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.)