If you look up awesome in the Dictionary this morning...

Odds are you would see my picture. I managed to win both of my fantasy football leagues for the second straight year. To think that I was a single play (more on that to come in the future) away from a 3-peat in the league I really care(d) about. Anyway, the moral of the story here is, as I've stated before, I'm better at fantasy than the jokers I play against. Apparently even when I barely pay attention as was the case with one of my leagues.

It's nice getting to go out on top since I'm retiring from fantasy football. I wouldn't be surprised if I pulled a Mario and made a comeback someday, but I will definitely not be playing next year. I'm at the point now where I expect to win so I've basically set myself up for nothing but disappointment and frustration. I wouldn't mind finding a better league to play in, but that will have to wait.

Now if only "Fantasy Genius/Guru" were an actual job somewhere...

My take on the Pens' situation...

I feel a strong need to weigh in on what is going on with the Penguins right now. After the Isle of Capri lost out on the exclusive gambling license in Pittsburgh, the Penguins saw their Plan A for a new arena shot to you know where. As near as I can tell from what I've read online nobody seems happy about the plan that was chosen. All three Pittsburgh sports teams seem pretty upset about it, most notably the Pens of course. Local politicians seem confident that a new arena deal is still going to get done, and possibly soon, but Mario has already made his stance known; the team is no longer for sale and he is now actively entertaining relocation possibilities. How much of this is legit and how much is just him playing hardball remains to be seen, but I don't think anyone could blame him for taking the team somewhere else at this point.

Save the Pens! Do it for Marc-Andre!!

So here's my take. I am someone who has loved the Pens ever since my Dad started taking me to hockey games (I'll never be able to thank him enough for that). I also grew up in California and live in Texas so it gets hard to claim having super strong feelings about the Pens relocating. Going into the week my general feeling was that I didn't care where the franchise ended up as long as they had an owner willing to put up the moolah to keep the team we have now together (mainly Sid, Geno, and Fleury). Honestly, unless the team moves to Oakland or Houston the odds of me ever taking in a Pens home game are pretty slim, so what difference does it make to me right?

Well then I got to think about it more and my mind and heart of flipped on the situation. I grew up obsessing over the Pittsburgh Penguins, not the Portland Penguins or the Kansas City Whatevers. It really does matter to me where the team ends up. The Penguins were the first sports team I truly followed, and I want to continue following them, as the Penguins. I grew up with my walls covered with guys adorned in this:And I want to be able to keep that alive. There's a reason why I wore my Sidney Crosby shirt to the birth of my son. I selfishly wanted one of the first things he saw on this earth to be that beautiful skating penguin that meant so much to me as a kid. And for the record, Landon always lets out a gleeful yelp when I wear that shirt now (mission accomplished). The bottom line is that the team won't be the same if they move. And for that, and for all of the Pens fans out there (not just the ones who live in Pittsburgh) I want the Pens to stay. It's bad enough thinking that they won't be playing in the Igloo much longer (again, I don't get to attend games there so it doesn't really impact me if the place is run down), but I can't deal with them not being the Pens any more.

I guess what I'm getting at here is that even though I never have been to Pittsburgh and probably never will, I really need the Penguins to be there. There may come that day when I do get to finally take in a home game (I came real close during my trip to Toronto) and if it does, I want that game to be in Pittsburgh. This team means too much to too many people (read the comments on The Pensblog if you don't believe me) for it to move. And just for the record, I don't think it will. I think Mario has one more miracle up his sleeve. Here's hoping I'm right.

Word out of San Marcos is I'm nifty!

So I got this in the mail today:

Along with a letter telling me how proud myself and my family should be about this magnificent achievement. So, yeah... I guess the whole Dean's List thing is something of a to do at Texas State. I don't mean to make light of this, I know it's a nice accomplishment and all, I just felt like I was treading water for most of the semester so I don't know that I deserve recognition for anything more than just surviving.

All grades are in!

So I ended up with a B in Geology. As far as I'm concerned that was the best case scenario for that class. I don't think too many people, if any, were getting A's out of that guy and I sure didn't put more than a C level effort into that class. So that leaves me with 2 A's and 3 B's for Fall '06. Considering my mental state over the last six weeks of the semester I'll gladly take that thank you very much!

Fantasy Update: It all comes down to this...

So I have managed to steer both of my Fantasy Football teams into their respective championships. This gives me a chance to repeat in both leagues. Not a bad way to end my FF career (for the next year at least). The team I care about and put effort into managed to squeak by in week 15 despite getting about 2 combined points from two of my WR's. I now carry my top seeding into a matchup with the #2 team in the league (my arch rival and home teaching companion!) My other team, which finished in 4th to grab the final playoff spot after a big week 14 victory, upset the Ladainian Tomlinson powered top seed relatively easily to move on to the championship. I will sum up my fantasy seasons to this point by saying that my faith in Steven Jackson has been greatly rewarded.

