Bleacher Report - Articles by len laber

Top 75 Fantasy NBA Playoffs Players: Round 1

len laber — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:11:59 -0400

The first round of the NBA playoffs have finally ended, and FantasySportsMadness.com has got your one-of-a-kind fantasy NBA playoffs games.

Who were the top 75 fantasy fantasy players so far in the playoffs?

The results may surprise you:

Dwayne Wade averaged 70 fantasy points for a total of 490 in seven games.
LeBron James is eighth in total points, due to only playing four games. However, he is averaging the highest fantasy points-per-game, at 84.
The greatest first-round series ever pushed three Celtics (Rondo, Pierce, Allen) and two Bulls (Gordon, Rose) into the top 10.

Default fantasy point scoring: Two points for each point scored. One point per rebound, assist, steal, block, or three-pointer made, and minus one point per turnover.

Updated May 3. Players bolded are still alive in the playoffs.

Rank	Name	Team	Position	Games Played	Total Fantasy Points	Avg/Game
1	Dwyane Wade	Miami	G	7	490	70
2	Rajon Rondo	Boston	G	7	429	61
3	Ray Allen	Boston	G	7	398	57
4	Ben Gordon	Chicago	G	7	394	56
5	Paul Pierce	Boston	F	7	388	55
6	Brandon Roy	Portland	G	6	376	63
7	Derrick Rose	Chicago	G	7	339	48
8	LeBron James	Cleveland	F	4	337	84
9	Andre Iguodala	Philadelphia	G	6	334	56
10	Tony Parker	San Antonio	G	5	330	66
11	Kobe Bryant	Los Angeles	G	5	328	66
12	Dwight Howard	Orlando	C	6	328	55
13	Glen Davis	Boston	F	7	325	46
14	Josh Smith	Atlanta	F	7	319	46
15	John Salmons	Chicago	F	7	317	45
16	Andre Miller	Philadelphia	G	6	316	53
17	Carmelo Anthony	Denver	F	5	305	61
18	Chauncey Billups	Denver	G	5	301	60
19	Rashard Lewis	Orlando	F	6	295	49
20	LaMarcus Aldridge	Portland	F	6	291	49
21	Joe Johnson	Atlanta	G	7	289	41
22	Kendrick Perkins	Boston	C	7	283	40
23	Carlos Boozer	Utah	F	5	278	56
24	Deron Williams	Utah	G	5	274	55
25	Mike Bibby	Atlanta	G	7	271	39
26	Joakim Noah	Chicago	C	7	263	38
27	Yao Ming	Houston	C	6	259	43
28	Tim Duncan	San Antonio	C	5	256	51
29	Lamar Odom	Los Angeles	F	5	251	50
30	Dirk Nowitzki	Dallas	F	5	247	49
31	Luis Scola	Houston	F	5	242	48
32	Rafer Alston	Orlando	G	6	237	40
33	Pau Gasol	Los Angeles	FC	5	236	47
34	Ron Artest	Houston	F	6	236	39
35	Kirk Hinrich	Chicago	G	7	235	34
36	Aaron Brooks	Houston	G	6	235	39
37	Michael Beasley	Miami	F	7	230	33
38	Chris Paul	New Orleans	G	5	229	46
39	Josh Howard	Dallas	F	5	227	45
40	Ronald Murray	Atlanta	G	7	227	32
41	David West	New Orleans	F	5	216	43
42	Tyrus Thomas	Chicago	F	7	200	29
43	Brad Miller	Chicago	C	7	200	29
44	Jermaine O'Neal	Miami	C	7	198	28
45	J.R. Smith	Denver	G	5	192	38
46	Steve Blake	Portland	G	6	185	31
47	Hedo Turkoglu	Orlando	F	6	184	31
48	Thaddeus Young	Philadelphia	F	6	183	31
49	Udonis Haslem	Miami	F	7	182	26
50	Jason Kidd	Dallas	G	5	178	36
51	Paul Millsap	Utah	F	5	169	34
52	Trevor Ariza	Los Angeles	F	5	169	34
53	James Jones	Miami	F	7	166	24
54	Jason Terry	Dallas	G	5	162	32
55	Mario Chalmers	Miami	G	7	162	23
56	Shane Battier	Houston	F	6	162	27
57	Al Horford	Atlanta	C	7	158	23
58	Zaza Pachulia	Atlanta	C	7	156	22
59	Courtney Lee	Orlando	G	6	154	26
60	Mo Williams	Cleveland	G	4	150	38
61	Nene Hilario	Denver	C	5	146	29
62	Lou Williams	Philadelphia	G	6	146	24
63	James Posey	New Orleans	F	5	146	29
64	Kenyon Martin	Denver	F	5	144	29
65	Kyle Korver	Utah	G	5	144	29
66	Rodney Stuckey	Detroit	G	4	144	36
67	Andrei Kirilenko	Utah	F	5	144	29
68	Antonio McDyess	Detroit	FC	4	140	35
69	Travis Outlaw	Portland	F	6	137	23
70	Jose Juan Barea	Dallas	G	5	135	27
71	Ronnie Brewer	Utah	G	5	135	27
72	Richard Hamilton	Detroit	G	4	135	34
73	Peja Stojakovic	New Orleans	F	5	135	27
74	Von Wafer	Houston	G	6	134	22
75	Erick Dampier	Dallas	C	5	131	26

