Lamenting a lost league

This will be the first season in at least 8 or 9 years that my dad and I won't be sharing a fantasy football team.

The tradition started back when I was in college. Dad got invited to join a league run by some of his younger colleagues at his office back in New Jersey, where he's a supervisor. Dad's always been a big football fan - a standout prep player in his day and a lifelong Giants fan, he taught me most of what I know about the game, and even a little on how to bet on it - but he wanted my help with picking the team. So we came to an agreement: He'd front the league entry fee, and I'd handle the draft and weekly lineup, acting as a kind of GM. And thus, Ace in the Hole was born.

Now, this was no run-of-the mill fantasy league. First off, the yearly league entry fee has always been at least $100, plus anywhere from $2 to $5 for every transaction. And instead of just a 10-team league, it was actually set up with TWO divisions of 10 teams apiece, with the two division champs ultimately meeting in the fantasy super bowl. The divisions (in reference to Dad, we were placed in the "Old People" division, as opposed to "Young People") each held separate drafts, so the same players could be owned in both. You'd play all the teams in your division during the season, but you'd also face some cross-divisional opponents as well, which always led to some interesting dilemmas. For instance, you might own Priest Holmes but end up facing another team that had Holmes in its starting lineup. Would you start Holmes as well in the hopes of canceling each other out? Or would you risk starting some other running back in his place in the hopes of outscoring the "other" Holmes?

The drafts were always a good time. They were usually held on a Friday night in late August at somebody's house, with the "Young People" set up in folding chairs in the backyard and the "Old People" huddled around a converted poker table inside enjoying the AC. The beer flowed freely from a keg, and some of Central Jersey's finest cuisine, from tomato pie to hoagies to wings, was on the menu.

In our first couple years of competing I was able to attend with Dad, with draft day coming before I went back to college to start the semester. But in subsequent years, when the real world called and I held newspaper jobs that kept me in the office on Friday nights, I had to draft long distance, with Dad attending in person to make the picks and me strategizing with him via cell phone. I spent many a Friday night with one eye on my work on the computer screen (my editors will love reading this) and another on our cheat sheet, with my right earlobe and my cell phone minutes burning up. A couple years ago I even picked the whole team on the phone while on a 7-hour road trip from Columbus, Ga., to Bradenton, much to the delight of the other four people trapped in the minivan with me.

There are a lot of other fond, and not-so-fond, memories that stick out from Ace in the Hole's existence. Like the time we only needed one stinking catch from Shannon Sharpe on a Monday Night Football game to clinch a fantasy playoff spot and didn't get it (we still haven't forgiven him). Or the time Daunte Culpepper's awesome 39-TD season in 2004 led us to the postseason; we had him again in 2005 and his injury-plagued debacle that year destroyed us.

I'll always remember the guys who played well for us (Tiki Barber, Mike Alstott) and the guys who didn't (LaMont Jordan, Matt Forte). And I won't forget the Sunday afternoons when Dad and I would call each other to rejoice over those guys or curse them out. We're both men of few words, so Ace in the Hole always gave us something easy to talk about and helped us stay in touch, especially these past few years with me living in Florida and him back in the Garden State.

Dad decided to pull the plug on Ace in the Hole this year. He wasn't really thrilled about fronting the entry fee, economic times being as they are. Maybe it would have helped if we made the playoffs more than the few times we did over the years and at least won our money back. But also, the sad truth is most of the guys he worked with and made up our league over the years got laid off when Dad's company went through some massive downsizing and outsourcing recently. Much of the enjoyment he got from being in the league came from ragging on those guys during the week around the office, telling them his kid was going to build a championship team that would kick their butts. Now most of those guys aren't around anymore, and a lot of them dropped out of the league too.

I'll still play in other leagues of course, but I don't think it can ever be the same. If you're in one this great, enjoy it. If you share a team with your dad or your son, cherish it while it lasts.

I know I do.

8/8 Sleeper of the Day: Matthew Stafford

QB MATTHEW STAFFORD, LIONS

What's this? A recommendation for a Detroit quarterback? No joke!

OK, so Stafford didn't exactly take the fantasy world by storm in Year 1, and nobody's confusing the kid with Bobby Layne yet. But there's a lot to like here in 2010.

For starters, let's begin with what's NOT here: No Daunte Culpepper to take away valuable snaps or practice reps from the developing Stafford, and no shoulder and knee injuries that hampered him throughout his rookie season. Stafford was forced to miss six games last year, and while his stats in the remaining 10 weren't all that pretty (13 TDs, 20 INTs), he'll have the benefit of being the team's unquestioned starter from the opening of camp and a having year under his belt.

Now, for the really exciting part. Not only does Stafford have Calvin Johnson, who's on the cusp of becoming the game's best receiver, as his main target, but the Lions have upgraded the rest of their offensive weapons. In the offseason they added WR Nate Burleson and TE Tony Scheffler and drafted explosive RB Jahvid Best and are starting to look like a professional football team. True, it could all be for naught if Detroit's offensive line does the same swiss cheese impression as last year and stunts Stafford's development. But that unit should improve, and so should Stafford. He's not ready to make the jump to No. 1 fantasy starter just yet, but I contend he'll make for a serviceable and underrated backup this year.

Best of the decade?

As we say goodbye to 2009, I'm seeing all kinds of all-decade lists popping up all over the place (Best movies? Best songs? Best TV themes?)

It got me thinking: Who were the best fantasy players of the 2000s? It'd be awfully hard to narrow it down to an all-decade team. For instance, Peyton Manning's probably the obvious choice at QB, but how do you deny Tom Brady's record-busting 2007 season? Or how do you narrow it down to 1 or 2 running backs - say, LaDainian Tomlinson and Priest Holmes - and leave out a Brian Westbrook or Adrian Peterson or Marshall Faulk?

Jay Clemons of SI.com actually figured out a better approach, ranking the top 10 fantasy seasons of the decade. Here's what they came up with in a nutshell:

1. Tom Brady, 2007
2. LaDainian Tomlinson, 2006
3. Peyton Manning, 2004
4. Randy Moss, 2007
5. Shaun Alexander, 2005
6. Daunte Culpepper, 2004
7. LaDainian Tomlinson, 2003
8. Marvin Harrison, 2002
9. Tony Gonzalez, 2004
10. Drew Brees, 2008

A few things jump out at me:

- How does Holmes not make the list? It's easy to forget that near the start of the decade he was every bit as dominating as Tomlinson in his prime and single-handedly won many leagues in the early 2000s. A tight end makes the list and Priest doesn't?

- Brady may have had the single most impressive fantasy season of the '00s, but as SI points out, the rest of his career belongs simply in the "good" category, from a fantasy standpoint.

- It's almost unfathomable that Culpepper, who can't even stay on the field for the Detroit Lions nowadays, was once the game's best fantasy QB. I owned him in 2004, his incredible 39-TD season, and loved every minute of it. I also drafted him the following year, the start of his long downward career spiral, and still haven't forgiven him.

Photo by The Associated Press

Hot Pickups: Week 12

FOUR STARS (Out of five)

RB ROCK CARTWRIGHT, Redskins: Somebody's got to run the ball for Washington, and with Ladell Betts out for the year and Clinton Portis still woozy, Cartwright's the man. He totaled 140 yards on 20 touches last week against Dallas, and though he'll be facing some challenging defenses, starting with Philly this week, he should at least be getting a heavy workload.

TE JERMICHAEL FINLEY, Packers: Finley got dropped in a lot of leagues after sitting out three games with injury, but he announced his return with 7 catches for 54 yards last week against the 49ers. He's sure to do some damage on Thanksgiving against the Lions' spotty pass defense, so pick him up if he's available and start him.


THREE STARS

QB VINCE YOUNG, Titans: The numbers haven't been anything special, but he's been making plays and winning games since he got another opportunity to play. He's worth a shot if you're in a pinch at QB this week (vs. Arizona) or like his upside in some favorable matchups down the stretch (vs. St. Louis, Miami, San Diego, at Seattle in the season's final four weeks).


TWO STARS

QB DAUNTE CULPEPPER, Lions: The former fantasy star is likely to start Thursday in place of Matthew Stafford, and we've seen some crazy performances on Turkey Day before, but I'm not sure you really want to go down this road unless you're desperate.

Photo by The Associated Press

WEEK 5 - Sunday Recap

-The Rams' Jeff Wilkins continues his bid as fantasy's top kicker, booting three straight in Sunday's win over Green Bay. He's got competition from Chicago's Robbie Gould, who's hit a remarkable 17 straight to begin the season.

-Larry Johnson put together another big day (36 rushing yards, 106 receiving yards and a TD), but there was a scare when he was pulled down by the facemask at the end of a 78-yard run. Word is he suffered a neck strain and eventually looked OK, but keep an eye on him.

-Matt Leinart showed what he can do in his first pro start, hitting two early TD passes before making some rookie mistakes. Again, don't even think about starting him next week against Chicago, but he could be worth plugging in Weeks 7 and 8 (Oakland, Green Bay).

-Good to see Reggie Bush get his first pro touchdown. Too bad it was on a punt return - unless you've got the Saints defense, that is.

-Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald went down with what appears to be a serious hamstring injury. You'd be adviced to grab teammate Bryant Johnson, who led Arizona with 82 receiving yards Sunday.

-The Redskins' offense really came up lame against what had been a questionable Giants defense. Mark Brunell barely managed 100 passing yards, which meant Santana Moss' three-TD game of a week ago became a distant memory. The G-Men held Clinton Portis (a.k.a. Dolemite Jenkins) to just 78 yards on the ground, and the Skins managed only a field goal. They'll have better days - like Week 6 against Tennessee, perhaps.

-Michael Robinson got the goal-line carries for San Francisco as expected, but he couldn't hit paydirt three straight times. Starter Frank Gore had a career-high 134 yards on the ground against Oakland and didn't fumble for the first time this season. It's unclear if M-Rob blew his chance, so I can't recommend putting him in your lineup next week against San Diego, but he's worth hanging on to if you can spare the roster spot.

-Andrew Walter hit Randy Moss for a TD for the second straight game, but Walter ended up getting pulled for Marques Tuiasosopo in Oakland's loss to San Fran. Moss also dropped a Walter pass in the end zone and was seen laughing on the sidelines a few plays later. LaMont Jordan managed only 71 yards on the ground, dropped a lateral and didn't even attempt to recover it as the Niners' Melvin Oliver ran it in for a score. If these guys don't even care, why should you? Look elsewhere.

-Bruce Gradkowski wasn't half bad against the Saints (two TDs, no INTs) in his starting debut, and he actually made the Bucs offense produce. Gradkowski might be an OK spot starter from here on out, and Jon Gruden is enamored with him, but we don't have much of a sample size to go on. I'd be more excited about Joey Galloway, Cadillac Williams and even talented TE Alex Smith finally showing some signs of life under Gradkowski's guidance.

-The Chargers finally took the shackles off Philip Rivers (two TDs), who looked pretty good against a supposedly tough Steelers defense. Unfortunately, LaDainian Tomlinson didn't have one of his patented monster games (70 total yards). Don't drop him, though.

-The early front-runner for Fantasy MVP: Donovan McNabb. He's been a touchdown machine this year (one rushing, two passing in Week 5) and surprisingly getting it done with guys like Reggie Brown and Hank Baskett catching passes ... with most of the so-called "stud" RBs not being so studly this season and the QB ranks constantly in flux, McNabb is separating himself from the pack.

-Brian Westbrook is driving owners batty this year. We knew he was an injury risk entering the season, but this inflammation business in his knee is really getting old. It seems like it's going to be a constant problem this season, which means a lot of the dreaded "game-time decision" tags attached to his name for the foreseeable future. There are even rumors he could need surgery at the end of the year - or sooner. The guy could easily be a top-10 back if he were a little more reliable, but you might want to have a backup plan in place if you don't already.

-Speaking of injured RBs, Ahman Green was a late scratch for the second straight week with sore hammies. And if you started backup Vernand Morency in a pinch, you got burned when Morency fumbled twice in the first quarter against St. Louis. Third-stringer Noah Herron of Northwestern capitalized, gaining 106 yards and a TD.

-Daunte Culpepper was a surprise scratch as the Dolphins went with Joey Harrington at QB. Joey Ballgame didn't fare much better (no TDs, two INTs), and the stocks of Ronnie Brown (a TD but only 39 rushing yards) and Chris Chambers (47 total yards) continue to plummet. Cut Culpepper if you haven't already, and steer clear of Harrington.

-The Bears looked damn impressive on both sides of the ball in destroying the Bills. Too bad Thomas Jones was the workhorse again (22 carries, 109 yards) but Cedric Benson got two cheap TDs from the 1-yard line. You've gotta think about starting Rex Grossman and/or Bernard Berrian in matchups against Arizona, San Francisco and Miami in three of the next four weeks.

-The Jaguars' offense absolutely went off on the Jets, with Byron Leftwich (two TDs), Fred Taylor (111 yards, TD), Maurice Jones-Drew (two TDs) and Reggie Williams (TD) all getting in on the action. You'll want your Jags skill players in the lineup with two games against Houston and one against Tennessee coming up over the next four weeks.

-The only small positive for the J-E-T-S was rookie Leon Washington, who ran for 101 yards on 23 carries and further mucked up New York's RB situation. Kevin Barlow, previously the main guy, managed -1 yard on four carries. Who knows what next week will bring, but it's become clear Derrick Blaylock (zero carries) and Cedric Houston (shoulder injury) are out of the mix.

-The Titans' Chris Brown was healthy but inactive in Week 5, which means you can safely dump him (if you haven't already) in all but the deepest of leagues. Travis Henry busted out a 123-yard game against the Colts, while rookie LenDale White had eight carries for 48 yards.

-As for the Colts' RB platoon of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai: Rhodes got the edge in touches (25 to 15) and total yards (110 to 77) this week. Obviously both are productive, but neither are consistent options, especially against a tough stretch of opponents (Washington, Denver, New England, Dallas, Philly) after a Week 6 bye.

-DeAngelo Williams lost out on a big day when he suffered a sprained ankle on his first carry of the game against Cleveland. DeShaun Foster owners everywhere rejoiced ... but then realized Carolina faces Baltimore next week.

-Rough game for Lions skill players: Roy Williams left with a shoulder stinger after making just one catch, Kevin Jones left with a concussion after 10 carries for eight yards, and Jon Kitna had three INTs and a costly fumble that was returned for a Minnesota touchdown. And if you thought Mike Williams might finally have an opportunity to do something, he dropped the only pass thrown to him and was promptly benched. I wouldn't touch any of these guys next week, even if they're healthy, against a Buffalo defense that just got embarrassed by the Bears.

WEEK 2 - Sunday Recap

- The Rams lose their third straight to the 49ers? Unacceptable. I know they're still getting used to this whole wacky "balanced" offense thing, but they'll eventually need to find the end zone. Owners of Steven Jackson (112 yards a game) and Jeff Wilkins (eight FGs) aren't complaining, but Marc Bulger hasn't exactly lived up to expectations. Of course, six sacks allowed only complicated things, and Orlando Pace's concussion didn't help either.

- The Larry Johnson crisis mode can be put to rest. Some TDs would be nice, but 167 total yards in a game is fine by me. Herm Edwards has his flaws (like an inability to tell time, for one), but he's no dummy.

- Clinton Portis, please hurry back. Some of us were counting on you.

- Philip Rivers has actually looked OK, but keep in mind playing the Raiders and Titans could make anyone look good. And it helps if your defense allows three points per game. I'm not sold on him as for fantasy purposes.

- Aaron Brooks was awful again, fumbling twice before leaving with a sprained rotator cuff. He might not have a job when the Raiders return from next week's bye, even though Andrew Walter wasn't that great against the Ravens D in relief. For the love of everything holy, avoid this situation at all costs. And if you own LaMont Jordan, I feel your pain.

- Warrick Dunn doesn't get the fantasy respect he deserves. He's an every-week starter now that the Falcons are running wild. And maybe that Michael Vick is OK after all.

- Hope Atlanta's Michael Koenen isn't your fantasy kicker. Because he might have just become your fantasy punter.

- Chad Pennington is looking more and more like a solid fantasy backup and spot starter. Two TDs and 306 passing yards against the Pats is nothing to sniff at, and the Jets can't run the ball.

- Tough break (literally) for T.O. owners. Think about Chicago's Bernard Berrian (five catches, 89 yards, TD vs. Detroit), the Jets' Jerico Cotchery (six catches, 121 yards, TD vs. New England), or New Orleans' Marques Colston (four catches, 58 yards, TD vs. Green Bay) as fill-ins.

- Will there be a run on Bears TEs after breakout games for John Gilmore (two TDs) and Desmond Clark (TD)? Not likely ... but Rex Grossman showed he's no Kyle Orton and deserves a little fantasy consideration, at least when he's up against suspect Ds.

- What's up with Joey Galloway? No catches one week, nine for 161 yards the next. Chris Simms and the Bucs need to get their act together quickly. Maybe Cadillac Williams will be able to crack the 40-yard mark against a suddenly run-soft Carolina D in Week 3.

- Nice game by David Carr! Three TDs, 22-for-26 for 219 yards ... did you start him? Of course you didn't.

- Eli Manning is coming of age. After seeing what he's done against the Colts and Eagles, I wouldn't hesitate to start him against the Seahawks on Sunday.

- Reuben Droughns hasn't looked so hot, and he gets to face the Ravens next week. I tabbed him as a bust in '05, but maybe I was a year early.

- Brett Favre put up some nice numbers (340 yards, three TDs) against the Saints. That can happen when you attempt 55 passes in a game. He's still serviceable as a fantasy QB against soft defenses, and you might consider starting him against the Lions after seeing Grossman carve them up on Sunday.

- Hey Roy Williams: Shut up and play.

- Start Daunte Culpepper the next two weeks. Don't laugh. If he can't get it done against the Titans and Texans, he's finished.

- A quick thought from the college ranks .... Note to teams playing at Louisville: Stop stomping on the Cardinals' midfield logo. Rutgers did it last year and lost 56-5. Miami did it this year and lost 31-7. Respect Papa John's Stadium.

Steelers vs. Dolphins - what we learned

- Daunte Culpepper owners have to be concerned. Miami's new QB looked lost, overthrowing his receivers several times and tossing two damaging interceptions with the game on the line. Sure, he was playing against a fired-up Pittsburgh defense on its home turf, but based on how Daunte looked early last season before his knee injury, you have to wonder if he's still got some mental rehabbing to do.

- Will Culpepper's struggles affect WR Chris Chambers? I wouldn't worry too much. Chambers didn't do much last night, but you can chalk that up to the Steelers' D. Check out the numbers he put up last year with the scrubs the Dolphins used at QB.

- Ronnie Brown had a rough night running the ball, but his two short TDs made up for it. There will be plenty more yards to come for Miami's workhorse.

- Speaking of a workhorse, Willie Parker had a career high in carries and is going to get more goal-line touches now that Jerome Bettis is driving a school bus. Parker's going to have a monster year.

- Heath Miller will be solid, but don't expect 100 yards every game. And somebody tell Nick Saban he throws like a girl.