Sweetest Day of Sports

This weekend was "Sweetest Day" in Michigan (and a few other States.) Sweetest Day varies based on who you ask about what the real meaning behind this spin-off of Valentine's Day really is. My husband's perspective is that Sweetest Day is a made-up Hallmark holiday used to make more money by selling more cards and candy. I still think it's nice to do something special for your significant other every so often. And yes, it is always nice when those special somethings are unexpected but it's still nice to be remembered on Sweetest Day. My husband and I are also in the middle of buying our very first house. As many of you know, this can be a very stressful experience. So imagine my surprise and delight when I get a call from my husband as I am driving to our soon-to-be new home for an inspection as he tells me "I have a treat for you for next weekend!!!" I am so excited, my husband never really celebrates Sweetest Day, he thinks it's stupid. But I think "okay he's finally realized how I've put up with his hours and hours of Fantasy Football online and on the phone with his league, and he's going to show me how much he appreciates me by doing something special for me." I thought maybe he got us tickets to a play or something or even a movie that I might like. Or...maybe he bought me something really cool for our one-year anniversary (which is the weekend after next). Unfortunately for me, despite my J.D., I seem to be a very slow learner. He then yells into the phone "we got tickets for the Michigan vs Penn State game next Saturday!!!!!!" My first thought was "you're kidding me..." and my next thought was "it's 40 degrees outside and I am going to freeze my butt off." But my response..."Wonderful! I can't wait!" As I am groaning under my breath. Then I find out that the tickets came courtesy of my Mother-in-Law....Thanks Mom....apparently she doesn't want grandchildren any time soon.

Last week's Fantasy Football drama surrounded the "Revis Effect." My husband wanted to substitute in one of his players for Darrelle Revis and it was prior to the start of Monday night's game. Well apparently there is some rule in his league that you can substitute players before they play on Sunday but not on Monday. Needless to say it caused some heated discussions on the phone and it sounded like it was a ripe issue for SportsJudge.com. But when my husband was trying to explain it to me, I have to confess, I completely tuned him out. I was thinking about so many other things; my cases, our house, REAL LIFE. I could not bring myself to fake interest.

I spent Saturday afternoon watching University of Michigan destroy their opponent, which I have to say was a little embarrassing. I will admit that I do enjoy watching Michigan football and going to the game will probably be a lot of fun next weekend, but not quite the romantic Sweetest Day/Anniversary surprise I was hoping for. Maybe he'll still surprise me, he still has plenty of time to pull off something that restores my faith in his romantic ability. This week my tip is not to have expectations. Use the time during fantasy football season to have "me time" and catch up on things he wouldn't want to do with you anyway. Go to a chick flick with a good friend without him sitting beside you groaning or complaining.

Football Fantasies, or Fantasy Football?? Days to go...127

If watching every single televised game wasn't bad enough...one of my biggest pet peeves is channel surfing. At least watch one game at a time!! Nope, that's never going to happen because if Drew Brees isn't on the field on one channel, we have 2 or 3 guys on the field on another channel, or our opponent does. It drives me crazy!! I'm still a football newbie. It's hard enough for me to keep up with one game, let alone having to change the channel and try to get into another one...no thanks. Although I will admit, this is better than my husband's sports set-up in college where he had multiple TVs in his room so that he could watch several different games simultaneously ---no channel surfing necessary. Now THAT was the epitome of laziness!

I have read these "Women Against Fantasy Football" posts and the responses from Sports Judge writers. I have to go on record to say that I am not against Fantasy Football, I just think it gets taken too far and sometimes priorities get lost in the mix. But at the same time, it's important to my husband and although it's not so important to me, he is, and therefore I will make an effort. Just like I would expect my loved ones to read something I had written regardless of whether or not they had any interest in the topic...hint hint.

And now, in the spirit of Dave Letterman getting into hot water this week, here are the Top 10 ways to know if you have taken Fantasy Sports or Sports in general to an unhealthy extreme:

10. You ask for a prenuptial agreement including only sports cards or sports memorabilia...basically saying "you can have everything else just keep your hands off my baseball cards."

9. You do not leave the house for ANY reason on a Saturday afternoon, Sunday afternoon, Monday evening, Thursday evening...you get the idea..(unless you're going some place where there are multiple televisions).

