Overreaction

            Overreact: I do it all the time, I see other people do it all the time. It's what people do. We overreact. Sometime it's reasonable to react strongly, to be overcautious, to go above and beyond, but most of the time it's wasted energy and can even be dangerous ( a prominent example explained later). And it's tough not to overreact, I know: our bodies are trained to pick up little details, to send signals to the brain that things are happening, things are changing, but it's important for us, especially those with more life experience and know better, to restrain that overreaction, process the information first and then react appropriately. 



           Watching Game of Thrones Season 2 with friends.....another show with a lot of overreaction. Ned Stark overreacts to learning Joffrey's a bastard, Joffrey overreacts to Ned Stark's crusade, John Snow overreacts to being a bastard son, Robb Stark overreacts to Ned's killing (although, arguably a rational reaction), Daenarys overreacts to her husband's death by burning a witch at the stake and producing her dragons, etc. etc. And lots of those "overreactors" are now dead, in danger, or captured. Lesson here: Don't make a rash decision that will impact your life months and kindoms down the road.




               The George Zimmerman thing: I hate to be the politically incorrect guy or the oddball of the room or whatever you call it, but I think America is HUGELY overreacting on the George Zimmermann thing. I'm not a fan of George Zimmermann and I think it's really unfortunate that Trayvon Martin died, but there's worse people in the world that George Zimmerman. It's really unfortunate what's going to happen from this outrage, too: less people will want to become "volunteers" and safety personnel due to the risk of accidentally hurting someone. Sure, it may have been an intentional shooting, it may have been Zimmermann overstepped, but I think America's forgetting that someone's innocent until proven guilty. America preaches that all the time, but in a case so sensitive as this one I think that gets lost in the headlines and hoopla. Here's a guy, Zimmernan who called police before the shooting to report Martin as a suspicious character, indicating he was trying to go through the normal channels, doesn't have a criminal history (minor assault charges and other transgressions), but 2nd-degree murder in this case? Be objective, people, don't get lost in the moment. He didn't shoot Trayvon Martin with premeditiation, there was no motive for it. Overzealous, trigger-happy, overreactive, sure, but not murder. Don't do the exact thing that George Zimmerman did when he shot Trayvon Martin: overreact.


        Lawyers overreact. I sent a nice, friendly email the other day to an attorney about whether she had any information on a case she was working on: back came a 20-minute phone call that was much more of just a monologue by her about how she felt the email was objectionable, she was not going to reveal any confidences of her clients, how she felt like she was getting set up for something, why I was wrong, why what I was doing was "dangerous," made me feel like an awful human being when in actuality I hadn't really done anything wrong: just send an email. Non-lawyers (and lawyers, too, actually), just know this: Be careful of ANYTHING and everything you do around an attorney, because they will remember it, log it, and use it against you later as an admittance/ move for sanctions. Sigh. Welcome to the legal field.



        Fantasy baseball players overreact. This is a perfect time to do it too: early in the season, a few weeks in, hitters struggling, pitchers having a few bad outings: very easy for fantasy managers to lose patience and drop guys (Paul Goldschmidt,Kendrys MOrales) or pick up the latest hot trend (AJ Pierzynksi, Luke Scott) without giving it ample thought. It's only April, people. Don't make a rash decision that will impact your life months and fantasy championships down the road.



 Fantasize on, Robert Yan

Thoughts about Fantasy Baseball season

         

              My fellow fantasy baseball managers probably wondered where my blog posts about baseball were so they can delve into my thinking and lowball me with offers for players that I like. Sigh. But here goes, albeit a week late and with certain players already hurt (Michael Morse! Damn it!) and a lot of players already hurt.


1. Derek Jeter - off to a torrid start (thianks for saving it until this year, guy) but I don't buy it....The guy's nearing 40 and has passed all historic benchmarks (3,000 hits) that he needs. Also a candidate to miss some time later in the year. This could also be me being bitter about last year.


2. Still love Howie Kendrick this year. The Angels offense should be operating on all cylinders soon.

3. Matt Kemp, you're so good. Sigh.

4. Mike Napoli, I do believe you'll struggle until June or so.

5. Not buying David Freese's fast start, AND he's already hurt.

6. DO like Pablo Sandoval's start. He should guide that team to a bounceback season.

7. J.P. Arencibia.......sigh.

8. Blake Beaven and Kyle Drabek.......one of these unheard of guys could be very good this year.

9. Closer carousel continues into May......watch for news cuz there'll be plenty of changes due to all the early-season blowups.

10. Ryan Dempster solid candidate for 200 strikeouts, and cheap.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

Your Friendly Local Library

I've been a HUGE library guy since I've been a kid. Remember the sensation of going to my neighborhood library for the first time and getting a library card: felt a lot of power. Since then I've been to a lot of libraries: public libraries, school libraries, law libraries, historic libraries, personal libraries, online libraries... You name it, I've probably been there. With the advent of the internet, facebook, google, and all these other fancy library-precluding inventions out there, brick-and-mortar libraries seem a little outdated, a relic of the past, but I say, Bring it back! There's plenty of great surprises to be had at the library: updated versions of popular magazines, daily newspapers, atlases, DVD's (watched a whole season of 24 using library resources), CD's for listening to audiobooks in your car while driving to work, and what do you know.....computers for going on those very computer-precluding devices. Best part? Free.. just return those books in time.

Here's a brief list of what libraries could do to make a comeback in our society today: ( Boy do I love lists)


1. emphasize COMMUNITY. People go to facebook, concerts, parties, etc. not just for those things themselves, it's cuz they're friends are there. Make it community-friendly, plan "reading parties" there, get cool people out, do a marketing campaign.

2. Appeal to the young crowd. Kids go to libraries and need a ride to get there. Maybe they still have th

3. To get to the younger generation.....have DVD's, music. Young adults/ twenty-something's flock to the Apple store in droves for the hipness. I firmly believe libraries have the resources to stock their shelves full of some good CD's/DVD's. Get those.

4. Team up with schools for a service that allow students to get there conveniently after school. If the idea is to get kids in the door, I know in California and probably many places around the country it's a PAIN to get rides after school. Schools get out around 3:00PM.....Parents get off work around 5PM to 6Pm. Do the math. Kids need to go somewhere. If you have a shuttle service, kids don't have to scour the school looking for someone to bum a ride off of, just go to the library and do your homework or just...read a book.

5. Workout station. OK, a bit of a wild idea, but what if you just put some workout machines at libraries? Then you get the double-sensation of reading while on the treadmill/exerciese bike!!! Holy cow!!! Let's call it the "Libra-gym." Let "Libragym-mania" commence.


Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

New Computer, New Language, New Name?

First of all, let me express my condolences to the families of the two USC international students killed on Thursday right around USC......it hit particularly home for me because a.) the students were Chinese, b.) I knew many international students when I attended USC, c.) the students were around the same age as I was, d.) I lived very close to the incident area.

* For those who didn't hear or are for some reason reading this blog outside the LA area, on the morning of April 12, 2012 two USC students, a male and a female, both Chinese were sitting in their car around Vermont St. near USC housing when they were killed by whom police suspect to be a carjacker who shot both of them in their car. Truly tragic story. Apparently the male student was going home to China for the summer to do an internship and was very active in the Viterbi School of Engineering at USC.

Written with no agenda in mind and not as a sales pitch for USC, I lived just off campus at USC my first year of law school and perceived the housing to be fine. There were a few isolated incidents and I certainly didn't venture outside too late at night, but all in all it was pretty safe: no gunshots at night, gang activity, mostly just students and drunken undergrads walking around on party nights. However, once you venture into certain areas outside of campus, the neighborhood gets a little rougher. Basically the farther you get away from campus, the worse conditions become, with being within the campus grounds of USC being 100% safe, there is no danger there for you at all as it's gated and patrolled 24/7 by security. USC even has roaming security and Campus Cruisers outside of the campus area and around student housing at all times, but there's only so far it ventures into, as it's still near downtown L.A. and into some of the rougher neighborhoods of South Central L.A. I would have no problem recommending anyone to USC in terms of security, with the caveat of: Be safe, act as you normally would in any situation, don't venture out at night, travel in packs, etc.


New things are happening in the life of "DaMan!" I've basically picked up a new name... I used to be "Yiqing" ( officially my name from birth to age 21, when I officially changed it, was known as Robert for most of my life, and now, thanks to a very nickname-heavy friend of mine, I've been coined with the name "Bobby." Different offices at work know me by that name, my fantasy leagues know me by that name....it's pretty much my moniker now (ooo, vocab word). I accept it, it has a certain ring to it, certainly not a name you'd associte with a 24-year-old Chinese-born American attorney, but I like it. And "Bobby McDreamy" or "Bobby McSteamy" just roll right off the tongue, don't they?

New computer. Typing on it right now, it's that new "out-of-the-package" feeling that gets me going. However, in terms of operation, New computers are like new poker strategies for me: I don't have much luck with them. I also don't cherish them/maintain them as well as I probably should, so I'll try to keep up a healthy upkeep.

New Kendry Morales jersey: gonna wear it to the games this year. This is the year, Angels, c'mon baby!

New language: Yea learning a new language is pretty exciting. A lot of work, but exciting. I don't know why I just struggled with French: a combo of being in high school and not understanding the value of learning a language, not being exposed to it for enough time every day, it being a hard language to pronounce (never ever learned how to roll the R's), not having much practical application (I mean, I grew up in suburban Chicago, IL, there's not many "baguette" stores and delicatessens to go to for practicing le Francais, right? Regardless of the reason, it just never stuck. Japanese is different. I have a whole different motivation for Japanese, I'm a really a step ahead because I know Chinese, and I'm a different stage of my life: I know the value of everything I do, I focus my energy and don't think about Pokemon or sports or ice cream sandwiches or the 2012 election or anything when I'm learning Japanese: I just go about my business. It really delves you into a whole different language, a whole different culture: To the "pachenko" game boards to the traditional kimono dress and all different ways to "wear" it to the very strict emphasis on formality between "san," "kun," and "sama," a country's culture is reflected in its language. Ever so slowly.


Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

Easter Egg Huntin' for Vocab Words

My sister's a freshman in high school. And for every Asian parent, you know what that means: SAT/PSAT studying. Yup, it's less than 24 months away from having to take those things, and it's never too early to study. And a BIG part of that test is the verbal section. The more words you know, the better it is. Therefore, acting on a suggestion my friend, I tape notecards on the wall around the house in prominent areas for my sister with vocab words on them (o did I mention I still live at home with my parents?) and then have my sister actually look at them when she's living her life. A bit insistent and intrusive, I know, but....necessary? I think so. And she's learning the words. I never needed physical "on-the-wall" visualization, but hey.




Negligent (not paying attention)- my stance towards this blog in these last few weeks. A mix of being busy + forgetfulness + laziness, and then just turning into a habit.

Hegemony (Dominance over other people)- my fantasy basketball team!! Well, actually, hegemony would be overstating it, and actually "squeaking in" would probably be the proper term for slipping barely into the playoffs (#6 seed) and needing every single player this past week (it literally came to my last player going, little Isaiah Thomas) for me to beat my opponent.

Inaudible (unable to be heard)- my silent hope that I don't want to articulate by stating it out loud to win all 3 major sports' fantasy leagues this season (I won football, in the Final 4 for basketball, baseball season just started). My own little triple crown.

Diligent (hard-working) - certainly described my work ethic in late February-March, when I took on TWO jobs while working roughly 60-65 hours a week. I know, pales in comparison to the first-year associates at their big law firms, but for a few weeks there I was acting like a worker-bee junior associate. March Madness.

Maelstrom (whirlpool)- a storm of events going down at the firm with depo, EB-5, private placement memorandum, new client intake......so THIS is the life of a lawyer, eh?

Lackadaisacal (lacking energy)- My March Madness pool. For the umpteenth year in a row, nothing doing and was basically out of it from the getgo. DID manage to pick the actual winner this year (Kentucky) but so did half of the world. Basically got no other teams correct.

Futile (pointless, incapable of producing any result) - MegaMillions jackpot. Everyone and their mother bought a ticket, and unfortunately so did I, in the wild hopes of capturing the $640 million grand prize. End result? Nothing, except maybe some false hopes of what you'd like to buy with the money. I guess people will spend a $1 for a hope, right?



Intricate (complex)- the Japanese language. Very interesting language with its own mix of alphabet and Mandarin-based hieroglyphs. Supposedly as a Mandarin speaker I should know 1/3 of Japanese already, but it certainly doesn't feel that way.



Meander (wander)- In a fit of stupor one night I wandered through West Hollywood. On foot. On Saturday night. Alone. Don't ask. I ended up on a bus that distinctly smelled like urine trying to get back to my car.



Usurp (to take the position of another)- Ahh, Game of Thrones. And the beginning of the baseball season. Deliciously intertwined with each other, both involve gallant armies dueling each other in pursuit of one specific goal that shall not be determined for a long time, but the pursuit of is the prize. Feels like it's gonna be a great summer.



Fervor (a state of passion)- learning a new language is exciting; it's triggered a feeling that's been dormant deep inside me for a while: the thrill of learning something completely new and different. Still need law, still like sports, still do exercise, still speak English, but learning Japanese is a new endeavor that's made me passionate about doing something again. I needed it and I'm dedicated to it.



Quintessential (representing the most typical example of a class)- Am I on the quintessential 24-year-old? I don't know. I think perhaps in America, I'm pretty close to that. Living in a big city, newly graduated from school, working 9-to-6 every day, listen to sports talk radio, read the newspaper, exercise every day but less than I probably should because that whole "there's not enough hours in the day" thing, wanting to travel around the world at some time or do something new but knowing I have to pay my dues first, being in graduate debt, doing my taxes at the last second, driving to work through rush hour traffic, watching mainstream movies, listening to the IPod, gaining experience at work, Facebooking..... all of these things are probably much of what the average 24-year-old is doing. I am very close to what a quintessential person of my demographic is doing. How do I feel about that? I feel lucky enough that I have a lot of these things, have the pleasure of doing certain things, and the privilege of living in a great society, but I want more. I want to be special; I want to be able to dictate life, not have life dictate me. I want to seize control. I have a plan to do that.





Fantasize on,



Robert Yan

The Wire Revisited

Understandably, as the number of TV stations grows prolifically and the
number of TVshows grows exponentially every year, us viewers have our
attentions directed this way and that like a rag doll in a 15-way
tug-of-war between four-year-olds who really need a buddy for the day.
Therefore, we watch all kinds of TV shows and all kinds of TV
networks, including food shows, reality shows, movies, news, daytime
soap operas, Saturday cartoons, and don't forget the ever-present
sports market showing live sporting events. It makes it o so easy to
forgo any long-lasting loyalties with shows and just go to the next
big thing that gets your attention. Just yesterday I watched the new
"Storage Wars" show with the bidder who always goes "Yuuuuuup", "Star
Wars 24-hour marathon," and watched 4 hours of NFL football. There's
just a LOT of stuff on.

Which makes the inspiration behind this post even more important: to
revisit shows that you enjoyed, loved, and swore by while watching,
but now haven't contacted for a long time, like a far-away relative
who you spent a month bonding with but now barely even email. (Yikes,
I have a few of those) The Wire is still my favorite TV show ever,
full of real-life conflict, sums-it-up-exactly quotes, and brilliantly
developed characters, this show was a godsend for 5 epic season. Here
are my top 10 favorite moments of a show that had more than its fair
share.
(SPOILER ALERT)

10. Avon and Stringer fight it out. Frustrated, beaten (Stringer just
got scammed by Clay Davis, Avon just got shot by Chris), Avon
confronts Stringer about his perceived lack of toughness and Avon
retorts back with "I just killed ur nephew, son. How's that for
toughness?" What's awesome is that it symbolized so many things
leading to the climax of episode 3: the crumbing of the Barksdale
organization, the difference in philosphy of Bell and Barksdale, the
evolution of the game v. the game is always still the game, and also
just a gradual betrayal between guys who used to be friends.
Delicious, delicious truth, plot development and symbolism in one
scene that pretty much epitomized the whole series.

9. Anytime Clay Davis said "Sheeeeeeeeeeit." You knew it was coming,
but you laughed anyway. One of the classic punch lines and typical of
the humor of the Wire: very dry and thrown in in the midst of death,
political turmoil, and other deflating conditions, but still very very
funny.


8. When older Randy is revealed to have been a thug: Broke your heart,
but highlights the problem of places like West Baltimore: Kids are
thrown into the fire and just don't come out the same. 1 in a absurdy
high number (Namond, Wee-bey's son) get "saved," but the majority end
up like Randy: in a group home where he's forced to adapt to his
surroundings, and in most cases he must adapt negatively: hardened by
the brutal reality that is the streets, Randy no longer espouses the
good-nature values he shared in Mr. Prezbo's class and must adhere to
the rules of the street: make money by selling drugs, beat up or be
beaten up. Sad, sad state of affairs but necessary to the honest
portrayal.

7. Gus's speech to younger writer at the Baltimore Sun as she's
leaving: "The pond is shrinking; the fish are nervous; win a prize;
maybe find a bigger prize somewhere." Such a great quote that
reflected the newspaper industry but also fittingly most industries
everywhere. Jobs are scarce, economy's not great, people have to fend
for themselves somehow, and quality gets diluted in the process. This
after one of his writers, in conjunction with McNulty, fabricated a
story about a serial killer who murdered homeless people to satisfy
his sexual appetite. Great storyline to end the series on but an
important one; people will take drastic measures to get ahead; the
truth gets sacrificed.

(Notice the subtlety of these moments I'm sharing. The most powerful
scenes on the Wire were not the "bam-bam-someone dies" scenes like
most shows are, the most important ones were the conclusory
conversations between ordinary people revealing what exactly was going
on. Masterful).

6. Carcetti waits for meeting with Governor; left waiting outside.
Perfect example of bureaucratic waste; a mayor and his top aide are
left to do nothing by a governor of the opposite party who "sees him
coming for him" in a future election, even though the mayor of the
"broke-ass city" is trying to do the right thing by fixing the
broker-than-broken" school system. Can't imagine how many cities and
states in the U.S. operate this way and how many good-faith attempts
for money for needed projects like school, welfare, or other social
goods are sacrificed by politics and individual people's struggle for
power.

5. Marlo visits Avon at his court hearing putting him away; gets his
product out on the streets. A changing of the guard; "the Young Boy"
gets his way and starts to rule West Baltimore and takes all of Avon's
corners. Like "Game of Thrones" in which it takes seasons for changes
in power to take place and the build-up to the regime change is better
than the change itself, so much of the street wars leading up to this
were similar to historic battles in medieval days or ancient China, or
in fictional Westeros in Game of Thrones: just a battle of power.
Everyone wants it; you have to fight and risk death in order to get
it. "The king calls all the shots. And he stay the king."

4. DeAngelo teaching Bodie and Wallace how to play chess, in the
process showing who's who in the drug war. "The king stay the king."
And the pawns die early. Basically foreshadowing each character's
fate as a "pawn" who got used and was forced to die so that the king
could be safe. Bodie tried to be the "smart pawn" and get all the way
to the other side to become a king, and was often referred to as
"smart" by McNulty for his "entrapment" stuff, but ultimately still
gave way to the true kings. It's sad: Kings get all the
accommodations, but out of thousands/millions, there can only be one.

