Friday, April 04, 2003

Sometimes A Fantasy... Tomorrow is what has long been known to myself and several select friends as The Best Day Of The Year.  It's Draft Day for my fantasy baseball league.  Yes, I am aware that fantasy sports are a ridiculously contrived exercise, laden with male sophomoric bonding and false machismo.  Why do you think I've been doing this for over 10 years? Tomorrow's draft has the added bonus of being on the first night of the Final Four.  It's hard to explain to people who aren't involved why fantasy sports have such a grip on such a sizable segment of the population.  (And I believe that segment is quite large, judging from the amount of information that's out there on the internet...)  I think part of the explanation is that fantasy sports gives people who follow sports an avenue to share their love of sport with other people who have the same love.  The best way to follow a sport is to actually follow it, to read the boxscores, to discuss the players and games.  Purists will tell you that fantasy sports bastardize the real intent of sport and that any real lover of the game would follow of their own accord, but it's a well-known fact that purists are really people who are just terrible fantasy managers, and have been banished from their leagues in shame. I think another part of the appeal of fantasy sports is that they provide a competitive outlet for people when their opportunities to compete on the field of play have diminished.  People who are competitive end up finding ways to compete, whether it's on a basketball court, a darts game, a fantasy draft or seeing who can hold one's breath the longest. As technology has advanced, the two basketball leagues I play in have moved to an online draft format; one utilizes a chatroom, which is pretty amazing.  We have guys from St. Paul, Milwaukee, Madison, Washington D.C., Chico, CA, Carbondale, IL and Tunisia all talking and bidding via fast typing.  10 years ago, that wouldn't have seemed possible.  10 years from now, will we all be on a videophone?  Still, the best way to do it is to get 11 guys together in person, lock the doors, stock the fridge, and have at it for six to eight hours, and that's why the baseball draft is the Best Day Of The Year.  Everybody will be there, casing each other, watching the eyes for a hint of weakness, fear or doubt, of which there will be plenty to go around. My wife makes fun of me for indulging this hobby, but I won't apologize for it.  She shouldn't mock what she doesn't understand.  And when Daddy brings home the bacon after he wins this season, we'll see who's complaining then. 2:19:14 PM    Say what?[]

Good Reads Two very good websites, especially with regard to what's going on in Iraq.  The first is Josh Marshall's blog, Talking Points Memo, which Jim Haefele also linked to with Hyperbole.  Marshall is a writer who can most frequently be found in The Washington Monthly, but his stories appear in variety of places.  He's a savvy and articulate writer, and an outspoken critic of the Bush Adiministration, as much for their politics as for their execution.  As I read his postion, I think he occupies that liberal middle ground of seeing some necessity for an action against Iraq, but having serious doubts about how we got to where we are today.  Read for yourself, though, especially if you enjoy a little inside-the-Beltway intrique with your coverage. http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/ The second link is courtesy of loyal Pipeline reader Chris Z., to a blog called Intel Dump.  It's billed as "Near real-time analysis and commentary from Phil Carter -- a former Army officer, journalist and UCLA law student", and it comes complete with complementary blurbs from Time, the Washington Post, and Slate.  Now, if only he had a plug from The Time... Anyway, the stuff seems pretty informed to me, especially with regard to tactics, preparations, etc.  Carter gives a nice context to some of the things that are appearing elsewhere, and breaks it down with cross-linked articles and analysis, in a quick-hitting fashion.  Check it out at: http://philcarter.blogspot.com/   10:14:16 AM    Say what?[]

© Copyright 2003 Doug Hennessee. Last update: 5/1/2003; 10:47:37 AM.