LestersLegends.com

In an effort to bring you more complete fantasy coverage, I contacted Fantasy NASCAR Preview for those of you interested in Fantasy NASCAR.  They have agreed to allow me to sharesome info with you.  They provide rankings, previews, an innovative B List Calculator, and a top notch blog.

This week they discuss Talladega.

Hey y’all…I’m going to try this video thing just once more. Here’s my article, in video form:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa5Wl3uZFuE

If you don’t have time to watch it, you’re not missing much….lol. I’ll list my team here for those of you in a hurry:

A list: Clint Bowyer (0/9), Kyle Busch (2/9)…Mark Martin (0/9) and Jeff Burton (0/9) are also under consideration.

B list: Casey Mears (0/9), David Stremme (0/9), David Ragan (0/9), Ryan Newman (0/9). I’m set here…please see the video if you want to hear me plead my case for these four.

C list: Robby Gordon (0/9), Regan Smith (0/9)…Reed Sorenson (0/9) and Sam Hornish, Jr. (0/9) are also under consideration.

 It’s back to writing next week, y’all…hope you enjoyed the two week video streak.

Talladega Useful Links
Yahoo Driver Rankings
ESPN Rankings

In an effort to bring you more complete fantasy coverage, I contacted Fantasy NASCAR Preview for those of you interested in Fantasy NASCAR.  They have agreed to allow me to sharesome info with you.  They provide rankings, previews, an innovative B List Calculator, and a top notch blog.

This week they discuss the race at Texas Motor Speedway. 

Hey everyone! Schafe here, hoping that your fantasy team survived the recent short track swing with relative success. But now, the Cup boys head to a scene all-too familiar on this year’s schedule: a 1.5 mile, intermediate, “cookie-cutter” venue: the Texas Motor Speedway.

Last Week:
It made all too much sense to go with “Big Red” himself, Juan Pablo Montoya, at a track like the Martinsville Speedway, as the brakes here often emit a bright red hue, the drivers’ faces grow crimson with short track fever…and of course who could forget the infamously Maschino cherry-colored Martinsville hot dogs?
Kidding aside, Montoya did great for me, rallying from a lap down late to finish 12th. With Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on my bench in 8th, I only gave up several points and bankrolled another Junior start for later in the season. Mission accomplished. Gracias, JPM! =]

“Hail Mary” time:
For the second time this season, I’ve decided to put all of my chips down on Agent Double Zero: David Reutimann. With the November Texas race still fresh in my mind, I am inclined to believe that DReut can continue his dream season by putting together AT LEAST a solid top 15 effort. Running in the top 5 for most of last fall’s Dickies 500, Reutimann fell victim to a late race caution where most other lead lap cars elected to change just two tires,while the #44 UPS team opted for four…relegating Reuty to a disappointing 10th place finish. The key word in that last sentence was “disappointing.” Who would have expected DAVID REUTIMANN, an MWR driver, to be disappointed with a run that would’ve seemed out of reach just months prior?
However, this young 2009 season is a completely different story from seasons past, as Reutimann finds himself 11th in Sprint Cup points coming into this weekend. Upgraded to B-list status at the start of the year, it seemingly became even more difficult to pull the trigger on Reuty and feel completely safe…hell, just six months ago, I even had trouble activating him as my C-list driver. Needless to say…DReut continues to surprise. This is one of those picks that is not based on past history (looking at Reuty’s Texas past may cause you to cattle prod yourself), but more on the driver’s momentum. Once Reutimann solidified himself in the top 35 last season, he really started tearing it up…and the confidence that this self-conscious driver gained for 2009 was worth its weight in gold (and a nice chunk of fantasy points, too). He’s evolved into quite the all-around racer, which makes him an good sleeper candidate for a Chase berth: superspeedways, intermediates, and short tracks…he runs well enough to warrant a spot on your roster at ANY of these types of tracks. When 2009 is said and done, you may have very well used up most to all of his allocations. Who’d a thunk it?

So…can the ol’ Aaron’s Dream Machine keep it up? Well, the forecast certainly looks favorable for the weekend ahead, but we’ll leave that up to the racing gods.

Yahoo Driver Rankings
ESPN Rankings

Dale Jarrett’s 2009 Fantasy Racing Contest at Pay the Fan begins with the Daytona 500 tomorrow, Sunday, February 15th, at approximately 3:30 EST. The top prize in the season-long contest is $75,000. Get your line ups and leagues set and let’s see who can take home the 2009 Fantasy Racing Cup at Pay the Fan. Sign up now at www.paythefan.com.

Kevin Mawae missed last weekend’s game for Tennessee.  Baltimore beat them on a Matt Stover FG.  Anquan Boldin didn’t play for the Cardinals, but they still destroyed the Panthers.  Larry Fitzgerald proved he’s the best WR in the game.  Edge and Tim Hightower were the better 1-2 Punch that day.  Dwight Freeney got fined $20K for criticizing officials.  I’m sorry, I thought you could speak your mind in America.  Rod Marinelli joined the Bears staff.  Now he can give them all of Detroit’s secrets.  Donovan McNabb and the Philly D took it to Eli and the Giants.  Willie Parker and the Steelers rolled over the Chargers. Despite the recent failures of New England guys (Mangini, Romeo, Charlie), Denver hired Josh McDaniels as their next head coach.  Tony Dungy is stepping down.  Jim Caldwell will take over.  Arizona lost TE Stephen Spach (knee) for the rest of the playoffs.  Gene Smith became Jacksonville’s new GM.  Scott Pioli will be Kansas City’s new GM.  Mike Nolan will be Denver’s new Defensive Coordinator.  Michael Irvin had a gun flashed at him, but wasn’t harmed because it was by Cowboys fans.  Chris Samuels was replaced by Jammal Brown in the Pro Bowl.  Detroit hired Tennessee Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz as their new Coach.  Gregg Williams was hired as New Orleans D Coord.

Charles Barkley is taking a leave of absence from TNT.  The Cavs gave it to Boston.  Memphis re-signed Darius Miles despite warnings of a lawsuit from Portland.  If I were Miles, I’d sue Portland for trying to keep him from getting work.  The Wolves won their fifth straight game.  Brandon Roy returned from injury.  Carlos Boozer will miss another month.  Al Horford missed a few games with a bruised knee.  Tracy McGrady will miss two weeks to improve his conditioning.  I hope you took my advice and dealt him after his good game last week.  Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich returned to action for the Bulls.  Ron Artest will miss another week.  Marco Belinelli will miss a week or so with a sprained ankle.  Washington will be without Etan Thomas (knee).  LeBron James messed around and got a triple-double.  Chris Paul had one too, and with 7 steals nealy had a quadruple-double.  Orlando made an NBA record 23 three-pointers in a win over Sacramento.  Delonte West fractured his wrist. 


Pittsburgh’s Ruslan Fedotenko broke his hand punching Colby Armstrong and will miss six weeks.  Toronto’s Mikhail  Grabovski got suspended three games for shoving a linesman.  Boston’s Claude Julien and San Jose’s Todd McLellan will coach the All-Star game.  Julien could be without Bruins F Marco Sturm (knee) for the rest of the year.  Phoenix will be without Kurt Sauer for a month.  Shea Nash landed on the IR.  Phil Kessel went on the IR for mono.  Calgary co-owner Doc Seaman passed away.  The Islanders sent Brent Skinner to Atlanta for Junior Lessard.  Columbus traded Clay Wilson and a draft pick for Jason Williams.  Brendan Shanahan signed a deal with the Devils.  Roberto Luongo is back.

Shutouts:  Columbus’ Steve Mason vs. Washington, New York Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist vs. Ottawa, Phoenix’s Ilya Bryzgalov vs. Dallas, Dallas’ Marty Turco vs. Phoenix, Nashville’s Pekka Rinne vs. Toronto, Detroit’s Ty Conklin vs. L.A.

Peyton Manning won his third MVP.  He got bounced from the playoffs by Super Sub Darren Sproles and the Chargers.  Old Man Kurt Warner and the Cardinals beat the Falcons.  Ed Reed and the Ravens took it to Miami.  Philadelphia played it close with the Vikings until Brian Westbrook busted one.  Home teams on Saturday and Road teams on Sunday.  Asante Samuel returned and NFL record 4th INT for a TD in the game.  Bill Parcels won’t opt out.  The Pats are going to slap the Franchise tag on Matt Cassel.  Atlanta’s Mike Smith won Coach of the Year.  What do Award winners Peyton, Pennington, and Smith have in common?  They all lost this weekend.  Do we have a new Curse?  Pittsbugh better hope not as James Harrison won Defensive Player of the Year.  The Packers fired Defensive Coordinator Bob Sanders.  Marvin Harrison had his charges dropped.  Drew Brees won Offensive Player of the Year.  Vincent Jackson got popped for a DUI.  Reggie Bush had knee surgery.  The Cowboys cut PacMoron Jones.  Eric Mangini is the Browns new Coach.  Brilliant.  It worked out so well for the Browns with Romeo and Belichick.  Why not another person from that line?

LeBron James messed around and got a Triple-Double.  Marcus Camby grabbed 23 Boards.  Tyson Chandler was suspended for elbowing Joel Pryzbilla.  Following Barkley’s lead, Antoine Walker and Jason Richardson got popped for a DUIs.  D.J. White will miss three months following surgery to remove a growth on his jaw.  Carmelo Anthony will miss three weeks with a fractured finger.  Phoenix released Dee Brown.  It must be bizarro world because in a eight game stretch Minnesota went 6-2 while Boston went 2-6  Denver sent Chucky Atkins to Oklahoma City for Johan Petro.  Andrew  Bogut is out with a back injury.

Marian Gaborik, the World’s softest Slovakian, will miss ten weeks following hip surgery.  Who am I kidding?  He probably will miss the rest of the season.  He’s that soft.  Paul Kariya also had hip surgery.  He’ll likely miss the rest of the season too.  Anaheim’s Corey Perry was suspended four games for elbowing Claude Giroux.  Colorado’s Adam Foote (triceps) landed on the IR.  Jarkko Ruutu got suspended two games for biting Andrew Peters.  Mike Tyson should have played hockey.  They aren’t as strict.  Joe Sakic (back) will miss a couple months. Mats Sundin made his Vancouver debut.  Jordan Staal signed a four-year $16 million deal with Pittsburgh.

Shutouts:  Minnesota’s Niklas Backstrom vs. Colorado & Boston, Anaheim’s Jonas Hiller vs. Phoenix, New York Ranger’s Henrik Lundqvist vs. Pittsburgh, Detroit’s Ty Conklin vs. Columbus, Chicago’s Cristobal Huet vs. Phoenix, Atlanta’s Kari Lehtonen vs. New Jersey