a coupla weeks ago, a bunch of friends and i started fantasy fight clubs and my team's name is wisdom & might! and dominick cruz is my bantamweight ... and guess where i'll be on wednesday night? channel 38, versus, baby! ... [update: cruz wins (mendes too). me happy. here video press conference.] ... photo by scott petersen / mma weekly [update from heavy] [update2: and lest i be remiss, lemme post a post about hanford's own chad mendes, interviewed here by ariel helwani]

too bad my 2008 fantasy celebrity draft wasn't a keeper league ... "eclipse" june 30 ...

we're 9 away from quiksilver pro gold coast ... get your fantasy teams drafted ... ... photo by kirstin scholtz / getty images

are you paying attention, david stern?? ... because THIS is how you run a draw/lottery/anything. in fact, i just now invited charlize theron to become the commissioner in our fantasy football/baseball/basketball leagues next year ... that's one way to make everybody show up for the draft.

it's the fantasy players minute with my fantasy football/basketball colleague sarah spain ... and if sarah tells me to bench tony romo, i'm benching tony romo. sorry, tony ... but you understand.

jerry ferrara & friend max greenfield talk about their los angeles gentlemen's fantasy football league entourage ...

brett favre may have won the games, but fantasy football fans ain't complaining about aaron rodgers' play thus far, which has led him to the top of the fantasian scoring list at the nfl season's halfway point. here's the all-fantasian midway teams thru 8 games ... first team qb aaron rodgers, packers ... 1989 passing yards, 14 td, 2 int, 2 fl, 1 rush td, 188 rushing yards, 7 g, 147 fantasy points rb maurice jones-drew, jaguars ... 801 rushing-receiving yards, 10 td, 27 rec, 1 fl, 7 g, 131 fantasy points rb adrian peterson, vikings ... 979 rushing-receiving yards, 9 td, 19 rec, 2 fl, 8 g, 141 fantasy points wr reggie wayne, colts ... 689 receiving yards, 6 td, 51 rec, 7 g, 102 fantasy points wr vincent jackson, chargers ... 664 receiving yards, 5 td, 37 rec, 7 g, 94 fantasy points te vernon davis, 49ers ... 375 receiving yards, 7 td, 32 rec, 7 g, 78 fantasy points k nate kaeding, chargers ... 15-18 fg, 20 pat, 7 g, 66 fantasy points d/st saints ... 154 pa, 16 int, 5 fr, 6 td, 7 g, 95 fantasy points second team qb peyton manning, colts ... 2227 passing yards, 15 td, 4 int, -4 rushing yards, 7 g, 139 ...

miles austin is the new partytown, texas with another all-fantasian performance, nabbing him Player Of Week 7 honors. qb carson palmer, bengals ... 233 yards, 5 td rb ricky williams, dolphins ... 92 yards, 3 td rb shonn greene, jets ... 144 yards, 2 td flex cedric benson, bengals ... 189 yards, 1 td wr miles austin, cowboys ... 171 yards, 2 td wr chad ochocinco, bengals ... 118 yards, 2 td te vernon davis, 49ers ... 93 yards, 3 td k nick folk, cowboys ... 3 fg, 4 pat d/st new york jets ... 0 pa, 4 to, 3 sacks ... photo by lm otero / associated press

the new england patriots' 59-0 dominant performance sunday landed them all over the week 6 all-fantasy football team, with tom brady taking player of week honors ... qb tom brady, patriots ... 380 passing yards, 6 td rb maurice jones-drew, jaquars ... 178 yards, 3 td rb ray rice, ravens ... 194 yards, 2 td wr randy moss, patriots ... 129 yards, 3 td wr wes welker, patriots ... 150 yards, 2 td flex deangelo williams, panthers ... 152 yards, 2 td te owen daniels, texans ... 78 yards, 2 td k ryan longwell, vikings ... 4 fg, 3 pat d/st packers ... 0 points allowed, 3 turnovers, 5 sacks photo by winslow towson / associated press

