Fantasy CPR - A Fantasy Sports blog for news, rumors, and updates on all Fantasy Sports

This Friday streak board features soccer and golf early, and basketball from both college and the pros to close out the day. There’s some intriguing matchups on the board and as we come to the end of the month it’s time to put your foot on the gas and get as many good picks as you can for the next 4 days before entries reset.

Yesterday I won 2 and lost the middle one when NC State couldn’t keep it close with the Tar Heels. Thankfully CP3, Blake, and tough juice (Caron Butler) were able to hold off the Grizzlies with a little help from Mo Williams to get me back in the green. Here’s where I’m headed today:

Steph Curry and Kevin Durant face each other again tonight in Oakland (like in this photo from February). Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

11:40-Kevin Streelman win or tie: Another 9 hole prop, another time I’ll take the tie since I’m on a short streak. So far it hasn’t let me down… Over just 9 holes the tie is a big factor in giving that side the green the vast majority of the time.

7:00-Iona: The Gaels sit in a tie atop the MAAC coming into this one and boast one of the most efficient offenses in the country. In fact, they rank #1 in the nation in assists per game and #2 in points per game. They’ve broken 100 three times this year and have hit at least 70 in 17 of their first 20 games. Their coming off a road loss to Sienna where they let up at the end. That could be demoralizing, but I think instead it’ll motivate them to take out their conference rival Stags as they try to regain 1st place. Fairfield is 10-9 and 5-3 in conference with one of those conference losses coming at home. They hung with UCONN just before Christmas, so they’re no pushover. I still think Iona is the best early pick though, and I’ll be taking them to hopefully get to a W3.

10:30-Oklahoma City: This isn’t as much of a gimme as the 98% of people taking OKC (at time of writing) would seem to indicate. The Warriors are tough at the Oracles and Stephen Curry is back and played awesome last time out. It’s no for sure bet, but I try to take the best team in the NBA when it’s available in a head-to-head anytime I can. It should be an exciting game to watch and I always love cheering for the Thunder. Besides by beloved Celtics, they’re my favorite team to watch and I’ll be pulling for them tonight on the left coast.

Current Streak: W1

Record for the Month: 45-35-2

As we continue to move toward the upcoming NFL draft, there are plenty of rumors flying around as to who’s going where. The Senior Bowl this week helped a number of players stock, while others were hurt by poor performance. The top of the draft remains largely unaffected, but the middle and end of the first round are much more fluid.

Luck looks to be the #1 pick, but will be be the #1 QB in Indy? Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-US PRESSWIRE

Last year proved that the draft can have a huge immediate impact in the NFL as well as in fantasy leagues. Cam Newton, AJ Green, Julio Jones, Mark Ingram, and Andy Dalton tore it up in year one and instantly became fantasy factors. So who will emerge this year?

In this mock, we’ll just do the first round, but I will try and expand to first 2 or 3 in a later version as more information becomes available and the overall picture becomes clearer. Since this is a site dedicated to fantasy sports, a quick analysis of the fantasy impact of the pick is given where applicable.

Each FantasyCPR mock draft is featured in the mock draft databases at WalterFootball.com, DC Pro Sports Report,  Sports Jabber, hailredskins.com and fftoolbox.com. Each site keeps track of a huge number mock drafts all over the web so if you’re a draft junkie there great places to get your info.

Clicking the link for the team will take you to the site on the Fansided network dedicated to that particular team and for daily draft-dedicated coverage visit nflmocks.com and withthefirstpick.com

1. Indianapolis Colts
Andrew Luck-QB-Stanford
Fantasy Impact: Luck’s the most sure pick in the draft. He’s the obvious and correct choice for the Colts. The intriguing part of this pick and the offseason as a whole is what they decide to do with Peyton Manning. It increasingly looks like Indy is ready to part ways with #18. In which case, Luck immediately becomes a QB2 with serious upside. This offense has weapons at receiver and TE that would allow Luck to succeed on some level right away. The new coach is a defensive specialist butLuck’s accuracy should lend itself to a conservative offense that allows for big YAC. He’s got top 12 QB potential even in his rookie year, but there’s a lot of risk making him your QB1. Continue reading this post »

