Sports Trivia

A trio of sports trivia on our trivia Wednesday once again from the kings of mental diversion at sporcle.

Home Run Leaders of the 1980s

All-time NBA turnover leaders

The Top fantasy football players of 2008

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Alma Mater Conference Fantasia Week 5: USA, USA!

The tabulation of the scores for our fantasy football experiment has become easier as the weeks roll by. This week we had an impressive showing from the sqaud over at Conference USA. I never really understood why they named the conference "Conference USA". The Conference began as a merger between the Metro and Great Midwest Conferences. The Great Midwest was always a fun conference to watch in basketball, but now we are in the era of super conferences and 7 teams will not do. C-USA had some performances that may show they can hang with the BCS boys throughout the season. This week's scores and standings after the break.

FCS 108
Big XII 73

The Big XII finally got a quarterback! Unfortunately, it was not the most memorable of games for Sage Rosenfels(Iowa State) but he did earn 9 points for the team. The rest of the conference had another bad week; Adrian Peterson(Oklahoma) struggled with only 3, Darren Sproles(Kansas St) has cooled off after having some big weeks as he had 4, and Roy Williams(Texas) and Wes Welker(Texas Tech) were the high offensive scorers with just 9 and 8 respectively. The highest score came from Cedric Griffin(Texas) on defense with 12.

After coming so close on prior weeks, the FCS picked up its first win. Kurt Warner(Northern Iowa) decided not to retire and instead finished with 19 points for the team. Terrell Owens(Chattanooga) and Donald Driver(Alcorn St) each had 12. Brandon Jacobs(S. Illinois) had a huge week with 25 and Brian Westbrook(Villanova) and Tim Hightower(Richmond) adding 15. Defensively Rashean Mathis(Bethune-Cookman) has been huge this year as he contributed another double-digit effort with 10.

Conf. USA 171
Pac Ten 131.5

On offense, every player for C-USA was in double digits. The high scorer in the league for the week was DeAngelo Williams(Memphis) who notched 32. Randy Moss(Marshall) had 18, Isaac Bruce(Memphis) had 16, Matt Forte(Tulane) had 17, and Roddy White(UAB) had 19. Brian Young(UTEP) became the first Miner to make the list this year with a 10 point effort on Monday night on the DL for the Saints.

The Pac Ten has lost two weeks in a row, but as was the case for the Packers, it wasn't Aaron Rodgers'(Cal) fault. He had 23 at QB, and T.J. Houshmandzadeh(Oregon St) added 20. But besides 18 from Reggie Bush(USC) and 12 from Gerg Camarillo(Stanford) the offense was just average. Rian Lindell(Wash St) had 13 in the kicking game and Lance Briggs(Arizona) was the high man on defense with 8.5.

Big East 88
MWACBELTIND 134.5

The Big East continues to struggle but unlike the Big XII they actually have won once this year. The only players that had in double figures were Larry Fitzgerald(Pitt) with 17, Steve Slaton(W. Virginia) with 21 and Gary Brackett(Rutgers) on defense with 10.

Our blended conference team is doing better than we anticipated. Perhaps we underestimated the potentcy of these non-BCS conferences. Jake Delhomme(LA-Lafayette) had 16 at QB while Bernard Berrian(Fresno St) had 17. Chris Cooley(Utah St) had 16 to lead all TEs and despite LaDanian Tomlinson(TCU) only getting 5, Travis LaBoy(Hawai'i) had 12 and Tramon Williams(LA Tech) had 13 on defense.

SEC 175
MAC 102

17 was the lucky number for the SEC this week as the following players each had that many points: Devery Henderson(LSU), Kevin Faulk(LSU), and Patrick Willis(Ole Miss). Ronnie Brown(Auburn) and Eli Manning(Ole Miss) each had 18.

The MAC struggled this week even though Ben Roethlisberger(Miami-OH) is getting much praise for his toughness. He finished with 23. Dominic Hixon(Akron) filled in well for the Giants and had 17. Michael Turner(N. Illinois) helped the Falcons stun Green Bay and had 18 points for the MAC in a losing effort.

ACC 174
Big Ten 147.5

The ACC had none other than Blue Suede Matt Ryan and his invisible Statue of Liberty lead the way at QB with 15. Who else but the U had a big week for the conference even though their college team is struggling. Andre Johnson with 19, Reggie Wayne 15(and a sick grab), Clinton Portis 21, Frank Gore 13, Sinorice(not Santanna) Moss 16, Edgerrin James 13 and LB D.J. Williams had 12 for Miami.

Kyle Orton(Purdue) had a big 22 points and that's right, he played the Lions. Lee Evans(Wisconsin) raked in 19 points and a contract extension. Only Muhsin Muhammed(Michigan St) and Neil Rackers(Illinois) with 13 scored in the teens for the rest of the line-up. The defensive high scorer of the week goes to Antoine Winfield(Ohio St) with 21 thanks to his MNF performance and an extra special nod to Martin Grammatica.

Here are the current standings for the league:

1. ACC 5-0
2. MWACBELTIND 4-1
3. Big Ten 3-2
4. Pac Ten 3-2
5. Conference USA 3-2
6. SEC 3-2
7. MAC 1-4
8. FCS 1-4
9. Big East 1-4
10. Big XII 0-5

Week 6 Match-Ups:
SEC vs. Conf. USA
ACC vs. MAC
FCS vs. Big Ten
Big XII vs. MWACBELTIND
Big East vs. Pac Ten

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Alma Mater Conference Fantasia Week 3: Big XII Bummin'

We enter the third week of our grand fantasy football experiment and again our power teams flex the muscles. Unfortunately, it does not appear that the Big XII is one of them. It is becoming clear that some conferences have the upper hand in their alumni, which is a big part of what we are doing. Let’s take a look at the winners and losers from last week’s match-ups.

SEC 190
Big XII 91.5

The SEC representatives had a strong performance in all phases of the game to achieve the high score of the week as a conference . Only two players had Jason Campbell(Auburn) led the way at QB for conference dubbed the best in college football. Ronnie Brown(Auburn) the former teammate of Campbell had the high score for the week in the league with 39 due to his 5 TDs against the Patriots. Rudi Johnson(Auburn) had 18, LeRon McClain() also 18, and Joseph Addai(LSU) 20. Another LSU Tiger, Corey Webster had 13 to lead the defense.

The Big XII continued its struggles as it remains the only BCS conference without a win in our league. They say that teams can’t win in the NFL without good QB play and that may hold true for our league as the Big XII is without a QB with Vince Young on the shelf. Correll Buckhalter(Nebraska) was the leading scorer for the conference when he subbed in for Brian Westbrook. The only other offensive player in double figures was Ricky Williams(Texas) with 11. The Big XII is 0-3 and although it is a offensive power in college football, in our league it is falling short.

ACC 165
FCS 120

Phillip Rivers(NC St) has manned the QB position for the ACC every week now and again he had a big performance with 21 points. Santana Moss(Miami) and fellow Hurricanes Roscoe Parrish, Frank Gore, Clinton Portis, and Willis McGahee all scored in double figures. Sebastian Janikowski(FSU) had a big day in Buffalo with 12 points, but the star of the team was the defensive effort of Antonio Cromartie(FSU) with 19 points.

It seems a broken record with the FCS division but it was another great performance against a BCS conference but to no avail. J.T. O’Sullivan() earned the QB spot for the FCS with 18 points and we will ignore the fact that they played the Lions. The FCS also utilized the two tight end formation with Kevin Boss() earning 11 points and Delanie Walker 10. Out of nowhere Miles Austin() had 17 points for the Cowboys Sunday night. Rasheen Mathis() had 17 points for the defense, but the Brian Westbrook(Villanova) injury and some low totals by the other wide receivers sunk the FCS.

Big Ten 169
Pac Ten 182

In a repeat of the epic match-up of the USC-Ohio State, the Pac Ten took bragging rights. The score was much closer this time but the west coast prevailed again. Aaron Rodgers(Cal) got his first defeat as a starter Sunday, but he led the way with 18 points at QB. T.J. Housmenzadeh(Oregon St) tallied 20 points at Wide receiver and Reggie Bush(USC) added 24 to lead the way. Not to be outdone, Marshawn Lynch(Cal) and Maurice Jones-Drew(UCLA) had 23 and 21 respectively.

The Big Ten had a good performance but it was not enough. T.J. Duckett(Mich St) came on the board for the first time with 19 against the hapless Rams. Brian Griese(Michigan) threw enough times to earn 21 points. Marion Barber(Minnesota) had another solid 20 point performance while the defense was lead by Antione Winfield() with 15 thanks to his sack, forced fumble, recovery and TD on Jake Delhomme right before the half.

MAC 84
Big East 111

The Big East battled hard and found a way to win against the MAC who had its problems. The old Syracuse stalwarts Donavan McNabb and Marvin Harrison contributed 10 points. Steve Slaton(West Virginia) was the high man with 17 points and a pair of Pitt receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Antonio Bryant earned 16 and 14 points respectively. Anthony Henry(South Florida) beat out his Cowboy teammate Pac-man Jones(West Virginia) by gaining 11 points at defensive back. The Big East may be out-manned but when the big guns perform they can get it done.

The MAC had as rough a week as Ben Roethlisberger(Miami OH). Byron Leftwich(Marshall) actually beat out Big Ben in points with a measly 2. Michael Turner(N. Illinois) was the lone bright spot with 28 points. The only other player in double digits was Greg Jennings(W. Michigan) with 11.

Conf USA 116
MWACBELTIND 140

The mish-mash conference team produced a win with some solid efforts including the new Gus Frerrote(Toldeo) experiment in Minnesota which produced 11 points. The running back tandem of LT(TCU) and Julius Jones(Notre Dame) scored 20 points each. Joey Porter() for once backed up his mouth and gained 16 points on the defense.

Conference USA had big numbers from Favre(Southern Miss) who had 20, Matt Forte(Tulane) also had 20, and Brandon Marshall() had another big week with 21. Roddy White() had 17 and a back flip, but with Tom Brady out it is hurting Randy Moss(Marshall) who figured to be a big play for the conference.

Here’s a look at the standings:

1. ACC 3-0
2. Pac Ten 3-0
3. SEC 2-1
4. Big Ten 2-1
5. MWACBELTIND 2-1
6. Big East 1-2
7. Conf USA 1-2
8. Big XII 0-3
9. FCS 0-3
10. MAC 0-3

Week 3 Match-ups:
SEC vs. Big Ten
ACC vs. Big XII
Div. I-AA vs. MWACBELTIND
MAC vs. Pac 10
Conference USA vs. Big East

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Alma Mater Conference Fantasia Week 2: Big Time Players Make Big Time ...somethin' somethin'

We are two weeks into our fantasy football experiment and so far no wins for the smaller conference against the big boys. We had a close call but close calls only count in cornhole and Kan-Jam. Results and standings inside.

Pac Ten 134
Big XII 123

The Big XII is really hurting for lack of a QB. Vince Young's injury and subsequent chicken wing bender has left the conference team without a signal caller. Aaron Rodgers(Cal) led the Pac Ten with 25 points agaisnt the Lions. Although I'm sure he cost someone out there their fantasy game this week, DeSean Jackson's(Cal) blunder did not cost the Pac Ten the win, he still contributed 11 points. The Panthers unleashed J-Stew(Oregon) in the second half as he scored twice and ended with 19 points. Reggie Bush(USC) again had a productive day with 14 points. Ryan Longwell(Cal) profited from Minnesota's inablity to cross the goaline. Cal again ws the MVP of the team as Marshawn Lynch also contributed. Darren Sprolles(Kansas St) and Adrian Peterson(Oklahoma) provided the punch for the Big XII with 24 and 18 points respectively. Justin Gage(Missouri), Quentin Jammer(Texas), and Mason Crosby(Colorado) were the only other members of the Big XII in double figures.

Big East 85
Big Ten 164

The Big Ten can take solace in the fact that their team is 2-0 after getting slammed in the big match-up of Ohio State and USC. The Big East just has too few players producing. Maybe I should have combined the Big East and MAC to create the Beasty MAC, but the Big East is an auto-bid league for the BCS so it will have to stand and take it. Donavan McNabb(Syracuse) had a good game Monday night, but only threw for one TD (DeSean ripple effect) and his former 'Cuse teammate Marvin Harrison only had 2 points. The only other big conributors were Larry Fitzgerald(Pitt) with 15, Michael Bush(Louisville) with 14, and kicker David Akers(Louisville) with 13. The Big Ten were in double digits at almost every position. Marion Barber(Minnesota) was their high scorer with 23 and other big scorers were Chris Chambers(Wisconsin), Chris Perry(Michigan), Anthony Gonzalez(Ohio St), Brandon Lloyd(Illinois), and Charles Woodson(Michigan).

Conference USA 115
MAC 74

The MAC is waiting anxiously for news about Big Ben's(Miami OH) shoulder. A rather weak performance from the MAC this week as Greg Jennings(Western Mich)with 16, it seems playing the Lions is good for the opposing team's fantasy numbers. Michael Turner(N Illinois) played Detroit last week and ran wild, this week he managed 4 points against the Bucs defense. The MAC's leading scorer was kicker Shaun Suisham(Bowling Green) with 12. Conference USA's roster is small but it packs a punch. Brandon Marshall(Central Florida) had a big day with 22 points of his 18 catch performance. Ahmad Bradshaw(Marshall), Isaac Bruce(Memphis) and Stephen Gostkowski(Memphis) were the high scorers for America's conference.

SEC 162
FCS Division 159
Oh so very close the FCS was in Week 2. The SEC had to squeak by just to be sure they did not fall to 0-2. Jay Cutler(Vandy) despite his fumble/blown dead ball/lucky bastard play scored 31 points thanks in part to the extra TD and conversion. Earnest Graham(Florida) provided the pop at running back with 18, while Darren McFadden(Arkansas) woke up with 21. Linebacker Patrick Willis(Ole Miss) came in with a big 17 points, scoring a TD from the defensive side. Kurt Warner(Northern Iowa) provided 26 big points for the FCS, and T.O.(Chattanooga) and Brian Westbrook(Villanova) had big scores from the Monday Night Football shoot-out. Westbrook also benefited from the DeSean play ripple, scoring from the 1 after the dead ball fumble. Great effort by the FCS, I definitely feel a few big wins coming for them against the big conferences this year.

MWACINDBELT 85
ACC 172

The ACC again lit up the scoreboard fantasy-wise this week. All but four positions were in double figures. Phillip Rivers(NC St) again lead the way at QB with 28. The U was well represented with 24 from Santanna Moss, 21 from Clinton Portis, 13 from Frank Gore, and 5 from Kellen Winslow. Anquan Boldin(Florida St) was the high scorer of the week with 32 points. Our MWACINDBELT melting pot team did not have a strong effort from its players, only Justin Tuck(Notre Dame) gained double figures. Jake Delhomme(LA-Lafayette) won against the Bears but only had 4 points in our league.

The standings last week were off, they have been corrected. Here where the conferences are at after 2 weeks:

1. ACC 2-0
2. Big Ten 2-0
3. Pac 10 2-0
4. MAC 1-1
5. Big East 1-1
6. SEC 1-1
7. Conference USA 1-1
8. MWACBELTIND 0-2
9. Big XII 0-2
10. FCS (Div. I-AA) 0-2

Week 2 Match-ups:
SEC vs. Big XII
ACC vs. FCS
Big Ten vs. Pac Ten
MAC vs. Big East
Conference USA vs. MWACINDBELT

Interesting to see how things shape up so far, we'll see if the ACC can continue dominating and if the Big XII can get a win next week.

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Alma Mater Conference Fantasia Week 1: Strike One for the ACC

Last week we told you of our slightly insane fantasy football experiment using NFL players' alma maters. We have taken the best of each of our conferences and pitted them against each other in a ten team league. Here are the results from the 5 games from the first week and look, the ACC was able to beat the SEC in something!

ACC 200
SEC 160

SEC purists might be up in arms about this result (if Eagle fans can get upset over Jessica Simpson, I'm sure someone could) but the numbers don't lie as the best NFL players the ACC has to offer posted the highest score of any conference. Here are the high scorers at each position:

ACC Leaders
Phillip Rivers(NC St) 20 [QB]
Eddie Royal(VA Tech) 20 [WR]
Willie Parker(N. Car) 32 [RB]
Kellen Winslow(Miami) 10 [TE]
Mario Williams(NC St) 14 [D]

NC State is doing way better in our league than in their actual football. Rivers, Jerricho Cotchery (14 points), and Mario helped turn the tide. Miami also represented well which is not a surprise with Frank Gore (20), Reggie Wayne (14), and Jon Beason with a solid day at linebacker with 7 points. Willie Parker was the second highest scorer of the week.

