The Hit or Miss Nature of Fantasy Football

Fantasy football is anything but predictable, and I was reminded of this as one of my teams was eliminated from playoff contention over the weekend. While my team has suffered from having the 2nd most points scored against it(50 more than it's scored so far), the rest of the problems can be traced back to what I thought was a good draft. Altering just a few of my first picks on draft day probably would have had me in the hunt for a title.

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UNH Keepin' It Gangsta

When you hear the name "University of New Hampshire" it probably conjures up images of drive-bys, gang signs and organized beatdowns. And rightfully so because their backup QB has been charged with murder after he and his friends beat a surfer to death in San Diego.

The backup quarterback for the University of New Hampshire has been charged with murder and suspended from the team, university officials said Friday.

Junior Henri "Hank" Hendricks was charged with murder, assault and battery in San Diego in connection with the beating death of a professional surfer. He will be arraigned on Sept. 10.

San Diego media outlets reported that police said that Hendricks and four others are members of a gang known as the Bird Rock Bandits. They are accused of killing Emery Kauanui Jr. on May 24

Apparently Kauanui spilled his drink on one of Hendricks' friends, and they all decided to retaliate.

Kauanui, 24, died May 28, four days after he was beaten in La Jolla. Seth Cravens, 21; Eric House, 20; Matthew Yanke, 21; and Orlando Osuna, 22, were previously charged in connection with the meeting.

Prosecutors said that Cravens delivered the fatal blow to Kauanui in a fight that started between Kauanui and House. According to Kauanui's girlfriend, the fight began when Kauanui accidentally spilled his drink on House.

Supposedly there were MySpace accounts for some of the guys involved, but I couldn't find them.

Some members of the Bird Rock Bandits maintained MySpace pages that glorified their love of football, drinking, drug use and other activities, although several of the sites have been edited since the arrests.

Osuna's MySpace page lists his interests as girls, watching football, skateboarding and snowboarding. He says he would like to meet Bob Marley, the reggae-music legend, who died in 1981.

Apparently, these guys played high school football together, though they seemed to have be in trouble during those times as well. Nothing like using your teamwork skills to kill someone.

Two of the suspects, Cravens and House, played football at La Jolla High. David Ponsford, their coach, said he wasn't shocked to learn of the accusations against them.

“I had heard some stuff about them just hanging around and partying,” Ponsford said. His reaction to the arrests: “I guess the best words are 'surprised' and 'disappointed.' ”

Both youths challenged authority at times during their football-playing days, Ponsford said of Cravens, who was a running back, and House, a receiver and linebacker.

It's sad to hear that Hendricks, the one that has made the most of his football talent, got caught up in this mess. From the UNH site it sounds like he had some decent QB skills.

Hendricks has shown great improvement heading into his junior season and is slated as the backup quarterback. Posted a solid effort in UNH’s spring football game completing 14-24 passes for 165 yds. and a pair of TDS, along with no interceptions.

Unfortunately, it looks like he'll be quarterbacking a prison team for the next few years.

If You Can't Beat Up Someone For Breaking Your Windshield, Then When Can You?

Normally, when you hear San Diego Chargers and police mentioned in the same sentence you probably think something like, "ah, the Bengals of the west coast are at it again!"

Well, what if the incident involved a Chargers' player having his windshield broken by some guy in a vehicle in front of him throwing a rock at his car while travelling on the highway? Does that change things?

"San Diego Chargers rookie Anthony Waters was charged with hitting a man who threw a rock at his car on a highway.

The 22-year-old linebacker was arrested last week on a simple assault and battery charge and released on $1,000 bail, Horry County spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier said Monday. No trial date has been set.

Waters, a former Clemson star, was traveling on Nichols Highway last week when a passenger in a vehicle in front of him threw a rock and broke Waters' windshield, causing about $350 in damages, according to arrest warrants.

It's unclear what happened next, but at some point Waters and another man struck Colby Sarvis, 18, and threatened to kill him, according to warrants. Bourcier said she did not know if the men had lawyers.

Ok, so the "threatening to kill him" part might have been a little over the top, but don't tell me that you've never been pissed about a rock flying back from a semi-truck that almost cracked, or did crack, your windshield. Now imagine if you actually saw someone throw that rock, and you were able to get them pulled over to the side of the road. I don't think that a little "personal justice" is out of line.

At least no one got shot, run over or puked on.