Since putting up the "Name this Blog" entry about 3 weeks ago I have gotten all sorts of correspondence from all over North America.  Most of the entries were well thought out and well intentioned.  I truly appreciate the effort you all put in.  Even the ones that were bashing me (obviously people that have read my stuff for a while) were submitted after much thought and effort to try and poke fun or humiliate me.  Love me or hate me, you guys read what I post and that's what this is all about.  Having said that, it's time to announce the winner of the contest and reveal what I will call this labor of love from this point on....

ROLLIN' - WITH THE YEAST: SUBMITTED BY JASON DUKE, BILLINGS, MT

That's right folks.  From the vast emptiness that is Montana comes our winning entry.  It is simple, yet deep on many levels.  It plays on my moniker of Yeast, and portrays what fantasy owners that follow the Yeast's advice will do - "Roll" to the title of their respective leagues.

There will be more on our winner later as I have a group of questions for him to answer so we can all get to know the guy that will be featured in my blog throughout the season.  Tune in for all the answers on our winner. 

Aside from all of the entries that were submitted, the second most popular subject in all of the emails I've gotten so far have been asking for me to reveal my preseason rankings for each position.  Well, since I am a blogger of the people I will break down my Overall Top 10 as well as positional rankings at Quarterback, Running Back, Wide Receiver and Tight End.  If you really need my rankings to choose a kicker or defense, please go stick your head in the oven and turn on the gas right now.  Seriously.

Rankings are based on 4pts for passing TD, 1 pt for 30 yards passing;6 pts for rush/rec TD, 1 pt for 10 yards rush/rec

OVERALL TOP 10

1. LaDanian Tomlinson
2. Steven Jackson
3. Joseph Addai
4. Larry Johnson
5. Peyton Manning
6. Frank Gore
7. Rudi Johnson
8. Brian Westbrook
9. Shaun Alexander
10. Travis Henry

Some people feel like Addai may be too high, but I think he is going to bust out this year.  Some may question Shaun Alexander not being higher, and I would agree if I knew his foot was not going to be an issue this year.

QUARTERBACK

1. Peyton Manning
2. Carson Palmer
3. Drew Brees
4. Tom Brady
5. Marc Bulger
6. Donovan McNabb
7. Jon Kitna
8. Phillip Rivers
9. Matt Hasselbeck
10. Tony Romo

It was tough for me to choose 8-10 because I feel that QB's 8-15 are pretty much interchangable.  You could easily see Leinart, Cutler or Young up here.  I really feel like Phillip Rivers is going to have a big year.  If you're drafting and QB's 1-7 are gone, wait a while and snag other positions before taking one.

RUNNING BACK

1. LaDanian Tomlinson
2. Steven Jackson
3. Joseph Addai
4. Larry Johnson
5. Frank Gore
6. Rudi Johnson
7. Brian Westbrook
8. Shaun Alexander
9. Travis Henry
10. Willis McGahee

I'm sure some of you will disagree with me having Addai at #3, but I really think he has so much of an advantage due to being on the Colts over LJ.  If your league scores points per reception then Reggie Bush vaults into the Top 5 as well as Westbrook. 

WIDE RECEIVER

1. Torry Holt
2. Marvin Harrison
3. Terrell Owens
4. Steve Smith
5. Reggie Wayne
6. Larry Fitzgerald
7. Roy Williams
8. Javon Walker
9. Chad Johnson
10. Lee Evans

I've seen each of the top 4 guys put at #1 in many lists, but for me there is no one better than Torry Holt.  The guys from 5-10 could easily be swapped around in any of those spots.  If I had to choose one of the second five to crack the top 5 it would be Larry Fitzgerald.  I think he is going to have a huge season.  The one guy I felt guilty about leaving out of the top 10 is Andre Johnson.  With Matt Schaub at QB in Houston I think the sky is the limit for that duo.

TIGHT END

1. Antonio Gates
2. Jeremy Shockey
3. Chris Cooley
4. Todd Heap
5. Kellen Winslow
6. Tony Gonzalez
7. Jason Witten
8. Vernon Davis
9. Randy McMichael
10. L.J. Smith

I know, I know....no Alge Crumpler in the top 10.  Well, with the mess that is the Atlanta Falcons I just can't put him in there.  I'm not high on Tony Gonzalez this year either, but I have a serious man-crush on Chris Cooley.  He and Jason Campbell really started to click late last year and now that the Redskins are in their 2nd year in the Al Saunders offense I think it will only get better for them from this point on.

There ya have it....my preseason rankings.  Now to the mailbag:

Yeastie - I respected you and everything you wrote about over the last few years until I saw your "The WR position is key to winning in fantasy football" post.  You sir, are a retard.   Josh - Blaine, MN

Josh,

Thank you for your constructive criticism.  While I have had my intelligence questioned many times it has never been proven that I am actually retarded.  People do say I resemble Corky from "Life Goes On" though.  Hmmmm....

