already & not yet

Has a pinky finger ever caused such consternation? The news of Erik Ainge’s injured pinky (on his throwing hand, no less) has caused the Volunteer Nation to hold its collective breath this week on the eve of a primetime showdown with the Cal Golden Bears. Our worst fears were allayed when Fulmer confirmed that Ainge will indeed start on Saturday. But the rumor mill has been working overtime this week with every orange-and-white clad blogger from Soddy-Daisy to Sardis concocting their own theories about how the Vol signal caller suffered his “mystery” injury. At various points this week, these were just a few of the rumors I heard in these here parts about Ainge’s pained pinky:

• At first, word was that Ainge simply “jammed” his pinky finger in practice on Monday.
• Then it was revealed that he injured the finger taking a snap from center during a handoff drill.
• Early Wednesday afternoon, when asked by a reporter if his pinky was broken, Ainge replied with a curt, “Nope”.
• Within a matter of hours, X-rays confirmed that Ainge’s pinky was in fact broken, leading to rampant speculation as to how a quarterback breaks a pinky taking a snap from center.
• Rob Lewis says the injury occurred as the result of a shotgun snap, not a snap from center. Even more curious. Mid-afternoon Wednesday, word leaks out that Ainge will not play at all in the Vols first two games and that he was 50/50 for the Florida game.
• Another report says EA hurt his finger playing a game of pickup basketball. In the words of my friend Greg, “He shouldn’t be allowed to do anything other than go to class and play football once August hits!” Amen, Greg.
• My friend John Paul heard backup QB Jonathan Crompton “accidentally” stepped on Ainge’s finger. This particular rumor remains largely unconfirmed.
• Yesterday, Allen tells me that his Dad read on a message board that Ainge hurt his finger horsing around at a high school football practice. This is getting ridiculous.
• Orange Clockwork puts the over / under on the number of times ABC commentators say the word “pinky” at 37.

After a week of blogs and message boards and disinformation and injury reports, I’m just ready for kickoff. Any thoughts on the game from my fellow Vol fans? Matt’s weighed in, saying we have better players. Given the massive distraction of the week, I’m predicting a Cal win. But I’d love to be pleasantly surprised. Your thoughts.

With the college football season kicking off tonight, I thought it apropos to make my annual SEC picks. I’ve pored over these picks, meticulously dissecting each team’s strengths and weaknesses for all of 60 seconds, so take this distillation for what it is. That said, here are my fearless picks, starting with the SEC West:

1. LSU (12-0, 8-0 in the conference). I can’t believe I’m picking a Les Miles team to go undefeated. Seems like they always slip up and lose one they’re not supposed to. But how can you go on record and pick that game? They’re clearly the class of the conference. I could see a hiccup against VT in Week 2. But otherwise, I think they play in Atlanta in December.
2. Auburn (10-2, 6-2). Their conference schedule is just brutal. Away games at Florida, Arkansas, LSU and Georgia. I see Auburn splitting these four, with losses to Florida and LSU. But Tommy’s Tigers can hang with any team in the nation.
3. Alabama (7-5, 4-4). It’s hard to believe Nick Saban has been the Tide coach for only 8 months. It probably just seems longer since every time he brushes his teeth, it’s newsworthy around here. The luster’s worn off a little after the debacle that was his NFL stint, but I guess he’s still a good coach. Nevertheless, I see this as a rebuilding year in Tuscaloosa with losses to Georgia, FSU, LSU, Auburn and (of course) Tennessee. In two years, this team will be scary, though.
4. Arkansas (8-4, 4-4). I know a lot of people are high on Arkansas and it’s tough to count them out with McFadden, but I have them coming back to earth a bit. I see losses to Auburn, Tennessee and LSU with the Bama game determining 3rd place in the division.
5. Ole Miss (5-7, 2-6). I have to admit, I know nothing about the Mississippi teams. I’m just going out on a limb here. Surely Ole Miss will beat Vandy and MSU. But who really cares.
6. Mississippi State (3-9, 0-8). I don’t know if Tulane, Jacksonville State or UAB are any good. But if MSU can’t beat ’em, then they don’t deserve to be an SEC school.

