Can I get a reboot on this fantasy football season?

Will Amendola stay healthy enough to be a factor?

I hate my fantasy football team right now.  I chose sure thing Aaron Rodgers with my #1 pick, but he hasn't been very Aaron Rodgers-like lately, throwing just a single TD pass in each of his last two outings.  I used my first keeper on Trent Richardson in the 3rd round, and amazingly Richardson has yet to rush for more than 60 yards in a single game this year.

I though I was getting great value with Danny Amendola as my second keeper in round 10, but a groin injury has prevented him from having a significant impact since the first Sunday of the season.  Shane Vereen looked like a steal in the 5th round after rushing for 101 yards (and catching 7 passes for 58 more) on that same day, unfortunately he also broke his wrist and hasn't played since.

My top scoring position so far has been my defense, and not even any particular defense at that; each week I've been picking up the home team in the always sloppy Thursday night games, or whoever is playing against Jacksonville.  I feel a lot like the coach is this FanDuel commercial, which is also really funny by the way.





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A few things to ponder while waiting for the ALCS to start

Boston vs Detroit, Game 1, Saturday, 8:07 pm.  While most Red Sox fans were probably hoping for Oakland, I'm actually glad we'll be seeing the Tigers take the field at Fenway tomorrow night.  The A's scared me; I couldn't figure out why they were good.  They just seemed to have that same sort of karma/mojo thing going that the Sox do, and it's easy to fear what you don't understand.  However, along with the Tigers comes to town Jose Iglesias, meaning the nightmare scenario I envisioned back in July when Boston traded him for Jake Peavy is still in play.

Two things from the ALDS I'd like to mention: One, it's pretty unbelievable how significant a part of his offense getting hit by pitches has become for Shane Victorino.  The all-time record for HBP's in one postseason is 4, which he has already tied through four games.  There's no way he'll keep up his 1 per game average, but I wouldn't be surprised to see this be a factor at some point against Detroit.

And two, once this season is over can the Red Sox please just pay Jacoby Ellsbury?  They tied up Game 4 on Tuesday night when he went from first to third on a wild pitch.  I can't even tell you how many times I've seen him lead off an inning with a hit, steal 2nd, take 3rd when the throw goes into the outfield, then score shortly thereafter.  Ellsbury creates runs unlike anybody else in baseball.  And did you notice how excited he was after crossing the plate (above) and seeing Victorino beat out that two-out infield grounder?  That didn't look like a guy who's eager to sign anywhere else anytime soon.

I discussed these and other topics on Wednesday night in a guest appearance on Red Sox Life Live:



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Ok, we are officially living in the future now

I saw this ad for the first time last night.  I had no idea what was coming.  It sucked me in about as well as any TV commercial possibly can:




Unfortunately cell phones are doing more and more things that need bigger and bigger screens, so I can't imagine many people these days will actually want one the size of a watch.  But still, brilliant ad.

Also, as I was writing the title it felt very familiar to me, so I dug up this old post from the very early days of LSF37.


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I don't think the controversial home run last night was really all that controversial

I watched numerous TV personalities debate this issue all day today (here's an explanation of what happened if you don't already know), and I'm a little shocked I never heard a single person argue it in this manner.  I'm completely convinced the umpires made the right call:

If you follow the trajectory of the little white blur that is that ball, it's clearly going to land on the far side the yellow line.

This means that in order for Josh Reddick to catch it, he was going to have to reach over that line and into the crowd.  Sorry Josh, but once you go into the stands, all bets are off.  Now here's the analogy I can't believe I haven't heard anyone make:

Imagine if this was a foul pop-up along one of the baselines.  When the fielder goes beyond the wall the fans have the same right that he does to go after the ball; it doesn't matter if he thinks he would have caught it if they hadn't gotten in his way.  Granted this was an extreme example on an enormous stage, but the same principle still applies.




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I'm ready for a new series/genre of adolescent books to become ridiculously popular

First there was Harry Potter.  Then Twilight.  Last year Hunger Games took over.  I realize I'm probably being a little impatient since we still have a few more Katniss Everdeen movies left, and her reign is due to last for a while longer.  But I finished those books well over a year ago, and I'm more than ready to read the next big thing.  If it's already out there and I just haven't realized, please let me know; I keep my ear to the grindstone on these things though, so I don't think it is.

