AxeElf

Yeah, definitely a first-world problem to have a top 15 WR as your WR3, but you're right, it's doubtful Hopkins would be in the top 15, so Aiyuk is really your WR2.

::: buzzer ::: The original release was not a double album. Do deluxe edition re-releases count?

We definitely cannot allow any threats to censorship.

I tend to think of Sandanista as the Clash's "White Album"--but it was a triple.

Putting aside the matter of taste, just the fact that you only named live albums is a fail. A live album could never be the greatest album of all time, just because of its technical limitations.

That's four; take a class on counting (and then one on music appreciation) and get back to us.

Being the greatest album of all time, and a double album, it would by default also be the greatest double album of all time. /thread

I tried to do a mock auction on Yahoo (standard Yahoo public league half-PPR settings--1 Flex), to see if I could pull off the Mahomes/Bijan/Kupp/Kelce quads, but it was a literal joke. There was one other "real person" in the draft, but he was on autodraft from the start, so it was basically just me and the bots, nominating each player in the pre-draft rankings in order, some team bidding his expected value, and sold. So the early noms were ridiculously expensive (Kelce for $56?!?) and everyone was shopping at the dollar store by the end of the 7th round. So after eating that price on Kelce, I only had a max bid of $24 to spend on Mahomes--which obviously wasn't enough--so the best QB I could afford was Lamar Jackson. If I wasn't such a Mahomes homer this year, I would axually probly LIKE this team--but in a real draft, people would have held on to their money better and I wouldn't be getting legitimate starters for $1 and $2 later in the draft. So I still can't wait to see if I can pull it off in a real draft. Like I said, it's basically a joke--I'm only putting it here because it represents Yahoo's current pre-draft rankings, at least through the first 10 rounds or so, and that might be of value to some. After that, it got a little less predictable, but the early noms were all pretty much right down the line. All Draft Results in nomination order * your team in bold (1) Team 4 - Christian McCaffrey (SF - RB) - $64 (2) Team 9 - Justin Jefferson (Min - WR) - $62 (3) Team 4 - Ja'Marr Chase (Cin - WR) - $59 (4) Team 5 - Jonathan Taylor (Ind - RB) - $56 (5) Team 6 - Austin Ekeler (LAC - RB) - $56 (6) Axe Elf - Bijan Robinson (Atl - RB) - $57 (7) Team 3 - Saquon Barkley (NYG - RB) - $51 (8) Axe Elf - Travis Kelce (KC - TE) - $56 (9) Team 8 - Tyreek Hill (Mia - WR) - $48 (10) Axe Elf - Cooper Kupp (LAR - WR) - $52 (11) Team 4 - Josh Jacobs (LV - RB) - $48 (12) Team 3 - Nick Chubb (Cle - RB) - $47 (13) Team 2 - Stefon Diggs (Buf - WR) - $47 (14) Team 9 - CeeDee Lamb (Dal - WR) - $40 (15) Team 9 - Davante Adams (LV - WR) - $38 (16) Team 10 - Tony Pollard (Dal - RB) - $42 (17) Team 10 - Derrick