Farewell, 2009

So 2009's come and gone.

Gonna watch the Dick Clark New Year's Eve for maybe (hopefully not) Dick Clark's last New Year's ever. It was an interesting year, one that was full of law school, free internships, developing TV shows, good fantasy football teams, and a record of 79 blog postings (almost 1 every 4 days).

It was President Obama's first year, a year full of political scandals, a year of ordinary heroes, a year of worldwide pandemics, another year of trying to end America's war, a year of of a recovering ( hopefully?) economcy, a year of Ben Bernanke, a year of Balloon Boy, a year of vampires, zombies, low jobless rate, and all kinds of scary things.

Personally, I didn't have too bad of a time in 2009. There was a disturbing amount of rejections (by all kinds of organizations, including law firms, judges, reality TV shows, Residential housing, student organization leadership), but at least there were some acceptances. Hopefully the trend reverses soon, and 2009 will prove to be a transition year to something greater. At least I'm done with 1L year. Regardless, I'm glad that 2009 happened, and looking forward to moving on to bigger and better things.

Big Things Poppin' in 2010!

-Robert Yan

Gone Cruisin'

To put an end to 2009, did a little bit of cruisin' on Carnival with the rentals... Catalina Island and Encinida, Mexico.

Tip on going on a cruise: Go with some people you know, like a family of relatives or a group of friends. It's not impossible to meet people on the cruise, but it's a lot more fun starting with people you're comfortable with.

Gambling- didn't expect it on this trip, but definitely a lot of options available. Played blackjack on 3 different nights and ended up exactly at 0. Well, actually, probably ended up ahead, but gave out $40 total for tips.

The 2009 gift of the year was the Zhu Zhu hamster, did NOT get one for anybody. My guess next year: Cristianado Ronaldo bobblehead dolls, or Landon Donovan dolls if the U.S. gets really lucky (prognosis doubtful).

Watchin' True Blood Season 1 on HBO. Apparently BIG TV sensation this past year in season 2. I can see why.

Back to glory days: USC Law Fantasy Football Championship 2009. Hopefully "back to glory days" will be the story of USC Law football next season.

Interesting to see what the 2010 New Year's Day Glasses will look like, I can imagine that it's a little skewed to the right because of the placement of the zero's. Have to get a whole new design in 2011.

Is it me or is the January 2010 TV debut season SO MUCH better than the Fall season? So many good shows PREMIERING, and on all different networks: I'm excited about Coach moving to East Dillon High on Friday Night Lights, Jack Bauer's (possible = yea right) demise on 24 this season, the conclusion of the Lost saga (wow that's huge) and on other sleeper show I wanna tune you into: Chuck. I've watched 2 seasons of this show and I have yet to be disappointed. Just a hip, spontaneous, 43-minutes-well-spent-if-you-watch-it-without-commercials. So big things popping in 2010. Again, just want to emphasize again, 2010 is gonna be MY YEAR.

The Dawn of a New Era

Since I so boldly proclaimed that 2010 was gonna be "My year," here are the things I'll be doing in 2010 that will make it so:

1. Stock market, baby. Along with it being my year, it will be the Dow Jones's year, the NASDAQ's year, NYSE's year. I'm banking on it, and I have a nice E trade account that my parents started for me (thanks, guys) to start investing, and I've never been more excited about it. I just read Jim Cramer's "Getting Back to Even," and while I'm not following it like gospel or even agree with everything Cramer says in it, it does give me good basic knowledge about personal investing.
More specifically: 1. follow my stocks daily
2. read the financial news of the day
3. catch up on current events and how it affects capital markets
4. Research, research, research. ("I AM research).

2. Learn different languages. My dad knows Shanghainese, I watched "Flash Forward" and saw people speaking Japanese, I listen to strangers every day in LA conversing in Spanish. Any of these would be a good place to start, and I don't see why I can't at least pick up basic abilities in those languages. Definitely a marketable skill, unlike "ability to get distracted by sports talk radio easily while driving on the road."

3. Go to different businesses in LA, meet people. Los Angeles will most likely be the market I will be working in the foreseeable future, and I gotta use my resources to enhance my job prospects. As Career Services at USC keeps telling me, "you gotta be creative in this job market."

4. Volunteer: Ever since my Alternative Spring Break days at Illinois, I haven't been as dedicated to community service as I should be. Last year was a wash; I didn't have much spare time and was constantly under stress. Halfway through law school, I feel like I can balance my time between academics and other things, and I don't think I will ever have another Friday class. Plenty of time to give my time to others, and it's one of the things I actually do well.

5. No more gambling trips: Find other forms of entertainment. One of my only vices is to play card games for money, and that can be thwarted by strong discipline. Law school is already a gamble (albeit a solid one in terms of investing for my career/life), but a lot of money's already tied up in it. Don't need anymore wastefulness.

6. More risk-taking: An example of tenativeness last year was not going to the Big Brother Casting Call 15 miles away in Hollywood. Really regret that unfortunate decision. I'm always reminded of Dorothy Hui's story, the winner of The Mole 2. She was 24 (around my age) and went with her roommate to The Mole casting call, got stuck in line, was running late to another event, so she considered leaving, but other people there urged her to stay. She did the taping, got on The Mole, and the rest is $1 million history. Hold nothing back; put it al ut there this year and you can really go far.

7. Learn to cook some dishes: Not talking Emerill-type dishes here, but maybe make a steak at some point, chicken parmesan, something that requires boiling, frying, or grilling rather than tearing open, putting it on a plate, and then inserting into microwave.

But of course, all of this is nothing compared to the overall health of my family and everyone's well-being. That's the ultimate gift of all. I encourage everyone to strive for their goals in the New Year, but always keep your family and loved ones in mind.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

The Problem with Survivor, Part II

Ah, finally, the end of an eventful semester. Being a 2L is definitely different than being a 1L, some of it "worse" different, but mostly "better" different. I remember I was barely living by the end of first semester of 1L year, and al I wanted to do was sleep + watch movies + vegetate. This semester, I had a 9-day break until my last evidence final, so I started vacation a little early and even (gasp) took a couple days off beforehand.

I started the year applying for Survivor and Big Brother, and neither really gave me a sniff (BB gave me a short email telling me to go to the casting call, for what it's worth), but the end of 2009 sees me optimistic about my prospects for 2010. As said by Liz Lemon to start off the 2nd season of 30 Rock, "This is MY year." 2010 - I'm gonna own it. Especially since I still haven't found a position for legal summer position, it would seem maybe destiny is propelling towards a reality TV summer. I'm gonna be 23 in May, perfect age for that stuff, I'm ready to take risks, I haven't started my career yet so I can afford to do something like it, I just got LASIK eye surgery (more on that later), and I live in one of the hotbed of reality TV- Los Angeles. O, and I have like 18 different celebratory dances ready for when I win my first leg/HOH/individual immunity. The stars are aligning for me, just hope it works out.

Just watched "Up" with my sister, and reports of its remarkability were not exaggerated. I, of all people, almost cried during the movie. My sister felt nothing. Mr. Frederickson is a beast, I'm glad whoever pitched it at Dreamworks got the message across that this movie is worth it, cuz it probably sounded pretty dry (what I said), some old man going up in the air w/ a Boy Scout named Russell.

San Diego Chargers, baby. Consider me a fan. Another classic Chargers-Colts playoff contest coming?

Special thanks to Aaron Rodgers and DeSean Jackson for absolutely dominanting for my USC Law football team this year. Standup job, gentlemen. Antonio Gates, the 4th straight season I've had you on my team, and I haven't been disappointed yet. And LaDanian, thanks for getting into the end zone several teams to at least conjure up some memories of '06. I thoroughly enjoyed this fantasy season, thanks to you guys.

The AFC playoff picture is an absolute conglomeration of teams, a bunch of 7-7 and 8-6 teams going for the wild-card with nobody seeming to want to win it. I'm pretty sure the Chiefs and the Raiders are still alive. For what it's worth, I'm picking the Ravens and the Titans to take those spots cuz they're the best teams of the bunch.

Moment of silence for Brittany Murphy. Her passing is getting much less media than Heath Ledger or Michael Jackson, but I'll remember her for her role in Sin City.

The whole Tiger Woods situation DOMINATED headlines for the better part of a month. It's not surprising that people are more interested in the juicy details of his many mistresses (especially when there's clear audio of him trying to conceal one of his affairs online)....people want to see others fall to hide their own problems (I admit it, I do it), especially the rich and famous, because there's a safety net where your curiosity doesn't turn into pity as you think these people don't have anything to worry about, they'll be fine. And yes, Tiger should be, financially and golf-wise. But you gotta think spiritually, a part of him has died. You don't come back from adultery, you only get one chance at the once-in-a-lifetime marriage, and now he has to one day explain to his little girl what he did. Sigh, Tiger. If you weren't serious, you shouldn't have gotten married. (That's crossing the line a bit into passing judgment/going into personal lives, so that's all I'll say about it).

