I'm not quite sure what this costume is, but I'll be looking for it in the neighborhood in a few short hours... 






Public Service Announcement:  If you see this man, run for the hills...






Actually, on second thought that might not be a very good idea.  According to this article, Leigh Steinberg was recently taken into custody while screaming and attempting to climb a hill.  Not surprisingly, officers detected a strong odor of alcohol and Steinberg's speech was slurred.   Leigh has had his problems with alcohol for several years now and really needs to get some help.  However, before he enters rehab I'll be sure to mail his Bonehead of the Week award to him...






Gotta give the Babe of the Week to Elle.  For some reason I didn't see too many of these bathing suits at the beach this past summer...






Here is a picture of new 49ers head coach Mike Singletary...with all of his clothes on.  Reportedly, Singletary dropped his pants during halftime of this past weekend's game against the Seattle Seahawks in an effort to motivate his players.  Hey, whatever works!  A highly successful Pop Warner football coach here in the San Diego area thought about doing the same thing a few weeks back, but decided against it at the last second.  Instead, he just promised his team that he would buy them Carvel ice cream cones if they played better in the second half...






Things are a little upside down...as far as my record against the spread this season.  However, I'm now at 54-57-5 and looking to go at least 9-5 in Week 9.    My record without the spread is a much more palatable 71-45.  On to the picks...


Without the Spread

Minnesota
Jacksonville
Tampa Bay
Cleveland
Buffalo
Arizona
Chicago
Tennessee
Denver
Atlanta
NY Giants
Philadelphia
Indianapolis - Peyton should be able to eke out a win...especially if Sanders and Addai play 
Washington


Against the Spread

Houston     + 4 1/2  Tough one, but the Texans are playing well & should keep it close
J-ville          -8
TB               -8 1/2    Might be too many points, but KC likely won't score more than 10
Cleveland    -1 1/2   Browns starting to find a groove
Buffalo         -6         Don't like the line, but Bills will win the game
Arizona        -3
Chicago      -12 1/2  A lot of points, but the score should be about 27-13
GB               +5 1/2
Denver        -3 1/2
Atlanta        - 2 1/2   Could see this going the other way, but Ryan looks like real deal
Giants          -9 1/2    Brad Johnson will get sacked at least 6 times
Philly            -6 1/2    Likely will be close game, but Philly should cover
NE                +6         Rosey's lock of the week so I'm betting the farm
Washington   -2  

Perhaps this was the case in the Isiah Era, but things are looking up for the Knicks under Mike D'Antoni.  In this inaugural Fantasy Focus feature I'll be touching on the Knicks from a fantasy perspective and my feelings can be summed up as follows:  I Love 'Em!  In my draft that took place this past Sunday I ended up with three Knicks on the fifteen man roster...and narrowly missed out on two others that I really wanted.  There are currently seven Knicks players who should be in all fantasy lineups:

Jamal Crawford - Streaky as they come, but often puts up spectacular numbers
Zach Randolph - A lot of issues, but he's an automatic 19 & 9 and solid from the line
David Lee - Almost guaranteed a double-double every game with good FG/FT%
Chris Duhon - Running the show and should average 12 pts, 7 assts and a couple 3's
Quentin Richardson - Still one of the best shooters in basketball and can rebound as well
Nate Robinson - The Leandro Barbosa in D'Antoni's offense;  Nate should excel all season
Wilson Chandler - Not nearly as good as Marion, but a mini-Matrix who can fly

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Paper Tiger Guy is one of my favorite fantasy guys.  PTG is the guy who goes out of his way to draft and acquire all-star caliber players or anybody with a big name.  In theory, this doesn't sound like a bad strategy.  However, in practice it usually results in disappointment and mediocrity.   How can this be so?  Well, let me give you an example.  In my twelve team fantasy basketball league last season PTG finished the year with a roster of Shaq, Jermaine O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Baron Davis, Dwight Howard, Jason Kidd, Andrei Kirilenko, Grant Hill, Mehmet Okur and Jason Terry.  That loaded team definitely won the league, right?  Wrong.  PTG's team ended the year in 4th place and he lost a lot of sleep at night wondering how his all-star team failed to finish ahead of a first place roster with players like Crawford, Calderon, Moon, Diaw, Blatche, and Carroll.  What I find most humorous about PTG is that he never learns from his mistakes...and I mean never.  I guarantee you that the PTG I just discussed will have at least five of the same players on his fantasy team again later this year.  I just wish I could bet money in Vegas on this...  


The above paragraph came from my 7/5/08 post regarding Fantasy Guy.  Well, now that the draft has taken place I'm here to report that the person I was referring to...let's call him Set Shot Bufford ... drafted the following players this past Sunday:  Yao Ming, Jermaine O'Neal, Tracy McGrady, Shaquille O'Neal and Nene Hilario.  Sure, at one time all of these guys have been very good basketball players.  However, they are all injuries waiting to happen.  Once the All-Star break rolls around, Set Shot's team will be plummeting in the standings and he'll be talking about how unlucky he is.  One day he'll learn...