Rajon Rondo Nearing a Return?

Rajon Rondo (Bos - PG) has been out with a left ankle injury since December 15th, when the Celtics played the Knicks. Rondo went up for a shot in the fourth quarter and rolled his left ankle in the process. He has missed seven total games since the injury, but was listed as active in tonight's game. Currently, Rondo is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Toronto Raptors. Even if he does play in Sunday's game, his minutes will definitely be limited. Doc Rivers and the Celtics organization would not want to force their star point guard to return right away, but rather ease him back into it, despite their injury ridden team. (Kevin Garnett left Wednesday's game with a strained calf, which occurred when he landed awkwardly, after a dunk. Garnett may miss up to two weeks with this calf injury.)

Trying to fill the void of two star players, the Celtics have lost their last two games. Glenn Davis and Nate Robinson have been getting 30+ minutes a game with the absence of Rondo and Garnett. However, these two players cannot be mirror replacements, production wise, and the Celtics have struggled because of this. Rondo has averaged 11.2 ppg and 13.8 apg, this season while Nate has averaged only 10.83 ppg and 3.3 apg over the last six games in Rondo's absence. The Celtics are suffering without Rondo and his return cannot come soon enough.

Chauncey Billups Lighting It Up

Chauncey Billups (Den - PG) has been shooting "lights out", this past week. After missing three games due to a groin injury, Billups has averaged 25.2 points over his last five games. Over his last four games, he has been shooting at a ridiculous 62.7% from the field and 96.7% from the line. He has averaged 27 points and 3.8 3PTM a game. Not only that, but Billups has also been solid in assists (3.0), rebounds (5.3) and steals (1.5). Despite this hot streak, the Nuggets have only won 2 of their last 5 games.

A Career Night for Dorell Wright

Although the Atlanta Hawks beat the Golden State Warriors tonight 103- 93, Dorell Wright had another big night. Not only did he top his last game effort, where he had 28 points and 6 rebounds, he also topped his career high and season high of 30 points. Wright finished tonight's game with his second double-double of the season, consisting of 32 points and 11 rebounds. He shot 13 for 21 (61.9%) from the field, 4 for 9 from beyond the arc and he also added two steals to the mix.

With this game, Wright moved up six spots in the fantasy rankings, passing Lamar Odom and Tim Duncan. If Dorell continues this high level performance, it is very possible that he will make his way into the top 25 fantasy players in the next few weeks. The Charlotte Bobcats will be the Warriors' second stop on their five-game long road trip. Wright will be looking to continue his hot streak as the Warriors face Stephen Jackson and the Bobcats on Friday.

Release Date on Diablo 3?

Blizzard is notorious for pushing back their release dates, but recently I have been checking all over the web to find a somewhat realistic release date for Diablo 3. After searching for about a week, I have continually found sites which claim that Diablo 3 will be released TBA 2011. However, today I checked IGN to find a Diablo 3 release date on Dec 31, 2011.

The bad news is that yes, the projected release date is more than a year away from today. The good news is that World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has been released, which means that Starcraft 2 Expansion and Diablo 3 are the two games likely to be released by Blizzard in 2011. Hopefully, Blizzard releases the date of the Diablo 3 Beta soon, so we will have a better idea of when the actual release date will be.

Diablo 3 Skills

Tyreke Evans Possibly Out For The Season!?

Tyreke Evans (Sac - PG,SG) has continued to play 30+ minutes over his last 6 games with a painful lingering foot condition. However, this condition known as plantar fasciitis, has been a problem that Evans has had to deal with, throughout this entire 2010-11 NBA season.

"Plantar fasciitis is a common, painful foot condition. Patients, and sometimes doctors often confuse the terms plantar fasciitis and heel spurs. Plantar fasciitis refers to the syndrome of inflammation of the band of tissue that runs from the heel along the arch of the foot"

-By Jonathan Cluett, M.D., About.com Guide

Evans told reporters following Monday night's game between the Kings and the Los Angeles Clippers that he is considering a procedure on his ailing left foot that could sideline him for an extended period of 3-4 months, effectively ending his season. "I talked to my agent today and I was thinking about, maybe getting something done to it earlier, I would probably miss three months or something, I don’t know." (CBSSports.com)

Even with this foot injury, Tyreke Evans has averaged 16.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists so far this season. Up until this point he has only missed 2 games, but if his foot condition worsens it is very likely that he will go through with the surgery. Even if he opts to have the surgery in the next week, the 3-4 month recovery period would put an end to his 2010-11 season. The Kings' last regular season game is scheduled for April 12, 2011 against the Lakers.

