Month: May 2018

Categories
FANTASY Uncategorized

NFL Rookie Minicamps – Sports Fanatics play Fantasy SF-42

Don’t believe the hype!

It’s that time of year when interesting news about the NFL is at a minimum.  There’s no combine to get us speculating.  The draft is over so that means the 286 mock drafts you studied were all proved to be totally wrong.  Any of the Free Agents you were really interested in are already signed.  The only things happening at this particular moment are Rookie Minicamps.  As a result of this the NFL Insiders really have nothing better to do than exaggerate everything they see happen.  When you here someone speculate that Derrius Guice could be the next Marshall Faulk because he caught two passes during a drill in the Rookie Minicamp.  Do yourself a favour and don’t just take that statement with a grain of salt.  Take it with the whole damn salt shaker!  I came across an article that described Baker Mayfield as the second coming.  Not only did he complete three straight passes, but it was to two different Receivers!  I hope the Patriots had a spy close by to take notes so they can properly game plan for him.  What’s really disappointing about the information that industry Insiders choose to share with the masses, is that they only focus on the obvious stars!

What about the undrafted Free Agents?

If you are a true fan of NFL football, then you will know of at least a couple Undrafted Free Agents that went on to become Superstars.  I’m talking about the Tony Romo, Kurt Warner, or Antonio Gates type of Player.  Could there be a Player of that caliber picked up a few days after the draft?  Has anyone that we don’t already know about show some real promise in the Rookie Minicamp?  If there is I’d absolutely love to hear about it!  I’m going to go out on a metaphorical limb here, and say that we won’t hear about anyone.  You can be damn sure that by week 1 of the NFL Season there will be a few names of Players that you didn’t hear a peep about until they lit it up during the Preseason.  One day they seemingly don’t exist, then during the third game of the Preseason they make a highlight reel play, and every NFL Insider has full chapter and verse on them.  It happens in mere seconds.  Sure they have Player profiles in their database on every Player.  That’s not what this is.  They already saw the potential in the Rookie Minicamp, OTAs, and full team training camps.  They just never had the guts to go on the record, and make a real prediction.  Better to say absolutely nothing than to risk being wrong.

And that’s precisely why!

All you are going to hear about over the next couple of weeks are safe predictions about first or second Round draft selections.  You will get tidbits of information about Players that provide a suitable scandal, or human interest story.  What I can promise you is that anything you hear shouldn’t effect who you plan on keeping in your Keeper league, or selecting in your Fantasy draft.  Unless they get injured of course.  Well that’s just a part of football.  If you didn’t know that you probably shouldn’t be playing Fantasy.

Categories
FISHING Uncategorized

Finally the weather cooperates! – The Right Angle RA-20

It’s about time!

It only took until late April for the weather to hold long enough for my wife and I to consider going fishing.  It honestly feels like a year has passed since the last time we went.  Winter feels like that in Canada at times.  Like the cold weather is neverending.  Well it finally did, and on a quiet Monday morning we decided to give the credit river mouth a try.  Fortunately for us access to the river is conveniently reached by transit.  Less than 20 minutes on the TTC, and then another 30 minutes or so by GO train, and you are only a few minutes walk from the river.  There are restaurant and coffee shops nearby, and an arena with public washrooms only a short walk away.  On a weekday it’s relatively quiet in the morning.  Only the occasional local taking their dogs for a walk come across us fishing.  In other words it’s a perfect spot to cast, and hopefully catch something on a weekday morning as the sun rises.

Pleasant company

This portion of the credit river is better known for rowing than fishing.  Periodically we would take a break from casting spinners and spoons to watch the rowers zip by us.  A couple of swans made their way to us out of interest but quickly moved on.  For about an hour we saw another gentleman fishing from the opposite bank with worms.  He had a folding lawn chair with him, and just cast out his line then settled in.  There was a cool breeze coming in off the lake, but the rising sun provided just enough warmth to keep us comfortable.  Early on it seemed as though our efforts weren’t going to be rewarded. For the first hour we hadn’t even got as much as a nibble on either of our lines.  Normally that would be enough to sour my mood, but with this being our first time out on what was sure to be a beautiful day I didn’t mind.

Would our luck change?

There’s always that moment when you have been fishing one area long enough that you struggle with moving on.  Especially when fishing from shore.  You wonder if there might be a shallow rocky pool, or tree that’s fallen into the river a little further upstream where the fish could be hiding.  Have you been endlessly casting into a section of the river that’s totally devoid of fish?  Well in this case that seemed impossible being so close to the river mouth.  There had to be fish there.  Stubbornly I stood my ground, and continued to cast until my shoulders and arms hurt.  Finally after about 3 hours my determination was rewarded.  Unfortunately for me the reward wasn’t mine.  It was my wife’s.

“I got one” she exclaimed!  I was in the middle of my retrieve so I looked over my left shoulder to see her rod severely bent, a look of pure determination on her face, and the fat body of a fish splash back into the river.  She had hooked a serious lunker!  Now we caught some pretty nice Bass last year, but just a glimpse of what she had on the line was enough for me to realize that this beauty was going to eclipse all of those.  The catch of the year might well be the first one we make!  I quickly reeled my line in as she fought to bring the lunker in.  To get to where my wife was I had to carefully traverse some rocks that made up the shoreline.  When I was merely 6 feet from her I saw the beast jump clear out of the river once more.  Almost definitely a lake trout, it’s scales reflecting the sunlight.  That last jump was so close to shore that my wife could have probably reached out and caught that fish.  She didn’t catch it though.  That last jump proved to be just what the beast needed to shake the lure loose. One last splash and the lunker was gone.  The only evidence that it was ever there was the look of astonishment on my wife’s face.  In the end we didn’t land anything that day.  Even so the urge to return to Port Credit and try our luck again couldn’t be greater.   On a day that we actually caught nothing, I doubt that I could have been more satisfied if we did.

