NBA Playoffs Preview--- Fantasy style.

In honor of the NBA Playoffs kicking off this weekend, I'm creatively trying to spice it up by seeing what would happen if the fantasy players from each team played each other..... this may be my own way of recovering from a devastating loss in the USC Law Basketball Finals, where I lost 5-4, by 3 turnovers. Yes, 3 turnovers. ouch.

1.) Chicago over Indiana: Not exactly a fantasy powerhouse matchup, Chicago would be a prime candidate to get upset in the first round with lower-tier guys at SF (Luol Deng) and SG (non-existent), but Indiana's revolving door of guys precluded anyone except Danny Granger and Roy Hibbert from having any fantasy value, and Granger had a below-average year, at that ( I would know, I expected big things from him). Rose and Noah provide enough push.
2.) Miami over Philadelphia: Just like their real team, the Heat have enough star power with LeBron and Wade to edge past the Sixers (Brand, Iguodala, Holiday).
3.) Boston over Knicks: the way the C's struggled, the Knicks' Carmelo and Amare almost enough to spring pset, but Rondo, Garnett, Allen, and crew still have just enough.
4.) Atlanta over Orlando: no one on the Magic besides Howard; Hawks have a slew of young guys including the best fantasy player in the series, Josh Smith (actually may be Al Horford, but either one is good)

West
5.) Grizzlies def. Spurs: Close, but Memphis springs the upset because Popovich rested all his starters at the end of the regular season......Memphis's rotation very underrated with Conley, Allen, Gasol, and Randolph.
6.) Lakers def. Hornets: Nothing on Hornets besides CP3 and Okafor. Great star season by Pau Gasol and late fantasy MVP run by Andrew Bynum.
7.) Dallas def. Portland: as close as the actual series will be; Dallas barely squeaks by cuz Dirk is still top-5 fantasy player; LaMarcus Aldridge is getting into that range.
8.) Thunder def. Nuggets: Thunder favorite in the fantasy playoffs due to 2 top-15 fantasy players (Durant and Westbrook); Nuggs lost their best 2 fantasy players


Atlanta def. Chicago: hate to say it, but Rose, as good as he is in fantasy, not as valuable as Horford or Smith; Noah and Noah injured most of the year; and remember that Joe Johnson's also on this team.
Heat def. Celtics: Star power over balance. Quality (Wade, LeBron) over Quantity here.
Thunder def. Grizzlies: Durantula = #1 overall fantasy player this year, IMO. And don't forget Serge Ibaka with all those blocks.
Lakers def. Dallas: Lakers' top 4 is the best in the league. Kobe, Pau, Bynum, Lamar. Ouch. Mavs have no answer.


Semis:

Heat def. Atlanta Tough, tough, right here, but after Hawks' big 3 of Horford, Smith, and Johnson, can you name another fantasy relevant player? (Kirk Hinrich? Zaza Pachulia? Marvin Williams?)
Lakers def. Thunder: Big 4 better than Thunders' big 3.


Finals: Lakers def. Heat: A dream matchup in real life, it'd be quite a star fest in fantasy too. Kobe v. LeBron, and the big frontcourt of the Lakers vs. the quick + fiesty guard play of Dwyane Wade. Still, Lakers ' M.O. is to get stars, and they also happen to be fantasy stars. Lakers all the way.

(Note: NOT my prediction for the actual NBA playoffs).

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

One Man's View of College Rankings

This time of year, a lot of young and eager students around the country and around the world are making their decisions as to what colleges they will be attending for the following school year. The most predominant of these college decisions deals with undergrad, but there are other decisions too: grad school, med school, study abroad programs, etc., etc. I can speak only to undergrad and law school rankings as these are the only ones I have EVER used and the only reason I have EVER read US News for. Here's a list of my reactions to the most updated 2011 rankings:

1.) Law school rankings are pretty standard at the top, and the bottom ones don't really matter (despite high level of movement within the bottom tiers). The top 14 are mostly established and don't budge for the most part.

We have HYS (Harvard, Yale Stanford)......CCN (Columbia, Chicago, New York), MVP (Michigan, Virginia, Princeton).......expect, this year Berkeley slides in there at #9. Very interesting, but probably justified: Boalt fields GREAT candidates is widely renowned.

2.) UCLA has always been rumored to be cracking the top 14, but it never has......it might never do so. UT-Austin looks most well-positioned to do so at this point.

3.) Ah, USC and WashU, tied at 18......the 2 schools I was deciding between. I'd still say that USC still has the greater advantage of being in the second-largest legal market in the US and thus a better locale for young law students to network and internship, but that's a USC Trojan talking. Still, I'm happy with USC's ranking, and as long as they don't fall out of the Top 20 I'd say that's a fairly justified ranking.

4.) Quite the move for George Washington University, it used to be 30+, now it's technically in the Top 20 law schools. Rumblings of the school doing some "gaming" of the rankings to get a higher US news ranking, but may be unfounded. Maybe it has more to do with being close to a large legal market? (D.C.?)

5.) Nice to see UIUC come in at #23......it's a nice school that has nice ties to Chicago, and if you can stand the winters and the college-town atmosphere of Champaign, that's a great school to go to.

6.) Maybe just me, but Emory being at #30 seems low......I remember I was considering the school in my law school search. And Fordham is another one of those schools at 30 where I value it more for being in NYC and a big legal market than it might get credit for.

7.) Hastings at #42......heard a lot of things about this school, have met people from this school, seems alright......I just question what kind of school it is because it doesn't have an undergrad, it's just a law school. I personally wouldn't go for that as I'm much more about the overall university and quality of campus, etc., , but for people who are just using it for the degree, by all means........


8.) Loyola is the next L.A. school after USC at #54, but I think in L.A., just from my perspective, it's USC and UCLA at the top tier, and then Loyola and Southwestern and Pepperdine, etc. at the next tier. Just what I've seen/heard from my colleagues, lawyers, etc.......keep that in mind in terms of lay prestige. Loyola may be ranked higher, and I might be selling it short, but alas, that's my view.

9.) Ranking 100 and below.......Don't go to those schools. Seriously. Just with cost of tuition and law school job prospects, etc. nowadays, the cost/benefit analysis just says not to go there, unless you're already set with a job and just need a JD as an admission ticket to the bar exam.

Undergrad Rankings
1. Harvard.....yea.
5. Stanford.....wow, under Columbia? That's a little surprising and having went there for a month of summer school, I gotta disagree. Stanford is legit and should be in Top 4, if not 3.
7. Cal Tech.......great for SoCal, but I question whether it's worth it to go to this school for anything under than engineering, science, etc.... maybe I'm misinformed, but I wouldn't go there for a liberal arts degree.
8. MIT.....I like Cal Tech and MIT being next to each other, pretty close together in my mind and the minds of others, IMO.
10. Duke......was very close to going to this school. I feel like people in North Carolina, the South value this school much more than I do....in Midwest Illinois and West Coast Cali, I haven't heard that much from Duke. But I respect it.
13. WashU: I share this sentiment I'm sure with many others: If WashU changed its name to "Pennbrooke" or "Swarthmore" or some regal-sounding last name, it might move up even more. Lack of recognition may be hurting in from getting even more top students. Great school. (Also, not being in STL might help).
19. Notre Dame: a bit of a stigma whether you need to be Catholic, religious, etc. to attend...I know I didn't bother to attend because of that.
22. Cal-Berkeley. People in Cali probably don't agree with this. Berkeley is like the public version of Stanford for some in my Chinese-American neighborhood. VERY highly regarded, it'd be like #9 or #10 probably for the Cali-adjusted rankings.
23. Carnegie Mellon- least well-known school in the top 25, IMO. Most people don't know where this school is.
23. USC: Nice jump in the past few years for USC. I like it. Probably proudest that it vaulted over UCLA. Gotta feel good.
25. UCLA: I imagine I would have enjoyed going here undergrad. I've went to this campus numerous times and you're gonna LOVE visiting if you haven't been.
29. Michigan: should be higher. Probably impacted by its public university status, but this is a great school. And I'm an Illini alumni saying this.
37,39. UC-SD and UC-SB being in the top 40 speaks to the quality and depth of the UC schools, like the Boston Red Sox lineup: good schools up and down the state.
41. Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute: Honestly never heard of this school.
41. UC-Irvine: another UC.
47. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Considering its right near UMiami, UT-Austin, UW-Madison, I'd say this is pretty fair for UIllinois. In general, I'd say large state schools are underrated because their top end is just as good as some of the top 25 schools but their bottom ends weigh them down (because they have so many students, they have many more programs). Just saying.


**** Note: If only there were a fantasy US News Ranking Colleges League. Managers take a batch of schools and gain points based on how much schools go up (or go down) in the rankings every year. Not many accumulated stats and it'd be a little boring and sporadic to play, but I'd think I'd be pretty good at it.


Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

Whale Watching

The picture above is NOT what happened when I went whale watching today. Simply put, NEVER go whale watching.

Well,at least if you get motion sickness like I do. It was like a neverending version of a roller-coaster ride: feeling nauseated, dizzy, and ready for the ride to be over, except the ride took 3 hours, not 3 minutes. UGH. This was one of those experiences that you can't even sugarcoat (You know, like some of this trips or dinners that were just so-so but you make it seem better because you want to justify why you went?) This one was just no-doubt, 100%, totally, purely, unequivocally bad. PLUS, it was COLD out there, a good 15 degrees colder than the temperature on land, I'd say. And the "wildlife" wasn't even that impressive. Sure, a few dolphins, sea lions taking naps on buoys. And sperm whales, except you could only see glimpses, a fin there, and a tail here. Sorry, whale-watching-tourism industry, I got to thumbs down your entire operation. But that's just me.

Amazing Race: (SPOILER alert)- Ron and Christina got eliminated tonight. As tough as it was for my sister (Yes, my sister watches the show now because I wanted her to upgrade her viewing interests from Pokemon and other cartoons) to see, I saw that coming. Never a terrific team in Season 12, Ron and Christina seemed like minor leaguers being called up to pitch in the big leagues in this "Unfinished Business" season, routinely finishing in the back of the pack and botching challenges, even failing to do well in the 2 legs filmed in China, where they SPOKE THE NATIVE LANGUAGE. Tough break, though, today, as Ron must have spent HOURS at the "find the shaman" challenge.
The 2 teams best suited to win this race? Globetrotters + Cowboys. Easily 2 of the best teams to run the Race, except each has fatal flaws (mental challenges and modern technology, respectively). Most hated team in the race? Kynt and Vixin, just alarmingly crazy, nasty, and cutthroat as the race goes on. Who will probably win? Someone like Jen and Kisha or Gary and Mallory, solid teams that get a puncher's chance in the Final 3 (Is it even gonna be Final 3 this year? Maybe TAR will spice it up for its "All-Star" season and go to 4 teams? Or 2 teams? (Doubtful)

Survivor just not as intense as Heroes v. Villains last spring, which will possibly go down as THE best Survivor season ever. Start to finish, there was backstabbing, manipulation, immunity idols, strong alliances, blindsides, fierce competitors. Wolves fighting other wolves. This season is like watching one wolf (Boston Rob) among the sheep that are the new Survivors: you know what's gonna happen, and it's fun for awhile to watch the wolf mow down all the sheep, but it's not nearly as exciting.

Starting new work at an immigration law firm.......The start of a long, propserous career? Let's do some solid work there before going crazy.

As my 3L year and law school wind down, I'm thinking about compiling a list of great and a list of not-so-great things about law school, for all those contemplating law school. Stay tuned.

For anyone in the championship week of their fantasy basketball season like I am, it's been frustrating, hasn't it??? Most of the stars that carried us throughout the regular season are either injured or ailing, and most of them are shut-down risks due to their teams having nothing to play for. (Just a brief list of names are Kevin Love, Jason Kidd, Andrea Bargnani, Steve Nash, All San Antonio Spurs, Josh Smith, Deron Williams, Amare Stoudemire, etc., etc., etc.) As our regular seasons' stars' fates are cut short at the whim of the league standings, we've had to rely on players we knew nothing about at the beginning of the season but now have to put our hopes on for the most important week of the season: Jerrod Bayless, Rodney Stuckey, Jose Juan Barea, Ed Davis, Dante Cunningham, Kwame Brown, Goran Dragic, George Hill, etc., etc. Not exactly your who's who of top fantasy players. But that's fantasy hoops: injuries are a part of the game, and if you're a manager who's gotten this far in the season chances are you've done your due diligence of picking up guys, scouring the waiver wire, and this is nothing new. Let the best teams win, and may you (and I) have a successful end to our fantasy basketball seasons.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

Save, Save, Save

No other way to say this: I'm a very FRUGAL person. I cut corners where I can, skimp, look for deals, avoid paying money, and (usually) end up paying less each month than I have to. Although, for those who aspire to by friend (I know, big dreams) I actually pick up my share of the tab and stuff when it comes to common endeavors with other people like dining, so no need to worry about me cheaping out. But here's how to live frugally, Robert Yan style:

1. Make less trips: If I need to go to the bank to make a deposit, I wait until I need to go to the store too: I don't make 2 trips. Saves gas, saves beatings the car takes, saves time. Time = money.
2. Pay in cash: I fell into a pattern of just writing checks, swiping cards without worrying about the dent in my wallet. Not until you're handing over large $20 bills to someone over the counter do you realize how much money you're giving up. Good habit to get into.
3. Find cheaper alternatives: The first deal you see is usually not the best deal. Ex: Parking in the USC parking structure. $400/semester = exorbitant.
Ex: Health insurance at USC = exorbitant. Waiving health insurance = free. $400 in my pocket. Every year.
4. Find better times to drive on the highway. Sitting on the highway is not only bad for your health but bad for your car and your gas mileage: Rolling down the 405 at 60MPH at 11:00PM = definitely more mpg's.
5. Skimp on the candy, miscellaneous foods. Anything that isn't healthy or doesn't help my appetite is X'ed out ( I cave once in a while, but at my parents' or someone else's expense.) Most efficient food = bananas. $1.00 for like 4 of them, you can go a LONG time with just bananas.
6. Pack your own lunch. Stop me when this is becoming "I've heard all of this before!!!"
7. Have great parents who you can milk free stuff off of. (OK, this is all based on luck). But making your own luck is also being nice to your parents, helping them around the house, earning their trust...if you're in the lucky position already, like me.
8. Don't buy books, go to the library. Seriously, the library has most books your Barnes and Noble has (sorry, B&N, but it's true)
9. Don't go to the bar that often.....those places are cash magnets. Other ways to have fun are available.
10. See if you can share resources with your friends. Extreme Example: there is open space in my friends' apartment. I didn't have apartment near school this year. Solution: I live at my friends' apartment a few times per week. I pay them some money. Everybody's happy (Don't tell my friends' landlord).



Generally, just discipline: master your desires and wants, and you'll master your pocketbook. And be on the lookout for ways you can cut corners. Money is a precious resource: When you have lots of it, you don't think much about it, but when you don't have a lot of it, parting with it is PAINFUL.


Btw, speaking of money, here are DaMan's thoughts about stocks:

1. Nike is down to $78 after being around the $90 range for a while, due to some bad earnings reports. Not to worry, I think the company's fine and nothing catastrophic has happened, it'll get back to $90 in no time, at which point I don't know but by then you'll have raked in around a 20% profit. Go for it.

2. CMG: Sigh. I recommended this stock to y'all and then let go too early. Enjoy the ride while it lasts. I say it's gradually going to 300 (or close to it) and then plateaus.

3. WWE: Many are down, saying they might cut dividend. That may be so, but I know the demographic watching WWE (I used to be one of them) and they will be ECSTATIC about the Rock coming back. Thumbs up.

4. JPM: Cramer says it's due for a large rise up. I'll see it when I believe it. In Fall 2009 when I started investing I bought it at $44; it's now at $46......"slow as molasses" comes to mind.

5. PTR: My parents lovin' this stock. I know nothing about it except it's about oil. And China. 2 of the best combos to have right now. Pull the trigger.


O, and as always, when in doubt, buy AAPL. I don't think a single person has ever gotten killed buying Apple. It's trustier than the cash vault you have installed at home: Safer than safe. Except better than a vault you might actually find more money in there a few months later.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

Early Season Nicknames

I love giving nicknames to players, as the people in my USC Law Fantasy Baseball league know. Here is a compilation of some nicknames (this is indicative of my writing style) that are based on early baseball season results:

Andrew "Straight Cash, Homie" Cashner
Juan "I know my rights" Miranda (Not relevent)
Starlin "How am I not from Cuba" Castro (Starlin's Starting his Sophomore Season Superbly)
Nelson "I'll Have what he's having" Cruz (After homering in each of his first four games)

Josh "I'm Done" Beckett (Boston's 0-4 to start season)
Joe "Well Played," Mauer (Singles home winning run today at Yankee Stadium)
Alex "How Many time can I be compared to George Brett" Gordon (actually has looked like Brett so far to start the season)
Aaron "Petco May Revive My Career" Harang (wins v. defending champs today at Petco)
Yovani "God" Gallardo (Unhittable today in 1-0 Brewer victory)
Dan "His Name is Dan" Uggla (not my nickname, but awesome nonetheless)
Jimmy "How Soon will I get Hurt" Rollins - getting off to his typical hot start, soon to be derailed by inevitable injury.
Yunel "YOOOOOUUUUUUU" Escobar (walk-off HR for the Jays)
Michel "The Future is here" Pineda
Jhoulys "Don't make fun of my name" Chacin (hurls 7 innings of shutout baseball v. Dodgers)
Luke "The Light Bulb" Hochevar (got lit up again, this time by White Sox......this guy is the Royals' ace?)

Changing Priorities

It's funny how people's priorities change as time goes along. It happens all the time, and I'm not just talking about the "O shoot instead of 3 months left to file my taxes I only have 3 days left so I better actually do my taxes now" kind of anxiety change, I'm talking about just naturally changing, changing

Here's an example of what priorities I've changed (and as always, I'm trying to relate it to the casual reader, so try to see where any of this might apply to you).

This time last year, I was absolutely OBSESSED with getting on Big Brother 12 (the summer-time TV show on CBS hosted by Julie Chen that trap "real" people in a house like guinea pigs while viewers watch. Yea, I know, sounds FUN). Big Brother 11 had just been a smash hit with some of the most memorable characters ever (Jordan/Jeff, Russell, Chima, etc.) and I wanted to be part of the excitement, try to show America how smart/social I was, and win some CASH. It was not to be, despite my best efforts. I sent in an audition video, went to the casting call, spent hours trying to find ways I could get cast or get an interview with a casting producer, even considered flying to Chicago to go to a SUBSEQUENT casting call after the one in LA didn't take.....it just wasn't meant to be).

Now looking back on it, I was being a little silly. Lots of people think they're great for reality TV. Lots of people want to be on the show, want a chance to make a lot of money. Doesn't mean the show wants you. Big Brother, like any other TV show, is a business...they take people who will be the best for them. Put simply, I don't fit their demographic.

This year, I didn't do ANYTHING for Big Brother. Not only do I have other obligations this summer (taking and passing the Bar) but I realize I have other things to plan for, to live for. When I was obsessed with Big Brother, I thought that was my life goal, and I was running out of time to get on. Kind of irrational; my life won't be defined by whether I was a reality TV contestant or not, it'll be defined by how I treat others, my reputation, my way of living, and what I do for others. Secondarily, my career, my financial success, my ability to achieve my goals. Getting on a show like Big Brother should be just one of the goals under that subsection of "achieve my goals."

That said, Big Brother producers, if you're reading this, I still wouldn't mind doing the show; I still really like it; have your people call my people. Survivor and Amazing Race producers, I bid you do the same.


Other change in priority in the last 5 years:

1. From reading all-fiction novels to non-fiction so that I can actual learn about the real world.
2. No news at all ( I didn't even know about Bear Stearns collapse) to getting a daily subscription of the Wall Street Journal.
3. Not caring about learning Chinese = EXTENSIVE review of Chinese: I gotta use that as my skill set, man.
4. Challenging myself intellectually (chess) to challenging myself physically (working out, losing weight).
5. Thinking "make a lot of money" in my career to "do what I enjoy." Eck......still trying to find a balance there, it's not as easy as people say, especially with the amount of student debt I'm in the hole for.
6. Thinking "how to get attention from my sister and put it on me" to " how I can help my sister achiever her goals and be the best that she can be."
7. Not having to win EVERY single fantasy league I'm in (unrealistic) but trying to have fun in each one, however I can have fun. This is admittedly hard to do, I'm VERY competitive and still would like nothing more than to take victory from the grasps of others.

I think a lot of these goals are a product of maturity, a sign of positive growth, but also more likely a better understanding of myself, of what I want out of life. I'm slowly realizing what it is. Finally,

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan