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New England Patriots
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Tennessee Titans
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Monday, April 20, 2009

College Baseball Top 25

By Jorge Bannister
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff


Looking back through the games this weekend one thing really stuck out — North Carolina is good. They man-handled Miami in the series sweep.

Also, LSU faltered big time against Tennessee. The Tigers won the first game of the three-game set, 18-3, but then fell to the Vols, 7-5 and 9-4, in the last two games.

UC Irvine and Arizona State just keep winning, while Georgia Tech makes a big leap.

The Top 25 (Records through April 19)

RecordPrevious Ranking
1. North Carolina(31-10) 5
2. UC Irvine(26-10) 3
3. Arizona State(28-8) 7
4. Georgia Tech(26-8-1) 10
5. Texas(29-8) 9
6. Ole Miss(28-11) 15
7. Rice(27-10) 4
8. LSU(28-12) 1
9. Georgia(31-8) 2
10. Arkansas(26-11) 8
11. Fullerton(24-11) 6
12. Virginia(30-8-1) 11
13. Oklahoma(29-11) 12
14. Florida State(25-12) 17
15. Baylor(25-12) 13
16. Texas A&M(25-14) NR
17. Oregon State(23-19) 18
18. Alabama(27-13) NR
19. Coastal Carolina(30-9) 20
20. Florida(26-14) 16
21. Miami, Fla. (26-13) 14
22. Clemson(26-14) 21
23. Kent State(28-8) 25
24. South Florida(24-14) NR
25. TCU(23-11) 22


Dropped out: Cal Poly, Vanderbilt, West Virginia.

NFL Draft Week is here! Don't forget to submit your Mock Drafts

By Jim Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
FFS is getting ready for the NFL Draft on Saturday and will be providing you with new, exciting content every day this week.  First and foremost, make sure to e-mail your mock drafts to jingram.fanfanaticsports@gmail.com to "Beat the Experts" and win your FFS prize pack.  Please look below for what's coming up this week.
Tuesday: Ron Brace feature
Wednesday: Draft needs for all 32 NFL teams
Thursday: Patriots draft preview
                      Reader mock drafts are due
Friday: FFF staff mock drafts
Saturday: Draft updates throughout the day
Sunday: Draft recap
Have a great week and make sure to keep checking the site.

Finally! A Big Papi sighting at Fenway

By Jim Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
David Ortiz finally had a good game for the Boston Red Sox this afternoon.  Mired in a terrible slump, Big Papi appeared to break out of an early season slump during the Sox's traditional Patriot's Day afternoon game versus the Orioles.  
Entering this afternoon's game, Ortiz was hitting .170 with 0 homer and only 4 RBI, with an astonishingly low .446 OPS.  He hadn't been hitting the ball with any power or authority and was being blown away by 88-89 miles per hour fastballs.  This was not the dominating slugger of years past.  Things may have started to come around today after going 2-4 with a double, triple and 2 RBI.  In the past, David Ortiz was so successful allowing the ball to come to him and pound the Green Monster time after time.  He was finally able to get back to that today as both his double and triple found their way off the Monster in Left and Left Center.  The key to those hits was his patience in letting the ball travel deeper into the zone, keep his front shoulder in and take the ball the other way.  Granted the Sox didn't face good pitching this weekend, but this may be exactly what Ortiz, and the rest of the Sox, need to get back on the offensive track. 
Ortiz still hasn't hit a homer, but as anyone who follows baseball knows, the sure fire way to get out of a slump is to concentrate on hitting the ball up the middle and the opposite way.  If Ortiz can get back on track and start driving in runs, the Red Sox should continue this hot streak they're on.  Take solace Sox fans, Big Papi may be close to returning.  Now all you have to do is wait and see if it's true.  

The Boston Marathon: Do you really care?

By Jim Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
Today is the 113th running of the Boston Marathon.  I, for one, do not care one bit.  Am I a runner?Yes, I am.  I may not run as much as I used to, but I do like to run, especially in races. The longest race I've run is a half marathon which is 13.1 miles.  The longest run I've been on in my life was about 17 miles, so I have no doubt I could run a marathon if I wanted to.  The problem is I don't want to.  
The only reason I bring that info up is to let you know that I have nothing against runners or the sport.  I just don't have any interest in watching the Boston Marathon.  Do I really care that another Kenyan or Ethiopian wins the race?  No, and I am pretty sure that you don't either.  The only people who even care about the Marathon are those running it, or have friends and family running it.  So what if it's a Patriot day icon.  I'd much rather watch the 11 am Red Sox game in the comfort of my home than turn on Channel 4 and watch disgustingly thin people run 26.2 miles. What do you think about the Marathon?  I think people pretend to like it because that's what you're supposed to do when you live in the Boston area.  
Let FFS know what you think

Fantasy Baseball: Garner's Greatest Top 25

By Chad Garner
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
(Garner's Greatest Top 25 combines past and current performance and projections throughout the season to create the top 25 best players that will help lead your team to a fantasy baseball championship. The top 25 will change from week to week so be prepared for some surprise picks and players you just might no agree should be on the elite list.)

