New Mexico Soccer Player suspended; Elizabeth Lambert threw fists, pulled hair

Elizabeth Lambert is a soccer player you don't want to mess with. The 20-year old University of New Mexico soccer player was known for pulling hair (thank God I don't have any), and throwing punches at opposing players.

But this time Elizabeth Lambert's act was caught on video against BYU in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament, and now she's suspended from the team indefinitely. Check out this AP video:



Did you see that punch? Elizabeth Lambert drove her fist right into the back of BYU's Carlee Payne (#7).

She then not only pulls the hair of another BYU player, but throws her to the ground, all in one motion.

Who is Elizabeth Lambert?

Elizabeth Lambert is a junior at New Mexico and is 5'8 and her position is "Defender". She was born December 29, 1988 and according to her player bio enjoys camping, surfing, and tacos...in addition to hair pulling and fist throwing. She's majoring in University Studies with a focus on (drum roll please)...Occupational Therapy!

But as surprising as this may be to some, I know a lot of women soccer players who say the kind of activity Elizabeth Lambert is being suspended for is common. It's just that few have captured it on video and in a spotlight game against two major colleges like BYU and New Mexico where such actions are bound to get World attention as this has.

Elizabeth Lambert is now an Internet celebrity, albeit for the wrong reasons. There's a Facebook group called "Ban Elizabeth Lambert From Soccer" and other one called "GO ELIZABETH LAMBERT! that has 2,674 fans.

I'm not one of them.

After her suspension, Lambert issued an apology, stating  "I let my emotions get the best of me in a heated situation. I take full responsibility for my actions and accept any punishment felt necessary."

Some of the YouTube comments on the video page are equally interesting:

baileyc86 (2 minutes ago)

I'm sorry but I couldn't have been the girl on the ground. I would have jump back up so fucking fast and whooped that ass, she wouldn't have seen that s--- coming.

mfull1991 (2 minutes ago)

She's probably just mad the other girls are so much hotter. She looks like f---ing horse.

To be clear, Elizabeth Lambert remains a student at New Mexico, just no longer on the soccer team.  Man, I wonder what her parents think about this? 

CNN ratings slump cure? Video blogging and i-Report

It's no secret that CNN has faced a massive ratings slide. According to Nielsen, CNN has seen its numbers fall 25 percent when compared to this time last year, when the election season just wrapped up with now-President Barack Obama's historic win.

Many have speculated on what's wrong with CNN, from Lou Dobbs' biased and occasionally racially charged reporting, to some feeling that CNN backs President Obama, while others observe that CNN attacks President Obama. But whatever the case, there's a problem. My read is that CNN's lost its identity.

It's more than having a liberal or conservative view, its the brand. The CNN brand has been and should be one centered around what it was designed for: the presentation of news 24 hours a day. But in this opinion-driven media environment, viewers want something with an edge. CNN's had the answer all along: i-Report.

The i-Report system is a website that allows you to upload .Mov file or MPEG file videos of your comments, events, or interviews. The i-Report staff selects what videos are "tagged" for use by CNN, or called "On CNN."

The i-Reports are primarily used in CNN's event coverage and are especially useful during the reporting of disasters and political conventions. I was one of CNN's featured i-Reporters last year at the DNC convention and made this now famous video called Clinton Delegate Tells Off Clinton "Supporter staring Florida radio talk show host Mitch Mallett (embedable YouTube version shown):



As I told i-Report staffers Lila King (who's the boss) and Henry Hanks and others, including CNN Executive Producer Andreas Preuss, the future of CNN is in weaving i-Reports into its basic coverage more often and even having one show based on i-Reporter discussing the topics of the day.

As I told i-Report staffers Lila King and Henry Hanks and others, including Executive Producer Andreas Preuss, the future of CNN is in weaving i-Reports into its basic coverage more often and even having one show based on i-Reporter discussing the topics of the day.

Here's a video taste of a day at CNN with the i-Report staff:



Moreover the i-Report website should be redesigned to allow and encourage video-bloggers to make videos in response to each other, thus starting a video conversation thread, as happens at Vloggerheads.com, the best site for pure video-blogging content currently available.

With these changes, people will tune in to see other common people on the issues of the day. Moreover, it can be used as an easy outlet for experts to give their opinions on a story, eliminating the need for a cameraperson and reporter while allowing more people to weight in via video.

It would become an American addiction and cause CNN to regain its ratings lead.

