The Top Ten of 2021

Year two of a pandemic in the books and it feels like we're just getting started. 

Personally, the first half of my year was defined by a lot of healthy cooking and weight loss progress. And the second half of my year was defined by a lot of great travel experiences. (Which meant gaining some of the weight back, so it goes.)

Before we get to the top ten posts of 2021, here are some other notable posts that missed the cut:

Honorable Mentions

Big Ten Champs

Deep Dive on Big Ten Championships

Chicago Sights

Disc Golf Resurgence

The Poblano Incident

10. Hot Carnitas Hoagie
While the whole collection appears later, had to recognize my signature recipe I created this year.

9. Pasta Journey
This was short lived, but paved the way to a bigger cooking project.

8. Moments to Hang Onto
Capturing feelings from trips to Chicago and Asheville.

7. Mark Fever 2021
Mark bought me the best steak of my life and didn't win a single disc golf hole. What a guy.

6. Niraj Fever 2021
Just like the Lions, Mark comes up one notch short of Niraj. 

5. Living My Best Life
Keeping track of all the ways I'm trying to live well.

4. Remastered Vacation Pics
I went back and gave new life to old international photos. 

3. Daily Favorites: The Collection
My pandemic project was creating over 50 easy, healthy recipes to help me lose weight. I'll be using these forever.

2. Work Trip to Rome and Greece
Truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

and the best thing I accomplished this year: Number One

Ironman Fantasy Football Champion - Inaugural Season

Mark and I have competed in a head-to-head weekly fantasy contest since 2018. Every week we pick different players but can only use a player once per season. It closely resembles our first fantasy football experience, NFL Home Team Challenge, that we started in 2003. Each week you get the chance to pick a new lineup and the challenge is predicting who's got a good matchup, when's the best time to take elite players, etc.

At the Owner's Meeting in August, we discussed the possibility of a second league that could scratch the itch that the first league doesn't quite cover: planting your flag on players for a whole season, specifically  having to find gems outside the known elite players. 

The solution was to do a head-to-head league with 2 key restrictions: You have a salary cap to spend for the draft AND there are no pickups after the draft. The 16 players you draft in August are the only players you can use the whole year. You have to plan ahead for bye weeks and injuries. Since you need to draft players with the endurance to last all year, I christened this the Ironman League. Here were the rosters we drafted, with their salary cap price.

Head to head weeks were the only thing that mattered. With an 18-game season, I made Week 17 worth double. The idea was that after 16 weeks, if it was 8-8 it would act as a Super Bowl or if it was 9-7, it would give the trailing team a chance to tie it up and turn Week 18 into a winner take all. 

Here's our week 1 scores:

After 6 weeks, I was up 6-0 and none of the games were close. Derrick Henry, Cooper Kupp, Justin Jefferson, Mahomes and Kelce were all lighting it up.

But in Week 7, I started having running back availability issues. Gus Edwards was out for the season. Chris Carson was now hurt. And Robinson was on bye. Derrick Henry was my only healthy running back. And he would soon get injured, out for the season.

Mark would win 6 of the next 7. So after 13 weeks, I was up 7-6. 

In Week 14, I had zero healthy running backs. But Lamar got injured and put up a zero for Mark. 

In Week 15, Mahomes and Kelce combined for 71 fantasy points on Thursday and basically clinched the week for me before it started. I was extra excited when Kelce made these moves to win the game.

So heading into Week 16, I was up 9-6. But job's not finished. 

If Mark wins the last three weeks, he takes the title. 

By 12:45 on Sunday, my only healthy RB James Robinson gets carted off with an Achilles injury. Which means that for the rest of the season, I've got no running back points. If he wins 16, he'll be favored in 17 + 18. 

In the last game that mattered, Mahomes came through for me and Stafford let Mark down. Poetry.

Never Count Out the Chiefs: Big Thursday Night Win vs Chargers (10-4)

In a season with only 17 games, one week can take a #4 seed to the #1 seed. If the Chiefs lost to the Chargers on Thursday night, they would be #2 in the division. Instead, they're the only team in the AFC with 10 wins and control their destiny for homefield advantage in January and the crucial only team to get a bye. 

There were many points in the game when it seemed like the Chargers were going to win. 

When Mahomes throws a 4th and 1 pass into the dirt.

Or when the Chargers pick off Mahomes inside the 5.

But really on the final drive, the Chargers caught this pass to get 1st and 10 at the 43 and only need a field goal to win.

And on this pass, if the red throws a flag, the Chargers win and the Chiefs would currently be the 5th seed. 

The biggest missed opportunity of the night was right here:

Ekeler just scored making it 20-13 pending the conversion. If you go for two and get it you make it a two-possession game. If you don't get it, you're still up 7. A Chiefs TD will only tie you. If you go for one, a Chiefs TD can still tie you. This is a beautiful risk/reward situation for LA and they don't take it. 

Instead, KC finds themselves down 21-13 with under 9 minutes to go. So what happens?

Touchdown Hill. 

Touchdown Kelce.

Touchdown Kelce in OT.

On the game winner, Kelce catches the ball at the 30 with three unblocked defenders nearby.

He gets by them and then has another unblocked defender to deal with.

Gets by him too.

Ballgame.

What a great win. What an important win.

This is year 4 of Mahomes as the starter. Which means he's played 12 divisional games on the road. 

12 wins, zero losses. Not a single fan of the Chargers, Raiders or Broncos has been able to go to a game  in Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland, Las Vegas, or Denver and see their team beat Mahomes.

King on the Run

The last time I used the chess tag on this blog was in January 2007. This probably sets a record for longest times between tag uses. In this game, I was white and looking for a way to attack and capture the black queen.  

The move? Queen to h8. Black moved the king to f7 so I respond with knight to d6, forcing king to f8. Good start. So how do I get the queen from the board below?

Bishop to h6. Again puts the king in check so he has to move to e7.

From there it's simple. Bishop to g5, again putting the king in check. Allowing a queen capture without sacrificing anything.

Four moves in a row where black had their king on the run, ending with a queen capture. From here, easy to close out.

Bucket List Progress

I've always been one for pursuing new endeavors, but in 2014 I started a legit bucket list. Entering 2021, I had accomplished 13 items on the list. Some notable ones include cooking a 5-course dinner, making a cookbook, and moving to Kansas City. 

And then in the last 5 months I checked off 5 new items on my list:

• go zip-lining
• lose weight and take new work pictures
• take photos of the stars
• visit Greece
• take a Mediterranean cruise

Three of the things were work trips that fell into my lap (and of course the Greece cruise is a 2 for 1). For context I've currently got about 20+ more items left on the list, but most are travel destinations to visit. (So my current line of work seems fortuitous.)

So yeah, things are working out pretty well.

Raiders Karma

Sometimes you don't even have to say anything.

Work Trip to Cancun

I wrote some commercials and had to go to Cancun to film them. Tough job but somebody has to do it.

Okay, so the food wasn't very good and the pictures make the resort look nicer than it actually is. But I'm not complaining.