Ok, I think I recovered from my 30th high school reunion this past weekend enough to write a blog posting. Some of you may have seen the Facebook photos from the epic after-party that capped the weekend's activities. There was actually a Friday night dinner that lasted through 2 AM and a Saturday brunch as well, but I didn't take photos of those because others were. Then on Saturday night at a fancy steak place, we also had a professional photographer taking photos during dinner. It was only at the karaoke party that I sacrificed time from singing, drinking or dancing to take photos, mostly in the second half of the festivities.
About 40 attended the reunion, out of a class of 110, which is a very high ratio for a 30-year reunion of a school on the other side of the world. Our school normally had about 200 in a class but my 1987 year was unique in that a lot of the kids were pulled out due to political turmoil in 1986. This was a successful weekend that drew people from as far away as Sri Lanka because it was subsidized by some fellow classmates who have done very well in the business world, but more so because of the incredibly tight bond my classmates share. Given that some of us have known each other since 1st grade, you can see why. One of my classmates eloquently put it best:
"Not a full 48 hours prior to entering the 9/11 memorial I'd been blessed to be in a large dining room in the upstairs of Keen's Steakhouse with my friends from High School. In this room were individuals from all walks of life: Liberals, conservatives, married, unmarried, kids, no kids, European, Asian, American, Arab, all sizes and shapes, smokers/non-smokers, gay, straight, school teachers, stay at home parents, business moguls, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Kabbalah, (to name a few) and some without any religious affiliation. It was the United Nations as it SHOULD be. No two people were alike, yet this room held nothing but joy, brotherhood, and a love and respect that transcended differences and embraced simply a shared human experience. It reaffirmed the truth that it's possible for people to love each other, yet live, believe, vote, and worship differently."
Yes, some of my classmates have held up remarkably well in the looks department, as PJ can attest. But we all have held up the attitude of being in one big family through 30 years, working hard and playing hard whenever we're together. Kind of like our long-running FADUCO league here whenever PJ is involved.
And yes, I may have not been sober when I decided to bench TY Hilton, who was facing the Browns (rule related to Matt's rule about not drafting Browns - always start players facing the Browns).
On to this week's rankings:
1. Tuna: Kareem Hunt, Kareem Hunt, Kareem Hunt, Kareem Hunt. That 69-yard TD run was the difference in Tuna's matchup with Victor. Maybe the Redskins D will finally do what no other team have done so far and limit Hunt to no 50+yard plays. Donny owes me at least that much.
2. Hai: Last 2 weeks when not facing Kareem Hunt, Hai has been a force. Mariota, Gurley, and Green form a nice solid core. 5 #2 WRs do make it a bit hard to decide, and this week will test my theory above about starting players playing Cleveland. Mixon and Green together makes Hai almost a Bengals fan.
3. PJ: The other undefeated team. Like last year, PJ's better-than-expected win-loss record is making him becoming like Team Katy. PJ may experience his first loss this week as his QB is facing the Denver D, but lady luck may think differently. PJ is the most efficient manager so far, big difference than in past years.
4. Victor: Had Victor been sober, he would have had the #1 ranking this week. Instead, he squandered a 37-point vintage Brady performance by starting a Jet instead of a stud WR facing the Browns. Big game for second place in the Asian division.
5. Donny: So far, a 2-1 record isn't shabby but he dodged a bullet vs. Vu this past week. Donny needs to be near-perfect vs. Tuna but that's going to be hard. Donny is the 3-worst manager because of inconsistent but good players such as Dalvin Cook, Stephon Diggs, or Ty Montgomery - each capable of scoring 20+ points then 4 points the next week.
6. Kevin: All the Caucasian teams are a mediocre 1-2 or 0-3 except for PJ. I'm putting Kevin as the best of this lot not because he earned high score of the week but because he changed his loco to a genuine American hero. Maybe it'll earn Kevin some positive karma points after the Littlefinger maneuvers he did at the start of the season.
7. Matt: Except for WR, Matt's team is solidly middle-class in the position rankings and managerial efficiency. The league's most frugal owner, it may have served Matt well to dump some roster dregs this past week. Instead, he's still pretty much forced to start that Cleveland 1st round pick for lack of better alternatives.
8. Byron: Speaking of bench refuse, Byron still has the #3 Redskins QB and a Kicker who's not in the league anymore. Yikes. But then, a perfectly reasonable on paper Free Agent pickup of Austin Hooper netted Byron....0 points this past week. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
9. Vu: Vu hasn't had a starter score at least 20 points yet. He's had players score 20 points, but bench points count zippo when you can't tie. Then again, if you told me that the Seattle D would score zippo points this past week, I would have bet my expensive Hotel charge in NYC against it.
10. Justin. Being all-in on Panthers without McCaffrey has been painful. Justin has only scored over 60 points once, and has the worst efficiency in the league. He lost a very winnable matchup against PJ due to starting Cam over Dak. Also sticking with a Panthers D against the explosive Saints offense. The uphill charge continues, as Justin doesn't have any backup plans to exposing his Panthers D to the New England offense this week.
About 40 attended the reunion, out of a class of 110, which is a very high ratio for a 30-year reunion of a school on the other side of the world. Our school normally had about 200 in a class but my 1987 year was unique in that a lot of the kids were pulled out due to political turmoil in 1986. This was a successful weekend that drew people from as far away as Sri Lanka because it was subsidized by some fellow classmates who have done very well in the business world, but more so because of the incredibly tight bond my classmates share. Given that some of us have known each other since 1st grade, you can see why. One of my classmates eloquently put it best:
"Not a full 48 hours prior to entering the 9/11 memorial I'd been blessed to be in a large dining room in the upstairs of Keen's Steakhouse with my friends from High School. In this room were individuals from all walks of life: Liberals, conservatives, married, unmarried, kids, no kids, European, Asian, American, Arab, all sizes and shapes, smokers/non-smokers, gay, straight, school teachers, stay at home parents, business moguls, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Kabbalah, (to name a few) and some without any religious affiliation. It was the United Nations as it SHOULD be. No two people were alike, yet this room held nothing but joy, brotherhood, and a love and respect that transcended differences and embraced simply a shared human experience. It reaffirmed the truth that it's possible for people to love each other, yet live, believe, vote, and worship differently."
Yes, some of my classmates have held up remarkably well in the looks department, as PJ can attest. But we all have held up the attitude of being in one big family through 30 years, working hard and playing hard whenever we're together. Kind of like our long-running FADUCO league here whenever PJ is involved.
And yes, I may have not been sober when I decided to bench TY Hilton, who was facing the Browns (rule related to Matt's rule about not drafting Browns - always start players facing the Browns).
On to this week's rankings:
1. Tuna: Kareem Hunt, Kareem Hunt, Kareem Hunt, Kareem Hunt. That 69-yard TD run was the difference in Tuna's matchup with Victor. Maybe the Redskins D will finally do what no other team have done so far and limit Hunt to no 50+yard plays. Donny owes me at least that much.
2. Hai: Last 2 weeks when not facing Kareem Hunt, Hai has been a force. Mariota, Gurley, and Green form a nice solid core. 5 #2 WRs do make it a bit hard to decide, and this week will test my theory above about starting players playing Cleveland. Mixon and Green together makes Hai almost a Bengals fan.
3. PJ: The other undefeated team. Like last year, PJ's better-than-expected win-loss record is making him becoming like Team Katy. PJ may experience his first loss this week as his QB is facing the Denver D, but lady luck may think differently. PJ is the most efficient manager so far, big difference than in past years.
4. Victor: Had Victor been sober, he would have had the #1 ranking this week. Instead, he squandered a 37-point vintage Brady performance by starting a Jet instead of a stud WR facing the Browns. Big game for second place in the Asian division.
5. Donny: So far, a 2-1 record isn't shabby but he dodged a bullet vs. Vu this past week. Donny needs to be near-perfect vs. Tuna but that's going to be hard. Donny is the 3-worst manager because of inconsistent but good players such as Dalvin Cook, Stephon Diggs, or Ty Montgomery - each capable of scoring 20+ points then 4 points the next week.
6. Kevin: All the Caucasian teams are a mediocre 1-2 or 0-3 except for PJ. I'm putting Kevin as the best of this lot not because he earned high score of the week but because he changed his loco to a genuine American hero. Maybe it'll earn Kevin some positive karma points after the Littlefinger maneuvers he did at the start of the season.
7. Matt: Except for WR, Matt's team is solidly middle-class in the position rankings and managerial efficiency. The league's most frugal owner, it may have served Matt well to dump some roster dregs this past week. Instead, he's still pretty much forced to start that Cleveland 1st round pick for lack of better alternatives.
8. Byron: Speaking of bench refuse, Byron still has the #3 Redskins QB and a Kicker who's not in the league anymore. Yikes. But then, a perfectly reasonable on paper Free Agent pickup of Austin Hooper netted Byron....0 points this past week. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
9. Vu: Vu hasn't had a starter score at least 20 points yet. He's had players score 20 points, but bench points count zippo when you can't tie. Then again, if you told me that the Seattle D would score zippo points this past week, I would have bet my expensive Hotel charge in NYC against it.
10. Justin. Being all-in on Panthers without McCaffrey has been painful. Justin has only scored over 60 points once, and has the worst efficiency in the league. He lost a very winnable matchup against PJ due to starting Cam over Dak. Also sticking with a Panthers D against the explosive Saints offense. The uphill charge continues, as Justin doesn't have any backup plans to exposing his Panthers D to the New England offense this week.
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