Chief's running back Larry Johnson cut by team after blasts

Proving that some celebrities aren't as fortunate as Taylor Swift, Kansas City Chiefs Running Back Larry Johnson was released by the team today.

The online press release reads:

The Kansas City Chiefs released RB Larry Johnson on Monday. In 75 games (55 starts) with Kansas City, Johnson rushed 1,375 times for 5,996 yards (4.4 avg.) with 55 touchdowns. He also registered 151 receptions for 1,369 yards (9.1 avg.) with six TDs. He concluded his Chiefs career with 30 100-yard rushing games and also added two 100-yard receiving games.

Johnson established an NFL single-season record with 416 rushing attempts in 2006 when he set a franchise single-season mark with 1,789 rushing yards. He originally entered the league as the Chiefs first-round selection (27th overall) in the 2003 NFL Draft out of Penn State.

What it doesn't discuss is how Johnson insulted (rightfully) his coach Todd Haley and got off f-blasts (wrongly) that were slurs against the homosexual community. While Johnson apologized for his actions (which Taylor Swift has yet to do)

Johnson's Twitter tweets are protected, so no word from that source on his reaction to the news. But it's important to repost his apology:

First of all, I want to apologize to the fans of the Kansas City Chiefs and the rest of the NFL, Commissioner Goodell, the Chiefs organization, Coach Todd Haley, his staff, and my teammates for the words I used yesterday"

"I regret my actions. The words were used by me in frustration, and they were not appropriate. I did not intend to offend anyone, but that is no excuse for what I said. "

"I also want to apologize to all the kids who view athletes as role models. I was not a good role model yesterday and hopefully I can become a better role model. We all make mistakes, and the challenge is to learn from them. I will do my best to learn from this one as I move toward becoming a better person, teammate, and member of the Kansas City chiefs team and community."

Johnson leaves a Chief's team that's one of the worst in the NFL with a 1 and 7 record as of this writing. I'm not a fan of Chief's Coach Todd Haley because I do not like the way he treats his players. He talks down to them, argues with them, and lords over them, and its no surprise they don't perform for him.

Former Coach Herman Edwards may not have been an "X's and O's" guy but the players wanted to win for him - they could have bounced back from a 2 and 14 record under Edwards if he were retained.

I like Haley's offensive schemes but he's got to really change the way he relates to players. Why Chief's GM Scott Pioli thought he was the best choice is beyond me.

Meanwhile Larry Johnson is off to a better place with a number of NFL teams, like the San Diego Chargers, who could employ his talent. Stay tuned.

Would Senator Joe Lieberman choose Iraq War death over Health Care life?

Senator Joe Lieberman 

The Iraq War costs almost $700 billion since 2001 according to the National Priorities Project, and that cost is still climbing. There have been an estimated 1,033,000 violent deaths because of that war.

During that time Senator Joe Lieberman (I - Connecticut) never once expressed a concern for war spending and the national debt. In fact, he was at odds with Democrats on the Iraq War and never mentioned a concern for spending on it.

Joe Lieberman's 2006 Democratic Senate challenger Ned Lamont compared his support-with-caveat stance on the Iraq War with Richard Nixon's position on the Vietnam War and found striking similarities. Even then Lieberman never expressed a paramount concern with war spending and the National Debt.

Why then does he raise the issue when reforming Health Care is the subject? It's no wonder there was this protest in front of his office last week:



It would be great to see Senator Lieberman do the right thing for America and back a Health Care bill with a public option.

Rep Anh "Joseph" Cao on CNN: Only GOP To vote for Health Reform

Senator Joe Lieberman should take note of Republican Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao, who became the only House member of the GOP to vote for Health Care Reform on Saturday, after passage of the historic bill. Now, it's on to the U.S. Senate, where rather uninformed folks like Senator Joe Lieberman reside. What can Rep. Cao teach Senator Lieberman?

How to think about his constituents.

On CNN, Rep. Cao said he "had to make a decision of conscience based on the needs of the people in my district."



Can Joe Lieberman put the needs of Connecticut residents ahead of his own? Almost 30,000 people in his state lost health insurance in 2009 because of job losses.

Lieberman must prove he cares about Connecticut's people and not Aetna Health Insurance Corporation, who reportedly gave him $65,000 in 2005 and he's gotten more than that from other firms over that time.

Does Lieberman care about his people, or himself?

We will find out, soon.

Oakland Adams Point residents concerned about Round Table Pizza

Business is vitally important to the energy and safety of Oakland's Adams Point / Lake Merritt neighborhood (defined by Grand Avenue, Harrison Avenue, and the I-580 Freeway) but it's a two way street: the retailers must take steps to maintain a safe district too.

Pizza's great; is the car double parked?  

Round Table Pizza on Grand and Staten Avenues does well with the pizza delivery side of its business. But that success, and the need to keep the facility's carpet clean, has caused a parking and street traffic problem on Staten. Solving the issue was the objective behind two messages left on the Adams Point Action Council Yahoo Group forum:

Hi Name Withheld,

I wanted to bring to your attention that Round Table Pizza on Grand @ Staten is in a pattern of ordering steam cleaning of its carpets every few months that is very loud and goes from about 10:00-11:30pm. They have a truck come that parks on the street and runs a loud generator out of the truck. I brought the issue to the manager a few months back and he told me he would "look into" having the cleaning happen at a different time (although I got the impression he was just blowing me off). I went just now as I noticed again a loud humming in my apartment and the manager on site said he didn't know how to change this (he also didn't seem very accomodating) . He told me the place opens at 11:00am after he told me they couldn't steam the carpets in the morning. I don't think I am getting anywhere going directly to them, so your assistance in this matter would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Name and Address withheld

This was the "Friends Of Lake Merritt Response":

Posted by: "Friends of Lake Merritt" friendsoflakemerritt@yahoo.com friendsoflakemerritt
Sun Nov 8, 2009 7:48 am (PST)

The carpet cleaning must be a nuisance to those who live nearby - but there is an ongoing problem with the Round Table on Grand that impacts on a much larger population, and is potentially fatal: The Round Table delivery cars double park in the middle of Staten, which means that part of Staten becomes a one-lane road for a big hunk of the evening. This is especially dangerous because people turn right off of Grand with very little warning that there might be an oncoming car trying to get around the delivery vehicles by going into the "wrong" lane. I wonder why the army of parking citation vultures that our City Council unleashed on the populace this past summer missed that lucrative little corner, and how many accidents this has already caused.

The best answer is for the Round Table Pizza delivery drivers to park in front of the establishment on Grand Avenue, where there's a larger lane for parking and three lanes, than on Staten Avenue, which isn't designed to handle the constant double parking practice. Let's see if the Round Table Pizza franchise manager now responds to the resident's complaints.

I hope so.

Taylor Swift blasts Kanye West in SNL intro - no apology on symbol

Taylor Swift was on Saturday Night Live and I have to say performed really well. She was in eight skits, playing everything from a prison gang-banger to the friend of a bride at a wedding.

But one place I didn't think Taylor would go in her monologue was to mention Kanye West, but not apologize for that Swastika photo. That took Taylor down a bit in my rating of her.

If you remember, rapper Kanye West famously took the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards as Swift was about to accept the award for "Best Female Video" and said that the award should have gone to Beyonce. It was a classless move that had even President Obama weighing in, calling West "A Jackass":



But after a questionable delay, West apologized on his website and did called Swift later that week. Kanye West apologized for insulting a single person, Taylor Swift, but she did not say "I'm sorry" for posing in a photo with Swastika-t-shirt-wearing Hollywood model A.J. English at Katy Perry's 25th birthday party (English quickly apologized for that):



I can't figure out which is worse: Swift's silence on the action, the small number of fans that have multiple accounts and leave comments pretending to be other people and writing that the Swastika is a symbol of peace, or the silence of the Anti-Defamation League, which is supposed to be speaking out against this crap.

I'll say it and write it, and I don't care what anyone thinks because it's true as of this writing. It's easier for people in America to attack an African American male celebrity when he's wrong than it is for Americans to criticize a young blonde white woman celebrity when she's wrong, and a white male celebrity too, but not to the degree of a woman. It's a stupid pecking order.

Kansas City Chief's running back Larry Johnson used homophobic language but apologized, yet some are calling for his ouster from the team. And if a black male public figure makes a single comment that's racist, like Jesse Jackson's stupid "Hymie Town" comment of over a decade ago, it still sticks with him years later.

Why not the same for someone like Taylor Swift? Or for that matter Mel Gibson, who's anti-Jewish rants after a DUI stop got some talking, but no real punishment or constant criticism and Billionaire Mel's on the PR comeback trail as I write this.

The only white male celebrity I can think of who's career was really impacted by his dumb behavior was Seinfeld's Michael Richards, who went off at a comedy club in LA about African Americans, saying “Fifty years ago we’d have you upside down with a fucking fork up your ass!”

Now to make sure this is clear, all of these actions were wrong. Each person I've list apologized for what they did many times, but not Taylor Swift. Not once. No, she didn't say something offensive, but I now have the feeling Swift could get away with it, if she did.

Swift's a wonderful singer and an incredibly talented person; her songs are like a taste of Heaven. Taylor Swift is someone I want to like. But she must remember that she's also a public figure and a role model to young women. Swift can and indeed must set a good example, if not to please people like me, then at least for young women. An apology is a good start.

Cal v. Oregon State - After loss, Cal fans dread Stanford's success

The stage was set for Cal's BCS rise and a realistic shot at the Pac-10 Championship. Earlier Saturday, The Stanford Cardinal ran all over Oregon 51 - 42, and did what I and other Cal fans wanted but many believed impossible: give Oregon a second loss. Notre Dame was surprised by the play of a Navy team that showed heart and lost 23 to 21, tossing it out of the BCS race. Iowa, which won close games they arguably should have lost, was upset by Northwestern, 17 to 10, for their first defeat of the year.

Cal was set to make a move higher into the BCS standings and catch Oregon if they beat Oregon State. That "if" did not happen and after the game (Cal lost 31 - 14) Cal fans were talking about Stanford's success and how much they hated it. But first, a look at what happened.

Cal was out-hit; the game plan terrible

Even before the loss of Cal's star Jahvid Best before halftime due to what turned out to be a concussion, Oregon State was giving Cal all it could handle. I've never written or said this before, not even after the USC loss, but Oregon State's defense hit Cal harder than any other opponent I've seen this year. Cal was out-hit on Saturday.

That's not the main factor for the loss, the terrible offensive and defensive game plans were, but it was such that it must be noted. Other than that, the main statistical indicator of a Cal loss remained: at 19 of 34 for 200 yards and one touchdown Quarterback Kevin Riley was below the 60 percent completion mark.

Of course Cal's performance can't be described without taking into account Best's loss. The sight of Cal's popular player laying motionless for that moment took the wind out of both the team and its fans. Memorial Stadium took on the feel and mood of a wake. But it's at that point that a team should find its character and, in this case, win it for Best.

While that's exactly what the players wanted to do, they were hampered by the worst offensive game plan and play-calling I've seen from the Golden Bears this year.

For some reason Cal Head Coach Jeff Tedford and Offensive Coordinator Andy Ludiwg were in love with calling the swing pass to the slot receiver again and again, and in situations where that play would not gain, say nine yards for a first down on 3rd and 9, as was done in the fourth quarter.

Tedford and Ludwig had the right formation idea - five wide receivers - but continuously running that play when it did not work was really frustrating to watch.

When the play calls were right on, Riley failed to connect with open receivers, essentially reverting to his overthrow habit of a few games back. But even here, a correctable pattern has emerged: Riley simply does not throw the crossing pattern or corner pattern or any lateral movement pass pattern calling for the passer to "lead" the receiver, consistently well, yet Tedford and Ludwig keep calling plays featuring those patterns. This has been a season-long problem.

If one goes back to the videos from this season, Riley throws the deep fly pattern well, the post pattern, as well as most quick-opening patterns like slants. But the kind of passes Riley would throw well don't seem to be a major part of Cal's system: hook patterns where the receiver goes 12 yard and then turns back into the quarterback; or drive patterns, which are deeper variations of the slant pattern, or seam patterns with the slot receiver and "out" patterns to the sideline, with varying depths timed to the quarterback's dropback. That's several different patterns alone that Riley would excel at executing if they were in Cal's system and drilled on again and again.

The best offenses fit the plays to what the quarterback does best. Yes, you may say Riley should learn to make those throws, but not during the season; that's what the off-season is for. If he can't do that, forcing him to make the throws he's not good at only produces losses and Cal's got three of them now.

The Defensive Game Plan was not much better

What my Cal friends and I could not understand was why Cal Defensive Coordinator Bob Gregory had such a soft game plan against Oregon State. With a team that uses as much backfield playaction as the Beavers do, constant blitz pressure is the tonic to down their backs for losses and hurry throws.

