Photo courtesy of MCT

Unless you have been living under a rock or have been hit by an electromagnetic pulse and electronic devices are not working, surely you have heard or seen something about the bills that the government is trying to pass.

Those bills are commonly referred to as SOPA and PIPA.

SOPA stands for ‘Stop Online Piracy Act’ and PIPA ‘Protect IP Act.’

While these bills seem good-natured to the core, there was an intense outburst by some websites.

It’s comparable to an epic battle between David and Goliath. The role of David carried out by Google, Wikipedia, Reddit and several smaller websites and Goliath played by the government.

Sure Google and Wikipedia are large and famous websites and companies that pose little to no threat against an entity such as the US government.

Google, known for its logo animation, put a black bar over their name brand to imitate that the bills were censoring content.

Wikipedia went a step further, and completely blacked out their website for 24 hours. Wikipedia’s call to action was for users to write to their local Congressmen to voice their opinions.

Why were such drastic measures taken for a seemingly well-intentioned bill?

The main concern was an infringement upon our rights as citizens laid out by the Constitution, specifically the First Amendment.

Critics claim the bill would essentially limit free speech and reduce innovation.

The day that Wikipedia was blacked out, a message on their site read, “Imagine a world without free knowledge.”

This comment was meant to be thought invoking, allowing for reflection on some things most of us probably take for granted in an upper echelon liberal arts university—the ease of which information is available to us, whether it be from a person, the library or the high speed internet connection offered.

These bills, though hopeful to protect copyright infringement especially from foreign countries, will drastically alter the Internet as we know it.

While that may or may not be a good occurrence, what is bad is how the world will react to such drastic changes.

Change is usually a gradual and continual process, but with the Internet being such a volatile environment, millions of dollars will be lost in translation.

If something as simple as going to every college student’s favorite websites for background information is altered to reflect content change, imagine the possibilities for other websites.

Do the right thing and educate yourself to form your own opinion of how such acts will affect not only yourself, but the rest of the world.

Butler University has gone down under. But not in a bad way.

This fall, freshman basketball recruit Jackson Aldridge arrived on campus from Sydney, Australia.

He said a connection to coach Brad Stevens and a pivotal win helped him get on the U.S. radar.

“My national team coach back in Australia knew Brad briefly,” Aldridge said. “Then my national team played a tournament in Germany, and we knocked America out. I ended up getting named to the All-Star Five in the tournament, and the recruiting really picked up from there.”

Jackson was not only courted by Butler. He also received interest from Creighton, Washington State, Michigan and Marquette, among others.

Unlike what some might believe, he committed before Butler’s improbable run of back-to-back appearances in national championships.

Aldridge said his decision to attend Butler over the other interested schools was “not even close.”

“I knew Coach Stevens was legitimate and cared not just about basketball but for you as an individual as well,” Aldridge said.

The atmosphere is not the only thing that is different for the Aussie.

The style of play typically differs in the United States compared to the rest of the world, according to Aldridge.

Some of this is a direct result of different rules being used internationally, such as FIBA—a French acronym that translates to International Basketball Federation.

Another difference, according to Aldridge, involves the individuals he faces on the court here.

Photo by Maria Porter

“There are some really talented individuals here,” Aldridge said. “Everyone is much more athletic. The main difference is the body type of the guys playing.”

Even with the enlarged competition, Aldridge is not afraid to utilize a dribble-drive to attack the interior of the defense on his way to the basket. He credits this fearless attitude to growing up playing rugby, usually against bigger individuals.

The different style of play initially created a small learning curve to a new ritual because “every night you have to be back up the next day,” he said.

However, the biggest adjustment in leaving Australia to come stateside has nothing to do with basketball.

“Obviously, I moved away from my family and friends, and it has been hard to adjust,” he said.

When asked about his future and whether he would move back to Australia or remain here, a small smile crept across his face as he declined to give a definitive answer.

“I honestly don’t know right now because it’s only my first year here,” he said. “I don’t have any plans right now, and I’m just going to see how it goes.”

Through sweat, tears and watching countless hours of football, the time has finally come for the much-anticipated fantasy football playoffs.

Luckily I was able to make the playoffs in all three of my leagues. Hopefully at least one of these teams will pull through and win me a year of bragging rights over my league mates.

