All-Sports Fantasy League (ASFL2)

With the first European race in the books, the 2013 Formula 1 season moves on to its crown jewel, the Monaco GP, taking place on Sunday, May 26th. Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull still lead the way in the standings but their closest rivals narrowed the gap in Spain. Fernando Alonso took an impressive home win ahead of Kimi Räikkönen - who is now only four points behind Vettel - and Felipe Massa claimed his first podium of the year.

Last time out in Monaco, Michael Schumacher rolled back the years by posting the fastest time in qualifying. However, Schumacher was denied pole position because of a grid penalty for a collision he had caused at the previous event in Spain. So Mark Webber led the field from the front and he held off the challenge coming from a train of cars and a few spots of rain to collect his second Monaco victory.

Remember to make your game picks in the 2013 Fantasy Formula 1 thread before the deadline of Saturday, May 25th at 7:55 AM ET, five minutes before qualifying begins. Here we run down some Monaco GP facts and season stats.

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Tags: Fantasy_Formula_1, Unofficial_Games, ASFL2_Fantasy_Games, Bonus_Points

Premier League Week 35 Preview

10:56 AM ET on 5/17/13 by Nathan Susanto

It's been a bittersweet week for Wigan Athletic after becoming the first FA Cup winners in history to be relegated the same season. Last Saturday they traveled to Wembley Stadium for the club's first ever FA Cup final and they beat hot favorite Manchester City 1 - 0 thanks to an injury-time Ben Watson header. However, the Latics came crashing back down to earth on Tuesday when their trip to Arsenal ended in a 4 - 1 defeat, confirming their relegation from the top flight after an eight-year run.

So the final day of the 2012-2013 English Premier League season has an unusual feel with the title already wrapped up by Manchester United and the three relegation positions filled by QPR, Reading and Wigan. An issue yet to be resolved is which North London club - Arsenal or Tottenham - will fill the one remaining Champions League spot. Arsenal's fate is in its own hands as a victory over Newcastle will shut the door on Spurs. However, anything less than maximum points and Tottenham could overtake their rival with a win against Sunderland.

One side issue will arise if Chelsea ties with Everton on Sunday and Arsenal beat Newcastle by one goal and score two goals more than Chelsea in the process. Those results would leave Chelsea and Arsenal level on points, goal differential and goals scored. This would mean the two clubs would have to play a one-off match at a neutral venue to determine who takes the last automatic Champions League spot. The loser would enter Europe's premier competition at the final qualifying round stage.

Remember to make your Premier League Pickem predictions before the deadline of each game. Week 35's schedule is a typical final week of the season with all ten games kicking off on Sunday at 11 AM ET.

Here we preview the ten games in the upcoming week of the English Premier League.

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Tags: Premier_League_Talk, Soccer_Talk, Fantasy_Premier_League, ASFL2_Fantasy_Games, Premier_League_Pickem, Unofficial_Games, Bonus_Points

Premier League Week 34 Preview

11:14 AM ET on 5/10/13 by Nathan Susanto

On Wednesday morning, Manchester United confirmed their manager of over 26 years Sir Alex Ferguson will retire at the end of the season. Overall, Ferguson has secured 38 major trophies during his United tenure to go with the 11 he won at St. Mirren and Aberdeen, making him British soccer's most successful manager. His departure paves the way for Everton manager David Moyes to take over the reins at Old Trafford after 11 years at Goodison Park.

Going into the penultimate round of games of the 2012-2013 English Premier League season, the relegation picture still has up to eight clubs in the frame. In week 33, Wigan closed in on the pack with a win at West Brom but they missed the opportunity to escape the bottom three after letting the lead slip twice against Swansea to eventually lose 3 - 2. This week, after taking on Manchester City in the FA Cup final, Wigan faces a trip to Arsenal and they'll be relegated if they lose and earlier results go against them.

