MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 20 line-up

Finally everyone is back from the Gold Cup, so there are tons of new options for your teams. The All-Star game was mid-week, and I'm hoping that the guys on my team who played aren't too gased.

So this week Chivas USA, the Los Angeles Galaxy, and the New York Red Bulls are off. Next week D.C. United, the Kansas City Wizards, the New York Red Bulls, and Toronto FC have a bye week. Houston is going to be playing twice next week, so I added another Houston player, Stuart Holden, and kept people I might not have otherwise. I would have gotten rid of Onstad if it weren't for next weeks games. I would be surprised if they shut out D.C., and I'm a little worried about his injury status, since he decided to sit out the All-Star game. I think it would be a good idea if everyone had three Houston players on their team and Dominic Kinnear as their coach for next week.

Changes:
In: Stuart Holden, Steve Ralston, Conor Casey
Out: Chris Pontius, Amado Guevara, Omar Cummings

I really wanted to add Ralston, he has five goals and five assists and he has only played in 11 games so far this season. That is a tremendous rate of production. I picked up Casey (and got rid of Cummings) because I thought he was as good or better than Cummings and he only costs 175K, an absolute bargain. I got rid of Chris Pontius and Amado Guevara for kind of the same reasons, they both haven't been producing like they were earlier in the season, they both have tough match-ups this weekend, and neither of them is playing next week. That being said, I wouldn't be surprised if both of these guys make a reappearance in the line-up in a few weeks.

Goalkeeper:
Pat Onstad - I'm not exactly thrilled with this pick for this week, but I'll stick with him. D.C. United is not going to be an easy team to shut-out (although D.C. has never won or scored in Houston) and I worry about Onstad not playing due to injury. I'll wait and see what his status is in the Friday injury report update. I just want to hold on to him for next weeks games, I might consider moving him to the bench if it doesn't look like he'll play.

Defenders:
Bryan Namoff - D.C. is away against Houston. I don't have high hopes for United's defense. Houston is going to have Ching and Holden back, so they should be stronger than they have been for a while.

Aaron Hohlbein - Kansas City is away at Dallas. Dallas's offense should get a boost with the return of Kenny Cooper (or not, it looks like Cooper is headed to the Bundesliga 2), but the Wizards are also getting back Jimmy Conrad, so that should even things up. This would be another unlikely shut-out.

Kosuke Kimura - Colorado is home against the Crew. It will be interesting to see if Kimura starts. He didn't last game, so we'll see. I'm not too worried about it because I don't think Colorado will get a shut-out anyways.

Midfielders:
Cuauhtemoc Blanco - Chicago is home against Real Salt Lake. Normally being at home is a huge advantage, but Chicago have only won at home twice this season. Even still, I wouldn't bet against them. Blanco should be able to add to his four goals and six assist so far this season.

Stuart Holden - Holden has had a rough time recently. He lost to Mexico 5-0 in the Gold Cup final and then made a huge mental error that lead to a goal in the All-Star game. He will no doubt be looking to atone for his mistakes at home against D.C. this weekend.

Brad Davis - Home against D.C. Having Holden and Ching back should help the Houston offense. Hopefully he's not too tired after the All-Star game.

Marco Pappa - Chicago is at home against Real Salt Lake. Pappa hasn't produced in his last three games. I am tempted to go with De Rosario here instead, but I like that all of my midfielders are playing at home this week. If he doesn't start producing soon he is going to be gone, I have too many midfielders right now.

Steve Ralston - The Revolution are hosting Toronto FC. I explained why I liked him above. He was a staple of my team last year and it is good to have him back. The Revs are 4-1-2 at home this year and I think they can win this weekend.

Forwards:
Conor Casey - He is cheap and he produces, so he should be a nice addition. I only have three forwards on the roster so it's nice to be able to pick up a quality player at bargain basement prices. Tough game at home against the Crew.

Fredy Montero - Montero is away at San Jose, probably the second worst team in MLS and have conceeded the second most goals. This would seem to be a good opportunity for Montero to shine. (Captain)

Coach:
Dominic Kinnear - He is at home against D.C. United, who have never won, let alone score in Houston. Can they keep it that way? Big plus that Houston plays twice next week.

Bench: Landon Donovan, Omar Gonzalez, Dwayne De Rosario

Make sure you check out the injury list: http://web.mlsnet.com/stats/injuries (on Friday too), and the discipline list: http://web.mlsnet.com/stats/discipline.jsp.

Now here is, in my opinion, the best line-up this week starting from scratch and with no salary limits (bit of a change since first posting):

GK- Jon Busch (CHI)
Home vs. RSL. Though I'm tempted to go with Keller, especially if Ryan Johnson isn't playing for San Jose.

Defense-
Jay Heaps (NE)
New England is going to start making its playoff push at home this weekend against the Toronto team that is right in front of them, so they will be especially motivated.
Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (SEA)
Away v. San Jose
Gonzalo Segares (CHI)
Home vs. RSL

Midfield-
Brad Davis (HOU)
Home vs. DC
Stuart Holden (HOU)
Home vs. DC
Cuauhtemoc Blanco (CHI)
Home v. RSL
Steve Ralston (NE)
Home vs. TOR

Forward-
Fredy Montero (SEA)
Away v. SJ (Capt.)
Nate Jaqua (SEA)
Away v. SJ
Brian Ching (HOU)
Home vs. DC

Coach- Denis Hamlett (CHI)
Home vs. RSL

Comments, questions, suggestions? I have $91K in cap space still. Thoughts, ideas anyone?

MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 19 results

So this week's performance was a bit of a let down. I got 88 points for a total of 2720 and dropped down to 35th place. I didn't get much out of my Houston guys, which really hurt. The week would have been really dismal without Donovan getting points as my captain and the points from De Rosario. Too bad Kimura didn't start, because that would have given me ten additional points.

The cap-less team did much better with a respectable 162 points, thanks largely contributions to Christian Gomez and Matt Pickens. Hopefully this week will go a little better. I should have my picks out some time on Wednesday or Thursday. Enjoy the All-Star game!

MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 19 line-up

The pressure is on to keep performing well, hopefully this line-up will earn me more points. Starting off with the schedule, Chivas USA are off this week. Next week Chivas USA, the Los Angeles Galaxy, and the New York Red Bulls are off. Mexico, the U.S., Honduras, and Costa Rica are still playing in the Gold Cup, so some players will still be missing due to that. I'm moving back to a 3-4-3 formation after adding Fredy Montero back to the team. I might have considered staying with a 3-5-2, I really like my midfielders, but they are all playing away from home except for Davis.

Changes:
In: Dominic Kinnear, Fredy Montero, Pat Onstad
Out: Denis Hamlett, Jon Busch, Guillermo Barros Schelotto

Interestingly enough, I am basically undoing my changes from last week when I dropped Montero and Kinnear from the line-up. As you can see, I like Houston's chances at home against New England. Although it should be interesting now that Ralston and Joseph are back.

Goalkeeper:
Pat Onstad - At home vs. New England. I'm getting more nervous about picking against New England now that Ralston and Joseph are back, but this still could be a shut-out. The other option was Pickens, whose Rapids are home against New York, but I went with Onstad because the Dynamo are a better team and more likely to get shut-outs in future games.

Defenders:
Bryan Namoff - D.C. is away facing the struggling Earthquakes. D.C. could definitely shut-out San Jose, although it is much harder to do away from home. Maybe I'll get lucky and another one of my defenders will score a goal.

Omar Gonzalez - L.A. is away against the Wizards. Kansas City has not scored in its two previous games. Another possible shut-out, especially since the Galaxy have looked pretty good recently. They have won an impressive four straight games.

Kosuke Kimura - Colorado is home against New York. The Red Bulls have really struggled scoring on the road, so I think a shut-out is likely in this game. A goal from a defender would be really nice too, I've grown accustomed to them.

Midfielders:
Cuauhtemoc Blanco - Chicago has a tough game away against Seattle. It is hard playing away against 35,000 loud fans, but if anyone is used to performing well in front of hostile crowds it is Blanco. Blanco had an impressive stat line last week, a goal and an assist in about 30 minutes. Hopefully he can reproduce those results given a full game against Seattle.

Dwayne De Rosario - Another tough match-up. Toronto is away at Columbus. Columbus will be missing Chad Marshall, Alejandro Moreno, Robbie Rogers, and Guillermo Barros Schelotto, so that should help, but they are still a formidable team.

Brad Davis - Home against New England. I would have said this would be an easy win a week or two ago, but Davis's job will be a lot harder playing in the middle now that Shalrie Joseph is back. Davis should have fresh legs after missing last game due to the flu.

Chris Pontius - D.C. is away vs. San Jose. It's been more than a month since Pontius scored his last goal, so he is about due to get one. D.C. United should be able to take advantage of one of the league's worst teams.

Forwards:
Landon Donovan - L.A. is away at Kansas City. Doesn't look like Beckham's return disrupted the team too much. My guess is that the Galaxy will make it five wins in a row and that Donovan will be a big part of that. (Captain)

Omar Cummings - No luck against D.C. last week, but he should have a better chance at home against the Red Bulls. Onlt San Jose has let in more goals than the Red Bulls, so it seems like a good bet that Cummings will get some points.

Fredy Montero - Montero will have a difficult game against Chicago, who have been playing better on the road than at home this year. Montero has been on a roll, and hopefully he can keep it up. He's got a good chance to take the lead in the race for the Golden Boot with Guillermo Barros Schelotto out with an injury.

Coach:
Dominic Kinnear - The best team in the league playing at home against a team that has been struggling. Sounds like a likely win to me.

Bench: Aaron Holbein, Amado Guevara, Marco Pappa

Make sure you check out the injury list: http://web.mlsnet.com/stats/injuries (on Friday too), and the discipline list: http://web.mlsnet.com/stats/discipline.jsp.

Now here is, in my opinion, the best line-up this week starting from scratch and with no salary limits (bit of a change since first posting):

GK- Matt Pickens (COL)
Home vs. NY.

Defense-
Eddie Lewis (LA)
After last week's performance, I would love to have him on my team. He is listed as a defender but is playing in the midfield and should be productive. Away vs. KC.
Craig Waibel (HOU)
Home game vs. NE.
Kosuke Kimura (COL)
He's my good luck charm. Home vs. NY.

Midfield-
Brad Davis (HOU)
Home vs. NE
Christian Gomez (DC)
Away vs. SJ
Chris Pontius (DC)
Away vs. SJ
Javier Morales (RSL)
Home vs. FCD

Forward-
Luciano Emilio (DC)
I like Montero better long-term, but for this week I think I'll go with Emilio here (not playing against CHI). Away vs. SJ.
Landon Donovan (LA)
Away game vs. KC. (Capt.)
Omar Cummings (COL)
Home vs. NY.

Coach- Dominic Kinnear (HOU)
Home vs. NE.

Comments, questions, suggestions? I have $116K in cap space still. If I had one more transfer and the money I'd definitely add Eddie Lewis, should I add him instead of one of the other additions this week? Maybe Montero since he's got a tough game against Chicago? Thoughts, ideas anyone?

MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 18 results

Another good week for me, I don't know if I can keep it up. This week tallied 292 points for a total of 2632, good for 24th place on the overall leaderboard. I got good performances from Donovan, De Rosario, Blanco, Namoff and Busch. This is the second week in a row where I have had a defender score a game winning goal, which is huge for points. The cap-less team got 223 points. Let's hope that I can earning good point totals and creep up the leaderboard. This week's line-up should be out some time tomorrow.

MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 18 line-up

First off let's look at the schedule, FC Dallas, Kansas City, and Seattle are off this week. Chivas USA are off next week. There will still be guys gone for the Gold Cup, although some guys will be back since their teams were eliminated from the tournament. So this week's team has a little different look from previous teams, I am going to field a 3-5-2 line-up formation.

There are a few factors that drove me to this. First off, I don't really like my options for forwards. I was originally planning on playing Landon Donovan and Guillermo Barros Schelotto, but it looks like Schelotto might be struggling with strained hamstring, so he's on the bench. I also would have liked to pick up McBride, but I already have three Chicago players, all of whom I want to keep. Between guys missing for Gold Cup, injuries, and bad match ups, I didn't really like my options for strikers.

I decide to go with Cummings because he gave D.C. United problems last time they played. I was considering going with Moreno or Emilio, but both of them are coming back from injury and most likely won't go a full 90 minutes. In truth I may really be playing a 3-6-1 if Arena keeps Donovan in midfield like last week.

Changes:
In: Omar Cummings, Bryan Namoff, Denis Hamlett
Out: Dominic Kinnear, Freddy Montero, Stefan Frei

As much as I like Montero, he's off this week and then plays Chicago next week. His salary was just too much to keep on the bench considering those factors. Frei hasn't performed too well lately and I don't like his match ups going forward. I like Dominic Kinnear long term, but I didn't want to bet on them short-handed on the road vs. Toronto this week.

I needed to add a defender so I took Namoff, I was considering Brennan too. I'm not completely sold on Namoff because Colorado did well against DC last time they played (3-0, although it was at Colorado). He is also less likely to be able to get forward with Jakovic away with Canada at the Gold Cup. But DC is at home and they play San Jose next week.

I think that Chicago at home vs. San Jose is as close to a guaranteed win you'll get in MLS, even if Chicago hasn't exactly shinned at home. That's why I picked up Denis Hamlett.

I explained Cummings above. He and Namoff are to hedge each other. Hopefully I'll get points from one or the other, although none from both is very possible (but maybe I'll get lucky and both will score, I love those defender goals).

Goalkeeper:
Jon Busch - At home vs. San Jose, nice match up for Chicago and a definite shut-out possibility. I'm assuming he'll be availalbe because he has yet to miss a game for the Gold Cup, even though he is on the roster.

Defenders:
Bryan Namoff - D.C. is at home vs. Colorado. See longer explanation above.

Omar Gonzalez - L.A.'s defense has been pretty solid this year after an embarassing showing last year. Gonzalez is a big part of that, especially considering the time that Sean Franklin has missed due to injury. L.A. is away against New York, one of the worst teams in the league this year. Oh and some English guy is coming back to the team this week.

Kosuke Kimura - Colorado is away against D.C. I want another goal. Who would have thought that Kimura would be one of the highest points earners among defenders, fifth to be exact.

Midfielders:
Cuauhtemoc Blanco - Chicago is at home against San Jose. I was a little disappointed that there were no fireworks on the field last week vs. Columbus, but the Fire should be able to man handle the Earthquakes. On a general midfield note, I decided to go with all guys playing at home this week. I hope I don't regret leaving Davis out again like I did last week.

Dwayne De Rosario - De Rosario is facing his former team. He should be motivated to show well against them. The Dynamo will continue to be short key players, hopefully Toronto FC can take advantage of that at home.

Amado Guevara - At home against Houston. Guevara hasn't produced recently, but I can't put him on the bench because he's done so well for most of the season. Also a really good deal at only $241K.

Marco Pappa - Home against San Jose. Another steal at only $217K.

Chris Pontius - In my opinion the leader in the race for Rookie of the Year (if not him than Wallace). I'm hoping he can get some goals with Santino Quaranta away and Emilio and Moreno coming back from injury. Maybe he'll play up front this game.

Forwards:
Landon Donovan - Away at New York, who have been terrible this year. Donovan should be motivated to show that he is still the MVP of the Galaxy now that David Beckham is back. Although some excellent service from Beckham should help Donovan as well. I don't think all the tension off the field will hurt them on the field, but we'll see. (Captain)

Omar Cummings - He roasted D.C. United last time they played to the tune of two goals and an assist. I'm not expecting quite that impressive of a performance, but one goal is certainly possible. It's always hard for me to pick a guy playing against my home team. I just hope that Cummings is the only guy that scores for the Rapids and that D.C. scored more goals than however many Cummings gets.

Coach:
Denis Hamlett - At home against the lowly Earthquakes. I'm really counting on 20 points here.

Bench: Aaron Holbein, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Brad Davis

Make sure you check out the injury list: http://web.mlsnet.com/stats/injuries (on Friday too), and the discipline list: http://web.mlsnet.com/stats/discipline.jsp.

Now here is, in my opinion, the best line-up this week starting from scratch and with no salary limits:

GK- Jon Busch (CHI)
Home vs. SJ.

Defense-
Omar Gonzalez (LA)
Away vs. NY, LA is on a roll and NY is decidely not.
Gino Padula (CLB)
Home game vs. RSL, he should take more set pieces if GBS doesn't play.
Johnathan Bornstein (CHV)
Away vs. NE, My understanding is that he won't be with the Gold Cup, but if he is Shavar Thomas should be back so take him. NE is really struggling with injuries, absences, etc. Really testing the depth on a team that used to be considered really deep before all the problems.

Midfield-
Dwayne DeRosario (TOR)
Home vs. HOU
Amado Guevara (TOR)
Home vs. HOU
Chris Pontius (DC)
Home vs. COL
Cuauhtemoc Blanco (CHI)
Home vs. SJ

Forward-
Brian McBride (CHI)
Home game vs. SJ
Landon Donovan (LA)
Away game vs. NY
Omar Cummings (COL)
Away vs. DC

Coach- Denis Hamlett (CHI)
Should be an easy match up for Chicago.

Comments, questions, suggestions? I have $18K in cap space still. I'm not 100% sold on this week's line-up so if anybody has some suggestion I'd greatly appreciate them. Thoughts, ideas anyone?

MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 17 results

It was a pretty exciting week! I managed to snag 195 points for a total of 2340. The really exciting part, however, is my ranking, 49, which means that I am currently on the "Overall Leaderboard." Check it out (link probably won't work unless you are already logged in), my team is DJibouti FC all the way at the bottom.

So obviously the biggest points earner this week was Kosuke Kimura, his game winning goal and the shut-out gave me 80 points. Actually all of my defenders got a shut-out this week, which is not that surprising considering six out of the 12 teams this week logged a shut-out. Even with all those shut-outs I still managed to get a goal from Montero and two assists from De Rosario.

It's too bad that I didn't have Brad Davis and Jon Busch in the line-up instead of on the bench, they would have got me significantly more points. The cap-less team did alright too, with 160 points this week.

Hopefully I'll be able to stay up on the overall leaderboard next week, and maybe even move up it. I should have next week's line-up out later today, or more likely some time tomorrow.

MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 17 line-up

So after an off week last week, I am trying to redeem myself this week. Real Salt Lake, New York Red Bulls and D.C. United are off this week; FC Dallas Kansas City and Seattle are off next week. Also make sure you remember that there are still lots of guys gone with the Gold Cup. I like that my midfield is all red.

Changes:
In: Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Aaron Hohlbein, Jon Busch
Out: Chad Marshall, Mac Kandji, Omar Cummings

Marshall and Cummings are out because they are away at the Gold Cup. Mac Kandji is gone because the Red Bulls are off this week and he is injured. I added Cuauhtemoc Blanco because he is awesome and Chicago plays at home this week and next week (against San Jose). Chicago also doesn't have a bye week again until week 25. I added Jon Busch because I think that Chicago has a good chance at shutting out San Jose next week at home. I added Hohlbein because he is a good points earner and he is cheap (175K). It is disappointing, however, that Kansas City doesn't play next week, so I'll have to find a replacement.

