Hey folks, it seems college basketball season has gotten off to a roaring start, what with ESPN's tip-off marathon last night that was capped off by two great games, Michigan State vs. Kansas and Kentucky vs. Duke. If you remember, last year I attended the Champions Classic featuring these same four teams at Madison Square Garden and was unfortunately heckled by a redneck from Kentucky, who told me to "Go back to Arabia" when I cheered loudly for Coach K's 903rd win. Well, it's been a year coming, but now I can finally tell that guy to shove his bigotry and Duke's 75-68 win up his ass.
I was pleasantly surprised at how poised Duke looked last night. I'm guessing having three seniors on the squad helps, but usually we don't look so composed this early in the season. Granted, Duke frequently gets the big early-season wins to jack up its RPI and then disappoint in March, but this time seemed a bit different. Ball handling was solid (only 8 turnovers on the game, I believe), FG%, 3PT% and defense all looked pretty good too. Of course, Kentucky burned Duke on a bunch of give-and-go alley-oops and other such ridiculous athletic feats that only they can do. But I was proud of how Duke took every thunderous dunk by Kentucky (and the ensuing rowdiness of the crowd) and calmly brought the ball down and almost effortlessly placed it in the bucket at the other end. Mostly, it was Seth Curry, who seems to have blossomed into a very complete player over the last year. We knew he was good, but yesterday he showcased more than his usual shooting prowess we've grown used to. He had the handle, he had the drives, he had the head fakes, and he had his usual staunch defending (and apparently he can dunk too!). And when it came time for big plays to be made in crunch time, Curry was our man. Surely as all Duke fans (and many players, it seems) were tightening up their sphincters after letting UK go on a 9-0 run in the waning minutes, Curry calmly went about his business--asking for the ball, taking what was given to him, and knocking down the big shots when we needed. Whether it was a deft floater in traffic or a head-fake to get the monster Nerlens Noel off his feet for a quick up and in, Curry found the zone. And oh yeah, a perfect night at the free throw line didn't hurt either, especially seeing how many FT's Duke had left on the table throughout the game. All in all, a great and surprisingly composed effort from the Blue Devils last night. That being said, I don't want to see Kentucky in March. That team will be VERY good.
Moving on, it looks like the Saints are trying to make a go of it this season. A favorable matchup at Oakland this weekend could see a Saints victory and a .500 mark on the season after a dismal 0-4 start. I like the fire the team is showing, but somehow I wonder if all this means is that we go 8-8, miss the playoffs, and have the 18th pick in the draft next year. Who knows. But until we do, I'm rooting for 11-5 and a wild card spot! If the D can get its act together, I do believe the Saints are capable of beating anyone in the league. Especially in the Superdome. Which, incidentally, is where the Super Bowl will be played this year. Verrrry interesting...
Fantasy update! In my three leagues, I currently rank 1st out of 8, 1st out of 10, and 10th out of 12. Yeah, the 10th place is just a bad, bad situation. 12-man league, ridiculously odd scoring system (a 50-yard play gets a 5-point bonus for being 50 yards. WHAT?), two big injuries and a conspicuous no-show from my top three draft picks--it's all just bad. And of course, by virtue of being a 12-man league, there is ZERO waiver wire depth. I've spent the season just picking up injured guys in the hopes they will heal quickly and return to action. And I've been wrong on just about every account. At least in the other leagues I am well-positioned to hopefully be in the money when it's all said and done. But we'll see.
What else--the CrossFitting has been going very well. I graduated into the "intermediate" level of athletic development at my gym. It's meaningless by all accounts, but was nice to have a goal to work towards when I joined the gym and then see that goal reached. Here's what I had to accomplish (see if you can do it too!):
- 70 air squats in 2 minutes
- 8 split squats per leg holding a 25lb dumbbell in each hand (15% of body weight in each hand basically)
- 25 unbroken push ups, chest chin and stomach all the way to the floor on each rep
- 5 strict dips
- 6 dumbbell shoulder press with a 25lb dumbbell in each hand (15% of body weight per hand again)
- 45 second static hang from a pull up bar
- 5 strict pull ups
- 90 second side bridge per side
- 15 knees to elbows on the pull-up bar
- 2 minute Sorensen test (basically holding a back extension at the top for 2 minutes)
- 4 minute 800 meter run
- 8 minute 1 mile run
- 1:55 to row 500 meters
- 100 single jump ropes unbroken
- 1 rope climb
Most of that stuff was doable the day I got to the gym. But the rope climb, pull-ups and knees to elbows prevented me from completing all the tests in one day. At least now, I can do a bunch of pull ups and my core is a lot stronger, and that has helped me into the intermediate level. Now, I have to aim for the advanced level, and that shit is serious. Here is what I am shooting for now:
- Back squat 150% of body weight for 1 rep
- Front squat 127% of body weight for 1 rep
- 8 split squats per leg holding a 50lb dumbbell in each hand (28% body weight)
- Close grip bench press 100% of body weight for 1 rep
- Weighted dip with 55% of body weight for 1 rep
- 6 dumbbell shoulder press with a 50lb dumbbell in each hand (29% of body weight)
- 30 pull ups
- Weighted pull up with 55% of body weight for 1 rep
- 30 second L-sit on parallel dip bars
- 20 hanging straight leg raises from pull up bar
- Deadlift 187% of body weight for 1 rep
- 3 minute 800 meter run
- 6:10 1 mile run
- 1:34 to row 500 meters
- Power clean 100% of body weight for 1 rep
- Power snatch 75% of body weight for 1 rep
- 50 consecutive double unders with the jump rope
As you can see, the list of requirements is very different, and very tough. Some of these I already have in the bag, like the shoulder press and deadlift and potentially both running tests, but others will require a LOT of work. The nice thing is, they are all there as goals for me, and hopefully in the next few months I can get very close to achieving them all and generally being more fit. Weight is still right in the 176-178 range. My eating has not been as strict as it should be, but I'll try and grind through the holiday season with minimal cheats. Let's see how it goes!
I was pleasantly surprised at how poised Duke looked last night. I'm guessing having three seniors on the squad helps, but usually we don't look so composed this early in the season. Granted, Duke frequently gets the big early-season wins to jack up its RPI and then disappoint in March, but this time seemed a bit different. Ball handling was solid (only 8 turnovers on the game, I believe), FG%, 3PT% and defense all looked pretty good too. Of course, Kentucky burned Duke on a bunch of give-and-go alley-oops and other such ridiculous athletic feats that only they can do. But I was proud of how Duke took every thunderous dunk by Kentucky (and the ensuing rowdiness of the crowd) and calmly brought the ball down and almost effortlessly placed it in the bucket at the other end. Mostly, it was Seth Curry, who seems to have blossomed into a very complete player over the last year. We knew he was good, but yesterday he showcased more than his usual shooting prowess we've grown used to. He had the handle, he had the drives, he had the head fakes, and he had his usual staunch defending (and apparently he can dunk too!). And when it came time for big plays to be made in crunch time, Curry was our man. Surely as all Duke fans (and many players, it seems) were tightening up their sphincters after letting UK go on a 9-0 run in the waning minutes, Curry calmly went about his business--asking for the ball, taking what was given to him, and knocking down the big shots when we needed. Whether it was a deft floater in traffic or a head-fake to get the monster Nerlens Noel off his feet for a quick up and in, Curry found the zone. And oh yeah, a perfect night at the free throw line didn't hurt either, especially seeing how many FT's Duke had left on the table throughout the game. All in all, a great and surprisingly composed effort from the Blue Devils last night. That being said, I don't want to see Kentucky in March. That team will be VERY good.
Moving on, it looks like the Saints are trying to make a go of it this season. A favorable matchup at Oakland this weekend could see a Saints victory and a .500 mark on the season after a dismal 0-4 start. I like the fire the team is showing, but somehow I wonder if all this means is that we go 8-8, miss the playoffs, and have the 18th pick in the draft next year. Who knows. But until we do, I'm rooting for 11-5 and a wild card spot! If the D can get its act together, I do believe the Saints are capable of beating anyone in the league. Especially in the Superdome. Which, incidentally, is where the Super Bowl will be played this year. Verrrry interesting...
Fantasy update! In my three leagues, I currently rank 1st out of 8, 1st out of 10, and 10th out of 12. Yeah, the 10th place is just a bad, bad situation. 12-man league, ridiculously odd scoring system (a 50-yard play gets a 5-point bonus for being 50 yards. WHAT?), two big injuries and a conspicuous no-show from my top three draft picks--it's all just bad. And of course, by virtue of being a 12-man league, there is ZERO waiver wire depth. I've spent the season just picking up injured guys in the hopes they will heal quickly and return to action. And I've been wrong on just about every account. At least in the other leagues I am well-positioned to hopefully be in the money when it's all said and done. But we'll see.
What else--the CrossFitting has been going very well. I graduated into the "intermediate" level of athletic development at my gym. It's meaningless by all accounts, but was nice to have a goal to work towards when I joined the gym and then see that goal reached. Here's what I had to accomplish (see if you can do it too!):
- 70 air squats in 2 minutes
- 8 split squats per leg holding a 25lb dumbbell in each hand (15% of body weight in each hand basically)
- 25 unbroken push ups, chest chin and stomach all the way to the floor on each rep
- 5 strict dips
- 6 dumbbell shoulder press with a 25lb dumbbell in each hand (15% of body weight per hand again)
- 45 second static hang from a pull up bar
- 5 strict pull ups
- 90 second side bridge per side
- 15 knees to elbows on the pull-up bar
- 2 minute Sorensen test (basically holding a back extension at the top for 2 minutes)
- 4 minute 800 meter run
- 8 minute 1 mile run
- 1:55 to row 500 meters
- 100 single jump ropes unbroken
- 1 rope climb
Most of that stuff was doable the day I got to the gym. But the rope climb, pull-ups and knees to elbows prevented me from completing all the tests in one day. At least now, I can do a bunch of pull ups and my core is a lot stronger, and that has helped me into the intermediate level. Now, I have to aim for the advanced level, and that shit is serious. Here is what I am shooting for now:
- Back squat 150% of body weight for 1 rep
- Front squat 127% of body weight for 1 rep
- 8 split squats per leg holding a 50lb dumbbell in each hand (28% body weight)
- Close grip bench press 100% of body weight for 1 rep
- Weighted dip with 55% of body weight for 1 rep
- 6 dumbbell shoulder press with a 50lb dumbbell in each hand (29% of body weight)
- 30 pull ups
- Weighted pull up with 55% of body weight for 1 rep
- 30 second L-sit on parallel dip bars
- 20 hanging straight leg raises from pull up bar
- Deadlift 187% of body weight for 1 rep
- 3 minute 800 meter run
- 6:10 1 mile run
- 1:34 to row 500 meters
- Power clean 100% of body weight for 1 rep
- Power snatch 75% of body weight for 1 rep
- 50 consecutive double unders with the jump rope
As you can see, the list of requirements is very different, and very tough. Some of these I already have in the bag, like the shoulder press and deadlift and potentially both running tests, but others will require a LOT of work. The nice thing is, they are all there as goals for me, and hopefully in the next few months I can get very close to achieving them all and generally being more fit. Weight is still right in the 176-178 range. My eating has not been as strict as it should be, but I'll try and grind through the holiday season with minimal cheats. Let's see how it goes!
