yutaka731's Xanga

My Heisman Ballot (Oct 23)

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 22:19:12 GMT

Heisman Contenders

Matt Ryan - I think he's the prototypical MVP (best player on best team). Without him, BC is not even close to sniffing the top 10.
Andre Woodson - At UK, there used to be only two seasons - basketball season and basketball off-season (recruiting season). Now, people care about football because the Wildcats are pretty good this year and that has a lot to do with the accuracy and production of their starting QB. You cannot blame Woodson for the UF loss. For most premier teams, if you score 30+ points, that should be enough to win.
Mike Hart - Pardon the pun, but he is all heart. Having to deal with the embarassment that was the first two games of the year and the injuries to Chad Henne and the O-Line, he has been very effective. He is also dealing with injuries himself and doesn't shy from the limelight. This man is a player for sure.
Dennis Dixon - If Dixon beats USC this Saturday, then I say Dixon is a legit Heisman contender. Otherwise, I will think he's a fraud since this is the same QB USC saw last year when it won 35-10. USC is getting their injured players back and for the most part the only difference between last year and this year is that USC is now in a 4-3, and with Sartz graduating, you now have
Tim Tebow - I am not a Tim Tebow fan, but he finds ways to win, whether its by his stupid jump passes or using his big body to scamper down the field. If UF losses anymore games though, I don't think you can consider him in the top five anymore.

Just Missed the Cut

Pat White - I am not a big Pat White fan either mostly because I think he does well in the college game only because collegiate football players are disciplined or quick enough to contain him. He's not much more of a QB than the next player on this list.
Darren McFadden - Run DMC is the example of why voters should not vote for the MVP, MOP or the like only if the player is playing on a winning team. If Run DMC wasn't on that Razorback squad, Arkansas would be talked with the likes of ND. Everyone in America knows that Run DMC is the first and second option, and yet he does quite well still.
Chase Daniel - He is the master of the spread-option offense. He plays it so intelligently and quite quick (see: ellusive) and Missouri is benefiting from his production to be a top-15 team in America.
Matt Grothe - He played below-par in the Rutgers game, and most of his effectiveness comes from scrambling. A strong argument can be made that the defense is what makes the Bulls go too. He will be a legit contender either next year or his senior year.
DeSean Jackson - Some much hype, but he has been hit the injury bug. Smart teams will punt to him and will make sure he pays for any reception he might make. I think he's talking is overshadowing his production this year. Someone will see the highlight reels and take him the first round. He's this year's version of Devon Hester - undersized, yet lightning fast.

Darkhorse

Colt Brennan - two words: system QB... another two words - Timmy Chang. He is the next Timmy Chang.With only a 2:1 TD to INT ratio, he reminds me of the current Brett Favre. While he has lots of passing yards and a decent passer rating, I think he needs to improve that TD to INT ratio.
Graham Harrell - Another system QB who blew any chances with his last performance at Mizzou.
Chris Wells - tOSU really doesn't have any stars (on offense), so it's hard to pinpoint a Heisman contender.
Glenn Dorsey/Sedrick Ellis/Chris Long - Defensive players never win the Heisman (unless they play some on offense or on special teams). These players are the anchors of these top-20 teams and will be top 10 picks come April. Without them, the opposing offenses would ran and pass happily.
DJ Hall/James Hardy - WRs are not usually in the Heisman discussion mostly because they are not valuable as a QB or RB is. I mean a QB can pass or run and RB can catch or run, whereas for the most part, WR just catch. DJ Hall is slowly getting all of the accolades, whereas Hardy is the next big WR that nobody knows about because he plays at Indiana. He had a great game this past Saturday vs. Penn St and now holds the TD record for the Hoosiers.

Explanations to come when I have more time today/tonight.

Instant Replay in Baseball

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 05:56:15 GMT

After the crazy end to the one-game tiebreaker between the Rockies and Padres, where it appeared the GW run did not actually score (er...touch home plate), there have been some calls for instant replay in baseball. They would have to finalize stuff such as what can be reviewed, who does the reviewing (e.g. a replay official or the home plate ump) and how a replay is initiated (e.g. manager throws a red flag or each play is under review automatically). Even if there was a replay system in place, the one thing that could not be reviewed would be balls and strikes. I mean managers are constantly thrown out of the game for arguing it. The three other cases for review would be safe/out calls, fair/foul and homer/in-play. In any of the three cases, the problem is the "what if." For fair/foul calls and homer/in-play calls, what if a ball was called a foul ball, but then ruled a fair ball after replay? What if a ball that was originally called a homer is ruled not to have cleared the wall after replay? I mean if there are runners on base, where would you place them? I guess the default ruling on either case would be a ground-rule double, but that still would not be fair. I mean say a batter hits a ball into deep center at Dolphin Stadium and was ruled a HR first then deemed to be in-play? If there was speedy runner on 1B like Jose Reyes, under this rule, he would only be given two bases, when in real life, he would undoubtedly scored, especially if there were two outs. As for safe/out calls, last night's final play was the perfect reason why instant replay won't work. The runner was ruled to have touched home plate, and before either the catcher could tag the runner or the runner could touch home plate, the umpire called the player safe. I mean once the umpire calls the runner safe, everyone would assume that's the final call and would not take any further action. Whats the other recourse? Have the umpire not make a call until the play unfolds totally?

Top 5 Reasons Why I Don't Do Fantasy Football

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 04:58:14 GMT

5. My weakest point - I find fantasy pro football to be too arbitrary. I mean why should I care about how players from different teams do? I mean why should I care about Ocho Cinco and the Bears Defense at the same time? On top of that, what about the intangibles? I mean would a fantasy league champ really do well as a GM in the NFL? I don't think so! Most leagues don't care about the salary cap, and no league cares about your GM skills in terms of landing players. There's more to being a GM than just selecting players. Just because you want a player in real life, doesn't mean you will land him. If a GM comes off as a total jerk, do you think he'll want to sign with him? GMs for the most part need to be somewhat charismatic. The worse part is that there is no way to credit the OL with points. The OL is the most crucial unit on the field. Without the OL, the QB doesn't get time to throw to the WRs. Without the OL, the RB doesn't have holes to run through. How can you credit the OL with points for stats? I mean do you give an OL points for each pancake? It seems to me that you would have to credit the OL points based on how others do? For example, the OL gets credit for how well the QB and RBs do and for what they limit the DL line to (in terms of sacks/TFLs).
4. Why would I care about a sport where I can only watch half the games, if that (church)
3. If I can't have Colt Brennan as my fantasy QB, where's the fun? (I know CBS-Sportsline has Fantasy College Football, but I couldn't get it to work)
2. College Football > NFL; if you don't know why or don't agree, go away!
1. Real men know what ATS and O/U stand for. Most fantasy fans play for free, while real men gamble with real money. And no, I don't advocate betting with your local bookies, unless your local bookie is named Caesar's Palace or the like.

All You Can Eat Korean BBQ Places

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 07:15:32 GMT

Soot Bul Gui Rim 2
This place sucked in one regard - the had vents on top of each table/grill but it was never turned on. Pure genius! Food was OK. Service was a tad under par, but then again you expect that with Korean restaurants.

Tahoe Galbi
LA Family House
Soot Bull Gui Rim
Haven't tried these three places. I want to try the Family place because they seem to have good reviews.

Mu Dung San
Three words - Worst Service EVER! Long wait to sit and to get food that was ordered. Some food was never delivered. Food was alright. The only thing that saved my sanity was being able to talk with my AACF friends.

Manna
The standard for AYCE Korean BBQ. Service is good for an AYCE Korean BBQ place. Food isn't bad, and that's all you can ask for in a AYCE place.

Ma Dang Sae
A good alternative to Manna since its inside. Just like Manna, the parking sucks. David took me here a couple of times.

Furusato
The best service ever for an AYCE Korean BBQ place, albeit there were only three other parties there. Good food and great price if you only choose from the first two types of meat. Love the 80s music on the stereo. Only AYCE Korean BBQ place I know of on the Westside/South Bay. There's gotta be more in Torrance, right?

