Fantasy Draft Turned Reality

Imagine it’s the fourth quarter and Tom Brady drops back for the pass. He looks to the right, but Percy Harvin is covered, then looks left and hits Greg Jennings in the back of the end zone for the game winning catch and the New York Jets win the 2015 Super Bowl.

Just imagine this crazy scenario taking place. My proposal is that the NFL or any sport of that matter, should take the popular online game fantasy football game and turn it into a reality. It can be done just like it’s done online, every team will go into a lottery system where the first team would get the first pick and so on. It would spark a brand new interest into the game of football.

All of those fans who have had years of bad luck can get a brand new jump start with the addition of someone like Drew Brees on their team. There would be a new line of revenue from all of the new players switching teams and the jersey sales would be through the roof.

Things would be a lot different if LeBron ended up somewhere else. New York anyone? Well one could only dream.

Each team would have a hard salary cap to all of them on the same playing grounds when it came to money. There could be rules implemented such as teams using a franchise tag on only one player they want to keep, before the rest go into the fantasy draft. The options are endless to the fun and excitement of making fantasy football a reality. Coaches could even be thrown into the mix as well, maybe even team announcers, they can make it as entertaining and as crazy as they want.

I know when I watch football sometimes it seems boring watching the same players on the same team year after year. When your team plays Aaron Rodgers they know he is going to dominate and take over the game like always, but what if he was on a team with a bad supporting cast, it would really show if he has the actual ability to still be a superstar quarterback. Just imagine LeBron James not having Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh by his side or the big bad New York Yankees not be the same prestigious team that they are now.

The world is always changing and people are looking for something new and exciting. I think this would really shake up the world of sports. Even other sports could attempt a similar fantasy draft like the one that I proposed here. Now that would be something.

Just think the years of pain and anguish of being a Cleveland Browns fan may be over. Think about the cocky and stuck up Los Angeles Lakers fans, they can finally be humbled by having someone other than Kobe Bryant hitting game winning shot after shot for them.

Go Live Life and Stop Posting About it!

Today I did this, tomorrow I will do that and I can’t believe that actually happened to me. Sounds kind of familiar, right?

It’s pretty much what people use social media for, that is to share exactly what happened to them every second of the day. Some people are obsessed with social media and the need to update their life to an audience. There are all kinds of people who use social media. Family members, friends and even celebrities use it as well. I think it’s time to stop talking about what happened to you on a daily basis and time to go out and actually live life without a status update every hour.

There are many positives when it comes to social media. I think the biggest one is staying in touch with all of your close contacts. It’s a quick, easy way to say hi to someone who you want to talk to, but don’t really want to call up on the phone. Also, it can be used to share pictures and memories that you can sit back and reminisce on some day. All of this I get and understand. I think that it is great to keep in contact with someone who you really couldn’t see on a daily basics. I am not saying social media is a bad thing, I’m saying people need to stop spending every hour of the day using social media.

Hop on a social media site and there are posts about some of the most useless things ever. Some of these posts include people pretty much sharing their life to the world. There are people who tell every little issue of their life, including what they should eat for dinner that night. I think that people like to use it for attention, they want it to seem that they are so important that even their littlest of decisions will impacts someones life reading it. The biggest abuse of social media has to be celebrities. They use social media as a platform to build their celebrity status and obtain a big of a  following as possible.

Social media pressures young teenage kids into following trends for all the wrong reasons.

Let’s take an example, your friend Lisa has a party with a few friends. The day after, she posts all of her pictures from the party on a social media site where the world can see. All of her pictures include her and her friends in revealing clothing, surrounded by under age drinking. Everyone she knows comments on her pictures saying how much fun they had and how it was the greatest night ever. As a young kid at the time, you see these other kids getting so much interest and popularity that you want to do the same exact them as they do. Why would you not? What kid doesn’t’ want the spotlight and attention. Teenage kids are promoting that these actions are acceptable and worst of all celebrities are doing the same exact thing, showing that it okay to do.

Is social media a good thing or a bad thing? I would still say it was a good thing, but with some hesitation. It’s great to use to keep in touch with your friends and to share your ideas or whatever is on your mind from time to time. It gets to a point where it is used just for the sake of trying to get attention. What is the point of posting party pictures or revealing pictures of yourself on social media? The answer is that there is none and trust me there are kids, teens and adults who continue to do so. There is also no point to update every hour what you are doing, or where you are going, it is just crazy! It’s fine to enjoy social media, but not don’t become consumed with it. Don’t go crazy posting random things just for attention, just remember the world is watching.

Two Lives to Live

Imagine not having only one life to live, but now you have two.

When you see a yellow box with a question mark. You have to jump and hit it, obviously!

Another day just walking through the park. All of a sudden, you find a box floating in the air with a question mark on it. Playing Mario multiple times before, you know exactly what you have to do. Of course your going to jump up and hit the block! That is exactly what you do and out comes a green mushroom. It falls to the ground, starts moving to the right and you chase after it. Finally catching up to it, you touch it and it disappears.

Days goes by, even months and you go to the doctor for your yearly checkup. He tells you that he has discovered something that has given you another life, meaning if you would happen to die you have another chance to live. All of a sudden you freak out, well obviously, it’s crazy that you have another life. Thinking to yourself, you remember the trip to the park, finally it all comes together. Mario, a yellow question mark block, a green mushroom and another life, It was a 1-up mushroom!

What would you do? Now you have another life!

Let’s lay down some rules. This extra live is exactly how it is used in Mario, if you would fall off a cliff or run into a goomba you would be dead. Well in our world if you would run into a bus, but you get the idea.

I don’t know what I would do, should I just go to the top of a mountain, jump off and see what happens? I think I would have to do something like that, right? I need to utilize this 1-up, it’s not every day you find these kind of things lying around.

On the other hand, it would pretty scary. I’m not sure if I would want to kick the bucket and come back, even if it was for only a few seconds. It would be pretty crazy, because who knows what actually happens to you in those few seconds when your gone. I know when Mario falls of the edge of a platform, he just gets right back up and continues on his journey. I’m not too sure that I would be able to get up like that and go on like nothing ever happened!

Now that I think about it, I’m not too sure that I want that 1-up. Maybe I should just stay away from yellow question mark boxes if I ever see one. They are pretty suspicious now that I think about it!

Please Not Another Call of Duty Remake

So you just got the new Call of Duty game, pretty exciting stuff. Go to your local store, grab your game, put it in your system and your ready to roll. After playing for about ten minutes a question pops into your head, is this Call of Duty 4 or Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 because honestly all of them look and feel the same.

That is the problem and that is also the solution. Let me explain a little more, as a gamer that is the problem. As the company CEO that is the solution. It is the commonly used phrase of, if it is not broken then don’t fix it. If I was the CEO of the Call of Duty franchise I would continue to do exactly what they are doing. That is releasing a Call of Duty game every year and watching the millions of dollars come on in.

A game so easy and simple even Kobe Bryant can pick up and play. As seen in the Call of Duty Black Ops commercial.

Call of Duty is a fun game don’t get me wrong. If you want to play a quick game, just hop online, shoot some enemies and then on with the rest of your day. The game play when playing Call of Duty is so simple. You chose your gun, you find your enemy and you shoot him. There is no learning curve or move set that you need to learn compared to a game like Dark Souls or Street Fighter. It makes it easy for anyone, of any age group, to just jump in and play.

When Call of Duty first came out it was fun and exciting because it was something new. As the years went on, all that was added included, a new map here, some new guns there and some progression from the past year’s storyline. To some that is all that they wanted, they wanted to keep the same formula because they were use to it, but wanted a few changes here and there. To most it got really boring and repetitive, pretty much playing the same game, but in a different time period and environment.

As a gamer, when your pay $60 for a game you want something worth your money. The new Call of Duty 25 is pretty much going to be the same game as Call of Duty 3. As a the company owner, keep producing a Call of Duty every year, if the fans continue to buy it, then why not keep making it? If your tired of the same Call of Duty over and over again the only thing to do is not buy a game. If the sales decrease then there would not be a new game every year. For now, people will keep on buying and the Call of Duty franchise will keep on producing and I honestly can’t blame them at all.

Playing Sports with the Boys

Behind every great man there is a woman. In the United States, it says that there is fair and equal opportunity for all. The land of the free and the home of the brave. I believe if a woman has the ability to hold a “man’s job” of being president then women should also be able to play sports against men. Women and men should be able to do whatever the other one can do. It is only fair that both are given an equal chance.

