INSCMagazine’s FantasyJAM: USWNT, FFL and Southpaw/Creed?

Welcome everyone to the first of many Pre-JAM columns here on The Inscriber Digital Magazine. This is one of the first multi-platform columns of its kind, as it mixes the power of the pen and web with the power of the podcast.

Each week my partner, Chad “The Buffalo” Setera and I will write a Pre-JAM column where we will debate 5 topics. After each of us has presented our argument in this column, we will finish the debates on our show FantasyJAM every Thursday night on the Inscriber Media Network.

That way, YOU can be a part of the debate by either calling in live or tweeting the show. That may be the biggest part of the whole thing, your involvement.

The only rules we have is that one of the five topics will be Fantasy Sports related. That’s it.

Without further ado, here is the first ever Pre-JAM Topic with Fish giving the initial point and the Buffalo countering.

1) In the Fantasy Football Draft’s first round this year, should it be Running Back or Wide Receiver Heavy?

(Fish) “In years past, there was NO debate about this at all. Other than maybe an outlier like Randy Moss or Calvin Johnson, if you didn’t take a running back in the first round, you were behind the 8-Ball. But to quote one of the greatest poets of my generation, the times they are a changing.

The NFL is no longer the run-heavy league it once was. It is rarer now to have a workhorse running back than it is to get a sack on Tom Brady without getting flagged for unnecessary roughness.

So in a standard 12-team Fantasy League, the first round better have 9-10 WR’s selected and only 2 or 3 RB’s. If you miss on getting an AJ Green, Calvin Johnson, Odell Beckham or Antonio Brown, you will not be able to catch up.”

(Buffalo) “The Idea of Fantasy Football is to… Well let’s quote Al Davis- “Just Win Baby!” And in Fantasy Football if you don’t have the best players you aren’t going to win. The RB position is still the best position in Fantasy and should be the position you have to take an elite player in the first round.

When you look at the star power at the position, you see a major drop off between them and the others. LeVeon Bell, Jamaal Charles, Eddie Lacy, Alford Morris, LeSean McCoy, Demarco Murray, CJ Anderson, Adrian Peterson, Arian Foster, Matt Forte, and Marshawn Lynch are the elite 11 of the position and let’s be honest… The drop off from there is huge.

Could you get lucky and find a diamond in the rough… Yes… But the likelihood of finding that diamond in the rough at QB or WR is greater, and thus maintaining the RB first philosophy.”

2) Who has had worse luck the last 5 years, Lakers or Knicks

(Fish) “This is a question that is near and dear to my heart, and to be honest with you the answer is quite simple. If you make your own bad luck (read hire Isiah Thomas) then you have no right to complain when things don’t go your way.

However, when the Commissioner over-steps his bounds and nixes a deal that would set-up your team for years to come (I am talking to you David Stern), and then agrees to a CBA that is pretty much aimed at punishing teams that make a large gate and can afford a lot of players, bad luck is going to follow.

How else do you explain, finally getting a great pick in the draft and having him break his leg in the first game he plays in? Or getting one of the best centers in the league, only to have him bring his purse with him from Orlando.

The answer is simple, this once proud franchise that was the crown jewel of the NBA, is cursed.”

(Buffalo) “Where do I start… Hmmm… How about July 8,2010. The NY Knicks trade for Amare Stoudemire and his $100M salary. And then shortly thereafter in the 2010-11 season, they trade for Carmelo Anthony. Yes, the two led the Knicks to the playoffs that year, just to be swept by Boston in the first round. And in fact the Knicks have made the playoffs even in the 2012-13 season thanks to an unknown sensation named Jeremy Lin.

All good, but come on. A storied franchise that had the “Cold” envelop luck to get Patrick Ewing in the 1985 draft has been nothing other than unlucky for these past five years.

First Stoudemire’s contract handcuffs the team… Now it is Carmelo’s contract. Phil Jackson can’t land a named free agent to help his triangle offense and this organization can’t draft worth a crap. The Knicks have gone from a storied sensation with the landing of big names like Stoudemire and Anthony, and having worldwide sensation Jeremy Lin to the worst season in franchise history at 17-65 in the 2014-15 season.”

3) Whether at sporting events or in general, should the Confederate Flag still fly?

(Fish) “This has become very much a hot button topic of late and understandably so. I can see why people do NOT want to see this flag flying anywhere. After all, it symbolizes some of the worst in people and what they stand for.

But to be honest with you, that is why it SHOULD fly. It should fly as a warning to those who forget our past. Forget what happened in this great country that once almost tore it apart. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.

While that is a part of our past we would rather forget, it is a part that cannot be forgotten. It also symbolizes one of the things that make this country great, our freedoms. Censorship in ANY FORM cannot be tolerated in a true free society, which is what we strive to be. So disallowing the flag to fly could be the start of a slippery slope that we do not want to go down.”

(Buffalo) “Let’s be honest… Our society is ultra-sensitive about everything now a day. We have gone from a country of hippies in the 60’s to wussies in the 21^st century. I cannot argue against Fish’s point… Certain symbols, images, and words are being called the “Cause” of our cultural change… Really!?!

I really have no strong feelings against those that believe these to be the reasoning… but as an American that believes in the Bill of Rights and believes in this great country… STOP the non-sense. We were built on freedom of speech and have thrived to becoming a world power because of that freedom. Don’t take away the symbols that represent our past and don’t sensor the foundations of what built this country.

If anything should be censored, it should be our desire for instant gratification… And folks… That’s not going to happen.”

4) Why should we care about the Women’s World Cup

(Fish) “Again, the reason we should care is PRIDE. Not only that, but this country has ALWAYS loved a winner, and that’s exactly what these women are. They are Gold Medalists; they have won this event in the past, and finished as runners-up last time.

Unlike their male counterparts, these women bring a certain joy to the world’s game. On the largest stage of all, these women don’t shrink from the pressure, they thrive on it. Win, lose or draw against Japan in the Finals, not only have these ladies done this country proud, they have given American’s all over the world, a reason to watch and appreciate”

(Buffalo) “If we cared so much about the Women’s World Cup then we would have filled the stadiums in the country to the North of the US. We didn’t! The ratings would be through the roof.

OK… Here it comes. Yes, FOX Sports is reporting their ratings are growing every match and showing considerable increases over the previous World Cup in 2011. Well hello… When you have the opportunity to put games on Prime Time vs. 6 hours earlier when played in Germany… Yeah, you will get a larger TV audience.

But, the proof is quite simple folks… If the Women’s World Cup was so great and was the saving grace to soccer in the United States… Then why are the ratings 1/3 of what they were in 1999? Oh wait…I have that answer for you…. Cause We Don’t Care!!”

5) Southpaw vs Creed

(Fish) “This summer in the midst of all the hype over movies like Pixels, Minions and Antman, two boxing movies will be making their premieres. Southpaw starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Creed starring Michael B. Jordan.

Not that you can’t go and see both of them, but if you could only see one, which one would it be?

I think the answer is pretty easy. Southpaw in a new story about a guy who is a believable champion who loses it all due to tragedy. He has to fight his way back to the top. This is a fresh story, not one that relies on a movie that was made with 5 sequels.

I mean sure, it is nice to give some closure as to what happened to Apollo Creed’s family in the Rocky saga, but do we really need to see Sly Stallone don the trunks again? I think Rocky’s time to “fly now” is over, and he and the storyline, should be retired.”

(Buffalo) “In the 1980’s, we saw the greatest underdog story come to life on the big screen in the form of Rocky. The lefty from Philly who battled his way against the mighty Apollo Creed in not one but two movies. Then we saw Rocky and Apollo turn from rivals to friends… And unfortunately saw the end of Apollo’s live in Rocky IV in the hands of Ivan Drago.

As a sucker for the drama that Rocky brought, and someone that was disappointed with the last two Rocky stories…I want to see where this next chapter takes us.

Creed is based off of Apollo’s son and his fight against life and the shadows of trying to live up to his father’s legacy. As a diehard Rocky fan that has seen my disappointments in the last two… I want to see the underdog story again. I want to see what the writers and producers have come up with to bring back the Rocky legacy 30 years later.

I mean… Boxing needs something… it’s not producing in the real ring, so hopefully, if anything, either one of these movies helps them produce on the big screen.”

Well there you have it. Two separate but thought provoking points of view. Do any of these arguments make you feel like raging? Well don’t keep it in, be a part of the show. We invite you to join us EVERY Thursday night on Fantasy JAM on the Inscriber Media Network and give us your thoughts by leaving us comments on our Facebook page.

~Andrew “Fish” Fain @thefish1969

~”The Buffalo” Chad Setera @sportsjamchad