Well, just a little over a week until the Super Bowl- and you know what that means- cool commercials! Seriously, that's like the best part of the game...seeing what the creative genius at all these big companies shelled out millions of dollars for. 30 seconds of air time....over two million dollars. No wonder our economic structure is all out of wack.
If you haven't heard, Focus on the Family ponied up the dough and is running an ad on abortion featuring Tim Tebow and his mother, talking about how her doctors told her to get an abortion. Obviously she didn't, and that has worked out well.
This is, needless to say (but I'm going to say it anyways, because it's a blog, and because it's 11 at night), slightly controversial. Here's my take on it.
In some ways, I don't mind it. I think it's great. Focus on the Family had the extra 2 mil, CBS needs money, voila. Commercial, capitalism, democracy- it's all great. Good message, good story. Bada bam.
Why I'm thinking that this is a bad thing...I see precedent being set here. This is going to get ugly. I feel like the wrong battlefield is being chosen for this. Because if you open this up to pro-life ads, then you are now opening the floodgates for any and every advocacy group that has some passion and a message. This isn't your grandpa's world, and the fact is that we the viewer, in the future, are going to be subjected to ads that poke and prod at issues that get us really fired up.
Now maybe not en masse, like the Bud Bowl ( I do miss Bud Bowl spots, by the way...it was like watching a football game within a football game)...but think about it. That means that you are going to be watching an ad for something that you are completely against. Maybe you're against homosexuality. Maybe you don't think that marijuana should ever be legal. Maybe you want the government to send the Mexicans back across the border. Maybe you are zealously a creationist. Whatever the case may be, you aren't going to be able to pick and choose. You can't say "well, I'm okay with CBS running the Tebow ad, but dammit they better not show the Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf one where he talks about his conversion to Islam".
And that's the problem I see with this. Hate is already festering deep within this country. Sports, the Super Bowl in particular, are a great chance for us to escape whatever it is that is going on in our lives. That's why so many Americans who are ambivalent about the Saints or the Colts are probably going to find themselves pulling for the Saints. It's amazing what that football team has meant to that community, to that city, and it's just a really great story. The Super Bowl is a chance for us to put aside our hate and anger. We don't need some 30 second commercial reminding us of the things that divide us. Do we?
Some people think this is a perfect opportunity to spread a message. I disagree. I'm tuning in to watch football...and the halftime show on the off chance that they are able to raise the dead again. Or are you trying to tell me that the Rolling Stones are still alive? I'm watching because I want to get away from this kind of stuff. We'll have all year to argue pro-this vs. pro-that.
You know what I see, in my head? I see a bunch of people watching the game at the sports bar. Some of them might be gay. One or two could be Christian...maybe there's a group of atheists. Probably someone who was (or maybe even is) a drug addict. A dead-beat dad, over there at the sports bar. The waitress has a second part time job so that she can afford to put food on the table for her toddler. That guy in the back beats his girlfriend. Up in the front is the head of the United Way. I think we all have some people on this list that we know and love- and maybe some that we just wish could be dragged out back and shot. But we're not so different, all of us.
HUMANITY. We all have our problems, our issues, our faults and flaws. We all have our beliefs. We all go here, or there, our lives forever flying in different directions, always held together by this one thread- our humanity. That doesn't mean that there aren't differences, or even that there shouldn't be. Right and wrong? They're there. But why do we focus on how different we are, instead of building on how similar we all are?
So is there a problem with the Tebow ad? That's really not what you need to ask yourself. You should be asking yourself if you have a problem with the ads that are sure to come later, the ones that deal with the issues that you don't want them to deal with. Because that's the only way that you can really answer the question.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
The hardest thing I'll ever do
You know what I think? I think the toughest part of parenting isn't the late nights in early infancy, it's not the constant responsibility, it isn't even all the extra crap that you only need to buy because you have a child.
It's the knowledge that eventually, you are going to have to let go, and allow them to brave the shark infested waters of society- and knowing that you won't be able to hold their hand through it all. It's knowing that people are some of the most evil, wicked creatures on our planet, and that they will do and say things that are hurtful for no other reason than to be hurtful- and all we can do is shake our heads, shrug our shoulders, and reiterate how much we love our children.
I had a moment today where I had this epiphany, and it broke my heart. I cried. Literally. I'm not Stonehenge, but I don't cry often. When you catch a glimpse of your child, who is pure and innocent and thinks that the world is the same way....it hurts when you see that it is going to close in on them, and that they will never again see it in the same way.
I just want my kids to know that I love them. I love them with my whole heart, and I will always be there for them. I want them to know that things will not always be perfect, but they will not always be bad. And I want them to always treat other people (especially those younger, weaker, and "less cool" than they are) they way that they should be treated- like human beings.
It's the knowledge that eventually, you are going to have to let go, and allow them to brave the shark infested waters of society- and knowing that you won't be able to hold their hand through it all. It's knowing that people are some of the most evil, wicked creatures on our planet, and that they will do and say things that are hurtful for no other reason than to be hurtful- and all we can do is shake our heads, shrug our shoulders, and reiterate how much we love our children.
I had a moment today where I had this epiphany, and it broke my heart. I cried. Literally. I'm not Stonehenge, but I don't cry often. When you catch a glimpse of your child, who is pure and innocent and thinks that the world is the same way....it hurts when you see that it is going to close in on them, and that they will never again see it in the same way.
I just want my kids to know that I love them. I love them with my whole heart, and I will always be there for them. I want them to know that things will not always be perfect, but they will not always be bad. And I want them to always treat other people (especially those younger, weaker, and "less cool" than they are) they way that they should be treated- like human beings.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Fantasy Frustration part 3
Everything that went right in the first half of the season (no injuries, good plays, opponents bad games) came crashing to a halt in the second half, almost costing me a playoff spot. I said almost.
Week 8- I took on the Bully on the Block- Team Bullies, tied with me for the best record in the league at the time with a 5-2 record. The owner of this team is also the owner of the league, and unfortunately I allowed myself to dream about rocking the boat. Alas, it was not meant to be- and I mean really not meant to be. I got walloped 158-90.
What went right- McNabb (26), Turner (22), and the Colts D (20) had decent weeks for me. Oh, and 2 of his players didn't score in double figures.
What went wrong- Where to start? Well, this was a bad time for me to have bye weeks- 3 starters (Big Ben, Randy Moss, and Ochocinco) had them, meaning that I got to start Ryan Fitzpatrick at QB (0 points), and Torry Holt (1 point) and Mark Clayton (3 points) at WR. I did have 38 bench points- all of which came from my reserve defenses, and neither of which would have made the beating any less of a beating. The Bullies had 8 players in double digits (4 with 20+, 2 more with 19).
Bonehead move- Having a crappy bench, and not realizing that 30% of my best players were all chilling on the same week.
Week 9- Well, after I put some salve on the wounds of my ginormous beating, I was able to pick up the pieces of my shattered ego and get things back on track with a 134-133 win over Team Josh for Now (a controversial event in our league that led to some bad blood- not my win, the fact that there even was a Team Josh for Now).
What went right- Some divine intervention to start with- Big Ben threw 2 real TD passes in the 4th quarter (after I had went to bed), including one with under 2 minutes to go and the Steelers holding an 11 point lead, to give my my second Monday Night victory of the season. Of course, I also needed Turner's 30 and Randy Moss' 23, as well as a stinker from Joe Flacco of my opposition.
What went wrong- I lose the defensive position battle by 19, as my Colts D scores all of 9 points. I don't know how to explain it, other than that is a terrible performance in our league for a defense.
Bonehead move- For most of the season, the performances of my defenses have either been close enough to negate the idea of a wrong play, or else good enough to justify my play. For arguably the first time this season, I made a poor play (although it didn't seem to be so at the time) as I left 21 point scoring Denver's defense on the bench. I just didn't want to play a defense that was also playing against one of my starting QB's- it just didn't feel right. And as a result, I had to go to bed that Monday night feeling like I was going to lose my matchup.
Week 10- The week my Fantasy season stood still. I lost a heartbreaker to Fergy, 121-119. But that isn't why it shook me to the core.
What went right-McNabb and Moss were totally rufus for me- each racked up 30 points. Michael Turner had 12 points before halftime of his game! And none of my opponents players went over 20 points.
What went wrong- Ugh. Where to start. Oh, how about Mr. Turner? He had 12 points before halftime- and finished with 12. Because he got hurt in the first half, a high ankle sprain that, for all intents and purposes, ended his season. Oh, Ronnie Brown got hurt too. Another season-ending ankle injury. My opponent had 7 guys in double figures, and while McNabb had 30 big ones, Big Ben had 5 very little ones. Real-life turnovers killed my team as well (4 of them- that's 8 fantasy points). Folk, my kicker, had 0 points. My defense, the Denver Broncos, couldn't shut down one of the worst offenses in football (Redskins). And I left points on the bench.
Bonehead move- Keeping Betts on the bench and starting Maroney in the swing position. Betts had 18, and Maroney had 8. I'm not a math major, or even very good at post-middle school math, but 18 beats 8. And 10 beats 2.
Week 11- The much hyped (in my head) rematch with my dad ended up a stinker, with the Snow Flurries falling 128-108.
What went right- My QBs played out of their freaking minds. Big Ben and McNabb combined for 49 points (led by Big Ben's 30), and Maroney was able to step into the feature back role and pick up 17 points. I was also able to hold Adrian Peterson to 9 points. Well, not me per se. And really, not even my team. That's one of the great things about Fantasy Football- 0% defensive accountability!
What went wrong- I feel like a broken record. Betts gets hurt in the first quarter of his game and is lost for the season. It's probably going to be somewhat funny when I look back on this season with my therapist...the guy that I put in to replace my running back with a season ending injury gets hit with a season-ending injury. I left Pettigrew's 13 points on the bench, but it wouldn't have mattered. My dad left a crapton of points on his bench too, led by Terrell Owens 26. After the game, Terrell was insistent that it wasn't personal, that it was purely coincidence that his biggest game of the season came against the team that gave up on him. Okay, he didn't really say that. But this is fantasy football, right? One part football, one part fantasy.
