The Magical Playoff Season- The Story of the Kansas City Royals

In less than an hour, baseball fans from here will join others from around the world, and we will be watching the best sports battle in the history of mankind: Game 7 of a World Series. World Series, that word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can’t be consumed by which teams we thought were better in the regular season any more. (Even though I’m still bitter that the Angels had the best record but got swept by the Royals). We will be united in our common interest to have a great Game 7. Perhaps it’s fate that today is 2 days before Halloween, and the Royals will be fighting the playoff monster that is the San Francisco Giants playoff machine. Not from bad pitching, bad luck, or lack of hitting, but from the failure to fulfill a destiny. The Royals are fighting for their right to end the perfect playoff season (they snuck into the playoffs and won the one-game playoff against Oakland in dramatic come-from-behind fashion, swept the Angels and Orioles, and were down 3-2 to SF in the WS) and should the Royals win the day, the 2014 baseball season will no longer be known as another season the Giants took it home, but the day when the world declared in one voice, “We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to win. We’re going to fulfill our destiny.” Today we celebrate the Kansas City Royals!

That speech almost directly taken from one of my favorite movies ever, Independence Day. The Royals really are in the midst of a magical playoff run, and this month has been filled with great Royal moments like Mike Moutaskas finally looking like the great hitter he was supposed to be, Nori Aoki making diving catches, Herrera-Davis-Holland shutting the door from the 7^th and beyond, and Jason Vargas walking towards first base thinking he had drawn a walk despite it only being ball 3. Giants fans will disagree, but it’d be a shame if the Royals did NOT win tonight. For me I like when the “best team wins” and teams are rewarded for their efforts, but I like many other Americans this month have been captivated by the Royals’ story. It’s a story that is better than any baseball movie and captures the imagination of the audience so much that it transcends the game itself into folklore, and no loyalty to baseball purism and “justice” should prevail over the magic that are the Royals. It’s a culmination of destiny, lucky bounces, and historical frustration, but the 2014 Playoffs deserved to be remembered for the great run that the Royals made. Viva La Royals!

If the Royals are the perfect blend of luck, camaderie, managing, and storytelling, I haven’t found the girl with the perfect blend of everything yet. The older I get the more I realize that very few things in movies ever apply to real life, but I haven’t had the “this girl is it” feeling that romantic comedies so often depict. I often find good qualities in girls that I date or admire from afar (nothing creepy, sigh, this is becoming a common refrain), but no one has put it all together in that one package that (dare I say) “magically” captivates me. I’ve met girls who are pretty athletic (great quality for me), laugh at my jokes, express enthusiasm when they see me, share my interests, show interest in me, and speak multiple languages, but no one who has combined all those qualities to be the perfect for me, like a Frankenstein-girl made specifically for Robert Yan. Am I asking for too much? Maybe, but I just wish one day I could meet my Ruby Sparks (see 2013 blog post or just google on the internet as to what I mean by this) and I can live happily ever after. If the Royals can have such a magical ending, why can’t it?

 

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

J- Dramas! Sugoi!

Over the past year or so I’ve become a pretty big aficionado (Japanese=  専門家 or “senmonka” in Japanese) on Japanese dramas.  Apparently all Japanese dramas fit within certain “rules” that are different from the U.S. First of all, only 10 or 11 episodes……this to keep the audience from getting bored, I think. So the storyline of the whole season has to fit into just 10 or 11 episodes. The risk of rushing the story is usually mitigated by the fact that there aren’t very many filler episodes to drag the viewers through. Also, each year (like 2014) is cut into 4 seasons of TV (unlike the US “fall season” where all the good shows premiere), the Japanese shows premiere new shows in all 4 of the seasons, so that there’s fresh programming any time.

I find that most people like manga anyway, and that’s a whole different genre and area that I am unfamiliar with. However, Japanese dramas can give great perspective into the Japanese culture, food, and how normal people interact with each other (with a lot of Urusai! And Baka! – the equivalent of “shut up!”and “stupid!” much like U.S. culture, making fun of each other or genuinely being upset about things, Japanese people use things common terms of art pretty often.

Shinya Shokudo: great story about a Japanese pub owned by one “Master” that cooks meals for customers from the hours of midnight to 7AM. It’s really got that sense of the U.S. TV show “Cheers” in the sense of “where everybody knows your name.” Recurring characters pop up, there are bar “regulars” who have their own storylines. What’s striking to me is that the bar patrons are generally friendly to each other and will support each other and foot each other’s bill from time to time, or share the food. It’s a great collegial environment that’s filled with some great-looking food like Ramen, takoyaki, karaage (fried chicken) and other great pillars of the Japanese diet.

 

I got a new IPhone 6 last week. While I’m excited about getting a new phone and checking out all its features and having new and fancy things, I’m reminded about my philosophy on material goods, which is that phones are just a way to call people (and text people, and go on facebook, and check mail, and do everything so it’s actually a lot more than that), but I don’t need the fanciest of phones or flashiest of devices or biggest of screens or widest of bandwidths, as long as I get the functions I need. I don’t need the hippest car in the lot to get from one place to another, I view a car as more of a mode of transportation to get from one place to another.  Things I will put a premium on is convenience, being hospitable to others (treating others in a meal or at least picking up my portion of the tab) and getting new experiences (the only selfish one in this list but this isn’t being hypocritical, I actually feel this way). I really like being able to order more alcohol while everyone’s having a good time at the bar, or a new opportunity has arisen that friends want to do, or it just feels magnanimous to foot the bill. I understand that when I go on vacation, I will generally be taken advantage of, but that’s the cost of being in a whole new part of the world, in a culture I don’t know. At places like the Shinya Shokudo, where everyone got along and great experiences are to be had, I would put a premium on footing the bill, and even maybe picking up that of others, if a merry time is being had.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

Contrarian-ism

Around Halloween, I get excited about haunted houses, Halloween parties, and other various Halloween-themed extravaganzas, especially in LA where there are theme parks that dedicate their attractions to the glorious (and gory) occasion, including Universal Halloween Horror Nights, Knotts Scary Farm, Halloween Haunted Hayride (near Griffith Park/ zoo) area. Then I’m immediately reminded how crowded these things get and how people go there because of the hype and coolness of Halloween, surging in on the wings of hype and popularity, much like the “everyone’s doing it!”

A lot can be said to be contrarian. Examples of going contrarian vary from the stock market to sports betting to scheduling lunch hours to everyday daily life, including such counterintuitive but definitely worth-it acts like Go to Disneyland on a Tuesday,  go against the really hot stock that everyone says to buy now, go against the really public NFL team on Sunday like the Dallas Cowboys or Green Bay Packers, go to lunch during non-peak hours like 3PM or 11AM so that the restaurants aren’t packed, talk to the member of the opposite sex that is alone and not being talked to by other potential suitors, etc.

Basically, do what other people aren’t doing. This takes some courage as it has the high risk of backfiring spectacularly and you looking like an idiot if it doesn’t work out (see betting on the Jacksonville Jaguars the last few years), but it really does have inherent value, just in the fact that other people haven’t pumped up its value to where the popular option is overinflated. There’s really nothing I like better than getting through traffic really quickly at 9:30AM when rush hour has died down, or sneaking out of a restaurant with my food in hand at 11:30AM while seeing the lunch crowd starting to form, or going to a sporting event the game after a big game where the stakes aren’t as high but the venue and the game is just as real.

The coup de grat of contrarianism, of course, is grabbing the waiver wire add in fantasy football that no one really cares about but has almost just as much value as the hot waiver wire grab. The 2 HUGE waiver wire targets this week were Anthony Dixon and Bryce Brown, co-running back committee members who everybody and their mother were picking up (literally everyone has the same information and everybody knew that these 2 guys were excellent pickups after CJ Spiller and Fred Jackson went down last week). It also doesn’t take much skill to get these guys. Contrarianism requires a certain amount of finesse, of skill, of the confidence to know that while you’re not getting the best option for $100, you’re getting an almost-as-good option for less than the $70 inherent value and thus getting the better value. It’s similar to getting just as good results with the generic toothpaste as the brand-name, everyone’s-gotta-have-it toothpaste. And it’s good on your wallet/ FAAB budget/time allotment cuz time’s the most valuable resource. Instead, get the bargain Stepfan Taylor (who scored 2 TD’s last week as a goal-line vulture to the banged-up Andre ellington) who might be just as good and doesn’t cost as much.

Contrarinism. Try it. Or don’t because you want to be contrary to what I’m doing.

 

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

The Trials and Tribulations of Reffing

Got a chance to ref a dodgeball game over the weekend and gained a degree of respect for how hard reffing is. I also gained an appreciation for how much of a rush reffing can be and the power trip that one can go on.
Hardest things about reffing:

1.)    Being ready all the time- especially at the beginning, the ref sets the tone by starting the match, making sure everything’s operating properly, etc., before beginning. Stopwatches need to be set,

2.)    Not doubting one’s calls- often there’s doubt that sets in immediately after making the call, especially if someone comes and argues it. Sometimes these doubts are founded, but I find that with experience and seeing plays comes confidence to know that I am right.

