Hello friends, family and those who stumbled upon ykba.com,

The most anticipated Super Bowl in years is coming up this weekend and football fans everywhere are pumped for the Manning/Brees showdown.  To any new Dr. Rug readers this may come as a surprise but all the long-time, loyal readers know that before the good doctor became affiliated with the YBA I used to wax poetic about the NFL and its state of affairs.  So in tribute to the early years of my career I’m going back to my roots and writing about the upcoming Super Bowl.  But, seeing as how the commish is the man who signs my cheques these days I figured I best put a YBA spin on my Super Bowl article.  So without further ado, I present to you, Dr. Rug’s Super Bowl Prediction Based on YBA Equivalents (yeah, it’s a rather long title)…

As those of you who surf all the web-based sports sites will surely know, there are an absurd number of ways that people use to predict the Super Bowl winner.  There’s the traditional “Assign grades to each position and see which team wins the most” (see: King, Peter)… there’s the “generic, same prediction each year” method (see: Easterbrook, Gregg)… there’s the “Let a computer simulate the game innumerable times and see which team wins the most times” (see: Accuscore.com)… there’s the surprisingly accurate “let a Madden video game simulate the game and see who wins” (see: http://sports.espn.go.com/videogames/simulation/nfl?id=3861669)... And of course there are many more gimmicks out there that people have come up with to predict the Super Bowl winner and get you to read their articles. 

Now you’re probably asking yourself, what is Dr. Rug’s insane, gimmicky method for predicting this year’s winner?  The answer:  I plan to find a YBA equivalent for each key Super Bowl player and then decide which of the two teams would win a basketball game.  Will this actually work and correctly predict the Super Bowl winner?  Probably. 
Here we go…

Quarterbacks

Peyton Manning – He’s a 4 time MVP of the league.  He’s able to dissect defences with seemingly little to no effort.  He sits out the games that don’t matter.
YBA Equivalent: Cory Taylor, Medic North Mavs

Drew Brees – He is the best offensive player in the league.  He puts up points quicker and more often than anyone else. 
YBA Equivalent: Nick Diem, All West Glass Gunners

Running Backs

Joseph Addai – An underappreciated weapon in the Colts offense, Addai keeps defences at least a little bit honest and forces them to consider the run.
YBA Equivalent: Rohan Brown, All West Glass Gunners

Donald Brown – An undersized rookie back who is capable of tearing through opposing defences.  Brown is an underrated weapon who could come up big on Sunday.
YBA Equivalent: Narlie Dapilos, Hot Shots Juniors

Reggie Bush – Loaded with potential, capable of pulling off highlight reel plays but for unknown reasons he has yet to be able to fully capitalize on his skills.
YBA Equivalent: Skylar Cumming, JSL

Pierre Thomas – A key weapon in the vaunted Saints offense, Thomas is just as capable in the rushing game as he is catching the ball out of the backfield.
YBA Equivalent: Jason Cutten, All West Glass Gunners

Wide Receivers

Reggie Wayne – The consistent veteran presence among the receiving core.  He has put up 1000+ yards receiving in each of the past 6 seasons.  The Colt’s most reliable receiving option.
YBA equivalent: Deneze, Medic North Mavs

Pierre Garcon – The young deep threat.  He stretches defences and gives Manning a big play option down the field.
YBA Equivalent: Jacob Sullivan, Hot Shots Juniors

Austin Collie – One of the top rookie receivers in the NFL this year.  Collie provides the Colts with a fourth receiving option when they look to spread the field.
YBA Equivalent: Kent Low, JSL

Marques Colston – The Saints leading receiver this year, Colston was the favourite weapon of Brees in the Saints league-best offense.
YBA Equivalent: Josh Campbell, Boston Pizza Bulldogs

Devery Henderson – Previously only a deep threat for the Saints, Henderson expanded his all-around game this year and became a solid weapon in all facets of the Saints offensive attack.
YBA Equivalent: Cole Marshall, Medic North Mavs

Robert Meachem – The quick-strike, deep threat on the Saints.  Capable of exploding at any time for an unbelievable score.
YBA Equivalent: Ronnie Leonardis, JSL

Tight Ends

Jeremy Shockey – An integral part of the Saints offense.  When matched up against undersized defenders he’s able to use his size to exploit them.
YBA Equivalent: Dave Hurley, Boston Pizza Bulldogs

Dallas Clark – Has been one of Manning’s favourite targets for years.  Age is getting to him but he’s still a consistent weapon capable of finding and exploiting any hole in the defence.
YBA Equivalent: Damien Healy, Boston Pizza Bulldogs

Kickers

Garrett Hartley – Despite being inactive until late November, Hartley has been clutch for the Saints.  He’s a consistent scorer who thrives under the pressure of late-game situations.
YBA Equivalent: Jeff Bartlett, All West Glass Gunners

Matt Stover – A 42 year old veteran, Stover has consistently put points on the board throughout his long NFL career.  One of the most accurate kickers of all time.
YBA Equivalent: Pietro Bertolini, Boston Pizza Bulldogs

Defensive Players

Dwight Freeney – The best player on the Colts D.  The biggest question entering Super Bowl weekend is whether or not this superstar will take the field on Sunday.
YBA Equivalent: Shaun Doherty, Boston Pizza Bulldogs

Robert Mathis – Freeney’s counterpart on the opposite side of the line, Mathis has been just as dangerous this season and could pester Brees all day long with his aggressive defence.
YBA Equivalent: Jose Esteban, Hot Shots Juniors

Darren Sharper – This hard hitting safety was the Saints most dangerous defensive weapon and a runner-up for the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year.
YBA Equivalent: Kyfer Pokiak, JSL

Jonathan Vilma – A former rookie of the year and Pro-Bowl linebacker, the leader of the Saints D and one of the top defensive players in the league.
YBA Equivalent: Darren Campbell, All West Glass Gunners

Coaches

Sean Payton – A former replacement player during the ’87 strike (not to mention a brief stint as a player with the Ottawa Rough Riders), Payton has turned the pathetic Saints franchise around and led them to their first ever Super Bowl. 
YBA Equivalent: Mike Auge, Boston Pizza Bulldogs (took a team with players who have been around the YBA for decades but never won a title (Pietro, Healy, Hurley, etc.) and led them to 1st place in the league)

Jim Caldwell – After years spent apprenticing for the job, Caldwell took over the head spot on the sidelines for the Colts this season with spectacular results.  Is he really a good coach or is his team just that good?
YBA Equivalent: Hash Manickum, Boston Pizza Bulldogs (spent years apprenticing as a YKFL coach before his call up to the big leagues of the YBA this season)

(Dr. Rug side note: I tried to find an equivalent for Ryan Strain but I realized it wasn’t 1986 and William “Refrigerator” Perry wasn’t playing in this Super Bowl)

The Line-ups

Saints: Nick, Skylar, Jason, Josh, Cole, Ronnie, Dave, Jeff, Kyfer & DC.  Coach: Mike.

Colts: Cory, Rohan, Narlie, Deneze, Jacob, Kent, Damien, Pietro, Shaun & Jose.  Coach: Hash.

The Match-Up

Much like the actual football team, this Saints squad would be able to put huge points up on the board in a hurry.  They would have numerous scoring options who are each capable of putting up big numbers on any given night.  Other than DC, every player on the team has put up at least 24 points in a game this season and 6 of their 10 players have scored 30+.

The Colts squad on the other hand features a balanced combination of exceptional veterans and explosive rookies.  Deneze, Damien, Pietro and Shaun bring years of basketball expertise to the floor and would be able to handle any situation that the game could throw at them.  Kent, Jacob, Narlie and Rohan are YBA rookies who are all capable of dazzling fans and making the Plays of the Day every time they touch the ball.  And to top it all off, they have Cory, the best player in the league.

