Got another book recommendation: Barack Obama's 2006, pre-presidential election campaign work, "Audacity of Hope." Whether or not you agree with him, it's like he's talking to you through the book, and you really got a good sense of what he thinks. It's VERY VERY honest, and my views of him have, let's say, "evolved" through it.
There will be two types of lawyer jokes in this post: the regular, make-fun-of-lawyers-cuz-they're-the-scum-of-the-earth-but-i-chose-to-become-one-anyway variety, and then a new, fresh batch of Robert Yan-type lawyer jokes that you gotta try on for size.
Came across these online:
What do lawyers use for birth control?-- Their personalities.
What's the difference between a porcupine and an ambulance chasing BMW
carrying three lawyers?-- A porcupine has the pricks on the outside.
What do you call a lawyer who doesn't chase ambulances?-- Retired.
What's the difference between a lawyer and God?-- God doesn't think he's a lawyer!
Why should you not run over a lawyer on a bicycle?-- It might be your bicycle.
Haha, good stuff.
Now for the good stuff: these jokes are like the jokes my law school classmates got sick of me using the whole year, yet it really shows some creativity on my part. Feel free to ceremoniously lift it and use it for your own use.
When playing fantasy basketball, you really enter into a contract with your NBA player. There's no mutual assent, but there's all the ups and downs in the relationship with a basketball player: the lack of performance, the overproduction, the total material breach of a contract that makes you never deal with that player ever again.
This year I have entered into a contract with Dirk Nowitzki: paid him lots of fantasy money: 5th pick in teh draft, based on his course of performance in the last 8 years or so, had expectations and he's lived up to them. Good investment. Now, a real tort has been committed by my drafting Andrew Bogut. Man's a fraud, I almost feel like suing for impractibility or misrepresentation or unconscionability or something, this guy just lured me into a false sense of security, gave me false hopes, and definitely did NOT act in good faith.
Unfortunately, I've been screwed before. In 2005 and 2006, I drafted Tracy McGrady in THREE LEAGUES each of those years. Talk about assault and battery, this guy did the whole package. He battered me, destroyed the whole foundation, stole my property, hit my in the balls, the whole nine yards. He has an affirmative defense in 2006 because I assumed the risk of drafting him AGAIN in all those leagues, but I might be judged by a different standard in some courts due to mental incapacitation in those years. (It must have been insanity to let him screw me again).
Every time I see Jermaine O'Neal ever again on a draft board, I file a 12b6 motion to dismiss mine, get his butt straight out of court and never hear from him again, if he ever comes up the next year I'll file a res judicata defense that the case has been tried already, and JO has definitely failed on the merits.
OK that didn't work out too well. I'll try better next time.
I'm so obsessed by TO's in my roto league, I seem to have just realized that they are worth any other category, yet i just don't take great weight in them. Guy like Dwayne Wade, 4.0 TO's per game, can kill you in that category automatically. Gotta keep that in mind. Guys like Rasheed Wallace (1.1 TO's) and Peja Stojavoic (0.9 TO's) get an added boost because they're like the thin, lean version of meet, limits their turnovers despite limited numbers in other cats.
Fantasize on, Robert Yan
Friday, December 26, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Extra Gift under the tree: More fantasy b-ball analysis
Back to business: As it's christmas and I'm in a giving mood, this is an extra long post on fantasy basketball players. It's really not a big problem for me, it's like telling an ice cream taster that he's got another batch coming: No complaints here.
I will say that basketball seems to be more interesting this year already: I dunno if it's again that dichotomy between law school and leisure, but it sure seems like storylines are getting better: LeBron James maturing into the legendary one like he should be, dwayne wade being my favorite player by morphing back to 2006 form, and the lakers-celtics inevitable finals matchup (Many think it HAS to happen- w/o a better option I'd have to agree w/ them).
Thinking about gettin' an intramural softball league going for law school: Be nice to bond w/ some peeps. Also, wanna have the SBA 1L reps to start some sorta talent show at the end of the show, w/o people embarrassing themselves of course. (Gotta imagine someone has a fire-breathing or grass-whistling trick up their sleeve in law school)
I'll do my player evals in this format: How high I was on the player on draft day, and whether they've exceeded general expectations. (By animal, I guess, big = exceeded, small = underacheived)
Allen Iverson: Like a termite. This guy has grossly underachieved, most of it not on him after getting traded to the graveyard of fantasy entities: Detroit. Doesn't fit his game at all, it's like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole, doesn't work. Especially not for AI's fantasy game. If anything, rodney stuckey is BETTER than the answer there.
Steve Nash: Butterfly. Sure he still looks flashy, still got that soccer-playing, handsomely charming, European good looks, but his numbers are downright ugly. Less assists, less 3's, less points, more turnovers, not good. Right there that's the 4 no-no's. And it's not like he's been hurt, which can be explained away. It's just the system has changed, and that's never a good thing if the coach isn't close to being fired yet. Uh-oh.
Yao:
Rhinocerous. Prodigious just cuz he hasn't gotten hurt yet. Lovely good, having him healthy and producing at Y!- ranked 8th level. Those peripherals alone are to die for: 54.4% FG and 88% FT, at a high volume too helps carry those 2 cats. It's like finding some ivory horns in your closet.
Jason Richardson- earthworm. Definitely shriveling. What could u expect from any fantasy player who was in charlotte long-term? Actually, he's no longer in charlotte and in phoenix where u'd think the fantasy atmosphere's more favorable, but shaq's bogging down that offense and jr's like the 4th option on that time. Urg if you're his owners.