8. You have an entire bathroom or den or even an entire level of your home dedicated to your favorite team.

7. Your only bookmarked sites on your computer are related to fantasy sports, and you check your Fantasy Football Website at least 5 times everyday to see if there are any updates.

6. You have your heart set on a groom's cake that is an exact replica of the Big House, or similar venue.

5. You have to check your fantasy scores on your honeymoon.

4. You have planned to either get pregnant or get your spouse pregnant so that she will deliver the baby in a month that strategically will not effect your fantasy sports teams.

3. You belong to more than 3 Fantasy leagues...so those of you that belong to 10 or more, there's a BIG problem.

2. You have planned to name your first two children ESPY (for a girl of course) and ESPN (for a boy)...yes that one came from MY spouse :)

1. You do not notice your spouse walking in front of the TV wearing nothing but a bow, other than to tell her that she's blocking your view...

If any of these sound familiar, RUN, do not walk, to the nearest jewelry store, flower shop or your spouse's favorite clothing store and buy her (or him) something to let them know they are still number one!

By: Hayley Rosner

We Interrupt this Marriage to Bring you…Fantasy Football Season - days to go 135

[Editor's Note: With NFL and College Football in full swing, guest-columnist Hayley Rosner takes a look at how to cope with your spouse's fantasy sports addiction.]

I am lucky enough to be married to my best friend, and we're still newlyweds (only married 10 months). My husband is addicted to sports, and more importantly, Fantasy Football. His life, and therefore, our life, revolves around sports. If it's not Michigan football, the NFL, or fantasy football, then it's hockey, baseball, tennis, golf and sometimes poker. We even had to plan our wedding around the University of Michigan football season! I learned early on that if I was going to have any chance of competing for his attention during football season, I better learn something about his affliction... I mean addiction.

I'm not completely out of the loop when it comes to sports; I've always been a casual fan. However, I have not completely submerged myself into the Fantasy World like my husband has. My goal is to help wives like me cope with their husbands' constant need to be glued to the television and/or internet during Fantasy Season. There are 135 days to go until Super Bowl XLIV, and more importantly 135 days until I can get my husband back. That is until hockey playoffs come around.

I am an attorney and just like I have to do with the practice of law, I have to find solutions that we can both live with in our marriage. I have found that learning a little bit about Fantasy Sports is a great way to improve our relationship and get him to compromise and spend time doing things other than watch football. And this was a challenge. When I first heard about Fantasy Sports it sounded really silly to me. It seemed like my husband and his buddies got together and acted like little boys. They use "smack talk" and insult each other and they think it's hilarious. They have even gone so far as to emasculate each other by referring to each other with names like Tonya, Christy and Natasha instead of Tony, Chris and Nate. I honestly didn't get it. It's bad enough that he sat and screamed at the TV when his team was losing but now with Fantasy Football he sits and screams and it doesn't matter which team is winning or losing, now it matters how his PLAYERS are doing, And how his Fantasy Team is doing against his opponent's Fantasy Team.

Here was my first question that drove me crazy: why is it that these guys spend hours and hours negotiating draft picks, then spend a few hours drafting players and then spend hours and hours negotiating trades of those picks?? This is what I learned: Before the draft, depending on your philosophy on where the players are going to go in the draft and depending on the league that you are in and the number of players at each position would depend on when you want to make your picks (in which rounds etc). After the draft, fantasy players may have a void on their fantasy team that needs to be filled so they trade players in positions that they have more players than they need for players in positions that are lacking.

This is what I really think: These guys need to feel like they're in control and that what they're doing is important :) Then they have buyers’ remorse and try to convince their friends that they have a deal that will "benefit both of them". Honestly, if someone is trading players it's because he wants someone new and is not satisfied with his (or her) team. It's not because he is looking out for your best interest. But regardless, the draft is a very important part of the fantasy experience.

I helped my husband with his fantasy draft this year by analyzing available players while other players were being drafted. This helped me learn who was on his team and who to look for during the game and make an effort to at least follow those players. And for all my hard work, I got an extra date night...dinner and an evening void of sports.

Tip for the week: Find out at least a couple of players on your husband's (or wife's) team. They will be impressed with your interest and may even attempt to get involved with something that you're doing that doesn't involve football. Bonus...you can have conversation that doesn't involve how many points you got for Drew Brees's touchdown passes...take what you can get for now!

- Hayley Rosner