Wife?

Maybe baby pork first, and Fantasy Basketball second. Wife is useful for few things I suppose... she's a close second.

I just drafted in another league of mine, meet... The White Meat Pork, where I only drafted all white players. United, they might become the first All-White team to win a fantasy championship.

Starring:

*J. Kidd as my PG. I still not sure if he's black or white, but he's light skin.
*K.Hinrich as my SG. He's the ultimate white boy.
*J.Will as my G. I'll take that back... J.Will is the ultimate white boy. wait, I think Steve Nash is whiter, but he's not on my team though.
*AK47 as my SF. He's a white russian who can do everything.
*T.Murphy as my PF. No comment.
*M.Dunleavy as my F. No comment neither.
*Ilgauskas as my C. One of my 5 white Centers.
*Przybilla as my Util. He's the second white C.
*Okur as my Util. He's the third white C.
*Radmanovich as my last Util. He lost his job to Evans, a big African American dude.
*Zaza, my fourth white C. Brezec is on the FA, maybe he can be my 6th white C.
*Chris Andersen, my last C is the Birdman. He still trying to dunk since last year's All Star.
*Turkey Glue, it was between him or Pat Garrity. I needed to have an Orlando Magic on my team.

Believe it or not, I think my white team has a chance to win it all... and I preranked my players.

Don't take me wrong... I'm no racist. I'm chinese, but YAO is the only fantasy worthy asian player in the NBA and I could not go with a one man team... maybe in the year 2020.

Yeah I'm an idot, so what?

FINALLY I am just now getting around to joining this blog (thank you hurricane Wilma). This be the 1st chance for me to look at my team, I must say this: meh. Me team is very "meh." take a look:

PG B. Davis (GS - PG)
SG J. Richardson (GS - SG)
G B. Gordon (Chi - PG,SG)
SF C. Anthony (Den - SF)
PF S. Abdur-Rahim (Sac - SF,PF)
F M. Sweetney (Chi - PF)
C P. Brown (NOK - PF,C)
C Y. Ming (Hou - C)
Util R. Felton (Cha - PG,SG)
Util D. Mason (NOK - SG,SF)
BN B. Wells (Sac - SG)
BN B. Sura (Hou - PG,SG)

The thing with pre-ranking, is that it's always a terrible idea. Looking at it now, I would have drafted a much different team if I were there. In fact, let's take a look at the team I would have drafted.

14th pick(original pick: Baron Davis)- A very tough pick. With Arenas (the guy I was eyeing) off the board, I think I'll stick with this pick. Sure he's injury prone, but no nuts no glory, right? He was great down the stretch, and here's hoping he can keep that up for a full season.

15th pick(original pick: Yao Ming)- This isn't a bad pick, but I like Ron Artest here. If I'm already gambling the season on B.Diddy, why not take the craziest person in the league? Not that upset with this pick.

42nd pick(original pick: Jason Richardson)- Don't like this pick. J-Rich's numbers actually went down last year with the arrival of Davis. Wait... why am I telling this to people in my league when I want to trade him? Anyhoooo... I think if I'm there, I'm taking Iggy with this pick. Yeah, I'm a homer, so what?

43rd pick(original pick: Carmelo Anthony)- Am fine with this pick. As long as Karl is still in a contract with the devil, the Nuggets will be good. He was real hot down the stretch, and hopefully, with Vashon back, he'll stop taking three's altogther... but probably not.

70th & 71st picks(original picks: Shareef Abdur-Rahim & Ben Gordon)- If SAR's elbow is fine, this is a good pick. But the man hasn't been healthy since '02. Not a big Gordon fan, would like to see him boost rebounding or assists. Guys still on the board who I like more are Troy Murphy, Bobby Simmons, Luke Ridnour.

98th & 99th picks(original picks: P.J Brown & Raymond Felton)- Love P.J Brown. Definately would have picked him there. Not sold on Felton, because they do have Knight & Hart who put up good numbers last year. I know Felton is much more talented, but he may not get a whole lot of minutes early on. Chris Kamen & hane Battier are 2 guys still on the board here who I like.

126th & 127th picks (original picks: Bonzi Wells & Michael Sweetney)- I drafted Bonzi effing Wells? Just kill me now. Who wants to bet Francisco Garcia is starting ahead of him by christmas? As for Sweetney, he can't create his own shot, but he does get boards. Per 40 minutes last year heaveraged 17/11 & almost a block. I know I'm grabbing at straws here, but it helps. Guys I like still on the board: Raja Bell,Zaza Pachulia, Antonio Daniels, Shaun Livingston,

154th & 155th picks(original picks: Bob Sura & Desmond Mason)- The Mason pick looks greatnow after the trade, but I'm not happy with the Sura pick. Alston will run the point, but hopefully Wesley's knees are hurt to the point where he can't stand around and launch three's.I think Luther Head is good enough to earn minutes at the two at some point this season. I may have taken Villanueva here instead.


Not a terrible draft I guess, but I wishI could have been there to mock Holeydonut's every pick. Oh well, there's always time to mock his waiver wire moves.

Oh no, The Zen is going to ruin my fantasy season

Sometimes, I think the NBA is more interesting for what happens off the court. Really, for most games, if you've seen one - you've basically seen them all. Heck, even the announcers start to repeat themselves after about 10 games into the season.

So, when I heard that Phil Jackson was going to return to coach the Lakers to victory this year, I was excited. Phil Jackson = NBA drama. Things were looking up this year! I was afraid I'd have to hear 10,000 pieces of commentary about how Yao was very tall and how Earl Boykins was very short. But, regarding Phil, I had two lingering concerns.

The first thought in my head was that Phil is so cool - he wants to get 10 rings! He wasn't always the best coach out there, but his ability to actually get his best players to play at their potential resulted in a lot of shiny pieces of bling. Of course, having MJ, Pippen, Shaq, and Kobe could potentially result in even me getting a 300 karat shiny thing on my hand, but that's just my pipe dream.

But then the second thought that hit me was - Has Phil Jackson actually gone more crazy than he already was? The man's insanity in the past was just enough to make him a genius. Sometimes, I thought he was in his own little world - but he magically hypnotized his players into playing just because they had no clue what else they should have been doing. The really tall head coach had enough sanity left to boost away from the land-of-chaos that is Los Angeles...... but something drew him back..... I think the man really has gone bonkers.

Here's a guy who's gone through his coaching career with lines such as... If you meet the Buddha in the lane, feed him the ball... The Power of We is stronger than the Power of Me... Dennis (Rodman) has given up his whole life - wrestling, movies, MTV. Think of the things he's had to give up to play basketball.

And through all this, he was freaking brilliant. Unfortunately, my worst fear has come true. Phil is now, officially, bonkers. Today, this is what I'm greeted with when I do some fun reading about my #1 pick:
"He (Kobe) can become like a thumb that you need to suck when trouble's going on," Jackson said. "You just stick it back in your mouth. We don't want to do that with Kobe."

Hey Phil - I have news for you. Michael Jordan was the biggest "suck" that you had your entire coaching career, and he won you six bloody championships. MJ had a lot of sucking going on every single time you needed a big shot, a big play, or someone to help distract the media from Dennis. Now, in 2005, you want Kobe ready for sucking! Kobe should hear that sucking sound all the time without you getting concerned. Why else is Kobe a superstar while the rest of the guys on the squad named Smush, Sasha, and Laron are going to be forgotten faster than last week's lunch menu? Suck on Kobe some more goddamnt, I drafted Kobe and I was expecting the sucking!

This has been translated into Kobe's grand total of three pointers in the preseason of ...... zero. The new "wing man" in LA is not taking any shots from downtown and is looking to pass as his first option. Oh. My. God.

I think the more important thing is that Kobe needs Lamar and Kwame to just play without sucking too much - is that too much to ask? Given Phil's new train of thought, I want Kobe and suck to go hand in hand, or my entire fantasy team is going to end up sucking.

Draft of the Pork

I have no strategy coming into the draft... all I know is that I had to have Dwight Howard no matter what since I'm a big time Magic fan... I even considered taking him with my number 1 pick.

Anyway,

1 Dirk - was an easy choice here since he fell to me at number 5. I wanted AK or T-Mac at this spot, but don't mind having the Dirk Diggler.

2 Paul Pierce - I regret this pick... I'll lose in TO every week for sure, but his overall numbers could not be passed at this spot. I considered Hughes here and maybe I should have.

3 D How - D Who? D Howard. Yeah, I got him.

4 Rasheed - Hmmm, don't really like him, but I was desperate to get a decent Center at this point.

5 Stephen Jackson - I figure I needed some 3s... and between him and Sheed, that just killed my FG%

6 Marquis Daniels - I was going to get Childress since I penciled him as my sleeper... but saw Marquis on the board and I heard from somewhere that this year he's healthy and he has triple double potential every night. Now I have two Mavericks. I hope Childress comes back to me on the next round

7 Amare - Childress was drafted right before my pick... argh... and then I made a desperate move... picking an injured player thinking you'll always have hit or miss in your draft anyway and Amare is a hit when he comes back for fantasy playoffs. Thinking I will stash him in the IL and pick up a FA. Anyway, just found out there might not be an IL in yahoo. So this is a wasted pick if that's the case. Should have picked Ridnour at this spot ( I don't have a PG yet)

8 D. Miles - I hope he breaks out this year and pumps his fist on his forehead... a lot.

9 L. Wright - needed a C, no other explanation.

10 Telfair - I really wanted TJ Ford here but was taken few picks before mine. Telfair is my starting PG at this point. Not a good thing.

11 Sam Cassel - I needed another PG. I don't like Sam I am, but supposedly Livingston is injured, so old man gets to run the point.

12 K. Cato - last pick and I needed another C and since I'm a Magic fan... anyway, already dropped him for Turkey Glue.

Overall, I'm content with the team, except for the Amare pick. I'd say B-

On another note: just moved to a new home, no cable (no TNT or ESPN), no internet, wife is giving birth soon, 2 jobs (with supervised internet), 1 fantasy football team and 3 fantasy basketball teams... life is so complicated.

Basketball Dress Code...

Yeah, this is an issue that is going to get talked about to death this year - which I think is doing the game a bigger disservice than if they just Iverson saunter around in his baggy clothes and chains. I mean, if you don’t like him, just root for someone else. Changing Iverson’s clothes will do little in changing his attitude, and fans aren’t stupid.

I don't think the NBA had an image problem because some players looked kind of disheveled. I think the NBA has an image problem because the talent of players has been diluted from having too many high school players getting rushed into the NBA or the increasing push for monster dunks to take importance over a well executed screen and roll.

But, I guess the NBA is just another "business" and many businesses have dress codes. So, if Stern thinks this is in the best interest of preserving his relationships with players and fans, so be it.

The only bit of the new rules that I think are potentially troublesome refer to the issues regarding the "chains" over the clothes. Depending on how crazy Stern goes in enforcing the dress code, I may be inclined to just think this is another new rule that isn't going to be enforced. It'll sort of be like that silly Salary Cap thing. It'll be inevitable that a guy like VC or Kobe will get caught in some pose with a reporter... and if Stern starts tossing around suspensions for this, I'm going to be very disappointed.

I also hope they don't create a committee of fashion police who fine people for wearing "ugly" clothes. Yeah, Shaq already looks funny - but if he gets penalized for it, I think Stern's going to have a tough time justifying his new dress code to anybody. Really, I think having the players looking more professional is a good thing. It just depends on how far they go in making sure everyone conforms to a utopian image of what that should be.

On top of this, the whole dress code seems poorly timed. The NBA just had its new labor relations with the Union addressed over the summer - and to just toss this in there right after a contract was signed seems rather underhanded. Stern should expect backlash from this, but such things are a topic for someone else to discuss. I just want to watch basketball and cheer for my players. I hope that will continue this season.

Getting Stuck with Pick #6

Live fantasy drafts have to be the second-most entertaining event of any fantasy season (the first-most entertaining is the moment you get to gloat after coming out as the winner of the league). The time just before a draft begins is the most fun; everybody is supposed to have the same chance of winning and everybody's usually in a good mood. Managers have all scouted out and ranked their players, Strategists have developed some contingency plans for cornerstones of their team, and everyone is all set to trash talk their way to the top.

For those in in keeper leagues, you've probably already set up your draft order and you've already scoped out potential players your first few rounds of the draft. But, when the draft order is random, things get intense the moment you realize that you'll be picking first, last, or in the middle. Unfortunately for me, I came into this draft to find that I was stuck in the middle - pick six. Ugh. Everybody after the top 3 picks always says they have the worst pick ever - but really, I have the worst pick... I'm the first loser of the league.

So, I'm sure you're wondering.... Why do you hate this particular middle-pick? My answer is probably silly, but I think it's extremely frustrating. With pick #6, You get to be the first owner to choose a player that "isn't super." Everyone argues over the top 5 fantasy options. There are probably more people worried about whether or not Marion is #2, #3, or #4 than the entire season-attendance total for the Atlanta Hawks. But, if you have the Sixth pick, this means you have to be the first owner to "settle" on someone who isn't a top pick. On top of that, you have to wait a really long time before the second round pick, which means you get stuck pairing a not-so-great first round pick with a not-so-great second round pick.

In the end, I took Kobe Bryant with my first pick. I feel like I sold a bit of my soul for a flashy #8. Sure, Kobe has championship rings, but that man's grin makes me cringe. Yeah, I'm sure the guy who got Baron Davis in the first round (Creek, I'm talking to you) would rather have Kobe, that doesn't make me feel any better. Lucky for me, I'm in Indiana and got to snag my favorite Pacer in the second. Kobe and Artest are going to give me a season full of victories or a season full of twisted ankles and suspensions. I think my team looks petty good on paper; but then again, everyone's team always looks pretty good after a new draft.

So, if you get stuck with the sixth pick - I hope an owner ahead of you questions the value of Dirk and the potentially floppy-haired German drops to you, or else you'll be cursing that you have the most annoying draft pick in fantasy sports.

Draft Results (By Team)

Each individual roster is in order of how the players were drafted by that Owner:

- Asian Sensation -
T. McGrady
V. Carter
S. Francis
Ku. Thomas
C. Boozer
C. Butler
A. Bogut
E. Jones
D. Jones
M. James
C. Mihm
C. Duhon


- gyan4248 -
S. Marion
P. Stojakovic
R. Lewis
K. Hinrich
K. Martin
S. Dalembert
D. Stoudamire
C. Kaman
M. Dunleavy
Z. Pachulia
N. Mohammed
D. Harris


- Iversonxp ftw -
A. Iverson
R. Allen
R. Jefferson
J. Howard
C. Paul
R. Hamilton
G. Hill
K. Brown
U. Haslem
B. Haywood
S. Livingston
J. Dixon


- Mongol Rampage -
A. Kirilenko
B. Wallace
L. Odom
K. Korver
D. Marshall
D. Gooden
J. Childress
B. Knight
E. Griffin
J. Williams
D. Christie
M. Olowokandi

- Officer Shaq MBPD -
B. Davis
Y. Ming
J. Richardson
C. Anthony
S. Abdur-Rahim
B. Gordon
P. Brown
R. Felton
B. Wells
M. Sweetney
B. Sura
D. Mason


- Petro -
D. Wade
E. Brand
E. Okafor
A. Iguodala
J. Przybilla
G. Wallace
M. Miller
J. Tinsley
L. Deng
J. Posey
B. Nachbar
M. Ely


- Pork Attack -
D. Nowitzki
P. Pierce
D. Howard
R. Wallace
S. Jackson
M. Daniels
A. Stoudemire
D. Miles
L. Wright
S. Telfair
S. Cassell
K. Cato


- Rob Babcock -
J. Kidd
S. Nash
M. Camby
Z. Randolph
M. Okur
J. Crawford
R. Alston
M. Peterson
A. Jefferson
P. Brezec
D. Granger
C. Villanueva


- Rosenhaus' Holdouts -
K. Bryant
R. Artest
Z. Ilgauskas
J. Terry
T. Chandler
T. Prince
L. Ridnour
T. Ratliff
JR Smith
C. Frye
R. McCants
J. Jackson


- Sakuraba -
G. Arenas
B. Miller
J. Johnson
C. Maggette
C. Webber
M. Jaric
T. Parker
Q. Richardson
V. Radmanovic
N. Hilario
M. Williams
A. Foyle

- Shockwave Pulsar -
T. Duncan
J. O'Neal
M. Ginobili
A. Miller
W. Szczerbiak
R. LaFrentz
R. Davis
N. Krstic
Ja. Jones
T. Ford
S. Jasikevicius
Ke. Thomas


- Stamens -
S. O'Neal
P. Gasol
C. Billups
A. Jamison
C. Mobley
J. Rose
J. Nelson
I. Diogu
E. Dampier
R. Bell
J. Foster
M. Webster


- Toes -
L. James
L. Hughes
S. Marbury
M. Redd
Josh Smith
E. Curry
A. Harrington
A. Walker
Joe Smith
A. Daniels
C. Andersen
J. Hayes


- Vegibear -
K. Garnett
C. Bosh
M. Bibby
J. Magloire
S. Swift
T. Murphy
B. Simmons
S. Battier
D. Williams
V. Lenard
M. Jackson
J. Stackhouse

Draft Results (By Pick)

(Autopick selections marked with an asterisk)

1 / Toes / L. James
2 / vegibear / K. Garnett
3 / gyan4248 / S. Marion
4 / Mongol Rampage / A. Kirilenko
5 / Pork Attack / D. Nowitzki
6 / Rosenhaus' Holdouts / K. Bryant
7 / Stamens / S. O'Neal
8 / Asian Sensation / T. McGrady
9 / iversonxp ftw / A. Iverson
10 / Shockwave Pulsar / T. Duncan
11 / Petro / D. Wade
12 / Sakuraba / G. Arenas
13 / Rob Babcock / J. Kidd
14 / Officer Shaq MBPD / B. Davis *

15 / Officer Shaq MBPD / Y. Ming *
16 / Rob Babcock / S. Nash
17 / Sakuraba / B. Miller
18 / Petro / E. Brand
19 / Shockwave Pulsar / J. O'Neal
20 / iversonxp ftw / R. Allen
21 / Asian Sensation / V. Carter
22 / Stamens / P. Gasol
23 / Rosenhaus' Holdouts / R. Artest
24 / Pork Attack / P. Pierce
25 / Mongol Rampage / B. Wallace
26 / gyan4248 / P. Stojakovic
27 / vegibear / C. Bosh
28 / Toes / L. Hughes

29 / Toes / S. Marbury
30 / vegibear / M. Bibby
31 / gyan4248 / R. Lewis
32 / Mongol Rampage / L. Odom
33 / Pork Attack / D. Howard
34 / Rosenhaus' Holdouts / Z. Ilgauskas
35 / Stamens / C. Billups
36 / Asian Sensation / S. Francis
37 / iversonxp ftw / R. Jefferson *
38 / Shockwave Pulsar / M. Ginobili
39 / Petro / E. Okafor
40 / Sakuraba / J. Johnson
41 / Rob Babcock / M. Camby
42 / Officer Shaq MBPD / J. Richardson *

43 / Officer Shaq MBPD / C. Anthony *
44 / Rob Babcock / Z. Randolph
45 / Sakuraba / C. Maggette
46 / Petro / A. Iguodala
47 / Shockwave Pulsar / A. Miller
48 / iversonxp ftw / J. Howard *
49 / Asian Sensation / Ku. Thomas
50 / Stamens / A. Jamison
51 / Rosenhaus' Holdouts / J. Terry
52 / Pork Attack / R. Wallace
53 / Mongol Rampage / K. Korver
54 / gyan4248 / K. Hinrich
55 / vegibear / J. Magloire
56 / Toes / M. Redd

57 / Toes / Josh Smith
58 / vegibear / S. Swift
59 / gyan4248 / K. Martin
60 / Mongol Rampage / D. Marshall
61 / Pork Attack / S. Jackson
62 / Rosenhaus' Holdouts / T. Chandler
63 / Stamens / C. Mobley
64 / Asian Sensation / C. Boozer
65 / iversonxp ftw / C. Paul *
66 / Shockwave Pulsar / W. Szczerbiak
67 / Petro / J. Przybilla
68 / Sakuraba / C. Webber
69 / Rob Babcock / M. Okur
70 / Officer Shaq MBPD / S. Abdur-Rahim *

71 / Officer Shaq MBPD / B. Gordon *
72 / Rob Babcock / J. Crawford
73 / Sakuraba / M. Jaric
74 / Petro / G. Wallace
75 / Shockwave Pulsar / R. LaFrentz
76 / iversonxp ftw / R. Hamilton *
77 / Asian Sensation / C. Butler
78 / Stamens / J. Rose
79 / Rosenhaus' Holdouts / T. Prince
80 / Pork Attack / M. Daniels
81 / Mongol Rampage / D. Gooden
82 / gyan4248 / S. Dalembert
83 / vegibear / T. Murphy
84 / Toes / E. Curry

85 / Toes / A. Harrington
86 / vegibear / B. Simmons
87 / gyan4248 / D. Stoudamire
88 / Mongol Rampage / J. Childress
89 / Pork Attack / A. Stoudemire
90 / Rosenhaus' Holdouts / L. Ridnour
91 / Stamens / J. Nelson
92 / Asian Sensation / A. Bogut
93 / iversonxp ftw / G. Hill *
94 / Shockwave Pulsar / R. Davis
95 / Petro / M. Miller
96 / Sakuraba / T. Parker
97 / Rob Babcock / R. Alston
98 / Officer Shaq MBPD / P. Brown *

99 / Officer Shaq MBPD / R. Felton *
100 / Rob Babcock / M. Peterson
101 / Sakuraba / Q. Richardson
102 / Petro / J. Tinsley
103 / Shockwave Pulsar / N. Krstic
104 / iversonxp ftw / K. Brown *
105 / Asian Sensation / E. Jones
106 / Stamens / I. Diogu
107 / Rosenhaus' Holdouts / T. Ratliff
108 / Pork Attack / D. Miles
109 / Mongol Rampage / B. Knight
110 / gyan4248 / C. Kaman
111 / vegibear / S. Battier
112 / Toes / A. Walker

113 / Toes / Joe Smith
114 / vegibear / D. Williams
115 / gyan4248 / M. Dunleavy
116 / Mongol Rampage / E. Griffin
117 / Pork Attack / L. Wright
118 / Rosenhaus' Holdouts / JR Smith
119 / Stamens / E. Dampier
120 / Asian Sensation / D. Jones
121 / iversonxp ftw / U. Haslem *
122 / Shockwave Pulsar / Ja. Jones
123 / Petro / L. Deng
124 / Sakuraba / V. Radmanovic
125 / Rob Babcock / A. Jefferson
126 / Officer Shaq MBPD / B. Wells *

127 / Officer Shaq MBPD / M. Sweetney *
128 / Rob Babcock / P. Brezec
129 / Sakuraba / N. Hilario
130 / Petro / J. Posey
131 / Shockwave Pulsar / T. Ford
132 / iversonxp ftw / B. Haywood *
133 / Asian Sensation / M. James
134 / Stamens / R. Bell
135 / Rosenhaus' Holdouts / C. Frye
136 / Pork Attack / S. Telfair
137 / Mongol Rampage / J. Williams
138 / gyan4248 / Z. Pachulia
139 / vegibear / V. Lenard
140 / Toes / A. Daniels

141 / Toes / C. Andersen
142 / vegibear / M. Jackson
143 / gyan4248 / N. Mohammed
144 / Mongol Rampage / D. Christie
145 / Pork Attack / S. Cassell
146 / Rosenhaus' Holdouts / R. McCants
147 / Stamens / J. Foster
148 / Asian Sensation / C. Mihm
149 / iversonxp ftw / S. Livingston *
150 / Shockwave Pulsar / S. Jasikevicius
151 / Petro / B. Nachbar
152 / Sakuraba / M. Williams
153 / Rob Babcock / D. Granger
154 / Officer Shaq MBPD / B. Sura *

155 / Officer Shaq MBPD / D. Mason *
156 / Rob Babcock / C. Villanueva
157 / Sakuraba / A. Foyle
158 / Petro / M. Ely
159 / Shockwave Pulsar / Ke. Thomas
160 / iversonxp ftw / J. Dixon *
161 / Asian Sensation / C. Duhon
162 / Stamens / M. Webster
163 / Rosenhaus' Holdouts / J. Jackson
164 / Pork Attack / K. Cato
165 / Mongol Rampage / M. Olowokandi
166 / gyan4248 / D. Harris
167 / vegibear / J. Stackhouse
168 / Toes / J. Hayes