Bleacher Report - Articles by Kristin Nicole

Christmas Confessions Of a Fantasy Football Addict

Kristin Nicole — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 07:23:51 -0500

"Take back the holly and mistletoe... silver bells on strings... if I wrote a letter to Santa Claus... I would ask for just one thing..."

A longer fantasy football season!

With the holidays fast approaching, most people are snuggled up sipping hot chocolate, watching "It's a Wonderful Life." Most are happily humming Christmas tunes, soaking up the yuletide vibes and enjoying "the most wonderful time of the year."

But me? I will be watching the NFL games on Christmas Day, thinking back to how my roster should've been different that day I lost in the FFL playoffs—just one game away from the championship.

Why didn't I start Antonio Bryant over Lance Moore?!

Why was Brian Westbrook freakishly unproductive after having two straight 30-point games in a row?

All season long I stressed over matchups, constantly looking for a good pickup to help secure another win. I obsessively read tight ends stats, depth charts, and always kept up with the injury reports. I was completely consumed with making sure my roster was poised to win.

I loved the rush of watching my team's points stack up, watching the games and cheering madly when my WR caught that 80-yard pass for a TD. The thrill of beating my co-worker, friend, or a complete stranger. The satisfaction of knowing that, for this week, I was in complete domination of all those in my league.

Okay, so maybe I'm a little more competitive than some. =)

But now, the fantasy aspect shifts to NBA, and I don't have the patience or stomach to handle that.

So for now, I must lick my FFL wounds and look forward to March Madness—the next big obsessive-compulsive, sports-related thing to do on my list.

But I guess I'm stuck having a *Elvis-accent* "blue blue blue Christmas."

Brett Favre: Sympathize or Criticize?

Kristin Nicole — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:53:36 -0400

For the past few days, I've tried everything to avoid talking about the Favre drama. I feel like I'm getting beat in the head with it every time I turn on ESPN or go to any sports site.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love sports, and I love a good, compelling story. But Favre's indecisiveness is less than compelling. It's downright frustrating.

I had every ounce of respect for Favre before this whole saga, but now I'm somewhat in the dark.

I've read some articles, and it seems many are upset at Green Bay for not bending over backwards to release Favre.

I've read other articles, and these writers are upset that Favre isn't content staying at Green Bay as the newest addition to their sideline. They say he made up his mind and shouldn't even think about asking for a release.

And there's me, trying hard to do my research and read up on things before I start choosing sides. Time and time again, ESPN throws out bogus "breaking reports" and "inside information" that are completely false.

(Case in point—Kirk Herbstreit's inside info on Les Miles' leaving LSU. Way to knock that one out of the park, Kirk. I think after that debacle, Herbstreit was as welcome at Tiger Stadium as Don Imus at a NAACP convention.)

Back on track though. I'm really trying to decide whose side I should be on.

Favre and his theatrics: "I retired early...I have the itch to play..."

Or, Green Bay and their seeming cold-heartedness: "Release? You?...*(board room erupts in evil laughter)"*

For now, I remain neutral and continue to get bombarded with media hype as I try to decipher it all.

Why can't Favre just go do another Wrangler commercial or something? I have a fantasy football roster to obsess about!

Summer: This Sports Fan's Purgatory

Kristin Nicole — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 05:06:36 -0400

So, it's that time of year for me...summer.

Most people look forward to summer—pool parties, vacations...even songwriters like New Kids on the Block have capitalized on this muggy yet strangely enjoyable time of year.

So why on earth am I complaining...?

Well, summer is the time of year that is known as my "offseason"...no college football yet, March Madness is a fond memory, College World Series ended a few weeks back. And the NBA Playoffs left me feeling depressed knowing that there's another obnoxious Boston fan that will add to his/her list of sickening New England achievements.

So that leaves me stuck deciding if I should watch Joey Chestnut shovel hot dogs, watch Arena Football, watch the Olympic trials, or *gulp* change the channel to something besides sports.

I've been desperately trying to muster up some interest in MLB, but it's tougher than it seems. Being from Louisiana, we don't really have a local MLB team, so I have to adopt a team as my own. And how would one go about that?

Do I pick the team based on its GM, star players, star player's marital status (shout out to A-Rod), or location?

See, the problem I run into now is if you pick a team that's currently winning, you're automatically stereotyped as a bandwagoner. If you pick a team that's currently in a losing skid, then you're bombarded with questions such as, "Why on earth are you a fan of them?"

In which case you answer "I have no idea."

So, for now, I watch MLB from afar.

And then there's this whole arena football thing. It's a downright tease I tell ya. The whole premise of football is lost...there is no biting of the nails, hoping that your team could scrounge around for the yards needed to get that first down.

Arena football's playbook is seemingly filled with one play—Hail Mary. Sure there's variations on it, but I can't help but feel like I'm watching a last second play being run on every down. Maybe I just haven't watched it enough to see the good in it.

So I guess there's just no remedy for my summertime blues. I've read every preseason rankings analysis for college football, heck I've even checked out Lunardi's bracketology for the 2009 March Madness.

I've obsessed over the ABC/ESPN college football TV lineup...deciding which games will be the best to watch, and which ones I'll watch just for the sheer joy of watching football.

So, I guess for now, I'll just be content reading ESPN's riveting articles on why Kobayashi failed to bring his A-game.