Gored!

The Chunky Monkeys and the Fat Jubas announced a trade earlier this afternoon that sends running back, Frank Gore, and wide receiver, Laveraneus Coles to the Fat Jubas for flankers, Anquan Boldin and Troy Williamson. The Jubas have also agreed to send a conditional draft pick to the Monkeys based on a series of clauses. If the Fat Jubas designates Gore as a franchise keeper player at season's end, the Jubas will send their second round draft pick in the 2007 supplemental draft in exchange for the Monkeys fifth round pick in that draft. Should Frank Gore finish the season as a top five runningback, the Jubas will then send their first round pick in the 2007 supplemental draft in exchange for the Monkey's fourth round pick. This clause, if effected, supercedes and would replace the former clause.

In what was a long anticipated move for the Monkeys, GM Evan Shiue was finally able to acquire the long coveted star receiver he's been looking for. Despite being an unquestionably talented young running back, Frank Gore had little chance to play with the presence of Ladainian Tomlinson and Larry Johnson. The Monkeys also had veteran running back Chester Taylor in the wings as well.

"Quan (Boldin) and Troy (Williamson) will help legitimize our lineup. Quan is an explosive receiver with outstanding hands and is clearly entering the prime of his young career. We believe he can be one of the top five receivers for a long time. Troy will be an excellent backup player for us. He has excellent speed and will have the opportunity to compete with Michael Clayton for playing time this season."

For the Jubas, Gore represents a young talented back with unlimited potential. Gore was an underrated runningback entering this season and is finally living up to the hype. Gore, through the first two weeks of the season, has been the second highest scoring runningback behind Tomlinson. According to Shiue, "We were sad to see Frank go. Frank is an excellent player who is a leader in the clubhouse." Coles is expected to be a starter as well with his team - he's currently the second highest scoring receiver behind Donte Stallworth.

According to ESPN Fantasy Analyst, Eric Karabell, the deal should help both teams immediately. "Gore is a tremendous talent and will make an immediate impact for the Jubas. Despite the fact that Boldin has established himself as one of the best young receivers in the NFL, Gore has the potential to be the best player in this trade. Coles will be a solid receiver this year and will be a solid contributor this year. I do like the Monkey's acquisition of Williamson. As they say, you can't teach speed and Williamson has a lot of it."

Undefeated

2-0 and on top of the world. That's what the Chunky Monkeys and Ante Up are. In the traditionally tough Inscrutable Drama Kings division, it's hard to claw your way to the top. Last year's division winner, Ante Up (10-3), and perennial power Chunky Monkeys (8-4-1) are sitting pretty again. How are they doing it?

ANTE UP
After last year's dominating streak to end the year, Ante Up is picking up right where they left off last season. Disregarding their loss in the playoffs, Ante Up has won 9 regular season games in a row. Impressive. Especially considering that Ante Up has had an up and down franchise record. Three 5-8 records (2001, 2002, 2004) and only one other winning season, 8-7 in 2003. If you want to go to pre-historic history however, before we had the CBS Record Book up, I believe Ante Up ripped off 8 or 9 wins in a row in our inaugural year -- of course, he also lost an equal number of games in a row that year (Fred Taylor, guess when he got hurt?) to leave him at 0.500 or very close to that.

Last year's success was powered by RB Edgerrin James, QB Trent Green, and the decently productive duo of WRs Chris Chambers and Reggie Wayne. Some things have changed in 2006. RB Brian Westbrook seems to be revitablized, with his rushing/receiving skills piling up the yards. WR Donald Driver has been en fuego and should continue to produce with Brett Favre throwing his arm out every game. And WR Reggie Wayne? Back on track with Peyton and Co.

The problem area is that RB Edgerrin James, long the cornerstone of this franchise, is struggling. His move to the desert has not been good for his numbers. And let's not even talk about Chris Chambers, who is forced to receive passes from the inept Daunte Culpepper. Ante Up is gonna need Edgerrin to pick up the pace if they wish to continue winning. Backup Corey Dillon is a man-stud but he's sharing carries with a rookie. Oh, and did we mention that Trent Green has been knocked out of the game for a few weeks? That's never good, maybe brittle Kurt Warner can pick up the slack. Warner has actually been a much better QB than Green so there is hope here.

This year, Ante Up has scored the second most points in the league (218) while shellacking the Fobsters in WK2 (122-67) and a close win in WK 1 versus Buffy (96-91). Their matchup in WK3 against the Dirty Birds seems to be in their favor so we could easily be looking at 3-0 for Ante Up.

CHUNKY MONKEYS
L-O-A-D-E-D. The Monkeys are walking into WK3 with carry over points totaling 66 points. The L boys -- LT and LJ -- combine for 43 points. Kicker Nate Kaeding (15) Chargers D (8) and Terrell Owens (2) make up the rest of the bye week. This might be enough points to beat some teams already.

Mix in Peyton Manning (38 last week), a surprising Laveranues Coles (19 pts each of the first two weeks), and the possible back on track Andre Johnson (13 pts each of the first two weeks). Is there any question as to why the Monkeys are averaging over 130+ points a week and beating opponents by an average of 35 points each week?

Let's not forget young RBs Frank Gore (18pts) and Chester Taylor (13) who sat the bench for the first two weeks. Do you realize that the Monkeys have 4 of the top 10 RBs in the league? And the bottom one has been Larry Johnson. Wow.

This team is so good I want to cry. Or trade. The only uplifting part of this story for the other owners is that #1 WR Terrell Owens has been injured and there is not much depth behind him. Michael Clayton probably won't do enough to consistently be the answer. But with that many quality RBs available, who cares who's catching the ball?

Best QB, best RBs, one of the best Ks and Defenses in the game. Can this equal (finally) championship?

Can You Dig It?

In an intra-division battle, excuse me, war...the Battle Angels, with the lowest winning points last week (72 points), face off against the defending champion Fat Jubas, who was 6 points away from being the worst team last week -- that honor went to the Fobsters (52 pts). So what of this week? Can the champs bounce off the mat and pick up a morale raising victory on their path to a repeat? Or will the CTDB Champion curse -- not to mention the Madden one -- KO them before the season even gets rolling? Here's to our Week 2 highlighted matchup.

QB - The Angels have Drew Brees facing off against a weak Green Bay defense. Of course, the Rams and QB Marc Bulger face off against an even weaker San Francisco offense. So what will it be? Here's predicting a field day for both, and multiple TDs for both Brees and Bulger.
Advantage: Even

RB - The Jubas will enter the fray with last year's MVP Shaun Alexander and either Reuben Droughns or Mike Bell. Neither look like great options, but Bell might be the choice here as he time-shares with Tatum against a suspect KC defense. For the Jubas to have any chance to win, they're gonna need more than 4 points from their star. 4 pts!

The Angels outperformed that last week with only one RB! Despite trying out the run-and-shoot for their inaugural 2006 week, the Angels are looking to return to a standard formation with last week's holdover Willis McGahee (10 pts) and new, yet old, workhorse, Ahman Green (14 pts in a reserve role). If they can manage those basic numbers again, the Angels should be okay here, despite facing off against Shaun Alexander.
Advantage: Battle Angels

WR - The Angels are very thin in their pass catching department without superstar Steve Smith. Reggie Brown and Antonio Bryant did a great job last week (combining for 22 pts) but Joey Galloway had nothing. Galloway has been set aside this week for FA find Muhsin Muhammad, who had a great Week 1. Still, the Angels are a bit hamstrung by the lack of their super mite Steve Smith.

Luckily, it's not like the Jubas have much in the air time department either. Anquan Boldin is an unqualified star (14 pts) but Lee Evans and Rod Smith (7 pts total) aren't exactly barn burners. TE Jeremy Shockey (13 pts last week in reserve) might be inserted into the lineup soon but for now he sits. Speedster Troy Williamson (two huge drops last week, as well as some nice catches) could be a nice addition, but it's a wait-and-see with him. When in doubt, go with team that starts the superstar -- Boldin.
Advantage: Fat Jubas

Def and K - Oh Mike Vanderjagt, putting up a big fat zero last week. That's not good. When the Jubas' kicker, Shayne Graham, is exploding for 11 pts, that's quite a hole to put your team in. Still, Vanderjagt should be a good kicker and Graham can't kick 3 FGs every week.

