2012 Official Keepers and Draft Order

Official Draft Order for 2012

1. FlufferNutter (Runner)
2. Hoot (Spencer)
3. Rip Van Winkle (Charles) [from Jacob]
4. 20 (Tony F)
5. Hosmer’s Boom Stick (Daniel)
6. TG1 (Tony G)
7. Finding Nimmo (Wes)
8. Ballin’ Badger Dogs (Tyler)
9. Team Cookie (Mikey
10. Adam Being Adam (Adam)
11. cubbieblue (Dave)
12. The Surge (Jacob) [from Charles]

Trades:

Rip Van Winkle and The Surge traded their 2012 draft slots in exchange for 2013 draft picks. The Surge will get RVW’s 2013 28th round draft pick and RVW will get The Surge’s 2013 14th round draft pick. Players exchanged will be named at a later date.

Here’s the list of everyone’s keepers with the keeper’s round by their name. At the bottom of the page is a keeper list broken down by each round.

The League’s Official Rules

I’m gonna list some basic rules before getting into the keeper stuff.

Basic Rules

1. Have fun.
2. Be competitive.
3. Don’t tank your season.
4. Play the game respectfully.
5. Every league rule — addition or subtraction — will be put to a league vote (75% approval required).

BASIC KEEPER RULES

1. You can keep up to a maximum of five players.
2. You must name your keepers at the end of the season, but they will not be locked in until two weeks prior to the draft of the following season.
3. Each keeper is signed to a three-year contract when a manager establishes that player as his/her keeper. You are not required to keep a player for even one season. I don’t want anyone to feel “stuck” with a keeper that is either injured or underperforming. (Edit 02/09/12)
4. In order for a player to be eligible for keeper status, he must be on your roster at the end of the season.
5. Every player is available to be kept. If they are in the player pool, they can become your keeper.
6. Any keeper that is dropped at any time automatically loses his keeper status with said team. (See Dropping / Re-Adding a Player for more details.)
7. A player that is not drafted due to injury that is ranked in the top 150 players will be eligible to be kept only by spending the final two months of the season on a manager’s roster. That players round will be determined by the following years’ ADP (average draft position).
8. If you have a keeper that retires, then you can replace that keeper and start a new contract with him. (02/09/12)

My Insane and Bold Prediction of the Week

"Silence in the Big House" (2007, AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

College football is here again—believe it or not—and with it brings back my weekly edition of picking a wild, off-the-radar upset within the college football universe.

If you’re unfamiliar with how I do this, I try to avoid trendy picks while also making sure I pick a legitimate upset. Last year, I managed to get two right (Texas A&M over Oklahoma and Kentucky over South Carolina) and missed several picks rather badly. That’s okay, though. I’m not expecting to get every single pick right. I will, however, shoot for four correctly picked upsets this season.

After a rather tumultuous offseason, it’s nice to finally get back to the field. College football’s image continues to take a beating with all the scandals, cheating, violations, etc., so hopefully 2011 will bring some life to the game.

Who will it be in week one?

My Completely Irrelevant Top 25 and Heisman Race

The top three players this week reflect the most consistent performers in the country.

Newton strikes the pose. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

1. Cam Newton, Auburn, QB
Last Week vs. Alabama: 13/20, 216 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT, 22 att., 39 yards, 1 TD

2. LaMichael James, Oregon, RB
Last Week vs. Arizona: 28 att., 126 yards, 2 TD

3. Kellen Moore, Boise State, QB
Last Week vs. Nevada: 20/31, 348 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT

The Iron Bowl

Nick Saban (L) chats with Gene Chizik (R) before the 2009 Iron Bowl. Alabama won 26-21. (The Huntsville Times / Robin Conn)

Alabama and Auburn meet for the 75th time on Friday in the annual “Iron Bowl”.

Before I dive into the actual game itself, I’ll give you a few quick facts about the Iron Bowl.

The series was moved from a neutral site in 1989 where Alabama traveled to Auburn for the first time in the series’ history. Alabama was undefeated and ranked second in the country, but Auburn would win the first Iron Bowl played at Jordan-Hare Stadium 30-20.

Alabama continued to play its “home” games at Legion Field until the year 2000 when it officially moved their home games to Tuscaloosa. The two teams had met before in Tuscaloosa in 1895 and 1901. Auburn won both games by a combined score of 65-0.

Auburn has dominated the series outside of neutral sites, winning 13 of 17 games (7-3 at Jordan-Hare, 6-1 at Bryant-Denny). However, Nick Saban is 1-0 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in the Iron Bowl. Alabama dominated the series at Legion Field with a 32-15 record. Overall, Alabama leads the series at 40-33-1 and the lone tie occurred in 1907.

My Completely Irrelevant Top 25 and Heisman Race

The top three players this week reflect the most consistent performers in the country.

(AP Photo/Dave Martin)

1. Cam Newton, Auburn, QB
Last Week: Bye

The Water Cooler: Michael Vick, From Prison to Destroyer of Worlds

Vick is wreaking havoc on defenses yet again. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

I’ve been a pretty big skeptic of the whole Vick situation in Philadelphia for the entire season. I didn’t like how the Eagles were handling Kevin Kolb situation and I also thought Vick would eventually fall on his face.

It’s pretty evident now that Michael Vick is a better quarterback than he ever was in Atlanta.

I don’t know what happened to this guy in prison, but maybe Ryan Leaf should have tried it out. I can see Vick throwing a slab of concrete through a tire hoop while he was in prison. Who knows? Perhaps Vick doesn’t feel anymore pressure. He’s playing like a little kid, enjoying the game without a care in the world.