Second round thoughts

* Houston did well in getting DeMeco Ryans, even though we know they blew it by passing up Reggie Bush.

* We already covered Chad Jackson -- great value for New England.

* Jimmy Williams provided equally outstanding value for Atlanta with the pick after the Pats.

* Thomas Howard will be a playmaker for Oakland.

* Philly should have thought about Sinorice Moss if they were going to trade up, but other than that, Winston Justice was a great pick in the second round.

* Moss will be great for the Giants.

* LenDale White will certainly be motivated to dominate for Tennessee. If he channels his disappointment into determination and maximizes his skills, this value will be incredible.

* Joe Klopfenstein over Leonard Pope? St. Louis wanted a TE, but I think they got the wrong one.

* Like my broadcast colleague Jason Jones, I'm underwhelmed by Green Bay's selection of Greg Jennings and the Jets annointing Kellen Clemens as the QB of the future. Like Jason, I'd sure have liked to have seen Maurice Drew drop to the Browns instead of getting picked up by the Jags.

* How, at the bottom of the second round, is Ashton Youboty still on the board? To me, that's one of the mysteries of the day and I'll look forward to exploring the reasons why.

Many thanks to the thousands and thousands of you (I look forward to learning the exact number) who tuned in to catch my partner from THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER Jason Jones and I for our 10 1/2 hour-long coverage on SportsTalkCleveland.com today. Hopefully, we'll have an archived version up sometime soon at this link. We really appreciate everyone in our audience who understood that we would provide them with the best draft coverage out there. I'm confident that we did just that.

Chad Jackson to the Pats ...

along with Laurence Maroney. This doesn't even seem fair.

And the Browns only had to throw in Jeff Faine in order to swap second-round picks with New Orleans to get D'Qwell Jackson. Jackson may not have been a value pick there, especially with Winston Justice, Gabe Watson and Jimmy Williams out there, but Browns fans owe Phil Savage the benefit of the doubt.

Kelly Jennings 31, Mathias Kiwanuka 32 ...

as the Seahawks and Giants bring us home at the end of the first round. We'll update this a few more times today. By the way, I got 14 picks right in the first round on my final mock draft, a personal record. I'll be interested to see how that stacks up with our peers out there.

Somebody sober up Marv Levy

He just traded UP to get the 96th player on Jason Jones' Big Board in our E-Book, John McCargo.

Then DeAngelo Williams goes to Carolina -- I would have thought LenDale White would have been a better thunder-and-lightning fit with Foster, but White is sliding far because of his horrible postseason.

Tight end Marcedes Lewis moves to Jacksonville at 28, then center Nick Mangold goes to the Jets at 29. Joseph Addai, in a move I forecasted, was selected by Indy at 30.

This is getting wilder by the moment.

It's a run on Josephs!

Davin to the Bucs at 23, Johnathan at 24. The run ends with Santonio Holmes going to Pittsburgh at 25, as they trade up with the Giants.

Another run continues, however.

Pittsburgh sends a second, third and fourth-round pick for the rights to flip-flop picks.

Not Jimmy Williams -- RB Maroney to the Pats!

Coach Bill throws a curveball at 21. Manny Lawson follows to Frisco at 22.

On a non-draft note, go check out this site. The Fan Union is a cause that is long overdue.

The NFL Draft play-along game listed again ...

for your participatory pleasure.

Here's a way to compete with your mock draft with your friends. We posted this earlier in the day, but by reposting, this will provide a hot link on the left-hand column -- for at least awhile, because we are updating constantly. Enjoy!

We at FantasyDrafthelp.com have devised a contest to help you and your friends measure your acumen on Draft Day. It’s the FantasyDrafthelp.com Mock Draft Game. Each participant submits a mock draft before the proceedings … and then all parties compete in a separate “live draft competition.” Each board is scored separately, but the scores of the two are compiled to crown the Grand Champion of Draft Day. Here’s the scoring system:

Picks #1-4 are weighted at one point apiece.
Picks #5-8 are weighted at two points apiece.
Picks #9-12 are weighted at three points apiece.
Picks #13-16 are weighted at four points apiece.
Picks #17-20 are weighted at five points apiece.
Picks #21-24 are weighted at six points apiece.
Picks #25-28 are weighted at seven points apiece.
Picks #29-32 are weighted at eight points apiece.

Players may “roll over” their picks from the completed mock draft to the live draft if a player remains on the board … or they may cover themselves with another pick. Example: a player has Washington taking Kellen Winslow with the #5 pick on the mock draft they turned in at the outset. That would count for two points if the pick is correct. If Winslow is still on the board when Washington is on the clock, the player is not obligated to pick Winslow during the live draft. He may “roll over” the pick, choosing to try to win two points in both the live and completed mock draft categories. Or he may try to cover himself with another pick. For example, should he correctly pick Sean Taylor in the live draft part of the competition, he would gain the two points in the live draft but win no points in the completed mock draft part of the competition, in which he incorrectly picked Winslow. So strategy is at a premium during this competition. This game also puts great emphasis on correctly making picks later in the first round, when chances for success are the most difficult. Picking a player accurately in the later part of the first round on both the completed mock draft and the live mock draft can ensure a thrilling, come-from-behind victory. If you and your friends want to take your enjoyment of Draft Day to the next level by competing and strategizing along with the wizards of the NFL, try our game and print out our mock draft for your best chance of victory.

Bobby Carpenter at 18 -- yay me for getting it right

But I think even my grandmother knew that Parcells really wanted him.

And then Antonio Cromartie, the fastest-riser in the draft along with Ernie Sims, gets taken off the board by Kansas City. As unthinkable as it seems, the New England Patriots now have the opportunity to select elite cornerback Jimmy Williams. Like they need him.

Donte Whitner -- Worst Pick EVAR!

These smart folks agree.

Oh, and Minnesota settles on Chad Greenway at 17. Good luck with your horrible running back committee for the 99th consecutive year, Vikings.

Lots of fun

As much fun as I am having on our draft day broadcast on SportsTalkCleveland.com, I think I'd rather be at this draft party.

Tye one on at 15

Tye Hill to the Rams, who also got the Broncos' 2nd round pick.

Brodrick Bunkley to Philly at 14

Check out the wide receivers on this depth chart. Has anyone briefed Andy Reid?

Wimbley at 13 indeed

My post of a few minutes was correct and the Browns received a 6th round draft pick in return for moving down one spot.

Gary Baxter has been a great guest on our draft broadcast.

Phil n' Ozzie work out a deal

Haloti Ngata goes #12 to Baltimore.

The Browns will probably still get the player they want, Kamerion Wimbley.

Jay Cutler to Denver in a trade at 11

Soon Jake Plummer will have nothing better to do than heed this website.

Ernie Sims to Detroit at 9, Leinart 10 to the Cards

Those picks followed my latest mock draft exactly.

Now Lendale White's agent says he's innocent. What's that line of defense? "Granted, he can't motivate himself enough to get in any kind of shape or impress teams in interviews, but he didn't bogart any blunts!"

Michael Huff to the Raiders

I'm seven for seven, people. Look it up!

UPDATE IN REAL TIME: Not any more. Donte Freaking Whitner to Buffalo.

Think Matt Leinart is happy about going behind that guy?

Vernon Davis to the 49ers

And somebody else hates the Mario Williams pick.

Da Brick goes to Da Big Apple

Will my friend, and frequent guest on my SportsTalkCleveland.com shows, Shari Forst be happy with this? She really wanted Winston Justice instead. I think that Ferguson will work out great and she should be very happy.

Vince Young goes #3 to Tennessee

Overruling your coach and all of your football people on your asinine whims. Great move, Sincerely, Art Modell.

We will get to hear shortly from Tennessee Titans analyst and former tight end Frank Wycheck to get his thoughts. Right now, we've got the co-host of our show The Morning After, Jim Kushlan, reporting live from Cleveland Browns headquarters. Tune in now on SportsTalkCleveland.com for our all-day live coverage.

We are underway!

Mario Williams goes #1. What, just because he got signed last night they're stuck with him?

And Reggie Bush is #2 to New Orleans. The rumored trade to the Jets did not materialize.

Is this going to hurt Lendale White's draft stock even more?

The draft pick value chart

Too bad nobody ever gave one of these to Butch Davis.

The fun in Houston continues ...

I found this link through Ben Maller, one of the premier rumor collectors on the Internet:

From the Philadelphia Daily News:

• Texans general manager Charley Casserly won't be around to see how his '06 draft picks pan out. Casserly is expected to get his walking papers from owner Bob McNair shortly after the draft. Sources say he already has put his Houston home on the market and probably will wind up with a football operations job in the NFL office in New York. Former Broncos, Giants and
Falcons coach Dan Reeves was hired by McNair last year as a consultant. He won't replace
Casserly, but will have a good deal of influence into choosing his successor. The two leading candidates, sources say, are Falcons vice president of player personnel Ronnie Hill and
Broncos director of pro scouting Rick Smith.

NFL Draft play-along game

Republished from our first post here at the FantasyDrafthelp blog ...

