Fantasy Philadelphia

Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook made one of the strangest plays of the NFL season when he took a handoff against the Dallas Cowboys, broke into the clear, raced toward the end zone -- and stopped at the 1-yard line.

The Eagles had a four-point lead just before the two-minute warning at the time, the Cowboys were out of timeouts, and after Westbrook's play Philadelphia could just run out the clock with three straight kneeldowns.

Eagles coach Andy Reid praised Westbrook, but not everyone did. Take Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who approached Westbrook at the Pro Bowl and told him, "You ruined my fantasy football team."

Yes, NFL players do play fantasy football, and as Adam Rank of NFL.com writes, Fitzgerald was among the thousands of fantasy football players who were disappointed when Westbrook took away some easy fantasy points for a silly reason like managing the clock late in a close game.

Westbrook's play might have been the most memorable in the history of fantasy football, and Fitzgerald is one of the many fantasy players who was still thinking about it long after the season ended.

The NHL's best and brightest stars get lots of press, adoration, and their share of the league's awards.

How about the worst of the lot? How about a little bit of attention for these poor folks? I'm sure, after having such poor seasons, that these d00d's need a little love, too.

So, here are the 'best' of the worst:

+/-

R.J. Umberger -30
Joffrey Lupul -28
Patrice Bergeron -27
Kyle Calder -27

Shot %

Stephane Robidas 0% (104 shots)
Niklas Kronvall 0% (104 shots)
Martin Skoula 0% (90 shots)
Steve Montador 1.1% (87 shots)

Missed Shots
Simon Gagne 174
Alexander Ovechkin 145
Ilya Kovalchuk 135
Olli Jokinen 134
Brian Rolston 134

Save Percentage
Marc Denis 88.3%
Mikael Tellqvist 88.5%
Alexander Auld 88.8%
Curtis Sanford 88.9%
Brent Johnson 88.9%

Jimmy Rollins has big plans for this season. He has proclaimed his team to be the best in the division on paper. Then, he revealed his goal to have 200 hits. Now we find out his motivation may stem from feeling snubbed last season:

"He felt a little slighted he didn't win either the Gold Glove or Silver Slugger (last year)," Phillies hitting coach Milt Thompson said Thursday before the Grapefruit League finale against the Pirates. "He definitely thought he should've had at least one of those."

Now, Rollins is ready to prove it.

While most of the Phillies have slogged through the spring, fighting to regain their swing and find a rhythm at the plate or on the mound, Rollins has been raring to go. He concluded the Florida portion of spring training by batting .386 (22-for-57) with a .493 on-base percentage and he's had hits in 14 of his last 29 at-bats and nine of his last 10 games.

And that's after starting 5 for 21 for the spring.

So Jimmy wants 200 hits, and hardware? I'm not sure I'm realizing the full scope of what an extra-motivated Jimmy Rollins can do. Add those kind of numbers to typical Chase Utley and Ryan Howard seasons, we might be talking world domination here. Of course, Howard has to snap out of his spring slump. But if he does, how many times can Rollins score ahead of him? It's a scary thought for Phillies opponents.

Previously on The Fanhouse:
Jimmy Rollins wants 200 hits