As for Fantasy Hockey, I'm pretty much right where I want to be. My team is going great except for some up-and-down goaltending. I'm in 4th right now (was as high as 3rd for a couple days) but the three teams ahead of me are dooming themselves and they don't even know it. I have a feeling things will work out like last year and I'll make a steady climb to the title in the closing weeks. The good news is I probably won't have to work my up from second to last like I did last year.

Texas State grades are in...

And the final results are:

• Discrete Math 1 - A
• Intro to Probability and Stats - A
• Human Factors - B
• Intro to Database Systems - B

That's about all I could have hoped for. I thought I bombed my Database final so that B is a relief, and my Human Factors professor was such a nutcase that I'm just happy to escape that class with a passing grade. So after one semester at Texas State I have a 3.5 GPA and am on the Dean's List. I'll take that any day considering what a struggle this semester was.

And the grades start to roll in...

So I got an A in both of my math classes. I figured I would since I knew I had an A in both going into the finals and the finals were take-home. Now I just have to wait until noon tomorrow to see how I did in my CS classes. I'm real interested to see my Database grade. I don't know when ACC will post their grades, but I don't care about my Geology class that much anyway. I know I passed, that's enough for me.

I guess Donna Summer was right...

Somehow I managed to survive this semester. My assessment may change once I see my grades on Friday (I don't think I did so hot on my Database final), but it's over and that is the truly important thing. Now I have a little over a month to spend with my family, Jack Bauer, "How Soccer Explains the World", and the new Legend of Zelda game. Things could be worse.

Oh, and the Pens smoked the Flyers 8-4 tonight, including 6 points for Sid. Like I said, things could be worse.

On the brighter side of life...

This weekend:

• I found out that Minute Maid makes Cherry Limeaid... GOOD TIMES!
• Liverpool beat Fulham 4-0!
• The Pens beat Atlanta in OT!

So what I'm getting at here is that the weekend wasn't a complete loss.

Progress is as progress does.

My Database term project is printing out right next to me as I type this. 84 pages of crap! Okay, 2/3 of it is pretty decent, but I'm not too thrilled with how things went down the stretch. My database definitely would have been a lot better if he had let me do it the way I originally wanted. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

Speaking of tomorrow... I have a Geology test that I have yet to study for (what do you think the hour before class is for?) and my Database final that I have yet to study for (what do you think the 90 minutes before class are for?) So yeah, tomorrow can't get here fast enough is what I'm saying. On the bright side, after tomorrow all I have left to do is a Geology lab quiz (assuming I decline to take the optional final) and I'm done.

This semester has been a bear for me. I hit the wall around the end of October and it has been a struggle ever since. I guess this is my "Welcome to upper division" semester. At least I've learned some valuable lessons to take forward with me. The good news is that in about 24 hours I being what amounts to a little over a month of school-free livin'! Let's see if I can make it that long...

**UPDATE** The black ink cartridge in our printer may or may not make it to page 84. Plus the e-mails I have to print out for the appendix.

Apparently I'm awesome and stuff...

So I had to give my presentation on my Human Factors project yesterday and my crackpot professor freaking loved it. He said he thought it was a legitimately marketable idea and everything. You excuse me if I don't start coming up with ways to start spending all the money I get for selling my idea to Wal-Mart, now gimme an A!!!!!

If you want you can check out my retarded masterpiece here. Just remember that I had to do it on Wal-Mart... it wasn't my choice I swear!!!!!!!

It's gonna be a long 8 days...

• 3 (possibly 4) Final exams
• 2 Term Project papers
• 1 Test
• 1 Lab quiz

Can't you just feel the holiday spirit in the air?

One for the road!

Stop the presses!!! The Reds finally won a Premiership match away from Anfield! And they did it in style too, topping Wigan 4-0. Craig Bellamy celebrated being cleared of beating women by scoring two quick goals and setting up Dirk Kuyt for a third. The win moved the Liverpool into a tie for third in points, but they are fifth on the table thanks to their meager +4 goal differential.

I'm not even going to mention the Pens right now. Like I said before, they have come back to earth. Let's just leave it at that. On the plus side, if voting ended today Crosby, Malkin, and Fleury would all be starting in the All-Star game. And yes I have had something to do with that thank you very much. Now if you don't mind I'm off to go vote again... write in Gonchar!!!

The Grandaddy of all posts...

I know I haven't been posting much lately, so let's get up to speed.

