Some guys in the NFL won't be as good again this year

This is true of all sports (baseball in particular), but because the NFL is starting up now I'm using that as an example.  Just because a player had a great season last year, that doesn't mean he will again this year.  It's more likely that a random player X will put up numbers similar to his other previous seasons, rather than his one outstanding season.  DeAngelo Williams is a good example.  In 2008 he came out of nowhere with a ridiculous break out season, and the following year he went near the top of everybody's fantasy drafts.  He was fairly disappointing in '09, then last year he flat out stunk.

I know I have said before that pre-season games are meaningless, but Michael Vick was bad the other night.  I mean really bad.  And even though I don't think you can read much into that, I do think it's a good bet that in 2011 he'll more likely resemble the Mike Vick of old than the guy who was an MVP candidate last year.  It's a little something called "regression to the mean."  The second Philly signed Vince Young I told an Eagles fan friend of mine that I bet at some point he starts instead of Vick, and I'm sticking to that.

Some other guys I'm very suspicious of this year are Arian Foster, Peyton Hillis, and Brandon Lloyd.

today is the best day of the summer

The second to last Friday in August on Martha's Vineyard.  Beach.  Fair.  Fireworks.

Oh, and one year there was a Boyz II Men concert too.

something happened at the beach yesterday that I have never seen in my life before

Ok, this has nothing to do with the picture, that's just one I took with my phone yesterday at the end of a great day at the beach.  What it does have to do with is "shotgunning" beers.  For anybody who might not know, that's when you poke a hole in the side of the can, then open it and chug it extra fast because the air flows quickly through it.  On a slight tangent, something most people don't know is that you can also do this with a bottle of beer (or still a can) just by sticking a straw in it while you drink out of the mouth.  Anyway, in my day I have seen a lot of people shotgun a lot of beers, but yesterday I saw something new: a girl bit the can open before she drank it.  And I don't mean she opened the top with her mouth; I mean she BIT a hole in the side of the can.  Apparently she learned it while pledging her sorority, and has done it ever since.

I also managed to put on too much sunscreen yesterday, I was in the sun for 9 hours and somehow became less tan than I was before.  And a girl named Anna stole a hot dog from me.  Still a pretty good day though.

UPDATE: so I guess I wasn't clear about the straw bottle chug.  Watch this:

give me a topic and i'll write about it

Ok, this is something I've been wanting to try for a while, and today is the perfect time to do it because I have a sweet beach day planned and I have to make this quick.  Today is reader appreciation day.  Tell me your ideas, and whichever one I like best I'll write about tomorrow.  Hopefully this works.  Ideally I'd like people to leave comments below on the blog.  But I know the comment section here is a pain in the ass, so if you don't want to do that you can comment instead on the LucidSportsFan facebook page.  Or if that's too difficult write on my regular facebook page.  Or tweet at me @lucidsportsfan.  Or if you have my cell phone number send me a text.  Or if you see me on the beach just tell me in person.

umbrellas are selfish and inconsiderate

I've never been one to use an umbrella.  I think they're big and awkward and annoying to carry.  Not to mention the fact that people always lose them; every time it rains I find one or two of them left at my bar at the end of the night.  Personally I'd much rather wear a hat, or a jacket with a hood, or just get a little wet.  I mean it's only water right, what's the big deal?

When I moved to New York City several years ago, my casual dislike for umbrellas turned into a full on hatred.  Walking down a crowded street in a sea of umbrellas is flat out dangerous for a tall person like myself.  Hundreds of people carrying around long pointy wires above their heads right at my eye level, often with no regard for their surroundings:

Yesterday I had to simultaneously duck, and jump to the side, in order to avoid the umbrellas of two people paying no attention while walking towards me on the sidewalk.  Cities should ban large umbrellas that double as lethal weapons, and, for people who are deathly afraid of a little rain, suggest ones like this as an alternative:

Who suffered the most from the NFL lockout?

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about how I thought the lockout was no big deal.  How it happened during the off-season, and didn't really have any lasting impact.  But after further thought I have realized I may be forced to eat my words.  There is one industry that should be greatly affected:

The fantasy football magazine business.  Those things usually come out in mid summer, as they all try to get the jump on each other and be the first one to hit the news stands.  By the time the season is ready to begin the magazines are often out of date.  Well this year they must all be pretty much useless.  So many players changed teams after the lockout ended that you'd have to be crazy to make your picks based on a magazine printed last month.  

And while I'm on the subject, do people even read magazines anymore?  I have about 6 months worth of unread ESPN The Magazines (I got a free subscription) sitting on my kitchen counter.  Any time that in the past I may have spent reading a magazine I now just use my cell phone/mini-supercomputer instead.

if you're not a liker or a follower you're missing things

Sometimes I have good stuff that is too short for a blog, just a sentence or two.  I tweet it, and it automatically posts on the LucidSportsFan facebook page as well.  Like did you know that Mariano Rivera may finally be getting old?  He just got lit up in 3 straight outings.  Or how about what Winnie Cooper has done since The Wonder Years?  If you're a follower of @lucidsportsfan on twitter or have "Liked" the blog page on facebook, than you're already aware of both those things.  In order to read this stuff, you either have to like or follow.  But all the cool kids are doing both.