Posts Tagged ‘Pittsburgh Steelers’

How was your week

Posted: January 9, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in fantasy, football, sports, Uncategorized
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The playoffs kickoff this afternoon in the NFL as it’s Wild Card weekend. We have continued your picking of the games and I’ll let you know who we’re going with today at the end of the blog. What I thought I’d try to do is look at both of today’s games from a fantasy perspective. I’ll use the FanDuel system since that’s what Mr. Fantasy and I use on the Sunday podcast of Sports Time Radio when we put line ups in. Mr. Fantasy and I will be here tomorrow (Sunday) from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. to review today’s games, preview tomorrows games, let you know who we think will win and like I mentioned find the best FanDuel plays for your money.

The first game today has the Kansas City Chiefs (11-5) at the Houston Texans (9-7). Houston is the home team because they won the AFC South while Kansas City got into the playoffs as the top wild card team.

Let’s start with the quarterbacks. This may not be the game you want to play a quarterback from as the Texans average giving up just 210.4 yards a game through and the Chiefs give up an average of 231.1 passing yards a game. Of course you only have $60,000 to spend and Alex Smith (Kansas City) at $7100 or Brian Hoyer (Houston) at $6900 might be what you can afford. Smith hasn’t broken the 20 point mark on FanDuel in 5 weeks, but he got close last week at 18.34 points. Hoyer returned to the Texans line up since leaving their Week 14 game with a concussion. Hoyer out up 12.96 points last week on FanDuel. Smith averages a few more fantasy points a week 17.4 to Hoyer’s 15.8. If you’re at the point where you have to go with one of these two quarterbacks; I’d lean towards Smith. With Smith’s running ability he should rack up some rushing yards for you and might end up with a rushing touchdown.

Maybe you’ll find a better play at running back, but both defenses are solid against the run as well. Kansas City averaged giving up 98.2 yards rushing while Houston was just a little behind them giving up 99.8 rushing yards per game. Charcandrick West is the Chiefs main running back, but in the last two weeks he has failed to score more than 7 points on FanDuel. West has actually managed to score over 15 points in the last 6 weeks. West may look like a good value at $6400, but with his performance as of late and this match up you might want to look elsewhere. Alfred Blue is #1 on the Texans depth chart at running back. Blue has been dealing with a calf injury and is listed as probably for the game. Blue scored 10.9 FanDuel points last week; it was his first time over 10 points in 5 weeks. Blue will cost you $5700 while his back up Chris Polk is at $4700, but remember Polk only got 3 carries in last weeks game because of a knee injury. None of these backs are featured in the passing game; so you won’t find any extra point there. It would be a tough choice here, but West is the only running back coming into the game without a nagging injury; so maybe he’d be the choice, but it’s a toss up.

Kansas City’s Jeremy Maclin ($7200) has had 3 solid weeks to close out the season, but hasn’t scored over 20 FanDuel points in 5 weeks. Albert Wilson ($4900) has played his way into the #2 wide receiver spot for the Chiefs. Even though Wilson has found his way into the starting line up has hasn’t scored more than 7 FanDuel points in 4 weeks and has managed to score over 15 points just once this season. Houston’s DeAndre Hopkins has established himself as not only one of the top wide receivers in football, but a top weekly fantasy pick. Hopkins is one of those fantasy players who seems to get his catches every week no matter what the match up. Hopkins got his catches last week (7), but didn’t find his way into the end zone; so his FanDuel scoring was 12.4 points. Of course there’s a price with this production. Hopkins is the 2nd most expensive wide receiver on FanDuel for today at $8800, but he might be worth it to you. It’s difficult to pick a 2nd Houston wide receiver between Nate Washington, Cecil Shorts who’s returning from injury and rookie Jalen Strong. Shorts could be a under the radar pick if the Texans use him in the wildcat formation, but they’ve never used that formation when Hoyer has been at quarterback. Shorts will cost you $5200 and that gamble might not pay off with Hoyer under center. Maclin and Hopkins are players you can use today, but after them it’s tough to find a reason to get any other wide out from this game in your line up.

Tight end Travis Kelce normally is a major weapon in the passing game for Kansas City, but as of late has been up and down FanDuel wise. Last week Kelce scored just 1.5 points and at $6200 that could end your fantasy day. Of course the 2 weeks before that Kelce scored 13.3 and 10.3 points; so which tight end are you going to get? Kelce has had some groin issues, but practiced all week and should be full strength. I think the best advice I can give you about playing a Texans tight end is DON’T. Ryan Griffin ($4800) averages the most points for Houston’s tight ends at 5.2 points per game while C.J. Fiedorowicz ($4500)averages just 2.2 points per game. Kelce might turn out to be a good play today even against a tough Houston defense as he’ll be a good red zone weapon for the Chiefs if they can get there.  

At kicker Kansas City’s Cairo Santos ($4800) averages 9.7 points per game this season while Houston’s kicker Nick Novak ($4600) averages 7 FanDuel points per game on the season. If you think this might turn into a field goal game since it does feature 2 good defenses one of these guys might be a solid choice. The question you’d have t ask yourself is how many field goal attempts do you think they’ll get?

You would probably be alright using either team defense in this game. Kansas City is the most expensive defense on FanDuel today at $5100 while Houston is the 2nd most expensive defense at $4600. You wouldn’t think this will be a high scoring game; so go with the defense of the team you think will win the game.

Let’s move along to tonight’s game. It’s an AFC South match up as the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) take on the Cincinnati Bengals (12-4) in Cincinnati. The Bengals won the AFC South while Pittburgh picked up the last AFC wild card spot.

This looks like the game where you’ll find your quarterback. The Steelers Ben Rothlisberger appears to be the top quarterback on FanDuel for Saturday and at $8400 he’s the highest priced. The Bengals do give up an average of 248.5 passing yards per game. So while it appears that Rothlisberger is the best quarterback start could A.J. McCarron be the sleeper FanDuel quarterback of the day. At $6400 McCarron is the lowest priced of the 4 starting Saturday quarterbacks, but does he have the best match up. Pittsburgh was the worst team in the AFC giving up an average of 271.9 passing yards per game. I always jump in on thee type of match ups and they haven’t really worked out for me, but if you go with McCarron as your FanDuel quarterback you should have some extra money to spend at the other positions.

Like I said with Houston’s tight ends’ I’d stay away from any Steelers running back. DeAngelo Williams has been ruled out for the game. That means that Fitzgerald Toussaint and Jordan Todman will be the Steelers rushing attack. As you’d expect they both are very good values with both Toussaint and Todman costing $5700. Pittsburgh hasn’t really said this, but you’d think Toussaint would get the majority of the carries since Todman hasn’t played in a game since pre-season (9/3) when he was a member of the Carolina Panthers. Oddly that game was against the Steelers. Pittsburgh’s defense is only giving up an average of 91,2 yards per game, but you have to wonder if that number is low because teams are having so much success throwing the football against them. The Bengals feature that 2-back attack. Jeremy Hill ($6700) normally gets most of the rushing attempts, but is effective in the passing game as well. Hill is paired up with Giovani Bernard ($5600) in the backfield. The tough part is picking between the Bengals running backs as Hill averages 10.2 points per game on FanDuel while Bernard’s average is 9.8 point per game on the season. Hopefully you’ll make the right choice if you go with a Bengals running back.

Since this is expected to be a high scoring game wide receiver might be the place to spend your FanDuel money. It’s no surprise that Antonio Brown is the most expensive player listed for Saturday at $9500. Even though teams know Brown is the Steelers top receiving target he still gets his catches and puts up numbers. While it’s a lot of money for one player Brown has proven he’s worth it. Martavis Bryant has had some issues with his neck and has caught 1 pass in each of the last 2 games. I’m sure you heard that Pirrsburgh”s quarterback “Big” Ben challenged Bryant, but will it have an affect on his play. Will you go wit Bryant at $6900 or save the money and take a shot with Markus Wheaton at $5900? Wheaton is the Steelers wide receiver who benefits the most if Bryant struggles. Wheaton has also found his way into the end zone in 4 of the last 6 weeks. It’s an interesting choice, but saving that extra $1000 on Wheaton could mean an upgrade somewhere else. At $8300 is A.J. Green the best wide receiver play on the FanDuel board today?  Remember Green is going up against the worst pass defense in the AFC. Green has scored touchdowns in his last 2 games and remember the last time he went up against the Steelers pass defense he scored 22.2 FanDuel points. Marvin Jones is the Bengals #2 wide receiver and at $5500 could turn out to be a great value against the Pittsburgh defense, but there are a lot of good receiver choices and you might not get down to Jones. If this game goes as it’s expected to this may be the position that helps you win.