Ok, so first, Survivor last night. I would have voted for Russell instantly, nothing anybody else on the jury said woudl have convinced me otherwise. Glad also that Mick got shut out of votes, I was screaming at him on a weekly basis to backdoor Russell, and the fact that he didn't make any moves just shows how oblivious he was and justifies why he got nothing.

1.) Challenges are male-oriented. The last few seasons especially, the individual immunity challenges at the end of the season, the ones that count the most, have given the women absolutely NO chance. It's been a mix of strength/swimming, digging, rope-swinging, running-through-the forest challenges that involve a LOT of physical stuff. I'm not being sexist, women have an ounce of a chance to win these challenges, but not much. That's why you've seen so many male winners, and ESPECIALLY since early in the team phase women are axed much more than men because of the "we-need-big-strong-men" syndrome. It's really disappointing to see such gender-biased challenges. They can easily balance it out too by doing more eating challenges, puzzles, memory challenges, and hanging endurance challenges (as proven by BB, more balanced for the girls). Seriously, think about it.

2.) Casting really bad Survivor players. Every season, it seems to me like 60% of contestants have NO IDEA how to play the game, 20% have some idea but play it wrong, and maybe 10% execute it the right way and get far. For example, take the end of Survivor Samoa. Russell had a deal with EVERY SINGLE player in the final 6, while the other 5 seemed to not even consider that Russell had a deal with others, submitting themselves to being voted out and not once thinking about going after Russell, even after Russell NO LONGER COULD USE HIS IDOL!!!! WTFF???? Russell's strategy had been done before, by Boston Rob most prominently (and also successfully) in Survivor: All-Stars and by plenty of other survivors before. It's a good strategy IF the people in your tribe don't COMPARE NOTES with each other and figure it out, and then you're just screwed and nobody trusts you. It's absolutely agitating how these guys get on Survivor and are just pitifully unprepared to play.

3.) Lack of minorities: maybe one that's a little personal to me, but after the Survivor: Cook Islands season where the race experiment was nixed after 2 episodes, where has all the diversity gone? Samoa was OK, I guess, but the previous season before that, I think there were like 17 Caucasians and 1 African-American. Seriously? After Ozzy, Yul, Yau-man, James, and others, you cast 1 or 2 minorities per season? Have your people call my people if you need an intelligent and charming Chinese law student who writes fantasy sports blogs.

4.) The middle-of-season recap episode: Let's just do away with that. It kills my excitement for the show and drags the season on, really no need for it.

5.) TOUGH final challenges: I remember a time when the final immunity challenge was HUGE, almost game-defining, the days of Rob Cesternino beaten by Jenna Morasca cuz of final immunity, when Jonny Fairplay tried to sweet-talk in Pearl Islands only to get flat rejected, when the winner of that final challenge PICKED the one person she sat next to in the finals. Because of the magnitude, it was a straight endurance challenge, a test of will and how much you wanted it. Truly a test of survival. Nowadays, because it's the Final 3, the final challenge winner does NOT decide by himself/herself who gets to stay w/ him or her, so it's not that important. Correspondingly, the challenges have gotten more gimmicky, to who can hold up the most bowls with their hands, to stacking teacups, to the last season, which was even admitted by Probst to be a "carnival game." Really, that's the LAST and most important immunity challenge? Urg.

Final thought: I could see why Russell didn't get the votes, but it doesn't mean I agree w/ the decision. The reason Eric gave vicariously for the jury in voting for Natalie is that her integrity and trustworthiness got her as far as Russell did, so she doesn't deserve to win any less than Russell. Uh, no. If trustworthiness and integrity were all you need to win, you might as well just have everyone try to get in a 10-person alliance at the beginning and pick off everyone else, then have a popularity contest in the final 3 to see who everyone liked. That's not survivor. That's checkers, not chess. Playing survivor is (and IMO, was meant to be) a social game where you mainuplate anything and everyone to stick in longer than everyone else, make moves because th end justifies the means, change alliances when you need to. Just imagine how boring it'd be if it was a bunch of Micks and Jaisons walking around playing the game. That's why I feel for Russell; he did everything he could, played the game every minute he was on the island, WON THE FINAL IMMUNITY CHALLENGE WHEN HE ABSOLUTELY HAD TO (against Brett) and still lost. What did Natalie do? Look cute in a bikini and vote with Russell. I wouldn't want to win that way, and it's the ultimate problem with Survivor that someone did win that way.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

A Day in the Life of a Fantasy Sports Manager

This can be your novice fantasy player or your most seasoned of fantasy experts: everyone needs a schedule for satisfying your fantasy cravings

7:00AM Morning Wake up call (usually a little ditty, or a famous tune, but for the most ardent of fantasy managers, automatically tuned to the Daily Fantasy Sports Show).
7:00AM Hit the snooze button on your alarm, go back to sleep.
7:20 AM Finally decide to wake up because there will be severe consequences if you don't
7:21 AM Log on to laptop computer, access fantasy teams.
7:23 AM See How your team fared the previous night
2 Options: 1.) If players did well, sing the praises of (insert best performer here), marvel at own fantasy prowess, proclaim with 100% conviction to "just engrave my name in the championship now.
2.) If players did poorly, curse and moan about every single player on your roster and their weaknesses, swear to never draft/ pick up (insert worst performer here), drown yourself in sorrows.

7:45AM Have breakfast, flip on sportscenter to matchup your player's stats with real-life plays that occured.
8:00 AM Get in the car on your way to school/work.
8:00AM -8:30 AM Reflect on your team's weaknesses/ strengths, ponder long-term strategies and possible improvements to make.

8:30AM-9:00AM Arrive at work/school, seek out other fantasy managers in your league at the water cooler, launch into strictly fantasy talk.
Option 1: If team did well, brag about how much of a genius you are at fantasy rub into the face of team that you just beat in a head-to-head matchup
Option 2: If team did poorly, avoid all talk of team's own deficiencies, lament on how opposing manager got extremely lucky in picking his good players and how you hope (insert other manager's best player) doesn't get hurt soon, while secretly praying that he does.

9:00AM -12:00AM
Go through the motions of work/school, pretending to learn/ get work done will suffering from Fantasy withdrawal.

12:00AM -1:00PM
Have lunch with fellow classmates/ co-workers. While eating, pick up on little things that they do, such as allude to their appreciation for Maurice Jones-Drew, or their affinity to take risks on things (going for the spiciest burrito on the menu), or their plans for the weekend (as a gauge for how much attention they'll put on fantasy) to get the most important insight on your opposition. Lunch is not just a social activity; it's an all-important scouting trip.

1:00PM-4:00PM
After spending a rough morning off from fantasy, you go back to doing "work," but of course with one screen open to fantasy news, fantasy alerts, and the o-so-awesome fantasy blog, fantasysportguru.blogspot.com. Have the "boss" or "professor" button ready to flip over to real spreadsheets and official-looking documents in case person of authority happens to be near your computer screen.

4:00-5:00PM
If in fantasy basketball league, chew your nails and sip several cokes/coffees/Redbulls/Monsters in anticipation of the start of hoops at 7:00PMET (4:00AM PT, depending on where you live.) Anxiously browse over box scores before games to make sure your "boys" are in there and will be producing for you. Break out the lucky charms, magical devices, rabbit's feat, lucky keychains, and do whatever prayers you feel are necessary.

5:00PM- 8:00PM
Watch said sport religiously, not even caring about the score but instead concentrating on how many points your boys score, while people watching the game with you give you weird looks as you root for divsion rival/archenemy/ team currently playing the team of the city that you live in.

8:00PM- 12:00PM
Go to sleep with a smile on your face, knowing that tomorrow is another day of fantasy, and the cycle will start all over again.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

NFL week 10 run-down

Upset but not surprised 'bout them Bears Thursday night. A lot of times, optimism is overrated: Bears had a lot of it coming into the season, now it figures to be a cold, playoff-less winter in Chicago.

Guess who's back? Back again? The one and (not) only.....Steve Smith! (of Carolina). Still not racking up the catches and yards like he can (primarily due to Jake Delhomme, I'm naturally assuming), but 2TD's are encouraging for the fantasy playoffs. Like a wet hog in a hog-catching competition, still one of the most elusive players in the NFL.

Ronnie Brown going out w/ crutches is bad news for his owners and the whole Brown family (my condolences) but terrific news for Ricky Williams, whose extra opportunity paid immediate dividends w/ 20 carries for 102 yards. The way the Tuna like to run, Ricky's gonna be tokin' up those yards (parden the pun)

Minnesota playing Detroit was like upgrading your army's attack points in Warcraft by double. Every offensive player had a healthy dose of action, highlighted by Jerry, I mean Sidney Rice's, 201 yards. Brett Favre looked like he sipped from the fountain of youth (the Lions have that effect on people) and threw for 344. Basically, the lesson here is start everyone and their mother against the Lions.