Bonehead move- Not accepting a trade offer from team Bullies. Randy Moss for Calvin Johnson, Jamaal Charles, and Miles Austin. My pride really got in the way here, and as a result I missed being able to pick up a pretty good RB (at a time in my season when good RBs were dropping like flies). The sucky thing is that I ended up taking this basically same trade later on, except instead of Jamaal Charles, I got stuck with Greg Olsen. Thanks a lot, pride.
Week 12- My very dispirited team, once a front-runner for a first-round bye, is crushed by Team Josh for Now, 116-79. The playoffs, once a certainty, are starting to fade away from reality.
What went right- While Maroney still isn't considered the lead dog for his actual team, he shows enough on game days to make himself a certified #1 fill-in RB for my team and has his 2nd straight strong game. And that's pretty much it.
What went wrong- I left the Jet's defense on the bench- during a week when they racked up 41 fantasy points. And they were playing the Panthers, so it's not like I was thinking 'Crap, the Jets are playing an unstoppable juggernaut- I better bench them lest they hurt my chances of winning'. The real kicker about all of this is that my opponent got 4 whole points out of his starting WRs. You might have heard of them- Larry Fitzgerald and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. And I wasn't able to take advantage. Partly because of the aforementioned Jets D fiasco, but also because...
Bonehead move- I wasn't on top of the whole Big Ben concussion thing, and as a result, I messed with my roster much too late to sign his backup, Dennis Dixon. While Dixon's 17 points wouldn't have made a significant difference, it would have made the final score a little more respectable.
Week 13- While I wasn't able to stop the bleeding- or even slow it down a little (I lost to 151-142), I did back into the playoffs because my dad lost his game. I guess.
What went right- One of those frustrating weeks in fantasy sports. You know what I'm talking about- where you compare your score to every single other team in the league, and you realize that if you would have played anybody else but the person you did that you would have won. That was me this week. My QBs are solid, again. Newly-minted Miles Austin racks up 17 points. The Broncos D is almost the first Snow Flurry unit of the season to cross the 40 point mark in a single game (39).
What went wrong- Part of the reason Austin has 17 points is because his real-time QB (Romo) is scoring 34 for the War Machine. Aaron Rodgers had 27 points- 19 points-worth to Jermichael Finley...more on that in a minute.
Bonehead move- Starting Olsen at TE (0 points) and leaving Finley (19 points) on the bench. Game-changing decision.
Well, I ended up at 6-7 for the regular season. A streaky season, full of highs and lows. Injuries really killed me- I know it's kind of the same boat everyone is in, but I really feel like I got the short end of the stick as far as the injury department goes. But I'm proud of my guys. They competed, week in and week out (except that one game against team Josh for Now). Next time, I'll be detailing my scintillating playoff run- or is it? Only one way to find out...if you're not in my Fantasy league. Or in my immediate family. Or on Facebook.
Week 8- I took on the Bully on the Block- Team Bullies, tied with me for the best record in the league at the time with a 5-2 record. The owner of this team is also the owner of the league, and unfortunately I allowed myself to dream about rocking the boat. Alas, it was not meant to be- and I mean really not meant to be. I got walloped 158-90.
What went right- McNabb (26), Turner (22), and the Colts D (20) had decent weeks for me. Oh, and 2 of his players didn't score in double figures.
What went wrong- Where to start? Well, this was a bad time for me to have bye weeks- 3 starters (Big Ben, Randy Moss, and Ochocinco) had them, meaning that I got to start Ryan Fitzpatrick at QB (0 points), and Torry Holt (1 point) and Mark Clayton (3 points) at WR. I did have 38 bench points- all of which came from my reserve defenses, and neither of which would have made the beating any less of a beating. The Bullies had 8 players in double digits (4 with 20+, 2 more with 19).
Bonehead move- Having a crappy bench, and not realizing that 30% of my best players were all chilling on the same week.
Week 9- Well, after I put some salve on the wounds of my ginormous beating, I was able to pick up the pieces of my shattered ego and get things back on track with a 134-133 win over Team Josh for Now (a controversial event in our league that led to some bad blood- not my win, the fact that there even was a Team Josh for Now).
What went right- Some divine intervention to start with- Big Ben threw 2 real TD passes in the 4th quarter (after I had went to bed), including one with under 2 minutes to go and the Steelers holding an 11 point lead, to give my my second Monday Night victory of the season. Of course, I also needed Turner's 30 and Randy Moss' 23, as well as a stinker from Joe Flacco of my opposition.
What went wrong- I lose the defensive position battle by 19, as my Colts D scores all of 9 points. I don't know how to explain it, other than that is a terrible performance in our league for a defense.
Bonehead move- For most of the season, the performances of my defenses have either been close enough to negate the idea of a wrong play, or else good enough to justify my play. For arguably the first time this season, I made a poor play (although it didn't seem to be so at the time) as I left 21 point scoring Denver's defense on the bench. I just didn't want to play a defense that was also playing against one of my starting QB's- it just didn't feel right. And as a result, I had to go to bed that Monday night feeling like I was going to lose my matchup.
Week 10- The week my Fantasy season stood still. I lost a heartbreaker to Fergy, 121-119. But that isn't why it shook me to the core.
What went right-McNabb and Moss were totally rufus for me- each racked up 30 points. Michael Turner had 12 points before halftime of his game! And none of my opponents players went over 20 points.
What went wrong- Ugh. Where to start. Oh, how about Mr. Turner? He had 12 points before halftime- and finished with 12. Because he got hurt in the first half, a high ankle sprain that, for all intents and purposes, ended his season. Oh, Ronnie Brown got hurt too. Another season-ending ankle injury. My opponent had 7 guys in double figures, and while McNabb had 30 big ones, Big Ben had 5 very little ones. Real-life turnovers killed my team as well (4 of them- that's 8 fantasy points). Folk, my kicker, had 0 points. My defense, the Denver Broncos, couldn't shut down one of the worst offenses in football (Redskins). And I left points on the bench.
Bonehead move- Keeping Betts on the bench and starting Maroney in the swing position. Betts had 18, and Maroney had 8. I'm not a math major, or even very good at post-middle school math, but 18 beats 8. And 10 beats 2.
Week 11- The much hyped (in my head) rematch with my dad ended up a stinker, with the Snow Flurries falling 128-108.
What went right- My QBs played out of their freaking minds. Big Ben and McNabb combined for 49 points (led by Big Ben's 30), and Maroney was able to step into the feature back role and pick up 17 points. I was also able to hold Adrian Peterson to 9 points. Well, not me per se. And really, not even my team. That's one of the great things about Fantasy Football- 0% defensive accountability!
What went wrong- I feel like a broken record. Betts gets hurt in the first quarter of his game and is lost for the season. It's probably going to be somewhat funny when I look back on this season with my therapist...the guy that I put in to replace my running back with a season ending injury gets hit with a season-ending injury. I left Pettigrew's 13 points on the bench, but it wouldn't have mattered. My dad left a crapton of points on his bench too, led by Terrell Owens 26. After the game, Terrell was insistent that it wasn't personal, that it was purely coincidence that his biggest game of the season came against the team that gave up on him. Okay, he didn't really say that. But this is fantasy football, right? One part football, one part fantasy.
Bonehead move- Not accepting a trade offer from team Bullies. Randy Moss for Calvin Johnson, Jamaal Charles, and Miles Austin. My pride really got in the way here, and as a result I missed being able to pick up a pretty good RB (at a time in my season when good RBs were dropping like flies). The sucky thing is that I ended up taking this basically same trade later on, except instead of Jamaal Charles, I got stuck with Greg Olsen. Thanks a lot, pride.
Week 12- My very dispirited team, once a front-runner for a first-round bye, is crushed by Team Josh for Now, 116-79. The playoffs, once a certainty, are starting to fade away from reality.
What went right- While Maroney still isn't considered the lead dog for his actual team, he shows enough on game days to make himself a certified #1 fill-in RB for my team and has his 2nd straight strong game. And that's pretty much it.
What went wrong- I left the Jet's defense on the bench- during a week when they racked up 41 fantasy points. And they were playing the Panthers, so it's not like I was thinking 'Crap, the Jets are playing an unstoppable juggernaut- I better bench them lest they hurt my chances of winning'. The real kicker about all of this is that my opponent got 4 whole points out of his starting WRs. You might have heard of them- Larry Fitzgerald and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. And I wasn't able to take advantage. Partly because of the aforementioned Jets D fiasco, but also because...
Bonehead move- I wasn't on top of the whole Big Ben concussion thing, and as a result, I messed with my roster much too late to sign his backup, Dennis Dixon. While Dixon's 17 points wouldn't have made a significant difference, it would have made the final score a little more respectable.
Week 13- While I wasn't able to stop the bleeding- or even slow it down a little (I lost to 151-142), I did back into the playoffs because my dad lost his game. I guess.
What went right- One of those frustrating weeks in fantasy sports. You know what I'm talking about- where you compare your score to every single other team in the league, and you realize that if you would have played anybody else but the person you did that you would have won. That was me this week. My QBs are solid, again. Newly-minted Miles Austin racks up 17 points. The Broncos D is almost the first Snow Flurry unit of the season to cross the 40 point mark in a single game (39).
What went wrong- Part of the reason Austin has 17 points is because his real-time QB (Romo) is scoring 34 for the War Machine. Aaron Rodgers had 27 points- 19 points-worth to Jermichael Finley...more on that in a minute.
Bonehead move- Starting Olsen at TE (0 points) and leaving Finley (19 points) on the bench. Game-changing decision.
Well, I ended up at 6-7 for the regular season. A streaky season, full of highs and lows. Injuries really killed me- I know it's kind of the same boat everyone is in, but I really feel like I got the short end of the stick as far as the injury department goes. But I'm proud of my guys. They competed, week in and week out (except that one game against team Josh for Now). Next time, I'll be detailing my scintillating playoff run- or is it? Only one way to find out...if you're not in my Fantasy league. Or in my immediate family. Or on Facebook.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Fantasy Frustration part 2
Thanks for reading part 1. You did read part 1, right? Anyways, this is weeks 1-7 of my fantasy football season.
