Weekend wrap-up

I've determined weekends need to be longer. Oh, and Mother Nature needs to stop it with the heat and humidity.

But anyway. It was a busy weekend. Dinner with the parents on Friday night, followed up by refreshing - although a bit windy - 13.1-mile bike ride around the airport grounds on Saturday afternoon.  The evening was spent watching the wolves eat their dinner, catching up with the baby baboon and realizing goats have really freaky eyes at the Menominee Park zoo, dinner and a movie. It was a good night (The Last Exorcism, I recommend waiting for it to come out on DVD).

And today was draft day - deciding which NFL players would be lucky enough to call themselves a member of Crime and Grime for the 2010 fantasy football season. There are some returnees from last year's championship team - Peyton and Eli Manning and Dallas Clark - along with some new additions - Wes Welker, Miles Austin and (representing the Green and Gold) Ryan Grant and Donald Driver. Should be a good year.

Anyone notice that a run is missing? There were plans to do an 8- or 9-miler, but I wasn't planning on having enough time to do it Saturday. And today? It was just too dang hot. So the long run has been pushed to Monday. Again. But I have a plan this time. Instead of 8 or 9 miles of the treadmill to nowhere? I'm heading over to the other YMCA in town tomorrow after work. I'm planning on doing a good chunk of the run on the running track (where 10 or 11 laps equals a mile) and finishing out the remaining miles on the treadmill. I think it's a good compromise. Instead of running to nowhere for that many miles, I'll be running in circles. But it'll be better than running outdoors when the mercury has hit 90 and it's humid. Plus when I do make my way to the treadmill? There will be the U.S. Open to watch. Watching tennis while running? Sounds like a deal to me!

Hope you all had a good weekend!

At least these criminals can win. So far.

I've got a good bunch of criminals under my wing. Well, at least a bunch of criminals who know how to put points on the board and win a game.

Yes folks, Crime & Grime is back for another Fantasy Football season. And I love it.

Unlike last season when my crooks went weeks before winning a game, this season's version is off to a good start, grabbing a victory this week. Granted, my opponent made some poor roster choices, but still. My win. And the Criminals are 1-0.

Like last year, I wasn't around on draft day, so I let the computer do my picking. So who's featured on Crime & Grime this season?

Jon Kitna, Marc Bulger and Vince Young at QB
Edgerrin James, Clinton Portis, Larry Johnson, Darren McFadden and Selvin Young at running back
Plaxico Burress, Javon Walker, Laveranues Coles and Bernard Berrian at wide receiver
Vernon Davis at tight end
Phil Dawson's handling kicking duties for the criminals
And Seattle's defense is full of crooks.

We're only a week into the season and I've already had to do some rearranging. The Chicago defense I originally had? Gone and replaced with Seattle. And Vince Young's on his way off the team already. I've got too many quarterbacks, he's hurt, probably hobbling around on crutches and I need to find another tight end. If it goes through, by this time tomorrow Young's gone and Dante Rosario will be able to call himself a criminal.

A quick update

My blog is feeling neglected again. And it's still due to the throbbing in my head. But since today is one of the better days I've had lately, I thought a quick update, in bullet form, was called for.

• The bad news is the throbbing migraines in my head are still causing me problems. The good news? My doctors think they know what the problem is. I still have to undergo one more test on Friday, but hopefully after that, the doctors will make a diagnosis and I can start down the path towards getting better. Apparently treatment for what the doctors think I have involves a hefty dose of steroids for a couple of months. But at least it's a chance to feel better again.
• I'm amazed at the amount of care and concern I've gotten from family, friends and co-workers. It's something I've expected from my friends and family. But I never thought this would be the reaction I got from some of my co-workers. It makes me feel good and appreciate the people I work with and the place I spend my days.
• And speaking of people who are concerned. The Coach has been amazing. I've given him the chance to run away. Because seriously, who would want to deal with something like this? But he refuses to leave. And instead on the nights when I'm curled in a fetal position because it hurts so bad, he's been by my side. Letting me fall asleep and making sure I'm OK. All because he's concerned and wants me to feel better.
• I did have one good night last weekend. And I took advantage of it, going to a holiday gathering hosted by one of my friends. And The Coach came along with me, meeting most of my friends here in The City on the Water. And he did a good job.
• It's December 12 and I haven't even started my Christmas shopping. I've been too busy dealing with a throbbing head. Looks like this could be one of those Christmas seasons where I do all of my shopping at the last minute.
• Since the head throbbing began, I think I've been averaging 16 hours of sleep a day. And I'm still tired.
• Remember my fantasy football team? The team that was so awful at the beginning of the season? Well Crime & Grime is now a force to be reckoned with in my league. After starting the season 1-7, my team went 4-1 and qualified for the playoffs. And then? The Criminals knocked off the No. 1 ranked team in our league. The rest of the teams in my league should be scared of my Criminals.

Dear criminals, this is a football.

Obviously my criminals aren't the best bunch of football players.

My fantasy team? They lost. Again.

On the bright side, they didn't get creamed as badly this week. Final score? NACHO SUPREME 113.13, Crime & Grime 94.81.

And honestly, if I would have known Seattle declared D.J. Hackett inactive at the last minute on Sunday, I probably wouldn't have left him in my starting lineup. But they did. And I didn't know. So I got a big fat zero.

Since I'm now one of two players in my league sitting with an 0-2 record, I decided something needed to be done about my team of criminals. First, I ditched my Miami defense. I'm sorry boys, but you lost me points this week. That's not cool. Especially since points are apparently hard to come by for the criminals. They were replaced by our neighbors to the West, the Minnesota Vikings.

And then there's D.J. Hackett. I'm sorry, but you're hobbling around on crutches, with your foot in a boot. And at the earliest, you might make it back to the field by Week 5. I can't wait around that long. So, adios D.J. It's been nice, kind of, knowing you. You've been replaced with Jason Avant, a wide receiver from the Philadelphia Eagles. Hopefully he can catch the ball and give me some points.

And that's about all I have to say right now, just that my criminals? They're not doing so well at the moment. But I feel a win coming...someday.

The criminals? They hardly showed up

My first foray into the world of fantasy football is complete.

How'd Week 1 go? Not so good.

The criminals? Yeah, they got slammed. Final score 141.09 to 85.64. Ouch. Those 85 points? Good enough for third worst point total in the league I'm in. Of course it didn't help that I had 45 points sitting on my bench with Eli Manning and Adrian Peterson.

Adrian, get ready, because I think you're getting called up to the starting lineup next week.

After 85 points, there's nowhere to go but up. So hopefully my pack of criminals does better next week. Or else I'll be looking for a few new non-law abiding football players.

I've never played football in my life, not even in my dreams

There are all kinds of fantasy sports leagues.

Fantasy baseball. Fantasy auto racing. Fantasy hockey. Fantasy golf. And of course, the grand daddy of them all, fantasy football.

As much as I love sports, I've successfully avoiding becoming a fantasy player. I'd rather just watch the real game and not worry about if my running back is racking up decent yards because, hello, I need those 6 points to win my fantasy match up.

Until this year.

Yes friends, I have joined a fantasy football league.

It's made up of folks from work. And I've been promised there will be no public humiliation. Public ridicule? That's one's still being debated. But at least I won't be humiliated in the pages that I write for. And that's good for me, since I haven't got a clue what I'm supposed to be doing.

Our "draft" was this morning, but I wasn't around. So I let the computer pick my team. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the members of "Crime & Grime."
Quarterbacks - Marc Bulger (St. Louis Rams); Eli Manning (NY Giants)
Wide receivers - Torry Holt (St. Louis Rams); Hines Ward (Pittsburgh Steelers); Joey Galloway (Tampa Bay Buccaneers); D.J. Hackett (Seattle Seahawks); Mushin Muhammad (Chicago Bears); Marty Booker (Miami Dolphins)
Running backs - Joseph Addai (Indianapolis Colts); Maurice Jones-Drew (Jacksonville Jaguars); Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings)
Tight ends - Jeremy Shockey (NY Giants); Owen Daniels (Houston Texans)
Kicker - Robbie Gould (Chicago Bears)
Defense - Miami Dolphins

So we'll see how this goes. I'll keep you posted on how many band of "criminals" does.