Goalkeeper:
Stefan Frei - Toronto plays away this week against San Jose, one of the weaker teams in MLS. If they were at home I would be fairly confident about a shut-out, but playing away makes me less sure. I think that Matt Pickens would be a good pick too, Colorado is at home against FC Dallas.

Defenders:
Aaron Hohlbein - The Wizards are away against New England. New England is still dealing with tons of injuries and have not looked great recently.

Omar Gonzalez - L.A. is going to have a tough "away" game against Chivas USA. But Chivas USA has not been the dominant team that is was earlier on in the season. Hopefully Landon's return will give the Galaxy a boost.

Kosuke Kimura - Colorado is at home against FC Dallas. I think that this is a definitel possibility for a shut-out.

Midfielders:
Cuauhtemoc Blanco - Chicago is at home against the Columbus Crew. I'm not sure how this game will finish, but I would guess that it will be an entertaining game. It features two of my favorite players, Blanco and Schelotto. I hope it is a high-scoring affair.

Dwayne De Rosario - Toronto FC is away against San Jose. I think that Toronto should be able to put in some goals against San Jose. And as we've seen, most of the goals for Toronto are going to come from their midfield, specifically from De Rosario and Guevara.

Amado Guevara - See above. I might have to make a change later this week, because it seems that Guevara missed training this week and is currently stuck in Honduras. Read here. I'll probably swap Brad Davis in if the situation doesn't change.

Marco Pappa - Home against Columbus. Hopefully Pappa can keep up is recent form. He scored last week.

Forwards:
Guillermo Barros Schelotto - Away against Chicago. Should be a tough, but entertaining game.

Landon Donovan - "Away" game against Chivas USA. Hopefully Donovan will actually play this week. He has been falling back in the Golden Boot race, hopefully he can make up some ground this week.

Fredy Montero - Home game against Houston. He has been really hot lately, with four goals and four assists in the last four games. Seattle should get some additional help because the Dynamo will still be missing some guys in their back line due to long term injury, Bobby Boswell to suspension and Holden and Ching to Gold Cup. (Captain)

Coach:
Dominic Kinnear - Houston are going to have a tough time getting a result in Seattle this week missing key guys. But Houston is fairly deep and have performed without key players before.

Bench: Chris Pontius, Jon Busch, Brad Davis

Make sure you check out the injury list: http://web.mlsnet.com/stats/injuries (on Friday too), and the discipline list: http://web.mlsnet.com/stats/discipline.jsp.

Now here is, in my opinion, the best line-up this week starting from scratch and with no salary limits:

GK- Matt Pickens (COL)
Home vs. FCD, and Kenny Cooper should be away with the Gold Cup.

Defense-
Adrian Serioux (TOR)
Away vs. SJ, one of the weaker teams in MLS.
Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (SEA)
Home game vs. HOU, who are missing some key guys.
Jordan Harvey (COL)
Home vs. FCD, who have been another one of the weaker teams this year.

Midfield-
Dwayne DeRosario (TOR)
Away vs. SJ
Amado Guevara (TOR)
Away vs. SJ
Freddie Ljungberg (SEA)
Home vs. HOU
Cuauhtemoc Blanco (CHI)
Home vs. CLB

Forward-
Guillermo Barros Schelotto (CLB)
Away game vs. CHI
Landon Donovan (LA)
"Away" game vs. CHV
Fredy Montero (SEA)
Home vs. HOU

Coach- Gary Smith (COL)
I think that Colorado has the best match-up this week. They should be able to handle FCD at home.

Comments, questions, suggestions? I have $10K in cap space still. I've been thinking that I should choose a different coach for this week, I'm not sure that Houston can deliver this week. I'm also not thrilled about picking up Hohlbein because he doesn't play next week. Thoughts, ideas anyone?

MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 16 results

So last week was kind of an off week for me. I got the line-up out too late and my team performed sub-par. I'm going to blame it on traveling for the 4th of July holiday. Last week I logged a measly 61 points for a total of 2145 points. Other people must have done pretty poorly as well though, because I moved up to 124 place in the overall standings.

