Tell me what's your Fan-ta-ta-sy?!

Ugh, I hate that I picked that title - song's gonna be in my head all day...



Anyway, happy September, everyone! It feels like fall already here in Pittsburgh - the air at a crisp 42 with talks of Halloween, dem Stillers, and... Fantasy Football! I've never participated in the excitement of FF outside of a few family pick'ems (which I won in 2007, thank you kindly) but this year I'm really gonna go for it.

I've signed up for one league but I'm gonna see if I can get in on a couple more while I'm feeling HOT! First things first though - learn what the hell fantasy football is.

I hope you learn a thing or too, as well. My goal for this blog is to provide you (and me) the business savvy, football knowledge, and competitive strategy to impress even the beefiest of football meat-heads this winter. Hoo-raa!!

Ok, let's start with the basics. FF is a way of using actual team and individual performances in a virtual environment where you control the team setup and starting lines. So ideally, having all the best players starting every game would rack in some serious points. But like real life, it's not that easy - there's first a draft where you have to pick your team in rotation and allow other competitors their choices as well. Also, huge letdowns like injuries can really throw off your strategy. Ooohh, starting to get interestingggg ;-)

FUN FACT: Did you know that fantasy football was originally created by an associate of the Oakland Raiders in 1962 and it was called: GOPPPL which stands for Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Procrastinators League. Haha, I like it, I think I'll call my team that. DON'T STEAL IT!!

Let's address some drafting FAQ's shall we?

1. How do you get placed for your draft position?
Well, different strokes for different folks. Usually you'd have a "draw straws" kind of method or random order. But it can vary by professional clubs or groups of friends. Also tricky players can trade their draft positions for leverage later in the season.

2. What draft positions are the best?
You'd think that 1st pick is the holy grail of fantasy football drafts, and it basically is, but there are exceptions. For example, if you're in a group of 12 and you don't get first nab, you're better off at the end. Here's why - picks go in what I will call "slithery snake" rotation. First through 12th, then back again, so 12th gets 2 picks in a row. And in the first round, these will still be great players and basically equal is skill.

Next topic - picking your boys.

Now this is where the serious research comes in (much more serious than the biomedical research I should be doing now...), time to analyze the available resources. Now, I will say that the amount of time and energy going into these resources is beyond laughable, and there's a ridiculous number of websites dedicated to this. So here are my favorites for me, a first timer:

1. Fantasy Football Calculator - These guys are so so in love with this. They make mock drafts for every possible scenario you could find yourself in. 3rd pick in a 12 person league, 50th position in a 430 person league, etc. You can print some of these out to see what the "professionals" did in your situation.

2. Who doesn't like cheatsheets? I love em! Try this site of cheatsheets of all the players rankings and projected FF points.

3. I hate FOX, but they have a pretty sweet draft guide going on right now. Check it out.

You must keep in mind 3 things regarding the offseason when picking your team: What offseason trades have happened to benefit the team? Did your team have a good NFL draft? Who is or was injured on your fantasy football team?

See, I told you this was serious.

This all depends on the type of game you're in too. There are Salary Cap leagues where you act as an owner and can only spend an allotted amount of money on your team (or embezzle it and sell all your good players like the Pirates).

Next up - scoring and impressing your friends:
Here's a sample scoring guide I found online


Here's where the strategy comes in. Each week you pick your starting line and rack in the points throughout the week. Trades are allowed, and encouraged. Pay attention to the players and team news and if you feel like it, you can watch the actual games. I think they show them on Sundays?

Basically, there's a sick amount of information to make you a proficient "Pigskin Procrastinator", but hopefully, what I've provided here helps.

Final Tips:
1. Bring an outdated list of suggested draft picks to lend to the wandering pair of eyes sitting next to you. Haha, evil.

2. Never draft a backup QB that has the same bye week as your starter, it defeats the purpose of drafting him and pegs you as a total amateur.

3. It's much more important to get your third RB before a kicker. Draft your best picks first, not in the typical order (QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, TE, K, D, QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, K).

4. Trade wisely, and often. Even at the draft consider trading your next 2 picks for a higher pick.

5. Use your last picks to take chances on rookies or sleepers.

You all owe me for being so informative.

I'll keep you posted throughout the season on how my team's looking.

