Fantasy Draft 2011: Why didn't I watch more Sports Center?

New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker (83) beats Miami Dolphins

defensive back Benny Sapp (27) for a touchdown during the second half

on Monday, September 12, 2011, in Miami.

AP Photo. J. Pat Carter.

Ah, September, the time of the year that fantasy football season starts back up- and I can stop pretending that I care about baseball.

I was afraid that I wouldn't be in any fantasy leagues this year. A lot of my friends have gotten married or are about to be married, and some of them seemed to be a tad bit too busy with their 'husbandly' duties to call or write me back whenever I tried to get the league together. But I'm unemployed and don't have a life (except for reading The Economist and applying to a few more jobs each day), so I needed them to get it together so that watching football day Sunday and Monday night has greater meaning.

Finally, after a number of phone calls and texts, the leagues came together at the last minute. I wanted to be in at least two leagues so that maybe one of my teams would do well. As it turns out, I'm now in three leagues, including two with the married or soon-to-be married fellows. My other leagues is with family members and friends from St Andrews. I'd still like to dominate in all three and run the tables.

During one of my drafts, I made a critical and embarrassing mistake. During the preseason games, I kept an eye out to see what the Colts did for QB. An announcer had said Indianapolis hadn't brought in an experienced player to replace the Peyton Manning's green backups, so surely the Colts thought Peyton would play this season. The night of the draft, I didn't bother to recheck my sources and thought everything was the same. Around the fourth of fifth round of the draft, I decided to draft Manning instead of Romo because I figured that Romo was more unreliable than Manning. My friends then mocked me for picking Manning. I was confused. I checked the latest news and found out that two hours before the draft started reports had come out that Manning would in fact not start in Week 1 and my need more surgery. If I had spent at least 30 minutes that day watching Sports Center, I would have known better. My #2 QB is Joe Flacco and my #3 is Colt McCoy. Hopefully, they can get me through the season.

On the bright side, I did draft Wes Welker as one of my WRs. He seems like an ok choice.

Battle of the Beltway

As part of a new tradition that started after Washington got a new MLB team, the Nationals and Orioles have played in the "Battle of the Beltway" each year since 2006. Every season this series includes six games, with one series in Baltimore and the other in DC. Thus far there have been 31 games (including this season), and Baltimore leads the series 16-15. The Nats have won only one full series against the Orioles in 2007, but the teams have tied three times. This season the Orioles won the first series 2-1 at Camden Yards after an embarrassing first game loss where the Nats racked up 17 runs on 19 hits. The Nats won the second round 2-1 at Nationals Park in June.

A friend of mine in Alexandria, Virginia invited me to join her church for the Saturday afternoon game in this series. With such a large group, the church was able to get a discounted price on the tickets. This season I have been able to go to 4 games, but I have only paid full price for a ticket once.

Our seats had a view of the Washington Monument,

which is behind the lights in the upper right-hand corner.

Oriole pitching.

View of the scoreboard from our seats.

I think that's an important building

in the background- the one with the dome.

Empty stands after the Nats won.

The Washington Monument is

more visible in this photo.

After most everyone left the stands,

I walked around to take some more photos.

Electrifying Baseball

Again, a friend had connections to an extra ticket for a Nats game, and I was more than happy to oblige and go. One of the men from his church bought four tickets with a great view of the ballpark from just behind home plate. I wouldn't have been able to afford these tickets otherwise. I'm grateful that I was able to attend this game. I later heard that his wife was thrilled I was going because otherwise she would have had to go and use that ticket.

About half way through the game, a huge thunderstorm rolled through DC so that there was a play stoppage. After the storm passed and the game continued, there was still lightning flashing over the stadium. I kept trying to get a photo of the lightning along with the stadium lights, but I didn't have the right equipment or patience to pull off that type of photo. Only once have I tried doing lightning photography, and I just barely got one good photo from that shoot.

Yours truly with President Teddy.

View from my seat in the late afternoon.

View of a hit from behind the foul-ball net.

I kept waiting for these guys to sit down so that

I could get a photo of the stadium at night,

but then I thought, "Screw it. Just use them

as part of the composition."

Charming Baseball: Afternoon at Camden Yards

A friend of mine who lives in Alexandria and loves baseball asked me if I wanted to go with her to see the Orioles play at Camden Yards since the ballpark is only about fifteen minutes away from where I'm staying. I always love going to a new baseball park and seeing a game when it's not expensive. I also have some birthday and Christmas money left over since I've been trying to live frugally. Camden Yards is supposed to be one of the most beautiful baseball parks in America, and it was a really nice to enjoy a Sunday afternoon talking and watching the Orioles struggle to hit and catch balls. And, of course, I had to eat a hot dog.

For the past several weeks I've been trying to follow baseball, but I've been following and rooting for the Washington Nationals, which can be a frustrating and heartbreaking experience. For weeks I've watched one relief pitcher, Sean Burnett, screw up game after game and cause the Nats to lose. At least I'm beginning to remember the players' names. Unfortunately, I usually remember them for their mistakes. "Oh, that's the player who had three errors in one game." It's supposed to be a young team, but I'm not sure how much that matters. If the big-market teams like New York, Boston, and Philadelphia poach the best players from the small-market teams every year, then teams like the Nats will always be a 'young' team. They can't spend $300 million annually on their roster. Unless MLB comes up with a way that brings the teams closer to parity the way the NFL has done, I doubt that I will be a big follower of the sport. I don't care to see the wealthy teams beat up on the poorer teams year after year. Still, it's nice to watch a game at the stadium with a friend. Maybe someday I can afford to buy tickets for more expensive sports, like hockey.

There were a couple sad things about Camden Yards, though. Even though it was a Sunday afternoon game, there weren't many people in the stands. It should have been packed. I've read about how the Great Recession has caused lower attendance at ballgames, which makes a lot of sense. I'd probably go a lot more often if I had a good and stable job. Also, the Orioles kept playing a "Remember When" game. It would show events that happened back in the day when the Orioles were actually good and won some World Series. Those days are long gone.

Flags over Camden Yards.

Maybe the middle flag is for Baltimore?

One of the most beautiful ballparks in America.

A pretty sweet catch in the outfield.

Fan of the game sat close to us.

She's wearing an Orioles baseball cap with a

stuffed Orioles teddy bear sewn on top.

Yummy.

I don't know who this guy is.

I guess he was famous.

Bar window near Camden Yards.

USS Constitution.

Camden Yards is next to the Baltimore Inner Harbor,

so we took a walk around the ships while looking for

a place to get a drink and something to eat.

I became a little giddy when I saw the submarine

because I thought it was new to the harbor.

But no- it has always been there.

I just missed it last time I was in Baltimore.

The Barnes and Noble by the Inner Harbor

used to be a power-plant or something like that.

This is one of the old smokestacks in the

middle of the store.

States of Hockey

Jason Chimera for the Washington Capitals scores the winning

overtime goal against the New York Rangers in a critical

Game 4 at Madison Square Garden on April 20, 2011.

Since arriving to DC, I've been trying to follow the Capitals because practically every game is on the local tv sports network. I actually enjoy hockey even though most of my friends hate it. For a few years I watched and followed the Mississippi Sea Wolves, and their old head coach when they won their championship, Bruce Boudreau, is now the head coach in Washington. This NHL team has done well throughout the regular season for the past couple years, but they have struggled to get out of the first round of the playoffs. While watching some of the games from the Caps' first round against the Rangers, I wondered where these players actually come from. Which states produce the most hockey players? Are NHL teams importing players from place that love hockey to places that just don't care? There has been a lot of controversy about expanding the NHL into areas that haven't traditionally played or watched hockey, including Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Arizona, Carolina, and California. However, most of the big money for tv sports isn't in Canada but in the United States. From what I've been able to tell, many of the American NHL teams are semi-popular within cities with teams (albeit not as popular as the MLB and NFL teams), and most of the games are sold out. However, unlike baseball and football, nobody really follows professional hockey on tv outside the cities with teams. This is perhaps because ESPN doesn't show hockey games. Thus, hockey isn't as profitable or popular as other sports. Yet the NHL is still able to rake in enough money to lure excellent players like Alex Ovechkin away from their home country to play in North America so that the NHL has some of the best players and teams in the world. Still, most of the NHL players are Canadian, which makes sense because most American youth would rather play football, baseball, or soccer. Plus, there aren't the same hockey facilities in the US (including frozen lakes). I was curious, though, to know exactly how many players in the NHL are American and where they come from. For instance, has the Capitals' presence in DC inspired youth from Maryland and Virginia to play hockey and eventually to play in the NHL? I once had a friend from the Midwest who complained about Pittsburgh Penguins fans because Pennsylvanians didn't play hockey and stole all the good players from her state. Upon further investigation, I found that my friend's criticism wasn't entirely fair since her state produced about as many NHL players as Pennsylvania. Minnesota, Michigan, and New York are the top states. I have created a graph below that shows where the American players come from. The 'other' states include Alabama, California, Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Texas. Still, the Canadian provinces produce many, many more hockey players.

