Shaun Alexander

Shaun Alexander is having a great year, and is a great running back. These points are obvious and not up for debate.

However, the urgency of signing this great running back is very much a point for debate.

Conventional wisdom argues that he should be signed soon: the sooner the better, and the Hawks are already behind the curve.

I do not agree with this line of thinking. There is no urgency to this signing for some very good reasons.

Alexander's stock is already at its highest point. He's scoring virtually every game, he's on course to win the rushing title, and flirting with a 2000 season. The organization won't save any money by signing him now, unless they can spread any potential signing bonus any further.

Alexander isn't as amazing as his numbers suggest. It's difficult to prove this point, but there are solid indicators. The offensive line is doing an amazing job of controlling the line of scrimmage, opening gaps, and giving Shaun a clear vision. His talent is in finding the cut backs, bursting through the holes and finding the end zone. He is not put in a position to make something from nothing on a regular basis.

Holmgren's pass first offense and the Seahawks relatively easy schedule has also contributed to Alexander's success this season. The Hawks have spent much of this season holding leads and feeding Alexander the ball to run down the clock. Many of these defenses had virtually given up, allowing the Hawks to run up the ground yardage, and the score. The Cowboys proved that when defenses focus on stopping Alexander, his numbers suffer. Hasselbeck and the receiving corps don't permit defenses to do this because the Seahawks are always a threat from the air. In spite of Alexander's numbers, they remain a pass first offense.

Shaun Alexander is an elite running back, and he should be paid as such. He is not, however, inherently greater than the other elite backs of the league, and the success of the Seattle Seahawks is not dependent on his presence.

Colors

Group management

Returns diminish when teams larger than 4 work together. The more people, the more important that the meeting is run strictly (agenda, one person speaks at a time etc...). More people equals more chaos.

Returns diminish when meetings last longer than 1 hour. Some of this can be salvaged with short fresh air / bathroom breaks.

No one actually believes in Democracy. Democracy is primarily viewed as a tool that enables everyone a chance at getting what they want. Watch what happens when people lose a vote on something important to them. They get angry. I'm exagerating a little, but not much.

Arguing with crazy people usually makes them angry, and never makes them less crazy.

Fantasy Football

Mid season update:

I'm tied for #1 in my 12 team league, and I own the tie-breaker because of more accumulated points.

Priest Holmes was my #1 pick, and he's out for the rest of the season with injury. I don't regret my choice; it was a calculated risk. Shaun Alexander, Ladainian Tomlinson, Peyton Manning were all already off the board. What I do regret was not picking up Larry Johnson with a later round pick. I took Pittsburgh, someone then took L. J.. While Pitt was a good pick, defenses are easy to grab later on, and they aren't game breakers.

Early in the season, I dropped Jake Plummer. I probably should have hung on to him. On the other hand, my wide receiver corps needed work and opening up my roster helped me get my WR corps where it is today, and I'm happy with where it is now. Also, I probably swapped Plummer for Griese who had a great early season. These things are hard to predict, and either could have gone either way.

Next year, I may avoid Defenses and kickers altogether in the draft. I'm happy with my overall strategy. I went for Running Backs with my first three picks, and only would have chosen a WR or QB if someone awesome fell. Moss, Manning, etc are worth early picks, but not if you have to reach for them. And actually, from a Fantasy perspective, neither have been that amazing, compared with Alexander, Westbrook and the usual suspects.

I've benefited by my league's punt and kick return rules. Yardage gained there equals yards gained on receptions and rushes. I picked up Dante Hall as a free agent, and he's given me 12-15 points per game, which is good for a receiver.

Wedding

The Men's Wearhouse has been very helpful in setting up outfits for myself and my groomsmen.

I gotta remember that our Group's Number is 853954.

Our fitting deadline is 7/13/06

Our pick up date is 7/25/06.

The cool thing is (yes this sounds like a Men's Wearhouse commercial) is that we can all go to different stores all across the country (one party member is in Minnesota, a few others are in eastern Washington, a third is on the Olympic Penninsula), get measured, then pick up the tuxes at the store here in Seattle, where the wedding will be held.

Much discussion went into the decision of my outfit. I'm very happy with the results; I abdicated the groomsmen's tuxes to Nora. She has a costumer's sense of design and wants a cohesive look to the entire party. Sounds good to me, as long as I get to wear what I think is cool.