Last night was a TNT spotlight night with only 2 games sandwiched  between the 13-game slate Wednesday in the NBA and tonight’s jam-packed schedule (with 13 games as well). As we head into the weekend, many games in Fantasy Hoops leagues are still up for grabs.With that in mind, not only can you find 5 great, good, and bad performances from last night below, but you can also find the top 5 guys I’d think about adding for the coming weekend to finish week 5 out strong.

Come back tomorrow for the top 10 that I’d add for week 6 as well as a comprehensive look at all the action from the hardwood tonight. Here’s today’s 4 lists of 5:

Paul Pierce gets our MVP-for-a-day for leading the Celtics back from a huge deficit to defeat the Magic in Orlando. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

5 great nights

1. Paul Pierce-Bos: Pierce led the C’s comeback from 27 down in the 2nd quarter and 23 down at halftime. He finished with 24 points, 10 assists, 6 boards, and a block as Boston stormed back to beat the Magic for the 2nd game in a row to get to 8-9 on the year. The Celtics defense looked to be back in this one and if the roll players step up like they did last night, we may not have heard the end of this year’s Celtics…

2. Blake Griffin-LAC: Griffin had 20 points, 9 boards, 8 assists, and 2 blocks for the Clippers as they pulled away late and beat Memphis in LA to get to run their record to 10-6.

3. Marc Gasol-Mem: Gasol had a good game across the board as he pulled in in 11 rebounds to go with his 18 points, 6 assists ,and 2 steals. His Grizzlies (dressed as the old-school Memphis Tams) couldn’t get the job done though as they fell to 10-8 overall and 4-6 on the road.

4. Dwight Howard-Orl: Big Dwight had 16 points and 16 boards after a slow start but finished with a painful +/- of -25 as once again Boston was able to harass and defend him all night long. The loss drops Orlando to 12-6 on the year.

5. Rudy Gay-Mem: Gay hit 9 of his 18 shots from the field while finishing with 3 three’s, 7 boards, 2 assists, a block, and 24 points in Memphis’s road loss. Continue reading this post »

Update: Schiano to the Bucs is reportedly a done deal. He’s got a 5-year deal to turn the Bucs around like he did the Scarlet Knights.

Raheem Morris was fired from the Tampa job after a disappointing season that saw the Bucs lose their last 10 and finish 4-12. That record was good (bad?) enough to secure them the #5 overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Dec. 30, 2011; Bronx, NY, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach Greg Schiano reacts after winning the game against the Iowa State Cyclones at the 2011 Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. Rutgers won 27-13. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

The good draft choice isn’t the only asset the Bucs have as Josh Freeman, LeGarrette Blount, and Mike Williams have shone glimpses of greatness. If Schiano is the hire, it’s a bit of a surprise since Schiano has been at Rutgers since 2001 although there are now reports that he also was a finalist with the St. Louis Rams earlier this off-season.

He was an assistant for the Bears in the 90′s and then became defensive coordinator at Miami University before going to Rutgers. He turned that program around and is a good fit for the Bucs in my opinion.

He’s unproven in the NFL, never having even been a coordinator on the pro level, but his defensive focus and ability to turn around a floundering program (franchise in this case) would seem to make him a nice hire. He’s not a retread, to be sure, and is a bold choice for Bucs management.

As far as the fantasy impact, it’s hard to say for sure since he hasn’t coached on this level but my initial thoughts would be an upgrade to Blount since Schiano likes to run the ball. It also most likely means they’ll go defense with that #5 pick (new Mock Draft coming tomorrow) as Schiano tries to shore up a Bucs defense that struggled mightily during its end of the year swoon.