If you know of any other AYCE Korean BBQ places, I would love to know. I went here after helping Tracy move from Palms to Redondo Beach; it was worth it.

If This Is Not Stereotypical, Then I Don't Know What Is

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:12:44 GMT

Two groups of people who are stereotyped as being "cheap" are Chinese and Jewish people. I look on Yahoo's website at Noon today, and what do I see? An article titled, "20 Dates for Under $20" is on the front page with a Asian (looks to me to be Chinese) couple! It's so wrong, yet so true.

MLB All-Star Solutions

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:30:39 GMT

I know a lot of people think that there shouldn't be an automatic representative from each MLB team in the All-Star Game. To an extent, I can go along with it. I mean does Gil Meche or Freddie Sanchez deserve to be at the game? Why no love for Orlando Cabrera? I think I have a solution. I think a big gripe about the low-payroll teams like KC, TB and FLA is that they are given revenue-sharing money and they don't spend it on payroll. I would require all MLB teams to spend a minimum of $50 million to get that automatic representative to the MLB All-Star Game. At least that way, the teams should be more competitive with better players (unless they spend their money on overpaid, overaged stars) and thusly should have a star deserving of All-Star honors. It might not be enough to spur the lower-payroll teams to spend more money, but its a start. I was also thinking of rewarding teams that spend over $100 million with a minimum of 2 All-Star slots.

Racist are Not the Brightest People

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 18:19:30 GMT

Case in point: Curtis Allgier, 27, skinhead, killed a correctional officer and tried to escape. If you have a mug like this, I think it would be very easy to pick you out. Good job idiot! Maybe he's wishing he showed his Aryan pride somewhere else. Hindsight is 20-20, and this fool's case, a b*tch!

Sports Names Spelling Bee

Thu, 31 May 2007 22:16:48 GMT

In honor of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, I want to come up with a spelling bee for names of athletes. While I am on this topic, I think ALL competitors at the Scripps National Spelling Bee and their parents are FREAKS. Man, can you come up with a group of people that is more socially awkward? So here's my top ten...

10. Favre (the name which the butt of many spelling error jokes_
9. Roethlisberger (why does he have such a short first name?)
8. Adimchinobe Echemandu (must spell both names)
7. Gbaja-Biamila (awesome nickname - KGB)
6. Houshmandzadeh (TJ Who'sYourMama)
5. Saltalamacchia (Holds the record for longest MLB last name ever)
4. Andriuskevicius/Jasikevicius (pick your poison)
3. Szczerbiak (because you know Wally is a great first name for a boy with this last name)
2. Mientkiewicz (surprised more people don't mispronounce his last name)
1. Krzyzewski (the king of all spelling bee names mainly because the name is so not phonetical)

I came across at least another 10 that could have made this list, and I didn't even consider the NHL, which probably deserves a spelling bee all its own.

Frivolous Lawsuits Hit a New Low

Sun, 27 May 2007 11:02:17 GMT

If the story of the judge suing a cleaners for $65 million for "losing" his pants, wasn't enough, he was this lawsuit to deal with.

For those who don't want to read through the article, which I think you should anyways to get the full gist of the story, basically the father of a MLB pitcher who killed in a car accident while driving drunk (while also on the phone, while not using his seatbelt and while having marijuana in his car) is suing three parties for their negligence in causing the untimely and unnecessary death - the restaurant (who served him the alcohol), the owner of a vehicle whose car was stranded on the side of the road after spinning out after being cut off by another driver and the tow truck operator who stopped to help the stranded motorist. The father claims that the restaurant should have stopped serving his son, an alcoholic, alcohol after showing signs of being drunk. He claims the stranded motorist did not move his car far enough off the road in a timely manner. Lastly, he claims the tow-truck operator was negligent in not putting up flares.