Top 75 Fantasy NBA Playoffs Players (Updated Apr. 11)

len laber — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:54:38 -0400

March Madness may be over but the April, May, and June madness of the NBA Playoffs is just about to start!

Whether you are fantasy basketball player or a casual basketball fan, nothing makes the playoffs more exciting than playing fantasy basketball on FantasySportsMadness.com, a homegrown fantasy sports website I've spent two years creating.

There are two ways to play, either One and Done or Survival modes. In One and Done, you select your own lineup of players each round of the playoffs and can only use a player once while in Survival, you either choose or draft with league members a full roster before the playoffs begin.

Right now, you can sign up before Apr. 18 and win cash and prizes on me!

Play the One and Done game for free to win a $100 or in a $10 entry fee league to win $300!!

You can create your own league in the Survival game completely for free.

For helpful hints and strategy, read my latest article NBA Fantasy Playoffs:Keys to Winning

Don't think you have enough time to do research? The hard part has been done for you as a one-page cheat sheet of top scorers on all the playoffs teams is posted on the homepage and below is a list of top 75 players.

Best of luck playing the game and I look forward to you joining the competition and fun on FantasySportsMadness.com

Default fantasy point scoring = 2 pts for each pt scored, 1 pt per reb, ast, stl, blk, 3pt made, and -1 per TO. Stats as of 4/6.

