Fantasy Football and the Jets

I will write about the NBA later when the season advances and I could actually make some predictions and analyses. By the way, when my admissions exams to high school are over, I will write two blogs per week, so stay tuned, buckle in, get ready, light the fireworks because this little drummer boy is going to start going into battle. I’m going to stop blabbering now and get down to football.

Fantasy Football: In my best league, I finished the season horribly, dropping two straight, yikes, I know. After finishing 9-4, my starting lineup heading into the easy(ish) divisional round looked something like this: Aaron Rodgers (MVP-MVP-MV-whaaaat did I say?), Josh Jacobs (this was a test for next year), Cam Akers (this would be Christian McCaffrey’s spot, but he played three games all year), Terry Mclaurin (picking him up 100% next year), Davante Adams (Best WR in football), Travis Kelce, Allen Robinson, Miami’s defense, and Jason Sanders. I put up 20 points more than my opponent, who had a bad roster (which, mind you, was not burdened with injury) and his players just didn’t perform (unfortunate timing, I know, but really, who cares? I got to the Finals!).

In the Finals, I was matched up against a guy who’s 11-2, and had Aaron Jones, Derrick Henry and Dalvin Cook on his roster. All three from trades (this guy was playing chess, not checkers), oh, you thought I was done, oh no, he had Lamar Jackson, Stefon Diggs and Deandre Hopkins. How could I not forget about Ronald Jones, TJ Hockenson, Baltimore’s defense, and Younghoe Koo. Vegas would’ve called it: David vs. Goliath (multiplied by Socrates, Plato, and my mother because of his uncanny trading ability).

In the finals, I had the unfortunate experience of bearing through a game without my anchor, Travis Kelce, but lucky for me, Dalvin Cook was out, so there was a light at the end of the playoff tunnel. I took advantage of Cook’s absence as I took Alexander Mattison, the backup running back who lives in the shadow (he put up 29.5 points). During the day, where I didn’t have Travis Kelce, my team stood up to the schoolyard bully and bloodied his mouth, and gave him a black eye. I put up 151.2 points in that week and for the two-week playoff series: a whopping 322.64 points, to belittle the puny 283.12 points.

In my other uneventful leagues, I went to the Finals in one (as the four seed) and lost to the three seed. In the other leagues, I didn’t make the playoffs as I couldn’t communicate with my other opponents, because it was a random league.

The Jets finished the season horribly; the Jets just shoot themselves in the foot every year, last year, we had a shot at Joe Burrow, or Justin Jefferson, but we took an O-Lineman :/ We started the first 8 games of the season 1-7, we finished the season 7-9, and we can’t make this stuff up. With a chance at a generational talent on display in college, Trevor Lawrence, Adam Gase decided to turn this team around, that’s like walking into a dark room (the season almost over), blind, having your feet tied (having literally no talent on the team), and knowing that Chucky, Annabelle, and IT (that being the Jets fan base) are in there having a tea party. Now, with the second overall pick, I’m going to out on a limb and say… QB!!!

Most mock drafts say Justin Fields go number two, some more say Justin Fields, one or two say Penei Sewell and someone said Ja’Marr Chase (I really don’t know what that person’s thinking). Now, my mock draft is very unprecedented. I say the Jets take Kyle Pitts, TE out of Florida. Now, my reasoning is… hahaha you thought that Kyle Pitts is going number two (I wouldn’t put it past Joe Douglas, though). I say Justin Fields from Ohio State. Now, Zach Wilson is a great player, he just got hot at the wrong time, and there isn’t much hype around him. Now, the hype part doesn’t matter, but, he might actually be a flash in the pan. Or be just good in college. Justin Fields was shadowed by the potential number one pick, Trevor Lawrence, the whole college season. Justin Fields had just begun to blossom a little later in the season, for the non-college fanatics, like me, to get to know. He’s a bigger guy, he can scramble, he has more throw power, he could take hits and for me at least, he’s tougher. I would take Trevor Lawrence in a heartbeat, just because he doesn’t need to be tamed as much (while Justin Fields is like a young colt) and because he’s more of a field general.

My full mock draft and awards will come in my next piece, which is Sunday because by then I’ll get rid of the high school test burden. 

NFL Season Heats Up – Coming to the Championships

The NFL season is heating up, like the players cooking with gas, or rather, the coaches are telling the players cooking with gas, or the races are heating up, yes, that one, the races. Some of the races are run-aways, while others are corrupted with bottom feeders, but, think about that, corrupted with bottom feeders, which makes it a close race; it’s like running a race blindfolded while trying not to drop an egg on a spoon, while your feet are tied with your opponents, and the contestants are koalas bred with alpacas. A lot of information to process there, am I right? Yeah, that’s something like the NFC East, or no, exactly like the NFC East. While others are two teams that are the blindfolded kolpacas and the other two teams are knights with chiseled bodies and luscious hair with Star Wars-esque weapons, the NFC and AFC South divisions.

Let me give you a brief overview of all the teams in the AFC, tomorrow the NFC, and on Wednesday, my fantasy situation.

The AFC teams: *cue the NFL Fox Music*

Bills: They have to be the most aesthetically pleasing team in the NFL, they are all around perfect, except for the three losses. They have a great, young QB, Josh Allen, who’s blossoming way earlier than anyone expected and he’s way better than anyone expected, a young RB, Devin Singletary, who’s mediocre, and, in my opinion, the worst position on this offense. The WRs are the best position at the line, Stefon Diggs is having an NFL record-breaking season, Cole Beasley, who is having an underrated season, now, let me tell you something, Beasley has more yards than AJ Brown, more rec than DK Metcalf, more yards per catch than DeAndre Hopkins, more touchdowns than Julio Jones and more 100-yard games than Tyreek Hill, I picked him up in fantasy and he won me at least two matchups. The defense is ok, but it’s definitely not a talking point on the Bills, the offense carries the defense in Buffalo.

Dolphins: Out with the old, in with the new, that’s Brian Flores’ favorite quote. After this move, subbing out Ryan Fitzpatrick for Tua Tagovailoa, business has been booming in South Beach. The run game hasn’t worked as well as I thought it would, Tua hasn’t been using his legs as much and the running back by committee situation there hasn’t worked out, hence the “by committee” part of that phrase. After the Dolphins traded away Minkah Fitzpatrick (what is it with the Dolphins and not liking Fitzpatricks?), seemingly the only thing that the Dolphins were holding onto, they were expected to tank. But, look at them now, clawing for a playoff spot and are projected to land in the playoffs.

Patriots: I’m not going to spend too much time on the world-renowned New England Patriots. Cakewalk to the playoffs every year, right? Nope, not this year, Cam Newton; after letting the GOAT walk in free agency, they fell apart, no offense to speak of, and the star-studded defense fell apart after some people left the season due to COVID-19, and they have just been swallowed up by the horrendous offense. Nothing to speak of here, just a middle of the road team, who fell apart after Tom Brady left them.

Jets: Wow, the most Jets thing happened today, and I’m speechless, c’mon guys. You guys can’t win, can’t move the ball, can’t run the ball, can’t catch the ball, don’t even get me started on defense, and when you need to lose to get the greatest college QB prospect ever, Trevor Lawrence (which is #TFT, Tank for Trevor), you guys can’t even lose correctly. Sam Darnold marked this day, December 20, on his calendar as a special day for him. He planned to win today, just to halt all hopes and wishes for Jets fans. Ok, let’s direct our attention to Justin Fields, OSU QB. Scrambler, good potential, but not nearly anything that Lawrence has.

Chiefs: The Chiefs will be sitting pretty upon the AFC for a long time, with Patrick Mahomes at the helm, and Tyreek Hill as the first mate, Travis Kelce as the navigator and Andy Reid, the coach, as the cook or taste tester (dropped you a little joke, gents, see if you can figure it out). For as long as time existed, no one has an answer to speed, you can’t beat speed, no matter how hard you try, you’re going to get beat, simple as that. Tyreek Hill and Mecole Hardman are some of the fastest players in the NFL, Travis Kelce is the best TE in the NFL, and the best QB on the face of the earth, Patrick Mahomes are all on this team. Even the defense is amazing, you can’t make this stuff up, Tyrann Mathieu and Chris Jones are defensive wizards. At 13-1, and a playoff spot in their sights, they are Super Bowl favorites again.

Raiders: Like the Dolphins, no one expected the Raiders to be this good. Derek Carr or Marcus Mariota, whoever is behind center is going to lead this team to victory one way or another. But, the QB position is not what makes this team tick, the running back, Josh Jacobs is just blooming now and is an offensive superpower, Nelson Agholor (formerly imprisoned on the Eagles, where we’re just now beginning to realize that Agholor was not the problem, but Wentz was actually the infestation) and Henry Ruggs III are safety nets for the QBs to throw to; another great TE in the league, Darren Waller is yet another safety net and YAC gobbler. Injuries derailed this team so much that they are playing without a good chunk of the good players on their team, if they do manage to get into the playoffs, (Hot Take incoming…) watch out.

The Broncos and Chargers: These teams are very similar, both have young QBs, Drew Lock in orange and Justin Herbert in yellow, although one is much better, Herbert. Both have a running back situation that is horrible, Phillip Lindsay and Melvin Gordon is orange splitting time is disastrous for both backs and neither are really getting any headway, while the Chargers RB room is decent (couldn’t find a better word, can you?), Austin Ekeler (who had a good year, but then dropped off, but don’t count him out in 2021, injuries held him this year) and journeyman Kalen Ballage, both splitting time. The Broncos WRs are bad, they had Courtland Sutton, but he was injured, and the rest of the receivers just aren’t it, they aren’t producing. Keenan Allen (who is the last person you should pick up in fantasy) is up and down, up and down, Mike Williams was never good and you can’t count on the garbage time receivers that are also there. The defenses are really good, but injuries and COVID-19 frights (Von Miller and Derwin James Jr.) haven’t created fireworks for either side.

Steelers: P-R-E-T-E-N-D-E-R-S, not contenders, they are really bad. Ben Roethlisberger is getting old and can’t throw farther than 10 yards downfield, the receivers are busy making TikToks instead of actually catching passes from a machine (who might actually be better than Big Ben). The defense is actually scary, Minkah, TJ Watt, and Cameron Hayward but they haven’t been holding up, which is strange, they are really good. They’re going to make the playoffs, but don’t expect them to make it far, they have been choking against good teams.

Browns: They are 9-3, which is very unprecedented, Baker Mayfield turning out to be not such a bust, the return of Nick Chubb has compensated for Odell Beckham Jr.’s absence. The defense has two superstars, Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward, but my time spent watching games, analyzing games, writing blogs, and playing Madden has shown me that in no way, shape or form is two above average players to hold up a whole defense.

Ravens: Lamar Jackson has taken a huge dip from last season’s MVP season to this season’s mediocre season, but, he’s still a mobile quarterback and he can still sling the ball. The addition of J.K. Dobbins, a running back, has solidified an already stellar backfield with Mark Ingram and Jackson already there. Hollywood Brown and Willie Snead are the pass catcher, but they are kind of helped up by Mark Andrews, yet another great TE. The defense is scary but disabled, Marlon Humphrey and Calais Campbell are the best players, but sadly Earl Thomas left, disabling the defense, probably why they’re 9-5 instead of 11-3.

Bengals: Sadly, the number one overall pick, Joe Burrow, succumbed to a disgusting knee injury, quite obviously sidelining him for the rest of the NFL season. Joe Mixon also hasn’t played a normal game since Week 6, AJ Green dipped, probably because he wants his talents spent elsewhere. No TE and no offensive line to speak of. The defense is good on paper, but with how they’ve performed this season, I’m surprised they haven’t lost every single matchup, instead of going 2-10-1. Next year, without some major upgrades, expect some more of the same.

Titans: Derrick Henry is claiming lives by the game, the best stiff arm in the game proves itself again. Henry is worth trading your whole team for, and I’m not lying, with him being a pass-catcher, tank and a good pass blocker, he is a top three running back in the league. Sorry, but, it’s most likely Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey, and then Dalvin Cook as the best running backs in the league. Ryan Tannehill is a very capable QB, he can scramble occasionally, and he can definitely deliver the ball accurately. The defense is frustrating at best, Kevin Byard is the best player on this team, one word: rough. A few upgrades in the offseason and Super Bowl favorites are in sight for the Titans.

Colts: They defied all expectations this season and now they are en route to a playoff berth. Amazing in my opinion, TY Hilton hasn’t been great this season, and they lost Marlon Mack early in the season but Nyheim Hines and rookie Jonathan Taylor are picking it up. I am not a big fan of Philip Rivers, he’s old and doesn’t have an arm, if you haven’t guessed yet, I like a young QB with a cannon. The defense is picking it up; the secondary has also been really good, with Xavier Rhodes and Kenny Moore leading the charge plus the best defensive line in the NFL equals 10-5, exactly where they’re sitting right now.

Texans: They are wasting Deshaun Watson’s amazing talent. He has a big arm, he’s young and he can scramble out of the pocket and deliver a dot. My type of field general. After Bill O’Brien made the worst move in NFL history, trading DeAndre Hopkins to the Cardinals for a washed-up running back and a few draft picks. Watson doesn’t have that safety net that is so crucial for a young QB, but now Kyler Murray has it, and he’s thriving. The Texans have an aging JJ Watt and that’s it on defense, all of this together is like nails on a chalkboard, playoff team to 4-10, yikes.

Jaguars: Jaguars fans are ecstatic right now after the Jets stumble across a win. The Jaguars will now most likely get Trevor Lawrence, the greatest college prospect to ever play, and boy do the Jags need it. Him alongside James Robinson, a rookie running back tearing it up for them, and their young defense, with Myles Jack, Josh Allen, and CJ Henderson, they are looking good, just like they were a few years ago, as Super Bowl favorites. CJ Henderson turning into Jalen Ramsey, do you see it? I see it. I’m still really butt hurt about the Jets winning (sounds crazy, my father didn’t get it either until I explained it to him), but now we will have to be content with Justin Fields. Let me do my homework on him, and I’ll talk about him on my Wednesday blog.  

 

Misplaced Pugilist

Nate Robinson stepped into the ring yesterday versus YouTube star Jake Paul. Now, when I was in fifth grade, the Paul brothers, Jake and Logan, used to be great music stars, I watched them and hummed their music until they began being weird.

Later, the two of them had an interest in hand-to-hand combat and then they dropped off the top music leader boards. After being submerged in other music and better boxers, Nate made a professional appearance yesterday that I just had to be watched on “Legends Only” boxing – Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. was the main event.

When I saw that Paul was going to tango with Nate Robinson, the Leonardo Da Vinci of sports, I had to stop everything and watch. This blog is definitely not about a washed YouTube star, this is about the Da Vinci of sports. Nate Robinson stepped into the spotlight as a point guard mainly for the New York Knicks during his not really eventful NBA career.

The most he ever averaged in a season was 17.2 PPG, but, he played basketball professionally, only about 0.000006% of people can say that right now. For a sub-par NBA career – a 42.3% FG% is good, but when I find something good on this guy, I find something worse than the last bad thing, he was a reallllllllly bad ball-hog – as a PG, he had 4.5 assists one year, and that was his career-high – one word – rough.

After he retired from the NBA, he decided to switch to another physical sport – football. The 5’ 9” guy would make a killer running back, and that’s about it, not even cornerback. He’s my height, as an adult and he played in the NBA - *spark of hope flashes.*

He tried to join the Seattle Seahawks, on a tryout, and the Seahawks never gave him a chance. The ‘hawks should’ve picked him up, with speed and amazing change of direction, he could’ve solved their RB woes that they are suffering now.

He also played flag football – with retired NFL players – and also never thrived there. As a multi-sport athlete in high school, playing both sides of the ball in football and thriving in basketball, because, you know, he did play in the NBA. He was also a track star in high school, your usual Tyreek Hill there, and probably doing the high jump as well, being a 5’ 9” guy who made it to the dunk contest, Kemba Walker, who’s 6’ hasn’t dunked yet, just to put that into perspective for you.

Not being dejected as he is one of the most athletic people to step onto the face of the earth, he decides to go to virtually the only sport he hasn’t tried, boxing. If you look at footage of Nate Robinson, like his life story and his story traveling from sport to sport, you can see one or two clips of him boxing. He has a great story, he’s always wanting more, has an underdog mentality (literally) and he’s intimidating his opponents, even if he’s looking up to them (again, literally).

Robinson stepped into the ring yesterday, but sadly, it was as big as a mismatch as Vita Vea on Tyreek Hill on a streak. Jake Paul – who’s an absolute unit, versus tiny Nate Robinson, that’s so unfair.

In the first round, Paul brought the same energy as he did a few years ago, he came out swinging. Robinson’s energy was nowhere near it as he was lost after the two-minute round. The second round calmed Paul’s wildness but Robinson held on after falling twice. After they started hugging and wearing each other down, they released and Paul hit once and Robinson hit the deck like a sack of potatoes.

The winner was announced and Robinson was just starting to come to, Jake Paul was being interviewed while Robinson was still wiping his lip and thinking that he’s late for school in his hometown. Robinson should’ve gotten a warm-up fight with someone his own height and weight, and thennnnn fight Paul. I want to follow this guy’s career, only to see him get dropped again.

Fantasy coverage coming next. 

Baseball Awards have been Handed Out

The awards for baseball are out, and surprisingly, the brain dead voters didn’t make too many mistakes here, but I have a few things to say.

Except for MLB Network staff and the people who actually win it, the Manager of the Year is completely irrelevant. The good managers have good teams, the bad managers have bad teams and don’t stay long and the irrelevant managers have good or bad teams. Rarely are there bad teams who stick it out and get into the playoffs, except in Major League, the movie. So, managers don’t have a role unless they shift their team a little higher. Except for Kevin Cash, who actually won the award, he took a bunch of underpaid guys and sent them to a World Series, they lost, but hey.

Devin Williams made history, being a reliever to get the Rookie of the Year? The chances of that are like being eaten by a shark while being struck by lightning while looking at the blue moon, and then you win the lottery. One word: slim. He posted a microscopic ERA, 0.33, and 53% of the batters faced were sent back when he was on the mound. Great pitcher, a great career ahead of him.