Week 1- Lost to El Diablo 138-99
What went right- McNabb and Big Ben outscored my opponents QB's- by 4
What went wrong- His D (Steelers) put up 31 points, my RB's (Brown and Turner) combined for 11 points. McNabb got hurt in the 3rd quarter.Chris Cooley had 12 points on my bench, while Owen Daniels had 4 as a starter. Titans D outscored my starting Colts D by 10. Wouldn't have mattered though
Bonehead move- None- I played my roster pretty solidly.
Week 2- Much more competitive, but lost to Disco 142-131
What went right- I made almost no wrong moves, as 7 of my players put up double digits, led by Ronnie Browns 26.
What went wrong- I said almost. Moss (2), Folk (8), and Cooley (8) would have looked much better as Ochocinco (15), Vinateri (11), and Daniels (13). It also didn't help that Disco's Chris Johnson racked up 46 points.
Bonehead move- None, really. True, hindsight could have scored me some more points, but no reason to bench Moss. EVER. Daniels put up his 13 points against the Titans defense, which at the time was considered a great defense.
First win in Week 3, 104-94 over Dennis.
What went right- In a pretty low scoring affair (in our league), it was more about who I left out than who I put in. My decision to not start Owens or Ginn paid dividends as each WR had 0 points. Collins only had 8 points at QB, but it was enough. Just what you'd expect from vet backup QB's in real life- just don't lost games. My opponent left Willie Parker (18 points) on the bench- outscoring his starting backs by 7.
What went wrong- Not much, although Steve Smith, in his first game as a Snow Flurry, had 12 on my bench, while Ochocinco had 3 in the starting lineup.
Bonehead move- Note really any- mostly because at this point, my bench really isn't offering much to make me regret much.
Week 4-My team flexes it's muscles with a 161-128 win over Jenn
What went right- Everything. 9 of my 10 players scored double digits, 4 had 20+ points (led by Steve Smith and Big Ben with 26 each). Jenn could have played her highest point totals for the week at every position and I still would have won by 6 (yes, I took the time to figure that out).
What went wrong- Nothing...well...I could have had 8 more points if I would have played Cooley instead of Daniels. You know, looking back over these game summaries, I am surprised that Daniels was the #1 tight end when he got hurt. I know he had some big games though.
Bonehead move- Nothing. When you're hot, you're hot!
Week 5- This is definitely the most intense game of the season. It's against dad, with first place in the division on the line...goes down to the last play of the Monday night game, and I win! A squeaker, 154-152. The Snow Flurries are starting to assert themselves as a legitimate force in the Center league.
What went right- My backfield kicks ass and takes names. McNabb (31), Big Ben (27), Turner (27), and Ronnie Brown (20) carry my team. Brown cements himself in my personal FFHOF by scoring 2 game winning touchdowns against the Jets- one for his actual team, and one for my actual team. Also, he doesn't score too many points, enabling my buddy Marty to win his fantasy matchup. Also, my dad played Mewelde Moore (2 points) instead of Tim Hightower (10 points) and Marshawn Lynch (11 points).
What went wrong- It's a good thing my backfield put up some heavy numbers- because my receivers did jack squat! Daniels had a decent game (9 points), but Ochocinco, Moss, and Smith combined for 17 points. You know it's bad when you're looking at the boxscore and thinking 'Man, I should have played Ted Ginn Jr.'
Bonehead move- Looking at the boxscore and thinking 'Man, I should have played Ted Ginn Jr.'. 20/20 hindsight and all, but seriously, that type of thinking should never EVER happen.
Week 6- 4 wins in a row as I dispatch Fergy 144-129. I'm starting to take Fantasy football more seriously at this point...which will come back to bite me right on the bottom.
What went right- Randy Moss makes up for his 3 point Week 5 with a 31 point explosion, and Owen Daniels starts to look like a #1 TE with a 19 point outing. But really, what went right for me was what went wrong for my opponent- Jason Campbell (QB), Braylon Edwards (WR) and Steve Smith (RB/WR) combine for 5 points- and Fergy leaves 24 points on the bench from Donald Driver and Cadillac Williams.
What went wrong- Again with the hindsight, but I left Maroney (20 points) on the bench, and due to the Colts bye week, I had to start the Titans defense- on the week when they gave up 59 real points to the Patriots.
Bonehead move- Allowing 2nd guessing to start to creep it's way into my psyche.
Week 7- My first rematch, and my team is on fire as I beat down El Diablo 146-112.
What went right- The Colts play the Rams, so my defense racks up 31 points. Daniels has his 2nd consecutive 19 point outing, and I now remember why I was so devastated when he went out with an injury. Tight End is one of those positions that can elevate good teams to greatness. When Daniels and Cooley went down, it left a gaping hole in my team that I still haven't been able to fill. Also, for the 2nd straight week, my opponent has a QB rack up 1 point.
What went wrong- Nothing- the only significant point getter on my bench was the Jet's defense (25 points)- but they were outscored by my starting defense. So no harm, no foul.
Bonehead move- 5 wins in a row has allowed my excitement in fantasy football to a fever pitch. It's all about to come crashing down.
Well, this is the first half of the season. I'm sitting comfortably at 5-2. I have the #1 TE in the league, 2 very good QB's and 2 very good RB's. My season is about to fall apart. Or is it? (Note: I have pretty much already told you that it does. This is a poor use of suspense by me. If you are, in fact, still in suspense about the fate of my Fantasy Football season, then that's on you bro. That's on you)
Week 1- Lost to El Diablo 138-99
What went right- McNabb and Big Ben outscored my opponents QB's- by 4
What went wrong- His D (Steelers) put up 31 points, my RB's (Brown and Turner) combined for 11 points. McNabb got hurt in the 3rd quarter.Chris Cooley had 12 points on my bench, while Owen Daniels had 4 as a starter. Titans D outscored my starting Colts D by 10. Wouldn't have mattered though
Bonehead move- None- I played my roster pretty solidly.
Week 2- Much more competitive, but lost to Disco 142-131
What went right- I made almost no wrong moves, as 7 of my players put up double digits, led by Ronnie Browns 26.
What went wrong- I said almost. Moss (2), Folk (8), and Cooley (8) would have looked much better as Ochocinco (15), Vinateri (11), and Daniels (13). It also didn't help that Disco's Chris Johnson racked up 46 points.
Bonehead move- None, really. True, hindsight could have scored me some more points, but no reason to bench Moss. EVER. Daniels put up his 13 points against the Titans defense, which at the time was considered a great defense.
First win in Week 3, 104-94 over Dennis.
What went right- In a pretty low scoring affair (in our league), it was more about who I left out than who I put in. My decision to not start Owens or Ginn paid dividends as each WR had 0 points. Collins only had 8 points at QB, but it was enough. Just what you'd expect from vet backup QB's in real life- just don't lost games. My opponent left Willie Parker (18 points) on the bench- outscoring his starting backs by 7.
What went wrong- Not much, although Steve Smith, in his first game as a Snow Flurry, had 12 on my bench, while Ochocinco had 3 in the starting lineup.
Bonehead move- Note really any- mostly because at this point, my bench really isn't offering much to make me regret much.
Week 4-My team flexes it's muscles with a 161-128 win over Jenn
What went right- Everything. 9 of my 10 players scored double digits, 4 had 20+ points (led by Steve Smith and Big Ben with 26 each). Jenn could have played her highest point totals for the week at every position and I still would have won by 6 (yes, I took the time to figure that out).
What went wrong- Nothing...well...I could have had 8 more points if I would have played Cooley instead of Daniels. You know, looking back over these game summaries, I am surprised that Daniels was the #1 tight end when he got hurt. I know he had some big games though.
Bonehead move- Nothing. When you're hot, you're hot!
Week 5- This is definitely the most intense game of the season. It's against dad, with first place in the division on the line...goes down to the last play of the Monday night game, and I win! A squeaker, 154-152. The Snow Flurries are starting to assert themselves as a legitimate force in the Center league.
What went right- My backfield kicks ass and takes names. McNabb (31), Big Ben (27), Turner (27), and Ronnie Brown (20) carry my team. Brown cements himself in my personal FFHOF by scoring 2 game winning touchdowns against the Jets- one for his actual team, and one for my actual team. Also, he doesn't score too many points, enabling my buddy Marty to win his fantasy matchup. Also, my dad played Mewelde Moore (2 points) instead of Tim Hightower (10 points) and Marshawn Lynch (11 points).
What went wrong- It's a good thing my backfield put up some heavy numbers- because my receivers did jack squat! Daniels had a decent game (9 points), but Ochocinco, Moss, and Smith combined for 17 points. You know it's bad when you're looking at the boxscore and thinking 'Man, I should have played Ted Ginn Jr.'
Bonehead move- Looking at the boxscore and thinking 'Man, I should have played Ted Ginn Jr.'. 20/20 hindsight and all, but seriously, that type of thinking should never EVER happen.
Week 6- 4 wins in a row as I dispatch Fergy 144-129. I'm starting to take Fantasy football more seriously at this point...which will come back to bite me right on the bottom.
What went right- Randy Moss makes up for his 3 point Week 5 with a 31 point explosion, and Owen Daniels starts to look like a #1 TE with a 19 point outing. But really, what went right for me was what went wrong for my opponent- Jason Campbell (QB), Braylon Edwards (WR) and Steve Smith (RB/WR) combine for 5 points- and Fergy leaves 24 points on the bench from Donald Driver and Cadillac Williams.
What went wrong- Again with the hindsight, but I left Maroney (20 points) on the bench, and due to the Colts bye week, I had to start the Titans defense- on the week when they gave up 59 real points to the Patriots.
Bonehead move- Allowing 2nd guessing to start to creep it's way into my psyche.
Week 7- My first rematch, and my team is on fire as I beat down El Diablo 146-112.
What went right- The Colts play the Rams, so my defense racks up 31 points. Daniels has his 2nd consecutive 19 point outing, and I now remember why I was so devastated when he went out with an injury. Tight End is one of those positions that can elevate good teams to greatness. When Daniels and Cooley went down, it left a gaping hole in my team that I still haven't been able to fill. Also, for the 2nd straight week, my opponent has a QB rack up 1 point.