A Stellar Night For Dorell Wright

Dorell Wright (GS - SG,SF) led the Golden State Warriors to a 110- 95 win over the Philadelphia 76ers Monday Night. By halftime, Wright had scored 15 points, shooting 71.6% from the field. He finished the game with 28 points (8-11 FG), 5 3-PT made, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and zero turnovers.  

Dorell was the Miami Heat's 1st round (19th overall) draft pick in 2004. Last year in Miami he played an average of only 20:48 minutes a game. However, this year after signing a 3-year deal with the Golden State Warriors, Wright has taken a starting role in the Warriors offense and is currently averaging a little over 38 minutes a game. In 29 games, he has averaged 14.7 points, 2.3 3-PT made, 6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks a game. 

Coming into the 2010-2011 fantasy basketball season, Wright's projected ranking was 143rd overall. In many fantasy basketball leagues he was picked in the last few rounds, and in some he was not even drafted. Currently, season-to-date rankings have Dorell Wright as the 41st best fantasy basketball player. Though this may not sound like much, he currently ranks above notable players such as, Stephen Curry, Carmelo Anthony and Brook Lopez. Dorell Wright shows no signs of slowing down either, as he as scored in double-digits in all but one of his last 14 games.

Jared Dudley Is On Fire

Jared Dudley (Pho - SG,SF,PF) has been on a tear over his last three games, shooting 61.8% from the field. Also over these last three games, Dudley has averaged 3.3 three-pointers, 20.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. His hot streak can be attributed to his last two games, where he has played more than 41 minutes in each game. In these last two games, Dudley scored 27 against the Spurs and then 33 against the Heat. He has been starting at shooting guard for the Suns, with the newly acquired Vince Carter out with a knee injury. 

With Carter expected to be out for the next week, Dudley will continue to get 35+ minutes. As of now Dudley is only owned in 25% of all Yahoo leagues and he is a great source of 3's, points, rebounds and steals. If your fantasy team is lacking in any of these categories, Dudley would be the guy for you.

Fantasy Football: My Lineup For The Playoffs In Week 16

 Michael Vick- With a poor first half against the Giants last week, Vick basically took over the second half with two key drives and then DeSean sealed the deal with shocking punt return for a TD as time expired. Over the past seven weeks, Vick has averaged about 30 fantasy points, which is a ridiculously high amount for a QB. I expect Vick to keep up this production against the Vikings, who were trounced by the Bears last week 40-14. It will be the Sunday night game and if there is anyone who I can count on this week to get me some points, it's Vick.

Roddy White- A top notch receiver who will be playing against a New Orleans who has a pretty solid defense. His current status for the Monday night is Questionable, but hopefully this improves to Probable by Monday. Although White has not had a huge game since Week 10, he has consistently gotten points every week. I am hoping for a shootout between Matt Ryan and Drew Brees and maybe White could have a big game.

Reggie Wayne- The number one receiver on the Colts had only 34 yards receiving on 5 catches last week against the Jaguars. However, I am expecting Wayne to have a bounce back game tomorrow in Oakland. With Collie out due to another concussion, (incurred last week against Jacksonville) Wayne will start alongside Pierre Garcon. This will mean more catches for Wayne, as Peyton's top three targets will likely be Tamme, Garcon and Wayne.

DeSean Jackson- Jackson's punt return for a TD will be difficult to forget, especially for all of you Giants fans. As a fantasy owner I just hope that this week against the Vikings, Jackson has more than 52 yards and a fumble. I decided to play him over Danny Woodhead this week since he does get punt return duties and he can always have one or two big plays during a game. I see him as a must-start due to his big-play threat potential.

Brian Westbrook- Although he is no Frank Gore and he will be sharing carries with Anthony Dixon, Westbrook still has some life (and fantasy value) inside him. To my benefit, Westbrook will be running against the Rams tomorrow, who have a pretty average defense (17th in rushing and 18th in receiving). Based on his performance in the last couple of games I'm estimating that Westbrook gets about 60 yards rushing and a TD.

Ryan Torain- I really like Torain and his tough running style. Upon coming back form his injury, Torain tore through Tampa Bay's defense in Week 14 with 172 rushing yards on 24 carries. Last week he had 102 all-purpose yards (11 carries for 53 yards and 48 receiving yards on 5 catches) and a TD against Dallas. Tomorrow the Redskins face the Jaguars who have given up an average of 115.9 rushing yards and 1.0 rushing TD per game. I like this matchup a lot.

