Yup- I'm still counting it down.
Also, there's like 40 days left until the start of the baseball season, and more importantly, the fantasy baseball season. Can't wait.
Quick rundown in the day of hoops, a fantasy tidbit from each game, real bread n' butter fantasy guru ( I have Everybody Loves Raymond to watch in 6 minutes) :
1.) Charlotte over Indiana:
G-wall is back, and he's taking control: close to a triple-double tonight, great numbers: but it's against the Pacers, a phrase that means, "curb your enthusiasm"
2.) Cleveland over Toronto:
Anderson Varejao, a.k.a. Carlito, grabbed 14 rebounds = still fantasy relevant.
3.) Denver over Philadelphia:
Recentally, Chris Anderson stated instead of "Birdman" he wanted to be called "Bird-zilla." Wow. Hey, keep posting 4 or more blks for me every night, Chris, and I'll call u anything you want. Sonny Weems IS actually a basketball player and not just J.R. Smith's wierd helper! No way!
4.) Minnesota over Miami:
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the best line Sebastian Telfair will ever put up ever again: 30 pts, 6 3's, 10-10 FT's, 8 asts, 5 TO's, 1 stl. Frame it and put it on your wall, Sebastian.
5.) N. Orleans (where I'm going for spring break) over Orlando:
J.J. Redick shot three more 3's (four) than Peja (one?) what is this world comin to?
6.) Chicago over Milwaukee: Ramon Sessions, welcome back to earth: 12 pts on 5-13, 4 asts against 4 TO's is very luke ridnour-like. Except being white and all.
7.) Dallas over New Jersey:
Finally, J-Kidd beat the guy he was traded for, Devin Harris. Kidd had more 3's, more asts, less turnovers, and more points. Eat your heart out, Mark Cuban. And Antoine Wright had 20 pts. Who?
8.) Atlanta over Sacramento:
Bibby rocked it in his old stomping grounds. Hey Sac, ain't getting better w/o John Salmons, folks.
9.) Portland over Memphis: Darius Miles w/ 4 blks? Was he guarding Sun Yue or someone?
Rudy Gay mildly making me regret trading him.
10.) Phoenix over LA: Al Thornton with 33 points: But he's no Kevin Durant.
11.) Lakers over Warriors: I saw this game and Jamal Crawford literally scored 10 points in garbage time. Man that man manages to look good even in losses.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
4.)
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
All-star weekend '09
Watching the NBA all-star weekend festivities. I personally think the best part of the weekend, and the one that should get the most ratings/ is the most entertaining, is the saturday part: the contests: shooting stars, skills challenge, 3-point contest, and dunk contest.
Last year I wanted to make a stand and make some predictions, and they fell flat in my face. This year, I'm goin' big or goin' home.
I woulda picked Phoenix in the shooting stars challenge...........that woulda fell on my face.
Here's my pick for skills: it's down to tow, rose or harris: I'll take d-harris.
3-point contest: gotta take kapono again.
Dunk contest: Dwight Howard.
Man, so not a very difficult contest to handicap, both favorites are defending champs.
Last year I wanted to make a stand and make some predictions, and they fell flat in my face. This year, I'm goin' big or goin' home.
I woulda picked Phoenix in the shooting stars challenge...........that woulda fell on my face.
Here's my pick for skills: it's down to tow, rose or harris: I'll take d-harris.
3-point contest: gotta take kapono again.
Dunk contest: Dwight Howard.
Man, so not a very difficult contest to handicap, both favorites are defending champs.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
What were you doing in eighth grade?
As part of this special early-February weekend blogging binge on the spelling bee, this post is somewhat of a mix between 2 of my fav things: fantasy sports and spelling bees.
So we all remember what eighth grade was like: For some of us, it happened not too long ago and we have vivid memories of what occurred. For others, we age and we forget. But I believe everyone can at least recall some sights, sounds, smells, and emotions of their time in eighth grade and live back on it, whether it's the feel of the wintry breeze on your face in a snowball fight, the pounding of a teacher's ruler on your desk, the smell of bad cafeteria food wafting into your classroom before lunch, or the butterflies you get in your stomach upon deciding the girl two lockers down is worthy of puppy love. Lemme share mine: In eight grade, I was reading Brian Jacques books, almost the whole series, from Matthias, to the Bellmaker, to the Long Patrol. All very good. I was going to high school in the morning for some math classes, I thought I was a badass for being able to swear profusely, but was also just getting to understand what maturity was all about, I graduated from junior high NOT the valedictorian (that went to Katie Sulkowski) in what was soon to be a series of setbacks, I was continuing my nascent chess career that would continue into high school, I played violin without passion and with the motivation of satisfying my parents, and I liked to watch episodes of Beast Wars and Home Improvement before and after I got home. O, and I didn't know how to drive yet. Wow, that must have been tough.
The following are what I think certain people did when they were in eighth grade and what they do now, or vice versa (you'll see).
Lebron James then: Lebron probably was just as studly as he was now, playing b-ball with the big boys, throwing down monster dunks, being an athletic freak. His parents probably called him "the king," he liked to go outside in the wintertime, scoop up some snow in both hands, and throw them in the air with arms outstretched, understanding that some short years later he would be make that his signature move in the NBA.