What went wrong- Nothing- the only significant point getter on my bench was the Jet's defense (25 points)- but they were outscored by my starting defense. So no harm, no foul.
Bonehead move- 5 wins in a row has allowed my excitement in fantasy football to a fever pitch. It's all about to come crashing down.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Fantasy Frustration part 1
Why do we play fantasy football? It is maddening. You can't watch football the same again. Ever. You don't see a 50 yard touchdown run, you see 11 points. You don't see field goals, you look at how far the kick was and add a point for every 10 yards. You don't get mad because your defense gives up a touchdown- you get mad because now you don't get the bonus points.
And don't even get me started on the hindsight. You look at the box score and see your future Hall of Fame QB score 14 points, while the ragtag journeyman has 15, and you think to yourself 'if only I had started that bum'. I mean, really? Do you think real football coaches think those types of things?
Well, this is a chronicle of my season. It's been fun at times, it's been depressing at times. I've projected on to my team, which has never said die throughout the ups and downs. I don't know what will happen from here- I'm watching the Eagles play the Giants, with my last two players of the week needing to score over 20 points (and hoping that the Cardinals defense gets lit up) to advance to round 2. I've been injury-riddled beyond belief. But I managed to sneak into the postseason, and I'd like to stick around for a while.
I am in a league that my dad is in with a bunch of guys he used to work with. I inherited a team from a guy who played last year. It's a keeper league, and my 2 keepers were Michael Turner, RB and Donovan McNabb, QB. You could definitely do worse heading into a season.
This is my draft, and some comments about my picks.
1- Randy Moss, WR- A superstar who was very strong for my team. Even when I had to trade him for depth, I was able to get some other big point producers. A
2- Laurence Maroney, RB- Probably a reach, although due to injuries for his real team and my team, he was able to step in late season and pick up some points for me. Overall, he didn't really live up to his draft position though. C-
3- Ryan Grant, RB- Didn't see much from Grant, traded him for some guys that didn't do much for me. D
4- Ted Ginn Jr., WR- Nothing. Definitely reached for this one. F
5- Ben Roethlisberger, QB- Other than that week when he had a concussion, a staple in my line-up. Had an excellent season, and I'm definitely thinking about him as a keeper. A
6- Terrell Owens, WR- I joked at the beginning of the season that my WR corps was the best in the league- in 2005. Well, for Owens, that was definitely true. I dropped him maybe a little later than I could have, as he really didn't do anything for me. D-
7- Chad Ochocinco, WR- Solid. He had some spectacular outings, but mostly he was just consistent for me. Which is really all you can ask for out of a 2nd WR. B
8- Ronnie Brown, RB- I probably reflect better on Brown than he actually did because of that huge week 5 touchdown he scored for me (more on that later). Nonetheless, he did very solid for me before going down with a season ending injury. B+
9- Colts D- Probably a reach. Didn't do too much for me, other than not suck. C
10- Titans D- Wow, this unit definitely didn't live up to their press. I dropped them as soon as I could after New England lit them up for 59 points. D-
11- Owen Daniels, TE- Another player that I reflect on more fondly than he probably deserves, due to some clutch performances during my win streak. Nonetheless, he was very good at times, and his season ending injury spelled the downfall of my production at the TE position. B
12- Kerry Collins, QB- Surprisingly he was able to be productive in the couple games I put him in while McNabb was out. Fortunately, I didn't have to play him when he put up -4 points against New England. D+
13- Chris Cooley, TE- Another casualty of being on my roster. He had some nice numbers, and I'll remember him mostly for being on the bench and outscoring Daniels early in the season. C
14- Michael Crabtree, WR- Never set foot on the field for the Snow Flurries. F.
15- Adam Vinateri, K- Had some decent games before getting hurt. He's a kicker, so I don't really know what to say. C
16- Michael Jenkins, WR- I'm not sure I ever put him. F
17- Justin Fargas, RB- Definitely never put him in. F
Now, obviously no one ever goes through a whole fantasy football season with just their draft roster- you have trades, waiver pickups, and free agents. Fortunately for you, I went through and figured out all of my transactions- for your viewing pleasure! Also, I added some comments. Because you should know what I'm thinking. I guess that's why you're reading this blog, right?
Sept 16- Added Nick Folk, K- Decent, until he started missing field goals like they were going out of style.
Sept 22- Dropped Crabtree and Fargas- Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Sept 23- Added Steve Smith, WR- Definitely my top pickup of the season, and I really really wish Eli Manning wouldn't have gotten hurt early in the season- Smith could have been even more of a point producer for me.
Oct 13- Dad loaned me Nate Kaeding, K- Kaeding helped me win a game the week I had him, and I picked him up for the playoffs because I couldn't trust Nick Folk.
Oct 20- Dropped Owens and Titans D- Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Oct 20- Traded Grant for Jets D, Santana Moss, WR- Actually wish I wouldn't have made this trade, for a couple reasons. First of all, RBs started to drop like flies for me, and I could have used a decent starting RB to fill in the gap. Second of all, Grant scored 21 points during the playoff game. Right now I'm trailing by about 20 points. Finally, the Jets D and Santana Moss really didn't do much for me in terms of production.
Oct 21- Added Broncos D- A couple big weeks. Glad I added these guys.
Oct 21- Added Torry Holt, WR- Again, if there was any way I could go back in time and take my WR corps, I would be the king of the league. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to pick up the 2005 Torry Holt. I picked up the 2009 Torry Holt. More on that later.
Oct 21- Dropped Collins- I got what I needed out of him before the Titans yanked him.
Oct 28- Added Tony Scheffler, TE and Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB- Why?
Oct 28- Dropped Ginn- Finally.
Oct 28- Added Mark Clayton, WR- At this point, I must have been just reaching. Maybe Vince Papale wasn't available?
Oct 28- Dropped Jenkins- Added precisely nothing to my team.
Nov 3- Dropped Vinateri- Out for the season at this point.
Nov 3- Dropped Fitzpatrick, Clayton- Thanks for playing guys. NOT.
Nov 4- Added Trent Edwards, QB, Jermichael Finley, TE, and John Carlson, TE- Yes, at this point I was hurting for a 3rd QB and any TE.
Nov 10- Dropped Daniels- With a tear...so devastating to my team.
Nov 11- Dropped Scheffler- Another 'why did I add this guy?' guy.
Nov 11- Added Brandon Pettigrew, TE- The search for the perfect replacement TE continues. You know it's bad when you're looking to the Detroit Lions for salvation.
Nov 11- Added Ladell Betts, RB- Could have been a great pick up, if he hadn't gotten hurt. With a season ending injury. I'm sensing a pattern here.
Nov 11- Dropped Holt- I think I played him once...and vowed to never do so ever again.
Nov 13- Added Roy Williams, WR- You know it's bad when you're looking to former Detroit Lions for salvation.
Dec 1- Dropped Pettigrew, Betts, and Cooley- All 3- season ending injuries. Maybe I should rename my team to the North Michigan Season-ending Injuries.
Dec 1- Traded Moss for Miles Austin, WR, Calvin Johnson, WR, Greg Olsen, TE, and Justin Forsett, RB- I had to take this trade after all my RBs died. I was offered this trade a couple weeks prior, except insert Jamaal Charles for Justin Forsett. In my pride, I turned it down- and I wish I wouldn't have. Charles has had a pretty good stretch as the man in KC, while Forsett is locked in a time-share with a running back that he is clearly better than. Regardless, I still wish I could have kept Moss.
Dec 8- Added Nate Kaeding, K- Hopefully some of that Kaeding magic will rub off on my playoff run.
Well, you've managed to make it through the transactions- this is how my team got to where it is now. Next time, I'll walk through the first half of my season.
And don't even get me started on the hindsight. You look at the box score and see your future Hall of Fame QB score 14 points, while the ragtag journeyman has 15, and you think to yourself 'if only I had started that bum'. I mean, really? Do you think real football coaches think those types of things?
Well, this is a chronicle of my season. It's been fun at times, it's been depressing at times. I've projected on to my team, which has never said die throughout the ups and downs. I don't know what will happen from here- I'm watching the Eagles play the Giants, with my last two players of the week needing to score over 20 points (and hoping that the Cardinals defense gets lit up) to advance to round 2. I've been injury-riddled beyond belief. But I managed to sneak into the postseason, and I'd like to stick around for a while.
I am in a league that my dad is in with a bunch of guys he used to work with. I inherited a team from a guy who played last year. It's a keeper league, and my 2 keepers were Michael Turner, RB and Donovan McNabb, QB. You could definitely do worse heading into a season.
This is my draft, and some comments about my picks.
1- Randy Moss, WR- A superstar who was very strong for my team. Even when I had to trade him for depth, I was able to get some other big point producers. A
2- Laurence Maroney, RB- Probably a reach, although due to injuries for his real team and my team, he was able to step in late season and pick up some points for me. Overall, he didn't really live up to his draft position though. C-
3- Ryan Grant, RB- Didn't see much from Grant, traded him for some guys that didn't do much for me. D
4- Ted Ginn Jr., WR- Nothing. Definitely reached for this one. F
5- Ben Roethlisberger, QB- Other than that week when he had a concussion, a staple in my line-up. Had an excellent season, and I'm definitely thinking about him as a keeper. A
6- Terrell Owens, WR- I joked at the beginning of the season that my WR corps was the best in the league- in 2005. Well, for Owens, that was definitely true. I dropped him maybe a little later than I could have, as he really didn't do anything for me. D-
7- Chad Ochocinco, WR- Solid. He had some spectacular outings, but mostly he was just consistent for me. Which is really all you can ask for out of a 2nd WR. B
8- Ronnie Brown, RB- I probably reflect better on Brown than he actually did because of that huge week 5 touchdown he scored for me (more on that later). Nonetheless, he did very solid for me before going down with a season ending injury. B+
9- Colts D- Probably a reach. Didn't do too much for me, other than not suck. C
10- Titans D- Wow, this unit definitely didn't live up to their press. I dropped them as soon as I could after New England lit them up for 59 points. D-
11- Owen Daniels, TE- Another player that I reflect on more fondly than he probably deserves, due to some clutch performances during my win streak. Nonetheless, he was very good at times, and his season ending injury spelled the downfall of my production at the TE position. B
12- Kerry Collins, QB- Surprisingly he was able to be productive in the couple games I put him in while McNabb was out. Fortunately, I didn't have to play him when he put up -4 points against New England. D+
13- Chris Cooley, TE- Another casualty of being on my roster. He had some nice numbers, and I'll remember him mostly for being on the bench and outscoring Daniels early in the season. C
14- Michael Crabtree, WR- Never set foot on the field for the Snow Flurries. F.
