MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 29 line-up

So below is the schedule for this weeks games. As you can see, New England plays twice and Real Salt Lake and Toronto have byes. Looking ahead, only Chivas USA, Columbus, FC Dallas, Kansas City, New England, Toronto and San Jose (who play twice) play next week.

Wednesday, September 30 New England Revolution at FC Dallas 7:00 p.m Friday, October 2 Chicago Fire at Los Angeles Galaxy 11:00 p.m. Saturday, October 3 Chivas USA at D.C. United 7:30 p.m. Seattle Sounders FC at Columbus Crew 7:30 p.m. New England Revolution at Colorado Rapids 9:00 p.m. New York Red Bulls at San Jose Earthquakes 11:00 p.m. Sunday, October 4 Kansas City Wizards at Houston Dynamo 3:00 p.m

Changes: In: Ryan Johnson, Frank Yallop, Shalrie Joseph Out: Gary Smith, Luciano Emilio, Steve Ralston I added Shalrie Joseph because New England plays twice this week and plays next week. I think that he is going to be asked to carry more of the offensive load again now that Ralston is out for the rest of the season. It looks like he has taken over penalty kick responsibilities as well. I added two people from San Jose which is a huge gamble. Frank Yallop should be able to beat New york at home this week and hopefully get some points out of their two games next week. Johnson's contributions will be important if San Jose is to do well in the next three games, hopefully he can manage some goals. Goalkeeper: Preston Burpo- Colorado is at home versus New England, which isn't a terrible match-up. New England will be without Ralston, Jankauskas, and Nyassi most likely, so maybe not as dangerous offensively. Burpo not my first choice this week, but he should be ok. Defenders: Eddie Lewis - He played about 30 minutes last week, we'll see if he plays this week. He is still listed as questionable. Chicago should be a tough challenge. Omar Gonzalez - Home vs. the Fire. He should have his hands full with McBride and Nyarko. Kevin Alston - Two away games this week. FC Dallas and Colorado. FC Dallas has probably the hottest striker right now in Jeff Cunningham. Colorado's not easy either because you have to account for two really dangerous forwards, Casey and Cummings. Midfielders: Brad Davis - At home against Kansas City. This is my favorite match up of the week. I think that Houston should be able to handle the Wizards and hopefully Brad Davis can rack up some points along the way. Sacha Kljestan - He has been pretty hot as of late. He got a goal last game, too bad he didn't convert his penalty kick. hopefully that won't weigh too heavily on his conscience. Away at D.C., but if San Jose can win there, then Chivas USA should have a great shot. Also playing D.C. is good for offensive players since they are missing some many guys in the defense. Nice that Chivas USA play next week. Stuart Holden - He has been quiet in the last five games dating back to August with no goals or assists. Kansas City provides the perfect team to help him get back on track. He needs to find a groove before the playoffs start. Shalrie Joseph - If I can't have Ralston then I will take Joseph. In fact Joseph has been a better pick this year than Ralston. He has picked up a lot of the slack offensively with all of the injuries and he should continue to do the same. They are going to need a lot out of him if they want to make the playoffs. Having two games is always a plus too (and they play next week). Forwards: Landon Donovan - Home against Chicago which should be tough. It's a hard choice for me between him and Cummings. Cummings has the better match up, but I think there is no question that Donovan is the better player. Conor Casey - Home against New England who should be tired from the Wednesday game and who are dealing with tons of injuries. I like Casey's chances and he'll need to score to pass Cunningham for the golden boot. (Captain) Ryan Johnson - A little bit of a gamble, but he has been hot lately, plays at home this week vs. the very bad Red Bulls and has two (count 'em two) games next week. Coach: Frank Yallop - Basically the same idea as with Johnson. Because it is an unorthodox pick, if it works out maybe it will help me up the standings. Big "if" there. Bench: Dwayne De Rosario, Omar Cummings, Chris Pontius 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- Pat Onstad (HOU) He was originally on my team, but I didn't want to use a pick on someone who wasn't playing next week. Defense- Bobby Boswell (HOU) No question Houston is my favorite to get a shut-out this week. Jonathan Bornstein (CHV) D.C. has not looked good lately. Kosuke Kimura (COL) He is my good luck charm and NE is dealing with injuries, it will be their second game of the week, and they will be playing away at altitude. I can envision the game not going well for them and maybe getting shut out. Plus Kimura has been getting forward. Midfield- Sacha Kljestan (CHV) Brad Davis (HOU) Shalrie Joseph (NE) David Ferreira (FCD) Goal or an assist in the last four games. Forward- Kheli Dube (NE) He's got two games this week. Conor Casey (C) (COL) Jeff Cunningham (FCD) I have a mental block against picking FCD guys, I don't know why, but it has certainly been hurting me this year. Coach- Gary Smith (COL) Comments, questions, suggestions? I have $87K in cap space still. Thoughts, ideas anyone?

MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 28 results

It wasn't the huge points week that I was looking for, but things went well enough. I got 176 points for a total of 4111 points. Unfortunately, I still moved down in the overall standings four spots, from 27th to 31st.

The Colorado guys were a little disappointing. The Rapids tied two games that they could/should have won and I only got one goal between Casey and Cummings. One shutout from Burpo is about what I suspected.

My midfield did pretty well. If Ralston hadn't gotten injured he would have taken the penalty kick. Kljestan got a goal and he should have had another, if he could only convert his penalty kick. De Rosario managed a goal and an assist and Ponitus had an assist.

So hopefully I can make a push in these last few weeks and work my way a little further up the standings.

MLS Fantasy challenge: Week 28 line-up

As usual, first comes the examination of the schedule. Houston is off this week, and both San Jose and Colorado play twice. Make sure you get your teams done today, so you don't miss out on players who play today. Next week, New England plays twice and Real Salt Lake and Toronto are off. Heads up, in week 30, only seven teams play, Chivas USA, Columbus, FC Dallas, Kansas City, L.A., San Jose (twice), and Toronto.

I'm loading up on Colorado guys because they play two of the weaker teams in MLS this week. They have San Jose at home on Wednesday and Kansas City away on Saturday. I'm hoping that Burpo can get at least one shut-out and that Conor Casey and Omar Cummings get a bunch of goals between them. I think that it should be two wins for Gary Smith, maybe a win and a tie, so that should get me some good points as well.

Changes:
In: Sacha Kljestan, Chris Pontius, Gary Smith
Out: Matt Reis, Davy Arnaud, Steve Nicol

Goalkeeper:
Preston Burpo- He's not Colorado's usual number one, but Pickens is injuried. He is a nice pick up because he has a good shot at two shut-outs and you only have to pay the league minimum for him, 175K. He plays home against San Jose and away at Kansas City.

Defenders:
Eddie Lewis - Away at Columbus and listed as questionable on the injury list. If Columbus scores a bunch of goals, then it might be a good thing that he is not playing.

Omar Gonzalez - Away at Columbus. I don't like the match up, but I have decided to use my transfers elsewhere.

Kevin Alston - I have been banking a lot on New England lately and they have let me down. That is part of why I let go of Steve Nicol. The Rev's have Seattle at home. I'm not counting on a shut-out based on their recent form.

Midfielders:
Chris Pontius - Playing against San Jose at home, who will hopefully be a little tired from their game earlier in the week. I was thinking about Wallace or Gomez, but I was worried about cost (Gomez), minutes (Gomez), and position (if Wallace plays in the back).

Sacha Kljestan - After being invisible for most of the season, it seems like Kljestan might finally be working himself out of the slump. Playing at home against New york should give him plenty of opportunities for goals and assists.

Dwayne De Rosario - He has been pretty consistent. Chicago at home, however, will be a real test. The only consolation is that Chicago has not been especially strong at home.