The Cal Defense looked like it was consistently dazzled by Oregon's play-action rollouts, and that's because Cal was basically sitting back and watching them rather than sending outside linebackers to disrupt plays. Tight, man-for-man coverage while sending as many as six rushers would have produced a different outcome than the 342 yards and two touchdowns quarterback Sean Canfield threw for on Saturday.

Bob Gregory must practice using a variation of the 3-4 Defense that  has the defensive ends between the offensive guards and tackles to better stop the kind of linebuck and off-tackle plays that were consistently used by Oregon State.  OSU ran into the "bubble areas" where the inside linebackers were in that defense; moving the ends inside would cure that problem and force plays to the outside. 

Stanford's win sets up a really big, "Big Game"

At Henry's, The Bear's Lair, Larry Blake's, and the other popular football game day bars and restaurants, Cal fans were down and for several reasons: Best's injury, the loss, and Stanford's success.

Cal fans wanted Stanford's win only in the context of a Cal victory over Oregon State. But in the wake of the loss, Stanford's victory over 8th ranked Oregon has Blues young and old seeing red.

At 6-3 for the season, but 5-2 in the Pac-10, the Cardinal are bowl-eligible for the first time in eight years and peaking at the right time. Oregon is now 7 and 1, but 5 and 1 in the Pac-10, with pesky Arizona State (which should have beat USC but lost 14 to 9) up next. If Oregon loses that game, Cal beats Arizona (which is 6 and 2 overall, but 4 and 1 in the Pac-10), and Stanford beats USC, the Cardinal will be in the drive's seat for the Pac-10 Championship. Saturday, November 14th is a red letter day but Saturday, November 21 is an even bigger day.

On that day the two Pac-10 teams in control of their destiny, Oregon and Arizona, play each other, while Cal travels down to The Farm for The Big Game. Let's say by then that Cal has beaten Arizona, Oregon lost to Arizona State, and Stanford beat USC.

Oregon would have two Pac-10 losses, and in a three-way tie with Stanford and Arizona. That makes The Big Game a must win for The Cardinal and the Oregon v. Arizona contest a potential bloodfest, with Oregon favored by Stanford fans (Stanford lost to Arizona).

Finally, The Big Game really matters.

The only way to make up for this terrible Oregon State loss is for Cal to beat Arizona and Stanford. The way Cal fans will look at this entire season will be defined in the next two exciting weeks.

GO BEARS!

Cal's Jahvid Best suffer major injury in Oregon State game

Jahvid Best, Cal's Heisman Trophy candidate is, sadly as I write this, on the way to a hospital having suffered a major injury in today's game against Oregon State.

With 2:06 and Cal on the Oregon State three yard line in the second quarter, Best took the handoff from Cal QB Kevin Riley, turned around left end and as he was about to score a touchdown, jumped in the air. As he was airborne he was hit by OSU Safety Cameron Collins, who threw Best with his left hand as Best was in the air.

When as Best was coming down - he was about five feet in the air - his body turned so that the upper portion of his back hit the turf. He scored.

Best held out both arms as if he was frozen and did not get up.

Cheers turned to silence and both Cal and Oregon State players dropped to one knee to pray for Cal's star running back.

In a fast moment, trainers and doctors came out along with members of Best's family and a small crowd formed around him. After what seemed to be an eternity of waiting for Best to some how get up, all hopes were eliminated when a cart and a stretcher were brought onto the field.

Best was placed in a stretcher with what appeared to be some kind of large orange brace around his neck and head.

As of this writing (I was actually on my way to the game) there's no official word on Best's injury or condition. The game is being televised on the Fox Sports Network.

Jahvid Best is Cal's third all time leading rusher and one of 16 Maxwell Awards semi-finalists for the nation's best player.

Oregon State is now leading Cal 21 to 7 in the second quarter.  

What’s wrong with the Giants

What’s wrong with the Giants?

By Dr. Bill Chachkes-Managing Partner/Executive Editor-Football Reporters Online.
Photo Credits: NY Giants Helmet from Wikimedia Commons
Kevin Boss vs. Tampa By Tomasso DeRosa

Because there is something wrong at the Timex performance center, but It’s not something that people should be surprised about. The Giants have some key Injuries most notably on the defense, that are keeping them form gaining the upper hand and beating the teams they play.

Why, you ask? They should be 8-0 or 7-1? I think some people have really missed the boat here. I had said over the summer that the Giants were poised to make another strong run this year. Then I saw three of the 4 pre-season games, and the way they played in the first two regular season games, even though they were wins. There are just too many key injuries on defense, especially in the secondary with the extended absences of Kenny Phillips and Aaron Ross. In the linebacking corps, Aaron Pierce is playing hurt and Michael Boley is out as well as defensive tackle Chris Canty who has a calf injury.

