A busy week. Ready? Here's what I learned:
Say what you want about the Clintons...They have good speechwriters. HRC must have a comedy writer on staff.
What the hell happened to MSNBC's Keith Olbermann? What an obnoxious, biased creep...Was he always like this on ESPN? A little of Keith goes a long way.
McCain picked whom? From where?
That Joe Biden takes the train daily. (Enough already. We get it!)
Note to Pres. Bush. Wanna save your legacy? Hi-tail it down to the Big Easy and start sand-bagging for Gustav.
Despite yesterday's 3-2 Yankee victory, it's still over.
Take the Corleone approach when drafting your fantasy football squad: it's business not personal.
I re-learned that the writing in Bull Durham is pretty clever.
America hides behind voicemail.
Short of Michael Vick, what do you have to do to get kicked out of the NFL? Say what you want: PacMan Jones is still a thug. And now he plays for my team, the Cowboys.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Attention Fat Ladies--Begin Warbling
Somewhere between Mulholland Drive and Laurel Canyon, former manager Joe Torre must be laughing his ass off today. That's because the Yankee season is over, regardless of today's outcome.
Here's a top 10 list of reasons the 2008 Yankees' playoff run failed:
Regular readers of TDD understand my penchant for Top 10 lists (probably because I'm a frustrated comedy writer)
10.) Girardi's curious managing early..See Kennedy's wash-out start in KC
9.) Injuries. A factor yes, but not the death-knell with these guys
8.) Sixty percent of your rotation is currently Ponson, Pavano and Rasner
7.) The threesome of Joba, Hughes, Kennedy had exactly two wins
6.) Paucity of big hits late; A-ROD has 2 RBIS in innings 8 & 9
5.) When the left-field fans have a better arm than your left-fielder...not good
4.) Too much attention paid to The Mustache, Stray-Rod, and Converting Joba
3.) Besides Mariano, bullpen is more suspect than OJ Simpson
2.) Having 7 DHs is akin to having no DH
1.) Say it with me: Fun, Fun, Fundamentals. It was as foreign to this team as food stamps. The lack of stolen bases, tagging up, playing defense...all of it. Time to throw the dirt on this bunch....
So now that the baseball season has ended....let me leave you with this:
"You know what the difference Is between hitting .250 and hitting
.300? It's one. 25 hits a year in 500 at bats is 50 points. There's 6 months in a season....That's about 25 weeks-you get one extra flare a week-just one-a gork, a ground ball with eyes, a dying quail--just one more dying qual a week and you're in Yankee Stadium". -- Kevin Costner in "Bull Durham"
Here's a top 10 list of reasons the 2008 Yankees' playoff run failed:
Regular readers of TDD understand my penchant for Top 10 lists (probably because I'm a frustrated comedy writer)
10.) Girardi's curious managing early..See Kennedy's wash-out start in KC
9.) Injuries. A factor yes, but not the death-knell with these guys
8.) Sixty percent of your rotation is currently Ponson, Pavano and Rasner
7.) The threesome of Joba, Hughes, Kennedy had exactly two wins
6.) Paucity of big hits late; A-ROD has 2 RBIS in innings 8 & 9
5.) When the left-field fans have a better arm than your left-fielder...not good
4.) Too much attention paid to The Mustache, Stray-Rod, and Converting Joba
3.) Besides Mariano, bullpen is more suspect than OJ Simpson
2.) Having 7 DHs is akin to having no DH
1.) Say it with me: Fun, Fun, Fundamentals. It was as foreign to this team as food stamps. The lack of stolen bases, tagging up, playing defense...all of it. Time to throw the dirt on this bunch....
So now that the baseball season has ended....let me leave you with this:
"You know what the difference Is between hitting .250 and hitting
.300? It's one. 25 hits a year in 500 at bats is 50 points. There's 6 months in a season....That's about 25 weeks-you get one extra flare a week-just one-a gork, a ground ball with eyes, a dying quail--just one more dying qual a week and you're in Yankee Stadium". -- Kevin Costner in "Bull Durham"
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Fantasy Experts? That's Plain Fantasy
By Wayne Davis
Are the Sportsline.com and Yahoo.com really experts or simply fans that offer their opinion? The truth is your opinion is as good, if not better, then theirs.
I'm an avid sports watcher but I also have a full-time gig and a family. Yet I can do the same research as the experts. The only difference is they get their information more quickly. The trick is how you process that information.
Don't believe me?
Here's some examples:
Dave Richard, senior fantasy writer, for Sportsline.com offered his expertise in an article about DeAngelo Williams of the Carolina Panthers. In the August 18th piece, Richard said Williams’ stock is rising after a good performance in a preseason game in which his #1 threat Jonathon Stewart did not play well. Where he did he get this from? Has he heard that Williams will start over Stewart from Coach John Fox or is he offering his opinion? In other words he is providing no expert information but just an opinion that the most novice of Fantasy GM’s could have figured out themselves. I didn’t have to read his article to understand his point: The fact that the Panthers drafted Stewart in the first round tells me that they want him to be the starter. Stewart should easily be higher on your list then Williams, especially in keeper leagues.
Take the RB mess in Cincinnati. As of last week Chris Perry is not mentioned in the preseason periodicals. I remember in 2004 Perry was drafted in the first round a year after Rudi Johnson took over as the starter from Corey Dillon. Perry was drafted to be the Bengals RB of the future but injuries in the next 3 years killed that. So here we are at 2008 and Johnson is struggling with nagging injuries and has definitely lost a step and yet the “experts” say there is a log jam to get carries for the remaining RB’s in Cincy. From Kenny Watson to De De Dorsey, everyone has been mentioned over Perry. But going on the assumption that he is more talented than his comopetition, I drafted him in one of my keeper leagues. Fast forward to today and now the Bengals are shopping Johnson and have all but named Perry the starter.
Good for me, bad for all the novice Fantasy GM’s out there that depend on the so called “experts” who are NO better then I am. It's not gospel just because it's in print.
Wayne Davis is a fantasy guru who wins just about every league he enters. This is his first piece for TDD.
Are the Sportsline.com and Yahoo.com really experts or simply fans that offer their opinion? The truth is your opinion is as good, if not better, then theirs.
I'm an avid sports watcher but I also have a full-time gig and a family. Yet I can do the same research as the experts. The only difference is they get their information more quickly. The trick is how you process that information.
Don't believe me?
Here's some examples:
Dave Richard, senior fantasy writer, for Sportsline.com offered his expertise in an article about DeAngelo Williams of the Carolina Panthers. In the August 18th piece, Richard said Williams’ stock is rising after a good performance in a preseason game in which his #1 threat Jonathon Stewart did not play well. Where he did he get this from? Has he heard that Williams will start over Stewart from Coach John Fox or is he offering his opinion? In other words he is providing no expert information but just an opinion that the most novice of Fantasy GM’s could have figured out themselves. I didn’t have to read his article to understand his point: The fact that the Panthers drafted Stewart in the first round tells me that they want him to be the starter. Stewart should easily be higher on your list then Williams, especially in keeper leagues.
Take the RB mess in Cincinnati. As of last week Chris Perry is not mentioned in the preseason periodicals. I remember in 2004 Perry was drafted in the first round a year after Rudi Johnson took over as the starter from Corey Dillon. Perry was drafted to be the Bengals RB of the future but injuries in the next 3 years killed that. So here we are at 2008 and Johnson is struggling with nagging injuries and has definitely lost a step and yet the “experts” say there is a log jam to get carries for the remaining RB’s in Cincy. From Kenny Watson to De De Dorsey, everyone has been mentioned over Perry. But going on the assumption that he is more talented than his comopetition, I drafted him in one of my keeper leagues. Fast forward to today and now the Bengals are shopping Johnson and have all but named Perry the starter.
Good for me, bad for all the novice Fantasy GM’s out there that depend on the so called “experts” who are NO better then I am. It's not gospel just because it's in print.
Wayne Davis is a fantasy guru who wins just about every league he enters. This is his first piece for TDD.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
A word about the Minnesota Twins...
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire gets a lot of credit for keeping the Twins in the AL Central race this year. A lot of people forget they lost Johan Santana AND Torii Hunter.Think about that: the Twins lose their best pitcher and their All-Star starting centerfielder...and all they do is continue to win. Remarkable really.
Current Minnesota Rotation: Perkins, Liriano, Blackburn, Slowey, and Baker--Sounds like a law firm doesn't it?
Current Yankee Rotation: Mussina, Pettitte...GULP...Rasner, Pavano and Ponson. Wow. How did things get so bad?
Money can only take you so far....How are the Twins doing it?
Current Minnesota Rotation: Perkins, Liriano, Blackburn, Slowey, and Baker--Sounds like a law firm doesn't it?
Current Yankee Rotation: Mussina, Pettitte...GULP...Rasner, Pavano and Ponson. Wow. How did things get so bad?
Money can only take you so far....How are the Twins doing it?
Monday, August 25, 2008
Antiques Roadshow Comes to Connecticut
They came by the thousands slowly filling up the cavernous Exhibit Hall. They came clutching their heirlooms, collectibles, and other treasures. Walking the line you saw thousands of pictures, furniture pieces, lamps, tables, even a totem pole. They all had hopes that they just might be sitting on untold riches.
Back after an eight-year absence, some 5,000 people descended upon Hartford’s Convention Center last Saturday to get a free appraisal from the more than 70 experts from auction house such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s. They specialized in furniture, glass, linens, sports memorabilia, art and more. People from Connecticut and Massachusetts and Rhode Island came and waited in line—some for two-plus hours. Some traveled great distances. Gary and Darlene Wincuin traveled from Kentucky to appraised four pieces of Canadian Folk art from the reclusive artist Felicien Levesque.
Because of the demand for the show, not everyone interested in attending can come. The show uses a lottery system of sorts. Out of 11,000 applicants, 3,400 were selected.
Hartford's the last stop for the 13th season after a season that brought the show to Palm Springs, Calif., Dallas, Wichita, Chattanooga and Grand Rapids.
"You'd be surprised," said Judy Mathews, the show’s publicist. "You'll see New England Silver in Michigan. You never know what things will turn up. It just goes to show you what an itinerant country we are that we bring our things with us.”"
The Antiques Roadshow has helped unearth some national treasures. During the 2001 episode in Tucson, AZ, a man arrived with a plain looking Navajo blanket. The owner told one of the show’s appraisers that he generally kept the blanket on the back of a chair. The appraiser deemed that the blanket was an extremely rare artifact from about 1840-1860. Appraised at $350,000 -$500,000, the blanket is the most valuable appraisal in the show’s history. “It was a national treasure,” says Dan Farrell, consulting producer. “It was an important piece even in its time.”
During Antiques Roadshow’s second season, a retired New Jersey School teacher who unwittingly purchased one of two existing French gaming tables at a tag sale thirty years earlier for $25. Appraisers identified the table as a federal -style gaming table made by John and Thomas Seymour of Boston in the late 1700s. She later sold the gaming table for $541,000 at auction. The piece was so rare that only one other exists. Where? The Smithsonian Institution. These rags to riches stories only enhanced the show’s popularity among the viewing public.
Marsha Bemko, executive producer, says its equal pats reality and story telling. “The variety of objects, people and stories that make up each show. So there’s something in it for everyone,” she said. Then there’s the fact that each appraisal segment involves two complementary stories: a personal history from the owner of an object and the professional analysis and context provided by the expert.. “Finally, we present all that useful information in a three-minute or less packaged with a little drama at the end, when a value is placed on the object.
Of course, not all “finds” on the Roadshow are priceless treasures. “I’m more surprised by the odd things that people bring in,” said Ramona Miller-O’Hara, one the show’s pre-appraisers. “I’ve seen human hair collections and a shrunken monkey head. One couple believed they had the beads that purchased Manhattan Island and the provenance (the supporting paperwork) to back it up.”
Back after an eight-year absence, some 5,000 people descended upon Hartford’s Convention Center last Saturday to get a free appraisal from the more than 70 experts from auction house such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s. They specialized in furniture, glass, linens, sports memorabilia, art and more. People from Connecticut and Massachusetts and Rhode Island came and waited in line—some for two-plus hours. Some traveled great distances. Gary and Darlene Wincuin traveled from Kentucky to appraised four pieces of Canadian Folk art from the reclusive artist Felicien Levesque.
Because of the demand for the show, not everyone interested in attending can come. The show uses a lottery system of sorts. Out of 11,000 applicants, 3,400 were selected.
Hartford's the last stop for the 13th season after a season that brought the show to Palm Springs, Calif., Dallas, Wichita, Chattanooga and Grand Rapids.
"You'd be surprised," said Judy Mathews, the show’s publicist. "You'll see New England Silver in Michigan. You never know what things will turn up. It just goes to show you what an itinerant country we are that we bring our things with us.”"
The Antiques Roadshow has helped unearth some national treasures. During the 2001 episode in Tucson, AZ, a man arrived with a plain looking Navajo blanket. The owner told one of the show’s appraisers that he generally kept the blanket on the back of a chair. The appraiser deemed that the blanket was an extremely rare artifact from about 1840-1860. Appraised at $350,000 -$500,000, the blanket is the most valuable appraisal in the show’s history. “It was a national treasure,” says Dan Farrell, consulting producer. “It was an important piece even in its time.”
During Antiques Roadshow’s second season, a retired New Jersey School teacher who unwittingly purchased one of two existing French gaming tables at a tag sale thirty years earlier for $25. Appraisers identified the table as a federal -style gaming table made by John and Thomas Seymour of Boston in the late 1700s. She later sold the gaming table for $541,000 at auction. The piece was so rare that only one other exists. Where? The Smithsonian Institution. These rags to riches stories only enhanced the show’s popularity among the viewing public.
Marsha Bemko, executive producer, says its equal pats reality and story telling. “The variety of objects, people and stories that make up each show. So there’s something in it for everyone,” she said. Then there’s the fact that each appraisal segment involves two complementary stories: a personal history from the owner of an object and the professional analysis and context provided by the expert.. “Finally, we present all that useful information in a three-minute or less packaged with a little drama at the end, when a value is placed on the object.
Of course, not all “finds” on the Roadshow are priceless treasures. “I’m more surprised by the odd things that people bring in,” said Ramona Miller-O’Hara, one the show’s pre-appraisers. “I’ve seen human hair collections and a shrunken monkey head. One couple believed they had the beads that purchased Manhattan Island and the provenance (the supporting paperwork) to back it up.”
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