M-14...Give me a break!!!

The construction on M-14 has been going on for upwards of 7 months now. The impact of this construction is pretty significant for me, as it is the main route to and from work for me 5 days / week. There are no better routes to take during this construction phase, partially because of parallel construction being run on other roads/streets. This construction costs me generally 15 minutes on the drive in the morning, and 15-30 minutes in the afternoon. It forces me to leave work early 2 days a week to pick up Abby by the required time.

During that time, I have run through several phases of emotion. The first phase was anger in the beginning at the prospects of the construction taking 8 months to complete. Then I went through about a month long stage where I felt like I was losing my mind dealing with it. This was partially fueled by the road being completely closed twice with me on it, one of those times culminating in me sitting in the same spot for an hour. Around July-August, I came to terms with it, and just dealt with it. This co-incided with the East bound lanes being completed, and the West bound lanes being worked on. Finally, about 3 weeks ago, traffic was routed back onto the proper side of the road, which signaled (I thought) an early end to the construction. But now new barriers are being installed, and bridge work is occurring. Additionally, the Shelden Road exit ramps have been completely torn up a week or two ago, and it appears that the road won’t officially be opened up until this is complete.

Amazingly, this is causing traffic to be worse in both directions. I thought we were at the end of this!!! Please MDOT, open up 2 lanes of traffic immediately. This will significantly ease the traffic burden for commuters in these directions. It might be the only way I maintain whatever sanity I have left!

Week 7 Fantasy round-up

First really bad week for me.

WCOFF Main League - 4-3 (2nd in points)
WCOFF Draftmasters - 2nd place out of 12 (not head to head)
WCOFF Auction - 2-5 (6th in points)
WCOFF Satellite #1 - 2nd place out of 12 (not head to head)
Champions Club - 7-0 (1st in points)
Labelle's League - 3-4 (2nd in points)
Ultimate Dynasty - 3-4 (8th in power rankings)
Auction practice - 5-2 (3rd in power rankings)

Overall record of 24-18

Mid-season review

Since I'm bored, I thought I'd review my WCOFF draft team at about the midway point of the season. Below is what I wrote following the draft. In bold are my comments now.

1st - Steven Jackson - was the #3 player on my draft board, so it was an easy pick. Ronnie Brown and his 22 Thursday night points were taken directly before me. Currently the 5th rated RB, so a good pick to this point. Very involved in the passing game which is critical.

2nd – Anquan Boldin – Was between Reggie Bush and Boldin here. My draft board said Boldin, but my gut said Bush. I was pretty sure neither would make it back to me in the third round. By the looks of New Orleans first game, Bush is going to be more involved then even I originally thought. I pegged him at 60+ catches, and at the rate he was thrown at yesterday, he could get 100. Currently ranked 3rd at WR, and only getting better. With Fitzgerald hurt right now, his value is even higher.

3rd – Kevin Jones – Revisiting last year I guess. I think he’s going to be very involved in the receiving game. The problem is that the line sucks. I have some faith in the offense getting untracked in a weak division, so I’ll reserve judgment past one week. I didn’t think he would be available here, and was planning on taking Frank Gore…who of course exploded yesterday. Currently ranked 3rd at RB, and hugely involved in the passing game. He scares me to have, but so far has been huge.

4th – Santana Moss – I would have taken Droughns here, but he went 1 before me, so I took my next best WR in Moss. Between him and Boldin they should have a ton of balls thrown to them, a key in a PPR league. Currently ranked 6th, despite underperforming save for his one huge week. I look for more consistent output from him.

5th – Joe Horn – Was hoping for RB here in Fred Taylor, but he went 4 picks earlier. I didn’t feel good about getting involved in the Denver situation at this pick, so I thought Horn was a safe pick as my #3 WR in a rebound season. Trading Stallworth told me NO was comfortable with him…but their first game didn’t excite me about his prospects. I’ll reserve judgment for now though. Ranked 18th at WR, but performing decent. Colston has emerged as the #1 threat, and Bush gets a lot of balls thrown to him. Even so, I like him as my #3 WR.

6th – Cedric Benson – I still had questions in my mind about Kevin Jones and needed some RB’s, preferably with some upside. Tatum and Mike Bell both went off the board, so I had to decide between Benson and Marion Barber (with Barber a possible spot starter due to his 3rd down use). Based on ADP I figured Benson wouldn’t make it back to me, but Barber could. Hasn't done anything to this point, and likely won't unless Thomas Jones gets hurt. Marion Barber would have been better at this point, even though he's only good for 10 pts or so a game, tops.

