The Jokes Write Themselves

The Road to Brodemption

The Road to Brodemption - 

How the Loss of a Mentor, Hitting Rock Bottom, and Time Away from the Game He Loved Brought Travis Bogan Back to the Winner's Circle

by Peter King, si.com

Travis Bogan doesn't remember exactly when rock bottom came last fantasy football season.  "It was somewhere in the later part of the regular season.  I watched the Sunday ticker to see Marvin Harrison, Andre Johnson, and Hines Ward had all been ruled out for like the fourth week in a row despite being day-to-day.  I lost yet again with half a roster and was mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.  I was ready to take my ball and go home."  Taking his ball and going home is something Mr. Bogan was thankful he didn't do as he 

received the Rebecca Reynolds Trophy for regular season champion  and a huge bro-hug yesterday from the Commissioner.  "It's been an amazing four year adventure for me and to win this trophy is just...", Bogan's voice trailed off as 

tears welled in his eyes.  To understand the emotion, you have to know what he had been through to get there.

The year was 2005.  Travis Bogan had for years followed Fantasy Football and now wanted to be a part of the action.  He called his best friend, Corey Reynolds, and asked in.  Reynolds, as you know, is a legend of the game.  A coach, an owner, a general manager, and now the Commissioner.  He is a surefire first ballot Fantasy Hall of Famer and was the perfect person to mentor Bogan to Fantasy greatness.  That first season was magical.  A 13-0 record in one league, the first undefeated regular season in a Long League format that anyone can remember, and a 12-1 season in their other league.  Bogan and Reynolds sprayed fake champagne all over their living room and wore their make believe Fantasy Football Regular Season Champion Tees with pride.  Then, more quickly then their ascension had begun, it was over.  They lost in the first round of the playoffs in each league.  Their dream seasons were over.

Most mentor/pupil relationships become strained when the pupil wants to be something more.  Think Bill Bellichik and Eric Mangini or Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.  The losses in the playoffs only accelerated what was an inevitability.  Bogan wanted more than just a partnership, he wanted his own team.  From there, the relationship strained as both worked on one specific team of their two team partnership and the results were disastrous.  Poor regular seasons and early exits from the playoffs happened in both Leagues. Reynolds and Bogan both refused to speak about this time together, yet apart.  Apparently the memories are not fond ones for the two of them.  A change was coming, however, and Bogan was finally going to get what he wanted, it was just more than he bargained for.

Early September 2007 was a happy time for many in the Reynolds Ring of Influence.  Reynolds had accepted the position as Commissioner and a new League was formed.  Corey's Fantasy Goat and Pony Show held their first annual draft and the whole cast was there, including Bogan.  Bogan was finally getting to draft his own team, to mold his own season.  Reynolds, in his role as Exalted Leader and Commissioner, smiled from the head of the table.  "I was thrilled for Travis.  I always encourage my assistants to shoot for the stars.  I was glad that he finally had his own opportunity.  I hoped for the best for him, second place - right behind me," Reynolds says now.  Bogan was buoyed, he remembers, "I had a great draft, was loaded at Wide Receiver, and felt like my first year on my own was going to be a breeze.  Little did I know."

The first year on his own made Bogan question if he had a future in Fantasy Football.  Injuries, bad luck, and more injuries made him miserable.  He drafted a great team, the Local Transients, that when healthy would have been as good as anyone else's, but the Local Transients were never healthy.   He lost more games than he won and when the season shook out he played in the last place Toilet Bowl.  Bogan told everyone that would listen that Fantasy Football was all "luck, no skill".  There were late season rants about the "misery" of Fantasy Football and threats of not returning to the League that everyone took seriously.  Courtney Reynolds, owner of the Convicks, and sister to the Commissioner was worried.  "Travis is one of the most fun Fantasy Players around.  He keeps it lively and he's got a real eye for talent,"  she said. "The way things were going though, I really thought he wouldn't be back.  It would have been a horrible thing for the league if that were to happen.  Whether he admits it or not, I don't think my Brother would have been able to handle not having Trav in the League."  Bogan was at a Crossroads in his Fantasy Career and he had a decision to make.  Bogan's wife, Kasey, gave him some advice that he took to heart.  "I told him to stop crying like a little baby and to just get away from it all during the offseason," Kasey says now.  "He can be quite impulsive and I let him now that he need to find something else to focus on for a couple of months.  If he still didn't miss Fantasy Football then, he would know it would be time.  It's not like Corey was going to fill his spot in the League in February anyway."  Travis Bogan needed a cause, something to take his mind off Fantasy Football and to reinvigorate him.  What he got was Wilford Brimley.

