Fantasy Update #9: More Good Than Bad

NFL: Winning ways continue -- I went 4-2 last weekend, second good weekend in a row. It's been a brutal season so far. My one team with a winning record is just 4-3-1. I have two teams at .500, and three with losing records. Need a strong second half for sure.

College Football: Razorback running backs led the way back to the win column. At 8-1 I have the best record in the league, with one game left before the playoffs. My team is a point machine. Admittedly, this week I only needed one point -- my opponent had an illegal roster (too many players) and was disqualified. A win is a win.

NBA: The season started last night. First week of competition is underway. My Hawgballers team is led by Kevin Garnett of my beloved Celtics. My HawgAttack team is led by Kobe Bryant of the despised Lakers. Hey, the man is a scoring machine -- a win is a win.

Fantasy Update #8: At Last!

NFL: At last! The kind of week I'm used to -- won 5, lost 1. Yeah, baby! I would've had an undefeated weekend if Cowboys QB Tony Romo had put up his usual numbers, but he didn't and I lost that game by 11 points. My last winless team won big, so I have no winless teams now. One of my teams has a five game winning streak to climb out of the pit and is now 4-3. Another team is 3-3-1. The others have losing records, but at least things are looking up. I made some really good decisions on who to play and who not to play. I see other owners in my leagues losing interest and neglecting their line-ups, which is to my advantage, but less fun. Some doofuses left players with a bye week on their active rosters. Sheesh. ... Okay, I did it once by mistake myself. Once. One of these guys had four non-players on his roster!

College Football: After slipping up last week, the Razorback running backs and I got back on track and won big. I made good roster decisions. My opponent put all his eggs in the Oklahoma basket and wiped out as the mighty Sooners underperformed at Iowa State. I'm 7-1, headed for a showdown with the number one team in the other division, also 7-1. I beat him earlier in the season. Only two weeks left until the playoffs.

NBA: The National Basketball Association is in pre-season play now, with the regular season starting soon. I will field two teams. Had my first draft last week and got some great players. Will draft my second team tonight. The basketball season will increase my fantasy sports action, with games almost every night.

MLB: Fantasy season over. Bombed in one league, won one playoff round in second, won the CHAMPIONSHIP in the third.

I May Never Fly Again ...

NASA refuses to disclose air safety survey

I don't know which is more unbelieveable -- the article itself (click the link), or the fact that the geniuses at NASA admit they have news too alarming to reveal to the good ol' American citizen.

Ignorance is bliss -- disturbed ignorance is not. If you ever wondered if Uncle Sam would actually gamble with your livelihood or your LIFE ... now you know. You can't make this stuff up!

A Full House

What a weekend! Already!

Frank and Judea -- and Brutus the Dog -- arrived Thursday night from Dallas to attend a wedding in Hot Springs today. (Brutus did not attend.)

Since it was their first return to Arkadelphia since moving to Texas 2 or 3 months ago, Maw & Paw came over Friday from Hot Springs Village to visit and take them out to lunch. (Brutus did not attend.) They went home mid-afternoon.

Friday night Jerusalem, Nathan, Wylie, and Miles arrived from North Little Rock to spend the night and see the Texans. (Their dog Chloe did not make the trip.) Tanya cooked up some spectacular burgers for dinner in 2 or 3 shifts.

Today Tanya fixed breakfast for herself and Miles. I fixed breakfast for myself and Wylie. Then Tanya fixed breakfast for everyone else in 2 shifts. In the afternoon Jemimah called from Germany to visit. She missed Frank and Judea, who were gone to the wedding, but got the rest of us, who were listening to the radio broadcast of the Razorback game against Ole Miss. (We won 44-8. Woo, pig!) Nathan cooked up the spectacular burgers today for a late lunch. This evening he and his family departed for a farewell dinner for his sister Jenny, who is moving to Macon GA tomorrow.

I've walked, fed, and watered Brutus numerous times. Frank and Judea and Brutus go home tomorrow. But they gladdened us with the happy news that they are moving back to Arkadelphia in January and going back to school.

What a weekend!

