Big Ups...

No, not to the English teams in the Champion's League. With the exception of Liverpool, they pretty much stunk this week. Please, read that statement again. Who'd have guessed that Liverpool, without any recognizable players no less, would be the saving grace for the Premiership. Chelsea scored a fluke away goal so they aren't in TOO much trouble but they're facing a great Barca team and they seem to have lost their magic with Robben out of the line-up. ManYoo had a couple opportunities but Paul Scholes missed an easy one that I would expect half the roster of any of my club teams to make - otherwise, they just looked bad...at home. Not good times for Devils fans. Finally, Arsenal. I'm not sure exactly what to say. At home, their known for their creativity on the offensive end of the pitch. In Europe, they seem to be firming up their reputation for creativity in finding new ways to lose. Minus the blunders, they still didn't look great, but if they had gotten out of there 1-1 or even down only 2-1, they'd be in good shape. Not so much, now.

So what ARE the big ups in the title for? Our boy, Kris who is currently ranked #90 in the overall Yahoo Fantasy Footie standings. Not bad for someone who doesn't know a damn thing about the sport (which you can tell by his choice of teams to support).

Now, on with this week in fantasy...

Short schedule this weekend. Managers will be happy to know that Chelsea don't play so you are relieved of the difficult decision of whether to include Lampard or not for at least one week. Also taking the weekend off will be Liverpool, WBA and Blackburn. Please make note. In addition to reduced schedule are some pretty mediocre matchups. I really can't figure out who to play on ManYoo and Pompey (and especially my man Yakubu) seem to give them fits but you have to figure that they'll win at OT. Theoretically, Ruud is back but forgive me if I take a pass on him for a week until he proves something. Arsenal seem to be running out of players so if you're interested in taking a risk, it might not be a bad call to insert van Persie into your line-up. With Reyes and Bergkamp out (the latter of which is complete crap), van Persie is likely to start at striker and only cost you a midfield slot. That said, I noted to a friend over IM this past week that I'm pretty sure that van Persie is Dutch for "Rooney with no power on his shot". He seems to get into good positions but then squib the ball off his shin. Oh yeah, he seems to have a bit of a temper so let the buyer beware.

Not so many "evergreens" left on the list due to injuries and Chelsea being off...
S - Henry, Johnson
M - Downing
D - Heinze

Here are some thoughts on who to add to that list...
S - Welcome the new guys, time to take a risk on Mido or Pandini? Maybe Defoe?
M - SWP is playing against the pourous Norwich D (worst in the Prem), Pennant is playing great since his move over from Arsenal, now if he could only stay out of jail, Giggs? Pires?
D - Best bets on the list seem to be the ManYoo guys, call it Chelsea light
G - Ditto Carroll unless he's replaced by T-Ho for that terrible blunder vs. Milan on Wednesday night.