I’ve never been skiing. Despite growing up within a two-hour drive from the best slopes on the planet, snow sports have never been alluring. Sure, I’ve rented a tube from the old mini-mart in Mineral, CA for 80 bucks and popped it on a pine branch on the first slide down the hill between the tiny post office and that dump with all the bear-proof bins. I’ve also bundled up like Ralphie’s little brother in A Christmas Story and rolled down that hill like a runaway log. Mom was biting her nails in anxiety watching us kids hit an ice patch on our makeshift sled (trash can lid) and crash into a ponderosa at the speed of screams.
That cozy little store isn’t open anymore. There was fresh pizza you could take away cooked or baked at the cabin (that led to a humbling lesson about cooking at altitude). You could rent VHS tapes too, crossing your 10-year-old fingers that Papa would cozy up to his nap with Under Siege left on the screen. The four gas pumps kept the place going, with a nice mountain markup, until I hit college age.
It still never dawned on me to sport a funny helmet and visor and mount a rack on a Subaru for the purpose of “hitting the pow-pow.” We read Louis L’Amour novels and finished elaborate jigsaw puzzles. Hell, we even painted rocks and pine cones. If there was snow, we knew we’d be shoveling and building a hot fire in the 19th-century iron stove. The chimney and flume remained years after the cabin was destroyed by a 100-foot lodgepole that fell through the middle. With a new cabin and old memories, the story persists to this day.
Fantasy football is growing at a breakneck pace. Its popularity has never been greater and new formats seem to pop up like new growth after a wildfire. I can’t say I’ve tried them all. It took a while to try DFS and then dynasty. I dug my heels in before dabbling in Best Ball during the COVID lockdown. I didn’t even try a guillotine or college league until last year, and now I’m hooked. The Sierra Nevada mountains are already dusted in the most beautiful powdery white. Will I try something new this year? I guess I might risk life and limb on the slopes if fantasy football loses its novelty. Something tells me that is as unlikely as getting a crispy crust at 5,000 feet.
- Waiver Wire Picks
- Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Fantasy Football Storylines: Week 10
Duval Welcomes Deebo & Co, Losers of Three in a Row
I’ve stated I believe the 49ers to be an overrated team since the preseason. The first five games kept my lips sealed, but they’ve lost every game since. They miss their “Wide Back.” That made-up position is a misnomer for Deebo Samuel these days; he has assumed a more traditional wide receiver role within Kyle Shanahan’s offense. Deebo is the catalyst on offense, providing the layup throws with incredible YAC potential that gives Brock Purdy his pizzazz.
Unfortunately for San Francisco, they are headed all the way across the country for a date with the hottest team in football. Jacksonville has won a league-best five games in a row. 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks is trying the Matt Canada method and leaving the coach’s box for the sidelines in hopes of ending his unit’s unsightly performance in recent weeks. Kyle Shanahan has never won a game as a head coach when trailing by eight or more points in the fourth quarter. He better have his team ready to play coming off the bye or the previously “unbeatable” will continue to be exposed.
Who Does Number Two Work For?!
Although it is much too early to declare CJ Stroud a better draft pick than Bryce Young, Stroud has certainly enjoyed a much better start to his rookie season than the Heisman-winning top pick from Alabama. Not only is he fresh off the best rookie QB performance in NFL history, but he has the previously rebuilding Texans squarely in the playoff conversation. Demeco Ryans deserves just as much praise and consideration for Coach of the Year as anyone else, while Bobby Slowik is on a staggering trajectory from the relatively unknown to having his name come up in future head coach conversations.
Fellow rookie Tank Dell has exploded onto the scene, while Nico Collins has taken a massive third-year leap into prominence. The scary part is Houston’s running game with Dameon Pierce has yet to hit its stride. They travel to Cincinnati this week to take on a scorching-hot Joe Burrow and the Bengals. I hope you’re like me and love high-scoring shootouts. This one is going to really pop for fantasy managers dealing with the Dolphins, Eagles, Chiefs and Rams on bye.
Crab Cakes and Football; That’s What Maryland Does!
There were plenty of football experts who expected a lot from the Baltimore Ravens this season. The team has passed every test with flying colors as we hit the back nine in 2023, with Lamar Jackson on an MVP trajectory and the league’s best-scoring defense wreaking havoc. Baltimore has won four in a row, by an average score of 33-12. They are the team to beat in the rugged AFC, despite what Kansas City and others have to say.
The Ravens’ Week 10 opponent is their divisional foe, the Cleveland Browns. You might remember Week 4, when Baltimore steamrolled Cleveland, then quarterbacked by Dorian Thompson-Robinson, by a score of 28-3 on the shores of Lake Erie. Deshaun Watson is back now, but so are the two injured offensive linemen who missed the previous game for the Ravens. Good luck to the Browns this week. They will have trouble covering the spread, let alone winning at M&T Bank Stadium against a squad running as pure as the Ravens are right now.
Some People Wait a Lifetime (Table) for a Moment Like This
Two players have emerged in Buffalo’s offense in the wake of Dawson Knox‘s injury. Rookie first-round pick Dalton Kincaid has the same initials and position but has already shown to be twice the receiver as Knox. Only a few people had faith in Khalil Shakir this season. He has elevated his play at all three WR positions since Knox went down and has proven to be an effective weapon in the route tree with Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis. Josh Allen has struggled to avoid turnovers, but Buffalo still offers a ton of fantasy upside on a weekly basis.
The Bills host the Broncos on Monday night in a game of diverging trends. Denver started as badly as could be imagined but have righted the ship somewhat. Their impressive win over Kansas City two weeks ago was their second in a row and put Sean Payton and his staff in a good mood entering the bye. With how the Bills have been shooting themselves in the foot, we will have to see if they are ready to play to their strengths for a change. With how well the Buffalo defense started the season, it’s certainly surprising that I am looking to start Russell Wilson and others in fantasy this week. Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin are both viable, with Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton more borderline in this matchup.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio