Posted in Fantasy
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10/5 2010

On Vick, Kolb, Reid, Karma & Fantasy Football

Posted by Dan Levy.

I believe in Karma.

It’s a little more complex than simply ‘do good things and good things happen’ (or the converse ‘do bad things and bad things will happen’), but the general principle of being responsible for one’s actions is an important part of everyday life. More than seeking reward for being good, it’s the potential — and propensity — for Karmic retribution that should govern our decisions; do not transgress and you won’t have to pay.

The problem, of course, with believing in Karma is that not everyone else does. Karma — or whatever I’m call Karma — is more a guideline to try and be a positive part of society, and a good influence in every day life. So how can you justify watching people do terrible things — or even moderately bad things — and end up getting rewarded for it? Does Karma tell us that they’ll end up with stomach cancer later in life or that they’ll get hit by a bus or something? Does Karma tell me that I’m going to wake up one day and find a golden ticket on the ground (Note: I would totally love to find a golden ticket on the ground if it meant hanging out with Gene Wilder and copious amounts of chocolate.) (Second note: I had to Google to see if Gene Wilder was dead. He is not.)

So maybe it’s not even Karma I really believe in, but perhaps Karma adjacent. Call it, cosmic justice. Besides, I can’t stop eating cows.

How, then, does all this nonsense about Karma pertain to fantasy football? Well, I have Kevin Kolb in the Blogger Fantasy League, sponsored by P&G. (I’m on Team Gillette. Legal mumbo jumbo is below.) Kevin Kolb was my week one starter and following his injury, I believed Andy Reid when he said that Kolb was still going to be the starter. I didn’t think he’d make Michael Vick the starter because he told us he wasn’t going to make Michael Vick the starter.

Then he made Michael Vick the starter.

I can’t exactly blame Reid for my fantasy decisions, but I can blame him for hoodwinking an entire city — trust me, the media blames him a lot — and turning this situation into an absolute mess at the quarterback position in Philadelphia.

That is…it was a mess, until Michael Vick went out and performed better than anyone else in the league. The city embraced Vick, turned on Kolb after just a few quarters of play, and Reid went from a clueless dope to certified genius. (Fine, maybe not genius, but definitely not clueless. Though maybe still a dope.)

So now that Vick is hurt…what does that make Reid? Maybe it makes a victim of cosmic justice. Maybe the double-talk has finally caught up with Reid. Maybe he just got a dose of Karma. Fitting, in a way, that Donovan McNabb was tangentially related to the delivery of said Karma.

Wait, does Karma work that way? You’d think the injury to Vick is more about him than Reid — what with his past transgressions — but Vick has paid his debt in both the legal system and the “court of public opinion.” I’m rather convinced this isn’t about Vick at all. This, to me, is about Reid. Vick and Kolb — and McNabb for that matter — are, quite possibly, the means to a Karmic end for Reid.

That, or I’m still really pissed that my fantasy season is screwed because I tethered it to an Eagles quarterback and am scrambling for a replacement. Seriously, I started Matt Hasselbeck this week. Matt Hasselbeck. You know how terrible he was…Kolb scored four times more points than Hasselbeck.

Needless to say, I got smoked by Jerod Morris of Midwest Sports Fans (and team Head & Shoulders). And he had Adrian Peterson on a bye week. I’m 0-4 and there’s no way I’m going to the Super Bowl. Seriously, four weeks in and I’m already relegated to the spoiler role.

Talk about Karma.

At least I’m not the worst team in the league. That honor goes to Will Brinson — also on Team Gillette with me — who is 0-4 with just 308.02 points in four weeks. My team? I have 330.02 points, which is not only more than Brinson, but also more than Brian Bassett from The Jets Blog whose team is 2-2 on the season with 299.84 points (the fewest in the league) and Matt Sebek’s Sweaty Ditkas who have a 2-2 record with 309.34 points.

Who has the next fewest points in the league? Well, that’s Josh Zerkle’s team — he beat me by one point in week one — with a 3-1 record and just 313.40 points…yes, that includes scoring the most points in the league this week.

How does Karma explain that one? Josh Zerkle, of KSK and With Leather who once wrote THIS about actress Judith Light (seriously, be careful clicking that link as your brain can’t unread those words) has a 3-1 record and is currently in position to make the playoffs.

I hate you Karma. But not as much as I hate Andy Reid right now.

——

In other BFL games, the aforementioned Zerkle’s Vick-sponsored squad beat Phil From Gunaxin who represents Old Spice. Phil also beat me by less than two points this year. I hate them both. Sebek’s Head & Shoulders team got trounced by Stephanie Stradley’s Vicks/Houston Texans team while  Kyle Bunch from BwB (and team Febreeze) lost to Dan Shanoff’s Old Spice lineup thanks to LaDanian Tomlinson, Antonio Gates and not much else.

Diana Klochkova from National Football Post (Febreeze) lost to Bassett’s Prilosec OTC team. The other OTCers are run by Football Outsiders guru Aaron Schatz, who crushed Brinson’s team.

I know it’s only four weeks in, but based on the records and the scoring totals, it looks like Shanoff has the best team in the league. That is, until Tomlinson’s legs fall off or Tom Brady goes down with some unexplained ailment.

Then we can just blame it on Karma. Or Andy Reid.

The P&G Blogger Fantasy League (BFL) is a group of 12 digital sports influencers competing on the NFL.com fantasy platform for the chance to win P&G product, a donation to a local charity, and a trip to Super Bowl XLV, all furnished by P&G. The NFL Entities have not offered or sponsored the sweepstakes in any way.

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Posted on October 5, 2010 at 2:27PM

 

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  1. Gunaxin Links
    10/5 2010

    On Vick, Kolb, Reid, Karma & Fantasy Football…

    This article has been featured on Gunaxin Links…

  2. Bassett
    10/5 2010

    I’m no theistic expert on Karma, but Wikipedia sure is.

    Here’s how it defines the widely held modern view of Karma via Hinduism:

    “God does not make one suffer for no reason nor does He make one happy for no reason. God is very fair and gives you exactly what you deserve.”

    and via Buddhism:

    Buddhism links karma directly to the motives behind an action. Motivation usually makes the difference between “good” and “bad” actions, but included in the motivation is also the aspect of ignorance such that a well-intended action from an ignorant mind can subsequently be interpreted as a “bad” action in the sense that it creates unpleasant results for the “actor”.

    So, in either scenario, what were the actions of the motives of the actions? Buddhists might be inclined to come down harder on Andy Reid than a Hindu might, but in the end you’re rewarded for your “fruits” for good or ill.

    Based on that, I would assume that most Philadelphia fans this week are closer to Buddhists than Hindus when it comes to Karma.

    /WorldReligion101′d

  3. BFL 2010: Week 4 Recap – Do You Believe in Miracles? | JetsVine
    10/5 2010

    [...] Read Dan Levy’s karmically aware league-wide recap [...]

  4. Week 5 fantasy starts & sits (The National Football Post) | Oakland Raider Tickets
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    [...] In any event, each blogger that is participating in the league takes turns writing up a synopsis from the previous week’s events. This week, Dan Levy from Press Coverage got the nod. You can check out his entertaining rundown by clicking here. [...]

  5. Fantasy Football Jesus - Week 4 Recap
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    [...] over Diana Klochova, check out his article on The Jets Blog. Then check out Dan Levy’s recap post about his 0-4 team and the rest of the league. He also has more on that Kolb – Vick situation [...]