Henry (Ten - RB) - $43 (18) Team 5 - Breece Hall (NYJ - RB) - $38 (19) Team 10 - Travis Etienne Jr. (Jax - RB) - $38 (20) Team 7 - A.J. Brown (Phi - WR) - $39 (21) Team 7 - Garrett Wilson (NYJ - WR) - $39 (22) Team 3 - Amon-Ra St. Brown (Det - WR) - $32 (23) Team 2 - Rhamondre Stevenson (NE - RB) - $36 (24) Team 3 - Najee Harris (Pit - RB) - $36 (25) Team 8 - Jaylen Waddle (Mia - WR) - $31 (26) Team 7 - Patrick Mahomes (KC - QB) - $33 (27) Team 5 - Chris Olave (NO - WR) - $26 (28) Team 10 - Tee Higgins (Cin - WR) - $30 (29) Team 7 - Kenneth Walker III (Sea - RB) - $34 (30) Team 7 - DeVonta Smith (Phi - WR) - $25 (31) Team 6 - Jalen Hurts (Phi - QB) - $29 (32) Team 6 - Mark Andrews (Bal - TE) - $29 (33) Team 10 - Josh Allen (Buf - QB) - $26 (34) Team 5 - T.J. Hockenson (Min - TE) - $25 (35) Team 8 - Miles Sanders (Car - RB) - $24 (36) Team 5 - J.K. Dobbins (Bal - RB) - $26 (37) Team 8 - Aaron Jones (GB - RB) - $26 (38) Team 2 - DK Metcalf (Sea - WR) - $23 (39) Team 2 - Cam Akers (LAR - RB) - $23 (40) Team 2 - Amari Cooper (Cle - WR) - $23 (41) Axe Elf - Lamar Jackson (Bal - QB) - $21 (42) Team 9 - George Kittle (SF - TE) - $22 (43) Team 8 - Deebo Samuel (SF - WR) - $22 (44) Team 7 - Dameon Pierce (Hou - RB) - $21 (45) Team 2 - Keenan Allen (LAC - WR) - $20 (46) Team 5 - Jahmyr Gibbs (Det - RB) - $20 (47) Team 4 - Dallas Goedert (Phi - TE) - $14 (48) Team 9 - Joe Burrow (Cin - QB) - $19 (49) Team 6 - Dalvin Cook (Min - RB) - $20 (50) Team 3 - Tyler Lockett (Sea - WR) - $19 (51) Team 6 - DeAndre Hopkins (Ari - WR) - $15 (52) Team 8 - Justin Fields (Chi - QB) - $13 (53) Team 8 - Kyle Pitts (Atl - TE) - $12 (54) Team 6 - DJ Moore (Chi - WR) - $18 (55) Team 2 - Terry McLaurin (Was - WR) - $14 (56) Team 8 - David Montgomery (Det - RB) - $13 (57) Team 10 - Evan Engram (Jax - TE) - $10 (58) Team 8 - San Francisco (SF - DEF) - $2 (59) Team 6 - Joe Mixon (Cin - RB) - $15 (60) Team 6 - Drake London (Atl - WR) - $11 (61) Team 9 - Dallas (Dal - DEF) - $3 (62) Team 9 - Trevor Lawrence (Jax - QB) - $8 (63) Team 2 - Justin Herbert (LAC - QB) - $6 (64) Team 3 - Calvin Ridley (Jax - WR) - $6 (65) Team 4 - Chris Godwin (TB - WR) - $5 (66) Team 6 - New York (NYJ - DEF) - $1 (67) Team 8 - Pat Freiermuth (Pit - TE) - $4 (68) Team 8 - Justin Tucker (Bal - K) - $1 (69) Team 10 - James Conner (Ari - RB) - $3 (70) Team 10 - Brandon Aiyuk (SF - WR) - $1 (71) Team 2 - Isiah Pacheco (KC - RB) - $2 (72) Team 2 - Darren Waller (NYG - TE) - $1 (73) Team 3 - Dak Prescott (Dal - QB) - $1 (74) Axe Elf - Rachaad White (TB - RB) - $2 (75) Axe Elf - Mike Williams (LAC - WR) - $2 (76) Team 6 - Daniel Carlson (LV - K) - $1 (77) Team 7 - David Njoku (Cle - TE) - $1 (78) Team 8 - Christian Watson (GB - WR) - $1 (79) Team 9 - D'Andre Swift (Phi - RB) - $1 (80) Team 10 - Philadelphia (Phi - DEF) - $1 (81) Axe Elf - Brian Robinson (Was - RB) - $1 (82) Team 2 - Buffalo (Buf - DEF) - $1 (83) Team 3 - Chigoziem Okonkwo (Ten - TE) - $1 (84) Team 4 - Rashaad Penny (Phi - RB) - $1 (85) Team 5 - Michael Pittman Jr. (Ind - WR) - $1 (86) Team 6 - Jerry Jeudy (Den - WR) - $1 (87) Team 7 - Denver (Den - DEF) - $1 (88) Team 8 - Alvin Kamara (NO - RB) - $1 (89) Axe Elf - Damien Harris (Buf - RB) - $2 (90) Team 10 - Harrison Butker (KC - K) - $1 (91) Axe Elf - Mike Evans (TB - WR) - $1 (92) Team 2 - Tyler Bass (Buf - K) - $1 (93) Team 3 - Baltimore (Bal - DEF) - $1 (94) Team 4 - Deshaun Watson (Cle - QB) - $1 (95) Team 5 - Daniel Jones (NYG - QB) - $1 (96) Team 6 - Jamaal Williams (NO - RB) - $1 (97) Team 7 - Brett Maher (Dal - K) - $1 (98) Team 8 - Tua Tagovailoa (Mia - QB) - $1 (99) Team 9 - Khalil Herbert (Chi - RB) - $1 (100) Team 10 - Diontae Johnson (Pit - WR) - $1 (101) Axe Elf - Kadarius Toney (KC - WR) - $1 (102) Team 2 - Kirk Cousins (Min - QB) - $1 (103) Team 3 - Nick Folk (NE - K) - $1 (104) Team 4 - New England (NE - DEF) - $1 (105) Team 5 - Miami (Mia - DEF) - $1 (106) Team 6 - Geno Smith (Sea - QB) - $1 (107) Team 7 - Christian Kirk (Jax - WR) - $1 (108) Team 8 - Washington (Was - DEF) - $1 (109) Team 9 - Michael Badgley (Det - K) - $1 (110) Team 10 - Alexander Mattison (Min - RB) - $1 (111) Axe Elf - Michael Thomas (NO - WR) - $1 (112) Team 2 - Cole Kmet (Chi - TE) - $1 (113) Team 3 - Treylon Burks (Ten - WR) - $1 (114) Team 4 - Jason Myers (Sea - K) - $1 (115) Team 5 - Younghoe Koo (Atl - K) - $1 (116) Team 6 - Greg Dulcich (Den - TE) - $1 (117) Team 7 - Marquise Brown (Ari - WR) - $1 (118) Team 9 - AJ Dillon (GB - RB) - $1 (119) Team 10 - Aaron Rodgers (NYJ - QB) - $1 (120) Axe Elf - D'Onta Foreman (Chi - RB) - $1 (121) Team 2 - Kansas City (KC - DEF) - $1 (122) Team 3 - Javonte Williams (Den - RB) - $1 (123) Team 4 - James Cook (Buf - RB) - $1 (124) Team 5 - Jahan Dotson (Was - WR) - $1 (125) Team 6 - Jacksonville (Jax - DEF) - $1 (126) Team 7 - Antonio Gibson (Was - RB) - $1 (127) Team 9 - George Pickens (Pit - WR) - $1 (128) Team 10 - Dalton Kincaid (Buf - TE) - $1 (129) Axe Elf - Jerick McKinnon (KC - RB) - $1 (130) Team 3 - Jared Goff (Det - QB) - $1 (131) Team 4 - Rashod Bateman (Bal - WR) - $1 (132) Team 5 - Elijah Mitchell (SF - RB) - $1 (133) Team 7 - Anthony Richardson (Ind - QB) - $1 (134) Team 9 - Tyler Allgeier (Atl - RB) - $1 (135) Team 10 - Evan McPherson (Cin - K) - $1 (136) Axe Elf - Jameson Williams (Det - WR) - $1 (137) Team 3 - Dalton Schultz (Hou - TE) - $1 (138) Team 4 - Samaje Perine (Den - RB) - $1 (139) Team 5 - Russell Wilson (Den - QB) - $1 (140) Team 7 - Dawson Knox (Buf - TE) - $1 (141) Team 9 - Sam LaPorta (Det - TE) - $1 (142) Axe Elf - JuJu Smith-Schuster (NE - WR) - $1 (143) Team 3 - Robbie Gould (SF - K) - $1 (144) Team 4 - Mike Gesicki (NE - TE) - $1 (145) Team 5 - Tyler Higbee (LAR - TE) - $1 (146) Team 7 - Eddy Pineiro (Car - K) - $1 (147) Team 9 - Chris Boswell (Pit - K) - $1 (148) Team 4 - Derek Carr (NO - QB) - $1 (149) Team 5 - Indianapolis (Ind - DEF) - $1 (150) Team 4 - Greg Zuerlein (NYJ - K) - $1

My mom entered me in a "Best Groomed Boy" contest when I was a kid, so she must have thought I was--and well, too. #pageantsurvivor

Until you graduate to auction drafts, that's true. And then you'll never go back.

Perhaps you just need to improve your Elf esteem.

I'm usually up by 10:30 most mornings.

Um, you realize Tom Cruise is a Scientologist, right? That pretty much disqualifies anyone from "genius" status a priori.

I hope for Gesicki's sake that Hopkins doesn't land in New England, but given those 1,000 yard seasons he had under O'Brien in Houston (and given that I just drafted Gesicki in a $50 league), I'd say there's a larger-than-usual probability of that happening.

I thought you said you were also a believer? I'm not understanding the need to mock here. And God would never say such a thing, when what God REALLY said was that "There is none good; no, not one." (Romans 3:10)

I would have just finished my 46th year, had I not graduated 42 years ago. No, but Axe Elf does.

I'm axually pretty high on Gesicki. Check the timeline... 2011: Bill O'Brien becomes the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. The TE duo of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez explodes, combining for 2,237 yards and 24 TDs. 2012-2013: Bill O'Brien becomes the head coach at Penn State and recruits Mike Gesicki to the Nittany Lions. 2014-2022: Bill O'Brien coaches with the Texans and at Alabama, while Gesicki is drafted into the NFL in the 2nd round--but falls out of favor with Miami's offensive scheme. 2023: Bill O'Brien becomes the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. The New England Patriots sign Mike Gesicki. Gesicki and Hunter Henry were observed having special sessions with the QBs in OTAs. Henry is expected to handle more blocking duties, while Gesicki is expected to be used more like a WR. The Patriots top WRs are DeVante Parker, Juju Smith-Schuster, and Kendrick Bourne--they're not special. Gesicki should be a surprise top 5 TE this season. I thought we were talking about the Steelers. Wilson plays for the Jets. Remember: Pickett/Pickens. I'm willing to give Pickett another shot with a year under his belt. Diontae was still a top-35 WR in half-ppr after their bye last year (after Claypool was traded and Pickett gained confidence), even with ZERO TDs--and he was 9 fantasy points out of 25th. With just a handful of TDs this season, he should easily be top 25ish again.

Same guy today offers me Engram for Thielen. I said at least it was a fair offer, but I felt better about my TEs than I did about my WRs, so I think I'll stand Pat. ('Cause you know, Gesicki is a Patriot.)

Ooo, just got my first trade offer... I give Ja'Marr Chase; I get Mike Evans AND Evan Engram! My response: lol C'mon man. You spent like $8 total on those two players, and you want the #2 overall WR who cost $58? I should literally just auto-reject every trade offer you ever submit to me in the future, but since it's early in the offseason, I'm willing to look the other way if you don't let it happen again.