The Verdict

The key factor in this game (much like the Super Bowl) would be the health of Shaun Doherty (aka Dwight Freeney).  If he’s healthy enough to run, I like the Colts team and their well-balanced offense to be too much for the Saints to handle and their defence should be able to pester the Saints offense into a mistake or two.  If on the other hand he’s unable to play I see a close battle throughout the game.  In the end though, even without Shaun in the line-up, I think Cory would be too much for the Saints squad to handle and the Colts would be able to pull out a tight win.

So there you have it.  Put all your money on the Cory Taylor led Indianapolis Colts to win it all this Sunday.

As always, if you have any questions, comments or care to make a wager on the big game, I can be reached at Dr_Rug@hotmail.com... and check back in with ykba.com early next week for a Dr. Rug mailbag and the January POTM. 

Hello YBA Fans,

Dr. Rug is here this holiday season to bring you all the items on your YBA Christmas wish list. 
You’ve been clamouring for a POTW… I’ve got it. 
You’ve been demanding a stats update… well, it was just recently updated but I’ll break down the most interesting and surprising stats from the sheet.
You’ve been trashing Cole repeatedly on Trash Talk… I’ll break down how good he really is (or isn’t) as well as answer a few other fan inquiries.
So relax, pull up a chair, turn your computer monitor so your boss can’t see it as he walks by, and get ready for Dr. Rug’s Christmas Bag O’ Treats…

Players of the Week(s)

We’re into the 9th week of the season and it would be way too much work to come up with a POTW for each of the 9 weeks, so I’ve broken the season down into three week blocks and will be giving you the POTW for each of those blocks.

POTW October 14th – October 29th

POTW November 1st – November 19th

POTW November 22nd – December 10th

Want to make the POTW list in the new year?  My suggestion is that you spend the holidays working on your mid-range jumper, your killer cross-over and of course, your free throws.

An Inside Look at the Stat Sheet

There are some interesting trends that jump out when you spend 20 hours a week pouring over the YBA stats.  Here are some of the more interesting quirks that have appeared in the first half of this season.  Are they the result of small sample size or are they trends that will continue all year?  Only time will tell…

Dave Hurley – 20 ppg vs. Juniors (3 games), 7 ppg vs. everyone else (9 games).  Dave feasts on the undersized junior squad.  Using post-up moves that wouldn’t work on anyone his own height, Dave owns the paint against anyone under 5’6”. 
Jeromy Ball – 6 ppg vs. Boston Pizza, 19.4 ppg vs. the rest of the league.  With a similar stat line to that of Mr. Hurley’s, Jeromy seems to be able to use his strong post game against everyone in the league except the Bulldogs.  Boston Pizza’s three-headed defensive monster of Hash, Rhino and Pietro are able to match his strength and, unlike the ladies, they don’t seem to fall for any of his slick moves.  It’s no surprise that he’s DNP’d in the Mavs’ last two games against the Bulldogs.
November 15 – Up Here vs. Hot Shots. In the 36 games played so far this season, there have been eleven 30+ point games total.  Two of them occurred for the same team during the same game.  Jason Cutten and Rohan Brown scored 37 and 32 points respectively in the 76ers 99-70 victory over the Juniors.
Sam Zehr’s point totals.  Here are Sam’s point totals for the season: 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 11, 17, 0, 0, 0.  Apparently Sam has a special place in his heart for our veterans as he scored 28 of his 30 total points on Remembrance Day and his next game afterwards.
October 26 – Boston Pizza vs. Up Here.  This game epitomized the Bulldogs’ balanced attack (pre-Josh Campbell).  Four players scored for Boston Pizza in the game, the point totals for these four were 16 points, 16 points, 16 points and 17 points. 
Balanced Scoring II.  Of the 74 players who have played a game in the YBA this season, 45 have scored 10+ points on at least one occasion (including 10 on both BP’s and JSL), 19 have scored 20+, 10 have scored 30+ and only one, Nick Diem, has scored 40+. 
Consistent Scoring.  Deneze Antoine has gotten double digits in scoring in 9 of the 13 games he’s played but he has yet to score 20 points.  He has scored between 7 and 19 points in all 13 games he’s played.
Consistent Scoring II.  Shaun Doherty has scored between 14 and 19 points in each of the five games he’s played this year.
Ironmen.  Only 10 players, and only 5 non-juniors have played in every game for their team this season.  On the Juniors Jessee Brake, Alinar Dalipos, Jose Esteban, Ray Masacupan and Skylor Lane have played every game.  On the Mavs only the long range bombers, Cole and Billy have made it out every time.  For JSL, Kyfer and Ronnie have played every game (although Ronnie cut it close last game, subbing in for only 2 minutes in the 4th quarter).  And on the Bulldogs, only yours truly has fought through every hangover to make it to each game.
Skylar Urschel – 19.9 ppg.  Despite playing in the women’s league where teams average only 35 points per game, Skylar has the second highest ppg of any player in either the Men’s or Women’s league.  That is impressive!!