Rank	Name	Team	Position	PPG	Reb	Ast	Fantasy Pts
1	Dwyane Wade	Miami	G	29.8	5.0	7.5	73.3
2	LeBron James	Cleveland	F	28.4	7.8	7.2	73.3
3	Kobe Bryant	LA Lakers	G	27.0	5.3	5.0	65.1
4	Dirk Nowitzki	Dallas	F	25.6	8.2	2.4	62.1
5	Chris Paul	New Orleans	G	22.5	5.3	11.0	62.1
6	Dwight Howard	Orlando	C	21.1	14.0	1.4	58.5
7	Brandon Roy	Portland	G	22.9	4.9	5.2	56.5
8	Carmelo Anthony	Denver	F	22.9	6.8	3.3	55.2
9	Tim Duncan	San Antonio	C	19.8	10.6	3.6	53.9
10	Joe Johnson	Atlanta	G	21.3	4.3	5.9	53.4
11	Tony Parker	San Antonio	G	21.8	3.0	6.9	52.1
12	David West	New Orleans	F	20.7	8.5	2.3	51.7
13	Deron Williams	Utah	G	19.2	2.9	10.6	50.9
14	Pau Gasol	LA Lakers	FC	18.8	9.5	3.6	50.4
15	Paul Pierce	Boston	F	20.5	5.8	3.7	50.3
16	Yao Ming	Houston	C	19.6	9.9	1.8	50.1
17	Ben Gordon	Chicago	G	20.5	3.4	3.5	48.6
18	Andre Iguodala	Philly	G	18.5	5.8	5.2	48.3
19	Jason Terry	Dallas	G	19.6	2.4	3.5	47.3
20	John Salmons	Chicago	F	19.6	4.6	1.7	47.0
21	LaMarcus Aldridge	Portland	F	18.5	7.5	1.9	47.0
22	Rashard Lewis	Orlando	F	17.9	5.7	2.6	46.5
23	Ron Artest	Houston	F	17.2	5.3	3.2	45.1
24	Ray Allen	Boston	G	18.4	3.6	2.8	45.1
25	Mehmet Okur	Utah	C	17.1	7.9	1.7	44.6
26	Mo Williams	Cleveland	G	17.9	3.4	4.0	44.3
27	Hedo Turkoglu	Orlando	F	16.7	5.3	4.9	43.8
28	Josh Howard	Dallas	F	18.1	4.9	1.7	43.7
29	Carlos Boozer	Utah	F	16.0	10.3	2.2	43.5
30	Richard Hamilton	Detroit	G	18.2	3.1	4.3	43.5
31	Kevin Garnett	Boston	F	15.8	8.5	2.5	43.3
32	Allen Iverson	Detroit	G	17.4	3.1	4.9	42.5
33	Andre Miller	Philly	G	16.1	4.5	6.5	42.4
34	Derrick Rose	Chicago	G	16.6	3.9	6.2	42.0
35	Tracy McGrady	Houston	G	15.6	4.4	5.0	41.5
36	Josh Smith	Atlanta	F	15.3	7.3	2.5	41.4
37	Mike Bibby	Atlanta	G	14.9	3.6	4.8	40.0
38	Nene Hilario	Denver	C	14.5	7.7	1.4	38.7
39	Tayshaun Prince	Detroit	F	14.3	6.0	3.2	38.5
40	Chauncey Billups	Denver	G	12.5	5.0	7.5	38.5
41	Paul Millsap	Utah	F	13.7	8.8	1.9	38.3
42	Andrew Bynum	LA Lakers	C	14.0	8.2	1.5	38.3
43	J.R. Smith	Denver	G	14.9	3.7	2.9	37.8
44	Elton Brand	Philly	F	13.8	8.8	1.3	37.5
45	Thaddeus Young	Philly	F	15.2	5.0	1.2	37.5
46	Rajon Rondo	Boston	G	12.0	5.1	8.4	37.0
47	Marvin Williams	Atlanta	F	14.0	6.4	1.3	37.0
48	Luol Deng	Chicago	F	14.1	6.0	1.9	36.5
49	Rasheed Wallace	Detroit	FC	12.2	7.5	1.4	36.4
50	Jermaine O'Neal	Miami	C	13.5	7.0	1.6	35.8
51	Zydrunas Ilgauskas	Cleveland	C	13.1	7.4	1.0	35.1
52	Luis Scola	Houston	F	12.7	8.8	1.5	35.1
53	Al Horford	Atlanta	C	11.3	9.2	2.5	35.1
54	Jason Kidd	Dallas	G	9.2	6.1	8.6	35.0
55	Peja Stojakovic	New Orleans	F	13.5	4.3	1.3	34.9
56	Ronnie Brewer	Utah	G	13.9	3.8	2.2	34.9
57	Brad Miller	Chicago	C	12.3	7.5	3.0	34.7
58	Lamar Odom	LA Lakers	F	11.3	8.3	2.6	34.4
59	Rodney Stuckey	Detroit	G	13.4	3.5	4.8	34.4
60	Rafer Alston	Orlando	G	12.0	2.8	5.3	33.4
61	Kenyon Martin	Denver	F	11.7	6.1	2.0	32.7
62	Michael Beasley	Miami	F	13.2	5.1	1.0	32.2
63	Travis Outlaw	Portland	F	12.7	4.2	1.1	32.0
64	Delonte West	Cleveland	G	11.6	3.1	3.6	31.7
65	Andrei Kirilenko	Utah	F	11.4	4.9	2.7	31.4
66	Steve Blake	Portland	G	11.1	2.3	5.1	31.1
67	Antonio McDyess	Detroit	FC	9.5	9.6	1.3	30.5
68	Udonis Haslem	Miami	F	10.6	8.3	1.1	30.4
69	Lou Williams	Philly	G	12.4	2.1	3.1	30.1
70	Tyrus Thomas	Chicago	F	10.6	6.4	1.0	30.0
71	Roger Mason	San Antonio	G	11.6	3.1	2.1	29.7
72	Rasual Butler	New Orleans	G	11.5	3.3	0.9	29.5
73	Mario Chalmers	Miami	G	10.0	2.7	4.8	29.0
74	Ronald Murray	Atlanta	G	11.9	2.1	1.9	28.6
75	Aaron Brooks	Houston	G	11.2	2.0	3.1	28.1

NBA "One and Done Basketball Playoffs": Keys to Winning

len laber — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:26:57 -0400

Whether you are a fantasy basketball nut or just a casual basketball fan, One and Done Basketball Playoffs on www.FantasySportsMadness.com is a fun and easy way to play and get involved in the NBA Playoffs. There's no draft, no player pickups, or other time consuming transactions; you choose your own lineup of players each round of the postseason, but can only use a player once.

The Playoffs are the most exciting time of the NBA season. With this fantasy program, you can get into the games even if your favorite team has been eliminated or your fantasy regular season has ended.

Do you really want to win the One and Done Basketball Playoffs Challenge and take home an Apple iPod Shuffle (or $100 cash) or Apple I-Phone (or $300)?

If this is your first time playing fantasy, be aware of the following game rules and keep these strategies in mind. Sign up before April 18 and good luck!

Rules

Each series in the NBA postseason is its own "round" in the game (round one = Conference Quarterfinals, round two = Conference Semifinals, round three = Conference Finals, and round four = NBA finals). Each round, you choose your own lineup of any actual players from any of the Playoff teams still remaining, but you can only use a player once.

If you're playing the free version to win $100, there are no limits on players per position, but if you're playing the advanced mode to win $300, there are roster by-position requirements.

You earn fantasy points based on your player’s real-world stats, so the more points a player scores in a round for you, the better. The owner in the league with the most total fantasy points at the end of the Playoffs wins.

Scoring

The big thing to keep in mind with the default scoring is that point scored is the most valuable stat category. Refer to the table below:

Stat Categories	Default Point Values
Points Scored 3 Point FGs Rebounds Assists Blocks Steals Turnovers	2 1 1 1 1 1 -1

Research

www.Fantasysportsmadness.com has all the info you need to be prepared to choose your roster. You'll want to check up on the following:

Cheat Sheet: Review the cheat sheet posted under "Articles and Links" on the homepage for a one-page summary of all the top fantasy scorers.
Injuries: Make sure no one you’re thinking of picking has a serious injury by checking the injury report, as getting zero points from a player would doom your chances of winning.

Strategy

Points Matter: At the end of the day, you need players who will stuff the box scores for you. Look to choose the top scorers on a team instead of a bench player.

The More Games Played, the Better: Keep in mind that you keep collecting points from a player in a round as long as the series he is involved in is still going. Therefore, playing a potential seven-game series is preferred to a series that is likely to end in a four-game sweep.

Give Yourself the Biggest Player Pool: Every round, you should be thinking of which teams have a best chance of making it a competitive series but will end up losing anyway. By choosing wisely, you can have the largest pool of players to choose from in the later rounds and may have access to a player that no other owner does in the later rounds.

Know When to Use the Studs: There are certain names (such as Lebron James and Kobe Bryant) that everyone knows will put up big stats. Should you use them right away in round one to guarantee big points, or should youroll the dice and wait to hopefully use them in the NBA finals? This is the hardest decision to make and the key strategy element of "One and Done."

Final Words

Playing "One and Done Basketball Playoffs" is not only about winning cash or prizes and ridiculing your friends when you win; it's about making the basketball postseason more enjoyable for you to watch.

There is nothing like watching a game on TV and shouting for your guy to hit every shot he takes. Invite all your friends to play, as there is an unlimited number of teams per league.

Have fun and good luck!

B/R Exclusive: Text Message Transcripts From Jim Calhoun (Satire)

len laber — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:07:44 -0400

Bleacher Report has received an exclusive transcript of text-message conversations between Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun and Josh Nochimson, a former UConn student manager who became recruit Nate Miles’ personal adviser.

This is the first time personal conversations between the coach and adviser have been published. Read for yourself the messages that are the center of the controversy and potential infractions to the storied UConn basketball program:

(Calhoun): 411 Miles. CM. BFF

(Nochimson): BZ

(Calhoun):

(\_/)
(o.o)
(___)0 bunny :)

(Nochimson): LMAO

(Calhoun): : -D DPUP!

(Calhoun): Wat 411 Miles pls

(Calhoun): u ok? Tlk L8r %-(

(Calhoun) WTF CM! :-@

(Calhoun): MOFO FU. 8U ====) ~

(Nochimson): Miles = Uconn

(Calhoun) <3 u xoxoxo

March Madness 2009: Top 75 Fantasy College Players (Updated March 23)

len laber — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:34:32 -0400

The first two rounds of the Tournament have been completed and www.FantasySportsMadness.com has got your one of a kind fantasy March madness games. Who were the top 75 fantasy college basketball players so far after the first two games? The results may suprise you.

Blake Griffin, top fantasy college player during the regular season leads in March Madness too
Robert Sallie, Memphis, who would not have made a top 1,000 regular season players list with a 4.5 ppg is #4!
No. one seeds each had a player in the top 10
Player of the year candidate Tyler Hansbrough is #32

Players bolded are still alive in the tourney

	Name	Team	Pts Scored	Reb	Ast	Total Fantasy Pts
1	Blake Griffin	Oklahoma	61	30	5	154
2	Sherron Collins	Kansas	57	11	10	137
3	Marcus Thornton	LSU	55	12	5	136
4	Roburt Sallie	Memphis	48	7	3	122
5	A.J. Price	Connecticut	47	11	11	121
6	Sam Young	Pittsburgh	46	21	2	120
7	Wayne Ellington	North Carolina	48	11	7	119
8	Cole Aldrich	Kansas	36	33	1	114
9	Nic Wise	Arizona	50	6	10	114
10	Greivis Vasquez	Maryland	45	8	9	110
11	Terrence Williams	Louisville	37	24	7	110
12	A.J. Abrams	Texas	43	7	3	109
13	DeJuan Blair	Pittsburgh	37	28	4	108
14	Edwin Ubiles	Siena	44	12	4	108
15	Dante Cunningham	Villanova	43	17	4	107
16	Quincy Pondexter	Washington	43	18	4	107
17	Orlando Mendez-Valdez	West. Kentucky	36	10	13	103
18	Jerel McNeal	Marquette	44	8	6	100
19	Jeff Adrien	Connecticut	36	24	5	99
20	Dwight Lewis	USC	39	11	4	98
21	Leo Lyons	Missouri	41	14	2	98
22	Lazar Hayward	Marquette	39	19	0	97
23	Dwayne Anderson	Villanova	35	19	4	96
24	Jon Brockman	Washington	30	32	4	95
25	Bryan Davis	Texas A&M	33	18	5	94
26	Cedric Jackson	Cleveland St.	34	12	9	94
27	Chris Wright	Dayton	37	19	2	94
28	A.J. Slaughter	West. Kentucky	38	6	5	91
29	Chase Budinger	Arizona	35	13	6	91
30	Jordan Hill	Arizona	33	22	4	90
31	Matt Bouldin	Gonzaga	32	14	11	89
32	Tyler Hansbrough	North Carolina	37	13	2	89
33	Gerald Henderson	Duke	37	12	4	88
34	Damion James	Texas	33	19	4	87
35	DeMar DeRozan	USC	36	14	5	87
36	Kenneth Faried	Morehead St.	28	32	2	87
37	Manny Harris	Michigan	34	9	9	87
38	Norris Cole	Cleveland St.	39	1	6	87
39	Byron Eaton	Oklahoma St.	35	2	17	86
40	DeMarre Carroll	Missouri	28	15	8	86
41	Stanley Robinson	Connecticut	36	12	1	86
42	Wesley Matthews	Marquette	35	15	1	86
43	Tyreke Evans	Memphis	34	7	10	85
44	Terrel Harris	Oklahoma St.	32	10	3	83
45	JaJuan Johnson	Purdue	36	8	0	82
46	Josh Heytvelt	Gonzaga	32	14	3	82
47	Tasmin Mitchell	LSU	32	13	5	80
48	Willie Warren	Oklahoma	32	5	8	79
49	Josh Shipp	UCLA	34	8	2	78
50	Ben Woodside	North Dakota St.	37	2	2	77
51	Isaiah Thomas	Washington	33	4	8	77
52	E'Twaun Moore	Purdue	31	5	8	76
53	Alex Franklin	Siena	29	20	2	74
54	J'Nathan Bullock	Cleveland St.	28	16	1	74
55	Jon Scheyer	Duke	28	5	6	74
56	Rick Jackson	Syracuse	25	18	2	74
57	Danny Green	North Carolina	23	16	3	73
58	Kyle Singler	Duke	27	16	2	73
59	Obi Muonelo	Oklahoma St.	27	11	1	73
60	Samardo Samuels	Louisville	28	15	1	73
61	Goran Suton	Michigan St.	18	27	5	72
62	Hasheem Thabeet	Connecticut	26	17	0	72
63	Rihards Kuksiks	Arizona St.	28	5	4	72
64	Eric Devendorf	Syracuse	31	4	4	71
65	Jeff Pendergraph	Arizona St.	31	9	2	71
66	Jeremy Pargo	Gonzaga	27	4	8	71
67	B.J. Raymond	Xavier	28	10	3	70
68	Dionte Christmas	Temple	29	4	1	70
69	Donald Sloan	Texas A&M	26	9	12	70
70	Kim English	Missouri	30	3	1	70
71	Taj Gibson	USC	27	6	6	70
72	Dexter Pittman	Texas	25	19	1	69
73	Marshall Moses	Oklahoma St.	26	18	2	69
74	Evan Turner	Ohio St.	25	9	8	68
75	Micah Downs	Gonzaga	27	9	1	68

NCAA: Save the Bracket Drama for Your Mamma!

len laber — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:17:40 -0400

Oh oh, its about to start again. Friends and coworkers start emailing you invitations to join their March Madness bracket pool. You listen and read all the expert analysis all week long.

Then you’ll agonize for hours filling out your brackets. In the end though, it doesn’t matter, as you watch your champion go down in flames and the office secretary or a friend who knows nothing about sports win the whole pool.

How does this happen?? Why do people that never watched a game all year win? Shouldn’t you be rewarded for watching every big game all season long and knowing the top scorers on each team?

To get the answers, let's take a closer look at the bracket game. In the first round, you have a 50/50 chance of picking the winner of the games.

As you get further in the tourney, where the real points are awarded, a college basketball fan will look at how teams have played the last few weeks and the makeup of the team to predict upsets and the eventual champion.

The pseudo fans just take a few minutes to predict winners using their special formula of where they and their friends went to school, what the team mascots are and who would win in a fight, and funny sounding schools like Ball State, Oral Roberts, and Gonzaga.

The thing is, March Madness can be so unpredictable that the nitwits have as much of a chance of winning as you do. Is that fair? Are you tired of losing to your mamma, even though she couldn’t name you one player on UConn?