There's something about Maurice Jones-Drew that must make his owners smile. He's just always ready to play, always present in the game, always ready to bust a big play, always ready to score, always ready to justify his high pick by owners. Nothing says feature back like MJD: 24 carries for him, 2 carries by some guy named Snelling. Might as well be named Irrelevant.

Not much to report in Pittsburgh besides Jeff Reed and Shayne Graham probably single-handedly propelling their owners to victory. Kickers aren't supposed to do that.

Most casual fantasy owners don't know this, but Drew Brees isn't the #1 QB this year in fantasy: it's Aaron Rodgers. Consider that when you draft QB's in the first round.

If I didn't have a viable QB I would not hesitate to pick up Vince Young, who looks much more like '07 version than '08. He's still young and he's Vince Young.

Denver's in trouble after losing to the Skins and dropping to 6-3. We've read this chapter before just last year, and they face San Diego next week in a crucial matchup.

Woulda recommended starting peeps against the KC or Oakland Defense, but because it was their offensive players playing each other, it was all neutralized. Probably the best if you stayed away altogether. Jamaal Charles could be intriguing young player, but his matchups the next few weeks (Pitt, @ SD will make you shy away).

Have I mentioned how much I love Aaron Rodgers?

Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin will forever be mentioned in the same sentence for fantasy owners, like saying your going to your neighbor Fred and Wilma's house, but 10 years from now Larry Fitzgerald will be remembered as the better WR. Boldin will be described as gutsy, tough, strong, bulldozing, and "a real football player," but Fitzgerald is just better.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

Buy Low Now

Perfect opportunity in both Fantasy Basketball and stocks to buy low for similar reasons: early in the season for hoops, early in the rally for equity. Seriously about stocks, I'm hyping it up. Cramer (and you may have differing opinions about this guy, but here's what he said) has an interesting theory that it's a cyclical bull market now, where one industry goes up for a while, stops, while industrials go up, then financials, then tech, and another, and suddenly all stocks are moving forward. Have no idea whether or not that's true or not (sounds plausible), but here's my basic psychological analysis for the market:

Investors who pulled all their money out early in the year want to find good stocks to put money back in. They pour some money in, other investors see a slight gain, their mindset is the gains must be coming, they dump some money in, build some momentum, more cautious investors do the same thing w/ all the excess money, and suddenly we have a rally. Just like the massive withdrawals that caused the recession, except the opposite. Buy, buy, buy!

Deron Williams: Numbers slightly down from previous years, especially %'s. They'll normalize; he's only 25 years young.

Al Jefferson: Ever go long-distance running after not doing so for 6 months? Takes a while to build up the stamina, doesn't it? Same thing w/ Al-Jeff's knees. Patience.

Antawn Jamison/ Rashard Lewis: lower value simply from inactivity; their owners might fallen into the fantasy fallacy and discounted them despite lack of opportunity. Sounds silly, but it happens: even good owners (so yea, I've done this before) hold a guy while hurt and just lose patience, release just when they're about to come back.

Gilbert Arenas: Value may be at an all-time low w/ the unfathomable 12 TO-performance in the last game.
Caron Bulter: pair of wizards who will benefit w/ Jamison's return.

RIMM (Research in Motion) stock: one of few stocks in its industry who hasn't recovered much from March lows. A volatile behemoth in 2006-2007, he's like the Dow Jones's Josh Smith: risky, but has upside ready to explode.

Andre Miller: Soon to be the point man of a 50-plus win team. Time to low-ball somebody.

Anthony Randolph: hesistated to put him on there cuz he killed Nellie's goldfish or something equivalent to permanently anger him, but just look at what he does when on the floor. Goes under the "talent always wins out" category.

To end, how exciting has Russell made Survivor the last few weeks? Sure, he overplayed by revealing to everyone and their mother that he had the idol, but w/o scrambling his tribe woulda been picked out anyway. Now he's in good shape w/ a 5-5 divide and goes head-to-head w/ Laura (how crucial were her immunity wins, btw) next week in what from the previews may become a rat-race sort of chaos for the immunity idol. Good job, survivor, you got me hooked again.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

NFL week 9 run-down

Slumdog Millionaire is a sick movie. Love where he ran a fake tourism scheme, stole the Americans' belongings, then got paid for it. Splendid, reminds me of a Ponzi scheme.

Aaron Rodgers is a sick human being. 3rd and goal from the 14, scrambles around, sees nobody open, pump fakes, pump fakes again, decides he's a man and he's just good, and rams into the end zone. Very Elway-like. This guy is excelling even with a depleted offensive line. The QB of the future for the next 10 years.

Ray Rice top 5 RB? I think so. involved in all facets of the offense, this guy is, and scores lone TD so far for the hapless Ravens O.

Ronnie Brown is the new L.T. Except his offense isn't as good, but today he THROWS a TD pass. He's the defintion of a triple threat: Run, catch, and pass, especialy out of the wildcat.

Houston is a sneaky good team, even if they don't beat the colts today. Looks like they will. Pick up Ryan Moats; looks like the Texans have lost patience w/ Slaton and Moats hasn't disappointed yet.

I found out last week Ahman Green is back w/ the Packers. If this was 5 years ago, I'd say pick him up in a heartbeat. Now it takes a Ryan Grant injury for Green to be even relevant.

Like Matt Hardy, Joseph Addai will not die. Another double-digit carry day, also a rush. Key part of the Indy D, just ask Peyton Manning.

Chris Chambers somehow went from the Chargers to the Chiefs, and not surprisingly, being the freak athlete he is, he took no time to adjust and caught a 50+- TD pass from Matt Cassel in garbage pass. I would take a flyer; Cassel might atually be able to utilize this deep threat.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

friday night fantasy

A lot of people like al harrington, and he's an intriguing young player, but it's intriguing just how bad he is sometimes: just watched him miss BADLY for the knicks in a 20-point Cleveland blowout.

Ok, Big Ben Wallace is not back to prominence. I dunno if he was swallowed by Dwight Howard's shadow, playing inside Dwight's sleeves, or just had your normal sleepwalk-in-the-park game, but 2 points and 1 reb is all the stats he had onight, not what you needed from a guy who you expect stls and blks from.

You know how sometimes at the grocery store the guy in front of you leaves cuz he forgot something, and you slide right into his spotand save yourself big-time minutes? Well, Brandon Haywood is taking full advantage of Antawn Jamison's absence from the Wizards' grocery lineup and had the game of the night. 19 rebounds and 4 blks? Yum. Haywood's muscled out Andray Blatche from that money big-man spot, it's time to cut Blatche and his 1 pt tonight loose.

Absolutely floored that Phoenix will hand the Celts their first loss tonight; lotsa good fantasy perfmances ( and probably real-life performances too) from the Suns' revamped lineup, and as much as i hate to admit it, i think the suns are back to being a regular-season machine and all suns are worthy of grabbing, especially Channing Frye and Grant Hill cuz they might be available. Amare? Might be back to the promised land this year.

Something's wrong w/ Dwayne Wade, or more accurately, with his surrounding cast. Still getting overall point numbers, but the defensive numbers and noticeably assists are missing. He looks healthy, but maybe the Heat's offensive system is just not conducive to his godly stats this year. Stay tuned.

Lamarcus Aldridge takes too many fadeaway, turnaround jumpers.

DeJuan Blair is just what the doctor ordered for the old, ailing Spurs.

If the Clippers can't beat the banged-up, can't-defend-my-grandpa Warriors, they're NOT getting into the playoffs.

Eric Gordon: the born scorer, indeed.

Jose Calderon: That's more like it for the Spanish flea. 16 points, 8 assists, and more impressively, 0 turnovers. Against Chris Paul.

Ha, but what did Chris Paul do? Only 21 points and 18 assists. Nothing fancy.

Chris Kaman: Man must love to go on vacations in the offseason. The human traveling machine.

It's so blatantly obvious that the refs compromise between calling a foul and no-foul by awarding the offensive player the ball if it goes out-of-bounds, even though it's blatantly obvious it's off the offense. Compromise is NOT good for a bright-line game like the NBA. This stuff makes me wonder if Tim Donaghy was right about all that stuff.

If batted-bats was a stat category, Manu Ginobili would be the all-time leader. Awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TSucjvxBNo
If you haven't checked this outyet, you should. It's like watching a train wreck: can't take my eyes off of it. Too bad the girl didn't do this before Halloween, cuz there may have been a lot of Liz Lamberts this year. Woo.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

Why I am not a true fan

Don't get me wrong, I'm a very reliable guy, sticking to my assignments and making sure I do what I said I would do for my group. I am loyal to my family and would defend them against everything, and my friends can count on me to be there for them. However, when it comes to being a sports fan, I admit, I am not a diehard fan of any fan.

A diehard fan lives and breathes with their team. They literally bleed the team color. They skip business meetings, dental appointments, counseling sessions, important dinners, and choral practices to watch their team play. Even if they're at one of those other activities, their heart is not in it and they'll constantly be jonesy-ing for a score report of their team. There is no TiVo or "I'll record it" for the diehard fan, they're either at the game or pressed against their TV hanging on every play.

