(When our friends over at FanDuel.com asked me if they could do quick a guest post on the upcoming fantasy baseball season, it was an opportunity I just couldn't pass up. No one knows the sport of baseball and the fantasy implications of it all, quite like they do.
Enjoy, and when you get a moment, hop over to their site, and definitely check out the good work they're doing.
Each year, there always seems to be a mild debate over who should be the No. 1 pick in a fantasy baseball draft. Most of the time it does not get too heated, because one guy tends to stand out. In 2013, there seems to be three legitimate options that are all very close: Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Braun and Mike Trout. So with the No. 1 pick, who should you end up taking?
By now, every baseball fan is well aware of Cabrera’ historic season in 2012. The American League went without a Triple Crown winner since the 1960s, but Detroit’s third baseman had a hot bat nearly the entire season. His only weakness as a baseball player does not matter in fantasy baseball, as most leagues do nothing as far as defense is concerned.
If there’s one thing I can say definitively as a sports fan, it’s that maaaaaan have I been to a lot of Syracuse-UConn basketball games in my life. I mean, like a lot of them. I’ve seen them play at UConn. I’ve seen them play at the Carrier Dome. I’ve seen them play multiple times under the bright lights of the Big East Tournament. I’ve seen them play good games and bad games, blowouts and buzzer beaters, into one overtime, and once upon a time, even six (yes, I was there that night back in 2009. I’m still catching up on sleep to this day).
In life, I can’t claim I know much. But when it comes to Syracuse, UConn and hoops, I’ve seen just about everything there is to see.
And now, none of us ever get to see any of it again.
There was no bigger, or sadder story line to come out of college basketball’s ‘Rivalry Week’ than an injury to Kentucky superstar Nerlens Noel on Tuesday night . Noel hurt his knee against Florida and on Wednesday it was revealed that the future NBA superstar will miss the remainder of the year with a torn ACL.
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By sheer happenstance, my good friend Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio was set to join me on my podcast even before the injury, and on Wednesday he was nice enough to hop on even as the news was breaking to discuss it all.
Signing Day is over, but the discussion is far from it, which is why on Friday morning, Barrett Sallee of BleacherReport.com made a quick stop-in to chat all the major story lines around the SEC.
Nobody knows this conference like Barrett and there is no bigger day in the conference than National Signing Day. Barrett and I discussed a number of topics, including the following:
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- Ole Miss had a recruiting day for the ages, and Barrett is upset that so many fans are accusing them of cheating. He shares insight on why that’s naive, and what it was that Ole Miss did to put this monster class together.
For those of you who regularly listen to my podcasts, you know that over the last couple weeks I’ve talked a lot about Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze. You also know that regardless of the topic or guest, or whatever the subject of the interview might be, whenever Freeze’s name has come up, I’ve repeatedly said the same thing about the guy: “That dude has a couple screws loose.”
Coach Freeze, if you’re reading this article please understand: That statement is a compliment. And when I say those words, I mean them in the most sincere way possible.
After all, don’t you have to have a couple of screws loose to go from high school coach to SEC head man in just seven years? Don’t you have to be a little “off” to take the Ole Miss job not only thinking you can compete for SEC Championships, but knowing it with every fiber of your being? Don’t you have to be a crazy person to look Nick Saban and Les Miles, Mark Richt and Will Muschamp square in the eye, and not flinch?
And really, don’t you have to be truly maniacal mad-man to not only talk the talk, but walk the walk and put together a game-plan to back it all up?
As a general rule, I don't like to link my stuff from other websites/outlets here at Aaron Torres Sports, but on this day I think it's important. With Signing Day tomorrow, my primary focus has been on writing for the college football website I run- Crystal Ball Run- and it has taken my time away from what I do here.
At the same time, for you college football fans, I have written a handful of articles which I believe will pique your interest.
The first, and most important is a major feature story I posted on Ohio State recruit Mike Mitchell. I've gotten to know Mike's family pretty well over the previous few months, and his path to signing with the Buckeyes tomorrow is one of the most unusual and unique you'll ever read. You can find the link here.
Finally, if you missed it last week, I also had a couple of big Signing Day-themed podcasts. One featured ESPN ace recruiting analyst Tom Luginbill breaking down all the big stories. The other was with Ole Miss beat writer Hugh Kellenberger, who spoke with me about the sudden surge in the Rebels' recruiting status.
Also, be sure to look out over the coming days, when I will have a couple more articles here at Aaron Torres Sports centered around Signing Day.
