All-2000 to Present Colorado Rockies Lineup

It’s always fun to generate and debate lists. We’ll continue with the All-2000 to Present Rockies Lineup.

C – Wilin Rosario
1B – Todd Helton
2B – D.J. LeMahieu
3B – Nolan Arenado
SS – Troy Tulowitzki
RF – Larry Walker
LF – Matt Holliday
CF – Carlos Gonzalez
SP – Ubaldo Jimenez
SP – Jorge De La Rosa
SP – Jhoulys Chacin
SP – Tyler Chatwood
SP – Aaron Cook
Closer – Brian Fuentes

Arizona Diamondbacks
Atlanta Braves
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox
Cincinnati Reds
Cleveland Indians
Colorado Rockies
Detroit Tigers
Houston Astros
Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Angels
Los Angeles Dodgers
Miami Marlins
Milwaukee Brewers
Minnesota Twins
New York Mets
New York Yankees
Oakland A’s
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
San Diego Padres
Seattle Mariners
St. Louis Cardinals
Tampa Bay Rays
Texas Rangers
Toronto Blue Jays
Washington Nationals

NFL Legends Who Love Cycling

Just because you’re a top athlete in one sport doesn’t mean that you don’t enjoy another one. In fact, many of the best athletes undertake alternative sports to increase their stamina, performance and create some variety in their training schedule.

Even after they have left their main sport behind these alternatives can be a great way to stay fit. If you’re ready to join them you can start cycling with the aid of an electric bike and build up to more strenuous opportunities.

What you may be surprised by is the number of NFL Legends who love cycling:

Chad Greenway

Greenway is currently the second leading tackler for the Minnesota Vikings. However he cycles as much as 60 miles a day in the off season; to assist his training. The fact that he loves cycling is simply a bonus.

It is worth noting that he rarely actually cycles 60 miles; he usually aims for between 20 and 40 to prevent burning muscle.

Cycling is a great interval training sport; simply pedal gently until you find a hill and then cycle up it as fast as you can. You can then rest on the flat and the down hills until the next one. This mimics the way his body needs to respond in a game.

Connor Barwin

This Philadelphia linebacker rides to work every day on his bike. It may only be 3 miles but his consistency helps improve his stamina; as well as competing with his own time every day.

Kellen Winslow II

A motorcycle accident in 2005 could have put this tight end out of the game but a stationary bike helped him to rebuild his strength and stamina.

Since then he developed a love of cycling and now h rides between 30 and 40 miles per day. He is even considering a comeback to the game after a 4 year break!

Team Work

The Falcons have a general manager that loves to cycle. He has even led a group of 50 cyclists on a 17 mile ride round the toughest streets of Atlanta. He is enthusiastic about getting the team to ride to and from work. But he is also realistic, knowing that you need a passion for cycling to really make it work.

He’s certainly in good company as Matt Bryant, Matt Ryan and Julio Jones are already keen cyclists in their spare time; perhaps the Falcons will be the first all cycling NFL team!

Keeping The Balance

It is important for these NFL athletes to get the right balance between a love of cycling and their need to be match fit. Long distance cycling is a cardio activity which will burn fat. However, these guys don’t generally need to burn excess fat.

Long distance training is also likely to reduce the energy and time available for strength training. As an NFL player you need strength and mass so no matter how keen they are on cycling these NFL players need to balance their budding cycling careers against the demands of their current sport.

All-2000 to Present Los Angeles Dodgers Lineup

It’s always fun to generate and debate lists. We’ll continue with the All-2000 to Present Dodgers Lineup.

C – Russell Martin
1B – Adrian Gonzalez
2B – Jeff Kent
3B – Adrian Beltre
SS – Rafael Furcal
RF –Shawn Green
LF – Andre Ethier
CF – Matt Kemp
SP – Clayton Kershaw
SP – Zack Greinke
SP – Kevin Brown
SP – Chad Billingsley
SP – Brad Penny
Closer – Kenley Jansen

Arizona Diamondbacks
Atlanta Braves
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox
Cincinnati Reds
Cleveland Indians
Colorado Rockies
Detroit Tigers
Houston Astros
Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Angels
Los Angeles Dodgers
Miami Marlins
Milwaukee Brewers
Minnesota Twins
New York Mets
New York Yankees
Oakland A’s
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
San Diego Padres
Seattle Mariners
St. Louis Cardinals
Tampa Bay Rays
Texas Rangers
Toronto Blue Jays
Washington Nationals

All-2000 to Present San Francisco Giants Lineup

It’s always fun to generate and debate lists. We’ll continue with the All-2000 to Present Giants Lineup.

C – Buster Posey
1B – Brandon Belt
2B – Jeff Kent
3B – Pablo Sandoval
SS – Rich Aurilia
RF – Hunter Pence
LF – Barry Bonds
CF – Randy Winn
SP – Madison Bumgarner
SP – Tim Lincecum
SP – Matt Cain
SP – Jason Schmidt
SP – Ryan Vogelsong
Closer – Brian Wilson

Arizona Diamondbacks
Atlanta Braves
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox
Cincinnati Reds
Cleveland Indians
Colorado Rockies
Detroit Tigers
Houston Astros
Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Angels
Los Angeles Dodgers
Miami Marlins
Milwaukee Brewers
Minnesota Twins
New York Mets
New York Yankees
Oakland A’s
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
San Diego Padres
Seattle Mariners
St. Louis Cardinals
Tampa Bay Rays
Texas Rangers
Toronto Blue Jays
Washington Nationals

Beginner’s Guide to Fantasy Football

Fantasy football is not only competitive, but also fun and addictive. Before the fantasy season starts, you need to draft players to build strong team and use the best strategies to win matches. If have to improve on a position, acquire free agents and trade players. Continue reading this guide to learn more about fantasy football.

Find a League

Finding a league is the first thing you need to do. There are a number of top sites to play fantasy football. After finding a website you like, you can chose from these leagues:

Head-to-head Leagues-This is a league where teams play against each other every week for a win and loss record that will help them to reach the playoffs

Total points Leagues-In this league, teams use points to advance

Dynasty Leagues-This is a league where team owner retains players from previous years

Salary Cap Leagues-This league is more like Dynasty and the team and players’ salaries are given a maximum budget

Important Draft Reminders about Fantasy Football

The success of your fantasy football team depends on your draft picks. Here are a few draft strategies to help you minimize risk and make the right decisions:

Skill plus opportunity equals success-This is a very important formula to help you draft the best players.

Take RBs early and more often-Although the strategy you will use depends on your draft position, acquiring two RBs during the first three rounds is a great idea.

Get an elite WR within the first three rounds-You also need to acquire a reliable WR to anchor your receiving core for the whole season. But of course this depends on your league.

Avoid the temptation of taking a defense or kicker too early-At the end of the draft, you may find ample depth at these two positions

Draft QBs in the middle rounds-It is not hard to find good quarterbacks in the middle rounds. However, the top ten quarter backs will be drafted before the 10th round.

Understand and learn how to make the most of position runs-When a player from a particular position is chosen, there will typically be a waterfall effect. For instance, when the first team makes the decision to go for a tight end, eventually the rest of the league will be scrambling for high-talent tight ends.

Don’t acquire studs with the same bye week-While it is inevitable for most teams to not have some of their players on the same by week, it is a good idea to not have the best players on the same bye week as this could hamper your success

Stick to your plan-Preparing your cheat sheets was not an easy task, so you need to trust them. Most importantly, you don’t want to be mislead by other coaches into making a mistake

Be opportunistic, still- The draft may not go as you expect, leaving you frustrated. If a player you’ve ranked highly falls to you, don’t hesitate to grab him

Draft potential breakouts late-Picking up an average injury replacement in the course of the season is a great option. In later rounds, grabbing players who may become studs may help you win the league

After drafting your fantasy football team, analyze its strengths and weaknesses. Start creating post-draft strategies that will help you to address issues on your team.

Fantasy Football Tips to Keep In Mind

After completing your fantasy football draft, your job finally begins. The process of coaching your team involves compiling a good lineup each week and choosing players to keep and release. Your coaching decision will either make or break your season. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

Don’t panic-Yes, the season is long enough. Think twice before dumping your sleeper picks or trading your studs.

Check the bye weeks of your players-You can’t afford having the best players out of action at any particular event.

Replace injured players-You need to check player updates to ensure that your starting lineup is in shape.

Keep up-to-date on the latest news about football-Some players get suspended or traded to other team. Not having access to this information could work against you.

Assess the strengths and weaknesses of your team-You need to understand the needs of your team when drafting players. For example, what positions look good and what positions need improvement.

Keep checking the waiver wire and free agent pool- A player who can be a blessing to your time could be drop and want to be there to pick him.