A diehard fan makes sure his closet is at least one authenticated jersey of their team. A diehard fan has team mugs, team helmets, team socks, team scarves, team kneecaps, and all other sorts of apparel that they wear only on game day. A diehard fan has the team's schedule hanging on a poster in their room or programmed into their blackberry, depending on the income class. Not that the diehard fan needs it; they've memorized the season schedule as soon as it came out in the off-season. A diehard fan has their children wear mini-team appareal.

A diehard fan never loses faith in their team; the fan sticks with them through thick and thin, through 7-game losing streaks and rebuilding campaigns. The diehard fan remains patient with their team, remembering how patient their parents/ ancestors were with the team and their parents before that. The diehard fan doesn't change allegiances even if they move to a different city, different state, or even different country. They will literally go to their graves a fan of that team. They resist the urge to quit despite cocky free agents, boneheaded playcalling, micro-managing managers, lame-duck GM's, and unlikable players.

A diehard fan suffers through all those things as above, but the reward is great. The pot at the end of the rainbow is that much sweeter for the diehard fan, as they've had to travel the whole way to get there. The diehard fan can quote by memory all of the wins and losses of their teams throughout the years, and when victory in the form of championship comes, they will be the real winners, the ones who have endured through the chaos to emerge victorious as championships of the night.

Ahh, how sweet it is to be a diehard fan. I, alas, am not one of them. Of any team.

I'd say I WAS a Cubs fan, and that's the closest I've ever become to being a diehard fan, watching them since I was 7, listening to Pat Hughes and Ron Santo call the games on the radio, remembering Harry Carey and Chip Carey, from Mark Grace to Sammy Sosa to Jose Nieves to Kerry Wood to Derek Lee to Milton Bradley, being there in the 65-win seasons as well as the 100-win seasons. O the cubs. Alas, I have given up on that team, and you can strip the diehard fan status from me. Other teams I have had an interest in but far from being diehard about: The Bulls, the Bears, the Fighting Illini (all sports), the Boston Red Sox, the Los Angeles Angels, the San Diego Chargers, the Los Angeles Clippers.......all just common fandom, nothing serious. Will I ever become a diehard fan of any team ever again? I doubt it. I'm now a dedicated diehard fan of Big Brother --> that's my summer Super Bowl.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

10 Reasons to go to a USC football game

- anybody read Tim Donaghy's excerpts from his unpluished book? shocking, SHOCKING!!! it really makes you wonder and puts more fuel in the NBA conspiracy theories.

Halloween is a fun holiday, and many say it's the adult christmas, but really it's just one day of excitement, really. One costume, one big party, and that's it. OVER-rated. Probably spoken by someone who hasn't been to a really good Halloween party.
Probably the best thing about Halloween is just opening the party bag and letting yourself at the candy that you've accumulated from Halloween, stuffing your face until you've submitted yourself to a sugar-induced daze, chocolate still caked around your mouth. It's a gratifying feeling, but for your own good, and for this blog's liability issues, please use in moderation.

I went to the USC-Oregon state game last week and compiled this list of good reasons:

10.) LA Coliseum: quite the structure in the middle of South Central L.A., you can imagine it as the structure that it was named after, the Roman Colisseum, with gladiators, lions, deathmatches, and the whole bit. Lots of history, and plus the Amazing Race started there one season. Niiiice.

9.) Tailgates: not necessarily my cup of tea, but if you're into morning-til afternoon drinking, eating of hot dogs, and sharing of camaderie, this saturday ritual is for you. And the USC campus is one of the better venues to do it in college football.

8.) USC Song Girls: especially the deep-knee bends when doing the USC fight song.

7.) USC Fight song(s): There's an official fight song, the "Fight on" song, and a couple others, especially the S-O-U-T-H-E-R-N C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A one....do it a couple times with the locals and you'll feel yourself feeling part of the game.

6.) Pete Carroll: Listen to this game's post-game and pre-game conferences, radio interviews, and TV appearances, and you instantly get the impression he is a very classy guy, a face-of-the-organization type, someone whom players want to play for. Also, he's the target of the "Big-Balls Pete" chant on 4th down. 'Nuff said.

5.) Challenging schedule: Not afraid of facing stiff competition, USC already plays in one of the toughest conferences in the league (right up there w/ the Big 12, just below the SEC), USC doesn't have just powder-puffs like Who-Knows University or Nowhere St., they go home-and-home w/ big time teams, getting exciting non-conference home games like Ohio St. last year.

* As I'm writing this Oregon has just made it a 3-TD game in Eugene against the herementioned Trojans. USC Defense looking as thin as paper, it's semi-embarrasing....time to watch baseball?

4.) Alternative to baseball- for the first time I can remember, the baseball playoffs have extended ALL THE WAY into NOVEMBER? What? That's expecting too long of an attention span for the avg. fan, especially when there's football and basketball on. Not a smart long-term strategy, MLB.

Game functionally over for USC. Wow, no national championship this year, not even a rose bowl. Uh, lemme get back to the top 3 reasons on another post. Pretty despondent about this game, not used to saying, "better luck next year" for the trojans.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

"You've got a case of the slows right now."

Nice job by ESPN getting Phil Jackson saying that phrase to his Lakers phrase. Well, Phil, might that have to do w/ the fact it's Game 2 of the regular season? But still, nice effort, bro, nice effort.

Stock market severely down today, wiping out all of Thursday's gains and more. My general stance on the market has been, "buy if you can cuz the bulls are coming out," but this recent detour below the 10,000-line has got me a little worried. Or it might just be the right time to buy at the lowest. As my biz orgs professor says, though, "we all thought we knew how to make money in stocks, so we all pooled our money together and bought some stock, ........and we lost all our money. "

So be careful.

Obviously, this blog is not called fantasy stock market guru, but if it was I'd recommend Costco (COST) = (see previous post about the brilliance of Costco), and RIMM - unlike it's counterpart in the tech market, AAPL, it hasn't bounced back big since March 2009, and honestly it's "got a case of the slows right now." But Blackberry is popular, they've still got some talent and capital there, it's capable of like a $130-or-so stock prie. Buy. Just from a layman perspective, peeps. I have a degree in finance but more experience in fantasy, a "I-don't-understand" card for stock market.

Anyone ever watch "Extreme Ghostbusters" cartoon back in the day? No, not "Ghostbusters," the movie, not even "the Real Ghostbusters" cartoon that preceded it, Extreme Ghostbusters. No? it came on in 1997 and I got a kick out of it as a 4th/5th grader. Quality stuff, right next to Beast Wars and Mummies! Alive. But yea, check it out on youtube, see if it sparks your interest.

Along with the theme of the night, here are fantasy players who are actually good who just "have a case of the slows right now."

LaMarcus Aldridge: haven't watched his games, but apparently he's all about the fadeaway jumpers right now, which is NEVER what you want to hear. Let's hope he fixes that and starts stuffing some defensive stats, too.

"Nasty" Nate Robinson: Still coming off the bench, but so far really struggling, even against Charlotte. He'll keep shooting though, and you should keep starting him.

Shaquille O'neal: I've maintained throughout Shaq's stints in Miami, Phoenix, and now Cleveland that he actually makes those teams worse, and so far it's proving true. I think it'll be the same in Cleveland, the team's gonna try to accommodate him too much, resulting in Shaq getting his stats but the Cavs getting their losses. Remember, Cleveland, Shaq works for YOU, not the other way around.

Jameer Nelson: I'm worried about this guy, and part of the reason I didn't draft him, he's rusty from surgery and doesn't seem as meat-hungry aggressive as last season. Should come around because he's comfortable there, the Maic are good enough to let him gradually make it back.

Last note: For those watching Survivor this season (first off, are the rumors of Season 20 in the spring being the last season ever true?) and also, that guy Russell is exactly how I would have played the game had I been on the show: be a physical presence in challenges, work hard in camp, develop good relationships with your teammates, have secret alliances on the other tribe, find immunity idol just in case. O and lie your ass off to everyone. Brilliant. He's getting a LOT of face-time on the show and justifiably so. I'm guessing he gets to like the top 3 or 4 or something until people finally figure it out, then another male who's an immunity beast sticks around long enough to win, depriving the true player the win. O well, I'll still be watching.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

NFL week 7 run-down

Uh-oh. Has the Alex Smith era started? He replaces Shaun Hill mid-game and promptly throws a strike to Vernon Davis to cut the Houston lead in half.



Darren Sproles is an LT injury away from becoming the main guy for San Diego. Maybe not even an injury. Or the injury is already there. Whatever it is, congratulations on getting sproles instead of LT this year.



Is Favre-to-Sidney Rice the new Young-to-Jerry Rice combo?



Percy Harvin does kickoff returns too? --- the guy just has skills. And..........the ref just got demolished.

Tom Brady right on track again w/ 3 TD's, but 2 INT's? Who on the Bucs has the capability of intercepting a pass?

Ok, I'm sold on Matt Schaub now. Especially since he's healthy.

