Tag: Business Day One

[Business Day One] But A Fantasy

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Barring Brian Westbrook and the Eagles defense combining for “keep this on the highlight reel for the rest of history” nights, my fantasy football season will come to an end this week. I regret nothing, really. My draft choices were good, my record was good, and I had fun this season. ???? ????? Well, as much fun as you can have playing fantasy football. ??? ???? ???? ???

If you’re still alive in your playoffs, good luck. If you’re about to lose, don’t worry. ?????? ?? ???????? ESPN’s Bowl Week is coming up, so at least you’ll be reminded that your life is better than anyone’s who is playing in the Papajohn.com Bowl.

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[Business Day One] Midweek and Exhausted

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It took an exhausting long weekend in Las Vegas and a lot of fun time play Vietbet after going through Vietbet Sportsbook review to prevent me from writing on Monday, and for that I apologize. I could’ve theoretically gotten my column together on Tuesday, but I was so jetlagged that I slept until 2 in the afternoon and didn’t know my name when I woke up. I’ll try to make the wait worth it, America.

Here are the thoughts I cobbled together during the past week and a half.

# As I mentioned last Monday, I’m at a point where I no longer believe that any off-season move, no matter how impressive on paper, could help the Yankees. A Mecha-Ty Cobb could be constructed and signed to a ten year, fifteen cent contract and I’d be certain that no good would come of it. I call it The Pavano Mindset. Anyway, CC Sabathia is about to sign on the dotted line and I couldn’t be more terrified for him. He’s going to show up to training camp 200 pounds overweight, or he’ll suddenly decide to play in Japan this year, or he’ll be crushed by falling space debris. I just know it, and I’m sorry in advance for the Sabathia family. This is my life as a Yankees fan.

# Watching sports in Las Vegas is odd. I watched Boston College get pasted by Virginia Tech at the Caesar’s Palace Sports Book. People who had no affiliation with either school were cheering wildly in one direction or the other. It was unsettling in a way and cheapened the experience. I watch my sports at my house (where I cheer loudly), at friendly sports bars (where a hundred people cheer loudly), or at the stadium (where 50,000 people cheer loudly). And most of those people are hooting and hollering because they love one school or hate the other. Not so in Vegas. People are cheering for their money. They might as well be cheering for Australian rules football or curling. It’s all the same to them, I think. Online sportsbooks such as https://sportbetting.ph allow fans from the Philippines to bet on the favorite sports, including college football.

# Three teams at 8-5 in the AFC East is an interesting proposition. I don’t believe the Jets are going to make it into the playoffs. I really don’t. Just a gut instinct.

# Speaking of playoffs, I’m 10-4 and a #2 seed in my fantasy football playoffs. This is Year 4 in my league, and I’ve finished in second, first and third in my first 3 years. Here’s hoping for continued success.

# I wish John Daly would stop playing golf and get himself some help.

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[Business Day One] Incendiary Comments

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Chew on these, America.

–I hope Charlie Weis stays as Notre Dame’s coach for the rest of his tenure. As a Boston College alum, I’m thrilled that the Eagles have outplayed and outcoached the Irish in each season during the big guy’s tenure. Charlie Weis for Six More Years! ???? ???

–I’m at a point where I don’t believe any signing the Yankees will make this offseason will result in an AL East title.

–The New York Giants are going back to the Super Bowl. ????? ?????? ?????? Plaxico Burress will not be on the team. ???? ?????

–I’m getting this feeling like Crosby and Ovechkin just aren’t as charismatic as the NHL wants them to be.

–Somewhere, right now, Al Davis is building a mountain fortress.

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[Business Day One] The Last Cassel

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Matt Cassel won’t be a Patriot next season. I just had to come right out and say it before the season grew any nearer to completion and the question would come up. Matt Cassel will be franchised, then traded for draft picks that will help New England in the years to come. As such, let me just say now that we should thank Cassel for the work he has done to salvage the season, and the work he will do in the future to strengthen the team in other positions of need like linebacker and defensive tackle.

This situation, which will unfold before the 2009 draft, is a testament to how good Tom Brady is. Cassel, who has been improving week over week, is now playing with the poise and confidence of a true team leader. And next year, he’s going to be compensated like one and will be a starter. It just won’t be in Foxboro. So enjoy him while you can, America, because next year he’ll be in Detroit or Tampa. I shall henceforth call the 2008 Patriots Season the Last Cassel.

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[Business Day One] Where, Oh Where, Michael Vick

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My girlfriend is a Patriots fan, but her knowledge of the NFL in general isn’t terribly thorough (and by that, I mean that she knows who Peyton Manning is and that’s pretty much it). So when she struck up conversation on Michael Vick and whether or not he’d come back into the league, I was just a touch surprised. It goes to show you the kind of notoriety you can get from being a monster. Anyway, she wanted my opinion on what Vick’s options were once his 23 month prison sentence was over (which will be in the summer of 2009). ???? ???? ??? ???? Her father, a fairly knowledgeable NFL fan, went as far as to say that almost every team in the league would have interest. While I wouldn’t go that far, I can think of four that would likely make a couple of phone calls.

So let’s go through them, in order of least to most likely:

Number 4: The Cincinnati Bengals Read More

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[Business Day One] I Was Ready For Some Football

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Between 8 p.m. on Saturday and 4 p.m. on Sunday, I watched more football (7 hours) than I slept (6 hours). Not a bad way to live, if you can manage it. I took in a rain-moistened Boston College-Notre Dame game at Alumni Stadium and then a sunny affair at Gillette. The good guys won each. BC, by a score of 17-0, and the Patriots, by a score of 20-10.

Both wins felt good, as wins tend to. ????? ?????? But each was particularly important, and the exuberance of the sold out crowds reflected that. Boston College won their sixth straight against the Fighting Irish, becomming bowl eligible for the season. The Patriots are holding on to a share of first place in the AFC East (along with the Jets). A weekend win for each team isn’t the only similarity between the only football programs in town. Both the Eagles and the Pats are 6-3 now, despite early season question marks at the quarterback position. Both teams are playing without a defensive star (Brian Toal and Rodney Harrison, respectively). Both teams are making statements with their young ground games (Harris/Haden at BC, Green-Ellis for NE). Get your top fantasy picks out on draftkings for this season, lets go and do this quick and early folks!

So how is each team going to do down the stretch? BC plays on the road at Florida State and at Wake Forest before coming home to close out the regular season against Maryland. I sincerely hope they win one of those games. ??? ????? The Pats have the Jets, Dolphins, Steelers, Seahawks, Raiders, Cardinals and one more against the Bills. There are two Will-Wins (Seattle, Oakland), two Should-Wins (Cardinals, Bills), and three that really could go either way. As of right now, I’d say that the odds of the Pats having a higher winning percentage than the Eagles is pretty good. But as is the case with football, anything could happen. ??? ?????? ??? ???????? New injuries to each team (BC lost their fullback, the Pats lost Adalius Thomas) will test them down the line. Regardless of what the rest of the season brings for each, I was thrilled I got to see two passionate fanbases watch their team take their sixth win.

Let’s go Patrigles.

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[Business Day One] The Rough Stuff

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Only one good thing happened in my sports life this weekend – The Giants beat the Cowboys. Eli looked sharp and didn’t do anything silly, and the defensive line put pressure on to force interceptions. Beautiful win by one of the two best teams in football – reminded me of my youth in Jersey during the Phil Simms era.

Unfortunately for me, Boston College lost, the Patriots lost and my fantasy football team is about to lose it’s third straight. It was enough to drive me to yoga. I needed to center myself and control my delirious rage, and it was a lot of downward dogs and shavasanas. By the way, “shavasana” means corpse pose. I found it appropriate after I started feeling like BC’s season is dead.

The good is never worth the bad as a sports fan. Losses hurt more than wins sooth. Yet we always come back. Even those that say “to heck with it, I’m done with sports” are back at the beginning of the next season. All the moaning in Chicago this offseason is worth nothing, since the crowds will return to Wrigley as they always do. My deep lamentations over my beloved BC Eagles will wash away in time. That’s just how it is. No matter how rough the rough stuff is, we march through it in the hopes that it’ll end.

This is what I need to remind myself, and this is what you all need to remind yourself of. If you’re not ready for the brutality of investing yourself in something that you know will hurt you, you’re not ready to be a sports fan.

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