Fantasy Football Disappointments

     Every year there are players that are a disappointment in fantasy football.  This year there were some obvious disappointments that made these choices easy for me.  These players were probably drafted very high and were anticipated to be huge pieces in owners championship runs.  I am going to start off with disappointment number three.

#3.  DeAngelo Williams RB Carolina Panthers--- DeAngelo Williams was ranked by ESPN to be the number 8 running back and the number 11 overall player.  For a player ranked so high he was a huge disappointment.  I am certain that Williams was taken in the first or second round of most fantasy drafts.  I chose him in the second round and he did not even start three weeks for me.  His biggest week was week 4 against New Orleans when he scored 15 points.  Williams only scored 2.6 points a game and did not even rank in the top 50 running backs at the end of the year.  He did not rush for 100 yards in any game and although he was injured most of the season, he was on his way to be a huge disappointment along with the rest of the Carolina Panthers.

#2.  Randy Moss WR New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans--- Randy Moss was ranked by ESPN to be the number two wide receiver and the number 10 overall player in fantasy football this year.  Moss did not even end up being ranked in the top 50 receivers in 2010.  He scored double digits only two times this year in weeks 3 and 5, and he never reached the 100 yard mark in any game this season.  Here is the biggest statistic that will show fantasy players why he was such a huge disappointment.  Moss averaged 0.6 points in his last 10 games!!  That is horrible.  He did not score over 2 points in any game in that 10 game stretch.  Randy Moss might be at the end of his career after this year of disappointment.

#1  Injured players--- Now this is not a single player, but all the injuries this year to key players was a big disappointment to me.  This may be a bit personal to me since a lot of my players throughout the year got injured but I am sure it affected many other fantasy others.  On my team alone, Tony Romo, Frank Gore, Mark Clayton, Dez Bryant, Antonio Gates got placed on injured reserve during the regular season.  Also Andre Johnson was hurt for the whole two week championship game and Darren McFadden was hurt the last week of the game.  That was a lot for me to over come but I still won my fantasy league.  Other players that were affected by the injury bug this year was Jermichael Finley, Ryan Grant, Clinton Portis, Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas, Steve Smith (NYG), Anthony Gonzalez, Joseph Addai, Sidney Rice,  Maurice Jones-Drew (during the playoffs) and Terrell Owens toward the end of the season.  There were many more injuries but I am just naming the main ones.  There are injuries every season, but this year seemed to be worse than any other.  

These were the top 3 disappointments of the 2010 fantasy football season.  These three disappointments probably caused many fantasy owners a lot of trouble this season and many that had these disappointments probably had disappointing seasons.  I hope you enjoyed reading this post and come back soon for my top 12 players for 2011 and my top 3 sleepers for next year.

Healthy Lifestyle Guidelines

     Today I am going to give 16 guidelines that you can live by that will help you become healthier.  Evaluate how many of the below healthy lifestyle guidelines have become part of your personal wellness program.  Prepare a list of those that you still need to work on and use specific objectives that will help you achieve the desired behaviors.  Remember that each one of the below guidelines will lead to a longer, healthier, and happier life. 

1.  Accumulate a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity at least five days per week

2.  Exercise aerobically in the proper cardiorespiratory training zone at least three times per week for  a minimum of 20 minutes

3.  Accumulate at least 10,000 steps on a daily basis

4.  Strength train at least once a week using a minimum of eight exercises that involve all major muscle groups of the body

5.  Perform flexibility exercises that invove all major joints of the body two to three times per week

6.  Eat a healthy diet that is rich in whole-wheat grains, fruits, and vegetables and is low in saturated and trans fats

7.  Eat a healthy breakfast every day

8.  Do not use tobacco in any form, avoid secondhand smoke, and avoid all other forms of substance abuse

9.  Maintain healthy body weight

10.  Get 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night

11.  Manage stress effectively

12.  Limit daily alcohol intake to two or less drinks per day if you are a man or one drink or less per day if you are a woman (or do not consume any alcohol at all which is what I recommend)

13.  Have at least one close friend or relative in whom you can confide and to whom you can express your feelings openly

14.  Be aware of your surrounding and take personal safety measures at all times

15.  Seek continued learning on a regular basis

16.  Subscribe to a reputable health/ fitness/nutrition newsletter to stay up-to-date on healthy lifestyle guidelines (or just follow my blog)

I hope that you are already following some of these healthy lifestyle guidelines.  Following these guidelines will seriously help you lead a happier and healthier life.  I understand that sometimes you just cannot follow all 16 religiously but if you try your best, you will see the results.

Trying to lose weight?

     Are you trying to lose weight and are looking for a diet that will help you lose that extra weight?  Are the diets you are trying not working when they promise to help you lose 20 pounds in one week?  Well continue to read this post and you will learn how to lose that weight.  Believe it or not there is only one way to lose weight and it is very simple.  You must burn more calories than you take in.  That is it!  Now it does help to eat the right kind of calories and exercising is a must to help you burn extra calories in a day.  This post will try to help you see the light and understand there is only one way to lose weight.

     The first thing you will need to do is find out how many calories your body burns at rest during a day.  You can find this out by using calculators on the internet but it will not be 100% accurate.  I would recommend going to the doctor to find out exactly how many calories you burn in a day.  Once you find this out, I would also recommend that you keep a journal or a record of the calories you take in a day.  With this information you will be able to eat less calories than you burn allowing you to lose weight.  Now on to the type of calories you want to take in.  You do not want to take in all fat calories.  Carbohydrates should account for 50% to 60% of calories consumed each day.  These are found in foods such as whole grain cereals, bread, rice, and potatoes.  Fat should account for 30% of calories consumed each day.  There are three types of fat and Saturated fat is the type you want to stay away from.  Saturated fats should account for less than 10% of your daily caloric intake.  Polyunsaturated fat tends to lower blood cholesterol levels and monounsaturated fats tend to lower LDL cholesterol, otherwise known as "the bad cholesterol."  Finally, Protein should account for about 20% of your daily caloric intake.  Excess calories from protein and carbohydrates are converted to and stored as fat. Even if you are eating mostly "fat free" foods, excess consumption will result in additional body fat. Fat calories in food are readily stored, while it takes energy to transform protein and carbohydrates to body fat. The only proven way to reduce body fat is to burn more calories than one consumes.  

     Being active is an important part of any weight-loss or weight-maintenance program.  When you are active, your body uses more energy (calories).  And when you burn more calories than you consume, you lose weight.  Because 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound of fat, you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in to lose 1 pound.  So if you cut 500 calories from your diet each day, you would lose about 1 pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories).  Exercise along with cutting calories helps boost your weight loss.  Exercise is also important for maintaining your weight and not regaining weight.  To help you know how many calories you are burning during exercise, I am linking a calorie burning calculator.

     I hope this post has helped you learn how to lose weight and what calories to eat.  Sometimes it is easy to get sucked into the crazy diets that tell you that they will help you lose 20 pounds in a week.  Hopefully you learn not to listen to those type of things and learn it is simple to lose weight.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask me in the comment section.  

Arkansas Football 2011

     The Arkansas Razorbacks are coming off of one of the greatest seasons in school history and the school's first BCS bowl apperance.  The Hogs bring back a lot of experience but will have to break in a new quarterback.  Tyler Wilson seems like the likely choice, in my opinion, to be the starter and I believe he will not let this offense miss a beat.  Arkansas will need to continue to make improvements on defense to make a national championship run.  I believe the 2011 Hog defense will be the best we have seen in awhile.  With all of that said, I will make my 2011 Arkansas Razorback football predictions.

Sept. 3 Missouri State- W 52-3--- This should be an easy warm up game for the Hogs.  I believe Arkansas will start off better this season than last year with a feature back like Knile Davis.  Wilson throws for over 300 yards and Knile runs for over 150 as the Hogs roll.

Sept. 10 New Mexico- W 55-3--- This should be another easy one for the Hogs.  The defense continues to absolutely shut down inferior opponents as they intercept 2 passes and take one to the house.  Wilson and Knile continue to stay hot as the Hogs control this game from the opening kickoff.

