Tuco

It's week 14. Almost all of the tens of millions of fantasy football leagues around the world have their final regular season matchups this week. Fantasy players don't care about whether the game on TV is a good matchup. They care about their players and their opponents' players. In my 12-person league there are 10 teams who have players playing tonight. Five of those teams are still battling for position (regular season places/payouts plus playoff positions) and tonight's games will be the final deciding factor. ABC/ESPN no doubt realized this is one week where a lot of people will be watching whether the games are dogs or not. No doubt they paid for an extra game this week because they know millions of watchers will be using the back button as they switch between games, depending on who has the ball. And it's no big deal for a sports bar to have two games on instead of just one. That's my guess anyway. Pick the week 14 game in April. If it's a dog there will be the regular number of viewers plus a handful of extras rooting for their fantasy players. Make it two games in week 14 and have a better chance of at least one of them not being a dog, plus double the handful of extras watching as they pull for and against multiple players.

A lot of hair-splitting going on here. Yes, he's charged with a crime - a felony. That means the judge, DA and police figured there was enough evidence to issue a warrant for his arrest. He was arrested and posted bail. Yes, he's facing charges. But the extent of that is that right now the judge, DA and police have gone as far as they can. If they want to proceed with a criminal trial, in Texas, just like in many other states, the DA must first secure a grand jury indictment. Another phrase for grand jury indictment is "formal charge." Miller has been charged and arrested. He has not been formally charged to the point where he could be put on trial for the crime. Media reports, of course, don't have the time, space nor the inclination to make these kinds of distinctions in their breaking news stories. It's just easier (and not wrong, but not entirely forthcoming either) to say "facing charges." I suspect if a grand jury were to hand down an indictment (formal charges), Miller would be suspended by the league immediately.

All depends on how it's written. But if he gets suspended that's one thing that the CBA covers. Other written stuff can be included. I've already read where they could get out of his guaranteed salary next year but the prorated bonus amounts can be different because they cover more than one year. Lots of variables right now and too early to really know.

Shameless bump. DP has a sexy new badge on her cover. https://www.amazon.com/DEADLY-POSSESSION-M-K-Danielson/dp/B0BW2RSL8L

I don't know if they can waive them. There is some more language that allows them to increase or decrease a fine by 20% depending on if it was egregious or more incidental.

I agree. I just wanted to point out that people think it's just the NFL and their weird policies. Those numbers which seem senseless are agreed upon by the league and players.

A lot of people seem to think the NFL just dishes out fines without them making sense. And it does appear that way. But there's a schedule they follow that's all agreed to in the CBA. And that's why sometimes some fines which seem for worse offenses are for less money. The agreed to amount for the first offense for taunting is $10,000. Then all fines are increased by a certain percentage each year of the CBA. So this year the first offense taunting fine is $10,927. That's where Josh's fine amount comes from. So okay, we look at that and say, hey last week Adam Gotsis from Jacksonville was only fined $7,167 for roughing the passer. That just seems stupid. The NFL is whack we say. Well, there's a reason for it. The first offense fine for roughing the passer is $15,000. That's $5,000 more than the taunting penalty - and most would agree rightly so. So how come Gotsis was only fined $7,167? Well, the CBA also has other stipulations that recognize the fact that some players make a lot more money than others. So they have a caveat at the bottom of the schedule for fines that says, "No first offense may result in the imposition of a baseline fine in excess of 10% of a player’s Salary Cap Count for the game." So there you have it. Gotsis's more egregious foul is reduced to less of a fine than Josh's because Gotsis's salary cap for the season is $1,315,000. Divided by 18 weeks that makes his salary cap figure for the game $73,055. This is using Spotrac, so it's likely not exact. But you get the idea. Using the parameters agreed to by the NFL and the NFLPA, Gotsis's fine is only$7,167 - the maximum 10% of his weekly salary cap figure. Is this how it should be? Debatable I suppose. Is it fair? Again, debatable. But it is the way it's supposed to be according to the agreed upon rules. The point being, the league doesn't just pull numbers out of its hat willy nilly when imposing fines - regardless of what many people (including the original article author from NFL Analysis Network) seem to think.