Steve Ralston - Home vs. Seattle. Ralston seems to come to play in the big games and he has been pretty consistent this year. I think he should be able to manage some points against the Sounders at home. Sharlie Joseph is listed as questionable, it certainly help the team if he could play.

Forwards:
Luciano Emilio - Home against San Jose. I am counting on a least a goal here. D.C. desperately need points to make sure they stay in the playoff picture, especially considering New England has games in hand and they would be behind teams in the West for a wild card spot.

Conor Casey - Home against San Jose and then away against Kansas City. I really feel like Casey could have two multi-goal games this week. I hope he makes it happen, I could really use the points.

Omar Cummings - Same as above. I'd like to see at least three goals between the two of them. I'm always a little nervous about leaving donovan out of the line-up, but they are away at Columbus, so I think it makes sense.

Coach:
Gary Smith - I'm hoping for two wins, I'd settle for a win and a tie as long as there aren't too many cards.

Bench: Landon Donovan, Stuart Holden, 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- Preston Burpo (COL)

Defense-
Chad Marshall (CLB)
Jonathan Bornstein (CHV)
Wilman Conde (CHI)

Midfield-
Sacha Kljestan (CHV)
Christian Gomez (DC)
Chris Pontius (DC)
Steve Ralston (NE)

Forward-
Luciano Emilio (DC)
Conor Casey (C) (COL)
Omar Cummings (COL)

Coach- Gary Smith (COL)

Comments, questions, suggestions? I have $113K in cap space still. Thoughts, ideas anyone?

MLS Fantasy challenge: Week 27 results

Another decent week. The team earned 158 points for a total of 3935 points, which puts me in 27th place overall. I got points out of all of my forwards, which was good, but the real points came from brad Davis. He earned 84 points with a match-winning goal and two assists.

I didn't get up a cap-less team last week, so nothing to report there. Sorry about the sub-par posting last week.

MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 27 line-up

I'm having trouble with my computer, so I am going to post just my line-up. hopefully I can get the issues resolved and put up a full post some time on Friday.

GK-Matt Reis
D-Omar Gonzalez
D-Eddie Lewis
D-Kevin Alston
M-Dwayne De Rosario
M-Stuart Holden
M-Brad Davis
M-Steve Ralston
F-Omar Cummings
F-Conor Casey
F-Landon Donovan (C)

C-Steve Nicol

B-Davy Arnaud
B-Luciano Emilio
B-Preston Burpo

MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 26 results

I got 157 points this week (3777 total), which normally I don't think is too bad, but I continued to drop in the overall standings, down to 41. I did not see FC Dallas scoring six on L.A., hence why I dropped Cunningham and had two L.A. defenders in. Too bad I missed that one.

I got pretty good points out of Emilio, Wallace, and De Rosario. I wish that I had the 40 points of Guevara and Casey in, instead of sitting on the bench. Like I said the six goals on L.A. really hurt my defense's score and the red card to Edgaras Jankauskas took away even more points for my coach Steve Nicol.

The cap-less team didn't do too hot with 114 points.

MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 26 line-up

Let's start with the schedule. Both D.C. and Kansas City play twice this week, San Jose is off. Next week D.C. is off. This week I have D.C. players because they play last week and they play twice this week. Like I said it is hard to predict who will get minutes, but I am hopeful that all three of my guys will get 90+ minutes this week. I didn't pick up any Wizards because they hadn't been playing well and I'm not going to add any, even though they won away at New England last week. If I were going to add any I'd get Arnaud, Wolff, and/or Lopez. They are all pretty cheap, neither New York or D.C. is really a strong defensive team (especially with Jakovic and Burch now out).

I've only made two changes so far this week, and I'm open to suggestions.