SEC Leaders
Jay Cutler(Vandy) 20 [QB]
Felix Jones(Ark) 13 [RB]
Hines Ward(UGA) 19 [WR]
David Martin(Tenn) 10 [TE]
Jon Abraham(S. Car)13 [D]

Jerious Norwood (17) had a strong day, but who didn't running against the Lions. Former Georgia Bulldog John Kasay still going strong in his 18th year in the league has 14 as the kicking representative for the SEC, but it was not enough.

Pac Ten 147
FCS Division 131

The formerly known as I-AA always has something to prove and although they put up a good fight, the left coast players were too much.

Pac Ten Leaders
Aaron Rodgers(Cal) 20 [QB]
Reggie Bush(USC) 22 [RB]
DeShean Jackson(Cal) 10 [WR]
Donte Rosario(Ore) 15 [TE]
Lance Briggs(Ari) 13 [D]

A strong day for the Bears as Rodgers, DeShean, and Marshawn (14) had big days. Donte Rosario came out of nowhere at TE, uprooting another Bear Tony Gonzalez. The USC Trojans also ahd a strong showing besides Bush, Justin Fargas(10) and Lendale White(10) has solid games.

FCS Leaders
John Kitna(Central Wash) 17 [QB]
Brian Westbrook(Nova) 21 [RB]
Terrell Owens(Chatt) 14 [WR]
Tony Scheffler(W. Mich) 7 [TE]
Cortland Finnegan(Samford) 11 [D]

The sub-par performance by Marquis Colston(2) hurt the I-AA team as will the injury to his finger, but maybe Tim Hightower(10) will continue to emerge.

Big East 66
Big XII 117

Not only is the Big East behind because they have a small number of schools, but they had some bad performances as well. This shalacking was the lowest score by any team.

Big East leaders
Donavan McNabb(Cuse) 26 [QB]
Larry Fitzgerald(Pitt) 9 [WR]
Steve Slaton(WVA) 4 [RB]
L.J. Smith(Rut) 9 [TE]
Gary Brackett(Rut) 6 [D]

Just too many donuts: Jerry Porter, Brian Leonard, Chris Henry.

Big XII leaders
Vince Young(Tex) 6 [QB]
Mark Clayton(Okla) 12 [WR]
Adrian Peterson(Okla) 17 [RB]
Bo Scaife(Tex) 10 [TE]
Stew Bradley(Neb) 11 [D]

The Red River rivalry has produced well for this team with most of the scoring belonging to either Texas or Oklahoma. Vince Young as the league's only QB could hurt them though.

Conf USA 129
Big Ten 163

Conference USA had a good showing considering their limited line-up against the Big Ten powerhouse who lost Tom Brady, but still has Drew Brees.

Conf USA leaders
Chad Pennington(Marsh) 17 [QB]
Randy Moss(Marsh) 17 [WR]
Chris Johson(E. Car) 19 [RB]
Bryan Thomas(UAB) 11 [D]

Kevin Smith (13) and Matt Forte (19) also led to the good production from Conf. USA but will Moss be as valuable now that Cassel is in?

Big Ten leader
Drew Brees(Pur) 24 [QB]
Plaxico Burress(Mich St) 13 [WR]
Marion Barber(Minn) 22 [RB]
Ben Utecht(Minn) 1 [TE]
Chris Gamble(Ohio St) 13 [D]

Strong double digit performances all around from Chris Chambers (10), Neil Rackers (11) and Michael Jenkins (12).

MWACBELTIND 160
MAC 100

Our spliced together team from the Mountain West, WAC, Sun Belt, and Independents prevailed with the help from all the different players, but mainly Michael Turner and James Harrison.