And now for my Eastern division:

1. Florida (11-1, 7-1). Florida lost a lot of talent from last year’s championship squad, but in Gainesville it seems like they just reload. I still think they’re the most talented team in the division. Their season will be decided in a four-game stretch from September 15 to October 6 when they play Tennessee, Auburn and LSU. The Gators have to travel to the swamp to play LSU, so I’m picking them to drop that one. But if they take care of business everywhere else, they should have the chance to avenge that loss in Atlanta.
2. Tennessee (10-2, 7-1). I guess this probably seems like a homer pick. And with Erik Ainge’s broken pinky looming large, I’m putting my Vols down for two early road losses to Cal and Florida. But I’m feeling good about the rest of the schedule. We hit Georgia in the mouth last year, dropping 50 on them in Athens. This year’s game in Knoxville will determine 2nd place in the conference. Personally, I think we’re the better team.
3. Georgia (9-3, 5-3). Conference losses to Tennessee, Florida and Auburn should keep the Dawgs from sniffing a 10-win season. Of course, as I said, Uga vs. Smokey will determine 2nd place.
4. South Carolina (7-5, 3-5). A win over Clemson would give Spurrier a winning record. But I just can’t see them beating Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, LSU or Arkansas. I could be wrong…
5. Kentucky (5-7, 2-6). I know they won a lot last year, but that doesn’t happen this year. Start getting ready for basketball season, Big Blue.
6. Vanderbilt (2-10, 0-8). I guess they could win another game or two (Miami of OH?), but I really don’t care.

There you have it, folks. Tell me if you think I’m off base.

It’s hard to believe the college football season kicks off this weekend. I’ll be weighing in tomorrow with my SEC picks. But today I’m still basking in the glow of two fantasy football drafts last night. I thought I’d post my teams and let you dissect them and tell me how I did.

My first draft was in a pretty shallow league (8 teams), so my team looks pretty stacked. That said, I thought I had a great draft in this league. I picked 4th, so I was perfectly wedged right in the middle of the pack without a long time in between picks. Here’s my team, aptly named Bubonic Rising:
QB – Peyton Manning
WR – Chad Johnson
WR – Larry Fitzgerald
RB – Frank Gore
RB – Clinton Portis
TE – Tony Gonzalez
W/R – Marshawn Lynch
K – Stephen Gostkowski
DEF – Denver
Bench – Tony Romo
Bench – Carnell Williams
Bench – Kellen Winslow
Bench – Plaxico Burress
Bench – Mark Clayton (Bal)
Bench – Dallas

I went in pretty much assuming I’d take two RBs with my first two picks. But after RBs were taken with the first 12 picks, I couldn’t pass up Peyton after he fell to me halfway through the second round. I had Johnson and Fitzgerald ranked as 2 of the top 5 wideouts, so I’m feeling good there. I’m not sold on Portis, but I stole Lynch in the late rounds and I hedged my bet with Cadillac. All in all, I’m feeling pretty good about Bubonic.

My second draft (hosted by Scott) was deeper (10 teams), although a couple of teams made some head-scratching moves (Tom Brady taken second overall? A kicker in the 7th round?), leaving plenty of talent for me to scoop up. Here’s my squad, the Denim Polecats:
QB – Matt Hasselbeck
WR – Terrell Owens
WR – Braylon Edwards
WR – Bernard Berrian
RB – Rudi Johnson
RB – Willie Parker
TE – Kellen Winslow
W/T – Mark Clayton (Bal)
W/R – Cedric Benson
K – Josh Brown
DEF – Pittsburgh
Bench – Adrian Peterson
Bench – LaMont Jordan
Bench – Joey Galloway
Bench – Ben Roethlisberger
Bench – Rueben Droughns
Bench – David Martin
Bench – Minnesota

I had the 9th pick in this draft, which wasn’t ideal, but I was still able to draft two RBs with Johnson and Parker with my first two picks. I was hoping a top WR would fall to me in Round 3. Even though I can’t stand him, T.O. was the only upper echelon wideout left on the board, so I took him. Cedric Benson was a steal in Round 4, giving me 3 solid RBs. The rest of my team is fairly pedestrian, but I drafted Peterson, Droughns and Jordan with the hopes of trading one or more for help at WR or QB.

Of course, all of this is just a precursor to the A&NY draft on Thursday. Best start your draft prep now, girls, cuz I’m ready!

Your thoughts on Bubonic Rising or the Denim Polecats?

Next week I’ll participate in not one, not two, but three fantasy football drafts. I know, I’m a dork. My question for today is this: Who would you take with the #3 pick in the draft? Everybody with half a brain cell has LT as the consensus top pick, followed by Steven Jackson, who’s primed for a HUGE season in St. Louis. But the questions really start at #3. Do you go with Larry Johnson, who just ended his preseason holdout yesterday? Do you go with Frank Gore, despite the broken hand? Rudi Johnson, the Bengals workhorse coming off a career worst 3.8YPC in ’06? Joseph Addai, who ran for 1,000 yards last season while splitting time with Dominic Rhodes but now has to prove that he can thrive as the Colts exclusive feature back? Or do you go with the nearly forgotten Shaun Alexander, the 2005 MVP who was bitten by the injury bug last year?

Ahh, questions….

It’s probably a moot point, since I’ll probably get stuck with the last pick in all my leagues. But if you’re picking at 3, who do you take? And why?