The Artful Dodger's blog

Well, it appears that whatever Labor Day plans I had fell through and I figure to post my blog entry as scheduled. This last entry for the regular season is going to be more casual than usual as for some fantasy managers, their seasons are over while for those left standing, the real season begins: a 4-week stretch that promises action, drama,

The final week's action and standings in the USA West league:

The Premiership wraps up the month of August, heading into the one-week International break. We didn't have a full slate of games because of Manchester United's participation in last Friday's UEFA Super Cup exhibition game against Zenit St. Petersburg. So, those of you whetting their appetites over Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, and erm, Darren Fletcher running wild on poor old Fulham would have to wait for another week. However, this week was a phenomenal week had you stuck with your preseason sleepers after two disappointing weeks.

My goodness, I've been deathly busy that I forgot about the UEFA Champions League draw this afternoon. Despite forgetting about the draw, instinctively I had the Champions League theme song in my head while I was out on my morning run, which is also played before every Champions League match. This led me to think about which team's fans, had the best atmosphere on European nights, but the answer is always the same: it's both Glasgow teams. It doesn't matter if it's Rangers or Celtic but Glasgow becomes a different animal on Champions League evenings and probably for good reason, given that the Scottish league has always been a Mickey Mouse league, dominated by Glasgow's Old Firm (Rangers and Celtic). With greater competition comes greater passion from the fans. I thought to myself, this morning, that it was too bad Rangers slipped up in the Champions League qualifiers but there's always Celtic. So, it's a coincidence that my boys, defending European Champion Manchester United are reunited with Celtic in the group stages.

I'm probably having an Andy Rooney moment as I'm being nitpicky about nothing but I found last night's closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics to be a downer. It's difficult to try and upstage the emphatic yet intricate pageantry of the opening ceremony and it would be an injustice to compare the two, but it's worth noting that the ending was a surprisingly anti-climactic one. If you caught the tail end of the show, you would've seen world-class tenor Placido Domingo sing a duet with a famous Chinese soprano singer sing a little ditty dubbed with a rather corny (yet risque) title called "The Flame of Love".

Here are the Week 21 results and standings for the USA West league:

In my own little world, only one sporting event could possibly overshadow the sheer magnitude of the Summer Olympics and that's the English Premiership. When the Olympics gathers the attention of roughly 1-2 billion people around the planet, many of the world's eyes are fixated on the Premiership for 38 weeks a season, making the Premier League not only the most viewed soccer league in the world, but also the most watched sports league in the world. This past weekend in particular was opening weekend of the brand spanking new Premiership season and in this part of the world, it's the most perfect excuse to get drunk at 8am on a Sunday morning.

Here are the results and standings for Week 20 of the USA West league:

The Bottom Line

• L.A. Thrashers 8, Cafe Michigan 3
• Texas Two-Step 6, Houston Headhunters 6
• Missouri River Jacks 11, Bonds 762* 0
• Panolas Coyotes 7, Michigan Panthers 4
• Seattle Scorpions 6, Sparks Red Sox Slayers 4
• Bellingham Rauks 8, Bilbos Bunch 4

Round 20

1. Mark - Ben Foster GK Man Utd

2. Matthew - Ryan Nelsen CB Blackburn

3. Alek - Stilian Petrov CM Aston Villa

4. John - Steve Finnan RB Liverpool

5. Chris - Shay Given GK Newcastle

6. Paul - Anderson LM Man Utd

7. Ray - Salomon Kalou FOR Chelsea

Round 19

1. Dru - Carlos Cuellar CB Aston Villa

2. Ray - Jussi Jaaskelainen GK Bolton

3. Paul - Anton Ferdinand CB West Ham

4. Chris - John O'Shea RB Man Utd

5. John - Tomas Rosicky LM Arsenal

6. Alek - Curtis Davies CB Aston Villa

7. Matthew - Jonas Gutierrez RM Newcastle

Round 18

1. Mark - Martin Skrtel CB Liverpool

2. Matthew - Steven Taylor CB Newcastle

3. Alek - Wilfred Bouma LB Aston Villa

4. John - Johan Elmander FOR Bolton

5. Chris - Steed Malbranque LM Sunderland

6. Paul - Jason Koumas CM Wigan

7. Ray - Andrea Dossena LB Liverpool

Round 17

1. Dru - Shaun Wright-Phillips RM Chelsea

2. Ray - Matthew Taylor LB Bolton

3. Paul - Paul Robinson GK Blackburn

4. Chris - Danny Murphy CM Fulham

5. John - Kevin Kilbane LM Wigan

6. Alek - Bobby Zamora FOR Fulham

7. Matthew - Zoltan Gera LM Fulham

Round 16

1. Mark - Afonso Alves FOR Middlesbrough

2. Matthew - Owen Hargreaves CM Man Utd

3. Alek - Emile Heskey FOR Wigan

4. John - Matthew Upson CB West Ham

5. Chris - Mark Viduka FOR Newcastle

6. Paul - Christopher Samba CB Blackburn

7. Ray - Tuncay Sanli FOR Middlesbrough

Round 15

1. Dru - Scott Parker CM West Ham

2. Ray - Pascal Chimbonda RB Sunderland

3. Paul - El-Hadji Diouf FOR Sunderland

4. Chris - Dave Kitson FOR Stoke City

5. John - Nicolas Anelka FOR Chelsea

6. Alek - Craig Gordon GK Sunderland

7. Matthew - Luke Moore FOR West Brom

Round 14

1. Mark - Daniel Agger CB Liverpool

2. Matthew - David Wheater, CB, Middlesbrough

3. Alek - Brede Hangeland CB Fulham

4. John - Theo Walcott LM Arsenal

5. Chris - Sol Campbell CM Portsmouth

6. Paul - Alex CB Chelsea

7. Ray - Javier Garrido LB Man City

Round 13

1. Dru - Geremi RM Newcastle

2. Ray - Benjani Mwaruwari FOR Man City

3. Paul - Benni McCarthy FOR Blackburn

4. Chris - Luke Young RB Aston Villa

5. John - Gary Neville RB Man Utd

6. Alek - Steven Sidwell CM Aston Villa

7. Matthew - Danny Collins CB Sunderland

Round 12

1. Mark - Michael Johnson CM Man City

2. Matthew - Jonathan Greening CM West Brom

3. Alek - Chris Kirkland GK Wigan

4. John - Paul Scharner CB Wigan

5. Chris - Nani LM Man Utd

6. Paul - Gareth Bale LB Tottenham

7. Ray - Tim Cahill CM Everton

Round 11

1. Dru - Jonathan Woodgate CB Tottenham

2. Ray - Lucas Neill RB West Ham

3. Paul - Kevin Nolan RM Bolton

4. Chris - James Milner LM Newcastle

5. John - Morten Gamst Pedersen LM Blackburn

6. Alek - Joseph Yobo CB Everton

7. Matthew - Lassana Diarra CM Portsmouth

Fellow sports fans, welcome to sports sensory overload. The MLB season is entrenched in the dog days of summer and the thick of a pennant race. Trade deadlines in the lion's share of fantasy baseball leagues have passed, strapping on for a grueling 3 week run of jostling for position heading into the fantasy postseason. Meanwhile, NFL training

Here are your Week 19 results and standings for the USA West league: