The FDH Lounge Multimedia Magazine

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

History Intrigue for July

By Rick Morris

Welcome to our second version of this new feature in The FDH Lounge, entitled History Intrigue. We’re going to be flagging interesting-looking tidbits of a historical level. While part of this is just going to come from general web surfing, many links each time are courtesy of Real Clear History, who does a great job aggregating for this topic just like all the others in the Real Clear brand.

We always work to be class acts in our own aggregation, so we’ll always give a mention of the site involved in the link.

^ From More Gehrig, the story of Lou Gehrig’s epic tribute at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939.

^ From Smithsonian Mag, the story of how President Garfield was stalked before his assassination and the completely hapless attempts to save him.

^ From Stratfor, how the geography of America has played into its strength.

^ From War of The Moles, the question of what Castro knew about the JFK assassination ahead of time.

^ From the History Channel, the story of how code-breaking in World War II was achieved.

^ From BevinAlexander.com, how the Korean War became America’s first loss.

^ From FirstWorldWar.com, a profile of the gunman who started World War I.

^ From AmericanForeignRelations.com, how Woodrow Wilson failed at the Paris Peace Conference after World War I and in so doing, helped sow the seeds for World War II.

^ From Military History Online, leaving morality completely aside, was invading the Soviet Union the smart move for Germany in 1941?

^ From GlobalSecurity.org, the defense-oriented roots of President Eisenhower’s push for the national highway system.

July FDH Lounge News Nuggets

By Rick Morris

We’re adapting a segment that we have used on our show repeatedly in order to try to highlight some of the more intriguing news headlines going today. We have also posted links here for geopolitical headlines in the past and we’ll work this into this theme. Much like The FDH Lounge itself, we’ll try to keep it broad-based as far as what is catching our eye.

^ From The Long War Journal, why the drone program cannot defeat al Qaeda by itself.

^ From Vanity Fair, a look at how this presidential cabinet has stacked up compared to what was promised.

^ From Baseline Scenario, a survival guide to the end of the Euro.

^ From The American Conservative, Israel is encircling Iran.

^ From Foreign Policy Blog, the question of whether US Special Forces are secretly working within North Korea.

^ From Stratfor, how Egypt proves that people saw what they wanted to see with the “Arab Spring.”

^ From The Atlantic, how global financial panic has become rational.

^ From The Diplomat, Iran is hoping for help from Russia and China in their battle with the West that may not come.

FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFTOLOGY 2012 is online

By Rick Morris

FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFTOLOGY 2012, our huge guide to fantasy – and non-fantasy – football, is now online! Here’s what’s inside:

Page 1: Draft Philosophy Overview, Top 60 Overall

Page 2: QB Rankings, Draft Board Decoder, Injury Analysis

Page 3: RB Rankings, K Rankings

Page 4: RB Rankings, Lessons of “The Stat”

Page 5: D/ST Rankings, Projected Breakthroughs, Overvalued & Undervalued

Players, Suggested League Guidelines, Rookie Rankings, 2012

Wild Card Players

Page 6: WR Rankings

Page 7: WR Rankings, Don’t Be That Guy, 2012 Fantasy Overview

Page 8: TE Rankings, FDH College Rankings & Team Draft Guidelines,

FDH BCS Bowl & Title Game Predictions

Pages 9-11: Dollar Bin Players

Page 10: FDH Non-Fantasy Ranking of the Top 32 Players in the NFL

Page 11: 2013 NFL Draft Preview

Pages 12-13: 2012 FDH Mock Draft & Analysis

Page 13: The Jets’ Tim Tebow Conundrum

Page 14: 2012 FDH Standings/Playoff Predictions, MIPS Can Add To NFL and NHL Safety

Happy Independence Day

By Rick Morris

God Bless America!

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

The Sandusky Verdict: End or beginning of a disaster

By Steve Kallas (posted by Rick Morris)

As you know, a jury (of his peers?) recently convicted former Penn state assistant coach Jerry Sandusky of 45 of 48 counts of some form of sexual abuse of 10 victims. Sandusky will go to prison for the rest of his life with little or no hope of winning an appeal (more on that later). But the disconnect between Jerry Sandusky and what happened and, arguably, the disconnect between his lawyer, Joe Amendola, and what happened before and during the trial mark the end of an unmitigated disaster.

WHAT WAS THE DEFENSE?

Well, there really didn’t seem to be one. Now, to be fair, there was little, if any, defense to be put forth. But, maybe, an insanity defense? Maybe, after a bizarre promise (by his lawyer in opening statements) to put Sandusky on the stand, the one-in-a-million (ten million?) chance that one juror would buy the it-was-all-a-big-misunderstanding defense? No, the lawyer had to go back on that statement during his opening, explaining after the trial that the possible testimony of Matt Sandusky (Jerry’s adopted son who claimed he was abused by his adoptive father) and other reasons made it a very tough decision. Let me know the next time that “very tough decision” results in a defendant actually testifying. It rarely happens.

Sandusky’s lawyer was roundly (and correctly) criticized for allowing his client to speak to Bob Costas on national TV. If you ever didn’t understand why, so many times, a lawyer won’t allow his client to speak, all you have to do is watch the Costas interview of Sandusky and listen to his painful answer to a simple question, “Are you sexually attracted to young boys, underage boys?” It was so bad for Sandusky that the prosecution played it during the trial, a nightmare for virtually any defendant. A lesson to be learned and an explanation for those who can’t understand why lawyers’ don’t let their clients speak to the public.

The evidence was overwhelming, the appellate issues are virtually non-existent, and Joe Amendola seemed to be rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. For example, after the verdict came in, he complimented everybody (judge, jury, prosecutors) on the way they handled the case. To do this on the courthouse steps right after the verdict was also a bit bizarre. The one point of “disagreement” was with the judge’s refusal to give the defense more time to prepare for trial.

Of course, Jerry Sandusky (and certainly his lawyer) probably knew that the moment he was convicted he would never see a free day for the rest of his life (remember, he was not in prison during the trial). But that part of any appeal (I didn’t have enough time to prepare) has virtually no chance of success. In reality, the defense could have taken years to prepare and not come up with something plausible.

THE END OF A DISASTER

So the jury verdict and the bizarre press conference afterwards mark the end of a disaster (you don’t have to wait for sentencing and anyone in the courtroom became well aware of the pain and suffering of these victims (civil suits to follow)). Indeed, when Joe Amendola dared to make the statement that there are many innocent people in prison, the crowd’s reaction was swift – booing and hissing. To somehow intimate, because there are innocent people in prison, that his client was maybe innocent was beyond the pale, even for a lawyer who was in a deep hole from Day One.

THE BEGINNING OF A DISASTER

Well, some of the evidence in the trial and other later discovered (leaked?) e-mails show the magnitude of the next disaster coming down the road – the lawsuits against Penn State, Sandusky, Second Mile and maybe individuals like Tim Curley (former athletic director) and Gary Schultz (former vice –president), both under indictment relating for their testimony in the Sandusky case. Indeed, just recently, there may be other evidence that will lead to possible civil suits against former Penn State president Graham Spanier and even the estate of legendary football coach Joe Paterno.

For Spanier to write to Curley and Schultz that it would be “humane” to treat Sandusky by not making the allegations public back in 2002 (or go to the authorities) might very well be the smoking gun to put a wealthy university on the hook for tens of millions of dollars. Plus, if it’s true that the president and his underlings were initially going to go to the authorities and then, after a meeting between the president and Paterno, the plan was changed to just slap Sandusky on the wrist, well, that could put the Paterno estate and legacy at great risk.

This new disaster will take years to complete and, although Penn State has set up a fund to try and deal with the claims of the victims, there still (absent gigantic payments to all of the victims (expect more to come forth now)) might be civil suits filed against some or possibly all of the above-named potential defendants.

So, it was really a trick question posed at the beginning of this column. The reality is that it’s both the end and the beginning of a disaster and, while the victims will be compensated, they will never get back their childhoods. And the damage to individuals and to Penn State will be more than money; the only question is how much more?

That remains to be answered.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

The FDH Lounge June 2012 Mega-Episode

By Rick Morris

Having packaged together our fifth anniversary mini-episodes as one coherent whole, as we did previously with our mini-episodes leading up to our 500^th hour of programming this past November, we’re now organizing all of our mini-episodes per month into one big mega-episode.

This installment covers June, with Mini-Episodes 126-145. Fittingly, for the show where “nothing is off-topic,” we’ve got a mind-blowing array: conversations with Marc Berman of TV Media Insights about the fall 2012 TV season, Rebecca Jarvis of CBS News, national and local newsman Russ Mitchell, legendary pro wrestler Tully Blanchard and the father-son author team of Michael and Patrick McMenamin, our sixth FDH Lounge Pantheon (with voting for the best of the best of all time in six sports and six non-sports categories), weekly FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER segments, 2012 Belmont Stakes preview, 2012 NBA Finals preview, 2012 Stanley Cup Final recap, and a Mad Men Season 5 recap.

MLB power rankings for start of July

By Rick Morris

NOTE: Mid-June rankings are in parentheses.

TOP TIER

1 Texas (3)

SECOND TIER

2 NY Yankees (4)

THIRD TIER

3 Washington (2)

4 San Francisco (5)

5 LA Angels (11)

6 NY Mets (12)

7 LA Dodgers (1)

8 Baltimore (7)

9 Chicago White Sox (9)

10 Boston (18)

11 Tampa Bay (6)

12 Cincinnati (10)

13 Atlanta (8)

14 Toronto (14)

15 Pittsburgh (15)

16 St. Louis (16)

17 Cleveland (17)

18 Detroit (22)

19 Miami (13)

20 Arizona (19)

21 Philadelphia (20)

22 Oakland (23)

23 Milwaukee (21)

24 Kansas City (27)

25 Seattle (24)

THIRD TIER

26 Minnesota (26)

27 Houston (25)

28 Colorado (28)

29 San Diego (29)

30 Chicago Cubs (30)

BIGGEST RISERS: Boston (8 spots), LA Angels and New York Mets (6 spots), Detroit (4 spots), Kansas City (3 spots)

BIGGEST FALLERS: LA Dodgers and Miami (6 spots), Atlanta and Tampa Bay (5 spots)

RANKINGS BY DIVISION – AVERAGE PER TEAM OF 1 POINT PER RANKING SPOT, LOWEST SCORE IS BEST

1 AL EAST 9

2 NL EAST 12.4

3 AL WEST 13.25

4 NL WEST 17.6

5 AL CENTRAL 18.8

6 NL CENTRAL 20.5

RANKINGS PER LEAGUE

1 AL 41.05

2 NL 50.5

2012 FDH MLB All-Star picks

By Rick Morris

It’s a tradition at FDH to post All-Star Game rosters and to do so with three different versions. Starters are in bold, with Matt Kemp included as National League DH.

1 In a perfect world, with nothing but the top 34 players in each league being taken.

2 The version with the presently-administered “Little League rules,” with every team being represented.

3 The version with every team being represented and the ill-considered choices made by the voters that clash with the below-listed 34 players.

C: AJ Pierzynski (White Sox), Jarrod Saltalamacchia (Red Sox)

1B: Paul Konerko (White Sox), Edwin Encarnacion (Blue Jays), Prince Fielder (Tigers)

2B: Robinson Cano (Yankees), Jason Kipnis (Indians)

SS: Astrubal Cabrera (Indians), Derek Jeter (Yankees), Elvis Andrus (Rangers)

3B: Adrian Beltre (Rangers), Miguel Cabrera (Tigers), Alex Rodriguez (Yankees)

OF: Josh Hamilton (Rangers), Adam Jones (Orioles), Mark Trumbo (Angels), Jose Bautista (Blue Jays), Mike Trout (Angels), Curtis Granderson (Yankees), Alex Rios (White Sox), Josh Willingham (Twins), Josh Reddick (As)

DH: David Ortiz (Red Sox), Billy Butler (Royals)

SP: Justin Verlander (Tigers), Chris Sale (White Sox), Jake Peavy (White Sox), Jered Weaver (Angels), CJ Wilson (Angels)

RP: Fernando Rodney (Rays), Jim Johnson (Orioles), Joe Nathan (Rangers), Chris Perez (Indians), Ernesti Frieri (Angels)

C: Carlos Ruiz (Phillies), Yadier Molina (Cardinals), Buster Posey (Giants)

1B: Joey Votto (Reds), Paul Goldschmidt (Diamondbacks)

2B: Aaron Hill (Diamondbacks), Brandon Phillips (Reds)

SS: Ian Desmond (Nationals), Starlin Castro (Cubs)

3B: David Wright (Mets), David Freese (Cardinals)

OF: Carlos Gonzalez (Rockies), Ryan Braun (Brewers), Andrew McCutchen (Pirates), Matt Kemp (Dodgers), Carlos Beltran (Cardinals), Hunter Pence (Phillies), Giancarlo Stanton (Marlins), Melky Cabrera (Giants)

SP: RA Dickey (Mets), Matt Cain (Giants), Stephen Strasburg (Nationals), Gio Gonzalez (Nationals), Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers), Johnny Cueto (Reds), Madison Bumgarner (Giants), Johan Santana (Mets), Chris Capuano (Dodgers), Zack Greinke (Brewers), James McDonald (Pirates), Wade Miley (Diamondbacks), Kyle Lohse (Cardinals)

RP: Craig Kimbrel (Braves), Huston Street (Padres)

UNDER THE PRESENT SCENARIO WHERE EVERY TEAM MUST BE REPRESENTED:
AL: Replace Elvis Andrus with Felix Hernandez

NL: Replace Paul Goldschmidt with Jed Lowrie

ALLOWING FOR PLAYERS (ILLOGICALLY) VOTED AS STARTERS BUT NOT NAMED ABOVE, WITH THE STIPULATION THAT EVERY TEAM MUST BE REPRESENTED:

AL: With Mike Napoli on the team, drop Alex Rodriguez

NL: With Dan Uggla, Rafael Furcal and Pablo Sandoval on the team, drop Brandon Phillips, Kyle Lohse and David Freese

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Lounge on YouTube: Mini-Episode #145 – Michael & Patrick McMenamin

By Rick Morris

As we referenced previously, our pals at Sportsology are hooking us up for live segments that we’re doing with guests and remote FDH Lounge Dignitaries these days. We’re happy to report that we’ve been able to produce many segments on our own, but we’re thrilled for the help on some of these with guests and the thanks all go to our great friend Russ Cohen.

Mini-Episode #145 features a conversation with the father-son team of Michael & Patrick McMenamin, who just authored their latest Winston Churchill thriller novel The Gemini Agenda.

2012 NBA Draft player highlight videos

By Rick Morris

As linked to in our PRO HOOPS DRAFTOLOGY 2012 guide, here’s some player highlight videos of the top stars in this year’s draft. You may want to mute the sound as the “mix-masters” putting these compilations together generally have horrible taste in music.

Brad Beal