With one more (at least I think only one) fantasy football draft to go, I was thinking about players one last time, and when I was looking at how I rated/tiered players, I realize that even though it's a different year, I fall into the same habits.
Do I have a good reason for this? No, not at all. I've pretty rarely been successful at fantasy football so it's not like I trust in my instincts to help me win since it hasn't worked out that way before. Am I even doing this on purpose? Not really, although I think my laziness has something to do with it.
But somehow I inevitably start thinking of players in the same way year after year, always getting sucked into the same traps. Let me show you what I mean.
The Jacoby Jones
I first started playing fantasy football a few years ago, and of course, I wanted to prepare myself by looking up all the best sleepers that no one else would know (this before I realized everyone reads similar stuff and therefore like similar players). I read about this guy, Jacoby Jones, WR Houston Texans. What could go wrong? He was a burner playing across Andre Johnson (actually that was Kevin Walter, but I KNEW Jones would take over) in a high powered offense and ready for a breakout (it was his 3rd year in the league). I thought he had the talent and the opportunity.
Flash forward to 2012 and Jones has just about over 100 receptions...for his career. Safe to say that didn't pan out, and it's been the running game that's taken over the show in Houston.
What did I learn here? Just because someone is fast and black and playing with a competent quarterback doesn't spell fantasy success. Does this stop me from picking up these WR hoping they'll break a 70 yard TD every game? Not at all. I'm the Al Davis of fantasy.
My 2012 Jacoby Jones: Alshon Jeffery (I actually still really like this guy. He's apparently big and got great hands, which could easily lead the Bears to feature him in red zone situations. Still, playing opposite Brandon Marshall and with a big armed QB may not matter if Matt Forte runs everything in.)
On the other hand...
The Denarius Moore
Last year I played in like a 20 something team NFL.com league. It was DEEP. And therefore I had to read up on much deeper sleepers than usual (at the end of the year I had guys like Jackie Battle, Preston Parker, and Dezmon Briscoe on my team. 10 points if you can name where they play this year...or last year).
I heard about this Denarius Moore kid in training camp and was immediately skeptical. He was playing for the Raiders, a team known for young players who flameout and Darius Heyward-Bey's name wasn't far from anyone thinking of picking a Raiders' WR. It was pretty clear that Darren McFadden would be the focal point, and even though Moore was looking good in camp, he still had to contend with incumbents Heyward-Bey, Chaz Schilens, and Jacoby Ford.
Then the season started, the guys in front of him got hurt, Moore got on the field and started doing things like this. Turns out he wasn't the usual Al Davis type who just flies down the field. Moore's big and has great hands as well, and injuries opened up opportunity for him.
It's easy to write off under the radar rookie WR as most of them don't do so well in the NFL. But as late round picks they can have really good value, especially ones who go late in the real NFL draft or even sign as undrafted free agents. Although it's a high profile position, WR is a relatively easy position to fill cheaply in the league, which can lead to people emerging out of nowhere after a fortuitous camp invite (see: Victor Cruz).
My 2012 Denarius Moore: Rod Streater (It's too obvious. He's the rookie WR in Oakland who's going to get playing time with Moore and Ford hurt. He's versatile and catches everything.)
The Cam Newton
Rookie quarterbacks never do anything right? They have to adjust to the speed of the game, the complexity of NFL defenses, and learning how to take command of an NFL huddle.
Cam threw all that out the window and had a monster fantasy year last season. Turns out the tools he used in college translated just fine to the big leagues. His huge frame and tremendous speed which blew college defenders away still got the job done in the pros. He added a disciplined regimen to learn the offense and surpassed most people's expectations as a passer, reviving Steve Smith's career in the process.
I still generally try to avoid rookies, but man, after a year like that, you have to consider the possibility that someone can repeat that.
My 2012 Cam Newton: Andrew Luck (RGIII is the easiest comparison, but I think he might be getting a little overdrafted. Luck is often available late, and since the Colts will probably be pretty bad again, he's going to get to throw a lot. He's smart and an excellent passer already. These qualities translate to the next level, it's just a matter of getting that game experience and feel for how defenses will play him. Who knows, maybe he can resurrect Reggie Wayne's career after a down season.)
One more, and it will be...
The Shonn Greene
Shonn Greene has the dubious distinction of fooling me several years in a row. One of the reasons RBs are so highly valued in fantasy football is consistency. Back in the day when teams had a featured back, you could count on even lower tiered backs for a solid 8-15 points a game just based on sheer volume. If you were getting 20 carries and resembled an NFL starter, you could probably manage 60-70 yards on the ground and maybe another 10 in the air at minimum. And if you could fall into the end zone once or twice, that's a bonus.
Greene was going to be the ultimate volume back. Sure he didn't look like he was going to be a worldbeater, but what were the Jets going to do? Throw it?
Greene's backups over the past couple years have been guys like Joe McKnight and an older Thomas Jones. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that he could take over the lead back role and flourish as an RB1 option. Unfortunately, he fell into that 8-15 point scorer category. Not catastrophic, but when your team wants to play smash mouth and your QB is Mark Sanchez, you'd think you'd have enough opportunity to break 100 yards more than 3 times in 2 years.
Still, what made Greene attractive basically applies today. He's got the job (Bilal Powell is his backup and likely 3rd down back) and will get carries. Just don't do anything cute and draft him for more than what he is: a low RB2/flex player.
My 2012 Shonn Greene: Doug Martin (There are certainly differences. Martin is much more of a playmaker than Greene and can actually play on 3rd downs. But like Greene, it's kind of assumed that he'll get 20+ carries a game even with the presence of LeGarrette Blount, who was a starting caliber RB last year. Not saying he won't, but even with Blount fading fast in the past few weeks, the fact that he's been in the league and done work before gives me pause before I take Martin as a clear RB1).
As always, the lesson is: never listen to me when I'm talking about fantasy sports. I'll probably just end up giving you bad advice.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Friday, August 10, 2012
McKayla Maroney's other talent
With the 2012 summer games winding down I thought it would be a good time to talk about
She's definitely better than Gabby Douglas which is surprising
since her last name is Douglas. What, you thought I was going to say because she's black? ...well, that too.
Friday, June 22, 2012
k thx bai
It's completely surreal to me that I'm leaving for Connecticut tomorrow morning just a few hours from now. It feels pretty much just like any other night right now even though I know it's not. I left home from college and spent a couple summers interning in various places, but this feels different, more permanent.
When people have been asking me how I feel about leaving or living on the east coast, I've always answered with some form or combination of excited or nervous. Excited because this is the first time I'm really, really on my own. I get to truly be my own person far away from my home and basically everyone I know. I get to have a real job and make many more of my own decisions. Nervous because...well, the same reasons.
I think ultimately both emotions stem from my feelings about identity. In a completely new place, I get sort of a fresh start, a new chance to create and/or flesh out who I am. At the same time, in a lot of ways by moving so far away, I'm losing parts of myself too. It's weird to think about because do I really become a different person just by leaving one environment and going to another one? A lot of the time I (and I'd guess most, if not all of, us) find it easy to identify myself by factors that are easily picked out. What I look like, where I live, who I hang out with, etc. But, as I am learning extremely rapidly, these types of things can change so quickly and so drastically.
Leaving everything and everyone behind is teaching me that the only thing I can cling on to, and thus the only thing I can truly identify with, is my relationship with my God. It's not always perfect and often I falter, but I know that God is there to pick me up no matter how much I stumble. My relationship with Him and my belief that he is a good, loving, eternal God who has saved me and all mankind from a destiny of eternal damnation should be the basis of who I am and I want to work towards that each day. People and surroundings may change, but He does not, and as I'm getting ready for a huge move, I'm glad that I can hold on to that.
On a different note, we (my parents and I) will be spending the next few days driving across the country to my new home in Connecticut. This will be by far the longest road trip I've ever done, and I'm looking forward to a lot of boring roads and long naps while my dad is at the wheel. As disorganized and lazy and stupid as I can be, I will always be thankful to my parents for helping me out in this and I feel really lucky to have them in my life for this and many other reasons.
We'll pretty much just be straight driving and I don't even know if the places we're staying along the way will have wi-fi, but I'm going to try to tweet as much as I can, if only to keep myself from being too bored. But anyway, it's been a fun 22 years of my life on the west coast. I hope to make it back someday (someday soon, please), but I trust and leave everything in the hands of God because I believe His plans are better than my plans. Please do hit me up if you're ever on the east coast. See you on the other side.
When people have been asking me how I feel about leaving or living on the east coast, I've always answered with some form or combination of excited or nervous. Excited because this is the first time I'm really, really on my own. I get to truly be my own person far away from my home and basically everyone I know. I get to have a real job and make many more of my own decisions. Nervous because...well, the same reasons.
I think ultimately both emotions stem from my feelings about identity. In a completely new place, I get sort of a fresh start, a new chance to create and/or flesh out who I am. At the same time, in a lot of ways by moving so far away, I'm losing parts of myself too. It's weird to think about because do I really become a different person just by leaving one environment and going to another one? A lot of the time I (and I'd guess most, if not all of, us) find it easy to identify myself by factors that are easily picked out. What I look like, where I live, who I hang out with, etc. But, as I am learning extremely rapidly, these types of things can change so quickly and so drastically.
Leaving everything and everyone behind is teaching me that the only thing I can cling on to, and thus the only thing I can truly identify with, is my relationship with my God. It's not always perfect and often I falter, but I know that God is there to pick me up no matter how much I stumble. My relationship with Him and my belief that he is a good, loving, eternal God who has saved me and all mankind from a destiny of eternal damnation should be the basis of who I am and I want to work towards that each day. People and surroundings may change, but He does not, and as I'm getting ready for a huge move, I'm glad that I can hold on to that.
On a different note, we (my parents and I) will be spending the next few days driving across the country to my new home in Connecticut. This will be by far the longest road trip I've ever done, and I'm looking forward to a lot of boring roads and long naps while my dad is at the wheel. As disorganized and lazy and stupid as I can be, I will always be thankful to my parents for helping me out in this and I feel really lucky to have them in my life for this and many other reasons.
We'll pretty much just be straight driving and I don't even know if the places we're staying along the way will have wi-fi, but I'm going to try to tweet as much as I can, if only to keep myself from being too bored. But anyway, it's been a fun 22 years of my life on the west coast. I hope to make it back someday (someday soon, please), but I trust and leave everything in the hands of God because I believe His plans are better than my plans. Please do hit me up if you're ever on the east coast. See you on the other side.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Why I want the Miami Heat to win
I should say first of all that I'm not a bandwagon Heat fan. I'm not any Heat fan, and I am not exactly rooting for them in the most typical sense. But as someone who likes the NBA, I would like to see them win this championship.
Ultimately, my reasoning is pretty simple. I believe that Lebron James is easily and by far the best player in the NBA today. And so it frustrates me that this is buried beneath the constant stream of criticism (valid or otherwise). I guess it's not surprising that in our culture, which is largely selfish, greedy and critical, we focus on Lebron's faults and what he doesn't have/can't do. He chokes in the clutch. He doesn't have a ring. He's a selfish player. He has no post game.
I know this because I used to be one of those people. It was absurd to me that people thought Lebron was better than Kobe Bryant (although a few years ago it was much closer). Lebron hadn't won anything. He hadn't repeatedly carried his team through the playoffs as Kobe had done in the Smush Parker/Chris Mihm days. For a guy his size, he looked clueless and helpless with the ball down low. He shot too much and too poorly from midrange and beyond.
But over the past couple years, now that I've actually watched him play...it's so obvious that he is the best player in the league. Obviously anything can happen in the next 1-3 games, but I find it hard to believe that people can honestly think that Kevin Durant is a better player than Lebron.
I love KD. In my brief basketball fandom, he's one of the best scorers I've ever seen simply because he can score from anywhere on the court and with his athleticism and freakish length, there's often not much you can do to stop him other than hope that he misses. Still, I think that the suggestion that he is superior to Lebron is outright laughable.
The fact that this has even been brought up is proof enough for me that the massive microscope of criticism we've turned towards Lebron has blinded us from appreciating the entirety of his game. I mean over the first four games of the finals he's averaging a 29.3/10/6 line and making it look routine. In the regular season he led his teams in points, rebounds, assists, and steals.
But his dominance should be clear even without looking at the numbers. His rebounding, court vision, and passing are much better than most people his size or at his position and he can assert himself on both ends. On the offensive side of the court he's a strange combination of size and speed, which generally allows him to shoot where and when he pleases either by beating his man to his spot or bullying him off of it. His shooting has greatly improved since he was a rookie and, despite what haters might say, his post game has as well. On defense, his size and speed again give him an advantage as it allows him to guard every position effectively. While there are several players who could likely get the better of him over the course of a full game, I truly think he could be fine defending anyone (without fouling) in the NBA for at least a handful of possessions.
Meanwhile Kevin Durant just played the biggest game of his life and the 6'9" (who many claim is closer to 6'11") forward grabbed two rebounds in 46 minutes of play (exactly the same amount as Miami's backup point guard Norris Cole had in eight minutes) and got outleaped on a crucial jump ball by Shane Battier, a 33 year old veteran with creaky legs. Durant's also had so many problems defending without fouling over the past few games that he was on point guards Mario Chalmers and Cole for long stretches of time.
This is not to hate on KD. He is a phenomenal player (and a good rebounder most of the time), but I don't know how else to illustrate what I perceive as a large, noticeable gap in between the two players. I don't know if any of this was actually necessary. I'd like to think not. I'd like to think that this was all very obvious, both because it would be nice if my views were validated and because again, I think it should be apparent to anyone who has watched basketball.
With all of this said, if the Miami Heat lose, especially now with a 3-1 lead, Lebron James's overwhelming talent will be even more obscured (granted, if they do lose three games in a row it's highly probable that harsh criticism of his game will be warranted). As fans, I feel like this hatred is preventing many of us from actually appreciating his game and realizing that we are, and have been, witnessing some of the finest displays of athletic ability on a basketball court. I get the backlash over The Decision. It was incredibly idiotic and out of touch. But are we really going to let a misguided 30 minute television special color our views so much that we miss out on just watching and letting ourselves be amazed at what Lebron does on the court on a nightly basis? I got over it and, if the Miami Heat close this out, it's about time everyone else did too.
Ultimately, my reasoning is pretty simple. I believe that Lebron James is easily and by far the best player in the NBA today. And so it frustrates me that this is buried beneath the constant stream of criticism (valid or otherwise). I guess it's not surprising that in our culture, which is largely selfish, greedy and critical, we focus on Lebron's faults and what he doesn't have/can't do. He chokes in the clutch. He doesn't have a ring. He's a selfish player. He has no post game.
I know this because I used to be one of those people. It was absurd to me that people thought Lebron was better than Kobe Bryant (although a few years ago it was much closer). Lebron hadn't won anything. He hadn't repeatedly carried his team through the playoffs as Kobe had done in the Smush Parker/Chris Mihm days. For a guy his size, he looked clueless and helpless with the ball down low. He shot too much and too poorly from midrange and beyond.
But over the past couple years, now that I've actually watched him play...it's so obvious that he is the best player in the league. Obviously anything can happen in the next 1-3 games, but I find it hard to believe that people can honestly think that Kevin Durant is a better player than Lebron.
I love KD. In my brief basketball fandom, he's one of the best scorers I've ever seen simply because he can score from anywhere on the court and with his athleticism and freakish length, there's often not much you can do to stop him other than hope that he misses. Still, I think that the suggestion that he is superior to Lebron is outright laughable.
The fact that this has even been brought up is proof enough for me that the massive microscope of criticism we've turned towards Lebron has blinded us from appreciating the entirety of his game. I mean over the first four games of the finals he's averaging a 29.3/10/6 line and making it look routine. In the regular season he led his teams in points, rebounds, assists, and steals.
But his dominance should be clear even without looking at the numbers. His rebounding, court vision, and passing are much better than most people his size or at his position and he can assert himself on both ends. On the offensive side of the court he's a strange combination of size and speed, which generally allows him to shoot where and when he pleases either by beating his man to his spot or bullying him off of it. His shooting has greatly improved since he was a rookie and, despite what haters might say, his post game has as well. On defense, his size and speed again give him an advantage as it allows him to guard every position effectively. While there are several players who could likely get the better of him over the course of a full game, I truly think he could be fine defending anyone (without fouling) in the NBA for at least a handful of possessions.
Meanwhile Kevin Durant just played the biggest game of his life and the 6'9" (who many claim is closer to 6'11") forward grabbed two rebounds in 46 minutes of play (exactly the same amount as Miami's backup point guard Norris Cole had in eight minutes) and got outleaped on a crucial jump ball by Shane Battier, a 33 year old veteran with creaky legs. Durant's also had so many problems defending without fouling over the past few games that he was on point guards Mario Chalmers and Cole for long stretches of time.
This is not to hate on KD. He is a phenomenal player (and a good rebounder most of the time), but I don't know how else to illustrate what I perceive as a large, noticeable gap in between the two players. I don't know if any of this was actually necessary. I'd like to think not. I'd like to think that this was all very obvious, both because it would be nice if my views were validated and because again, I think it should be apparent to anyone who has watched basketball.
With all of this said, if the Miami Heat lose, especially now with a 3-1 lead, Lebron James's overwhelming talent will be even more obscured (granted, if they do lose three games in a row it's highly probable that harsh criticism of his game will be warranted). As fans, I feel like this hatred is preventing many of us from actually appreciating his game and realizing that we are, and have been, witnessing some of the finest displays of athletic ability on a basketball court. I get the backlash over The Decision. It was incredibly idiotic and out of touch. But are we really going to let a misguided 30 minute television special color our views so much that we miss out on just watching and letting ourselves be amazed at what Lebron does on the court on a nightly basis? I got over it and, if the Miami Heat close this out, it's about time everyone else did too.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Back in the game
I really enjoy Twitter. I understand the people who think that it's stupid or pointless and that the 140 character messages are a waste of internet space, but I've found it to be a fun way to engage with other users, whether it's actually having a conversation with them or just hearing what they have to say. It's interesting. You never really know what's going to happen when you send out a tweet (or retweet).
For example I recently started following the Twitter account of the Asian American Journalists' Association J Camp program. I was fortunate enough to participate in the program back in 2007 with 40ish other high school students, and I had a great time meeting new people and learning from professional journalists from all over. Over the past couple days they had tweeted at me and other alums asking what some of our favorite J Camp memories were as well as tweeting at incoming J Campers. It was fun tweeting back and forth with old friends, sharing memories as well as to the students about to go to J Camp (perhaps the one time I can tweet at high school girls without feeling creepy) welcoming them to the family. Thinking back on that week brought back a lot of memories. There were a lot of pretty impressive people, from our leaders, advisors, and guest speakers who all had successful careers at various establishments (CNN, ABC, Washington Post) as well as the other students. I haven't kept in touch that much, but I remember a good number of them being pretty smart and driven, and a quick perusal of Facebook (yay stalking) revealed that some of them are indeed in some pretty sweet positions in their journalism career.
Ironically enough, J Camp actually ended up pointing me away from journalism. A lot of the professionals I met mentioned that it wasn't that important to study it in school but that the main focus was just gaining writing experience. That was kind of the first step, but ultimately I think not going down that path was a good decision. I don't think that I have that passion or drive that the best journalists need as they pursue a scoop or tenaciously edit down a piece minutes before deadline.
But back then, I really loved to write. I wasn't (and still am not) the best verbal communicator and putting words on a page gave me an alternative way to communicate my thoughts and opinions. But somewhere along the line, it kind of just fell off. Maybe I got too self-conscious about what I was writing and scared that people would disagree or just flat out not like it. Maybe I got caught up in perfection. A lot of the times when I talk or write I am still thinking of what I want to say as I am saying it. It's actually pretty frustrating and leads to some pretty stupid, confusing things sometimes and maybe I was too afraid that things wouldn't come out just how I wanted to.
As I thought about J Camp, I remembered what made me want to go in the first place. The opportunity to get to know someone through an interview -- and then sharing that with everyone else. The thrill of filling an empty page with informative, entertaining, or just plan fun words. The feeling of accomplishment when you've taken an article that was too long and editing it until it says exactly what you want it to say and no more.
Looking at the tweets of the upcoming J Campers, I can tell they feel the same way. The ALL CAPS and exclamation points make it pretty evident (although maybe they're just excited to meet guest speaker Hoda Kotb? I would be).
So I decided, screw it. I'm just going to write whatever I want when I want to. I'm not going to worry about getting it perfectly right or who might think I'm stupid or wrong (no one reads this anyway...). As I'm preparing to move and essentially start a new life, it makes sense (to me at least) to also re-kickstart this blog. And you know what, it's been a great long while since my last "I haven't written in a while but I'm committing to writing lots more" post, and I'll give myself about a week or two before the posts stop coming again. So here come the posts. Whether it ends up actually being just a week or two or a long term thing, who knows. But it's going to be random and it's going to be awkward and basically, it's going to be me.
For example I recently started following the Twitter account of the Asian American Journalists' Association J Camp program. I was fortunate enough to participate in the program back in 2007 with 40ish other high school students, and I had a great time meeting new people and learning from professional journalists from all over. Over the past couple days they had tweeted at me and other alums asking what some of our favorite J Camp memories were as well as tweeting at incoming J Campers. It was fun tweeting back and forth with old friends, sharing memories as well as to the students about to go to J Camp (perhaps the one time I can tweet at high school girls without feeling creepy) welcoming them to the family. Thinking back on that week brought back a lot of memories. There were a lot of pretty impressive people, from our leaders, advisors, and guest speakers who all had successful careers at various establishments (CNN, ABC, Washington Post) as well as the other students. I haven't kept in touch that much, but I remember a good number of them being pretty smart and driven, and a quick perusal of Facebook (yay stalking) revealed that some of them are indeed in some pretty sweet positions in their journalism career.
Ironically enough, J Camp actually ended up pointing me away from journalism. A lot of the professionals I met mentioned that it wasn't that important to study it in school but that the main focus was just gaining writing experience. That was kind of the first step, but ultimately I think not going down that path was a good decision. I don't think that I have that passion or drive that the best journalists need as they pursue a scoop or tenaciously edit down a piece minutes before deadline.
But back then, I really loved to write. I wasn't (and still am not) the best verbal communicator and putting words on a page gave me an alternative way to communicate my thoughts and opinions. But somewhere along the line, it kind of just fell off. Maybe I got too self-conscious about what I was writing and scared that people would disagree or just flat out not like it. Maybe I got caught up in perfection. A lot of the times when I talk or write I am still thinking of what I want to say as I am saying it. It's actually pretty frustrating and leads to some pretty stupid, confusing things sometimes and maybe I was too afraid that things wouldn't come out just how I wanted to.
As I thought about J Camp, I remembered what made me want to go in the first place. The opportunity to get to know someone through an interview -- and then sharing that with everyone else. The thrill of filling an empty page with informative, entertaining, or just plan fun words. The feeling of accomplishment when you've taken an article that was too long and editing it until it says exactly what you want it to say and no more.
Looking at the tweets of the upcoming J Campers, I can tell they feel the same way. The ALL CAPS and exclamation points make it pretty evident (although maybe they're just excited to meet guest speaker Hoda Kotb? I would be).
So I decided, screw it. I'm just going to write whatever I want when I want to. I'm not going to worry about getting it perfectly right or who might think I'm stupid or wrong (no one reads this anyway...). As I'm preparing to move and essentially start a new life, it makes sense (to me at least) to also re-kickstart this blog. And you know what, it's been a great long while since my last "I haven't written in a while but I'm committing to writing lots more" post, and I'll give myself about a week or two before the posts stop coming again. So here come the posts. Whether it ends up actually being just a week or two or a long term thing, who knows. But it's going to be random and it's going to be awkward and basically, it's going to be me.
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