Today’s a fairly straightup board at ESPN’s Streak for the Cash. If you think you can pick the winners come on over and join our group to show us how it’s done. We’ve had 2 in our group get past 10 this month, but right now everybody’s on a downer. Time to get things turned around…

I lost 2 close ones yesterday with the Clippers getting edged at the end of the 4th by Killer-Kobe and the Lakers and my Villanova-Louisville prop finishing just a point short of the green. Here’s how I’m planning to bounce back in today’s action:

Jan 19, 2012; Raleigh, NC, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack forward C.J. Leslie (5) is guarded by Boston College Eagles center KC Caudill (5) and Boston College Eagles guard Patrick Heckmann (33)during the second half at the RBC Center. The Wolfpack won 76-62. Mandatory Credit: Liz Condo-US PRESSWIRE

11:30-Scott McCarron-win or tie: It’s another 9 hole prop to get us started this morning. It’s astounding how often the “or tie” option gets the win, so any time I’m not W2 or more this is where I’m picking. If McCarron doesn’t get me in the green I’ll go Lazio in the soccer pick, but I’ll hopefully be able to pass on the soccer after I win this first matchup.

7:00-Any Other Result: Basically in this one, I’m picking NC State not to get blown out by North Carolina…The Ole Miss-Florida matchup is fascinating to me, but seems risky since the Rebels cannot shoot the three hardly at all, but picking Florida to go into Oxford by a bunch seems like a stretch as well. Instead, I’m going with any other result in the UNC-NC State game. Rivalry games tend to be close, and the Wolfpack are a solid team. Their only in-conference loss was a strage loss to a Georgia Tech team that hasn’t beaten anyone else in the conference (sorry, no explanation here, just one of those things I guess). The only game NC St. lost by more than 11 was when then-#1 Syracuse beat them by 16 after pulling away late. The Heels will also be in a slightly new rotation with Strickland being gone for the season. The game’s in Chapel Hill so there’s no way I’d pick NC State to win, but I’ll roll with the Wolfpack when I’m getting 15.

10:30-LA Clippers: The Clippers lost a tough one to their rivals the Lakers last night, but with CP3 back I like them to take out their frustration on the visiting Grizz. Memphis has been on a tough road trip and looked weary their last few games. It took a furious rally to beat Golden State and they fell in Portland the night after that. They did rest and recover last night while the Clips struggled and fought (almost literally) it out with the other-LA team. It worries me taking a team on a back-to-back, but the Clippers are a younger team with plenty of energy and I’ll go with them again to close out my streakin’ day.

current streak: L3 (ouch)

record for the month: 43-34-2

Just in case you didn’t have enough of a reason to watch the biggest game of the NFL season, ESPN has debuted a new fantasy mini-game called Super Pickem. I just created the Fantasy CPR group which all our readers are welcome to join. If you think you know what’s going to happen, come show off your powers of prediction by getting the most points in our group.

Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

It’s a pretty straightforward setup with 20 questions about the big game. Questions can be as straightforward as “Which team will win?” or as complex as “Will Manning and Brady both throw an interception?” or as trivial as “Will Madonna play ‘Hung Up’ at halftime?”

Each answer is given a certain “weight” rewarding those who take lesser likely picks with more points. Most are split 5-5 but some are 6-4 and there are a few 7-3. As the game gets closer I’ll give you all of my picks, but go ahead and join the group and get your picks locked and loaded as we get ready to begin Supre Bowl week.

Last night was a 13 game NBA extravaganza and if you loved OD-ing on pro hoops get ready for another major dose on Friday as this compressed schedule offers us another lucky 13 games. Tonight there’s just 2 games on tap as TNT has their Thursday night spotlight, but they’re some good games to watch as the Celtics and Magic square off in Orland and the Grizz visit the Clippers.

There was a little bit of everything last night… There wer upsets by underdogs on the road (Nets over Philly, Pacers over Bulls, Raptors over Jazz, and Bucks over Rockets), there were routes by teams that dominate at home (Thunder over Hornets, Spurs over Hawks), and there were even a win by the hapless Wizards, the formerly hapless Cavaliers, and the never-hapless Lakers.

