Author: Sky

Sky Sperling has been a contributor since 2012 for Razzball Fantasy Baseball and Fantasy Football and formerly wrote under the name 'Oregon Nut Cups'. Don't ask. He's also a lover of fine beer, fine women and fine-toothed combs. You can follow him on twitter @Sky_Razzball and in your most sweetest of dreams.

Read some of Sky's 363 posts

Tiers Looking At You, Kid

by: Sky

Finally. After much ‘I don’t know if I can get to them’ and ‘I’m not sure I’ll have time’ and ‘I don’t wanna go to school today mommy, can I stay home and play Double Dragon Neon?’ I’ve finally produced the ‘just the tiers’ thingie you’ve all been clamoring for. Yes all 4 of you! And one of you I didn’t get them done on time for! I’m a jerk! Mea culpa, it’s hard enough keeping up with ever-changing Fantasy Football news for rankings updates, it just gets worse when you’re also trying to watch the games for some insight. Wait, did I just complain about watching football? Someone should slap me for that one…neverthewho! Below you’ll find my tiers via a google excel doc. You may notice some changes to tiers. I’m slowly working on some revamped rankings. This is your version of a sneak peak. Nothing huge other then creating a new tier that involves Lacy and excludes Montee and a few lower end guys moving up and down. I do believe you can copy/paste this to your own excelly-ma-bobber and print as needed or perhaps you might be able to print directly from. Not gonna lie, I don’t really know, I just knew you wanted these tiers for your 2013 Fantasy Football drafting season and I hope this works out for you…Friendly reminder which may not be friendly by Wednesday if you don’t do it alert! We’re still filling and needing commissioners for our Razzball Commenter Leagues. Click that link for more details but I will spoil one part: grand winner gets a prize. So click, learn more, expand your horizons, yadda times three. Anywho, back to our post:

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Preseason-palooza: Attack Of The Keller Knees

by: Sky

When Dustin Keller entered the free agent market this off-season, he’d just come off a terrible season with the New York Jest which is a statement that could be said about any NYJ from 2012. With that, he decided to hit the FA market with the intent of improving his stock via a 1 year deal. To prove he was worth the money and after a great start to the preseason, there was much promise. And then versus the Texans that knee of his went…well, it went the wrong way. Like every which way that was the wrong way. I’m not linking to that image cuz it’s nasty and exactly why he not only has a torn ACL, PCL and MCL but has a dislocated knee to boot. It was ugly, people, but thankfully I only have to talk about the fantasy implications of it. Keller looked like he was well suited for the Dolphins passing attack throughout the preseason and was looking more and more to be a great target for up and comer Ryan Tannehill. Though it won’t affect my Rankings outside of Keller dropping out, I do get a little worried about who that third target for Ryan is going to be. Young QB with a security blanket to throw to is always nice, especially when it’s a decent option like Keller. Overall, it might increase targets for guys like Gibson but I wouldn’t call that a plus. Oh and no, don’t even ask if Charles Clay is a pickup since he’s, ya know, Charles Clay. You’re better then that and you know it. In other preseason news for 2013 Fantasy Football…we interrupt this ellipses to bring you an important announcement: we still need you – and yes I mean YOU. Not that other guy/girl you say to yourself will do it – to create/join some Razzball Commenter Leagues. See that hyperlink? It whisks you away to a special place where it tells you not only how to set up the league but what the Grand Prize is for the winner. Yes, there’s a prize so go pretend that link is a box of Lucky Charms and you’re trying to get the decoder ring out of it…or something. Just click on it! Alright, enough pandering, let’s get back to the show…

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Draft Strategy: The Two QB Edition

August 14, 2013 | 2013 Fantasy Football, Draft Strategy | 135 Comments

by: Sky

As they say, change is inevitable. Whether it’s the tuck rule, the crown of the helmet rule or the ‘how many days can I wear my drawers before they’re considered stanky’ rule, we as a species are always creating new ways to experience this little world of ours and fantasy football is no different. I’m not gonna bore you with the stats but we have all noticed the QB position become the most dominant offensive spot in our lineup over the last few years and the depth at the position has become hard to ignore. So with that in mind, I’m gonna two-tone this post by not only trying to give you draft strategy but also strongly suggesting your leagues become two QB leagues but not the standard version. For all that talk of QBs being great offensively, there’s no reason anyone should ever feel they have to draft Christian Ponder and a 2QB setting would do that. I strongly encourage if you do go the two QB route that you go with a QB and a QB flex (QB/RB/TE/WR) position to back it up. It adds a unique wrinkle to your draft strategy and puts less weight on drafting those afterthought schlubs. So now that I’ve derailed, I’m gonna rerail and get us back on course. So lets discuss some two QB draft strategies for 2013 Fantasy Football…seriously, who’s working on this railroad? We interrupt your route to fantasy football glory to give you another way to said glory via our Razzball Commenter Leagues. I had a dream the other night where some weird guy whispered into my ear ‘if you build it, they will come’ and woke up and created this year’s RCLs. Only you’re not coming…well, not coming to Commish or join leagues. Do you not like us? Do we smell funny? Not cool…neverthewho, I guess I’ll still talk draft strategy with you but note I’m doing it under protest…

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The Yahoo All-ADP Team

August 13, 2013 | 2013 Fantasy Football, Draft Strategy | 91 Comments

by: Sky

Greetings one and all, since we’ll be doing our Razzball Commenter Leagues via yahoo this year – and if you haven’t up, clicky-click on that linky-link to do so now – I thought it would be fair to highlight some round by round value plays for a 12 team league much like it so you get a feel for how I’d draft in this little shin-dig. Because as we all know, I’m so important that you should care how I’d draft. Now I’m gonna go round by round so clearly the first few aren’t going to be difficult to call ‘values’, per se. But of course, I’ll aim to do a follow up to this piece called the Anti-~~Christ~~ ADP so you get a feel for guys I’ll avoid via their round value. Just in case someone out there isn’t familiar with our RCL set up, it’s 12 team PPR with W/R/T flex and 6 bench spots with the rest being, as they say, ‘the youzzzch’…or however you special the kid’s abbreviation of ‘usual’. Now keep in mind, I know some draft picks will be unreasonable. That’s not the point of this exercise. I’m simply pointing out round by round whom I think is a steal or undervalued so if someone’s bye week if my QBs have the same bye week, you can tell me but I promise you I won’t care. But now that we’ve laid the groundwork, let me do the footwork as I take you throw my All-ADP Team for 2013 Fantasy Football…well I can’t very well talk to you about the RCLs without strongly encouraging you to sign up for said RCLs now could I? Here’s the link. Get over there, create a league, then go back and look at yourself in the mirror and see how happy you’ve made yourself. Now if you’ll excuse me, I still have a post to finish…

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Preseason-palooza: Vacations Really Take Away From Football

August 12, 2013 | 2013 Fantasy Football, Fantasy Football Daily Notes | 78 Comments

by: Sky

The original plan was to be visiting family with remote internet access the week prior to preseason action. So of course, a wine and food fair event just HAD to bump that back a week. The best part? We didn’t go to the wine and food fair. Too tired from all the traveling and didn’t want to spend time with the annoying relatives. That’s truth with a capital hashtag in front, peeps, and why never to book hotel rooms in advance. I know you don’t care about any of this blather, really, but want you to know that I’m a bit behind on all the goings on over the last week. I heard DX died. Ok, he didn’t die really but in our fantasy football world, being out for the remainder of the year is pretty similar. BTW, it’s bad enough to tear it once but he’s now torn his ACL 5 times. Screw Tommy John surgery, we need Danario Alexander surgery that replaces completely worthless ACLs. But enough about that, I’m gonna do my best to post what I know – very little -and what I gleaned – a bit more – from all this preseason football. I’m going to then gently apply it to this here 2013 Fantasy Football season for you all cuz that’s what I do. I’m a giver. But before I give you that, I’m here to give you this. That ‘this’ is a link to the Razzball Commenter Leagues. We don’t have many leagues. It’s embarrassing. I call my mother and cry on the phone about it and the only person who can change that is you. Maybe not you on your own, but you and another 11 you’s to join your quest for sweet Razzball swag. You can call them mini-you’s if you prefer. But enough about your Dr. Evil impersonations, it’s time to cover a bit of the magic that is preseason football for the 2013 fantasy football season…

