This should tell you what kind of two weeks it's been around the A-T sports department.
I went out to talk to Buckeye Central coach Jason Ratliff on Wednesday night about his team's game with Bishop Rosecrans, and when the interview was done, we were chatting about a variety of things.
The subject of AP came up. For the bulk of my life, AP has meant the Associated Press, the press company that sets the standard for newspaper style across the world. It also provides copy for things from the Browns latest debacle to pictures of the winning catch in the Super Bowl.
In recent years, AP has come to mean Adrian Peterson, the Vikings running back who has continued to destroy teams with his explosive running style.
In the last couple of weeks, AP has come to mean something different. So as Ratliff and I are chatting and he casually mentions "AP," he was not talking about the media company or the Vikings running back but his senior wide receiver and jack-of-all-trades Adam Paynter. And without a thought, I knew exactly who he was talking about: one of the most humble high school athletes I've ever interviewed.
I wouldn't recommend starting him in your fantasy league this weekend, unless of course, you play in some high school playoff survivor pool. Then feel free. I think we're still going be still covering the BC football team this time next week.
And forgive me if somewhere in this column I say you should play Eric Hoover or Ashley Parker or Erica Weininger. Mohawk's volleyball team has dominated in its tournament run to the point it's making a trip to Dayton on Friday for its first ever state tourney appearance.
Needless to say, the tourney success of our area athletic teams has kept us busy, engaged and given us plenty of good stories to share with the readership.
One of the things that brought some levity to the crazy work week so far was the video that comedian Mike Polk posted on YouTube about the Browns (see this link: http://youtu.be/tRBDMMVctu8).
I think the line at the very end could sum up the thoughts of fans of other teams as well and even apply to your fantasy football team as well. It certainly would apply to my team in my longtime keeper league. After making it to the championship game five straight seasons, it's very likely I'll be on the outside looking in, thanks in part to the fabulous efforts of Philip Rivers and Peyton Hillis to name a few.
I mention it because in a lot of leagues the trade deadline is fast approaching and now is the time to start looking at those week 14-17 matchups and what players stand to have good matchups those weeks. We'll get into some of those players next week, but deadline decisions like that need to have some thought put into them or you risk damaging the future of your team.
My least favorite change in the NFL begins again this week with the start of Thursday games. From here on out, there will be a Thursday NFL game, which for some is exciting, for others, can be a pain in the neck. Oakland at San Diego opens the slate of games this weekend.
When Hillis isn't breaking the hearts of little kids, he must be driving the engine behind this trainwreck of a season for him. I said the other day that the moment a guy is named to the Madden cover that I own, I will trade him in a heartbeat. Hillis has done more to irritate Browns and fantasy football fans alike this year with his injuries, his excuses and his mentality. What a fall from grace. But think about this: what else do they have? While Hillis and Montario Hardesty have been ruled out for this week already, do you think the Browns best option for a productive running back is Chris Ogbonnaya? I think what's most frustrating for me as a Hillis owner is that last year he was like Optimus Prime, nothing could keep him down. This year he's embodied a Go-Bot. Having a Go-Bot as a kid meant one of two things: someone was cheap and didn't want to spend the money for a real Transformer or someone didn't like you that much. Hillis is definitely a Go-Bot this year.
Speaking of Go-Bots, Miles Austin is slated to miss a few more games and that gives fantasy owners good reason to pick up Laurent Robinson, who has transformed the added playing time in the last two weeks to 10 catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns.
While Matthew Stafford has tried his best to shake the Go-Bot mentality this year, his backfield mate, Jahvid Best has proven all that preseason hype was just that: Hype. Hefs definitely out again this week with a concussion and the Lions picked former teammate Kevin Smith off the scrapheap. If you pick him up at this point, you are either in an incredibly deep league or you are desperate for help. In either case, the end result does not bode well for you.
Aaron Korte is the A-T's sleep deprived fantasy writer and can be reached with your questions at akorte(at)advertiser-tribune(dot)com.