3. Detective Freamon figuring out the supply system of Marlo: More of
a "Career Achievement prize" for Detective Freamon's awesome detective
work; enjoyed it more than the highly-publicized Bunk and McNulty
"Fuck" detective scene, Freamon was a solid presence on the show that
was the definition of "career cop" but also epitomized someone who was
actually good at his job.....and of course never gets promoted, never
makes major or colonel, etc. due to the "what-have-you-done and
who-do-you-know" nature of the police system, as well as pretty much
all systems.

2. Omar, while limping around West Baltimore getting chased by Marlo's
guys, burns one of Marlo's cash transporters and burns the money.
"It's not about that paper. Marlo ain't man enough to come to the
streets with Omar." Honor, integrity, man v. man......Omar, before
dying, shows us what a true hero he is. I'm glad there wasn't a cheap
spin-off with the "Omar Tales" or something to cheapen what he was on
The Wire: simply one of the best characters in television history,
ever.



1. The ending. Obviousy the ending of any long-lasting series stays
with you for awhile, but The Wire's ending tied it all together by
showing that the pattern continues indefinitely: Marlo's empire is
destroyed, but the Co-op continues to operate the drug trade; Omar's
dead, but Michael is the new Omar; bureacracy continues as Daniels is
demoted and Krawcheck becomes the deputy ops; a once-idealistic mayor
with good intentions becomes a political animal by jumping ship and
becomes governor; everything goes on despite McNulty's best efforts
(which in turn will be carried on by Sydnor). It is realy the
inevitability of the cycle of events that gets me; it rings true.
Everything will go on; there's really no change. Perfect ending to a
great series of television, and recommended viewing for anyone over
18; learned a great deal about how the world works, and it's not the
lily-white surburban world that I normally live in. Thanks for the
memories, The Wire. May something else come along that can rival your
awesomeness.



Fantasize on,

Robert Yan

Fantasy Landscape 2011

As we transition into 2012, I wanted a big post on what transpired in
2011, kind of like what Bill Simmons does (man, the more I read him
the more I appreciate his work, that guy knows what he's doing).
Although years in fantasy sports are difficult to describe because
each of us had a different "team" we followed (unlike, say, following
the Boston Red Sox) that we built a relationship with ( albeit a timed
relationship that we knew would end and we'd never hear from them
again), so it's tough to define events in fantasy because only a tenth
or so of us can say "Cam Newton led me to my fantasy championship" or
"Robbie Cano killed me again this year!" So I have to stick with
rehashing individual player performances or fantasy trends


This was certainly a year that reinforced the notion that fantasy
sports, like many other industries and professions, belongs to the
young. Back in the "good ol' days," I remember old veterans like Greg
Maddux, Michael Jordan, Jerry Rice, Marvin Harrison, putting up
prodigious numbers even at an advanced age, coining the phrase "aging
like a fine wine, the older the better." That, to put it mildly, is no
longer the case. Whether it's because athletes train harder in high
school or college and are pro-ready right out of school, or older
athletes burn out more quickly, there's more violent contact in sports
that creates wear and tear on the body that breaks down older players,
but young players are DOMINATING the scene here in the early 2010's-
and it looks like it's gonna continue.
For example, it's been 5 months since the end of the fantasy baseball
season, but I can still remember rookie breakouts out of nowhere:
Alexi Ogando's first half, Brandon Beachy, Danny Espinoza, Desmond
Jennings, Michel Pineda, Eric Hosmer, etc., etc. In many cases, these
guys started in Triple-A were just called up to the big leagues, and
started producing for fantasy teams like their 2nd-or-third-best guys.
Meanwhile, guys like Derek Jeter, 2009 MVP, hits like .240 before the
Al-Star Break. All singles. Kevin Youkilis. Injuries. Hanley Ramirez
(a veteran by all accounts: injuries). Established guys one and all
struggling, furthering bolstering the case of why you should reach for
the "possible breakout."