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Vincent Brown, 2013 Fantasy Sleeper

August 7, 2013 | 2013 Fantasy Football, Fantasy Football Sleeper | 65 Comments

by: Sky

In reality, I could write about three of these sleeper posts on wide receivers a week. The position just lends itself to it. Most leagues only start 3 with maybe a flex spot for a possible 4th but you really want an RB there. So, if there are 32 teams and each team has about 3 starting receivers per team, that’s 96 wide receivers to account for. Now subtract 36 from that number and you’ve got what’s left for either your bench or the FA pool in a 12 team league. It’s like the anti-RB position where if you have a pulse and you’re a back up to DMC, you’re probably getting drafted. But none of that has to do with the topic at hand, of course, that was merely food for thought. Food?!? What kind of food?!? It was a turn of phrase, I.R. You shouldn’t do that. People out there might be hungry. I’ll try to keep that in mind next time. But enough about hot pockets and lean cuisines, I’m here to talk about a guy named Vincent Brown and how he’s a fantasy football sleeper for 2013…I’m gonna keep cutting myself short until we have 500 league signups (or thereabouts). Before I direct your attention to Vincent, I’m going to redirect your attention to our Razzball Commenter Leagues Signup. Like what all the kids at school said about your mom, it’s free and easy. Want details? Well that link I provided you should give you everything you ever (and maybe never) wanted to know about how to get the ball rolling. There’ll be prizes as well if you need your fancy tickled. And with that over, we’re now back to our regularly scheduled post…

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Draft Strategy: The Wide Receiver Edition

August 6, 2013 | 2013 Fantasy Football, Draft Strategy, Fantasy Football Strategy | 54 Comments

by: Sky

So at first I thought I could fill up an entire post on just one strategy for wide receivers. Then I thought to myself ‘really, how much can you say about just one approach about wide receivers? You’re no Charles Dickens, broseph’. I have these casual chats with myself sometimes. It eases the pain of feeling forever alone…but nonetheless, there’s more then one way to approach those 3 wideouts in your draft. Most times, just like anything, it will depend who’s available to you and when. If I have Calvin Johnson as my WR1, that’s going to make me reconsider who my WR2 should/could be vs if it’s, say, Randall Cobb. Different strokes for different folks there, Willis, and we’re gonna try to account for them all as best we can. So without further fluff, let’s take a look at draft strategy for wide receivers for the 2013 Fantasy Football season…oops, looks like I forgot something…what was it? Oh yeah, if you’re not signed up or commishing a Razzball Commenter League by now, you’re dead to me son! So go find out how to get involved and maybe along the way you win the grand prize. What prize is that, you ask? Well ya gotta go click the link to find out, brochacho! And now I’m done pandering/threatening so let’s get back on course…

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Hakeem Is Rueben Giants Brass The Wrong Way

