22 Songs from 2013 to add to your Workout Playlist

If you are like me you are always looking for new workout music to add to your gym routine. All the songs below fit well in my exercise playlist. Well done 2013, well done.

Top 10 Songs of 2013

1. Alice in Chains - "Voices"
2. Avenged Sevenfold - "Hail to the King"
3. Stone Sour - "Absolute Zero"
4. Skillet - "Not going to die"
5. Nonpoint - "That day"
6. Heaven's Basement "Fire, Fire"
7. Volbeat - "Hangman's Bodycount
8. Killswitch Engage - "In due Time"
9. Alice in Chains - "Hollow"
10. Five Finger Death Punch - "Mama said knock you out"

                                                                                

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fantasy Football 2013 - The 7 Stages of Grief: A Post Season Analysis

 

Another fantasy football season is in the books and if you have made it past the stages of grief (see below) then like myself you are left asking yourself why. How could I be so unlucky? Was my team really that bad? Their team wasn't really that good was it? Was it a completely random turn of events or is there some kind of consistency to the results that made winners and losers in 2013? As a member of 4 leagues I will attempt to find a pattern, while it will not hardly be enough data to form a purely scientific hypothesis, I will do so anyway because I was never good at science and I like the word "hypothesis."


Before you venture any further into my attempt at fantasy explanation please make sure that you have completed all the stages of Fantasy Football Grief. If not the information may leave you as angry and as confused as a Washington Redskins fan.


Stages of Fantasy Football Grief


1. Rage - "%&#@!^*!

2. Denial - "I deserved to win! I had more season points/wins!

3. Defensive - "How was I supposed to know that Aaron Rodgers would get hurt and Doug Martin would be a bust?"

4. Envy - "_____ got lucky! ______always gets lucky and he had a better draft pick"

5. Depression - " this is nothing but luck. I'm not playing next year."

6. Desperation - "If it wouldn't have snowed on week 14..."  "The commissioner of my league sucks!" "I was on vacation" "My phone wouldn't let me change the lineup" "OBAMA!"

7. Return to sanity - "Congrats to ______. It was fun and I'll try again next year."



Top 5 performers at each position (some positions have more than 5 because different leagues have slight variations in scoring)

Quarterback          Super Bowl appearance out of 4 leagues          

* Manning               3/4                        
* Brees
* Rivers
* Dalton
* Romo                   1/4
* Newton
* Stafford

Running Back

* Charles                  3/4
* McCoy                  1/4
* Forte                      1/4
* Moreno
* Lynch                    1/4

Wide Receiver

* A. Brown
* Megatron
* Marshall
* D. Thomas            1/4
* A.J. Green
* Gordon

TE

* Graham
* Davis                     1/4
* J. Thomas              1/4
* Cameron
* Witten                    1/4
* Gonzalez


All Bust Team 2013           All Sleeper team 2013       All Greatness Team

QB - Aaron Rodgers            Phillip Rivers                    Peyton Manning
RB - Doug Martin               Joique Bell                         Jamaal Charles
RB - Arian Foster                Zac Stacey                         LeSean McCoy
WR - Julio Jones                 Alshon Jeffrey                   Josh Gordon
WR - Randall Cobb             Keenan Allen                    Calvin Johnson
TE - Rob Grownikoski        Julius Thomas                    Jimmy Graham
Flex - CJ Spiller                   Julian Edleman                  Matt Forte


Interesting notes

* in all 4 leagues only 2 out of 8 people that picked 1-6 in the draft made it to the superbowl, meaning in 2013 a mid to late draft pick was better than an early one.

* 5 of the top 10 Running backs drafted were busts. 3 were in the top 5 drafted.

* Only one QB drafted in the top 10 was a bust (Aaron Rodger/injury) but several underperformed for their position in the draft (Matt Ryan, Tom Brady, Colin Kaepernick, RGIII) Waiting for a Romo, Phillip Rivers or Andy Dalton in the later rounds paid off.

* 4 of the top 10 receivers drafted were busts.

* Worst team to draft from was the Atlanta Falcons. Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Roddy White and Steven Jackson all performed well under their draft positions; and they were pretty high draft positions. Runner up: Patriots

Conclusion

Manning & Charles Fantasy MVP

There is a saying in Fantasy Football that you can't win your league in the draft, but you can certainly lose it, but that theory may not be true for 2013. Everyone in my leagues that drafted Jamaal Charles drafted somewhere between picks 6-10. 3 out of 4 of those players ended up in the superbowl because they were able to draft the #1 running back and then get a 2nd pick soon after. The way that the ADP (average draft position) worked 2 out of 4 actually ended up with Charles and Manning on the same team. A basically unbeatable combination.

Running Backs still dominate

In a league where quarterbacks and receivers break passing records every year; having one of the few elite running backs is still the key to victory. As you can see by the stats above, more top 5 running backs made the superbowl than top 5 players at any other position. The only other elite QB with a superbowl appearance besides Peyton Manning was Tony Romo and he was drafted very late in the draft....which means whoever had him also had an elite running back. The strategy of drafting multiple running backs early is still a good one.  This is easier said than done. Those who chose CJ Spiller, Arian Foster, Doug Martin, and Trent Richardson in the first round failed at this strategy, so its not a for sure thing if you draft a bunch of backs; You still have to guess the right ones, but it is a risk worth taking.


Early 2014 Draft Forecast

Absent some kind of catastrophic injury Jamaal Charles will be the #1 pick followed by LeSean McCoy. Peyton Manning will pass Drew Brees for the top QB. Julious Thomas will rise above every TE not named Jimmy Graham and Alshon Jeffrey & Kennan Allen will be top 10 wide receiver draft picks.

 

 



 

 

 

Liberals, Social Conservatives..settle down about Phil Robertson...

        Well it's that time of year again and no im not talking about Christmas or the "Holidays" I'm talking about that time of year when social conservatives and politically correct liberals take their media inspired brainwashed opinions about homosexuality to the front lines of social network battle grounds like Facebook and Twitter to annoy the hell out of each other. I am of course talking about the controversial Phil Robertson interview with GQ. So before you jump on Facebook to wave your flag of the right or left take the following information into consideration.




1. This is NOT a Freedom of Speech issue

Many supporters of Robertson and Duck Dynasty are complaining that Freedom of Speech is under attack, but that is actually not true. The first amendment only protects us from government intervention, but does not protect us from consequences in the public sector.(If you don't believe me go tell your boss your "opinion" of them and see how that works out for you) Agree with them or not, A&E is perfectly within their right to penalize Phil Robertson for his opinion, especially since they are paying for his personality as a character. This actually happens almost every week in sports. Almost every week a coach or player from either the NBA or NFL is fined for criticizing referees or league officials.

2. Bigot?!?

This is a very strong term being thrown around by those people that are outraged over Phil's comments. I believe that term is a little harsh. A bigot is someone who expresses hate or discrimination, but Phil Robertson is not on a self righteous crusade against people who claim to be homosexuals, like we often times see from hardcore social conservatives and religious leaders.  He is not lobbying to pass laws that discriminate or take away an individuals rights. He simply stated his opinion when the question was asked, an opinion that I believe is biblical and just. He also didn't single out homosexual activity, he mentioned other sins that are talked about in the bible. He talked about promiscuous behavior and greed. I agree with everything he said and I don't consider myself a bigot. There is a big difference between tolerance and acceptance and people on the left need to realize that it is not bigotry to not accept a certain lifestyle as long as you are tolerant. I give props to Phil Robertson for standing with Christian values while working in a very secular environment.

3. It SHOULD be legal for two men or two women to get married

 Even though gay marriage is not a topic of discussion this is a good opportunity to show how it is possible to be tolerant without accepting a lifestyle you don't agree with. I don't support gay rights. I support individual rights. To me marriage is a religious institution and a covenant with God. I think the government should not have anything to do with it, but since they do it makes marriage a legal contract between two consenting adults. What the two people call this contract is up to them. To me two gay men getting married is no different than a Muslim man and a Muslim woman getting married unto allah. Keep the government out of marriage, keep the government out of religion.

4. What is a homosexual and why are we grouping people together?

Why does society continue to treat homosexuality like it is a condition or some kind of constant uncontrollable state of being? Homosexuality just like Heterosexuality is nothing more than a behavior. I have never heard of a single person refered to as part of the fornicator community. People who participate in homosexual behavior are just people like you and me, why must we define them by the way they choose to live their life? I have friends that openly practice homosexuality and I view them no differently than I do my friends who practice gluttony. Can you imagine how crazy it would be if we called overweight people gluttoners and put them into some kind of sub group like we do with homosexuals? At the end of the day we are all sinners and all children of God.

5. America is not a Christian nation and never has been

I constantly hear "What is this world coming to, America is supposed to be a Christian nation" I must have really missed this part in our nations history. When exactly was America a Christian nation? was it during the slaughter of native Americans or during slavery? My point is, America or any country for that matter is not a Christian nation. That nation only exists in the kingdom of heaven. Is it this same false belief of America being a Christian nation that leads many Christians to be so eager for us to fight wars? Do they believe that a christian nation is fighting against an ungodly nation? They had a term for this a long time ago and it was called manifest destiny. God has allowed Satan to rule over the influence of the world since before Jesus walked the earth and America is no exception. Do you not remember when Satan was tempting Jesus and offered him all the kingdoms and riches of the world? Satan has ruled this world for a long time and will continue to do so until Jesus returns. Christians are not supposed to be of this world, so it should come of no surprise that a secular television show would censor Christian beliefs. This is the way of the world and the way it has always been. The world is accepting of all things including homosexual behavior. The world encourages us "to be yourself" and "accept who you are" Christianity teaches us to strive to be Christ like and honor God, not be whatever we naturally desire to be. Society likes to view homosexuality as an identity instead of a behavior. Society pushes for homosexuality to be like race and gender. This is a cunning way to get you to accept the behavior. It's time that people start viewing the world for what it is and don't be blinded by your own patriotic bias.         

             

1 john 2

 "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not  in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."


6.  Christians are not being persecuted in America

Because a secular world is not accepting of Christian values does not mean that christians are being persecuted against. If you think that people boycotting Chick-Fil-A is persecution you need to go read about romans feeding christians to the lions. The bible says that before Jesus returns that Christians will face the greatest tribulation that the world has ever seen....I dont think Phil Robertson getting kicked off A&E applies.



7. "Duck Dynasty is just a family of stupid rednecks"

That may be true for a many of the viewers of the show, but I assure you the Robertson family is not a group of idiots. The show is very fake and scripted just like all "reality TV" but with competition like Dance Moms, Honey Boo Boo, and Jersey Shore this show has far more educational value than the rest. 

 

 

In Summary

 

 Nobody is infringing on anybody's rights and fans of the show should not be outraged or surprised that a worldly entity is fighting against Christian values that challenge the status quo of the world. This is nothing new.