Is Fantasy Football the Best "Sports" Event?

Every year, right around August I start to get football crazy!  I'm dying for both the college and pro seasons to start, as I am every August.  At least we had the World Cup this summer to help me through the long drought of good sporting events (sorry baseball but you just don't cut it for me until October.)  But finally, August is here, and with it comes my favorite sporting event, FANTASY FOOTBALL!

I've played fantasy football for about 5 years now, and have felt the highs of winning leagues and the lows of finishing dead last in leagues (which I did in 1 league last year) but no matter what, I always enjoy it and always come back for more.  I look forward to my fantasy football drafts more than I do the Super Bowl, the World Series and the NBA Finals combined, why?  I think it's pretty simple:  It's my chance to try to play "GM" for a little while.

I think being a GM for an NFL team would be my dream job, and fantasy football may be the closest I'll ever come to it.  You have to scout prospects, check injury reports, conduct trades, waive players, "sign" players, etc.  Of course you don't have to deal with massive contracts and inflated egos in fantasy football but you still have to try to work through up and down performance which can be frustrating but a lot of fun.

At the end of the day I think the reason why fantasy football has become the best "sports" event is simply that it creates fan interaction.  It forces you to watch every game possible, catch every stat that scrolls across the bottom of the screen and really become "football educated."  I love every minute of it. 

August is a great month, but in terms of the sports calendar, September is going to be even better.  :)

The Future Could be Bright in Utah

I like many Jazz fans sat in disgust when the Jazz drafted Gordon Hayward.  I couldn't put any sense into the move, I mean seriously, another wing man?  That seemed to me to be the last thing the Jazz needed.  I still think Hayward is a stretch, but when you see what has unfolded this past week or so in Jazz country, you can start to see why the Jazz brass did what they did.

1.  They let Boozer go, but somehow were able to get a $14 Million trade exception out of the deal.

2.  They let Korver go... Aha... so that's why they drafted Hayward

3.  They we attacked once again by Portland's front office (I hate their executives more than I hate the entire LA Lakers team!)  Seriously, another steep front loaded contract, this time for Wesley Matthews, seemed to be primed to bury the Jazz.  But, this time, Portland's going to have to pay the bill and I'm pretty sure the people in the Rose Garden felt confident the Jazz would match.  They didn't...

4.  Instead, the Jazz fought back and signed one of my all-time favorite former Jazz players, Raja Bell.  Eat that Portland... the Blazers will be paying close to $10 Million for Brandon Roy's backup this next season.

5.  The Jazz worked out a deal for big man Al Jefferson.  Great move.  He's a good post player, a better shot blocker than Boozer and is still really young.  He's 25 and hungry to win. 

6.  The Jazz front office proved to Utah that they actually are doing something to try to earn their salaries.  For a long time it seemed like they were destined to sit around and do nothing.

So, at the end of a busy week, I have to admit, I'm a happy Jazz fan.  The Jazz Brass showed their abilities by making some big deals and have positioned Utah to once again be a contender.  They still don't have an answer for both Bynum and Gasol though... but here's to hoping that they both blow out their ACL's this season.  (Just kidding... kind of).

GO JAZZ!

The King Will Never Fill Michael's Shoes

LEBRON'S ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION IS:  NO!

Of course his answer is "no!"  He couldn't have stated it more adamantly than by doing what he did on Thursday when he decided to join the Miami Heat.  LeBron made the choice in order to "win now" and he may just do that, along with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, but by choosing to take part in this all-star trio he's admitted that he can't be the next Michael Jordan.  Not that it's that big of a surprise anyway, but still, it would have been nice to have seen him try.

How many times did Michael Jordan try to win a championship only to find himself and his Bulls at the wrong end of the score to teams like the Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics?  Year after year Jordan was getting better, and year after year he went home without a championship, but did that cause he to ditch the Bulls to join other all-stars in order to win a championship?  Not a chance.  Jordan wanted to win it on his merits and demonstrate that he was the best basketball player in NBA history, so he hung in there.  He helped build up the players around him, and eventually, he won 6 NBA Championships.  What do you think his image would be like today if he'd left the Bulls to sign with the Showtime Lakers to win a championship?  I think it's pretty safe to say that he wouldn't be viewed as the greatest NBA champion ever.

On Wednesday night we were all witnesses to LeBron's admission into inferiority in NBA history.  He'll never come close to Michael Jordan's legacy.  He may win 6+ championships in Miami, who knows, but one thing is certain 6 championships in Miami with 2 other future hall of famers will never hold the same weight that it would have held if he had broken the sports curse in Cleveland and brought home a championship to the Cavaliers.  He could have been so much more than what he'll now end up being.  Now he'll be a piece of a puzzle, whereas in Cleveland, he could have legitimately become an NBA King.

So long King James, your reign is officially over.