Changes:
In: Landon Donovan, Brad Davis
Out: Jeff Cunningham, Marco Pappa

Goalkeeper:
Matt Reis- The Rev's are away at Chivas USA. I just hope that they don't let four in again. I didn't see the game last week, so I'm just going to assume it was a fluke. I don't know that there are any other 'keepers more likely to get a shut-out this week, so I'll stick with Reis.

Defenders:
Eddie Lewis - Home against FC Dallas. It seems like if defenses can keep track of Cunningham (and to some extent Ferriera and van den Bergh) then FC Dallas is less likely to score. Possible shut-out, but I really want goals and assists from Lewis.

Omar Gonzalez - See above. L.A's defense has been pretty solid this year.

Kevin Alston - He can make up for a disappointing performance last week against a team they should have beat by beating a stronger opponent this week.

Midfielders:
Chris Pontius - Plays twice, both at home, one against Kansas City and one against Seattle. They should be able to put in some goals, at least against the Wizards.

Rodney Wallace - See above. I wonder if he will get conscripted to play in the back with all of the injuries.

Dwayne De Rosario - Lost to Colorado away last week (1-0), now they have Colorado at home this week. I think that De Rosario can make it happen on his home turf.

Steve Ralston - I was disappointed with him as my captain last week, but it is probably too much to expect him to produce every week. He can get on the board at Chivas USA.

Forwards:
Luciano Emilio - Only played a few minutes last week, so I'm hoping he is fresh. I'm taking a gamble that he is going to play in both games for some significant minutes. I think that he can definitely score against Kansas City and maybe Seattle. It is after all easier to score at home. (Captain)

Landon Donovan - L.A. is playing at home against a not too strong FC Dallas team. There is a pretty good chance that Donovan will put one in the net.

Omar Cummings - Toronto will be missing two of their defenders to red cards, so hopefully Cummings can sneak a few in in Toronto. I'm wondering if I should play Casey instead.

Coach:
Steve Nicol - I'm going to be really disappointed if they lose twice in a row.

Bench: Amado Guevara, Conor Casey, 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:

I'm pressed for time, so I'm not going to give reasons here, you're just going to have to trust me .

GK- Donovan Ricketts (LA)

Defense-
Eddie Lewis (LA)
Omar Gonzalez (LA)
Jim Brennan (TOR)

Midfield-
Dwayne De Rosario (TOR)
Christian Gomez (DC)
Chris Pontius (DC)
Davy Arnaud (KC)

Forward-
Luciano Emilio (DC)
Claudio Lopez (KC)
Omar Cummings (COL)

Coach- Steve Nicol (NE)

Comments, questions, suggestions? I have $18K in cap space still and one transfer. Thoughts, ideas anyone?

MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 25 results

So this week turned out poorly for me. Shockingly New England lost and I got negative points for Steve Nicol as my coach, mostly due to Shalrie Joseph's red card. I got points from Cunningham and Cummings, but nothing from anyone else.

Too bad I didn't play Conor Casey, that would have helped, but I and everyone else thought he'd be away for World Cup qualifiers.

The team earned an embarassing 28 points this week for a total of 3620, which puts me down to 37th in the over-all standings.

The cap-less team did marginally better with 63 points.

MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 25 line-up

So this week only Toronto, Kansas City, FC Dallas, Colorado, D.C. United and Kansas City. Next week D.C. United and Kansas City play twice and San Jose is off. So this week I added some guys from the teams that are playing and maxed out my D.C. United players, since they play twice next week. In hindsight I wish I hadn't picked up Alston because I would have liked to have used it on either Joseph orDube instead.

Changes:
In: Luciano Emilio, Omar Cummings, Jeffrey Cunningham
Out: Landon Donovan, Fredy Montero, Brad Davis

I added in my opinion the three most potent forwards available. I would have substituted Dube for Emilio, but I already had three New England players. Emilio is way too expensive, but I have a soft place for him in my heart because I'm a D.C. United fan. I hope he does well. Davis got red carded last game, so he won't even be available next week, so he is gone. Montero has been off lately, so I'm not too sad about dropping him from the team. I imagine that I will probably pick Donovan back up, next week if possible. For this week I need the cap space.