3.)    No personal vendettas- against certain players (like Joey Crawford- Tim Duncan). Call it down the middle.

4.)    Don’t only rely on reputation. Some players have the “Rasheed Wallace syndrome” of being hotheads or the Manu Ginobili syndrome of being known floppers. Don’t rely on this and try calling it down the middle, but do have it in the back of one’s mind. Those players often think they can “pull a fast one” and get away with it which is where the ref has to lay down the law.

5.)    Don’t go on a power trip. Don’t insert oneself into the game, get whistle-happy, etc.

6.)    Don’t have personal preferences like “not liking that people don’t take their outs on blocks so I will make sure to get every one of those right.” There are A LOT of things going on in any game, not just dodgeball, better to concentrate on everything going on than trying to “lay down the law” in one facet of the game.

7.)    CONCENTRATION. Not once during my hour of reffing did I have any time for chitchat, distraction, checking my phone, checking out cute girls, anything. I watched the game and darted my eyes from one player to the next. There was no time, and I appreciate that the ref take the responsibility of being a fair arbiter seriously.

8.)    Accept that one can’t get everything 100% correct. No one is. At the end of the hour of reffing, I knew I had probably made a mistake or two. Just like bouncing balls, bad breaks, and the game of inches, reffing is also part of the game and hopefully the breaks all even out and the best team wins.

So yea, reffing is hard. I don’t know about professional reffing, except that they get paid a decent amount to do it, so they should be pretty good at it. Seems to me that baseball refs have the most opportunity to get it right as there are like at least 4, sometimes 5 or 6 of them on each play only watching over 9 -13 players counting the hitter and baserunners, whereas the proportion is tougher in basketball and football as well as the interaction between players (physical contact and gauging the degree of contact)

 

 

The No. 1 takeaway from this season of fantasy football, and I’ve been BEATING THE DRUM on this for years, is that I’d rather have a WR stud than a RB in the first few rounds. Beyond the often-heard cliché that it’s become a passing league (insinuating that WR’s are more valuabe), which happens to be true, IMO, WR’s get hurt than RB, which seems inherent given the pounding that RB’s take on, the number of committee backfields, as well as the ability to pick up a stud RB off the waiver wire. Roles change, running backs get hurt, preseason “stud backs” like Zac Stacy become fantasy irrelevant very quickly and disappear off the depth chart, whereas No. 1 and even No. 2 receivers like DeSean Jackson or Roddy White retain their position on the team and are fairly entrenched in their role. Basically, WR’s put up about the same amount of points as RB’s nowadays and are more stable. I’d take WR’s. My first few rounds this year I took Jordy Nelson and Demariyus Thomas instead of the traditional 2 RB-set (I would have probably gotten someone who’s hurt) and I couldn’t be happier.

Also, get a kicker who a.) is capable of hitting long FG’s and b.) has a good offense/good QB. Other factors like being at home and playing against an inferior NFL opponent (so the team usually has the lead increasing the chance of FG’s) are also helpful.

Defenses- good luck guessing which ones will be good. San Francisco, Carolina, and Seattle, the top defenses last year, are nowhere near the top 5 this season. Defense is down all around. Just try to avoid posting negative numbers in any given week.

 

Fantasize on,

 

Robert Yan

Lunch options

Here in downtown Los Angeles, especially the heart of the financial district like the U.S. Bank Tower building, there are a lot of choices for lunch. There’s really no need to bring a 弁当, or packed lunch in Japanese. The selections are seemingly endless and is really all dependent on what you feel like eating and what you want to pay for it. There are places where you have to play a premium for name value, there are hidden “sleeper” hole-in-the wall places, there are ethnic foods for specific tastes like Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Thai, Italian food, and then there’s some prime attraction, fancy sit-down places like Morton’s Steakhouse. There’s also Panda Express and Jimmy Johnson’s, 2 not-great but available and convenient options that are great in a pinch.

 

Yes, as soon as you heard “sleeper” in that last paragraph you should have realized I was going to relate my dining options to fantasy football. There are 32 teams in the NFL, and a lot of fantasy implications going on in every one.

