My email to Colin Cowherd, 8/25/10

I was hoping you would address your Cliff Lee comments again, but as you do so often, you again avoided the most important aspect of the reaction to your comments a few days ago.

The issue isn't that FANS were enraged by your comments about Cliff Lee's level of interest in being a Texas Ranger, the issue is that CLIFF LEE HIMSELF came out and called you and your supposed "source" liars (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/baseball/rangers/stories/082510dnosporangerslee.85e4d813.html). He completely negated whatever information you had about him not wanting to be a Ranger, saying "It's a lie. Write that. Are you writing? Write that it's a lie. I did not say that and nobody close to me would say that. Either say who the source is or shut up because I am saying it is not true."

And yet, you once again asserted that you "knew" that Cliff Lee didn't want to be a Ranger. Sorry, but you can't continue to put words in another person's mouth and call it fact by citing an unnamed "source." The only one who can really say what Cliff Lee is thinking is Cliff Lee himself.

This isn't a surprise, of course. You've repeatedly proven that your knowledge of the game of baseball and its workings are limited or, more accurately, nearly non-existent. I could take issue with any number of assertions you've made about baseball, from the statement that small market teams can't compete to the argument that no one enjoys a 1-0 ballgame (sorry, but small market clubs can win titles and great pitching is great to watch). You call anyone who understands the game more than you a "nerd", which is a cop out of the most obvious kind, clearly stemming from the insecurity of a man who can't understand a basic baseball metric like Wins Above Replacement and couldn't define OPS without looking it up.

You'll never read this email on air, and I understand that, but I hope it gets a point across- don't put words in people's mouths, and don't discuss topics you don't understand. You may not care about my opinion as long as I listen to your show, as you repeatedly express your desire to get ratings as the primary goal of your show. I have no doubt that you have a massive amount of listeners, sure, but the percentage of those listeners who don't respect you and/or think you're a complete idiot is growing more and more with each unfounded statement you make.

Twitter

Haven't blogged in a very long time. I'm all over Twitter, though: twitter.com/danport

Oh and I started writing for BaseballPress.com. Hopefully that'll go well.

On Death

Why don't I post on my blog much? I honestly think about it all the time but have usually moved on to something else by the time I have a few minutes to sit down and be ready to write about it. I'm all over Twitter because I like the idea of short, random entries. A blog entry feels like a massive time commitment by comparison.

Today, I found out my grandfather is in serious declining health. It has me thinking about a topic I have very complicated feelings about: death.

I've been pretty fortunate with regard to this topic. I've had very few deaths in my life; my family and friends are all spry and healthy individuals, apparently. This might actually be the reason I think about it so much.

I don't subscribe to the standard idea of an afterlife. I'm not a practicing Christian. My ideas on death stem more from philosophical and scientific works I've read or otherwise heard about.

I think the consciousness is real. I think the "soul" might be (whatever that is). I think that this mortal life is probably just a component to a larger existence.

But I also believe that the brain makes up who we are. And the brain ceases when our other bodily functions do. So we might end when this life ends.

So which is it? I have no idea. Maybe death is a painful and excruciating eternity. Maybe it's absolute bliss. Maybe it's anything in between.

Fantasy Baseball Keeper League

Hey all:

I'm getting an early jump on setting up at fantasy baseball league for the upcoming season. This will be a KEEPER league and, just to keep it interesting, there will a CASH ENTRY FEE and PRIZE MONEY this season. Entry is $20, payable at the start of the season. So this is something you'll need to consider before you commit to it.

It's essentially the same, except I'll run the league through sportingnews.com and not yahoo. I was in a league on there last year and found it to be very easy to use, so hopefully it'll be better than yahoo was regarding draft times, etc.

As far as league parameters, it'll be 6 hitting categories and 6 pitching categories:
Hitters: Runs, Homers, RBI, Steals, Average, On-base Percentage
Pitchers: Wins, Saves, Strikeouts, ERA, Whip, Holds

Pretty similar to last year, but I dumped the doubles and complete game categories.

Rosters will the exactly the same as they were in our league last year:
Two SP, Two RP, Three P
C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, Three OF, Util
Seven Bench Spots, Two DL Spots
(Draft will be 23 rounds)

I'm open to suggestions on the league settings but I'd like to keep it fairly vanilla. Draft date and number of keepers is up in a poll on the league page. As of 3/17/09 it's looking like 3/29 for the draft and 5 keepers.

If you'd like to participate, let me know as soon as you can and I'll send you the league details and password. If you know anyone else who would be interested in joining, have them email me. I'd like to have 12 teams in it but we'll see how this goes.

-Dan

EDIT: I dropped CGs as a category because there are never many of them and they end up being pretty unpredictable. Doubles was okay but it seems like the good hitters are usually the ones with all the doubles anyway, so it didn't seem advantageous to do it again.

Now writing at FANTASYBASEBALLMAFIA.com

Fantasybaseballmafia.com is a great little website with several helpful fantasy baseball columns and podcasts. They also organize their own "Mafia" fantasy baseball leagues, and my 12 team keeper league is through their site.

Anyway, since my brain is always bursting with fantasy baseball thoughts, I emailed them about writing some content, and I'm now writing a column called 'KEEPING' IT REAL that focuses on specific players and whether or not they're worth placing on a 5-man keeper list for next season.

Granted, I'm in my first keeper league this season, but I'm absolutely running away with it, so my expertise is pretty reliable, I think. (12 team league, 10 categories, I currently have 116.5 points... that's out of 120... which is ridiculously good, since most leagues are won with about 100).

See my columns at www.fantasybaseballmafia.com

I write as "Dan in Los Angeles"

Direct links to the first two columns...

Jay Bruce: http://www.fantasybaseballmafia.com/fbm/2008/08/20/%e2%80%98keeping%e2%80%99-it-real/

Jason Bay: http://www.fantasybaseballmafia.com/fbm/2008/08/27/%e2%80%98keeping%e2%80%99-it-real-2/

Hottest rock star daughters and my new future wife...

Care of Coed Magazine

http://www. coedmagazine. com/news/Daily-Specials/8999

My new future wife... Lily Collins.

Top 7 Reasons:

7. Super-hot

6. Brunette

5. Legal (age 19)

4. Currently attending USC

3. Majoring in broadcast journalism (and not some bullshit art degree)

2. British accent (I'm assuming)

And the "no duh" #1...

IF WE MARRIED, PHIL COLLINS WOULD BE MY FATHER IN LAW!

Imagine the possibilities! Backyard barbeques with Eric Clapton. Two-on-two basketball with Mike Rutherford and Daryl Stuermer. Dodger games with Peter Gabriel. I must make this happen.


LILY COLLINS, FUTURE MRS. YDY

Trailer and Clips for "Choke"

"Choke" is adapted from a book by Chuck Palahniuk, writer of "Fight Club". It stars Sam Rockwell as a sex addict who works as a historical re-enactor and earns sympathy for choking on food in restaurants and letting himself be "saved" by friendly patrons. It looks as cool as it sounds.
Trailer

Clip 1- At the sex addict meeting.

Clip 2- Re-enacting

Clip 3- Rape fantasies

Clip 4- Awkward moment