Ok, in the fantasy league where I lost Tom Brady for the season, my co-owner and I recovered nicely by making a trade this morning for Peyton Manning!  We had to give up TJ Houshmandzadeh and Chicago Bear rookie RB Matt Forte, but it should be worth it since QB scoring in that league is critical, and we had the depth to spare at WR and RB.  I also own Manning in another league, so now I’m praying he doesn’t get hurt!  If he does, you know who to blame….

It’s that time of year again, my friends.  Football!  As a long-time Giants fan, this season is even more special as they are the defending Super Bowl Champs!!!  And they have already started their defense in winning fashion by beating the Redskins 16-7 last Thursday.   

For you fantasy-fanatics, it’s also time for Fantasy Football, the bane of employers and women around the world.  Like most owners, entering today I was excited for the season to start since I felt pretty good about my teams (yes, I’m in multiple leagues, more on that later).  Unfortunately, there’s one huge problem:

I ABSOLUTELY S%#! AT FANTASY FOOTBALL!

There, I said it.  As much as I’d love to say I’m good, having been doing this for several years already, the bottom line is that I’m terrible.  I always go in with high hopes and by week 3 or 4, I’m miserable and hate my teams, and by the end of the season I’ve threatening to quit and never play again.  But, of course, I do. 

I’ve been doing this since around 2000, and I have a grand total of 4 playoff teams to my credit.  Four!  That’s it.  That’s in 2 leagues, folks, and since last season, 3 leagues!  Why do you ask would I even bother joining yet another league?  You got me - it must be a gambler-type mentality, figuring the more leagues I’m in the better my chances are of actually having a winning team.  Either that or I enjoy throwing money away.  By the way, 2 of those 4 playoff teams were in 8 or 10-team leagues, so they arguably don’t even count. 

Believe it or not, I actually have some advice to impart to my fellow fantasy owners.  You have every right to ignore this given my lack of success, but I think this is helpful.  I’ll be brief.  First, take all rankings with a grain of salt.  Use them as a guide only.  The so-called experts at sites like ESPN don’t know much more than you do if you’re already a vet at this, and it’s quite possible (or even probable) that they know less than you.  Rankings are just opinions, nothing more.  Second, know your scoring.  For example, a PPR league will make a big difference on player values than a non-PPR league. 

So how am I doing this year so far?  Well, in one league, Tom Brady’s my starting QB, or at least he was.  My apologies to all other Brady owners - you can blame me!  At least I’m only a co-owner in that league, so I get to share my devastation with my other co-owner, who suggested picking Marion Barber instead of Brady in our draft.  He must be loving me right now since I helped talk him into taking Brady!  Ironically, that’s the only league I have a shot at winning this week!

I know what you’re thinking.  Why bother playing?  I’m hopelessly addicted, what can I tell you.

Stay tuned for more fantasy frustration!

Last week, after Sen. McCain startled the nation with his selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as his VP choice, she looked like a star in the making, one that could woo Clinton supporters to McCain’s side.  After her speech at the RNC, her star shined even brighter, even with the shocking news of her 17 year-old teenage daughter’s pregnancy, but more so in the minds of the GOP base.  She is no doubt a great public speaker (much better than McCain) and she has seemingly already won the hearts of Republicans, but she is as conservative as conservative can be with respect to the bulk of her political views.  She is a staunch pro-lifer and opposes sex-education in schools (something, btw, that her daughter might have benefitted).  She apparently believes in creationism.  She does not believe global warning is man-made.  She wants to prolong the Iraq war.  She also favors drilling for oil in Alaska.  It is that last view that I find the most shocking given her ties to the state.  Why on earth anyone would favor drilling in some of the most pristine lands in this nation is beyond my comprehension.  She also, by her own admission, has next-to-no knowledge of foreign affairs.

In short, while her nomination has galvanized the Republican base and made this contest much more interesting, it is doubtful she will be able to lure those desirable Independents and undecided voters, especially Clintonians, most of whom would be aghast by most of Palin’s platforms.  Moreover, as a side effect, her nomination may have also galvanized the Democratic base, one that was in need of galvanizing given all the in-fighting over the summer, which took some of the sheen off Obama’s aura.  Ultimately, this may end up being the best thing for Obama’s campaign.

Say what you will about John McCain, but at first glance he made an excellent choice in selecting newbie Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.  I watched her speech after McCain introduced her and she seemed very at ease.  She was articulate, confident, energetic, down to earth, and, of course, youthful.  She’s also very conservative, which makes this pick a big win for conservatives who were freaking out that McCain would choose his buddy Joe Lieberman as VP.  Plus, on the personal side leads a very active and diverse lifestyle.  Yeah, she’s inexperienced - with only 2 years as governor to her credit - but better to be inexperienced as a VP than as a presidential candidate, which is Obama’s main weakness. 

In short, McCain’s bold move is exactly what he needed to re-energize his campaign, and simultaneously steal the thunder from Obama after the DNC.  His move is also in stark contrast to Obama’s pick of Biden, which is more of an “old school”/insider pick (albeit better than selecting Hillary Clinton).  In defense of Obama, though, I don’t think he would have benefitted as much from picking an out-of-the-box VP candidate like Palin as McCain.  Both candidates, actually, have seemingly made VP choices that complement their own strengths and weaknesses.

There’s obviously a lot of talk now that Palin will siphon away former Hillary supporters who are not fans of Obama.  Given Palin’s very conservative views - including her devout religious views and anti-abortion stance - I doubt that most women who are Democrats will suddenly flock to the GOP come November.  However, she will at least cause them to think twice and not automatically unite with other Dems in supporting Obama, and she is sure to cause more than a few disgruntled Hillary supporters to vote for McCain.  This means that Obama really must turn it up a notch to woo back those supporters, or else this election might be closer than anyone could have imagined a few months ago.  At worst, it might even mean another four years for the GOP.

Obama made the right move by not picking Hillary Clinton to be his running mate.  Although he surely disappointed Hillary supporters by not choosing her, not to mention spurring the GOP to criticize his failure to do so, Hillary is still way too polarizing of a figure.  Choosing her as his VP would not have unified the Democrats, nor would it have guaranteed anything in November.  As the VP candidate, Hillary would have drawn more attention to herself than to supporting Obama.  While the GOP wants you to believe that Obama made a mistake by failing to select her as VP, if Obama chose her the GOP would have been much more vicious in their attacks – as they have always been when it comes to the Clintons – than they will be in attacking Joe Biden.  It is also more than plausible to assume that Hillary would have still suffered from sour grapes that she herself was not nominated as the Democratic candidate, thereby hindering her ability to effectively campaign as Obama’s #2.

More importantly, Obama’s non-selection of Hillary as VP is a symbolic turning of the page.  Obama’s entire campaign is based on change (ironically similar to Bill Clinton’s first campaign in 1992, as President Clinton himself acknowledged during last night’s speech at the DNC).  Choosing Hillary as VP would have cut against that premise, and it would have arguably been “more of the same,” to paraphrase Joe Biden (although he was talking about Sen. McCain at the time).  This country has grown tired of both the Clinton and Bush dynasties, and desperately needs to move on.  Obama’s choice of Biden as VP preserves his ability to continue championing that need for change. 

Michael Phelps made history by winning his 8th gold medal at the 2008 Olympics.   In doing so, Phelps broke the previous record of 7 golds in one Olympics by Mark Spitz, which was achieved during the 1972 games at Munich.  Phelps has been mostly dominant and occasionally thrilling during these games, and by passing Spitz, Phelps arguably becomes the greatest Olympian ever as he not only has won the most gold medals in a single Olympiad but he also owns the most golds as an Olympian with 14 (and possibly more should he compete in London in 2012). 

That being said, the US Olympic Committee erred by not inviting Spitz to Beijing to personally witness Phelps break his record.  Mark Spitz held that record for 36 years over 9 Olympiads, and until Michael Phelps came along it was widely assumed that no one would break that record.  Spitz’ achievement was even more special in light of the fact that the Munich games were forever tarnished by the kidnapping and eventual murder of Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists.  As a Jewish athlete, his performance stood in stark contrast to that atrocity and served as a beacon of hope for generations to come. 

Last week, according to several news reports, Spitz was upset that he was not invited to Beijing.  He later clarified during an interview with NBC that he could not go anyway due to a prior commitment to a corporate sponsor.  Although this is clearly Phelps’ moment to cherish, it is reasonable for Spitz to feel a little hurt that he was not invited.  Even if it is true that his corporate sponsor prevented him from attending, an earnest attempt by the sponsor should have been made to free him from his commitment for the time being so that he could attend.  NBC helped smooth things over by having Spitz congratulate Phelps over the airwaves, but it would have been more respectful to Spitz if he was able to do it in person, serving as the finishing touch to Phelps’ amazing and historic achievement.

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My next show will be at The Bitter End, located at 147 Bleecker St. between Thompson and LaGuardia.  I will be playing an acoustic set on Tuesday, Sept. 23 starting at 7:30pm.  Cover is $7. 

Here’s a link to The Bitter End’s website - http://www.bitterend.com/

Hope you can make it!

I will be playing a short acoustic set this Friday, August 1, at Pianos NYC (located at 158 Ludlow Street).  Start time is 7:50pm sharp.  I will opening for upcoming artists The Pins and Cock Lorge as part of the “Cock Lorge and Friends” set.  If you happen to be in the city that night, you should definitely stop by.  Here are a few links to check out for more info:

http://www.pianosnyc.com/

http://www.garageband.com/artist/thepinsband

http://www.cocklorge.com/

Welcome to my blog.  From time to time I will be speaking my mind here on various subjects.  More often that not my blog entries will be music-related, but expect the gamut of topics to be discussed here at some point or another - such as sports, politics, world affairs, entertainment, eating, travel, and why my fantasy team has once again failed to live up to my lofty expectations.  Feel free to chime in with your thoughts, either here or on the message board.  Just remember that everyone’s entitled to their own opinion and that we are free to disagree.  I, of course, hope that for the most part your views are in sync with mine.