Did the Nike 10k marathon at USC on Friday night. Quite the experience. Did 10k in 51 minutes +, which is the equivalent of like 8 minutes per mile. Not bad, especially since I've never run that far continuously in my life. Reminds me of 7th grade cross country: I was a pretty chubby kid and could not run very fast, but I endured. I've come a long way. It's hard to describe the feeling that comes over you when running a race like that. Part of me was like, "wow you're doing good, keep going, you're gonna appreciate yourself after you finish." There definitely was the part of, "you're tired, stop running, your body's telling you to quit," but that was trumped by the sight of other people running just as fast, your desire to finish, and a little bit of practice on my part (had been running about 3 miles at a time before). O, and it helped that it was a cool night w/ a slight breeze, but not too cold so as to inhibit you. Perfect conditions, I'd say.

Although I was impressed w/ myself for getting done in 51 minutes, the guy who won was 29 minutes.......Ok, so I wasn't that impressive. That guy could have done 15k and still beat me. Sick human beings, the LeBron James's of cross-country running, if you will.

Fantasize on (about running a 29-minute 10k,)

Robert Yan

Costco

It's a problem that affects millions of men across the United States every week. It can cause anguish, despair, bargaining, and sometimes, settling for just one game. Where do you go to watch all the Sunday NFL games? Get the DirectTV NFL package and it's too expensive, especially in a tight-fisted economy. So what do you do?


I got a suggestion for you. GO TO YOUR LOCAL COSTCO!!!! Yup, I will bet that wherever you live, there will be at least one manager/ person in charge of television products at your local Costco that will want football to be playing, and have a directTV remote to go with it. It's awesome. These guys will do the equivalent of flipping between games. If your local game is a blowout, they switch to the nail-biter. If it's halftime of your game, they will switch it to a game that's happening. So basically, they're your best friend for watching good football. The best part? It's free. You can just stand there and pretend like you're buying stuff, or if you're married, let the significant other pick up the duties for a little bit, then dillydally a little bit. Beautiful thing, Costco. This is just one more thing that it's good for.


Anybody who had offensive starters on the Patriots today, congratulations. Especially for Tom Brady owners, I hope you had fun today. It was a long time coming.

Pretty sure I was wrong about Matt Schaub. He's like a flashlight, lights up the scoreboard.

Did I not tell you about Ray Rice last week? And at the beginning of the season? Yea, I did. Try to get him now if it's not too late.

Can anybody say, "J-E-T-S, just end the season?" As predicted, NYJ faltering, losing to Bills at home. T.O.'s not a bad guy to get like ur taking him off of someone's hands, he might get moved or even do well w/ the Bills later on.

Now that Jamarcus Russell proved he can actually throw in the vicinity of his own players, Zach Miller, the TE, is a GREAT pick-up if you're lacking. If you got Gates/Witten/Gonzalez, no need.

The NYG Steve Smith is honestly better to have than the CAR Steve Smith right now. Try to catch an owner off guard who doesn't know the difference.

Get any N.O. Saints you can, that team might score 1,000 points this year.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

Headhunter letter

The following is a headhunter letter I'd send out to fantasy basketball managers recruiting people to start their organization.

Dear Fantasy Owner:

Congratulations on deciding to start your company, (Insert team name here). We here at FantasySportGuru Headhunter, Inc. have thorougly researched the avaiable applicant pool that you sent us and dissected it from top to bottom, looking for applicant strengths, weaknesses, age, championships, how they get along with others, dental history, favorite music, hobbies they do in the offseason. After putting all these factors into perspective, we are pleased to offer you our assessment of who you should obtain for your championship campaign.

Every organization should have a guy like Dwayne Wade. Not only does he try his hardest, inspire his team, and have a squeaky-clean image (not that any of that matters in fantasy), his production is unmatched. Like the jack-of-trades you have in all organizations, Mr. Wade can do just about anything you ask him to, whether it be points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks. He's even learned a new language over the last year called "three-pointese." O, and did I mention he has one year left on his contract? Should create even more inspiration.
We would also like to point you in the direction of Andris Biedrins. He's a foreign guy, so he might have trouble acclimating to the team, but big men who score are a dime a dozen, and his adviser SURE DOES like to score. Don't be fooled by his bad haircuts and unathletic-looking frame, this guy will be the tree in your foundation. And I'm pretty sure your rival organizations aren't that interested in him, so we suggest you pounce. Mr. Eric Gordon is a young guy, baby-face with one year work experience and one year college study, but he's eager to learn and just needs to be set free. His 3-point form is a thing of beauty. We would be failing in our duty if we didn't also mention Andrew Bynum, Spencer Hawes, and Michael Beasley. They are not valued that highly right now, but if you can utilize their talents o boy will you be pleased.
Also, a name that you've probably heard before but never thought you could obtain, is now very VERY available. Does "The Matrix" ring a bell? Ahh, I see that you are familiar with the man, the myth, and living legend. What if I were to tell you he's back and better than ever? He's had a dramatic change since his days in Toronto and Miami, and the change of scenery is doing him good. Now he's energized and ready to prove all his doubters wrong. We REALLY REALLY recommend you taking a chance on him while others sit on their hands.

Unfortunately, as in other applicants there are some bad apples in the batch, and we feel we have to warn you about them, however unfair it is to them. Nothing personal; just business. Paul Pierce has added some new friends to his circle and is getting older, and we just don't see greener pastures ahead for Mr. Pierce. Don't want to hire and then have to fire due to age discrimination. If you've done any research at all into the resumes of some of the applicants, you might have come across the name of Brook Lopez. Some people in our business are touting his name, calling him the next savior, and throwing all caution to the wind in endorsing this man. I cannot speak the same. There's been talk of signing Mr. Lopez before the Duncans, Harrises, and Carters of the world. I know that you're a smart guy, so I know you will do what's best for you and pass on the hype. Unfortunately, we also think Mr. (Carmelo) Anthony is a ballhog who doesn't like to share with others or use preventive measures, Mr. Boozer has a history of medical problems that you don't want to end up just paying worker's comp for him, and Mr. Murphy's success last year was the product of a combination of magical markers, fairy mist, and Redrum shoes.

This all being said, we know you will have many questions and doubts throughout the season about your employees, many trials and tribulations, and it will really be a personal relationship with these guys. We recommend you draft mostly with cold, hard, facts, and our numbers, but also have fun with your employees, because if you don't surround yourself with people you can cheer for and be in the company with, then you will not have fun running your company. And that's really what it's all about.

Sincerely,

Fantasysportguru Headhunter, Inc.
Chairman, President, and Omnicient Ruler,
Robert Yan

Jeopardy!

This is.........JEOPARDY!!!!

Went to a Jeopardy taping yesterday with my roommate, made a day out of it. Tuesday and Wednesday were 2 of the most miserable days of the semester with the rain coming down hard, going through the mid-week doldrums, going to law school-to my internship-back to law school-finally-home, and all the while going through traffic that conveniently gets worse when it rains (the theory being that Californians get crazier when the roads get wet).

I'm actually somewhat suprised people in LA have umbrellas. I expected people to say, "Hey, why's water coming out of the sky?"

Anyway, Jeopardy was an interesting experience. Alex Trebek seems like one of those uncles you might have that can talk all day about anything, or maybe like an avuncular college professor. Some people in the audience had some nose-pickingly stupid questions for him, though, that I thought was a waste. There was even a gunner in the row ahead of us. Tsk, tsk.

Johnny Gilbert is the voice of Jeopardy that introduces us to the show, and the man has a sweet voice. Oh boy, would I relish having a golden voice. Since I was a kid I've listened to a lot of radio shows, primarily sports radio shows, and I've grown up listening to some distinct voices. I wish I were one of them. Radio would be my thing: express my opinions without too much of a filter and interview people and have a conversation: now that'd be a job. (Not that being a lawyer wouldn't be a good job now, all you firms out there).

Anyway, yea, going to Jeopardy's worth it. It goes by pretty pick, tickets are free, Sony Studios right next to my house. Planning on taking people to Price is Right or some other game show this year too, make a day out of it. Might as well enjoy L.A. while I'm here.

What's most striking about Jeopardy for me is realizing how many smart people there are out there. Granted, Jeopardy has the caveat of attracting the smartest people in the country and gathering them on one 30-minute show, but still, it's striking how much these people know. They are without a doubt, 100%, I'd-bet-my-last-poker-chip-on-it, have a higher IQ than me. It's not depressing, it's humbling. Like in grade school and high school I thought I was all that and a bag of chips for being in honors classes and getting good grades, that's nothing. Now we're wading with the big boys, like going from college to the pros, these are all people who were geniuses and smartest kids of their high school.

For those who feel a bit intimated (like me), gotta remember, though, that life isn't about knowing-the-most-trivia smart, or being-an-expert-at-something smart. Sure, having those things really helps, and you should try for them as bonuses. However, life is all about living-your-life-smart, and the people who are best at that enjoy their life the most. And that kind of smart goes into so many things that I'd put myself in jeopardy of not finishing the list. Pun intended. (Ah See? I'd be such a good radio host). Who am I kidding?

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

NFL week 5 review

Tidbits of information from each of the NFL games on Sunday:

* First of all, I DO NOT know how to pick games against the spread. Horrible at it the last 2 weeks, terrible at it this week, not gonnna improve. One of the situations in life where giving up is a good thing.

Cin v. Bal:

O Cedric, where were you when we needed ya? That cat ran down the BALTIMORE D's throats for 120 yards, that shows he's legit. Cincinatti's now beaten all 3 of their division rivals. That's also legit. They're a legit team.

Ray Rice may have arrived. 69 by land and 74 by air, including a long TD catch breaking 2 tackles in open field.

Cle v. Buff:
Avoid ALL contact with these teams. Like they have bird flu.

Car. v. Washington:
My prediction about DeAngelo Williams coming true, as all Panthers starters are untouchable right now. Clinton Portis played through injury to put up a solid line. Still has life left.

Det. v. Pitt:
From this point on, start everyone and their grandmother against the Det. Defense. Soft as a baby's bottom. For Det., Megatron (Calvin Johnson) might have a bad year. I'd release at a discount.

Dallas v. KC:
I watched this game and the 'Boys look ugly. Don't think Miles Austin will have less yards the rest of the season than he did today (250). Romo's 300+ game is a mirage; dump him cuz dallas has yet to play really good D's.

NYG v. OAK:
This game didn't show anything we didn't already know: Start Giants players, drop Raiders players.

TB v. PHI:
Josh Johnson had FIFTY pass attempts and overall not a bad debut, give him a look against bad teams. Where was DeSean Jackson today? I seriously hope he doesn't drop off the table now that McNabb is back.

MIN v. STL:
Percy Harvin fits into the must-start category because he just has skills: guys that don't necessarily have a position find a way to succeed if they're good, and he's good, getting better. Maybe I dropped Donnie Avery too soon? (87 yds, 1 TD today).

ATL v. SF:
Welcome back to the 3-TD + club, Michael Turner. Come visit us again any time. Matt Ryan had 329 yds today but you might want to find another option next sunday night vs. my boys, the Bears (that was bias talking, not prudently objective fantasy expert talking).

Texans v. Cardinals:

Sure Andre Johnson, Matt Schaub, and Owen Daniels can have awesome days against the ARZ offense, but what about the other teams on their schedule? - they're more platoon players, like specialty righties that you bat solely against left-handers, or in this case, piss-poor defenses.

Denver v. NE:
Orton outthrows Brady. Kyle who? Welker, Moss, Watson, et al not enjoying the reward of catching passes from Tom, something tells me the machine will be well-oiled in a few weeks, though.

Seattle v. Jax:
Utter. Domination. By Matt Hasselback. He's back. Nobody talk to me about Mike Sims-Walker, I know he probably hurt your team too, but I might lose by a couple points because of his absence.

Titans v. Colts:
Only positive out of the Tennessee attack was Rod Bironas getting a good night of field-goal kicking. Wow, the Colts just DO NOT run the ball, which makes me think there's not enough to go around for D-Brown and J-Addai.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

Message to Michelle Noonan

Are you supposed to squeeze toothpaste from the bottom, is that a hard-set rule? My buddies don't really adhere to it, but I thought a lot of people are rigid about that rule.

It's well known that you feel better about yourself after you work out, but my theory is it's a mix of feeling good emotionally, mentally, AND physically. Emotional part : forget your troubles (hakuna matata), mentally you feel like you're losing wait, and physically your heart feels better, body feels like it's done some work. I dunno, there's gotta be some Men's Fitness article or something that knows better about this. Bottom line: Exercise = good for you, lol.

The most dangerous and nightmare-inducing thing on the roads for me is two cars colliding because they changed lanes....into the same lane at the same time. Painful to watch if you're behind those cars, and always makes me cringe. It's not really either person's fault, you check your blind spot and if there's no one there you go, you don't naturally look at the lane NEXT to the lane you want to go into. Happens a lot when there's a lot of cars on the road, it's just proof that you gotta be REALLY careful driving cuz even if you're mistake-free something can happen.

a VERY big success last night at the Angels game, if you haven't heard they won 4-1 and put a deathgrip/stranglehold on the series w/ a 2-0 lead. I can not emphasize how thrilling it was to be sitting in the crowd at a playoff game: guys chanting "Let's go angels" from the first on, thunder sticks going off every time there was a 2-strike count on a boston batter, everybody on the edge of their seats on each delivered pitch. Awesome atmosphere, awesome food (go to Ruby's Diner in center field), awesome game (tied 1-1 in the 7th, Angels broke it open off Josh Beckett, the Darth Vader of Red Sock Nation).

The best part was, though, in one of the more serendipitous moments of my life, I randomly got on an elevator w/ my buddy and who gets on after us but MIKE BOOGIE, who's apparently there to support the Red Sox. 99% sure it was him, his face is very distinctive, and he's a Red Sox fan apparently (straight out of wikipedia). Don't really believe in fate/karma/outer being, but if there was ever a sign to be had, that was it. For those laughing at my starstruckness and wondering who Mike Boogie is, he's well known in Big Brother circles as the winner of Big Brother 7 (All-Stars) and Dr. Will's buddy, had a show-mance w/ Erika, 1/2 of the "Chill Town" alliance, comes back in different seasons in different appearance roles. Basically, a rock star for BB fans. I'm rather impressed w/ myself.

Leads me to another message to an individual is sort of a stranger but not really.....Michelle from the past Big Brother season, 11. I really hope she reads it, like Josephine Kao did after I wrote about her spelling bee prowess...( I was REALLY proud of myself for writing that post)...

Michelle, you were my hero this season on Big Brother. Not because you finished 4th, or you did really well on some challenges ( memory wall, the dueling HoH, and the guesstimation/ bluffing challenge), but you really gave me, and a lot of other people I'm sure, confirmation that there are good people out there.
Ok that sounded cheesy. Well, in our society there are a lot of possible heros out there: You can be a music fan and idolize Billy Joel or Faith Hill; you can be a sports fan and idolize Brett Favre or Candace Parker; you can be a civics fan and idolize Barack Obama or Rosa Parks. Point is, there are a lot of prominent names out there, and they are good heroes to have, but they are NOT ordinary people like us. When we watch them perform/ work, we think, "wow they're good, but they're not really like us, they're special."

A person like you, though, Michelle, reminds us that there are a lot of people from a lot of different walks of life who do good things and live their life with integrity and for a lack of words, just be a good person. You don't HAVE to be a famous athlete or president to be a good person; it starts with yourself and your own behavior. So for me, Michelle, when I saw your background on TV, that you were picked on in high school, was sort of shy when you met your husband, didn't do that much social stuff, I empathize with that and can relate to that: It's called living life. Life has a lot of trials and tribulations, it throws a lot of stuff at us, and not all of us can have the luxury of extraordinary leadership skills, musical talent, or special abilities. Some of us have to just rely on working hard, and remembering to be a good person.

So when I see Ronnie bullying Michelle in the Big Brother House and calling her the "worst person I have ever known," or when Natalie goes around calling Michelle the devil, it sort of presents a microcosm of what heroes like Michelle have to deal with in ordinary life: people being mean for no reason, calling people names, being rude, and generally not giving others the time of day. It's disturbing how people get away with these things, and it takes a lot more for the ordinary person to just try to move on, deal with it, and move on. Being a good person is not easy: you have to deal with all the people who have chosen not to give a darn about it, or just don't get it; they honestly don't know what they're doing wrong. It's the people who have good character who have to deal with that and persevere through it. So that's why I thought it was extremely special of you, Michelle, to deal with all of those things, especially since a lot of times you were isolated because the mob mentality of the house went against you and piled on. Often times, it's the good people who are targeted because it's easy to say stuff about them, they don't retaliate because it's not in their nature to say bad stuff about people. Just know, Michelle, that you've inspired a lot of people with the way you dealt with all that stuff. You've certainly made a fan out of one fantasy sport guru / BB Fan.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

The Problem with Survivor

Going to Angels-Red Sox playoff ALDS Game 2 today, VERY excited now that Halos have broken the spell and stifled the Nation last night 5-0. The tide's turning. I feel a little hypocritical/ disloyal now that I have no allegiance to the Cubs and bash them at every turn, but I think it's time. I followed the Cubs since I was a little kid, wasted many an afternoon watching their day games, and they never delivered. Time to move on. And I think the rules of fan-dom can be bended so that you can change teams if you move to a different city and have no foreseeable plan to go back to the old city at any point. It's a different culture; you can hear every angels game on the radio, see people wearing angels hats, catch the end of angels games on Fox Sports West; it's hard not to convert loyalties.

Plus, I woulda never found a Cubs playoff ticket at Wrigley Field for $31: the Angels really treat their fans well. And I have a man-crush on Kendry Morales. Just sayin'.