Thanks again for the support, and good luck to your team tomorrow!
Folks, we are closing in on Signing Day, which means it’s time to break out one of my favorite column gimmicks of the entire year: It’s time for my “Fake Recruiting Pitches.”
For those of you who haven’t been to the website before, well, the Fake Recruiting Pitches are exactly what they sound like: My best guess at what every coach in major college football says to recruits in the lead-up to National Signing Day.
Sure, most are a little far-fetched. And no, most coaches wouldn’t be caught dead saying the twisted stuff that goes through my head. At the same time, this is supposed to be fun and quite possibly the least serious thing you’ll read all week. If not all. It’s also safe to say that if you want serious recruiting news, well, there are a hundred other places to go and get that.
Either way, enjoy the “Fake Recruiting Pitches.” And as always, feel free to share yours in the comments section below.
In the lead-up to National Signing Day, there isn’t a single program in college football that remains as interesting as the...wait for it... Ole Miss Rebels.
No, that’s not a typo as Hugh Freeze and his staff have already secured commitments from a number of the top high school players in the country, and are waiting to hear from a number more between and next Wednesday. It’s safe to say these are heady times in Oxford.
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And thankfully on Wednesday, I was lucky enough to have Ole Miss beat writer Hugh Kellenberger stop by to discuss it all. Hugh has been on the Ole Miss beat for several years at the Jackson Clarion-Ledger and has seen the evolution of this program first-hand. He and I discussed the following topics:
- Hugh and I discuss the evolution of this program in the transition from Houston Nutt to Hugh Freeze. Hugh Kellenberger explains why an early season loss to Texas was the first sign that things were different in Oxford. No, the Rebels didn’t win, but they played hard until the final whistle. It wasn’t they hadn’t done in the previous season under Nutt or at any other point in recent memory.
- Hugh explains what it is about Hugh Freeze’s personality that endears him so much to players, and why they play so hard for him. Hugh says that Freeze’s confidence in himself and his team has convinced the players to “buy in” into what he and his staff are teaching.
- Moving to recruiting, Hugh talks about the banner weekend the Rebels just concluded. On that weekend, top players Robert Nkemdiche (defensive end), Laremy Tunsil (offensive tackle) and Laquon Treadwell (wide receiver) were all on campus, as well as Chris Jones, a top defensive end who had previously is currently committed to the Rebels rival, Mississippi State.
- Hugh talks about the role that Treadwell and other committed players have had in “recruiting” fellow players to Ole Miss.
- Finally, Hugh wraps up by discussing what to expect on Signing Day and what might be ahead for the 2013 Rebels.
Folks if college football recruiting is your thing, then there is no more interesting program in the sport right now than Hugh Freeze’s Ole Miss Rebels. They will be a force to be reckoned with come Signing Day, so why not get ahead of the game and get caught up on what they’re doing right now?
To access the show, you can always download it straight from iTunes by clicking here or by searching for the “Aaron Torres Sports Podcast.” You can also subscribe to the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast by clicking here.
Also for updates on the show, my writing and much more, be sure to follow on Twitter @Aaron_Torres and Facebook. And for weekly updates on all my podcasts, articles, giveaways and more you can now sign up for the Aaron Torres Sports weekly newsletter, just by entering your e-mail where it says “Aaron Torres Sports Mailing List” or e-mail at
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And finally, for those of you who don't already know, I have released an eBook! It's called "Aaron Torres Presents the Year in Sports 2012," and it is a compilations of my best articles and columns from the 2012 year. You can pick up your copy at Amazon.com or by clicking here, and it makes a great gift for the sports fan in your life!
Finally I want to thank Hugh for his time, and encourage you to follow him on Twitter @HKellenbergerCL. And of course, I want to thank you for taking the time to listen to the show.
As we march our way deeper into the 2013 college basketball season, there isn’t a team that remains more interesting to casual fans than the Duke Blue Devils. Some people love them, some people hate them, but as is the case most years, no team is more interesting than Coach K’s bunch.
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Laura has been with this club since the first practice in October and she and I discussed a number of different topics on the 2013 Blue Devils, starting with:
With National Signing Day now just days away and college football fans are in a frenzy to see how their teams will finish out on the recruiting trail. Who’s hot? Who’s not? I asked all that and more to ESPN recruiting expert Tom Luginbill, who joined the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast over this past weekend.
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Nobody knows the recruiting scene quite like Luginbill does and he was incredibly gracious to share his insight with the listeners of the show.
Amongst the topics we discussed, included the following:
