Champions!

Do you know who Ryan Getzlaff, Tom Gilbert, Dion Phaneuff, Wade Redden and Stephane Robidas are? Well, neither did I but they're players on the team I just beat to win my fantasy hockey league!

I had no idea what I was doing when I started my league but I found this great site with a great draft cheat sheet and had an amazing draft. The rest is history. Hopefully, I can remember the site before next season. With a little research, the desire to have a good time and some dumb luck to can triumph. I just proved it.

Anyway, I'm thinking of buying a t-shirt to celebrate. Should it be Nicklas Lidstrom, the greatest defenseman in the word whose two power-play goals on the final day of the season put me over the top or Dominik Hasek, streaky living legend who single-handedly won my semi-final matchup and won a crucial game on the last day of the season or Niklas Backstrom, my high-scorer and a steady workhorse down the stretch?

The Narrowest of Margins

I know my sports posts aren't very popular but check out the boxscore for my fantasy hockey team, the Brooklyn Motherflippers, from last week:

I won by 1/100th of a point!

Total, Ultimate, Glorious, Victory

From the original British movie of Fever Pitch:
Paul Ashworth: [after Robert missed the goal at the end of the game] If you had to choose between wining this afternoon and Arsenal winning tomorrow night, what would you go for?
Robert: Tomorrow night of course!
Paul Ashworth: There you go then.
Robert: What, you're telling me, Arsenal are gonna win two nil at Anfield?
Paul Ashworth: I can't promise, can I? Well there's a, chance isn't there? You've done your bit, you've missed the penalty. If that's what it takes then it'll be worth it.
Robert: Yeah, course.

Well, I would have taken seeing the Mets in the playoffs over a fantasy baseball title but victory is mine. Hats off to David Ortiz who came alive in the Finals hitting .647 with 8 runs, 3 homers and 5 RBI.

Baseball Finals: Day 4

9 Wins 1 Loss

Thursday's heroes were David Ortiz who went 4 for 4 with a homer and Brett Myers who got a big save. Does it bother me I'm capitalizing on the Mets' bad fortunes with a wifebeater to win a pennant? A little, but David Ortiz seems like a good guy.

Baseball Finals: Day 3

Manny's Grill are up 10-0-0! Yesterday's heroes were Mike Lowell with 5 RBI and B.J. Upton who went 2 for 3 with a steal.

One more good day and I can pour fantasy champagne and tear up my imaginary stadium.

Baseball Finals: Day 2

ESPN seems to be a bit funked up so no scoring update but last night was a good one for the boys thanks to two Prince Fielder homers (keep stickin' it to your old man, Prince) and wins from Schilling and Burnett. More info as it becomes available, fans.

Baseball Finals: Day 1

3 Wins 0 Losses 7 Ties

Not a lot of action but a modest lead thanks to a fine day from Prince Fielder. I think I caught a break from A.J. Burnett skipping his Yankee start for "personal reasons" to go against Baltimore. Six days to go.

Baseball Playoffs: Round 1 Roundup

Well, the Bayonne Bombers made it close but I managed to win the week 6-4 thanks to a 2-1 edge in saves and a 34-33 lead in runs. My batting average lead dwindled to .299-.292, that's about four hits either way. It can be that close. Now it's on to the finals where I'm playing Eric's New York Superbas squad. I feel confident because I saw Eric on Saturday and he didn't even know he was in the playoffs.

Baseball Playoff: Day 3

Up 6-3-1.
Another banner day for Matt Holliday (2/3, 2 HRs) who is looking like a latter-day Goose Goslin or Reggie Jackson for his post-season heroics.

Today is an off day for a few of my guys so I picked up James Loney to give me some one-day pop. I'm tied in HR and only up by one in RBI. I could really use a save tonight to tie that category and cut into John's enormous lead in ERA and WHIP.

Time will tell if I stand the test of time.

Baseball Playoff: Day 2

The head wearing the crown is lying a little easier today. Manny's Grill is beating Bayonne 7-2-1. If not for a foolish decison to start John Maine (one that like Willie Randolph, I shan't make again) I'd be running the table. My boys are hitting a freakish .465 over the last two days led by Matt Holliday's (late-season trade) 8/10 and Garret Anderson's (Free Agent pickup for the playoffs) 6/7.

Things are going my way on the other side of field. Ben Sheets got hurt after one inning and Vlad Guerrero is slumping. I'm starting to feel it.

No starters going tonight. I'm hoping for some relief pitching to give me the save lead and trim down my 6.10 ERA and 1.65 WHIP. We must destroy our enemies on all fronts.

Baseball Playoff Update

The baseball playoffs are here. Not the real-life baseball playoffs but the League of Fun 07 playoffs. It started so long ago, when my team name, Manny's Grill, was topical gag. Now I hardly remember the joke. My team has dominated the regular season. We've won nine straight weeks, took our division by 15 games, lead the league in four categories and came in second in two others. I drafted Hanley Ramirez and David Ortiz. I picked up Russell Martin, Brandon Phillips and John Maine off the waiver wire. But I fear it's all going to fall apart. Like my beloved Brooklyn Cyclones I've gotten close many times but never won it all. In 2001 I had a team so good I was in ESPN's top 25. Then you-know-what-happened, then Phil Garner benched Roger Cedeno and finally I got out coached in the finals.

I didn't even get a t-shirt.

But I feel this could be my year (fingers crossed, fingers crossed). My first playoff opponent is the Bayonne Bombers owned by my buddy John O'Hara. John once beat me for a fantasy football title on a defensive touchdown with 91 seconds to play IN THE SEASON! His Bombers are led by Jimmy Rollins, Vlad Guerrero, Carlos Lee, Ben Sheets and Roger Clemens. But my secret weapon may be that I don't think John is still changing his lineup. They have an early 5-4-1 lead but there's a lot of ball to be played. Right?

I never understood paranoia or Watergate until the first time I was in first-place in a fantasy league. Now, everyone was gunning for me and I had so much to lose. Success, it is a curse.