Josh Smith then: Josh Smith was the human eraser. On any tests or homework assignments, he liked to scribble something on his paper just to furiously erase it, so emphatically in fact that he would gain a lot of attention from his peers. The one thing that really got people's attention, though, was when he reached over to OTHER people's papers and started erasing as well. Just when those people thought that they had written something good, Josh Smith would come over and destroy their work. He would do this all smoothly
Josh Smith now: J-Smoove does the same thing he did in the NBA, except with basketballs, and he does it w/ pazzaz.
Anurag Kashyap then: In 2005 as an eighth-grader, Anurag Kashyap won the National Spelling Bee and became one of the more legendary winners ever, becoming a main character in James Maguire's spelling bee book, getting on the ESPY awards and doing a skit with Matthew Perry a la friends, and doing it with style when girls screamed for him on his last word, he hugged his dad in tears, and in one of the longest championship rounds at the National Spelling Bee ever.
Anurag Kashyap now: A mere 3.5 years later, Anurag, as a senior in high school, competed and won the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament, hosted by Alec Trebek. His last question in final Jeopoardy didn't even matter, as he had double the points of any of his closest competitors, further proving that this guy is a beast. What's next for him? Hosting his own news network? First man on Neptune? Men's Magazine cover? Our next President? Sheesh.
Barry Bonds now: Being indicted for perjury, may go to jail for lying about use of steroids
Barry Bonds then: started creeping into his parents' medicine cabinet, found some weird-looking needles, got curious......
Michael Phelps now: Most well-known Olympic athlete in the country, reputation tarnished by pictures of him doing a bong.
Michael Phelps then: After a long day of practice in the pool, young Michael meets up with his friends after school, they get bored, they know of one "Doug Wheeler" across the street who may have some mind-altering substances......
Matthew Evans now: In 2008 National Spelling bee, came back for a fifth-straight year and didn't win, but became famous for lugging around a laptop with about 30,000 words:
Matthew Evans later: In 2020, Matthew Evans becomes first person from New Mexico to ever do something...........He creates new Evans' New Dictionary, filled with cool new words nobody's ever heard of.
Samir Patel now: Possibly most famous spelling bee contestant ever, definitely the best contestant ever not to win. Very entertaining, fist-pumping, knuckle-cracking young man always seemed prepared, was ready for a comment, and was made for Tv.
Samir Patel then: In 2015, Samir Patel takes over for Conan O'Brien on NBC's the Late show w/ Samir Patel. His first joke: "Yes, now even your late-night television has been outsourced."
Baron Davis now: Universally recognized as a great point guard with very flashy skills, but posts atrocious FG%'s and turnover numbers.
Baron Davis then: Instead of building things with legos, loved to go out in the neighborhood and accumulate bricks and build things, which really irritated his parents and also other kids who were watching him do this. He also loved apple turnover, cranberry turnover, lost-ball turnover, step-out-of-bounds turnover.........
Richie Sexson now: swing-and-a-miss
Richie Sexson then: swing-and-a-miss
Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, and Ron Artest now: Tale of the walking wounded
Yao Ming, T-Mac, and Ron-Ron then: Yao steps on earthworm, slips, gum slips out of his pocket, T-Mac comes over and slips on the gum, forcing him to let go of the cotton balls in his hand, hitting Ron Artest squarely in the upper thigh. All out for the season.
Shaquille O'Neal now: In 2007, started show called "Shaq's Big Challenge"
Shaquille O'Neal then: Attended a summer camp called "Camp Big Challenge"
Josephine Kao now: studying hard for another 107 days (That's the subtle countdown that I threw in today) with the support of an awesome, entertaining, can't-miss-a-post blog called Fantasysportguru.
Josephine Kao then: In 2019, ten years after winning the 2009 National Spelling Bee and graduating from (insert awesome college here) University, she remembers what she did in eighth grade.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
So we all remember what eighth grade was like: For some of us, it happened not too long ago and we have vivid memories of what occurred. For others, we age and we forget. But I believe everyone can at least recall some sights, sounds, smells, and emotions of their time in eighth grade and live back on it, whether it's the feel of the wintry breeze on your face in a snowball fight, the pounding of a teacher's ruler on your desk, the smell of bad cafeteria food wafting into your classroom before lunch, or the butterflies you get in your stomach upon deciding the girl two lockers down is worthy of puppy love. Lemme share mine: In eight grade, I was reading Brian Jacques books, almost the whole series, from Matthias, to the Bellmaker, to the Long Patrol. All very good. I was going to high school in the morning for some math classes, I thought I was a badass for being able to swear profusely, but was also just getting to understand what maturity was all about, I graduated from junior high NOT the valedictorian (that went to Katie Sulkowski) in what was soon to be a series of setbacks, I was continuing my nascent chess career that would continue into high school, I played violin without passion and with the motivation of satisfying my parents, and I liked to watch episodes of Beast Wars and Home Improvement before and after I got home. O, and I didn't know how to drive yet. Wow, that must have been tough.
The following are what I think certain people did when they were in eighth grade and what they do now, or vice versa (you'll see).
Lebron James then: Lebron probably was just as studly as he was now, playing b-ball with the big boys, throwing down monster dunks, being an athletic freak. His parents probably called him "the king," he liked to go outside in the wintertime, scoop up some snow in both hands, and throw them in the air with arms outstretched, understanding that some short years later he would be make that his signature move in the NBA.
Josh Smith then: Josh Smith was the human eraser. On any tests or homework assignments, he liked to scribble something on his paper just to furiously erase it, so emphatically in fact that he would gain a lot of attention from his peers. The one thing that really got people's attention, though, was when he reached over to OTHER people's papers and started erasing as well. Just when those people thought that they had written something good, Josh Smith would come over and destroy their work. He would do this all smoothly
Josh Smith now: J-Smoove does the same thing he did in the NBA, except with basketballs, and he does it w/ pazzaz.
Anurag Kashyap then: In 2005 as an eighth-grader, Anurag Kashyap won the National Spelling Bee and became one of the more legendary winners ever, becoming a main character in James Maguire's spelling bee book, getting on the ESPY awards and doing a skit with Matthew Perry a la friends, and doing it with style when girls screamed for him on his last word, he hugged his dad in tears, and in one of the longest championship rounds at the National Spelling Bee ever.
Anurag Kashyap now: A mere 3.5 years later, Anurag, as a senior in high school, competed and won the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament, hosted by Alec Trebek. His last question in final Jeopoardy didn't even matter, as he had double the points of any of his closest competitors, further proving that this guy is a beast. What's next for him? Hosting his own news network? First man on Neptune? Men's Magazine cover? Our next President? Sheesh.
Barry Bonds now: Being indicted for perjury, may go to jail for lying about use of steroids
Barry Bonds then: started creeping into his parents' medicine cabinet, found some weird-looking needles, got curious......
Michael Phelps now: Most well-known Olympic athlete in the country, reputation tarnished by pictures of him doing a bong.
Michael Phelps then: After a long day of practice in the pool, young Michael meets up with his friends after school, they get bored, they know of one "Doug Wheeler" across the street who may have some mind-altering substances......
Matthew Evans now: In 2008 National Spelling bee, came back for a fifth-straight year and didn't win, but became famous for lugging around a laptop with about 30,000 words:
Matthew Evans later: In 2020, Matthew Evans becomes first person from New Mexico to ever do something...........He creates new Evans' New Dictionary, filled with cool new words nobody's ever heard of.
Samir Patel now: Possibly most famous spelling bee contestant ever, definitely the best contestant ever not to win. Very entertaining, fist-pumping, knuckle-cracking young man always seemed prepared, was ready for a comment, and was made for Tv.
Samir Patel then: In 2015, Samir Patel takes over for Conan O'Brien on NBC's the Late show w/ Samir Patel. His first joke: "Yes, now even your late-night television has been outsourced."
Baron Davis now: Universally recognized as a great point guard with very flashy skills, but posts atrocious FG%'s and turnover numbers.
Baron Davis then: Instead of building things with legos, loved to go out in the neighborhood and accumulate bricks and build things, which really irritated his parents and also other kids who were watching him do this. He also loved apple turnover, cranberry turnover, lost-ball turnover, step-out-of-bounds turnover.........
Richie Sexson now: swing-and-a-miss
Richie Sexson then: swing-and-a-miss
Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, and Ron Artest now: Tale of the walking wounded
Yao Ming, T-Mac, and Ron-Ron then: Yao steps on earthworm, slips, gum slips out of his pocket, T-Mac comes over and slips on the gum, forcing him to let go of the cotton balls in his hand, hitting Ron Artest squarely in the upper thigh. All out for the season.
Shaquille O'Neal now: In 2007, started show called "Shaq's Big Challenge"
Shaquille O'Neal then: Attended a summer camp called "Camp Big Challenge"
Josephine Kao now: studying hard for another 107 days (That's the subtle countdown that I threw in today) with the support of an awesome, entertaining, can't-miss-a-post blog called Fantasysportguru.
Josephine Kao then: In 2019, ten years after winning the 2009 National Spelling Bee and graduating from (insert awesome college here) University, she remembers what she did in eighth grade.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Saturday, February 7, 2009
The Josephine Kao Effect- Why I will be watching the Spelling Bee this year
What up gang,
I told you I'd be a little elusive since 2nd semester of law school started, but felt I needed to check in. Unfortunately, for those of you looking for fantasy-related stuff, that's next post, and I promise I'll post more often. I've made a "contract," if you will, with myself that binds me to that promise. It's like an attorney-client relationship: You click the mouse, I protect your (fantasy house).
Anyway, today I want to turn back to something that was one of the highlights of my 2008 year: The 2008 National Spelling Bee. Not just the actual spelling bee itself, but the events that led up to it. (But if you do want to see my thoughts on last year's bee, look up what I wrote last summer w/ posts on June 1st and June 7th).
First off, I am no spelling whiz. In junior high, I had 3 chances at spelling bee glory and failed miserably all 3 times: 1.) My first year I actually got to the school spelling bee, where I was eliminated on the word "melisha," or at least, how i spelled it. It was only later I found it it was militia, which seems obvious to any clear-minded adult now but was a mystery to me back there, i thought it was either a term for a cute-looking girl or some sort of watery cesspool, one of the 2. )The next year I was eliminated on "winsome" when I thought my teacher pronounced it "windsome," which might be a word? I didn't think to ask for a re-pronunciation back in the day, and I still contest that she didn't say it that well, kind of like the infamous "banns" controversy in the "Spellbound movie." 3.) My last time through, I also advanced to the school spelling bee, knocked out on "opthamology"- I think that's how you spell it. Tough word for an 8th grader.
Anyways, my point is that almost all kids have some memory of going through a spelling bee. Most of us remember that word that we got out on, the few seconds of disappointment of what could have been, then go back to our normal lives. I think for the few exceptional students who make it to the Scripps National Spelling Bee every year, it just makes it so much more amazing that they're there. They compete against 20 million other students across the country in this competition, PLUS spellers from foreign countries. Every time there's a national spelling bee, then, it's a compilation of some of the smartest, most hard-working, competitive, and hope-inspiring kids that come across the country to compete for one goal, and I think it's one of the best aspects of our country. ( And people say U.S. is behind in education? pssshhhh).
I know there's a few blogs out there that cover the National Spelling Bee in-depth on the days of the spelling bee, but I'd like to throw my name in the hat, and if you guys are long-time readers you know I provide smart, funny analysis of live games, and I'm gonna pour my heart into blogging for the spelling bee this year as well.
I'm also going to be updating the blog on days leading up to the big event, like a "only 20 days until Christmas sort of thing." So this year, the spelling bee is May 26-28, starting on a Tuesday, so we only have 108 Days Until the National Spelling Bee! Yay! But yea, lemme build up the hype, come along for the ride, I promise you're gonna like it.
So what's this Josephine Kao effect, you might wonder? Well, last year I was really impressed with several of the spellers in the spelling bee and blogged about a few being formidable contestants for this year, and I identified most with Josephine cuz she's a fellow Californian, a fellow Asian-American (I'm assuming this is right, correct me if I'm wrong), and it didn't hurt that she got an interview on ESPN with Erin Andrews ( who if you don't know, EVERY male sports fan wants to have a prolonged conversation with).
Anyway, I blogged about Josephine and her mad spelling skills, and she actually read the blog and commented back! (At least, someone claiming to be her) Yay! Proof that hard work pays off, and that I'm not just writing about nothing! Haha, but yea, my post was very sincere, every spelling bee that I have watched I have a favorite, and I root for that person. So needless to say, I've hopped on the Josephine Kao bandwagon. I feel like I should make a catchy shirt that says, "Josephine: the spelling queen" and have Erin Andrews come interview me at the spelling bee as a super-fan. Meanwhile, Josephine and many other young spellers are studying really hard right now just preparing for that day 4 months away when they can showcase their skills, leave it all out on the microphone, and put their spelling where their mouth is.
So that's that. Make sure you get ready to watch the spelling bee this year, make plans to come back to this blog on those days to get the latest update on the bee, even if you're watching the bee you should come on here just to read the posts, I promise to keep it entertaining for you.
Fanaticize on,
Robert Yan
I told you I'd be a little elusive since 2nd semester of law school started, but felt I needed to check in. Unfortunately, for those of you looking for fantasy-related stuff, that's next post, and I promise I'll post more often. I've made a "contract," if you will, with myself that binds me to that promise. It's like an attorney-client relationship: You click the mouse, I protect your (fantasy house).
Anyway, today I want to turn back to something that was one of the highlights of my 2008 year: The 2008 National Spelling Bee. Not just the actual spelling bee itself, but the events that led up to it. (But if you do want to see my thoughts on last year's bee, look up what I wrote last summer w/ posts on June 1st and June 7th).
First off, I am no spelling whiz. In junior high, I had 3 chances at spelling bee glory and failed miserably all 3 times: 1.) My first year I actually got to the school spelling bee, where I was eliminated on the word "melisha," or at least, how i spelled it. It was only later I found it it was militia, which seems obvious to any clear-minded adult now but was a mystery to me back there, i thought it was either a term for a cute-looking girl or some sort of watery cesspool, one of the 2. )The next year I was eliminated on "winsome" when I thought my teacher pronounced it "windsome," which might be a word? I didn't think to ask for a re-pronunciation back in the day, and I still contest that she didn't say it that well, kind of like the infamous "banns" controversy in the "Spellbound movie." 3.) My last time through, I also advanced to the school spelling bee, knocked out on "opthamology"- I think that's how you spell it. Tough word for an 8th grader.
Anyways, my point is that almost all kids have some memory of going through a spelling bee. Most of us remember that word that we got out on, the few seconds of disappointment of what could have been, then go back to our normal lives. I think for the few exceptional students who make it to the Scripps National Spelling Bee every year, it just makes it so much more amazing that they're there. They compete against 20 million other students across the country in this competition, PLUS spellers from foreign countries. Every time there's a national spelling bee, then, it's a compilation of some of the smartest, most hard-working, competitive, and hope-inspiring kids that come across the country to compete for one goal, and I think it's one of the best aspects of our country. ( And people say U.S. is behind in education? pssshhhh).
I know there's a few blogs out there that cover the National Spelling Bee in-depth on the days of the spelling bee, but I'd like to throw my name in the hat, and if you guys are long-time readers you know I provide smart, funny analysis of live games, and I'm gonna pour my heart into blogging for the spelling bee this year as well.
I'm also going to be updating the blog on days leading up to the big event, like a "only 20 days until Christmas sort of thing." So this year, the spelling bee is May 26-28, starting on a Tuesday, so we only have 108 Days Until the National Spelling Bee! Yay! But yea, lemme build up the hype, come along for the ride, I promise you're gonna like it.