MWACBELTIND leaders
Jake Delhomme(LA-Laf) 13 [QB]
Nate Burleson(Nev) 12 [WR]
LaDanian Tomlinson(TCU) 10 [RB]
Anthony Fasano(ND) 14 [TE]
Travis Laboy(Boise St) 13 [D]

Losing Nate Burleson will hurt going forward but srong performances all around and Steve Smith will come back after this week.

MAC leaders
Ben Roethlisberger(Mia Oh) 12 [QB]
Michael Turner(N. Ill) 34 [RB]
Kevin Walter(E. Mich) 11 [WR]
Antonio Gates(Kent State) 20 [TE]
James Harrison(Kent State) 18 [D]

The Huskies can be proud of their Michael Turner as he notched the highest score of any player with his blistering performance this week against Detroit. The MAC has a good core of players even if the list is short, they could do some damage this year before all is said and done.

So that is week 1 in a nutshell, the conferences will be going at it for the season and we will see who comes out on top. Here are the standings after week 1:

1. ACC 1-0-0
2. Big Ten 1-0-0
3. Pac 10 1-0-0
4. MAC 1-0-0
5. Big East 1-0-0
6. SEC 0-1-0
7. Conference USA 0-1-0
8. MWACBELTIND 0-1-0
9. Big XII 0-1-0
10. FCS (Div. I-AA) 0-1-0

Week 2 Match-ups:
FCS vs. SEC
MWACBELTIND vs. ACC
Pac Ten vs. Big XII
Big East vs. Big Ten
Conf USA vs. MAC

We will see how things shake out next week, may the madness continue.

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The ASD Alma Mater Football Conference Fantasia....Bonanza

We here at ASD (that means me and Catfish) are now two months into our blogging venture. We have had some obstacles, a few larfs, and have begun to get the momentum going to create a fully (somewhat?) functional sports blog. As the NFL season begins we dare to try something only the seriously deranged would try (Nerd Alert!). But without reckless experimentation Jimmi Hendrix would not have written great music, Leonardo Da Vinci would not have created his masterpieces (or inspired batman), Henry Ford would not have made the model T, and your parents would not have gotten drunk enough to make you. With that mental image firmly engraved in your mind, we announce that this NFL season, we will be conducting a fantasy football league based on the alma maters of the players according to their conferences. We have created a league where ten "conferences" from college football pit their best representatives in the NFL against the others. In the end, one conference shall rise and the others shall fall....and this time, it's personal....with a vengeance.

What we've done is taken the conferences in FBS football, the FCS division and created ten teams based on NFL players' alumni. Here are our ten competitors:
-ACC (maybe go non-BCS after last weekend)
-Big East (somehow I think Tranghesee will be monitoring this)
-Big XII (Roman numerals are fun!)
-Big Ten (no fantasy points awarded for 3 yards and a cloud of dust)
-Pac Ten (If I had to choose a coast I'd have to choose the East, I live out there so don't go there, but that doesn't mean a brother can't play fantasy football in the west [sorry Biggie])
-SEC (feel the need for speed)
-MAC (underdogs yes, but doesn't this country love an underdog?)
-Conf. USA (Hacksaw Jim Duggan's favorite)
-FCS [I-AA] (they can play with the big boys...mehbe)
-MWACINDBELT (this is the crime against nature team, we needed a 10th team and these conferences did not have enough to compete so we mad scientisted them together, if they had a mascot it would probably be that ostrich/man from the PETA camp in that episode of South Park or the frog Bart attempts to turn into a prince in the Harry Potter segment of that Simpson's Halloween special. In either case the creature pleads "kill me" over and over again.)

Scoring will follow most generic fantasy leagues, and single defensive players will be included instead of team defenses. Sadly, we could not work the Offesnive linemen into our experiment. No love for the big boys. Each team's roster will consist of:
1 QB
2 RB
2 WR
1 TE
1 W/TE
2 WR/RB
1 DL
1 LB
1 DB
1 DL/LB/DB

Obviously some conferences will have more of a pool to draw from but that's how it goes. No clue how this is going to play out, but we will keep updates of how the season is going every week. It should be noted this is not to prove which conference is the best or who can brag about having the best alumni, it is simply a curious endeavor by me and Catfish, to feed our curiosity on the subject. With that said, let's light this candle!

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