It was in the Mount Pleasant Inn, just down the street from his home, that Travis first ran into the man he credits with saving his passion for Fantasy Football.  Brimley was at the bar, trying to talk to a group of Mexicans about the dangers of Diabetes.  Bogan overheard Brimley and over beers the two talked about life, Fantasy Football, and Diabetes.  Bogan told Brimley that he was looking for something to take his mind off things and Brimley was confident traveling on the Diabeetus Express all over the U.S. for a few months was just what Bogan needed.  "Travis seemed like a lost soul and I could tell he needed something to believe in.  I thought educating the country about Diabeetus was something he would be good at," Brimley told me via text message.  "He's a salesman at heart and I knew if I could take him on the Express with me, we would be able to spread the word twice as fast."  Bogan accepted and began filming commercials with Brimley, speaking in Senior and Youth Centers throughout the MidWest and even testified to Congress about the need for more funding for Diabetes research.  "I barely slept, drank a ton of scotch, watched Brimley get all kinds of women, and didn't think about Fantasy Football for months.  I was fully on the Diabeetus Express and I was going to change things," Bogan says.  The trip to Washington brought Fantasy Football back into focus.

It was in Washington, just before heading out to speak to the United States Congress, that Travis ran into Jay Cutler.  Cutler, the world's one and only emo QB, plays for the Denver Broncos and had recently been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.  Bogan and Cutler talked about the dangers of Diabetes and how much work it was for Jay to test his blood sugar levels numerous times a day, but also how much better Cutler felt know that he knew what was ailing him. Eventually, the talk turned to football.  Cutler remembers the time as a turning point for Bogan.  "We talked a lot about how much better I was feeling and about how I was going to use my celebrity as a football player to raise awareness about Diabetes.  Travis was complimenting me on my season last year and asking a lot of questions about the talent we had coming back.  I knew he was a Fantasy Guy, I had heard through the grapevine about his horrible season the year before, so I didn't ask him much about it.  I did tell him Scheffler was going to have one hell of a year at tight end.  Before the conversation ended and we had to part ways, I finally asked him what he was thinking for the upcoming season."  Travis says that was when he knew what he had to do.  "I told Jay that I was going to do exactly what he was doing," Bogan said.  "I was going to go play Fantasy Football with a focus on spreading the word about this dastardly disease."  It was then that Cutler and Bogan agreed to start their own foundation, Destroying Diabeetus, Inc.  Travis Bogan was coming back to Corey's Fantasy Goat and Pony Show with a newfound focus and a mission of winning the fight against Diabetes.

The rest, as they say, is history.  Bogan nicknamed his team Brimley's Bro-skies, with the abbreviation Diabeetus, drafted Scheffler with Cutler's advice, and romped all through the regular season of the Goat and Pony Show.  Bogan had such a strong year that he clinched the regular season with one week left to play, a week he'll use to rest the troops and battle against the BAMFs for the Commissioner's Trophy for most total points in a regular season.  He's promised to donate all his winnings to Destroying Diabeetus, Inc. and is finally having fun again with Fantasy Football.  "It was a hard few years, losing my mentor, learning to go it on my own. Sometimes you just have to get away from it all to realize how much it means to you," he said.  "With the help of Wilford Brimley, I'll never take Fantasy Football or my health for granted again.  How 'bout them Bro-Skies!"  On a crazier note, he did it all without Brett Favre, someone this writer will never take for granted. 

World Series Game 2 Liveblog and Numerous Thoughts on Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Championships

Yeah, that's me rocking a moustache.  It has to come off Sunday Night for a Monday interview, but its awesomeness will rule the weekend.

Top 1st - If I hear Big Game James one more time this postseason, I think I might throw my MacBook through the TV.  Really? Big Game James? A guy who I'm pretty sure lost both of his starts to a Red Sox team put together with fishing line, smoke, mirrors, and chicken wire.  I know TV types like McCarver can't wait to give personality to players to make games more watchable, but come on.

