By JIMMY D / Fantasy celebrity watching | Jimmy's archive

Jimmy D knows his place in the celebrity pecking order.

Despite his vast popularity in fantasy sports and sports gaming circles, he knows to lay low in the presence of celebs with more universal appeal.

Such was the case this week as Jimmy was returning from New York City, where he checked on the progress of Sid the Kid. The Penguins were in town to play the surprising Rangers and after attending some meetings, Jimmy thought the chance to spot three generations of NHL studs – Mario, Jagr and Crosby – was too good to pass up.

Suffice to say that during delays on the trip home, Jon Voight nestled into a seat nearby while he waited for his flight. There was some polite whispering and finger-pointing as the veteran actor (Deliverance, Pearl Harbor and many others) waited.

Jimmy respectfully removed his signature cool sunglasses, to ensure he did not draw any attention away from the man who played FDR in Pearl Harbor. So why is Jimmy mentioning this airport confluence, other than for some gratuitous and shameless name-dropping value?

Well, Voight did star recently in the quirky drama Holes, which featured a cameo performance by recently retired Rick Fox (if he retired from the NBA for movies, he should get the sneakers out of storage) and he played Howard Cosell in the boxing flick Ali.

So there is a sporting connection.

However, more tempting was the opportunity to mention Voight's daughter in this space, the resplendent and dazzling Angelina Jolie. Anyone wishing to argue the relevance of Ms. Jolie's name appearing in a fantasy column can email me and we'll have a chat about it.

Meowwww!.

But I digress.

How did Crosby do? There were a lot of Ranger power plays which kept studly Sidney off the ice. He showed a few flashes, but was largely inconspicuous. The Madison Square Garden fans – who actually had two clues to rub together unlike the vapid throng in Miami at a recent Panthers game - were clearly watching for him though.

Mario, back from a few days off with bird flu symptoms, mainly coasted, but showed he retains the lightning-quick decision-making skills and ability to zing tape-to-tape passes. And Jagr? The resurgent Czech is practically unstoppable with the new rules and toyed with defenders at times, shrugging off stick checks and hooks with ease.

A fantasy GM asked Jimmy to watch Ranger goalie Henrik Lundqvist for any major flaws that might indicate the Swedish rookie is a flash in the pan. Gotta admit I didn’t see any. With the injury-prone Kevin Weekes in a perpetual state of day-to-day, I predict Henny taking over this job in time.

At the other end, former Screaming Eagle Marc-Andre Fleury was brilliant, getting beaten only on a pair of deflections in a 2-1 loss. With the Pens struggling, Josh Thibault waived through the league and Sebastien Caron hopeless backup material only, Fleury has now officially arrived, so make your roster and keeper league manoevres with this in mind.

Thorny Thornton trade issue

It was a rare blockbuster, as sudden as it was shocking.
Joe Thornton traded to San Jose by Bruin management that built their roster around him. In return, some youth and some potential, but clearly not the haul a player of Big Joe’s pedigree should command.

I haerk back to baseball trade advice I imparted at deadline time this summer.
When it's a marquee name, typically the fantasy production will not vary much. A good player on one team is going to be a good player on another.

His plus/minus may improve or suffer, but for the most part, his production should not fall off.

The trick is determining which players will see their production increase or decline. In San Jose, the immediate beneficiary seems to be Jonathan Cheechoo, who has slotted home a couple Big Joe passes already. If Joe's presence boosts the power play, expect more from Tom Preissing and a second-half rebound from Scott Hannan, who has slurped up an awful minus so far.

Moving out two forwards and getting one back means another Shark in the system gets time with the big club.

Over in Boston, this trade says a few things about defencemen and forward prospects in the system. First, the Bruins have taken fliers that Stuart and recently acquired David Tanabe will meet the high expectations that have been largely unfulfilled by these two skilled players.

It should bump young Patrice Bergeron to the top line. It could also spell trouble for Glen Murray, who was signed to a $4-million-a-year deal ostensibly to fire home Thornton passes. Now, he better find the range with Alexei Zhamnov, or his fantasy value is threatened.

So the Bruins are now taking chances. It also says that the forward prospects can't be trusted so far to contribute at the NHL level, hence the addition of third- and fourth-line grinder Wayne Primeau.

And don't underestimate the fantasy value of Marco Sturm, especially if your league values short-handed goals and low penalty minutes. He is a solid, top-six skater with some offensive flair, albeit sporadic and un-Thornton-like to date.

Boston Pizza Pick ‘Em Contest

We are heading into the home stretch of Jimmy’s football contest. Jimmy’s travel schedule prevented him from updating the weekend results, but the new game sheet is already up at www.JimmyDSports.com and the fresh leader boards will be updated shortly.

In the meantime, stay busy and stay lucky.
Jimmy D