Sell high on Texans

Your surefire second-half fantasy football MVPs: Drew Brees, Adrian Peterson &Calvin Johnson

Calvin Johnson will continue to soar above the competition at wide receiver.
Drew Brees will rebound, just be careful of Week 15 against Baltimore.
Philip Rivers isn't about to slow down though.
Michael Turner will eat up on the Falcons soft second-half schedule.

We’re about halfway through the fantasy football season, and, for most of us, our rosters, and our fates, are pretty much sealed.

Still, even though the best free agents have long ago been scooped up, trades can still be made. Knowing that, it’s important to think of players now based not on their reputations, nor on their performances so far this season. The bottom line is: How will they perform from here on out?

With that in mind, here are predictions on who will be the finest performer from this point at each of the three main fantasy positions.

QUARTERBACK CANDIDATES: Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers

Rivers has a bye coming up in Week 10 next week, but that’s immediately followed up by four of five games at home in weather-friendly conditions against weak opponents. He’s also getting Vincent Jackson back, but the big negative is the injury to Antonio Gates ( who was inactive for Sunday's game against the Texans). Manning’s schedule isn’t too bad, but all of those injuries at receiver are a bit troublesome.

Brees, on the other hand, should be getting some players back from injury after his week 10 bye. The main concern is a potentially tricky matchup at Baltimore in Week 15, right in the heart of the fantasy playoffs in most leagues.

THE VERDICT: Brees, by a nose, although you can’t go wrong with any of these three. They’ll be head and shoulders above the other quarterbacks from this point.

RUNNING BACK CANDIDATES: Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson, Michael Turner, Arian Foster, Frank Gore

I’d be trying to trade Foster if I had him; his schedule gets significantly harder, and his defense can’t stop anyone, which makes Texans reliance on the running game unlikely. Johnson doesn’t have an overly difficult schedule, but his yards per carry is down so far that it appears that defenses just aren’t going to let him beat them this year, Randy Moss’ presence notwithstanding.

Turner might seem like a surprise in here, but the Falcons’ schedule is pretty soft. Same goes for Gore with the Niners, and he’s been tough to stop this year regardless of his team’s woes. Peterson can say the same.

THE VERDICT: Peterson, barely over Gore, based on his big-play ability, nose for the end zone, and the feeling that the Vikes might just pull together against all odds.

WIDE RECEIVER CANDIDATES: Larry Fitzgerald, Roddy White, Calvin Johnson, Andre Johnson, Hakeem Nicks, Brandon Lloyd, Greg Jennings, Reggie Wayne

What’s interesting about this group is how many of them wouldn’t have been anywhere near this list at the start of the season. I’m not willing to bet my fortunes on Lloyd, even with his stunning success. Fitzgerald is hamstrung by his QB woes, and Andre Johnson is banged up, which knocks out the two preseason favorites.

Someone has to catch Aaron Rodgers’ passes, so Jennings could be ready to explode. The ruggedness of Nicks’ division argues against his continued brilliance. Wayne and White might be the most consistent of the bunch, while Calvin Johnson is on fire.

THE VERDICT: With receivers, the best player usually ends up with the best numbers. Right now, I feel like the best receiver in the league is Calvin Johnson, so this is Megatron’s year.

Next week, we’ll take a look at some potential second-half sleepers. Until then, here’s hoping that you start the winners, and leave the bums on the bench.

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Movie review

Nerdy teen comedies make a comeback with new movie Summer of 69

Photo courtesy of Hulu

Sam Morelos and Chloe Fineman in Summer of 69.

There was a trend in the late 2010s/early 2020s of bawdy comedies featuring teenage female protagonists, including Blockers, Booksmart, and Yes, God, Yes. Those types of films seemed to go by the wayside in recent years, but they’re making a comeback with the new film Summer of 69.

Abby (Sam Morelos) is a high school senior and video game streamer who has had a crush on her classmate Max (Matt Cornett) for her entire childhood. When she learns that Max has recently broken up with his longtime girlfriend, she’s determined to make her move. With advice from a confidant that Max likes a certain sexual position, Abby sets out to learn as much as she can about it, including hiring a stripper, Santa Monica (Chloe Fineman), to help her.

Coincidentally, Santa Monica is facing a situation where the club at which she works, Diamond Dolls, will be closed if the owner doesn’t come up with $20,000 in a week. Abby, who comes from a well-to-do family, seems to offer the perfect solution, and so the two agree to a week of lessons for that amount. Naturally, all sorts of complications arise, as well as the two women forming an unexpected bond.

Written and directed by Jillian Bell, with help from co-writers Jules Byrne and Liz Nico, the film is both suggestive and innocent at the same time. For all of the talk about sex and innuendo, having the nerdy and inexperienced Abby at the center of the film ensures that the story remains relatively chaste throughout. That includes scenes at the strip club, where Bell makes the choice to show almost no nudity.

Most of the humor of the film stems from Abby’s lack of experience, highlighted by her having “sexual” fantasies about Max that never actually get to the sex part. The juxtaposition between Abby and Santa Monica is also used for laughs, although Bell and her co-writers make sure to include a side story for the dancer that makes her into a three-dimensional person.

What ultimately makes the movie succeed is the way it keeps its characters relatable. Many high school films feel the need to play into a bunch of stereotypes, but those are kept to a minimum here. Instead, Bell upends expectations by delivering honest - sometimes to a fault for the characters - dialogue that acknowledges the spectrum of sexual realities for high schoolers, a version that differs from insatiable horniness of some other teen comedies.

Morelos, one of the stars of Netflix’s That ‘90s Show, makes for a charming lead, someone who can convincingly take her character from awkward to confident over the course of the story. Fineman, best known for her current stint as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, complements her well, showing her comedic prowess in a number of physical scenes. A supporting cast that includes Nicole Byer, Paula Pell, Alex Moffat, and Natalie Morales keeps the energy level high.

Despite its titillating title, Summer of 69 is much more sweet than naughty. Like most coming-of-age movies, it’s about a girl who’s trying to figure out where she fits in the world. The answers she finds aren’t always the ones she was expecting, but in the best possible way.

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Summer of 69 starts streaming on Hulu on May 9.

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