So round three of Madden ’13 Cover vote is on.

We’re basically down to the final eight candidates to be jinxed named the cover boy for the Madden game.

Cam or Larry Fitzgerald? Aaron Rodgers or Ray Rice? Patrick Willis or Victor Cruz? And, Calvin Johnson or Rob Gronkowski?

So who do you want to see on the cover? Is it because of the jinx? Or … you don’t believe in no stinking jinxes (You don’t? Peyton Hillis had a great season after being on the ’12 cover, huh?) and want your guy on the cover?

Let me know! Comment below! Oh and you can vote here if you’d like!

By Kristine Reese & Corinna Evans

Welcome to Week 11 of the Fantasy Football Season. With only four short weeks left in the regular season, it’s crunch time if you plan to make a run for the playoffs. Even if you’ve had a rough season, there’s still time to turn things around. Let’s just hope you’ve been playing the waiver wire & are ready to replace all the injured players on your roster. Here are the top injuries that are killing fantasy teams around the nation.

Andre Johnson, Houston Texans

Just when you thought the WR from Houston was going to have the best season of his career, he suffered a hamstring injury. The Texans have been dominating the AFC South but they have one thing working against them. That would be the amount of significant injuries their star players have incurred this season.

Johnson managed to accumulate 21 catches for 316 yards with 2 touchdowns in the first three games. Then in Week 4 versus the Steelers, Johnson suffered a hamstring injury that required surgery.

Since his injury, the Texans have been relying heavily on their rushing offense. With Arian Foster healthy & Ben Tate dominating the field; the Texans have managed without their star WR. However, fantasy owners may have not been so lucky. Kevin Walter is filling in for Johnson in the mean time, however there’s a chance he wasn’t available when you went to pick him up. If that is the case also consider Owen Daniels & Joel Dreessen, as they have played a more significant role in the Texans offense.

“I feel like I’m ready. Right now, I don’t have any doubt that I’ll be back on the field next Sunday,” Johnson said.

Johnson is expected to return in week 12, after the Texans bye week, versus the Jaguars. » Continue reading “Fantasy Football Fix – Top Injuries Of The 2011 Season”

Happy Thursday!

Happy Thursday everyone! Here’s some stories we’re keeping track of in preparation for Week 9!

Aaron Rodgers still has a chip on his shoulder from the 2005 draft when he was selected as the 24th pick in the draft. … Dude it’s 2011 and you’ve won a Super Bowl. Last season as a matter of fact. And… the Packers are 7-0! Come on!

According to Packers.com:

“I still have a great memory,” Rodgers said. “The goals I set for myself change every year a little bit. I try to improve on the previous year and learn from the mistakes I made. When I got drafted, I had a chip on my shoulder, and I’ve still got it there. There’s a lot of motivation left in that chip.”

Rodgers has been tremendously successful since taking over the Packers QB reins from Brett Favre. Old-Washed-Up-Has-Been Favre hasn’t exactly made things easy on Rodgers. So, I will say it’s nice to see a stellar athlete strive to better himself. … I don’t think Favre would do what Rodgers has done!

NEXT!

Dropped passes are nothing T.J. Houshmandzadeh wants to think about as he gets a fresh start with the Oakland Raiders.

Raiders new QB Carson Palmer recruited his former Bengals teammate to consider joining the Raiders, whom he did sign with this week.  “The talent on this team is unbelievable. It’s unbelievable,” Houshmandzadeh said Wednesday on “Around the League” on NFL Network. “So I expect great things.”

We’ll see!

NEXT!

Would you say the Madden Curse is continuing this season for Cleveland Browns RB Peyton Hillis? Check out this story from NFL.com.

Yup, he disappointed several kids this week as he didn’t show up to a Halloween Party. His excuse? It was a miscommunication. Sure, it happens. But to the same guy that since being on the cover of the Madden video game has missed the past two games with injury and even left a game after sustaining a hamstring injury. He suffered a set back last week and failed to play in last weekend’s game against San Francisco. He hasn’t practiced this week.

Someone needs to get this bad Madden curse joo-joo off of him. Stat!

NEXT!

Guess what?

Philip Rivers is a whiny little thing. He says the cameras were lying when they caught him saying that he was having the worst day or game EVER. Ugh! Get your tiny violins ready and check this story out!

Miranda Remaklus is senior reporter for Aerys Offsides. She’s also a contributor to Aaron Miles’ Fastball in the MLB section. Follow her on Twitter, @missmiranda.