Chux: Loud & Clear

My legs weren't at 100%. They hadn't been all morning. I had been taking it easy almost all week leading up to that Saturday. I got 7 hours of sleep the night before. I even took a short 20 minute nap during the lunch break. But still, my legs weren't 100% and were aching. And to add, I didn't even know I was about to go on until about 5 minutes beforehand. I had to rush to change into my shoes and get my shirt and sash on. But as sore as my legs were, as rushed as I was, and as anxious as I was, I still knew that I was ready. I trained too much and worked too hard not to be. So I said a quick prayer to God and my Lola, turned my game face on, and gave it my all. I hadn't watched the video of my performance until this morning because I wanted some time to let everything settle in my mind. Most of the time when I would watch a video of myself, whether it be one of my dance performances or now with Wushu, how I would look in the video wasn't up to par with...

Starting July 25 until August 26 my friends Uly Velez, Josh Bede, and I will ask each other one fantasy football related question a day and give our individual answers to it. Feel free to check out my other fantasy football related posts on my blog, including questions from previous days. And if you have a question you would like us to answer just leave a comment below. Out of Paul Perkins, CJ Prosise, Mike Gillislee, Breshad Perriman, and DeVante Parker, who will break out the most? Josh: Well the most talented of all listed is DeVante Parker, but I feel like he's going to be similar to Lamar Miller. Every year is going to be the year he breaks out but the reality is even though he's healthier he doesn't have a lot of room to get more touches, and that's why I am going with Paul Perkins. The Giants are trying to turn him into a 3 down back and he's going to get a lot of touches. I am sure Uly's response will have more positive things to say about...

Starting July 25 until August 26 my friends Uly Velez, Josh Bede, and I will ask each other one fantasy football related question a day and give our individual answers to it. Feel free to check out my other fantasy football related posts on my blog, including questions from previous days. And if you have a question you would like us to answer just leave a comment below. Name one player that you will be specifically targeting in your drafts this season. Charles: Kareem Hunt. I was really praying that the Eagles would take him in the 3rd round but the Chiefs jumped on him before the Eagles' selection. But it's no surprise that Andy Reid, the same guy who drafted Brian Westbrook and LeSean McCoy, pulled the trigger on him. Even though Spencer Ware might be penciled in as the starter right now, I fully expect Hunt to overtake him at some point this season, if not as early as Week 1. Hunt does everything well as a RB with his only negative being lack of speed, finishi...

Starting July 25 until August 26 my friends Uly Velez, Josh Bede, and I will ask each other one fantasy football related question a day and give our individual answers to it. Feel free to check out my other fantasy football related posts on my blog, including questions from previous days. Which player has you the most up in the air, as in which can't you decide is going to be great / above his ADP or a bust? And why are you unsure?   Charles: It would definitely be Todd Gurley for me. His rookie season he displayed elite level talent despite cooling off a bit in the latter part of the year. But last season he was just plain bad. Sure, the Rams offense as a whole was horrendous and that certainly played a part, but Gurley's struggles weren't just his teammates' fault. His vision wasn't the same. He was constantly missing running lanes and became too hesitant to hit the hole when it developed. With a new coach and Jared Goff the expected starting QB who...

Starting July 25 until August 26 my friends Uly Velez, Josh Bede, and I will ask each other one fantasy football related question a day and give our individual answers to it. Feel free to check out my other fantasy football related posts on my blog, including questions from previous days. Rotowire's Top 14 for PPR this season goes David Johnson, LeVeon Bell, Ezekiel Elliott, Antonio Brown, Odell Beckham Jr, Julio Jones, Melvin Gordon, Jay Ayayi, Devonta Freeman, AJ Green, Mike Evans, LeSean McCoy, Jordan Howard, and Jordy Nelson. Out of those names whom do you think will not live up to their draft status of Top 14? Charles: If I had to pick one of those players as most likely to not finish in the top 14 I'd probably have to go with Jordan Howard, and it doesn't have so much to do with the question marks I have with Howard but more so to do with how confident I am in everyone else on that list. If you look at last season, the top 8 RBs were all on ...