Here are some things that you can do to best prepare your team for success in the playoffs.

Listen to absolutely no one other than yourself when making decisions on whom to sit and whom to start.

At this time of the year, you have to make your own decisions, otherwise the blame for your loss will be attributed to someone else.

Trust your gut instincts, whether that is to ride your mid-season waiver wire pickup or to sit your first-round draft pick.

Do not let the advice of so-called experts play into your decision making for such a crucial decision at a critical time.

With that being said, I will provide some random and potentially beneficial food for thought in the form of statistics.

Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson rushed for 153 yards on Sunday. This was Johnson’s third 100-yard rushing performance in his last four games. CJ also had two scores for the first time since Week 5 in 2010.

Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow is 5-0 in his last five games, with four of those wins coming on the road. During that stretch, Tebow has yet to throw an interception.

Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch has totaled 456 rushing yards, 79 receiving yards and five touchdowns in his last four games.

Top overall pick and Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Cam Newton wrote his name in the history books on Sunday. Newton now has the most rushing touchdowns by a QB in a single season with 13. Interestingly enough, Newton also leads all players this year in rushing touchdowns.

Entering Sunday, San Francisco kicker David Akers led all kickers in total points. On Sunday, he kicked four more field goals, all four of which occurred inside 36 yards.

New England Patriots running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis has 156 carries so far this season. Miami Dolphins running back Reggie Bush has 155.

There are seven tight ends in the top 20 receivers for total receptions: Jimmy Graham (New Orleans Saints), Tony Gonzalez (Atlanta Falcons), Rob Gronkowski (Patriots), Jason Witten (Dallas Cowboys), Fred Davis (Washington Redskins), Brandon Pettigrew (Detroit Lions) and Kellen Winslow (Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
Graham is second in the league in receptions behind Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker. Gronkowski has the most receiving touchdowns in the league with 13.

Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson is second in the league in both receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Greg Little and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green are tied for most receptions by a rookie with 50.

Of those quarterbacks who have thrown at least 400 passes, only four have fewer than 10 interceptions: Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers), Colt McCoy (Browns), Joe Flacco (Baltimore Ravens), and Tony Romo (Cowboys).

The Indianapolis Colts give up the most points per game (29.8), while the San Francisco 49ers give up the fewest (13.4).

Hopefully you came out victorious this week. If not, you and your team are probably still reeling from a backbreaking loss.

Some injuries occurred this weekend that could affect your team’s chances of going forward.

If you were rejoicing at selecting Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick on draft day, you are probably severely disappointed thus far. The quarterback broke a couple of ribs in Sunday’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

If you have other options, start them with his status in doubt and shaky play as of late.
San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore has looked good lately but was hampered by both knee and ankle issues this week. Gore was on the sidelines during stretches of the game, so check the injury report later in the week.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Sidney Rice suffered a concussion this week, and his availability for the upcoming week depends on whether he passes the mandated concussion tests. If he doesn’t, give a slight upgrade to the other wide receivers on the Seahawks.

The Denver Broncos are hurting badly at running back right now, with both Willis McGahee and Knowshon Moreno leaving the field on Sunday. Relatively unknown Lance Ball picked up the slack and toted the rock 30 times for 96 yards.

Here are some players I am higher on this week:

Oakland Raiders running back Michael Bush’s stat line from Thursday against the Chargers was 30 carries for 157 yards and a touchdown and three catches for 85 yards.

With the Raiders in first place in the AFC West and Darren McFadden still hobbled, expect the Raiders to heavily lean on Bush going forward.

Don’t look now, but Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch is starting to find a groove. He has had a touchdown in five straight games and has gone over 100 yards in the past two.

His matchup next week against the St. Louis Rams is rather cushy, so do not shy away from beast mode any time soon.

In a deeper league, use Houston Texans running back Ben Tate. While he is essentially a backup to Arian Foster, he still gets a decent amount of work as the Texans aim to keep Foster fresh.

Quoting one of my favorite childhood movies, “The Sandlot:” “Heroes are remembered, but legends never die.” Be a legend by keeping your fantasy season alive.

Week 10 of the NFL season is finally upon us, in all of its glory.

First, in a weird scheduling twist, there are no teams with bye weeks this week. Capitalize and use this week to glimpse your full-strength roster.

