Commentary

Shepherd Re-Dominates charity league

Updated: October 16, 2010, 3:04 PM ET

By Jim Wilkie | ESPN.com

Last season's regular-season champion is once again alone in first place after five weeks of the Alice in Chains & Friends Fantasy Football Charity League.

Rank The Alice In Chains Teams

So, who do you think will win the second edition of the Alice in Chains & Friends Fantasy Football Charity League?

Can anybody knock off reigning champ and former NFL player Matt Willig? Will elder statesman Meat Loaf come in like a "Bat Out Of Hell" and roll over his opponents?

Check out all the rosters and then rank the Alice in Chains & Friends participants in the order you believe they will finish this season.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd's Team Re-Domination is 4-1, one game ahead of five other teams. Last season, Shepherd's The KWS Domination finished 10-3, two games ahead of second-place Matt Willig, who ended up winning the championship.

Shepherd is leading the league in scoring with 513 points, just like last year, when he had top performers such as Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne and Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. This year, Team Re-Domination is being powered by the likes of Peterson, Colts receiver Austin Collie, Eagles running back LeSean McCoy and Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Team Re-Domination will likely need another high-scoring week to fend off Meat Loaf's Hell In A Handbasket (3-2). An upset would create quite a logjam at the top of the standings with the possibility of five teams tied for first at 4-2.

At the other end of the standings, ESPN's Jay Harris finally got his first victory, defeating Zak Wylde's Team Doom Crew Inc. 83-80 to pull Team Harris into a tie for last with Willig's Halfway Clueless at 1-4. Willig lamented his embarrassing 79-65 loss to Vinnie Paul's The Brickwall Brickwall on the league message board earlier this week:

This Is How I Feel
Posted: Oct 11, 11:55 PM
Matt Willig
Halfway Clueless
Gets beat by a guy who doesn't play two of his positions. I quit.

Re: This Is How I Feel
Posted: Oct 12, 4:42 AM
Jerry Cantrell
JC Aroma Of Tacoma
You only have to wear your dress until you win another game, Matt … could be a while. Oh, but it looks good on you though.

Meanwhile, in a live online chat on SportsNation earlier this week, Cantrell sent out the challenge to his fellow owners to turn up the chatter:

"I'll call a couple of guys out right now. They're wussies. Jay Harris, being one of them. He hasn't said one peep. He hasn't commented on anything, and I've been throwing stuff at him. He hasn't been a presence. I'm calling you out, Jay Harris. You need to talk, even though you're getting hit around. Meat Loaf, what the hell? Nothing from you either. He's a musician, so maybe he's too good for us. Scott's weighed in. Willig is having a hard time, but he's still talking."

Participants in the Alice in Chains & Friends Fantasy Football Charity League will each put one valuable item up for auction by the end of the season. The league champion will get to designate which charity receives the proceeds of the auction. More details on the auction will be announced in the coming weeks.

Weekly updates on the Alice in Chains & Friends Fantasy Football Charity League, trash talk and interviews with the owners will be published on ESPN.com's The Life and Music sections throughout the season. Members of the league also will drop by for occasional chats on SportsNation.

Here is a recap of Week 5 and a look ahead to Week 6's matchups:

Alice in Chains & Friends Fantasy Football Charity League overall standings

Rk	Player	Team	W	L	T	PF	PA	GB
1.	Kenny Wayne Shepherd	Team Re-Domination	4	1	0	513	386	--
Last week: Defeated M.I. Evil? 79-63 Next up: Hell In A Handbasket (3-2) He might be in first, but Shepherd is a five-point underdog to Meat Loaf, according to the fantasy football computer.
2.	Duff McKagan	Team Loaded	3	2	0	493	481	1
Last week: Defeated Hell In A Handbasket 127-91 Next up: Halfway Clueless (1-4) Mckagan was quick to pick up WR Deion Branch, who the New England Patriots just reacquired from the Seattle Seahawks. Team Loaded also dropped Seahawks TE John Carlson, Browns RB Mike Bell and the Ravens' defense while adding Chargers RB Mike Tolbert and the Chargers' D.
3.	Meat Loaf	Hell In A Handbasket	3	2	0	486	427	1
Last week: Lost 127-91 to Team Loaded Next up: Team Re-Domination (4-1) Handbasket ran into a hot Team Loaded but could have pulled out the win if it had played Chargers WR Malcom Floyd, Redskins WR Santana Moss and Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson over Packers WR Greg Jennings, Ravens WR Anquan Boldin and Texans RB Arian Foster.
4.	Jerry Cantrell	JC Aroma of Tacoma	3	2	0	477	443	1
Last week: Defeated Fear And Loathing 127-57 Next up: M.I. Evil? (3-2) It's an Alice in Chains showdown this week, with the winner possibly moving into a tie for first. JC Aroma Of Tacoma dropped Bills RB C.J. Spiller and the Falcons defense while it picked up Cowboys RB Marion Barber and Buccaneers WR Mike Williams.
5.	Scott Ian	Fear And Loathing	3	2	0	430	435	1
Last week: Lost 127-57 to JC Aroma Of Tacoma Next up: Team Harris (1-4) Transaction king Ian was busy making moves this week, adding three free agents (Eagles QB Kevin Kolb, Eagles K David Akers and Eagles RB Jerome Harrison) and four from waivers (Buccaneers TE Kellen Winslow, 49ers WR Michael Crabtree, Eagles WR Jeremy Maclin and the Giants defense).
6.	Mike Inez	M.I. Evil?	3	1	0	381	350	1
Last week: Lost 79-63 to Team Re-Domination Next up: JC Aroma Of Tacoma (3-2) M.I. Evil? is just a four-point underdog, but he should get a boost with Patriots QB Tom Brady and WR Wes Welker coming off bye weeks.
7.	Zakk Wylde	Team Doom Crew Inc.	2	3	0	410	418	2
Last week: Lost 83-80 to Team Harris Next up: The Brickwall Brickwall (2-3) Doom Crew's No. 1 QB Drew Brees has a bye, but he's got Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger playing the lowly Browns to pick up the slack. Just one reason why Wylde's team is the only team listed as double-digit favorites (minus-14).
8.	Vinnie Paul	The Brickwall Brickwall	2	3	0	319	385	2
Last week: Defeated Halfway Clueless 79-65 Next up: Team Doom Crew Inc. (2-3) As of Saturday morning, The Brickwall Brickwall had one player active who was having a bye week (not to mention Vikings QB Brett Favre, whose status is questionable). Small improvement from last week's two active players in bye weeks. If it ain't broke …
9.	Matt Willig	Halfway Clueless	1	4	0	378	480	3
Last week: Lost 79-65 to The Brickwall Brickwall Next up: Team Loaded (3-2) Halfway Clueless is just a three-point underdog and favored in five of nine categories against Team Loaded. Clueless added Titans WR Kenny Britt and the Falcons' defense while it dropped Titans WR Nate Washington and the Bengals' D.
10.	Jay Harris	Team Harris	1	4	0	356	438	3
Last week: Defeated Team Doom Crew Inc. 83-80 Next up: Fear And Loathing (3-2) Despite the gap in the standings, Team Harris is only a two-point underdog against Fear And Loathing this week.