August 5, 2013 | 2013 Fantasy Football, Fantasy Football Daily Notes | 43 Comments

by: Sky

You ever have that one friend who you try and get out to do stuff but when you call he’s always got a cold or not feeling well or just not up to it? You know the one. You spend all this time with them in a bunch of different settings but they’re always ‘sick’ or ‘hurt’ when you try to get them out. ‘Are they a hypochondriac?’, you ask yourself. ‘Do they need more vitamin C in their diet?’, you muse. ‘Are they just feeling embarrassed after a BBC porn marathon?’, you giggle to yourself. You just don’t know but you don’t trust it’s really a health issue. So you start asking them to go do things less and less and eventually…well it’s not that you hate the guy/girl but you’re not really friends with them anymore either. So you start hanging out with other people in those social settings and slowly move away from spending time with them. I bring this awkward analogy to the table to talk with you about Hakeem Nicks. Per my private sources (i.e. the search function on twitter), the wideout coach Kevin Gilbride – and honestly most of the staff/ownership – are getting a bit fed up with the always nicked up Nicks. Per this twitter guy, Gilbride’s quoted as saying ‘I think he needs to… practice. He knows it. He and I talk about it all the time and he knows it’. Now Nicks is no Allen Iverson, but with another DTD next to his name as he recovers from a groin injury, I’m feeling more and more confident in my Hakeem Nicks Overrated post earlier this summer. Practice is there for continuity, it’s there to make for a solid understanding of how to approach the season as a team. Anyone who doesn’t think in some part not having Nicks ready to go on time last year didn’t throw things off is lying to themselves. But as I hate to be a downer for everyone, I’m gonna find the silver lining and guide you in that direction…in the next player blurb! But before I do that, I want to remind you to kiss your mother, tell her that you love her and to join/create an RCL. Don’t know how? Well here’s a guide to all that is our Razzball Commenter Leagues that you’ve always wanted to know but were afraid to ask. But enough shameless promotion, on with the show. Let’s continue on with our training camp notes for 2013 Fantasy Football…

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Harvin Can Wait

July 31, 2013 | 2013 Fantasy Football, Fantasy Football Daily Notes | 21 Comments

by: Sky

As I talked about last week, we didn’t truly know what was going to happen to Percy Harvin until Tuesday. Well, now we know and it’s not exactly the news we all wanted to hear heading into our drafts. Harvin will be out 3-4 months as he has hip surgery to repair a torn labrum. For those of you that drafted, that puts his estimated ‘worth keeping on your team’ time at week 9 if you’re lucky but I’d bank on him being back no earlier then week 13 and by then…well, here’s the scenario. The Seahawks – barring major in season injuries – are a playoff bound team and they were a strong team even without Harvin last year. By week 13, the team will be ready to welcome him but this isn’t a guy who knows his team and their schemes. It’s going to take time to gel, to get acclimated. If you’re holding Harvin for your playoff push, you might want to think about that as a factor in how to handle. If you’re gonna ask me what to do about it, it’s a tough call. If he were on my team as of now, I’d try and sell him in a 2 for 1 if someone is willing to wait because in redrafts, I’m not. I’ve updated Harvin in my 2013 Fantasy Football Rankings as well. Now in theory, he’s returning during a time when he could be useful but he’s nothing more then a pickup when that time comes. I wouldn’t be wasting a draft pick on him. Too many injuries and bye weeks before now and that time frame could happen. Keep abreast (tee-hee) of any news regarding Percy and see if he’s worth a pickup week 9 or 10 if it doesn’t affect your bench too much to do so would be my plan in most leagues. In other 2013 Fantasy Football news…zing! I’m like a broken record here. Since we don’t have 5000 leagues yet, I’m gonna keep badgering you every chance I get about our Razzball Commenter Leagues. Either go join one or create one. If you build it, they will come. It’s totally like Field of Dreams, y’all! Now back to your regularly scheduled post…

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Auction Draft Strategy For 2013 Fantasy Football

July 31, 2013 | 2013 Fantasy Football, Draft Strategy | 46 Comments

by: Sky

So you’re gonna notice something if you’re a previous reader. Though I don’t like repeating myself, I’m going to repeat myself. There’s only so much new you can bring to a personal strategy each year. Most of what’s ‘new’ here is going to be the intro post. I like to make cultural references of the time so that I can look back in a year and say ‘what the heck was THAT all about?’ to myself. For that reason, I’m just going to say ‘Sharknado’ and move on with the knowledge I’ve completely mindf’ed my future self. But of course, you didn’t come here for my love of messing with future versions of me, you’re here to discuss auction draft strategy for 2013 fantasy football…

