Smalling has been ruled out for up to one month of action due to a hamstring injury that was picked up in training last week in preparation for the match against Liverpool. Smalling has been a very nice option, playing the full 90 in seven of his last eight matches and earning a clean sheet bonus in five of those matches. As the injury is fairly recent, there is no projected return date set. Updates

Here are 25 things you need to know before the upcoming season plus some early candidates for sleepers and busts. I spend the most time analyzing wide receivers because they are usually the biggest candidates for sleepers and a few late-round picks could win you your championship. The biggest stat I look at is points per target because it can give you an idea of what that wide receiver is capable of. Kenny Stills takes

Week 30 has thrown the premier league back up in the air at both ends of the table and with 15 games falling in week 31 we could be in for a thrilling game week both in terms of the league and your fantasy teams. Some leagues are treating all 15 games as one game week so initially I will cover all the games in this article but for those who play on websites which

Arsenal was quite busy on the contract front today, getting extensions done with three key players. Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey and prospect Gedion Zelalem all committed their future to the club. Cazorla joined the club in August of 2012 and has been a fixture in the midfield of the Gunners. Ramsey has struggled with a thigh injury since December, but is nearing a return and was on fire in the early parts of the season. Zelalem is only

The Browns have signed former Bengal Andrew Hawkins to a 4-year contract worth $13.6 million.  Hawkins will be the third option in the Cleveland passing game behind Jordan Cameron, and Josh Gordon.  Hawkins is electric in space and will provide potential nightmare match up’s in the middle of the field.  He could be streamed as a WR4 at this moment

Crazy things happen all the time to me. I said that Thomas Robinson is the guy to play last Friday and he finished the game with 2 points and only 7 minutes on the court. Then, I mentioned Steph Curry being on a minutes cap, so he isn’t worth the money. He then proceeds to drop 50 fantasy points and plays over 30 minutes for the first time since his injury. Hell, even my Caesar

The terms of Julian Edelman’s contract has reached the surface.  He is said to make $8 million guaranteed, that has a maximum value of $19 million, over four years.  Edelman will continue to play pitch and catch with TB12 in the 2014 season.  In PPR league’s his value is elite. He will be a WR2 in with upside in standard leagues.

James Jones has signed a three year deal with the Oakland Raiders.  The 30 year old free agent brings a bigger more physical weapon to the Raiders.  He has averaged 8 touchdowns a season, over the last years in Green Bay.  Things are different from a quarterback perspective now. Jones is fully expected to start, he falls into the Cecil Shorts, Dwayne Bowe, Steve Smith classification.  I see him as no more than a WR3

However sexy and sleek the rookies may seem this year, make no mistake they are almost always over valued. To use a phrase coined by DLF’s own Tim Stafford @DynastyTim each year we become enamored with the “shiny new toys”. We can’t get enough of these fantasy rooks. We obsess over 40 times, youtube videos, and ESPN highlights. I’m no different from you. I buy in too. However I am going to share an invaluable

Lost in the NCAA tournament hoopla and lost amongst the drunkens on this St Patty’s Day is an NBA Monday night with seven games to concentrate on.   So here is a three step process for you: 1) Put down the green beer ( just for a minute) 2) Put down your brackets (just for a minute) 3) Play some NBA DFS tonight to make some cash to pay for more green beer and enter

With the departure of Eric Decker to New York, it looks as though Wes Welker has some upside for the 2014 season in the slot.  The soon to be 33 year old, will be an unrestricted free agent in March 2015.  Welker is a solid WR2 next season but father time seems to be ticking.

The solid defensive play of Mertesacker and fellow defender Laurent Koscilny deserve much of the credit for Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat of Tottenham in Sunday’s North London Derby. Tomas Rosicky put the Gunners ahead in the 2nd minute with a scorcher of a goal and the defensive pair turned aside the efforts of the Spurs to equalize to hang on for three points to keep pace with Liverpool and gain on table-leading Chelsea. Mertesacker and Koscielny finished

Luther Maddy, 2015 NFL Draft Prospect & one of the top DT’s in the nation out of Virginia Tech, joined Chris Shanafelt on The C.S. Podcast on March 14, 2014 for an interview to talk about what he has done throughout his college football career thus far, his expectations for his senior season, thoughts on Jadeveon Clowney, & more!

2014 NFL Draft Prospect, CB out of the University of Utah, Keith McGill joined Chris Shanafelt on The C.S. Podcast on March 15, 2014 for an interview to talk about his college football career, coming back after missing 2 seasons due to a shoulder injury, the transition from safety to cornerback, Senior Bowl/Combine, & more! Be sure to watch out for Keith McGill’s name come May during the 2014 NFL Draft!

It was a tough day for Manchester United and their fans as they dropped a difficult match to the visiting Liverpool, 0-3. After the match Rooney summed up the mood by saying  “It’s a nightmare. It’s one of the worst days I’ve ever had in football.” ManU was only able to muster one shot on goal which came in the 44th minute and managed only a 30% success rate on tackles. Surely a day to soon

Gerrard nearly became the first player in the Premier League history to score a hat-trick from the spot, but saw his third penalty kick go off the woodwork and was forced to settle for two. Gerrard’s performance, worthy of the Man of the Match title, powered  Liverpool to a 3-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford. With the two goals from the spot today, Gerrard now has pushed his season total to 10 goals to

With the infield done and dusted it’s time to look at the position which covers the power and speed facet of fantasy baseball better than any other position…outfield. Standard Roto leagues tend to have 5 outfield spots so this position is naturally the deepest as often 6 are drafted per team. Of course it is also the deepest in real as each team has two more outfielders than they do any other position on the

2014 NFL Draft Prospect, RB out of the University of Louisville, Senorise Perry joined Chris Shanafelt on The C.S. Podcast for an interview to talk about his college football career, overcoming a devastating knee injury, and the possibilities of playing in the NFL. They also talk about what it’s like to compliment arguably the best QB entering the draft, Teddy Bridgewater. Be sure to watch out for Senorise Perry’s name come May during the NFL

2014 NFL Draft Prospect, SS out of Washington State University, Deone Bucannon joined Chris Shanafelt on The C.S. Podcast on March 8, 2014 for an interview to talk about his very successful 4 years at WSU, the Senior Bowl, NFL Combine, & more! Bucannon is one of the top Safeties entering this years draft & interestingly enough he compares himself to Seattle Seahawks Safety, Kam Chancellor. Be sure to watch out for Deone Bucannon’s name

2014 NFL Draft Prospect, TE out of Baylor, Jordan Najvar joined Chris Shanafelt on The C.S. Podcast on January 23, 2014 for an interview to talk about his college football career, the East-West Shrine Game, and the possibilities of playing in the NFL. During his college football career, Najvar has been able to work on the same team as Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, & future NFL QB Bryce Petty. Since this interview was recorded,

2014 NFL Draft Prospect, RB out of Coastal Carolina, Lorenzo Taliaferro joined Chris Shanafelt on The C.S. Podcast on February 14, 2014 for an interview to talk about his college football career at both Lackawanna Junior College & Coastal Carolina University, his experience at the 2014 Senior Bowl, and the possibilities of playing in the NFL. Since this interview was recorded, Taliaferro participated in the NFL Combine. Be sure to watch out for Lorenzo Taliaferro’s

2014 NFL Draft Prospect, WR out of Saginaw Valley State University, Jeff Janis joined Chris Shanafelt on The C.S. Podcast on March 1, 2014 for an interview to talk about his football career and the possibilities of playing in the NFL after impressing many at the Senior Bowl & the NFL Combine. Janis finished his college football career second in the history of the GLIAC with 4,305 receiving yards and was one of the fastest

2014 NFL Draft Prospect, WR out of Coastal Carolina, Matt Hazel joined Chris Shanafelt on The C.S. Podcast on January 24, 2014 for an interview to talk about his college football career, the East-West Shrine Game, and the possibilities of playing in the NFL. Hazel’s 2,553 career yards & 28 career receiving touchdowns are 2nd on Coastal Carolina University’s all-time list. Since this interview was recorded, Hazel participated in the NFL Combine. Be sure to look

2014 NFL Draft Prospect, CB out of Liberty University, Walt Aikens joined Chris Shanafelt on February 13, 2014 for an interview to talk about his college football career (at both Illinois & Liberty), the Senior Bowl, & the possibilities of playing in the NFL. Since this interview was recorded, Aikens participated in the NFL Combine and put up some solid numbers. At 6’1, 200 lbs. Aikens has the physical attributes to compete in the NFL.

2014 NFL Draft Prospect, WR out of Vanderbilt University, Jonathan Krause joined Chris Shanafelt on The C.S. Podcast on February 8, 2014 for an interview to talk about his time at Vandy, the experience to play in the Medal of Honor Bowl, & the possibilities of playing in the NFL. Krause was able to play on the opposite side of arguably the best wide-receiver entering this years draft in Jordan Matthews. He talks about the