And while I'm on the subject, what will that genre be?  Zombies are played out already.  Time travel comes to mind, but that's too broad.  I'm thinking human clones (or maybe people with tracking chips inside them who don't know it?).  There was a great TV series on BBC America this past spring/summer called Orphan Black (and it's coming back in April) that somebody should definitely use as inspiration to write four to five awesome books that can be turned into five to six blockbuster movies (have you noticed that the last book in a series is always split into two movies these days?).



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My sports watching dilemma live diary

It's 6:07 pm, and the Red Sox vs Rays ALDS Game 3 is about to start.  However, at 7:30 tonight the Celtics kick off the preseason at the Garden.  I know this sounds like a no-brainer, but I've got tickets for the C's (included as part of my season tix), and I think I have to go.  It's day one of the Brad Stevens era, and as a semi-serious Celtics writer/reporter I don't feel right missing it.  Maybe the Sox can jump on Tampa early and make this a non-issue.

6:21 - Boston got a run in the top of the first, but it could have been more.

6:37 - Was hoping this game would move along quickly so I could see as much as possible, but the 1st inning took half an hour.  1-0 Red Sox.

6:53 - Great line drive double play by Napoli and a sliding catch from Nava keep it 1-0 through two.  Going to try to watch one more inning...

7:07 - 1 out in the bottom of the 3rd, starting the DVR and heading to the Garden.

7:32 - I'm in my seat three minutes before tip-off.  TD Garden is about 30% full.

7:53 - The PA system tries to get fans fired up by playing the background beat for a "Lets go Cel-tics!" chant, but it's about twice as loud as it should be because there is nobody here.

8:17 - On the big screen it's displayed that the Red Sox are up 3-0, most crowd noise of the night so far.

8:31 - I can sort of see the baseball game on a TV in a luxury box not that far from my seat.  It appears Longoria just hit a 3 run bomb to tie the game.

8:40 - Celtics trail Toronto 53-48 at halftime. They look like a team with a bunch of mediocre players who don't know their roles yet, which is exactly what they are.

8:50 - From a TV down below in the concession area I watch Middlebrooks strike out looking on a pitch he's not happy with to end the top of the 6th.

8:56 - Buchholz gets the Rays 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, headed back to my seat.

9:08 - Take a look at my phone to find out it's the middle of the 7th, the game is 3 hours old.

9:30 - My DVR just stopped recording, even with the built in extra half hour.  Oh well.

9:54 - Celtics lose 97-89.  There's approximately 74 people still in their seats for the finish.  I'm exaggerating, but only slightly.  Looks like I'm actually going to make it home before the Sox game ends.

10:12 - I'm back at my apartment for the top of the 9th.  Stopped to grab a burrito on the way and missed the Rays taking a 4-3 lead.  I guess that's a good thing.

10:14 - Middlebrooks lead off walk. Too bad they already used up Quintin Berry.

10:17 - Ellsbury bloops in a single, just yelled at my TV.

10:18 - Victorino bunts them over.

10:19 - Very surprised they're not walking Pedroia with 2nd and 3rd, 1 out.

10:21 - Tie game.

10:30 - Crap.


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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "Mouth" by Merril Bainbridge

Merril Bainbridge released Mouth as a single in her home country of Australia in late 1994, but it didn't become popular in the U.S. until 1996.  It's not that well known (if I had to speculate I'd say probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 2% of people reading this might actually remember it), and you never hear it anymore, even though it was once a top five hit on the Billboard pop charts.  I guess it doesn't really stand out for any particular reason, but it's light and fluffy and happy sounding, and that makes it cool with me.



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NBA team previews: Atlantic & Pacific

As I mentioned on Monday, I signed up for a network of NBA team preview blogs.  Here all the links for the teams in the Atlantic and Pacific divisions (via Celtics Blog):

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics: CelticsBlog | Celtics Green | LucidSportsFan | CLNS Radio | Celtic Fan Chat | Truth On Causway | Sonics Rising
Brooklyn Nets: Nets Daily | Baller Mind Frame
New York Knicks: Posting and Toasting 
Philadelphia 76ers: Liberty Ballers 
Toronto Raptors: Raptors HQ

Pacific Division

Golden State Warriors: Golden State of Mind 
Los Angeles Clippers: Clips Nation 
Los Angeles Lakers: Silver Screen and Roll 
Phoenix Suns: Bright Side of the Sun 
Sacramento Kings: Sactown Royalty | Baller Mind Frame

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