UngsungBlog: A (Fantasy) Sports Blog

It was 2-0, Colorado, in the top of the first inning when I turned off my TV.  It was 4-3, Colorado, when I turned it back on.  Then I saw Andruw Jones strike out for the fourth time in the game.

(Wait.  That wasn’t Andruw Jones?  That was MANNY RAMIREZ???)

And to think, I thought the Ung-hex was losing its powers.

I read on Yahoo! Sports earlier today that the Dodgers need but one win to not only win the NL West, but to clinch home field advantage throughout the NL playoffs.  And you know what?  As a true Dodger fan, I want them to choke the division crown away!  If they are going to play like absolute crap for the last week of the season, they don’t deserve home field advantage.

One last thought:  how did Colorado only manage two runs in the first inning?

- No, I have not watched yesterday’s episode of The Office.  I know, I know; I should turn in my Office Fan Club card.

- Fantasy Football updates:  I came back to win both league games, and now I’m 2-0 in both leagues.  However, my decision to bench Peyton Manning in Week 2 might prove to be costly.  In league #1, I’m ranked #1 via tiebreaker—total points scored—but I could have had a much larger lead had I not benched Manning.  Oh well.  I’m second in league #2, only because of the tiebreaker.

Fun fact:  I usually handcuff my star running backs in every Fantasy Football draft I do.  I don’t recall ever having to use the handcuff, though.

(For you non-FFB players, handcuffing a running back means to draft his backup, just in case the star gets injured.)

Of course, last week Marion Barber goes down, and Felix Jones slid comfortably into Barber’s spot in my starting lineup.  Then of course, Jones goes down, and fortunately I had a high enough waiver priority to handcuff him with Tashard Choice.

I gotta ask, though.  Who is Tashard Choice’s backup?

I’ve been battling a toothache this past week (that super duper large Mexican funnel cake I shared with my sisters at the Fair last week probably didn’t help), so I’ll leave it at that.  Until next time.

Tags: andruw jones, fantasy football, felix jones, handcuff, handcuff the handcuff, los angeles dodgers, manny ramirez, marion barber, mexican funnel cake, tashard choice, ung-hex by Peter
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And if you don’t believe me, watch SportsCenter later today.

Or tomorrow.

Or next week.

Or right now (CBS is showing “The Play”).

Guess I’ll be skipping ESPN for a week.

- Nope, haven’t watched this past Thursday’s Office yet.  I plan on doing so later tonight.

- Quick Fantasy Football Week 1 recap:

In league #1, I was ahead 99-97 going into Monday’s Indy-Miami tilt, so I decided to bench Peyton Manning.

(People were giving me flak for benching Manning, calling me a wuss.  How was my decision anything but damn intelligent?  What if Manning fumbled the first snap and left the game with an injury?)

That’s when I found out that Yahoo! no longer rounds fantasy points.  It turns out that I was winning by 0.8 pts (97.90 to 97.10).

Oh well, a win’s a win.

In league #2, I won handily, 114-100, thanks to Matt Schaub (30.68) and Marques Colston (21.80).

I’m getting my butt kicked in both leagues so far today, though.

Later.

Tags: brett favre, diva farve, fantasy football, greatest of all time, office, peyton manning by Peter
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My poor blog, how I’ve ignored you over the past few days!

(What can I say? I haven’t had much to talk about lately!)

Quick-hitters:

- It’s been sunny and COLD the last few days.

I miss the heat. I also miss sunlight at 6PM.

And if it’s so cold, why the heck do I really really want some ice cream?

- Small Shot-Online update: I’m still stuck on level 52 (haven’t played much lately), and, due to a bout of complete idiocy, I blew a chance at an easy ONE HUNDRED MILLION NG profit!!!

I don’t wanna talk about it.

One of these days, I will venture onto Cads. One of these days.

- Current rebate-o-meter: $1,500 or so, but I’m sure that the total is closer to $2,000 than $1,500.

That’s what I get for keeping such poor rebate records

- For the first time ever, here’s a tangent to a previous topic topic that deserves its own section!

Tangent: Fry’s/WorldwideRebates.com update: Fry’s customer service sent me this email regarding my “lost” $20 rebate:

Hello Peter, in regards to your Trand Micro rebate in the amount of
$20.00. We have since gotten in contact with the rebate manufacturer in
regards to your denial. Unfortunately after talking with them it seems
as though they are unwilling to help there customers. What we are going
to do for you in this matter is go ahead and give all of your rebate
submission to our home office. They will be issuing you a check shortly.
Please note that this may take up to 2 months. Please feel free to get
back with us in regards to this status. Thank you.

I boldfaced the line above because I thought it looked awfully familiar to me, especially the misuse of the word “there.” Does Fry’s use a form email to respond to rebate complaints? Well, remember my American Telecom rebate rant?

Hello Peter, in regards to your Pay N Talk rebate in the amount of
$25.00. We have since gotten in contact with the rebate manufacturer in
regards to your denial. Unfortunately after talking with them it seems
as though they are unwilling to help there customers. What we are going
to do for you in this matter is go ahead and give all of your rebate
submission to our home office. They will be issuing you a check shortly.
Please note that this may take up to 2 months. Please feel free to get
back with us in regards to this status. Thank you.

That was from an email response sent to me from February 1, 2008! Notice the emphasis in the blog entry linked above!

Once again, kudos to Fry’s!

(EDIT: Just as I finished typing this, I got an email from WorldWideRebates…it appears that they finally got my rebate submission! Should they successfully process my rebate claim, I will contact Fry’s and see if I can get them to not issue me a check. If not, I’ll just destroy it.)

- Fantasy football updates:

I’m riding a three-game winning streak in one league, the third win coming via a 132-88 beatdown of my opponent. It helps that my two RBs, Thomas Jones and Maurice Jones-Drew, combined to score 59 points by themselves. I am now 5-5 in this league, tied for fifth overall, and still a game out of a playoff spot (though I’m trailing badly in the tiebreaker, which is points scored overall.)

In my other league, I won for the sixth straight week. I’m not going to take too much pride in this win, though, as my opponent played three guys on their bye week, and one was on IR. I’m now in first place in this league, and I face the team that I leapfrogged in Week 11. The receivers on this team are really killing me, save for Andre Johnson.

Non-fantasy football thoughts:

- Ask and ye shall receive.  Thank you, T.O., for giving me my lead story of Week 10!  I need not even comment on this (though I will):

“We have to go back to the drawing table and look at the things that made us successful last year, moving me around a little bit, really just making an effort to get the ball in my hands on certain routes,” Owens said Tuesday, during a signing for his new book in Manhattan.

Well, at least he was smart enough to say the word “certain.”  You know, he wouldn’t want to appear to be demanding the ball, or anything like that…

I cannot wait for the upcoming Cowboys-Redskins game.  What will spew out of T.O.’s mouth if the Cowboys happen to lose THAT game???

- As soon as I found out that the Monday Night game was San Francisco at Arizona, I decided that I wasn’t going to watch it.

Boy did I miss out!  What a crazy goal-line “stand” by Arizona!  Of course, I say “stand” because Arizona’s field turf played a huge role on that series, tackling 49ers’ RB Frank Gore on 2nd and goal.  Why was Frank Gore not on the field on the final play of the game?  And why didn’t the 49ers spike the ball on the final play, since it was only 3rd down?

By the way, if Kurt Warner wins his third MVP this season—and personally, I think he’s the front-runner—tying himself with that guy currently on the Jets, that has to be enough to get him in the Hall of Fame, right?  Maybe he doesn’t get in on the first ballot, but he’s gotta get in, right?

- Speaking of the Jets, did you see them running up the score against my hapless Rams?  How sickening!

OK, fine, my Rams horribly stink, and the Jets did not run the score up on them.  However, can we stop giving Favre all the credit for the Jets’ “resurgence,” a 6-3 record against a cupcake schedule, including a LOSS to the RAIDERS?

Kris Jenkins?  Alan Faneca?  Thomas Jones?  Leon Washington?  Eh, forget it; let’s give all the credit to Diva Favre.

(And please stop with the “Oh, if Favre were still a Packer, they wouldn’t be 4-5!  It is not completely Aaron Rodgers’ fault that the Packers are struggling.  That defense of theirs is terrible, and it only got worse with the loss of LB Nick Barnett for the season.)

- Colts fans, begin to send your hate mail!

Is it just me, or are the Colts quickly rounding into that struggling team that, all of a sudden, gets white-hot, and earns the “We don’t want to play THEM!” label?  After back-to-back victories over New England and Pittsburgh (did the Colts really keep the Steelers out of the end zone when Pittsburgh was on the Colts’ 1???), the could-have-been 1-8 Colts could very well be 10-4 going into the final two games of the season.

Of course, they could also get upset by Houston, lose @SD, and then lose one of @CLE, CIN, or DET (shudder…), and miss the playoffs.

- And finally, thank goodness that Jacksonville remembered who they were…as did Detroit.

By the way, would you bet on Detroit going 0-16, or Tennessee going 16-0?  You’d have to be on the latter being more likely, wouldn’t you?

I would…but just barely.

Until next time!

Tags: cadeiger, diva favre, fantasy football, frys, green bay packers, indianapolis colts, kurt warner, mvp, new york jets, nick barnett, rebate-o-meter, shot-online, t.o., worldwiderebates by Peter
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Wow, it seems that I have abandoned this blog for quite some time.

I hope I still remember how to do this…assuming I knew how to do this in the first place.

Random thoughts (aka a super sized “Quick hitters”):

- My loyal readers (all none of you) might have realized that I have yet to post a review for last week’s episode of The Office. That might have something to do with the fact that I have yet to watch last week’s episode!

Yes, I’m ashamed of myself…unfortunately, I skipped The Office to play Shot-Online during the bonus EXP days.

- Speaking of Shot-Online, a brief update: after grinding out the game over the weekend, I haven’t played much since. I logged in for several hours, nonetheless, but mostly just to go auction house hunting.

I’m at the point in the game where I should really be playing on Cadeiger. However, I hate the course so much that I’ve been pretty much sticking to Rufus Arena or easier courses for the caddy experience.

I might just quit using this character and start working on one of my other characters.

- It’s been rainy and cold…and yet pretty warm at the same time (???) the last few days.

Can’t the weather gods make up their damn mind?

- We swung by Costco a couple days ago, and somehow managed to only spend $50!

(Well, we really spent $100, but half of that was on a membership renewal.)

Of course, we dropped by VONS right after that and blew $30 on junk food and steaks :P.

- Current rebate-o-meter: $1650 and rising.

(And it’s not even Black Friday yet!)

(EDIT: Haha…I need to add another $210 to that total :P)

Time for a couple customer service-related rants!

(If I’ve ranted about WorldwideRebates.com before, I do apologize.)

- Back in early September, I mailed out four rebates to WorldwideRebates.com. Three of the rebates showed up in their system rather quickly, but the fourth has still yet to show up.

I called the 800# on the rebate form, and once I got to the “We’ll connect you to an operator” prompt, I waited on hold for a couple seconds. That’s when I got a message that said something like “Thanks for calling…all of our operators are busy…please call back.”

*click*

Seriously? I can’t stay on hold? I have to call back, sit through the IVR, connect to an operator, and repeat ad nauseum until I can actually reach a live operator?

Fortunately, Frys.com is going to assist me in this matter.

- Thank you, Fedex. Thank you for not leaving me a Door Tag when you supposedly delivered my package at my doorstep on Thursday. Thank you for not returning my call 48 hours after I called in on the following Monday to inquire about the whereabouts of my package. Thank you for making me wait an additional 48 hours after I called in on the following Thursday to check the status of my case. And thank you for finally telling me, yesterday, that the package was lost and that I should contact the shipper to initiate a claim.

The best part is, I’ve got two more packages coming from Fedex this week! YAY!

*cry*

- Fantasy football updates:

Kyle Orton’s injury didn’t sink me in one league, as I eked out a 66-65 victory to get to 4-5, tied for seventh place. Four teams are only one game ahead of me, at 5-4, meaning I might still have a shot at a playoff spot!

Chad Pennington was available on the waiver wire, so he’ll be my Week 10 QB.

In my other league, a strong effort by Pittsburgh’s D—seven sacks, two picks, a blocked kick, and six points allowed—propelled me to my fifth straight win and a 6-2-1 record, good for tied for second in that league. In fact, the top three teams in the league have now won a combined fourteen games in a row!

Non fantasy-football thoughts:

- Another bad Dallas Cowboys loss, and…NOTHING FROM T.O.??? WTF??? What am I supposed to talk about?

Well, how about the fact that the New York Giants are coping without Jeremy Shockey and Michael Strahan just fine?

Eh, that’s no fun.

- Is it just me, or is Indy rounding into “Team that nobody wants to face” form? Sure, they struggled to get past a Tom Brady-less Patriots team, and yeah, they still don’t have a run game, and yeah, the Colts won the game on a couple boneheaded decisions by the Pats (that timeout called by Belicheck which nullified a first down and that idiotic personal foul penalty on what would have been third and short), and yeah, the Colts needed a 52 yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri, and…

Wait…what was my point?

Yeah, the Colts are finished.

- Minus-2 first half yards? ZERO first downs? Seventy-seven total yards?

Was I watching the Oakland Raiders offense or the Washington State offense against USC? The Raiders should be forced to forfeit their next game just for that abomination.

- So the Titans are now 8-0. Are they for real yet, after being a solid Green Bay Packers team?

Yeah, they’re for real, and they could conceivably be 14-0 going into their final two games (PIT, @IND). They play @CHI (minus Kyle Orton), @JAX (more on them later), NYJ (Brett Favre = Pick Six potential?), @DET, CLE, and @HOU. Which of those teams will Tennessee be underdogs against?

- And finally, didn’t I say last week that JAX @ Cincy was a “trap game”???

And who does JAX play next week? Freaking Detroit! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

I’m tired, so that will have to be it for tonight. Until next time!

(Look, Ma! No Diva Favre commentary!)

Tags: bill belicheck, cadeiger, costco, dallas cowboys, fedex, indianapolis colts, new england patriots, oakland raiders, random thoughts, rebate-o-meter, rufus arena, shot-online, tennessee titans, The Office, vons, worldwiderebates by Peter
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Random thoughts:

- Has anyone seen Fall?  Seriously?  Why the hell is it so hot???

I just can’t win…

- Commercials:

1) Any time I see that stupid Sinupret commercials (”I love you more!” “No, I love you more!”), I feel like throwing my remote through my TV.

More WalMart commercials, please!

2) Cheesy cable commercials always bug the hell out of me, but Valley residents have to agree with me that the latest Keyes Woodland Hills commercial jingle (set to “Where in Thumbkin?”) has to rate as one of the dumbest, most obnoxious, cable commercial of all time!

Where is Honda?  Where is Nissan?  Woodland Hills!

(I think I got the line right.  Every time I hear that commercial, my ears start bleeding.)

3) The Guitar Hero:  World Tour commercial.  Enough said.

Now THAT’s a good commercial.

- Latest CVS trip:  bought lots of candy (2 for $3, $1 coupon), and some SoyJoy bars (4 for $4, $3 off 5 coupon, and $4 ECBs).

I will neither confirm nor deny that the candy was purchased for me first, and the Trick-or-Treat’ers second.

Next week, I’ll be buying some Brita pitcher filters which will cost me more than a buck after all my ECBs.  I hope that my favorite cashier isn’t there on that day

- Current rebate-o-meter:  $925, but that doesn’t include the $500 or so that I have not yet entered.

(I’m lazy!)

- Fantasy football updates:

Believe it or not, I actually played Brian Westbrook last week, and believe it or not, I did not hex him!

5-2-1 now (second place), after a blowout victory, and somehow, Rams WR Donnie Avery was available in this league, strengthening my average WR corps (Andre Johnson(!!!), Jerricho Cotchery, Roy Williams, Donald Driver, Lance Moore).

In my other league, I had WR Reggie Wayne, TE Dallas Clark, and a four-point lead over my opponent, who had (gulp!) RB Chris Johnson.  Fortunately for me, Johnson’s garbage-time TD did not hurt me, as Dallas Clark finally showed up in a game.  Now I’m 3-5 in that league, and amazingly, only two games out of a playoff spot.

Non-fantasy football thoughts:

- Let’s start with the big story of the week:  Deanna Favre is hurt over the recent allegations that her husband, Diva Favre, offered ousted Lions’ GM Matt Millen tips against Favre’s former team:

‘Brett does not, in any way, hold a vendetta against his former team…Some incidents, like the locker room pranks appear funny [but they are still untrue]…Others, like the questionable phone calls to other teams, are hurtful, distasteful, and…still untrue as they have been reported.

Because of this, lately, my heart has been so heavy. It is very hard to watch the daily toll this has taken on Brett.

Brett is the same man who has always put his team first, not personal gains or statistics. And, Brett is the same man we know who is filled with great character, strength, goodness and love. Truly, nothing has changed but a uniform.’

1) WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Here’s a kleenex.

2) How can something that is untrue still “appear” funny?

3) Sure, any scrutiny directed at your husband must be hard to take.  However, wasn’t it YOU that pushed your husband to return for another season?

EDIT:  I saw a clip of an E:60 interview with Mrs. Favre—Greta Van Susteren must have been busy—where she denied pushing Favre back into the league.  Maybe you should convince your husband to retire mid-season.  He could always come back in Week 13!

4) That last paragraph makes me LMFAO.  Favre puts his team first?  The same guy that used to throw backbreaking pick after backbreaking pick, and then blaming the personnel around him for his poor play, “put[s] his team first?”  And oh by the way:

*cough* Michael Strahan? *cough*

*cough* The entire drama of the past three offseasons? *cough*

*cough* Declaring that he’s not responsible for the development of Aaron Rodgers? *cough*

Character?  Goodness?  More like selfishness and a swollen ego.

(BTW, I got sick to my stomach over hearing analysts anywhere praise Favre for that fourth-quarter rally against the Chiefs.

1) THEY WERE PLAYING THE CHIEFS!!!!!!!

2) Favre threw three picks in that came, if you don’t recall.  The Jets’ D probably had something to do with keeping Favre in the game, no?

3) Enough with the praise over that pass he threw to Laveranues Coles!  That pass was thrown about two yards behind Coles, and Coles had to adjust to the ball, NOT the other way around!  That pass was so poor that it could easily have been a Pick Six!)

- In lesser news, did you hear that the Tennessee Titans are now 7-0, after a drubbing of the team formerly known as the powerhouse Indianapolis Colts?

That being said, I’m still not sold on the Titans…yet.  Look at some of their past opponents!  KC?  Cincy?  Houston?  An overrated Jags team?  Let’s not put the champagne on ice just yet.  However, looking at their next four games (GB, @Chi, @Jax, NYJ), should they go 3-1 in those games, then we can talk about championship contention.

By the way, does the Pacman Jones trade count as “Ewing Theory” potential?

And even though they are 3-4, I just can’t bury the Colts just yet.  I might after their next four games, though (NE, @Pit, Hou, SD).  I’m thinking a 3-1 record in those four games is the worst the Colts can do if they want to contend for a playoff spot this season.

- Speaking of teams that are for real, is Carolina now on that list?  Not yet, in my opinion, due to the fact that they had to rally against an average Arizona team (and it didn’t help that Arizona’s defenders appear to be allergic to tackling.  Marion Barber a couple weeks ago, and Steve Smith on Sunday?)

- At 3-5, San Diego has to be finished, right?  JAX too, at 3-4.  Washington?  I’m not sold on them being for real yet.  And maybe New England will be OK after all.

And the New York Giants are pretty good.  So is Pitt, that entire fourth quarter notwithstanding.

- The Cowboys eked out a win against Tampa Bay, but not all is well in Dallas, even at 5-3.

And has anyone seen TO?  No comments?

- Can Cincy do it?  Can they go 0-16?  Here’s their remaining schedule.

The final game of the season (KC) scares the heck out of me, but next week’s game (JAX) screams “trap game.”

- Speaking of winless teams, can Detroit do it?  Here’s their remaining schedule, and it looks great!

That “trap game” versus Jacksonville scares me as well.

- And finally…who didn’t enjoy Niners’ coach Mike Singletary’s rant on TE Vernon Davis?

Incredible stuff, all of it deserved, by the way:

‘I told him that he would do a better job for us right now taking a shower and coming back and watching the game than going out on the field,’ Singletary said after the 34-13 loss to Seattle. ‘Simple as that.’

Until next time!

Tags: andre johnson, brian westbrook, dallas clark, deanna favre, diva favre, donnie avery, fantasy football, indianapolis colts, mike singletary, new york bretts, san francisco 49ers, tennessee titans, vernon davis by Peter
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I’m in a pretty bad mood right now, so pardon me if this blog is a bit more negative than usual.

(I know, I know…MORE negative?)

Quick-hitters:

- Still no resolution from Costco…though the manager is only partially to blame. I tried calling him twice more last week, and he was not in on either day.

I have yet to call since :P.

- My forehead is still sore from the smackdown I received from my favorite cashier at the Encino CVS.

(You remember this, right?)

Two days ago, I dropped by for the first time in a month (!!!!!), and I ended up spending $7 out of pocket! You should have seen her reaction this time!

“SEVEN DOLLARS??? YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO HAND ME A QUARTER!!!”

And then…***SMACK***, right on the forehead!

(OK, so it was more like a V8 commercial-like tap on the forehead, but still, it was pretty damn funny.)

Fortunately, after seeing the 3-4 ECBs that printed out, she decided that it would be OK to return to the store for my future CVS shopping needs.

- Current rebate-o-meter: $1052, and rising.

Thank goodness for the 2009 FAR software “season!”

Yeah, I know I skipped last week’s NFL Thoughts, but I promise I’ll make it up to you.

- Fantasy football updates:

Fortunately for me, what will forever be known as the “Steven Jackson game” did not ruin me. I was blown out anyway. I am now 2-5 in that league, and facing the top team next week.

(So should I hex the other Steven Jackson owners in the Fantasy Football universe and play him this week?)

In my other league, I’m on a 3-0-1 run to get to 4-2-1, good for third place. I really like my chances in this league, even without a healthy Brian Westbrook.

Non-fantasy football thoughts:

- Awwwww…Brett Favre is angry, over the reports that he spoke with former Lions’ GM Matt Millen, offering “strategic Packers information” to the Lions.

Poor baby.

Where should I start?

“It happens more than you know,” Favre said. “Don’t think for a second that, you know, when Mike McCarthy left in ‘99, went to the Saints, the next year we played them, they put it to us, that he didn’t tell his guys what they thought. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Note to Diva Favre: the “Other people do it, so it must be OK” argument never works! Nice try, though.

“I guess I’m a little bit angry because I think my reputation has been well respected throughout the years,” Favre said. “Any time that’s questioned, the type of teammate I am, it does anger me, I’m not going to lie to you.”

You must have been quite angry over the damage your rep took over this past offseason, huh? Then again, that’s probably the media’s fault.

“Believe me,” Favre said, “I’m trying my best to help this team win, the New York Jets. Spending no time trying to make the Packers lose. I got enough on my plate, believe me.”

“Believe me. I’m trying my best to help this team win by thinking about retirement until training camp.” I can’t wait for him to try this line out during the offseason.

Now that I got the cheap shots out of the way, let me just say that Favre is…R…RIIII…RIGHT. People talk all the time. Exactly how is anybody going to prove that Favre told Millen (assuming they did speak about schemes and strategies) what the Lions’ coaches couldn’t already figure out by watching tapes? More importantly, the NFL has already considered it a non-issue, so I guess that’s good enough for me.

- Do you realize that:

The Cowboys could be 4-6 after their game at Washington?

(Speaking of the Cowboys, how I will live without some T.O. news this week???)

The Colts could be 3-6 after their game at Pittsburgh, and could easily be 1-8?

The Rams are three upsets away from being a legitimate playoff contender?

(I can dream, can’t I?)

The New York Bretts could be 4-8 after their game versus Denver, sparking Favre to consider returning to his team the following week at San Francisco?

(I can dream, can’t I?)

- I thought Chicago and Minny had two premier defenses. Eighty-nine points combined? Yikes.

- So is New England that good, or is Denver that…average?

Of course, Cutler’s finger injury played a huge role in the outcome of that game, but Denver’s D couldn’t stop a Pop Warner RB right now.

(Fantasy football tangent: Selvin Young, please stay injured. I am enjoying the Michael Pittman show.)

EDIT: OK, the tangent above was a bit of a low blow, on the heels of this article chronicling the Broncos’ injury woes. It’s incredible that the 3-4 Chargers (no, you guys should not be 5-2…please stop that) are only a game out of first place in the AFC West, and could very well beat out the Broncos for the division title.

And finally…

- Raise your hand if you had the Tennessee Titans as the only unbeaten team left in the league. To borrow a thought from ESPN’s Bill Simmons, there’s some serious “Ewing Potential” with this team, now that Vince Young is no longer the QB.

It’s probably the media’s fault that Young isn’t the QB any more, though.

Until next time (later tonight, that is!).

Tags: brett favre, brian westbrook, cashier, costco, cvs, dallas cowboys, denver broncos, diva favre, fantasy football, indianapolis colts, matt millen, new england patriots, new york jets, rebate-o-meter, steven jackson, tennessee titans by Peter
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Let’s see if I remember how to do this.

(Week 1 NFL thoughts to come tomorrow…I hope.)

Random thoughts from the past week:

- Stupid commercials I’ve seen lately:

1) These two about high-fructose corn syrup. I was going to attempt a long-winded rant about these commercials, but I’ll let The Consumerist and their readers handle it.

2) “Pasta player-hater!” WTF.

- I have something like ten rebates that need to go out in the next week or so.

Who wants to bet that I won’t send them out until two days before the postmark deadline?

- Eight straight wins, and now nine of ten. A 2.5 game lead over Arizona. Four wins against Arizona aces (Brandon Webb and Dan Haren).

Three thoughts here:

1) Why aren’t teams giving Manny the Barry Bonds treatment? Manny had another HR today, as well as a scoring fly ball. Can we etch his name on the MVP award right now?

2) Speaking of Manny…hey, Jeff Kent, Andre Ethier is Exhibit B of the Manny effect, is he not? He had four more RBI today, including a huge bases-clearing double to give the Dodgers’ bullpen some breathing room.

Don’t rush back, Kent.

3) Derek Lowe just made himself a ton of money over the past few weeks. And who knows how much more money Manny made himself.

- So some of you might be thinking that I was kicking up my heels and celebrating the season-ending torn ACL that Tom Brady suffered.

You’d be wrong, and I will neither confirm nor deny that that eleventy billion replays I’ve seen of the hit that Brady took might have changed my opinion of the injury. Despite what I may have written in the past about the Cheat-riots, nobody deserves a season-ending knee injury, especially on a fluke play in the first quarter of the first game of the season.

And please stop with the “karma’s a b!tch” talk. If anything, the Pats got what was coming to them in last year’s Super Bowl.

I first heard of the injury when I woke up late Sunday morning, fired up my laptop, and saw something about Brady leaving the Chiefs-Pats game early in the first quarter with a knee injury. When I first read that headline, I immediately thought “Oh oh…season ender?” After seeing the replay for the first time, I was about 90% sure he was done for the year.

Was the hit dirty? I don’t think so. It seemed desperate, and definitely unnecessary, but I didn’t think it was dirty at all.

What sickens me about the entire situation is the fact that one could argue that Diva Favre’s Jets team might very well be the favorites in the AFC East. If the Jets win the East (even with Brady’s injury), we might not hear the end of it until after the Super Bowl, even if the Jets lose in the first round of the playoffs! Worse, we might have to suffer through weeks and weeks of “See? The Packers should never have gotten rid of Favre!”

(shudder…)

More NFL thoughts next time…

- My two fantasy football drafts had one thing in common: I somehow missed the first pick of each draft.

Both leagues are Yahoo! standard, ten-team leagues. Unfortunately, I was not able to get twelve players to partake in a BargainShare league. Oh well.

(Note: For some reason, I’m having difficulty getting screenshots of my draft results. As soon as I figure out what is going on, I’ll post the full draft results. For now, I’ll just list my team.)

Team 1 (currently 0-1 and in DEAD FREAKING LAST):

• Round 1, Pick 4: RB Steven Jackson

(Grrrr…I was going to draft Joseph Addai here. I was also considering Tom Brady here, so at least I didn’t do that!)

• Round 2, Pick 17: WR Reggie Wayne

(Peyton Manning better get back into “game-shape” real soon.)

• Round 3: RB Maurice Jones-Drew
• Round 4: QB Carson Palmer

(This is the pick that is going to make or break my team. So far, I’m leaning towards “break.”)

• Round 5: WR Roy Williams

(I was going to take Williams in round 4, and was very happy to see him fall to me in round 5.)

• Round 6: TE Dallas Clark
• Round 7: DST Minnesota

(Don’t ask.)

• Round 8: WR Donald Driver
• Round 9: RB Thomas Jones

(Sleeper! And with the way Steven Jackson and the Rams are playing, he might be a starter soon enough.)

• Round 10: WR Bernard Berrian
• Round 11: WR Reggie Brown
• Round 12: K Phil Dawson

(He has since been dropped.)

• Round 13: RB Kevin Smith (Lions)
• Round 14: WR Drew Bennett

(Rams’ loyalty :P)

• Round 15: QB Jeff Garcia

I could see this team easily finishing 5-9 or something like that. I am not too thrilled with this team, and believe it or not, this was my “casual” draft.

Team 2 (1-0, second place after scoring 111 pts):

• Round 1, Pick 4: RB Brian Westbrook

(I actually wanted Addai here too. I think I’ll live with this pick.)

• Round 2, Pick 17: RB Ryan Grant
• Round 3: WR Andre Johnson
• Round 4: WR Roy Williams
• Round 5: TE Antonio Gates

(Why was I not notified that he still has a foot injury???)

• Round 6: QB Donovan McNabb

(Possibly my best pick of both drafts, if he stays healthy.)

• Round 7: WR Donald Driver
• Round 8: WR Jerricho Cotchery
• Round 9: DST Pittsburgh
• Round 10: RB Selvin Young

(Michael Pittman? Andre Hall? Stupid Mike Shanahan :P)

• Round 11: WR Nate Burleson

(Ouch…torn ACL? Now who is Matt Hasselbeck going to throw to?)

• Round 12: K Phil Dawson

(Dropped.)

• Round 13: RB Justin Fargas
• Round 14: QB Matt Schaub
• Round 15: WR Ronald Curry

If (and that’s a huge IF) my top six stay healthy, this team is going to be a force to reckon with…I think.

Until next time!

Tags: andre ethier, derek lowe, fantasy football, hfcs, high fructose corn syrup, jeff kent, los angeles dodgers, manny ramirez, new england patriots, season ending injury, stupid commercials, tom brady, torn acl by Peter
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Wow! It’s been over a week since my last blog entry?

Lemme make this one a quickie (well, as quick as possible).

Quick-hitters:

- I hate being sick. I hate people. I’m not sure which one I hate more.

- Seriously, how hard is it to change seven digits? The damn HOA that runs my apartment complex, apparently, cannot figure out how to do such a seemingly easy task. It’s been two weeks since I’ve requested that my front-gate intercom # be changed to a new phone number, and they haven’t done anything about it yet! Two weeks! That’s 2 days per digit!!!!!

AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

- Current rebate-o-meter: ~$2800, although it appears that I’m going to be jerked around for about $150 of that rebate money.

’tis the rebate game, after all…

- Given that this week’s Office episode might be the last episode for a while (thanks to the WGA strike), I wasn’t really looking forward to tonight’s episode.

That being said, tonight’s episode was great! It had a little bit of Jim/Pam (boy does Jim suck at ping-pong!), psycho Kelly (and I’ll admit that the Kelly character is growing on me, in a fingernails-on-the-chalkboard kind of way), and most importantly, it had the pathetic, let’s-feel-sorry-for-him Michael Scott! Poor Michael; he must have felt like he got stabbed in the back after finding out that Jan gave him a less than exemplary, albeit warranted, performance review! Despite that, I was REALLY surprised that Michael didn’t agree that Dunder-Mifflin “exhibits a pattern of disrespect towards its employees,” especially after hearing David Wallace’s deposition. Not to mention, isn’t Michael always whining about his superiors–first Jan, and now Ryan? Obviously this revelation is going to scar Michael’s relationship with Jan…or will it?

(I also wonder how long it’s going to take for Michael to realize that he blew a chance at a share of $4 million.)

By the way, I don’t know a single guy that keeps a freaking diary. I was half-expecting to see one of those tiny locks on the front cover. And when I saw Michael actually decide to sit with Toby for lunch, I was suckered into believing that he would actually be nice to Toby for a change (yeah, right!).

I loved the Kelly/Darryl and Jim/Pam scenes, and I especially loved Kelly’s smack-talking. That stand-off between Pam and Kelly at the door of the women’s bathroom was one heck of an awkward moment! At the end of the episode, though, I was hoping for Pam to slug Kelly right in the face, prompting an all-out-brawl. You could imagine my disappointment when they started playing ping-pong instead.
(I assure you that I say this not as a chauvinistic pig who wouldn’t mind watching two women clawing each other’s eyes out. I swear this on a grilled porterhouse! :P)

Favorite moments:

• Ryan demanding that Michael answer the call from a very important non-existent client.
• Pam: “I bring him juice…My boyfriend is svelte.” (LOL!)
• Jim convincing Dwight to play ping-pong by suggesting that the client challenged Jim to a ping-pong match.
• The diary entry: “…tan all over…Jan all over…he he”
• Jan: “I stole your diary and gave it to my lawyer. You e-mailed a topless photo of me to everyone in our company. Let’s call it even” followed by the awkward exchange of “I love you”s.
• “Who is this other woman…Ryan…who you refer to here as ‘Just as hot as Jan, but in a different way” (*gag*), followed by Toby’s girlish laugh.
• Dwight: “Wait a minute…Darryl is the client? He works here, dumbass!” (:P)
• Michael: You expect to get screwed by your company, but you never expect to get screwed by your girlfriend.”

Dwight and Mose’s ping-pong rally at the end of the episode was pretty awesome as well.

Now, to go cry a little over the fact that there will be no more Office episodes for the foreseeable future.

- Here are (very quickly) my Week 10 (Fantasy) Football thoughts.

1) I’m 5-5 in the BargainShare fantasy football league (tied for first…and last :P), and just plain pathetic in the other leagues (4-6, 3-7 in the LT league, and somehow 5-5).

In the BargainShare league, I started Justin Fargas (he of eight fantasy points) and Travis Henry (he of DNP). On my bench? Selwyn Young (18 pts) and Ryan Grant (19 pts). Fortunately I didn’t need either of them.

I hate Fantasy Football.

2) The Pats are the most awesome-est team EVAR! They are so super cool! They’re not going to lose a game for twenty years!

(I just put that little blurb up there to appease Boston myopics; if I didn’t, Pats’ fans might accuse me of disrespecting their team).

By the way, Pats’ fans, I love how you guys are whining that the Colts are going to make excuses now that DE Dwight Freeney is out for the season. I can’t wait to see how myopic you guys are going to act when the Celtics begin their playoff run.

3) You know your football team is sad when you are pissed that they got their first win of the season.

Stupid Rams! Go 0-16! Get the #1 pick next year!

Oh well, hopefully Miami continues their run towards history :P.

4) What was more depressing to watch last weekend? San Francisco’s “offense” or Peyton Manning throwing six picks?

Who am I kidding? San Francisco by ten miles!

5) Donovan McNabb? HUGE game!

What does this mean for fantasy owners? People will start him next week, and he’ll probably lay an egg.

Until next time (whenever that is)!

by Peter
1 Comment »

 Yeah, yeah, yeah…the product review is going to have to wait.

So sue me.  Just don’t wish a torn knee ligament (or three) on me.

Quick-hitters:

- Did you know that “aluminum” is spelled and pronounced “aluminium” in Britain?

Krunk pointed that out to me today, but I already knew that, thanks to Eddie Izzard :P.

(Tangent:  Why wasn’t the movie Speed called La Vitesse?)

- One of these days, I’m going to figure out what’s wrong with my sister’s fried-again computer.

Not today, though.  me <– opens a can of Coke Zero.

- My current rebate-o-meter reads over $3,000 in rebates owed.  This figure went up over $700 today alone.

(I should mention that the only reason why this figure jumped so high was because of an error in my rebate Excel spreadsheet.  You remember The Simpsons episode where Homer tried to gain weight, and kept getting his gut caught on the towel rack, throwing off his scale’s reading?   My miscalculation reminded me of this episode.)

At the rate I’m going, I’m probably going to have to buy myself a free after rebate Christmas gift.  Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like Norton Antivirus 2008, right?

- How would one spell out the sound a buzzer makes (you know, like what you hear at the end of a basketball game)?

I could really use that.

- Don’t you hate it when you check out of an store, only to find (moments later) another item you wanted to buy?  For reasons other than S&H–not that S&H doesn’t matter–this hurts a heck of a lot more online than at a brick-and-mortar.

- I had some leftover spaghetti sauce that was sitting in my fridge for a couple of days, so I decided to make some baked pasta.  I had some round Spaghetti-O-like pasta that I bought from Trader Joe’s (that store is evil, by the way), so I boiled that up, heated the sauce, threw everything into a glass baking dish, topped it with some CoJack cheese–it’s all I had–and threw the whole shebang in the oven until the cheese melted.

