By JIMMY D / Tiight ends kill Jimmy's fantasy football team | Jimmy's archive

It has been the biggest fantasy black hole of many for the Jimmyville Gremlins this NFL season – the tight end position.

No matter how Jimmy tries or who Jimmy tries, it’s always a disaster at TE. Anyone else out there sharing Jimmy’s pain with tight-end tightwads?

The Gremlins initially drafted Todd Heap and Bears backup Greg Olsen. After three weeks of near-zero production, including minus two points in Week 1 for the Ravens and zero in Week 4, Heap was chucked on the scrap heap.

Olsen remained on the active roster for three weeks, achieving a cumulative 11 points. In came the athletic Vernon Davis off waivers from the 49ers and a big fat zero in Week 7 and two points in Week 8.

Next was Tony Scheffler from Denver with a zero in Week 9 and Donald Lee of the Packers for a zero in Week 10. Jimmy tried Scheffler again in Week 11, hoping a matchup with the Falcons would be useful.

Result? Zero points. Let’s go back to Donald Lee in Week 12. Zero. Week 13, Viking Visanthe Shiancoe made a single catch for two points.

To get a handle on just how pathetic this is, you have to realize that Brian Westbrook’s 37 fantasy points on four TDs last week more than doubled the TE production for the entire season! The frustrating part is that Lee caught TD passes in the two weeks he sat on the Gremlin bench but none during his two weeks in the starting lineup.

So maybe it’s back to Scheffler in Week 14 after making seven grabs for 90 yards Sunday and with a favourable matchup against the Jets. Or Heap who had four catches and a TD last week as well? What a mess.

Vanier clarity vs. BCS mess

There is never any doubt in Canadian college football. Two teams battle to an undisputed national final game and one earns the Vanier Cup. How our Yankee friends south of the border wish it could be so simple.

They have tried for decades to refine the process of whittling down nearly 120 teams to find championship contenders. But without a playoff system, it has always been doomed to votes and computer rankings. But the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) mess could be even bigger this year.

Texas could become the first team to make the national title game without even playing in its conference title game. The Longhorns finished a three-way tie for the Big 12 South title with Oklahoma and Texas Tech, but was excluded from the conference championship on the fifth tiebreaker.

So the Red Raiders and Sooners – both of whom Texas beat this year – are in the Big 12 game against North champion Missouri. If the Tigers win, Texas could still earn the BCS title berth.

Confused? You should be. Florida and Alabama might be the two best teams in the nation but they play each other in the SEC title game, meaning one is a lock to play for the title and the other is SOL.

Oh, and if all the teams bomb next Saturday and No. 5 USC hammers UCLA, the Trojans could possibly sneak into the BCS final. Saturday’s games will decide the top two teams.

Cherry straight shooter on Strait’s Johnson

Sorry about hexing Aaron Johnson of Port Hawkesbury by mentioning his fast start last week. He got cheap-shotted by normally mild Mike Grier of the Sharks and Don Cherry teed off on him Saturday night also as bad as Grier teed off on the prone Johnson.

Jimmy D

jpoole@herald.ca