It has been awhile.
Let’s see. Since my last writing, the baseball season has ended (the Giants did not reach the playoffs, but the American League did not win, so all is well).
The St. Louis Cardinals won their second World Series in five years (and thus the Giants were officially dethroned), which would have again made me rich had I actually bet before the Series began (on the bright side, my brilliant 2006 betting spree–thank you, Jeff Weaver!–returned to the limelight).
On a neat-if-you-are-not-from-Texas note, the Rangers joined the illustrious list of back-to-back-championship losers, alongside (most recently) NCAA basketball’s Butler Bulldogs. And the National League claimed its second consecutive World Series, silencing the American League advocates for at least one more season.
The football season has reached its midpoint plus one, and the 49ers are 8-1 and in first place. It is awesome. Jim Harbaugh is a genius. Management does not completely suck at its job… actually, I don’t know about the last one.
I do find it interesting that it took management nearly a decade to make up for its decision to fire Steve Mariucci, and in the end they went back to hiring a college coach. I wish they had thought of this before Mike Nolan, Mike Singletary, and various others whom I have thankfully forgotten… and before they so brilliantly began things with the Dennis Erickson era. That was a fun one.
But: accentuate the positive! The 49ers have the second-best record in the NFL! It is not quite the 1980s and 1990s all over again, but it is far from the 2000s. It is odd to actually think of the 49ers as a winning team. But that is the spoiled brat in me speaking, since there are plenty of fans out there who would do unheard-of things to root for a team with the history of the 49ers, last decade and all.
And then there is (not) basketball. Rich owners versus rich players. May both sides lose.
I will be honest: I miss fantasy basketball. I miss the stats. I miss daily box scores. I miss my keeper league. I miss Monta Ellis going berserk and scoring 40+ points, Kevin Love angling for another 30-30, late-round stars (Marc Gasol, Andre Miller), and free-agent wonders (Marcin Gortat!).
Sadly (for the rich owners and rich players), I (along with a lot of other people) do not actually miss the NBA. Because, hey, the 49ers are 8-1! And college basketball has begun! And college football and EPL are in full swing, and Champions League is in the group stage, and shoot, even NASCAR is entertaining!
Yes, NASCAR. My internship earlier this year had me sign up for several fantasy NASCAR leagues. This has not led me to watch racing. However, I have maintained those fantasy leagues–or one of them, at least. After an anemic first third of the year, I rode the Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski trains through the middle of the season. I had a few rough patches in the Sprint Cup (last year at this time I might not have been able to identify which sport had the Sprint Cup), but I have come on strong in recent weeks thanks to the one-two punch of Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart.
Last, but not least, and returning to baseball: the postseason award-giving has begun. I’ll come back soon to review to evaluate just how awful my fearless predictions were in the end .
Snow DiMaggio 