Get your Fantasy Football fix from Anthony Maggio

by | Oct 25, 2013 | Fantasy Football

Zoneblitz Fantasy Editor Anthony Maggio, whose rankings for week eight are posted here, can also be found on the Internet and the radio.

He’ll be doing a Friday Internet chat at noon central today at 1500ESPN.com. (EDIT: I think there may have been an issue with the link I provided earlier. But for a transcript of the chat, you can go here.)

He’ll also host Fantasy Football Sunday on 1500 ESPN at 9 a.m. Get your last minute questions answered during that hour-long show.

Finally, you can tweet him at #1500blitz or email Maggio@zoneblitz.com.

NFL Picks 2013: Week 8

by | Oct 22, 2013 | 2013 season, NFL Picks

There were great games – witness Indianapolis and its shootout win over Denver. There were terrible games, such as the weekly-pickseyesore that was Monday Night Football between the second division consolation flag football game between Meadowlands Grade School and Minneapolis Hale Elementary, err, the Giants and Vikings.

It was just another week in the NFL. After losing some ground to my brother, I rebounded with a 10-5 weekend that added some distance between me and my competitors. Rich continues his slow climb from the cellar with a 9-6 mark. Tony and Anthony, well, they also made picks last week.

Week seven Season totals
Andy 10-5 69-38
Tony 8-7 66-41
Rich 9-6 62-45
Maggio 7-8 62-45

I kid, I kid. But they did make picks again for this week’s slate of games which, frankly, doesn’t include a lot of match-ups I would consider must-watch television. Even traditional divisional rivalries like Green Bay at Minnesota and New York at Philadelphia are tainted by injury and crappiness this week. In fact, if your wife is telling you it’s time to get together for Sunday dinner with the in-laws or that you’ve got to start the Christmas shopping, this might be the Sunday to do it.

Nonetheless, here are our picks for the week. (more…)

Maggio on the Sunday radio

by | Oct 18, 2013 | Fantasy Football

Don’t forget to tune in to 1500ESPN on Sunday at 9 a.m. Zoneblitz.com’s fantasy editor Anthony Maggio will spend an hour breaking down fantasy football matchups and taking your sit/start questions. 1500ESPN_logo_stacked

You can also check out the transcript of a chat he conducted at 1500espn.com.

If the chat doesn’t answer your questions and you don’t have time to call the show, Maggio also can be reached at #1500blitz on Twitter for questions.

Good luck.

Report: NFL rebuffs Marshall’s efforts at raising awareness on mental illness

by | Oct 16, 2013 | NFL Random Thoughts

This work is not mine. Zoneblitz stakes no claim to it. All the credit goes to Da Bears Blog where, earlier this week, Jeff Hughes wrote a highly compelling piece on mental illness, the league’s failure over the years to deal with head injuries among its own and how the NFL reacted when Brandon Marshall wore green shoes to raise awareness.

Marshall suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder, which manifests itself in a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, affects, and self-image, as well as marked impulsivity. Marshall announced his illness at his introductory press conference with the Bears and he has worked to raise awareness ever since.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell imposed a $5,250 fine on Marshall for wearing the green shoes.

Here’s an excerpt from Hughes’ Monday post, in which he takes the league to task for punishing one of its players for attempting to raise awareness of mental health issues when the NFL is bending over backward to do the same for breast cancer in a semi-shameless effort to get more women interested in the game:

This not a semantic argument. The NFL is stating very clearly by assessing Brandon Marshall a $5,250 penalty that he has conducted himself poorly on the playing field or committed an act detrimental to the integrity of the NFL. By wearing a pair of green cleats to raise awareness for a collection of illnesses that NEED awareness, that are DESPERATE for awareness, Marshall has done wrong. That is the statement being made by Roger Goodell.

I can’t do the post justice here. I just want to call attention to it. There is mental illness in my extended family. The post hit home. Hughes and Da Bears Blog did an excellent job bringing this to their readers and I want more people to read it. So if you have a few minutes and feel like doing so, click here.

NFL Picks 2013: Week 7

by | Oct 15, 2013 | 2013 season, NFL Picks

Tony crushed in week six. He took over the lead in bets and he dominated the picks with a 12-3 week that was headlined by weekly-pickspicking San Diego to upset Indianapolis. The strong performance propels him into second place overall, just one game behind the leader.

It was a tough week for fantasy expert Maggio. He might have done alright helping people with their bye week waiver wire pickups, but he missed seven of 15 games. He drops to third. Rich is bringing up the end, but he’s slowly and surely working his way back into the mix after a difficult start.

Here are the standings as we head into week seven.

Week six Season totals
Andy 10-5 59-33
Tony 12-3 58-34
Maggio 8-7 55-37
Rich 10-5 53-39

So we’re all kind of holding our own as teams go back and forth winning games that surprise us and then losing games they shouldn’t. Denver seems to be heads and shoulders above everyone else so far. The Broncos seemed disappointed by beating Jacksonville by only two touchdowns. Everyone else seems to be capable of losing to anyone at anytime.

So, that being said, here are our week seven picks. (more…)