Josh Smith- Dinosaur egg. Kinda puny right now, but very soon about to become a giant. Started off slow, but he's still a freak, and freaks put up steals and blks in abundance for a long time in this league, unless your name is andrei kirilenko. Smith will explode (hatch) soon.
Brandon Roy: shark. 52 points? Who? Roy. I was high on him comin out of college after he single-handedly eliminated the Illini from the tournament one year, so this comes as no shock to me. Again, there's some wierd air in the pacific northwest.
Pau Gasol: Fox. Not huge, not foreboding, but plays very smart, very consistent, comes to work night in and night out, love his work ethic and what he means for lakers ( lakers = mediocore team w/o him).
Danny Granger: cassowary (very big bird that nobody talks about). That's Granger in a nut shell. Puts up great numbrs, everything you need ( 2.5 3's, 1.0 stls, 1.4 blks, and 24 pts) but just is like a forgotten man in indiana. Fantasy force for many years to come.
"You are as high as a kite!" just saw an ad for pineapple express. Hahahaha.
Nene: Tazmanian Devil. for many years we heard about what this guy could do when healthy. Well, now we know. Stud for the nuggs, he just looks like a whirlwind on the floor. Also steals and swats like nobody's business.
Again, Merry Christmas, everyone!
Present over.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
I will say that basketball seems to be more interesting this year already: I dunno if it's again that dichotomy between law school and leisure, but it sure seems like storylines are getting better: LeBron James maturing into the legendary one like he should be, dwayne wade being my favorite player by morphing back to 2006 form, and the lakers-celtics inevitable finals matchup (Many think it HAS to happen- w/o a better option I'd have to agree w/ them).
Thinking about gettin' an intramural softball league going for law school: Be nice to bond w/ some peeps. Also, wanna have the SBA 1L reps to start some sorta talent show at the end of the show, w/o people embarrassing themselves of course. (Gotta imagine someone has a fire-breathing or grass-whistling trick up their sleeve in law school)
I'll do my player evals in this format: How high I was on the player on draft day, and whether they've exceeded general expectations. (By animal, I guess, big = exceeded, small = underacheived)
Allen Iverson: Like a termite. This guy has grossly underachieved, most of it not on him after getting traded to the graveyard of fantasy entities: Detroit. Doesn't fit his game at all, it's like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole, doesn't work. Especially not for AI's fantasy game. If anything, rodney stuckey is BETTER than the answer there.
Steve Nash: Butterfly. Sure he still looks flashy, still got that soccer-playing, handsomely charming, European good looks, but his numbers are downright ugly. Less assists, less 3's, less points, more turnovers, not good. Right there that's the 4 no-no's. And it's not like he's been hurt, which can be explained away. It's just the system has changed, and that's never a good thing if the coach isn't close to being fired yet. Uh-oh.
Yao:
Rhinocerous. Prodigious just cuz he hasn't gotten hurt yet. Lovely good, having him healthy and producing at Y!- ranked 8th level. Those peripherals alone are to die for: 54.4% FG and 88% FT, at a high volume too helps carry those 2 cats. It's like finding some ivory horns in your closet.
Jason Richardson- earthworm. Definitely shriveling. What could u expect from any fantasy player who was in charlotte long-term? Actually, he's no longer in charlotte and in phoenix where u'd think the fantasy atmosphere's more favorable, but shaq's bogging down that offense and jr's like the 4th option on that time. Urg if you're his owners.
Josh Smith- Dinosaur egg. Kinda puny right now, but very soon about to become a giant. Started off slow, but he's still a freak, and freaks put up steals and blks in abundance for a long time in this league, unless your name is andrei kirilenko. Smith will explode (hatch) soon.
Brandon Roy: shark. 52 points? Who? Roy. I was high on him comin out of college after he single-handedly eliminated the Illini from the tournament one year, so this comes as no shock to me. Again, there's some wierd air in the pacific northwest.
Pau Gasol: Fox. Not huge, not foreboding, but plays very smart, very consistent, comes to work night in and night out, love his work ethic and what he means for lakers ( lakers = mediocore team w/o him).
Danny Granger: cassowary (very big bird that nobody talks about). That's Granger in a nut shell. Puts up great numbrs, everything you need ( 2.5 3's, 1.0 stls, 1.4 blks, and 24 pts) but just is like a forgotten man in indiana. Fantasy force for many years to come.
"You are as high as a kite!" just saw an ad for pineapple express. Hahahaha.
Nene: Tazmanian Devil. for many years we heard about what this guy could do when healthy. Well, now we know. Stud for the nuggs, he just looks like a whirlwind on the floor. Also steals and swats like nobody's business.
Again, Merry Christmas, everyone!
Present over.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas
O the weather outside is frightful.........
Man it's good to be back. Looking at my last post, I was pretty accurate about what to expect from my first semester of law school.....it was quite the experience, and I'm gonna remember the last 4 months (actually, exactly 4 months). It was full of causation, breach of duty, 12b6 motions, stiff-arming common law judges, running for SBA 1L election under a Sarah Palin platform, it was crazy. Really crazy. The winter break has been so much more enjoyable this year, though, cuz I know I worked so freakishly hard the last few months. The contrast between work and play is especially highlighted, I guess.
Anyway, lotta fantasy matters to attend to. I won one of my fantasy baseball leagues this year again, not gonna brag but it's becoming routine. My well-tailored strategy has proven useful for me year after year ( if you don't know it, see my previous posts, fools), and my predictions were mostly correct: Ryan Howard broke 45 HR's again, Grady Sizemore was a stud, and the Cubs won the World Series! (Ahem, that last one was a figment of my imagination, and I actually really prefoer NOT to talk about it, so let's drop it, shall we?)
Fantasy basketball is well under way, and I'm doing well. Did I mention I LOVE fantasy basketball? Probably my fav game, ESPECIALLY in roto leagues. You just gotta manage your team really well in roto, and every game counts, just like fantasy baseball. So pure, roto is, none of this, "get past the week and wipe the slate clean" stuff. If Shaq gets off to an 0-for-10 start from the line, do you get to wipe that slate clean? No, you SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES for playing him! Not to sound cruel, but it's true. Roto is why Dwight Howard is a monster in real life but a mediocre player in fantasy, is why 3-point specialists like peja or steve blake( this year) have value, and where 5X5 cats are born (a la Josh Smith)
Ok let's get to it. I LOVE kevin durant this season. This man is getting better and better every day, he's on possibly one of the worst basketball teams on earth right now but still proves to be a roto stud. Ever since the thunder (terrible name, btw, I woulda named them the "honky donkey's" or the "blustery butterballs" before I named them the thunder) changed coaches and changed KD's position to SF, he's been a beast. He scores 20 + nightly, gets the defensive stats (either stl's or blk's, you choose) and the percentages to boost ( I actually rely on his 85% FT% along with dirk on my team to steady that cat). Man's solid and will probably be at least a top-20 fantasy player by year's end and drafted in the early 2nd round next year. Lot of good things happening.
Just traded Rudy Gay and Baron Davis away for Jose Calderon and Al Horford and Peja Stojakovic. Didn't really need peja, was a throw-in and probably a drop after i get him. It doesn't look good on paper, and it goes against one of my principles of trying to get players drafted higher on draft day, but for my team it's healthy ( I like how I've adopted a nourishing mentality to my team as opposed to "you guys fuckin' suck!" The key to this trade is B-Diddy's ineptitude in roto. Like D12 in FT%, Davis absolutely KILLS ur FG%, especially this year (atrocious 36.9% from the field). Nothing else is really terrible, like the 2.5 TO's per and actually his FT% is dece this year at 78%, but that FG% is gonna hold me back like a cancer. Calderon, the Spanish Flea, on the other hand, is the anti-diddy in that he posts nice peripherals, limits turnovers, and isn't an injury risk. None of the sexy numbers like 1.8 stl's and 18 PPG, but calderon is like a caesar salad health-wise to Diddy's omelette (not gonna kill you, but causes high cholestrol) Al Horford is a double-double waiting to happen, but key is is his 52% FG and 1.7 Blk's. He's learned to become a shot-blocker this year alongside J-Smoove on the hawks, and he's only getting better.
Steve Blake: The air in the Pacific Northwest must be easier to travel through, cuz White Chocolate is just rainbowing 3's from down-town. Love him cuz he throws in other #'s (asts, pts) along w/ limited turnovers.
biggest disappointment you could've seen coming: Elton Brand. New team, coming off injury, just signed big contract.......I woulda avoided brand at all costs in this year's drafting considering he was going at #5 or 6. Every other first-rounder except the matrix has played to form.
Chauncey Billups is just a great real player, but his fantasy stats didn't suffer after getting moved to denver. He's just so solid.
Buy low on david west. That hornets team will be back in action soon and running on full cylinders, and in roto west's 49% FG and 85% FT are very attractive.
Shoulda sold high on Spencer Hawes. I didn't. Now, though, I feel like you should Stash him and buy low, cuz he's in a rut but will get more opportunity as soon as the kings get into "play-the-young guys-cuz-we're done" mode again. ( An annual occurence)
More to come. I promise. Got a lotta free time this winter break.
-Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Man it's good to be back. Looking at my last post, I was pretty accurate about what to expect from my first semester of law school.....it was quite the experience, and I'm gonna remember the last 4 months (actually, exactly 4 months). It was full of causation, breach of duty, 12b6 motions, stiff-arming common law judges, running for SBA 1L election under a Sarah Palin platform, it was crazy. Really crazy. The winter break has been so much more enjoyable this year, though, cuz I know I worked so freakishly hard the last few months. The contrast between work and play is especially highlighted, I guess.
Anyway, lotta fantasy matters to attend to. I won one of my fantasy baseball leagues this year again, not gonna brag but it's becoming routine. My well-tailored strategy has proven useful for me year after year ( if you don't know it, see my previous posts, fools), and my predictions were mostly correct: Ryan Howard broke 45 HR's again, Grady Sizemore was a stud, and the Cubs won the World Series! (Ahem, that last one was a figment of my imagination, and I actually really prefoer NOT to talk about it, so let's drop it, shall we?)
Fantasy basketball is well under way, and I'm doing well. Did I mention I LOVE fantasy basketball? Probably my fav game, ESPECIALLY in roto leagues. You just gotta manage your team really well in roto, and every game counts, just like fantasy baseball. So pure, roto is, none of this, "get past the week and wipe the slate clean" stuff. If Shaq gets off to an 0-for-10 start from the line, do you get to wipe that slate clean? No, you SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES for playing him! Not to sound cruel, but it's true. Roto is why Dwight Howard is a monster in real life but a mediocre player in fantasy, is why 3-point specialists like peja or steve blake( this year) have value, and where 5X5 cats are born (a la Josh Smith)
Ok let's get to it. I LOVE kevin durant this season. This man is getting better and better every day, he's on possibly one of the worst basketball teams on earth right now but still proves to be a roto stud. Ever since the thunder (terrible name, btw, I woulda named them the "honky donkey's" or the "blustery butterballs" before I named them the thunder) changed coaches and changed KD's position to SF, he's been a beast. He scores 20 + nightly, gets the defensive stats (either stl's or blk's, you choose) and the percentages to boost ( I actually rely on his 85% FT% along with dirk on my team to steady that cat). Man's solid and will probably be at least a top-20 fantasy player by year's end and drafted in the early 2nd round next year. Lot of good things happening.
