sports Archives - Webconsuls

What is Fantasy Football?

Friday August 21, 2009

Reading Time: 3 minutes

As the NFL season approaches, many of us sports geeks play a game where we draft our own team of offensive players who gain points to determine a winner within our own made up leagues. Especially if you are in a city without an NFL franchise to root for (like me in LA- ridiculous), Fantasy Football brings an added element to the NFL season. These league are provided by CBS, ESPN, and Yahoo just to name a few.

This is a great way to learn about other teams and moreover have a vested interest in more than just your city’s team. And since many leagues are play for free, there isn’t a lot of risk.

Some leagues have been continued from year to year with the same set of owners/managers of these created teams. My family and friends league has existed for 9 years with the same set of guys, and that is average.

Certain very competitive leagues can take themselves very seriously and include a entrance fee of hundreds of dollars. Other leagues expand the points system of scoring to include team defenses and even individual defensive players.

Drafting in fantasy leagues can be 1 of a few different types. Drafting players can start carte blanche every year, others can allow teams to keep a number of players and still others decide to auction players off. You can see how developed this hobby has gotten.

Maurice Jones-Drew for the number 1 pick. Agree or disagree?

Reading Time: 5 minutes

About six weeks ago I broke down and got an iPhone – a 3GS no less. I moved up, way up, from a razor cellphone.

I think the iPhone is about the coolest thing. When I was on vacation I was connected to news, weather, sports, and email without TV or computer. After I made a wrong turn I typed in the name of the restaurant I was seeking and the abbreviation for the state and got directions from my current location. I have an app that tells me about LA traffic and another about speed traps. It keeps my contacts and calendar in sync with my gmail account. I took a picture at the Dodgers and emailed it to friends and relatives.

With apps the iPhone can get constantly more powerful, easier to use, and more fun. I just bought an app that gives grill recipes, shopping lists, and video tips. So my iPhone should get better and better.

However it is not perfect. Here are some areas for improvement.

1. Better phone coverage. The iPhone locks you in to AT and T. I don’t get service at my home in California, nor does my daughter in Pennsylvania. One complaint that I hear pretty regularly is that the worst thing about the iPhone is the phone.

2. Having birthdays in my contacts appear on my calendar. Evidently you can do this with a mac but I am in XP land. I know I can buy an app that lists birthdays or something but I want them to show on my calendar. I have found a free birthday app that seems to work fine but it does not put the birthdays on the calendar.

3. A way to test apps. There may be a zillion apps. There also seem to be about a million sites that rate apps. And the ratings and comments can be all over the map.
While apps are generally inexpensive how will I know if my experience will be “Love this app” or “Complete waste of time.” Why now allow a free download for a week and then disable the app if not purchased?

4. A better battery. Maybe this as good as it gets with batteries. I know I can buy something to extend the life. Hopefully future iPhone will have better batteries.

5. Linkage between the calendar and maps. If I pull up a name using the contact app and touch the address then I see the address on the map app and can get directions. However if I go to the calendar app, find a meeting, and touch the address I get nothing. I would think it would be easy to get the location of the meeting on the map app.

What ideas do you have for iPhone improvement?

I hope to add my list in future posts.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

This last weekend my niece participated in the 2009 California Outrigger State Championships at Leadbetter Beach in Santa Barbara. It wasn’t until Ashlyn shared a video off YouTube that I developed a whole new appreciation for her sport. What I adore is that she is so passionate about her racing. She is out there in the ocean working hard at something she loves and having a great time with her friends.

And congratulations to her and her team of 6 from Dana Outrigger the new 2009 Sprint Champions for their age division. Go girls go!

Here is a video of how long distance paddlers jump out of the canoe, new paddlers jump in. The canoe never stops.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Friday the coast of California was hit by a mid summer swell sent our way from the other side of the globe. Huge surf closed the parking lot at Aliso Creek, filling it with sand from waves crashing way over the high tide line. Aliso Creek the looked “just like Waimea shorebreak.”

But our destination was further up the California Riviera. The sleeping giant we wanted to experience (as well as check off Lisa’s bucket list of things to see) was Newport Beach’s the Wedge.

The Wedge is a monster of what most consider a body surfing wave. Brought about by the building of a breakwater, the Wedge is a killer, as we found out when we got to the beach that day. We parked a mile away and started walking in, the spray from the surf could be felt on the breeze.

I knew we were in for a show.

These are the free & easy surfers. They don’t look much different than other people. But they live differently. To them the most important thing in life is the sun and the surf. This is what they enjoy, this is what they live for. Surfers live the life they love. And love the life they live. Free & Easy.

From the breakwater past the second lifeguard stand people had come from far and wide to see the ocean do her thing.

Here are one of the sets that came thru while we were there, only 6 guys in the 70*+ water and waves with 20″+ faces. If anyone asked if they could go in you can hear the lifeguards response:

“If you have to ask, you can’t go.”

Reading Time: 2 minutes

I went whitewater rafting on the Kennebec river yesterday with an old friend. It has rained just about everyday since I got to Maine, which is great for whitewater but not so great for having a good time. On Saturday the clouds broke to give us a marvelous time, in the water as well as out.

Historically the Kennebec River was used for harvesting ice and for ship building. Nowadays the river is used primarily for hydroelectric power and recreation. The Kennebec river is not the most intense river in the state of Maine, but, it is great for a few hours of whitewater and relaxation. The Kennebec, Dead, and Penobscot rivers all offer great whitewater for rafting, kayaking, and canoeing in Maine.

If you ever find yourself in Maine I suggest spending some time whitewater rafting on the Kennebec river. You wont regret it!

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Manny Ramirez, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ slugger and left fielder will be back in the lineup tonight against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. This is news because Manny has been forced to miss the last 50 games due to a violation of the MLB’s drug policy. Ramirez was caught taking a banned substance, specifically a women’s drug known to be taken by athletes ending a period of steroid use. He has not yet been caught using steroids though, to be clear.

The Dodger’s slugger bats third in the potent lineup which leads all of baseball with the best record in the bigs. Manny comes into tonights game with 533 career homeruns, 17th on the all-time list.

There are many positions on the steroid issue, and I for one am ashamed the game has been tainted by it. Having said that, since the era is tainted with performance enhancing drugs I don’t think you can hold players out of the hall of fame because it must be the case that currently there are players in the hall that have not and will not be caught using, even though they did. So in my view, holding out players you did catch shouldn’t make a difference. I don’t think ‘well you got caught’ should be the tag line to hall eligibility.

I will be watching Manny tonight, but then again I watch most all Dodger games. I hate to say that it has become so widespread a problem, steroids that is, that I don’t really care anymore. I’d just like to see the sport cleaned up and the issue to go away.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

What are the major differences and rule changes between baseball and men’s softball?

Other than the difference in the ball itself being bigger and less dense, there are major differences.

Softball has an extra player in the lineup totaling 10. Defensively this means there are 4 outfielders instead of 3, or once in a while that extra player will be added to the infield directly behind the bag at 2nd.

The pitching is the major difference from hardball. Pitchers in softball have a requirement of an arc above the batters waist, no higher than 10 to 12 feet depending on the league. Because the pitch is underhand, the scoring is much higher on average than hardball, where 20 to 30 runs can be scored per game.

A few other minor differences include no leading off as a base runner. After the pitch a base runner can be ‘picked off’ through the use of a force-play (not having to tag that runner). Also, because the pitching is underhand, most leagues have a home run rule where team A cannot have hit more than 1 more home run than team B.

These rules can vary from league to league, but to the hardcore baseball fan, these rule changes are major.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The 2009 Major League Baseball season is finally upon us after an extra long spring training due to the World Baseball Classic- (baseball’s version of the World Cup). The 1st game of the season is this Sunday night- Phillies vs. Braves.

Last season you will recall the national league’s Philadelphia Phillies beat the cinderella Tampa Bay Rays 4-1. Where the Rays a fluke, and who will be this year’s cinderella? If you’re not a big MLB fan you should know that unlike the other major sports, just making it to the playoffs is a significant accomplishment in only the division winners and 1 wild card advances. So a cinderella in this sport to make it to the postseason is more than just exceeding expectations.

Here are my predictions by League:

American National

West Athletics Dodgers

Central Indians Brewers

East Red Sox Mets

Wildcard White Sox Cubs

This year the Mets finally get to play in September, but the Cubs will have to wait at least another year for a title pushing it to 102 years (and counting).

World Series- Indians over Dodgers

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The NBA Season is about half way through its 82 game calender – a great time to assess things before the All-Star break.

Pre-season favorites the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics were picked to return to the NBA finals by many analysts; a match up most people would be again intrigued by. And at this mid-way point these to teams represent the best from each conference, while the Cleveland Cavaliers have built a strong supporting cast around LeBron James, the San Antonio Spurs have gotten healthy and continue to play well, and the Orlando Magic have matured into an upper tier squad.

Some up-and-comers include the Portland Trail Blazers, another team where health has been a major factor and the Clippers are hot- kidding. Many basketball fans consider the New Orleans Hornets a top tier team, but their play this year has been very polarized. Chris Paul is for sure the league’s elite point guard.

Here’s how I view the ‘Power Rankings” for the true contenders:

1. Lakers (yes I’m a homer, but this is a solid pick)

2. Celtics

3. Cavaliers

4. Hornets

5. Magic

6. Spurs

Handicapping- I actually don’t see a Celtics vs. Lakers rematch. I think Lebron’s Cavaliers will take the Celtics down to meet the Lakers in what would be a interesting bill- Kobe vs LeBron. Can Kobe get his 1st without Shaq before LeBron can get any?

Reading Time: 2 minutes

If you watched the Rose Bowl (NCAA football game) this year on New Year’s Day, you may have seen the B-2 Stealth Bomber fly over during the playing of the national anthem. It is an amazing sight just to see on TV is you were lucky enough to have been watching, again before the game even actually started.

I am lucky enough to live 20 minutes from Pasadena and was able to see the 1.15 billion dollar jet in person as it flew back to its home air force base. If you ever get a chance to go to an air show or know about a flight like this you can simply watch, take it.

This amazing picture does not justice to the real life effect of watching it in flight.

If you have ever witnessed this, back me up on the awe-factor by replying with your comment.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

At the beginning of the NFL season, I made some personal picks of who would make the playoffs. These were the teams I thought would be strong and win their divisions. Well, my Superbowl pick was one ESPN analysts most disappointing team- the Jacksonville Jaguars. This was for good reason as the Jag’s offensive line was injured the majority out the season. Therefore their ground game, which is the team’s strength was never at full strength. I’ll keep my day job.

The playoffs matches up like this:
NFC
Falcons @ Cardinals
Eagles @ Vikings
Byes- Giants and Panthers

AFC
Colts @ Chargers
Ravens @ Dolphins
Byes- Titans and Steelers

To my credit, 5 of my 8 picks from the beginning of the season did make it to the post-season. The short story in my opinion for each conference is this– the AFC is defense heavy and should be decided with low scoring games, whereas the NFC will be more fun to watch with more explosive offenses.

Superbowl Prediction- Panthers over Steelers

Reading Time: 2 minutes

This is that special time of year for sports fans where all of the major sports are playing at the same time, in addition to your very popular NCAA/college football. Until the Phillies cliched the World Series earlier this week, baseball was wrapping up while the NFL, NHL, and NBA all are active as well. Even Soccer, the MLS is in its playoff run.
Quick Notes-
NBA preview: Many analysts are predicting a finals rematch from last year, Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. The stout western conference is no joke, where 50 wins is the bar to simply make the post-season.
NFL: The lone unbeaten team, the Tennessee Titans head the EPSN power rankings, followed by the NY Giants, Panthers, Steelers and Redskins in the top 5.
NHL: In hockey’s early season poll, the top 5 teams as ranked by ESPN fall this way- 1. Sabres 2. Canadiens 3. Red Wings 4. Sharks 5. Rangers
Now over to Dallas with the weather.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The MLB Playoff picture is almost set, with the National League wild card and the American League Central division the last spots in each league up for grabs. The Milwaukee Brewers and the New York Mets fight for that last spot in the NL, being the wild card, whereas the White Sox and Twins are locked in the AL central. The rest of the division winners shape up this way.

National League-

West- Dodgers
Central- Cubs
East- Phillies*
Wild Card- Mets/Brewers

American League-

West- Angels
Central- White Sox/Twins
East- Rays*
Wild Card- Red Sox*

*= not clinched

Because there is so much in the air even with only 3 games to play, I look forward to update this playoff picture next week when things are more concrete. If nothing else it is nice to see both LA teams making a run at it.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Do you remember who won the Superbowl last year?

The new NFL schedule kicked off last night between the Washington Redskins and the Defending Champion NY Giants. The final score ended, Giants 16 Skins 7- all of the scoring which was in the 1st half.

Here are my picks for the upcoming year”

AFC:
East- Patriots
North- Steelers
South- Jags
West- Chargers

NFC:
East- Cowboys
North- Vikings
South- Panthers
West- Cardinals

Superbowl: Jags over Cowboys

Those are my picks- Sunday is the 1st full day of games. Enjoy the new season, it will be a good one with the AFC as open as it has been in years mainly do to injuries. The Carolina Panthers are my comeback team of the year and yes, the Jacksonville Jags finally breakthrough the Patriots/Colts impenetrable wall to make the big dance this year. Its all about defense.

OUR BLOG

Category: sports

What is Fantasy Football?