Chase Colston

By CHASE COLSTON
Staff Writer

Get your popcorn ready.

No questions, no imitators, no holding penalties on fourth-and-1.

It's not just Terrell Owens' locker room note or the Cowboys' amount of penalty yardage that would make any running back a stud on your fantasy team.

Welcome to the first-ever episode of Bogus and Reality, where we examine a plethora of topics in sports.

Bogus.

Dallas has the tools, the quarterback and the talent.

The Cowboys are still the class of the NFC. New England and Indianapolis are the teachers of the league, and the two dominate a superior AFC. One could make the argument that Dallas is the fourth-best team behind Pittsburgh.

A 21-point loss is scary, but when it comes to potentially the best team the NFL has ever seen, it's not as intimidating. A trip to Glendale, Ariz., is still possible, just not a win.

Don't panic yet. Don't be picky over 5-1 in a parity league. Instead worry about the guy mentioned directly below.

Reality.

Before his 224-yard performance on Sunday, before being the seventh pick in the draft, before his 1,900-yard freshman season at Oklahoma, an 18-year-old kid on the Palestine High football team was destined for greatness.

Peterson has the size, the ability, the speed ... everything it takes to be a great running back.

Some are already calling him the best pure runner in the league. His 6.3 yards per carry average on a bad team might be all the evidence needed.

A.D. almost has the Offensive Rookie of the Year award in hand after five games, and his impression on the league by the end of the year might surpass Vince Young's from a year ago twofold.

Reality.

Even though everyone who picked first overall is again bowing down to LaDainian Tomlinson, running backs are no longer the backbone of Fantasy Football.

Quarterbacks and wide receivers are just as, if not more, important. The draft strategy is draft at least two running backs first, and you're set.

Well, if you have Shaun Alexander, Rudi Johnson, Larry Johnson, Steven Jackson, Laurence Maroney or Cedric Benson, and you relied on these guys to carry the load, chances are you're in the bottom half of the league.

Granted injuries have played a role in some of these guys' point productions, but if you waited too long to draft a solid quarterback or receiving corps, it's time to make some moves.

In my fantasy league, 16 of the top 20 scorers are non-running backs. Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson - yeah, that guy - is fourth. Peterson's ridiculous performance against the Bears propelled him to third, and the other three running backs are L.T. (duh), Ronnie Brown and Brian Westbrook.

Reality.

No. 1 Ohio State. No. 2 South Florida. That will probably change a week from now to Boston College and Arizona State.

Seriously.

No team will finish undefeated. The big conferences will come out on top come bowl time, but coming up with the answer for a possible 10 teams with one loss crying foul will signify the end of the Bowl Championship Series.

It's time to let it go. No plus-one. Implement the playoff system and make January Madness the new adage.

Put the top eight in one bracket. The four games are the Rose, Sugar, Fiesta and Orange Bowls. Sell the rights to the semifinal games to the highest bidder and call the national championship game just that, the NCAA Division I National Championship.

The rest of the bowl games stay the same. Let a real system, not a computerized crapshoot, decide the champion.

Bogus.

I admire a rich guy with a personality. I also admire a rich guy with a reputation of not afraid to not only get something he wants, but support it in "unusual" fashion.

Cuban has said if he was approved to buy the Chicago Cubs, he would become a Bleacher Bum in right field. There's nothing wrong with a true fan with money. Rich people already own all the box seats at every sporting venue and many of them are loudmouth fanatics like Cuban.

Don't hold it against him for loving his team, too.

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Chase Colston
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