So what's this Josephine Kao effect, you might wonder? Well, last year I was really impressed with several of the spellers in the spelling bee and blogged about a few being formidable contestants for this year, and I identified most with Josephine cuz she's a fellow Californian, a fellow Asian-American (I'm assuming this is right, correct me if I'm wrong), and it didn't hurt that she got an interview on ESPN with Erin Andrews ( who if you don't know, EVERY male sports fan wants to have a prolonged conversation with).
Anyway, I blogged about Josephine and her mad spelling skills, and she actually read the blog and commented back! (At least, someone claiming to be her) Yay! Proof that hard work pays off, and that I'm not just writing about nothing! Haha, but yea, my post was very sincere, every spelling bee that I have watched I have a favorite, and I root for that person. So needless to say, I've hopped on the Josephine Kao bandwagon. I feel like I should make a catchy shirt that says, "Josephine: the spelling queen" and have Erin Andrews come interview me at the spelling bee as a super-fan. Meanwhile, Josephine and many other young spellers are studying really hard right now just preparing for that day 4 months away when they can showcase their skills, leave it all out on the microphone, and put their spelling where their mouth is.
So that's that. Make sure you get ready to watch the spelling bee this year, make plans to come back to this blog on those days to get the latest update on the bee, even if you're watching the bee you should come on here just to read the posts, I promise to keep it entertaining for you.
Fanaticize on,
Robert Yan
Friday, January 9, 2009
50 states, 50 jobs
Anyone else intrigued about this ongoing story about a college grad going across the country to work a different job in each of the 50 states? http://www.ksnt.com/home/ticker/36673669.html I find it fascinating, and it made me wonder:
1.) Where does this guy sleep? He sleep in his car/ find an apartment for just one week, and then move on? Or does he do the "rely on the kindness of others" bit?
2.) Really, he's 26 and he couldn't find one job w/ an econ degree from USC? That's scary?
3.) How many bad jokes did he try to pull on employers when he got rejected from 40+ interviews? Man, that's devastating.
4.) Would a non-white person be able to do this? Never mind getting on CNN w/ an Asian face like mine, but most of the jobs he does (Morman church boy, rodeo announcer, wedding director) are pretty stereotypically white jobs, and I just wonder if the employers would hire a non-white person to do it. Not to be racist, but that's just the reality: If I applied for a job as a pallbearer at a Catholic church in a pre-dominantly white neighborhood, I'm not sure they'd hire me under any circumstances.
5.) #4 aside, Why didn't I do something like before him? Urg, I love doing odd jobs and volunteering and such, this would have been awesome to get some publicity, be America's hero, and at least find a job.
Urg. Anyway, inspired by this dude, I'm now appreciative of NBA players who do more than just one job: play defense, be a good teammate, show up in an NBA cares commercial, be a good father. But on the fantasy side, here's some lesser-known players (we all know about wade, lebron, chris paul) who do more than just one job on the cats, a little of everything:
1.) Rasheed Wallace: is just a pure athlete but playing center most of the time, opening him up for the usual cats of rebounds and blks, but he plays on the perimeter so he averages more than 1 three a game and picks up loose steals as well, with some assists peppered in as well. His most important job, though, in my opinion, is to keep those turnovers down (just 1.1 TO's per game), which really makes him valuable cuz he gets all his #'s with only half the tradeoff.
2.) Jason Kidd: he's done it for a long time, but worth mentioning cuz even though he's no longer an elite NBA player, his fantasy stats are rejuvenated this year w/ his usual triple-double #'s (pts, rebs, asts) but a very-high steals total this year as well. On the trey department, Kidd is like the veteran waiter at your favorite local restaurant, he just keeps serving'em up.
3.) Vince Carter: What T-Mac was and is supposed to be today, VC still revs up those roto numbers, and I'm always fascinated by how he averages four and a half dimes a season, even when Kidd was in New Jersey too, but then I realize how much he hogs the ball, as long as he makes one pass to someone open he gets one. But 1.9 three's and 20+ pts every season, that's already good enough, but 80%+ FT shooting and about 1.0 stl's are also tasty goodies.
Alrighty then, Monday law school starts up again and I'll be in a funk. However, I have a feeling this NBA season will get even more interesting, and I'll have no choice but to post.
See ya.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
1.) Where does this guy sleep? He sleep in his car/ find an apartment for just one week, and then move on? Or does he do the "rely on the kindness of others" bit?
2.) Really, he's 26 and he couldn't find one job w/ an econ degree from USC? That's scary?
3.) How many bad jokes did he try to pull on employers when he got rejected from 40+ interviews? Man, that's devastating.
4.) Would a non-white person be able to do this? Never mind getting on CNN w/ an Asian face like mine, but most of the jobs he does (Morman church boy, rodeo announcer, wedding director) are pretty stereotypically white jobs, and I just wonder if the employers would hire a non-white person to do it. Not to be racist, but that's just the reality: If I applied for a job as a pallbearer at a Catholic church in a pre-dominantly white neighborhood, I'm not sure they'd hire me under any circumstances.
5.) #4 aside, Why didn't I do something like before him? Urg, I love doing odd jobs and volunteering and such, this would have been awesome to get some publicity, be America's hero, and at least find a job.
Urg. Anyway, inspired by this dude, I'm now appreciative of NBA players who do more than just one job: play defense, be a good teammate, show up in an NBA cares commercial, be a good father. But on the fantasy side, here's some lesser-known players (we all know about wade, lebron, chris paul) who do more than just one job on the cats, a little of everything:
1.) Rasheed Wallace: is just a pure athlete but playing center most of the time, opening him up for the usual cats of rebounds and blks, but he plays on the perimeter so he averages more than 1 three a game and picks up loose steals as well, with some assists peppered in as well. His most important job, though, in my opinion, is to keep those turnovers down (just 1.1 TO's per game), which really makes him valuable cuz he gets all his #'s with only half the tradeoff.
2.) Jason Kidd: he's done it for a long time, but worth mentioning cuz even though he's no longer an elite NBA player, his fantasy stats are rejuvenated this year w/ his usual triple-double #'s (pts, rebs, asts) but a very-high steals total this year as well. On the trey department, Kidd is like the veteran waiter at your favorite local restaurant, he just keeps serving'em up.
3.) Vince Carter: What T-Mac was and is supposed to be today, VC still revs up those roto numbers, and I'm always fascinated by how he averages four and a half dimes a season, even when Kidd was in New Jersey too, but then I realize how much he hogs the ball, as long as he makes one pass to someone open he gets one. But 1.9 three's and 20+ pts every season, that's already good enough, but 80%+ FT shooting and about 1.0 stl's are also tasty goodies.
Alrighty then, Monday law school starts up again and I'll be in a funk. However, I have a feeling this NBA season will get even more interesting, and I'll have no choice but to post.
See ya.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Saturday, January 3, 2009
My fascination w/ Scott Turow
Scott Turow is my newest A.T.I.E.W, or Author that I'm enamored with. This guy knows how to write, and he's a lawyer. My kind of fella. Not
Turow's style is very engaging, told in a story format but also with enough sophistication and background about the legal system so as to give an informative twist to the story. In "Presumed Innocent," he assumes a first-person point of view masterfully, and it's as if we go through the long train of memory by the main character, Rusty Sabich, image by image. Not like comic-book style image by image w/ Spiderman flying through the New York sky to battle Dr. Octopus, but very real, very human emotions filled within the pages. (Instead of the peanut butter or cookie crumbs that usually somehow get into my books).
Here's a masterful passage:
"We were not, I realized later, lovers who fulfilled each other's needs. For all her pretense to sophistication, I found that she could border on the gross. She liked to talk dirty..........." Ok, sorry, wrong passage.
"I wonder at first if he is talking about the eulogy he is going to deliver. He has just looked over his notes again and is returning two index cards to the breast pocket of his blue beige suit." Very detailed, very indicative of what the main character is thinking, I love it.
O, for you law school nerds out there, put down the glannon civil procedure book, look up for your outlining, and put a brake on chasing ambulances to read "One L," a non-fiction about Turow's own passage through one-L year. Man it's scary, but it shows true bravery. Most non-lawyers would say the rite of passage to becoming a lawyer shows as much courage as taking out the garbage, but 1L year is hard, lemme tell ya.
Anyway, get on that like Latrell Sprewell's former wives get on Latrell Sprewell for child support. ("It's hard feeding your kids when you're an NBA player" )
Anyone ever see Andre Miller shoot? It's not a pretty site. It's like he's almost embarrassed to be tossing up the shot, he already knows beforehand it's not going in. Well, I just acquired him for ron artest.
Best moment for me of ron artest: Fight at Auburn Hills. Gots the crazed look in his eye like he's about to gut a chicken and splash the blood on somebody's face. We also get a nice pic of his armpit hair as he's lying on the scorer's table, as well as what's left of the one dude's face who's stupid enough to get in the way. That's like waving a red flag at a crazed bull, man. There will be consequences.
Predictions for the rest of the NBA season:
1.) Tony "I found myself the hottest woman in the world and made her my wife" Parker will finish with the best numbers of his career, at least scoring wise, as the Spurs' 3rd option, Ginobili, is hobbled, Tim Duncan cuts half a point off his scoring average each year he gets older, and the rest of the Spurs team couldn't hit Santa Clause's torso w/ a snowball (unlike Fred Claus, who did so repeatedly in the 2007 movie).
2.) Yao "he's my homeboy so I got nothing bad to say about him" Ming is gonna finish the year w/o a significant injury. Yay! And now that I said it he'll probably blow his ACL the next game. Seriously, though, he might have purchased an invisible circle of protection over the off-season cuz he's actually as healthy as salads this year.
3.) John "don't mistake me for trout cuz I'm actually" Salmons will become the #1 scoring option for the Kings this year. They got a lot of young offensive talent on that team but not enough D, and Kev-Mart will let go of that role and be Robin to Salmons's batman.
4.) Jarret "I'm definitely not a white cracker" jack will replace T.J. "does anyone know what the T and J stand for" Ford as the starting point guard for Indiana, either through consistent injuries or ford or just by merit.
5.) D.J. "I was actually born in November" Augustin will be Larry Brown's favorite, and cause Raymond "I reached down into my pants and" Felton to be jettisoned from north carolina for the first time in his life.
6.) Nene "don't be tellin' me I'm not funny" Hilario will be injured at some point in the season and be out. Seriously, this guy is the livin Frankenstein with 2 reconstructed knees, a new elbow, dented shoulder caps, and high cholestrol. If I were the nuggs, I'd check his eyes to make sure they weren't pulled out of someone else's sockets.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Turow's style is very engaging, told in a story format but also with enough sophistication and background about the legal system so as to give an informative twist to the story. In "Presumed Innocent," he assumes a first-person point of view masterfully, and it's as if we go through the long train of memory by the main character, Rusty Sabich, image by image. Not like comic-book style image by image w/ Spiderman flying through the New York sky to battle Dr. Octopus, but very real, very human emotions filled within the pages. (Instead of the peanut butter or cookie crumbs that usually somehow get into my books).
Here's a masterful passage:
"We were not, I realized later, lovers who fulfilled each other's needs. For all her pretense to sophistication, I found that she could border on the gross. She liked to talk dirty..........." Ok, sorry, wrong passage.
"I wonder at first if he is talking about the eulogy he is going to deliver. He has just looked over his notes again and is returning two index cards to the breast pocket of his blue beige suit." Very detailed, very indicative of what the main character is thinking, I love it.
O, for you law school nerds out there, put down the glannon civil procedure book, look up for your outlining, and put a brake on chasing ambulances to read "One L," a non-fiction about Turow's own passage through one-L year. Man it's scary, but it shows true bravery. Most non-lawyers would say the rite of passage to becoming a lawyer shows as much courage as taking out the garbage, but 1L year is hard, lemme tell ya.
Anyway, get on that like Latrell Sprewell's former wives get on Latrell Sprewell for child support. ("It's hard feeding your kids when you're an NBA player" )
Anyone ever see Andre Miller shoot? It's not a pretty site. It's like he's almost embarrassed to be tossing up the shot, he already knows beforehand it's not going in. Well, I just acquired him for ron artest.
Best moment for me of ron artest: Fight at Auburn Hills. Gots the crazed look in his eye like he's about to gut a chicken and splash the blood on somebody's face. We also get a nice pic of his armpit hair as he's lying on the scorer's table, as well as what's left of the one dude's face who's stupid enough to get in the way. That's like waving a red flag at a crazed bull, man. There will be consequences.
Predictions for the rest of the NBA season:
1.) Tony "I found myself the hottest woman in the world and made her my wife" Parker will finish with the best numbers of his career, at least scoring wise, as the Spurs' 3rd option, Ginobili, is hobbled, Tim Duncan cuts half a point off his scoring average each year he gets older, and the rest of the Spurs team couldn't hit Santa Clause's torso w/ a snowball (unlike Fred Claus, who did so repeatedly in the 2007 movie).
2.) Yao "he's my homeboy so I got nothing bad to say about him" Ming is gonna finish the year w/o a significant injury. Yay! And now that I said it he'll probably blow his ACL the next game. Seriously, though, he might have purchased an invisible circle of protection over the off-season cuz he's actually as healthy as salads this year.
3.) John "don't mistake me for trout cuz I'm actually" Salmons will become the #1 scoring option for the Kings this year. They got a lot of young offensive talent on that team but not enough D, and Kev-Mart will let go of that role and be Robin to Salmons's batman.
4.) Jarret "I'm definitely not a white cracker" jack will replace T.J. "does anyone know what the T and J stand for" Ford as the starting point guard for Indiana, either through consistent injuries or ford or just by merit.
5.) D.J. "I was actually born in November" Augustin will be Larry Brown's favorite, and cause Raymond "I reached down into my pants and" Felton to be jettisoned from north carolina for the first time in his life.
6.) Nene "don't be tellin' me I'm not funny" Hilario will be injured at some point in the season and be out. Seriously, this guy is the livin Frankenstein with 2 reconstructed knees, a new elbow, dented shoulder caps, and high cholestrol. If I were the nuggs, I'd check his eyes to make sure they weren't pulled out of someone else's sockets.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Thursday, January 1, 2009
New Year's Day
What up my loyal readership-
Happy 2009, and a moment of silence for the just-passed 2008: It wasn't a great year, but for me a lot of stuff went on. It was a year of 4-dollar gas, political scandals involving governors/ senators w/ their pants down (some literally), the Olympic Games, "giant" upsets in sports, a presidential Democratic primary/ election that will go down as one of the most important in history, and so much more.
But I wanted to talk about my recent trip first. Nice little vacation, me and the fam went down to Arizona to spend a little time away from home, hit up University of Arizona in Tucson, nice place, actually designed a lot like University of Illinois, I dunno what it is about state universities but it was like the same restaurants, same bus system, same quad structure. Eerie.
I saw Joshua Tree on Entourage, but didn't know what it is. Now i know, and it's pretty cool. The only beef I have w/ it is it takes forever to get from the Hwy to the actual scenic places w/in the park, but maybe I was just really anxious or something that day ( It happens).
Also went through snow, which was significant cuz had been the first winter I've ever had in America w/o any snow, and living in Los Angeles, that distinction will probably be achieved at some point (perhaps in winter 2009/10), but this winter was not to be, as even in Arizona there was snow ( near Flagstaff)
Fantasy resolutions
1.) Never again draft slow-moving, over-the-hill running backs- Drafting Shaun Alexander in 2004? Excellent decision. Drafting Shaun Alexander in 2005 and 2006? Very, very poor decisions. I'm still suffering from those, as I second-guess all those draft picks. Priest Holmes, Edgerrin James, Eddie George, all (very old and ailing) ghosts from muy fantasy past. Ick.
2.) Stick to my strategy of drafting hitters in the early rounds.