Tony Gonzalez- Gonzalez has not gotten many yards this year, averaging 42.2 yards per game up until this point. However, if the game turns into a shootout between Ryan and Brees Tony could be the beneficiary of a touchdown. Even on the goal line, if Turner does not run it in, Gonzalez could always get the occasional TD. I don't like this matchup too much, but according to Rotowire.com "The upside is [Gonzalez] faces the Saints in Week 16, a team he torched for eight catches for 110 yards and one touchdown in Week 3." -Rotowire.com. So we will see what happens.

LeGarrette Blount- Blount has taken over the starting job from Cadillac Williams and he has proven that he can play very well on the NFL level. The Buccaneers face the Seahawks who are currently the 21st worst rush defense in the league. Blount put up 110 yards and a TD against the Lions last week, so I estimate that he gets 80 yards rushing and a TD against Seattle tomorrow.

Benjarvus Green-Ellis- I spoke about Green-Ellis in one of my earlier posts where I have his current RB rank and the poor projected rank given to him before the start of the season. Who said the Patriots can't run the ball? "He now leads the Patriots with 190 attempts for 824 yards (4.3 avg.) with 12 rushing scores, and a decent shot at his first career 1,000-yard season." - Yahoo Sports. Not only this, but  Green-Ellis and the Patriots also have a dream match-up against the Buffalo Bills who rank dead last in the run. For these reasons alone, I believe Benjarvus will have at least 100 yards rushing and one if not two TD's tomorrow against the Bills.              

                

Garret Hartley- Not much to say about Hartley except that he has been solid, getting at least 7 fantasy points for me for the past 4 weeks. The main reason I have him as my kicker is because he is on the New Orleans Saints and I can always be sure that Brees will lead the team to score. Whether they be PATs or Field Goals, I know Hartley will always come out with a good amount of combined points.

Baltimore DST- For my last choice I have Baltimore defense playing against the Cleveland Browns. Despite Hillis running all over the Ravens D in week 3, Ray Lewis has given me hope that that Hillis performance will not be repeated in tomorrow's game."Ray Lewis vows that Peyton Hillis will get shut down" -Yahoo Sports. In addition to this, the Raven's have something to play for: "The Ravens can clinch a playoff berth without assistance from other teams with a victory." -Yahoo Sports. Baltimore's defense has been solid the past few weeks and with that being said, I am putting my faith in Lewis and the Ravens D this week. 




Final Words Before Kickoff: Anything can happen in fantasy football, so no matter how much you analyze teams, match-ups and players, the fact of the matter is that there is always a bit of luck involved. You may have the best team on paper, but one week your entire team may just be average and your opponent may put up a monster week. Once the games start all you can do is sit there, watch and hope for the best. Finally, if you are in the playoffs this week, I just want to say good luck and don't play anyone on the IR!

Diablo 3: Barbarian Screenshots With Captions

The Barbarian walks across the bridge of the dungeon, only to be attacked by evil creatures lurking below. 

The Barbarian fights on the bridge, cleaving his way through a large number of these zombie-like creatures. Notice the creatures crawling up the sides. This just shows the depth of the new D3 environments.

A treasure chest is stumbled upon... would one dare open it?

It's a trap! The treasure chest spins and descends into the floor below. Four blue apparitions rise from the ground, surrounding the Barbarian.

The Barbarian must either flee or destroy these spirits. Does the Barbarian value the treasure more than his own life?


 
He defeats the four apparitions and is rewarded with an entire set of powerful new equipment, complete with a fire enhanced hammer.

The Barbarian uses his movement skill, leap to make his way over the destroyed bridge and safely land on the other side.

A massive shock wave is sent out by the Barbarian. 



The Barbarian looks on as the structure begins to crumble from his attack.

As most of the zombies are crushed by the structure, the Barbarian kills the remaining monsters that were able to escape from the carnage.

Deckard Cain and the Barbarian look on, as the Cultists start the summoning of some kind of large, evil creature.

The creature rises from the summoning pool as the Cultists ritual nears completion.

The Cultists are sacrificed, as the Thousand Pounder takes full form and heads straight for Deckard Cain and the Barbarian. 

After a tough battle, the Barbarian finishes off the Thousand Pounder and is rewarded with some valuable items for his efforts.

Nearing the end of the Dungeon, the Barbarian whirlwinds his way through a bunch of monsters, destroying all in his path.

Deckard Cain and the Barbarian reach the end of the dungeon, where they meet their friend the Witch Doctor and prepare for another battle ahead.


Diablo 3: The Barbarian

Diablo 3 Characters: Wizard

Diablo 3 Skills

     This type of character has been with Blizzard's Diablo series since the beginning. Originally named the Sorcerer in Diablo 1, and then named the Sorceress in Diablo 2, this character class will be known as the Wizard in Diablo 3. Just as with every other class in D3, players will be able to make a male version of the Wizard or a female version of the Wizard.
     The Wizard will be a ranged class, specializing in spells and magic. Just as in Diablo 2, the Wizard class will be able to use the powers of lightning, ice, fire and arcane against his or her enemies. For all of those who were wondering, yes, the skill Teleport will be making a reappearance in Diablo 3 as one of the Wizard's arcane skills. Spells such as Meteor Storm, Hydra, Blizzard and Chain Lightning (Now Called Electrocute) will be making a return in D3 as well.



Skill Trees

     In Diablo 3, the Wizard's three skill trees will be Storm Skills, Arcane Skills and Conjuring Skills. The Storm Skills tree will include spells such as Charged Bolt, Electrocute, Frost Nova, Blizzard and Tornado. The Arcane Skills tree will include spells such as, Disintegrate, Slow Time (Slows Missile Attacks), Mana Recovery and Teleport. Lastly, the Conjuring Skills tree will include spells such as, Damage Resistance, Conjured Health, Meteor Storm, Hydra and Acid Cloud.
     I spoke a little bit about the skill Teleport in my Diablo 3 Characters: Barbarian post, and about how it gave an unfair advantage in duels in Diablo 2. This dilemma will be non-existent in Diablo 3 as every class will now have a movement skill, much like Teleport. The Barbarian, for example will have leap and will be able to jump from one area of the arena to another. I will go over the other three  movement skills as I post a write-up for each remaining class (Monk, Witch Doctor and Demon Hunter).





Mana

     Aside from the Wizard's normal melee attack, every skill and spell that the Wizard uses will consume Mana. Just as it was in Diablo 2, the Wizard will have a blue orb on the bottom right the screen, that will deplete as the character uses its skills. To regenerate mana, the player will have to either wait until it slowly regenerates, or pick up mana globes, dropped by defeated enemies. Though I am not completely sure, I would guess that Blizzard will include a mana regeneration skill, which would increase the rate at which the Wizard could regenerate mana. Whatever the case may be, the Wizard will rely heavily on mana as it adventures through the world of Diablo 3.

Diablo 3 Classes: Barbarian

Female Barbarian

Male Barbarian

     This type of character has been with the Diablo series since the first Diablo was released in 1997. Originally named the Warrior in Diablo 1, Blizzard changed his name to barbarian in Diablo 2. Now in the upcoming Diablo 3, Blizzard has brought back the Barbarian, but the player will now be able to choose whether he or she wants to create a male or female Barbarian character. Blizzard decided to give the player the option of playing a male and female character, despite what class he or she may choose to be.
     Aside from these visual differences, which will not alter the gameplay, the Barbarian character will remain a strong, tank-like, melee class. The Barbarian will be able to inflict large amounts of damage at close range, and will also be able to absorb a large amount of damage before going down.



Skill Trees
     Just as the skill system was in Diablo 2, each character class will have 3 separate skill trees. In Diablo 3, the Barbarian's three skill trees will include a Berserker Skill Tree, a Juggernaut Skill Tree and a Battlemaster Skill Tree. The picture to the right was taken from Blizzard's Barbarian Gameplay Video.  

     Unfortunately, this skill tree system looks eerily similar to the skill trees used in World of Warcraft. However, this system will allow blizzard to make all five classes balanced, especially when it comes to the new addition of PVP. An equally powerful Barbarian will now be evenly matched against the ranged classes, unlike in Diablo 2 where ranged classes always owned the melee classes in duels. A sorceress could keep teleporting around shooting lightning or frozen orb and a melee class, such as a barbarian, was lucky to even get a hit on his or her attacker.




Stamina & Fury

Diablo 3' s Barbarian will use up either stamina or fury, depending on the type of skill used. The Barbarian's blue mana, will be replaced with a greenish-blue orb called stamina. As the Barbarian uses basic attacks the character's stamina orb will continue to drain. Fury, on the other hand, is a type of energy used by the Barbarian to unleash more powerful attacks. For those of you who have played World of Warcraft, fury is much like the Warrior's rage meter. Fury is an energy that increases as the Barbarian attacks monsters, and then decreases when the character is not attacking anything. Generally, the more powerful an attack, the more fury needed to unleash that attack.


     Many complain that Diablo 3 will be too much like World of Warcraft, with similar skill trees and auto-stats. The truth is that these mechanics will sacrifice a bit of character customization, but will improve the overall gameplay tremendously.

Diablo 3: New Inventory System

Inventory Equipment Layout
The inventory layout in Diablo 3 will include many of the same type of equipment slots, which were present in Diablo 2. New additions include the Shoulders Slot, Pants Slot, Bracers Slot and the exciting new Talisman Slot, which replaced the Amulet slot of D2. Here is a list of the 13 slots that will be available in Diablo 3. More slots means more customization, especially when charms are added into the mix. Diablo 3 Skills

Left-Side Slots Include:
#1. Shoulders Slot (New)
#2. Gloves Slot
#3. Ring Slot 1
#4. Weapon Slot 1- Ability to dual-wield dependent on weapon, class and skills.

Middle Slots Include:
#5. Helmet Slot
#6. Chest Slot
#7. Belt Slot
#8. Pants Slot (New)
#9. Boots Slot

Right-Side Slots Include:
#10. Talisman Slot (New)- This new slot will basically be a storage space for charms. Charms took up a lot of inventory space in D2 and the Talisman is Blizzard's way of solving this problem in D3. From this picture, taken from Blizzcon, it looks like characters will be able to hold up to 13 charms in the Talisman.
#11. Bracers Slot (New)
#12. Ring Slot 2
#13. Weapon Slot 2- Ability to dual-wield dependent on weapon, class and skills.

Tetris-Style Inventory No More!
No longer will you have to waste time organizing your items to make them fit into your inventory. Fans complained about this problem in Diablo 2, so Blizzard responded with a new inventory system.

Item Slots- "Small" type items, such as potions and scrolls will take up only a 1x1 space. "Large" type items, such as weapons and armor, will take up a 2x1 space as shown in the picture on the right.

Stackable Items- Potions, Scrolls, Gems, Crafting Materials, etc. will all be stackable items. This being that more than one similar item can be placed in one inventory slot. An example of this would include, stacking 15 scrolls of identity in a single item slot. Blizzard has not yet released how many of each item you will be able to stack in a single inventory slot.

Bags- The Blizzard development team has spoken about implementing the use of bags in Diablo 3. The latest news was that there was going to be one bag slot for each character. Adding a bag to a character's bag slot would add more available slots to that character's inventory, rather than opening up an entirely new window. Different types of bags will be able to be traded and sold in Diablo 3.



The Stash and Transferring Items
In Diablo 2, each character had a small stash, which held only a few items. This stash was expanded in the Diablo 2 Expansion Pack, but the size was still not large enough for most players. Lack of space for items forced players to create "mules", which were level 1 characters just created to hold items. Players were then forced to drop items in a game, change characters and then hope that the items they dropped were still there. Players also used friends and mediators to transfer items, but even this was both risky and time consuming. Blizzard felt a very strong need to address this problem in D3.

In addition to removing the tetris-style inventory, Blizzard has dramatically increased the stash size in Diablo 3. Not having enough space and forcing the player to choose between dropping one good item or another will be no more. Addressing the item transfer issue, in D3 players will now be able to transfer items between their characters without having to log in and log back out. As long as these characters are on the same account, the transferring of items will be a quick and easy task, rather than a long and risky chore.

Miami Heat vs. Phoenix Suns: Lebron Interview & Monster Dunk Before End Of First Half

Watch three of Lebron's amazing three plays in the first half. At the end of the half Lebron is interviewed and he talks about his first half plays and about Grant Hill who had been guarding him for most of the game.

Fantasy Football: Don't Forget About Joseph Addai In Week 16

Believe it or not, Joseph Addai said that he "fully expects" to start against the Raiders in Week 16. He has been out with neck and shoulder injuries since Week 6. Despite being out for almost 10 Weeks, Addai still remains the second leading rusher on the Colts. He has made it through both practices in full over the past two days. Addai is not only a great running back, but he is also great blocker. This is the reason the Colts have missed him dearly for most of this season.

Addai and the Colts face the Oakland Raiders in Week 16 and it looks like it will be a favorable match up. The Raiders have allowed teams 120 rushing yards on average and they have given up almost one rushing touchdown every game. If you have kept Addai on your bench the entire season play him this week or if he is available on the waiver wire, make the add. It has come down to the playoffs in most fantasy leagues and Addai could be your make or break player!

Dallas Mavericks vs. Orlando Magic: Hedo Turkoglu Misses Dunk

Orlando's Hedo Turkoglu goes up for a dunk but is rejected by the front rim in Wednesday's game against the Mavericks! December 22, 2010. The Mavs would end up winning the game 105-99.

Denver Nuggets vs. San Antonio Spurs: J.R. Smith Awesome 360 Layup

J.R. Smith drives past Richard Jefferson and then does a 360 spin in the air to get by Tim Duncan and make the layup. He made it look easy Wednesday night. December 22, 2010.

LA Clippers vs. Houston Rockets: Another Big Dunk by Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin throws down another huge Jam; this time against the Houston Rockets. A nice alley-oop pass from Randy Foye led to this monstrous jam. Before the jam, Griffin put his hand in the air signaling to Foye that he wanted the alley-oop. Despite his 57% Free Throw Percentage this year, Griffin has proven to be a beast in the NBA. December 22, 2010.

Fantasy Football: Season to Date RB Rankings (Top 20)

Player	O-Rank	Rank	Carries	Yards	Avg.	TD	Tgt.	Rec.	Yards	Avg.	TD	FL	FPTS
Arian Foster, HOU	42	1	276	1343	4.9	13	77	60	550	9.2	2	2	275
Peyton Hillis, CLE	253	2	252	1129	4.5	11	75	59	469	7.9	2	5	226
Adrian Peterson, MIN	2	3	247	1149	4.7	11	47	33	332	10.1	1	0	219
Darren McFadden, OAK	114	4	212	1112	5.2	7	55	43	476	11.1	3	3	212
LeSean McCoy, PHI	29	5	194	1036	5.3	7	85	74	551	7.4	2	1	210
Chris Johnson, TEN	1	6	282	1267	4.5	11	49	38	194	5.1	0	2	207
Michael Turner, ATL	5	7	300	1256	4.2	11	18	12	85	7.1	0	0	199
Maurice Jones-Drew, JAC	3	8	299	1324	4.4	5	44	34	317	9.3	2	2	199
Jamaal Charles, KC	26	9	203	1303	6.4	4	56	39	415	10.6	1	2	197
Ray Rice, BAL	4	10	263	1054	4	4	79	62	556	9	1	0	190
Rashard Mendenhall, PIT	10	11	292	1173	4	10	31	20	125	6.2	0	2	185
Ahmad Bradshaw, NYG	55	12	249	1182	4.7	8	49	40	265	6.6	0	5	184
Matt Forte, CHI	56	13	203	865	4.3	5	55	39	431	11.1	3	2	175
Steven Jackson, STL	13	14	295	1148	3.9	5	53	39	325	8.3	0	1	174
BenJarvus Green-Ellis, NE	261	15	190	824	4.3	12	13	10	76	7.6	0	0	161
Mike Tolbert, SD	262	16	178	737	4.1	11	29	25	216	8.6	0	2	158
Cedric Benson, CIN	20	17	276	1006	3.6	7	33	25	166	6.6	1	4	158
Frank Gore, SF	6	18	203	853	4.2	3	73	46	452	9.8	2	2	156
LaDainian Tomlinson, NYJ	112	19	206	886	4.3	5	77	50	354	7.1	0	0	153
Knowshon Moreno, DEN	41	20	169	719	4.3	5	46	35	348	9.9	3	2	149



In my opinion, the biggest surprises this year were Arian Foster, Darren Mcfadden and especially Peyton Hillis. Other surprises included BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Mike Tolbert and Tomlinson. In my 10-person league Mcfadden was not taken until the 15th round, and the person who drafted him is now in the finals in our league because of Mcfadden... oh and Dwayne Bowe's huge games kept him in it as well.

Anyway, most people expected Shonn Greene was going to be a top 20 back at least, with the departure of Thomas Jones and the run style offense of the Jets. However this was not true as Tomlinson got most of the carries and Ryan Matthews also turned out to be a bust for 2010. Not many expected the rise of BenJarvus Green-Ellis, since the Patriots have always been known as a pass first team with Tom Brady and all.

Finally the two players that stole the show were Foster and Hillis. If you know of anyone who projected that Arian Foster was going to be the NFL's lead rusher at the start of the season, I would love to meet them. In addition to this, Peyton Hillis has been a BEAST, on the browns no less. With the departure of the fumbling Jerome Harrison, Hillis took the starting gig and immediately began tearing through defenses. If you picked him up first, before anyone else in your league, I just want to say... Congratulations!!!