The 2012 Fantasy Draft

Fantasy draft in five hours. I have two great keepers (Victor Cruz and Gronkowski) and because I acquired them in deep rounds last year, I have three pics in the first 20 slots of the draft. Gotta do well . . . .

UPDATE: 

1st pick: Ryan Matthews (RB)

2nd pick: Michael Turner (RB)

3rd Round pick: Eli Manning

4th round: Stevie Johnson, WR

Round 5: Jonathon Stewart (RB)

Round 6: Darrius Heyward-Bey (wr)

Round 7: Michael Crabtree (WR)

Round 8: David Akers (K)

round 9 (keeper pick) Victor Cruz

Round 10: Dustin Keller TE

My first logistic error of the draft . . I had Keller listed as a week 7 bye, but in fact he's week 9, which means I have both my TE on bye that week. Sigh.

round 11: Houston D

Round 12, keeper pick: Rob Gronkowski TE

Round 13: Lagarrette Blount, RB.

round 14: Ryan Fitzpatrick QB

round 15: Nate Burleson WR

Final pick/Round 16: Robbie Gould, K

My TV Tastes

First of all, I love Wipeout. I don't care if you find it childish, I think it's LOL entertaining and I hope it runs on ABC for forever and a day. Pbbbttt to you if you disagree. In other news, this week I saw my first episodes ever of Warehouse 13, Supernatural, and Monk. Warehouse is fun and has a sustainable if unoriginal premise, whereas I keep wondering how the Winchester brothers on Supernatural keep paying for gas, car repairs, lodging, etc; six episodes in it's essentially Route 66 with demons. Monk is downright funny, and I think it'll grow to be a favorite of mine. The kids might even enjoy it, as they have become big Psych fans on their own.

Neil Armstrong

BREAKING NEWS: Neil Armstrong, the 1st man to walk on the moon and a genuine American hero, has died at age 82. RIP sir.

A Brief Date Night

An unexpected night alone without kids, but . . . . Lisa has the same bug that knocked out LuLu, Smiley, and Junie on successive days. Our night out lasted all of fifteen minutes before she returned home to crash for the night. :(

Aliens vs Predator by Steve and Stephani Perry

I finished the novel "Aliens vs. Predator: Prey" by Steve Perry and Stephani Perry. I thought it started out like a cookie cutter media tie-in, grew into a pretty darn good sci-fi advernture, and sadly finished back where it started. Definitely a mixed bag. Given my low expectations going in, I'd grade it a B. (book #70 of 2012)

A Bell For Adano by John Hersey

'Round about a quarter century ago I watched A Bell For Adano on American Movie Classics, a station that at the time actually played classic films and not television series and second rate flicks. Yesterday I finished reading the novel of the same name by John Hersey. It's the sentimental and at times comedic story of the American occupation of an Italian town during WWII. I liked it a lot, but was routinely put off by the casual use of slurs (dago, wop) in the daily speech of the Americans. It's accurate for the time, just a little jarring. Grade: B (book # 69 of 2012)

On August 20th 36 Iranian universities placed restrictions on female students, making 77 fields of study male-only including most science, mathematics, and engineering programs.

Another column

Yesterday the Journal called me on my break at work (sweet timing, since I would never have checked my voice mail) and asked me to get them a Paul Ryan piece by the end of the day. Done. The best part? I got paid to bash Nickelback in a national newspaper. Sa-weet! It's running in tomorrow's Journal-Sentinel.

Can he do it?

Derek Jeter is exactly 1000 hits shy of Pete Rose's all time hit record. He's 38 and has one more year on his contract with a club option for '14. Your thoughts on the odds of him taking the title eventually?

Congrats to Derek Jeter!

Congrats to the Captain! Today Derek Jeter passed Eddie Murray for 11th all-time with hit No. 3,256.

Meatloaf and Upchuck

I made a Boston Market clone- meatloaf and red skin mashed potatoes for dinner, only to have it interrupted by Junie upchucking all over the place just as we sat down to eat. Sigh.

Junie keeps throwing up (4x so far) and just plain RUINING the Warehouse 13 marathon I had planned for tonight. Some people are just plain inconsiderate.

Phyllis Diller

Just across the wire: legendary comedian Phyllis Diller is dead at 95. RIP.

Kickin It

Not that Disney Channel shows have much in common with reality to begin with (Hannah Montana), but the kids are watching "Kicking It" and the star of the show is in the midst of a four minute kung ku brawl in the cafeteria of his school. Uh, yeah - expel that f**ker. WTH?

William Booth

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the death of William Booth, who founded The Salvation Army. RIP.

OMG

Customer in her '50's: "So you've read The Hunger Games? Did you enjoy it?"

Me: "I did.  It was well done and I thought the characters were surprisingly compelling."

Customer: "You know, some people say that's the best book they've ever read."

Me: "Huh. Some people should read more."

Junie and The Doors

Junie, after hearing The Doors "People are Strange" on the car radio: "I don't like that song. It scary." She looked scared too. Good thing they weren't playing "The End"

200 Years Ago Today

200 years ago today the USS Constitution defeated the British Royal Navy frigate HMS Guerriere off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, earning her the nickname "Old Ironsides".

- Taken at the Shedd

Love the bass on  Zep's 'Lemon Song" - John Paul Jones, I bow to thee.

Golden Corral

Sarcasm, folks

The most important factor in deciding who to vote for in November: tax returns. Forget the consistent high unemployment, the record number of people on food stamps, high gas prices, the soaring deficit, border agents killed by weapons our gov't gives drug dealers etc. Nooooo, what's truly important is what paperwork they submit to the IRS.

I love this!

A Fatal Frame of Mind by William Rabkin

I finished the last of the five Psych tie-in novels by Willam Rabkin. This one was "A Fatal Frame of Mind", in which Shawn and Gus investigate a murder at an art museum that might lead back to an international cabal dedicated to finding Arthrur's Excalibur. I thought it was a hoot, and wish he'd write some more books in the series. B+ #68

A Quote

"This was a quality in the Major that came out time and again; he was always gentle with those who evoked impatience, and he was always impatient with those who begged for gentleness." - A Bell for Adano by John Hersey pg 48

The Mosque at Ground Zero

Just because something is legal doesn't mean it's in good taste, or an idea that should be supported. A mosque at/near ground zero is ridiculous. I don't care who you vote for, it's still RIDICULOUS. I think The President was cowardly in his comments about it, & I'm so sick of the PC bullshit [supporting it]. - Lisa's status, seconded by me.

Yes, yes, we know its legal, that's not the point I was making. it's tasteless....why would they even WANT to build there? I would not want to build a building of my faith where my faith failed so badly, giving the criminals a false sense of honor in killing. The Christian community wouldn't want to build a church on top of Auschwitz, why do they want to build at ground zero unless their motives are not pure of heart.