From Fantasy Loser
Have you ever thought about adding regular fantasy advice to your blog or your radio show? I know I'd enjoy it - and I really could use the help.
FL -
Not really, because there are fantasy options and opinions almost everywhere. And, believe it or not, it's like folks picking games - which I do - in that it's pretty much a bunch of guesswork.
Yes, Matthew Berry and Jamie Eisenberg are in a billion leagues and it's their day job so they have studied it more and lived it more often. But trying to decide between starting Matt Ryan against the Bears or Gardner Minshew against the Dolphins is a coin flip. (In fact, most experts would have picked Minshew in that either/or, and he had a very off night last night. Which was good and bad, since a) the team I am playing in fantasy had Minshew, and b) I was on the over, and that late pick inside the Miami 5 was crushing.)
And for the most part, fantasy teams are like grandkids - you love yours and want to talk about them all the time, but in truth, they are topics that are not overly interesting to others.
Few people want to hear about how you stop Jonathan Taylor in round five; Fewer people want to hear how Little Timmy is now coloring inside the lines and has kicked that glue-eating habit.
(Side question: As aging Southern men, you have to develop a blank-yet-interested distance gaze for those stories you hear because we all look to spin our versions of the same stories. But what's your go-to word after the story. "Wow, that's great.")
And in truth, the only real fantasy advice that is really helpful are these two sentences:
> Draft better;
> Stay healthy.
Thanks for the question. (Side note: and if you have a specific fantasy question, I am happy to answer it through the email. After all I won my league last year and I have won the . did I lose you yet?)
From Mike
Now that everyone is trying to play college football, what the hell were we doing all this time?
Who looks the best after all this (bleep)?
Mike -
Just like you, I was always thankful and appreciative that the SEC was going to explore every option to make it happen for their players, first and foremost.
I know there have been a lot of critics and a lot more criticism because it was about a cash grab and the leaders were exploiting the players for the financial windfall.
Well, the economic side of the Corona protocols absolutely is part of it. In fact, the exploitation of the players in the Big Ten and the Pac 12 are even more egregious and clearly stated.
The leagues that have already started and the SEC, which starts Saturday, were slow-walking this thing and finding ways. The conferences that cancelled and have now reconsidered are claiming advances in daily testing and procedures.
Maybe.
They are not admitting the undeniable truth that a football season with a college football champion happening without the Big Ten or the Pac 12 would be devastating for the Big Ten and the Pac 12. Financially. In interest. In perception. And in appearance.
But I also appreciate those who were trying to find the safest ways to proceed, and certainly know that while Saturday looks like it's going to happen when toe meets leather across the SEC, that could be the only SEC Saturday we have.
That's the 2020 friends, and it stinks. Daily.
As for winners and losers, well, I'll try to move beyond the commissioners because those are pretty easy to identify. (Greg Sankey - getting Ws like Saban; Larry Scott and Kevin Warren collection Ls like Akron.)
Winner - Nick Saban. Dude has been a stable force through this and that spotlight continues to shine on the Camelot program he has built in T-Town. (Side note: You know the rules, and here's Paschall's typically busy fall news dump on Mac Jones being the guy for the Tide, Pruitt getting a raise and an extension in Knoxville, and the Vols' need for a fast start.)
(Side note on the side note: You know the rules, and here's TFP prep whiz Stephen Hargis with a great feature on a Brainerd football player enjoying a quick start with his Panthers teammates.)
Loser: Christine Brennan, the USA Today columnist who called the Big Ten's reversal the "darkest day" in the history of the Big Ten.
I know we are divided, gang, but the people who come across in ways that they appear to be actually cheering for teams to shut it down or have outbreaks of COVID so they can offer a Holier-than-thou "Told ya" make me sick to my stomach.
Be better than that.
From A Reader
Sir
Keep Colin Kaepernick out of your pages and writing. He is a great American who will be viewed in the likes of Jackie and Ali.
You are disgusting Trump loving (Bleep)hole who shows your racism every time you open your computer.
You are the problem in America because you are trying to protect your white privilege on the blood of Breonna and George and all the others killed by your racist police forces.
(BLEEP) YOU - now and forever.
A Reader -
Thanks for reading and thanks for your feedback.
One of the things that I think is important in this conversation is listening to all points of view, even if you a) do not agree with them, and b) think they are hogwash.
I could not disagree more with the above. That said, history's perspective on Kaepernick has been altered for sure, and the discourse he started has evolved greatly.
That's one of the reasons his Tweet from earlier this week was so striking and downright hurtful to any progress.
In fact, I have to say that the underreporting on Kaepernick's Tweet was staggering to me, especially from ESPN.
ESPN is on in the background every morning as I write and through the afternoon until I head downtown to do the radio show. I did not hear a single mention of Kaepernick all day Thursday.
Not one. That's shocking to me.
Want to know another one? Not a peep from ESPN about the hateful Tweets from NBA and college football announcer Mark Jones, who tweeted out a lot of anti-police sentiments and statements that included this one: "Police never saved me.Never helped me.Never protected me.Never taken a bullet for me. (They've pulled guns on me) Never kept me safe in a protest. Never stopped the racist from taking my Black Lives Matter flag off my house. I could do without em. fr. #BreonnaTaylor. #Defund12
And this: "Saturday at my football game I'll tell the police officer on duty to "protect" me he can just take the day off. Fr. I'd rather not have the officer shoot me because he feared for his life because of my black skin or other dumb ish. I'm not signing my own death certificate"
And not a peep on that from the network.
Conversely, it was what a year or two ago - wow it was actually 2017 - that Doug Adler was fired by ESPN for saying Venus Williams played "guerrilla" tennis and people took as Venus was playing gorilla tennis.
Having faceted conversations - all of them - make all difficult issues easier to grasp, including race. It's one of the reasons that it is so important for people like Charles Barkley to present nuanced and balanced viewpoints, like Barkley did last night on TNT on the layers of the Breonna Taylor case.
Chuck said: "And I just feel bad that the young lady lost her life. But we do have to take into account that her boyfriend shot at the cops and shot a cop."
But the folks speaking from the other sides in our divided country are instantly dismissed and far too often vilified.
And sadly, in the matter of race, if you do not immediately fall in line or instantly agree with everything on the other side, then people are going to drop "racist" tag on you.
Part of the job and that's a shame.
From Joe Don
JG:
The passing of Gale Sayers rekindles the ABC Movie of the Week "Brian's Song." As a 10-year-old when it came out, it was the first movie where I recall crying. I mean outright balling.
Other Guy Cry movies?
"Marley and Me" - C'mon, you can't keep a dry eye when a dog dies.
"Field of Dreams" - "Hey, Dad, wanna have a catch" gets me every time.
"The Green Mile" - When the big guy cries, pass the Kleenex.
"Old Yeller" - Nobody cried when Old Yeller got shot. I'm sure.
Whatcha got?
Joe Don -
Such a great question, and Field of Dreams was always there for me, but after losing my dad - and our relationship through baseball - it's a water works for me now.
Is it dusty in here?
Side note: Can we get a spoiler alert up there? I mean you just gave away the entire plot to Old Yeller.
Side note on the side note: I had my Doberman put down - he had the cancer - about seven or so years ago. His name was Grayson and he was beautiful and smart and wonderful. We have a video of him picking up Easter eggs and putting them in a 3-year-old Lil 5-at-10's basket back in the day. Wow, make me tear up even thinking about it.
Shut up, I'm not crying you're crying.
And I get surprisingly emotional at a lot of cheesy sports movies, and that one with Keanu Reeves coaching the inner city kids in the baseball movie Pardon me for a moment.
As for a Rushmore of guy-cry movies, well, I think Brian Song and Field of Dreams are the Jordan and LeBron of the category.
Man there are a couple of animated movies past - not sure I will never watch Bambi or Dumbo again - and present (stupid Up and Toy Story 3 and 4) that are just simply unfair.
No. 3 on my personal list is Saving Private Ryan, when - SPOILER ALERT - the aged Pvt. Ryan is in the cemetery and says, "Tell me I am a good man." Sweet buckets.
Finally, yeah Green Mile is pretty strong, but No. 4 for me, and I watch it every Christmas, is "It's a Wonderful Life."
Thanks Joe Don.
Which brings us to the Rushmores of the week.
TV shows with a number in the title: 24, 30 Rock, 60 Minutes and Three's Company. (Side notes: I was a huge fan of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, but it lasted like one season, and yes it was very tough to leave 90210 off. And My Three Sons.)
Rushmore of prison movies (and friends, this one was way harder than imagined): Traditional - Shawshank, Cool Hand Luke, The Great Escape and In the Name of the Father. Fringe prison movies and/or four personal favs: Raising Arizona, O Brother Where Art Thou, Stir Crazy, and Con Air.
Rushmore of punchable TV characters: Ross from Friends, Urkel from Family, King Joffrey and Ramsey Bolton from Game of Thrones.
Rushmore of Stephen King novels: It, Shining, Pet Sematary, and I went off the board with Needful Things.
Side note: NFL picks will be here around lunch. Deal? Deal.
From Pete Rose For the Hall
Jay, I have read your stuff for years, and your liberal side comes out more often than you likely know and no body wants to hear it if you want to see the truth.
I have read for years your stupid take on the greatest switch hitter ever and because of that you likely love the DH in the NL and the runner on second rule changes in baseball don't you?
Go back to sports - or just go away period.
PRFTH -
Thanks for reading, and whether you know it or not, there's a very interesting question in your verbal diarrhea.
Before that though, you feel free to go away. At any time hoss.
Second, I deplore Pete Rose for everything he is and was outside the lines - as as a gambler, a dad, a husband and as a human - and that should count for way more than the fact that he made contact better than almost everyone else and he sprinted to first base after ball four.
And yes, I think Rose - who crossed the biggest ethical and legal line in all of team sports - should have the lifetime ban, and as soon as his lifetime is up, put his scummy bust in Cooperstown.
As for the blind-squirrel-finding-a-nut portion of our show, the Pete Rose fan actually made me think. As the regular season winds down, which MLB rule changes for the abbreviated 2020 experiment deserve exploration for continuation.
> Universal DH. I liked it better than I expected to be honest, and we all know it's likely going to stay forever.
> Three-hitter rule for relief pitchers. Liked this way more than I anticipated too, to be honest. Anything that inserts more strategery into the game, especially in later innings, I am all for.
> Seven-inning doubleheaders. Love this rule to be honest. Not sure anything will change one of the Holy Grail numbers in baseball - games being 9 innings - but when doubleheaders happen, they should be seven innings.
> Runner on second to start extra innings. I believe this will be a one-and-done experiment, but I think this one was more accepted than most may have predicted.
> Expanded postseason. This one is the big one for the owners, because two extra playoff teams in each league does a slew of things, and almost all of them inject revenue into the sports. It keeps more teams in contention, which keeps more vested fans - if/when the fans ever return - coming to the ballpark deeper into the season. It also means four three-game Wildcard series in each league, which is at least eight and as many as 12 wildcard games compared to one.
I think eight is too many. You should not have more than half the league in the dance.
I like the expansion, though, especially the tweak of the runners-up in each division making it. Maybe seven and giving a real benefit for having the best record through the regular season as the 1 gets a bye.
I think eight is here to stay, though, and if they need to move the final day of the regular season earlier in September, well, they could always play more seven-inning doubleheaders.
Enjoy the weekend friends.
Jay Greeson