Sept. 17 Troy- W 48-10--- Arkansas gets a step up in competition from the previous two weeks.  The defense again steps up and shuts down Troy for 3 points, but the 2nd team defense gives up a late touchdown.  Wilson gets to see a little better defense headed into the big showdown against Alabama but still throws for 350 yards.  Knile Davis continues his hot streak and runs for over 150.  The ball is spread around to many different receivers and the Hogs win an easy one and get ready to travel to Alabama for a top 10 matchup.

Sept. 24 @Alabama- W 34-17--- College Gameday is on campus as Arkansas comes to Alabama for a top 10 matchup.  Alabama comes in 3-0 with a close win at Penn State.  Arkansas shows the nation that they are for real and have a top 10 defense.  Arkansas completely shuts down Alabama's offense as quarterback A.J. McCarron has a rough day throwing two picks.  Wilson throws for over 275 and Joe Adams has 150 of those yards as he gets lose for a long 80 yard touchdown with most of the yards coming after the catch.  Knile once again goes for over 100 yards, but the defense is what is most impressive as the Hogs win the SEC opener.

Oct. 1 Texas A&M- W 24-17--- Arkansas plays in yet another top 25 showdown as they meet Texas A&M in Dallas.  Texas A&M is 2-1 after losing the week before to Oklahoma State.  Just like last year, this game turns into a defensive struggle.  Arkansas will come out hot and take an early 14-0 lead after two Knile Davis touchdown runs.  A&M will add a field goal at the end of the half to make it 14-3.  Texas A&M scores on the first possession of the second half to cut the lead to four. Arkansas adds a field goal to make the game 17-10 going into the fourth.  A&M scores early in the fourth to tie the game, but the Hogs get the ball last as they force the Aggies to punt with 2:15 left in the game.  Tyler Wilson shows Hog fans that he will be the leader Mallett was and takes the team down the field and throws a touchdown pass to Child's with 20 seconds left.  The Hogs win a close one to move to 5-0 and get a top 5 ranking.

Oct. 8 Auburn- W 45-14--- The Hogs come into this game ranked number 5 with a 5-0 record.  Auburn comes in at 3-2 but with a 0-2 SEC record after losses to Mississippi State and South Carolina.  It will be a must win for Auburn, but Arkansas shows they are happy to be back at Fayetteville and they pound the Tigers.  Auburn definitely is not the team they were in 2010 and this will end all hopes of a good season.  Arkansas moves to 6-0 and 2-0 in the SEC and start making their case to be serious national championship contenders. 

Oct. 22 @Ole Miss- W 41-7--- Arkansas gets to play Houston Nutt without any weather delays this year and Arkansas is ready to move to 2-2 against their former coach.  They do it no problem.  The Hogs defense shuts down Brandon Bolden, which is the Ole Miss offense and continues their domination.  The offense racks up 550 yards total offense as Wilson throws for 350 and Knile runs for over 200.  Knile starts getting Heisman hype after this game.  The Hogs move to 7-0 and 3-0 in the SEC while giving Ole Miss their 4th loss. 

Oct. 29 @Vanderbilt- W 34-10---Arkansas come out flat in this game but still gets an easy win over bottom dweller Vandy.  Heisman hopeful Knile Davis continues his streak of 100+ yard games and Wilson throws for 250.  The defense shuts down the Dores as the Hogs roll on.

Nov. 5 South Carolina- W 35-16--- The Razorbacks continue to dominate the middle tier SEC teams as they get an easy home victory against a disappointing South Carolina team.  South Carolina once agains find themselves behind Georgia and Florida in the east and come out flat in this game.  They get one touchdown and four field goals against the Razorback's powerful defense.  The offense and Knile Davis continue to be great as teh Hogs move to 9-0.

Nov. 12 Tennessee- W 38-24--- The Vols offense challenges the Hogs as QB Tyler Bray throws for close to 300 yards.  The Hogs D steps up to the challenge when needed and the offense "holds the rope" against the Vols.  Davis continues his remarkable season and runs for over 100 yards yet again.  The star in this game is Greg Childs who breaks the record for most receptions in a game in Arkansas history.  Childs catches 14 balls for 192 yards and the Hogs beat the Vols to move to 10-0.

