McFee’s Blog

Some recent amusement convinced me that I should monitor my daily sodium intake. I had read that the typical Western diet often consists of 4000-5000mg of sodium consumed on a daily basis. The recommended daily intake is 2300-2400mg for an adult of about my age (and for the rest of you, look it up. I don’t feel like producing any bloody charts).

I’m not new to calorie counting, as I’ve known how to track foods for protein, carbs, and fat for a few years. Doesn’t mean I  always (or even typically) do it, but I know HOW to do it . (The short rough version; 4 calories in a gram of protein or carbs, 9 calories in a gram of fat). I have a spreadsheet I can use to plug food in and see exactly what I took in on a given day. So adding sodium to the mix is just a question of plugging a few more numbers in. A pretty decent web-site for looking food up is: http://www.calorieking.com/. If you are lazy you can start combining food that is pretty similar; two pieces of whole wheat bread, a bagel, a hamburger bun, and a kaiser roll all work out to pretty much the same thing (in terms of numbers that is; the whole wheat bread gets the edge for having more complex carbs which is a different story).

So anyway let’s take the most extreme example of a recent day I had. This day was “A+” from the sense of caloric limits as well as ratios of protein-carbs-fat (I aim for 33%-50%-17% roughly). The sodium numbers tell a different story. Two meals that day consisted of 150g deli turkey sandwiches. 300g of deli turkey contains high protein, no carbs, and very little fat. And about 3000mg of sodium. Yes, that’s right, a moderate amount of deli meat was over the limit right there. For dinner that night, I enjoyed two Lean Beef deep&delicious burgers. Even a lean burger has a bit more fat but again, I was doing fine for the day overall. As I was finding out, processed food of any kind has sodium. In this case, 550 mg per patty. Did I mention I indulged in some barbecue sauce? My other discovery was that prepared sauces of pretty well any kind are death — 660 mg in a serving of BBQ sauce.

I won’t go on with every painful detail, but suffice to say by the end of that day I had consumed an eye-popping (and artery-hardening) 6600 mg of sodium. I’m not a health expert but I’m guessing that’s bad. Inspecting the foods I eat, what I noticed was:

1) Processed anything adds sodium. Quaker Quick Oats (1-minute) have no sodium, instant oatmeal (which is otherwise largely indistinguishable nutritionally) has 150mg.

2) Most servings of processed grain (bread, rolls, whatever) seem to a pretty steady ~300mg.

3) Two of my favorite foods, natural peanut butter and dark chocolate, are free of sodium. Not surprisingly, a tablespoon of Kraft PB has 127mg.
4) As mentioned, sauces. BBQ sauce, curry paste, whatever. I haven’t done in-depth analysis on this, but everything I’ve looked at is just high (a lot of these sauces are basically just sugar and salt I guess, with added flavorings).
5) One thing that surprised me is that a serving of baked potato chips only has about 300mg of sodium. That’s obviously a lot but you have to keep in mind it’s POTATO CHIPS. Pretzels, on the other hand, were up near 1000mg .

6) One more reason to eat fruits and veggies, kids.

It’s only been a few days but I’ve been able to stay in the 2000mg range by cutting out the deli meat and the sauces. It will be interesting to see whether I can consistently stay under 2400mg while reintroducing some of the sauces (I think deli meat is a thing of the past, sadly) — I’m jonesing for a curry.

NOVEMBER 26 2007 - Performing for the first time in Canada, Italian symphonic rock group Il Banco del Mutuo Soccorso will be a headlining act at the 2008 edition of the FMPM. Existing since 1969, Banco has released some of the undisputed classics of the progressive rock era, including Darwin!, Io Sono Nato Libero, and …di Terra. With beautiful classically oriented compositions and the powerful vocals of Francesco di Giacomo, Banco is considered by many to be the greatest Italian progressive group. Renowned for their live performances, Banco has been to North America only a handful of times, and the FMPM will feature a different set than what they have played on the continent until then.

The 2008 edition of the FMPM will take place on September 13th and 14th 2008, at the Centre Pierre Peladeau in Montreal Quebec. For more information about this event, please visit our web-site at http://www.fmpm.net

How nice to see the Canadian dollar back down to $1.02 US. Maybe we won’t go out of business yet!

I had not intended for this to become a fantasy football blog, but it’s been all quiet on the other fronts lately so there you go (I do sense that the Habs played well in October merely to spite me; I’ll be beating up on them again soon enough).

Week 8 was indeed a bye week as I’d figured it might be. Half my opponent’s team was off and she didn’t bother replacing them. Ironically enough that’s when my team finally went off, with Colston catching 3 TDs, two productive running backs (Jacobs and Jones) for the first week all season, and another huge week from Brady. I won 115-46 and had top score in the league that week (which means nothing really). I only started Colston because I had three receivers on bye; Arnaz Battle was my third frigging receiver. Nice to have a week that I was all but assured of winning so I didn’t have to make any long-term damaging moves in a must-win situation.
Week 9 was the first of three weeks where I really have to win at least 2 to have any hope; weeks 10 and 13 are the others. I picked up Deion Branch late in week 8 as my sneaky receiver, with the idea being he was coming back from injury and it would not be a stretch for him to break into my top 3. I also dropped Arnaz Battle (duh) and picked up Chris Henry (the WR for Cincy) who is due back from suspension in week 10. Can never look too far ahead. My last early-week pick was to dump Tampa Bay defense for the Denver defense who I felt could challenge Kitna.

As the week went on it became apparent that Branch would not be back (not practicing) but his teammate D.J. Hackett WOULD. The experts were saying Hackett was looking good in practice so I picked him up since somebody other than Engram has to get plays and Seattle really has nobody. Dropped Patrick Crayton for him which was tough but he has been too feast-or-famine this year and I need consistency at this point. My other last minute move was to dump the Denver D for New Orleans. I got burned in week 8 having used TB against Jacksonville and Quinn Gray. Now the experts were saying that New Orleans would do a better job because they stop the run better which would force Gray to throw. I wasn’t that reluctant to drop a defense facing the Tigers so I made the move.

For my receivers I went with Colston, Roddy White, and Hackett, with the tough decision being to sit Cotchery. I worried he might be double-covered with Coles out. Last decision for the week was whether to start Maroney or Henry (Jones was in for sure), with Jacobs and Chatman on byes. I kept changing my mind and finally decided that the Patriots would run the ball a lot to keep Manning off the field, and Henry was coming off a week where he was hurt. Also the Patriots were a better bet to get ahead and therefore, again, be running.

Won the week 95-83. Neither team did quite as well as projected, with my opponent’s downfall being his receiving corps of Roy Williams, James Jones, and Donte Stallworth, all of whom failed to score. My main flop was Jason Elam managing only a single extra point. Hackett has a big day with 58 yards and a score, and New Orleans D got 14 points. Both running backs did worse than hoped; Henry too had a terrible week so the Maroney-Henry choice came down to 1.5 points either way. Colston had his second consecutive big day and New Orleans seems to be back. Kellen Winslow topped 100 yards and was probably my one and only very good draft choice this season.

I am now in a four way tie for third with a 5-4 record. I still expect a 9-5 record to be the bar for the playoffs so I need to go 4-1 the rest of the way. If I have strong weeks every week I might be able to sneak in by going 3-2 but I’d rather not have to find out.

Week 10 will be tough, as Brady is on a bye. Some options to replace him are Losman (against Miami), Warner (always an option), and Steve McNair (not normally an option but facing Cincy). Cotchery is off too but he didn’t even start week 9 and there’s a question as to whether he should remain period. I also have to determine if Roddy White or D.J. Hackett should go, or even Travis Henry. I have to drop someone to make room for another QB but I have a few days to figure out who that is (in reality I dropped Elam for Losman for now, to at least have a claim on him, and once I figure out who to drop I’ll replace THEM with a kicker… clever like a fox). Think I can stick with New Orleans for now because they get St. Louis who can’t protect a QB or keep anyone decent healthy. RBs will probably be 2 out of Jacobs, Jones, and Chatman (who has a good matchup), with Henry unstartable at the moment and Maroney on bye. For receivers Colston goes. I’d like to start Chris Henry but he gets Baltimore his first week back. Have Branch and Hackett who face San Fran. Roddy White gets Carolina. Based purely on talent it would be Henry and Branch, but could be Henry and Hackett if Branch isn’t healthy. Roddy is probably gone soon.

I like my chances of taking weeks 11, 12, and 14 if I have a full team healthy so if I can win the next one, I can afford to lose a tough match-up in week 13.

Lost again. Brady threw for 6 TDs and I lost. Impressive!

Again got badly outscored in WRs and RBs. With receivers I sat Colston rather than be disappointed by him again. That much I at least got right. Roddy White, who I added and started, picked up 17 points. Cotchery was fine as well, but Patrick Crayton actually contributed negative points. He’s a maddening player because he can put up monster weeks and you don’t want to sit him, then he has games of 0, or, well, -0.2.

Running backs also a sad story. Maroney was cleared to start and I was ready to watch him romp all over Miami, then they pulled him after 31 yards because they were way ahead and no reason to risk hurting him. I also made the brilliant decision to bench Jacobs (who was questionable) for Henry’s “reliable” production. Henry got me 50 yards and no scores before getting hurt himself. Jacobs had a 17 point day. Had I started Jacobs and Kevin freakin’ Jones, I would have won the week.

So now from 3-2 to 3-4 in two weeks, and both “winnable” games against comparable teams I was projected to beat, so definitely not looking good the rest of the way, where I feel I need a 6-1 record to end up 9-5.

Four of my remaining match-ups should be doable; I face a team this week with no starting QB. She also had Tomlinson but he’s currently on the bench following the bye and I’m thinking (and praying) 50-50 odds she logs in this week and fixes that. Then in the last five weeks I face three teams that are good bets to be out of contention and thus not paying attention. So it’s not the most honorable process by any means but I have fair hope to be 7-4 in those 11 weeks.

This leaves me 3 weeks against fairly top teams, in weeks 9, 10, and 13. Weeks 9 and 10 I have bye issues, particularly in week 10 where Brady is out and I therefore have little hope. This makes weeks 9 and 13 the must-wins since I need 2 of 3.
This week Roddy White and Crayton both have byes so I have to find two more receivers while still not wanting to start Colston. Current plan is to go with Jacobs and Jones at RB, then Cotchery and two “guests” who can hopefully at least get consistent looks. That’s fantasy football, you draft Lawrency Maroney and Marques Colston, then your season comes down to Ike Hilliard and Roydell Williams.

Fell back to .500 this week and having some real doubts about this team making the playoffs. Only four out of ten teams make it, so you really have to be 9-5 to get in, or at worst 8-6 and strong in the tiebreak. My team would be weak there so I probably have to go 6-2 in the last eight weeks. The guy who started 0-6 is now done.
The way you win and lose usually portends your team’s fate as well. The Week 6 game was quite winnable; Yahoo projected my team ahead by 10 points. Brady had about as good a game as a QB can have. My first few guys all did ok. Then Sammy Morris produced 14 yards of offense over three quarters before getting hurt and Arizona defence allowed a ton of points to Vinny Testaverde and the Carolina Panthers. Neither of these things could have been seen as at all likely. My opponent got a 3-TD day from Braylon Edwards. He was 15 ahead of projections and I was 12 back. In the end, I finished down 16 points.

My team simply has too many question marks. QB and TE are fine. With four of the five receivers I drafted having been failures, I lose at this position almost every week. I drafted 3 “feature backs” and none of them can be depended on the rest of the way. Maroney has missed three weeks and underperformed when healthy, Henry is about to be suspended for the year, and Jacobs can’t go a full week without hurting himself. Kevin Jones lurks but when Kevin Jones starts for you, isn’t it all over?

As I write this Dallas and Buffalo are winding their way to a twilight zone conclusion, with Tony Romo having thrown 5 interceptions and lost a fumble. Buffalo has failed to pass or rush for a TD but two interceptions went for scores and McGee returned a kick for a third. This is all good news for me since my opponents’ three big guns all play for Dallas; Romo, Barber, and T.O. And so my team, easily one of the worst in the league to this point, goes to 3-2, and his team, admittedly down there with me and with some awful injury luck, goes to 0-5 and no hope for the playoffs.

I now have 7 running backs heading into week 6. This is a situation that has to fix itself at some point, but I have the committees in New England (Maroney/Morris) and Denver (Henry/Young). Maroney has been out two weeks, Henry may soon be suspended for a year (but also might not be), so that’s four slots. Jacobs has just come back and is looking good, Kevin Jones plots to underachieve right until I cut him, and Ron Dayne… well, there’s no excuse there, I really should cut Dayne.

Meanwhile I disposed of Reggie Brown’s underachieving butt before kickoff yesterday, and all four of my remaining receivers put up poor games this week. Colston and Cotchery gave identical 4 reception / 31 yard / no score lines, Crayton has made a late surge to 61 yards and no scores in the Monday nighter, and Shaun McDonald came back to earth with 19 yards and (wait for it) no TD. Six guys on the waiver wire DID score this week: Arnaz Battle, Drew Bennett, household name Brad Smith, Samie Parker, Dennis Northcutt, and Tim Carter. Northcutt and Battle are in the top 50 receivers for the season, but no upgrade over what I already have. At least Mark Clayton isn’t making me regret dropping him a few weeks back.

The natural solution would be to send a running back off for a receiver, but so far I’ve had no decent offers. This should change with more running backs going down each week, so as long as my team can stay competitive (in win-loss record, it’s clearly not in terms of depth chart) and I can keep two spare healthy backs I will have depth to deal from when somebody comes calling.

All well at the other positions, Brady continues to be on fire. If I had any good receiving corps I could be a contender…

Edit: Right after I posted this, Dallas finally scored a TD. Romo to… Crayton. Nice.

Edit #2: Then they got the ball back on the onside kick and won it 25-24 with a 50+ yard field goal. Holy crap.

First four weeks are behind me and my team sits at 2-2, somewhat improbably because it is easily one of the worst teams in the league. The average points per team per week in the league is about 98, and my team has failed to score above 86 in any one week. I’ve just happened to hit two rough weeks for opponents. After getting off to an 0-2 start, I picked up the TB defence just in time for them to wipe out St. Louis; my opponent had their QB, Marc Bulger, so it was a double-win. After two weeks of no production from Reggie Brown, I sat him for Jacoby Jones, who put up the same numbers Brown would have and got hurt.

This week my opponent had two starters go inactive, Calvin Johnson and Brian Westbrook. I got the same rude treatment from Lawrence Maroney in the Monday-nighter. Despite the one-man advantage I barely scraped out a victory. Given that this has happened with Tom Brady starting the year with four strong games, I can’t wait to see how this team does when he goes from superhuman to merely above average. This week I played Nate Burleston instead of Reggie Brown, and he of course put up Brown-ian numbers. So did Brown, so he’s staying on the bench for the forseeable future.

Looking at the team I have a good situation at QB, clearly. I have one strong RB in Henry, even though he’s not scoring much yet, and one disappointing RB in Maroney. Jacobs has been hurt all year so he has not been insurance. Jones is back and has scored twice but gets about 20 yards a game. I have picked up Sammy Morris in case Maroney is out longer than a week. I have a strong TE in Kellen Winslow, who I was surprised to get so late. Elam is my current kicker and Tampa Bay may be worth keeping around as a defence, but I will not use them against Indy in week 5.

The main problem is with receivers. I of course missed out on all the top guys due to my draft position. The two best receivers I did get, based on preseason rankings, were Colston and Brown. Colston has had 1 good week out of 3 (he had a bye this week) while Brown is 0-for-4. Clayton is gone; I didn’t have room for three underperforming receivers. Cotchery has put up solid yardage but is not a scoring receiver, and would make a fine #3 on a good team. Shaun McDonald was an option for me this week and is at least picking up a score a week. I have picked up Patrick Crayton after he came alive in week 4 with two scores, but I wouldn’t want to depend on him. A week 5 tandem of Cotchery, Colston, and either Crayton or McDonald is not inspiring. Brown is on bye so I won’t even be tempted to go with him.

The team I face next week is much like mine, he has Romo so he’s been getting good QB production every week, but he is challenged almost everywhere else. In fact that team is probably weaker than mine. It’s a must-win because only 4 out of 10 teams make the playoffs, and I will face some teams later that I have almost no chance of beating.

The TSN poll: Poll: How many games will Price start?

My answer: more than he finishes.

Why is it news that Saku Koivu doesn’t think the Canadiens are a Cup favorite? All this means is that he has an IQ above 80 and isn’t a total liar.

Sure, there is hope that some young guys from the AHL and a gelling of the young guys can make this team better than it looks on paper. But you would need an implausible confluence of breakout years for this team to finish any higher than 7th, let alone be a threat for the Cup, and the playoffs simply do not appear likely.