15- Adam Vinateri, K- Had some decent games before getting hurt. He's a kicker, so I don't really know what to say. C
16- Michael Jenkins, WR- I'm not sure I ever put him. F
17- Justin Fargas, RB- Definitely never put him in. F
Now, obviously no one ever goes through a whole fantasy football season with just their draft roster- you have trades, waiver pickups, and free agents. Fortunately for you, I went through and figured out all of my transactions- for your viewing pleasure! Also, I added some comments. Because you should know what I'm thinking. I guess that's why you're reading this blog, right?
Sept 16- Added Nick Folk, K- Decent, until he started missing field goals like they were going out of style.
Sept 22- Dropped Crabtree and Fargas- Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Sept 23- Added Steve Smith, WR- Definitely my top pickup of the season, and I really really wish Eli Manning wouldn't have gotten hurt early in the season- Smith could have been even more of a point producer for me.
Oct 13- Dad loaned me Nate Kaeding, K- Kaeding helped me win a game the week I had him, and I picked him up for the playoffs because I couldn't trust Nick Folk.
Oct 20- Dropped Owens and Titans D- Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Oct 20- Traded Grant for Jets D, Santana Moss, WR- Actually wish I wouldn't have made this trade, for a couple reasons. First of all, RBs started to drop like flies for me, and I could have used a decent starting RB to fill in the gap. Second of all, Grant scored 21 points during the playoff game. Right now I'm trailing by about 20 points. Finally, the Jets D and Santana Moss really didn't do much for me in terms of production.
Oct 21- Added Broncos D- A couple big weeks. Glad I added these guys.
Oct 21- Added Torry Holt, WR- Again, if there was any way I could go back in time and take my WR corps, I would be the king of the league. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to pick up the 2005 Torry Holt. I picked up the 2009 Torry Holt. More on that later.
Oct 21- Dropped Collins- I got what I needed out of him before the Titans yanked him.
Oct 28- Added Tony Scheffler, TE and Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB- Why?
Oct 28- Dropped Ginn- Finally.
Oct 28- Added Mark Clayton, WR- At this point, I must have been just reaching. Maybe Vince Papale wasn't available?
Oct 28- Dropped Jenkins- Added precisely nothing to my team.
Nov 3- Dropped Vinateri- Out for the season at this point.
Nov 3- Dropped Fitzpatrick, Clayton- Thanks for playing guys. NOT.
Nov 4- Added Trent Edwards, QB, Jermichael Finley, TE, and John Carlson, TE- Yes, at this point I was hurting for a 3rd QB and any TE.
Nov 10- Dropped Daniels- With a tear...so devastating to my team.
Nov 11- Dropped Scheffler- Another 'why did I add this guy?' guy.
Nov 11- Added Brandon Pettigrew, TE- The search for the perfect replacement TE continues. You know it's bad when you're looking to the Detroit Lions for salvation.
Nov 11- Added Ladell Betts, RB- Could have been a great pick up, if he hadn't gotten hurt. With a season ending injury. I'm sensing a pattern here.
Nov 11- Dropped Holt- I think I played him once...and vowed to never do so ever again.
Nov 13- Added Roy Williams, WR- You know it's bad when you're looking to former Detroit Lions for salvation.
Dec 1- Dropped Pettigrew, Betts, and Cooley- All 3- season ending injuries. Maybe I should rename my team to the North Michigan Season-ending Injuries.
Dec 1- Traded Moss for Miles Austin, WR, Calvin Johnson, WR, Greg Olsen, TE, and Justin Forsett, RB- I had to take this trade after all my RBs died. I was offered this trade a couple weeks prior, except insert Jamaal Charles for Justin Forsett. In my pride, I turned it down- and I wish I wouldn't have. Charles has had a pretty good stretch as the man in KC, while Forsett is locked in a time-share with a running back that he is clearly better than. Regardless, I still wish I could have kept Moss.
Dec 8- Added Nate Kaeding, K- Hopefully some of that Kaeding magic will rub off on my playoff run.
Well, you've managed to make it through the transactions- this is how my team got to where it is now. Next time, I'll walk through the first half of my season.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Wrigley
A few days ago, I returned from a 3 day-mancation with my dad and some of his buddies from work. It was epic. And I totally would have blogged about it earlier...except that the hotel we stayed at (Hyatt Regency) didn't have free WiFi. Or a pool. Or a hot tub. 4 star hotel my ass. I'll bet you even the Bates motel had free WiFi.
Ah yes, thank you for coming so quickly sir. I was in the middle of a shower when some guy with a knife came and tried to kill me. I'm not sure I'll be coming back unless you take care of that situation. Or unless you get free WiFi.
Our trip overall was very awesome- aside from the fact that we had a bout with a half-sleeping cabbie who enjoyed braking at the last second. And the fact that we hoofed it around the city about 4 miles on our first day because we were idiots.
This trip was all about Wrigley field, and it didn't disappoint. It was my first trip to Wrigley. Actually, it was my first major league game that did not take place in old Tiger Stadium. I've never been one of those guys who wants to see games in every major league stadium. I didn't even care if I saw another baseball game again.
But my dad, who retired in June, wanted to go, and he asked me if I wanted to go. I figured it'd be a neat opportunity, so I said 'sure'.
It hadn't even been ten minutes after the game and I was already excited about our next trip (hopefully Fenway)! That one game restored baseball in my soul. I still don't want to see every ballpark- but I want to see as many as I can. Walking into Wrigley made me feel like a little boy again- that's the magic of the ballpark.
I'd pit baseball right up there with hockey as being sports you HAVE to see live. They work on TV...but not nearly as much as they do when you are there in person. The crack of the bat, and you swear that every single fly ball is going to leave orbit. Of course, it ends up being a routine infield fly-ball...but it's just so amazing. Football and basketball are cool, but you can totally get by just watching those on the tube. Baseball? Hockey? If you get a chance, see a game.
We had an absolutely beautiful day- it was probably lower-to-mid 80s, no clouds, low humidity. We sat in section 202, which, as we found out, was underneath another section. That means that we got to sit in the shade (maybe like a half inning of some sun seeping through), with a nice cool cross breeze. We had very minimal obstruction (couldn't see 3rd base very well).
Probably the coolest feature of the stadium was the way the outfield bleachers were set up. In the stadium itself, there weren't a significant number of bleachers. But on top of the buildings across the street, there were bleacher sections set up. Looking at it from where we were, it looked like the stadium was bigger than it actually was, but it was really neat to find out that the top half of the outfield sections were not even in the stadium!
The game itself was great. We saw Ryan Howard hit a 3-run homer. We saw Cubs fans throw the ball right back. We saw last year's AL Cy Young winner, Cliff Lee, pitch 8 innings of strong ball for the Phillies (oh, by the way, we got to watch the defending World Series champs). We got to take part in the 7th inning singing of 'Take Me Out To The Ballgame', led by Jim Belushi. Congratulations baseball- you have been returned to my heart. Fenway (or another ballpark), here we come!
The old school hand-operated scoreboard. Needless to say, we were scoreboard-watching the Tigers, as they beat the BoSox 2-0.
(Sigh)...those ivy covered walls were so beautiful!
If you get a chance to see a game in Wrigley, I HIGHLY recommend it. Even if you don't like baseball, the chance to take part in this piece of history. And who knows, maybe you'll become a baseball convert like me.
In the next couple days, in honor of the upcoming college football season, I'm going to post a diatribe on the state of the NCAA bowl system (of course, I'm not really sure what diatribe means, but I obviously wanted to use it. So I did.)
PIC:
Norman Bates: http://www.legendsofhorror.org/images/bates/ppic1.jpg
Ah yes, thank you for coming so quickly sir. I was in the middle of a shower when some guy with a knife came and tried to kill me. I'm not sure I'll be coming back unless you take care of that situation. Or unless you get free WiFi.
Our trip overall was very awesome- aside from the fact that we had a bout with a half-sleeping cabbie who enjoyed braking at the last second. And the fact that we hoofed it around the city about 4 miles on our first day because we were idiots.
This trip was all about Wrigley field, and it didn't disappoint. It was my first trip to Wrigley. Actually, it was my first major league game that did not take place in old Tiger Stadium. I've never been one of those guys who wants to see games in every major league stadium. I didn't even care if I saw another baseball game again.
But my dad, who retired in June, wanted to go, and he asked me if I wanted to go. I figured it'd be a neat opportunity, so I said 'sure'.
It hadn't even been ten minutes after the game and I was already excited about our next trip (hopefully Fenway)! That one game restored baseball in my soul. I still don't want to see every ballpark- but I want to see as many as I can. Walking into Wrigley made me feel like a little boy again- that's the magic of the ballpark.
I'd pit baseball right up there with hockey as being sports you HAVE to see live. They work on TV...but not nearly as much as they do when you are there in person. The crack of the bat, and you swear that every single fly ball is going to leave orbit. Of course, it ends up being a routine infield fly-ball...but it's just so amazing. Football and basketball are cool, but you can totally get by just watching those on the tube. Baseball? Hockey? If you get a chance, see a game.
We had an absolutely beautiful day- it was probably lower-to-mid 80s, no clouds, low humidity. We sat in section 202, which, as we found out, was underneath another section. That means that we got to sit in the shade (maybe like a half inning of some sun seeping through), with a nice cool cross breeze. We had very minimal obstruction (couldn't see 3rd base very well).