Nov. 19 Mississippi State- W 21-20--- The Razorbacks finally get a real challenge as Mississippi State rolls into the Rock 8-2 and coming off a huge win against the Crimson Tide.  This game turns out to be a defensive struggle.  Tyler Wilson struggles to get to 200 passing yards in this game and Knile Davis barely continues his streak while running for 101 yards and a touchdown.  The Hogs go into the 4th quarter leading 21-10 but hold off a late Miss. State rally to move to 11-0 and set up for the biggest game in Arkansas history.

Nov. 25 @LSU- L 27-23--- The #2 ranked Arkansas Razorbacks go on the road to #1 LSU in a battle for the SEC west and eventually a spot in the national championship game.  It is an evenly matched game as the two teams trade punches all game long.  The Hogs lead 23-20 with 3:25 left in the game.  They stop LSU at the 10 yard line and the Tigers line up for a field goal to tie the game.  Les Miles digs into the bag of tricks and invents a new fake field goal that catches the Hogs off guard.  The kicker passes a touchdown to give LSU a 27-23 lead.  Tyler Wilson leads the Hogs down to the LSU 40 yard line and with 2 seconds left throws a Hail Mary into the endzone as Hog fans pray for a miracle.  The ball falls to the ground and the Hogs SEC and National Championship hopes are dashed.  Knile Davis loses his streak as he is held for only 85 yards but adds 2 touchdowns.  The Hogs end the regular season ranked #4 with an 11-1 record and receive another bid to the Sugar Bowl to face Nebraska, who shared the title of the new Big 10 with Ohio St.  Knile Davis ends up getting 2nd in the Heisman behind winner Justin Blackmon of Oklahoma State.

Jan. 2 Nebraska- W 41-21--- The #4 Razorbacks take on #10 Nebraska in the Sugar Bowl.  The Cornhuskers are overmatched from the beginning as the Hogs get revenge on the Big Ten.  The Hogs come out fast and start with a 21-0 lead in the first quarter.  The Hogs never look back from there as the defense gives up some late touchdowns to make the score look closer than it was.  Knile Davis runs for 175 yard and three touchdowns and ends the season with over 1600 rushing yards.  Tyler Wilson throws for 300 and 2 touchdowns and ends the season throwing over 3000 yards.  Arkansas caps of the best season in school history with a 12-1 record and a #2 ranking behind #1 LSU who will beat Oklahoma State for the national championship.

     So you can tell I am very high on the Hogs defense next year.  I think they will be dominating next year and I see the schedule as being very favorable.  At Alabama will be the turning point but I see their QB having trouble in his first real test.  Yes it is crazy to predict the season this early and this in depth but this is just for fun and it is how I see it.   I hope all of you have fun reading my projections and Woooooo Pig Sooie!!!!

Gym vs. Home

     The United States has seen a rise in popularity of health and fitness.  One reason for the popularity rise is the concern of hypokinetic diseases or diseases caused by lack of exercise, and another reason is simply to make one's body look fit.  Whatever the case, the rise in popularity has led to the rise in new workout gyms across America and joining a gym is not free.  Gyms have a set cost per month and it takes a lot of time out of peoples busy schedule to workout.  Why can there not be an easier and cheaper way to get fit and healthy?  What if I told you there is an easier and cheaper way and it will take less time and probably be more fun.  You might think I am crazy but home based workouts, I believe, will make gyms obsolete sooner than later.

     To be able to become healthy and stay healthy, you must exercise some every week of your life.  The minimum suggested amount is 20 minutes a day for 3 days a week.  You can not take a year off.  My local gym costs $30 a month which would be $360 per year!  Along with the hefty price tag, going to a gym takes time out of peoples busy schedule.  To become as healthy as you need to be, you need to mix cardiovascular exercise with weight or resistance training.  To do this at a gym, you would have to spend 30 minutes on a treadmill and then 30 minutes to an hour of weight training.  Who has time to do that anymore?  Also if you are a beginner and starting out unhealthy, do you really want to go work out in front of all those people?  You have nothing to be ashamed of but it is understandable why that could be uncomfortable.  What I suggest for EVERYBODY to do is look into home based workouts.

