Listens I – Johnny Adams 

Thanks

You’d think it’s routine for me thank you for making the RSP blog a regular pit stop on your journey through the week. It is, but it doesn’t feel like it.  I have great readers who not only send me links to music, they send me CDs. They not only send me links to articles they find interesting, they send me books. And they not only send me well wishes, but cards for the holidays.

That’s crazy cool. Even for a reasonably private guy like me, who can do the extrovert thing, but naturally craves moments of alone time and silence throughout the day. Think about it, does an extrovert really spend this much time in a room by himself studying football like it’s research?  I suppose there are some, but they’re slightly more common than a two-headed shark.

Your visits, your follows, and your purchases of the Rookie Scouting Portfolio provide the emotional and fiscal encouragement to continue this journey and I am grateful for your patronage. So is my 12-year-old cat, who is currently holding my mouse hostage until I finish writing this post and get some sleep.

Luckily, I get around a keyboard well enough to tell you to do yourself a favor and support the Rookie Scouting Portfolio. Sign up for my mailing list to get updates on posts and purchase the publication. The 2013 RSP is $19.95 and includes over 1200 pages of pre-draft analysis that’s great for long-term use as a fantasy owner or draftnik and a post-draft publication that most of my readers believe is worth the price on its own for its tiered rankings, average draft position data from early season dynasty drafts, and value scores derived from this analysis. Get a sample report here.

Best of all, you’re supporting more than the Rookie Scouting Portfolio. I donate 10 percent of every sale to Darkness to Light, an organization whose mission is to address and prevent sexual abuse in communities across the country through training programs to the people who matter most – adults in local communities who interact with children like teachers, police officers, little league coaches, and clergy. Download the RSP here.

Football Reads

• Why Don’t Woodpeckers Get Concussions – Ryan Riddle and Jene Bramel (and to a lesser extend me) had a Twitter discussion about concussions. It lead to the topic of why some animals (Rams and Woodpeckers) don’t suffer brain injuries. This article connects it back to football.
• Breaking Down Sam Bradford’s Approach To A Game-Winning Drive – Allen Dumonjic’s The Tape Never Lies pieces are always worth a read. He was first on my list of writers I wanted to guest write for this blog, but he’s got bigger and better things ahead for him.
• 2013 PPR Auction Values – Good advice from Sigmund Bloom on how to develop a good auction strategy. Simple, easy, intuitive, and totally Bloom.

Listens II – Freddie King: “I’m Goin’ Down”

Non-Football Reads

• An Ingenious Way To Save Half-Eaten Fruits And Vegetables – This will only half-interest Colin Kaepernick, who only eats fruit with his protein, because “veggies make you weak.” I think the 49ers QB’s statement is already a reflection of the toll no veggies are taking on his mental state. I’m just kidding Niners’ fans. I’m sure he’s just kidding. And if he’s not, he’ll find out in a three to five years.
• Why Stephen King Spends Months And Even Years Writing Opening Sentences I spend days or weeks at my day job. Hopefully I’ll graduate to years.
• Hey Kid: Thought’s For The Young Odd-Balls We Need So Badly – As a former latch-key kid who used to skip school in second grade to read books about NFL running backs from the 1930s through 1960s to his pet bird, until his friends got home so he could play football,  I wholeheartedly endorse this article.

Views – These Images Might Tempt You To Eat Bugs

These images are from David George Gordon’s The Eat-A-Bug Cookbook and re-posted from the NPR Blog The Salt. My comments on what I’d eat below as well as Paulette’s. Note I’m a moderately adventurous eater and Mrs. P ain’t.

Me: I’d try the grasshopper-kebabs, I can already imagine the balance of the sweet, sumptuousness of the grilled peppers complementing the crunch of the bug. Even the bug has a beautiful presentation with that hue of pinkness.

Paulette: Hmm…maybe if I closed my eyes, but if you put this in front of me I’d say two things: 1) You must be joking. And 2) Where’s my steak?

Me: Beautiful presentation . . .

Paulette: What? I don’t eat food that is as bright green as nuclear waste. I also dislike dishes heavy on tomatoes –

Me: And worms?

Paulette: Especially those. Although in an abstract way, it’s a beautiful picture, but as you know I don’t eat glowing green food. You? You could eat avocado all day.

Me: You eat that guacamole at the place near your office.

Paulette: That’s because they make a show of preparing it and I see everything they put in it.

Paulette: [Retracts instinctively from the screen in horror (she has severe arachnophobia) and after her breathing slows down] Why did you even show me this?!

Me: It’s the first time I’ve seen this, too. Looks a little like calamari.

Paulette: Hell no . . . a girl has got to eat, but I’d starve to death first.

Me: If you didn’t suffocate from hyperventilation first.

Paulette: That too!

Me: I wonder what they do with the fur?

Paulette: That’s not funny . . .

Listens III – The Black Crowes and The Tedeschi Trucks Band