Let me now recount the mistakes from last week:
1. Took Juan Pablo Angel off the team because I thought he wouldn't play (he scored a goal)
2. Keeping Mac Kandji in the line-up assuming he'd be more likely to play than Angel (he didn't).
3. Added Omar Cummings to my roster (in place of Angel) not realizing he was representing Jamaica in the Gold Cup.
4. Adding Landon Donovan who didn't play last week either.
5. Leaving Frei in the line-up even though his team didn't have a game that week.
6. Leaving Chad Marshall in the line-up even though he was gone on Gold Cup duty.

So to summarize, five out of my starting eleven didn't play last week. Terrible. My unlimited cap team (I don't think I've been over the cap on this team for a while now) did better with 102 points. That is at least somewhat respectable. The week 17 line-up should be out later today or tomorrow.

MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 16 line-up

Sorry, this post is out sooooo late that it will be useless to everybody. That might not be such a bad thing though, because I don't have a very good team this week. I already missed the RSL v. SJ match, so clearly I can't use players from that game (lucky break for me, 1-1 tie).

I had some unexpected injuries and I wasn't thinking about Gold Cup rosters, as a result, I have three people in my line-up this week that probably won't play: Frei (off this week), Marshall (Gold Cup) and Mac Kandji (injuried, though he is questionable, so he might play). Toronto, Seattle and Chivas are off this week. DC United, New York and Real Salt Lake are off next week. Make sure you check Gold Cup rosters for missing players next week:

http://www.fifa.com/confederationscup/index.html
http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20090630&content_id=5617690&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp


So here's what I've got this week:

Changes:
In: Omar Cummings, Landon Donovan, Marco Pappa
Out: Juan Pablo Angel, Kasey Keller, Stuart Holden

Landon is back after a stellar Confederations Cup for him. I can't remember why I specifically chose Cummings, but he has been playing well lately, too bad I'm an idiot and he is on Jamaica's Gold Cup roster. Macro Pappa was one of the few good, reasonably priced midfielders not playing in Gold Cup. Juan Pablo Angel is listed as questionable and may not play this week and is off next week. Keller doesn't play this week or the week after next, so he is gone. Holden is going to be involved in Gold Cup, so he won't be available to the Dynamo for a while.

I'm going to skip the break-down of my line-up this week because it will be too late to help anybody anyways. So straight the best line-up this week starting from scratch and with no salary limits, in my opinion:

GK- Josh Saunders (LA)
At home v. NE who have been decimated by injuries (Joseph, Twellman and Ralston are all out), Landon's back too.

Defense-
Omar Gonzalez (LA)
see above
Gino Padula (CLB)
Home game v. DC, who will be without Fred, Quaranta, and Emilio, not as dangerous as usual.
Drew Moor (FCD)
At home v. NY who will probably be without JPA and Mac Kandji, there two most dangerous weapons.

Midfield-
Emmanuel Ekpo (CLB)
Home v. DC
Cuauhtemoc Blanco (CHI)
Away v. Colorado. He's not on the gold Cup roster so I'll take him.
Dave van den Bergh (FCD)
At home vs. his old team missing important players.
David Arturo Ferreira (FCD)
The only week ever I will pick three guys from FCD (especially since Kenny Cooper isn't one of them)

Forward-
Guillermo Barros Schelotto (CLB)
At home v. DC, who are missing there usual center back.
Landon Donovan (LA)
At home v. seriously weakened NE team (Captain).
Edson Buddle (LA)
see above.

Coach- Bruce Arena (LA)
I think LA with Landon can handle the injury depleted Revs.

MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 15 results

I'll make this quick, I'm trying to get this next post out (better late than never right?). Last week I got 209 points for a total of 2084. I should have stuck with Freddy Montero as my captain, he's been on a role. Good points from DeRosario and Frei, although Keller actually would have got me more points. Game winning goal from Chad Marshall really helped my points total, he added 80! The cap-less team did awesome with 264 points.