Running To Nowhere: Fantasy Clicks

Recent Fantasy Clicks 7-23-08: A threat on the NBA's horizon 7-22-08: Escape from New York 7-21-08: Breaking Down Vlad, Lee and Crawford 7-18-08: Beware of the Curse of the HR Derby 7-17-08: Best advice for season's second half 7-16-08: Biggest fantasy busts of 2008

Running To Nowhere

Devin Hester :: Rich Gabrielson/Icon SMI

Devin Hester's decision to sit out training camp until he gets a new contract would seem an odd way of making a good impression on a team that was set to make you a starting wide receiver this season. Look, we know players get jobbed by teams all the time, but if you want to be paid like a No. 1 receiver, don't you at least have to be the No. 1 receiver? With the Bears set to fine Hester $15,000 a day until he reports, the games' best return man will owe the Bears more than he'll make in 2008 in 30 days, calculates Pro Football Talk. Given the hard line Chicago has taken wwith lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher in recent years, we can't imagine this is going to end to hester's satisfaction anytime soon.

And A Childress Shall Lead Them

See, we told you the Josh Childress deal to play in Greece would have a ripple effect in the NBA. (OK, so did most of the Web, but we were right there with them.) Now Houston rookie sensation Carl Landry is mulling playing outside U.S. borders, and Jason Kidd wondered to Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski why wouldn't he consider playing in someplace such as Italy. This may be good for spreading the pool of talent around the globe, but it isn't so wonderful for those teams looking to retain key pieces of their teams.

Who? What? When? Where?

Having trouble keeping track of all the potential trades as Major League Baseball's trade deadline approaches. Me, too. But that's why SI.com has Jon Heyman on staff to keep abreast of the latest chatter, which seems to have Xavier Nady's name in the air a lot.

Color Us Skeptical

Gilbert Arenas :: Simon Bruty/SI

I'm sorry, but I could care less that the Wizards expect Gilbert Arenas to win them a title. For $111 million, they should, But until he proves he can stay healthy for an entire season and stop ruining the fantasy seasons of more than a few owners -- no names, please -- we'll pass ion Agent Zero this fall.

An Empty Threat?

Guess the Giants can expect to get a little payback for trading Jeremy Shockey when the Saints play the Giants ... unless the Saints don't play the Giants this season. Well, there's always the playoffs, assuming Shockey can stop flapping his gums long enough to not drop any key plays that keeps New Orleans out of the postseason.

Hidden Numbers

Finding the stats that lie behind the stats is key to discovering which players can help your fantasy team before your fellow owners. MLB.com's fantasy staff has done a little digging and found some interesting numbers for nine such players, like the fact that the Tigers' Miguel Cabrera is a lot better hitter with less than two outs or that Cole Hamels ranks fifth among NL starters in throwing only 14.6 pitches per inning.

The Next Best Thing To Being There

If I told you there was a site that offered daily updates from NFL training camps, complete with news about how excited Andy Reid is about DeSean Jackson, would that be something you might be interested in?

Explosive And Steady Wins The League

Every fantasy football owner knows gaudy numbers are nice, but consistency is even better. Matt Waldman at FantasyFootballToday has developed a method to measure just that quality. His conclusions? Well, you'll have to click on the link to find out, but you might want to move Ben Roethlisberger and Braylon Edwards up your draft boards and think long and hard about Drew Brees and Andre Johnson.

Come One, Come All

At long last, SI.com has a fantasy football game, complete with all of the drafts, waiver wires, stats and analysis you need. Take the grand tour here and sign up a league. Heck, sign up two leagues if you want. We'll be waiting.

Have A Link, Comment or Question For Us?