Probably the coolest feature of the stadium was the way the outfield bleachers were set up. In the stadium itself, there weren't a significant number of bleachers. But on top of the buildings across the street, there were bleacher sections set up. Looking at it from where we were, it looked like the stadium was bigger than it actually was, but it was really neat to find out that the top half of the outfield sections were not even in the stadium!
The game itself was great. We saw Ryan Howard hit a 3-run homer. We saw Cubs fans throw the ball right back. We saw last year's AL Cy Young winner, Cliff Lee, pitch 8 innings of strong ball for the Phillies (oh, by the way, we got to watch the defending World Series champs). We got to take part in the 7th inning singing of 'Take Me Out To The Ballgame', led by Jim Belushi. Congratulations baseball- you have been returned to my heart. Fenway (or another ballpark), here we come!
The old school hand-operated scoreboard. Needless to say, we were scoreboard-watching the Tigers, as they beat the BoSox 2-0.
(Sigh)...those ivy covered walls were so beautiful!
If you get a chance to see a game in Wrigley, I HIGHLY recommend it. Even if you don't like baseball, the chance to take part in this piece of history. And who knows, maybe you'll become a baseball convert like me.
In the next couple days, in honor of the upcoming college football season, I'm going to post a diatribe on the state of the NCAA bowl system (of course, I'm not really sure what diatribe means, but I obviously wanted to use it. So I did.)
PIC:
Norman Bates: http://www.legendsofhorror.org/images/bates/ppic1.jpg
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Kids will be kids...and kids are idiots...and kids are idiots because their parents are idioters.
Well, I just finished my paper...and you know what that means...a blog post! With my full attention! For you!
I'm going to try and do this differently. Normally, I try and set up stories and my blog posts just end up getting long-winded and very wordy, very quickly. So instead of trying to set up the story, I'm just going to tell the story. Ironically, in my attempt to cut down on the length of my blog post, I have inadvertently added a whole paragraph that will, at the end of this whole shebang, make the blog post longer than it would have been if I had just tried to tell you this story. So....
How hard is it to be a parent? Well, it's not hard...and yet it's the hardest thing you'll ever have to do. So much of it is 'common sense'...so much of it is 'OMG I have no freaking idea what to do?'. See, there are three 6-7 year old girls that live in our apartment complex. Delaney loves them- she's always looking out the window, seeing if they're out there. She always wants to go play with them. If they're outside when we're outside, then she'll go racing over to them, excitedly saying 'Hey guys, whatcha doin?'.
Yesterday, we were outside playing. I built a house for a couple of the girls out of some life-size tinker toys (I don't know what they really are...Delaney calls them blocks. Maybe I should just say, blocks). Delaney was really excited that I was building the house, because I had built a block house a couple days prior, and she loved it (I should make it clear at this time that these are not actually our blocks, but they did not belong to either of the kids I was building the house for either. I guess that isn't really pertinent information).
Well, one of the girls, who has a bully rep, didn't want Delaney to play, and she was very vocal about this...not obscenely vocal, but every time Delaney commented on my building of a house for her, the girl (whom I shall call Poster Child) made it clear she didn't want Delaney to play with them.
So I keep building, and I get the little house set up, and the girls go to play in it...and of course Delaney wants to play. And of course Poster doesn't want her to play. So she keeps telling her 'No Delaney', and tries to wall Delaney off from the house, with her arms as the wall. Eventually, they move the house.
Now here is where my heart breaks. I know full well that the older girls have a right to play by themselves. I can understand that they might want some space, and some privacy. But Delaney looks up to those girls- she loves them, she adores them- and all the playground/hierarchy/social crap hasn't hit her yet. She is so naive, so innocent, so unaware of the rejection. All she knows is that she wants to play. Her eyes have not been tainted by the stain that is the dark side of humanity.
So she follows them. She asks me to help her drag along the block box as her own house. At this point I'm torn- I know Poster doesn't want Delaney around them. I also know how much Delaney just wants to be with them. So I bring the box over, because...I don't know why. Maybe I thought Poster would have a change of heart. Maybe I saw a good teaching opportunity. Maybe I just didn't have the heart to tell my daughter 'no' in that moment. Well, obviously Poster moves the house again.
Rather than walk you through all the details, I'm just going to tell you that Poster reached a point where she sulked away (as she often does), threatening to go inside because she wasn't getting her way. As she's headed for her door, she says something like this 'It's all your fault Delaney'.
Um, excuse me? How about, no????
I'm getting a little fired up even thinking about this now. I chewed her out something fierce for saying that (understand in context that I'm not a fierce man, so the objective outsider might not call it fierce. Those that know me, know that it was fierce). Where the hell does she get off saying that to Delaney...a three year old who does not realize in the social world she was doing wrong...because she just wanted to play. With her friends.
Shortly after, I went over to Poster. I apologized. I explained that Delaney loves the older girls, and just wants to play, and doesn't understand their need for space. I told her that I understood where she was coming from.
Because it's not really Poster that I'm angry with. Oh sure, she was the conduit. She was the face at that moment. But what really pisses me off about this situation is the fact that her parents are not around. Ever. I don't know what goes on behind their doors, so I would hesitate to say she is a victim of poor parenting. But when Poster spends most days outside alone, I believe that I can say that she is not getting the attention or supervision that she needs.
Her mom? Nice lady. But where is she? Her daughter is not old enough to be left alone outside all the time, especially when she bullies the other kids. She is extremely manipulative, making threats about 'not being friends ever again' or 'I'll tell your mom you are mean to me'...and the poor other girls get sucked in- because they just want to play. They just want to have fun.
Yes, kids can't be constantly supervised. They need some freedom, they need a chance to fail so that they can learn to succeed. But Poster has had problems before. There have been complaints. There has been many altercations with many children because the same problems that happened months ago have not been addressed because the mom is not around to see what the hell is going on.
Parents, spend time with your kids. Monitor them. Pay attention to them. Love them. I realize that no child is going to be perfect. I realize full well that there will come a day when Delaney loses the innocence, and becomes a child of this world system, where we all file in to our societal roles, and so-and-so is the alpha male, and so-and-so is the pawn...but damn it, don't just give up on your kid. We have a finite period of time in which we can do tremendous good with our children. They are so impressionable, but only for so long. The messages we send in these formative years will stick with them for their entire lives. Oh, they may not know it. They probably won't have any clue. But it will be there. So don't just leave your kids to do whatever. Be there for them. Parenting is hard, I know. But's it's so easy.
So I obviously failed at making a short blog post. Not only that, but I added an extra paragraph, because I tried to tell you how I was going to make this post shorter, when actually I didn't do that. In fact, it's longer because of that first paragraph. Actually, you can probably add this paragraph to the gratuitous length factor. All I can say is, 'I'm sorry'.
I'm going to try and do this differently. Normally, I try and set up stories and my blog posts just end up getting long-winded and very wordy, very quickly. So instead of trying to set up the story, I'm just going to tell the story. Ironically, in my attempt to cut down on the length of my blog post, I have inadvertently added a whole paragraph that will, at the end of this whole shebang, make the blog post longer than it would have been if I had just tried to tell you this story. So....
How hard is it to be a parent? Well, it's not hard...and yet it's the hardest thing you'll ever have to do. So much of it is 'common sense'...so much of it is 'OMG I have no freaking idea what to do?'. See, there are three 6-7 year old girls that live in our apartment complex. Delaney loves them- she's always looking out the window, seeing if they're out there. She always wants to go play with them. If they're outside when we're outside, then she'll go racing over to them, excitedly saying 'Hey guys, whatcha doin?'.
Yesterday, we were outside playing. I built a house for a couple of the girls out of some life-size tinker toys (I don't know what they really are...Delaney calls them blocks. Maybe I should just say, blocks). Delaney was really excited that I was building the house, because I had built a block house a couple days prior, and she loved it (I should make it clear at this time that these are not actually our blocks, but they did not belong to either of the kids I was building the house for either. I guess that isn't really pertinent information).
Well, one of the girls, who has a bully rep, didn't want Delaney to play, and she was very vocal about this...not obscenely vocal, but every time Delaney commented on my building of a house for her, the girl (whom I shall call Poster Child) made it clear she didn't want Delaney to play with them.
So I keep building, and I get the little house set up, and the girls go to play in it...and of course Delaney wants to play. And of course Poster doesn't want her to play. So she keeps telling her 'No Delaney', and tries to wall Delaney off from the house, with her arms as the wall. Eventually, they move the house.
Now here is where my heart breaks. I know full well that the older girls have a right to play by themselves. I can understand that they might want some space, and some privacy. But Delaney looks up to those girls- she loves them, she adores them- and all the playground/hierarchy/social crap hasn't hit her yet. She is so naive, so innocent, so unaware of the rejection. All she knows is that she wants to play. Her eyes have not been tainted by the stain that is the dark side of humanity.
So she follows them. She asks me to help her drag along the block box as her own house. At this point I'm torn- I know Poster doesn't want Delaney around them. I also know how much Delaney just wants to be with them. So I bring the box over, because...I don't know why. Maybe I thought Poster would have a change of heart. Maybe I saw a good teaching opportunity. Maybe I just didn't have the heart to tell my daughter 'no' in that moment. Well, obviously Poster moves the house again.
Rather than walk you through all the details, I'm just going to tell you that Poster reached a point where she sulked away (as she often does), threatening to go inside because she wasn't getting her way. As she's headed for her door, she says something like this 'It's all your fault Delaney'.
Um, excuse me? How about, no????
I'm getting a little fired up even thinking about this now. I chewed her out something fierce for saying that (understand in context that I'm not a fierce man, so the objective outsider might not call it fierce. Those that know me, know that it was fierce). Where the hell does she get off saying that to Delaney...a three year old who does not realize in the social world she was doing wrong...because she just wanted to play. With her friends.
Shortly after, I went over to Poster. I apologized. I explained that Delaney loves the older girls, and just wants to play, and doesn't understand their need for space. I told her that I understood where she was coming from.