Get my saddle and tie it on Western wind, who is fast and strong Jump on back, he's good and long We'll resist 'til we reach the dawn Running seems like the best defense Stayin' just don't make any sense No-one could ever stop it now Show the cards of the gypsy town Sign of the gypsy queen Pack your things and leave Word of a woman who knows Take all your gold and you go

Off the wind on this heading lie the Marquesas We got eighty feet of the waterline, nicely making way In a noisy bar in Avalon I tried to call you But on a midnight watch I realized Why twice you ran away (Think about), think about how many times I have fallen Spirits are using me, larger voices callin' What Heaven brought you and me cannot be forgotten (I've been around the world) I have been around the world (Lookin') lookin' for that woman, girl (Who knows? She knows) who knows love can endure? And you know it will And you know it will

And the birch trees and the pine trees behind the summer house Well they really raise their voices when the cigarette drops from the city boy's mouth And when they're s**t-scared that a mighty fire could start with a tiny flame Well, you know, they call out your name s**t-scared of a tiny flame, even the trees call your name

On it!

Giving myself a moment of self-indulgence here. I woke up this morning to find I have sold a paperback in Italy. So I can add another country to my list. I ain't gettin' rich but I'm having fun! Thanks to all who have shown interest.

Woman you know that I miss you And I can't miss you no more I got this ride doing seventy miles an hour She's loaded she's down to the floor But I've got to reach that Arkansas line Before the sun goes down... Yeah But woman you're always on my mind Twenty-four hours at a time So my woman I'm hoping you feel the same way

All that you touch And all that you see All that you taste All you feel And all that you love And all that you hate All you distrust All you save And all that you give And all that you deal And all that you buy Beg, borrow or steal And all you create And all you destroy And all that you do And all that you say And all that you eat And everyone you meet (everyone you meet) And all that you slight And everyone you fight And all that is now And all that is gone And all that's to come And everything under the sun is in tune But the sun is eclipsed by the moon

So I'd like to know where you got the notion Said I'd like to know where you got the notion To rock the boat Don't rock the boat, baby

Home in the valley, home in the city Home isn't pretty, ain't no home for me Home in the darkness, home on the highway Home isn't my way, home I'll never be Burn out the day Burn out the night I can't see no reason to put up a fight I'm livin' for givin' the devil his due An' I'm burnin', I'm burnin', I'm burnin' for you I'm burnin', I'm burnin', I'm burnin' for you!

I wasn't at the first game but did go to one that season against the Bengals. I was only 10 years old. Mostly I remember all the OJ hype as he was pushing for his 2,000 yard season. It was cold. The Bills had a chance to win at the end but missed a FG. Oh, and traffic leaving took, quite literally, forever.

I suppose they could. But why? They don't have to activate him this week. They can wait as long as they want. The three week window only kicks in after he's activated.

No they get 21 days after he's activated off PUP to make their decision. And they can't activate him until week 4 is over. If he practices next week they would have until after the week 7 game to decide if they wanted. So it could be week 8.

Shelter me from the powder and the finger Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger Just think of me as one you never figured Would fade away so young With so much left undone Remember me to my love, I know I miss her

I'm aware of that. My point was in response to the poster who seemed to think during the offseason it's only the top 51 contracts that count, and that Beane was going to have to find a lot of cap space to fit the IR guys and PUP guys etc. when it goes to 53 plus the practice squad. I was explaining that those guys count in the offseason even when everybody thinks it's just 51, so there's not a big jump when it goes to 53 plus PS. The only jump is the PS because those other guys were always counting even when it was at 51.

It all counts. The difference is some of the players have split contracts that call for paying them less (usually about half) if they wind up on IR. This is usually the guys with smaller contracts. It depends on if it's in their contract or not. Looking at our IR list you can see Tommy Doyle is still getting his $1+ mil while the other guys are all down around a half-million.

Those guys already counted. Contrary to popular belief it's not just the top 51 contracts during the offseason. It's the top 51 plus the PUP, IR and NFI guys.

Well I'm runnin', I'm runnin', I'm runnin' down the proud highway Yeah I'm runnin', I'm runnin', I'm runnin' down the proud highway And as long as I keep movin', I won't need a place to stay Ooh ooh oohooh ooh ooh, ooh oohooh oohooh Motorcycle Mama, won't you lay your big spike down? Motorcycle Mama, won't you lay your big spike down? I always get in trouble when you bring that around Motorcycle Mama, won't you lay it down? Ooh ooh oohooh ooh ooh, ooh oohooh oohooh.

The opposite of what everybody thinks is true. First off, the rule that used to require Keenum to be on the Texans roster through week 6 (or whatever it was) is gone. He doesn't. Secondly, and nobody knows this apparently but me, if a compensatory free agent is traded, he counts as a gained free agent against the team that trades for him, even if the team that trades for him is the same team that lost him. If the Bills trade for Keenum he cancels himself out in the formula, leaving us with 2 gained and 2 lost. The only way the Bills will lose the 3rd round pick is if they trade for Keenum.