Alright, to start the new year right: Lemme start by correcting some mistakes in this blog from the past year:
In one of the most recent posts i put, " apologize for the levity of this post" instead of brevity, meaning the brief nature of the writing, but by saying levity i made the reader anticipate some sort of comic relief that I did not deliver on. Also, I use a lot of sentences where i say, "Also, I'm gonna do this also." That's clearly bad grammar that my fifth-grade self as well as many current fifth graders including my sister can pick up on, so i've gotta work on that.
My New Year's Resolution, then, for this blog, is the obvious, "I will strive to make every post as grammatically pristine as possible. And maybe proofread them before i hit publish?"
Let's hope that sticks. God knows the "lose 5 pounds" resolutions i've made all those times never worked.
That leads me into the fantasy sports world of 2008. I anticipate big things happening in 2008, and the first batch of fantasy-relevant events happen tonight when more than half of the NBA is in action. 2007 was, in my opinion, a pretty ordinary fantasy year: u had KG, the matrix, steve nash, nowitzki, all those other guys performing at their normal level and leading the yahoo! fantasy standings as usual as well as many other fantasy league formats.
This year, I challenge a bunch of players to stand out and make a difference in fantasy land and make the fantasy world a better place: a couple of them are already doing it. Chris Paul, a.ka. CP3, is setting the fantasy basketball world on fire, and his elliptical rise in the NBA is surpassed the impact that he makes for many teams. To think, i got him straight up for VINCE CARTER at the beginning of the year. That's not even fair, even for real NBA talent. Wow i'm good. Anyway, Chris Paul will join the fantasy elite after this season, the question is will he finish #1?
Other guys stepping up in fantasy sports: Caron Butler, I was so high on this guy in the 2006-2007 season too, u must have read about this guy somewhere, if not here, and when gilbert went down, he took over as leader, not antawn jamison.
In baseball, i look for fantasy baseball to emerge from the steroid-plagued offseason unscathed and actually become a beacon of hope for baseball as many turn to the game knowing that players are no longer juiced ( let's hope nobody would be stupid enough to cheat after this year's debacle) and match their wits in acquiring talent. I look for a bunch of fantasy players to step up as 5-cats and take over from Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols, the two guys who have been consensus #1 picks the last 5 years ( including this upcoming year, when A-Rod will likely be the consensus #1.) The usual suspects to do this may be reigning NL MVP jimmy rollins, or the close 2nd Matt Holliday, or the guy who started so hot last year jose reyes and will lead the league in at least one category for sure ( SB's), but my pick to do it is the amazing, unstoppable, hanley ramirez. This guy is ridiculous, and even without the RBI bat of miguel cabrera behind him he should score like 120 runs, and he hits for power, his speed is unquestioned, and he hits EVERYTHING. If ever he got traded from the marlins, which is a distinct possiblity, he will just tear the league apart, and as A-Rod and Pujols go on the down-slope from their prime years, Han-Ram is just heading to the top. Let's hope he doesn't get injured or something freaky cuz he could be something special.
In football, 2007 already witnessed the meteoric rise of one adrian peterson, and he will be anywhere from a #1-4 pick next year, depending on what brady does and some other guys. So he'll step up in 2008, but 2007 basically showed us that in football, it's the easiest for one season to shift a player from average standing to fantasy stud status ( re: Joseph Addai, Braylon Edwards). Btw, i read in SI how Braylon Edwards pledged a lot of scholarship money for 100 kids in low-income communities. Good job, my man. Thumbs up.
But 2008 WILL see some guys emerge and take over other players' spots as fantasy studs.
So as 2008 is here, so is hope for great fantasy seasons in the top 3 sports, and i have a feeling that w/ the cheating controversies that were rampant in 2007 out of the way, 2008 will clear the way for fantasy players around the fantasy world to accumulate their numbers like pickers in a strawberry field.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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