Just traded Rudy Gay and Baron Davis away for Jose Calderon and Al Horford and Peja Stojakovic. Didn't really need peja, was a throw-in and probably a drop after i get him. It doesn't look good on paper, and it goes against one of my principles of trying to get players drafted higher on draft day, but for my team it's healthy ( I like how I've adopted a nourishing mentality to my team as opposed to "you guys fuckin' suck!" The key to this trade is B-Diddy's ineptitude in roto. Like D12 in FT%, Davis absolutely KILLS ur FG%, especially this year (atrocious 36.9% from the field). Nothing else is really terrible, like the 2.5 TO's per and actually his FT% is dece this year at 78%, but that FG% is gonna hold me back like a cancer. Calderon, the Spanish Flea, on the other hand, is the anti-diddy in that he posts nice peripherals, limits turnovers, and isn't an injury risk. None of the sexy numbers like 1.8 stl's and 18 PPG, but calderon is like a caesar salad health-wise to Diddy's omelette (not gonna kill you, but causes high cholestrol) Al Horford is a double-double waiting to happen, but key is is his 52% FG and 1.7 Blk's. He's learned to become a shot-blocker this year alongside J-Smoove on the hawks, and he's only getting better.
Steve Blake: The air in the Pacific Northwest must be easier to travel through, cuz White Chocolate is just rainbowing 3's from down-town. Love him cuz he throws in other #'s (asts, pts) along w/ limited turnovers.
biggest disappointment you could've seen coming: Elton Brand. New team, coming off injury, just signed big contract.......I woulda avoided brand at all costs in this year's drafting considering he was going at #5 or 6. Every other first-rounder except the matrix has played to form.
Chauncey Billups is just a great real player, but his fantasy stats didn't suffer after getting moved to denver. He's just so solid.
Buy low on david west. That hornets team will be back in action soon and running on full cylinders, and in roto west's 49% FG and 85% FT are very attractive.
Shoulda sold high on Spencer Hawes. I didn't. Now, though, I feel like you should Stash him and buy low, cuz he's in a rut but will get more opportunity as soon as the kings get into "play-the-young guys-cuz-we're done" mode again. ( An annual occurence)
More to come. I promise. Got a lotta free time this winter break.
-Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Dawn of a new day
So tonight is the last night I'll have before I officially begin law school at the University of Southern California. Sure, for the last week or so we've had orientation days to get us acquainted with the whole process, but tomorrow it truly, truly begins.
Preparing for law school has been an interesting experience, insofar as the thing I've been waiting for hasn't even begun it. The last several weeks have been shrouded in a mist of the last days of summer, including the last weeks of day camp, a long weekend at Disneyland with my hometown friends, and the monumental Olympic games in China. However, not lost amongst these moments was the realization that law school was quickly upon me, that those days of freedom will inevitably come to an end. And soon.
I'm writing with the understanding that in about 3 months I can look back on this blog and realize the naivete and amateurish attitude that I had at this point before law school even started, but here are my thoughts about how the next few months are gonna go: Law school will be tough. There will be lots of work, lots of readings. There will be deadlines to meet, outlines to produce, professors to meet, and pressures to alleviate. I will have my ups and downs, exhilarating highs ( I don't mean the drug kind, or at least i hope not) and depressing lows. However, I will come out of this semester much more prepared for a career in law, but also more complete as a person because I will have mastered a semester of one of the toughest endeavors of anybody anywhere: law school. Well, hopefully, I'll master it. Let me tone that down a bit: I'll have survived, haha.
Anyway, on a lighter note, guess I'm an idiot. The mole was NOT alex. I would most assuredly have been eliminated from the Mole if I had gone 100% for alex at the executions. But the thing is, I woulda never went 100% for someone until the final 4 or 3 because the format of the show makes playing the odds ( a.k.a. targeting everybody so that you at least get some questions right) the best strategy. You just have to AVOID being the worst tester on any given quiz, you don't have to get the best score. I don't understand why the contestants don't understand that. And i'm gonna just hush hush it up from now cuz if I ever DO get on the mole ( fingers crossed) i don't wanna fellow contestants stealing my startegy.
I guess Craig was a good mole. But I feel like Alex would have been so much more deceptive. Craig had a built-in excuse every time he failed. O, and also, I felt like he overestimated his social ability to manipulate other players. Sure, being friends with other players probably brushed off some suspicion, but it's not as if he personally executed every single player through HIS game player. Gotta give other players more credit than that, Craig. But overall, good job.
Olympics are also over. Man, there was some drama this year. Can't remember the games being so exciting. There were a lot of close finishes, anxious moments to wait for judges' scores, etc. It was quite the spectacle. Wish I was there.
sorry for the lack of baseball knowledge trinketts, friends. I'll try to be back w/ more of that, but law school does start, and the first year is the most important of all. But I'll try.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Preparing for law school has been an interesting experience, insofar as the thing I've been waiting for hasn't even begun it. The last several weeks have been shrouded in a mist of the last days of summer, including the last weeks of day camp, a long weekend at Disneyland with my hometown friends, and the monumental Olympic games in China. However, not lost amongst these moments was the realization that law school was quickly upon me, that those days of freedom will inevitably come to an end. And soon.
I'm writing with the understanding that in about 3 months I can look back on this blog and realize the naivete and amateurish attitude that I had at this point before law school even started, but here are my thoughts about how the next few months are gonna go: Law school will be tough. There will be lots of work, lots of readings. There will be deadlines to meet, outlines to produce, professors to meet, and pressures to alleviate. I will have my ups and downs, exhilarating highs ( I don't mean the drug kind, or at least i hope not) and depressing lows. However, I will come out of this semester much more prepared for a career in law, but also more complete as a person because I will have mastered a semester of one of the toughest endeavors of anybody anywhere: law school. Well, hopefully, I'll master it. Let me tone that down a bit: I'll have survived, haha.
Anyway, on a lighter note, guess I'm an idiot. The mole was NOT alex. I would most assuredly have been eliminated from the Mole if I had gone 100% for alex at the executions. But the thing is, I woulda never went 100% for someone until the final 4 or 3 because the format of the show makes playing the odds ( a.k.a. targeting everybody so that you at least get some questions right) the best strategy. You just have to AVOID being the worst tester on any given quiz, you don't have to get the best score. I don't understand why the contestants don't understand that. And i'm gonna just hush hush it up from now cuz if I ever DO get on the mole ( fingers crossed) i don't wanna fellow contestants stealing my startegy.
I guess Craig was a good mole. But I feel like Alex would have been so much more deceptive. Craig had a built-in excuse every time he failed. O, and also, I felt like he overestimated his social ability to manipulate other players. Sure, being friends with other players probably brushed off some suspicion, but it's not as if he personally executed every single player through HIS game player. Gotta give other players more credit than that, Craig. But overall, good job.
Olympics are also over. Man, there was some drama this year. Can't remember the games being so exciting. There were a lot of close finishes, anxious moments to wait for judges' scores, etc. It was quite the spectacle. Wish I was there.
sorry for the lack of baseball knowledge trinketts, friends. I'll try to be back w/ more of that, but law school does start, and the first year is the most important of all. But I'll try.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Sunday, July 13, 2008
July Rumblings
Long time no see, friends, long time no see. I've been real busy with this camp business, and every summer it seems I get in a lull with this blog and forget to write for a while, or am just too lazy to do so after a long day of work. But checkin' in now cuz fantasy is getting pretty interesting.
First off, wanna recommend another book. Yea, yea, i kno, i've done that a bunch of times already, but for fantasy owners, nothing hits home as well as "Fantasyland" by Sam Walker, a chronicle of the author's journey through a full season of Tout wars, the premiere fantasy league in all of baseball. The thing is, i'd barely even heard of Tout Wars before reading the book, and there were some references to it in certain media outlets that made it seem like this mysterious, omnicient cult, but now I know what it is. And you will too after reading the book. But anyway, the book totally reflects everything that a fantasy owner goes through, from analysis of certain players to investing heavily in certain favorites to cursing managers for leaving pitchers in games to agonizing losses to the salivating before making a big trade you KNOW is favorable to you. O man, get it, get it.
Another recommendation if you're bored and are flipping through channels waiting for the September premieres of shows ( Btw, heroes: villains from what I hear will be awesome), check out a show called Total Drama Island on Cartoon Network. Very unconventional, I never thought i'd recommend anything on a kids show. But this show was made with adults in mind too, and it's more "Survivor" than "every cartoon show you've ever seen." It follows the reality TV show format, has great character development for a half-hour show, and makes some great jokes. Good entertainment. And you don't have to worry about someone stupid winning like Parvati did winning the last one. ( Urg, i so hated Cirie). Anyway, if you check out that show my favorite storyline is Duncan-Courtney. That budding romance is a great match.
Speaking of match(up)s, the last day of baseball before the all-star break has some marquee ones. Right now I'm following Cole Hamels vs. Brandon Webb in a 1-0 pitcher's duel, which has great fantasy implications, especially when it's ur fantasy pitcher vs. your closest rival's best pitcher. It really transcends into the fantasy world. Brandon Webb, btw, shares my birthday, giving him extra props in my book.
Later, it's Tim Lincecum vs. Ryan Dempster. O man Lincecum is turning out so nicely, it's a pleasure watching him grow into a future Hall-of-Fame pitcher.
At this point in the season, you are OBLIGATED as the manager of a fantasy team to sit down, assess and reasses your teams, come up with unbiased analysis of your team, the strengths and weaknesses, and address them. Have a game plan for the rest of the season. Know what you need. Go for the win. No more haggling along. If you're up 25 homers or more on the rest of the league, it's probably time to trade Ryan Howard for whatever else you need. You'll have to make a decision soon to pull the trigger, cuz half the season is gone. Then again, don't automatically assume if you're leading a category right now you'll just outright win it. Nothing hurts more than trading a guy who was nuts in a certain category, then watching everybody else in the league catch up to you in that cat by September. that's where that solid analysis comes in. Come up with a plan, make amends to it, make a move. Don't be afraid to consider all options, but don't make a desperate one.
Although, if you're in last place in your league, disregard all that advice you just received. You're probably toast already, my friend.
Who are the guys you should look out for to help your team down the stretch?
Volquez and Lee are the guys everybody sees as breakout pitchers this year, and rightly so, but Ervin Santana is now 11-3, a guy you coulda picked up off the waiver wire in late April. The guy's solid. I would ride him for the rest of the way as he and Lackey are the horses in that Angel pen. Joba Chamberlain is another guy who's fresh ( not too many innings worked) and has devastating stuff. He'll never really disappoint you cuz the strikeout numbers are there even if his peripherals suffer a little bit.
I was pumping francisco liriano before the season started only to see him go into a fantasy coma, but he should be back after the all-star and this time, it should be the real deal. If you need pitching help, you can't really let the chance that liriano has a 2006-like explosion on a good twins team go by the way side. Speaking of the twins, no one speaks of scott baker. He's probably the best pitcher on that staff.
For hitters, I would hang on to Ian Kinsler. That 1st half was no fluke, man can hit, and he's got some offensive juggernauts behind him, to say the least.
Watch the Arizona lineup. They started off all mashing, then went into a long flunk. Watch for them to break out of it w/ guys like Tracy, Reynolds, and Chris Young carrying the load.
No other 1st-round pick this season has disappointed more than Miguel Cabrera. I think he finally adjusts to America's armpit called Detroit and mashes to his usual tune the 2nd half.
Ryan Howard will have more than 45 homers again. That's almost a given in my mind unless he gets hurt.
If you can get Joe Mauer somehow, get him. He's good. He won't disappoint cuz he's just a sick ballplayer.
There will be some young hitter who tears up the league the 2nd half of the season as he rounds into shape. Candidates for that are Billy Butler, Adam Jones, Jay Bruce, and Mike Jacobs. Watch for those guys.
Biggest 2nd-half guy you should watch: Nick the Stick, Nick Markakis. Third-year player, historically good Augusts, this guy will be rewarding you tremendously soon.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
First off, wanna recommend another book. Yea, yea, i kno, i've done that a bunch of times already, but for fantasy owners, nothing hits home as well as "Fantasyland" by Sam Walker, a chronicle of the author's journey through a full season of Tout wars, the premiere fantasy league in all of baseball. The thing is, i'd barely even heard of Tout Wars before reading the book, and there were some references to it in certain media outlets that made it seem like this mysterious, omnicient cult, but now I know what it is. And you will too after reading the book. But anyway, the book totally reflects everything that a fantasy owner goes through, from analysis of certain players to investing heavily in certain favorites to cursing managers for leaving pitchers in games to agonizing losses to the salivating before making a big trade you KNOW is favorable to you. O man, get it, get it.
Another recommendation if you're bored and are flipping through channels waiting for the September premieres of shows ( Btw, heroes: villains from what I hear will be awesome), check out a show called Total Drama Island on Cartoon Network. Very unconventional, I never thought i'd recommend anything on a kids show. But this show was made with adults in mind too, and it's more "Survivor" than "every cartoon show you've ever seen." It follows the reality TV show format, has great character development for a half-hour show, and makes some great jokes. Good entertainment. And you don't have to worry about someone stupid winning like Parvati did winning the last one. ( Urg, i so hated Cirie). Anyway, if you check out that show my favorite storyline is Duncan-Courtney. That budding romance is a great match.
Speaking of match(up)s, the last day of baseball before the all-star break has some marquee ones. Right now I'm following Cole Hamels vs. Brandon Webb in a 1-0 pitcher's duel, which has great fantasy implications, especially when it's ur fantasy pitcher vs. your closest rival's best pitcher. It really transcends into the fantasy world. Brandon Webb, btw, shares my birthday, giving him extra props in my book.
Later, it's Tim Lincecum vs. Ryan Dempster. O man Lincecum is turning out so nicely, it's a pleasure watching him grow into a future Hall-of-Fame pitcher.
At this point in the season, you are OBLIGATED as the manager of a fantasy team to sit down, assess and reasses your teams, come up with unbiased analysis of your team, the strengths and weaknesses, and address them. Have a game plan for the rest of the season. Know what you need. Go for the win. No more haggling along. If you're up 25 homers or more on the rest of the league, it's probably time to trade Ryan Howard for whatever else you need. You'll have to make a decision soon to pull the trigger, cuz half the season is gone. Then again, don't automatically assume if you're leading a category right now you'll just outright win it. Nothing hurts more than trading a guy who was nuts in a certain category, then watching everybody else in the league catch up to you in that cat by September. that's where that solid analysis comes in. Come up with a plan, make amends to it, make a move. Don't be afraid to consider all options, but don't make a desperate one.
Although, if you're in last place in your league, disregard all that advice you just received. You're probably toast already, my friend.
Who are the guys you should look out for to help your team down the stretch?
Volquez and Lee are the guys everybody sees as breakout pitchers this year, and rightly so, but Ervin Santana is now 11-3, a guy you coulda picked up off the waiver wire in late April. The guy's solid. I would ride him for the rest of the way as he and Lackey are the horses in that Angel pen. Joba Chamberlain is another guy who's fresh ( not too many innings worked) and has devastating stuff. He'll never really disappoint you cuz the strikeout numbers are there even if his peripherals suffer a little bit.
I was pumping francisco liriano before the season started only to see him go into a fantasy coma, but he should be back after the all-star and this time, it should be the real deal. If you need pitching help, you can't really let the chance that liriano has a 2006-like explosion on a good twins team go by the way side. Speaking of the twins, no one speaks of scott baker. He's probably the best pitcher on that staff.
For hitters, I would hang on to Ian Kinsler. That 1st half was no fluke, man can hit, and he's got some offensive juggernauts behind him, to say the least.
Watch the Arizona lineup. They started off all mashing, then went into a long flunk. Watch for them to break out of it w/ guys like Tracy, Reynolds, and Chris Young carrying the load.
No other 1st-round pick this season has disappointed more than Miguel Cabrera. I think he finally adjusts to America's armpit called Detroit and mashes to his usual tune the 2nd half.
Ryan Howard will have more than 45 homers again. That's almost a given in my mind unless he gets hurt.
If you can get Joe Mauer somehow, get him. He's good. He won't disappoint cuz he's just a sick ballplayer.
There will be some young hitter who tears up the league the 2nd half of the season as he rounds into shape. Candidates for that are Billy Butler, Adam Jones, Jay Bruce, and Mike Jacobs. Watch for those guys.
Biggest 2nd-half guy you should watch: Nick the Stick, Nick Markakis. Third-year player, historically good Augusts, this guy will be rewarding you tremendously soon.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Dude, guys, alex is the mole!
First off, I wanna say that I have not read any spoilers on who the mole was, nor will I succumb to that particular temptation before the show wraps up. However, I am just absolutely convinced, with all the conviction that can exist in my 175-pound body, that Alex is the mole. And I love it.
Alex has been on my radar for a while, and I gotta say, he's done a great job being the mole. Very tricky, very tricky. As I mused about in a previous column, he did subtle sabotage in the first episode by going first and losing, attributing it to being the first one to go, and then was absolutely piss poor playing soccer. Well, we'll done w/ 4 episodes now and here are the additions: Alex sabotaged the luge game by putting up 2 apples and getting only 1 fruit correct, but blaming it smoothly on Nicole as she was the one who slipped up.
So many little things throughout have pointed to Alex, without the producers throwing a big sign on the screen that screams, "Alex is the mole!" I just don't get why people are still suspecting the other players, to be frank. Obviously, I could be wrong and just look like an idiot at the end of this, but seriously, and for that reason I've entertained ideas about it being someone else, but the signs just point to alex. If you look at it from a producer's point of view, alex in episode 1 supposedly suspected marcie in order to first establish a prime suspect, and indeed marcie was the prime supsect of the majority of the players, as voted on, until she left. Then, alex supposedly suspects nicole, the next primary suspect, and teams up with her in different challenges ( luge, piggy game) so that he can blame stuff on her. Alex never has to try too hard to sabotage missions, and many times he uses his producer-selected assets ( speaking Spanish to the natives) as a cover for his sabotage ( he gets back quickly w/ the piggies but then drops a bunch of them on the ground in an erroneous attempt to use the slingshot, which the producers probably told him to just absolutely bungle).
I'm soothed by the fact that victoria was eliminated cuz the episode before that it seemed like most boards speculated that she was the mole. Nada. My suspicions are being confirmed every week. Which leaves me to guess on a winner. I'm guessing paul is eliminated as some point cuz he trusts alex too much and is his friend, nicole might finally stop guessing wrong mole candidates like bobby and victoria, but clay and mark seem like the coalition that actually knows what it's doing. I'll go with the sentimental pick of mark, but i'd hate to see kristen win, just cuz she goes to UCLA ( haha, not really) but also cuz she seems like she's done nothing in this whole season. Honestly, very little. And people still think she's the mole? Puh-leez.
Alex has been on my radar for a while, and I gotta say, he's done a great job being the mole. Very tricky, very tricky. As I mused about in a previous column, he did subtle sabotage in the first episode by going first and losing, attributing it to being the first one to go, and then was absolutely piss poor playing soccer. Well, we'll done w/ 4 episodes now and here are the additions: Alex sabotaged the luge game by putting up 2 apples and getting only 1 fruit correct, but blaming it smoothly on Nicole as she was the one who slipped up.
So many little things throughout have pointed to Alex, without the producers throwing a big sign on the screen that screams, "Alex is the mole!" I just don't get why people are still suspecting the other players, to be frank. Obviously, I could be wrong and just look like an idiot at the end of this, but seriously, and for that reason I've entertained ideas about it being someone else, but the signs just point to alex. If you look at it from a producer's point of view, alex in episode 1 supposedly suspected marcie in order to first establish a prime suspect, and indeed marcie was the prime supsect of the majority of the players, as voted on, until she left. Then, alex supposedly suspects nicole, the next primary suspect, and teams up with her in different challenges ( luge, piggy game) so that he can blame stuff on her. Alex never has to try too hard to sabotage missions, and many times he uses his producer-selected assets ( speaking Spanish to the natives) as a cover for his sabotage ( he gets back quickly w/ the piggies but then drops a bunch of them on the ground in an erroneous attempt to use the slingshot, which the producers probably told him to just absolutely bungle).
I'm soothed by the fact that victoria was eliminated cuz the episode before that it seemed like most boards speculated that she was the mole. Nada. My suspicions are being confirmed every week. Which leaves me to guess on a winner. I'm guessing paul is eliminated as some point cuz he trusts alex too much and is his friend, nicole might finally stop guessing wrong mole candidates like bobby and victoria, but clay and mark seem like the coalition that actually knows what it's doing. I'll go with the sentimental pick of mark, but i'd hate to see kristen win, just cuz she goes to UCLA ( haha, not really) but also cuz she seems like she's done nothing in this whole season. Honestly, very little. And people still think she's the mole? Puh-leez.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Why aren't more people watching the mole?
Yea that's the question on my mind right now. Jeez, louise, people, you're missing out on a great show! Get a move on! Yea guess i'm just disappointed in the low ratings for the mole, which are somewhat explained by its out-of-the way 10/9 c time slot.
Man, when I wrote a few posts back that I was a lil disappointed about the first episode of the mole, I didn't expect it to have such an impact! Haha, seriously, watch the mole, give it a chance, it's a quality show. Someone on another blog made a point that the mole is superior to other reality TV shows like survivor or bachelor in that viewers actually have a lot of interaction with the show; they follow along with every move of every player and decide for themselves their own list of the suspects, and the quiz that all the players are take are available online. Trying to guess at the mole is the main premise of the show. And it should be the main premise of your monday night TV viewing habits. C'mon, people!
