive in the league, but I'm a smart and clever enough drafter to make other choices that ensure I do not contend. But not choosing Tomlinson would make it too obvious that I'm sand-bagging it, and my league-mates might demand that I begin trying and possibly even declare the last several seasons as tainted and retroactively make me the champion. I'd feel bad if they scratched their names off our trophy and replaced them with mine. It would strain our friendships, and that's not good for anyone.

But here lies the beauty in the selection: every draft you essentially try to figure out the order of the following year's draft. On my team, I want to have next season's #1 draft pick because it would mean that I had the guy with the best season, assuming I was trying to win the league, which I'm not. So how often has a player been the consensus #1 pick two years in a row? Not often. So in choosing Tomlinson, even though he's a great player, I'm almost guaranteed not to get #1 pick production from him. If he gets hurt, then I can really play up the sand-bagging and make everyone feel sorry for me. I had the foresight to do this last season by drafting Shaun Alexander. I knew perfectly well that LT had scored more fantasy points the previous season, despite not setting the touchdown record like Alexander did, but I took Shaun instead. Perfectly defensible to my league-mates, even though it was a sand-bagger's choice. I've become really good at this.

So, in conclusion, the best first round draft strategy is to draft LaDainian Tomlinson. Oh yeah, I have the #1 pick. Like I give a crap about the other slots.

Theismann's a Retard - Part I of an Infinitely Long Series

Alright, so, I was hoping that I could wait till June 25 just to show that the WUWS crew can actually go a full month without a single post. Some loyal readers are finding it difficult to justify a WUWS bookmark when 9 out of 10 times, er, 29 out of 30 times there isn't anything new to read. Well, for those of you having trouble seeing the forest with all these trees in the way, let me help you understand why this is. 2 reasons, really:

(1) quality vs. quantity - note that during every article you've ever read on WUWS, you found yourself muttering, "my god, this is the best fucking thing that I have ever read!!", or, "it's like GoStrider! knows exactly who I am, where I'm coming from, and how I feel right this fucking minute when he tells me about why the Bears didn't need Thomas Jones", or, "I did the math, and I must have made a mistake, but the number of hits on this site come up just short of each contributor visiting it once per day, but man, is it good!"

(2) We at WUWS are determined to be unaffected by the 24-hour news cycle that has done so much damage to the quality of media, today. In protest, not only will we only report on issues that need, neigh, demand to be reported, we will actually neglect to report on most of those, as well. This story is case in point: on an almost daily basis, Theismann does something worthy of a next installment, yet this is the first! With a fantastically designed system of pulleys and levers, we are moving that pendulum back to the center with very little effort. Brilliant!

Theismann's a Retard - Ultimate Depth Chart: NFC North

"The big question mark for this team is at running back: Can the Bears be as successful with Cedric Benson as the lone ball carrier?"

So, as a Bears fan, I am biased, but this is a legitimately retarded thing to say. Why? While Thomas Jones was the Bears' leading rusher, last year, his leadership in the locker room and on the field, in my mind, did more harm than good. Thomas was so popular with teammates that the defense went out of their way to punish Cedric Benson in preseason drills, putting him out for multiple games with a shoulder injury. That absence cemented Jones as the starter while Benson was clearly the stronger, much stronger, back. Benson's a battering ram, and I fully expect 2007 to propel him past his career 4.1 yds/carry and into the upper echelon of fantasy backs and do it while punishing the hell out of defenses. Also, backing him up, we've got the real Adrian Peterson with his career 4.7 yds/carry and Garrett Wolfe with his NCAA-high 1,900 rushing yards while averaging nearly 157 yards per game wit the Northwestern Wildcats, last year, will add some different looks and a spark in the receiving game.

Now, if you're not convinced, here's another, maybe more convincing, quote:

"If he gets time, Favre is still one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the league."

A day late and a dollar short for Osama bin Dunkin

The NCAA just announced that they're moving the 3 pt line back. If only this would have happened five years ago, our IMA teams would have been unstoppable.

NBA Lottery Running Diary

NBA Lottery drawing 2007! The excitement! The drama! The ineptitude! The culmination of a season's worth of tanking!

The big prize, of course, is Greg Oden. Anyone who takes Kevin Durant over Oden is automatically the worst of the already distiguished group of horrendous General Managers we have assembled. Let's see what transpired....

5:24 Fred Hickman begins a nice montage about getting better through drafting in the lottery. Can Memphis become San Antonio? No chance.

5:25 The Hornets DO have fans. Now I have visual proof.

5:27 Good God, that's a big matrix on the wall of the drawing room. We have computers now, is that thing really necessary?

5:28 Greg Anthony's take on who has the most at stake? Boston and New York. Thanks for coming out, Greg.

5:29 Kevin Garnett is a "perimeter big man"? Was that a back-handed compliment to Durant by Jay Bilas?

5:31 A Patrick Ewing sighting! He played for the Sonics! Is it a sign?

5:32 I just realized that this is going to take an entire half hour. Ugh. This is worse than Deal or No Deal.

5:35 More playoff coverage. BO-RING!

5:38 David Stern defends his suspension decision. Here's a question that won't be asked: how's that Utah vs. San Antonio series working out for you?

5:40 Does Bernie Tolbert really have to just stand there to protect the envelopes? Is that his entire job, all year long?

5:42 And for dinner? Jambalaya. Good omen for New Orleans? Only time will tell.

5:43 And now for the best part: bad GM row call!

5:44 I'd like to take a moment to point out that the Sonics don't have a coach OR a GM right now.

5:45 Could Brandon Roy play with Greg Oden? After the Sonics move to Oklahoma City, that might be enough to convince me to check NBA box scores every once in a while.

5:46 Here we go!

5:46 No love for New Orleans from my jambalaya. It figures, because the jambalaya sucks. I'm a bad cook.

5:46 No changes yet. Go Sonics!

5:47 So intense! SHUT UP HICKMAN!

5:47 Portland moves up!

5:47 SEATTLE MOVES UP!!! OH MY GOD!!!

5:48 Dammit, here's the Deal or No Deal moment.

5:50 Frantic emails and text messages to and from friends later, I'm deciding what to promise God in exchange for Greg Oden. Community service? My first born?

5:51 Number 1 or 2! Wowowowowow!

5:51 Kevin Durant baby! And Brandon Roy gets to play with Oden. What luck!

5:53 Look at Brandon Roy. What a guy. With Greg Oden, Brandon Roy's career arc takes him to Hall of Fame level. It all started right now.

5:54 Is Rashard Lewis gone from Seattle now? I say yes. Sign and trade maybe?

5:55 Fred Hickman: "it's a great day for all of these teams". Really? I'm pretty sure Memphis and Boston fans think it sucks.

5:57 Jon Barry suggests that the Blazers should trade the pick for veterans. Sounds like NBA GM material to me. The Sonics have an opening....

6:00 And now back to playoff basketball, and time to turn off the TV. Big day for the Pacific Northwest. Take that, East Coast bias!

David Stern Hates Us

David Stern hates NBA fans. That's the only logical conclusion that can be made after he 1) suspends two of the best players on the most fun to watch team in the NBA for essentially doing nothing at all, and 2) laughs and jokes about it afterwards.

When asked who was at fault, the Dictator Commish pointed his finger at the Phoenix Suns. It is Amare Stoudamire and Boris Diaw's fault they momentarily left the bench, then went back immediately. A momentary lapse of reason, rectified before any harm was done. For that, the series gets handed to San Antonio. That the Spurs nearly refused the tremendous gift of a road victory is beside the point: David Stern threw an important NBA series because he deemed it more important to enforce the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law.

And in response to valid criticism from Dan Patrick, he jokes about building a fence around the bench or hiring more assistant coaches to contain the players. Maybe a fence should be built around Mr. Stern's ego. Strict enforcement of a bad rule is not just, strong, or courageous. In fact, it is cowardly. The courageous act would be to bend the rule due to circumstances, after realizing that strict enforcement would essentially reward Robert Horry's cheap shot. Instead, Stern hides behind the rule and attempts to deflect blame to the players. Their crime? Being unable to contain their human emotions for about 3 seconds, during which time nothing happened. NBA fans may be gluttons for punishment, but we are not stupid enough to buy the Dic. Commish's grandstanding.

So who ultimately loses? We do. The fans. Even Spurs fans, who if they win a title will have it tainted by this controversy. Thanks, David Stern, for ruining and forever tainting what could have been an all-time great series. Some people will believe that you fixed the series, but the truth is that you don't give a damn who wins or loses as long as the league makes money. And you know all too well that for every hardcore American fan, who has followed the NBA since birth, that you lose due to shenanigans like this, there are three more European and Chinese fans ready to take their place. The NBA has gone global, which is why you don't care whether a franchise is in Seattle or Oklahoma City.

In the meantime, try to hide your contempt for the fans a little better.

Why Dallas Lost.

Much has been said about Dallas' horrific performance against Golden State in the first round of the NBA playoffs, but nothing much needs to be said. We can dissect whether or not Dirk Nowitzki is a true superstar or not, or whether Jason Terry is an adequate second fiddle, but none of that speaks to the heart of the matter. The bottom line is this: Golden State was the more confident team.

How did they get that confidence? Well, for one thing they beat Dallas twice during the regular season, once handily, going into their late-season matchup on April 17th. At that time, Golden State was fighting for their playoff lives while Dallas had clinched everything they wanted to clinch. So what happened? Avery Johnson rested his starters and Golden State thrashed them. The next day, Avery played his starters again in a mashing Oklahoma City Sonics, while Golden State throttled Portland to secure the 8th seed.

What a horrible mistake. First of all, Avery Johnson should have known from previous meetings that his team didn't matchup well with the Warriors, and further that Don Nelson would know his gameplan. Avery should have done everything he could to knock the Warriors out of the playoffs when they had the chance. Secondly, playing your starters the day after resting them against a possible playoff opponent is idiotic. What happened to sending a message? Forget about the fact that resting players before the playoffs is highly overrated, Avery essentially told Nelson's crew that he was afraid of them.

Then, as we all know, Avery changed his starting lineup before Game 1. Yes, the 67-win #1 seed changed to matchup against the barely-made-it-in 8th seed. The series was over at that point. Golden State had all the confidence it could ever need, and confidence is the single most valuable commodity in basketball. Does anyone think that Baron Davis makes so many shots without a fundamental confidence that his team was going to win? Or Matt Barnes would become a good NBA player? No chance.

Nowitzki did not step up like superstars sometimes do, but even superstars can't alone stem the tide of a confident team attacking them. The blame must fall on Avery Johnson for allowing the Warriors to gain that confidence in the first place. Coaches rarely win a series, but in this case a coach lost one.

UW Players in Trouble Again! Arrested!

University of Washington basketball player Artem Wallace was taken into police custody early Sunday morning on suspicion of being involved in a hit-and-run car accident on Alki Avenue.
Wallace, a 6-foot-8 reserve forward who recently completed his sophomore season at UW, was one of two suspects investigated and then released following an incident at around 1:30 a.m. Sunday. No charges have yet been filed.
A police report stated that a car hit a motorcyclist from behind on Alki Avenue SW. The motorcycle then hit a parked car and the rider fell off.
The vehicle that struck the motorcyclist sped off without stopping to render aid or exchange information, according to a witness quoted in the police report. The witness reported that the vehicle, a 1996 Acura Integra, then lost control about a block north and hit a parked car.
Witnesses described two men opening the trunk of the car and placing several items into a backpack, and putting the backpack in nearby bushes before running off. The backpack was later discovered, and contained several beers and bottles of alcohol, according to the report.
Two police officers arrived soon after the men left the scene of the accident and saw them running north on Alki. When the police officers got out of their car and ordered the two to stop, the pair continued to run before being caught and placed in custody.
The police report described both men as "extremely intoxicated."
Each denied driving the vehicle and none of the witnesses were able to see who had been driving, the report said. The suspects were taken to the Southwest Precinct, identified and released.
UW coach Lorenzo Romar was not available for comment this morning. UW officials said only that they knew of an incident involving Wallace and were still investigating.
Wallace has been primarily a reserve for UW the past two seasons but did start seven games, most coming at the midway point of last season. He averaged 2.4 points. He scored a career-high of 12 points in a loss at Arizona and finished the season with one of his best games, scoring 10 points in the Pac-10 Tournament loss to Washington State. Wallace graduated from Toledo High School after moving from Russia.

c'mon, everybody's got an evan

WUWS post 18 - live from the Derby

This is the best. If you are my friends, you will join Phil and i someday - 10 days notice or more!

Saw Jordan and entourage, and Starr Jones and pimp. Not winning shit, scratch horses are my uncle.

Infield is like a State Fair, even your Evan could get laid.

Mayweather in 10 rounds!

-Aquaman (and Aquachick)