I remember at some point this year I said I was drafting Mahomes, Bijan, and Jefferson this year, and it wouldn't matter who else I drafted. I can't seem to find it with a search--maybe it was a different board. Anyway, I decided it was time to put that theory to the test, and I checked the Private Prize League listings on Yahoo for the first time this year. I wasn't really expecting to find an acceptable league that would be jumping off TODAY (a basic half-PPR league--without the 3 QBs and 2 TEs and 10 pts per return yard nonsense)--but there it was (see deets above)--and we filled in the last 15 minutes before the draft room opened. Having convinced myself since the schedules were released that Chase is the better WR value compared to Jefferson this season, I roughly budgeted $150 of the $200 auction budget to accomplish the goal of landing Mahomes, Chase and Bijan ($40/$50/$60)--and it was like God guided my hand; 12 picks into the draft, my goal was accomplished--ON THE NOSE! lol Pick #9 overall - Ja'Marr Chase. I was a little dismayed that Chase cost me $58, which put me $8 over my budget. Already. Jefferson had gone for $60 right before at #8, so it probably could have been even worse. Two picks later, pick #11 overall - Bijan Robinson. Thankfully, RBs ran a little under expected value (at least mine) early on, and when McCaffrey set the market at $55 on pick #2, I figured I might get Robinson for a little less, and definitely less than the $60 I had budgeted for him. He wasn't much less, at $54, but I'll pay that for the potential #1 overall pick in many drafts and the potential #1 overall RB for the season. So that left me $38 for Mahomes, and I didn't have to wait--pick #12 overall - Patrick Mahomes. This was such an ungodly waste of money. I'd be embarrassed if it was anyone but Mahomes. BUT IT'S MAHOMES!!! (Jalen Hurts, the next-most-expensive QB later went for $26, for perspective.) I might have gotten Mahomes pretty close to that, but one other bidder stepped me up and up and up... all the way to $38, on the dot. lol Honestly, at that point, I might have bid up to $40 or even $42 just to be stubborn, but miraculously (or tragically, depending on how you look at it), I landed Mahomes for $38, completing my set of triplets for exactly $150! It was 53 picks until I would add another player, pairing Bijan and Chase with Kenneth Walker III ($17) at RB and Drake London ($10) at WR with picks #65 and #77. Having a RB and a WR from the same NFL team on one's fantasy team tends to promote consistency in scoring from week to week. That left me $23 to work with. Between picks #89 and #107, I added my remaining five starters, spending $15 on Kadarius Toney ($5), Mike Gesicki ($2), Dallas D ($2) and Diontae Johnson ($6). The Johnson purchase took my last expendable dollar, leaving me only $1 for Younghoe Koo and each of my 7 bench players--so it really couldn't have worked out any more perfectly. QB: Patrick Mahomes (10) $38 RB: Bijan Robinson (11) $54, Kenneth Walker III (5) $17, D'Onta Foreman (13) $1, Jerick McKinnon (10) $1, Cordarrelle Patterson (11) $1 WR: Ja'Marr Chase (7) $58, Drake London (11) $10, Diontae Johnson (6) $6, Kadarius Toney (10) $5, Juju Smith-Schuster (11) $1, Adam Thielen (7) $1, John Metchie III (7) $1 TE: Mike Gesicki (11) $2, Dalton Schultz (7) $1 K: Younghoe Koo (11) $1 DST: Dallas Cowboys (7) $2 Remaining: $0 I should call the team 24 HOURS because I have so many 7/11 byes... but I think it will all work out, barring a lot of injuries. In retrospect, this probably wasn't the best format to try this strategy, with the 2 extra flex positions. It would be easier to pull off with just 2 starting RBs and 2 starting WRs. In fact, with Cooper Kupp going for $18 less than Chase, I'd kind of like to get into one of those leagues and see if I could pull off the Mahomes/Bijan/Kupp/Kelce quads. Given these prices, it should leave me with about $10 to spend on the other 2 RB/WR starting slots before being down to dollar players. But that would be like starting the top QB, potentially the top RB, potentially the top WR, and the top TE (by a LOT) at 4 of the 6 skill positions... hmmm... Might have to try that next... (DISCLAIMER: Axe Elf is an experienced drafter using advanced techniques in closed draft rooms with strict safety protocols in place. Please do not spend all your auction money on three or four players when attempting to draft your own team. This goes against all that is holy in auction drafting--the waste of some $30 between Mahomes and Chase over comparable players is literally shameful--but it's freaking MAHOMES!) Mahomes/Bijan/Kupp/Kelce. Fork yeah! I'm doing that...

Two slots remain, with an hour before the draft room opens...

This is probly dumb of me, since I post all my thoughts and strategies here for everyone to see, but then Axe Elf has always subscribed to the Billy Jack School of Fantasy Football (I tell you what I'm going to do, and then I do it, and there's not a dang thing you can do about it)--and I really want this league to fill with paid members--so here goes... If you want to join Axe Elf in his first REAL league of the season ($50, 10 team AUCTION redraft league, 1/2 PPR typical scoring, 1QB/2RB/2WR/1TE/2FX/1K/1D/7BN/2IR, rolling list waivers and league votes on trades), we draft in three hours, at 10pm CDT on Yahoo: LINK

The huge following was based on the sense of community in the fan base that exemplified hippie ideals. A Dead show started in the parking lot on the morning of the show, with a huge barter economy taking place in the carnival atmosphere that developed. The culture transcended the music, but the music was the anchor. I only got to experience it in person once (Sandstone in KC, not Starlight), but it was astounding, and I had to agree...

Solomon's Book of Wisdom on (the lack of) Free Will The Lord has made everything [to accommodate itself and contribute] to its own end and His own purpose--even the wicked [are fitted for their role] for the day of calamity and evil. --Proverbs 16:4 A man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure. --Proverbs 16:9 The lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly of the Lord [even the events that seem accidental are really ordered by Him]. --Proverbs 16:33 Many plans are in a man's mind, but it is the Lord's purpose for him that will stand. --Proverbs 19:21 Man's steps are ordered by the Lord. How then can a man understand his way? --Proverbs 20:24 The King’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as are the watercourses; He turns it whichever way He wills. --Proverbs 21:1 (All citations AMPC.)

The actual final Grateful Dead tour was years ago, but the marketing machine trudged along for a while.