When one prepares to draft a fantasy football team, myriad criterion should be considered in evaluating who to target, and, likewise, who to avoid. One word bouncing around just as frequently as anything else during said evaluation? Injury. Maybe a guy was injured for several games last season, maybe he suffered a season-ending injury or maybe he's just an injury-prone guy. This affects the value of players on draft day.
Let's check out the value of 10 guys with injury concerns, and judge whether or not they are up to the task for 2009.
Let's be honest, there are few things more entertaining in sports than when an athlete is absolutely despised by a city. And I don't mean despised in the Michael Jordan-tears-out-Cleveland's-heart-with-a-wooden-spoon level hate. That's rooted in Jordan's superhuman play on the field.
I mean on a level like LenDale White stomping on the Terrible Towel and refusing to apologize -- where the entire city is outraged at one particular player.
Essentially, USC re-affirmed its commitment to silence until the investigation concludes but did take time to accuse several individuals of lying about their involvement in the investigation.
Like or loathe the NCAA, this much is certain about this unique, voluntary association that houses the largest collegiate athletic organization in the world:
It's good to be the King -- and royalty certainly works at its own pace and plays by its own rules.
Following Thursday's announcement that 16 teams at the University of Alabama have been penalized for their involvement in improperly obtaining free textbooks for other students, three high-profile NCAA investigations are currently on the books for fans to score at their leisure.
It's June, a.k.a., a terrible time to find a quality basketball coach. But that will be USC's task after Tim Floyd's sudden resignation Tuesday amid a slew of allegations regarding the recruiting of star guard O.J. Mayo. Athletic director Mike Garrett (right) is used to hiring coaches on the fly. He fired Henry Bibby just four games into the 2004-2005 season, tabbed Jim Saia as interim coach for the season and then nabbed Floyd.
Garrett has time before having to go the interim route and there are some qualified coaches who either are unemployed or at mid-majors and would likely leave their schools and incoming recruiting classes for a job at a major school in a major conference. The USC athletic director has a history for going after tough gets and succeeding, but the question is whether the Trojans basketball program will be severely punished for the Mayo situation? Floyd was accused by former Mayo associate Louis Johnson of giving $1,000 to Rodney Guillory, an alleged street agent representing Mayo.
FanHouse's crack squad of savvy fantasy football personnel put our five heads together and amassed consensus rankings for non-keeper, standard scoring leagues. We'll update as the season gets closer, but this is our "incredibly early yet still fun" version.
In an otherwise jumbled mess, there is one thing we know about the running backs when it comes to fantasy football drafts: Adrian Peterson is easily the class of the position. After that, there appears to be a large clump of running backs who have a good chance to excel this season. If you think the old school fantasy football "running back-running back" draft strategy (drafting a running back in each of the first two rounds) is truly antiquated, ask yourself the difference between a Frank Gore and Marion Barber tandem in your backfield as opposed to Ronnie Brown and Jamal Lewis. Is it worth taking a wide receiver, then, before a Barber type?
Every Monday during college football's endless offseason, The FanHouse Walk will put last week's stories to bed and deliver the essentials to bridge that agonizing space between now and September.
There are the Rose Bowl haters out there snarking away on this, but I think its another sad day for college football. Everyone bemoans the USC/Illinois type matchups in Pasadena, but I still find it fresh and what the Rose Bowl is all about. The various Miami/Nebraka, Texas/Michigan, USC/Texas type matchups were all enjoyable, but something has never felt right about them.
On behalf of David Feherty, I'd like to apologize for the following column. It again takes shots at House Mis-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, not to mention her fellow victims of CIA subterfuge, Roger Clemens, Tim Floyd and Mine That Bird.
Who knew the CIA was plotting to overthrow the Preakness? You will after reading the latest installment of Week in Review.
LenDale White, the Tennessee Titans running back who played alongside Reggie Bush at USC, has an interesting idea about the controversy currently swirling around the Trojans' athletic program.
Lloyd Lake understood his civil suit against former Southern Cal running back and 2005 Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush and his family could be a long and arduous legal process. The suit over alleged benefits remains unsettled since it was filed in San Diego County Court in October 2007.
Tuesday's news that NCAA investigators appear to be building a case to show that USC has demonstrated a lack of institutional control and failure to monitor some aspects of its football and men's basketball programs did not surprise San Diego attorney Brian Watkins, a lawyer for Lake.
Several years after allegations first arose that 
Like or loathe the NCAA, this much is certain about this unique, voluntary association that houses the largest collegiate athletic organization in the world: 
It's June, a.k.a., a terrible time to find a quality basketball coach. But that will be 
FanHouse's crack squad of savvy fantasy football personnel put our five heads together and amassed consensus rankings for non-keeper, standard scoring leagues. We'll update as the season gets closer, but this is our "incredibly early yet still fun" version. 
Every Monday during college football's endless offseason, 
