The Morning Offering: Feb. 24, 2005

Written by The Fool on February 24, 2005

We have trades!

Oakland Raiders land Randy Moss

Congratulations to Al Davis; you just stole the best wide receiver in football for a linebacker no one has heard of and a first round pick Norv Turner should also thank you, since he’s about to look like a genius for the first time in a decade.

Moss shouldn’t drop from your fantasy radar. When healthy, he’s still the best receiver to own, and with the Raiders promoting a “big play” philosophy Moss next season could put up the best numbers of his career. The recently re-signed Jerry Porter and Ronald Curry will get some looks as well – think Alvin Harper to Michael Irvin with the Cowboys Super Bowl teams. And Raiders quarterback Kerry Collins suddenly looks like a keeper.

The Vikings aren’t done. They’ll land a wide receiver either through draft, trade or free agent signing in an attempt to make up the catches Moss takes with him (an average of six a game over the last three seasons). But no one they bring in will replace his impact, and fantasy numbers for current Vikings could suffer across the board – yes even Nate Burleson.

It must be giveaway day . . .

Philadelphia 76ers land Chris Webber for Kenny Thomas

Basically. Trust me, The Fool has probably tried to trade Team Captain Kenny Thomas for every player in the R217 fantasy hoops league; there’s certainly been an offer in there somewhere for Chris Webber. And I’m sure no one in their right mind would accept it.

But guys playing with real franchises and real money would?

It sounds like Peja Stojakovic got what he wanted – Webber out of town – and Peja’s fantasy owners should also be happy. His numbers stink when Webber’s around, so he should turn that frown upside down and start firing away. Also, look for a bump in Thomas’ numbers, now that he won’t have to fear Jim O’Brien benching him for a week for no reason.

As for the new Sixers . . . who knows how that will work. Iverson has worked well with no one over the duration of his career. I would imagine a slight drop in scoring for AI and C-Webb, with perhaps a few more rebounds for Webber – that Iverson guy certainly does fire and miss a lot.

There will certainly be more deals

The NBA trade deadline hits at 3 p.m. today, and don’t be shocked if another big name or two hits the road. Chad Ford’s rumor mill over at ESPN.com is spinning like mad, churning out names like Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Shareef Abdur-Raheem, Sammy Dalembert, Antoine Walker and Michael Redd. Stay tuned.

Death Pool 2005

The draft finally ended last week, with Beagle making former Cowboys lineman and current convict Nate Newton our first Mr. Irrelevant. The final round was a doozy, including such aging luminaries as Walter Cronkite and Jerry Lewis as well as relative youngsters Dwight Gooden and Dale Earnhardt Jr. And somehow, no one has any points yet, though there have been some high-profile deaths. Go figure. And we still don’t know how old R&B singer Houston is. If you know, drop The Fool an e-mail.

For the entire draft list, click here.

Roids rage on: Buyer beware

Add Pudge Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa to the ranks of incredibly shrinking baseball players. Rodriguez showed up for Tigers camp 12 pounds lighter than last season, fresh off being “outed” as a steroid user by former Texas teammate and budding novelist Jose Canseco. New Orioles slugger Sosa is getting a free pass from the weight watchers this spring, but just look at him – he’s noticeably smaller.

Another interesting one: Edgardo Alfonzo, already damn near useless to the fantasy player, is overshadowed by you know who in Giants camp. But, the third baseman is down from 220 last season to 187 this spring, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

Final note

Tristan Cockcroft (heh heh) has an interesting piece over at ESPN.com on the best fantasy baseball players, by decade, of the last century. So far, he gives the 2000s to Albert Pujols. Check out the article by clicking here.

If you have a comment, question or idea for The Fantasy Fool, e-mail him.

-- Written by The Fool on February 24, 2005