Second, the trade deadline in many leagues is approaching, along with the final chance to make a push into the playoffs. This week, I’ll cover the steps to take to maximize your opportunity to make the playoffs, specifically targeting players in trades.

With so many up and down games, it is easy to hate on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. But a quick glance at the remaining schedule leaves much room for optimism.

He may not be the most dependable option, but Romo is set up for some big games through the rest of the season.

Try to land Atlanta Falcons running back Michael Turner if you can. The Falcons finally seem to be clicking on all cylinders, and it seems they have finally figured out the key to winning: give Turner the ball.

Atlanta should be playing in some close games from here on out, meaning Turner will receive plenty of opportunities.

San Diego Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson came up big on Sunday, to the tune of seven catches for 141 yards and three scores.

The only remaining game on his team’s schedule that induces any worry is against the Baltimore Ravens.

Missing two games due to injury, New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez has been able to fly under the radar for the most part this season.

Hernandez is second at his position in targets per game, averaging nine per contest. Tom Brady looks his way often, especially in the red zone, as he presents a difficult matchup for opposing defenses.

After this weekend, I am convinced that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton is the real deal. Though a rookie, he seems to have all the intangibles that can elevate a player into the top fantasy tiers.

The team’s remaining schedule looks brutal on paper, but the Bengals trust Dalton enough to have the ball in his hands during crucial game situations, as evidenced Saturday.

Thanks for sticking out the season this long, gamer. After the games this week, your fantasy football season has lasted longer than Kim Kardashian’s marriage. Bazinga!

This week, the mailbag shall provide the weekly dosage of fantasy football wisdom you desire just as much as a crave case from White Castle.

Q: Who is your biggest sleeper wide receiver pick up for week nine?

A: That is an interesting question. For the rest of the season, I would add Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown as a long-term guy.

Brown had a team-high nine receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown on Sunday. This is encouraging, as Pittsburgh is fifth in the league in passes attempted. Hines Ward is finally starting to show his age, leaving the window ajar for someone to emerge as the team’s second wide receiver behind Mike Wallace.

For a one-week addition to your squad, I would suggest wide receiver Danario Alexander of the St. Louis Rams, if he plays—he was inactive last week due to a hamstring injury. If not, teammate and fellow wide receiver Brandon Gibson should provide solid numbers as well.

The Arizona Cardinals have struggled against the pass this year, ranking 30th in pass yards allowed. These guys are relatively unknown, so if you are in a pinch at WR this week, look for one of these options.

Q:  The Eagles shut down the Dallas Cowboys last week. What are your expectations for Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte this week against the Philadelphia Eagles?

A: I still expect Forte to have a huge game. Last week, the dismantling of the Cowboys occurred because they fell behind early, falling into the strengths of Philly’s pass defense. Despite this, Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray still managed 74 yards on just eight carries.

The Bears, coming off a bye week, make Forte the centerpiece of their offense no matter the game. I expect Forte to gain 130 total yards and a touchdown on Monday night.

Q: I was just offered [Atlanta Falcons running back] Michael Turner for [Eagles wide receiver] Desean Jackson. Should I accept the trade?

A: I realize the NFL is transforming into an aerial assault league on par with action scenes in a Michael Bay movie. The workhorse running back is becoming a dying breed. Jackson is essentially a boom or bust type of player, equally capable of dropping 30 points in a week as he is to lay a goose egg. Turner is guaranteed the work in the backfield, whereas Jackson is no sure thing to consistently produce.

Q: I’m in the playoff hunt but have not yet secured a spot yet. What can I do to push into the playoffs?

A: My best advice is to look at every week from here on out as a must-win week. Identify the best players on your team that you cannot do without and make everyone else on your team available on the trade block.

If one of your better players has a bye week and you do not have enough depth, trade him away. You might take a small hit in value, but you have to win every week from here on out. Besides, towards the end of the season, some of the best players sit the bench to rest up for the playoffs. In fantasy football, there is no rest for the playoff: it is a cut-throat game.

Aldridge

Numbers never lie.

This year, the Butler men’s basketball team must replace 42.4 points and 16.6 rebounds per game from departed players Matt Howard, Shelvin Mack, Shawn Vanzant, Grant Leindecker and Alex Anglin—not to mention the intangible benefits of their leadership.

