Follow the money

It's day one of free agency, aka the spendathon. The numbers aren't too insane, but just wait for the weekend.

Adam Schefter has been up since midnight following the madness. The Titans are getting flak for not signing anyone yet. A bunch of backup QBs signed deals today, and they make the Titans' deal for Kerry Collins (2 years, $4 million) seem like a bargain. Chris Redman, an insurance salesman two years ago, got two years, five million. Todd Collins got nine million over three years. Josh McCown signed for more than six million over two years. The Jaguars signed Cleo Lemon for three million a year. I wish I worked in an industry with 50% annual raises.

The Titans did sign Justin Gage and they have Albert Haynesworth signed to the franchise deal. I expect a good chunk of their $37 million of remaining cap room to be gone in a couple of days. With all of these deals going on, it's hard to relax and believe that my team has a plan.

Alge Crumpler was in Seattle all day, and Titan message boards were in a tizzy. Relax, folks. It's going to be all right.

Setbacks

A common phrase states that a setback is a set up for a comeback, or something like that. There are times when assuming a leadership role is merely an admission that you need more detritus in your life. I have done so in three different ways and lately, it's not all roses and free trips to Disney World.

I decided to be captain of the company kickball team. I will momentarily ignore that the funds for said team were freed up in 24 hours while money for training has been frozen for the time being. Naturally there is some red tape in getting things set up. I had to recruit about 25 people, making sure that everyone could play on the same night. After that I had to figure out t-shirt sizes and colors (Vegas Gold, anyone?). As the final insult, the league wouldn't let me pay for the entire league with a credit card. I had to sign up each owner individually, and since I wasn't using my credit card, I couldn't ask our office manager to spend an hour doing it. The league filled up. I was about to give up when I found out about another league. It's available on the same night at the same time, and isn't too far from the original location. E-mails have not been returned as of yet.

I am commissioner of two leagues. One is a dynasty football league that I will discuss in a moment. The other is a Yahoo baseball league. In previous years I set up the draft time and left it at that. This year I became over-accommodating and reset the draft time for the fourth time tonight. It seemed like every time I changed the time for one owner, another owner couldn't make the new time. I'm sure tomorrow I'll get an upset e-mail from one owner who won't be able to watch American Idol due to our draft.

In the dynasty league, I'm on the verge of making a dramatic move. Actually, when it comes down to it, all of the issues in these leagues are stressful only to me. I have a friend who joined the league, agreed to be one of my vice-commissioners, and has yet to do one small percentage of his duties. He's on the road all the time with his job, and naturally he needs that family time on the weekends. At the same time, he agreed to help, including taking a phone call from me as our free agency was about to begin. We're nearly three weeks in and as usual it's a mess. I think it's time for me to point the Donald Trump finger in his direction.

At work I was part of a group that "won" a pizza party and movie today. It was Pizza Hut, which is the epitome of empty American cuisine. I ate two greasy slices and stopped. For the entirety of Mr. Woodcock (Susan Sarandon must have been missing mortgage payments), all I wanted to do was go over and have that third piece. That's how the idea of joining another fantasy league feels to me. It's like that one extra slice of pizza that I could devour in 60 seconds and regret for the rest of the day. I'm considering re-joining one of the two dynasty baseball leagues I was in last year, and the main reason is because my best friend from college signed up. We don't speak much, and being in a league together doesn't mean that we're suddenly going to be in constant contact. Still, it's mighty tempting.

Oscar, Oscar (or Uncle, Uncle)

I could either stab myself with a number two pencil in the eye or try to write a blog while watching the Oscars. Or I could amuse myself by looking at notes from this year's NFL combine.

Leodis McKelvin "feels he has great hips, likes to tackle, and has an all around game with his return skills." He also likes puppies and long walks on the beach.

Justin King, a cornerback from Penn State, wants to show at the combine that he knows how to backpedal. Somehow he managed to not do that in three years at Penn State.

Chris Johnson of East Carolina ran a 4.24 40. If I could put on some rocket-powered in-line skates, I might be able to pull off a 4.8.

At the end of the 40, the player should have to catch a brand new k ball (perhaps the one Tomy Romo fumbled in that playoff game) and if they don't catch it, the 40 time doesn't count.

I feel bad that wideout De'Cody Fagg, who got injured running a route during warmups. It would be cool for him to be a teammate of Randall Gay.

Thanks. I'll be here all night. I may have to gouge out my eardrums if I have to hear another song from Enchanted.

According to Rivals.com, Barry Richardson lost draft stock due to being a waist-bender. I didn't know that was a bad thing.

I have to give Will Franklin, the Mizzou product, props for running a 4.37 40 time. He wasn't as large a part of the offense this year as in his junior year. Maybe he'll catch on.

I heard that the Titans wouldn't re-sign Justin Gage. So they can't shoe-horn him in with their $40 million in cap room?

Do punters and kickers run the 40? They should.

Congratulations to Jeff Fisher on his divorce. I think "inappropriate marital conduct" is going to be a 15-yard penalty next year.

"Falling Slowly" from Once. Now that's a song.

From a message board, talking about running backs: "(Kevin) Smith may take more time to develop, but he has the best hips of any back I've seen in years."

I tell you, the only two times people look at hips are during the NFL draft and looking for a child-bearing mate. Considering the high number of Caesarean sections, maybe the draft is the only time that hips are considered, except for when old men fall down.

Man this broadcast is long. This is like watching the Ravens/Giants Super Bowl again. With commercials.

Sports and life

As I semi-watch the new Terminator series, let me pontificate a bit on life.

If you're eating pancakes or waffles, you're wasting your time if there isn't some kind of nut involved. Macadamia nut pancakes were my favorite breakfast in Maui. Then again, leftover tofu sausage would be an excellent breakfast in Maui.

OK, Lost does the flash forward way better than Terminator, but having a guy killed in the previous episode alive in an alternative future isn't bad. Brian Austin Green in the cast is an interesting choice. Where are you now, Michael Biehn?

Zealots dynasty free agency isn't too exciting. It's a bit like the last two rounds of a fantasy baseball draft. You're totally guessing at that point. You could get BJ Upton, you could end up with Kerry Wood. I'm in a fierce bidding war for Bryant Johnson and Shaun Suisham at the moment.

A turkey burger Thursday night, with the wife at book group, isn't a terrible way to pass the time. I'm on my second Negro Modelo.

It's sad to think that the special effects on a TV drama are well beyond that from the original Terminator. Without movies like Terminator and Star Wars, the horrible summer special effects movies couldn't exist. Also the burning oil rig scene in There Will Be Blood wouldn't be possible. Paul Thomas Anderson took a bit of a break but it was worth it. He produced a movie unlike anything else he had ever done. I want to pull something like that off, but I haven't even put together a Hard Eight yet.

Wow, Bubbles from the Wire showed up.

In the ESPN Fantasy Baseball White Sox preview, the top round where a Sox player should be taken is the 8th round for Paul Konerko.

Why would you ever ask a robot to "swear"?

I cna't really tell if the White Sox have what it takes to contend this year. It's kind of like they're spending the money to be a contender, but the mix isn't right. They weakened the rotation by trading Jon Garland, and really weakened the farm system in the Nick Swisher deal. I like Buerhle, Vazquez, and even Contreras in the rotation. Jon Danks could make strides in his second year, and then again he could give up 35 home runs. I don't know about Gavin Floyd. There is no depth. The bullpen should be better but it was supposed to be a strength last year.

The offense and bullpen were disasters last year. Adding Swisher and Cabrera will help. Making a deal for Crede (rumored to go to the Giants for Nick Lowry) would make a difference since Josh Fields looks ready for a major league starting job. He doesn't have the defensive skills of a Crede but his power potential is almost unlimited. His strikeout potential is equally amazing. He had 125 Ks in 100 games. That's quite the pace.

Two intriguing players for 2008 are Carlos Quentin and Alexei Ramirez. Ramirez is the Cuban defector who could play in the outfield, second base or (not likely) shortstop. The Sox traded Chris Carter, a power-hitting first baseman who played in low A last year, for Quentin, who was a top prospect a couple of years ago. He had shoulder surgery but could end up in left field. Ramirez's best shot is to be the second baseman and let Juan Uribe be the super-sub.

Man, I hope that the Titans sign Alge Crumpler. He would be a huge addition. Getting a two-way tight end would free up the draft a bit. Free agency should be interesting this year with the Titans having a ton of cap room. So does everyone else.

The looming shadow

At the rate things are going, Yahoo fantasy baseball for 2009 will open up about six hours after the World Series ends. Offseasons are getting shorter than ever. I signed up for AUBL 2008 on February 11. I don't recall signing up earlier than March last year. Fantasy baseball has always been a black sheep for me. I love the concept, and making daily roster moves is a heckuva lot more interactive than football. There's even a minor league system, which would be like the Titans having the Volunteers as their direct "farm system."

The problem with checking every day is that you have to check every day. Perusing 15 box scores a day is something I usually stop doing in the third week. When you're in a semi-competitive redraft league, it's pretty easy to scoop up waiver wire wonders. It's becoming tougher in football since the waiver process is set up to start once a week and by that time everyone has had a chance to read up on all of the players.

Since we are in a free Yahoo league, there isn't much of a record of previous years. I found that of the 22 players I drafted last year, 12 weren't on my roster at the end of the year. I failed to get a solid 3b in the draft but picked up Ryan Braun. I drafted Josh Barfield who was a total disaster at 2b. Luckily I drafted BJ Upton later. Toward the end of the year, Dan Uggla ended up on waivers. When Ramon Hernandez spent so much time on the DL, I had no choice but to pick up part-time catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. I might draft two catchers this year.

Did I learn anything from last year's draft? I went against the grain and took two starting pitchers in the first five rounds. Johan Santana and Carlos Zambrano didn't have great years, but they were solid. Having sure things at SP are important. It's like in baseball you have to have five starting QBs.

Since the league has a two-week championship period, teams tend to stream their pitchers. No one else is paying attention so the waiver wire is wide open. I was short on transactions so I had trouble keeping up. That explains a late-season pickup like Ubaldo Jimenez, who got me a win on the last day of the year.

I'd say that it's a good idea to get two or three solid SPs early, which means by round 12. The only solid closer I drafted was Bobby Jenks, yet I was able to compete in saves. I had a pretty good mix of sure things and up and comers.

So what is this looming shadow that I reference in the title? It's football. Free agency is going on in Zealots, and as usual it's a little crazy. My first FA "win" was Hank Baskett. I threw Warrick Dunn out there, hoping for tons of cash. He only got 800 zbucks, so I kept him. Most teams don't spend their free agency money, so bids tend to get crazy. I'm bidding 4100 for Sammy Morris, and DeShaun Foster is at 7000 or so. No one can forget the great Dave Ragone bid of three years ago. I think he went for 5600 and never earned a stat in the NFL. Free agency isn't that big of a deal, but you can pick up important pieces. It's sort of like the NFL in that you hope not to miss on your big expenditures. If you miss in the NFL, you get fired. If you miss in Zealots, you get made fun of by virtual strangers on a message board.