Halfway through the semester, I feel like I really haven't worked that hard in all my classes. However, realize that last year I had 4 classes PLUS legal writing, so I'm not that concerned. Anyone at USC Law, please take note: Evidence w/ Professor Lyon is an AMAZING class. The man knows how to get your attention, and not in the Michael Scott make-awkward-comment kind of way. More importantly, he TEACHES, what a concept.

You know, my life is really pretty enjoyable, I can't complain, but the only thing that's missing is financial security. If I had that out of the way, I swear I'd be the most easygoing, free-spirited, no-worries kinda guy. But threat of homelessness/living with parents/ no career prospects is a constant stressor, like a brick that you gotta carry around on your neck. Hopefully I can release that stranglehold soon.

Anyway, the main course of this post is an explanation of Survivor's defects. I first started watching the show on Survivor 7 ( the one with the pirates) and I must say I was hooked. The intrigue of the show, as with most of the reality programs, is watching "normal" people navigate through social relationships to attain sole survivor status, with competitions thrown in to make it more interesting. However, Survivor suffers both from having so many seasons (we're on 19) and the problem that naturally comes with that: predictability. Each season is pretty much the same as the last season: Same host, same amount of people playing, recycled challenges, same game format. Some may say that's actually an advantage: After all, we watch football, baseball, jeopardy, and all those programs have the same format. However, some nuances of Survivor are PAINFULLY predictable: the order of eliminations. EVERY season, when players separate into 2 tribes, you KNOW absolutely who's gonna get voted off: the physically weak, a.k.a. women and older folks. It's not gender, racial, or age discrimination: it's actually logical, in that you HAVE to keep your team strong for the physical challenges. However, that means if you're a 20-something adult male, you are safe for the first 8 eliminations. Automatically. No questions asked, you're staying. There's no interplay, no consequences for your actions; as long as you STAY a 20-something adult male and don't get eaten by a snake, you stay in the game. Nothing about that is strategic, it's just evolution. For a guy like me, who LOVES alliances, scheming, competition, lying, and knowing that everyone is vulnerable, it's a definite turn-off, as in I literally turn the TV off.

Apparently, though, Survivor seems to be ending after the 20th season, an all-star season? Rumor not started by me. I say it's been a good run, they've made 20 rather successful seasons ratings-wise after becoming an INTERNATIONAL sensation w/ Survivor 2, so it's time that the show has run its course. For a guy who use to want to get on that show REAL bad, my focus has somewhat shifted and the intrigue of getting on that show is gone.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

Chinese Moon Festival + Week 4 action

Combined post today. This past weekend was the Mid-Autumn Festival, a.k.a. Moon Festival (I'm so sophisticated about Chinese culture that I had to google this to get the exact name), celebrated in China by planting mid-autumn trees, setting off firecrackers, carrying brightly lit lanterns, and fire dragon dances (again, straight out of wikipedia). However, we didn't go that all out, opting instead to just eat moon cake, which can be awfully delicious.

Other part of the holiday: Peformed in my first orchestra concert since circa-2005. Felt good about our concert, played in front of 500+ people (lots of them Chinese, lots of whom came because it was free) but you know what, it felt good. For one of the few times I could remember, it was FUN to play in a concert because it was lively music, I hadn't practiced the pieces so much that it had gotten monotonous, and I had done it voluntarily ( sort of a cognitive dissonance thing I guess). Also, the fame-seeking, Big Brother contestant-wannabe side of me liked that I was performing in front of an audience, that I was being watched, and I had really missed that. Law school = sitting by yourself reading/ bouncing your thoughts around in your own head, and even in undergrad it was more do-your-own-thing, even in athletics it's just playing intramurals, where the only crowd is the 2 teams. I remember back in high school playing in front of the whole school, in front of live audiences, and even one time playing at Symphony Hall in Chicago. I guess I took those experiences for granted, but it really came back to me yesterday, and I really had fun doing it again. Didn't hurt that we sounded pretty good.

Yesterday: Hundreds of people in audience. Graduation/highschool: Thousands in attendance. When a Contestant on Big Brother 12: Hundreds of live audience members, and the MILLIONS........AND MILLIONS........watching at home......haha.

Okay, week 4 in the NFL, notables:

Raise your hand if you thought Denver'd be 4-0 and Tennessee would be 0-4 to start the season. If you're raising your hand, slap yourself w/ that hand for lying. Now raise your hand if you thought Denver might be 0-4 and Tennessee 4-0. Aw, we're finally starting to tel the truth, are we?

Look up what I said a week ago about Mike Sims-Walker. Now congratulate yourself on his 91-yard, 2 TD performance, then send Robert "Da Man" his due for giving that to you.

GATES, BABY! - Finally hit paydirt, and guess he liked it cuz he did it again later. Unfortunately, the Chargers had the ball like 10 minutes the whole game, and L.T. looks totally done.

Who's better, Tony Romo or Kyle Orton? Answer might seem obvious, but look at Orton's stats and it might tell different story. Dirtybeard Kyle's threw 2 more TD's today to have 5 on the season w/ ZERO INT's!!! O, and Brandon Marshall's again the big target he was paid (or yet to be paid) to be. Bodes will for that passing attack.

Congrats if you drafted the NYG defense. They dominate people.

Donald Brown or Joseph Addai? Looks like Addai still has some life left, and remember he was a top-5 pick going into last season. Looks healthy.

Would pick up this Massaquoi guy from Cleveland not only because he has a cool name and I heard Dick Enberg say his name so many times during SEC games, but 8 REC's and 148 yards usually means the QB likes your number.

My friends debated who the NFL's worst team is. After losing 35-0 today, the Rams are the frontrunners.

Althought "Whatcha talking' about" Willis scored again for the Ravens today, I would STILL sell high on him. Same thing w/ Mark Sanchez, althought today kinda supported my theory. Young guy, yet to face some really tough teams in the AFC........will run into trouble. Not even Joe Flacco could avoid some rookie mistakes last season.........Btw, I say Jets finish not better than 9-7. Mark it.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

Decisions, Decisions

Fun game I like to play with people, learned it from my favorite show, the bubbly, enigmatic, charismatic, aromatic (put that in there just to rhyme) al from season 2 of "the mole." He did it to expose people's lies, I do it to expose people's preferences. Try it sometime, it's a good icebreaker.

Pepsi or Coke? Pepsi- sweeter, less of the after-sizzle.

Cake or Ice Cream? Ice Cream- better texture, like the frostiness.

TV or movie? - TV, too big of a commitment to watch a movie

Left Hand or Right hand? Right hand is firmer and more reliable, althought left hand makes all the CAPITAL letters.

Beard or Moustache? (for grown men only)- Neither, I shave it right off immediately.

Superman or Spiderman? - Spiderman, has more cool contraptions and is a mortal, actually has to risk death.

Vanilla or Chocolate? - Vanilla, but only for ice cream flavors. Vanilla wafers = icky.

Highway or local? - Highway, local gets your adrenaline going because you think it's a shortcut, but shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line.

Apple or Oranges: Oranges, more work but more reward.

Fire or water: This one's not much of a choice, one you need to live and the other prevents you from living.

Hawaii or Alaska: Never been to Alaska, so Hawaii now as a vacation hot-spot.

River or Lake: River, I've always been a person who goes places, or at least aspires to.

Mexican food or Chinese food: Mexican's food made a strong showing the last few years (Chipotle), but still gotta stick w/ my main course.

Rock or Hip-Hop: Eminem, some others point the way to rap for me.

Rain or Snow: Snow can be SOOOOOOO beautiful. And white's my favorite color.

Sunrise or sunset: Is there a difference?

Father or mother: Most people, like me, skip this question for fear of taking sides.

Baseball or Basketball: Basketball, lot more action, lot more diverse skills, I can actually catch one.

Playing this game or doing something else: Depending on how many questions have been asked, most people opt for the latter. But seriously, try it if you're stuck in an elevator, stuck in a car, bored out of your mind, feeling your life slip away, genuinely want to know someone better.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

The Run-Down

Last year on the Office, there was an episode where the whole theme was the interim boss (forget his name, but he was mean and liked soccer) asked Jim for a "run-down," and Jim goes around asking everybody and their mother what a run-down is because his job was actually on the line. I'm still not sure what it is, but here's my interpretation of it:

Run-down on best fantasy football players and their positions so far this season and prospects of keeping it up, using the "strongly like/strongly dislike" system (remember, again, this is more "rolling of the dice," "throwing darts at a dartboard" for me.....), as per my maxim about fantasy football....

1.) Chris Johnson- outside of a 285 yd, 3-TD by-air-and-by-land performance, Johnson hasn't done that much in the other two games. On an 0-3 team, he might have problems getting a lot of 20-touch games especially w/ LenDale White still vulturing attemps at goal line. Probably will drop to right around 10-11th best RB by end of year.

Prognosis: Lukewarm.

2.) Adrian Peterson- He's not even human. And his team is even better this year. Savor it, all you #1-overall-pickers. Any questions?

