Get Your Monkeys Out Of The Pool

I hesitate to check my fantasy football numbers from this weekend. I had a bunch of players on bye, so I filled all my spots, but filled them poorly, so I would not be surprised if I got thumped. That would put me at 1-2, if I recall correctly. Just like last year, I’m having QB issues. I have Donovan McNabb, which certainly beats my performance last year, when I ended up with Jamarcus Russell. But I have not been able to come up with a backup-I guess people are hoarding QBs. I have Marc Bulger, who I knew was benched, so I took a shot with Sage Rosenfels, hoping maybe for an injury. As far as I can tell, I didn’t get one. I should have known better than playing someone with a girl’s name.

(I let the computer pick for me, last year because I was busy and this year because I FORGOT. In the league that I started. And set the draft date.) (Jeez.)

It appears that Arizona WR Anquan Boldin is going to be okay after he collapsed following a scary helmet to helmet hit at the end of their game on Sunday against the Jets. The guy who hit him is going to be fined and suspended for the hit, which, honestly, it didn’t look like he could avoid.

There have been a lot of stretcher hits in the NFL thus far this season-it’s a curious thing. It may be that they are just being more careful, but it brings up an interesting conundrum that doesn’t get talked about enough. Violence is part of the game-no question. Fans of the game enjoy the speed and the implied violence of the game along with the beauty. It’s hard to legislate against it, but it’s also hard to protect the participants while retaining the danger. Kind of like auto racing. I don’t think it’s fair to punish a guy who was really just trying to make a play on the football.

Tech reporter Robert Scoble says he has talked to companies who can’t get loans, so the pain is coming. Well, maybe. But maybe those companies will have to work harder to get their money? Is this really the end of the world? As we know it? And I feel fine?

Someone who works with REM is Twittering their playlists as they tour Europe. That’s fun-I’m glad they do that. I also just learned that Rachel Maddow is on Twitter, too. That’s cool.

The more I think about it, I really clearly remember making baseball previews this year-picking the races. I have got to go find that and reprint it-that’s usually good for a dose of humility.

Adam Curry mentioned on the Daily Source Code that the Southern US gas shortages are really not getting much attention from the national media-probably the first time something you could have read HERE before Adam mentioned it.

There was an interesting piece in Newsweek about the fear, particularly among African Americans, of an Obama loss in November. I have many of the same fears. Perhaps the worst one is the loss of faith-if a large number of people come out and vote for Obama, and then he loses, perhaps with questions of electoral propriety, it is going to destroy a lot of faith in the system.

Then again, is the system really deserving of our faith right now? I would hate for the lesser angels of our nature to get expressed with a McCain win, especially because it would reinforce what so many already believe about America.

Adam also rants, during the DSC, about Dave Winer’s “unamerican” comments about Red States and Blue States on his blog…well, frankly, they started it. Right wing media (which is hugely popular in red states) is filled with hateful invective and bile about liberal elites and godless Democrats, and has been for a generation. And what do they get in return? Redneck jokes. Hardly a fair trade.

Funny picture from a post on dvorak.org/blog, taken on Wall Street Monday- “Jump, You Fuckers.”

The playoffs start tomorrow-Boston at LA, 10pm.