Yardbarker

This actually started as a response to Austin Waldron’s most recent article posted over on ”Too Many Men On The Site”  http://toomanymenonthesite.com/   My diatribe became long and I felt that the work put into it deserved a little more than keeping it as just a comment. I respect your article Austin, but have a slightly different-and more realistic view of the Kovalchuk scenario and how it will pan out.

I apologize in advance for continuing to beat up a subject that most of us are entirely fed up with.

Ilya Kovalchuk is an elite NHL talent, only just entering his prime. Simply put….he’s money in the bank. He plays injured, stands up for himself and stands up for his teammates.  Relative to the rest of the league, he deserves to be paid in the top 3%. That being said, if he ever wants to win a Stanley Cup or at the very least, play for a competitive team-he needs to check his competitive ego at the door and accept the creative contract LA is undoubtedly offering him. This version of the CBA has a huge loophole that is threatening to be an ugly sticking point in negotiation for the next one. Look no further than Chris Pronger, Henrik Zetterberg and Roberto Luongo to see how Kovy’s home run contract will have to be structured. Heavily front end loaded with ridiculously small numbers through the last several years of the contract-years that it’s doubtful that the player will even be playing……but keeping the cap low enough to benefit the team.

Kovy will BE A BARGAIN when the details of his new contract with LA get out, because this loophole is going to be exploited to the nth degree. Good for him…..good for LA….good for hockey fans……bad for the health of the game long term. When this topic comes up in the next CBA, they’ll probably name the new clause after him, and all prima donnas in the future will curse his name.

The simplest of solutions here would be to have the cap hit match the sum of money that a player is paid on a year-to-year basis. This will stop the long term type of deals I’ve just described. It will promote a more fiscally responsible NHL……and the NHLPA will fight tooth and nail against it. This could very well be the point that causes the next NHL work stoppage.

Make no mistake…..the KHL was never much more than a veiled threat to get the ball rolling in Kovy’s NHL contract solicitation. He’s prime time talent with a marketable image. Gatorade and Buicks baby.

When players of this stature start leaving to play elsewhere, we as North-American hockey fans need to worry. Kovalchuk in the KHL would lend credibility to a league currently in need of it. We don’t want that. We want hockey’s most exciting players right here on our rinks, and our TV sets…..and besides, Kovalchuk knows that coming back to the NHL after an absence of three years or so would damage his marketability beyond repair.

From my perspective, Lombardi and his team recognized early on that Kovalchuk and his wife had their minds set on LA and would be willing to be creative to make a partnership work. It’s nice to see a GM stick to his guns and actually manage a team. Bold prediction and you heard it here first……if Kovalchuk ends up in LA, with a cap hit small enough to allow Lombardi to keep his nucleus intact, the Kings contend for both the President’s Trophy and the Cup. I’m not an LA fan, but isn’t it a frightening proposition to imagine Kovalchuk taking breakout passes from Drew Doughty…….throw Kopitar into the mix on the #1 PP unit and I challenge you to find me a team not from Washington that can touch that kinda talent and fearsomeness. Pray for an announcement soon.

That’s what I have for now. Cheers hockey fans

Artamus R

Back in the saddle after a couple weeks of unfulfilling holidays. We kinda ran outta gas on the UFA signings and even the RFA signings have slowed to a near stop.

Where and when is K-Chuk gonna sign….so we can stop talking about it? We all pretend it’s a big mystery but COME ON! The guys gonna sign in LA and I must say that for the first time in years I’ve been impressed with how a GM is handling a contract negotiation with a prima donna player. Kudos Mr. Lombardi for what you’re doing. Damn straight Kovie wants to play in LA and not Newark. Stick to your guns and don’t offer him anything that results in a cap hit of 7M+. He’ll bite just as soon as he realizes his other options are the dumpsters in Newark and the empty, pitiful seats of Siberia……..Hollywood Hills or ummm…Dumpsters…….California Sun or luke warm borscht……yeeeeea….I’m thinkin’ swimmin’ pools and movie stars baby, and hey, settling for 7M bones per ain’t so bad either unless you’re Lebron James. Pass the sushi.

Let’s see….fantasy relevant news today….