- The more I see of Evan Longoria, the more I like him.  In fact, outside of the pitching staff of this team, the Rays are a very likeable franchise.  For some reason they have a couple of real knuckleheads on that staff.

- Chase Utley comes to the plate.  If you asked me to build a team from scratch right now, I promise you I would either have Utley or Pedroia on my team playing second base.  I would settle for absolutely no one else.  They are just pleasures to watch play the game.  I remember the first time I really saw Utley outside of the BoxScore was in the Inaugural World Baseball Classic and I was extremely impressed.  He has done nothing to make me any less impressed since.  That bomb he hit last night was absolutely gigantic.  He flies out here and let the cowbelling begin.

Bottom 1st -

- Myers on the mound tonight for the Phillies.  As much as I am cheering for Philly because I believe their fans deserve a world championship, I loathe Myers and can't believe no one brings up the fact that he knocked the shit out of his wife in the streets of Boston just over a year ago.  Tim McCarver is busy claiming that Manny disrespects the game, while this guy gets off without mention.  It's a little bit disheartening.

- Upton looking like he's so comfy he's in a leather recliner with his feet up drills a hit to right, then takes second on a bobble by Werth.  Two men on, no one out and the Trop is ready to explode.

- Pena sees four straight curveballs.  3-1 count.  It's interesting, I've been trying to type a pretty long missive about the Red Sox, but haven't been able to finish it because this game is giving me plenty to type about thus far.

- Side note, Kerwin Danley is behind the plate.  I remember him as being a super nice guy when I was with the Sox.  He's a brotha with freckles, always a crowd pleaser.

- 1-0 Rays on a Pena ground ball to the right side.  Upton to third.

- And another ground ball scores another run.  Man, you gotta hate just giving two runs to a team on ground balls.

Top 2nd - 

- I spent about fifteen minutes with my father last night discussing the end of the Red Sox season and as per usual he spent most of the fifteen minutes blaming Tito Francona.  I admitted I didn't like the move to Timlin in Game 2 and thought that cost them, but asked what else Tito could have done.  Dad's answer - start someone other than Wakefield in Game 4.  When asked WHO? he responded with Justin Masterson.  When I explained to him that solution was impossible, he argued that Tito should have made him a starter earlier in the year rather than keep him in the bullpen.  That made me step back and really wonder how many Red Sox fans think that Tito has that kind of control.  I think I am fairly uniquely qualified to understand how a Major League Baseball organization operates.  Between spending two years in an actual, factual clubhouse and the amount of time I spend reading about the Sox, I feel that I have a handle on how they do things.  It's pretty simple.  Tito is an employee of the Sox who is in charge of gameday and inning to inning operations.  Decisions including who is up or down from the minors, who is in the rotation, who is in the bullpen, who makes the postseason roster are made by Theo Epstein and the baseball operations guys.  Theo is the boss, Tito the employee.  I told my father its a lot like his situation at Longrale Park.  Vance Aloupis is the owner and his boss.  Dad is the manager of the apartment complex.  If a decision on whether or not to buy a new garbage disposal has to be made, Dad has the authority to make it.  It's a day-to-day decision.  Raising the rent, that's up to Vance.  I wonder how many Red Sox fans believe that Tito can raise the rent.  Does this have something to do with why so many people complain about Tito?  It's a thought.

- Ryan Howard looks like David Ortiz looked all playoffs...wait, scratch that, he totally doubled off the wall.

- My daughter may never play Division 1 football, but we sure have fun throwing the ball in the backyard.  She already has less drops than most BC receivers of the last ten years.

- Man, that is how you quickly get out of an inning.  Let's put it this way, you manage to have as many runners on base as the Phillies have had and you don't start getting them to score , you are in deep doo doo.  Yeah, I said doo doo.

Bottom 2nd - They just had a commercial on for MLBTV.  I'm not buying it.  Baseball 24/7, REALLY?  The only sport that can work in that situation is the NFL and that's for two reasons.  1. Gambling 2. Fantasy Football.  I care about what happens to the Tampa Bay QB situation because it could affect my draft and my season and whether or not I bet, if that was legal, on them against the Falcons in Week 5. I don't care at all about the SS situation for the Rays because it has no impact on my life.

