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      Dale Earnhardt 10 Greatest Wins DVD Collection Review

      November 20, 2008 /

      It is hard to imagine that we are coming up on the eight-year anniversary of the untimely death of Dale Earnhardt. NASCAR has produced a five-disc DVD collection to celebrate the legacy of “The Intimidator” driving his legendary black # 3 car to victory.

      I want to throw a caution flag in the air, as Earnhardt’s 10 greatest races are not complete television re-broadcasts. Instead, each 45-minute vignette features a condensed version that highlights the key moments of each race. The ultimate NASCAR fan might be disappointed as they won’t be able to watch the entire race once again, but casual fans might enjoy the shorter format.

      Every race in the DVD collection provides a perfect tribute to Earnhardt’s competitive fire and his adrenaline-pumping race to the winner’s circle. My favorite races include Earnhardt’s photo-finish win over rival Bobby Labonte in the 2000 Cracker Barrel 500, capturing the 1998 Daytona 500 flag after racing 20 years on the legendary track without a victory, winning the 1989 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway the night after his father, Ralph, was inducted into the Raceway’s Hall of Fame, and Earnhardt’s final victory that saw him move from 18th place to win the 2000 Winston 500 at the legendary Talladega Superspeedway.

      The bonus features on the DVD collection include the induction of Ralph and Dale Earnhardt into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame some nine years apart from one another. Dale’s ceremony features a brief retrospective from his friend, Brian Williams, about the essence of his hard-driving, world-class championship driving style. And the reaction from the audience proves Earnhardt was the most popular driver of his time.

      General Sports, Television, Video

      Fantasy football teams are like a-holes, everyone’s got one…

      November 20, 2008 /

      I actually have 11.

      Back in September, I explained why I decided to join so many leagues. I like to spread the risk around and once I joined multiple leagues, I quit sweating the minute-to-minute stuff and can actually enjoy the games.

      A few years ago, I went in as a co-owner on a big money team at Antsports. The other owner, Joe, is a former co-worker of mine whose fantasy football expertise I respect. Neither of us lets the other get too high or too low on any particular player, and when one of us wants to hold a grudge against a guy like Chris Chambers or Lee Evans, the other is the voice of reason (or in Chambers’ case, the voice of confirmation).

      We did pretty well in that big money league but the competition was fierce and we lost our second round pick to injury, so we finished in third place. It was a decent payday, but we thought it might be better to spread the risk around amongst several $50 leagues. We also liked the Antsports “victory points” format which awards two points for a win, two points for the top four point-scorers and a point for the #5-#8 point-scorers. Under a VP format, even if your team has the bad luck of having teams go off against it on a regular basis, you can still make the playoffs.

      So this season we joined six $50 leagues and two $100 leagues at Antsports. They were all email drafts, which are slow enough so that if a pick comes up that we’re conflicted about, we have time to get on the phone and discuss it. Like most fantasy football leagues, the drafts are the most fun. I’d wager that over the course of those eight email drafts that we pretty much discussed every meaningful fantasy player in the league. Also, once the drafts are done, we split up the day-to-day operations so that we don’t have to discuss every single roster move or transaction.

      In those eight leagues, our teams are a combined 54-34 (.614). While that’s not an awe-inspiring record, it includes one team that has had horrible luck (i.e. most points scored against, by far) and has a 2-9 record. So, without that team we’re winning at a 68% clip.

      Of course it’s not fair to simply eliminate your worst team when talking about a combined record, so let’s talk about that unlucky team for a minute. Ironically, this was the team that Joe and I felt best about coming out of the draft. It was the only league where we had a pick in the top five. In fact, we had the #1 overall pick, so we were excited about drafting LaDainian Tomlinson there. While he is currently RB8, he hasn’t had the kind of season we were expecting. Still, he’s not the problem. At 2.12 and 3.01, we drafted Ryan Grant and Torry Holt, and I think it’s safe to say that both players have underperformed. Our fourth round pick, Ben Roethlisberger, has also been disappointing, so even good/solid picks at 5.01 (Calvin Johnson), 6.12 (Chris Cooley), 7.01 (Donald Driver) and 8.12 (Jay Cutler) couldn’t save this team.

      Through 11 weeks, that team has 1,076 points, which is 9th in the league, so we should be fighting for a playoff spot instead of dwelling the cellar. Oh well, there’s always the consolation bracket!

      In the other seven leagues, we drafted all over the back half of the first round. We drafted #6 twice (Barber, Gore), #8 once (Addai), #9 once (Barber), #10 twice (Gore, Portis) and #12 once (Brady). Clearly, that Brady pick didn’t pan out, and Addai has been pretty spotty all season, but those two teams are currently in first and second, respectively. In the Brady league, we also drafted Aaron Rodgers (11.12), which totally saved us, while the Addai team also features Rodgers (12.05), Reggie Bush (2.05), Anquan Boldin (3.08) and Dwayne Bowe (5.08).

      Of those seven teams, four are currently in first place and one is in second. The other two teams are fighting for a playoff spot and are currently in sixth and seventh. (These are all 12-team leagues, so six teams go to the playoffs.)

      I also have three teams on my own. One is in a league that Joe and I started several years ago that is made up of a few friends and friends of friends. It’s a 12-team keeper league and each season we get to carry four players (and sometimes one prospect) over to the next season. I was fortunate to win that league last season and am doing pretty well (8-3) this season.

      This season, I was determined to try an auction league so I got into some random $125 league with a guy on the internet. Sounds shady, I know, but everything’s on the up and up. I am currently in third place with a 7-4 record and would be 8-3 if not for boneheadedly benching Matt Cassel last week for Phillip Rivers. (You know, the week Cassel threw for like 400 yards and three scores, while Rivers had his first bad game in forever? Grr.) I actually had Cassel in my lineup and took him out on Thursday afternoon deciding that Rivers has just been too good to bench. (It’s a two-QB league, so I’ve been making do with Rivers, Cassel and Matt Ryan.) Anyway, I feel pretty good about that team heading into the playoffs. I just made a trade – Michael Turner, Larry Fitzgerald and Kellen Winslow for Marion Barber, Donald Driver and Antonio Gates – which looked pretty bad last week, but given Winslow’s shoulder injury, it’s starting to look a little better. Turner has a brutal playoff schedule and I had a lot of depth at WR (Reggie Wayne, Wes Welker, Dwayne Bowe, DeSean Jackson), so I figured Barber will return to his man-eating ways once Romo gets back into the swing of things.

      Finally, I’m in an Industry Insiders League hosted by the Fantasy Sports Writers of America. My team is 7-4 and its 1431 points is the fourth-best out of 48 teams, which were split into four 12-team divisions. The playoffs start this week and it’s a total points format, but each team starts with their season average, so I have a little bit of an advantage over 12 of the 15 other teams that made the postseason. Even if my team takes a giant dump over the next month, I feel pretty good about making the playoffs given the stiff competition.

      I was in 10 leagues last year, so 11 was no real shock to my system. Since I spend so much time researching fantasy football, I figured why not put that research to my advantage? Once all these leagues are complete, I’ll update everyone on how we did. For now, I’m pretty content with my 76-45 overall record, even if Chris Chambers managed to screw me in one league…when will I learn?

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Oakland A’s owner has an idea

      November 20, 2008 /

      SeligLew Wolff, owner of the Oakland Athletics, has recently suggested making the first round of the MLB playoffs a best-of-one competition.

      “I’d make it one-game-and-you’re-out for the first series,” the Oakland Athletics owner said Wednesday. “It would be exciting. It would be great.”

      Begun in 1995, the division series has been a best-of-five competition. Some people have advocated it be expanded to best-of-seven, matching the league championship series and the World Series. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has repeatedly said he favors the current format.
      Wolff said he hasn’t brought up his concept with Selig.

      “No, I’m afraid to do that,” he said.

      Under the current format, Game 7 of the World Series wouldn’t be until Nov. 5 next year. Selig said during this year’s World Series that the postseason has too many off days, but shortening it appears to be impossible if Major League Baseball sticks to having the World Series start on a Wednesday, a schedule that began in 2007.

      While I don’t think Wolff’s idea is a particularly good one, I am in favor of more owners speaking up about Major League Baseball’s current playoff system. I was probably one of the few people who enjoyed the Phillies/Rays series, for the simple fact that it turned two teams into powerful organizations. Gone are the days when the Red Sox and Yankees were the only teams guaranteed to make the playoffs. A closer look at the NL Central and AL East divisions reveals that teams are becoming more evenly matched. This competitive play can only help the business side of the game, as more fans believe their team has a chance of making the playoffs. However, it’s no secret that this past World Series had low television ratings.

      It’s true that the Phillies and Rays don’t have the same national popularity as the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Yankees, and that this deficiency generated fewer viewers. Still, you have to place a considerable amount of blame on Bud Selig and his scheduling of the games. Those games should not have taken place that far into October, sometimes beginning so late in the evening that they extended after midnight. There are ways of remedying this, of course. The season needs to start earlier and/or there should be a few scheduled double-headers for each team during the regular season.

      However, Wolff’s suggestion that the first round of the playoffs be a best-of-one competition is impractical. When considering a regular season that lasts 162 games, it would be unfair to have the first place team eliminated by the wild card entry after only one game. Baseball is a game that proves any team can be better than the other on any given day. Only after a series of five or more games can one club emerge as undeniably more dominant. If the first round were to be best-of-one, the remaining two series would have to switch to this format as well. Of course, this would never slide with Selig.

      The commissioner is trying, though. The winner of the All-Star Game now determines the home field advantage in the World Series. Regardless, after attempting to keep up with the World Series after that awful rain delay, I’m ready for some changes.

      MLB

      Danilo Gallinari gets second opinion, worse than the first

      November 20, 2008 /

      In my days of following sports, I’ve learned a couple of things about how athletes bounce back from injury:

      1. It’s never a good sign when a player starts seeking a second or third opinion.
      2. Injured backs are dicey.

      New York Knicks rookie Danilo Gallinari has a bad back, and the second opinion is worse than the first.

      Rookie Danilo Gallinari visited a Beantown back specialist yesterday and while surgery was still not recommended, the new timetable was extended an extra two weeks. According to a Knicks spokesman, the specialist ordered Gallinari to rest and rehab for six to eight weeks. That figure is up from the four to six weeks that was set last Friday from a Manhattan specialist.

      Apparently, he has a bulging disc in his back, and as of a week ago, he couldn’t put on his pants without pain.

      I wonder if the Knicks are regretting using the #6 overall pick on this guy.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Larry Hughes unhappy with limited role

      November 20, 2008 /

      Larry Hughes is averaging 19 minutes in the four games he’s played in since returning from injury, and he’s not happy with his role.

      “I don’t want to play like this,” Hughes said. “I’m not comfortable with 15-20 minutes. Something has to change.”

      “You have to understand that situation and I do,” Hughes said. “We have a lot of guys at one position. Somebody has to come off the bench and you accept that role. But I’m not expecting 15-20 minutes, and I don’t want to deal with that.”

      Hughes, a former All-Star and starter for an NBA finalist, said he would accept coming off the bench as long as his minutes increased.

      “We all understood the situation going in,” he said. “I want to give it a little time, but being put in a situation not to succeed doesn’t do me or the team any good.

      “I have a lot to offer as far as helping guys out. I want to be a positive influence. But not being out there in crucial times, I don’t see the benefit.”

      Where do I start?

      Hughes is shooting 38% from the field in four games and he’s demanding more minutes? His dreadful FG% would not be a big deal if he had a history of being a solid shooter, but he shot 38% last season and 40% the year before, so it’s not like he’s going to suddenly light it up.

      Speaking of lighting it up, Derrick Rose is the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year honors while Ben Gordon is averaging 20.6 points on the season, so it’s not like Hughes can argue (with a straight face) that he should get more minutes at their expense.

      Then there’s the issue of Kirk Hinrich coming back from injury. I’m afraid that Hughes is only going to see his minutes decrease when that happens, so he should be making the most of the playing time he’s getting now instead of complaining about it to the press. If he were more productive, the Bulls might be able to trade away Hughes and the two-years/$26 million remaining on his contract to a team that would be able to give him more minutes.

      As it stands, it looks like Hughes will remain a Bull, and an unhappy one at that.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

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