For what it's worth, after 2 episodes I've changed my pick of mole from Clay as orignially guessed to Alex. Clay has done nothing to indicate whatsoever that he's the mole, which doesn't necessarily mean he isn't, but..........Alex has been craftily making his way through the first 4 tasks. I can easily see how the producers set it up so the first task he goes first off the waterfall ( due to alphabetical order) and misses the bag w/ the built-in excuse of being the first to fall, then does terrible in the soccer game ( seriously, i dunno what soccer league he played in, but when does a soccer player dribble around with the ball on a penalty kick?), and then subtlely messing up the flying piggies game. If I were a contestant in the season, I wouldn't put all my eggs on him, obviously, this early in the game, but the writing's on the wall. It's not a full wall yet, but there's some scribbles.
Anyway, fantasy baseball. I've had plenty of distractions this season from my favoritest game, but now i'm back and more pumped forever. But just to encourage those who've fallen off a bit from the game, I can relate. Sometimes you feel through the long, long season that it doesn't really matter whether Ichiro went 0 for 4 last night, or your top reliever ( say, Heath Bell) got rocked for 2 runs and 4 hits last night. It's such a long season that it all balances out in the end, or you feel that it's just not very significant. They didn't really have that big an impact on the game! O, and you're leading in HR's anyway, so who cares if Justin Morneau got robbed at the wall?
Well, ladies and gentlemen, lemme just tell you a lil' story: Last year, I played in a winners league that I was very passionate about, all the players in the league were active participants, things were tense. I really wanted to win. And there were a few days I felt exactly what I'd just described, a feeling of triviality, that it doesn't really matter, or I'd seen it all before. I even got bored sometimes with Carlos Beltran: I mean, the guy isn't very exciting. Well, last season I lost by 0.5 points in the Yahoo! rotisserie league after making a furious comeback the last day to gain 3.5 pts but still lose by an eyelash. What was more upsetting was the # of categories I could have gained in. Two more runs and I would have gotten another half point. 1 More home run. Couple more points in batting average. That means on any given night, I could have just made another wise move or two, guessed right on somebody getting hot or facing a familiar pitcher and taking him/ her deep. I was sure I could have squeezed another one of those situations out, but I didn't. It hurt. Therefore, fantasy players, I urge you, don't let the season's length take its toll on your participation level. It'll cost ya.
O, and don't forget to watch the mole this monday 10/9 c. It'd make my day.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Man, when I wrote a few posts back that I was a lil disappointed about the first episode of the mole, I didn't expect it to have such an impact! Haha, seriously, watch the mole, give it a chance, it's a quality show. Someone on another blog made a point that the mole is superior to other reality TV shows like survivor or bachelor in that viewers actually have a lot of interaction with the show; they follow along with every move of every player and decide for themselves their own list of the suspects, and the quiz that all the players are take are available online. Trying to guess at the mole is the main premise of the show. And it should be the main premise of your monday night TV viewing habits. C'mon, people!
For what it's worth, after 2 episodes I've changed my pick of mole from Clay as orignially guessed to Alex. Clay has done nothing to indicate whatsoever that he's the mole, which doesn't necessarily mean he isn't, but..........Alex has been craftily making his way through the first 4 tasks. I can easily see how the producers set it up so the first task he goes first off the waterfall ( due to alphabetical order) and misses the bag w/ the built-in excuse of being the first to fall, then does terrible in the soccer game ( seriously, i dunno what soccer league he played in, but when does a soccer player dribble around with the ball on a penalty kick?), and then subtlely messing up the flying piggies game. If I were a contestant in the season, I wouldn't put all my eggs on him, obviously, this early in the game, but the writing's on the wall. It's not a full wall yet, but there's some scribbles.
Anyway, fantasy baseball. I've had plenty of distractions this season from my favoritest game, but now i'm back and more pumped forever. But just to encourage those who've fallen off a bit from the game, I can relate. Sometimes you feel through the long, long season that it doesn't really matter whether Ichiro went 0 for 4 last night, or your top reliever ( say, Heath Bell) got rocked for 2 runs and 4 hits last night. It's such a long season that it all balances out in the end, or you feel that it's just not very significant. They didn't really have that big an impact on the game! O, and you're leading in HR's anyway, so who cares if Justin Morneau got robbed at the wall?
Well, ladies and gentlemen, lemme just tell you a lil' story: Last year, I played in a winners league that I was very passionate about, all the players in the league were active participants, things were tense. I really wanted to win. And there were a few days I felt exactly what I'd just described, a feeling of triviality, that it doesn't really matter, or I'd seen it all before. I even got bored sometimes with Carlos Beltran: I mean, the guy isn't very exciting. Well, last season I lost by 0.5 points in the Yahoo! rotisserie league after making a furious comeback the last day to gain 3.5 pts but still lose by an eyelash. What was more upsetting was the # of categories I could have gained in. Two more runs and I would have gotten another half point. 1 More home run. Couple more points in batting average. That means on any given night, I could have just made another wise move or two, guessed right on somebody getting hot or facing a familiar pitcher and taking him/ her deep. I was sure I could have squeezed another one of those situations out, but I didn't. It hurt. Therefore, fantasy players, I urge you, don't let the season's length take its toll on your participation level. It'll cost ya.
O, and don't forget to watch the mole this monday 10/9 c. It'd make my day.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)