FDH Lounge Show #13: July 29, 2007

With so much going on in the sports world and the world at large, the universe has never needed another episode of THE FDH LOUNGE more than right now. And fear not, our 13th Episode Blowout is coming your way at the usual time of 8-11 PM EDT on SportsTalkCleveland.com!


In Hour One, after the Dignitaries of The FDH Lounge have made their opening statements, we take a two-part look at the historic CNN/YouTube Democratic Presidential Debate of the past week. In addition to featuring the opening salvo of the down-and-dirty phase of the campaign between Obama and Chelsea's Mama, it raised two interesting questions:

1. What needs to be done to repair our foreign policy after George W. Bush?
2. Should the leading Republican candidates show up for their version of a YouTube debate? There's been some talk that some front-runners might boycott, deeming it unpresidential to take questions from goofy people in goofy costumes in web videos (i.e. The "Snowman") -- plus, CNN can and will stack the deck with questions from ill-intentioned pinkos. Should everyone show up to take their medicine or not?

In Hour Two, after we wrap up the previous two-part discussion, we move onto the FDH Lounge Movie Spotlight: namely, the Simpsons movie! Woo Hoo! Then, Lindsay Lohan: Train Wreck -- why does it fascinate us so? Also, the inevitable happened this week, when California Congressman Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and the biggest camera hog in a town full of them, launched the opening salvo into a coming investigation of Vince McMahon and WWE. Can Da Gubmint do what Billionaire Ted could not?

In Hour Three, we welcome back our new friend Russ Cohen from The Card Corner Club, who will be attending the biggest collectible show in the country next weekend in Cleveland. He'll break down sports collectibles for those of us who have some interest but are not at the expert level. Then, we look at one of the worst sports weeks ever, from Michael Vick to NBA ref betting/fixing to the farce of Barry Bonds' pursuit of Hammerin' Hank. Will this hangover linger through the fall, when we have baseball pennant chases and then playoffs and the college and pro football seasons starting?

As always, we welcome your input, so tune into the program and check out the show where nothing is off-topic!

The biggest announcement in FDH history!

Thursday night we make history on THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER on SportsTalkCleveland.com with the biggest announcement in our history -- and the fantasy sports industry will never be the same again!

9 PM: The announcement!

9:15 PM: We launch into our weekly BaseballGuys.com fantasy baseball segment with our good friend Ray Flowers. How will the MLB trading deadline of July 31 affect the fantasy stretch run? We'll examine that subject, along with hot and cold players and many other relevant parts of the fantasy landscape.

9:50 PM: We elaborate a bit on the big announcement and how it will benefit the followers of FDH.

10:10 PM: Our fantasy football prep kicks into high gear as we go over our entire 2007 Fantasy Football Guide, available for free download through SportsTalkCleveland.com.

Fantasy sports coverage again tonight!

THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER on SportsTalkCleveland.com (9-11 PM EDT) returns tonight for the fastest-paced two hours on STC each week:

9 PM: We welcome back our good buddy Ray Flowers from BaseballGuys.com for our weekly chat about the latest news in fantasy baseball.

9:50 PM: Fire up the hoops hot stove! After a one-week absence, our hoops expert Jason Jones is back to help break down the NBA offseason from a fantasy perspective.

10:15 PM: Draft day is coming in football, and we've got you covered. Tonight, you learn how to combat the conventional wisdom: players who are overvalued and undervalued by the fantasy football media this year. Plus, fantasy implications of the Michael Vick indictment and much much more!

FDH Lounge Show #12: July 15, 2007

It's our Dozen-Program anniversary on THE FDH LOUNGE this Sunday night (8-11 PM EDT on SportsTalkCleveland.com) as the world's most versatile talk show, the program where nothing is off-limits, dives into a wide platter of subjects.

In Hour One, after the Opening Statements from the Dignitaries of The FDH Lounge, we bring you the political obituary of John McCain and revisit some past statements about the man from this very program. Then, our "Wimp or Pimp" segment returns in a very big way. Fellow Dignitary Nate Noy, during a recent trip to our home base in Cleveland, claimed that the Backstreet Boys were way cooler than Nelson. Our Dignitaries will decide this -- and yes, there must be a winner!

In Hour Two, our FDH Lounge News Nuggets will feature some news of the bizarre, and our bizarre takes, of course. Then, in the FDH Lounge Movie Spotlight, our Dignitaries review the Transformers movie, followed by the Pay-Per-View Halftime Report for the TNA Victory Road show.

In Hour Three, we are proud to welcome a new guest to the program, prolific writer Russ Cohen. Russ writes for several outlets (MCN Sports, Sportsology.com, Wrestleology.com and NHL.com among others), and we'll discuss several subjects with him, including Hot Stove Hockey, the fallout of the Benoit family tragedy and his interesting review of "The Bronx is Burning." From there, we'll wrap the show with a discussion of the aforementioned Benoit scandal and the drug revelations coming out. At what point, if any, will this media story intersect with the Mitchell investigation in Major League Baseball? Might we see Vince McMonopoly sitting next to Bud Selig under oath before Congress?

We'll entertain your feedback as always. Join us for the festivities as The FDH Lounge presents another episode of the show where nothing is off-topic.

The FDH Insider is back tonight!

Fresh off our break for the five-day Independence Day holiday weekend, THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER returns tonight (9-11 PM EDT) on SportsTalkCleveland.com with another installment of the fastest-paced two hours on STC each week:

9 PM: Our good buddy Ray Flowers from BaseballGuys.com joins us for another of his outstanding fantasy baseball analysis segments. Where should you buy low and sell high? How should you prepare for the stretch run of your league? We'll help you out.

9:40 PM: Fire up the kitchen appliances, it's time for hot stove hockey ...

10:00 PM: ... and hot stove hoops as we take a look at the intense offseason positioning underway and the fantasy implications for next year.

10:20 PM: The "experts'" draft board is a key component of our draft board preparation at FDH. Tonight, we'll examine a few players about whom there is a vast disparity of opinion ...

10:40 PM: ... and we'll tell you a few players about whom the "experts" in the media are providing a surprising consensus and why we agree with them.

That's right, we're hitting all four of the Big Four sports tonight on The FDH Insider -- don't miss it!

Happy Independence Day!

Here in America, we celebrate the founding of our great nation with the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. Unfortunately, due to the special SUNDAY NIGHT SUBMISSION reunion episode of THE FDH LOUNGE this past Sunday night, we at FDH had to take our second annual hot dog draft off the schedule. But we wouldn't leave you without a draft board and league guidelines!

Here are our suggested league guidelines:

* We suggest that you include three owners, each selecting three eaters. The first two rounds should move in a standard serpentine fashion, with the final round moving in the same fashion as the first round. This effect counteracts the top-heavy nature of the competitive field (see draft board for illustration of this point).

* Each eater is awarded a point for each hot dog consumed, with fractions of a hot dog not counted as a whole. The team with the contest winner is awarded an additional 10 points, with points for all three eaters on each team tallied. In the event of a tie, the team with the highest total from an individual will win.

Now, here's our draft board, with a brief note first: do not, under any circumstances, draft Jed Donahue. He compromised the integrity of the contest last year, as well as all fantasy leagues out there, by putting himself over and consuming only one hot dog. Unfortunately, he got the media attention he sought, but do not let him corrupt the integrity of your league this year:

TOP TIER
1. Joey Chestnut
2. Takeru Kobayashi

SECOND TIER
3. Sonya Thomas
4. Patrick Bertoletti

THIRD TIER
5. ChipBurger Simpson
6. Timothy Janus
7. Richard LeFevre
8. Bob Shoudt
9. Crazy Legs Conti
10. Seaver Miller

Also, we will be bringing back THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER (9-11 PM EDT) on SportsTalkCleveland.com next Thursday, July 12, after an extended Fourth of July hiatus at the station. Have a safe and happy holiday. God Bless America.

FDH Lounge Show #11: July 1, 2007

Tonight, on the 11th live edition of THE FDH LOUNGE on SportsTalkCleveland.com, we bring you a very special broadcast outside our normal format. While normally we talk about any and all subjects in the world during our three-hour show, tonight, in the aftermath of the horrible Chris Benoit situation, we're all pro wrestling, all the time. We have with us our newest additions to the Dignitary list in the FDH Lounge: Ryan Ward, Kyle Ross, Jake Digman and Mike Ptak.

All of these individuals have a long history of covering pro wrestling for STC and Ryan and Kyle in particular were the longtime hosts of SUNDAY NIGHT SUBMISSION, the premier "smart mark" wrestling show on the Internet. Ryan and Kyle are bringing back SNS as occasional segments within the FDH Lounge, and tonight the entire show is being turned over to the STC wrestling reunion crowd.

On the STC message boards, where tonight's show has become the most eagerly anticipated on all of STC in the past several months, Ryan posted a rundown of what listeners can expect. It is reproduced as follows:

Benoit Tragedy:
-a look at Benoit the person and wrestler, and now legacy
-WWE's position and Vince McMahon and what he is and isn't at fault for
-Changing the culture of WWE
-How this is reminicent of another dark period for WWE
-The media's coverage of the Benoit tragedy(Geraldo I'm looking at you)
-Vince McMahon's responsibilty now
-The Pro Wrestling "culture" and "lifestyle"
-Looking back at other wrestling deaths and what Vince McMahon said then
-WWE's business takes a hit and what's to come
-WWE's future and what really needs to happen in light of this and more.

Half-Year Review:
-A look at WWE programming, pushes, the draft, the injury situation
-TNA's total creative collapse until recently
-The 2 stars who quit 2 weeks ago and how this ties into the Benoit situation(not related but how the promotions treat wrestlers)
-ROH's decision to move onto PPV, the good, bad, and what's next
-TNA pulls talent from ROH
-The death of Sherri Martel and the stupidity of linking it with Benoit's(still looking at Geraldo, toolbox)
-PPV analysis and more.

Old School Discussion:
-Kyle and I have been watching a TON of old school stuff and we'll let you know what it was, what's good, what was terrible and stuff you should try to get
-Differences between then and now
-How badly we miss WCW no matter how bad they were run and more.