Freaking Ten
So I was involved in TWO fantasy football drafts in the past two weeks, and ended up drafting tenth in both of the leagues. One was for work and the other was with a bunch of guys from lawschool. They are both twelve team leagues, and I landed the tenth pick in both. How does that happen? To make matters worse, I’m in the same division with teams that landed the first and second pick in the league with my buddies from lawschool. Needless to say, I’m less than enthused about my chances this year. Oh well, I’m still on the five-year grace period for running roughshod through the league in our inaugural season. (I’m giving myself the same five-year period that professional teams should get, because, after winning the league, I drafted 10th in each of the last two seasons.)
Whatever. I hope all of you are taking the chance to watch the AAAA baseball in the National League. Joe Girardi should easily win Manager of the Year, and then go coach the Cubs. I really want to root for the Marlins because of Girardi and the emotion and heart that the young team plays with, but how can I do it when the team has such a horrible person for their owner. He destroyed the Expos, and now he’s doing horrendous things with the Marlins franchise. Plus, their fans suck. It’s true. But then again, if I were living in Miami, I wouldn’t pay to watch a team of guys with less notable names than the roster from “Major League” playing in an ugly stadium when I could sit on the beach and talk to some of the most beautiful women on the planet.
Also worth noting is the awesome run that Ryan Howard has been on. He and Chase Utley have transformed the previously uber-talented, under-acheiving Phillies into a hard-working, scrappy team. The deals in the last two years to remove Placido Polanco, Bobby Abreu, Billy Wagner, et al., have really worked wonders for that team. I really think they will win the Wild Card and challenge the Dodgers and Mets for a World Series run.
On to basketball: So the U.S. finished third. I’m not suprised in the slightest. The best players for them in the tournament were Carmelo Anthony and Shane Battier. I knew when they kept Bowen off the team that they would be in trouble. There really was no reason for Brad Miller to be on the roster, and I guarantee that if Bowen and Battier would have gotten run against Greece, that repeated pick-and-roll would not have been as effective. And we saw once again how abyssmal United States is at shooting the rock. There really is no flow to the American game of basketball. It’s dribble up and kill a fast break by pulling a three. If you don’t believe me, watch college basketball. There’s a reason why teams that run a tremendous zone defense always make solid runs during March Madness, and its because they cause teams to be stagnant offensively and force threes. I’m off my soapbox now.
NFL time baby. I cannot wait. I’m fired up for Thursday. I won’t put up my prediction for the Thursday night game, but starting on Friday, I’m going to post some interesting matchups for those of you who like to, um, possibly wager on some college and pro games. I’ll also talk about interesting players to watch for fantasy purposes. For now, I’m off to read some depos.