 

1.)  Jerome McKinnon is like the shrimp/kalamari/pineapple exotic option that everyone gets excited about, but Matt Asiata is the bread and butter that everyone eats more of. A lot of buzz this week about McKinnon now being the starter, but Asiata’s the better possession runner and blocker, so he’ll get the touches (if) and when the Vikings are leading. It’s really just a guessing game when they’ll be leading (Asiata’s turn) v. McKinnon.

2.)  Aaron Rodgers- the prime rib at the best steakhouse in the city. You’ll pay a lot for it, but you know it’s gonna be good. But is it really that much better than the middle-tier burger joint like Eli Manning or Tony Romo down the road?

3.)  The hottest new restaurant out there is this Ronnie Hillman, everybody’s waiting in line to get him. But the problem with these hot and hip new restaurants (fill-in RB’s), they can disappear/ go out of business pretty quick, aka when Montee Ball comes back.

4.)  Rob Gronkowski is back to doing Rob Gronkowski things. Now if only Tom Brady can do Tom Brady things and deliver him the ball.

5.)  Some very interesting and dynamic (as in, the backup could become a STUD the rest of the season) is the Rams’ 3-headed monster of Zac Stacy, Benny Cunningham, and Tre Mason. Mason could be huge if he ever gets a shot.

6.)  Bishop Sankey’s the 1^st round RB (in real life) that’s finally getting a shot.

7.)  In PPR leagues, Darren McFadden could do a lot of work the rest of the season.

8.)  I would rather have Joique Bell OR Reggie bush than a lot of “No. 1 RB’s.” Including Steven Jackson. SJax’s dishes are old  

9.)  Percy Harvin’s value could not be any lower right now, and 2 weeks ago he had three. THREE touchdowns called back. Get.

10.) It’s funny saying that Emmanuel Sanders is a top-10 WR, but he definitely could be with Peyton Manning targeting him and Wes Welker getting phased out.

11.) If only they put a little more salt into their dishes……just a little change could make Keenan Allen back into the beast he was.

12.) What do I think is the best Italian dish in town? I think I would prefer Italian  (WR) than Chinese (RB) because Italian is more reliable (doesn’t get hurt/ make your nose pungent) and doesn’t have to share (family style) with other RB’s. Rather have Jordy Nelson, Demariyus Thomas, Julio Jones, Dez Bryant the rest of the year than Murray, Foster, Forte, Charles, Lynch, or whatever combo of best RB’s others might nominate. RB’s just get hurt more, and it’s a new league: passing dominates.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

The U.S. Medicine Racket

A racket is a service that is fraudulently offered to solve a problem, such as for a problem that does not actually exist, that will not be put into effect, or that would not otherwise exist if the racket were not to exist

The following is a short rant by Robert Yan that probably belongs somewhere on facebook or could be construed as some sort of reverse, concern-troll type of post. I assure you it is genuine.


I unfortunately have acne. Over the last year I have found a way to control that acne pretty effectively with the help of a dermatologist (online dermatologist, the best kind) called minocycline 100mg. I take one pill every day orally and I have had some of the best non-acne skin since like age 14. It's felt great and has been a much-needed relief. I would do almost anything not to go back to when I had pretty severe acne, and I'm sure many fellow acne sufferers would say the same.

Unfortunately, my dermatologist, for whatever reason, doesn't want me on the oral pill anymore. She says due to concerns about antibiotic resistance and some side effects, she doesn't want to me rely on the oral pill. She suggests using purely topical medications that one rubs onto one's face every day. She's a doctor, but I know my skin, and I totally disagree. I think my acne is totally a body function issue like producing hormones and starts from some internal process, and nothing topical can be done about it. The oral pill perfectly stunts the production of oils/ acne glands/ blackheads right at the source. It's the most effective medicine. I have never had any side effects with taking these oral medications, and I'm fine with just taking one pill a day for the rest of my life as long as I don't get acne anymore. I know it's kind of a petty thing and there's other people suffering from serious diseases who should receive more attention, but as I'm sure other people who suffer from acne would concur with, living with acne is very difficult, it's hard to look people straight in the eye, and it's just downright embarrassing, completely changing the way one lives life.

Unfortunately, I can't go around the dermatologist and just get the minocylcine myself because it is a prescription-only medication. I have done some research on getting drugs through online websites and other countries, but these methods are unknown and expensive. What I'm upset about is that the U.S. pharmaceutical industry forces citizens to go to a dermatologist/ other doctor to get drugs such as 100mg minocycline, costing the average citizen hundreds of dollars. It's to me completely a racket for the medical profession. Other countries sell these drugs over the counter, but NOOOO in the U.S. we are forced to be tied down by a doctor, even though we know what drug we need. I'm not even sure who to blame, whether it's the medical field, the pharmaceutical industry, or U.S. Laws. I'm just pissed off and not gonna take it anymore! (Well, actually, I'll have to keep taking this drug). It's really an unfortunate situation and I'm sure there are other instances out there of people needing medication only to be restricted by this medicine racket.

