Fantasy Baseball: Love it or Hate it?

For me, fantasy baseball is both fun and enjoyable, annoying and nauseating. Here's why...

Fun and enjoyable:

1. Following big-league players I otherwise wouldn't give a rat's heiny about is interesting and educational.
2. I laugh when a sucker manager in my league waives a marquee player because he hasn't produced in a couple weeks.
3. Wheeling and dealing to improve my club puts a smile on my face and makes me feel clever.
4. Watching a sleeper pick light it up (ie. Chris Shelton), and watching players I don't like struggle (ie. Barry Bonds) is nice.
5. I love talking trash and competing. It's invigorating.

Annoying and nauseating:

1. Wasting a high draft pick on a guy who gets hurt or doesn't produce makes me want to barf.
2. I feel like screaming when a mediocre team performs better than my team and then I have to listen to its manager talk about how he's an expert.
3. Competing interests: When my beloved Mariners lose, I justify it with a statement like, "At least Jhonny Peralta jacked 2 homers off of Meche."
4. Paying closer attention to stats than standings is a real problem. I don't know what the Phillies record is nor do I care, but I can tell you that both Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley are under-producing right now.
5. Sitting at a computer screen searching for hitters posting big RBI totals is nerdy, not to mention a complete waste of time.

So there you have it. My love-hate relationship with fantasy baseball.

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Recenlty spotted in SeaTac, is he his friend or foe?

Where Does Our Super Hero Call Home?
	Hall of Justice
	The Legion of Doom
	SCS Staff Break Room
	Martson Dorm Room 214
	Under the 188th Off Ramp in SeaTAc
Free polls from Pollhost.com

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NPB 2.0

The WBC put the world on notice that Japanese baseball is not the stepchild everyone thought it to be.To kick of the 2006 season, here is a great article about the 10 teams.

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I'm Back!

As Zoomstick enters year two, I am back, and to kick off my return, I'll share with you some of my thoughts of my first day when I become dictator.

Mariners:
* Willie Bloomquist - he is only allowed to pinch run, and is banned from the outfield. Seriously, this guy can't hit and he got a 2 year deal?
* Carl Everett - given until May 15th to prove he is productive, if not, he's released
* Mike Hargrove - fired, between his lineups, mismanagement of the bullpen, and lack of creativity, he brings no value, plus I don't care for men wearing bracelets

Sonics:
* Bob Hill - bring him back for 2006-07
* Rashard Lewis - challenge him to be a #2 scorer, and leader, because this guy disappears big time
* Dance team - gone, put the focus back on the players
* 4th Quarter - Pearl Jam's Alive must be played prior to the start of the 4th quarter, some things don't age

NBA:
* Rookies must either be 21 years old or have played 4 years professionally in Europe. The game is enjoying a slow death by all the kids with 'talent' but no ability to play the game at this level.
* Referees - enforcing all the rules, including palming, traveling, etc

NFL:
* Replay - calls are reviewed by an official not on the field. Too many calls are not being reversed even though video proves otherwise. This is a process that should take less than 1 minute given all of the camera angles used today.

Other Sports:
* WNBA - banned from TV
* Women Dunking - no one cares
* US Olympic Coverage - NBC, ABC and CBS banned from covering, only option is they are allowed to rebroadcast live CBC feed. What a novel concept, showing the games live, I'm not sure what is dumber, the TV exec's at the networks, or the viewers that tolerate this nonsense.

Real World:
* Constitution - Right to Arm Bears, putting an end to the NRA
* Hair - 30+ single men no longer can advertise their desperation in life by bleaching their hair. Yes we know you are single and have no plan, please don't make it more difficult.
* Mexico - We're building a fence, figure out why folks want to leave

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