Mikko Koivu signs the home-run contract. Yup. 47 M over 7 years, starting in 2011-12. Makes for a healthy 6.7M cap hit. Congrats to Minnesota GM Chuck Fletcher for getting into the game. “You could argue quite persuasively that he’s the best player to ever play for the Minnesota Wild,” said general manager Chuck Fletcher. Fantastic news for the organization. WOOHOO! Plan the parade……all kidding aside folks, outside of Koivu, Minnesota is a toxic wasteland in the talent department and the future doesn’t look any better…..worse actually. If you’re in a fantasy pool that has even a reasonably tight cap you dont want to own this guy. Unless of course its a really…really deep pool. He was fair value this past season with 71 pts at a 3.7M hit, and he had one of the better plus/minus’ on the team (-2). He holds his own in the PIMs if you use that category. I’d be happy to own him for one more year but if you get the chance, unload his 6.7M dollar asterisk before next season.

Notable non-news : Yeah……let’s make lemonade from the lemons. Non-news is news when it comes to the non-signings of RFA guys like Bobby Ryan, Chris Stewart and Carey frikkin Price. I’m getting that Anaheim and Bobby Ryan aren’t talking anymore. Apparently he turned down a 5 year 25M offer?!….Who does he think he is, Ryan Getzlaf? Corey Perry?…COME ON!….hey Bobby, pass me that silver coaster. I need something to rest my Molson Canadian on. Seriously…how you like they send you to Minnesota?!(deep Sicilian accent)

Chris Stewart….my kinda player. The guy starts the season in the “A”, and by the end of the year he’s on the top line in Colorado scoring buckets of goals. They have a good youth/talent thing  going on over there so dont ruin it Stewie by getting greedy. You might find yourself taking feeds from the pylons in (you guessed it) Minnesota instead of Paul Stastny!….I kid. But sign already would ya!….3M per on a 3-4 year deal is about right for a guy your age scoring 25-30 goals.

Carey frikkin Price……lets see…St. Louis signed Halak at 3.75M per. We ALL know young Carey aint the goalie that Halak is. Pedigree Shmedigree. How about we forget about paying a guy for what he did in junior/AHL and pay him for performance. Unless he gets signed to an offer sheet (which would really piss off Pierre Gauthier), throw 3M bones per at him on a 2-3 year deal. Let him try to live up to his billing. Off the record, my personal belief here is that Price should have been the one dealt. He’s lost his mojo in Montreal and the fans WONT let him recover. One bad game and the fans will be chanting his name (in a bad way).

That’s all for tonight folks. Artamus here promising not to be such a stranger.

It is being reported (by Cliff Lee himself) that after an all-day flirt fest with the New York Yankees, the Seattle Mariners have decided to deal their rent-an-ace in division to the Texas Rangers.

The fantasy focus of this deal is of course that Lee is going to a better team with infinitely better run support.  Even with very little help from his offense, Lee has been as dominant as expected, going 8-3 with a 2.34 earned run average and now he has the added bonus of not having to pitch a shutout every time he takes to the mound.  There might be a slight upswing in Lee’s ERA now that his home games will take place in what is considered a hitter’s park but Lee did pretty well in Philadelphia which is basically a bandbox.

As far as how much this effects Lee’s value considering he was almost a Yankee?  Both the Yankees and Rangers are in first place and both have a pretty good offense.  From a purely fantasy numbers wise approach, this move is pretty much identical to being traded to the Yanks.

The move isn’t official as of yet, but when the pitcher who is being traded, says his general manager told him he was traded, that’s about as close to official as you can get.

Multiple reports are surfacing this morning that LeBron James is indeed planning on signing with the Miami Heat to form the uber trio to end all uber trios along with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.

Sources close to the situation say that barring a last second change of heart, James will leave $30 million on the table.

I think Wade and Bosh kind of gave as faint a hint as they are legally allowed to when they both said in an ESPN interview they were willing to take less overall money if needed to add another free agent.

Thanks to the $58 million salary cap, if they really wanted to, the Heat could offer all three superstars deals with $15.33 million starting salaries.

Depending on how much each player is willing to shave off of their contract figures, they may be even willing to entice a couple players like Tyrus Thomas or Luis Scola to come and play at a reduced salary with the obvious benefit of playing with what amounts to three of the leagues top 5-7 players.

