Great fantasy day, bad reality day

One of the best days of the year is the opening Sunday of professional football. Although my main focus is on the Indianapolis Colts, I also enjoy seeing how my fantasy players are doing. Sunday's games proved to be frustrating in terms of reality, but my fantasy team, Holy Roller, had a record-setting week and looks primed to be a contender throughout the season.
I wish I could say the same about the Colts. The Houston Texans showed that they were improved and wanted the game more than Indy did. Houston was more focused and ran Arian Foster for 231 yards and three touchdowns. At no point did the Colts have the lead.
Although there were many times during the game where I just figured that the Colts were going to pull it out because they always do, something about this one seemed like it was finally the Texans' turn. It was opening week and they had been specifically preparing for this game because they were 1-15 against the Colts all-time, including two big blown leads in the last two games played in Houston.
Although Peyton Manning played great, the offensive line struggled and wide receiver Pierre Garcon dropped a few passes and failed to make big plays like he did all year in 2009. An Austin Collie fumble early in the fourth quarter really took the team out of their rhythm. They would have had the ball at the Houston 10, going in for a score that would have made it a three-point game.
But the biggest concern of the game was the run defense, that looked every bit as bad as they did in 2006 when Maurice Jones-Drew ran all over the bumbling defense in a December game in Jacksonville. The defense also suffered the loss of Bob Sanders, who is out indefinitely with torn biceps. Arian Foster had a break out day, and that was way too much for the Colts.
Foster's big day wan;t too much for my fantasy team, that scored an incredible 166 points in a 166-34 victory over my opponent. That's right, I won by 132 points. No other team in the league even scored 132. Foster had 50 points for me, which would have been enough to beat my opponent on his own. But just for show I had Chris Johnson, who had 30 points, the third most in the whole league behind Foster and the Bears' Matt Forte. I beat my opponent at every position, with the help of Visanthe Shiancoe, Pierre Thomas and Eli Manning. Greg Jennings also had a touchdown for me.
I am confident that the Colts will get back on track as they host the New York Giants in the second ever "Manning Bowl." It's a home game on a Sunday night, but New York is really good and the Colts could be 0-2 if they do not improve from what they did on Sunday in Houston.
I still think they bounce back.
Around the NFL
I thought the Calvin Johnson no-TD at the end of the Lions-Bears game in Chicago was a bad call that cost the Lions the game. It was clearly a catch for many reasons. He had the ball in control across the goal line. That's all you need. He also had his feet in bounds and came down with the ball. The refs were wrong for interpreting it the way they did.
Bob Sanders is one of many key players around the league that will miss serious time to an injury. Kris Jenkins of the Jets and Ryan Grant of the Packers are both out for the season.

ESPN Fantasy Convention 2010

HAMMOND, Ind. - My friend John won tickets to the ESPN 1000 Fantasy Football Convention that took place August 28 at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana. I'm glad he invited me because I never participated in a live football draft so that was a good experience.

ESPN experts John Clayton (shown), Stefania Bell (shown) and Matthew Berry were on hand along with a number of ESPN local personalities like Waddle and Silvy and the afternoon saloon.

ESPN also had a lot of giveaways so I applaud them for putting together the convention.

They put together a bunch of leagues and even though they made a number of numerical mistakes that put me in a seperate league than what I was originally slated for, they pulled it off pretty smoothly considering the uncertainty about the number of people that show up.

I like the team I drafted. I thought I got out to a slow start in the first three rounds since I only had the eighth pick, but I really think I picked up some sleepers in the late rounds.

August 28 was a fantasy filled day, as my Yahoo! draft was laster that night. There I had the first pick and picked Chris Johnson. I'm also confident I put together a pretty solid team around him.

In the past I had been ant-Fantasy, but now I am on board with the belief that it only makes foootball season more exciting.

2010 NFL Predictions

Even though one game is in the books, my picks have not changed for the upcoming 2010 season.

NFC East: Even though they had a bad preseason, I see Dallas as the clear best team in the division. They will be motivated because of the Super Bowl being held in Arlington this year, but the true test for this team is not until the playoffs. I think the Giants are underrated and could contend for a wild card spot.

NFC North: The Packers look to have a slight edge over the Vikings, and the Bears have a chance to prove the Martz-Cutler doubters wrong. Detroit is an up and coming squad that has a strong young core in Matthew Stafford, Jahvid Best and Calvin Johnson.

NFC South: I like the Falcons to unseed the Saints this year considering that this has historically been the wildest division. No team has even won the South two years in a row. Carolina takes a step back without Julius Peppers and the Bucs are in full rebuilding mode.

NFC West: Probably the weakest division in football, but the 49ers could be pretty good. They are the obvious choice to win the West considering Arizona has lost Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin, Seattle has an unconventional coach that has not seen success in the NFL and the Rams are far from contending.

AFC East: I'm sticking with the Patriots to win this division. That's the team I trust. I know the Jets may be better on paper after adding Antonio Cromartie and resigning Darrelle Revis, but I don;t like their show boating attitude. And they were a 7-7 team last year before defeating the Colts and Bengals who were playing backups and going on a mini playoff run that included a win over a choking Chargers team.

AFC North: The Ravens look pretty good. What is scary is that their offense is probably better than their defense this year. I think Pittsburgh will be their top competitor because Mike Tomlin is a good coach and that organization always finds a way to compete when you least expect them to. Cincinnati won't be good two years in a row and Cleveland will improve but they are still far behind the top three in this division.

AFC South: The Colts have dominated this division and should continue to do so if their key players can stay healthy. I think Tennessee finishes second because Vince Young always finds ways to win games and Chris Johnson is the best running back in the league. Houston could also contend for a playoff spot with their strong passing game and improving defense.

AFC West: The Chargers should win this easily, but Oakland and Kansas City will be better. The Broncos are a toss up. They could be really good and contend with San Diego for awhile, or they could have a disaster year and fall below the Raiders and Chiefs.

AFC Playoffs: (3) Patriots over (6) Titans

(4) Chargers over (5) Jets

(2) Colts over (3) Patriots

(1) Ravens over (4) Chargers

(2) Colts over (1) Ravens

NFC Playoffs: (6) Vikings over (3) Falcons

(5) Giants over (4) 49ers

(2) Cowboys over (5) Giants

(6) Vikings over (1) Packers

(2) Cowboys over (6) Vikings

Super Bowl XLV: Cowboys 28, Colts 17

This week in history: 9/11

The date September 11 is as associated with a single event as any date in the country today. Everyone associates it with September 11, 2001, the worst day in the history of New York and the United States. Four hijaked planes. Two to the World Trade Center, one in to the Pentagon, and one in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It was by far the worst act of terrorism on United States soil. It was a day that changed America, a day we lost our innocence. It was a tragedy of the worst kind.

Even nine years later, we still adhere to 9/11 rules while boarding an airplane or entering a concert or sporting event. The trust isn't there anymore, we can't afford it to be.

I remember hearing of the even in between Mod A and Mod B while a junior at Marist High School in Chicago. They announced that there was a plane crash at the World Trade Center while reading the regular announcements at that time of the day. Our principal Mr. Tucker and school president Br. Rick Carey came back on the P.A. system later during Mod B, which was Band practice for me.

They announced that there were two planes that hit the WTC and an additional one that may have hit the Pentagon. We immediately put the event on television just to immediately see the collapse of the South Tower. The North Tower followed minutes later and all of us knew we were experiencing a historical event that would change the course of the country.

Rumors were spreading that another plane was on its way to Chicago and headed for the Sears Tower. They thought another one was on the way to Washington to hit the White House.

That news story dominated the day for anyone living in the country at that time. During each class, the television was on and we did not even think about going over the lesson plan for the day. Our history teacher postponed an exam that was scheduled that day. The math teacher was the exception, as we spent 43 minutes during Mod G learning about complex algebra equations instead of focusing on what was happening.

The story dominated the news for weeks and months after the tragedy. The term Ground Zero is a part of every American's vocabulary. So many stories of heroism and tragic loss came from this. It effected more people than any other event ever could.

As bad as the tragedy was, it did a lot for humanity in the days and weeks afterwards. We were all united. We all had a common bond. Minor disagreements were nothing. We all rallied around the American Flag, it was patriotism like no other time in my lifetime. You probably have to go back to World War II to find another time that people showed love for their country as much as they did the days and weeks after 9/11.

We will NEVER forget what happened. And each September 11 should bring a little bit more unity and patriotism than any other day on the calendar.

Excited for Sunday

The 2010 NFL season is already underway with the New Orleans Saints' 14-9 win over the Minnesota Vikings at the Superdome last night. While the Thursday night game is the official start of the fall campaign, the best feeling is Noon on Sunday Week One. Just two days away, it's almost here.

When most of the games kickoff on Sunday, another season begins. I usually like to spend that time at home flipping through channels, getting the latest info and score updates from all the games. But when the Colts are scheduled for a Noon kickoff to start the season (a rarity), that needs my undivided attention.

This year, the Colts visit Houston for the opener. Although the Colts are 15-1 all-time against the Texans, Houston is much improved and owner Bob McNair says they are the best team in team history. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Colts start 0-1, but they are the Colts and I expect them to win. They seem to have a way to pull out games against the Texans that they have no business winning.

After considering watching the game at Bourbon Street with hundreds of drinking Bears fans, I wisely decided to go to Michiana Shores and watch the game in peace.

As far as the NFL as a whole this week, there are really no sure fire bets. A lot of the good teams are playing each other and a lot of struggling teams are facing off against one another, see Lions-Bears or Browns-Bucs. My eliminator pick is San Diego, who I believe will beat the Chiefs by a pair of touchdowns Monday night.

It should be a great season. The Colts are looking as strong as they ever have going into a year. I just hope at this time next year we are talking about Week One of the 2011 season and not a season-postponing lockout.

A day in the (National) Park

Even more than the three days I would spend in Washington, DC, I was looking forward to Tuesday, August 24. That was the day I planned to spend touring the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah River Valley in Shenandoah National Park. It did not turn out to be what I thought it would, but was a very memorable day nonetheless.
One word that could describe the day was fog. I have never seen more fog than I did while cruising down Skyline Drive, from Front Royal to Luray, Virginia. I liked the effect it had, and was responsible for a lot of great pictures, but I feel I missed out on some of the better scenery of the eastern half of the United States.
I enjoyed seeing the Luray Caverns, the small towns of Virginia and walking down to the actual Shenandoah River. It was a great day for scenery too, but I wish it wasn't as overcast as it was.

NFL Power Rankings: Preseason 2010

1. Green Bay Packers; 2. Baltimore Ravens; 3. Indianapolis Colts; 4. Dallas Cowboys; 5. Atlanta Falcons; 6. New England Patriots; 7. San Diego Chargers; 8. New York Giants; 9. Minnesota Vikings; 10. New York Jets; 11. San Francisco 49ers; 12. New Orleans Saints; 13. Tennessee Titans; 14. Houston Texans; 15. Pittsburgh Steelers; 16. Miami Dolphins; 17. Washington Redskins; 18. Oakland Raiders; 19. Seattle Seahawks; 20. Cincinnati Bengals; 21. Philadelphia Eagles; 22. Carolina Panthers; 23. Jacksonville Jaguars; 24. Arizona Cardinals; 25. Kansas City Chiefs; 26. Denver Broncos; 27. Chicago Bears; 28. Detroit Lions; 29. Cleveland Browns; 30. St. Louis Rams; 31. Buffalo Bills; 32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFC Champion: Dallas Cowboys
AFC Champion: Indianapolis Colts
Super Bowl Champion: Dallas Cowboys