Life is a Game of Inches

Life is a game of inches. Every sport has a similar phrase, and it’s pretty true in all sports: basketballs miss right off the iron, baseballs travel just over the reach of an outstretched glove, receivers’ feet step just over the end line in the end zone; Half an inch left for young Gordon Bombay and Mighty Ducks would have never happened. These are the “six inches in front of your face” that Al Pacino was talking about in “Any Given Sunday.” The difference between things happening and not happening are razor thin, have to make sure in every situation you make the best effort to be on the right side of those inches.

Life’s the same way.

1.)    My car (new 2013 Honda Accord) got grazed the other day, it is now unsightly and I had to go do a paint touch-up to it.

2.)    Lawsuits are decided because someone marked a “t” instead of a “y” and a contract does not read as it should.

3.)    Tumors spread just short of the heart and allow someone to live.

These are just some of the examples; maybe I’m just in a contemplative mood but it’s fascinating how many things turn out differently if one just does something a little differently; it reminds me (and should everyone) how diligently we need to work. I am one of those people who live like that, that life is a game of inches and I don’t want to let any bit of that inch get away. I try to get through traffic as soon as possible because (horror of all horrors) I might miss something or someone if I’m late, I need to finish these couples words of studying because they might be needed somewhere down the line in a crucial situation; I need to finish this on time or else my whole day will be ruined. It’s a bit silly, a bit perfectionist, but it’s how I go about, especially in the limited amount of time we have every day. We’re given about 16 waking hours or about 960 minutes every day to go about our business, I don’t like to waste any of those minutes. I think that’s been especially accentuated during my time as a lawyer, where billing occurs in hourly or 15-minute or 6-minute increments, depending on how one’s billables are determined, and I plan my schedule far in advance and always ask myself “am I using these hours productively?” and if the answer is “No,” I think of what I can do to start getting them productive.

It’s probably not a particularly healthy or low-stress lifestyle, but it’s the one I have chosen (and was probably destined) to lead. Life is a game of inches. I’m try to get every inch that I can get.

Fantasy sports can be a game of inches too. Here’s how to use miniscule details to extract the most minor of advantages against your opponents.  (This is for advanced fantasy addicts)

1.)    Find out which players your opponents are heavily targeting on draft day and bid them up on draft day, especially in an auction draft.

2.)    Find out what the weather conditions are before a football matchup. Heavily influences how the game plays in turns of running the ball, turnovers, kicking conditions, etc. Rain/mud = turnovers, windy = run the ball more, bad kicking conditions, etc.

2a.) Find out the weather conditions before an MLB game and see if there are chances of a rainout. Especially important in fantasy playoff time when every game counts.

3.)    IN daily transaction leagues, snatch up guys you don’t need every day so that your opponents are deprived of them, then set them free to the waiver wire so that your opponent cannot use those players prior to the players clearing waivers, thus “hijacking the waiver wire.” Use with caution; maybe seen as unethical by some managers.

4.)    Lot of information in the preseason that managers don’t utilize, instead relying on pre-draft magazines published months before the actual draft. NBA preseason is especially predictive, but every sport’s preseason has a huge impact on roles/deciding starters. Check daily news every day during this time.

5.)    Put early game guys in the most specific position slots (RB, WR, etc.) and then late-game guys in the flex spots (UTIL, FLEX, RB/WR etc.) so that if the late-game guys suddenly bail you have a wide arrangement of players you can replace them with.

6.)    Never have a kicker on your roster during the week in NFL, instead using it on a backup WR/RB in case one of the starters gets hurt, then pick a kicker up on Sunday morning as there will always be a kicker available.

7.)    In basketball head-to-head leagues, always figure out if your opponent is punting certain categories so that you can be just a little ahead of them in that category instead of wasting the stats on an abundance of counters that you don’t need. (Check minutes before lineups lock as some opposing managers can be looking at you too and making last-minute adjustments).

8.)    In making trades, try to get a small concession from your opponent by making one of the conditions that you receive the player in favorable timing, like if you’re giving up a starting pitcher, make the trade complete AFTER the SP’s final start with your team,  or if you are getting a star hitter, make the trade effective when he’s heading into a STRONG hitting situation. Opponents rarely say no in these situations.