Tight end is another position that should really pay off today. Heath Miller is a solid tight end for the Steelers that every now and then can have a big game. Miller has averaged 6.5 points per game this season, but against Cincinnati he should go over his scoring average and at $5600 he could turn out to be a good deal. Tyler Eifert is the highest price tight end playing Saturday at $6400. This is the type of season people have been waiting for Eifert to have, but he has missed 3 games this season because of concussions. Eifert has a reasonable price on him and should be a very good play for whoever pays for him.

Again; if this game goes as expected either kicker would be a good choice for your FanDuel line up. Pittburgh’s Chris Boswell will cost you $4900 while Cincinnati’s Mike Nugent is at $4800. On the season Boswell averages 10.5 points per game while Nugent scores 8.2 points per game on the season. It comes down to which team do you think will give the kicker more field goal attempts or you might need the extra $100 to upgrade another position. It looks like both kickers from this game should be good choices.

Defense in this game is a whole other story. The Steelers defense will cost you $4500 while the Bengals defense comes in at $4400. I’d have to lie t you to give you a good reason to play either one of these defenses. Would you use the Steelers defense hoping since it’s McCarron’s first playoff start he’ll have issues or could you possible give Cincinnati’s defense a play hoping that that with a depleted running game Rothlisberger will have to throw the football so many times that he’s bound to have some turnovers.

As we go into the playoffs with a clean slate here are our picks for today’s game. All of us Dan the Man, Schaumburg Stu, Mr. Fantasy and I all like Kansas City to win the first game. Now we’re split on the second game as Dan the Man and Schaumburg Stu like Pittsburgh to won and Mr, Fantasy and I have Cincinnati winning.

Don’t forget tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. Mr. Fantasy and I host the 2-hour Sunday edition of Sports Time Radio a BlogTalkRadio.com

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

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How was your Week?

Posted: October 3, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, fantasy, football
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Week 4 in the NFL started off right for Dan the Man, Mr. Fantasy and I as we had the Baltimore Ravens getting their 1st win of the season and luckily they did. Schaumburg Stu was the only one who took the Pittsburgh Steelers to win the game and to be fair they where just a couple of missed field goals away from Stu being 1-0 to start the week. As for me I have to make some quality picks that are different from Mr. Fantasy’s; so I can cut into his early season lead.

All in all from a fantasy perspective it wasn’t a great night unless you owned the starting running backs from either team. Le’Veon Bell had 22 carries for 129 yards and scored a touchdown o the ground for the Steelers. He also added 7 catches for 21 yards. While his passing yardage won’t really add up for you if you’re in a PPR (Point Per Reception) league those 7 extra points are nice to have. I’m sure fantasy owners where starting to question their selection of Justin Forsett early in there drafts this season, but he did what he could to change their minds on Thursday night. Forsett had 27 carries for 150 for the Ravens, but sadly for his fantasy owners didn’t find his way into the end zone.

Did you have to plug Michael Vick into your fantasy line up this week? If you did he didn’t hurt you, but he didn’t score big for you either. Vick went 19 for 26, but only for 124 yards; he did throw 1 touchdown and wasn’t intercepted. Vick also ran the football 9 time for 33 yards, but surprisingly he was sacked 4 times. Joe Flacco went 20 of 33 for Baltimore. He threw for a total of 189 and did have 1 touchdown, but he was also intercepted 1 time as well. Flacco did run 3 times, but he went for a total of 0 yards and he was also sacked 5 times and did lose a fumble as well.

When the quarterbacks aren’t throwing for a lot of yards that of course means your wide receivers aren’t racking up a lot of yards for you. Antoino Brown had 5 catches, but he went for just 42 yards and didn’t find his way into the end zone. It was Darrius Heyward-Bay who caught the Pittsburgh touchdown pass. Heyward-Bay had a total of 4 catches for 31 yards and that touchdown. Kamar Aiken was the ravens leading receiver on the night. Aiken had 5 receptions for 77 yards and 1 touchdown. Steve Smith Sr. was injured early in the 3rd quarter and didn’t return to the game; so his night ended with him have 4 catches for just 24 yards. If you’re in a deep league and happened to take Ravens receiver  Michael Campanaro he added some fantasy points for your team this week. While Campanaro did have just 2 receptions for 16 yards; he did have an end around in the red zone that ended up being a 9-yard rushing touchdown. Campanaro is also te main return man for the Ravens. He had a kickoff return for 24 yards and a punt return for 14 yards if those stats count in your league.

The top fantasy player of the night may have been Baltimore kicker Justin Tucker. Tucker hit both his extra points ans was 3 of 3 on field goals with a long of 52 yards. He of course was much better than Steelers kicker Josh Scobee who did make both his extra points, but was 2 of 4 on his field goal attempts with a long of 45 yards.

Pittsburgh did have a couple of defensive players make double digit tackles. Lawrence Timmons led the Steelers with 11 tackles and did add a sack. Stephon Tuitt had 10 tackles and also recorded a sack. Three other Steelers recorded sacks; James Harrison, Sean Spence and  Cameron Heyward got them. Ross Cockrell got the lone interception in the game. Baltimore only had 1 player get double digit tackles as Daryl Smith made 13 with 1 sack. Za’Darius Smith did have 2 sacks for the Ravens and Elvis Dumervil had the other sack for Baltimore.

The most interesting series during the last week of the baseball season had the Texas Rangers hosting the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim with not only the AL West on the line, but also the final wild card spot. Thursday night saw the Rangers get the win 5-3 and clinch themselves a playoff berth. Adrian Beltre went 2 of 3 with 3 RBI’s in the victory and Elvis Andrus added 2 hit for the Rangers. Derek Holland got the win to improve his record to 4-3. Holland went 6 1/3rd innings giving up 3 runs on 3 hits while walking 3 and striking out 6. Ross Ohlendorf, Jake Diekman and Sam Dyson held the Angeles scoreless and closer Shawn Tolleson picked up his 35th save of the season working the 9th inning. Albert Pujols got have of the Angels hits on the night going 2 for 4 (a double and a home run) while scoring 2 runs and driving in 1. Erick Aybar and Shane Victorino had the Angels other RBI’s on the night. Andrew Heaney (6-4) took the lose for the Angels pitching 4 1/3rd innings giving up 4 runs in 5 hits while walking 5 and striking out just 1. While this win locks up a playoff spot for the Rangers the rest of series will decide if they’re the AL West champions or if they’re the 2nd wild card team. Will also know if the Angels are in or out of the playoffs.

Friday night saw the Angels even up the series by picking up a 2-1 win scoring a run in the top of the 9th inning off Rangers closer Tolleson to do it. The Angels took the lead right out of the gate scoring a run in the 1st inning. Aybar led the game off with a single. After 2 strikeouts Pujols singled to move Aybar to 3rd. C.J. Cron picked up the RBI singling to rightfield to drive in Aybar and give the Angels a 1-0 lead. The Rangers got even in the bottom of the 4th inning on a Shin-Soo Choo home run; his 22nd of the season. In the top of the 9th Mike Trout led off the inning with a triple. Pujols followed that up with a single driving in trout for a 2-1 Angels lead. The Rangers couldn’t come through in the bottom of the 9th inning as Mitch Moreland (fly out), Josh Hamilton (strikeout) and Andrus )ground out) against Angels relievers Mike Morin and Joe Smith who picked up his 4th save of the season filling in for injured closer Huston Street. Jered Weaver started the game for the Angels pitching 6 innings. Weaver gave up 2 hits and 1 run while walking 3 and striking out 2. Morin got the win while pitching just 1/3rd of an inning to improve his record to 4-2. Martin Perez started the game for the rangers pitching 7 innings giving up 4 hits and 1 run while walking 1 and striking out 4. Tolleson took the lose pitching 1 inning giving up 1 run on 2 hits while striking out 1; the loss drops Tolleson’s record to 6-4 on the season.

With 2 games left in the regular season the Angels find themselves 1 game behind the Houston Astros for the final wild card spot in the American League. The Angels are starting Hector Santiago against the Rangers this afternoon. Texas is going wit Colby Lewis on the mound. Santiago is 9-9 with an ERA of 3.52 in 31 starts/ Lewis is 17-9, but has an ERA of 4.53. It’s must win time for the Angels to keep there playoff hopes alive as a loss and an Astros wins eliminates them. The Astros by the way are playing an inter-league series against the Arizona Diamondbacks to end the season. Tonight the Astros send out Colin McHugh who is 18-7 with a 3.98 ERA against Jeremy Hellickson for the Diamondbacks who is 9-11 with a 4.50 ERA this season.

You can listen the Sports Time Radio podcast on BlogTalkRadio.com

You can also follow me on Twitter @Burketime

How was your Week?

Posted: September 12, 2015 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, football, tennis
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The NFL season officially opened Thursday night in New England as the Patriots beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-21. Now the game wasn’t as close as the score indicates as the Steelers added a touchdown with 3 seconds remaining in the game t get it to that 28-21 final score. Now I’m sure that all of the fantasy football players out there had their Patriots and Steelers in there line up as that would’ve paid off for them. Tom Brady was 25 for 32 for 288 yards and threw 4 touchdowns. Ben Rothlisberger was very good as well going 26 for 38 and 351 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. With Le’Von Bell suspended the Steelers turned to veteran DeAngelo Williams to run the football and he did well. Williams carried the football 21 times for 127 yards, but didn;t get the goal line carries as Will Johnson got the Steelers rushing touchdown. On the Patriots side it was journeyman Dion Lewis get the most carries in Week 1. Lewis rushed for 69 yards on 15 carries, but did get into the end zone. Lewis did factor a little bit in the New England passing game catching 4 passes for 51 yards while Williams only caught 1 pass for 5 yards for Pittsburgh. If a fantasy owner played either Williams or Lewis he got very good value out of them in Week 1 even without a touchdown from either running back. The receivers is where fantasy owners cashed in on this game. Antonio Brown led the Steelers in receptions with 9 for 133 yards and scored a touchdown. Heath miller added 8 catches out of the tight end position for 84 yards. If you happen to be in a very deep receiver league Darrius Heyward-Bay 4 catches for 58 yards and Markus Wheaton 3 catches for 55 yards would’ve picked up some points for you. It seemed as though New England picked up right where they left off last season. Julian Edelman led the team in receptions with 11 for 97 yards, but it was tight end Rob Gronkowski catching all the touchdown passes from Brady. Gronkowski caught 5 passes for 94 yards and scored 3 touchdowns. The other New England passing touchdown went to another tight end as well, but it was Scott Chandler who had just that 1 catch for 1 yard, but it went for a touchdown. It seems as every year someone thinks that Danny Amendola will finally have a break out season; especially since he’s been with New England. Amendola was targeted 3 times and he caught 2 of those passes for 24 yards. If your league scores defensive players Will Allen had 8 tackles to lead the Steelers and also had a sack. Rookie linebacker Bud Dupree had the Steelers other sack on the night, but added just 2 total tackles. Dont’a Hightower was the Patriots leading tackler with 8; he also had a sack. Jabaal Sheard and Malcolm Brown also picked up a sack apiece for the Patriots. There was only 1 interception in the game and New England’s Duron Harmon was the player who made that interception. It’s always difficult to get the right defensive players in your line up, but hopefully you had the right ones in this game and they put up some points for you.

I don’t think we’ve ever talked about tennis on the Sports Time Radio podcast and I don’t watch tennis except for a highlight here or there, but I have to tell you I was disappointed to hear that Serena Williams lost her semi-final match at the U.S. Open yesterday to Roberta Vinci. Williams won the first set of the match 6-2, but lost the next two sets 4-6 and 4-6. It was a gigantic upset by Vinci; who was unseeded coming into the U.S. Open. It was Williams’ first loss in a Grand Slam singles match this year and ended her bid for the first calendar-year Slam since 1988. Williams had won 26 straight matches in grand slam competition and 33 straight matches overall until Vinci defeated her. It was also the first time in her career that Vinci had taken so much as a set from Williams. Williams lost a three-set match for only the second time this year, her record now 18-2. Vinci will play Flavia Pennetta, another Italian, in Saturday’s final.. Earlier Friday, Pennetta defeated No. 2 seed Simona Halep 6-1, 6-3.It’s the first time in the U.S. Open era that two Italian women will meet in a major final. Pennetta defeated Vinci 6-4, 6-1 in their most recent meeting in the 2013 US Open quarterfinals.

NASCAR’s regular season ends tonight at Richmond International Speedway with Joey Logano on the pole for the Federated Auto Parts 400. Logano won the pole with an average speed of 126.470 just edging out Matt Kenseth; who had a qualifying speed of 126.357. Brad Keslowski; Logano’s Penske racing teammate will start 3rd with Kyle Busch starting 4th and David Ragan rounding out the Top 5. Ragan is the top qualifier who doesn’t have a win this season and if he wants to get himself into next weeks Chase he’ll have to find a way to turn that 5th starting spot into a trip to victory lane. Tony Stewart is the next highest qualifier who doesn’t have a win; Stewart starts 10th tonight. Dan the Man’s favorite driver Clint Bowyer is holding on to the 16th and final Chase spot going into tonight’s race, but if someone who doesn’t have a win finds a way to get one Bowyer could be knocked out of the Chase. Bowyer is however just 10 points behind the 15th place driver Paul Menard; so if either driver has a bad night and that outside driver gets  a win they could be knocked out of the Chase. The other 3 drivers without wins who are in the Chase right now are Jamie McMurray; who clinches a Chase spot just by starting tonight’s race; so he’s as good as in. Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon are the other two drivers without wins that will qualify for the Chase unless something almost impossible happens to them. It will be interesting to see if someone outside of the Chase can get a win and find their way into it tonight, but none of those drivers have really shown they can jump up and get a win. Will find out tonight when they take the green flag at Richmond.

It’s the New York Yankees hosting the Toronto Blue Jays in a series that may end up deciding the American League East. Toronto took Game 1 yesterday 11-5. Toronto got to Yankees rookie pitcher Luis Severino right out of the gate scoring 5 runs in the 1st inning highlighted by a Josh Donaldson (38) and Justin Smoak (17) home runs. Severino didn’t last long pitching just 2 1/3rd inning giving up 6 runs on 8 hits while walking 3 and striking out 4. David Price started the game for Toronto, but while he did get the win he only lasted 5 innings. Price gave up 2 runs on 6 hits while walking 1 and striking out 7, but did throw 96 pitches over his 5 innings. LaTroy Hawkins relieved Price and gave up the other 3 runs (2 where earned) to the Yankees, but the Blue Jays still had a 9-5 lead at that point. Russell Martin (18 & 19) capped off the Blue Jays scoring with his second home run of the night; a 2-run shot to make the final score 11-5. The teams play a doubleheader today with Game 1 being Marco Estrada vs Michael Pineda on the mound. Game 2 feature the return of Marcus Stroman who’s missed the entire season to this point after tearing the ACL in his left leg during spring training. Ivan Nova is the Yankees listed starter for Game 2 of the twin-bill. Toronto takes a 2 1/2 game lead into the doubleheader tonight; so will they extend that lead, have the Yankees cut into or will we just get a split?

Some tough news for the Yankees as it was announced yesterday that 1st baseman Mark Teixeira will miss the remainder of the season as an MRI reveal a fracture in his leg. Teixeira was having a bounce back season for the Yankees. While his batting average was a little low at .255 he was supplying power for te Yankees with 31 home runs and he has driven in 79 runs. It looks like rookie Greg Bird will replace Teixeira in the Yankees line up. Is this the injury that hurts the Yankees the most?

Listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast in BlogTalkRadio.com

You can follow me on Twitter @Burketime

How was your Week? 8/23/14

Posted: August 23, 2014 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, football, sports, Uncategorized
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Pittsburgh Steelers running backs Le’Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount Where arrested along with a female 3rd passenger and will be charged with marijuana possession following a traffic stop Wednesday afternoon. Bell was also charged with driving under the influence (DUI) of marijuana A traffic officer pulled over Bell’s Camaro when he noticed a strong odor coming from the vehicle. The officer found a 20 gram bag of marijuana inside the car. Bell, Blount and a female passenger all claimed ownership of the marijuana according to police. Blount and the female passenger were arrested and released while Bell was taken to a local hospital to have blood drawn before being released. The Steelers had a game Thursday night against the Philadelphia Eagles and while both Blount and Bell played Bell missed the team flight due to the arrest and had to buy a ticket on a commuter flight to make the game in Philadelphia. There was a little media uproar over the fact that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin allow Bell and Blount to play in the game. Blount carried the ball 7 times for 32 yards while Bell ran the football 9 times for 23 yards. Last season Bell set a franchise record for total yards by a rookie running back last season, smashing the mark set by Hall of Famer Franco Harris. The second-round pick out of Michigan State ran for 860 yards and eight touchdowns and caught 45 passes for 399 yards despite missing the first three games of the season with a foot injury. Blount was in the mix in the New England Patriots backfield last season and signed with the Steelers as a free agent this off-season. Blount rushed for four touchdowns setting the Patriots record for most rushing touchdowns in a playoff game last season against the Indianapolis Colts. Blount finished the day with 166 rushing yards on 24 carries. Since these arrests just took place this week the National Football League (NFL) hasn’t made any type of ruling or suspension for Bell and Blount. Bell should be a fairly high draft pick in most fantasy drafts this season and if your league is big enough you’d like to have Blount as a handcuff for Bell. A looming suspension for either player may make fantasy owners look another direction for running backs.

On Thursday, the Chicago White Sox traded 2nd baseman Gordon Beckham to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Beckham was the White Sox 1st round draft pick in 2008 and was #8 overall. Beckham spent a little over a year in the minors for the White Sox making his major league debut on June 4, 2009. I bring up Beckham because he’s one in a long, long line of 1st round major league baseball draft pick that never reached the heights in his career that scouts and other experts thought he would. While a very good defender Beckham never really hit in the majors; his career average is .244. While I don’t think you could say Beckham is a bust there have been some throughout baseball. Do you remember Danny Goodwin? He was selected #1 overall twice. Once by the White Sox in 1971 and then again in 1975 by the California Angels. Goodwin’s career lasted 6 seasons. He played in 252 games with a career batting average of .236 with 13 home runs. How about Brien Taylor? He was the #1 overall pick of the New York Yankees in 1991 and never made it to the majors. In 1993 Taylor suffered a dislocated left shoulder and torn labrum while defending his brother in a fist fight. Following surgery, he was never the same pitcher and ended up spending most of the rest of his professional career struggling in Class A. He was done for good-by 2000. What about Matt Bush the 2004 #1 overall draft pick by the San Diego Padres. Bush received a $3.15 million signing bonus, but he was arrested a few weeks later. After a few more arrests and a few more teams Bush is out of baseball having never played in the major leagues. How about the #1 overall pick in 1966 Steve Chilcott. The Mets took Chilcott over Reggie Jackson; who went 2nd to the Oakland A’s. Chilcott played 7 seasons in the minor leagues, but was plagued by injuries and never made it to the major leagues. In 1979 the Seattle Mariners selected outfielder Al Chambers with the 1st pick in the draft. Chambers played 57 games in parts of 3 seasons for the Mariners. Let’s find one more. Remember Bryan Bullington? in 2002 he was taken #1 overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of Ball State University. Bullington spent parts of 4 seasons in the majors. 2007 with the Pirates, 2008 with the Cleveland Indians, 2009 with the Toronto Blue Jays and 2010 with the Kansas City Royals. Bullington pitched in 26 major league games and was 1 – 9 with an ERA of 5.62 over 81 2/3 innings. Now I could go on and on with draft picks that didn’t work out, but there’s 5 for you to look at.

So how was your week?

You can find Sports Time Radio on BlogTalk Radio and you can find me on Twitter @Burketime.