Kyle Lewis, future star, a future hitter that pitchers will cower in fear from. He’s so scary, a five-tool player, and he can really do everything. Speed is something he can work on but you can’t teach speed, but, with 1.23 million prospects ready to go, the Mariners have a lot of brightness ahead of them. Future MVP by the way, check back to this blog.

Shane Bieber won the AL Cy Young, Gerrit Cole didn’t impress, and no one else really stood out, prompting a unanimous decision by the voters. He had a 41.1% strikeout rate (what is it with these pitchers nowadays? Like Doc Gooden couldn’t do that…) and a 1.63 ERA, remember, this is a truncated season, so the batter’s stats are atrocious while the pitchers are flourishing. If the Indians somehow pick up Trevor Bauer in the offseason (who I hope the Mets will get), then the other team should just forfeit a week in advance.

Shifting gears to Trevor Bauer, I completely disagree with his selection to be the Cy Young Winner, totally not because I’m a Mets fan and think that Jacob DeGrom should’ve won. DeGrom should’ve gotten it because, well, because, it would’ve made him get it three years in a row, now Trevor Bauer, who probably smells like rotten milk mixed with gouda cheese (no offense, please come to New York, Mr. Bauer), broke Jake’s streak. Bauer led the NL in ERA, lowest hits per 9 IP; but Jacob Degrom has four reasons: Most strikeouts in NL, lower HR per 9 IP than Bauer, feeling sorry for the Mets, because we’re the Mets and because he just should’ve won. MOVING ON!

Freddie Freeman won NL MVP, finally, well deserved; Buzz from Home Alone won an MVP after just barely losing it in years past. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItUECpFi9_s

He was commanding in every game he played, 51 runs and 23 doubles (both leading the NL) and had 13 homers, just to put that into perspective: that would lead many teams, like the Mariners, and he placed 14^th in the NL. I really have no idea why he would win, like, why now? His averages were plain amazing, .341/.462/.640, that’s amazing, on paper, he’s the best in the NL, and that’s what this is about right? But there are players that deserved the award with stats that aren’t on paper, Manny Machado, is one with incredible swag on and off the field, he also has the stats to prove it. Mookie Betts as well, one of the happiest players in baseball, also one of the most respectable. He put them through the playoffs as well as a World Series win, helped by the rest of the offense on the Dodgers, but Betts was the main catalyst.

Another first-time winner that wasn’t a runaway, Jose Abreu in the AL. He had even more paper than Freeman, leading the AL in RBIs, second in homers, and fourth in average. I would be looking forever for a team that didn’t want him because he’s amazing, imagine if the moons and the planets and the orbiting baseballs hit by Barry Bonds and Giancarlo Stanton aligned and Abreu paired up with a team that would actually use him. The Sox stepped into the playoffs for the first time in 12 years, led by Abreu, but he should see a chiropractor after how much he carried their offense. He also led all of baseball in hits and total bases. DJ LeMahieu didn’t deserve it, one of the main columns of the Yankees, but just not MVP stuff. Jose Ramirez, one of the most unseen players in baseball, falls under the radar yet again, MVP stuff, 100%, he should’ve gotten the award, he is a five tool player at third base, ever seen one of those? Me neither.

Congrats to Kim Ng, the first female MLB GM. It’s really great to see the MLB be so progressive, hiring her, and she paved the way for many more female GMs. First challenge: Rebuilding that pigsty. 

Finally, get well soon, Tommy Lasorda!

Grid Iron – Real and Fantasy

(Back after several intensive weeks preparing for a high school entrance exam.)

Breaking News: The team that got into Super Bowl switches places with its doppelgangers but from a JV Team. Not going to lie, that could quite possibly be a newspaper title on Friday. The 49ers were absolutely putrid against the Packers. Aaron Rodgers definitely doesn’t need any more help, anywhere, and the Packers run game fools us all again. Devante Adams (who I just got in fantasy) went crazy, again, and the unknown receivers on the Packers actually had good going against the JV team. Aaron Rodgers had 4 touchdowns and no interceptions (he is just a glitch, no interceptions? Again?) and the run game was just bad. Nick Mullens, hahaha, had a completely average game, completely average. 291 yards, and one touchdown, interception, and loss on his starter record. But, they mostly lost because half the team was on the sidelines, aided by the trainer the whole week (aka they are injured). George Kittle (best tight in the game), Jimmy Garoppolo (better than Nick Mullens but still trash), Tevin Coleman (they could do without him), Deebo Samuel (number one wide receiver on their team), and Jaquiski Tartt (the most underrated player on the team) were all out, so, maybe they weren’t that bad; but, 21-3 in the first half? Yikes.

Cue the hype up music, cue the football primetime music. The best Running Back in the NFL is back after countless (that’s what it felt like) weeks. HE DELIVERED. Christian McCaffrey had two total touchdowns and more than 150 yards. The NFL is back to being electric, absolutely electric. Teddy Bridgewater went absolutely amazing, with three total touchdowns and 310 yards. Obviously, the Panthers don’t require a good quarterback, and obviously, the Panthers lost because the Chiefs are the Chiefs. The Chiefs have a very underrated O-Line, and don’t tell me the Panthers don’t have a bad D-Line because all teams have a good D-Line – 250 Lbs. to 300 Lbs. sprinting like an average wide receiver and the pudgy O-Line doesn’t know what going on, YOUR quarterback is on the ground. I’m not surprised that Patrick Mahomes had a great game, 372 yards and four touchdowns, how?? He’s just so good, and he has a lot of weapons, give him anyone – ANYONE – and Mr. Mahomes will deliver. Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill are his one and two options and they are just safety nets and Mahomes will place it so perfectly, that they don’t even have to change direction, just stand in place or keep running, ball will hit your hands.

The Seahawks and the Bills had the game that I would love to have any day of the week, electric. After Sports Illustrated printed an article on Josh Allen, this game – 415 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and a running touchdown – just probably prompted every magazine to make another article on him. Barely any mention of the run game needed, rookie Zack Moss had 18 yards and a touchdown, rough. Stefon Diggs (who I’m hounding, and I mean hounding to get in fantasy) amazed again, he had 118 yards and John Brown got 99 yards. Russell Wilson is really great, like really great, but this game might’ve just blemished his MVP case, he got 390 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions, the two picks man, that’s so rough for him. That’s sad man, I’ll gladly see Mahomes win MVP, but Russ needs to pray that Mahomes gets an off game, but it’s looking like Mahomes right now. I thought about starting DeeJay Dallas but I quickly shot down that idea because I saw Chase Edmonds was projected 18 points, he didn’t do great, but I still – ha, read lower. Dallas had 31 yards and a touchdown and then the Seahawks receiving corps, which is just amazing, popped off again. DK Metcalf had a great game and David Moore had a great game, and Tyler Lockett had an off game (he’s so hit or miss, one game he goes off for 50 points and then he gets 8, like please explain Tyler)

Well, this week in fantasy, was bad for me in general but good for my team in which most GMs/coaches are active and it’s good. If Cam Newton pops off tonight, and that makes someone lose, then I solidified a spot in the playoffs for myself. This week my team had 141 points, 78 or so of them came from Kyler Murray and Christian McCaffrey. Again, Terry Mclaruin acts as a safety net for my team, bolstering my team’s points. From a guy that’s not playing, me and the other contender, fleeced that guy clean, I came away with Devante Adams, Travis Kelce and like 985469294502 receivers. I’m going to try and flip that for Nick Chubb and then my team would be unstoppable. For next week, considering that I get Chubb without flipping Adams or Kelce, it would loosely look something like this:

QB: Kyler Murray

RB: Christian McCaffrey

RB: Waiver guy or I’ll make a move

WR: Devante Adams

WR: Terry McLaurin

TE: Travis Kelce

FLEX: Some waiver guy or Allen Robinson

D/ST: Waiver Defense projected Number One

K: Harrison Butker or Justin Tucker

I ask you – who is going to stop that?

The only other competitor is chasing down Derrick Henry and already has Dalvin Cook so I’m just silently praying that he doesn’t get him.

Breaking News (more): I might be flipping Devante Adams and a PTBNL for James Robinson and Julio Jones.

In my other leagues, I’m barely holding on to a late playoff spot, but this is the league I’m focusing on because I have a good team, and I can communicate with the other players.

Final Thoughts on Baseball 2020 and a Few about Football

The Dodgers have done it. Both Los Angeles teams have won their respective championships (except the Rams, but LA fans, don’t get your hopes up). After a game where the Rays practically could’ve handed it to them, practically no offense generated.

A lot of things changed before and after this game. But let me clarify. I guarantee that Randy Arozarena will not be good on Opening Day 2021, I guarantee it. One-hit wonder like Pete Alonso is shaping up to be, sadly, hitting .378 throughout the whole postseason, which is more than anyone could imagine, anyone, and it was all for nothing. But here, the scrappy underdogs (the Cinderella Story, the one who everyone falls in love with, the comeback kids, the down-9-in-the-ninth-rally-to-come-back-and-win-in-extra-innings kids) couldn’t win, sadly.

Also, BREAKING NEWS, it is now universally accepted that you must take out your pitchers when they give up three hits, and the third one being a single. That’s exactly what Kevin “Brains Behind the Operation” Cash did exactly that, taking out Cy Young award winner Blake Snell in the sixth inning, who only gave up two hits, and only one earned run. That blew the game out, fumbled the bag, anything that means choking up and dying right there on the mound.

Blake Snell was obviously infuriated, using some choice words, and walking off the mound in disgust. We’re going to be seeing Snell in another uniform come July 2021 (trade deadline). I’ll be surprised if he even trudges along to July of 2021.

The Dodgers really do have it all, great pitching (though that’s their weak spot), the hitting is star-studded, apart from the catcher, and this poses the question – do the Dodgers really have it in them to even make the DS next year, with such an old team?

Think about it, and I’ll give you my answer on Sunday.

Football - The Titans kicker, Stephen Gostkowski, kicked the Titans out of a 6-0 start to the season, literally. But, the Steelers, who are a decent team, but definitely not 6-0 quality, got the dub and will move on to face the Ravens, who are more like the Tinkerbells this season. I put Chase Claypool in my starting lineup and boy did I make a mistake, he got -0.8 points, haha. Justin Herbert and Ben R. (on the Steelers) are fantasy sleepers and should pick them up immediately, a catfish good player is James Connor, but the Steelers don’t use the run game, they pass. Everyone in the Steelers passing corps is amazing, just to keep that in mind. Ben R. had an off game, 268 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions, but he’s still up there in my eyes. Juju Smith Schuster, Diontae Johnson, and Eric Ebron all had great games, but I would hold off on taking them, as they had a pretty bad whole season, only had a great game just recently. Ryan Tannehill continued his Tannehillian prowess, playing almost like Patrick Mahomes minus the strength, speed, and overall greatness of his wide receivers (the Titans have Walmart baggers). Derrick Henry had 75 yards and a touchdown (but I’m still hounding the poor guys who have him in all my leagues for him, my guess is they’ll finally give him). But, AJ Brown is amazing, 153 yards and a touchdown? Wow, plus Corey Davis added 35 yards and a touchdown. The Titans, get to the AFC Championship and lose, sounds very Titanian. 

2020 MLB World Series – Play Ball! 

The 2020 MLB World Series got underway and boy oh boy is it getting good.

The first game started off well and as expected. The Dodgers won 8-3. Kevin Kiermaier is again a candidate for the underrated player of the year and the playoffs (an award created by me), as he is over and over and over with Jose Ramirez, on the Indians, in that category. Let me clarify that, Kiermaier is talked about because he is a role player on a team with only role players, and is one of the most well-known there, whereas Ramirez is never talked about, except maybe for his 2018 30-30-30 (30 dingers, 30 doubles and 30 stolen bases) season. That’s briefly mentioned by SportsCenter and never talked about again until the end of the season.

Ramirez is in the shadows because of Frankie Lindor, and Shane Bieber (totally not Justin’s cousin) and Carlos Santana, but I don’t really get why, because he’s a .200 hitter, but maybe because he has 25 homers per year and definitely because of his mammoth biceps.

Now, after you were lost in my opinions, I was talking about Kevin Kiermaier because he had the most RBIs for the Rays that night, at two. This should be easy pickings for the Dodgers because of their many superstars, like the Bucks, Lakers, 76ers, Celtics and 2016 Warriors collaborated and created a superteam. Mookie Betts, Corey Seager, Max Muncy, Justin Turner, Will Smith (dynamic young toddler*), Cody Bellinger, Chris Taylor, Joc Pederson, Clayton Kershaw, and Joe Kelly (the GOAT, for making a fool of Carlos Correa) are all amazing.

WILL SMITH – Doesn’t he look 8?

Now, dear readers, little do you know that I just read their Game 1 lineup, starter, and closer, fooled you there, young padawan, you have much to learn, my little grasshopper. In the second game, the Rays took over with their two best players, Joey Wendle and Brandon Lowe (both great players, just give them time, like you, my little grasshoppers). Both had three RBIs, both had a homer apiece. The Hollywood Red Carpet, filled with stars, much like the Dodgers lineup, only collected four runs on five hits, then again, it is the 2019 Cy Young winner on the mound. The Rays and their four fans celebrate!

Cue the clown calliope music, Kenley Jansen. Get dressed up in the big goofy shoes, Chris Taylor. Make sure the handshake-buzzer is buzzing, Will Smith. Put the whole suit on, and don’t forget the nose, Dodgers. Those last seven innings were a comedy of errors and errant pitching/defense. 40% of the game’s runs were scored in those last seven innings, ok for two non-playoff teams playing each other, but two teams with the honor to go to the World Series, no. Is the flower squirting? Almost every inning, the Dodgers would inch out, oh nope, the Rays tie it, inch, tie, inch tie, finally we get back to the last inning. We are in the tie stage if you are wondering. With two outs, everyone is thinking, ok, inch state coming right up, nope, Jansen fumbles the bag. Don’t trip in those ridiculously large shoes. Give me a handshake, why don’t ya? BzZZzzZZzZZzzzZZZZZZZ. Brett Philips is up, and he drives a single into right-center, ohhhh great, and a tie game. Ah hah ha, not a tie game, as Randy Arozarena dives home to win the game. Squeak, squeak. The Dodgers won the most recent game and will play the perhaps deciding game tomorrow.

In Fantasy Football, last week, I went 1-3, not great, but it’s what I come to expect. My best team, the one with Kyler Murray, Devin Singletary, Kenyan Drake, Amari Cooper, and Terry Mclaurin, is now 5-2, best in my division, tied for best in the league. My strategy is to trade Amari Cooper and hopefully Devin Singletary for a haul, but the people in my league are fit to be NFL GMs, protecting their players with their life, so I’m getting stonewalled in that league, but I’m inching my way forward. Now I am very angry with the Green Bay Packers, they sat Aaron Jones, because it was a game-time decision and by the time he was ruled out, my players were locked in, meaning you can’t change their position in your lineup. This is the league where I’m 4-3, second in the division, and I have Saquon Barkley, Courtland Sutton and Dak Prescott, not luckily for me, they’re all out for the season. The one thing that I hate about fantasy is that almost all people are inactive, so while the active teams are putting up 150 points, the score is 150 to 54, which is just not fun at all.

Fortunately, I have two leagues where I am in contact with people, and two without, but even in the contacting ones, some are still inactive. What’s going to work for me, and for everyone, is finding diamonds in the rough, that helps so much, right now, when half of teams are injured, take the good backups, and swoop down on them before other quick thinkers do, and horde them on your team, next week, you’re the one that’s going to put up 160. In my final league, I have Deshaun Watson, Aaron Jones, Tyreek Hill, Amari Cooper, and Kenny Golladay, and I’m last. Huh?????? And my opponents don’t have that much IQ with their teams.

Rough stretches for Cowboys fans, huh? Dak goes out, Andy Dalton gets a cheap shot to the head and now some guy named Ben DiNucci has to step up, yikes. Ezekiel Elliot is also not turning heads with his play and half the defense is injured. Be nice to Cowboys fans that you know, please? Haha.

Probably on Thursday, I will post a football update, but no promises, I am really overflowing with work for high school entrance and homework. 

Sports from Three Corners

UPDATE My World Series prediction – sorry Metsies, is a step closer to fulfillment.

The World Series is finally set, in a year where baseball, and sports really, interest shrunk. Thankfully, the NBA Championship wasn’t a nail biter and the World Series is featuring a team with a chip (losing to the Astros in the World Series) on their shoulders and then some weird team from down south with a payroll which is a little higher than the profit a restaurant makes per night. The Dodgers, who are like the Lakers but with more cornerstones (when you think of a cornerstone {theoretically, of course}, you think rectangle or square, but this team’s more of an octagon, with cornerstones everywhere) and they’re the obvious favorites to win.

Think of the Yankees as the Bucks, and the Rays as the Heat. The Rays beat the Yanks and are now up against a powerhouse. Now, the Rays have Randy Arozarena who’s been on an absolute tear, and solid hitters all around. The defense isn’t really existent, apart from Kevin Kiermaier while Joey Wendle, Willy Adames are just emerging. In Game 7, the Braves got out to an early lead and stayed on top for a while.

Until the catcher, Will Smith, who looks like he’s 8 years old, got a single that knocked in two runs. Then, the Braves got on top again but not for long as Enrique Hernandez hit a rare, and I mean rare homer. Then, Cody Bellinger, who has the most varied likes and dislikes (that means 50% of baseball fans like him, 50% hate him), hit a clutch two-run homer and that did it. Now, let’s see him do that in the World Series.

Did the Atlanta Falcons get their first win, Yes? What did it cost? An Atlanta Braves loss? 

NBA Finals are History

As expected, the Lakers led by LeBron James and some guy named Anthony Davis together with the other unknown scrubs on the Lakers to a finals win. And now, I’m not going to express my opinion on the GOAT conversation, because that way half of you will leave. But, people will say that LeGoa-sorry-Bron’s fourth ring is actually the Heat’s ring because they practically gave it to him.But, then Michael Jordan’s rings should all actually be Scottie’s ring. So all of you Jordan-lovers out there, stop, and think. I don’t know why JR Smith was shirtless by the time the clock struck 12… seconds; he shouldn’t have because he’s played a total of about 7 minutes during the finals and went 1/654684981. Danny Green might as well throw up a cinderblock every time he shoots because that has a better chance of going into the bucket than a basketball. So, the Lakers might want to trade, sorry, dump off Green to a low-level team that’s willing to get worse and then get someone much much much much better. The Lakers don’t need much more help; they’re really good, except their guards, Rajon Rondo is old, Danny Green, horrible, Kentavious Caldwell Pope, flash in the pan, Alex Caruso, eh, and Quinn Cook, I’m sorry, who? Now, as I said in the last post, the Heat are going to look scary, go and check that post out. I’ll cover the NBA offseason in one of the future weeks.

Major League Baseball

Tampa Bay beat the Yankees, I don’t get it, a team of mediocre players, in a perfect world, a mediocre team, and they’re supposed to be a mediocre team. But they’re the number one seed in the East and just beat out the world-famous Yankees – mediocre enough for you? The Yankees have next year to look forward to, and every other year until the cyborg gorillas/mammoths take over the world while us Mets fans need to be happy or sad on an inning-to-inning basis. They also just beat the Astr-sorry, Asterisks in 7 games, which shouldn’t have happened, but even though Tampa Bay has 4 fans, it’s owner, the owner’s wife, the creepy brother in law who sucks up to the owner, and Steve, the janitor working at Tropicana Field for 15 years. 60,004 people tuned into the series per game, the 60,000 being people wanting the Asterisks to lose and even though only four people are fans of the Rays, America is happy because the (you know how I used to call them the ‘Stros, before they got exposed, well, let me introduce you to my new invention:) ‘Sterisks lost and some team from down south, maybe Louisiana, lost.

The A’s, who on paper, are 20x better than the Rays on any given day, got sent away by the Astros? The Astros never did have a bad team, they actually had the best team in baseball, player-wise, so not a surprise that the A’s lost, except the scandal decreased everyone’s of the Astros by 80%.

The Dodgers beat the Padres, no surprise there as I have the Dodgers winning it all. The Padres have a great team, advance it a little more with the 1.2 million great prospects they still have in the farm system, and they’re going to go on a streak like the UCLA Bruins, 88 games, and that’s in a college basketball season. Let me do some math for you, according to ncaa.com, a typical D1 basketball season is 35-40 games long if the team makes March Madness. Just a little nugget of information. Going into the last day of the Bruins’ streak, 1/19/74, they had won 218 out of 223 games dating back to the 1966-67 season. That’s 97.75%. (The stats where I got these from is the Notre Dame website, and they’re the ones that knocked off the Bruins stretch, soo, may not be accurate, but what I’m about to tell you gets crazier). In a regular season, that would equal 159 games won. With all those prospects, for 10 years or more, that would be the greatest stretch in MLB history, and, in professional sports.  Your move, San Diego Padres.

After the Marlins got a little shot of hope and beat the Cubs 2-0, the Braves went to work, winning 3-0, and are now fighting for a chance to squeeze into the World Series to (if this was last year, I’d say, ‘absolutely crush, demolish and pulverize the Rays’ but, this yearrrr, I don’t know) fight for a chance against the Rays.

Sorry for no football for two weeks, guys. Just fantasy.

For the two weeks that I have gone missing from football, I went 5-3. Crrrrrazy right?? 4-0 two weeks ago and 1-3 last week and it’s not looking great this week. But, right below, I will be talking about this week’s football and then give you a midweek update about how I did in fantasy this week.

Prayers for Dak Prescott and his family. Dak seriously injured his leg which costs him his season for sure and may not be the player he was ever again. Dak was locked in this season, leading all NFL passers going into this week by almost 200 yards.

Titans beat Texans. I have one very important question: How is Ryan Tannehill this good? How are the Titans 5-0? Why did everyone think Derrick Henry is going to be a flash in the pan? And why did I just ask four questions? Well, the answer key is… I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know and, “because there’s a lot of questions.” Derrick Henry is amazing, he pulverized me in fantasy, 212 yards, and two touchdowns, yikes. Deshaun Watson, who I have in four leagues had a great game, 335 yards, 4 touchdowns and no interceptions, how, may I ask, am I not winning in those leagues?? And, by the way, if anyone of you have any suggestions on my fantasy teams, strategies, or anything, please direct message my father on Twitter and disperse them there. Next week I will be giving my own, but I’m out dry, this year is horrible for fantasy football.

The week I traded Julio Jones for a haul of mediocre players, (sound familiar to you?), he goes crazy for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Just. My. Luck. The Falcons run game is nonexistent, Todd Gurley’s arthritis is acting up, yet again and Brian Hill can definitely not carry the load. Matt Ryan had a game of his life, 75% completion, 371 yards, and 4 touchdowns, the same Matt Ryan, the old guy along with Drew Brees that thinks the water bucket is his teammate/target and the water boy is the defender? Him? Kirk Cousins continues his strangeness, a truckload of yards, 343 in this case, and a lot of touchdowns and interceptions, 3 for both here. The rookie receivers are having field days catching the ball, crazy, really. Justin Jefferson? 166 yards and two touchdowns. Wow, just wow, taken at the end of the first round and he’s acting like Randy Moss with more speed.

Well, those are the top two games of the week, and more coming mid-week, a short post talking about fantasy and another couple of games.

They’re Dancing in Los Angeles!

The NBA Finals were never in doubt, right? LeBron is not washed, repeat, LeBron is not washed. Anthony Davis can do everything and everything is going smoothly. They have the two big men who only get paid for their rebounding, JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard. Kentavious Caldwell Pope and Danny Green, (who literally hurt me when he missed the wide-open shot to seal the game), are two knockdown shooters who line out the lineup. The reserves aren’t too snazzy, Rajon Rondo and Kyle Kuzma lead the way, but not much shooting there, except for Kuzma, but he’ll do anything and everything, he’ll be the next Kareem Abdul Jabaar times Michael Jordan if it means LeBron doesn’t trade him. I don’t know how Frank Vogel is leading the charge for the Lake Show, I mean, the talent’s there, but without good coaching, you’ll be just as good as the local bingo team (watch out though, Aunt Josie’s a rebounding threat, and Old Sammy’s an all-around legend). Not that Vogel’s bad, it’s just that I would expect someone like Gregg Popovich to lead this team.

