The wave... What's the deal??

So, what is the deal with the wave anyways?  If your able to read this, chances are you are too old to get excited about the wave.  Unless of course you are a child prodigy, in which case I will give you a pass...
Honestly though, why does anyone get excited about the wave?  I don't see the appeal at all and in fact, it annoys me.  I kind of think of it like a firework... once you have seen one, you have seen them all.  It is an outdated tradition that could actually be distracting to the most important people in a stadium... yes, the players. 
I have been to at least two games each homestand this year at Fenway and each and every game, there has been at least one, and sometimes up to three waves a game.  And with each passing wave, I have become more agitated by it.  I have also started to take note at who is getting most excited about it, and it is not the kids.  It is adults, adults of all ages, male and female, baseball fans and pink hats.  And one of the most irritating things about the wave and the people doing it, is the timing.  People don't think about the timing of starting the wave.  The wave will be busted out in the bottom of the ninth when the Sox are down one run, the middle of the fourth when they are up five, the top of the first when the game is tied and just underway.  People just don't care.  And it is tacky, especially in such a beloved and traditional park such as Fenway. 
Listen up 'wave lovers'.... the wave went out of style in the 1980s.  Go become a fan of the Miami Marlins if you want to do the wave.  Oh, and you people who like the wave are probably the same people who still buy and wear the foam finger. 
-CL

Fantasy versus Reality...

I started playing fantasy sports about ten years ago. Football was per usual the first fantasy sport I played.   I immediately loved it because it was a way to interest me in every game played on any given Sunday. I enjoyed playing with my friends, talking ‘smack’ and coming up with witty team names and slogans.  However, I quickly realized that there is a point where fantasy meets reality and conflict is created.  For example, there are certain teams that I stay far away from on draft day because of long time hatred.  I have never had a single Redskin on a fantasy team because I just cannot cheer for them.  In addition, I quickly realized that my fall Sundays of pure enjoyment could easily be ruined if one of my fantasy stars is playing against the Eagles.  Suddenly with all these realizations, I started to think a lot about the differences between fantasy and reality when it came to my love of sports.  And from that moment on, I decided that in my world, reality will always trump fantasy!!  The outcome of the Eagles game will always matter more to me on Sunday, then the passing yards of Aaron Rodgers, and the Phillies score will always matter more to me than Miguel Cabrera’s batting average. 

Now, don’t jump the gun and think that my motto of putting reality ahead of fantasy changes my competitive nature when it comes to fantasy sports, because it sure does not.  I have only won one football championship, but I have been dominant in my fantasy baseball play.  In my first four full seasons, I have racked up one gold trophy, two silvers and one bronze.  I have always felt that there is so much more strategy involved in fantasy baseball which is why I like it much more than fantasy football.  And a baseball player that isn’t necessarily the most popular player on the diamond, could be a fantasy stud and vice versa.  One of my favorite fantasy players has been Juan Pierre who gets on base and steals bases more than any casual baseball fan realizes.  He is one of the hardest players to strike out in baseball, yet he was claimed by the Phillies off waivers this year and was not a roster player going into Spring Training.  On the other hand, some well-known and loved players on the field can be fantasy team killers.  At the beginning of this season, Albert Pujols owners were probably all conflicted, wanting to take him out of their line-up while he worked through his slump, but hesitant to do so knowing that a three homerun night was a possibility every night. 

At the end of the day, I love fantasy sports even through the ups and downs.  This year, I happen to be having a rough year in both fantasy and reality.  My fantasy squad, now well known as “Kung Foo Panda” named after one of my favorite fantasy surprise studs, closely resembles the Phillies.  Both are full of injury and just can’t get it right on a daily basis.  As the manager of Kung Foo Panda, it feels like every night I have more production on my bench than in my line-up and every morning I wake up to another ailment.  Regardless, I will not give up because as the 2008 Phillies showed us, as long as you can hang on and keep yourself in the running, you have a chance to win.  And if winning isn’t the outcome, every team deserves a rebuilding year in the meantime.  

-CL

Hartigan brothers talking some basketball. Good way to kill some time in a power outage...Check it out here