Reggie Bush, Saints

It’s all about disrespect these days.

Last week New Orleans Hornets PG Chris Paul demanded Rajon Rondo respect him as a man.

In 2008’s NBA playoffs series between Cleveland and Washington, Cavs F Lebron James compared himself to perennial rapper Jay-Z and Wizards G Deshawn Stevenson to one-hit wonder Souljah Boy, which – you guessed it – sent the "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" artist into a tizzy. 

Who can forget last year’s allegation by Suns PF Amare Stoudamire that referees don’t like him “as much as the cops didn’t like Tupac.” Talk about living in the 1990's.

Or what about Philadelphia Eagles CB Sheldon Brown, who in 2008 said the team's disrespect and utter failure to take seriously his request to renegotiate the four-year/$30 million contract he’d just signed could “affect his play during the season.” To this day, Brown, who said the team had treated him like a “redheaded stepchild” since he was drafted in 2004, is still yapping about renegotiations and not being appreciated.

Even female tennis players like Dinara Safina occasionally don’t feel the love. At this year’s U.S. Open the first-seeded Safina – who originally was scheduled to face 72nd ranked Petra Kvitova at Arthur Ashe Stadium – was moved to the smaller Louis Armstrong Stadium just a few yards away after many of the day’s previous matches went five sets, causing substantial delays. Safina, overwhelmingly disrespected by the change in location, later took to the airwaves and declared "I'm the No. 1 player in the world, why move me?” after losing the match and her No.1 ranking. 

I certainly could carry on, citing ridiculous moment after ridiculous moment when athletes feel the need to throw the "D" word out there – but then this here column would never end. You'd probably become way too fed up to read more on how the Melvin Mora's of the world and their .250 AVG. feel disrespected for being benched. You'd just end up confused by the fact that if someone as underachieving as Mora is disrespected, who isn't? Some of you might even ponder what would happen if someday every player on every team in every sport felt disrespected? What would happen then? Would we be blessed with high intensity, entertaining competition or just a bunch of dudes fighting for the right to cry into a microphone?

To be honest, who knows – and for all intensive purposes – who cares! We should all realize, whether we like it or not, that the "disrespect" card is here to stay in sports and in everyday life. So just like the thirteen years old thugs who are stabbing and shooting each other over it every day – if you can't beat them, join them, I say'!

So why not infuse some good ole' disrespect into the remainder of this here Fantasy Football column! Let's nominate a handful of players who've excelled yet don't get the "love" they deserve.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the 2009 Mid-Season Fantasy Football "No Respect" All-

Stars

RB Reggie Bush, New Orleans – Even though Bush’s hype has diminished significantly over the past few years, he still makes a worthy #3 running back. Sure, he may not be the most sought-after Saint, but statistically speaking he's gently scored four touchdowns in his last six contests and over the last two months has become New Orleans' most reliable, all-purpose red zone weapon. Used sparingly in Week 8 against Atlanta, it surprisingly was Bush – and not the fumbling Mike Bell or Pierre Thomas – who was called upon to punch it in from the one yard line. 

TE Heath Miller, Pittsburgh - Now in his fourth season with the Steelers, Miller's rebounded quite well after an inconsistent 2008 in which he sometimes looked like an afterthought in the Pittsburgh offense. But that’s all changed in 2009 and Miller is back to his old self. Actually, even better! Through eight games this year he's already just eight short of his career high (48) in receptions and is on pace to shatter his personal best in both receiving yards (566) and touchdowns (7). Not bad for someone who’s managed to stay under the radar! In at least two leagues of mine, I'm still seeing the the same old names like Tony Gonzalez, Jeremy Shockey and Kellen Winslow targeted in trades while Miller barely gets an inquiry. You would think being paired with a pass happy QB like Ben Roethlisberger would count for something.

WR Mike Wallace, Pittsburgh – If you weren't able to pry the likes of Mike Walker-Sims (86% owned in Yahoo; 95% in ESPN), Johnny Knox (70% Yahoo; 66% ESPN) or Hakeem Nicks (76% Yahoo; 70% ESPN) off the waiver wire – do give Wallace – owned in just 33% of Yahoo and 15% of ESPN leagues –  a strong look. Just a handful of points behind Sims-Walker, Knox and Nicks yet substantially less owned, Wallace runs routes for one of the more prolific passing offenses in the NFL and because of that naturally receives more targets. Although he is competing with Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes and Miller, I wouldn’t worry about Wallace being lost in shuffle. If anything, the wealth of Pittsburgh's offensive options should only increase his value, allowing him the ability to break free downfield while opposing secondary's focus on the big three. Case in point, in each of the last five weeks he's hauled in at least one 30 yard reception. So with Big Ben on pace for career highs in both pass attempts and yards there will be plenty of opportunities for the twenty-three year old to do exactly what he's been doing.

QB Carson Palmer, Cincinnati – Lost within both RB Cedric Benson’s and WR Chad Ochocinco’s 2009 rebirth is Palmer, who quite casually is just two touchdowns (13) behind Peyton Manning. Like I mentioned last week when speaking of Cincinnati’s upcoming schedule – which includes Oakland, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City and San Diego – all signs point to Palmer finishing strong with at least a chance of matching his career high in touchdowns (32). If you’re looking ahead to the playoffs and own, say a QB Matt Schaub, it might be worthwhile to deal him now (while his value is high) for a valuable package that includes Palmer.