     There are so many advantages to using a home based workout.  The number one advantage, in my opinion, of the home based workout is the mix of cardio and resistance training which saves time.  Most home workouts mix the two types of workout in one which saves you 30 minutes to an hour of workout time and is just as effective.  Imagine working out for 30 minutes at home in private and it being just as effective as an hour and a half workout at the gym.  It is possible with a home based workout.  Many of the in home workouts allow you to use only your body for resistance and not mess with any bulky and expensive machines.

      Another great advantage is it saves you a lot of money.  Rather than paying $360 a year every year, home based workouts allow you to pay, at most, $150 one time payment.  That could end up saving you thousands of dollars in the long run.  Home based workouts could also be a lot more fun that going to a gym.

     There are also many different options for home based workouts and they range from beginner level to advanced level.  Beachbody creates many different types of in home workouts and many of the popular ones you have probably heard of such as Insanity, P90X, and Hip Hop Abs.  There are also many other options such as Spinning, Kettleworx, and Supreme 90.   I mentioned EA Sports Active 2 for Playstation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 in an earlier post.  This game gives you a personal trainer and allows you to have an effective and very fun in home workout.  Just because it is a game does not mean it is not effective.  I own it and it works.  If you want to try an in home workout, I suggest a Beachbody product or EA Sports Active 2 because I know you can get the results you are looking for.

     There are many reasons to use home based workouts instead of a local gym.  They save you time, money, and are more fun.  I hope this post can motivate people to try an in home workout because I believe that in home workouts will allow more people to be able to exercise and become healthy.  I hope this post was informative and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Fantasy Football

     Fantasy Football in 2010 was very exciting.  Many unknown players to fantasy football owners became stars before their eyes this year.  That made for quite a finish in fantasy football playoffs especially in my league.  Every year there are surprise players that break out for a huge season.  Most of these players are virtually unknown at the beginning of the season but end up leading fantasy owners to a championship.  This post is giving praise to the top three fantasy surprises of 2010.

     I had a tough time picking my top 3 surprises for the 2010 season but my number one pick was easy.  Houston Texans running back Arian Foster takes the top prize this year.  In his second year as an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee, Foster put up 1,616 yards and added 16 touchdowns this season.  He started off with a bang in the first week racking up 231 yards and 3 touchdowns.  After starting off under the radar, the first week Arian either made his owners very happy or he made owners rush to pick him up off of waivers.  At the end of the year, Foster ended up averaging 19.8 points a game and was the number one fantasy running back.  This is amazing since the Texans did not even know who the starting running back would be until the first week of the season.  Arian Foster had an amazing 2010 campaign, and will most likely go into the 2011 season as a top five draft pick.

     My number two fantasy surprise of 2010 has to be Kansas City wide receiver Dwayne Bowe.  In his 4th year out of LSU, Bowe had an impressive 1,162 yards and 15 touchdowns for the season.  Bowe started the season off slow, but started his rise to the top starting week six.  From week 6 to week 12, which is a crucial time during the fantasy football season, Bowe averaged an astonishing 22 points a game.  He did all this with the Kansas Chiefs who were ranked 30th in the NFL in passing yards a game.  Bowe, who was projected to be a middle round draft pick at best in most fantasy leagues, ended up being the number one ranked wide receiver in fantasy football averaging 13.3 points a game.

     The number 3 biggest surprise of the 2010 fantasy season was hard to choose.  It was between Michael Vick and Brandon Lloyd, but I am going with Michael Vick.  Vick who started the season second on the Philadelphia Eagles depth chart, didn't even start all 16 games and ended up being the number two ranked quarterback for the 2010 season.  He was only 3 points away from being the number one quarterback.  Vick ended the season with 3,018 passing yards and 21 passing touchdowns.  He also added 676 rushing yards and 9 rushing touchdowns, which sets him apart from most other quarterbacks in the game.  Vick's highpoint was his week 10 game at Washington where he threw for 333 yards and 4 touchdowns and ran for 80 yards and 2 more touchdowns.  Whoever had Vick in their fantasy starting lineup won that game!  He ended the season averaging 21.8 points a game while only playing in 10 full games and playing in part of two others.  Vick truly had a remarkable season. 