Here come the Heat now, with no one as their true point guard, but Jimmy Butler will play point forward, the two best catch and shoot shooters in the league, Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson (even though Herro has cooled down since the Boston series, he needs to heat up tonight if the Heat will have a chance. I would never take the Heat starting lineup if I had a choice, they play small ball without shooting at all five positions and a non-speedy and old point guard. The bench needs a lot of work, it’s the weak spot for the team, Kendrick Nunn and Kelly Olynyk are the best on the bench, and Kelly should not even be in the same sentence as “second-best on the bench” Eric Spoelstra has been amazing, this team would be nowhere near the playoffs without this mastermind.  Who is the Pascal Siakam of coaching, UNDER-rated, UNDER-rated, UNDER-rated. Thinking towards the 2020-2021 season, with a different point guard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, their lineup will be: Austin Rivers, Jordan Clarkson at PG, Duncan Robinson at SG, Jimmy Butler at SF, Giannis Antetokounmpo at PF, and Bam Adebayo at C and Tyler Herro at sixth man, let that sink in for a moment...

I think that the Heat will force 7 games, but LeBron will charge through everyone and win Game 7 for his fourth ring. 

Well, the Lakers have done it 106-93, quite possibly by sedating all the Heat players, or Frank Vogel paid Eric Spoelstra to make plays for the Heat that make them play for the other team. But wow, what a rout, winning by 13 but up by 30, yes, three zero at the start of the fourth quarter. LeBron James gets his fourth ring, Anthony Davis was saved from a ruined career on the Pelicans and now won a ring. Maybe Kyle Kuzma won’t get traded because LeBron would be distracted. But, Bronny Jr. will get a whooping of a lifetime because he posted a picture of him smoking weed on Instagram. But, for Heat fans, don’t be sad, next year you’re going to be plowing through anyone in your way, with Giannis paving the way.

And now for the MLB Playoffs*

The Mets are now 100% set for the offseason, and there is a lot of big fish in the ocean.

The Mets have these big rods, ready to snatch them up, but if my arch-nemesis, Sandy Alderson, gets accepted as GM, he’s going to be very happy just sitting in his big ol’ chair and watching the market unfold.

Later, near the beginning of the new season, he’ll sign a relief pitcher out of Cuba that’s averaging 8.3 BB/9. This is also the same for what Brodie van Wagenen would do. Except, van Wagenen comes with a twist. He’s going to sign a completely unneeded player, like Yuli Gurriel.

But, these are my educated predictions, because I think Sandy doesn’t know how to make a move because he has never made any big moves (and the Mets need that) and Brodie van Wagenen traded the future of this franchise for someone who’s at the end of his career and is not producing at all while Edwin Diaz, who has 6 saves and 4 blown saves, which is, I think the worst rate in baseball history.

The baseball playoffs are the blandest playoffs in playoff history, but, it’s still the playoffs. Don’t get alarmed, I’m still going to cover them, it’s just that there have barely been any upsets, and, the Astros won – sadly. Both of the number one seeds, the Dodgers and the Rays, disposed of their opponents the Brewers and the Blue Jays, respectively, quickly and quietly. In a game where the teams were literally the most equal in baseball history, the Indians and the Yankees, the boys from the Bronx pulled out and won 2-0, routing the Indians both times.

The Cards went up 1-0 against the Padres, but, how can you fight against the explosiveness of Fernando Tatis Jr., my favorite player not on the Mets, Manny Machado, and Eric Hosmer? You can’t. The Padres came back and won 2-1.

The Astros won against a fairly good team, the Twins, which I never saw coming. I mean, everyone thought without the garbage cans and the signals they would be bad, but, I guess the Twins were that bad, because, the Astros can’t be good.

Then, the Miami Marlins pull out, yes you’re hearing me correctly, against the Cubs. Quoting their Twitter post, 10 out of 10 chiropractors recommend to not sleep on the Marlins, which is true, very true. Corey Dickerson is a much underrated player in the MLB, but on the Marlins, he’s like Jeff Bezos crossed with the Queen of England – players pray to him. The Marlins pitching was great in both games, allowing only 1 run in 18 innings, how crazy is that. When maybe two years ago they were allowing 8 runs in 9 innings. All the Marlins needed in game two was a homer from Garrett Cooper, the Magneuris Sierra RBI was just insurance. By the way, no one scored a run until Cooper sent one to left. Only five hits from the Cubs in the second one, underwhelming, these Cubbies.

I want to say next year, but, maybe something else will happen like this. The A’s, who really are going to make a deeeep playoff run, maybe even beat the Astros and then stroll along to the ALCS, where they will be killed by the Yankees, but hey, Billy Beane’s, the GOAT of all MLB GMs, legacy gets even better.

The last series, the Braves, had to literally walk to the end, no competition, no stress whatsoever, no runs scored from the Reds, and the Braves just had to produce a few runs, crazy if you ask me.

I had 5 out of 8 predictions correct, the only two that didn’t get right were the Twins, the White Sox, and the Cubs series. I had them winning instead of the Astros, the A’s, and the Marlins.

So my next calls:

TB vs Yanks – Yanks

Twins vs White Sox – Twins

Dodgers vs Padres – Dodgers

Marlins vs Braves – Braves

Yankees vs Twins – Yankees

Dodgers vs Braves – Dodgers 

World Series:

Yankees vs Dodgers – I’ll let you know in a next blogpost.

The Series to Watch: All of them, actually. But, if I had to choose the most compelling one, then definitely the Yankees and Rays. The Rays are one of those teams that are overflowing with completely mediocre players. The Rays are also something like the A’s back when Beane took over. A new team, a new idea, and the traditional baseball fans didn’t like it. But, hey, look where it got them. But, on the other side, good and new can’t compete with good ol’ power.

Clint Frazier, Luke Voit, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, Gary Sanchez, and Gio Urshela are only the top of this lineup. They will have a discrepancy at catcher, with the home run or strikeout Gary Sanchez versus the below-average Kyle Higashioka, but Aaron Boone likes Higashioka more because he just keeps producing and Sanchez just keeps declining.

The star aces are facing off tonight, Gerrit Cole and Blake Snell. The Yankees will pull out, because the pitching is equal, both good starting rotations and good bullpens, the coaching is slightly better for the Yankees, purely because of experience, but the hitting, the hitting of the Yankees is double the hitting of the Rays. 

Ahhh, October has finally arrived for this MLB season with an asterisk*.