A Few Inquiries from the Mailbag

The emails have been few and far between this year but I have received a few interesting ones that I thought I’d answer for you…
Dr. Rug,
I’ve noticed the Cole Marshall is #2 on the YBA top scorers list.  From my days in town I remember him as a long range chucker with no discernible skills whatsoever.  Has this changed or is the defence in the league really that bad?
Sincerely,
Old-school YBA-er

Dear Old-School,
While it’s still very true that the majority of Cole’s points come on long range bombs from behind the arc, he has become a very good all around player.  Ok, maybe “all around player” is a little bit of a stretch but Cole has improved dramatically in many aspects of the game since his days with the high performance team.  With his length and basketball intelligence, Cole has become an above average defender on his side of half.  And on the offensive end, while he still relies mainly on the three-point ball he has learned to drive hard to the hoop and even makes an occasional nice pass to an open teammate in the post (although a lot of the time these passes don’t work as his post-playing teammates are clearly expecting a shot).  Overall, he has developed into one of the top players in the league and is an asset to his team on both ends of the court.

Dr. Rug

Hey Doc,
Long time reader, first time writer.  I know the Christmas tournament is coming up in a little over a week from now.  If you were a captain who would the top 5 players on your draft board be?

Thanks,
Fantasy B-Baller

Dear Fantasy Fan,
Thanks for being a loyal fan and thanks for the great question.  If I was one of the captains in the upcoming Christmas tourney draft, here’s what my top 5 would look like:

1. Nick Diem.  He’s leading the league in scoring with 7 ppg more than the #2 guy.  I don’t think I could pass up that kind of scoring with the top pick.
2. Deneze Antoine.  He’s everything that you want your point guard to be.  He distributes that ball as well as anyone in the league and if you need a big bucket he’ll step up and knock it down.
3. J-Cutten.  Silky smooth on the wing and tough as nails in the post.  Cutten can play any position on the floor and is solid at all of them.
4. Kyfer Pokiak.  Despite his black-hole tendencies on the offensive end, Kyfer’s defensive presence alone makes him a top 5 pick.  Add in his 15-20 points per game and he’s a must have for any team.
5. Josh Campbell.  A monster on the boards at both ends of the floor.  And despite the occasional ill-conceived pull-up trey, his offensive skills are top notch.

Of course this top 5 list is taking into account the fact that Cory won’t be playing in the tournament.

Dr. Rug

Dear Dr. Rug,
Will Josh Campbell ever learn how to finish an alley-oop?
Sincerely,
Rug

Dear Rug,
He hasn’t in all the years you’ve played with him; I doubt he’ll start now.

Dr. Rug

Well fans, that’s all the time I have for today.  As always, if you have any questions or comments I can be reached at Dr_Rug@hotmail.com. I hope you enjoy the holiday season and I’ll be back in the new year with more insights into this great league of ours.

Merry Christmas!!!