Starting July 25 until August 26 my friends Uly Velez, Josh Bede, and I will ask each other one fantasy football related question a day and give our individual answers to it. Feel free to check out my other fantasy football related posts on my blog, including questions from previous days.   What is one safe fantasy football prediction you're willing to hang your hat on most pertaining to your respective team (Me and the Eagles, Uly and the Giants, Josh and the Raiders)? What is one bold prediction? Charles: My safe prediction for the Eagles that I'm most willing to hang my hat on is that Alshon Jeffery will have at least 8 TDs. Let's start with the fact that Alshon is on a 1 year "prove it" contract so he will be pushing himself to play better than he ever has. Then take into account that the Eagles' offense finished 26th in red zone offense last year meaning none of the weapons now have proven to be consistent red zone weapons. And finally, con...

Starting July 25 until August 26 my friends Uly Velez, Josh Bede, and I will ask each other one fantasy football related question a day and give our individual answers to it.   Of the players who changed teams this offseason who are the currently most undervalued and overvalued? Charles:   Basing the values off of ADP reported by FantasyPros.com, I'd say the most undervalued player who has changed teams is Jeremy Maclin. Maclin's ADP is currently at 110 overall, which to me is absurdly low. Yeah he had a down year last season but he also played hurt the whole season and was overshadowed by the emergence of Tyreek Hill in KC. Now he's in Baltimore where he'll have Joe Flacco throwing to him instead of the limited Alex Smith, and while Mike Wallace had a good season and improved his overall game he's still mainly a deep threat. Maclin is expected to be the primary target there, especially in the intermediate and red zone passing game. Don't forget t...

In one week I'll be competing at the US International Kuo Shu Championship Tournament  in Hunt Valley, MD. 3 months of preparation and hard work will all come down to that day. Last year when I was training for the Nu Tang Dynasty tournament in New York I was definitely a rookie, and it showed. My training and preparation were good, but not great. My focus was good, but not great. My confidence was good, but not great. The day of the tournament as I was in line to go up and perform, I was focused but also overwhelmed. I had never been on that type of stage before. All of my years of dancing and performing helped, but this was different. I didn't have a team up there with me. There was no one else to take any of the attention away from me. This time, for the first time, all eyes were solely on me. And it scared me. Part of me felt like I didn't belong. I was competing against martial artists who have been doing this for years, and here I am 8 months into my trainin...

This season will be my 11th playing fantasy football, and I've thoroughly enjoyed each and every one. I've learned a lot from all of the different leagues I've had the pleasure of being a part of, and one of the things I love most about fantasy football is how different each league is. There are so many options when it comes to scoring, settings, etc., and experiencing as many as you can to find what you enjoy most is key. I'm not going to spend my time here writing about what's definitively the "right" way to set up your league or how to run it. People have varying opinions, and what works for one league might not work for another. But what I do want to do is provide some ideas or suggestions for anyone who wants to potentially try new things and find ways to improve their fantasy league experience. The league I run, the NFFL, is far from a perfectly run league. But my council members (I'll touch on this later) and I always do our best to find as m...

It's been a while since I've had some sort of blog. I had a Xanga (oh sheesh, who remembers that?) and a Tumblr years ago but stopped using both of them for various reasons. But here I am again, giving this whole blog thing another shot. But you know, this time it feels different. And honestly, I'm not just saying that. Looking back and remembering a lot of the stuff I'd write about... it's kind of embarrassing. I was immature. I was overly emotional. I was naïve. I was many things. And hey, to a degree, I definitely still am. But now I know better than to post a lot of personal and drama related topics. People don't really want to read that stuff. If you know me well enough, you know I'm a very LOUD and opinionated person. The loudness I get from my mom, and if you know her too then you know how true it is. As for how I've come to be very opinionated? I'm not too sure. Maybe it's that "Philly" attitude that I have. Or maybe it'...