7th – Kevan Barlow – Well Barber didn’t make it back, and Coles was my target, but he went right before me. I liked Antonio Bryant a lot, but thought he may make it back to me in the 8th, so I grabbed a potential RB starter. He was a huge disappointment for 2 years, so I thought he was worth a shot in a shitty backfield behind a rebuilding offensive line. Basically an insurance pick. This guy sucks now, pure and simple. He will get less carries from here on out. If I had gotten Coles here as my #4 WR I would be in the top 5 out of all of all 840 owners.

8th – Laurence Maroney - Was targeting Michael Clayton, who went two picks before, and Bryant was also taken. So I grabbed another RB, and decided I would be done at that position after this pick for a while. Had Maroney not been on the injury report and expected to be out week 1, he would have been gone by now. They won’t be able to keep him off the field long here. Pure stud here, only good for 10-15 points a game right now, but if Dillon gets hurt, look out. Definitely solid for my #3 RB. Ranked 23rd at RB at this point.

9th - Mark Clayton – Was targeting Braylon Edwards here, who went 3 picks before me (notice a theme?). Needed a 4th WR, as I will be starting 4 for a little while. I’m not as high on Mason as most, with Clayton being the logical other guy there. Game 1 wasn’t a good indicator as Baltimore jumped on TB early. Ranked 34th at WR, had a huge game in week 6, but it was kind of fluky as he caught 2 tipped balls for TD's. Still emerging more as a #4 WR for my team.

10th – Randy McMichael – Love this guy this year. His value dropped due to a disappointing Thursday game, but I think he will see the ball a lot, as he’s too good not to. Took him with the intention of grabbing another TE at the end of the draft to start in week 1, to outscore McMichael’s 2 point effort. Started very slow, but still rated 7th as far as TE's. Emerging more with Joey Harrington at QB.

11th - Aaron Brooks – I can feel the QB run starting, so I grab my best available. He’s a shitty QB, but a very good fantasy QB, with a nice schedule. I take him knowing he may be benched at some point if Oakland disappoints, so I plan on grabbing another one soon. Got hurt in week 1, and Oakland is worse than I ever imagined. Even though Walter, his replacement sucks, Brooks may not see the field again. Wasted pick.

12th – Joe Jurevicious – He proved last year that he can perform as the lead guy. Here he’s the #2. Also a potential spot starter. Hasn't started for me yet, and has been relatively quiet. Starting him in week 7 as a bye week fill-in, hope he can find the end zone.


13th – Eric Parker – For some reason I have him a lot higher than most people. Just grabbing WR depth here and he is the best I have available by far. Nobody really excites me at this point. Also starting him in week 7. Has emerged in the last 2 weeks as a reliable target. Pure bye week fill-in.

14th - Drew Brees – Grabbed my backup in a high scoring potential offense. With Bush, Horn, and Deuce at his disposal, as well as a bad defense, could be nice value. Got the #5 QB in the 14th round, makes up for the bad pick of Brooks. What more can you say.

15th – Brian Calhoun – Simply picking my handcuff. Cut him early in the season, to fill in another roster void. To this point has done nothing.

16th – Marcus Robinson – Could explode when healthy, could be garbage. Worth the risk here. Had a few nice weeks, and a few nothing weeks. Cut him for a needed roster spot. Not very reliable.

17th - Stephen Davis – Fisher already gone in the 13th, I grab another handcuff. Still on the team, as St Louis run game is going nice. If Jackson gets hurt, Davis is a fill-in.

18th - Jeff Wilkins – Decide on an indoor kicker with a late bye week. Didn’t expect him to lead my team in scoring in week 1 (with 2 players pending). Only the 2nd best kicker at this point, with 2 monster weeks under his belt.

19th – Patriots DEF – Weak schedule in first 2 weeks with Buffalo and Jets (I think). After that I will play the defense game by matchup. They sucked and I cut them.

20th – Desmond Clark – My one week TE came through with a 12 point effort. I’ll probably still cut him if there is someone on the waiver wire that appeals to me. Currently the 5th ranked TE. I cut him out of necessity a few weeks ago when he got banged up. Hope that I don't regret that one.

Great article

NY Times Article

This is a great piece on the new gambling law.

WTF???

Dumb article

Banning tag?? Are these teachers and principals serious? Pretty soon kids are going to get out of school and have absolutely no clue how the world works. There comes a time when shielding kids from reality is harmful. The sooner that kids learn the following lessons: All people are not equal (some of them are better at tag and dodgeball), the world is not fair, and you are responsible for your own actions...the better off we will be as a country.

Week 6 Fantasy Roundup

WCOFF Main League - 4-2 (1st in points, 1st place right now)
WCOFF Draftmasters - 2nd place out of 12 (from 12th to 9th to 2nd in 2 weeks time)
WCOFF Auction - 2-4 (4th in points)
WCOFF Satellite #1 - 2nd place out of 12 (not head to head)
Champions Club - 6-0 (1st in points)
Labelle's League - 3-3 (3rd in points)
Ultimate Dynasty - 3-3 (7th in power rankings)
Auction practice - 4-2 (3rd in power rankings)

Overall record of 22-14

Time for a break

Since I got home from the WSOP, it’s become increasingly apparent to me that my poker game has gone South. The few times I have played at cash tables I have felt overmatched or disinterested, or that luck was just not simply running my way. The simple truth is, that somewhere along the way I quit playing poker. At the stakes that I was playing, just playing the cards that you have is simply not enough to make a profit. Generally it can get you by, but that’s not the goal. I forgot how to make moves, to bluff, to take people off of a hand. If a player raised me, I believed they must have the goods, and never looked for a way to take the pot away from them.

So with that I have decided to take a break from most online poker. Maybe the time off will re-invigorate me. The timing is convenient due to the legislation, and Partypoker closing it’s doors to US customers. Maybe by the time my desire starts to increase, the industry will have shaken out a little bit more and there will be some different spots to play at the games that I play.

In the interim, I may enter a multi-table tourney here or there, as lately I have been jonesing for one of those. It’s just difficult to find a 7-8 hour block where I will be available.

Predictions

ALCS Prediction:
Tigers over A's in 7 (I am predicting a ton of close games here, should be exciting to watch)

NLCS Prediction:
Cards over Mets in 7 (just because everyone counted them out on their bad run)

Week 5 Fantasy Round-up

WCOFF Main League - 3-2 (3rd in points)
WCOFF Draftmasters - 9th place out of 12 (not head to head-ugly thus far even though I think our team is solid-up from 12th last week)
WCOFF Auction - 1-4 (8th in points)
WCOFF Satellite #1 - 4th place out of 12 (not head to head)
Champions Club - 5-0 (1st in points)
Labelle's League - 3-2 (3rd in points)
Ultimate Dynasty - 3-2 (6th in power rankings)
Auction practice - 3-2 (4th in power rankings)

18-12 overall

Week 4 Fantasy Round-up

WCOFF Main League - 3-1 (3rd in points...after a huge 206 point week)
WCOFF Draftmasters - 12th place out of 12 (not head to head-ugly thus far even though I think our team is solid)
WCOFF Auction - 1-3 (6th in points)
WCOFF Satellite #1 - 2nd place out of 12 (not head to head)
Champions Club - 4-0 (1st in points)
Labelle's League - 3-1 (2nd in points)
Ultimate Dynasty - 2-2 (6th in power rankings)
Auction practice - 2-2 (7th in power rankings)

15-9 overall

God damn Republican's!!!

On Friday night, Congress passed a port security bill. I don’t know the specifics about the bill, but it was basically a no-brainer to pass. In an underhanded legislative move, Republican representative Bill Frist was able to attach an Internet Gambling Prohibition bill to the bill, and it was able to pass without debate (mostly because the bill was a no-brainer before it, and members of congress are eager to end this session to campaign for the coming elections). Frist tried this same move with a defense bill, but our Senator Levin and a republican Senator blocked that, since the bill had nothing to do with defense. Unfortunately the committee or sponsor of this bill were much more spineless. I even did my part in sending e-mails to both of our senators, receiving basically a form type response from Carl Levin, and nothing from Stabenow.

Incidentally, Frist has recently been in the news as saying that the Taliban needs to be a part of the Afghanistan government. So obviously he is a real intellectual giant.

This bill was also attempted to be passed earlier this summer, on it’s own merit. It passed the Republican controlled congress, but stalled in the senate.

Essentially the bill tries to make it more difficult to fund a gambling account, putting all of the onus on the banks to determine if a transaction is for the purpose of gambling. This is going to be basically impossible to enforce, as the banks don’t have the time or resources to do this adequately. The banks have 270 days to comply, and there are also 270 days to try to figure out a means to enforce this. Importantly, the bill does nothing to the bettor!!!

All of the analysis I have read says this is toothless, and was just a political thing to once again appease the frigging right wing evangelical Christians. Interestingly…but not surprisingly, the bill carves out exceptions for horse racing and lotteries. Also, the bill does not address any existing legalized gambling.

Essentially they are saying that gambling is very, very, very wrong…unless it’s on horse racing, state lotteries, land based casinos, or any of the numerous Indian reservations.

The fallout has been surprisingly bad, already Partypoker has announced that as soon as the bill is signed by Bush (a certainty), they will no longer allow US players to play. A few other sites have followed suit. There have been several sites that will still allow US players however.

I thought that Republican’s were supposed to be about less government and more personal freedoms, but every time I read the news, it’s about them trying to restrict another personal freedom (provided it isn’t gun control).

Sorry for the long rant, as this obviously greatly affects me as it has been a second income for me for a couple of years, as well as a source of enjoyment.

Libertarian (or anything not Republican) in the upcoming election.