Sports Archives

Spots Open in My Fantasy League

AUGUST 28, 2007

I run a small fantasy football league among friends. We have a few open spots. Here are things you should know.

• We play for pride, not money.
• The live draft is at 10pm EDT on Thursday, but you can let it autopick for you.
• Team, not individual, defenses.
• The best you can do is second as I am going to win.

I also have a pick'em league that I just set up for any all who'd like to join. No spread, just pick the winners. I'll buy the man or woman who wins a Shack Burger. Here is the info to join both leagues:

Fantasy League
Link to Join
Group ID: 579408
Password: stanger

Pick'em
Link to Join
Group ID: 47104
Password: gross

Update: Whoops! Didn't mean for that to be a quick post. No more rushing!

Posted in Sports at 6:47 pm.
1 Comment |

You Picked the Wrong Day to Be Crappy

FEBRUARY 5, 2007

Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images

Yesterday was rough. It was rough for me, the Bears and all of Chicago. In the end, I think it'll be roughest on our pal Rex. Rex, you started strong but crumbled under the pressure. It was certainly not all your fault (the pass blocking was shoddy at best and our defense couldn't get off the field), but if you hadn't freaked out and turned the ball over three times, I'd probably be eating chocolate and swimming in a huge pool in Happytown right now.

I've had enough. At the start of the year we thought we had a consistent QB, the one thing we'd need to win it all, and you didn't come through. This is why I suggest we continue our trend of dropping QBs with more than 10 wins to the bottom of the depth chart (see: Kyle Orton) and follow the advice of WBRS Sports — let's go after Jeff Garcia for next year. He may be aging, but what are our other options? Rex is losing games for us and I just don't have enough confidence is Griese to make him our number one. The only other option is going for one of the top QBs in the draft, but who are we going to trade to get there? Garcia still moves well and looked great this season, which is more than we can say for Rexy.

I think you're a nice guy, but your playing style is not suited for the Bears. You've got an offseason to work on your mechanics and prove everybody wrong, but I'm hoping the Bears organization wises up and tells you to shape up or ship out.

Posted in Sports at 2:13 pm.
1 Comment |

Super Bowl Primer

FEBRUARY 2, 2007

Most of my friends aren't football fans and watch only one game a year — the Super Bowl. I've heard from several of them that the experience would be much better if they knew what the hell was going on. Well, since I'm having friends over to watch the game I thought I'd try and help out. Here is some helpful information for Sunday's game. May the best Bear win. (Note: I've also prepared a printer-friendly version for those who want a cheat sheet. It should fit on one sheet, front and back.)

Update (2/2/07): Anil just posted a Prince Primer. What a great companion piece!

What's Football?

It would take too long to cover this properly, but it looks like Mom's Guide to Sports has the basics covered. This guide assumes you have no knowledge of football whatsoever and has a good lingo section for those hoping to impress their friends.

If you've got the basics covered but would like to step it up, take a look at Wikipedia's explanation of offensive and defensive formations.

About the Super Bowl

This is Super Bowl XLI (41) and it's taking place at Dolphins Stadium in Miami, Florida. According to SuperBowl.com, this is the ninth time the Super Bowl has been in South Florida. SuperBowl.com also has recaps of the last forty Super Bowls for those who want to talk about past years' games. You'll likely hear talk about Super Bowls V, XX, XXXV and XL (last year).

Who's playing?

The Chicago Bears are playing the Indianapolis Colts. Although they are playing on neutral ground, the Bears are considered the home team. This means they get to choose which jersey they'd like to wear (home or away) and the Colts will call the opening coin flip. In regular season play when the two teams have matched up, the Colts have won 22 games and the Bears have won 17. (The Colts smashed them 41-10 two years ago in their last meeting). The teams have never met in the playoffs. Here's some background on the two teams.

More details are after the jump.

Continue reading Super Bowl Primer...

Posted in Sports at 2:29 am.
3 Comments |

A Quick Defense of the Bears

JANUARY 15, 2007

I am a Bears fan and I am happy (the Bears beat the Seahawks yesterday to move to the NFC championship). Despite my happiness, I'm getting annoyed with the sports press. I understand the Bears are far from rock solid, but they're not that bad. It's hip to think the Bears are crappy, but this seems to come after wins. The writer rarely talks about the apparently crappier team who walked away with a loss.

The article usually goes something like, "if the Bears could just play well, they'll win." Um, yes. I admit the Bears can be wildly incosistent, but they've won fourteen games this year; you think that'd be enough to convince most people.

I'm glad to get that off my chest. Can't wait for next weekend.

Posted in Sports at 7:18 am.
4 Comments |

Sixteen Straight

OCTOBER 11, 2006

If you know me at all, you're aware that I am a huge Bears fan. Obviously I am freaking exciting that they are amazing this year and that they have a legitimate shot at running the table. Thanks to Coudal, I can know share my excitement in t-shirt form. The Sixteen Straight Tee lists the Bears' sixteen opponents and includes an orange sharpie for marking off the victories. I'm hoping to wear this shirt proudly once a week.

Odds are you're getting ready to comment on my blind optimism, but I will give you two reasons for you non-Bears fans to get excited. First, they actually have a decent shot. An article on Cold Hard Football Facts points out that the Bears have the second best point differential (+120 or 156-36) in modern football histoy and that the only other undefeated team, the '72 Dolphins, had the easiest schedule in the Super Bowl era (opponents' winning pct. of .367). The three other teams with the highest differential all won the Super Bowl.

The other reason to root along is much more entertaining. If the Bears win all sixteen, I shall sport the Kyle Orton Neckbeard as long as the Bears remain in the playoffs. This should be inspiration enough. You know you want me to look like this.

Posted in Sports at 5:46 pm.
4 Comments |