     There were many pleasant surprises this year in fantasy football.  In my opinion, these were the top three.  I have to send a personal thank you to the number two surprise player.  Dwayne Bowe helped me win my fantasy league for the first time this year.  Remember to check back tomorrow for the top three fantasy football disappointments of 2010, and check later in the week for the the top 12 players and top sleeper players for 2011.  

EA Sports Active 2

     I have recently purchased EA Sports Active 2 for Playstation 3.  I was going back and forth on what exercise program I should purchase.  I was having trouble knowing what would be right for me because I have tried the Insanity program before and it was just too much for me.  It was really working but the workouts got boring and I was dreading working out everyday.  One key in finding a workout that works for you is to find something you actually enjoy doing.  My choices for my new workout were Power 90 (around $65), Kettleworx (over $90), and EA Sports Active 2 (around $65).  I knew Power 90 would work, but after many reviews I knew it would get too boring doing the same workouts over and over.  The Kettleworx was a fairly new workout concept to me.  Kettle bells (to see a kettle bell, click on the kettleworx link) are used in this work out and cardio is mixed with weight training.  After reading reviews of the kettleworx workout, I decided the 20 minute DVD's would not be enough workout for me.  I am not in the best shape ever, but I am fit enough to do something very challenging.  EA Sports Active 2 scared me because I felt it would not be enough of a challenge.  I felt the game might help me maintain my fitness level, but I wanted my new workout to improve my fitness level as well.  I figured it was just a fun video game that made you move around a little.  I read many review on EA Sports Active and saw it helped many people that were overweight become fit again.  I was still skeptical that it would not help someone that was already fit and looking to maintain and improve their fitness level.

     After very careful consideration on how I would spend my Christmas money, I decided to take a chance on EA Sports Active 2.  Even after buying the game I was skeptical about the three motion sensors working properly, the game giving me a challenging workout, and the game being fun enough to keep me interested.  After the first day of working out, I knew I had made one of my best decisions.  I had no problems with the motion sensors working.  They worked absolutely perfect.  The only problem anyone would ever have with the motion sensors is if they are doing the workout wrong.  I was also very surprised that the workout challenged me almost as much as Insanity.  The only difference was I was able to take a few more breaks between workouts.  The workout mixed cardio training with resistance training which was a pleasant surprise.  Last but not least, I had a blast working out.  There are many different exercises that you could do.  I will list a few and explain them.  Mountain biking was one of the workouts.  This workout mixed squats with jumping ramps and running up the hills.  Basketball shooting was another fun workout which involved lunges to catch a pass and jumps to shoot the ball.  Trail running was exactly what it sounds like, but a screen with other runners to run against made it fun and keeps you motivated.  EA Sports Active 2 even has cardio boxing which is one of my favorites.  The game also has traditional workouts such as jump rope, mountain climbers, push ups, and many ab workouts.

EA Sports Active 2 has so many features that it will keep you active for a long time.  You can choose to do a 9 week program or a 3 week cardio program.  These programs, which include a calendar and fitness stats, will keep you motivated to finish your workout. If you choose not to do one of the provided programs, you can create your own workout out of the many activities built into the game.  By creating your own workout, you control the time of the workout, the amount of calories you burn, and the part of the body you want to workout.  You are also able to use a trainer generated workout.  You tell the trainer how long the workout should be, the part of the body you want worked out, and how difficult you want the workout to be.  The possibilities are nearly endless!  EA Sports Active 2 is actually a personal trainer that you can buy for $59.99 on Playstation 3, Wii, or Xbox 360.  If you are looking for a fun, challenging, and affordable workout, I suggest EA Sports Active 2.