With all this action we’re going to need 10 lists of 5 to get it all in so here they are:

Jan 25, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams (8) celebrates making the game winning shot in overtime against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center. The Nets defeated the Sixers 97-90 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

5 30+point stars 

1. Deron Williams-NJ: D-will played 48 minutes in the Nets overtime road win in Philly. The Sixers were 8-1 at home coming into the game, but the Nets hung right with them all game then outscored them by 7 in the extra frame. Williams finished with 34 points (highest total of the night by anyone) and 11 assists with 4 rebounds. He gets our MVP-for-a-day Award.

2. Lebron James-Mia: James had 32 points with 6 boards, 7 assists, and 2 steals and hit some big FT’s late to help the Heat win again without Dwyane Wade and get to 13-5 on the year.

3. Stephen Curry-GS: Curry connected on 6 of 8 from downtown while scoring 32 points. He added 7 assists, 4 steals, and 6 boards. He helped the Warriors to get to 6-11 with their win over visiting Portland.

4. Paul Millsap-Uta: Millsap couldn’t prevent the Jazz from falling to 10-6 as they lost in double-OT to the suddenly-hot Raptors. The Jazz were without Al Jefferson which led to an increased role for Millsap. He finished with 31 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a block.

5. Kevin Love-Min: Love had 31 points, 10 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks as he led the Wolves into Dallas where they beat the Dirk-less Mavs to get to 8-10 on the year. Continue reading this post »

Today’s board starts in the Greek Super League before coming through Italy and Spain for some more soccer and then filling up the night with hockey and hoops. There’s a little US soccer and Australian Open sprinkled in as well just for fun.

It was the Australian Open that got me back in the green after Orlando bounced back and beat Indiana in Indiana and snapped my streak in the process. Here’s what I’m plannin’ on pickin’ today:

DeAndre Jordan and the Clippers will face the Lakers in the Battle for LA - part 2. (Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE)

2:45-Inter Milan: This will be a great game in the Coppa Italia Quarterfinals between 2 Serie A teams that have been playing very well. Inter has won 8 in a row while Napoli has lost just 1 of their last 13. They have drawn 6 of those games, though, which isn’t a possibility in this one. It’s a far tougher call than the 96-4 split would indiate, but I’ll go Inter to get the win even on the road. These 2 teams did meet earlier in league play and Napoli won 3-0 over Inter who was down a man for the time that all the goals were scored. I think Inter Milan uses that as motivation and knock Napoli out.

7:00-Villanova win or single digit loss: Louisville hosts Villanova coming off a nice win at Pitt. Since starting hot the Cardinals have struggled losing 5 of their last 8 including losses to Georgetown and ND in Louisville. Villanova has won their last 2, most recently a road with at St John’s in OT. Jay Wright’s teams always seem to step up on the big stage.. The Wildcats haven’t lost a road game to an opponent by double-digits since WVU beat them by 14 all the way back 0n December 28. They’ve hung with Marquette on the road and Cincinnati on the road and I expect them to add the Cards to that list and I do think they’ve got a legit shot at winning this one as well.

10:30-LA Clippers-Neither team played last night and both will be ready to roll at their home arena (although the Lakers are the home team). The Clippers are hoping to have Chris Paul back for this one and my guess is he’ll push himself to come back for the Battle of Los Angeles round 2. The Clips won the first game, despite Kobe going off. The Lakers haven’t broken 100 points in 11 games. The problem for the Lakers is the Clippers can score with the best of them with or without  Chris Paul. Andrew Bynum is the key to this whole game in my opinion and how he and Paul guard Jordan and Griffin. I think the Clips will get it done, partly because I see this year as a changing of the guard in LA, and also becauseit means more to the underdog Clippers than it does to Kobe and the Lakers.

That’ll do it for my day. Hopefully I’ll get some green to show for it.

Current Streak: W1

record for the month: 43-31-2