The news leaking early shouldn’t surprise you considering the fact James had this television special at 9 AM scheduled meant he obviously has his mind made up in advance.

There are going to be some pissed of Cavaliers fans, no wonder he is making the announcement 1,000 miles away; he better start moving out of his house soon before he gets tarred, feathered, and dipped in acid.

I can’t say I have any sympathy for them; I was a Seattle Sonics fan.

If the Miami Heat want to create a super team that will make the Celtics trio look like childs play, they are almost there.

Multiple reports have sources close to the situation putting Chris Bosh in a Miami Heats uniform.

The deals cannot be officially announced until tomorrow, but this is a done deal and this was long expected to be the outcome.

LeBron James or not, this is a huge coup for the Miami Heat, Bosh is one of the leagues best power forwards and by default he and Dwayne Wade form arguably the best tandem in the NBA.

With Bosh in the fold Wade will re-sign and both will sign maximum contracts; this doesn’t necessarily rule out LeBron, as contract restructuring can occur to squeeze him in there.

A sign and trade is also being discussed so the Raptors can gain something for their loss and the Miami Heat could potentially clear additional cap space to pursue LeBron James.

Dealing Michael Beasley would clear just enough cap room to allow room to sign all three to maximum contracts.

Rumblings are also that Ray Allen may be willing to take a reduced salary to join the super trio.

LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, Ray Allen, Mario Chalmers.

WOW.

In my first column here at Fantasy CPR we bring ourselves to an important yet underrated position in the game of Fantasy Football; quarterback.

Everyone rants and raves about how you have to stock up at running back, and while they’re not wrong, it is a slightly misguided statement.

You can always find a breakout runner or a rookie stud to plug into your RB/WR slot; finding a surprising monster breakout season from a quarterback isn’t nearly as common.

So after your done picking your preference as a starter, or looking to find a steal after you’re done loading up your roster with as many top rated rushers as you can gobble up, here’s a helpful list of five quarterbacks who are poised to help your fantasies.

Kevin Kolb

If you’re breaking in an offense as a brand spankin new quarterback in your first significant action, you can’t do much better then inherit the goldmine of production Kevin Kolb has.

Dynamic weapon after dynamic weapon here folks.

Top ten fantasy wide receiver? Check.

Top ten fantasy tight end? Check

Top ten fantasy running back? Check

Not to mention you have a breakout receiver just itching to eclipse 1,000 yards in Jeremy Maclin.

If you throw in the likely progression of both Desean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin and the inevitable slight regression from breaking in an essential rookie at quarterback; their totals will end up in the 2,000-2,200 yard range with roughly 15-18 scores.

Newbies love their tight ends as well, and Brent Celek is going to be Kolbs security blanket with all of those West Coast Offense dink and dunk passes and especially in the red zone.

Considering he will likely command the most targets in the passing game, projecting a similar sub 1,000 yard season with 9-11 scores is reasonable to expect to Celek.

Lesean McCoy is a threat in the passing game as well, and he is more than likely going to progress in his second year from the 40 catches he hauled in during his rookie season.

Throw in the modest expectation of around 900-1200 yards and 6-8 scores for Hank Baskett, Jason Avant, and Leonard Weaver, that’s a projection of roughly 30-35 touchdowns and 3,500-4,000 passing yards for Kolb.

Chad Henne

Considering loose cannons like Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez both tossed for 13/12-20 INT seasons in conservative offenses, Henne was hardly a disappointment last season after being thrust in for the oft injured Chad Pennington.

Part of the reason I brush off the 12/14 TD/INT ratio is because of his solid 60.9 completion percentage with scraps making up his receiving unit.

All Miami receivers tallied 3,396 and 15 TD’s; yikes.

Until you throw sir drops a lot out and plug in the dynamic Brandon Marshall.

Marshall is a top five fantasy wide receiver and is a virtual lock for a 100 catch 1,000-1,200 yard season that will haul in anywhere from 8-13 scores.

Enter that into the equation while subtracting Ginn’s 454 yards and one measly score and you have 4,000 yards and 25 TD’s not even accounting for potential progression or breakout seasons from the rest of the young Miami offense.

When you take into consideration Marshall is going to command double teams and open things up for Davone Bess and Greg Camarillo, it’s not out of the realm of possibility one or both of those guys progresses to 5-7 scores.

