Category Archives: Opinions, Analysis, Etc.

The Masters: Catching a Tiger By the Tail

Leave a reply

This time of year always makes me wonder: isn’t it ironic that I like the four golf “Majors” more than most of the major sports?  Let’s digress and get right into the preview, starting with who I think are the week’s best bets.  Keep in mind, this isn’t a measure of who I think will play better but who I’d bet on at their respective odds.

The Favorites
There are only three whose odds separate them from the field, and I like them in this order:

  • Phil Mickelson (10/1) > Rory McIlroy (8/1) > Tiger Woods (3/1)

That’s not to say I don’t think Tiger can/will win.  I’d just rather shoot for the bigger payout.

Continue reading →

My Grantland Fantasy Sports Writer Contest Entry

Leave a reply

Below is my entry into the contest to become Grantland’s fantasy sports writer. I hope it is funny, I hope it stands out, but most of all, I hope they read it. In case they don’t (or in case it’s not good enough), I’ve substituted my real name with [footballandbrackets]. Those of you who want to or know me already are certainly aware that this isn’t the most well-kept secret in the world, but I still am reluctant to “go public” – unless it’s for the opportunity to be affiliated with a huge monster of a site like ESPN. I went with the “gratuitous suck-up” style of writing.

Editor’s Note: I was unfortunately not selected to move on to the next round, but here it is anyway…

The rules said to list the top-five fantasy “players,” but instead of simply writing a boring list of the same five NFL players as thousands of other submissions, I’m striving for uniqueness with a list of Grantland’s top-five fantasy owners and comparing them to the players in my top-five fantasy rankings.

5) Bill Simmons
I pretty much had to have the Editor-in-Chief on this list to have any shot, right?

As the leader of Grantland, Simmons is a “field general,” a guy who blends the highly-varying skills of his many talented weapons into an elite team. Simmons is the Tom Brady of this list.1
Continue reading →

Random Thoughts – The Olympics, A Dumb Commercial, and Fantasy

4 Replies

Five Colored Rings
It seems like the Olympics started a month ago, so allow me to breeze through some early thoughts before getting into the more current ones.

The Opening Ceremonies are so overrated. Outside of the British rock music tribute part, these were boring. And don’t even get me started on the parade with every represented nation. The only thing that could make that parade even slightly exciting is to pause the TV as soon as you see the next country and make the following wagers: Name that Country and Guess How Many Olympians They Have. Remember this advice in four years.

Michael Phelps is awesome, and the fact that he still gets a little misty after each gold medal makes me like him more. But he’s not the greatest Olympian of all-time. Phelps competed in eight events. Lewis competed in four. Phelps’ medal count is 18/2/2 while Lewis’ is 9/1/0. Lewis’ events are also more diversified. The guy ran the 100m and did long jump – a bigger difference in skills than freestyle to butterfly.

I watched some indoor cycling last night. Those guys can MOVE. But in a three-lap race, they both waste a whole lap pedaling in slow motion for “strategic purposes.” I don’t get it. It’s a RACE, fellas!

Continue reading →

British Open Betting Guide – Who Not to Take

Leave a reply

Just like I did for the U.S. Open, I’ll be doing a little British Open preview. Admittedly, I don’t know as much about this course as I did about the Olympic Club (perhaps the difference in doing one major while preparing to leave an old job and then the next while having just started a new one). All odds posted are from the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino and were posted on Yahoo’s excellent Devil Ball Golf Blog today.

A note before we get started: U.S. Open Champ Webb Simpson and 2011 Masters and U.S. Open runner-up Jason Day have withdrawn due to their newborn kids – Simpson’s wife is due in two weeks, and Day’s son was just born so Day is staying home to spend time with him.

I’d like to preface the picks with an Unpopular Opinion Alert. Despite all of its tradition and being the oldest Major Championship, this is my least favorite Major. Call me a narrow-minded American, but I like watching the American game better. There are too many times in this tournament’s rich history where the winner has been decided by who played when the weather was more favorable.

As good as Louis Oosthuizen has been since his 2010 Open Championship, he was fortunate that week to play in good weather conditions all four rounds. Round two, in particular, was brutal weather. The players who played early got the benefit of better weather before the wind and rain picked up in the afternoon. At times, the weather makes this tournament as though part of the field is playing on an entirely different golf course.

The Elite
TIGER WOODS 8/1
RORY McILROY 10/1
LEE WESTWOOD 12/1
LUKE DONALD 15/1

Continue reading →

Housekeeping, Howard, and the Dirty Secret of Social Media

Leave a reply

Yesterday, I started a new “real job,” which means I’m going to writing less until I get a routine set. If I write at all, it will be at night and set to auto-post the next day.

Because of the new time constraints, I haven’t brainstormed any more super original and awesome ideas like The All Movie and TV Fantasy Teams or even been able to do some Mock Drafts or Risers and Fallers, but rest assured, I’m still thinking about sports. Here are some of the thoughts I recently had about things going on in the sports world.

  • Can we just end the Dwight Howard saga already? I consider myself a Magic fan, and even I’m sick of hearing about it. Trade him Brooklyn, trade him to Houston, trade him to L.A. – I don’t care anymore. Wake me when it’s over.
  • On that note, I feel like the biggest thing in sports is also the thing that no one talks about or wants to admit. And that’s the impact social media has had on mainstream media (MSM) and the effect mainstream media has had on the sports fan.

    Don’t get me wrong here, because I’m as big a Twitter junkie as there is, but the instant nature of it leads the MSM to emphasize speed over fact. I’m sick of “sources” and “rumors.” The worst case of this was during College Football conference realignment. Be glad I didn’t have a blog when most of those rumors were formulating because it would’ve turned into endless posts laced with complaints.

    • Continue reading →