Because it's not really Poster that I'm angry with. Oh sure, she was the conduit. She was the face at that moment. But what really pisses me off about this situation is the fact that her parents are not around. Ever. I don't know what goes on behind their doors, so I would hesitate to say she is a victim of poor parenting. But when Poster spends most days outside alone, I believe that I can say that she is not getting the attention or supervision that she needs.
Her mom? Nice lady. But where is she? Her daughter is not old enough to be left alone outside all the time, especially when she bullies the other kids. She is extremely manipulative, making threats about 'not being friends ever again' or 'I'll tell your mom you are mean to me'...and the poor other girls get sucked in- because they just want to play. They just want to have fun.
Yes, kids can't be constantly supervised. They need some freedom, they need a chance to fail so that they can learn to succeed. But Poster has had problems before. There have been complaints. There has been many altercations with many children because the same problems that happened months ago have not been addressed because the mom is not around to see what the hell is going on.
Parents, spend time with your kids. Monitor them. Pay attention to them. Love them. I realize that no child is going to be perfect. I realize full well that there will come a day when Delaney loses the innocence, and becomes a child of this world system, where we all file in to our societal roles, and so-and-so is the alpha male, and so-and-so is the pawn...but damn it, don't just give up on your kid. We have a finite period of time in which we can do tremendous good with our children. They are so impressionable, but only for so long. The messages we send in these formative years will stick with them for their entire lives. Oh, they may not know it. They probably won't have any clue. But it will be there. So don't just leave your kids to do whatever. Be there for them. Parenting is hard, I know. But's it's so easy.
So I obviously failed at making a short blog post. Not only that, but I added an extra paragraph, because I tried to tell you how I was going to make this post shorter, when actually I didn't do that. In fact, it's longer because of that first paragraph. Actually, you can probably add this paragraph to the gratuitous length factor. All I can say is, 'I'm sorry'.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Flip that Tax-return ammendment
Okay, so honestly I should be working on a paper...I'm just going to sneak in a little up-date.
I don't really know what to say really, or how to say it, or how to make it short. I've been really struggling lately, really just wrestling with lots of deep thoughts and ideas...wrestling with God, and the concept of God, and the Bible, and what I even think about the Bible. Yeah, I know. Deep stuff.
So I don't want to get too much into all that right now, because a) I'm supposed to be working on a paper, and b) I'm still sorting things out. Basically I just want to deliver a message that might change the tides of victory...or at least make our bank account swell a little bit.
So I did our tax return this year, like in February. Filled it out, sent it in, got a few thousand back (being poor and having children is pretty awesome in terms of tax returns). Moved on in life. Got a letter from the IRS a month or so later, that we may have been eligible for some additional child-tax credit. Cool, right? Well, I fill out the form that they send us, do the math, do the math again, and I come up with $49. Hmmm...well, it's $49 that we don't have. So I send it back.
A couple months later, they send it back to us. Sara didn't sign it. Ugh. So Sara signs it, we send it back in. Now keep in mind, that all this time, we are being sent through the financial test of our lives. That trivial $49 in the spring is like an oasis during the summer. We're scraping by on pins and needles...constantly getting reminded of the word spoken over us...
...fed by ravens...
I mean, glory to God we're making it...it's just crazy tight. We're learning about trust, and about being smart with our money...but it's crazy tight. $49-would-go-a-long-way kind of crazy tight.
So anyways, fast forward to today. The last week has been kind of stressful because I accidentally sent one of our bills in early...and we had to buy some diapers...and car insurance was due...and Sara wasn't able to give plasma (I know we'll look back on this time and smile at the fact that we are having have blood pumped out of our bodies in order to survive).
So (wow, I'm getting long winded, aren't I? I'm almost done, I do really need to get crack-a-lackin on this paper) I donate plasma this morning ($50 day whoot whoot), run to the ATM, run right to the bank...and find out we've overdrawn. Crap. Good news is we'll have enough money in the account for when the car insurance gets taken next time. Bad news is we're down $19.
Here's the cool thing- I wasn't overly upset about it. I wasn't really that pissed about it (ask Sara about my attitude on such things in the past). A few hours later, I check the mail, it's the IRS again. That's 3 heart attacks this year that the IRS has caused me, because every time I get something in the mail from the IRS, I think that I've done something wrong and I'm either going to jail, or else I owe a crap-ton of money.
So this letter says blah blah blah we've processed your form blah blah blah, and you have a math error blah blah blah your credit is now $1300 instead of $49 blah blah b..wait, what? What???
Wow. You know, I am realizing more and more that I'm not all that smart. Really. And it isn't anything to do with being off by over $1200 on a tax statement. No, I'm realizing that I don't want this burden of objectivity. I don't want this burden of thinking that I can know all the answers. I don't want this burden of denying my subjective experiences....that our human interpretation of evidence is some sort of last word.
I'm still asking questions, I'm still seeking, I'm still knocking. I don't think my faith is going to look the same when this is all over. I don't know what it will look like. But I'm finding out that there is something going on behind the curtains, something pulling strings, and it can't be measured. It can't be debunked. It can't be proven, it can't be disproved. And I intend to find out what it is.
I don't really know what to say really, or how to say it, or how to make it short. I've been really struggling lately, really just wrestling with lots of deep thoughts and ideas...wrestling with God, and the concept of God, and the Bible, and what I even think about the Bible. Yeah, I know. Deep stuff.
So I don't want to get too much into all that right now, because a) I'm supposed to be working on a paper, and b) I'm still sorting things out. Basically I just want to deliver a message that might change the tides of victory...or at least make our bank account swell a little bit.
So I did our tax return this year, like in February. Filled it out, sent it in, got a few thousand back (being poor and having children is pretty awesome in terms of tax returns). Moved on in life. Got a letter from the IRS a month or so later, that we may have been eligible for some additional child-tax credit. Cool, right? Well, I fill out the form that they send us, do the math, do the math again, and I come up with $49. Hmmm...well, it's $49 that we don't have. So I send it back.
A couple months later, they send it back to us. Sara didn't sign it. Ugh. So Sara signs it, we send it back in. Now keep in mind, that all this time, we are being sent through the financial test of our lives. That trivial $49 in the spring is like an oasis during the summer. We're scraping by on pins and needles...constantly getting reminded of the word spoken over us...
...fed by ravens...
I mean, glory to God we're making it...it's just crazy tight. We're learning about trust, and about being smart with our money...but it's crazy tight. $49-would-go-a-long-way kind of crazy tight.
So anyways, fast forward to today. The last week has been kind of stressful because I accidentally sent one of our bills in early...and we had to buy some diapers...and car insurance was due...and Sara wasn't able to give plasma (I know we'll look back on this time and smile at the fact that we are having have blood pumped out of our bodies in order to survive).
So (wow, I'm getting long winded, aren't I? I'm almost done, I do really need to get crack-a-lackin on this paper) I donate plasma this morning ($50 day whoot whoot), run to the ATM, run right to the bank...and find out we've overdrawn. Crap. Good news is we'll have enough money in the account for when the car insurance gets taken next time. Bad news is we're down $19.
Here's the cool thing- I wasn't overly upset about it. I wasn't really that pissed about it (ask Sara about my attitude on such things in the past). A few hours later, I check the mail, it's the IRS again. That's 3 heart attacks this year that the IRS has caused me, because every time I get something in the mail from the IRS, I think that I've done something wrong and I'm either going to jail, or else I owe a crap-ton of money.
So this letter says blah blah blah we've processed your form blah blah blah, and you have a math error blah blah blah your credit is now $1300 instead of $49 blah blah b..wait, what? What???
Wow. You know, I am realizing more and more that I'm not all that smart. Really. And it isn't anything to do with being off by over $1200 on a tax statement. No, I'm realizing that I don't want this burden of objectivity. I don't want this burden of thinking that I can know all the answers. I don't want this burden of denying my subjective experiences....that our human interpretation of evidence is some sort of last word.
I'm still asking questions, I'm still seeking, I'm still knocking. I don't think my faith is going to look the same when this is all over. I don't know what it will look like. But I'm finding out that there is something going on behind the curtains, something pulling strings, and it can't be measured. It can't be debunked. It can't be proven, it can't be disproved. And I intend to find out what it is.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Favorite Project 86 Albums
Well, it's arrived- our final addition of Project 86 Mondays. I hope you've had as much fun following as I've had reliving my favorite band. If you haven't heard of these guys and you are inclined to listen to heavy music, I highly recommend them. If you have heard of them then I'd love to hear what you think about my choices.
Tomorrow the new LP Picket Fence Cartel hits shelves. I preordered mine a few weeks ago, and I'm super excited- Project 86 FTW!!!
Where will Picket Fence Cartel rank amongst Projects' albums? Only time will tell. For now though, I present you my ranking of Picket Fence Cartels ancestors.
8)Project 86, 1998- Their self-titled debut, and the CD that got me hooked on these guys. It hasn't aged particularly well, although there are still some gems like Bleed Season and 1X7. Nonetheless, I do enjoy to listen to it every now and again as a reminder of where I've come from.
7)The Kane Mutiny EP, 2007- It's really hard to rank to rank a five song effort any higher, especially when two of the songs are remixes. To be fair, though, the remixes are solid, and I really like what the did with From December. Rte. 66 is a nice song, but what makes this EP worth the $5 purchase price is Lucretia, My Reflection and The Kane Mutiny, which are definitely two of the most B.A. songs that Project 86 has ever done.
6)Drawing Black Lines, 2000- Their sophomore release is still a solid effort, and if it wasn't for the amazingness of their later works then this would have ranked higher. There are some very intense songs on here, Stein's Theme, One Armed Man, and Set Me Up. I really like Sad Machines, and Star is one of the classic melodic songs that Project has ever done (to be fair, it's one of the only melodic songs they've ever done).
5)This time of year EP, 2008- Again, EP's are hard to rank very high, since they have a much smaller body of work. However, the fact that this is a Christmas album gives it some bonus points. I always wanted to have a Project 86 Christmas album, and when I got it I wasn't disappointed. Well, maybe a little disappointed. There definitely should have been more songs. However, this is definitely worth listening to for Shiny Skin, a song about presents, and a very unique interpretation of What Child Is This?.