new york's steve smith was getting ready for his fantasy-football player of week acceptance speech, when rashard mendenhall swooped in out of nowhere on sunday night football to take the POW from him with his pink gloves ... now we'll see if the steeler running back can keep the week 4 title after monday night football. [update: he did ... rashard gets the POW. and he's joined on the all-fantasian team by monday night football stars brett favre, jermichael finley & bernard berrian] QUARTERBACKS 1. David Garrard, Jaguars ... 28.72 2. Brett Favre, Vikings ... 22.64 3. Ben Roethisberger, Steelers ... 21.32 RUNNING BACKS 1. Rashard Mendenhall, Steelers ... 32.10 2. Ronnie Brown, Dolphins ... 23.50 3. Steve Slaton, Texans ... 21.90 4. Pierre Thomas, Saints ... 21.20 5. Matt Forte, Bears ... 21.00 6. Joseph Addai, Colts ... 19.10 WIDE RECEIVERS 1. Steve Smith, Giants ... 30.90 2. Mike Sims-Walker, Jaguars ... 24.60 3. Mohamed Massaquoi, Browns ... 18.80 4. Calvin Johnson, Lions ... 18.50 5. Derrick Mason, Ravens ... 17.30 6. Brandon Marshall, Broncos ... 17.10 TIGHT ENDS 1. Antonio Gates, Chargers ... 28.90 2. Heath Miller, Steelers ... 23.00 3. Jermichael Finley, Packers ... 21.80 KICKERS 1. Robbie Gould, Bears ... 14.00 2. Josh Scobee, Jaguars ... 14.00 3. Adam Vinatieri, Colts ... 10.00 DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS 1. San Francisco 49ers ... 31.00 2. New Orleans Saints ...

player of week maurice jones-drew rushed for 119, received for 28 and had 3 rushing TDs to lead all fantasians in scoring for week 3. [update: tashard choice & the dallas cowboy defense/special teams played well enough on monday night football to be added to our updated list] QUARTERBACKS 1. Peyton Manning, Colts ... 29.06 2. Aaron Rodgers, Packers ... 28.56 3. Kevin Kolb, Eagles ... 27.18 RUNNING BACKS 1. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars ... 34.70 2. Pierre Thomas, Saints ... 24.60 3. Tashard Choice, Cowboys ... 21.80 4. Julius Jones, Seahawks ... 21.10 5. Willie Parker, Steelers ... 19.90 6. Fred Taylor, Patriots ... 17.40 WIDE RECEIVERS 1. Santana Moss, Redskins ... 28.80 2. DeSean Jackson, Eagles ... 23.90 3. Reggie Wayne, Colts ... 22.10 4. Jerricho Cotchery, Jets ... 20.80 5. Derrick Mason, Ravens ... 20.30 6. Kevin Walter, Texans ... 20.20 TIGHT ENDS 1. Vernon Davis, 49ers ... 25.10 2. Brent Celek, Eagles ... 20.40 3. Daniel Fells, Rams ... 16.50 KICKERS 1. Stephen Gostkowski, Patriots ... 14.00 2. Mason Crosby, Packers ... 13.00 3. Olindo Mare, Seahawks ... 13.00 DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS 1. Dallas Cowboys ... 19.00 2. Baltimore Ravens ... 17.00 3. Denver Broncos ... 16.00 Honorable Mention: Jason Campbell, Redskins; Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers; Jay Cutler, Bears; Brett Favre, Vikings; Joe Flacco, Ravens; Mark Sanchez, Jets; David Garrard, Jaguars; Phillip Rivers, Chargers; Tom Brady, Patriots; Kyle Boller, Rams; Matthew ...

chris johnson--who is on all three of my fantasy football teams (WOO-HOO!!!)--was the player of week with his 197-yard rushing, 87-yard receiving, 3-touchdown performance on week 2 sunday. [update: 2 colts & 3 dolphins were added to the honors list after the monday night football game] QUARTERBACKS 1. Matt Schaub, Texans ... 30.68 2. Phillip Rivers, Chargers ... 22.44 3. Drew Brees, Saints ... 22.34 RUNNING BACKS 1. Chris Johnson, Titans ... 50.90 2. Frank Gore, 49ers ... 35.70 3. Ronnie Brown, Dolphins ... 25.60 4. Darren Sproles, Chargers ... 24.50 5. Marion Barber, Cowboys ... 22.50 6. Willis McGahee, Ravens ... 21.90 WIDE RECEIVERS 1. Andre Johnson, Texans ... 31.90 2. Mario Manningham, Giants ... 26.00 3. Marques Colston, Saints ... 25.80 4. Steve Smith, Giants ... 24.40 5. Vincent Jackson, Chargers ... 23.10 6. Mike Sims-Walker, Jaguars ... 21.10 TIGHT ENDS 1. Dallas Clark, Colts ... 27.80 2. Kellen Winslow, Buccaneers ... 18.50 3. Tony Gonzales, Falcons ... 16.60 KICKERS 1. Rian Lindell, Bills ... 16.00 2. Dan Carpenter, Dolphins ... 14.00 3. Lawrence Tynes, Giants ... 14.00 DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS 1. Arizona Cardinals ... 19.00 2. Denver Broncos ... 17.00 3. New Orleans Saints ... 15.00 Honorable Mention: Carson Palmer, Bengals; Eli Manning, Giants; Byron Leftwich, Buccaneers; Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers; Matt Ryan, Falcons; Aaron Rodgers, Packers; Kevin Kolb, Eagles; Kurt Warner, Cardinals; Jay Cutler, Bears; Jake Delhomme, Panthers; David Garrard, ...

adrian peterson's 198 rushing-receiving yards & 3 TDs edged drew brees' 358 passing yards & 6 TDs to give a.p. fantasy football player of week honors for week 1. i'll be updating when the remaining night games finish, but as of now, here's the all-island team for the opening week in the nfl ... [update: greg jennings' great sunday night game bumped mark clayton off the all-island team down to honorable mention] [update2: after the monday night games, benjamin watson, fred jackson & randy moss made all-island, while todd heap, tim hightower & justin gage moved to honorable mention] QUARTERBACKS 1. Drew Brees, Saints ... 36.32 2. Tony Romo, Cowboys ... 26.32 3. Joe Flacco, Ravens ... 24.08 RUNNING BACKS 1. Adrian Peterson, Vikings ... 38.30 2. Thomas Jones, Jets ... 22.70 3. Fred Jackson, Bills ... 22.50 4. Willis McGahee, Ravens ... 21.50 5. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars ... 20.80 6. Julius Jones, Seahawks ... 20.60 WIDE RECEIVERS 1. Reggie Wayne, Colts ... 27.20 2. Santonio Holmes, Steelers ... 23.60 3. Patrick Crayton, Cowboys ... 22.00 4. Randy Moss, Patriots ... 20.10 5. Greg Jennings, Packers ... 19.60 6. Devery Henderson, Saints ... 18.80 TIGHT ENDS 1. John Carlson, Seahawks ... 24.50 2. Benjamin Watson, Patriots ... 22.70 3. Jeremy Shockey, Saints ... 17.10 KICKERS 1. Nick Folk, Cowboys ... 12.00 2. Lawrence Tynes, Giants ... 12.00 3. Neil ...

now that my 3 fantasy football teams--all named "fastball"--have been selected, i feel now i can release my fantastic fantasy football 50 for the 2009 nfl season (based on points-per-reception leagues). if you're in a 10-team league, hopefully you have at least 5 guys on this list ... if you're in a 12-team league, you need at least four. so without further adieu, here are fastball's fantastic 50 fantasy football selections (with age in parentheses) ... "LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!!!" QUARTERBACKS 1. Drew Brees, NO QB ... 33 2. Tom Brady, NE QB ... 32 3. Phillip Rivers, SD QB ... 27 4. Peyton Manning, IND QB ... 33 5. Tony Romo, DAL QB ... 29 6. Aaron Rodgers, GB QB ... 25 7. Kurt Warner, ARI QB ... 38 8. Jay Cutler, CHI QB ... 26 9. Donovan McNabb, PHI QB ... 32 10. Carson Palmer, CIN QB ... 30 RUNNING BACKS 1. Chris Johnson, TEN RB ... 23 2. Adrian Peterson, MIN RB ... 24 3. DeAngelo Williams, CAR RB ... 26 4. Maurice Jones-Drew, JAC RB ... 24 5. Matt Forte, CHI RB ... 23 6. Steve Slaton, HOU RB ... 23 7. Michael Turner, ATL RB ... 27 8. Felix Jones, DAL RB ... 22 9. LaDainian Tomlinson, SD RB ... 30 10. Steven Jackson, STL RB ... 26 11. Frank Gore, ...

adrian peterson all day ...

and her name is spain ... sarah spain. yup, the fresno beach house fave is now a must-have on my fantasy football team ... even if she did beat me in my fantasy basketball league, lol. mouthpiece sports.com ...

we're down to the final four at 2009 roxy pro gold coast, and two-time champ stephanie gilmore, 21, awaits rookie paige hareb, 18, in semifinal 1, while fellow rook coco ho, 17, takes on melanie bartels, 26, in semifinal 2. got two of my fantasy surfers in the semis (gilmore & bartels). gotta be happy. if you wanna watch saturday's action live from australia (friday in america), it's at 7 a.m. start time at duranbah beach (which translates to 1 p.m. pacific time). and just go to this link here. as for the men in australia, the quiksilver pro gold coast had its fifth straight lay day. stay tuned.

no tiger!! no a.k.!! yikes!!! good for you and congratulations tim clark for beating tiger. but now i need stewart cink to beat phil mickelson just to keep my wgc bracket alive!!! ... just do it, stewit!!!!!!! ... photo by ross d. martin / associated press

a great new commercial by nike golf, featuring anthony kim, stewart cink, justin leonard, trevor immelman, carl peterson and the return of tiger woods wednesday to the wgc-accenture match play championship in marana, arizona. the commercial's so good i decided to put three of the nike golf guys in my wgc final four brackets (kim, cink and of course, tigertigerwoods, y'all) ... i want them all to enjoy the good life for a few more days, lol.

get your teams in here. the asp season starts next week ...

to my archnemesis in fantasy basketball & fantasy celebrity leagues, who also happens to be one of my best friends--HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JON BENEVEDES!!!!!!! thank you jon, thanks scott mouser and thanks to everybody in your guys' big wonderful family (that's jon's mom annette in the picture too) for letting me have two-hour-plus lunches and dinners at the best restaurant in all of central cali--WAHOO'S OF FRESNO!!! ... it's defly the best office in town, lol. and you're definitely THE BEST too!!

couldn't have done it without you! second in my fresno fantasy-football league. second in my los angeles fantasy-football league. that's what happens when YOU score 16 touchdowns in the last 9 weeks for me! gracias also goes out to drew brees, phillip rivers, reggie bush, felix jones, randy moss, steve smith, tony gonzalez & the ravens defense. but most of all, thanks deangelo williams for the 1636 yards from scrimmage and 20 touchdowns.

since he just kicked my ass in the fantasy football championship game in my l.a. league sunday, i have to wish vincent brown a bunch of well-wishes: CONGRATULATIONS CHAMP!!! ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! ... AND MERRRRY CHRISTMAS!!!! ... all in one card.

as you may have read in previous posts, i am in a fantasy celebrity league with the owners of the fresno wahoo’s, which as many of my fellow fresno beachcombers know, also doubles as my afternoon/evening headquarters & office, lol. well, the new us weekly mag just came in—thanks grapevine—and i’ve discovered that i've held my first-place standing in this experimental fantasy league thru 1 month of action. but just barely—no thanks to you brad pitt, who scored 15 points this week for my archrival jon benevedes. alas, I hold a 69-66 lead on mr. benevedes thru 4 weeks of play. in case you’re wondering, this fantasy league is just like fantasy football or fantasy basketball. the only difference is that celebs score points by scoring pictures in every new issue of us weekly—if they get the main cover shot, u get 10 points; a small-photo cover shot gets ya 5; inside-the-mag shots gets u 1 point apiece. four of us started this league a month ago on a whim, just talking about it at wahoo’s one late night and having an impromptu draft. but now dozens of others have heard about it and asked to join. so now we’re thinking of having a ...