Fantasy Football Week VI: The Return of Big Ben

Posted on by georgefattell

The most interesting story of week 6 has to be the return of Ben Roethlisberger. I was very  tempted to add him as one of the QB’s on my fantasy teams because he is currently a real bargain on the Rotohog site at 2.25 Million. The top tier QBs (Rivers, Brees, Peyton Manning, etc.) go for anywhere between 7.5 and 12 million. Big Ben offers the chance to buy a QB who can produce top tier stats at the price of a third tier QB. He offers an opportunity similar to one Michael Vick presented in Week 2.

Still, I could not pull the trigger and trade for Ben this week because my QB’s are very solid and I had to use my trades to shore up other positions. I have Rivers and Peyton Manning on my A team, and Brees and Peyton Manning on my B team.

However, I did switch my defense to Pittsburgh this week in part because of the return of Roethlisberger. The Steeler D is great, but I figure they won’t be on field quite as much as BR guiding the offense.

I have to trade Peyton Manning next week because it will be Indy’s bye week. Unless Roethlisberger plays very poorly today he will probably be one of my top choices to fill Manning’s slot, at least for a week or two.

New Gadget – Kindle (3rd generation)

Posted on by georgefattell

Back in August I posted a link on this blog to  David Pogue’s review of the 3rd generation Kindle in The New York Times. Pogue’s review was so positive that I made up my mind back then that I was going to purchase the new Kindle. By dropping the price to $139 for the wifi only model and $179 for the 3G model Amazon made the device very attractive. A couple of weeks ago I bought a 3G model. I was able to use American Express points to pay for most of it so mine ended up costing only 20 bucks. At that price I really could not pass it up. My early impressions of the e-reader are very good. It is of course a specialized device, but what it does it does very well. It is extremely light and easy to hold. The monochrome screen is indeed very sharp and quite easy to read in sunlight, which is a real advantage it has over conventional computer displays.

I recommend the new Kindle. At it’s current price it is a good value. Moreover, Amazon offers the Kindle version of many books, including some real classics,  at a a cost of just a few dollars or even free. Can’t beat free. I downloaded copies of Ethics by Aristole, Common Sense by Thomas Paine, Utopia by Sir Saint Thomas More, Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill and The Prince by Machiavelli all for free.

Fantasy Football Week V: Counting on Indy

Posted on by georgefattell

Last week both of my teams suffered as a result of Redskins KO’ing Michael Vick. The breaks of the game I guess.You always know something like that can happen, but it is still quite disturbing when it does happen. I remember checking the game stats on my iPhone last Sunday and seeing Kevin Kolb’s name pop up in the Eagles boxscore. Uh Oh, I knew instantky something went seriously wrong. Fortunately, it appears that Vick will be able to return in a few weeks. I’m not sure I will pick him for his first announced start. In the meantime, I’ve replaced Vick with Peyton Manning on both of my teams. Manning is expensive, but worth it imo, because you know that guy is going to deliver. He is about as close to sure thing as you can get in fantasy football. Manning is not the only Colt on my rosters this week. I also have Austin Collie on both of my teams and Joseph Addai on one. Indy is playing at home against the undefeated KC Chiefs, but I expect the Chiefs to go home with a 1 in the loss column. The Colts are an unexpected 2 and 2. I think they will be totally focused on winning this game and making a statement that they remain among the NFL elite. I’m expecting big numbers from the Colt offense.

The Blue Angels & The F-22 Raptor at 2010 MCAS Miramar Air Show

Posted on by georgefattell

I attended the Air Show at MCAS Miramar last Sunday and the show was as entertaining as ever. The Navy Blue Angels are the stars of this show, but there were other impressive aircraft on display as well, including an Air Force F-22 Raptor.The Raptor is a big plane for a fighter, yet highly maneuverable. It was a blast to see Blue Angels F-18’s and the F-22 perform in person. Here are pictures and a few short videos from the show. I shot the video with my new 3rd generation iPod Touch.

The Air Show at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar is a three day event and a real treat for those with an interest in high performance military aircraft. I’ve attended this show several times in the last 6 six years and always found it well attended and this year was no different. The stands were packed.

Here is a video of the F-22 Raptor in action. What a great job this pilot has!!

Four Blue Angels perform a full roll…

All six Blue Angels perform the Breakout maneuver….

Fantasy Football Week IV: Let the Saints Come Marching In

Posted on by georgefattell

I made some minor adjustments on my teams yesterday, but now they are all set.

Here are my QB’s:   Rivers & Vick on team #1 and Brees & Vick on team #2. All three QB’s are playing at home.

Going win New Orleans as my defence for both teams. The Saints are playing at home against the winless Carolina Panthers. Rookie Jimmy Clausen is starting for only the second time.

At WR I am using Brandon Marshall and Austin Collie on both teams.

Television: Terriers

Posted on by georgefattell

I don’t watch too many new TV shows these day, but I recently found a new show on FX called Terriers that I think is very entertaining. The show is a crime drama that follows the lives of two private investigators in present day San Diego. I first read about this show on the Daily Beast website a couple of weeks ago and noticed that the first episode was being offered on iTunes for free, so I decided to take a look. I was intrigued because I read that the show set in my current hometown of San Diego. Not too many TV shows are set in San Diego so I was curious about how the city would be portrayed in show. Some of you may remember that there was another San Diego based PI show back in the 1980’s on CBS called Simon & Simon, starring Jameson Parker and Gerald McRaney, that was quite good as well. It had a run of 8 seasons. I’m not sure that Terriers will last 8 seasons but it is off to a good start imo. It is always particularly enjoyable to discover a good new TV series in it’s first season because you don’t know what to expect from the characters and the story lines are new and not predictable. No matter how good a series is there comes a point where the actors and writers really can’t surprise the audience in the way they could the first season or two.

The show appears to be been shot all over San Diego. In just the first three episodes I recognized location shots in a variety of well known neighborhoods, including Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, La Jolla, downtown and Balboa Park. I’m surprised I never came across the show’s crew shooting a scene. I have already viewed a few scenes shot just blocks from where I live downtown. Overall, I would say that show portrays San Diego in realistic light. Although San Diego is known for sun and fun it is not all a big resort. Even some of the beach communities have a rough edge to them and the show illustrates that well.

In this video the stars of Terriers discuss their characters and what the show is all about. Terriers does have moments of comedy, but it can be a very dark show. By episode 3 you really understand that. Terriers is smart and funny, but definitely not a show for kids under 18 because of the adult themes of the series. :

More about the show can be found here Terriers Official Website

UFC 119 Indianapolis

Posted on by georgefattell

The card for 119 is somewhat lackluster, but there a few significant bouts on tap.

Heavyweight: Frank Mir vs Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic. Tough fight to call because both fighters have demonstrated that they can KO or submit opponents or be KO’d. Both seem to be past their prime and they are now fighting for survival in the UFC heavyweight Div. Will both show up with their A game? I think Mir, at his best, is a little more versatile, with both good striking and his superior Jiu Jitsu. If Mir stays clear of Cro Cop’s dangerous kicks he should prevail imo.
Mir by decision.

Light Heavyweight: Rogerio Nogueira vs Ryan Bader: Winner probably gets to fight a top 5 opponent in the division next, so this is an important fight. I’ll take Bader over Little Nog. Ryan Bader was a D-1 All-American wrestler at Arizona State Univ. and has added a pretty good stand up game to his repertorie. Bader is now 11-0 and seems ready to challenge the LHW division elite if he can get past the veteran Nogueira, who is a master of BJJ. He also he good boxing skills. This should be a very interesting fight, but I think Bader’s superior athletic ability will enable him to prevail. Bader by KO/TKO in Rd 2.

Welterweight: Matt Serra vs Chris Lytle: Lytle by submission in round 3. Lytle is on a 3 fight win streak and appears to be at top of his game. Lytle is fighting in his hometown tonight. Both fighters have strong Jiu Jitsu. Serra won by split decision last time these met in the Octagon, but that was four years ago. Although Serra scored a KO in his last fight I think Lytle is the hotter fighter right now. Lytle by decision.

Fight Pick Results: 3 right, 0 wrong.

Fantasy Football Week III: Reid makes the call

Posted on by georgefattell

Andy Reid’s decision to install Michael Vick as the starting QB for the Philadelphia Eagles certainly changes the balance of power in the NFC East.

As a fantasy QB Vick paid a very handsome dividend last week. When I added Vick to my team I thought he would only be starting last week and then it would be back to the bench for him. So, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the news that Coach Reid decided to make him the permanent starter. It must have been a tough call to bench starter Kevin Kolb, but I think Reid made a gutsy decision and the right call. If Vick continues to play at the level he played at in the first two games the sky is the limit for the Eagles. They could make a deep playoff run with Vick.