Well we managed to do it, our annual Looze Stoolz Draft, came and went, and by all accounts, another success. Thanks to all who were a part, and I believe we drafted faster this year than any year before, so kudos for that as well. There winners (BW3’s bill statements) and losers (Chris and Aggie Fans), and so it begins, another season, rosters set, and visions of holding up the Olestra Cup in everyone’s head, but like the Highlander, there can only be one. So here are some fun predicts, and tidbits from my view point, of everyone’s roster, as always, I will not pass judgment on my roster for fear of complaints. With that said though, I am happy with my roster and hope they can live up to my expectations. Enjoy your 2008 Looze Stoolz Pre Season Review. FYI all grades will be based on the Stewie System, with the best being 5 Stewies.
Ass Gravy Train (formerly Ass Gravy Army) – The defending champs returned with cup in hand for the draft. Making an early splash in Pre Draft trades, AGT got the best of your commissioner with getting Brandon Jacobs for a 5th round pick, which turned out to be Dallas Clark – ugh!!!!!! Returning 2 keepers, Big Ben and Santonio Holmes, AGT picked Jamal Lewis in the first round and Reggie Wayne on the turn. No complaints here, except Jamal Lewis is not the most dependable back in the league, but had a great rebound season last year. Stellar picks included, McNabb in the late rounds, Calvin Johnson poised to become a star, and Jerricho Cotchery now catching balls that can be thrown deep from Brett Favre. Questionable picks included, Jeremy Shockey just because his injury is still a problem, and Ahman Green because he is an injury anytime he crosses the out of bounds line.
Starting Lineup:
· Ben Roethisberger QB
· Brandon Jacobs RB
· Jamal Lewis RB
· Santonio Holmes WR
· Reggie Wayne WR
· Calvin Johnson FLEX
· Jeremy Shockey TE
· Adam Vinatieri K
· Jaguars DEF
A solid starting squad, and a chance to repeat, will the breaks he got last year happen again for him this year? Or when the injuries start with some of the keys spots, will he have enough on the bench. All in all a solid draft, I will give his lineup and bench:
Batidores Del Castor (BDC) – Sporting the some of the best keepers, Romo and Addai, Todd and BDC didn’t have to do too much in the draft to get high marks. A gift was given to him with the 7th pick of Steven Jackson, who I think went way too low, this guy is a 1,000 / 1,000 guy, if healthy. But that is a big if, and not playing in preseason because of a new contract, is an issue, so I understand the slip in the draft. BDC rebounded last season, after a tough rookie campaign in 2006, now with the taste of the playoffs on his lips, he is ready for the next step, here are some notables from his draft. Great picks included, Owen Daniels the TE of the future in the NFL, Fred Taylor even after his arrest, and Ronald Curry the only person on the Oakland Raiders who scored last season. But it was not all rosy on the BDC draft; here were some lesser picks in my eyes. Kevin ’37 Dicks’ Smith went way too high in my eyes (3rd round), Darren Sproles only because he looked at me said I needed to pick him up at which point I said, ‘No not yet – still too high for me…’ then he takes him about 5 seconds later, thanks for the tip Todd, and possibly Steve Slaton, just because he probably could have gotten him lower and with a better keeper value. With all of that said, BDC boost a pretty good starting lineup, take a pick:
Starting Lineup:
· Tony Homo QB
· Joseph Addai RB
· Steven Jackson RB
· Kevin Smith FLEX
· Donald Driver WR
· Larry Fitzgerald WR
· Owen Daniels TE
· Josh Brown K
· Steelers DEF
Will their destiny be achieved, to go beyond one and out in the playoffs, to taste the sweet taste of victory, to sip from the Olestra Cup, good chance, better than mine. Overall grade:

Little Lebowski Achievers (LLA) – Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. LLA has burst onto the fantasy football scene like Daniel Reid in his hay day, before being clouded with visions of UT, but this is the crucial year, forward means a championship, backwards means out of the playoffs, so it’s a tough haul for Brad and the other LLA members, perfection is the only option. He started his season with a Pre Draft trade, breaking up his mighty QB / WR combo of Brees and Colston, sending Colston to the Coin Purses for Brandon Marshall and what would turn out to be Tim Hightower, after a short delay we were able to find him on the CBS Website, and he is indeed a super-sleeper. So here are some other highlights and lowlights from the LLA draft night. Highlights included, Ocho Cinco the first man to legally get to utter these words in fantasy football, Darren McFadden although some believe he went too high, and Kevin Walter a late rounder that proved to be valuable to teams last year. Questionable calls, well Hightower has to be included since people weren’t aware of him and he used his traded pick for him, Larry Johnson as a first rounder is scary, and maybe Chester Taylor, although I think the pick is fine, I just needed something to end the sentence with. The draft a whole for LLA was easy, he boosted the best of the keepers in my eyes, so it left him little on the NEEDS side of things. Here is how his starting lineup looks.
Starting Lineup:
· Drew Brees QB
· Marion Barber RB
· Larry Johnson RB
· Darren McFadden RB
· Chad Ocho Cinco WR
· Hines Ward WR
· Jason Witten TE
· Mason Crosby K
· Patriots DEF
All in all, this is tough team on paper, Marion Barber is a beast, and could have easily been a top 5 pick in the draft and yet thanks to keeper status cost LLA a 13th round pick, it boggles the mind doesn’t it. I don’t see a step back for this team, in fact I see this. Overall grade:


Makin’ Bears (MB) – OK, this is the man to blame for the zaniest draft ever. Point 1, he changed his keeper at the last minute, so him and I were off to a rocky start, then he goes and does the unthinkable, drafts a WR in the first round, not since the likes of old Randy Moss (Straight Cash Homie) in the purple and white has a WR receiver gone this in one of my drafts, ok so I can deal with that, TO going in the first round, fine, he is a turd and I hate most Cowboys anyway, although he is awesome fantasy wise. But then the unthinkable strikes again, for 3 weeks I had planned on taking Andre Johnson with the last pick of the 2nd round, thinking the whole time that it was stretch to take him that earlier, well little did I know of the Makin Bears drafting strategy, which consisted of 2 WRs in the first 2 picks would be unveiled to my shock and horror. With that said, he has 2 sweet WRs, and I am jealous, but there are problems in his lineup. Highlights of the draft for MB included, DeAngelo Williams really late in the draft, Eddie Royal since that sounds like a pimp’s name, and Ben Watson I guess. Lowlights, he is going to war with Phillip Rivers and Jay Cutler as his QBs, Robert Meachem to sure why, name just stands out, and I have nothing else to type here, so if you are reading it, it is filler. Here is view into his starting lineup.
Starting Lineup:
· Phillip Rivers QB
· Thomas Jones RB
· Selvin Young RB
· Andre Johnson WR
· Terrell Owens WR
· Greg Jennings WR
· Ben Watson TE
· Jeff Reed K
· Vikings DEF
Well I was not very kind above, due to the WR picks, but overall he has a solid lineup. Overall Grade:


Raging Willies (RW) – Connecting remotely, Jimmy, still one of the originals with Daniel of the Looze Stoolz league, entered the draft with a couple of keepers, one of which was a kicker, so behind the eight ball is the only way to describe team. I have used words like stellar and playoffs, and even the word solid for the above teams mentioned, Jimmy will get no such kudos, but here is a list of some of his highlights and lowlights from his internet connection in Dallas. Standouts, Marshawn Lynch who I think will have an incredible season, ummm Peyton I guess, he seems good, and help with the last one guys? Lowlights, the other 13 rosters spots, well that is harsh, but I’m not sure I would have paid for this team. Anyhoo, here is his starting lineup, try not to laugh.
Starting Lineup:
· Peyton Manning QB
· Marshawn Lynch RB
· LenDale White RB
· PLAX WR
· Chris Chambers WR
· Donte Stallworth WR
· Chris Cooley TE
· Stephen Gostkowski K
· Cowboys DEF
Wow, my sides hurt from typing that lineup. Seriously did I just type at starting WR – Chris Chambers and Donte Stallworth, bad ass. Here is the overall grade:


Romosekshualz (RSS) – The original co-owners, Rolo and Tommy came back to show the world how 2 minds are worse than 1, yet again. After an email to tell people that Derrick Anderson was available and he was a top 5 QB, they got no takers and so they bring him back, could be good in the long run for them. Solid keepers made they draft a bit easier, here are some highlights. Best of the crop, Roy Williams and Houshmandzadeh to go along with Braylon Edwards, might be the best 3 WRs on any team. Lowlights, David Garrad, I mean if this a ball control fantasy football league hw would have went higher or more people would have wanted to draft him, instead I’m not sure he would have been draft so they could have picked any other starting QB, also on the list Tony Scheffler I think he was demoted to the bench, someone had to get them so why not the Romos, people I give you Julius Jones. Their starting lineup looks surprising well, take a gander.
Starting Lineup:
· Derek Anderson QB
· Clinton Portis RB
· Michael Turner RB
· Braylon Edwards WR
· TJ Houshmandzadeh WR
· Roy Williams WR
· Tony Gonzalez TE
· Nate Kaeding K
· Buccaneers DEF
With all of that, they are still Rolo and Tommy, aka Romoseshualz, they will find a way to screw it all up. But I have to grade on the team above, so here is the overall grade.


Steinbenner (HNH) – The newest 2 headed monster on the fantasy owners list, as Ashley Lehmann joined forces with the historically bad fantasy owner Warren Roca, and the results are on a wait and see basis. There were pluses (no Dan Marino drafted) but there were some minuses. But the single greatest move for the Steinbenner’s came on a drunken Sunday morning when I received a call to place Ricky Williams on his squad and drop him on the injury list, like a soothsayer, Ricky returns, impresses and earns keeper status for Steinbenner as well as for the Miami Dolphins, maybe they were behind the Ronnie Brown injury last year. Other highlights for this team included, Lee Evans who should have a bounce back year, Aaron Rodgers for just being pleasant with an A-Hole like Favre getting all the headlines this summer, and Chris Perry who I think will be a star once given the chance in Cincinnati. Lowlights, and there were a few, included, Justin Fargas, who is just holding the spot for McFadden like Chester Taylor last year, Bernard Berrian I hate this guy, Reggie Brown, who by all accounts sucks as an NFL player. But let’s look at the starting lineup.
Starting Lineup:
· Tom Brady QB
· Justin Fargas RB
· Laurence Maroney RB
· Ricky Williams RB
· Bernard Berrian WR
· Lee Evans WR
· Antonio Gates TE
· Kris Brown K
· Packers DEF
All I can say is that Ashley had a definitely impact on the Steinbenner team, this is about 40 times better than any team Warren has put to together to date. This is actually a team that might scare you at some point this season; he is no longer in BYE status, kudos guys for an average draft. Overall grade:


The Mike Honcho Experience (MHE) – Let me start off with this statement, we have all had emergencies come up at work and ruin our evening, I can’t imagine it happening on what you look forward to once a year, and with that, the ultimate night for you turns into reading the next morning at see what guys drafted for you, it takes the wind out of your sails I assume and makes your season a little anticlimactic. But truth be told, Ashley the proxy he right in my eyes with the MHE team, and he has nothing to feel bad about. Bring back 3 keepers, one of which was the second best player in the league last year, in Randy Moss, will only help and the draft had some highlights. Notables included, Willis McGahee who if he wasn’t picked right then would have been hard for me to pass up at the next spot, Marvin Harrison to go along with Randy Moss, and a solid handcuff move of Ray Rice for the oft injured McGahee. Lowlights to speak of, maybe Derrick Mason, I could only wish that a possession receiver like him will one day play with David Garrard and bring ultimate fantasy suck, also Javon Walker, who has now dodged 2 bullets. Here is the Mike Honcho Experience’s starting lineup.
Starting Lineup:
· Kurt Warner QB
· Maurice Jones Drew RB
· Adrian Peterson RB
· Willis McGahee RB
· Marvin Harrison WR
· Randy Moss WR
· Kellen Winslow TE
· Robbie Gould K
· Bears DEF
A fantastic lineup for a guy who could not attend the draft, kudos to CG for picking Ashley as a proxy for him, thanks for Ashley for pulling double duty on Tuesday night, a hell of an introduction into the Looze Stoolz league. Also kudos for CG for having the best team name in the league this year. Overall grade:
Vibrating Jelly Dongs (VJD) – Daniel, the elder statesman, some have questioned his ownership skills, people wondering out loud at the draft if ever, indeed won a title in the Looze Stoolz league, and I can valid date the statement with an emphatic YES, as well as making the playoffs another year, so what did the old crafty veteran have in store for us this year. 3 Black QBs for starters, yes the rare trifecta of Vince Young, Jason Campbell, and JaMarcus Russell, the fun part about this, I would like to see their combined stats at the end of this year and see how many QBs throw for more yards than these 3. But with that said, there were some strong parts about his draft, like Rashard Mendenhall late to handcuff with Willie Parker and possibly be a strong keeper next year, Dwayne Bowe who had a solid rookie season for KC last year, and the back of the future in Tennessee – Chris Johnson. Some moves that make people question his involvement in this league, Todd Heap, who does not have a QB on his team, Jamaal Charles, UT love – Catch iT!, and either or all of the 3 black QBs mentioned previously. Here is the starting lineup for the mighty VJDs.
Starting Lineup:
· Vince Young QB
· Willie Parker RB
· Brian Westbrook RB
· Earnest Graham RB
· Anquan Boldin WR
· Wes Welker WR
· Todd Heap TE
· Nick Folk K
· Colts DEF
I definitely think Reid and VJD are back, this is a solid lineup with a chance to make some noise if they get a QB. But right now, no one is probably scared of this team, with that, here is his overall grade. Overall Grade:


Guys thanks again for being a part of this league, this is has and will continue to be a great league, I’m glad to have started it and heading into our 7th season, as the excitement builds for tonight. We actually have a waiting list for people that want to be in our league, and that is pretty smooth. If only I could find a way to charge you suckers. Later guys - EB
To my regular readers, you have been invaded by the power of the Looze Stoolz Fantasy Football League
Jaxwing