Mr. Yeast - We loved your columns from last year in Tampa and were disappointed to hear that you left without announcing where you were going.  We thought you were cooler than that.  You're lucky we tracked you down.  Hector - Brandon, FL

Hector,

I'm not sure what scares me more...the fact that you refer to "we" when there is only 1 person named in the email or that you can track me down so easily.  Actually, I posted on my last column in Tampa that I was relocating to the Twin Cities and that I was joining the FSF.com team.  Please tell your therapist to be extra nice to you this week.

Yeastie - Could you please give the names of guys that I should target in the middle rounds of my draft?  After all, that is when you say teams are made or broken, right??  Alex - Des Moines, IA

Alex,

Finally a fantasy football question!!!!  As far as RB's go I would target Adrian Peterson (Minn.), LaMont Jordan and Ahman Green.  Also watch the Green Bay situation and get Brandon Jackson if he is the starter.  Santonio Holmes is my breakout WR of the year, get him in the 6th or 7th round and you'll be happy all year long.  Other guys I would go after are Kevin Curtis, Vincent Jackson and Wes Welker.

These are my readers folks...from angry handicapped haters to paranoid schizophrenics the group of followers to this blog are the best around.  That is why I call you the Yeastie Nation.  A melting pot of wackos that love fantasy football.  Maybe I can convince the designers here at fsf.com to come up with a design for the Yeastie Nation for those of you crazy enough to want to show your devotion to The Yeast.  From the emails I've gotten so far it looks like that will be a lot of you. 

Keep the emails coming to Yeastie@customfantasysports.com .

Yeastie

NFL camps are now in full swing.  Coaches, players and fans are getting settled in for the 2007 season.  I usually don't pay too much attention for things fantasy wise until the 2nd preseason game unless I have a draft or auction right in that time.  If that is the case I just watch for major injuries or contract situations to make sure I don't make an ass out of myself with my choices (I do enough of that naturally).  This leads me to my first rant on FSF...the people that over react to everything in the preseason. 

According to some of the emails I have gotten Ben Roethlisberger is going to be the #1 fantasy QB in the league this year after he lead the Steelers on a 80-yard TD drive against the Saints in the Hall of Fame Game Sunday night.  I've had questions from people that ask if they should now consider Big Ben over Drew Brees due to that ONE series in ONE quarter of the FIRST PRESEASON game!  I read an email that said he was considering Big Ben with the #9 overall pick in his league.  Ugh.  Seriously?

Listen guys (and gals), while the Steelers look like they will be a more wide open offense let's not get carried away here.  It was one damn series against the Saints.  Yes folks, the New Orleans Saints that couldn't stop anyone last year and haven't done too much to improve things that was running a no-frills base defense against a scripted offense that KNEW that was the kind of defensive set they were gonna see.  Starting to see my point here?  Granted, Big Ben will be better by default this year but don't get crazy.  He is a bottom tier starter and better served as a backup for a team that loaded up on RB's and WR's at this point.  If he is slinging the rock around like Peyton Manning throughout the preseason we will discuss our options then.   

I did like the way Santonio Holmes looked though.  While he is not going to be any more than a late round flier in redraft leagues for me at this point, keep an eye on him as the preseason continues especially in dynasty and deep keeper leagues.  His routes have been crisp and he looks like he knows exactly where he should be on the field.  He started to shine late last year and could break out this year, a full season ahead of my expectations.

I know, I know...I can hear the mail now.  "Yeast, how can you like Santonio after 1 game and not Ben?"

My answer is this: THE WR POSITION IS THE KEY TO WINNING CHAMPIONSHIPS IN FANTASY FOOTBALL.

Ha.  Many of you are wanting to kick me in the balls right now but let me explain.  Any moron knows that you need stellar running backs and that the dropoff in production for that position is more dramatic than any other.  So, of course everyone wants the top backs.  Let's say you get them.  You blow your wad at an auction and end up with LaDanian Tomlinson and Laurence Maroney, and someone else in your league gets Joseph Addai and Steven Jackson:  Something along those lines...obviously you're both pretty stacked at RB.  Now what is going to make the difference in whether or not your team will out perform theirs??  You both have limited funds left to fill your roster so you better spend wisely.  That is where the Wide Receiver position can make or break you.  Get my point?

Finding the guys that will perform better than expected and that can be had cheaply to fill your receiving corps will give you a leg up on the competition to pay more at the other positions.  The QB position is too deep and in some leagues devalued, so that is why I say pay attention to the wideouts.  They, like quarterbacks, take time to develop so watch for guys that were hot at the end of last year and that stand out in the preseason.  Marques Colston is a perfect example of that during the preseason last year.  I DRAFTED him in 50% of my leagues last year and picked him up off waivers in 2 more.  The only one I didn't get him in was in the league where my brother sniped him from me because he saw my blog.