Luckily, the Angels have the Steelers D, who are always ready to wreck havoc on opposing offenses. They had a monster 15 points last week and while the Jubas' picked up the revitalized Atlanta defense (dropping Seahawks D, who did have 10 pts in WK 1), they shouldn't be better than Pittsburgh.
Advantage: Fat Jubas, based on Graham over Vanderjagt.

So there you have it, the field is set for a titanic struggle. Will either team break the century mark? One team has to win, who will it be? In the NFL, no Super Bowl champion has ever started off 0-2 and then made the playoffs. Can the Jubas avoid the same fate?

Diving into Success

Here we go, Week 1, where dreams begin. Two former champions hope to score their second titles (and first rings) this season. You know a good start is essential to a championship season. Here we go, face off.

QB - Tom Brady versus Michael Vick. Vick used to be a Dirty Bird but now he's just dirty. Facing a Carolina team that usually manhandles him, the decided advantage here is with Brady (even if he's on the injury report).

RB - Steven Jackson and Rudi Johnson face off against Warrick Dunn and DeShaun Foster. Warrick should have an okay game, but again, the Panthers always annihilate the Falcons offense. I'm not sure why that happens and it pains me as a Falcons fan. As a fantasy football owner however, I love it. DeShaun Foster could have a good game as his numbers are always excellent when he starts and remains healthy. Still, the decided edge is with Jackson and Johnson, who are both facing AFC West teams that can be pushed around.

WR - Marvin Harrison, Javon Walker and Eddie Kennison make a nice trio. Marvin is the best in the business and some prognosticators think he'll have one more great season. Walker is a bit of an unknown but if Jake the Snake has to throw to someone, it has to be the fleet footed former Packer. The problem is, the Dirty Birds also boast a nice receiver trio. Randy Moss, Larry Fitzgerald, and Plaxico Burress are big names and big players. In fact, the Birds could boast the tallest receiving corps in the (fantasy) league. High praise, I know. While Fitzgerald is a first class player, Moss and Burress have been decidedly underwhelming recently. So let's call this matchup a wash.

K and Def - Jason Elam will school Michael Koenen. Sure Koenen pulls double duty as a punter but can he match Elam's decade long consistency? Doubtful. Will the Colts shut down Eli and the Giants? Can the Jaguars reduce the Cowboys to little Indians? It's possible. Let's call it another wash with Elam canceling out the edge that the Colts Def should have.

All in all, it looks like the Birds should handily win their first game of the season. Call it a grudge match for the epic trade that dismantled the Birds a few seasons ago and powered the Jammers to their championship. Then again, the Birds could come crashing back to Earth even before take-off occurs. You never know.

May the best team win. And if they don't, I'll still have faith. It's only Week 1 afterall.

Donte's a Phreak!

The Philadelphia Phreaks announced today that they have completed the first trade of the 2006-2007 CTDB season by sending RB Mike Bell plus a 2007 fourth round draft pick to Fat Jubas for WR Donte' Stallworth and a 2007 third round pick. Stallworth joins a remade Phreak receiver core that features, in Roy Williams, just one receiver that was with the team last season. Stallworth is expected to step into a starting role as soon as week one, and will likely bump Nate Burleson to the bench. Stallworth and his 4.2 speed were simply too much for the Phreaks to pass on. Despite the obvious potential of Mike Bell, the Phreaks have the luxury of depth at RB.

"We wish Mike the best with the Jubas. He performed well for us in camp and is a hard worker and talented player. However we saw the opportunity to go and get, what I feel, is a premier playmaker in Donte'. I've always been committed to surrounding Donovan with as many top-flight weapons as I can, and this is another manifestation of that. I look forward to the Donovan-Donte' connection lighting up scoreboards and opposing secondaries for many many years," said Phreak GM Ping Shen from his team's Shanghai headquarters. McNabb and Stallworth have already shown a good connection during camp, but it remains to be seen how well the DonDon pairing will function when the lights go on this Sunday.