End of rant. Please return to your normally scheduled activities.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

The Wedding Basher

I recently found out that 5 people whom I know pretty well had weddings this weekend. FIVE! 1 from dodgeball, 1 from high school, 2 from law school, and 1 of my close friend whose wedding I actually attended. I guess the weekend of Oct. 11-12 was some sort of auspicious day.

 

I’m not gonna lie, the jealous/ conceited/ bitter part of me shows up every time I don’t get invited to a wedding. The disappointment and bitterness gets a little hedged by justifying to myself that it was probably a small gathering and it’s totally up to the people getting married (i.e. it’s THEIR wedding), but there’s definitely been situations where other people in law school/ in the same friend circle also got invited but I did not. That feels like a snub. I don’t know what it’s like to be snubbed from an All-Star team or not win some sort of award even though you think you deserved it, but I’ve definitely been picked last in a pickup basketball game and it’s a similar feeling. Why not me? What did I do? I thought I was nice to that person? I gave that guy so many rides! What happened? Definitely a period when the five stages of depression set in, whether it’s guilt, denial, bargaining, and really, just humiliation. Maybe I didn’t give as good of an impression on that person as I thought. Maybe I’m not fancy/ successful/ high-status enough as that person. Maybe I should have wished them more happy birthdays on facebook. Dagnamit.

 

I also get petty by, in very sour-grapes like fashion, bashing the wedding to make myself feel better about not being invited. Well, it was too far away anyway; I would have had to spend way too much money attending that wedding. Well, I didn’t really know anybody at that wedding, I wouldn’t have had a good time. There’s also the very generic “O well weddings are stupid anyway.” The dirty secret for me, though, is that I LOVE weddings. I love going to a fancy venue and seeing all the fancy dishes, the fancy dresses, the fancy wedding cakes, the fancy chocolate fountain (not always provided). I LOVE going to the open bar and getting as much alcohol as possible, without much regret. I love attending a wedding because going to someone else’s wedding is really a great time; the ones actually getting married are really busy and spend a lot of money to put it on. I think weddings are very necessary to celebrate the union of 2 people and to “make it official” in the eyes of society. I love meeting random relatives/ friends of the bride/goom to get their life story. I even kind of like the speeches that people give (if they’re not too long /drawn out and have at least a hint of humor).

What I think gets me sometimes too is when people talk about how they have so-and-so wedding to go to this weekend and then next weekend they have 2 weddings to go to, yada yada yada. I have like a max of 3 weddings every year; I never get invited to my relatives’ weddings either because they’re in China/ they didn’t include me in their plans. Basically, I’d like to go to more weddings. It just feels good to be included in someone else’s special day, that they thought enough of me to make me feel special. Maybe there’s a name for this, like a wedding invite troll or a wedding invite panderer, maybe that’s who I am. Maybe I haven’t “reached that age” yet where everyone gets married ( I think I have, actually). It’s also probably because I don’t have a girlfriend/ significant other whose friends are all getting married neither. Sigh. So if you’re reading this, and if you think highly of me/ are on good terms with me/ can somewhat tolerate my behavior, feel free to throw this guy an invite. I won’t embarrass anybody (especially myself) and will give you a pretty decent wedding gift and in all likelihood won’t be able to bring an unexpected plus-one.

My wedding qualifications resume is attached:

-        Has experience with attending weddings.

-        Gave one speech at a wedding once

-        Never had to be dragged out of a wedding reception

-        Decent dancer, will help to energize the crowd

-        Arrives on time

-        Can do magic tricks if needed.

-        Likes chocolate fountains.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

Ebola

 

Right now the most rampant news story is the Ebola virus: the infections in West Africa, the cases in the U.S. where a patient dies. Every 2 years or so there seems to be one of these outbreak stories: West Nile, SARS, avian flu, Swine flu, etc., etc., etc. All in all it seems like the various governments across the world and Center for Disease Control have kept diseases well in check, limiting it to a few cases and very seldom in America. It hasn’t even come close to the sensationalized mass panic and quarantine, government conspiracy level that most infection movies get to (Outbreak, Contagion, etc.) But it is really interesting and fantastical to think about: a world where everyone’s set off from each other, where a disease can become airborne and infect others with a fatal malady just by breathing on them, completely overtaking earth and wiping out the entire human population in a matter of days before scientists can figure out a cure to stop the virus. Seems pretty fantastical, and of all the doomsday scenarios out there like a comet destroying earth, nuclear warfare, and the Zombie Apocalypse, a disease outbreak seems like the least likely.