Take advantage of favorable matchups and stay away from bad ones-The performance of your players will be affected every week by the quality of their opposition, particularly at DEF, K and TE.

Watch Your Win Rate

When playing fantasy football for money, particularly with two, three or more entries, you can win a good amount of money weekly or monthly.

Some leagues allow you to have more than one team, thus increasing your chances of winning. A strategic fantasy football fan who understands his plays and how to line them up can make 50% to 200% per time frame. To make money online from your fantasy football skills, like other sports betting, in this NFL betting season, you will want to wager at the best site.

NBA Lottery Rant

I may sound like a broken record, but the way the NBA handles their draft infuriates me every year. I still can’t for the life of me understand while the media and general public does not call the NBA out for having a lottery system in the first place. They have so little trust that NBA teams won’t tank that they actually have to have measures to protect against that. Baseball gets ripped for the steroids, where it’s going on in every sport, but the NBA tries to sell of the excitement of the draft as a cover-up for a tanking concern.

In every other sport the worst team gets the first overall pick (which could actually be a detriment in the NFL, but the intentions are good and that’s a conversation for another day) in order to give them a chance to improve. Not so in the NBA. They devised a ridiculous formula that flat-out doesn’t work. You don’t have to be a math genius to figure out something’s rotten in Denmark. All too often the team with the best odds doesn’t get the number one pick. That goes against mathematical probabilities. Here’s a look at the teams that ended up with the #1 pick and the odds.

2010:  Washington Wizards got the #1 pick with the 5th best odds
2009:  LA Clippers got the #1 with the 3rd best odds
2008: Chicago got the #1 pick with the 9th best odds
2007: Portland got the #1 with the 7th best odds
2006: Toronto got #1 with 4th best odds
2005: Milwaukee got the #1 pick with the 6th best odds
2004: Orlando got the #1 pick with the 1st best odds
2003: Cleveland got the #1 pick with the 1st best odds
2005: Milwaukee got #1 with 6th best odds
2002: Houston got #1 with 5th best odds
2001: Washington got #1 with 3rd best odds (Michael Jordan’s first pick, hmm)
2000: New Jersey got #1 with 7th best odds (Former NBA exec Rod Thorn’s first year with NJ, hmm)
1999: Chicago got #1 with 3rd best odds
1998: LA Clippers got #1 with 3rd best odds
1997: San Antonio got #1 with 3rd best odds
1996: Philadelphia got #1 with 2nd best odds
1995: Golden State got #1 with 5th best odds
1994: Milwaukee got #1 with 4th best odds
1993: Orlando got #1 with 11th best odds (1 in 66 chances, hmm)
1992: Orlando got #1 with 2nd best odds
1991: Charlotte got #1 with 5th best odds

So why would the NBA want the Washington Bullets, I mean the Wizards to get the number one pick? Simple. Gilbert Arenas disgraced the city and gave the NBA a bad name. What better way to put that fiasco behind you than awarding them John Wall. People are talking about Wall now and how Arenas has to adjust his game. The gun scandal is an afterthought.

I’m going to continue to be skeptical about the draft until they actually show us the ping pong balls. There have been too many instances where the two teams with the best odds have failed to get the top pick. In the last 20 years the team with the best odds only landed the top pick twice. The number two team landed it twice. That’s four times in 20 years of 20 percent of the time. The problem is, that number should be twice as high. That’s the same as the team with the 5th best odds won. The team with the third best odds has won five times. It’s staggering that 55 percent of the time the #1 pick goes to the team with the 3rd, 4th, or 5th best odds.

5 Step Guide to Winning Weekly Fantasy Football Contests

The advent of online weekly fantasy football contests is still a fairly new phenomenon. While it is probably two early to come up with some definitive guidelines for winning fantasy football contests on a consistent basis, there are some common sense steps managers can take to improve their chances of winning. It should be noted that the following steps are intended for use in head-to-head contests only, as the big-dollar mega contests tend to be more of a shot in the dark.

Step 1 – Gather Statistical Information – There is a good reason why professional gamblers and successful fantasy managers use statistical data. The reason is it makes a difference. If a manager doesn’t want to collect data, they should restrict their participation to the mega contests with affordable entry fees. In head-to-head competition, there is very little room for error and statistics help remove some of the guess work about how certain players might perform. There are mounds of stats available for free online. If a manager has the resources, there is a few subscription sites that provide data and some useful analysis to boot.

Step 2 – Scout the Competition – It is important for beginners and novice players to understand there is a significant number of serious head-to-head players who are looking to take advantage of inexperienced souls. Some of the more prominent weekly fantasy sports sites provide user stats (wins/losses/money won) to help managers size each other up. In £5-£10 match ups, it is not as big an issue. It’s those £20-£500 contests that have the professionals trolling for suckers. If user data is available, it should be used. While there is nothing wrong with seeking good competition, the goal is still winning, and managers should avoid other managers that rank significantly higher than themselves. By the way, it’s okay to be the manager taking advantage of new participants.

Step 3 – Develop Money Management Guidelines – While some people consider playing weekly fantasy football to be a game of skill, it’s still a form of gambling that warrants responsible behavior. Each week, it is incumbent on the manager to determine how much they can realistically afford to lose. Affordability should be defined as money that is leftover after the bills are paid and savings has been increased. Any net winnings should be allocated between the next week’s bankroll and the savings account.

Step 4 – Enter Multiple contests – Regardless of how big a bankroll a manager has available each week, the odds say the money should be allocated to several separate contests with equal entry fees. The last thing a manager wants to do is go all in against a hot competitor and lose everything. It’s far better idea to allocate funds over several contests in hopes that at least half of them come back with favorable results. The good weeks will come when a manager gets hot and makes good decisions.

Step 5 – Player Selection – Prior to building one’s roster, the manager needs to read the scoring guidelines as they may vary from one site to the next. The process of selecting players should be done using stats. The best rule of thumb is to focus on offensive players going up against bad defenses while avoiding players going up against the best defenses. Other rules to follow would include looking for streaking players and avoid those is a slump, and be sure to use every dime of the salary cap when possible. While waiting for your weekly fantasy results, you might want to take advantage of some best free bet offers being made by top online sportsbooks. Your free bets can be used to play some of the top matches on the schedule. The best free bet offers are the ones that allow free bets on any sport and type of wager with a low rollover requirement.

Yonder Alonso: Not Quite the Super Star Everybody Thinks He Is

What does it take to win a fantasy baseball championship? That question seems like an easy one but if you know anything about betting you should realize how untrue that sentiment is. 2017 has been a good year in the MLB. There have been a lot of big names to cheer for, people like Aaron Judge and Jonathan Schoop that are justifying their super star status and making betting tips for wagering all but irrelevant.

After all, everyone seems to think that they know what it takes to make it to the top. Even young arms like Aaron Nola and Luis Severino are joining big names in the league and garnering all manner of attention, a trend that is likely to end in disaster.

It is easy to lose oneself in the allure of a big name. And it takes a bit of careful sniffing for one to realize that not every big name is what they seem. An example is Yonder Alonso. Alonso has been experiencing a surge of sorts. And if you’re foaming at the mouth for him, no one will blame you.

After all, Alonso is definitely having a career year, having garnered a .266 average and 22 home runs. 2017 has seen Alonso eclipse his performance from the previous years on more than one occasion.

And it isn’t just the runs scored on his record that have people talking but the changes Alonso has been implementing in his swing, alterations in the launch angle that are clearly improving his capabilities and setting him up for some incredible feats down the line.

Of course, if none of those trendy Alonso stories with their buzz words have moved you in any way, no one is going to blame you either. You probably have your eyes set on the fantasy baseball championship which means that you are ignoring the surface numbers.

That is what everyone is doing with Alonso, looking at the surface stats. Yes he was hot at some point, and maybe there are residual elements of his previously amazing performance, but Alonso is no longer the player everyone thinks he is and, if you really have your eyes on the prize, then you must let him go.

That isn’t to suggest that anyone that was hyping Alonso was wrong. Players wax and wane and no one would criticize you for hyping a player at their best. However, once they begin to wane, you must be able to recognize their descent so that you can let go of them in time.

Anyone that is still hyping Alonso’s previous numbers isn’t looking at the below average figures he has posted since June. Alonso might have been a star at the start but his shine has definitely plummeted.

Do not be surprised if he fails to make in on a 12-team mixed league roster because he is that bad these days. If you thought Alonso was blossoming in previous months, you should know that there are other prospects showing the same talent or even greater, this including Mike Moustakas and Justine Smoak.

No one is stopping you from letting the numbers define the way you structure your team roster. However, make an effort to take an in-depth look at the players at hand. If you look closely enough, you might be surprised by what you discover.