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Four years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that private land could be seized by eminent domain for the purpose of another private entity developing the land.
Now that private entity that wanted the land seized has announced it will shut down its operations there, resulting in several homes torn down and only a vacant lot remaining.
Gotta love how that turned out for those homeowners who lost their residences. |
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The few people who read my LiveJournal are people I would certainly say are informed voters who take the time to research issues. And I would certainly say they all agree that there are plenty of stupid politicians out there.
But after having read and listened about a couple of local issues, it's becoming pretty apparent there are a lot of stupid voters out there... and they are just as responsible for the problems everyone is facing.
( Read more... ) |
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The halfway point of the NFL season has arrived — hard to believe it has, honestly.
But plenty of football has been played, we now have a good idea as to who will make the playoffs, who will have a fight on their hands and who is thinking “just wait until next year.” And we also have a good idea about where things stand with players from a fantasy football perspective.
So here’s a look first at who have been the notable players in three fantasy categories: Studs (those who were expected to pay dividends and delivered), surprises (those who weren’t expected to have a big impact and have done just that) and stumblers (those who were expected to come up big and have not met those expectations).
From there, I’ll toss out a few more thoughts about the NFL in general.
( Read more... ) |
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I've always liked FactCheck.org because of its willingness to look deeper into issues than most mainstream media outlets are willing to do. And here are some articles to read:
First, a detailed article about what really would be the effects of cap and trade, with those on both sides of the issue being taken to task for misleading statements.
Second, one that goes after an ad criticial of Lindsey Graham's support for such legislation, said ad being quite misleading, perhaps more so than those statements debunked in the first article.
And third, an article titled Fun with Semantics showing that, as much as Nancy Pelosi is Just Another Politician, so is Michael Steele. |
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Haven’t posted anything the past couple of weeks — between recovering from the flu and getting wrapped up with work and other activities, I haven’t had a chance to write.
And for those of you who are used to me talking about the NFL season from the fantasy football perspective, I’m shifting gears to talk about the NFL itself. I’ll get to some fantasy relevant material later on, but given that I’m a football fan, I want to talk more about the things in the NFL that are crossing my mind.
( Read more... ) |
| » Fantasy Football 2009 Notes: Week Four |
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Four weeks have gone by in the NFL season — four weeks for fantasy football players to judge what they can expect from the players they drafted, the ones they have picked up on waiver wires and the ones they are thinking about trading or trading for.
I spent the first three weeks looking at each game — now is the perfect time to start looking at various individual players and units, and determine what can be expected from them in the weeks to come. For some players, it’s time to start believing in them, and for others, it’s time to look elsewhere.
( Read more... )
Oct. 7th, 2009 @ 02:17 pm
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| » Fantasy Football 2009 Notes: Week Three |
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Three weeks of NFL action have been completed and bye weeks are approaching for some teams. And now it’s becoming more evident as to which fantasy football players are turning into must-starts every week, which players are better used as bye-week fill ins or in favorable matchups and which players need to stashed on the fantasy bench.
The first three weeks, it’s generally best to start the players you drafted to be your starters unless somebody is injured — but now it’s time to start making adjustments to your lineups and looking carefully to see who are the best players to utilize. And based on what we witnessed in Week Three, those pictures are becoming clearer.
( Read more... )
Sep. 29th, 2009 @ 10:24 am
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| » At A Loss For Words |
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Normally when I read about those accused of sexually assaultng children, I feel for the kids involved, but it doesn't, for lack of better words, really hit home with me.
But this one in particular does. Why?
Because I knew him from high school... and he was in my graduating class. Heck, he was there at my 10-year high school reunion (although not at my 20th this year... and needless to say, I now know why).
I'm still in disbelief about this.
Sep. 24th, 2009 @ 11:56 am
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| » Fantasy Football 2009: Week Two Notes |
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One of the lessons that one can learn from fantasy football is not to be too quick to yank the guys you drafted to be your starters from your starting lineup. That was a lesson I forgot about in Week Two.
I benched Kurt Warner in one league in hopes of getting a good outing from Jason Campbell, who faced the lowly Rams, and that backfired. (Although I wouldn’t have won the matchup even with Warner starting.) In another league, I had Reggie Bush in the flex position, opted to bench him in favor of Michael Bush, and now am finding myself going down to the wire when I would have had a cushion going into Monday night’s game.
The fact is, some players come out of the gates slowly, so you shouldn’t bench them right away unless they are injured (Donovan McNabb, for example). But otherwise, for your first three weeks, stick it out with the players you drafted to be your starters. You’re more likely to benefit than making changes on a whim.
Now let’s look at each game and see how things shaped up from a fantasy perspective.
( Read more... )
Sep. 21st, 2009 @ 10:02 pm
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| » Fantasy Football 2009 Notes: Week One |
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Week One of the NFL season is completed — so what does it all mean from a fantasy football perspective? Here are some thoughts regarding each game:
( Read more... )
Sep. 15th, 2009 @ 09:29 am
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| » Fantasy Football: QB Injury Issues |
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Ever since the preseason began, it seems like the fantasy talent pool among quarterbacks has been getting thinner.
Tom Brady's shoulder injury was one that likely caused his fantasy owners to be worried... and although getting accurate injury reports from Bill Belichick's camp is near impossible, it doesn't appear to be serious. But after that comes a number of QBs who are considered either borderline starters or backups, and the injuries seem to be mounting up. To wit:
( Read more... )
Aug. 31st, 2009 @ 09:34 pm
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| » Fantasy Football: Edge to the Seahawks |
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Word has come that running back Edgerrin James has signed with the Seattle Seahawks. From a fantasy standpoint, this makes for a crowded backfield in Seattle, one that may cause fantasy owners just as much confusion as those backfields in New England and Baltimore have done.
For now, Julius Jones remains the top option and a No. 3 fantasy back, but the upside he had is further reduced. James is probably best left on the waiver wire except in deep leagues, while the other back, T.J. Duckett, has the highest value in leagues that emphasize touchdowns, but is still only worth a late flier for a bench spot.
Aug. 25th, 2009 @ 11:39 am
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| » Fantasy Football: "Standard" League Draft |
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The next league I'll cover is as close to a "standard" league as you can get... it's a group of us who have usually seen 28 members in two 14-team leagues, but this year, the number was down to 24, thus two 12-team leagues were formed.
Here, we start a quarterback, two wide receivers, two running backs, a tight end, a WR/RB flex spot, a kicker and a team defense. We do score a small amount of points for completions and receptions. I drafted ninth overall in the first round.
( Read more... )
Aug. 25th, 2009 @ 11:16 am
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| » Fantasy Football: 20-Team League Draft |
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This year I'm part of a league that has 20 teams, the most teams I've ever been in a league with. It also has a radically different scoring system than people may be used to, with various bonuses given for yardage marks and different point amounts for different types of touchdowns, plus an unusual setup for what players you start. It will certainly be an interesting league to follow.
In this league, you start a quarterback, two wide receivers, two running backs, a tight end, a WR/RB flex spot, a WR/TE flex spot, a kicker, two individual defensive players (any position you want) and a team defense. I ended up picking 16th overall.
( Read more... )
Aug. 25th, 2009 @ 11:02 am
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| » Fantasy Football: IDP League Draft |
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OK, I'm needing to catch up on covering the leagues in which I am participating and how the drafts turned out, so here we go.
The first fantasy football league I drafted for was an individual defensive player league, in which we start a quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, a WR/RB flex spot, a tight end, a WR/TE flex spot, a kicker, two general defensive players, two defensive linemen and two defensive backs. I ended up drafting 12th in the 12-team league. This league does not score points for completions or receptions.
( Read more... )
Aug. 25th, 2009 @ 10:52 am
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| » Fantasy Football: Notes For Every Team 8/19 |
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Covering some news and notes from each of the teams around the league, and how they pertain to fantasy football:
( Read more... )
Aug. 19th, 2009 @ 03:08 pm
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| » Raton Range Highlights: Cimarron Track |
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Back in the spring of 2002, the Cimarron High School boys track team won a state team title... a pretty emotional moment, as they dedicated it to a former track team member who had passed away a year earlier.
What follows first is the story I wrote about it... and it's a moment I still consider to be one of the 10 most memorable events I have covered. I then follow the story with a column I wrote about the event, a column that my mother and the person who judged it for the New Mexico Press Association awards that year both said brought tears to their eyes.
( Read more... )
Aug. 11th, 2009 @ 03:48 pm
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| » Fantasy Football Notes: Antonio Bryant |
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SI.com reports that Antonio Bryant will miss the entire preseason because of a torn meniscus in his left knee. This means you should consider downgrading Bryant on your draft cheat sheets... in most leagues, he should be considered a No. 3 fantasy receiver. Keep an eye on his rehab progress.
Aug. 11th, 2009 @ 11:03 am
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| » Fantasy Football: Donnie Avery Injured |
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St. Louis Rams wide receiver Donnie Avery is expected to miss four to six weeks because of a stress fracture in his left foot.
If you were tempted to make Avery a No. 3 or flex position receiver, it's best to downgrade him to a player to draft for your bench. Don't shy away entirely from drafting him, though, as he still stands a good chance of beng a fantasy contributor as his health improves.
Meanwhile, keep an eye on Ronald Curry, who the Rams acquired in a trade with the Detroit Lions, and Keenan Burton, who are likely to be the two competing for the top spot on the depth chart behind Avery.
Aug. 10th, 2009 @ 10:43 am
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