Soccer By Ives

SBI MLS Fantasy Corner (Week Four)

                                                                            Photo by ISIphotos.com

By CASEY CANNON

Hello and Welcome to the SBI Fantasy Corner – now with more vivid hallucinations!  Every week I dig through statistics, news, and rumors to provide the reader with the kind of fantasy advice that only a highly paid banking consultant can provide.  I am writing this well before the official injury reports come out, so don't be grumpy if I tell you to pick a hurt player.  For information on MLS Fantasy Football go to http://fantasy.mlsnet.com/. 

Instead of a play-by-play review of last week, lets just hit some interesting notes before getting to this weekend's picks:

SBI MLS Fantasy Corner (Week 3)

 

Now that World Cup qualifying is over, it is time to focus on Major League Soccer, and for many of you, it is time to focus on Fantasy MLS.

Yes, we know, the deadline to make moves involving Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake players has passed, but we know many of you forgot that deadline just like we did, so with that in mind, SBI fantasy MLS correspondent Casey Cannon gives us his fantasy picks for the week.

Here is the SBI MLS Fantasy Corner:

SBI MLS Fantasy Corner (Week 2)

By CASEY CANNON

Hello and Welcome to the Soccer by Ives Fantasy Corner – now with more humility!  Every week I dig through statistics, news, and rumors to provide the reader with the kind of fantasy advice that only the greatest human being alive can provide.  I am writing this well before the official injury reports come out, so don't be grumpy if I tell you to pick a hurt player.  For information on MLS Fantasy Football go to http://fantasy.mlsnet.com.

First I would like to thank all of those that nominated me for the Fantasy Soccer Writers of America – exemplary achievement award.  Obviously I don’t write with awards in mind, but looking back, I am very proud.  It takes real effort and concentration to achieve the trinity of soccer writing.   For those who missed last week, I managed to mention Soccer, MLS, and even the LA Galaxy without saying a single word about That Guy.   I hope everyone enjoyed reading a soccer article without being reminded that some English dude, may or may not choose to play in the States this summer.

With that said, let’s see how my predictions for the week came out.

Busy qualifying weekend for MLS players

                                                    Photo by ISIphotos.com

Open tryouts won't be necessary at BMO Field this week with Toronto FC only missing two players to World Cup qualifiers this time around. But it will indeed be a busy weekend for several of the league's players who will represent their countries at World Cup qualifiers.

Here is a quick look around the league at who will be on international duty. This information will be helpful if you are, like me, an MLS fantasy league player.

SBI MLS Fantasy Corner: Week One

 

                                                                    Photo by ISIphotos.com

With the 2009 MLS Season about to kick off, it is time to get ready for the start of the MLS Fantasy Season.

In case you missed it, we invited SBI Readers to join the SBI Fantasy MLS League. There is still time to join the league, but for most of you, joining the league has already been taken care of. Now it is time for some strategy.

SBI Fantasy MLS expert Casey Cannon is back this year to bring us more fantasy MLS tips. Here is his report on Week One.

Join the 2009 SBI Fantasy MLS League

   

                                                                             Photo by ISIphotos.com

It is that time of year again. With the 2009 MLS season set to kick off in a week, it is time for you to sign up and join the Fantasy MLS Challenge.

For the third straight year, SBI will be sponsoring an MLS Fantasy League for SBI Mafia members to test their MLS knowledge against each other (and against me). All you have to do is sign up in the next week and pick your squad based on the salaries provided. To join the SBI League just search for the Public League (Soccer By Ives) and join.

SBI will be working on legitimate prizes this year for the Top three finishers this season so stay tuned for more information on that front. For now, sign up, build your team and get ready to show how your team stacks up against the rest of the SBI Mafia.

If you plan on joining the league, and if you have taken part in year's past, please share your thoughts and experiences below.

SBI MLS Fantasy Corner: The Final Week

                                                                            Photo by ISIphotos.com

It is the weekend you've been waiting for since March, the final week of the MLS regular season and the final chance to score the points needed to move up your Fantasy MLS standings.

Tonight's New York Red Bulls-Chicago Fire match kicks off an exciting and unpredictable weekend of MLS action as some teams fight for their playoff lives, while others simply play out the string.

If you are ready to put together your final fantasy lineup of the season then you should check out SBI fantasy MLS correspondent Casey Cannon's final report of the season. Casey offers up some good year-end picks that could help you find the points needed to make that last-minute climb up the standings.

SBI MLS Fantasy Corner

                                                  Photo by ISIphotos.com

If you missed out on having any fantasy players in the Colorado-New York Red Bulls goal-fest last week, don't fret. More goals should be on the way.

With four weeks remaining in the MLS regular season, there are still opportunities for you to rack up on the fantasy points. Whether you go for the easy calls, like Juan Pablo Angel vs. Toronto FC and Alejandro Moreno vs. the Los Angeles Galaxy, or a long-shot, like Josh Wolff vs. Chicago, this week is a big one for those of you who still aspire to win a prize.

SBI fantasy correspondent Casey Cannon will help you make some of those decisions. Here is his take on the week's fantasy option with the latest installment of the SBI MLS Fantasy Corner.

SBI MLS Fantasy Corner

                                            Photo by ISIphotos.com

Whether you are an MLS coach or a Fantasy MLS player, you both know that time is running out on this season.

The chances for gaining points are dwindling and the opportunities to move up the standings are more and more precious. This is why we here at SBI want you to be prepared when you set your fantasy lineup later today. Not much can keep SBI fantasy correspondent Casey Cannon from fulfilling his duties. Hurricanes fall in the category of things that can.

Cannon was one of many Ohioans who were left without power last week after the remnants of Hurricane Ike passed through. It took him a while, but he is back to share some fantasy MLS wisdom with you. Here is this week's SBI Fantasy MLS Corner.

SBI Fantasy MLS Corner

                                                                                 Photo by ISIphotos.com

And down the stretch they come.

The MLS regular season is winding to a close, which means there are fewer weeks to score the points needed to keep moving up the MLS Fantasy standings.

If you were lucky enough to have a Nate Jaqua or Ante Razov, or smart enough to have Guillermo Barros Schelotto, in your lineup last week you are rolling. If you were unlucky enough to have a Fabian Espindola or Matt Reis, you may have stopped thinking about fantasy MLS altogether.

We won't let that happen. SBI Fantasy MLS correspondent Casey Cannon is here to offer some tips to try and help you turn things around if you're sliding, and help boost your squad if you are on a roll. Here is this week's SBI Fantasy MLS Corner:

SBI MLS Fantasy Corner

                                                                  Photo by ISIphotos.com

When it comes to the world of fantasy MLS, the credo of following the winners certainly applies and no team has proven more reliable in the past weeks and months than the Columbus Crew.

Led by Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who is putting together a strong bid for league MVP, the Crew is riding high and showing off an attack that can score multiple goals in any game. That is music to the fantasy player's ears and a reason why Crew players should be near the top of any list of players to shop for from week to week.

SBI Fantasy MLS guru Casey Cannon loves the Crew as fantasy picks this week for that reason, and not just because he is a Columbus fan. Here are his picks on who he sees providing an impact in the fantasy MLS game this week:

SBI Fantasy MLS Corner

                                                             Photo by ISIphotos.com

If you are a fantasy sports junkie, this might be a tough time a year for you. With fantasy (American) football and fantasy EPL joining the mix, it could be easy for you slack on your fantasy MLS team.

We won't let that happen.

SBI Fantasy MLS correspondent Casey Cannon is back with his weekly musings on which players to grab, and which players to avoid. Here is his take on this week's Fantasy MLS game.

-------------------------

Hello and Welcome to the Soccer by Ives Fantasy Corner – now with free falling scores!  Every week I dig through statistics, news, and rumors to provide the reader with the kind of fantasy advice that only someone who clearly is a glutton for punishment can provide.  I write this Monday night before the official injury reports come out, so don't be grumpy if I tell you to pick a hurt player.  For information on MLS Fantasy Football go to http://fantasy.mlsnet.com/.

SBI Fantasy EPL League Ready to go

Attention all you so-called EPL experts. The invitations for the SBI fantasy EPL league have been sent out and we are ready to go. As of right now we have 160 teams ready to do battle for the title, with more welcome before tonight's midnight deadline.

If you haven't received an invitation yet, or if you're interested in joining and are late to hear about the league, just send an email to soccerbyives@gmail.com with EPL Fantasy in the subject heading by midnight tonight and I will send you an invitation.

While you wait for that you can still go to the Fantasy Premier League website and register, as well as build your team. You will then be added to the SBI league once you receive the invitation via email and join the league through the email.

That's all for now. Be sure to get your lineups ready because the season is ready to kick off.

SBI Fantasy MLS Corner

                                                                              Photo by ISIphotos.com

Goalkeepers are king in the world of fantasy MLS and nobody has enjoyed as strong a season as Jon Busch.

The Chicago Fire goalkeeper has been a steady force in the net and has served as the only goalkeeper capable of seriously challenge New England's Matt Reis for goalkeeper of the year.

SBI fantasy correspondent Casey Cannon hasn't had much faith on Busch, and has paid dearly for it. In this week's SBI fantasy MLS corner, Cannon writes a letter to Busch to explain his lack of belief, and also gives you his tips for this week's fantasy MLS action.

SBI Fantasy EPL League is ready to go

The SBI Fantasy Premier League is ready to go.

After taking reader feedback into account, the SBI fantasy EPL league will once again run on the official EPL fantasy site. To join, send an email to soccerbyives@gmail.com with EPL fantasy in the subject line and I will register you on the site. In the meantime, you can register on the EPL site and select your team.

I will accept emails until midnight on Friday, but try to get your emails in ASAP to avoid any problems.

I will also be working on prizes for this year's contest so stay tuned for more information on that.

Now go register.

The SBI EPL Fantasy League (Help me pick the website)

Yes, it is about that time.

With the English Premier League schedule just around the corner it is time to get ready for the second annual SBI Fantasy EPL League.

With more and more sites offering fantasy games, and me not having time to properly research the best options, I want to turn to you in the SBI Mafia to help me select a website to be the host of our new league.

The task is simple, recommend which site the SBI Fantasy EPL League should be run on. Write your recommendation in the comments section below. I will look at the suggestions tonight and will have a site selected and league running by Tuesday morning.

Let's hear your recommendations. Fire away.