Author: Brant Tedeschi

I'm Brant Tedeschi, a web developer and entrepreneur, from New Jersey with a degree in history from Monmouth University. I've been developing start-ups for the past 6 years and am the founder and lead developer of FantasySP. Follow me on Twitter or Google+

Gates is not a recommended start for week 4

Many fantasy owners are trying to figure out whether to start Antonio Gates right now.  I too, am a Gates owner.  He is officially listed as doubtful, but if you’ve been keeping track of his news here on FantasySP then you’ll know it doesn’t sound promising.  This morning Chris Mortensen’s tweet didn’t seem to make the decision any better merely saying that he is “listed as doubtful”.

Do not start him because he is a huge risk right now.  Philip Rivers is not playing well and Gates is already hobbled in the first week of October.  Even if Gates does play, he may end up just being a decoy to free up Vincent Jackson (who has a much better chance of playing).  Sorry to say it owners, but you NEED to find a long-term starting solution for the tight-end position.

Freddy Garcia to Start Game 3 Against Tigers

During the New York Yankees postgame show on YES, manager Joe Girardi announced that Freddy Garcia will make the start in game 3.  A.J. Burnett will come out of the bullpen, likely in long relief situations.  This move comes as no surprise to Yankee fans as they know all too well how inconsistent Burnett is as a pitcher.  With the Yankees playing against Justin Verlander twice in this 5-game series, every start will be critical.

September 19th Weekly Release Notes

It is the second edition of my weekly release notes blog post.  Before I move on to the release notes, I’d like to mention that yesterday was a record setting day in terms of traffic for FantasySP.  I suspect more of these record setting days are on the way in the coming weeks so stay tuned.  I want to thank 3 different people for this occasion:

  1. Myself. For ignoring 99% of people’s advice to me about FantasySP and forging ahead because I believe in my vision.
  2. My new wife, Lesley.  She is one of the few people who best understands what its like to run FantasySP.
  3. The users!  Without you guys FantasySP would have ended years ago.
Now onto the release notes for this week:
  • Transactions are live  in your user panel. They have gone through 3 seperate mini design overhauls and I am finally satisfied with how it looks and functions.  If you aren’t familiar, Transactions for each fantasy league are collected and shown here.  You can move back in your league or forward to the latest transactions.
  • ESPN Transactions Added.  As of right now, CBS and ESPN are supported.  I expect to have Yahoo! added by the end of this week.
  • Fantasy Level Disabled.  The fantasy level bar located in the user panel has been disabled for now.  It will have a new home soon enough.
  • News stories should no longer have ‘black diamond’ icons in them.
  • New User Tips disabled.  I felt as though this just made things a bit too busy in the user panel.
  • NFL Fantasy Surprises activated for the 2011 season!
  • NFL stats have been switched over for the 2011 season!
  • Many roster fixes behind the scenes that are incredibly annoying to do but need to be.
  • Fix for CBSSports fantasy syncing.
  • Minor fixes for fantasy team ratings

Panthers Steve Smith is a Must Start

The Carolina Panthers Steve Smith had 6 receptions for 156 receiving yards in a losing effort against the Green Bay Packers.

Analysis: He’s baaaack.  Fantasy owners were leery to start him in week 2 against a solid Packers defense. He had a 59% start percentage in CBS Leagues and a 38% starting percentage in NFL.com fantasy leagues.  He was roughed up and beat up by the Packers, but finally managed to break out in the 4th quarter when the game was nearly decided.  The Panthers have turned into a pass-happy team with Smith getting plenty of targets.  It looks like the old Steve Smith is back and he remains a must start from now on.