Also why you should scour the waiver wire all the time, 100% the time.
There is no telling who is on the wire. And young guys can win you
championships. There's a guy on the waiver wire in fantasy basketbal
that I'm calling right now will help some teams win fantasy
championships: Marshon Brooks, New Jersey Nets. No one's heard of him;
he's good. He's this year's Steph Curry/Ty Lawson. Rookies ready to
pounce. I'll forever remember my waiver wire addition of Victor Cruz
in Week 3 of the 2011 NFL season: watch Cruz burn Nnadmi Asmugha twice
against the Eagles for long TD's; pick him up off the free agent list
immediately after. Watch as he burns secondaries al season enroute to
a destructive 1400 yards despite not playing in the first 2 weeks,
just behind Megatron and Wes Welker. The thing with Cruz is, he's the
knockout fighter on your squad: At any given time he could land a
70-yard TD catch or two and what was once a 15-point deficit could be
a 3-point lead for you fantasy team. He had a 99-yard TD catch that
turned the momentum for more than my fantasy team on Week 16
Championship day. My o my.

2011 was also a great year for up-and-comers turning into elite
players, setting reminders for fantasy managers why they should draft
26-and-27-year-olds entering their prime. After a dreadful 2010
season, Matt Kemp basically "just hit" and won the NL MVP and basicaly
torn my heart out because I owned him in '10. Fast, strong, makes
contact, plays field. And not put randomly into the 7th-hole by Joe
Torre anymore. Yea.

Ryan Braun.....broke out, if repeating what he's been doing for the
last few years could be considered breaking out. Although, his season
was a bit tainted by revelations that he tested positive for a growth
hormone after the season; my fantasy baseball leaguemates are already
questioning the legitimacy of last year's championship Braun-led
squad.

Calvin Johnson just became a certified beast this year, exploding like
a firework (thanks, Katy Perry for that analogy) Basicaly, good WR's
had good QB's throwing to them this year (Nelson, Welker, Cruz, Roddy
White) and Calvin had the best for what he needs, a deep-threat like
Stafford. A cross between Welker's bludgeoning "I'm gonna catch 13
balls for 10 yards each but I'll still get 130 yards" and Cruz's "I
will go 70 yards right past you cuz I'm fast," Johnson could do both:
break tackles and sprint past people. Doubleteams always required,
triple-teams sometimes necessary. Optimus Prime should be glad Calvin
isn't actually Megatron, cuz I'm pretty sure the Decepticons would
have won that war.


Mike Napoli highlighted for me what was a "If you drop somebody who
still has value, you will be punished season." After batting .196
going into June and hitting the DL, I dropped Napoli to clear up
roster space, intending to pick him up later before he came off the
DL. Predictably, another league member had the same idea, picked up
Napoli and his big stick swinging in the bandbox known as Arlington,
and the rest was a 30HR, .330 avg that probably would have helped me
into the playoffs.... if I hadn't have traded Brian McCann
prematurely, dropped Tommy Hanson prematurely, etc. etc. In football,
Peyton Hillis punished me for dropping him too eary, as well as
Maurice Morris. An active manager can live with mistakes if he picks
up more good guys than he drops, but you will always get a "what could
have been" feeling that I will forever call "The Napoli."

Fantasy basketball have crapshoots at the end of the season. It's
called the "Week 16 Bench Curse" in football and widely publicized,
but fantasy basketball might be more extreme because the playoffs are
1-8 in each division and the playoffs are pretty much half the season
for some times that coaches need to rest their players for. Thus the
odd result this year in my fantasy basketball final of starting guys
with names of Allen (Tony, not Ray), Bynum (Will, not Andrew), Johnson
(James, not any of the good ones), Barea, Gortat, Dudley, Sessions,
etc. Basically, young players on bad teams playing out the string, not
your fantasy powerhouses like Josh Smith, Kevin Love, or Jason Kidd.
It's actually probably where the fantasy men are separated from the
fantasy boys: You know you're a fantasy basketball addict and thus
qualified to win a hoops championship when you can name what college,
position, jersey number, and upcoming 5-game schedule that Ramon
Sessions has.


May the lessons of fantasy years past give me strength, and may 2012
bring greater tidings (and luck) to all of us.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan