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

Mike Brown made his yearly visit to the season-ending IR.  Roger Badell says the ridiculous system of paying top draft picks more than proven vets will continue.  I don’t get how the NFLPA is OK with this system.  Big Ben got knocked the __ out.  The Steelers won without him.  Mike Singletary got the interim tag removed from his coaching title.  The Niners won for him.  Baltimore beat Jacksonville to earn a playoff spot.  The Dolphins went from worst to first after beating the Jets.  The Pats blanked the Bills, but were on the outside looking in at 11-5.  Philly destroyed Dallas sending Tony Romo and Co. packing.  The Eagles made the playoffs as Oakland beat Tampa.  Minnesota beat the Giants to win the NFC North.  It didn’t matter as Chicago fell to Houston.  The Cards got their Offense clicking as they sent Holmgren away with an L.  Speaking of L’s, Green Bay beat Detroit to send them to an 0-16 season.  Carolina beat New Orleans to win the NFC South.  Brees surpassed 5000 yards, but came up short in his quest to beat Marino’s record.  Michael Turner made it interesting for the rushing title (won by Adrian Peterson) as Atlanta beat St. Louis. Cincy won against Kansas City.  Indy blanked the Titans.  The Chargers beat Denver to win the AFC West and take Ed Hochuli off the hook.  Eric Mangini (Jets), Romeo Crennell (Browns), and Rod Marinelli (Lions) got fired on Monday.  In 2010 the Pro Bowl will be the week before the Super Bowl in Miami.  Matt Ryan was named Offensive Rookie of the Year.  Mike Shanahan got fired.  Maybe he’ll go back to Oakland.  Ha.  Mike Martz got the boot in San Fran.  Chad Pennington won the Comeback Player of the Year.  I’m sorry, but his teammate came Ronnie Brown came back from a major knee injury.  My choice is still Cadillac Williams.  Oh well.  Jerod Mayo won the Defensive Rookie of the Year.  Thomas Jone said Favre should have been benched.  I don’t disagree.  Dallas fired Special Teams Coach Bruce Read.

The Wolves finally won.  The Celtics a second consecutive game.  This time it was Golden State.  Melo came back from a three-game layoff.  Dirk Nowitzki was suspended a game for a flagrant foul.  Darko Milicic (knuckle) will miss a month.  Zach Randolph will miss a week for the Clippers.  Shaq passed Dominque Wilkins and Oscar Robertson for 8th on the all-time scoring list.  Ricky Davis was suspended five games for failing a drug test.  Nenad Krstic signed with Oklahoma City.  Houston signed Dikembe Mutumbo.  Chris Paul messed around and got a triple-double.  Carlos Boozer will have his knee scoped.  Carlos Boozer grabbed 24 rebounds. Charles Barkley got popped for a DUI.  George Karl got his 900th Win.


Bill Guerin scored his 400th goal.  Paul Kariya will likely miss the season following hip surgery.  Buffalo C Paul Gaustad landed on the IR.  Washington retired Mike Gartner’s number 11.  New York Rangers prospect Alexei Cherepanov took PEDs prior to his death.  Montreal earned their 3,000th regular-season win.  Patrice Bergeron (concussion) went on the IR. Curtis Joseph won his 450th game.  Steve Mason recorded his third consecutive shutout.  The Bruins won their tenth straight game.  Detroit beat Chicago in the Winter Classic.  Montreal lost Alex Tanguay (shoulder) for six weeks.

Hope you had a good Christmas!

Carolina lost G Keydrick (groin) for the year.  Ashley Lelie also went on IR for the Raiders.  The RCA Dome was imploded.  Cincinnati shut out Cleveland behind Cedric Benson’s 171 yards.  Jamal Lewis surpassed 10,000 career rushing yards.  New Orleans pounded Detroit to send them to 0-15.  Drew Brees threw for 351 yards.  Tennessee showed they are still top dogs in the AFC by wrapping up the #1 seed.  Miami got by Kansas City.  San Fran beat St. Louis as Isaac Bruce caught his 1000th pass and moved into #2 in all-time receiving yardage.  New England destroyed Arizona.  Matt Cassel was simply amazing when former MVP candidate Kurt Warner couldn’t do squat.  San Diego kept Tampa on a slide and kept their playoff hopes alive.  Buffalo topped Denver to help San Diego.  Oakland ended Houston’s hot streak.  Seattle took care of the Jets.  Minnesota made too many mistakes allowing Atlanta to beat them.  The Eagles fell to the Skins.  The Giants took care of Carolina to earn the top seed in the NFC.  DeAngelo Williams had 4 TDs.  Brandon Jacobs had 3.  Derrick Ward ran for 215 yards.  Jay Zygmunt is out as Rams GM.  The Bears looked dead, but they came back to beat the Pack.  Shaun Ellis got fined $10K for throwing snow at fans.  The 49ers are going to rock mustaches this week to honor the team when they not only didn’t suck.  Cheddar Plax had guns and ammo siezed from his house.  Wes Welker got fined $10 K for his snow angel.  Hey Roger…get bent.  Marc Colombo signed a four-year extension with the Cowboys.  Raheem Morris will replace Monte Kiffin in Tampa.

Devin Harris torched Jason Kidd as his Nets ripped Dallas. Andre Miller and Joe Johnson each messed around and got a Triple-Double.  Jamal Crawford dropped 50 as Golden State beat Charlotte.   Drew Gooden (ankle) will miss a week.  Carmelo Anthony (elbow) will miss a couple games.  Houston traded Steve Francis to Memphis for a draft pick.  D-Wade bought a family a new home.  Jordan Farmer (knee) will miss two months.  Phoenix signed Dee Brown.  The Lakers snapped the Celtics 19-game winning streak.  Chris Paul saw his NBA record of 108 straight games with a steal come to an end as well.


Washington activated Jose Theodore.  Pittsburgh re-signed Maxime Talbot to a two-year deal.  The Wild put Owen Nolan on the IR.  Vancouver lost Sami Salo (ribs) for a month.  Jonas Hiller tied Anaheim’s record with 51 Saves in a Win over Edmonton.  St. Louis’ Eric Brewer (back surgery) will be out a while.  Anaheim’s Teemu Selanne will miss a month.  Sidney Crosby set the record for most All-Star votes.  Columbus lost Derick Brassard (shoulder) for the year.  The Wild will be without Marc-Andre Bergeron for a while.