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Categories
GOLF Uncategorized

Giga Golf TRX Power Slot Irons – An Ongoing Cobe Life Review

Is there a discernable difference?

Those of you that follow me across my many social media platforms.  You’ll know that I spend a fair amount of time researching any product I’m interested in purchasing.  This year one of the items I was most interested in acquiring was a new set of Irons.  My primary concerns were that they be fit to me.  By fit I mean bent to the correct lie angle, and cut to the correct length. I wanted something that was Game improving, but without the chunky topline. Lastly I didn’t want to have to break the bank to buy them.  I found a number of potential sets, but in the end the TRX Power Slot Irons from Giga Golf were the winners. But were they the right choice?

Why did they win?

What really made the difference was their custom design process.  I had been casually fit before at a Golf Town.  I hadn’t gone through their entire fitting process but a representative made suggestions based on my swing, and face contact.  Unless you live in Florida, Giga Golf is strictly a custom online order manufacturer.  Not being able to try the Irons before you purchase them is usually a non starter for me.  Giga Golf understands this and offers a 30 day test period.  That still wasn’t what swayed me.  What their custom design process allows you to do is not only have them bent to the correct lie angle, and cut to length.  You can also select which shaft, and grip combination you prefer.  The only thing that potentially increases the price is the shaft and grip selection.  They don’t charge you anything extra for the lie angle adjustment, and shaft length.  Every other set I had researched would have required an additional cost to get them fit.  The Giga Golf Irons were an absolute steal when you realize that they were anywhere from 40% to 60% cheaper than the OEM companies Irons.

Is quality determined by price?

The greatest fear when buying something that’s cheap is that it’s just that, CHEAP!  I received my set of Irons in the middle of Canadian winter.  So it wasn’t like I was going to get out on a course with them any time soon.  Instead I took them to the simulator for initial testing.  What I learned the first few times out to the simulator is this.  I’m 5’10” 200lbs athletic build so it didn’t require a lot of adjustment to fit the Irons to me.  They are half an inch shorter, and one degree more upright than my original off the rack set.  My swing didn’t feel all that different, but the strain on my body was significantly reduced.  I didn’t suddenly stripe every shot like some people hope will happen when you get fit.  My face contact was significantly improved though.  Was I pleased with my purchase at that time.  I definitely was!  After hitting 100 balls my shoulders weren’t sore.  I didn’t hit so many shots out of the heel.  My confidence with my Irons was greatly improved.  But would I feel the same way once the snow melted, and I finally got to play them out on a course?

Finally got to play a Round of Golf

The weather finally held for a few days, and on April 23, 2018 I finally got to play with my new Irons on a course.  I was pumped!  For those of you that live in warmer climates.  You have no idea what kind of personal torture Canadian winter can be to a dedicated Golfer. So you understand I’m going to preface this story with the knowledge that I didn’t play particularly well that day.  To say that I played like shit, wouldn’t be fair to shit.  For the first time out in a Season though it’s nothing new.  I go through it every year.  My Tee shots were so bad, that by the ninth hole I started to experiment with not using a Tee.  I’m sure some of you have been there.  Usually my second shot gets me out of trouble.  Not that day.  That whole Round of Golf would have been forgettable if it wasn’t for my approach shots from 150 yards and in.  In other words, my Giga Golf TRX Power Slot Irons made what was becoming a terrible day, at least bearable.  Two best clubs in the bag that day were my 6 Iron, and 9 Iron.  I did chunk a 6 Iron really bad once.  You know when you chunk it so bad that you feel the reverberation all the way down to your toes?  Well it didn’t actually hurt too bad.  I went with the True Temper Featherlight steel shafts, and that chunk shot could have been an advertisement for the quality.  It had snowed the week before so I was expecting a mushy course.  Full marks to Hidden Lake Golf In Burlington Ontario for having the course well ready for play.  There was some snow left in a few spots but it wasn’t a factor.  Still every club got dirty, and the TRX Power Slot Irons were as easy to clean as any of the rest.  I was playing Srixon Q-star balls that day and judging by the Pitch marks, and scuff marks.  The Giga Golf Irons were generating a lot of spin.  I had seen some good spin numbers in the simulator.  Until you experience the real on course results you never know.  I wasn’t disappointed at all.  Unlike the Super Game Improvement Irons I had before, I could really attack flag positions.   Hopefully my next time out I’ll be on my game, and take full advantage of the stopping power.

Durability concerns

The only negative thing i have to report is that after about 6 times in the Simulator, 1 trip out to the Range, and 1 Round of Golf.  The shiny toe on the face of my Pitching Wedge has a noticeable scuff mark.  Now for some people that’s an insignificant thing.  Irons get scuffed up.  It’s just a matter of time.  Still this was quick.  At this point I can’t tell if it’s the result of the steel Giga Golf uses, or if it was just a bad Range ball that caused it.  As the Season continues I’ll have more information for you.  I’ve read a number of reviews about the black steel Giga Golf Irons that raised concerns about the finish.  Maybe that’s all it is.  A thin finish will scuff quickly.  As long as the performance isn’t affected it won’t bother me.

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