20 Facts about the G-20 Summit

Good day Pittsburghers! That phrase has 20 letters and starts with G. Hmm... know what else is made up of 20 characters and starts with G?? OH!! The G-20! For some unknown reason, the Group of 20 (or G-20) is hosting their annual summit here in Pittsburgh, PA. Like many Pittsburghers, I was coming down from my Super Bowl/Stanley Cup Championship high when I got word that the city would again be in the national press. But I couldn't conceal my WTF-esque attitude toward this new, much more political "win" of ours. Smiles on the faces of city officials hinted to me that this was, in fact, a good thing; but my ignorance on the meaning of G-20 led me to just shun the news all together. Until now... Now that I'm hearing about protests and university closings, and secret service I'm beginning to grow intrigued. Hence, a blog to enlighten us all on the what's what of this surprise summit that we've been so blessed to host this year.

20 facts about the G-20

1. G-20 was initiated in 1999 as an attempted solution to the financial and economical inconsistencies that exist between the global financial leaders (Luxembourg, US, UK, etc.) as well as developing economies. The goal was to collect the financial ministers from 19 countries (and European Central Bank) into a forum that promotes constructive exchange of information. Clever.

2. Discussion topics may include (but are not limited to): crisis-control, combating terrorist financing, reducing abuse of the financial system, estimating the girth of Sidney Crosby's thighs, etc.

3. The organization is led by rotating chair positions. 2009 is chaired by the United Kingdom. Cheeky.

4. The United States has not been offered the chair position yet. Perhaps it's because of our failed economy, I don't know?

5. The G-20 is not to be confused with the G-7, G-22, or G-33. They are separate associations that all just happen to do the same thing.

6. It's been reported that President Obama suggested hosting the summit in Pittsburgh to highlight the city's continuing financial recovery... Is that really your reason, Obama??



7. For the last meeting in London, the Metropolitan Police, the City of London Police and the British Transport Police, as well as over 3,000 extra police officers were called into action to control protest riots.

8. Pittsburgh can handle it.





9. This will be the first "green" political summit, thanks to the David L. Lawrence convention center which is the first certified and largest green convention center in the world.

10. Other venues for the convention are scheduled at Phipps conservatory, the Andy Warhol museum (?? haha), CAPA - Creative and Performing Arts high school, and Rosemont Farm - Teresa Heinz's place.

11. PITT chancellor, Mark Nordenberg, was not invited to attend the summit, despite his damnedest efforts.

12. Protests generally arise from public anger over recession, bankers' pay, loss of jobs, and capitalist mentality. Some people just throw stones over group think. I, personally, think violent acts of protest are neanderthalic and malproductive (both made up words).

13. The G-20 divides into two camps: the trade surplus nations and the trade deficit nations. Both camps agree that global trade imbalances lie at the root of the economic collapse. They encourage increased domestic consumption from countries like China that rely heavily on exports.

14. G-20 MVP may be a tie: some say Brazil with its rising financial status and hotshot President Lula, but others say China because of the ball-vice they have on the US debt. Think Vito vs. Michael Corleone circa Godfather II.

15. Obama's secret service codename is "Renegade". Coincidence that that's the Steeler's fight song??? I THINK NOT!



16. Duquesne, Robert Morris, Point Park, CMU, CCAC all closed for the G-20. University of Pittsburgh is holding strong.

17. Protesters allegedly plan to throw water balloons filled with decomposed roadkill juice, urine, and feces (ok, this may not be a fact - my nasty friend told me this)

18. Dinners will include Primanti's sammiches, pierogies, n'at warshed dahn wit dat der Ahrn City.

19. An event will be held on Sept. 18 at Carnegie Music Hall called: "Challenges for G-20: Is the City of Champions the Black and Gold Standard for Recovery". Sounds pretty sweet.

20. The meeting promises to end with nothing exciting.

Overall, I think that the G-20 is an excellent idea - after all many economic mistakes arise from poor communication. All this jibber jabber about Pittsburgh being a success story of financial regrowth is a bit of a stretch to me, though. NOT because Pittsburgh isn't a success story, NO I BELIEVE IT VERY MUCH IS, however, I don't think it owes its success to a government recovery plan. I think Pittsburgh thrives because of its hard-working, down-and-dirty locals (and the UPMC); and if Obama is looking to make a business plan to translate to other fallen blue-collar economies (like Detroit), it won't be easy.

Further reading:
Official Pittsburgh G-20 site

Action plan from 2008 meeting in Washington

Make it Easy

There's alot of information out there in the world and I find that it's extremely difficult to deeply understand or explore a given topic when extraneous tangents are present to steer you away from the point. That's why I am introducing a new segment to my blog called, "Dumb Down". It's purpose is two-fold, by preparing the "dumb down" versions of complex issues I'll be learning what's really going on and also you, my reader, can benefit from the easy to follow, list-view, 101 style of the information.

Today's topic:

TWITTER dumbed down
Disregard this post if you are a twitter pro, or even better, feel free to add your 2 cents. But I must admit, I registered for the site when its popularity grew and since then I've tweeted a handful of times and still feel lost with the concept. So my goal today was to figure out some of the best uses for twitter, how to tweet effectively, and what those crazy @names mean. Enjoy.

So twitter "tweets" are text fashioned messages of max 140 characters that can be sent to "followers" or through open access. What I found interesting is that while twitter is the 3 fastest growing social network, it only has a 40% retention rate.... hmm... guess this how-to blog isn't too pointless after all! My guess is that people ask or "tweet" themselves, "what's the point?"

Some of the best uses for twitter that I have found include:
1. Getting feedback - twitpic a new haircut, or a car you are thinking about buying. Or post a link to an article you found intriguing. The mass of "followers" you have accumulated now have an opportunity to act as your council and supply advice or criticisms. I think alot of times people's arguments with twitter are, "why not just text your friends?" Well in this case, you can get opinions from people outside your direct network without mass-texting or not having contact info.

2. Give warning - if there's a huge traffic issue on the parkway and you know alot of people in your network take that route it could be very beneficial if they knew to take an alternate route. Of course this brings up the "text while driving" issue but let's just sweep that under the rug for now, shall we?

3. News tweets - this is probably the primary reason why I would enjoy "following" a twitter. It's nice to get up-to-the-minute reports on current events. News and celebrity twitters have become very popular as the give people a personal connection with the tweeter. Imagine the feeling that Anderson Cooper just personally texted you to tell you about the latest riot over the health care reform. Sexy.



4. Live twittering - recording your impressions of current art gallery exhibits, or concerts, or a sporting event can be fun and interesting to your followers. But eh, this one doesn't impress me too much.

Overall, I feel like, yea twitter is a cool idea. But my qualms are this: 1) I'm going to forget to tweet when something interesting happens which voids the purpose, and 2) I'm not gonna wanna read my friends dumb tweets so why would they want to read mine? Well regardless, I'm gonna give it a shot when I get my new blackberry ;-). CLICK HERE to follow me on twitter!

Lastly, what's up with these @name things? If I had to guess I would think its like a reference (think pointers in C++ code, all you nerds out there). But I don't know if I'm right. And do you have to type that in on your phone? Where even is the @ sign? Let's find out... I found this little helper on the WSJ blog:

Twitter Glossary
@: At reply. A public tweet directed at a fellow Twitterer, such as @Barack Obama, that shows up in their Twitter stream.
DM: Direct Message. A private message that appears in a Twitter inbox. You can only direct message people who follow you.
RT: Retweet. A tweet that you like so much that you are resending to your followers. Usually includes credit to original tweeter, such as RT @BarackObama, followed by the tweet.
Whale Icon: The iconic blue whale that pops up when Twitter is down. It appeared frequently in Twitter's first year and a half.
#: Hashtag. Used to designate a topic such as #SanDiegoFire so that people can easily search for tweets on a topic. (It is totally unnecessary, though, because a search on a keyword without the # returns the same results).
Nudge: A feature that lets you send a note to a Twitterer encouraging them to tweet more frequently. You can only nudge people who are tweeting from a mobile phone.

You can also use outside applications like Twitpic and TinyURL to add pictures and URLs, respectively, to your tweets.

Side notes to keep in mind:
- "followers" are not like facebook friends. It is not a two way street. Just because you wanna read their tweets doesn't mean that they are interested in yours.
- the best way to gain followers is to tweet more
- no one expects you to read all the tweets that roll in. Just enjoy it as good people watching.

Live long and twitter.