Remember to make your Premier League Pickem predictions before the deadline of each game. Week 34's schedule has just one Saturday game with Chelsea visiting Aston Villa at 7:45 AM ET. There are five Sunday 10 AM ET kickoffs at Everton, Fulham, Norwich, QPR and Sunderland. The day concludes with Manchester United hosting Swansea at 11 AM ET. The week's lineup concludes with two Tuesday fixtures with Arsenal entertaining Wigan at 2:45 PM ET and Reading taking on Manchester City at 3 PM ET.

Here we preview the ten games in the upcoming week of the English Premier League.

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Tags: Premier_League_Talk, Soccer_Talk, Fantasy_Premier_League, ASFL2_Fantasy_Games, Premier_League_Pickem, Unofficial_Games, Bonus_Points

Fantasy Formula 1 - Spanish GP Preview

4:02 AM ET on 5/6/13 by Nathan Susanto

Formula 1's European leg begins on Sunday, May 12th in Montmeló, to the north of Barcelona. Sebastian Vettel heads to Spain as the first driver this season to win twice after he cruised to victory in Bahrain last time out to go with his earlier success in Malaysia. It makes the triple world champion the unsurprising early leader in the title race but twelve months ago there was an unexpected winner at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Lewis Hamilton set a blistering pace in qualifying for the 2012 Spanish GP but he was excluded after his McLaren didn't have enough fuel to get him back to the pits. That left Pastor Maldonado on pole but the Venezuelan failed to hold off Fernando Alonso at turn one and it was the experienced Ferrari driver who led for most of the first half of the race in front of his home fans. However, Maldonado got the jump on Alonso during the final round of pitstops and he kept the Ferrari at arm's length to take his maiden victory.

Remember to make your game picks in the 2013 Fantasy Formula 1 thread before the deadline of Saturday, May 11th at 7:55 AM ET, five minutes before qualifying begins. Here we run down some Spanish GP facts and season stats.

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Tags: Fantasy_Formula_1, Unofficial_Games, ASFL2_Fantasy_Games, Bonus_Points

Premier League Week 33 Preview

11:13 AM ET on 5/3/13 by Nathan Susanto

The first two victims of the relegation battle were confirmed when Reading and QPR played out a 0 - 0 tie in week 32 of the English Premier League. The clubs have struggled all season and there was an air of inevitability at the Madejski Stadium long before the final whistle blew. Both sides still have three games to contest but they're now just playing for pride.

So there's just one relegation place to sew up with a handful of clubs with the specter of the drop looming over them. Wigan currently occupies the dreaded eighteenth position but this week they have two fixtures to try and narrow the gap to the rest of the pack. Newcastle has dropped to one place above the relegation zone but they're level on points with Aston Villa and Sunderland, with Norwich only a single point better off.

Remember to make your Premier League Pickem predictions before the deadline of each game. Week 33's schedule begins on Saturday with six 10 AM ET kickoffs at Fulham, Norwich, Swansea, Tottenham, West Brom and West Ham. The 12:30 PM ET game sees Arsenal travel to QPR. Sunday's first clash is the Merseyside derby, starting at 8:30 AM ET. This is followed by Manchester United hosting Chelsea at 11 AM ET. Monday's meeting at 3 PM ET has Sunderland facing Stoke. There are two games on Tuesday with the fixtures at Manchester City and Wigan beginning at 2:45 PM ET. Week 33's lineup is completed on Wednesday at 2:45 PM ET with Tottenham playing Chelsea.

Here we preview the 13 games in the upcoming week of the English Premier League.

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Tags: Premier_League_Talk, Soccer_Talk, Fantasy_Premier_League, ASFL2_Fantasy_Games, Premier_League_Pickem, Unofficial_Games, Bonus_Points

NHL Playoffs Pickem Available

10:44 AM ET on 4/30/13 by Jay Soester

NHL Playoffs Pickem will also be run through the league message board. Follow the template in the first post of the thread. The deadline for entries is 8 PM ET tonight. I apologize for the delay in the announcement.