I sure was and that is why I play FANTASY March Madness these days and you should give it a try too. It rewards college basketball knowledge by having you choose actual players in the tourney that will go deep in the tourney and put up big stats.

The guessing game is removed and the March madness pseudo fans would stay as far away as possible as they’d have no clue how to come up with a strategy to win and what players to pick. It's also 10x more exciting to watch your players instead of just the last two minutes of a game.

Check it out at www.FantasySportsMadness.com. There are two separate games called Survival March Madness and One and Done March Madness to play where you could win a Nintendo Wii or take home a cash pot!

There's a cheat sheet already posted on the homepage with all the top scorers on the tourney teams plus a top 100 players list to save you time researching and strategies to think about when picking your own team.

I welcome the competition and may the true college basketball expert win!

Top 75 College Basketball Fantasy Players (Updated March 9th)

len laber — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 23:53:23 -0400

The following are the top 75 fantasy college basketball players likely in the March Madness tournament based on default scoring system provided by www.FantasySportsMadness.com. Sign up now for Survival March Madness and win $800!

Few interesting findings:

Blake Griffin clearly a head above the rest of the field
Tyler Hansborough is only #16 and behind Duke's Kyle Singler
Big East has 9 of top 25 players
No Big 10 players in the top 40

Rank	Name	Team	AP Ranking	GP	PPG	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	Points
1	Blake Griffin	Oklahoma	4	30.0	22.1	14.2	2.4	3.4	1.2	1.3	1800
2	Marcus Thornton	LSU	12	31.0	20.9	5.5	2.1	1.9	1.6	0.4	1603
3	Jerel McNeal	Marquette	13	31.0	20.1	4.6	3.9	2.8	2.1	0.6	1590
4	Toney Douglas	Florida St	24	31.0	20.8	4.1	3.0	2.4	1.9	0.5	1583
5	James Harden	Arizona St	21	30.0	20.8	5.4	4.1	3.4	1.7	0.3	1541
6	Sam Young	Pitt	3	31.0	18.8	6.1	1.2	2.4	1.1	0.8	1416
7	Wesley Matthews	Marquette	13	31.0	18.5	5.4	2.5	2.4	1.3	0.5	1413
8	DeMarre Carroll	Missouri	15	31.0	17.1	7.3	2.1	1.6	1.6	0.7	1385
9	DeJuan Blair	Pitt	3	30.0	15.6	12.4	1.2	1.3	1.5	1.0	1383
10	Sherron Collins	Kansas	9	31.0	18.3	2.7	5.0	3.3	1.2	0.0	1379
11	Jeff Teague	Wake Forest	10	29.0	19.4	3.3	3.6	3.3	1.9	0.6	1348
12	Jonny Flynn	Syracuse	25	31.0	17.3	2.9	6.4	3.3	1.5	0.1	1346
13	Tyreke Evans	Memphis	5	31.0	16.9	5.5	3.7	3.5	2.1	0.7	1343
14	Kyle Singler	Duke	7	30.0	16.3	7.7	2.6	2.4	1.6	0.8	1343
15	Lazar Hayward	Marquette	13	31.0	16.2	8.5	1.2	1.8	1.1	0.3	1334
16	Tyler Hansbrough	UNC	2	26.0	21.1	8.1	0.8	1.8	0.8	0.5	1325
17	Cole Aldrich	Kansas	9	31.0	14.8	10.5	1.0	1.5	0.6	2.5	1325
18	Tasmin Mitchell	LSU	12	31.0	16.4	7.3	1.9	2.0	1.5	0.7	1317
19	Trevor Booker	Clemson	18	30.0	15.2	9.7	1.7	2.0	1.4	2.1	1309
20	Dante Cunningham	Villanova	11	31.0	16.4	7.3	1.2	2.1	1.4	1.3	1296
21	Ty Lawson	UNC	2	30.0	15.9	2.8	6.5	2.0	2.0	0.1	1279
22	Gerald Henderson	Duke	7	30.0	16.7	5.0	2.4	2.1	1.4	0.8	1263
23	Hasheem Thabeet	Uconn	1	30.0	13.6	10.8	0.5	1.8	0.6	4.5	1251
24	Terrence Williams	Louisville	6	30.0	12.8	8.5	5.1	2.3	2.3	0.9	1245
25	Jon Brockman	Washington	16	30.0	14.8	11.5	1.1	1.9	0.9	0.1	1238
26	Scottie Reynolds	Villanova	11	31.0	15.7	2.7	3.7	2.6	1.5	0.1	1208
27	James Johnson	Wake Forest	10	29.0	14.6	8.4	2.1	2.4	1.5	1.5	1186
28	K.C. Rivers	Clemson	18	30.0	14.3	6.0	1.6	1.4	1.7	0.4	1174
29	Darren Collison	UCLA	20	31.0	14.8	2.5	5.0	2.3	1.6	0.2	1173
30	Earl Clark	Louisville	6	30.0	13.6	8.8	3.1	3.3	1.0	1.5	1172
31	Wayne Ellington	UNC	2	30.0	14.9	4.8	2.6	1.6	1.1	0.1	1164
32	Justin Dentmon	Washington	16	31.0	15.3	2.8	2.5	2.0	1.5	0.2	1164
33	Danny Green	UNC	2	30.0	13.9	4.7	2.9	1.8	1.8	1.4	1163
34	Jeff Adrien	Uconn	1	30.0	13.7	9.9	1.4	1.6	0.5	1.0	1156
35	Jeff Pendergraph	Arizona St	21	30.0	14.4	8.5	1.0	1.2	0.5	0.9	1154
36	Gordon Hayward	Butler	22	30.0	13.4	6.4	2.0	1.6	1.6	1.0	1146
37	Matt Howard	Butler	22	30.0	14.6	6.8	1.1	1.6	0.8	1.5	1139
38	Josh Heytvelt	Gonzaga	14	30.0	14.8	6.7	0.6	1.2	0.6	0.9	1138
39	Willie Warren	Oklahoma	4	31.0	14.7	2.1	3.1	2.1	1.2	0.1	1105
40	Robert Dozier	Memphis	5	31.0	12.9	6.9	1.6	2.1	1.2	1.7	1105
41	Kalin Lucas	Michigan St	8	30.0	14.8	2.2	4.6	2.0	0.9	0.2	1097
42	Derrick Brown	Xavier	17	30.0	13.8	6.1	2.0	1.9	0.7	0.9	1096
43	Jon Scheyer	Duke	7	30.0	14.0	3.7	2.8	1.6	1.5	0.2	1094
44	Matt Bouldin	Gonzaga	14	30.0	13.7	3.9	3.2	1.7	1.6	0.1	1087
45	Leo Lyons	Missouri	15	30.0	14.4	5.8	1.9	2.3	1.0	0.7	1087
46	E'Twaun Moore	Purdue	19	30.0	14.0	4.9	2.9	2.8	1.2	0.4	1084
47	Austin Daye	Gonzaga	14	30.0	13.1	6.9	1.1	2.1	0.8	2.0	1079
48	Paul Harris	Syracuse	25	30.0	12.8	7.8	2.2	2.1	1.1	0.8	1071
49	B.J. Raymond	Xavier	17	30.0	13.8	4.2	1.5	1.5	0.6	0.4	1056
50	Eric Devendorf	Syracuse	25	29.0	15.2	1.8	3.2	3.1	1.0	0.2	1033
51	Al-Farouq Aminu	Wake Forest	10	29.0	13.0	8.3	1.6	2.6	1.0	1.2	1031
52	JaJuan Johnson	Purdue	19	30.0	13.2	5.9	0.7	1.4	0.5	2.2	1027
53	Josh Shipp	UCLA	20	29.0	14.4	3.0	1.6	1.8	1.3	0.4	1015
54	A.J. Price	Uconn	1	29.0	13.3	3.3	4.6	2.5	0.6	0.0	1012
55	Levance Fields	Pitt	3	31.0	10.9	2.5	7.6	1.9	0.8	0.1	996
56	Demetri McCamey	Illinois	23	31.0	11.9	2.6	4.8	2.4	1.0	0.2	985
57	Terrence Oglesby	Clemson	18	30.0	13.6	1.7	1.8	1.8	0.9	0.0	981
58	Mike Davis	Illinois	23	31.0	11.1	7.9	1.9	1.6	0.6	0.6	978
59	Antonio Anderson	Memphis	5	31.0	10.5	5.0	4.2	2.2	1.5	0.5	944
60	Shelvin Mack	Butler	22	30.0	11.5	4.2	3.5	2.2	1.1	0.0	944
61	Arinze Onuaku	Syracuse	25	31.0	10.5	7.5	0.6	1.5	0.5	1.5	924
62	Quincy Pondexter	Washington	16	31.0	11.6	5.7	1.5	1.8	0.7	0.4	923
63	Shawn Taggart	Memphis	5	31.0	10.4	7.4	0.3	1.2	0.6	1.5	917
64	Robbie Hummel	Purdue	19	25.0	12.4	6.7	2.0	1.0	1.1	0.6	899
65	Deon Thompson	UNC	2	30.0	11.2	6.1	0.7	1.3	1.0	1.1	898
66	Andy Rautins	Syracuse	25	30.0	10.3	3.1	3.0	1.9	1.3	0.1	864
67	Taylor Griffin	Oklahoma	4	31.0	9.7	6.0	1.4	1.5	1.2	1.1	860
68	Rihards Kuksiks	Arizona St	21	29.0	10.8	4.0	1.4	1.3	0.5	0.2	844
69	Jeremy Pargo	Gonzaga	14	30.0	9.8	3.6	5.1	2.5	1.4	0.1	842
70	Corey Fisher	Villanova	11	31.0	10.8	2.1	2.8	1.9	1.3	0.1	830
71	Alfred Aboya	UCLA	20	31.0	10.1	6.0	0.6	1.0	0.8	0.2	830
72	Trent Meacham	Illinois	23	31.0	9.9	2.4	2.6	1.0	0.8	0.1	825
73	Mike Tisdale	Illinois	23	31.0	10.8	4.0	0.5	1.5	0.4	1.4	823
74	C.J. Anderson	Xavier	17	30.0	10.2	5.6	2.3	2.4	0.6	0.6	812
75	Corey Stokes	Villanova	11	31.0	9.5	3.4	1.1	1.0	0.7	0.2	794

FantasySportsMadness.com: Bringing Change to Fantasy Sports

len laber — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 21:35:59 -0500

As the founder of FantasySportsMadness.com, I’m often asked what makes this website and fantasy games so special and different than anything that the big boys offer.

To do so, I’ll need to tell you a tale about the dark ages of fantasy sports, what will eventually happen to you and your buddies if you’re currently in high school or college and then how FantasySportsMadness.com will change and make it easier for everyone to continue to enjoy fantasy sports.

I first started playing fantasy football back in high school so we’re talking the mid-1990s. The internet and online fantasy sports was still relatively new back then. Instead of live scoring, you would have to check the box scores in the newspaper the next day and hand calculate stats. Oh, how people have it easy these days.

With the explosion of online fantasy sports, in the early 2000s, everything from online drafts and customized stats, to automated free agent pickups and live scoring, was made easier.

In college and as a young professional, you could spend weeks or even months doing the offseason researching and building your strategy in anticipation of the draft.

However, times change as you and your friends get older. Some guys work 60+ hours a week, get married, buy a house, and start a family. They no longer have all time in the world to read every player news that comes out and the importance of playing fantasy sports drops from a top priority in your life.

As your life evolves and becomes busier, unfortunately fantasy sports still requires the same time commitment.

The following items were identified as the sources of the complexity. This is how FantasySportsMadness.com brings change to fantasy games to keep you and your friends playing fantasy sports for many years to come.

1) The season is too long: The biggest turnoff for people is the time commitment needed during the regular season. Every day you need to stay on top of the latest player news to make pickups and agonize over your lineup for more than four months, depending on the sport.

You truly have to enjoy fantasy sports be stay involved or else you end being the lame duck owner that everyone promises to kick out of the league next year yet he ends up returning since someone couldn’t make the draft.

Solution: Skip the regular season and focus on the playoffs. The playoffs are the most exiting part of a sport, yet fantasy sports seasons end when the regular season do. Not any more.

You just need to pay attention for about a month and there’s more strategy involved in the postseason since you want to choose players that will put up stats and whose team will continue to play in the next round.

2) Need for a draft: The most critical start of your fantasy season is of course the draft. Back in the day, it was easy to get everyone together in someone’s basement or dorm room.

Now it’s the biggest hassle to coordinate over a conference call or online program. Finally when you do agree on a date or time, there’s always someone that’s running late or just plain forgets to show up. Ask any commissioner of a league now and he’ll tell you the draft is the biggest pain of his job.

Solution: Eliminate need for a draft in the fantasy games altogether. Instead, each owner is given a choice of any players available in the postseason he wishes for his team. All he has to do set his own lineup anytime before the start of a player’s game.

No more need for hundreds of emails to talk about when the draft will be, now its just one reminder over the message board to set your lineup on time.

3) Rules are too complicated: Setting waiver bids, making free agent pickups, and having obscure stat categories makes fantasy games more complicated then they need to be. You’d rather just focus on watching your players play in their games than worrying about the other aspects.

Solution: Keep the rules simple. No waiver, no free agent pickup, and no trades. You choose your own lineup of players and that’s that. All you have to worry about is setting your roster before a player’s game starts. Only the major stat categories are used but you still have option to customize the point values for each.

4) Limited number of teams in a league: How many people do you know that are in three or more fantasy football leagues? Ask them if they enjoy having a player on their team in one league and then knowing their opponent has the same player against them in another league?

It sucks and leaves you torn whether to cheer for him. The reason people are in so many leagues is because no more than 12 owners usually can be in it. If your friends and then co-workers set up leagues, you must play in each one.

Solution: Allow an unlimited number of teams in a league. Finally, everyone you know can play against each other. You now know that the players you have on your team are the only guys you root for. Use the Invite Friends function on the website to tell everyone you know to join your league and finally the league winner can officially be given the title of King Cojones.

My friends, we can continue to enjoy fantasy sports now and in the future. The time for change is NOW!