Fantasy League

An estimated 27 million people play in fantasy leagues. There are leagues for just about every sport. Fantasy is fun because the fans get to act like the owner and the GM. I’m dedicated to playing in fantasy leagues year round. I even left the bar at an all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic for a draft two years ago.

I enjoy playing, its fun and it’s not THAT serious. The draft is important to me because when you play in more than one league and have a job where fantasy stalking is frowned upon, remembering to make changes to my team isn’t on my daily to-do list. I’m going to be honest, I’m just happy when I can remember my log-in password.

A League of Their Own is one of the leagues I currently play in. It’s the most dysfunctional fantasy league! Full of egos, trash talkers, haterade drinking, beer belly, drunk texting- funny son of a Bush’s!

The league manager, Team Time to Repeat is the cockiest player. He is OBSESSED with winning (you’d think this Butch Sowers prodigy would say he’s won enough in his career as a little leaguer, but he just can’t let it go). Jones is known for pulling a shady move whenever he feels a threat of losing, but still we play in his leagues.

Last week there was a trade offer between Team Queef Hernandez and Team Hamel Toe and after reading the message board posts, the world of fantasy turned into a nightmare!

Allegedly, Big Bush- who is known for drinking a beer or two sent Byron a text with the following trade offer:

ROD traded Buster Posey, SF C to Hernandez
ROD traded Starlin Castro, ChC SS to Hernandez
ROD traded B.J. Upton, TB OF to Hernandez
ROD traded Ben Zobrist, TB 2B to Hernandez
ROD traded Ryan Howard, Phi 1B to Hernandez
ROD traded Chase Headley, SD 3B to Hernandez
ROD traded Roy Oswalt, Phi SP to Hernandez
ROD traded Huston Street, Col RP to Hernandez

BUSH traded Geovany Soto, ChC C to Toe
BUSH traded Gaby Sanchez, Fla 1B to Toe
BUSH traded Jimmy Rollins, Phi SS to Toe
BUSH traded Carl Crawford, Bos OF to Toe
BUSH traded Matt Kemp, LAD OF to Toe
BUSH traded Casey McGehee, Mil 3B to Toe
BUSH traded John Axford, Mil RP to Toe
BUSH traded Mat Latos, SD SP to Toe


Jones had the league vote and yes, I voted for it because it’s not even May. There’s so much baseball to be played and injuries are going to happen. But I guess I’m the only one who wasn’t scared because it was vetoed quicker than Terrell’s fastball.

The problem: Team Hamel Toe is loved and hated for the same reason; he wins- a lot! He’s also my twin brother so I’ll always be his biggest fan, but I may be the only one who doesn’t mind losing to him because I know he spends hours daily on his fantasy teams. He follows his players on twitter, stalks their facebook pages and there’s a good chance he has their autograph- with the time he invests, he should win! He’s a great fantasy player because he knows everything that is going on in the game at any given time and uses it to his advantage.

At 11:32am the first message board post was made about the conspiracy theory against Byron so he doesn’t win, again. At 10:43am the following day and 86 posts later, the board was full of curve ball comments, the Goose was loose, Jones pooped his pants- all while Big Bush played power hour for every shady comment Jones made about how cool he is.

It’s not everyday that I side with Jared, who has the worst taste in ACC basketball, but I agree with his post “This sh**s f***in hilarious! Ya'll are crackin me up!” What he said next, is completely inappropriate.

But seriously, if you have time to post on the message board ALLL day- you are living a fantasy life. The rest of us (except Jones- who drinks his own Kool-aid) are just jealous that we can’t spend as much time with our teams like Byron.

*Jones- this is all in good fun. Thanks for being a fan of my blog!

April- the Best Month in Sports

Pat Riley was once quoted for saying “I feel like a mosquito in a nudist colony: I know what to do; I just don’t know where to start” -classic Mr. Riley. I feel the same way about sports in the month of April. There’s so much excitement as seasons start and other seasons end; it can be as overwhelming as walking into a casino sports book for the first time.

April starts with Opening Day at major league ball parks across the country. Overall attendance for the MLB was up .3 percent from Opening Day in 2010. The Texas Rangers, the defending AL Champs, have started strong. Two weeks into the season and AL MVP, Josh Hamilton who is cursed with injuries, is already out for six to eight weeks after sustaining a fracture in his upper arm while diving into home plate. Prince Fielder remains the chubbiest vegetarian in baseball, Elvis Andrus is still one of the most exciting young players to watch and Boston might be in for a long season.

Then we had the final four match ups to lead into the NCAA Championship game. Brackets were busted and dogs looked more like puppies, but it’s always fun to see Cinderella’s in the dance.

A few days later, we witnessed a tradition like no other: The Masters! For 75 years the Masters is still one of the most prestigious golf tournaments. Rich in tradition and a course where history lives through the greenery- history was made again in Augusta when the first South African, Charl Schwartzel, won the Masters by two strokes.

The NHL conference quarterfinals are being played over the next two weeks for a best of seven series. The defending Stanley Cup Champs, the Chicago Blackhawks, ar down 0-3 to the Vancouver Canucks. The pressure is on for the Capitals. Washington has the talent, a Russian Spy and a fan base that needs to see their team reach the conference finals and bring home the Stanley Cup in June!

The NBA Playoffs, like the NHL playoffs, are going on at the same time and begin with the sweet 16 and play a best of seven series to see who will cut down the nets and hold up the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher both have played in the NBA for 14 years; both have five championship rings- all with Phil Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s hard to bet against what Bryant, Fisher and Jackson are capable of when they’re all on the same team. Chicago and Michael Jordan have already started the Derrick Rose MVP chant, but Rose better sink a three-pointer if he wants to get the Bulls to the Eastern Conference Finals. I’ve put the circus in American Airlines Arena behind me, now it’s time for LeBron, Wade and Bosh to take there talents to the NBA Championship game.

NASCAR and Major League Soccer are also in season. Jimmie Johnson beat Clint Bowyer by 0.002 seconds with a push from teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win in Talladega. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, but it’s not as popular in the States. Over all there was a 4 percent increase in attendance from 2009 to 2010. The MLS season just kicked off so there is hope for fan growth in MLS.

To end April’s shower of sporting events, April 28th is the first round of the NFL draft. Despite the NFL lockout, there will still be a draft and we the fans, have our fingers crossed that there will still be a 2011 season.

And for more entertainment- E:60 returns on Tuesday nights with the best stories in sports! In sports, there’s no off-season and April is the best month to be in the game. It’s easy to be overwhelmed, but just like in any sports book- sit back and enjoy the games.

Dog Fight to Puppy Chow

The Butler Bulldogs got a second chance to bring home a National Championship banner, but only if they could tame the UCONN Huskies.

Butler started the season ranked 18th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Preseason Poll. The University of Connecticut did not receive a single vote. No one expected the NCAA Championship game end like this!

The first half of the Championship game ended with a 3-point buzzer beater by Butlers Shelvin Mack to give the Bulldogs a 22-19 lead. This is a National Championship game and the halftime score is 22-19?? My favorite Tennessee VOLS radio Co-host, Alex, tweeted: AAESPN1180 I thought the women’s game was tomorrow night?

This dog fight looked more like puppy chow. With only 41 combined points at the half ranks as the lowest scoring fist half of any NCAA title game during the shot clock ear.

You could call it great defense, great guard play or as Charles Barkley would say “turrrible” shooting. Butler was 1/19 for 2-point field goals, 6/22 on 3-point field goals and 0 points in the paint with thirteen minutes to go in the second half. This isn’t the Butler team I expected to see…

Most dogs will eat anything, but Kemba and the Huskies gave Butler a taste of Big East physical basketball and all Butler could eat was brick after brick. The last time a team was held under 50 points in a title game was in 1949- Jim Calhoun was 6 years old.

I’m pretty sure this was the worst shooting game EVER in college basketball. It was almost painful at times. I feel bad for these kids, I feel bad for Brad Stevens and I feel bad for anyone who believes in Cinderella. Butler is the 4th team in history to lose back-to-back National Championship Games… AHH the Fab-Five Curse strikes this year’s bracket again!

There was no Disney ending for the Butler Bulldogs, but in Indianapolis and at mid-major schools across the country the Bulldogs story is one most could only dream of. The basketball gods may not be a fan of Cinderella’s, but if the future of college basketball is in the hands of coaches like Brad Stevens- college basketball is in good hands.