This year’s men’s basketball team boasts seven new faces, six of whom are freshmen.

Barlow

The other, Rotnei Clarke, is a transfer from Arkansas. Clarke must sit out this year as a transfer before using his final year of eligibility.

Redshirt junior guard Chase Stigall said he was enthusiastic about having a player of Clarke’s caliber joining the team, even if Clarke is not able to play for a year.

“Me, Ron [Nored] and Chrishawn [Hopkins] are going to be chasing him around all of practice, so he is going to make us better every single day,” Stigall said. “We are really excited to have him here.”

Clarke

Players will need to step up in all areas to fill the void left behind by the graduated seniors and Mack’s departure for the NBA.

No player remains on the team who shot better than 35 percent from behind the 3-point line with at least 15 attempts. That is one weakness the team has been focusing on in offseason sessions.

Second-year forward Khyle Marshall, fresh off a stint on the USA Basketball 19 and Under team, said he has been working with coaches to improve his 3-point shooting.

Jones

“Coach [Matt] Graves and I have been shooting 50 threes before every practice,” Marshall said. “It’s definitely something I felt I needed to work on.”

Shooting is not the only thing the team has been focusing on, though.

“We are always conditioning,” Stigall said. “We are always getting up and down.”

The roles of players constantly change each season, and junior forward Andrew Smith said he may see his role change this season with Howard’s departure.

“I don’t think one person is going to fill Howard’s role,” Smith said. “Obviously he was such a great player. We are going to have multiple people step up and fill in where they can.”

Kampen

Even with so many departed players, the business-as-usual feeling around the team remains the same.

Coach Brad Stevens said he has no plans to let the atmosphere surrounding the team take a turn for the worse because of player departures.

“The first time we go on a road game at Evansville, [the freshmen] are going to find out how hard it is to play college basketball,” Stevens said.

Woods

Stevens said he will look for the seniors to teach the new guys about playing expectations at Butler.

“One of the things seniors need to do is to exhibit what you believe are the most important traits of a program,” Stevens said. “Not just as a team, but as a program, those are the things to pass on down the line.”

After the game at Evansville, the Butler upperclassmen will get a chance to display those traits during four consecutive home games, starting Nov. 15 against Tennessee at Chattanooga.

In the end, everyone is wondering how the team plans to expand on recent successes while also teaching newer players about The Butler Way.

Smeathers

“All we have to do is just prepare as a team, have 15 guys on the same page and be ready to play,” Marshall said.

As an Indianapolis Colts fan, it was brutal to watch even one millisecond of the game on Sunday night against the New Orleans Saints.

However, from a fantasy perspective, I was giddy, as some of the Saints put up monster numbers against my favorite team.

In week seven, there were many quarterback changes that resulted in anemic point totals for some quality players. These situations make the waiver wire that much more intriguing for finding quality help.

Quarterback Tim Tebow looked awful for the first 55 minutes of the Denver Broncos’ game against the Miami Dolphins. He looked unstoppable in the last five.

With Tebow, you never know what you are going to get, aside from solid rushing totals. The rushing yardage makes a world of difference, and Tebow can be a borderline starter in the shallowest of leagues because of it.

Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson is struggling more right now than most Butler students are following Homecoming weekend.  Johnson has a single 100-yard game this season.

This week, Johnson squares off against the match up-friendly Colts. If Johnson doesn’t break the century mark this week, feel free to cut all ties with this first-round bust.

With Minnesota Vikings rookie QB Christian Ponder earning his first career start on Sunday versus the Green Bay Packers, running back Adrian Peterson looked absolutely unstoppable, rushing for 175 yards.

More surprising was the emergence of Michael Jenkins as Ponder’s favorite target. Jenkins’ stat line was three catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. Ponder is fully utilizing Jenkins’ height, making him fantasy-relevant again.

Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray ran wild, rushing 25 times for 253 yards and a touchdown. I try not to put too much stock in one game, but Murray seems like the real deal and has a favorable match up against the Philadelphia Eagles this week.

With another strong performance, Murray could be included in a Maurice Sendak picture book.

Lastly, the injury bug bit multiple marquee-name players this week. Monitor Darren McFadden, Beanie Wells, Tim Hightower, Earnest Graham, Marshawn Lynch and Peyton Hillis.

If anything was more baffling than the post-game ruckus between the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions, it has to be how David Stern is still the commissioner of the dysfunctional National Basketball Association.

In case you missed the incident, a scuffle erupted between the two teams because of the coaches. Yep, that is not a misprint. The coaches got into a scuffle that resulted from too exuberant of a handshake on the part of 49ers’ coach Jim Harbaugh, which led to Lions’ coach Jim Schwartz chasing him down the field.

The two eventually had to be separated by multiple personnel members from each team. It was a rare display of unsportsmanlike conduct by someone other than the players.

In other news, the Green Bay Packers remain the only unbeaten team left in the National Football League, with few signs suggesting they will have a mid-season meltdown.

This week’s slate of games is rather unenticing, in my opinion, as some top notch teams have a bye this week. Those teams are the 49ers, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and New England Patriots. This will be a week where scouring the waiver wire could provide enough of a boost to propel your team to a victory, so take advantage of this resource.

Speaking of waiver wire, some additions you might consider this week for bye week replacements are Delone Carter, DeMarco Murray, Demaryius Thomas, Arrelious Benn and John Beck.

As I write this, the trade deadline is approaching. The deadline is Tuesday at 4 p.m. but do not get overly excited. It is difficult for players to learn a whole new system mid-season. Roster changes clearly change the value of players, but do not expect any water-to-wine miracles.

As of this writing, wide receiver Brandon Lloyd has been traded from the Denver Broncos to the St. Louis Rams. This is a scenario which is beneficial to all parties involved, as Lloyd is reunited with ex-head coach Josh McDaniels, who is now the offensive coordinator of the Rams. This should help to negate Lloyd having to learn an entirely new offensive system.

With Tim Tebow taking over the quarterbacking duties in Denver, the move is an upgrade for Lloyd, who ditches the conservative John Fox system in Denver for a more capable quarterback in the Rams’ Sam Bradford. Bradford’s value should see a slight increase, as Lloyd instantly becomes the top target in an underachieving wide receiving core. Downgrade all Broncos receivers now, too, as the top threat becomes Eric Decker, who will see double teams with Lloyd’s departure. You can give slight bumps in value to Demaryius Thomas and Eddie Royal, but they should never see your starting lineup.

The Oakland Raiders lost quarterback Jason Campbell to a broken collarbone, so stay tuned as to whether they make a move to land a quarterback. Whoever they land should be a major improvement over Kyle Boller and will have marginal fantasy usage.

Here is an unreal statistic that reflects the craziness of the NFL season: There have been 10 quarterbacks who have had a 400-yard passing game so far this season after only five weeks.

The current record for an entire season stands at 13 quarterbacks reaching a 400-yard game.

If you own a pass-heavy QB, it is paying off now more than ever.

There are some matchups that you must exploit at this point in the season, and you should take flyers on potential flex options who have an outside chance of producing in these matchups.

The Philadelphia Eagles put on a clinic for how to not tackle against the Buffalo Bills.

Bills running back Fred Jackson destroyed that unit, as it tried to play two-hand-touch on defense. Jackson accounted for 196 yards and a touchdown. Start any running back playing the Eagles right now until they can mend their defensive woes.

The Green Bay Packers allow the fourth-most passing yards per game, even though they have a solid defense.

Most of this comes from times when the Packers get so far ahead, they focus on not giving up big touchdown plays, so teams are able to accumulate passing yards by throwing underneath.

Plus, the Packers score a lot of points. Usually teams that score a lot of points tend to give up passing yards, as it becomes ‘garbage time’ when they get up.

Go find ‘Oscar The Grouches’ out there who play high-scoring teams like the Packers, Bills, New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers. All of those teams are in the top 10 of allowing the most passing yards per game.

After his performance against the Kansas City Chiefs, it might be worth it to start Curtis Painter if you are in need of a QB this week, as he faces the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Colts won’t be able to run against the stalwart defensive line of the Bengals, so I might as well recommend wide receiver Pierre Garcon as well.

The Raiders won an emotional game on Sunday, with their longtime owner passing away earlier in the week. This week they come down from the winning high to face the Cleveland Browns, who have had an extra week to prepare.

Browns QB Colt McCoy should produce solid numbers against a secondary defense allowing the eighth most passing yards.