Man, that’s some good stuff; it was definitely a heck of a lot better than anything that came out of a can!  I added a mixed greens salad and a glass of cranberry juice, and damn, I could go for another helping right now!

- I’m too tired to give my loyal readers my Week 4 NFL thoughts, but here are my Week 4 Fantasy Football rants and raves (mostly the former):

1) Stupid Brian Westbrook.  Stupid Rudi Johnson.  Stupid Donovan McNabb.

2) I lost in three of my four leagues last week (see #1), and I really lucked out in the BargainShare FFBL league, thanks to a last-minute scratch of Lawrence Maroney.  I was up by a mere three points, going into the Monday Night Football game!  Hey, I’ll take wins any way I can get them.

Unfortunately, in that league, both of my starting RBs–Rudi Johnson and Travis Henry–are hurt.

I’m screwed.

To recap:  I’m now 1-3, 1-3 (in the LT league, and I could very well be 0-4), 2-2, and 3-1 in the BargainShare league.

Fun fact:  my sister and I are both 3-1 in the BargainShare league.  One GM and his son are each 0-4.

(I hope he doesn’t read this :P)

3) I face LaDainian Tomlinson in two leagues next week, and I have him in one league (though that team is 1-3).  It should be pretty obvious which way I will be rooting.

4) Have I ever mentioned how much I hate Fantasy Football?

Until next time!

by Peter
5 Comments »

I know I promised a product review, but I haven’t yet finished it.  This entry will be a quickie, “inspired” by Hank’s warning about being knocked off his blogroll if I don’t blog enough.

(Oh, Hank said two months?  I thought he said two days :P)

Quick-hitters:

- I have finally found a commercial more annoying than those John Mellencamp/”This is ourrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr country!” commercials.  If I hear that new iPod nano commercial, featuring Feist’s 1 2 3 4, during a football game one more time, I’m going to toss something at my TV.   In fact, I’d rather listen to “This is ourrrrrrrrrrrrrr country” on infinite loop than listen to that commercial once.

Yeah, it’s THAT annoying.

- You know you’re addicted to hot deals when you are looking forward to buying tampons, moisturizing cream, lotions, and hair spray because of the potential for making money on the deal.

(And do I even need to say that I am NOT buying this stuff for personal use???)

- With Christmas season coming up (three months away = “coming up”), what should I buy myself this year?  I’m thinking about a Wii, a Sprint-compatible PDA phone, or a very nice LCD monitor.  Any suggestions?  The best suggestion wins a day’s worth of my admiration.

(ARV:  Priceless, of course.)

- Today’s single topic will deal with the recent string of sports writers, analysts, and commentators professing their (wo)man-love for New England Patriots (the 4*-0 Patriots, I might add) WR Randy Moss.  Yeah, he had another strong game today, scoring two touchdowns on nine catches for 102 yards, and look at what he has done so far this season!

(Tangent:  Damn…I wish I drafted him in one of my fantasy leagues.  More on (fantasy) sports next time.)

My question is:  who, honestly, was surprised by this?  When Randy Moss tries, he plays well!  Look what he did in his early days with Minnesota, and then later when he was paired with Daunte Culpepper.  And then look at what happened when that team melted down; Moss’ numbers plummeted.  Look what he did last year with the Raiders, when it was obvious that he didn’t give a damn.  And look at him now, now that he’s actually trying!

(By the way, props to the Raiders for actually playing pretty well this year.  I hope the injury to LaMont Jordan isn’t too serious.)

It bugs me a lot that Moss was basically able to shut himself down–Vince Carter thinks that Randy Moss’ act was ridiculous–forcing the Raiders to trade him to the Patriots for twenty-five cents on the dollar (a fourth-round pick), but the love affair that the press has for Moss is downright sickening!  I do not need to hear Tony Kornheiser, for example, keep pointing out that the Patriots made a great trade with the Raiders, and that Moss is “working out” for them.  I don’t need to hear any more “Greatest Ever?” talk about Moss and Brady, and I certainly don’t want to hear any more about much of a difference-maker Moss has been this year.

(clears throat)

OF COURSE A ONCE-IN-A-WHILE TALENT LIKE RANDY MOSS IS GOING TO MAKE (ANOTHER ONCE-IN-A-WHILE TALENT) TOM BRADY’S LIFE EASIER!!!

I don’t want to hear anyone say “Oh, Moss is on the other side of 30, and he’s slowing down” or “oh, he’s oft-injured!  He’s not the same player he once was!”

Bull-freaking-crap.   He plays wide receiver, where you can be productive even into your late thirties.  He’s also 6′4″, and you can’t coach 6′4″.

I’ve got Moss in the same category of athlete as the aforementioned Vince Carter, Allen Iverson, Terrible Owens, and other crybabies who sulk, whine, and dog their team’s future games, until they’re traded away for pennies on the dollar to contending teams:  the “Athletes Who Deserve to Tear Up Every Ligament in Their Knees So That They Never Win a Title” group.

(Harsh, eh?  Hey, if Hank can wish cancer on people who are careless with their shopping carts, I can wish for something as insignificant as torn knee ligaments.)

Kobe Bryant would have made the list, except for the fact that he hasn’t yet been dealt, and he’s already a three-time champion.

I can sleep at night, though, because I know that we are one Randy Moss meltdown away from these media types being forced to write about the colossal failure of the Patriots and the bitter divorce between Moss and Brady.

I can’t wait.  Until next time!

by Peter
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