Because I think the lawsuit is a total waste of the court's time and the taxpayer's money, I came up with a list of 10 more parties the father should sue (I am being sarcastic if you didn't catch that.)
1) Cellular provider (for having good reception - If they did not have good reception, he wouldn't have been able to been on the phone while driving.)
2) Cellular phone manufacturer (if he didn't have the phone in the first place, he wouldn't have been able to make that fateful phone call.)
3) Car dealer (If the dealer never sold him the car, he would never have been able to drive the car and get into that accident; he would have been forced to get a ride from a cab or from sober friend.)
4) Car manufacturer/parts manufacturer/glass/metal/plastic/rubber companies (if these entities never made the respective products they made, the car would have never been assembled and Josh Hancock would have been able to drive the car on that fateful night.)
5) Gas station (if the gas station never sold him the gas for his car, Josh would have never had the gas required to operate his car on that fateful night.)
6) Cardinals (if he didn't have that job, he would never had the money to pay for his car and the alcohol that contributed to his death; additionally, if he was known to be an alcoholic, they should have given him some alcohol abuse counseling.)
7) Person who was on the other side of the phone call (if this person never picked up the phone, Josh might had enough attention to avoid the accident.
8) Past Teachers/Coaches (if they didn't do their job, Josh wouldn't have gained the skills to be a good pitcher and wouldn't have gone through HS and into Auburn University.)
9) Person who sold him the pot (I am not sure that if he was high when he crashed, but he was, the dealer should be sued for helping him get high.)
10) The most obvious - Alcohol manufacturers (if the manufacturers didn't make their drink(s) too addictive or too tasty, then Josh wouldn't have been drunk.)

Other Candidates...

Chef (the chef should be sued if Josh ate too little or too much when he got drunk; if he ate too little, the chef didn't make his food tasty enough so he could handle the alcohol; if he ate too much, then the food was too tasty and it didn't give him enough time to become sober.)
Bank/Credit Card Company (this one is a bit tricky since in theory he could just stash his income under his mattress at home, but these two institutions could be sold for giving him an avenue for paying for his drinks.)
Street/Highway Improvement Bureau (if they didn't do their job, the road would have not been in good operating conditions and thus Josh would not have been able to operate his vehicle.)
DMV/Driving Instructor (this is also tricky, since Josh could still buy and operate a vehicle without taking driver's ed/driver's training or getting a driver's license from the DMV.) *The agency in MO that issues driver's license is called the DOR - department of revenue.
Single Women (if single women picked him up while at this bar, they could have prevented him drinking while drunk.)
Clothing Manufacturers (if he wasn't wearing clothes, others would have called up the police for being naked in public and thus wouldn't had the opportunity to drive while drunk.)

Please add on if you can come up with plausible, yet ridiculous parties that Josh Hancock's father could sue.

I'm A Fairly Open-Minded Guy...

Thu, 10 May 2007 03:51:58 GMT

but I don't know about people who change genders. Whenever I hear of someone changing their gender, I think of a story of a runner who was disqualified as the winner of a race in India. (See: story) Why was this person disqualified? Drugs? Used a bike or car? Nope. This was a women's race and the person's test results came back negative for being a women. This person was actually a man. Basic biology tells us men have a X and a Y chromosome while women have two X chromosomes. So until man can change the a person's chromosomes so that if they were a man before (X and Y) to where they have two Xs, men will still be considered men IMO even if they change their name and have cosmetic operations. I only bring this up because of this guy; I am just thinking about what other male athletes that have talked with him before or will have the opportunity to do so in the future think about this story. Another question I have for Mike, I mean Christine, is why he/she changed his/her last name? At least this guy works at the LA Times, which I believe has one of the more supportive environments for people in his situation. Lastly, I think the word q*eer is the gay equivalent to N*gger. I mean I always thought that the q-word was offensive, and now I believe the gay community and its supporters have tried to defuse this word's stinging affects by using itself, like in a TV show. I mean with the n-word, blacks have tried to take the sting out of that word that has a horrible racist history attached to it. Many blacks use this word with one another, but of course, non-blacks cannot use this word. I don't think anyone should use the q-word or the n-word.