Men and women have their own sport leagues, separate for each gender. There is the NBA for men and the WNBA or women. I think that there should be no barrier between these leagues. If a girl wanted to play with the boys, I think that she should be able to. There are some girls who are better at their sports than men. Brittney Griner of Baylor University can dunk a basketball. That is an amazing accomplishment as a girl. She has the attributes and the talent to hang with the boys on the court. She is 6’8 and dominated in college. I think that she could stand head to head with some NBA players. I’m not talking about someone like Kobe Bryant. But I think she could put up a fight against some players who sit on NBA benches and are just there collect their paychecks. We will never know though!

Danica Patrick is a woman who is defying all of the odds against the men. She holds the finish by a woman at the Indianapolis 500 race, coming in 3rd place. You can not take away from any of her accomplishments because she is breaking boundaries for women and showing that they can hang with the men.

My problem with Danica Patrick is what she does away from the track.  She is a model and a spokesperson for Go Daddy. By becoming a model and appearing in risqué Go Daddy commercials it takes away from her accomplishments on the track taken seriously. As much she is setting an example for why women should be able to play men’s sports, she is also hurting it the same time. She is becoming the stereotype of just another pretty face. Something that women have been fighting  against for hundreds of years. Patrick is using her looks to cash in rather than setting the standard of  what women should strive for.

Stop trying to be a model. Start trying to be a role model.

The same can be said for Hope Solo.

She was an outstanding goalie for the U.S girls soccer team. She has the same talent, if not more than some guys. But once again, instead of setting an example for female sport figures, she cashes in on her looks just like Danica Patrick. Posing half-naked in magazines trying to become popular and gain attention off the field.

Many female athletes aren’t like Patrick and Solo, that is the problem. These two athletes happen to be two of the most popular and they are the two who are abusing their popularity and setting a bad reputation for other female athletes. It is a shame too because many female athletes carry themselves off the field as role models, but there are still a few who continue to set a bad name.

There was a girls football league called the lingerie league and now there is a new bikini hockey league that was recently announced.  This is pretty much just an insult to girls who play professional sports. It’s just a bunch of half-naked girls running around playing sports. It is an easy cash in and a way to degrade women athletics and bring in easy money. It is so hard to break stereotypes when there is women who go out and play in this. If they really wanted to make a change, they would not participate, but I guess it’s easy money for them as well.

I understand that there are athletes who like to play against their same gender because it is an equal level of competition. I also think if there is a women who has the ability to play against the men, then let her play. We broke the barriers of race in sports over a hundred of years ago and I think it is time to break the barrier of gender as well.

If Only Superheroes Were Real

So your walking down the block in New York City. You see an old lady getting ready to cross the street. It is your picture perfect scenario to walk over there and help her. Make you feel good about helping an old lady and look like the good guy. Your all ready to go, waiting for the right moment, hoping that there are a lot of people around to see you do this good deed.

All of a sudden, here comes something flying toward this old lady. It is a red object, wait…no! You finally realize that it is a person hanging from a web. This mystery person swoops up the old lady, drops her on the other side of the street and continues on swinging from building to building on his web like nothing ever happened. Don’t lie, if that ever happened it would pretty awesome.

Imagine if all of your favorite superheroes came to life. All of the superheroes that we all idolized growing up, turned into reality!

Another day, another morning. You get ready to go to work once again, wake up, go outside and you get your daily newspaper. You turn to your left to say hello to your neighbor and you see this pretty cool looking car outside of his house. Looking closer you realize that is a the Bat Mobile, the same one that you use to watch on television as a kid. Making his way out of the car is Batman him self, he looks at you, gives you a wave and continues on his average day of fighting crime.

If superheros were real, there would be no need for a police force. Just think about it, who in their right mind would want to mess with a superhero with unnatural abilities that could take you down in an instant. Well of course if you are a villain like the Green Goblin or someone like that. Besides those crazy villains, there would be no one and I mean no one who would every stand toe to toe with a superhero in a fight.

I am not going to mess with someone who looks like that. Tearing up the ground for no reason!

Picture this, you get pulled over for going 35 mph over the speed limit. You lower your window to deal with a cop who is going to yell at you and then you realize, it is The Hulk. Yes, the giant green guy who can crush you into pieces if you dare to even give him a wrong look. I know I would say something like, “Sorry for speeding Mr. Green giant looking guy, just please don’t hurt me. It won’t happen again I promise.”

I would then take my ticket, not say a word and get the heck out of there. Of course if you paid The Flash a few dollars, he could take you to wherever you wanted to go in lighting fast time. You would never have to worry about another speeding ticket ever again.

Is it a crazy idea to have a world with real superheroes? I don’t think so at all. I think it is a win-win situation for everyone involved here.

Heck, let’s go as far as saying that there would be no need for a president. I think the Justice League would do a pretty good job of keeping our country safe.

The Hardest Sport to Play

Sitting at home and yelling at athletes on television is a hobby for some. Fans get outraged at these over paid athletes. They think that they should perform at their highest level every time they go out and play a sport. They yell and curse at the television, whenever an athlete strikes out, or misses a big shot in a game. Going out and actually performing in front of millions of fans, in the stands and on national television, is not as easy as it looks.

An athlete is someone who posses a skill or a talent that makes them capable of playing a sport. Every athlete is different, some are good at being strong and others are good at being smart. Each sport requires a different skill set in order for an athlete to succeed at that particular sport.

Some sports, people are just born to play. If you were born 7’3, can catch a ball and put it into a hoop, then you are destined to play basketball. If you were born 5’1, 110 lbs you could make the perfect jockey. Some attributes such as height and size, people are born with. Many who are born with these attributes are pretty lucky.

There is one sport though that doesn’t require any height or weight requirement. This sport takes both strength and smarts. It is one of the most watched sports today, but doesn’t get the credibility of a sport such as football, baseball or soccer.

I am talking about the most difficult sport to play, thatrequires the greatest skill set. That sport is golf.

Take your golf club, take your tiny little golf ball and hit it into a hole that is 4.25 inches. Did I mention that you only have a certain number of tries to do this and that the location of the hole is anywhere between 100 and 600 feet away?

I think that golf is the hardest sport to play. With sports such as football and basketball you can practice and build up muscle and strength in order to become better. Golf is a sport that requires a unique skill set.

People of all ages can play golf, unlike any other sport. There have been golfers the age of forty who have won the Masters. In sports like baseball and basketball you can define the odds of age and play, but you are at a greater disadvantage. Golf is similar to wine, as you get older you get better. Golfers become smarter and learn how to angle their shots and judge what golf clubs to use on different shots. It is not easy judging a shot with gusty winds trying to alter the direction of your shot.

Each sport requires a certain talent in order to succeed. I am not trying to say that tennis or soccer is easy to play. Sports like boxing and football really take a lot out of you. Those are sports of determination and heart. Who can outlast the other opponent to the end.

There are individual positions that are extremely difficult to play. Such as a pitcher or a quarterback. Each of these positions require smarts and skill. It is not easy trying to read a defense and throw a perfect pass or throw a baseball in an exact location on the edge of the plate.

The difference between golf and those difficult positions are that you can overcome being a quarterback or pitcher with other talents. What I mean by that is, if you can’t throw a perfect pass, you can succeed in other ways. Running for a first down by yourself or throwing quick passes to your star receiver, can take the pressure off of you. A pitcher who can throw 100 mph can intimidate a batter and make him swing at pitches he would usually not swing at.

As a golfer, you are out there on your own. You get help from your caddy, but it is you against the wind and the course. There is no alternative way out  you can use to help get out of a bunker or a forest. Reading the wind and choosing the best club is your only way out.

Playing any sport is difficult and requires a ton of skill. I’m just saying the next time you turn on the television, just think about how hard it is to actually play the game of golf. Think about the unique skill set it requires to hit a golf ball into a hole that is 4.25 inches big and over 500 feet away.

What if LeBron James Finally Wins a Championship?

“In this fall, I’m going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat.” Those were the famous words that were spoken by LeBron James during an ESPN special titled “The Decision”.

July 8, 2010 changed the game of basketball forever. This was the first time an athlete had a show, just for them to announce where they were going to sign as a free agent.  After “The Decision” James was instantly looked upon as a villain. James said if he could do it all over again, he would have not made such a big deal of his free agent signing and probably wouldn’t have televised it. James left behind his hometown of Cleveland in order to join Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in his pursuit of his first NBA championship.

Let’s clear this up, LeBron James is the most talented athlete in if not all of basketball, then all of sports. He is 6’8 and is 240 lbs, he could play linebacker for a football team if he wanted to. When James went to the Heat, many saw this as an easy way out. By moving from Cleveland to Miami, James admitted that he could not win on his own and needed help. An athlete of his caliber should be able to win on his own, he shouldn’t need help from two all-stars in order to do so.

During the 2010-2011 NBA season LeBron put up his typical dominate LeBron like numbers. But he fell short of winning a championship, making it to game six of the finals against the Mavericks, but not reaching the ultimate goal. James is having an MVP type season once again this year, but the problem with James is that he doesn’t step up in the 4th quarter of big games. Sure he is a great regular season player, but in order to be considered an all time great you have to hit the big shot. James often passes the ball off and plays Robin to Dwayne Wade’s Batman.

All of that aside, what happens if LeBron James wins his first ring? Will he no longer be the villain or will basketball fans hate of him grow even more? If James does get his first ring, then a second and third, he needs to be considered among the all time greats. Legends are measured by how many rings they have. James has the talent of a NBA Legend and Hall of Famer, but he doesn’t have the rings yet. He has to get at least one to be in the talk among the legends.

LeBron James is going to be taking his talents to the Hall of Fame, hate him or not. He averages almost a triple double every game and deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Moving from Cleveland to Miami might have hurt his reputation as a player, but not as a basketball player. He does however need to win some championships, before we claim him one of the greatest of all time.

The Best Mario Spin-Off Game!

Everyone knows Mario. Let’s face it, the guy is pretty much a global icon. He has kept us up many nights past our bedtime, just for so we can step on some goombas and jump on some turtles. Super Mario Bros on the classic Nintendo is where he really took off. Then came Super Mario Bros 2 and 3. Mario just doesn’t like to save Princess Peach from castles, he enjoys other activities as well. He is pretty versatile believe it or not. Some Mario games have been swept under the rug that have been released after Super Mario Bros. I am going to bring back the memories and list the top Mario spin-off games of all time.

#3 Mario Party

Take all of the Mario characters that we have loved over the years and throw them on a virtual board game. Throw in dice to roll, some coins and a star to collect and you have Mario Party. This is the ultimate, quick, fun, sit down and play Mario game. There have been 9 Mario Party games so far and I think the can make 100 of them. The basis of the game is to win mini-games and collect coins. In Monopoly when you pass Go, you get $200. Instead of gaining $200 in Mario Party, if you have enough coins you can exchange them for stars. Whoever has the most stars when the game is over, wins! This game is a lot of fun especially when playing with a lot of friends. Definitely worth of a spot in the top Mario spin-off games.

#2 Mario Tennis

Mario loves his sports. There have been games such as Mario Golf, Mario Baseball, Mario Basketball and Mario Soccer. I would not be surprised to see Mario Volleyball. Let’s not forget about Mario Tennis either which makes #2 on my list. Mario Tennis is not like regular tennis. Sorry to say but, tennis on television is pretty boring. Two people hit a little, green ball back and forth over a net until someone misses. That is not very exciting at all, but when you add Mario and his gang to the mix, it is a lot of fun. Mario Tennis has backhands and even drop shots. It still stays true to the game of tennis, but for some reason it is a lot more fun than real tennis. It is faster paced and playing doubles with a friend makes it even more exciting. Mario Tennis for the N64 was fun, but Mario Power Tennis for the GameCube is a lot better. In the GameCube version, players have a special shot that adds a whole new element to the game. Take Diddy Kong for instance. When you use his special shot he will automatically go to the ball and hit is back. It is not your normal return though, he puts a crazy banana shaped curve on the ball, making it hard to hit back. This game takes tennis to the next level. I sometimes wish real life tennis was exciting like it is in Mario Tennis.

#1 Mario Kart

Who even knew that Mario was old enough to drive? I honestly never knew he was able to. I also didn’t know that a dinosaur and a monkey were capable of operating a vehicle. I have no clue who passed them for their drivers licenses. Whoever it was, I would have to thank them.

Mario Kart is the hands down #1Mario spin-off.

There have been Mario Kart games released for handheld systems like the Game boy Advance and Nintendo 3DS. The classic Mario Kart’s on the N64 and GameCube is where it is at. Mario Kart puts Mario and his crew behind the wheel of go karts and lets them race to the finish. It is no simple three lap race though. There are items that you can pick up along the way. Some of them include, shells that you can throw at other divers and bananas that you can place down, in hope that your opponent drives over it and spins off the track. Mario Kart first started off as one person behind the wheel. Then Mario Kart Double Dash was released on the GameCube that featured two drivers on one cart. One driver would throw the items and the other would drive the cart, you could switch back and forth between drivers as well. Each character has a special item, similar to special shots in Mario Tennis. The courses are awesome as well. Courses take place in deserts, jungles and even on top of Daisy’s Cruiser. Yes, you get to drive on a yacht in the middle of the ocean.

Mario Kart is a classic and is my #1 Mario spin-off game!