Fantasy Update #7 - Finally

MLB: Fantasy season over. Bombed in one league, won one playoff round in second, won championship in third.

NFL: Had another break-even weekend -- won 3, lost 3. My last two winless teams FINALLY got a W. I have three teams that are 1-5. Ugly. The other three teams are 3-2-1, 3-3, and 2-4. I have only ONE WINNING TEAM ... barely. Ugly, ugly, UGLY!

College Football: FINALLY lost a game, as Auburn shackled the Razorback running backs. Woooo, pig, soooieee became WHOA, Pig, shooeyyy! I'm 6-1, still tops in my league by one game.

Fantasy Update #6: Speed of the Game

Naturally, in real life each sport has its own pace and rhythm. The seasons differ dramatically from one another. The most obvious difference, of course, is in number of games. Major League Baseball plays 162 regular season games; the National Basketball League, 82; and the National Football League just 16. Baseball plays almost every day, basketball 2 to 4 games a week, football just one game a week.

In every sport fans, writers, coaches, and players talk about "the speed of the game." This is usually in the context of a particular contest, or in contrast to other sports or other levels of competition. Players moving from high school to college, or college to the pros, have to adjust to "the speed of the game."

With the end of the fantasy baseball season and the onset of the football season, and with basketball not yet begun, I made an interesting discovery. I'm sure it's one which millions of other fantasy sports enthusiasts already know, but is new to me, since this was my first year playing fantasy baseball. (Did I mention that I fielded a championship team in my rookie season?) The discovery was the sudden shift in gears going from baseball to football -- I miss the action.

The speed of my total fantasy game has changed, slowed way down. Two of my three baseball teams allowed me to make any number of roster and lineup changes every day. The action was every day. Now, with football only for a while, I can check and change rosters and lineups every day, but I have to wait for the weekend for the action, the competition -- it's just Sunday games and Monday Night Football. I am a very hands-on owner. I like football much better than baseball, but I miss the daily action.

I'm having to adjust to the speed of the game.

Fantasy Update #5

MLB: Fantasy season over. Bombed in one league, won one playoff round in second, won championship in third.

NFL: I finally had a break-even weekend -- won 3, lost 3. Hopefully, a turning point. I'm tweaking my rosters like crazy.

College Football: I'm on cruise control thanks to the Razorback running backs. Louisville QB actually out-pointed them last week, but they are the key. Still UNDEFEATED, 6-0, the best team in the league by far. Woooo, pig, soooieee!

The Agony ... and the Ecstasy

My beloved Yankees lost. In the first round of the playoffs -- again. After that long, glorious comeback from a terrible start this year to make the post-season for the 13th consecutive season ... they fell flat. Thud. Definitely the end of an era if manager Joe Torre doesn't return. Yanks could see dramatic changes next year.

My beloved Cowboys won! In improbable, incredible fashion. A Monday Night Football instant classic. The inspired Buffalo Bills played out of their minds, but Tony Romo overcame his awful performance and found a way to put rookie kicker Nick Folk in position to win the game ... which he did with a 53-yard field goal -- twice. The 'Pokes are still undefeated with the unbeaten Patriots coming to Big D on Sunday. What a birthday present for Your's Truly. Could this be the year the 'Boys return to the Super Bowl?

Fantasy Update #4 - Highs and Lows

MLB: I trailed in my championship round most of the two weeks. I was ahead in the batting categories and my opponent led the pitching categories ... then it reversed and I was ahead in pitching, and he in hitting ... but I still trailed ... until the last couple of days when I pulled ahead 6-4, and ended up winning 5-4. The difference? Stolen bases. I had 5, he had 3, and that was the winning margin. My first year of Fantasy Baseball, I made the semi-finals in one league and won the other. I am the CHAMPION!

NFL: I went 2-4 again ... but my two winning teams were previously winless. After four weeks, I have one 2-win team, three 1-win teams, and two 0-4 teams. Pitiful.

College Football: Thank heavens for Darren McFadden and Felix Jones ... and Brandon Barnett. The Hogs barbequed North Texas and had over 400 yards rushing. I'm making good roster decisions. Still undefeated, 5-0, #1 in my league.