• Thanksgiving came and went (see video below)...
• The Penguins have come back to Earth. Sid has missed the last 3 games with a groin problem, but they are managing to pick up some points that they wouldn't have last year. I think with a good trade or two the playoffs are not out of the question this year.
• Liverpool won their Champions League group but are stuck in 9th in the Premiership. They continue to dominate at Anfield and suck on the road. At least Stevie G. picked up his first Premiership goal of the year on Saturday.
• I have roughly 3 weeks left of school this semester. That amounts to two big projects, two (possibly three) finals, a test, a quiz, and who knows how much other random crap. I hit the wall on school about three weeks ago and am really just wanting this semester to end.
• UT stunk up all of Central Texas on Friday against A&M. I won't say much more other than the fact that nobody beat the crap out of the guy who nailed Colt was just one more reason why football can't touch hockey.
• I locked up first place in my fantasy football league for the regular season this week. I'll now have a first round bye in the playoffs and then hopefully defend my title. Since I have announced my retirement from this league I see winning out as the only way to finish.

I think that just about covers it. Hopefully I'll start posting with more regularity again...

Thanksgiving aftermath!

Li'l Lanny doing his thing! And then Ainsley being Ainsley...

It's time for Longhorns vs. Aggies!

And boy is this guy ready:

The choices we make...

What I should have done last night:
Work on one of my term projects.

What I did do last night:
Power through the last 4 episodes of 24 season 2.

Oh well, life will go on...

I guess it's the thought that counts?

So Texas State is having Hunger and Homelessness Awareness week next week. One of the activities is an overnight/sleepover on the quad to help expose students to the harsh realities of being homeless. While I appreciate the sentiment, it's hard to get too jazzed up when they close the announcement with "don't forget to bring your sleeping bag and dress warm." Like I said, at least our heart is in the right place...

Great day, pricey but great!

Purchases made today:

• 2 tickets to the Dallas Stars January 26th game versus, you guessed it, your Pittsburgh Penguins!!! $12 each plus service charges.
• Seasons 2, 3, and 4 of 24 for $25 each. Nice! It's Jack Bauer time once again at Casa de Yarbrough!!!

2 points and a piece of history...

So I should have written about this a couple of days ago, but I have about as much free time as Drew Bledsoe has mobility. So deal with it. The Pens beat the Kings 4-3 in overtime Wednesday night to improve to 4-0 on the road in this young season. Evgeni Malkin scored the OT goal, but it was his goal in the 1st period that made all the noise. When he scored his first goal of the game Malkin became the first NHL player in 89 years (or since the NHL's inaugural season for those counting) to score a goal in each of his first 6 games. Malkin is just amazing. It's scary to think how good the Pens get once he and Sid can talk. Good times ahead!

A week in the life...

Some noteworthy things happened this week...

• I started my new position at work as Project Coordinator. It's nice to be involved with processes and being able to help make things within the department run smoother.
• I registered for Spring classes at Texas State. An interesting byproduct of this process was that as I went through my degree audit I came to the conclusion that I have significantly fewer classes left than I thought. I may even be able to graduate next Fall instead of Spring '08. Stay tuned for more details...
  

Every time I try to get out...

So I told myself I was going to stop writing about the Penguins as much and more about myself, which was the point of doing this in the first place. And then the Penguins went and beat Philly 8-2 last night. Man I am in love with this team! Sidney had his first career hat trick and Evgeni scored to put him at a goal in each of his first 5 career games. Marc-Andre Fleury is playing out of his mind right now too. Of course it helps that the Flyers suck, which naturally delights me to no end.

The good times don't end there... Liverpool have gotten their act back together as well. After beating Reading 4-3 in the Carling Cup on Wednesday, they followed up with a 3-1 win over previously unbeaten Aston Villa in what was universally described as their best effort of the season. Let's hope the Reds can keep it rollin'!

Jar Barf

For your viewing pleasure!

How can you not love this guy?

Apparently Evgeni Malkin is an even better person than he is a hockey player (if that's possible). He paid for a 6 year-old girl's surgery so that she could get a prosthetic arm. Read the whole story here.

Midterm report:

• Discrete Math - 93/100
• Probability and Stats - 94/100
• Intro to Database - 81/100

I did pretty much how I figured on the two math tests. On the database one, I nailed all the "hard" stuff but slipped up on the multiple choice. Just need to take a little more time next time.

Malkin's Amazing Goal against Martin Brodeur

Watching this will never get old...

Words can't do this goal justice. Just sit back and enjoy... let's go Pens!

They're at it again!

The Penguins rolled the Devils 4-2 at home tonight on the way to their third straight win. The Pens got goals from Ekman, Staal, Crosby, and (who else) Evgeni Malkin. Malkin's goal was the best goal I have seen in years. He took a beautiful long range pass from Sid, cut on a dime to split the D, and then turned Martin Brodeur inside-out with a gorgeous backhand move. I can't wait until that goal is up on YouTube so I can watch it about 50 times in a row. If the boys keep this up I may have to accelerate my Stanley Cup prediction by a season or two. It's good times for Pens fans!

***UPDATE*** I've watched the Malkin goal 4 or 5 more times already and it just gets more amazing each time. 4 goals in 4 games... the future is now!

Gameday!!!

So very few things in life seem to soothe Landon the way watching college football does. What can I say... he's a native Texan! Here's the bottom line from yesterday:

- The Longhorns beat Nebraska. This was no doubt due to the positive mojo Landon was sending them. If he could kick field goals we could probably get him a scholarship right now.

- The Penguins won again! They took care of Columbus 5-3. Malkin had the game-winner (that's 3 goals in 3 games if yer counting), and 18 year-old sensation Jordan Staal chipped in a pair of shorthanded goals (all 3 of his goals have been a man down) including a penalty shot that hit the post and then went in off the goalie.

Now if Liverpool can just pull out a huge win against Manchester United today the weekend will have been a success. I wouldn't mind my fantasy football team(s) winning too, but at this point I'd rather have the 3 points for the Reds.

New game alert!!

I came into a little money (you know who you are) so I decided to pick up a new game. Winning Eleven was starting to wear on me so I decided to take on last chance on EA and bought FIFA '07. So far I am very pleased with it. It is definitely the best FIFA game I have played in a very long time. I'm just at the point though where giving EA money just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I'll get over it though.

Midterm week has come and gone.

I had both of my math midterms this evening. They were both pretty easy. I was a little worried about the Probability and Stats one, but it ended up being pretty managable. Now I get to put my focus back on my two term projects. Yipee...

That's what I'm talking about!

The Penguins just beat the Islanders in OT compliments of a Sergei Gonchar one timer. How do I know you ask? Well, I actually got to watch most of the game. Yahoo is showing the games the Vs. (formerly OLN) is broadcasting so I get to watch a little hockey every now and again now. The Penguin power play was the big story as it contributed 3 goals including the OT winner.

This game was also a huge boost for my fantasy hockey team as I picked up a win, 3 goals (2 on the PP), and 6 assists (5 on the PP). Those 7 power play points are going to come in real handy methinks. Hopefully that will be enough to get my team out of last place. Oh, and for those of you who are counting... Malkin has 3 points in his first 2 games. Sidney chipped in 3 more assists tonight as well.

Evgeni Malkin's First NHL Goal

It wasn't pretty, but it still counts.

And so it begins...

Evgeni Malkin finally played his first real game for the Penguins tonight. He scored his first ever goal on a Mark Recchi rebound, but sadly the Pens lost to the Devils 2-1. Everything I have read so far says that Evgeni played great. There was even an article on the web yesterday with Sidney and Recchi comparing him to Mario. Sergei Gonchar resisted the urge to come out and say that he is better than Alexander Ovechkin (we all know it) and instead said Ovechkin is a Pavel Bure type while Malkin is more along the lines of a Sergei Fedorov. Works for me, Sergei managed to pick up a few rings for his trouble.

***Update***
Apparently Evgeni also broke the glass with a slapshot last night. Like I said, this guy does it all!

It's not me, it's you...

So I had my Intro to Databases midterm last night. It was a lot easier than I expected based on what I had heard about my professor from other people. He also gave us back our second term project papers. He wrote that I needed to see him "ASAP" to go over serious problems with my project. I met with him after finishing the test and we determined the following:

- He knows nothing about golf. This is a problem since my project (a project that he wrote himself) is for a fictional golf course. So since he knows next to nothing about the subject he came to the conclusion that someof my naming was wrong when in fact I was using very common golf terms.

- If you don't do something the way he did it then it is wrong. After some explanation on my part he finally came to realize that what I had done not only worked, but actually worked better. I guess the end result is the important thing but c'mon...

- If you are going to sound the alarms on somebody's huge project, you should probably look at the entire thing. My diagram was broken up into 2 pages and he only bothered to look at the first page. Three cheers for thoroughness!!

Veto that suckas!!!

My 48th post could not be a happier one. So after much kicking and screaming I finally forced my big fantasy football trade through last week. So with new QB Carson Palmer in tow I "took the field" against Mike Ferguson and his team that is basically my team from last season (champs woot woot!) eager to erase memories of my poor performance from last week. And thanks in large part to huge games from Tory Holt and Roy Williams I blew Fergie away 152-102 (give or take the decimals). That pushes my record to 4-2 and I should be back in 2nd place tomorrow.

Other notes:
- I pulled off the RB for WR trade I had been hinting at since I got Carson. I traded Joseph Addai for Reggie Williams. Another big win for me. I love how you can take advantage of crappy teams if you draft well.
- By starting Carson Palmer this week I have now played 5 different QB's in 6 weeks. That will increase again next week when I play Matt Leinart.
- I finally get my shot at the first place team next week. I have been the highest scorer in 3 of the last 4 weeks and my confidence is high. It should be fun, it's just too bad I have to play him the week I'm without Holt and Jackson. I can still take him though.

Look what I can do!

So I got a gadget a few weeks ago to allow me to capture video on our PC. It also lets me hook a console up to the PC. So I can now play my X-Box on my PC and record it, as you have just seen.

I forgot to update...

I got an 83 on my GEOL test. Geology savant indeed!

It's good to be the King!

It must be nice to be 19 and one of the best in the world at what you do. Sidney Crosby capped off a 4 point night by scoring the game winner against the Rangers with 3.3 seconds left. Sid's goal and three assists helped propel the Pens to their second win in three games on the young season. The new Pen dynasty may still be a couple years away, but that doesn't mean we can't win a few games in the meantime. I've said it before and I'll say it again... I haven't been this excited about the Pens in a loooooong time.

Also, fellow teen sensations Jordan Staal and Kristopher Letang both scored their first career NHL goals. Staal scored on an awesome shorthanded breakaway and Letang scored a power play goal with a wicked wrister to the top right corner.

Merry Columbus Day... here's your test!

So I had a Geology test this morning. I thought it was going to be unbearably hard based on the way my Prof. is, but it turned out to be not all that bad. I'm predicting a low to mid B for my grade. Not too bad considering I studied for maybe 2 hours total (thank you very much Intro to Databases). I dunno, maybe I'm just a Geology savant. Either way, I'm still not convinced it's a science.

Well I'll be...

So it turns out that the think tank that is my fantasy league decided that my trade was unfair and vetoed it. I'm split on whether or not to even sitck it out for the rest of the season. More than likely I'll drop all the players on my team that I possibly can and then laugh as the league descends even further into chaos. Part of me wants to stick it out just to beat them all, but I don't know that it is worth the trouble.

Now that's more like it!

I managed to get in on the lopsided trade fad last night. It took some little haggling and a couple late night phone calls but I now have a legit QB and it really didn't cost me much. I gave up Mark Brunell (who I grabbed as a free agent earlier this week) and Braylon Edwards (who I didn't want to trade, but you can't make an omlette without cracking a few eggs). In return I got Carson Palmer (stud QB and one of the keys to last year's championship) and Willie Parker. Getting Palmer gives me a must-start QB who won't be facing a bye in the future, so that allowed me to drop Matt Leinart to grab Doug Gabriel. This was key since moving Braylon left me with only 3 WR's. At some point I'll probably try to move one of my RB's to get another quality WR. I also grabbed the Atlanta DEF off of waivers (I was saving my high waiver priority for a QB if one came along, but I've got Carson now). I have to say though, I am very happy with my roster right now. This trade really got me back in the game. Barring injuries my team is going to be pretty tough to beat.

Not a bad way to start the season...

Here's a breakdown of how the day went for the Penguins:

- The team was sold to some rich Canadian who may or may not ultimately try to move the team to Hamilton (that's in Ontario kiddies).

- Mario's number 66 was raised to the rafters for what seems like the fifth or sixth time.

- The kids on the ice spanked the Flyers 4-0 in front of the home crowd. Sidney had a goal and an assist and Marc-Andre had 40 saves for the shutout. If they can get goaltending like that from Fleury on a semi-consistent basis this may be a very good year for the Pens.

Work it Crouchy!!!

Why yes, now that you mention it I did just buy a Peter Crouch jersey on ebay.

Fantasy Update: Finally no more baseball!

- Fantasy Baseball: Kevin and I tied in the two week championship. Yahoo gave him the title based on what I consider a very shady tiebreaker based on what I've experienced in other leagues. As far as I'm concerned I finished in 1st and 3rd with my two teams.

- Fantasy Football: e = B2L pulled out a nice win thanks to my running backs starting to produce. Brett Favre and the Seahawks D almost blew it for me, but a win is a win. I am now in 2nd place overall and lead the league in total points scored so far. This is pretty much where I was at the same point last year. The only difference is that everyone is gunning for me this year.

I also pulled off my first (and most likely last) trade today. I shipped out DeShaun Foster (something I had been trying to do for a couple weeks) and picked up Terry Glenn. This trade brings me another weapon at WR in exchange for a guy I was never going to play barring injuries. The trade also fixes a big bye week fiasco I had looming. I also dropped Derrick Mason and picked up Mark Brunell. Brunell isn't a guy I would normally target, but he goes against the Titans on Favre's bye week so that will be a nice boost there.

Also, the rest of my league continues to pull of stupid trades at an alarming rate. There are a couple guys who just keep loading up on studs because a couple morons do the most inexplicably stupid things. I don't want to rant on this any more, but at this rate it may be hard to defend my title. There are a couple very stacked teams out there now. At least I'm smarter than the rest of them at this stuff, so I've got that going for me...

I know it's really just a piece of paper, but...

Just consider this one hurdle (of several) cleared. I know an AS isn't the grandest accomplishment in the world, but after all I went through to get mine I think I should be allowed to strut about it for a second or two. Okay, back to work...

Fantasy Update: A long time coming...

Sorry for the delay, I know you all(?) have been waiting anxiously for this...

- Fantasy Football: For the first time this season both of my teams won, including a 145.60-82.65 beating handed out by e = B2L (temporarily named The Man in Black) on the guy I beat in the finals last year. It was the first week where both of my teams won, and also the first week where my draft strategy for e = B2L really paid off.

- Fantasy Baseball: Kevin and I are currently tied at 7 for the championship. I have called in the old pick up every starting pitcher the last couple of days strategy in the hopes of winning Wins, ERA, and WHIP. Cross yer fingers... Oh, and I'm killing the Gadiantons in the battle for 3rd.

This is the kind of insight $100 buys you these days...

A direct quote from my Discreet Math textbook:
"A set is said to be infinite if it is not finite."

I'll be sure to keep that little chestnut in mind at all times.

Fantasy Update: week of 9/18

Fantasy Football:

e = B2L squeaked out a huge victory winning by 0.2 points, 108.55-108.35. Welcome to the world of high stakes fantasy football, where every yard counts!! The Lone Star Losers lost. Both teams are now 1-1.

Fantasy Baseball:

Lucky in Lose! made an epic Sunday comeback to overtake the Flipper Babies and move on to the 2-week final. Hopefully my teams will come through and I'll take 1st and 3rd.

Quick Hits:

There are a lot of things I had been meaning to post this week and never did, so I'm gonna do one mega-post to make up for it.

- I'm 1-1 after one week of fantasy football.

- I have unofficially secured a nice promotion at work already. It won't take effect until a couple other positions get filled. But I will soon be the Project Coordinator for the records department at ACC. And yes that does come with a nice raise!

- For my Human Factors class I have to make a website that showers my local Walmart with praise and admiration... shoot me now.

- My math professor rocks!

- Some of the people in my main fantasy football league are retards.

- I saw a guy at work today with a happenin' Hitler moustache.

- I am definitely no longer a hardcore gamer. And yet life goes on...

Fantasy Baseball Playoff Update

Lucky in Lose! ended up taking Eric and his G-Men (Steroid Man included) out behind the woodshed for a nice beating. Ryan Howard refuses to let the Losers live up to their name. Next up for Lucky in Lose! is the Flipper Babies, the #1 seed and my other team. I'm kind of disappointed... while this means I'm guaranteed to have one team in the final, I wanted a chance to get them both in. Oh well, looks like I'll have to settle for 1st and 3rd.

Penguins 2006 - 2007 Preview

I had to post something uplifting after the way today worked out from a sporting point of view. This season is gonna be fun for the Pens. I haven't been this excited about the Pens in a long time.

Mama said there'd be days like this...

- Liverpool lost to Everton 3-0
- UT lost to Ohio State 24-7
- I haven't checked yet, but based on how things are going everyone on my active fantasy team probably tanked tonight.

The worst part of it all was probably having to listen to the crappy announcers doing the Texas game. Apparently some guy named Vince Young used to play for them. I guess, because they wouldn't shut up about him. That guy musta been something. At one point they were even making fun of each other for being idiots. Quality TV if I may say.

Signed, sealed, and delivered!

Penguins fans got the news we had all been waiting for today... the Pens officially signed Evgeni Malkin. He flew into town last night and had dinner with Mario, and then had an informal skate with Sidney this morning. I can't wait to see this guy play! The Penguins are quietly putting together one of the most talented and exciting teams in the league. Shero has added a nice touch of toughness to the roster too. I feel safe in predicting that the Pens will be legit Cup contenders in 3 years. Hopefully they can trade Mark Recchi again this year for something decent (although word is that he patched things up with Sid.)

Fantasy Baseball: Regular Season Results

I managed to squeeze back into first in the final week (I've had a habit of that lately) as Kevin stumbled down the stretch. The final regular season standings are as follows (my teams in italics):

1) Flipper Babies
2) captains of industry
3) Golden State
4) Lucky in Lose!
5) The G-Men
6) John's Lame Team
7) sweat sox
8) pwned

And the two lessons we learned are... 1) Even when given the best team by far out of the draft, my dad (sweat sox) will still blow it big time, and 2) Dave (pwned) proved once again to play with your head and not your heart. If he ever plays again I doubt he'll compose a team of all Astros.

R.I.P. Steve Irwin

From the almost as predictable as it is sad department, Steve Irwin, a.k.a. The Crocodile Hunter, died this morning while filming underwater in Australia. While filming for a show called "Ocean's Deadliest" he was stung in the heart by a stingray and died shortly after. Apparently stingray "attacks" are rarely fatal, but in this case the barb struck Irwin in the chest, underneath the ribcage, and pierced his heart. His crew applied CPR but were unable to save him.

We watched the tape of his "Most Dangerous Adventures" this evening and it was a little surreal. Sitting there watching him surrounded by giant Tiger Sharks in a topless cage and chasing giant Cobras into trees it was hard to not wonder how he lived as long as he did. Steve will be missed for sure. On the bright side, snakes of the world can sleep easier knowing there is one less dude coming to poke them with sticks.

Get your head up...

Hockey season is just one short month away!!!

Say hello to the Godzillatron...

With college football season starting in full today, the defending champion Texas Longhorns (that will never stop sounding awesome) finally got to unveil there new $8 million investment to a paying crowd. Dubbed the "Godzillatron", it is the largest HD screen in America and 2nd largest in the world behind one in Japan. Apparently the thing ways a ton and needed some hardcore supports just to keep it up. Fan reaction was nothing but positive from the Longhorn faithful. Of course everything is going to seem great while you're killing North Texas by 40+ points. It'll be interesting to see if ABC makes a big deal out of the Godzillatron during the Ohio State game next week. By the way, the Horns will win by at least two TD's.

In related news... word out of College Station is that Aggie fans have duct taped every TV in town together to form what they are calling the "Mothratron". The better to see the non-bowl eligible season on I guess...

Atta boy!

Landon and I spent a nice, calm 30-45 minutes today just laying on the floor watching college football. The girls were all at a birthday party so it left the two of us with some time for some quality male bonding. At this rate Landon's first words may be "That was a horrible call ref!"

Let the other title defense begin...

Had the draft for my fantasy football league that I especially care about last night. My team is as follows (It was an auction draft, so the dollar amount by the player is what I paid for them.):

e = B2L

QB- Drew Brees $2
RB- Ronnie Brown $25
RB- Steven Jackson $22
WR- Tory Holt $20
WR- Roy Williams $13
WR- Derrick Mason $9
K- Jay Feely $1
DEF- Seattle $1
Bench- Braylon Edwards $1
Bench- Joseph Addai $1
Bench- DeShaun Foster $1
Bench- Philip Rivers $4 (I had $4 left and couldn't be outbid at this point so I just spent it all. In reality I would have gotten Rivers for $1)

So that is my team. I was pretty happy with the way things went down. I went in with the plan to spend about $80 of my $100 on a top RB (preferably Steven Jackson) and 3 good WR's (really wanted Holt and Williams). I managed to execute my plan pretty well and walk away with an extra top 10 RB. I may look to upgrade Edwards from the free agent list and I'll be keeping an eye on Chris Simms as a possible upgrade at QB, but otherwise I'm very satisfied with my team.

Now go forth and accomplish!

So I got to give a talk in church today. Woot! I think I can safely say that our ward is now fully equipped to accomplish their righteous goals. Overall I would say the talk went well. I actually had to drop a big chunk of it because I ran out of time. I had a hard time to end by because there was a choir number and then a member of the Stake Presidency was speaking. Anyhoo, any talk where you can reference Jim Morrison and make it out alive can't be considered a complete failure.

Saturday soccer wrap up!

All in all it was a good week for Liverpool. First they earned a 1-1 draw with Maccabi Haifa on a neutral pitch. Liverpool took some heat from the press due to the game being shifted to a neutral venue, but I don't see how anyone would blame them for not wanting to go play in Israel right now. Anyway, they won the home and "home" by an aggregate score of 3-2 thanks to their earlier 2-1 win at Anfield. The victory pushed them into the next round of the Champions League where they have drawn a group with Galatasaray, Bordeaux, and PSV Eindhoven. The winner of the group stage moves on to the knock out tourney.

Liverpool picked up their first win of the Premiership season at home this morning as they earned a 2-1 victory over West Ham in a rematch of this summer's FA Cup final. The Reds got goals from Daniel Agger and Peter Crouch as they erased an early Hammers lead to win one in front of the Anfield faithful. Newly acquired striker Dirk Kuyt (pictured) made his debut for the Reds but was unable to score. The win gave the Reds 4 of a possible 6 points on the young season.

Who says soccer can't appeal to the masses?

Gotta give props to Deadspin for finding this beauty.

Finally someone who gets it!

So my two math classes both met for the first time this evening, and my prof seems pretty solid. I would have to say the highlight of his first day presentation was the announcement that he does not collect/grade homework "assignments". Like Prof. Abdul says, "this isn't kindergarten." No offense Ainsley. It's nice to finally have a prof that can grasp that we are adults and can be left to our own devices to learn as oppose to being forced to follow whatever arbitrary process the prof. decides is best. Also, to help prevent someone killing their grade with one bad test (I know how that goes) he is going to be giving us weekly quizzes to help spread out the points. All in all I have to give Abdul two thumbs up so far.

Rough day...

Apparently Landon did nothing but cry for pretty much the entire time I was at work today. In his defense though, I'd be pretty sad too if I didn't have me around.

People can't really be this dense can they?

Apparently there are rumors swirling about the internet that the Penguins are going to trade Evgeni Malkin to Montreal for a package of players and a 1st round pick. Like that would ever happen! The only thing I could see the Pens trading Malkin for is the Stanley Cup itself. And even then Shero would have to think long and hard about it.

We have liftoff!

I had my first Texas State class this evening. It was a bit of an experience as it is being simulcast from a class on the San Marcos campus. My Prof. has a bit of a tendency to go off on a random tangent as well. No biggie though. After some of the CS profs I had at ACC I can handle anything!

Half way to the promised land...

The first of my two fantasy baseball teams punched its ticket to the postseason last week. The Flipper Babies are firmly entrenched in 2nd place, but only 5 games out of 1st with a couple of easy matchups to round out the season.

Lucky in Lose! are fighting to slip back into 3rd and have opened up a nice gap ahead of the 5th place team. Hopefully their easy schedule in the last two weeks can vault them into the 3 spot for the playoffs.

1st day on the job...

So today was my first day working at ACC. It was pretty light as all I did was fill out all my paperwork and go through some tutorial stuff. It seems like they have their act together. A lot of their processes remind me of things I tried to get Neubus to do, but to no avail. The bottom line is that I get to just show up, put on my headphones, do my work, and go home. It's pretty much the ideal job for me right now. We'll see if I feel the same way after actually having to do some work tomorrow.

Saturday Soccer Wrap Up

Ainsley and I got to enjoy the Texas State Lady Bobcats beat St. Mary's 1-0 on a beautiful night in San Marcos. The night ended on a sad note as Ainsley's mean daddy wouldn't let her hang around to say good bye to the team.

In even sadder news... Liverpool barely squeaked out a 1-1 draw with Sheffield Utd. on a controversial penalty call. Not exactly the ideal way to start the new season.

Summer grades are in...

Physical Geography- A
Texas State & Local Gov.- A
Engineering Physics 2- C

That was pretty much the best case scenario for me. Once I bombed the 3rd Physics test right after Landon was born I had to make a killing on the final to get a C. And lo and behold...

A glimpse of the future...

A little taste of what Penguins fans have to look forward to from Evgeni Malkin.

In other cool guys quitting their job news...

Evgeni Malkin submitted his written resignation to his Russian Elite League team. This means that he is 2 to 3 weeks away from officially becoming a Penguin. That is if he hasn't signed a deal with the Pens already like some people have suggested. Either way, the Penguins' future just got a whole lot brighter.

I'm officially out of there!!!

Today was my last day at Neubus, and I couldn't be happier. I still can not for the life of me figure out how I was there for sooooo long (2 years at Neubus is pretty much an eternity) but it doesn't matter now. It's nice to know that I have left the worst job I will ever have. On to bigger and decidedly better things!

And exhale...

Whew! My summer semester is officially over. I get a whole week of before I start classes at Texas State next Wednesday. I guess I had better enjoy it while it lasts.

Community Shield Highlights

Highlights from Liverpool's big win over Chelsea.

Liverpool puts Chelsea in their place!

In the traditional opener to the Premier League season, the Community Shield, defending FA Cup champ (that will never get old) defeated defending Premiership champ Chelsea by a 2 to 1 margin. Peter Crouch scored on a header inside the final 10 minutes to give the Reds their second dramatic 2-1 victory in less than a week. The win should be a big confidence booster for Liverpool as they set out on their quest to capture the Premiership title. If this friendly was any indication, it looks to be a big year for Liverpool.

Before there was VY...

Will Randall ever get his due?

Liverpool avoids scare in Champions League qualifier

The Reds capture the first leg of their qualifying round against Maccabi Haifa thanks to a late goal from Mark Gonzalez. This gives the Reds a nice edge heading into the final leg which will be played on a neutral pitch. YNWA!

Trying something new

If you couldn't already tell, I'm something of a mild fantasy sports junkie. So this year I am trying my hand at a new venture... I now have an English Premier League fantasy team. Hopefully my squad made up mainly of Liverpool's finest can lead me to glory and keep my fantasy hot streak alive.

I have a new job!!!

Starting on Monday August 21 I will be working in the records department of ACC (Austin Community College). No more Neubus!!!!!! Sadly, I don't get a discount on my ACC tuition.

Fantasy Football Draft... the warm-up!

I had my live draft for what is the first of what should be two Fantasy Football teams I run this season. I was drafting 6th out of 10 teams. Here's my Roster:

The Lone Star Losers

QB- Tom Brady
QB- Chris Simms
RB- Steven Jackson
RB- Carnell Williams
RB- Joseph Addai
RB- LeDale White
RB- Frank Gore
WR- Reggie Wayne
WR- Javon Walker
WR- Joe Horn
WR- Michael Clayton
WR- Mark Clayton
WR- Eric Moulds
TE- Vernon Davis
K- Josh Brown
DEF- Chicago

If only I could start more than two RBs...

Let's get ready to rumble!!!!

Okay, so I'm gonna do a blog. We'll see how long I keep it up, but in the meantime you can just come here and verify I am going insane instead of just assuming that I am...