Omoi o yoseru. In Japanese this is a very elegant expression for desire or admiring a person, or always having them on one’s mind. I imagine it’s what falling in love is like. During fantasy baseball season, baseball is always on my mind; I’m forced to consume large quantities of information about injuries, pitching matchups, and other baseball-related information, but now that it’s over, I find myself thinking about particular people. I’ve always been like this for some reason: once I get attached or interested in something, I dwell on it for awhile. And once I really, really, like a girl, I can’t stop thinking about her.

Time: I’ve always been very weird about making it to things on time. I am late more than I like to be, but I don’t think it’s a matter of losing track of the time, which I think is a problem for some people who are late, like, “All of a sudden I realized what time it was and I was late!” My problem is that I’m too cognizant of the time. I budget a certain amount of time for a certain activity (like making it somewhere) and I don’t want to expend more time than that to do the activity. I don’t like to get to places early because I’ll be wasting time waiting around, etc., so I (however illogically) try to get to places EXACTLY ON TIME, like making it just at first pitch. A bunch of critical flaws here: 1.) I don’t adjust for length of travel time, the longer the travel time, the more likely you’ll get stuck somewhere and increase the amount of time, 2.) some people consider being 5-10 minutes early “being on time,” so really by showing up exactly on time you’re late, 3.) I don’t learn/ punish myself enough for being late for things, like a “THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN” incentive, clearly because I continue to budget my time only in terms of when I HAVE to be somewhere. 4.) The basic, rudimentary concept that being early is always better! There is literally no downside to being early (well, except my irrational fear of wasting a couple minutes in the gap between getting there and the start time). Just bring a book, Bobby, check your Iphone, talk to people who are already there, DO SOMETHING! BE EARLY!

I guess it’s just one of those hard-to-fix quirks of mine that some people might have, like needing the room to be a certain temperature, or needing to be in the left lane despite not traveling the fastest, etc., this is my Achilles’ heel.

 

Fantasize on,

 

Robert Yan

A Fantastical Friday Afternoon

 

Friday afternoon. The calm before the storm. The final resting point before the furious action that is weekend of a fantasy baseball weekend. For fantasy baseball nerds, there is nothing like it. The adds have been made, lineup decisions are final. The rest is really just up to the fantasy baseball gods. There is a certain calmness and predictability in knowing that for the next 48 hours, there will be unpredictability: pitchers will be blown up, infuriating errors will be made, bad umpires will influence the course of the matchup, hitters will change the entire course of history with one swing of the bat. It’s tough knowing that there’s not much to know you can do about it but enjoy.
Fantasy baseball, especially head-to-head fantasy baseball playoffs, is one of the most nerve-wracking times of my life. There’s really no high like it: While I get a thrill from riding a roller coaster or playing dodgeball, both those are pretty momentary and “in the moment”: when I’m done with those activities they fade away into memory. But fantasy baseball is breathing, evolving, changing every moment. You have to react or else get left behind. That is a very captivating feeling, and I often find myself listing out my lineup and replaying strategies in my head while in the car, in the bathroom, while I’m talking to my mother, and at all different kinds of the day. But the most gratifying time is just watching the games. Friday night, every major league team (except sometimes those playing at Wrigley Field) is in play. There are often 7, 10, sometimes even 13 games going on at the same time. You tune into one game to catch an at-bat only to realize someone else on your team has homered elsewhere. Your starting pitching gets out of a bases-loaded jam, but before you can even breathe a sigh of relief your relief pitcher’s given up a long home run to your opponent’s best hitter. For those hours on Friday afternoon, especially on the West Coast, I block out everything else and am glad I hurried to finish my work earlier in the afternoon.
I realize, though, that there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Fantasy baseball is the greatest game ever. Let the games begin.

 

Fantasize on,

 

Robert Yan

 

Fantasy Football Dictionary

Pretty self explanatory here. A necessary guide for all fantasy football newbies, but there’s some insightful comments for even the most savvy fantasy veterans here.

Streaming- Can stream basically any position, but like pitching in baseball, the most easy positions to stream (and most impactful) are QB and Def. Streaming QB’s can feast on a weak defense, while Defenses can feast on a weak offense, sometimes more so than a supposedly legit weekly option can. (Exhibit A: San Diego D v. NY Jets, or any Defense v. Oakland)

Fantasy zombie – a fantasy player (usually old or over the hill) who is left for dead by almost everyone in fantasy circles but then COMES ALIVE with some great performances. (Exhibit A: 34-year-old Antonio Gates reeling in 2 TD’s last weekend)

Stud – standards differ as to what constitutes a stud, but generally top 5 at each position qualifies, and I’ve seen that parameter stretch out to top 10 and top 20. Thus, very devastating when you lose a stud to injury, especially if it’s a RB and you haven’t grabbed their handcuff (See handcuff).

Bellcow – very rare situation nowadays where one RB gets almost all of a team’s rushing carries. Sometimes coaches promise that a RB will become the bellcow but they’re actually just another Holstein in the pack, thus frustrating you endlessly. Bellcows also tend to get goal-line opportunities, fending off touchdown vultures (RB’s who only come in during goal-line situations and thus steal TD’s that are rightfully other RB’s) in the process.

Handcuff- getting the backup RB to a team’s starting RB, a crucial act especially with the lack of bellcow running backs out there and increasing amount of injuries.

Waiver wire – the most important resource in any league, anytime, unless you’re in the deepest format ever and no one’s available. Still, there should always be room to get a kicker, a DEF, or a QB (in a 1-QB format, that is)

Monday night miracle- a double-edged sword, could be when you’ve all but given up hope after Sunday’s games and only have one measly guy going on Monday night needing 20 or 30 points, all but impossible. Then the impossible happens and Deshawn Jackson gets 157 yards and 2TD’s (like last night) and you snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat. (Or if your opponent performs the miracle, snap defeat from the jaws of victory). One of the more exhilarating things in all of sports in the midst of Monday night miracle and still wondering if it will fully consummate.

Noodle arm- Ryan Fitzpatrick. Christian Ponder. Derek Carr. Weak-armed QB’s are generally not going to cut it in fantasy football.

Rosterbating – “getting excited” about one’s roster, especially after adding a waiver wire darling (i.e. Branden Oliver. Notice a lot of Chargers in these comments?) and making one’s team stronger. Rosterbating can happen at any time but is most frequently done after free agent/ waiver wire adds have processed, a trade has been agreed to, or most frequently, the draft, when the highest amount of player movement happens.

Sleeper- there are no sleepers in fantasy football anymore because of the accessibility of the internet and other mediums of information, but way back when it stood for a player that was previously unheralded and would have a high chance of doing well despite limited popularity. Nowadays, the opposite probably is true, where the supposed “sleepers” are targeted by everyone and get an inflated value whereas established veterans/ less heralded less “sexy” players are better values.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

The Greatest game I've ever seen

 

I don’t really think in terms of individual games when I think of sports events. There’s of course my first Chicago Cubs game (1998 where Mark McGwire hit 1 homer but Sammy Sosa hit 2) and my first ever Chicago Bulls game (against Yao Ming) and my first and last Oakland Raiders game (as detailed previously), but those were live events. Especially with Sportscenter compressing all of the day’s sports action into one single show and cutting down on my need to watch a game in its entirety and thus produce a lasting memory of it, I don’t really remember singular sports games that I see on TV. What helps is if I’m doing something different in real life while watching the game (in a new environment, in a stressful situation, on vacation in a new place, etc.).  For example, ditching work to watch NCAA March Madness games at a local bar, or being the only guy wearing a Bulls jersey at the airport right before takeoff watching the Bulls lose Game 6 to the Philadelphia Sixers in devastating fashion. Filter those out, and all the games I watch at home on my TV sitting in the same spot seem to blend together. That is, except, for games that are just incredible in of themselves.

Tuesday night’s Oakland A’s- Kansas City Royals one-game playoff was one of those events. The concept of a one-game playoff is pretty appealing in itself: the NFL consists of one-game playoffs and are the most well-received and viewed events of the year, so it’s a treat when baseball rewards us with some. Going into this game, a rare “pick’em” situation had materialized in betting circles: oddsmakers thought the A’s and Royals had the same chances of winning.

I’ll let narrators more capable than myself break down the game, but what stuck out to me was the number of times both teams put men on base. Neither team was known for their home run abilities and more for a “chipping” offense, especially the Royals, and they lived up to that reputation. That’s what the baseball playoffs are all about: men on base, tie game or very close game, every pitch could change the course of the whole game. Very seldom in the ADD environment nowadays of having multiple games on at once do we concentrate on one game and one game only, but that game captivated my attention. Some old foggies site one of the really tight games as happening because “there was something in the air that night,” but I tend to think it’s when baseball forces align, both teams were evenly matched, and the one-game playoff brought the best out of both, fighting and scratching and doing whatever they could to win the game. And us spectators were the beneficiaries.

 

Going to the Angels Royals Game 1 tonight Game 1 ALDS!!!! Thunderstix! Rally monkey! The Big A! 2-hour traffic from downtown to get to the game! Mike Trout! Angels bats v. Jason Vargas! Jered Weaver! No more magic for the Royals! Light up the halo! YES! YES! YES!

 

Fantasize on,

 

Robert Yan

Great Things about Going to the Zoo on a Date

I went on a date to the Los Angeles Zoo this past Sunday. Really great day, not too hot, so I’m probably biased, but it went really well. Here’s why:

 

1.)    Most people love animals, from kids to young adults to the older generation. There’s really no risk of being disappointed, you’re gonna at least see a few animals. Totally different from the hustle and bustle of the day or the random sightings of deer/ squirrels/ rabbits (or even coyotes in the L.A. area) out in the wild. Your date has a high chance of saying “yes” just to go to the zoo as opposed to proposing to go to (Choose sports event) because they’re not interested.

2.)    Everyone has at least one favorite animal. Great conversation topic, and great excuse to head in a certain direction or at least have a target destination. For me, the gorilla exhibit at the L.A. Zoo is always the highlight of my trip, which is probably why it’s in the center of the zoo and has the most spectators at any time. They’re a family!

3.)    Maybe particular to me, but it’s a great way to learn vocabulary about animals in different languages! Even in English I have trouble with a lot of animal names (who knew what a cassowary?) Throw in a Chinese speaker (my date was, and I guess I am) and it’s a great review lesson for foreign languages. There was also of course Spanish written on the displays of many of the exhibits. Great. Quick lesson: seals are 海豹 (azarashi in Japanese) while sea otters are海獭 orラッコ(Japanese). Hardly knew the difference before!

4.)    I like day dates much more than night dates. Night dates are usually Friday night and Saturday night when everyone else in the world is going on dates, tables are hard to obtain, alcohol is expensive, and everywhere is crowded. The zoo is only open during the day, it’s not exactly the hottest ticket in town and there’s plenty of parking spaces/ walking room.

5.)    Creates some great photo opportunities. If you and your date are getting serious and you actually want to be seen in public, that is. Not great for random hookups/ non-serious flings, etc. Which is not what I am about.

6.)    You’re actually going to enjoy yourself! I hate going on dates that don’t go anywhere and I have to bend to the whims of others, and it seems more like work than anything, or like a job interview. No, I don’t want to sit down for 2 hours and sit across from you and just go over everything. This is my free time, too, and I’d like to spend it doing something that I enjoy, thank you.

7.)    It’s not that costly. Date night usually costs me around $80-$100 depending on what we do. The zoo is a fixed cost of $18 per person, plus maybe parking costs and a meal inside, pretty much like watching a movie, except I don’t have to sit through another contrived spin-off a show that is geared more towards making money off of me than delivering actually quality. The zoo is designed to make money too, but you know what you’re getting yourself into and you won’t be able to replicate that experience 2 months later on Netflix.

8.)    Get some exercise! I hate going on a date and coming back bloated/ knowing I’m gonna gain weight today because I spent the time just sitting down. Walking around the zoo is a nice little walk, probably a 3-mile walk all the way around, and I genuinely feel kind of tired at the end of it.

9.)    Lot of couples with kids milling around. I’m not a romantic guy, but even a lifeless android like me got a little sentimental and idealistic seeing all the strollers being wheeled around, hinting at life could be in the future should this thing go further…….something I value more than the drinking hookups (or hookup failures in my case) at bars.

10.) Be a kid! Life flashes before your eyes and before you know it you’re in your late-twenties, having to go to work all the time, having to pay bills and do adults things, all the while being pressured by your parents to find someone, which necessitated the date in the first place. Going to the zoo allows you to feel like you’re on a 6^th grade class field trip again, full of energy and getting away from it all once again, except this time you’re doing it with someone you love/like/are going out with to see if you possibly will like or love sometime in the future.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan