Yes/No: Will Moen Top Minnesotans in Houston?

Editor's Note: The DtB fantasy season is underway for its second year! Once again, the nearly omniscient Doug Cowles will serve as DtB's fantasy editor. Since Doug, himself, won both the Yes/No and Pick Ten contests in 2009, we've decided to bar him from competition in 2010 ... while we figure out exactly which performance enhancing drugs he was taking last year. Doug will still offer his pick each week, but it won't count in the contest.

Otherwise, though, our contests will remain largely the same in 2010. We won't be offering any prizes for the contests, but we hope that policy makes Yes/No and Pick Ten, which will debut later this year, more welcoming to high schoolers and collegiates who need to steer clear of MSHSL and NCAA rules against gambling. With DtB's contests, all you can win is GLORY!

So good luck and have fun!


There are very few major road races in the winter in the United States. To attract a great domestic field in January, a race would need temperate weather, a fast course and a championship designation. The Aramco Houston Half Marathon has all three. Consequently, Minnesota elite distance runners are lining up for a chance to show their fitness while many in the state are in semi-hibernation.

The USA Half Marathon Championships will be held in Houston on Sunday with a large collection of Minnesotans led by Team USA MN members Meghan Armstrong, Michelle Frey, Matt Gabrielson, Antonio Vega, Patrick Smyth and Josh Moen.

Yes/No returns in 2010 with a contest to pick the top Minnesotan in the race. We are appointing Josh Moen as the favorite based on his huge breakthrough at TC 10 miler in 2009 and asking this question:

Y/N: Will Josh Moen be the top Minnesota finisher at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon on Sunday?

The Houston Half Marathon has a strong reputation for smoking-fast times. Ryan Hall set his American record there in 2007. The flat course averages a start time temperature of 45 degrees. The Minnesotans in the field are sure to make their presence known: Josh Moen has run 1:04:37 for 1/2 marathon along with his 46:38 10 Mile for 2nd place at the USA Championships last year. Matt Gabrielson has run 13:30 for 5k and has finished in the top 10 at the USA Half Marathon Championships 3 times. Antonio Vega ran 1:02:55 at the Half Marathon Champs last year. Patrick Smyth was ranked 8th in the U.S. at 10k by Track and Field News and recently won the NYC Midnight Run. Other top Minnesotans include Stillwater high school alum Luke Watson and former Golden Gopher Justin Grunewald.

To play our game, simply type "yes" or "no" into the subject line of an e-mail and send it to us at DtBFantasy [AT] gmail [DOT] com before 7:00 A.M. CST, Sunday, January 17. Please put your answer in the subject line of the e-mail and make sure your full name appears somewhere in the e-mail.

My answer: No

The slate is clean for all Y/N contestants - this is the first contest of the year. To see the final results from 2009, please visit DtB Fantasy Corner.

Good luck and thanks for playing Yes/No on DtB!