We at FantasyDrafthelp.com have devised a contest to help you and your friends measure your acumen on Draft Day. It’s the FantasyDrafthelp.com Mock Draft Game. Each participant submits a mock draft before the proceedings … and then all parties compete in a separate “live draft competition.” Each board is scored separately, but the scores of the two are compiled to crown the Grand Champion of Draft Day. Here’s the scoring system:

Picks #1-4 are weighted at one point apiece.
Picks #5-8 are weighted at two points apiece.
Picks #9-12 are weighted at three points apiece.
Picks #13-16 are weighted at four points apiece.
Picks #17-20 are weighted at five points apiece.
Picks #21-24 are weighted at six points apiece.
Picks #25-28 are weighted at seven points apiece.
Picks #29-32 are weighted at eight points apiece.

Players may “roll over” their picks from the completed mock draft to the live draft if a player remains on the board … or they may cover themselves with another pick. Example: a player has Washington taking Kellen Winslow with the #5 pick on the mock draft they turned in at the outset. That would count for two points if the pick is correct. If Winslow is still on the board when Washington is on the clock, the player is not obligated to pick Winslow during the live draft. He may “roll over” the pick, choosing to try to win two points in both the live and completed mock draft categories. Or he may try to cover himself with another pick. For example, should he correctly pick Sean Taylor in the live draft part of the competition, he would gain the two points in the live draft but win no points in the completed mock draft part of the competition, in which he incorrectly picked Winslow. So strategy is at a premium during this competition. This game also puts great emphasis on correctly making picks later in the first round, when chances for success are the most difficult. Picking a player accurately in the later part of the first round on both the completed mock draft and the live mock draft can ensure a thrilling, come-from-behind victory. If you and your friends want to take your enjoyment of Draft Day to the next level by competing and strategizing along with the wizards of the NFL, try our game and print out our mock draft for your best chance of victory.

That Mario Williams pick sure is popular, huh?

Somebody else hates it. Anybody want to defend it? Anyone?

Time to tune in!

We're starting the draft coverage on SportsTalkCleveland.com early today -- Jason Jones and I are on the air live breaking down the draft coverage and will do so until 6 PM, if not with some unscheduled bonus time afterwards.

Did this have anything to do with the Texas passing on Reggie Bush? I'm not so sure.

Bush gets impeached from the top pick

Sorry, couldn't resist the headline. I guess it's the Buchanan paleocon in me coming out.

But this is why I love the Internet age. We don't have to wait a day, a week, a month, a year or a decade to blast a move as horribly misguided. We can do it in real time.

For what it's worth, I concur with the second-guessing. Houston was a perfect situation for Reggie, especially with D. Davis available for 15-20 carries a game, allowing RB the super RB to get his 10-15 touches in a variety of manners.

Oh, and here's more negative reaction.

Hoo boy are the Texans' fans going to be enraged, don't you think? Wow, first Houston takes in the Katrina refugees, now they give Reggie Bush (or the astronomical trade rights to him) to New Orleans. Has one city ever done so much for another in less than a year?

Remember, folks, more of this immediate draft coverage goodness to come all day Saturday as my colleague Jason Jones and I from the mighty FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER show (Thursdays from 8-10 PM EDT on SportsTalkCleveland.com) join our other pals from STC to provide coverage from 9 AM to 6 PM (and likely beyond, as I understand it). And I'll be liveblogging here all day as I'm on the air. Multitasking is fun!

The most jam-packed Thursday night yet

This edition of THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER on SportsTalkCleveland.com (Thursday from 8-10 PM EDT, following another FantasyDrafthelp.com production, NORTH COAST HOCKEY TONIGHT from 6-8 PM EDT) is probably our most loaded program yet since we expanded to two hours last month. Some periods of the year are busier than others, and there is so much going on in the world of sports right now.

8 PM: Our weekly "fantasy potpourri" segment looking at the world of niche sports will cover a lot of ground. The mock drafts that we conducted on our show for regular season basketball and hockey were, of course, scored -- and there's nothing like winning an "expert's league," now, is there? The winners get unveiled, as we also look at our in-season "expert's leagues" for playoff hockey, golf and, yes, pro wrestling! Additionally, we'll pick the brain of our producer, Don Pederson and my co-host, Jason Jones, the hosts of THE SQUARED CIRCLE (Saturdays, 2-3 PM EDT on SportsTalkCleveland.com) as we move towards finalizing a recommended fantasy boxing format for our listeners.

