Fantasy Football Superbowl!!!

I made it to the superbowl in one league, and am in the semi-finals in another. I've had a good fantasy football year. I'll blog the results shortly. I'm currently with my wife, stepson and dog in Lake Tahoe, having a great time. We've gone skiing 5 of the 6 days that we've been here thus far. Our friends the Fienes and the Balfours have their families up here in their own places as well, and we've had lots of fun watching movies and football games, playing poker, and just hanging out. More soon!

Skiing on Christmas Eve. What a beautiful day! 

What I think today

Here's what I think today:

* Chargers can -- not 'should', but 'can' -- beat the Titans today. Since Titans will likely have 8 in the box, Brees needs to pass out of that situation and hit the receivers. Caldwell and Parker need to come up big.

* Michael Vick is a lot of fun to watch, but he's bound to get hurt again the way he plays. Hope he lasts.

* Mike Martz is a nut....and a knucklehead.

* Sirius satellite radio is awesome. Every NFL game, every broadcast from each city. It's a great way to pass the time away on those long drives to Tahoe.

* Torrey Pines HS Falcons are 5-0 and on a roll. Their defense comes up big every week, and their offense has really improved.

* I am ready for a change at President. Too bad the Libertarian candidates always seem so friggin' nuts.

* I want a Fantasy Football service where I can put in the players that I'm interested in getting wireless/sms updates on during games. How come nobody has that yet? If it's out there, please let me know!

* Miracle was a great movie, but everybody probably already knew that. I might have been the last American to see it.

* Joey cracks me up.

* It's time to organize a trip to San Felipe. It's been way too long.

* Speaking of way too long, it's time for Darcy and I to plan our summer party that we didn't have.

Today's football picks

My picks for today:

NE over BUF
PHI over CHI
GB over NYG
WAS over CLE
IND over JAC (interesting matchup)
OAK over HOU
PIT over CIN
ARI over NO (upset #1 of the week)
CAR over ATL
NYJ over MIA
DEN over TB
SD over TEN (upset #2 of the week)
STL over SF
BAL over KC (this will be a boring game!)

I owe myself...

...a blog.

FF League #1 Draft

Ok, other than my 5th round snafu where the friggin' ESPN draft system wouldn't allow me to select and draft Lee Suggs (maybe he'll suck anyway), so I wound up with Aaron Brooks (and I already had Culpepper), I'm fairly happy with my team. I have some risk, but some potential strong upside with T. Jones, Charles Rogers, and Steven Jackson should M. Faulk get hurt (or retire). Here's the squad:

1 C. Portis, WAS RB
2 D. Culpepper, MIN QB
3 T. Jones, CHI RB
4 S. Smith, CAR WR
5 A. Brooks, NOR QB
6 C. Rogers, DET WR
7 S. Jackson, STL RB
8 E. Kennison, KAN WR
9 F. Jones, ARI TE
10 E. D/ST, PHI D/ST
11 M. Pittman, FA RB
12 D. Branch, NWE WR
13 J. Brown, SEA K
14 K. Faulk, NWE RB
15 C. Bradford, HOU WR

Not bad. Not sure about Pittman or Kennison, but they seem like solid backups.

8/17 Tidbits

Last Saturday was the annual trek down to Baja for Lobster. We had 30 this year, and had a blast. Our usual place Puerto Viejo was not open this year, but we wound up going across the street to La Escondida. The food and drink is pretty much the same at all the places down there, but this was a very fun night. Pictures will be uploaded soon.

It was good to meet up with my folks, who pulled the funny move of the night by missing the last 2 warning signs for "Last US Exit" (yes, you actually get 2 chances in case you miss the first opportunity), and wound up driving all the way into Mexico. No worries though as we were able to catch up with them at the Tijuana Bus Station.

Quote of the night was from Papa Yo (my dad) who said, "Happiness is having a piece of Lobster stuck in your teeth to enjoy later on." Classic.

A few random sports-related thoughts for 7/26/2004

• Ricky Williams definitely has something wrong in the head, but whatever it's his choice


• Red Sox and Yankees is interesting, but I really wish we had an equivalent west-coast rivalry that made the news every time


• Chargers will hopefully have Rivers in camp, but I'm not expecting much from them this year. If I were them, I'd start Brees because there's no downside. If he fails, they can bring in Rivers. If Brees succeeds at all, they can trade him while he has value (he has no value at the moment).


• Greg Lemond is a stud, pure and simple. Sorry...timewarp. Lance Armstrong is a stud, pure and simple.


• The Padres are right on the verge of something great, or so it feels to me.


• Is there anything more fun than 4 0'clock Fridays at the Del Mar Race Track. Races followed by live music. Sweeeeet.


• The Lakers are not going to be the same w/out Shaq obviously, and they're going to miss D-fish. Some good young talent coming in, it will be interesting to see if Bryant can figure out how to play with them.


• The Suns still need a center to be competitive. I've been saying that for 20-something years. My apologies to Alvan Adams and to Mark West who filled in the position nicely when the balance was better all the way around.

Water skiing vs. Wake boarding

This week I found myself in what felt like a vuja-de debate about boarding vs. skiing, only this time it was of the liquid variety, rather than the powder variety. Specifically, the discussion was about which is better: water skiing or wake boarding? I had never gone wake boarding before this recent trip to Tahoe, but I finally did, and it was a lot of fun. However, they are different (just like snow skiing and snow boarding are different).

On water skis, it's more about making sharp cuts in and out of the wake, while on wake boards it's more about jumping the wake and performing tricks (such as 360's and other stuff I can't do yet ona wake board). I've always been a skier, whether it be water or snow, because that's what I learned on, and that's what I've gotten good enough, and confident enough, to do. Since it was easier to get up on the wake board (managed it on my first try this week), I'll probably spend some more time trying to get better (and more confident) at it (tricks later of course!), but I can't see myself giving up on the water ski.

Which do you prefer, and why?

Darcy and I at sunset last night (July 6) 

What I just watched...amazing. This is definitely good for the soul. 

Ok, first shot from Tahoe summer vacation: Waterskiing on the 4th of July. I love it up here! 

Summer Vacation in Tahoe

Just a quick update, and I plan on posting pictures soon. I've spent the last couple of days here in Tahoe, where I'm currently posting. Darcy, DJ, Phoenix (our dog) and I headed up here on Friday, July 2, and we've spent 2 days on the lake so far -- water skiing, wake boarding, tubing, etc. Great fun!

Phoenix is having a great time just staring out into the woods at all the creatures running by. We're going to take her on a hike this afternoon.

The fireworks on the 4th were very good this year...every year, I think I'm going to regret all the BS you have to put up with to enjoy the show (mostly traffic), but it's always a good time anyway.

My Fantasy Football Draft Strategy...sort of

Ok, back to Fantasy Football. I pick 1.12, 2.1, 3.12, 4.11 and 5.2. My keepers in the top 5 rounds are Moss at 1.12 and either Hasselbeck at 4.11 or Jimmy Smith at 5.2. If I decide to keep Smith, then I'll try to work to trade up in the 4th and down in the 5th...I haven't decided yet. I think I can get Hasselbeck in the 4th anyway, or another qualified QB of comparable value. 

So, the question really is, who do I take at 2.1 and 3.12? Other keepers who will likely not be available to me are Kevin Barlow, Domanick Davis, Rudi Johnson and Stephen Davis. Oh yeah, and I have Brian Westbrook as a 9th round keeper, which is great value as he'll make an excellent #2 RB. So, do take Fred Taylor, Travis Henry, Tiki Barber or Corey Dillon? Or should I consider taking another top WR (like Harrison if available, or Hines, or TO -- nahh, I don't think I could stand TO on my team)?

Thoughts?

Fantasy football has begun, and I am psyched. More soon... 

Malone (and thus the Lakers) got old fast

I almost forgot to post about the Detroit-Lakers Championship Series. There's been enough said about the buzz saw that the Lakers ran into with Detroit (and congrats to the team and their fans, by the way -- they outplayed the lakers in every respect), but it seems to me that the series would have been very different if Karl Malone was A) not injured; and B) not 40 years old, which is most definitely the major contributor to injury.

Malone is in great shape, especially for a 40 year old, however having recently turned 40 myself, and not playing 260 pound players (or rarely at least), I can't even begin to imagine the recovery time it takes for him to "feel good" again after a game. I play 1.5 to 2 hours a day usually 4 days a week, and I can barely move most mornings. It used to be that I could play all day and be ready to play again the next day, almost every day. But no mo'. At 40, bones, cartlidge, ligaments, etc. just aren't as flexible as they were at 20 or even 30 years old.

Maybe I need to take up Yoga.

Lake Tahoe Pictures

Lake Tahoe is one of my favorite places to spend Summer and Winter. These views are from our condo. Can't wait to get back up there next week. 


Winter view. 

Best Thing That Happened Yesterday

Dinner and a funny TV show with the family.

Funky Prince

You want funk? Check out the latest from Prince, titled "Musicology". Tell me what you think...I can't get enough of it.

Blogs on Basketball

It's funny (to me anyway) that my posts are tending to be basketball focused, which really isn't my intent. It's just taking me some time to get adjusted to the whole Blog thing.

I really do like basketball (in case you could not tell), but I'm also a big fan of music, technology, and a number of other sports. I figure that I'll soon get used to posting more frequently and will turn my attention to many of these other items. But not this instant.

My favorite NBA team was the 1975-76 Phoenix Suns who, on a 42-40 regular season record, made it to the NBA finals against the Boston Celtics. The team included Paul Westphal, Ricky Sobers, Curtis Perry, rookie Alvan Adams, Garfield Heard, Dick Van Arsdale, and others. I remember watching Game 5 with my mom (who was, and still is a huge Suns fan!), and I could not sit down. It was definitely one of the most exciting games in history of the NBA...yes, including this recent Lakers-Spurs game (though that too was pretty damn exciting).

The NBA used to be fun to watch all the time...now it's only fun every now and then. I can't wait for football season.

The Los Angeles Lakers

It never ceases to amaze me how this team seems to be able to turn it on whenever they need to do so. I guess when you have that much talent on a single team, players may wind up waiting for somebody else on the team to take over. Then, if nobody is stepping up, 2 or more of the players start getting more assertive, and look out.

I'm not a Lakers fan. At this point I'm hardly an NBA fan, with all the horrible shooting and lack of team work. But, I do know a good team when I see it, and this team is just too tough to beat. Detroit (Eastern Conference champ predicted in 7 in another post) will be a physical matchup with the Lakers, and will definitely challenge. My prediction to follow.

New York Sunset Reflection

New York is a great place to celebrate your 40th birthday, or any birthday from 21 on up. There are a lot of restaurants in New York...and a lot of bars. 

On Turning 40

I'm turning 40 this week -- in style with a trip to New York with my wife and some friends. It will be a blast, and I'm really looking forward to the trip.

I remember when I was just out of college, and I was playing basketball with a regular group that was wide-ranging in age...but I don't remember anybody over 40. 35 seemed old then. Now, I'm still playing basketball regularly (4 days a week!), and 40 doesn't feel so old.

The way I look at it, I may be older than I've ever been before, but I'm also younger than I'll ever be again. :)

San Felipe, Mexico

San Felipe, Mexico. I love this place. 

The White Stripes

Not sure why it's taken me this long to really get into The White Stripes, but now I'm hooked. There's something about the simplicity in Jack and Meg's Blues roots and clever vocals that I just can't get enough of right now.

My first email blog...

...right, isn't that nice? Ok, 'nuff said.

Hoop's Hoops Thoughts

So, my foray into Blogging. Let's see how it goes.

I'm picking the Lakers in 6 over Minnesota. Detroit in 7 over Indiana in what will be a very physical matchup (and should be fun to watch).