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Auction Draft Values, 2013 Fantasy Football

July 30, 2013 | 2013 Fantasy Football, 2013 Fantasy Football Rankings, Fantasy Football Rankings | 35 Comments

by: Sky

Like I mentioned to a few of the commenters, I just needed to sit down and hammer out these mother chuckers and I finally did it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do any better then covering a 12 team, $200 auction set up cuz the task is daunting and I was thoroughly daunted, y’all. That said, I think it’s fair to say that if you want to get a feel for how I value these guys in, say, a 14 team league, take a price of a player from this auction set up. Let’s just pull a value out of the hat and go with Demaryius Thomas at $38. Take the total auction dollar amount available in the league for my auction values – which is $2400 – and divide DT’s $38 price tag by it to find a percentage. Now take that percentage and multiply it by the total amount available in your auction league. Let’s say it’s a 14 team one which would be $2800. That puts Demaryius at roughly a $44 price tag. Now this won’t be exact nor perfect but it’ll put you in range. Keep in mind my pricing comes with a standard auction draft strategy associated which I’ll cover tomorrow so don’t go off the rails on me saying how I wouldn’t get AP or Doug Martin at that price. These are things I already know and I’ll explain tomorrow. These are my values which come with a draft strategy associated and it would feel weird giving you a price I’d never personally pay. We clear? Good, the next point is I put guys in tiers. Would be a bit weird for me to price them apart from each other even if it were only 1 or 2 dollars. If I say I value guys the same, I really mean it. with that let’s take a look at the Auction Draft Values for a 12 team league, $200 budget for 2013 Fantasy Football…

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I Pitta The Fool Who Drafted Dennis

July 29, 2013 | 2013 Fantasy Football, Fantasy Football Daily Notes | 44 Comments

by: Sky

By the way, that wasn’t meant as an insult to any of you readers. I have much better insults then that for you. It’s called my writing. No, I said that in the mirror in my best Mr. T impersonation to myself as I took Dennis Pitta in my 14 team auction league way back in early July for $10 bucks. Don’t ask me why I did it in that voice, I think I was just in shock and I do believe it’s one of the stages of grief. You know, the one that comes right before running naked down the street doused in gasoline asking people to light my cigarette. At the time, it seemed smart picking up the main guy who’d benefit from Boldin’s loss in terms of targets and production. Of course, that was before he suffered a dislocated hip in a scrimmage on Saturday at the hands of James Ihedigbo whom I’m currently and desperately trying to find the address for so I can call some special ‘friends’ to take care of some ‘business’. At first reports said he would at least miss the first game of the year. Yeah, thanks reporters I coulda done that if that’s what we call reporting nowadays. And in related news, Bill Belichick was decapitated today by his own hoodie. No word yet as to whether he’ll be ready for the home opener but the Pats front office is hopeful. So I’m writing through the tears to tell you that there’ll be no soft Pitta Patta of Dennis’ feet in the flat or the end zone for Joey-lite Flacco to throw to this year. In some ways, this will put more on Torrey Smith’s plate and could lead to a bigger year but as I’ve stated before, Torrey’s not the best route runner and he’s not versatile enough to go beast mode and stand up like that. Most likely, some uninspiring options will be tried at first and it wouldn’t at all surprise me if this is an impetus for the team to go out and get a good complementary wide out to run those Boldin/Pitta-like routes. In either case, I’ve updated our Fantasy Football Rankings to no longer include our dear, sweet Dennis for the year much to my chagrin. In other fantasy news that I’ve typed while singing ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Alright’ to myself while rocking back and forth…

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