Goalkeeper:
Matt Reis- The best team playing this week against probably the worst team playing this week. Kansas City's offense has been anemic recently, not having scored in their last four games. This looks like a good chance for a shut-out, especially since New England will be at home.

Defenders:
Eddie Lewis - Not playing, but my first priority was making changes to the forwards.

Omar Gonzalez - Not playing, but my first priority was making changes to the forwards.

Kevin Alston - Like Reis, should have a good shot at a shut-out. I think he is a little over-priced now and I wish I could use his New England spot on Joseph or Dube.

Midfielders:
Chris Pontius - Away at FC Dallas. D.C. can definitely get goals against Dallas. They also play twice next week. One downside is that it is sometimes hard to predict how many minutes D.C. guys will get.

Dwayne De Rosario - Away at Colorado, which is a tough place to play, but if anyone is likely to score on his team, it is him. He leads his team with nine goals this season.

Rodney Wallace - Game away at Pizza Hut Park and then two games next week. He has been getting more consistent minutes than Pontius, so hopefully he'll play the majority of minutes over the next two weeks.

Steve Ralston - He was awesome for me last week, and I'm hoping he can do it again. at home against Kansas City who have really been struggling. He is like the fiber of the soccer world, good for (scoring and assisting) regularity. (Captain).

Forwards:
Luciano Emilio - This may be more of an emotional pick for me than a rational one. I'm not sure that I would recommend him to others, but D.C. United really needs to make a push to get into the play-offs. If it is going to happen, then Emilio will need to be a part of it.

Jeffrey Cunningham - He goal output has exploded since Kenny Cooper left. I don't liek picking against my team, so I'm hoping it is a goal fest, with D.C. edging out FC Dallas 7-6 (and only Cunningham is allowed to score for Dallas).

Omar Cummings - One of my three forwards who is three goals or less behind the lead for the Golden Boot. Colorado is at home against Toronto. I think that Cummings should be able to produce at home.

Coach:
Steve Nicol - Best team playing this week against the worst team playing this week. I think this is another almost guaranteed win.

Bench: Amado Guevara, Conor Casey, 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:

GK- Matt Pickens (COL)
There is no question that Reis is the best pick in the position, but I want to use my NE slots elsewhere.

Defense-
Kosuke Kimura (COL)
He's my good luck charm.
Jim Brennan (TOR)
Any NE pick would be good. He's a place filler.
Adrian Serioux (TOR)
I don't really like any of the teams expect NE as a defensive pick this week, but he'll have to do.

Midfield-
Dwayne De Rosario (TOR)
He's been pretty awesome this season.
Christian Gomez (DC)
Once again my rational mind says go with the home team and Ferriera, but I'm sticking with my local team.
Steve Ralston (NE)
He's been the man. (Capt)
Shalrie Joseph (NE)
He's been producing goals and assists at a suprising rate considering most people think of him as a defensive midfielder. I guess it just goes to show how versatile (and awesome) he can be.

Forward-
Kheli Dube (NE)
He is the guy that I don;t have on my team who I want most.
Jeffrey Cunningham (FCD)
I'd be neat to see him win the Golden Boot after a few year out of favor.
Omar Cummings (COL)
He should carry the scoring load with Conor Casey gone on national team duty.

Coach- Steve Nicol (NE)
This is to me as close to a guaranteed win as it will get (expect for maybe last week's game).

Comments, questions, suggestions? I have $121K in cap space still. Thoughts, ideas anyone?

MLS Fantasy Challenge: Week 24 results

I got 141 points this week for a total of 3592 points and I'm in 25th place over-all. Most of my points came from Steve Ralston as my captain. I also got points from Omar Gonzalez and Steve Nicol, everyone else was pretty disappointing.

The cap-less team got 189 points.