DC United: Say Hello to the Dark Side, Beckham

My uncle was kind enough to buy tickets to the DC United game against the LA Galaxy for my cousins and me. None of us had been to a professional soccer game, and I probably should have gone to one while living in Scotland or France. Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States and Canada began in 1996 in order to convince FIFA to bring the 1994 World Cup to America. From what I've heard from some European friends, this league may not be much compared to the best leagues in Europe, but it is probably comparable to the second-tier leagues that are common across the continent. In the first 4 seasons, the DC United won 3 MLS championships, and then they won their 4th championship in 2004. Therefore, they have more championship titles than any other MLS team. However, since then the team has struggled. It's last playoff appearance was in 2007, and the team has had 3 coaches in the last 3 years. Currently, Ben Olsen is the team's head coach after playing for the team from 1998 until 2009 and then being an assistant coach in 2010. Olsen won the 2007 'MLS XI' award for being one of the eleven best players in the league. He also played for the US national team from 1998 until 2007 and had 6 goals in national competitions. We shall see if he is able to bring the DC United from last place last year to a position with a bit more respect. Though the game I attended was early in the season, it was still an important rivalry game with the LA Galaxy, who has had 6 appearances in the championship game and 2 championship titles. The DC and LA teams have bickered and competed for being the league's signature team.

Meanwhile, the actual league has done fairly well compared to past attempts at professional soccer in the United States. Unlike the National Hockey League (NHL), MLS has had a television deal with ESPN since 2006, and most teams have sponsors. For instance, Volkswagon sponsors DC United, which explains why there is a huge 'VW' symbol on the jerseys. In fact, anyone who drives a VW car can park for free at RFK Stadium on game day. Many of the profitable teams earn more than $4 million annually, including Seattle Sounders, Toronto FC, LA Galaxy, and Vancouver Whitecaps. DC United earn about $3.5 million annually. Real Salt Lake is one of the least profitable teams. As a testament to the league's long-term profitability, several cities have recently built soccer-specific stadiums, including those in Columbus, Los Angeles (with 1 stadium and 2 teams), Chicago, Toronto, New York, Philadelphia, and Dallas. In fact, only 5 teams play in a stadium not specifically built for soccer, including DC.

At the beginning of the game, the referees lead out the two

teams with David Beckham (#23) leading the LA Galaxy in white.

The refs in the game were just plain awful. They made multiple

confusing calls, including once when a ref called an offside

on LA and blew his whistle, but the LA players ignored him

and kept playing so that the game just went on.

I did not take this photo. My uncle had his zoom lens,

and I left my extra lenses in Mississippi.

Though the superstar Landon plays for LA, he was injured

and didn't play in this particular game.

That doesn't mean the fans didn't have signs making fun of him.

In the stands across the field from us, everyone stood up

the whole game and yelled constantly. The signs leading to

these seats called this section the 'dark side.'

There were a lot more flags and signs there.

If I go back to another game, I'd like to be over there.

A jersey covering the 'dark side' stands.

A DC United player taking a free kick.

Throughout the game DC looked like they were afraid

of attacking LA, and the United kept kicking the ball

back towards their goalie instead of driving down the field.

Even when they did attack, they only had one or two players

to finish up the play. It was frustrating to watch, but

maybe they were playing keep-away so that the LA

stars wouldn't have an explosive play.

DC taking a corner kick in the 2nd half.

The LA goalie.

My uncle took this photo with his zoom.

DC United player kicking the tying goal off of a penalty kick

at the end of the 2nd half. Considering how DC played,

getting out of this game with a 1-1 tie was like a win.

In 1961, Washington built RFK Stadium inside the District in order to be a baseball and football stadium for the Senators and Redskins. However, like many dual purpose stadiums, it was far from ideal. The stadium owners had to spend $40k every time they switched from one sport to another because they had to change so many seats. While hosting baseball games, the stadium has no lower seats in the outfield. Also, the building has bizarre architectural features that are probably the result of cheap construction methods used in the 60s while throwing up stadiums across the country. There are some unique and cool features. For instance, the section of metal stands across the field from where I sat would bounce up and down whenever a large number of fans jumped. Again, another reason why I'd like to sit in the 'dark side' next time I go.

Though we sat on the bottom level not far from

the field, the upper balcony hung over our heads

and blocked a lot of our view. We could still see the

whole field, but this balcony was still a bit odd.