Don't forget that the second round sees the advancing teams reseeded to where the highest remaining seed plays the lowest remaining seed in each conference.

Tags: Games_Available, NHL_Playoffs_Pickem, League_Message_Board

Premier League Week 32 Preview

10:54 AM ET on 4/26/13 by Nathan Susanto

On Monday night, Manchester United secured a twentieth league title - 13th in the English Premier League era - after thrashing Aston Villa 3 - 0 courtesy of a Robin van Persie first half hat-trick. With four games still to go, the Red Devils are now seeking to overhaul Chelsea's record total of 95 points, set in 2004-2005. This is achievable if they win their remaining four fixtures, which would mean equalling Tottenham's top-flight mark of 31 victories set in 1960-1961 in a 42 game season. A more immediate target is the 29 Premier League wins set by Chelsea in the consecutive campaigns of 2004-2005 and 2005-2006. United's quest begins on Sunday on a tough trip to Arsenal.

While Manchester United has already ended the title race, Reading and QPR teeter on the brink of relegation. The two clubs, who have both struggled throughout the campaign, face each other in a matchup that might see one sent down come the final whistle, but both could be condemned to the Championship by the end of week 32.

Remember to make your Premier League Pickem predictions before the deadline of each game. Week 32's schedule gets under way on Saturday with West Ham hosting Manchester City, beginning at 7:45 AM ET. There are then four games at 10 AM ET at Everton, Southampton, Stoke and Wigan. The final game of the day has Liverpool visiting Newcastle at 12:30 PM ET. Sunday's first clash sees Reading entertain QPR at 8:30 AM ET. This is followed by Swansea taking on Chelsea, starting at 10 AM ET. Sunday's final matchup has Manchester United taking on Arsenal at 11 AM ET. The final game of the week is on Monday at 3 PM ET with Aston Villa facing Sunderland.

Here we preview the ten games in the upcoming week of the English Premier League.

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Tags: Premier_League_Talk, Soccer_Talk, Fantasy_Premier_League, ASFL2_Fantasy_Games, Premier_League_Pickem, Unofficial_Games, Bonus_Points

Premier League Week 31 Preview

10:01 AM ET on 4/19/13 by Nathan Susanto

Manchester United has moved to within six points of the title after securing a win and a tie in week 30. Manchester City has to avoid defeat at Tottenham on Sunday to stop United going into their Monday night fixture against Aston Villa a win away from securing their twentieth English league crown.

At the other end of the table, Reading and QPR are on the brink of relegation after both went winless yet again last week. In week 31, both clubs take on sides that have slipped uncomfortably close to the relegation dogfight. Reading travels to Norwich while QPR hosts Stoke.

The most intriguing matchup of the weekend sees Rafael Benítez take his Chelsea charges to his former English Premier League club Liverpool. While he was at Liverpool - where he led the team to Champions League success and an FA Cup - Benítez said he would never manage Chelsea and he had a dig at the Blues' supporters. Those disparaging comments have helped make his time at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea's interim manager uncomfortable.

Remember to make your Premier League Pickem predictions before the deadline of each game. Week 31's schedule gets under way on Saturday with seven 10 AM ET kick offs at Fulham, Norwich, QPR, Sunderland, Swansea, West Brom and West Ham. The first game on Sunday starts at 8:30 AM ET with Manchester City visiting Tottenham. This is followed by Liverpool hosting Chelsea at 11 AM ET. Week 31's final matchup is on Monday at 3 PM ET with Manchester United taking on Aston Villa.

Here we preview the ten games in the upcoming week of the English Premier League.

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Tags: Premier_League_Talk, Soccer_Talk, Fantasy_Premier_League, ASFL2_Fantasy_Games, Premier_League_Pickem, Unofficial_Games, Bonus_Points