The Morning Offering - March 4, 2005

Written by Dr Furious on March 04, 2005

It is Friday morning, and as Ludacris would say, “We in the Red Light District!” Why do I reference Luda you ask? His tune happens to be blaring from the radio right now as I travel to work on I 93. Furious seems to be a source of hate this week, and I am not exactly sure why that is the case. God said that “thou shall not hate,” and Furious is strictly abiding by his hate-free Fridays. It is getting a lot tougher to do so, but I try to be a man of principle, honor, and integrity. I have already hit Dunkin Donuts and the coffee is in full effect. If you have a Dunkin near you, I advise you to do the same.

The Matrix V
For those that are not aware, the ultra-competitive fantasy league, Matrix V, drafted last weekend. A draft capsule that was featured as a morning offering this week placed my team in last place. While my team has large injury concerns, I do not feel that I have the worst team in the league. The health of my players will dictate where I finish this season. What I find funny is that the opening line of my team’s appraisal was “Mevlin Mora makes too many errors.” Wow, someone deserves a cookie for that profound statement. What most might fail to realize is that Mora made 8 errors during the first two weeks of the season, while he was learning his new position on the hot corner. That means that he only made 13 errors over the course of the rest of the season, a number most fantasy owners would live with when getting the production that Mora had last year (111 runs, 104 RBI). So disregarding the learning curve (in which Mora found himself firmly planted on my bench) Mora was a fine third base option, who won’t kill you if your league does include errors as a statistic. I think that some people are just hating because yours truly declined to write a draft recap capsule, but that is just my opinion folks.

Let the countdown begin
We are officially 9 days away from Selection Sunday. Can you all feel the excitement, because I sure do. For all those haters out there, the Big East is the best conference in the nation. The ACC is top-heavy this year, but they will not be close to matching the six (and possibly seven) teams that the Big East sends to the dance this year. No doubt Furious will be breaking down the brackets once we know who is in the field of 64. While I am on the subject of college basketball, my feel-good team of the season would be Indiana. I really hope this team gets into the dance. They looked pretty damn good against a tough Michigan State team, but the could not seal the deal with a win over Wisconsin. Indy will have to do work in the Big Ten tournament to get the nod, and do not be surprised if they make it folks. Just remember where you heard it if they do.

How ‘bout them Celtics
Now Furious feels a little bad about not breaking down all the deadline deals in the NBA last Friday. It was a late night, and I sure as hell did not feel like writing the morning offering. It is definitely too late to go back and critique all the deals that went down, but Furious has to tip his hat to Danny Ainge. The more deals this guys makes, the more impressed I become. If you had of told me three weeks ago that Ainge would bring Antione Walker back to Boston, I would have laughed so hard that I peed my pants. We all heard the stories about how Ainge was itching to get rid of Walker. Philadelphia put a lot of pressure on the Celtic organization by trading for Webber, and Ainge knew that he could not watch the deadline pass without making a move. Ainge reacquired Walker from the Hawks, for Stewart, Gugliotta, and Payton (the Celtics also gave up a first round draft pick). Everyone knew that Payton would not report to Atlanta, and would ultimately become an unrestricted free agent. What we did not know is that Payton would resign with the Celtics. Personally, I thought Payton would be heading for warmer climates: Miami, Phoenix, Dallas, or even San Antonio. The announcement should be made this morning, as Payton will rejoin the Celtics for the morning shoot-around. What else can you say other than Wow.

Well I think that about does it for this morning. My coffee is just about done, and I think I need a refill. It is freezing up here in Boston, with no sign of spring on the horizon. To all five of you reading the offering this morning, I hope you are in a warmer climate than me. If you are not, then get another cup of coffee and make sure the scarf is tied tightly around your neck. It is a little nippy out there. Have a good weekend and remember that happy hour is one of the greatest inventions ever created, and it is your duty to take advantage. Cheers

-- Written by Dr Furious on March 04, 2005