That's worked out beautifully in the last few years, as I realized if i drafted starters they woulda been guys like Carlos Zambrano, Mike Mussina, Jake Peavy (the year he was injured) whereas the Cy Young candidates the last few years have come from like the 9th round (Josh Beckett, Tim Lincecum come to mind).
3.) Never draft players who are detrimental in 2+ roto categories.
One category is doable because a lotta guys like Wade (4 TO's per) have those deficiences, and they're still good because it's a 8:1 good vs. bad ratio. But when it gets dicey, you only get like 7 good v. 2 bad, you help w/ only 5 cats, the math just doesn't work out. Plus, you have to punt in one category if it's really bad. Baron Davis = main prototype, Tracy McGrady, Ron Artest, guys come to mind. You're done with these guys, it's over, officially broken up, put a restraining order on 'em, don't need'em in fantasy hoops.
4.) Always go into a fantasy season prepared to go through the whole season. A couple times I've just completely thrown in the towel on a season, counted myself out, fell into last place and felt my players all betrayed me (which, I swear, does happen from time to time, I draft these players who just hate me, like "He hate me" jerseys and don't perform). Anyway, in essentially quitting these leagues I sell myself short because overall, I consider myself to be a very good fantasy manager in all sports, and if I dedicate myself to a season, I always get good results, no matter how far I'm down. The bad breaks usually balance out, and if I quit before the good breaks show up, I'm not giving myself enough opportunity. Plus, the Yahoo! profile takes a hit when I have an 8 of 12 finish.
5.) Spend a lil less time on fantasy sports. Don't obsess over it. It's not a life-or-death thing. If Matt Cain gets lit up for 9 ER in 3.1 innings w/ 6 walks, don't blow a fuse. It'll be ok. Spend more time w/ the family. Spend more time w/ the law school books. Don't give up on a day just cuz Rasheed Wallace shot 1 for 11 w/ 4 TO's. Life goes on. And you're still a great fantasy player.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Happy 2009, and a moment of silence for the just-passed 2008: It wasn't a great year, but for me a lot of stuff went on. It was a year of 4-dollar gas, political scandals involving governors/ senators w/ their pants down (some literally), the Olympic Games, "giant" upsets in sports, a presidential Democratic primary/ election that will go down as one of the most important in history, and so much more.
But I wanted to talk about my recent trip first. Nice little vacation, me and the fam went down to Arizona to spend a little time away from home, hit up University of Arizona in Tucson, nice place, actually designed a lot like University of Illinois, I dunno what it is about state universities but it was like the same restaurants, same bus system, same quad structure. Eerie.
I saw Joshua Tree on Entourage, but didn't know what it is. Now i know, and it's pretty cool. The only beef I have w/ it is it takes forever to get from the Hwy to the actual scenic places w/in the park, but maybe I was just really anxious or something that day ( It happens).
Also went through snow, which was significant cuz had been the first winter I've ever had in America w/o any snow, and living in Los Angeles, that distinction will probably be achieved at some point (perhaps in winter 2009/10), but this winter was not to be, as even in Arizona there was snow ( near Flagstaff)
Fantasy resolutions
1.) Never again draft slow-moving, over-the-hill running backs- Drafting Shaun Alexander in 2004? Excellent decision. Drafting Shaun Alexander in 2005 and 2006? Very, very poor decisions. I'm still suffering from those, as I second-guess all those draft picks. Priest Holmes, Edgerrin James, Eddie George, all (very old and ailing) ghosts from muy fantasy past. Ick.
2.) Stick to my strategy of drafting hitters in the early rounds.
That's worked out beautifully in the last few years, as I realized if i drafted starters they woulda been guys like Carlos Zambrano, Mike Mussina, Jake Peavy (the year he was injured) whereas the Cy Young candidates the last few years have come from like the 9th round (Josh Beckett, Tim Lincecum come to mind).
3.) Never draft players who are detrimental in 2+ roto categories.
One category is doable because a lotta guys like Wade (4 TO's per) have those deficiences, and they're still good because it's a 8:1 good vs. bad ratio. But when it gets dicey, you only get like 7 good v. 2 bad, you help w/ only 5 cats, the math just doesn't work out. Plus, you have to punt in one category if it's really bad. Baron Davis = main prototype, Tracy McGrady, Ron Artest, guys come to mind. You're done with these guys, it's over, officially broken up, put a restraining order on 'em, don't need'em in fantasy hoops.
4.) Always go into a fantasy season prepared to go through the whole season. A couple times I've just completely thrown in the towel on a season, counted myself out, fell into last place and felt my players all betrayed me (which, I swear, does happen from time to time, I draft these players who just hate me, like "He hate me" jerseys and don't perform). Anyway, in essentially quitting these leagues I sell myself short because overall, I consider myself to be a very good fantasy manager in all sports, and if I dedicate myself to a season, I always get good results, no matter how far I'm down. The bad breaks usually balance out, and if I quit before the good breaks show up, I'm not giving myself enough opportunity. Plus, the Yahoo! profile takes a hit when I have an 8 of 12 finish.
5.) Spend a lil less time on fantasy sports. Don't obsess over it. It's not a life-or-death thing. If Matt Cain gets lit up for 9 ER in 3.1 innings w/ 6 walks, don't blow a fuse. It'll be ok. Spend more time w/ the family. Spend more time w/ the law school books. Don't give up on a day just cuz Rasheed Wallace shot 1 for 11 w/ 4 TO's. Life goes on. And you're still a great fantasy player.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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