On the back burner

This weekend was all about grilling and family. There was talking about sports and even a little hockey in HD. It wasn't the first subject on my mind. I let my rookie drafts fade away into the background. I didn't care how my fantasy baseball team (badly, as usual). I completed the Tour de Tennessee, which was visiting the parents in Nashville and the in-laws in Chattanooga. The dads wanted to talk sports. The moms gave the smile of "finally, someone else to listen to him".

I spent about an hour going over my baseball card collection. It's interesting to investigate a big part of my teen years. I started collecting in 1990, which coincided with Frank Thomas's rookie year and the most flooded card market ever. As I looked through my most prized cards, the best of the lot were worth a few bucks, if that. Instead of wanting to hang onto the memories and keep a few for posterity, I left the whole set. It was a hobby and I enjoyed it but I have moved on. The cards will gain dust not entirely unlike Mr. Thomas, who waits in vain for one last shot at the big leagues. His 41st birthday is this week. The game moves on without him.

I also had a commish dilemma that I doubt Roger Goddell has ever experienced. While I was in Nashville my dad checked on our dynasty league rookie draft every couple of hours. As we all gathered for breakfast, he discussed a trade offer he received. He had the 2.07 pick and I had the 2.08. One of our owners who actually reads this blog made him an offer to move up from 2.10 to 2.07. The trade was for his 2nd and 3rd round picks. That was kind of steep to move up three spots. The guy's a Bucs fan. During the offseason I had picked up Byron Leftwich and Luke McCown. I would need 1st round pick Josh Freeman to get the trio of quarterbacks who were not likely to help my team at all this year. All I need is a bye-week fill-in for Tony Romo.

I was certain that Brian was trading up to get Freeman. Would I dare match his offer by trading my dad a 2nd and a 3rd rounder to move up one spot? Plus, was it really ethical to discuss a trade with another member of the league, dad or no dad? In the end I passed on the deal and Brian took Kenny Britt. Talk about irony. Considering that I took Hakeem Nicks, the guy selected one spot before Britt in the NFL draft, eleven spots earlier in our rookie draft, the pick was a value. I got Freeman. One of the downsides of dynasty football is you can drown trying to "own" a position. To ensure that you get a starter, you may need to pick up three quarterbacks, or in the case of a running back, up to five guys. It rarely pays off. Like in the stock market, diversification is a good idea.

I filled my z17 roster with rookie free agents Mike Wallace and Curtis Painter. Painter might be the next Jim Sorgi. Wallace is another of many drafted wideouts who could be great and could be Fred Gibson.