According to the Washington Post, this game had well over

20,000 fans in the stadium, so it was the most attended

DC United game in over 3 years.

Exciting day in the ballpark

While having dinner with a couple friends from Mississippi, they told me that they had an extra ticket to a baseball game the next afternoon. Their favorite team, the Atlanta Braves were playing the Washington Nationals in the second game of the season. The one guy flew from Mississippi specifically to see this game. I'm generally not one to turn down a baseball ticket, even if the weather report is dismal. They didn't tell me where the seats were, though. Once we walked around the lower section of the stadium and then stepped down the stairs to the seats, I began to realize that these seats were going to be good, but I didn't realize just how good they would be. Finally, we stopped on the first row and sat down. The ball girl was right next to us so that we could talk to her the whole game. I could lean over the railing and touch the field's dirt. If there was a foul ball that rolled towards the stands, we could lean over and pick it up.

One of the cool parts of the game was sitting next to a friend who had been a pitcher back in college and knew a lot about baseball strategy. I only know the basics like hits, strikes, home runs, and so forth. He basically gave me a play-by-play analysis of everything that was going on. I learned phrases like 'manufactured run.' At one point the 'Nats' (Nationals) had a man on third base and only one out. My friend told me that the batter could bunt towards third base while the other player would try to steal home. That would be a 'squeeze' play, which is very difficult and rarely done in professional baseball. However, during the next pitch the Nats did the squeeze play and got a run out of it.

The Nationals came to DC from Montreal back in 2005, but they played their first seasons in RFK Stadium (originally built in 1961 for the Washington Redskins) until Nationals Park opened in 2007. It's a nice outdoor stadium not far from the Capitol. In fact, the upper deck has seats with a view of both the field and the Capitol dome, and those tickets only cost about $10. Though this team is new to the city, DC has had many other baseball teams. A team popularly known as the 'Senators' played here until 1971. However, though the fans called this team the 'Senators,' the official name the owners and players used was the 'Nationals' for many years. Starting in the 1870s and 1880s, professional baseball teams called the Nationals played in DC. In the 1890s, the first team officially and popularly called the 'Senators' played in DC for the National League. In 1901 the National League kicked out the less successful teams, including the Senators, from the league in order to reduce the league's size from 12 to 8 teams. However, a businessman decided to pick up these dropped teams in order to create a rival professional league, the American League. Washington's owners changed the team's name back to the Nationals so that fans wouldn't confuse them the new AL team with the old NL team. However, the fans still called the Washington team the 'Senators.' After the team tried to put 'Nationals' on the uniforms in the early 1950s, the fans reacted negatively so that the ownership officially changed the name to 'Senators' in 1956. Since there hasn't been a professional team here for more than 30 years, I would think that the new generation of fans won't think it's too weird that the Washington Nationals are in DC instead of the Senators.

Larry Freaking King threw the first pitch for the game.

Since I left my extra lenses in Mississippi, including the zoom,

this was the best photo I could get of him.

The pitch wasn't half bad, though.

Seeing Larry King at the ballpark made me so excited that

I spent the rest of the day telling my friends.

Wilson Ramos (#3) and John Lannon (#31) walking onto the field.

Dan Uggla (#26) runs to pick up ball that was still in play.

I think the hit was a double.

Shirt cannon.

Jayson Werth (#28) throwing ball he caught in right field

back towards the diamond. He's the new star for the Nationals

because he just signed a 7 year contract for $126 million.

Before this season he had played for Philadelphia.

He's a good player, but many have wondered if he's really

worth what Washington is paying him. Since my friends

are lifelong Braves fans, they kept saying he was 'werth-less.'

During the game he had a home run but later couldn't catch a fly ball.

Many other Nats players have a better bating average.

Presidents Race.

We were apparently on the scoreboard

screen as I was taking this photo.

Teddy lost the race. He was upset and stormed of the field.

Jason Heyward (#22) in right field.

The weather was absolutely crazy this Saturday.

The game started an hour late because a storm came

through, but during the 5th inning a hail storm caused

the game to stop again. In this photo the hail is visible.

The clouds came and went all day so that I had to adjust

my camera settings constantly.

Shirt toss.

We told her to give us her number instead of a shirt.

She didn't pay attention to us. Go figure.

Relief pitcher.

Dude just caught a foul ball a few rows behind us.

Another guy was trying to catch the ball but then

flipped over the railing and landed on his back.

Teddy likes to dance.

View of the ballpark after the game.

The Nats won.