- This Rocco Baldelli situation with the mitochondrial disorder is just too odd.  He told Ken Rosenthal that his legs shake by the sixth inning and that he takes pills by the handful to try to manage this issue.  If I had this blog a few years ago, you would have heard me talking about the fact that Baldelli was going to be the Red Sox Centerfielder in 2009.  I suppose you don't worry too much about the guy because he is rich, but I feel for him.  He had the chance to be one of the truly great players of our lifetime and a rare disease has made him a platoon player.  I only hope that his disorder is something he can spread information about and work towards treatment or a cure of.

- Tampa Bay takes a completely unnecessary chance, sending Baldelli to the plate on a line drive single by Upton with 2 outs and run themselves out of the inning.  How do you not give Pena a chance to hit with the bases loaded in a 3-0 ball game.  That may come back to haunt them.

Top 3rd -  Phillie Phutility continues.  This is getting scary for them.  Runner on second with nobody out and they can't get the runner home.  They are starting to feel like the Red Sox in this series.

Bottom 3rd - I totally missed that inning because I was texting my buddy Travis our plans for world domination.  Simply put it involves Bill Simmons and The Talented Mr. Roto aka Matthew Berry leaving ESPN and starting their own website.  It needs to happen.  I seriously listened to 2 hours worth of SimmonBerry this week talking about entries to their ESPN fantasy basketball league.  I didn't do it because I'm unemployed and bored, I did it because I truly enjoyed it.  Anyway, the Rays went one two three, so that explains why I missed the inning.

Top 4th - Remember when I called Ryan Howard David Ortiz?  Forget that, he hit another laser for a hit.  He's obviously over his little slump.

- The Flying Hawaiian, Victorino, has a way better and more realistic nickname than Big Game James and he gets on with an infield single.  We have runners on first and third with one out here kids, the Phillies must no longer be Phutile.

- Man, McCarver and Buck rarely bring something up that has any value.  Here, they make sense, saying the Phillies hitter (Dobbs?) isn't picking up the ball out of Shields's hand at all.  He hit .315 on the year and looks like me at the plate right now.

- Ken Rosenthal is phenomenal as a Sideline Reporter, btw.  He always has a unique perspective on what is going on and only talks when there is something to say.  On that particular note, he talked about how the Rays have a 1 point better ERA at home this year and the lighting has something to do with that.  I can totally understand that having been in the Carrier Dome for a football game.  Some domes are lit with a yellowish hue, it has to be disorienting.

- Phutile Phillies continue, two more men left on base.  Yuck.

Bottom 5th - Yeah, I skipped a full one and a half innings.  Rays lead 4-0 on a safety squeeze in the bottom of the 4th inning.  I was busy arguing with my wife about the awesomeness of my moustache.

- Baldelli apparently made a phenomenal play in the Top of the 5th to double off Werth to end the inning with Ryan Howard in the on deck circle.  At least that doesn't count as a Left on Base for the Phils.

- Pena walks, a ball gets by first on a pickoff throw by the catcher and he advances.  One team can't catch a break, the other team gets them all.  Man, the Rays love Game 2.

- The Phutile Phils get out of the inning without giving up a run and I'm paying more attention to the Talented Mr. Roto's Love/Hate column than I am to the game.

Top 6th - A Talented Mr. Roto excerpt..."Cedric Benson, RB Bengals: You think you hate your life?  I bet Eric Karabell on today's podcast that Cedric Benson would get more than 100 total yards this week.  So now I have to root for Cedric Benson and possibly admit I was wrong.  Why don't I just make out with a dude and then kill myself to complete the trifecta." AWESOME!

- Howard leads off for the Phils.  The Shift works...Howard crushes the ball to right and Iwamura plays it as a shortfielder.

- Wow, Upton couldn't get to that ball from Dobbs and the Phils have 1st and 3rd with 2 outs.  What are the odds they blow this and leave 2 men on base?  I'm saying really, really good, especially with Pedro Feliz coming up.

- WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTT - Big Game James exits in the 6th.  Seems unreasonable.

- Inning over...gross

ALCS Game 5 Liveblog

I refuse to give up on my Sox.  At least until they are behind in the third or fourth inning tonight...

Pregame - I have never had less faith in a Sox team.  I feel like its Game 7 in 2003 and we just watched the Yankees tie it off Pedro.  I just knew the game was over.  I've had that feeling since Timlin stepped on the mound in Game 2 of this series.  I just want that feeling to go away.  I may have to wait until next year.

- Wind is blowing like crazy.  I think that helps us.  We could use some funky plays as the weaker team.

Top 1st - Dice K starts Iwamura 2-1.  Man, please don't let this be one of those nights.  His ball has plenty of movement and seemingly good velocity though.  Can't complain about that.  First of many full counts of the night.

- Base hit Iwamura.  Do you get nervous?  Or do you hope that these guys do what the Yankees did in 03 and just stop hitting.  I'm thinking nervous, but how can guys stay as hot as these next three (Upton, Longoria, and Pena).

- Well I was totally wrong about that.  BJ Upton is a manimal.  Jesus.

- Okay, settle down everyone.  Dice K sure did.  Inning over and ONLY down 2-0.

- Two thoughts.  1. It's amazing how the Rays seem to be a team perfectly built for Fenway Park.  They have great righthanded power, a phenomenal defensive outfield, and their one lefty hits the ball opposite way very well.  The Red Sox, on the other hand, have Papi trying to pull everything, Drew hitting to a large right field, warning track power Youkilis, and on and on.  2. Why have none of the Devil Rays been put on their ass in this series.  If you remember correctly, knocking down and brushing back a few of the Yankees in 04 got them started on their slide.  The Rays seem to be waaaaay too comfy in the box for my liking right now.

Bottom 1st - Normally you are pleased when a player in the 2 hole hits the ball on the ground and moves over the leadoff hitter so that you have one out and a runner with speed on second base.  I say normally because it happened tonight and that just means you have Ortiz up with a runner on base and one out, which is like saying a runner on base with two outs.  He strikes out and what could be a good run producing inning now becomes a struggle.

- Thankfully Youkilis walks and Bay will actually have a shot to get us some runs.

- Bay pops out...inning over.  GRRRR!!!

Top 2nd - Dice K gets Old Man Floyd to ground out and then makes a sharp play on Navarro.  If only that first inning homer had been two feet lower.  If that ball hits the wall, it's only one zero and it feels much better.  Dice K looks like maybe just maybe he'll settle down a bit here.  We desperately need him to do so.

- Loses Gross grossly on a walk but gets out of the inning.  Dice K...Dice K...Dice K.

Bottom 2nd - Encouraging at bat by Drew even though he grounded out.  He was staying through the ball longer and looking to drive it up the middle to opposite way.  He hit the ball hard to short.  Let's get three more at bats like that form JD

- Lowrie now gets a shot. He needs a base knock here.  Let's get this thing rolling.

- Jed hits the ball hard, right at Upton.  Good looking at bats from the boys but looking good isn't nearly enough.

- Varitek up, inning over, right?

- On another note, Kazmir's pitch count is up to 35 after two innings.  Hmmmmmm.

- Varitek gets hit. WHAT A GIFT!  Now Kotsay can get out and the top of the order will have a chance to get something going in the 3rd.

- Or not.  Base Knock Kotsay.  Every ball hit hard in this inning.  Maybe Crispy can keep us rolling here.  The crowd needs to be woken up.  Is woken even a word?

- Crisp smokes one foul and it's 1-2.  Here comes the weak looking swing strikeout Coco has made famous in his three years in Beantown.

- Hey, I called that one.  Late swing on an outside offspeed pitch.  Granted, Kazmir has thrown 45 pitches, but this isn't working the way it is supposed to.

Top 3rd - Obviously important for the Dice Man to get Iwamura here.  No baserunners for Upton please.

- Kotsay dives, snags, flips, and Dice K makes a nifty play covering the bag.  One out.  Drill Upton here please.

- Upton singles and that makes you feel like you're victorious as a pitcher.  Interesting that my boy Ron Darling said they should put one on his hip too.  Great minds think alike.

- And the victory feeling goes away first pitch on a two run home run by Pena.  This really is the Ray's year isn't it?

- Holy Cow.  Longoria just hit one too.  I tried everyone.  I really tried.  I'm done.  Hopefully some miracle will happen here and I'll be back to talk to you about Game 6 but really, I don't see that happening.

A Sign From a Sign?

With everything that is going on in Red Sox Nation right now, did we really need to have a small fire at the Citgo sign today?  SERIOUSLY?!?  I'm desperately trying to spin this in a way that will make all of us feel good about the Sox chances.  I just can't...