Not that the offense is without It’s share of the injury bug. First, rookie first round draft choice Hakeem Nicks sprains an ankle, then left tackle Kareem MacKenzie gets injured, plus running back Ahmad Bradshaw has developed a “nagging” ankle injury, and now Mario Manningham, the second year receiver who was finally “breaking out” is injured as well (shoulder). Plus Sinorice Moss has a foot injury and Dominik Hixon has a hip pointer. So you see where I’m going with this right?

More importantly, this week against the Eagles was the first time there were real breakdowns in all 3 phases of the game. Eli Manning contributed two picks, which led directly to Eagles TD’s, The defense tackled like a bunch of 4th graders, and the special teams has their first bad game of the season as well. Big Blue has been a big bust so far. Last year they gave up the ball a total of 13 times with just three fumbles. This year it’s already up to 15 turnovers with 9 fumbles already.

The Giants receivers are down to Hakeem Nicks, Derek Hagan, Steve Smith, Hixon if his hip pointer is better by the end of the week, and Ramses Barden who has yet to be given a chance to play except for two games where he was active and played special teams. Not to mention that the players on both lines are getting banged up with each game. Nicks had his first career start as a Giant, and caught 4 passes for 53 yards, including the Giants best effort of the game, a 35 yard catch.

It doesn’t matter how good a coaching staff you have, or how much talent your team has, when the Injury bug bites (like the flu), all you can do is take your medication and wait for it to heal. The big question now is do the Giants have to time to wait for every player who is hurt to get healthy again? I doubt it and you shouldn’t count on it either.

The Giants won their first five games on the backs of weaker opponents. Now that their own weaknesses due to injuries have been exposed, first by New Orleans, then Arizona, and now the Eagles who aren’t really that good, The Giants are living proof that It doesn’t matter how good you are in the NFL, It matters how healthy you are over the course of a sixteen game seventeen week season.

The players are still quite confidant in themselves and their coaches, which is a good thing, but that doesn’t matter all that much in the total picture.

What matters now is weather or not the Giants, just two years removed from an incredible post season run to a super bowl XLII win, can even make the post season, much less win the NFC Eastern Division again.

Earners and Bums (Studs & Duds) For week 8

Earners and Bums From week 8

(Studs & Duds) By David Ortega for Football Reporters Online



Once again “The Collector” is back this week to let all of you fantasy owners know about those not-so-highly known fantasy gems that continue to score big points. While these diamonds in the rough make noise, we also have some of your weekly Studs that looking more like Duds.

When you need a big week, sometimes you can count on your regular sources of scratch to pay-off, “The Collector” will tell you who is dropping the most coin and who you should maybe just drop.

Here were the Studs (Earners) and Duds (bums) for Week 8;

The Earners (Studs)
(Min 15 fantasy points)

Another week of what could have been and maybe what should be (for next week). Here are this past weekend’s top fantasy point getters and those players that maybe need another bye week or just a good-bye.

Is it really that much of a surprise to everyone to see the 40-year old kid still playing at the highest level. The Vikings quarterback Brett Favre was one of week eight’s biggest “earners” torching the Packer’s secondary on Sunday for the second time in the past five weeks. Favre completed 17 of 28 passes for 244 yards and threw four touchdowns on the afternoon. (33 fantasy points)

When one player is dropping all of the loot, sometimes you have to make a change which is what the Texans did on Sunday. With running back Steve Slaton (7 fumbles in 2009) fumbling away the game, the Texans turned to running back Ryan Moats. The backup runner was brilliant cashing in big with 126 yards on the ground and three touchdowns. (32 fantasy points)

The Jet’s rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez did his best impression of a green scoring machine on Sunday. Sanchez completed 20 of 35 passes for 265 yards passing and three touchdowns (including one rushing). (28 fantasy points)

If Tony Romo isn’t your weekly starting quarterback you could missing out on some serious coin. The Cowboys quarterback knows green, especially the kind you find in the end-zone. Romo passed his way to 256 yards on Sunday and threw three touchdowns. (27 fantasy points)

The Saints have their own two-headed monster in the backfield that they can now boast and on Monday night, one of them got loose. Running back Pierre Thomas was cash money rushing for 91 yards and scoring twice; one rushing and one receiving. (21 fantasy points)

The Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck did his best on Sunday to earn his keep for every fantasy lineup he was Sunday. Hasselbeck completed 22 of 39 passes for 249 yards and threw two touchdowns. (21 fantasy points)

The Panthers used their two headed rushing attack out of the backfield to ground the Cardinals. Running back number two, Jonathan Stewart was a Sunday cash cow hitting paydirt twice and rambling his way to 87 yards on 17 carries. (20 fantasy points)

The Eagles rookie running back LeSean McCoy made the most of his opportunity with a rare start. The rookie feasted on the spotlight gaining 82 yards on the ground including a dynamite 66-yard scamper to pay-dirt. (15 fantasy points)

Players not quite earning their way to this honor roll, but drawing some attention include;

TE-Spencer Havner……….(21-yards, 2-touchdowns)
WR-Percy Harvin………….(86-yards, 1-touchdown)
RB-Justin Fargas…………..(79-yards, 1-touchdown)
TE-Dustin Keller……………(76-yards, 1-touchdown)
FB-Leonard Weaver……….(75-yards, 1-touchdown)
WR-Braylon Edwards…….(74-yards, 1-touchdown)
TE-Kevin Boss……………….(70-yards, 1-touchdown)



The Bums (Duds)
(Less than 5 fantasy points)

And of course where you find the “haves” you will find the “have-nots.” Here are your week 8 fantasy studs that left their “A” game for another day and brought their “D” for “Dud” game instead.

There is word that Trent Edwards could return to the lineup; after Ryan Fitzpatrick’s 117 yard passing day with two interceptions and no touchdowns, the sooner the better. (zero fantasy points).

After scoring in three straight games, the Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown only totaled 29 yards on Sunday. That won’t pay the rent. (two fantasy points)

The Jet’s rookie running back Shonn Greene goes from the penthouse one week, to the outhouse the next. Greene rushed for only 18 yards on eight carries with a fumble. (minus one fantasy point)

The Jaguar’s top receiver Mike Sims-Walker scored twice in their first meeting, but on Sunday he was a huge disappointment against the Titans. Sims-Walker finished with just nine receiving yards. (zero fantasy points)

There was no bigger disappointment on Sunday than the one for all of the Steve Slaton fantasy owners. Slaton was expected to be a player this season, but on Sunday he hardly played after a costly fumble (his seventh this season). Slaton finished the day with 11 total yards. (minus one fantasy point)

Fantasy owners that are waiting on wide receiver Eddie Royal to get going in 2009 are only becoming more frustrated. The Broncos speedy wideout finished Sunday with just 10 receiving yards. (one fantasy point)

For all the money the team paid to wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, they are just not seeing any returns this season; 24 receiving yards on Sunday. (two fantasy points)

The Bronco’s wide receiver Brandon Marshall may be saying all the right things now off the field, but he’s still yet to do all the big things he did a season ago; 24 receiving yards on Sunday. (two fantasy points)

The Rams second year receiver Donnie Avery is just not having that breakout season some fantasy owners had hoped he would have; 15 receiving yards on Sunday. (one fantasy points)

Injuries played a huge part in putting these two duds on our list this week; Anquan Boldin caught just three passes for 23 yards and Owen Daniels had just one catch for 22 yards.

WEEK 9 FANTASY SLEEPER

WEEK 9 FANTASY SLEEPER-By William Queen for Football Reporters Online
 
A diamond in the rough; Seattle Seahawks receiver Nate Burleson serves as this week’s fantasy sleeper.
 
Nate Burleson is an experienced 7-year receiver out of Nevada-Reno College that is often overlooked when teams study the Seahawks. He never makes the headlines and he never makes the highlight film, but he always makes sure-handed plays.
 
Burleson has put up above average numbers, racking up 38 receptions for 487 yards and 3 touchdowns this season. But two things that stick out to me are that 24 of his 38 receptions come at home, as they are playing at home this Sunday, and that they are playing a bad defense in the Detroit Lions.
 
The Lions have allowed the second most points per game on defense and have given the opposing quarterback the highest average passer rating in the NFL at 108.97. This showing me that Burleson shouldn’t have any trouble getting the ball this Sunday.
 
Coming into this game, Burleson has an average of 8.4 fantasy points per game, including a 21-point performance on the Jaguars. So there’s no question that he can rack up the points, it’s just a matter of if he can take advantage a gaping opportunity in the Lions defense.