Ronnie Brown bouncing back from an injury riddled campaign won’t hurt things either; him, Ricky Williams and Lex Hilliard could easily lend eight receiving touchdowns to his cause as well.

Not as much potential here as Kolb, but a game altering receiver getting thrown into the mix certainly bodes well for a potential breakout label being donned upon Henne.

Alex Smith

Another pilot of an offense with some serious potential for good fantasy production. With some desperately needed coaching continuity finally obtained and a full season of Michael Crabtree on the way, progression is inevitable for Alex Smith.

With Vernon Davis establishing himself as an elite tight end, you can certainly expect him to receive the most targets in the offense, and him duplicating last seasons double digit touchdown total is a safe bet.

If Michael Crabtree plays an entire season in 2009, his 48 catches and 625 yards would jump to 70 catches and 909 yards; that’s a pretty damn good rookie season.

With progression expected, coupled with a better grasp on the offense, projecting a 1,000+ yard season and 7-10 touchdowns is a reasonable guestimate.

If any incline occurs with Josh Morgan, Jason Hill, or Delanie Walker, that also bodes well for an increase from the 23 total receiving touchdowns the 49ers offense produced.

There is some potential here for the weapons in the passing game to elevate several scores to roughly 32-34 on the season.

If Michael Crabtree simply stays on pace with the yards he churned out in 2009 and Josh Morgan, and Delanie Walker increase their production by 20 percent, you all of a sudden have 4,000 yards of passing offense.

Another buy low option if you’re in a bind at quarterback or your like me and snatched Brett Favre in half your leagues and you need some injury insurance halfway through the season.

Next up, underrated running backs.

For those Madden addicts out there desperately clicking away to find the best team to fit your style, you’re in luck.

ESPN has begun slowly but surely leaking full team ratings on the gaming portion of it’s site.

So far the Bills, Broncos, Chiefs, Dolphins, Patriots, Jets, Raiders, and Chargers ratings have all been released.

And damn, some of these ratings are harsh, or maybe a more appropriate word would be… Disparaging.

You can view the link that will take you to the eight teams updated so far by clicking here.

Hitting Heads Up:

I can almost guarantee you that Clint Barmes is available in your league, unless you are in the deepest of deep leagues.  Despite hitting .407 with 2 homers and 7 RBI over the last week coming into last night, the Rockies’ middle infielder raised his average to .252 and has a season total of 6 home runs.  Barmes continues to be red hot going going 2-4 with an RBI on Thursday night.  Barmes can be a nice fill in player for someone looking for a boost and he has added benefit because he can play either short or second.  This is not a guy you should consider a long time buy, but if you need a quick boost, you could do worse

Corey Patterson played in just 16 games last year for two teams,  but this year he seems to be showing he still has value both to real teams and fantasy teams.  Over the last week, Patterson has been hitting .476 with 1 home run and 2 RBI.  Patterson’s real value is that he can also steal a base.  On Thursday night Patterson continued to impress, going 2-4 with a run scored and his 13^th stolen base on the season.

Pitching Pulse:

Saying Trevor Cahill’s season came out of nowhere is even a bit of an understatement.  In 2009, Cahill went 10-13 with a 4.63 earned run average.  After Thursday night, in which he pitched seven innings and allowed just one run he improved to 8-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.74.  Despite not really being a strikeout pitcher he’s even been K’ing batters at a prodigious rate, having 21 strikeouts over his last 20.1 innings.  Because he’s an Oakland Athletic and because of his incredibly mediocre season last year you’ll have a better than average chance at still being able to snag Cahill off the waiver wire.

The Cincinnati Reds are going to want all their pitchers to begin their careers against the Chicago Cubs.  Already rookie hurler Mike Leake was able to open his big league career by beating the Cubs and yesterday Travis Wood was able to shut Lou Pineilla’s boys down for seven innings.  Wood finally tired after six innings of one hit ball and wasn’t able to get the victory but he kept the Cubs team down enough that his squad was eventually able to win the game in extras.  Wood’s record in AAA this season wasn’t all that impressive at 5-6, but he posted a very respectable 3.12 ERA and if the Reds give him a shot this is a kid fantasy owners should take a look at.