So, I will end my inital FSF rant with this.  Don't get too caught up with the glitz and glamour that you will see from QB's in the preseason.  If Big Ben throws 6 more TD's than you thought he would initially, great.  In most leagues that's 18-24 points.  If he does do that?......Santonio will get at least half of those (at 6 points per TD) as well as the possible inflated yardage points over a QB and, in some cases, points per reception.  Not to mention that if he is catching more TD's, chances are he is catching a lot more between the 20's as well.  The overall advantage would go to the wide receiver choice over the quarterback fantasy wise.

On to more pressing issues.....naming this blog!

I have already received some pretty nice suggestions, and I have responded to the dozens of you that have taken the time to write to me.  If you haven't done so, please read my 8/6 posting about the contest for the name of this blog and send your ideas to yeastie@customfantasysports.com . As of right now I would have to say the leader is a guy named Jason from Billings, Montana.  Thanks for the idea Jason!

I have gotten numerous requests for rankings at positions and things of that nature.  I will list my top 5 at each position soon, so check back regularly for them! 

Yeast

There are few things that get me more excited than the preparations for an upcoming fantasy football season, but my first blog for the newly launched FSF site is one of those things.  We have prepped for the launch of this site for months (by we, I associate myself with the people that actually know HOW to run one of these sites..I just write) and when the head honcho himself, Mr. Beets, said he wanted me to be a part of this I was truly flattered and motivated. 

Then I started to get scared.  The Yeastie Report blog has been around for a while but this was a new challenge with a bigger audience.  Most of my writing, television and radio appearances have been for local markets (Minneapolis and Tampa) not a national and worldwide audience like this site will have.  "This is BIG" I thought...I have to come correct with my content or don't come at all.  I need to step up my game and take the Yeastie brand to the next level.  I have made it to the big leagues.

So I started to plan for the 2007 season.  First up, Marty asked me what I was going to name my portion of the site.  I figured I would be able to come up with something witty and clever in no time.  The Yeastie Report was named well before that title stealing son of a b____ Steven Colbert got his show on that tiny little cable channel known as Comedy Central but no one would know that.  I had to come up with something that would draw people in and make them want the Yeast to be the guy they went to for entertainment and fantasy knowledge.  I started to think about what I could call it....the new name would just pop into my head at any moment.

Any time now......

Ummmmm......errrr.....ahhhhhh.....pfffffff.....duuhhhhhhh.

Damn it!  Why wouldn't the new title just come to me like all of those smartass comments and witty one liners I say and write on a regular basis?  It was a struggle for me but surely I would come through with a name befitting everything I plan to do for FSF.

Still waiting on the new name of your column Yeast.  Let me know what's up so I can get the page design completed. - Marty

That was an actual email from Mr. Beets.  GREAT!  No pressure now Yeast!  Just the progress of a new site hanging in the balance because you have f'ing writers block.  What am I going to do?!?  I have tons of things to write about, but if I don't have a title it doesn't matter.  I have to come up with something....

Then it came to me when I least expected it.  I was in the shower one morning when I realized that there was no possible way I could come up with the name for my column.  I have overanalyzed and put too much pressure on myself to come through with it.  But, I did know just who was going to have the answer for me and solve this crisis once and for all.

YOU.

That's right, the readers and customers of FantasySportsFactory.com are going to name my blog for me.  This will be open to anyone and everyone that comes to our site.  Come up with a title for my blog and you will be a part of FSF history.  This is the idea I have been waiting for. 

So, I am going to turn things over to you.  I am going to accept any and all suggestions through the NFL preseason and announce the winner during the week leading up to kickoff of Week 1.  Send me your funny and clever title suggestions to yeastie@customfantasysports.com . Make sure they are not profane or degrading to anyone or anything.  It must be in good taste.  Also, make sure that you include your first and last name and the city and state you are from.

Here is what the winner will receive:

1. The winner will be credited in my blog when I announce it so your friends and family will believe you
2. A free logo designed by FantasySportsFactory.com along with either a custom jersey or helmet
3. A recurring part in my blog as my honorary sidekick, giving me your opinions and feedback throughout the year. 
4. All of the groupies you could ever desire (Picture it as if you were Turtle from Entourage and The Yeast is Vincent Chase)

So, without further adieu let's get this contest rolling!  Start sending in your suggestions today and good luck to everyone.  I promise I will personally respond to each and every person that takes the time to send in a title.  I will blog again in a few days to update you on the contest as well as get everyone ready for their drafts this year.

Yeastie