Player rising; Players falling

1. Albert Pujols, 1B, STL (previous 3) Wait until he REALLY finds his stroke.
2. Miguel Cabrera, 1B, DET (4) Are you serious? Hitting almost .500 right now.
3. Ian Kinsler, 2B, TEX (6) No. 1 player in 5 x 5 Yahoo! leagues 
4. Hanley Ramirez, SS, FLA (1) Not producing as the No. 1 pick in many drafts.
5. Jose Reyes, SS, NYM (2) Over .300 and 3 steals, it's only going to improve.
6. David Wright, 3B, NYM (5) I'd like to see more HRs on his stat line. He's only got 1.
7. Grady Sizemore, OF, CLE (7) Batting average is the only thing keeping him for elite status.
8. Josh Hamilton, OF, TEX (8) Don't get frustrated with lack of power, yet. He can rake.
9. Evan Longoria, 3B, TB (9) Over .400 and 5 HRs ... is the best young hitter in the game.
10. Ryan Howard, 1B, PHI (13) Average climbing, HRs and RBIs to follow.
11. Alfonso Soriano, OF, CHC (15) recipe for success: scoring runs and hitting bombs.
12. Chase Utley, 2B, PHi (19) Clear-cut top fantasy 2B, you can't even argue it!
13. Mark Teixeira, 1B, NYY (10) Over the long haul, he'll have great numbers.
14. Ryan Braun, OF, MIL (11) Off to a slow start (1 homer).
15. Carlos Beltran, OF, NYM (17) Over .300, but no steals and 1 home run. He's a 30-30 threat.
16. Johan Santana, SP, NYM (21) Ranked third overall. 0.46 ERA and 27 Ks will do that.
17. Jimmy Rollins, SS, PHI (12) First home run might get him going. He's scuffling.
18. Carlos Quentin, CHW (NR) Look who's back and swinging the stick like he's healthy.
19. Roy Halladay, SP, TOR (NR) Besides Santana, is there a more consistent ace in the league?
20. B.J. Upton, OF, TB (NR) He's back, or is he hurt again?
21. Carl Crawford, OF, TB (18) Four stolen bases already. 
22. Manny Ramirez, OF, LAD (23) Watch out, Manny's starting to go deep.
23. Lance Berkman, 1B, HOU (16) Struggling with bat, but no one is worried.
24. Tim Lincecum, SP, SF (24) 8 scoreless innings and 13 Ks vs. Snakes. Happy now?
25. Nick Markakis, OF, BAL (25) Do you realize he's a top 15 fantasy player as of Sunday?

Dropped out: Dustin Pedroia (BOS), Carlos Lee (HOU), Matt Holliday (OAK), CC Sabathia (NYY).

ALIVE
This may be the year he's finally put it all together. The Royals ace -- doesn't that sound funny? -- is 3-0 and hasn't yielded a run in 20 innings. He's also got a 1.05 WHIP and has 26 Ks and only five walks. Good luck trying to trade for him. If you've got him, sell REAL high.
Hill is only owned in 62 percent of leagues, so he just might be out there for you to steal off the waiver wire. Do it fast if you can, don't wait or he'll be gone. He's stroking the ball right now, but I'm not 100 percent sold on him. But pick him up and ride the hot streak, or use him as trade bait for someone that doesn't have a decent second baseman.
For a closer to be ranked No. 12 overall, that's extremely impressive. Bell has 7 saves -- four of which were one-run games -- and a 0.00 ERA. No one is calling for Trevor Hoffman right now, huh?
DEAD
Nady was being outplayed by Nick Swisher, now he might be gone for the season with an elbow injury. Enough said.
Wang is serving up beach balls to opposing hitters (34.50 ERA, now I think I could do better than that!). His bread-and-butter pitch is the sinker and that pitch is currently a stinker. There's plenty of other options out there for starters, drop him and get someone that is not going to destroy your ERA and WHIP. 
It's hard not to be frustrated by Beltre, again. Here's his line as of Sunday: .196 BA, 6 R, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 2 SB. Isn't he suppose to be better than that? But don't we say the same thing every year?It's time to realize he's not an elite player. 
(Coming Wednesday: Between the White Lines by Jim Ingram)