Prognosis: Dynamic.

3.) MJD- as expected, putting up good numbers, although like Johnson, did most of damage against Houston. I think the lesson's probably, just start everyone and their mother against the texans D as opposed to how good these guys are, but oompa loompa should still be booming this season.

Prognosis: Explosive.

4.) Brees/Manning (QB's)- did I not tell y'all before the season that manning's still gonna be manning. Doesn't matter if it's reggie wayne, anthony gonzalez, pierre garcon, pee-wee herman, toute le monde (French reference), or chocolate fondue, this guy's gonna throw to them and throw for 300 yars. Deal with it.

Prognosis: Bastions of the QB position

5.) Matt Schaub: This guy's interesting cuz he's faced Tennessee v. Jackson and thrown 7 TD's total (why is this post so enamoured with these Houston/Tennesse/Jacksonville players who only played each other? It's like trying to assess guys after they play high school teams). Urg, for the record I say teams start shutting down Andre Johnson and subsequently Schaub, but this could go either way.

Prognosis: Debbie Downer, cut bait (Translation: Sell high!)

6.) Julius Jones/ Cedric Benson: How these kids found their way into the fantasy elite and not in their own backwards reliving glory days is a mystery to me, but Cedric the Unentertaining looked good breezing past the Pitt D on his way to a crucial TD last week, so I should theoretically give him the benefit of the doubt, but I'm not............too many fumbles as a Bear for me to give him any love. I HAVE Julius and I still can't love him, the player not even a manager could love.

Prognosis: Danglers (as in, dangle them to other managers as much as possible and milk as much as you can out of them).

7.) Brent Celek (TE): Who? Sounds like a vegetable. Apparently Kevin Kolb has been a busy little boy and thrown to this guy along w/ DeSean Jackson (who, although not to be mentioned in this post, has firm hold ofthe heart of at least one fantasy manager, but I think this may be too good to be true.....Brian Westbrook and McNabb, like the ugly stepdaughters, will be back soon when the clock strikes midnight, so the young guys will take the hit.

Prognosis: Livin' the Dream, eliminate before wake-up.

8.) Denver D: The #1-ranked Yahoo! Defense is in for a rude awakening this weekend as Romo goes to Mile-High w/ arsenal loaded......like the team, the D will get exposed and Denver gives up 24+ points at home, en route to another mediocre 8-8 season and division loss to the Chargers.

9.) To avoid signing off on down note, here's a guy I'm high on: Vincent Jackson. Huge target, huge hands, huge opportunity w/ Phillip Rivers as QB, who (say it with me cuz i've been preaching this), it's his team. This is like the arrival of Delhomme/Smith, Culpepper/Moss, Bulger/Holt: Lots of production for a long time.

Prognosis: Ride the gravy train, toot toot!

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

(Btw, personal pledge of making up for a lackluster Aug/Sept. with a prolific October....plan on it. This month should have updates of NBA fantasy draft, my trips to Price is Right + Jeopardy, Chinese moon festival, + your favorite, random ramblings.)

NFL week 3

Did a week 3 prediction chart on all the NFL games going on, against the spread ( w/ the +3 or -5 pts, for those of you who aren't degenerate gamblers out there). Watchin' the 4 o'clock games (or in Pacific time, the 1PM games).

Pretty intriuging stuff: Philip Rivers just completed a fleaficker to Gates after giving it to Sproles, but I'm more impressed with Sproles's ability to pass back to Rivers on a line.

Scratch that, I AM very impressed w/ Rivers: for scrambling on 3rd and Goal to get into the endzone, UNTOUCHED. Good presence. I agree, this is his team now, and he's gotta push them into the playoffs, even if the Bolts think they can breeze in w/ a weak division. The obstacle this year: Still the Broncos, who changed QB's, coaches, RB's, brand of cereal eaten in the morning, number of trips they go to the bathroom, but still threatening to go 3-0 to start.

Before I forget, Amazing Race 2-hour premiere tonight, w/ a team supposedly being eliminated before even going anywhere. Theories:

1.) Hot-dog eating contest at the beginning, last team to eat 10 hot dogs total doesn't start, but also doesn't have to start on a world-wide experience w/ severe indigestion.

2.) "Shaq versus" comes to Amazing Race, and the contestants have to beat Shaq at world geography before moving on, last team to identify that "mexico city" is in mexico stays behind.

3.) Phil Keoghan, the beloved host, walks up to random team, clears his throat, pauses for suspense, and phil-iminates them on the spot, peremptorily. Because he could.

Who's this Johnny Knox guy that has become Jay Cutler's favorite target? Sounds like a Cartoon Network hero, playing like the Roadrunner getting past Wiley E. Coyote, who can't catch up to him.

Chad Henne sighting: playing QB for Miami. First Chad pennington, then Cleo Lemon, now Chad Henne? A couple yers ago I had to turn down a good offer for a "Henne rhymes with *&^%$%$ shirt at University of Illinois.

I woulda recommended Jason Hanson for a fantasy start this week, as the Lions can actually score points, and they were able to upset the Redskins at home. If I were Washington, I'd be too embarrassed to play the next week. Plus, they're in the same division as Dallas, Philly, and NYG, so yea their season's pretty much over anyway. Tough sports town, D.C. is now. They now have to resort to hockey- not a pleasant alternative.

My suggestion for playing tennis: Eat a banana beforehand. Seriously. It keeps your energy level up, you feel good about yourself, it reall effects the way you play.

Pick up Mike Sims-walker for Jacksonville. Another solid 81-yard performance today, he looks like the tallest of the midgets in the Jaguar WR corps and he's young, and the other hyphenated guy on Jags is very good (Jones-Drew), so why not take a chance?

Look for Peyton Manning to tear up the Arizona D in the desert tonight. At least a 96% chance of 300 yards raining down at Sun Devil Stadium (Is that still where they play? I only get that impression cuz of Jerry Maguire).

Wow, ANOTHER over-the-top throw to a WR by Philip Rivers. He is very adept.......man can sling it, even when he was part of the wolf pack at NC State.

JaMarcus Russell stinks.........automatic drop, methinks, and he's really going the way of Cade McNown.

What's this? Drew Brees only has 140 yards? And it's the 4th quarter? Wow......speaks volumes about the Bills D, the 3rd straight game they've had a tremendous effort. Did T.O. even play this game? 0 catches for 0 yards............I shoulda vocalized that I was very low on him this year......this is why.

If you started Brady Quinn today, it's like the website fmylife.com.............you totally deserved it. He got pulled in favor of Derek Anderson cuz he just can't throw, and especially at Baltimore that was a death trap.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

Yan's Law Dictionary: The 1L's Guide to the First year of Law school

My interpretation to what things mean for 1L's in (possibly the most stressful) year of their lives. Thank God I no longer need the Yan's Law Dictionary.

1.) Stress: As common as the freeway pothole or cereal for breakfast, it will consume your day and show up whenever you least want it. However, you have to live it, accept it, embrace it, and love it. As bad as it feels now, it'll feel that much better when you're doing with it.

2.) Family time: not part of the vocabulary.

3.) Outlines: change the term "out" to "life" and that's the accurate description: these things should be like your left and right arms, around at all times ready to roll. Always be working them out, adding to them, improving them, and using them to study for the exam. O but if you see someone else's that looks better, feel free to ask for it. Don't expect everyone to give them to you: after all, that's like asking for their right arm.

4.) Professors: the people who hold your life in their hands. Be nice to them, talk to them, see what they eat for lunch, what they're thinking at all times, what you could possibility do extra to prepare for their exams. However, take advice with grain of salt. These people are living legends who went to the most prestigious of law schools; their minds may be of a different breed than ours.

5.) TV: Use only when in special need of a break or after a long session of studying to cool down or lower insanely high stress levels; do not watch for enjoyment, fulfillment, or leisure. If still using for more than 2 hours at a time with inability to stop, discontinue the TV and send it back home. Seriously.

6.) Classmates: The only people suffering just as much or more than you are. Rely on them for guidance, support, camaraderie. However, be careful with certain of these, they may be providing misguided/ misinformation.

7.) Legal writing assignments: Sure to sour your weekend if you don't do them before, they take up a significant amount of time and are not graded accordingly. If not taken seriously, they can have disastrous effects on your future legal career.

8.) Bluebook: May as well be the Bible for 1L's: search its contents for morsels of knowledge, never take for granted, always double-check before applying.

9.) Law Library: Welcome to your new home for the next 9 months or so. The librarians are here to help, the books are plentiful, it's really quiet except for people typing out their outlines and gaining more knowledge than you; it opens at 8 and closes at 11. Have fun.

10.) Supplements: Often times more valuable than the casebooks, these are like windshield wipers for a difficult, rain-soaked drive through the storm. Ask at the store which ones are the best for your car (professor) and test as the semester rolls along, especially when rain turns into sleet and you REALLY can't see.

11 .) Fantasy sports blogs: these might have to be put on hiatus for the year, except for special occasions.


Fantasize on,

Robert yan