4)...And The Rest Will Follow, 2005- Definitely their hardest rocking album, this starts off with the absolutely hard and heavy Sincerely, Ichabod, and goes from there. There is enough filler to keep this from ranking higher, but I would definitely put All Of Me, Necktie Remedy, and From December against any other trio of songs. Doomsday Stomp and My Will Be A Dead Man are very interesting as well.
3)Rival Factions, 2007- This is by far the most adventurous album that Project 86 has undertaken. I was particularly impressed by how far Andrew Schwab was willing to stretch himself as a vocalist. Out of all the albums they have done, this one sounds the least 'Projectish', and yet you can definitely tell that it is a Project album. This is to their credit as musicians, that they were able (and willing) to take chances, regardless of what critics said. If they had included The Kane Mutiny on the regular release (it was only available if you purchased the album on iTunes), then I would have ranked this higher. But they didn't, so I didn't. Fair is fair.
2)Songs to burn your bridges by, 2004- At first, I didn't really like this CD...I felt like most of the songs sounded all like, and so I didn't really listen to it too much. But it had staying power, and grew on me, and before I knew it, I just absolutely fell in love with it. True, there are songs that I don't get into so much, but the cream of the crop is superb- there are powerful worship tunes (Safe Haven and Shadow On Me), hardcore rocking tunes (Spy Hunter and Sioux Lane Spirits), and just flat-out amazing songs like Breakdown In 3/4. But I really had to rank this album at number one because a) it is so cohesive as an album, and b) it is not as amazing as my number one pick...
1) Truthless Heroes, 2002- A concept album dealing with the trappings of our society, this is probably their most (in my opinion) inspired work to date. The whole album is solid- there just aren't any bad songs. I just love listening to this whole thing- and that to me is what makes a great album. To be sure, there are some absolute cut-above-the-rest songs- Soma and Hollow Again come to mind- but this whole album is just rocking. The best thing about it though is the lyrics- Andrew Schwab brings his sharp wit and worldview on this musical social commentary. His wit is especially biting on SMC, Another Boredom Movement, and Hollow Again.
Thanks for reading! Tune in next time for...well, shoot, I don't know! I might write about Jon and Kate, I have an article that I've been sitting on about how there are too many bowl teams- and who knows what will happen between now and then! Love to all, God bless. See you on the flip side!
Tomorrow the new LP Picket Fence Cartel hits shelves. I preordered mine a few weeks ago, and I'm super excited- Project 86 FTW!!!
Where will Picket Fence Cartel rank amongst Projects' albums? Only time will tell. For now though, I present you my ranking of Picket Fence Cartels ancestors.
8)Project 86, 1998- Their self-titled debut, and the CD that got me hooked on these guys. It hasn't aged particularly well, although there are still some gems like Bleed Season and 1X7. Nonetheless, I do enjoy to listen to it every now and again as a reminder of where I've come from.
7)The Kane Mutiny EP, 2007- It's really hard to rank to rank a five song effort any higher, especially when two of the songs are remixes. To be fair, though, the remixes are solid, and I really like what the did with From December. Rte. 66 is a nice song, but what makes this EP worth the $5 purchase price is Lucretia, My Reflection and The Kane Mutiny, which are definitely two of the most B.A. songs that Project 86 has ever done.
6)Drawing Black Lines, 2000- Their sophomore release is still a solid effort, and if it wasn't for the amazingness of their later works then this would have ranked higher. There are some very intense songs on here, Stein's Theme, One Armed Man, and Set Me Up. I really like Sad Machines, and Star is one of the classic melodic songs that Project has ever done (to be fair, it's one of the only melodic songs they've ever done).
5)This time of year EP, 2008- Again, EP's are hard to rank very high, since they have a much smaller body of work. However, the fact that this is a Christmas album gives it some bonus points. I always wanted to have a Project 86 Christmas album, and when I got it I wasn't disappointed. Well, maybe a little disappointed. There definitely should have been more songs. However, this is definitely worth listening to for Shiny Skin, a song about presents, and a very unique interpretation of What Child Is This?.
4)...And The Rest Will Follow, 2005- Definitely their hardest rocking album, this starts off with the absolutely hard and heavy Sincerely, Ichabod, and goes from there. There is enough filler to keep this from ranking higher, but I would definitely put All Of Me, Necktie Remedy, and From December against any other trio of songs. Doomsday Stomp and My Will Be A Dead Man are very interesting as well.
3)Rival Factions, 2007- This is by far the most adventurous album that Project 86 has undertaken. I was particularly impressed by how far Andrew Schwab was willing to stretch himself as a vocalist. Out of all the albums they have done, this one sounds the least 'Projectish', and yet you can definitely tell that it is a Project album. This is to their credit as musicians, that they were able (and willing) to take chances, regardless of what critics said. If they had included The Kane Mutiny on the regular release (it was only available if you purchased the album on iTunes), then I would have ranked this higher. But they didn't, so I didn't. Fair is fair.
2)Songs to burn your bridges by, 2004- At first, I didn't really like this CD...I felt like most of the songs sounded all like, and so I didn't really listen to it too much. But it had staying power, and grew on me, and before I knew it, I just absolutely fell in love with it. True, there are songs that I don't get into so much, but the cream of the crop is superb- there are powerful worship tunes (Safe Haven and Shadow On Me), hardcore rocking tunes (Spy Hunter and Sioux Lane Spirits), and just flat-out amazing songs like Breakdown In 3/4. But I really had to rank this album at number one because a) it is so cohesive as an album, and b) it is not as amazing as my number one pick...
1) Truthless Heroes, 2002- A concept album dealing with the trappings of our society, this is probably their most (in my opinion) inspired work to date. The whole album is solid- there just aren't any bad songs. I just love listening to this whole thing- and that to me is what makes a great album. To be sure, there are some absolute cut-above-the-rest songs- Soma and Hollow Again come to mind- but this whole album is just rocking. The best thing about it though is the lyrics- Andrew Schwab brings his sharp wit and worldview on this musical social commentary. His wit is especially biting on SMC, Another Boredom Movement, and Hollow Again.
Thanks for reading! Tune in next time for...well, shoot, I don't know! I might write about Jon and Kate, I have an article that I've been sitting on about how there are too many bowl teams- and who knows what will happen between now and then! Love to all, God bless. See you on the flip side!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Favorite Project 86 Songs
Well, that week certainly flew! Thanks for tuning in to part two of my Project 86 Monday series, in anticipation of the July 14th release of their newest LP Picket Fence Cartel. This week I will be reviewing my favorite songs done by my favorite band. Where will their new stuff rank? Only time can tell. If you want to hear it ahead of time, they have four brand new songs posted on their Myspace account, which is: www.myspace.com/project86
Well, now that we have the formalities addressed, let's get on to the main event, shall we? My top-twenty favorite Project 86 songs!
20) Sioux Lane Spirits, Songs To Burn Your Bridges By
19) The Forces Of Radio Have Dropped A Viper Into The Rhythm Section, Rival Factions
18) Another Boredom Movement, Truthless Heroes
17) Know What It Means, Truthless Heroes
16) Shelter me, Truthless Heroes
15) Pull Me Closer, Violent Dancer, Rival Factions
14) From December, ...And The Rest Will Follow
13) All of me, ...And The Rest Will Follow
12) Slaves To Liberty, Rival Factions
11) Sincerely, Ichabod, ...And The Rest Will Follow
10) Safe Haven, Songs To Burn Your Bridges By
9) Sad Machines, Drawing Black Lines
8) Shiny Skin, This Time Of Year
7) The Spy Hunter, Songs To Burn Your Bridges By
6) Hollow Again, Truthless Heroes
5) Little Green Men, Truthless Heroes
4) Necktie Remedy, ...And The Rest Will Follow
3) Soma, Truthless Heroes
2) Breakdown in 3/4, Songs To Burn Your Bridges By
1) The Kane Mutiny, Rival Factions
Hmmmmm...not bad, not bad! Again, I wanted to make a top-ten list, but I just couldn't trim it down! I had a hard enough time trimming this to just twenty, let alone ten. Now, know that I am not some blind fanboy, who worships everything that my favorite band puts out. There are Project songs that I don't like, there are Project songs that I think suck. What makes these guys my favorite band is that those songs are few and far between, and the fact that their top songs kick serious behind.
Next week is our 'season' finale. Join me as I put to rank the Project 86 album catalogue!
Well, now that we have the formalities addressed, let's get on to the main event, shall we? My top-twenty favorite Project 86 songs!
20) Sioux Lane Spirits, Songs To Burn Your Bridges By
19) The Forces Of Radio Have Dropped A Viper Into The Rhythm Section, Rival Factions
18) Another Boredom Movement, Truthless Heroes
17) Know What It Means, Truthless Heroes
16) Shelter me, Truthless Heroes
15) Pull Me Closer, Violent Dancer, Rival Factions
14) From December, ...And The Rest Will Follow
13) All of me, ...And The Rest Will Follow
12) Slaves To Liberty, Rival Factions
11) Sincerely, Ichabod, ...And The Rest Will Follow
10) Safe Haven, Songs To Burn Your Bridges By
9) Sad Machines, Drawing Black Lines
8) Shiny Skin, This Time Of Year
7) The Spy Hunter, Songs To Burn Your Bridges By
6) Hollow Again, Truthless Heroes
5) Little Green Men, Truthless Heroes
4) Necktie Remedy, ...And The Rest Will Follow
3) Soma, Truthless Heroes
2) Breakdown in 3/4, Songs To Burn Your Bridges By
1) The Kane Mutiny, Rival Factions
Hmmmmm...not bad, not bad! Again, I wanted to make a top-ten list, but I just couldn't trim it down! I had a hard enough time trimming this to just twenty, let alone ten. Now, know that I am not some blind fanboy, who worships everything that my favorite band puts out. There are Project songs that I don't like, there are Project songs that I think suck. What makes these guys my favorite band is that those songs are few and far between, and the fact that their top songs kick serious behind.
Next week is our 'season' finale. Join me as I put to rank the Project 86 album catalogue!
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