8:30 PM: Fantasy baseball talk picks up with new FantasyDrafthelp.com baseball analyst Tim Foust, who will be in-studio with Jason and I. He made his debut on the show last week via phone and was quite willing to mix it up with me as we debated "buy and sell" advice on noteworthy players. Sparks will fly when he, Jason and I are sharing a studio for our roundtable tomorrow night.

9:20 PM: This could be termed our "segue segment" as we move from fantasy baseball to the NFL Draft -- and we will examine what the NFL Draft has in common with fantasy sports and the processes involved in each.

9:30 PM: And here we move, inevitably, to our final NFL Draft preview for this year on the INSIDER. Jason and I will get you ready for our 6-hour broadcast on STC from Noon to 6 PM EDT on Saturday. As I have mentioned repeatedly, I will be liveblogging the proceedings here all day long on Saturday, balancing that with my in-studio work to deliver the FantasyDrafthelp.com perspective in every possible way. Let me mention once again that the 64-page draft preview E-book we compiled can be downloaded for free right here.

Jason and I have looked ahead to the NFL Draft for months now, and it's hard to believe that this huge day is almost upon us. Jason's excitement is evident on his blog.

Meanwhile, this guy's out of a job, but you've got to think that there's a prosthetic endorsement deal out there somewhere for him.

30 full years ago ...

Rick Monday saved the American flag from some treasonous wackos. Here's hoping this incident never repeats itself, but I am sadly dubious that it won't.

Favre's back. He's probably still a Top 10 fantasy quarterback in 2006, if only because the Packers will still be horrible and he'll be passing the ball an awful lot. New coach Mike McCarthy has worked with him before also and should be able to tailor schemes to his remaining strengths.

Now Carolina needs a cornerback. Will it affect their first-round draft strategy? There should be some good cornerbacks going in the second half of the first round.

Last year, on SportsTalkCleveland.com's Draft Day super-extravaganza, I said that Ronnie Brown could become the top running back in the NFL. Perhaps it could happen in 2006, since Ricky Williams is officially gone. Ronnie Brown may very well be a Top 5 fantasy back this season.

Do you believe in the Madden Curse? Put your money where your mouth is.

EDIT: If I say I'm going to let this document speak for itself, then that's what I need to do and to not mention any one team that is listed. My original preface to this link did not let this scientific study speak for itself. If you didn't read the previous verbiage, then hopefully you can draw your own conclusions in an untainted manner.

NFL Draft (and much more) press release

Here's info on our NFL Draft coverage in conjunction with our buddies at SportsTalkCleveland.com and other points of interest about what's ahead for the FantasyDrafthelp brand. And here's a reminder that you can download our draft preview e-book here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 26, 2006

FantasyDrafthelp.com Teams up with SportsTalkCleveland.com For Unparalleled Coverage of the 2006 NFL Draft

FantasyDrafthelp.com, the Internet’s leading independent provider of fantasy sports content, is teaming up with its friends at SportsTalkCleveland.com (the Internet’s most-visited sports talk station of its kind according to Alexa.com) to provide unmatched coverage of the 2006 NFL Draft. The synergy between the two entities manifests itself in “The 2006 Pro Football Draft Show” on SportsTalkCleveland.com (STC) from Noon to 6 PM EDT on Saturday April 29, day-long liveblogging on the Fantasy Drafthelp blog (http://fantasydrafthelp.blogspot.com), and the 64-page “2006 Pro Football Draft Preview E-Book,” currently available for free download on SportsTalkCleveland.com.

SportsTalkCleveland.com President Paul Belfi says that the joint effort is a natural outgrowth of past cooperation.

“STC and FantasyDrafthelp.com have been a winning combination for three years, and we are very happy to pool our resources for coverage of the NFL Draft,” Belfi stated. “Together, we will provide football fans with comprehensive news and analysis for one of the most important events on the sports calendar. We look forward to working together also for the NBA Draft in June, including another free E-book project.”

Additionally, FantasyDrafthelp.com will continue to expand the “fantasy draft help brand” in 2006 beyond traditional fantasy sports, into the realms of alternate fantasy sports, blogging (http://fantasydrafthelp.blogspot.com), Internet broadcasting and celebrity sports journalism. The foundation for the FantasyDrafthelp.com philosophy remains its “VIP Pyramid” of Value, Information and Process.

While still offering comprehensive coverage of fantasy baseball, football, basketball, NASCAR and hockey, FantasyDrafthelp.com has also expanded to provide draft boards and suggested league guidelines for such pastimes as postseason fantasy baseball/football/basketball/hockey, arena football, the World Baseball Classic, Formula 1, the Indianapolis 500, the IRL, Champ Car, NHRA, the PGA, the Ryder Cup, Grand Slam Tennis, the PBA, NCAA football and basketball, the Summer and Winter Olympics and Olympic hockey. The site is also exploring other means of global expansion, including coverage of cricket and Australian Rules Football and has already moved beyond sports altogether with a draft board for the 2006 Academy Awards.

Content on FantasyDrafthelp.com is amplified on the site’s weekly webcast, “The FantasyDrafthelp.com Insider,” broadcast each Thursday night from 8-10 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com, the most-visited site of its kind on the Internet (source: Alexa.com ratings). The “Insider” is part of the four-hour FantasyDrafthelp.com-produced Thursday night block of programming on STC – it is preceded by “Northcoast Hockey Tonight” from 6-8 PM EDT. FantasyDrafthelp.com Senior Editor Rick Morris also appears as a commentator and as the official fantasy sports analyst on numerous other STC programs.

In addition, the “Fantasy Insider” will hold mock draft specials for football, baseball, basketball and numerous other sports over the next year. Also, for the third consecutive year, FantasyDrafthelp.com will take the lead in producing the “SportsTalkNetwork Up All Night Marathon,” a benefit for the Carol Morris Scholarship Fund at Bowling Green State University (www.fantasydrafthelp.com/upallnight). The special will take place from June 24-25. Last year’s event included an appearance from broadcasting legend Ernie Harwell and a “historical fantasy baseball draft,” an event which will be replicated this year.

On March 10, 2006, FantasyDrafthelp.com took its media participation to another level entirely with its involvement in the launch of Lebronmeter (www.lebronmeter.com), a website dedicated to assessing the chances that world-famous basketball player Lebron James will agree to a long-term contract extension with his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“We continue to seek new ways to make a significant contribution to fantasy sports players everywhere,” said Morris. “In the three years since we at FantasyDrafthelp.com have been affiliated with SportsTalkCleveland.com, we have helped them ascend to the top of the mountain in terms of Internet sports talk and they have helped us to reach an ever-broader audience that appreciates our commitment to the entire spectrum of fantasy sports. Additional projects involving our two companies will be finalized during 2006.”

FantasyDrafthelp.com also worked with the public advocacy organization Free Market Transparency Group (FMTG) this spring to publish the report to Congress “The Most Oblique Secret in Professional Sports: Amphetamines in Major League Baseball,” a study about the drug testing program that the major leaguesl instituted in 2006. The report is available for free download via the official FMTG website (www.fmtg.org).

Also, Drafthelp Publishing, the division responsible for the 2001 non-fiction book, “STRANDED: A Guide to Life Without Major League Baseball,” is gearing up for another effort: a fantasy sports manual.

FantasyDrafthelp.com welcomes feedback regarding its content at rmorris@fantasydrafthelp.com .

--30--

NFL Draft E-Book online!

And it's FREE! Thanks to our partnership with SportsTalkCleveland.com, the 2006 Pro Football Draft E-Book is now online. Go get it here.

Jason Jones and myself worked ourselves nearly into a coma to get this done, but we could not be happier with how it came out and the early feedback. Speaking of Jason, you may view his latest missive on the NFL Draft here.

How about NBA and NHL playoff predictions? We'll go out on a limb.

Also, our Stanley Cup Playoff and NBA Playoff draft boards have been online on FantasyDrafthelp.com for days now. Our mock draft from Thursday night is included on the Stanley Cup Playoff board page.

Now, on to a recap of our FantasyDrafthelp.com Insider show on SportsTalkCleveland.com. As mentioned, we staged a hockey playoff mock draft and we also discussed the basketball draft board and continued to ponder how to set up a fantasy boxing league. Additionally, we debuted new FantasyDrafthelp.com baseball analyst Tim Foust as he and I disagreed on whether to buy or sell Brandon Phillips, Jeff Francoeur, Mike Mussina and Chris Shelton. We agreed about Hanley Ramirez, Garrett Atkins, Ichiro and Joe Blanton. Check out the archives here.

This week's show, which will air as usual on Thursday night from 8-10 PM EDT, will be jam-packed, with in-season baseball analysis, an early look at next week's Triple Crown draft and lots more NFL Draft coverage in preparation for Saturday's big show from Noon to 6 PM EDT on STC. We will have a more detailed preview by midweek as per usual.

The greatest combination of quality and quantity in terms of sports events is now underway.

This player is at a position that is not traditionally highly coveted in the draft, but may be the best athlete in the draft.

And somebody's been following the facts that have been dug up by my associate Nathan Noy about baseball and amphetamines.

So very much content for all of you

This is a very busy time, with the NHL and NBA playoffs both starting this weekend. It's an unusual development, since the start dates are usually staggered by at least a week, but it was necessitated by the NHL's Olympic break and subsequent elongation of the time needed for the regular season. Check FantasyDrafthelp.com for your NHL and NBA playoff draft boards starting Thursday night. They will tie into the FantasyDrafthelp.com Insider show on SportsTalkCleveland Thursday night from 8-10 PM (EDT), as you will read shortly.

Remember also that our NFL Draft coverage kicks into high gear this Friday with the release on SportsTalkCleveland.com of our 64-page draft E-book, covering the event from every angle possible. It will be free of charge and we are so enthusiastic about the quality that we will be bringing to you. It ties in perfectly to our broadcast on Draft Day from Noon to 6 PM (EDT), our continued draft coverage on FantasyDrafthelp.com, and our liveblogging right here on Draft Day.

Without further ado, here's the agenda for Thursday night's show:

8 PM: We will carry over from the Northcoast Hockey Tonight show (6-8 PM EDT) the final few rounds of our fantasy hockey playoff draft. Paul Teeple and I will begin the draft at approximately 7:15 PM and conduct the final few rounds and a brief review during this segment.

8:30 PM: Our "fantasy potpourri" continues as my co-host Jason Jones and I break down postseason fantasy hoops. In particular, we will review and highlight my draft board and suggested league guidelines.

8:50 PM: "Fantasy potpourri" extends into one more niche sport as we move towards a conclusion on our examination of how to set up a fantasy boxing league. With help from Jason and from Don Peterson, the hosts of "The Squared Circle" (Saturdays and Sundays from 2-3 PM EDT on SportsTalkCleveland.com), we have been progressing over the past few weeks towards establishing a framework for fantasy boxing. After tomorrow night, we should have almost all necessary information in front of our listeners in regards to this interesting concept.

9:00 PM: We welcome our new fantasy baseball analyst and my fellow "Life's a Pitch with Ken Detwiler" (Saturdays and Sundays from 11 AM to 1 PM on SportsTalkCleveland.com) contributor Tim Foust for a look at the "buy and sell" plays in baseball three weeks into the season. Additionally, we will continue our examination of baseball in the post-amphetamines world.

9:20 PM: Jason and I take an in-depth look at the NFL Draft and offer a sneak preview of the free 64-page E-book to be unveiled on Friday.

Let me state again how much I appreciate having Jason as my co-host and as a vital contributor to FantasyDrafthelp.com. In most ways, he was the lead talent on the E-book, offering not only a mock draft to go along with mine, but most of the position rankings and the Top 100 "Big Board." His love of fantasy sports truly rivals mine, which really says something. My partner at FantasyDrafthelp, Nathan Noy, was an outstanding co-host on the Insider show and left big shoes to fill (although we'll continue to hear from him from time to time, as I've previously noted). But Jason is doing an incredible job and is the right person at the right time to help me carry this brand forward, on the show and on the website as needed.

About that announcement ...

on the FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER on Thursday night (8-10 PM EDT), we announced that not only would be be compiling a 64-page NFL Draft E-book in conjunction with SportsTalkCleveland.com available for free download on April 21 -- not only would we be producing and participating in all-day draft coverage on SportsTalkCleveland on April 29 -- but that we would be liveblogging the NFL Draft on April 29 as well. We will be providing our analysis right here all day long, in addition to the broadcasting that we will undertake. All in all, you need look no further than FantasyDrafthelp.com and SportsTalkCleveland.com for your best NFL Draft coverage anywhere.

Also on the show Thursday night, we broke down the buy (Ichiro, Oliver Perez and Jeff Weaver), sell (Chris Shelton, Casey Blake, Bronson Arroyo and Jason Jennings) and hold (David Wright, Victor Martinez, Travis Hafner and Tom Glavine) candidates through the first two weeks of the season. As always, all advice is predicated on a motivated buyer or seller on the other end of the equation. We also revealed the outlines for a fantasy boxing draft board and suggested league guidelines that will be featured soon on the show and on FantasyDrafthelp.com.

As usual, we urge you to check out show archives here.

Hope you didn't bid too high on this guy.

I want to wish everyone a Happy Easter. I hope that the day is a good and hopeful one for all.

Thursday night agenda and other notes

The next weekly edition of THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER on SportsTalkCleveland.com airs Thursay, April 13 from 8 to 10 PM EDT as I, Rick Morris, the "Mr. Thursday Night" of STC, will bring you two hours of fantasy talk after Paul Teeple and I bring you two hours of hockey on NORTHCOAST HOCKEY TONIGHT. We've got a lot planned, as per usual:

8:00 PM: Fantasy potpourri takes center stage, as we begin in earnest to break down fantasy postseason leagues for basketball and hockey, as well as continuing to discuss how to operate a fantasy boxing league and a racing Triple Crown league. We will have a Triple Crown mock draft on the show on Thursday, April 27.

8:30 PM: Baseball sizzlers and fizzlers through the first week-and-a-half and how you should react to the status of various players.

9:00 PM: An update on baseball's amphetamine testing -- what does the start of the season tell us about how players are doing without their "greenies" (hint: strikeouts are way up) and how baseball might be "dealing with it" (hint: baseballs are "for whatever reason" flying out of parks at an increased rate. These developments are as we previously predicted in a paper we put together with the Free Market Transparency Group (FMTG). Click here to read the paper.

9:20 PM: Our NFL Draft coverage continues. Click here to read the most recent mock draft projects, posted April 13 on FantasyDrafthelp.com. We will start this segment with a HUGE announcement about our Draft Day coverage on April 29, which will combine an all-day broadcast on SportsTalkCleveland.com with the FantasyDrafthelp.com analysis you have come to expect.

That broadcast will be the culmination of our months-long preparation of draft coverage. It will, as it did last year, include an in-depth E-book dedicated to the 2006 draft in conjunction with SportsTalkCleveland.com.

I urge all of you to visit Cleveland Sports Mania, the online home of valued FantasyDrafthelp.com associate and SportsTalkCleveland.com host and producer Jason Jones. He posts his mock draft with much additional analysis, especially for the top half of the draft.

In closing right now ...

with the establishment of a new URL for the "fantasy draft help brand" came a fair deal of trepidation about how this necessary move would be received. But I am very happy to say that, within the first six weeks, we have moved up to a level I never imagined possible in the Alexa rankings. I thought it would take more time and effort to reach this point. We're only beginning the relaunch of this brand, quite frankly, so there is reason for great confidence based on how we have been received to date. Thank you all for continuing to follow our efforts and stay tuned for the fun still to come.

If you stand in one spot long enough ...

everything comes full circle.

In March of 2003, the "fantasy draft help brand" established a relationship with SportsTalkCleveland.com, an up-and-coming Webcaster on its way to becoming the most-visited sports talk website of its kind (source: Alexa.com). 14 months later, in May of 2004, we established a weekly one-hour fantasy sports talk show (since expanded to two hours). 14 months later, in July of 2005, SportsTalkCleveland, in its sparkling new digs on the gleaming shores of Lake Erie, morphed into SportsTalkNetwork, a move meant to convey the national appeal of so many of the channel's shows.

And now it is SportsTalkCleveland again. Fear not, fantasy show listeners, the STN address will still point you to STC programming. But I just want to get my two cents in on the switch, as I feel that I owe it to the FantasyDrafthelp.com readers.

I count Paul Belfi, the president of the network/channel, as a good friend and we freely give advice to each other. In a nod to his Sicilian heritage, the joke around STC is that I am the consigliere. So we had what those in the diplomatic corps might call a frank and honest exchange of views on the subject. In the end, this was the reason.

There was an overwhelming response from the original STC listeners (who always remained our overall core -- more on that in a minute) that they wanted the programming to again represent the Cleveland "flavor" -- and advertisers, the bread and butter of any such enterprise, wanted to put their dollars in the direction of these listeners.

Now, I want to emphasize, those listeners were the core of the OVERALL programming and much of the daytime programming, which segued from Cleveland-centric to national in focus during the switch to SportsTalkNetwork. But I believe that our nighttime and weekend programming, comprised mostly of the niche shows such as Pro Wrestling Insider, Pro Karate Weekly, North Coast Hockey Tonight, Sunday Night Submission and yes, the FantasyDrafthelp.com Insider appeals and always has to a national and global audience.

So while the identity of the station is again based around Cleveland (and the nation of Cleveland expatriots, which is massive indeed) and the daytime programming will be largely Cleveland-oriented (with some exceptions here and there, of course) -- remember that the station still has much to offer ALL sports and sports entertainment fans. I will work with Paul Belfi relentlessly to make sure that as many people as possible become aware of our programming. The welcome mat remains out for all listeners -- and the fantasy show isn't changing a thing.

What's next at the "new again" SportsTalkCleveland.com? I wouldn't even try to hazard a guess. But stay along for the ride. It's always interesting.

Thursday recap and other notes

New FantasyDrafthelp.com Insider co-host Jason Jones has a new blog, one which revolves around the crazed world of Cleveland sports. It's called Cleveland Sports Mania and we will link to it shortly in the permanent links section of the blog. In the meantime, check it out here.

Pete Rose displays a staggering lack of knowledge about amphetamines. For the real scoop, courtesy of FantasyDrafthelp.com and the Free Market Transparency Group, click here.

On to the show. This agenda did not account for the fact that we took an extra half hour on the show, largely due to our evaluation of our baseball/amphetamines paper with Nathan going 40 minutes instead of 20. We made our first analysis on the show of our VIP Pyramid: Value, Information and Process.
We also spent a full half hour at the end of the show on the NFL Draft, as Jason broke down the entire first half of the first round. Among the most interesting developments: the internal debate at Tennessee Titans Central about Matt Leinart and Vince Young. The SportsTalkNetwork.com archives can be accessed here.

While you're at it when you're on the SportsTalkNetwork site, go treat yourself to some game play in the STN arcade. Free old-school entertainment that will take you back to the video game days of the '80s.

Two hours of great fantasy talk Thursday

Now that we have the Fantasy Drafthelp blog up and fully functional, I'm going to get in the habit of posting show formats here, as well as recaps. On to that in a minute.

First, this. Should this streak count with the same weight as those of Pete Rose or Paul Molitor? I think so. Rose and Molitor didn't have to wait six months in the middle of the streak for the next at-bat. I feel that what Rollins is doing definitely rates with their hit streaks.

Now, Thursday's show lineup (all times EDT) for the FantasyDrafthelp.com Insider on SportsTalkNetwork.com:

8:00 PM: Fantasy potpourri (niche sports: hockey, golf and yes, a recap of the Wrestlemania Sunday draft on the SportsTalkNetwork).
8:20 PM: FantasyDrafthelp.com founder Nathan Noy appears to discuss his groundbreaking analysis of the removal of amphetamines in MLB and the fantasy affects for 2006. Read the paper here.
8:40 PM: The "VIP Pyramid" of fantasy analysis from FantasyDrafthelp.com and how to use this simple system to dominate your leagues.
9:00 PM: Fantasy baseball analysis one week into the season.
9:40 PM: NFL Draft analysis with one month until Draft Day.

Please check us out on SportsTalkNetwork.com and also check out our archives.

Welcome to the FantasyDrafthelp blog!

The future of the "fantasy draft help" brand lives on here and at FantasyDrafthelp.com. Welcome to our humble blog.

Let me kick this off by posting something we the FantasyDrafthelp.com principals previously promoted: the NFL Draft Day draft-along game. I want to give credit to my friend Bob Benak, who helped me to develop this game.

The NFL Draft serves as the spring oasis for hungry football fans that desire a taste of big-time football between February and August. As such, mock drafts have sprung up like kudzu all over the Internet and viewing parties have become all the rage. We at FantasyDrafthelp.com have devised a contest to help you and your friends measure your acumen on Draft Day. It’s the FantasyDrafthelp.com Mock Draft Game. Each participant submits a mock draft before the proceedings … and then all parties compete in a separate “live draft competition.” Each board is scored separately, but the scores of the two are compiled to crown the Grand Champion of Draft Day. Here’s the scoring system:

Picks #1-4 are weighted at one point apiece.
Picks #5-8 are weighted at two points apiece.
Picks #9-12 are weighted at three points apiece.
Picks #13-16 are weighted at four points apiece.
Picks #17-20 are weighted at five points apiece.
Picks #21-24 are weighted at six points apiece.
Picks #25-28 are weighted at seven points apiece.
Picks #29-32 are weighted at eight points apiece.

Players may “roll over” their picks from the completed mock draft to the live draft if a player remains on the board … or they may cover themselves with another pick. Example: a player has Washington taking Kellen Winslow with the #5 pick on the mock draft they turned in at the outset. That would count for two points if the pick is correct. If Winslow is still on the board when Washington is on the clock, the player is not obligated to pick Winslow during the live draft. He may “roll over” the pick, choosing to try to win two points in both the live and completed mock draft categories. Or he may try to cover himself with another pick. For example, should he correctly pick Sean Taylor in the live draft part of the competition, he would gain the two points in the live draft but win no points in the completed mock draft part of the competition, in which he incorrectly picked Winslow. So strategy is at a premium during this competition. This game also puts great emphasis on correctly making picks later in the first round, when chances for success are the most difficult. Picking a player accurately in the later part of the first round on both the completed mock draft and the live mock draft can ensure a thrilling, come-from-behind victory. If you and your friends want to take your enjoyment of Draft Day to the next level by competing and strategizing along with the wizards of the NFL, try our game and print out our mock draft for your best chance of victory.