Montreal Canadiens have a stud in nets.

Carey Price will be getting a ton of playing time this season for the Habs. He has no competition in nets. The signing of Marc Denis means nothing. Denis or Halak will be Price's backup and the other will be sent to Hamilton. I wouldn't be shocked to see Halak get traded though.

Final Verdict: Carey Price will be a top 10 goaltender, draft accordingly.

Matt Schaub, Texans - There is really only one thing that can hold Schaub back from having a breakout season, the same thing that held him back last year, health. He has all the tools to make it, and superior pass catching weapon in Andre Johnson. He passed for at least 225 yards in each game he started and finished last season. He has a strong arm and can turn in a monster fantasy season, if he can keep himself on the field. If you are the guy who lays in the weeds waiting for your QB, go ahead and under spend on Schaub, just make sure you protect your investment.

Background

Trevor Cahill was born in March of 1988 and drafted by the Oakland Athletics out of a California High School in the 2nd round of the 2006 draft. Cahill is a 6'3" and 195 pound right handed starting pitcher. Cahill chose to sign with Oakland out of high school rather than attending Dartmouth as many believed he would. Oakland bought him out of his commitment from Dartmouth by spending $560,000 to sign him. Cahill also was selected to play in the 2008 Futures Games.

My American League "All Star" and "No Star" teams proved to be more difficult than the NL. The AL has shown itself to be the more dominant league this season, mainly through interleague play. Like the real All Star team, my starting lineup is dominated by a few teams, though those teams aren't the Red Sox or Yankees. There are many more names that could have gone on this list including Manny Ramirez (BOS), Joe Nathan (MIN), Joe Saunders (LAA), and even Aubrey Huff (BAL) - I just simply couldn't muster up enough space for them.

Ryan Dankoff once again checking in with you fellow "Loungers". It's been a pleasure writing/podcasting this column since the beginning of the season. This weeks column will be written and will also be a little different as opposed to previous Closer Report columns. Lets rock and roll!

Milton Bradley

Milton Bradley has gone from being 28% owned to open the season, to 97% ownership in fantasy leagues. At the All-Star Break, Bradley has already exceeding his numbers from any previous season. Those who own him are ecstatic because they likely got him as a free agent, but at the same time his history of injury has us wondering how much longer we will get to enjoy this. Usually, by this point in the season Bradley has already had a lengthy DL stint. Not only have we not seen a significant injury, we have seen his best power numbers and batting average of his entire career as part of a potent Rangers offense.

Odds that Milton Bradley continues to tear it up: High

Odds that Milton Bradley avoids tearing himself up: Moderate

With the All Star Break looming, we are over half way through the season and now have an idea of who is for real and who was playing on a level higher than they're capable of. We have surprise candidates for all the awards so far this season, including Josh Hamilton, in contention for MVP, and Cliff Lee, vying for a Cy Young award.

AL MVP: Josh Hamilton, Rangers - What an amazing story Josh Hamilton is. Just a few years ago, he was battling chemical addiction. Now he is hitting in the 3 hole for the best offense in baseball.

NL MVP: Hanley Ramirez, Marlins - The pundits said he couldn't hack it without Miguel Cabrera, up until this week, it was the other way around.

Engel Beltre was born in November of 1989 and signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Boston Red Sox in 2006 for $600,000. Beltre is a 6'1 and 170 pounds outfielder that bats left handed and throws left handed. Beltre has since been traded to the Texas Rangers with two other players for Eric Gagne last July.

Background

Schafer first burst on the scene when Baseball America rated him as the best 13 year old in the country. Jordan Schafer was drafted in the third round of the 2005 draft out of high school in Florida. Schafer is 6'1" 190 pounds, bats and throws left handed and turns 22 in September. He was suspended for 50 games earlier this year for reportedly using HGH. Schafer is now in Double A and has been playing again since early June.

1. Randy Moss, NE

2. Terrell Owens, Dal

3. Reggie Wayne, Ind

4. Andre Johnson, Hou

5. Braylon Edwards, Cle

6. Steve Smith, Car

7. Larry Fitzgerald, Ari

8. T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Cin

9. Marques Colston, NO

10. Torry Holt, StL

1. LaDanian Tomlinson, SD

2. Adrian Peterson, Min

3. Steven Jackson, StL

4. Brian Westbrook, Phi

5. Joseph Addai, Ind

1. Tom Brady, NE

2. Peyton Manning, Ind

3. Tony Romo, Dal

4. Drew Brees, NO

5. Carson Palmer, Cin

Risin'

J.D. Drew (OF-BOS) -- Could he finally be living up to expectations? Drew has stepped up in Big Papi's absence, batting .327, with 13 dingers and 43 ribbies. He's hit .441 this month, while slugging 1.085, along with nine homers and 21 RBIs in June. He fell a triple short of the cycle in the series finale with the Phils. With some of his teammates calling him "The Natural", much of this recent success has been attributed to his increased comfort in the BoSox clubhouse.

Matt Holliday (OF-COL) -- Holliday has come off the DL hot. He's batting .368 since coming back, running his average up to .329 on the season. Holliday is also hitting .359 at home. What's more is that the Rockies have won 11 of 15 and believe they still have strong playoff hopes playing in a weak division. Holliday's been good for 30 HR's, with an average over .300 the last few seasons, and though he only has 8 big flies this season, you can expect him to be up around that way again if he stays healthy.

Hello one and all, and welcome to another edition of Playing the Field. This time out I figured I would follow up on the Euro 2008 football (soccer) tournament currently going on. The group stages have finished up and now eight teams find themselves with a change to lay claim to the best soccer team in all of Europe. I'll take a look back at the group stages, commenting on the best and worse of the action and look ahead to the knockout stages with more fearless predictions.