Rest in peace Carl Pohlad

Carl Pohlad died today at the age of 93. While it's true that the Twins have always been a bit on the stingy side, and when MLB wanted to reduce the number of teams, he was ready to throw the Twins to the wolves, his team still provided me the highlight of my sports-watching life: attending games six and seven of the 1991 World Series. I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for anyone associated with that series -- Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, Bob Casey, Jack Morris, even Charlie Liebrandt. And even the curmudgeonly owner. I've always respected the fact that he seems to have let baseball people run the operations, as long as it was within the financial parameters he set. Sure, I'd like to see the Twins spend a little more in the free agent market, but when it's all said and done, at least I can look back on '91 and smile.

Fantasy football update

With the end of the regular season, I thought I'd report how I did with my four fantasy football leagues this season.

WFFL
This is the league I've been in for more than fifteen years. We play during the NFL playoffs, and I'm happy to report that my team, the Cannibals, made the playoffs, finishing in fifth place, despite my 7-10 record and a four-game losing streak at the end of the season. I haven't won this league yet, so I'm hoping this is the year. Given how balanced all the playoff teams are in the NFL, I think I might have a shot.

KCFFL
I started this league up a couple of years ago, and won it the first season. My team, Negative Treatment, finished the season in eighth place and missed the playoffs. Which was a blessing, since there's no money on the line, and I couldn't keep track of all my teams anyway.

BAFFL
I joined this league this year, and my team (Crazy 88's) finished the regular season in sixth place, barely making the playoffs. With a couple of good weeks, I got to the championship game, but lost. But I'm very happy with my finish there.

CoFFL
A new league created this year, where my team (Immutable Objects) missed the playoffs, but won a couple of games in the consolation bracket to officially finish in fifth place. I wasn't quite as committed to this team, due to the fact that I didn't pick the players (it was an auto draft).

General thoughts:

• It was good to play a bunch of different teams on a bunch of different websites, with a bunch of different rules.
  
• But, four teams was too many. I couldn't keep them all straight. If I remember correctly, I've had four teams before, and had the same problem. One of the problems with getting older is making the same mistakes over and over again.
• I went a little too heavy on Steelers, having Big Ben and Fast Willie on multiple teams. Was expecting more production from that offense. Luckily, I was able to find production from other pickups, like Matt Ryan and Tyler Thigpen.

Stay tuned for further updates from the WFFL playoffs!

Guys who can write

There are some writers I love -- I'll read anything they throw out there. One is Malcolm Gladwell. Check out his New Yorker article, In the Air, that deals with innovation, inventions, and the idea of multiples. Gladwell's articles always take some time to read, but they're always worth the effort.

Another guy is Chuck Klosterman. Check out his latest article for ESPN The Magazine on the Shaq - Kobe feud, This Just In. Klosterman's always got an interesting take on sports-related issues.