Josh Cribbs collision with James Harrison that sent him to the sidelines was awesome.

Mohamed Masaquoi getting throttled a few plays later was icing on the cake.

You will all say I'm not empathic.

I'll tell you that I am, just my affinity lies with my team.

Sorry, I'm not one of those fans who has to look like I care for each and every player on the opposing team and stand up and clap every time they laboriously rise, using all their strength and might to make it the sidelines.

Man up, get off the field, and let's continue the football game.  That's what I'm thinking.

Why is it that the word "empathy" is only used when someone is injured or in an adverse situation?

Even worse, if you don't empathize with someone that is involved with either of those scenarios then you're basically crucified, deemed as evil or uncaring, and classified in the realm of a bigot.

I empathize.  Every single game I empathize.

The difference is that I empathize with the players on my team the entire game, instead of pretending I care about every single player that is injured during a weekend's worth of football like most people do.so

Cleveland Browns fans can feel sorry for Josh Cribbs.  I'll continue being happy that their best player is no longer on the field.

Football is a brutal sport where defensive players like James Harrison are ingrained with the thought process that they should go out there to knock someones head off.  The only problem with either those hits that he delivered is that the players didn't get up immediately.

There could be ten other hits that are identical to either of Harrison's hits over the course of the football weekend and if the player doesn't get injured then everyone is praising the jacked up moment.  If the player gets injured then it's a dirty play and now everyone thinks the player delivering the hit should get fined or suspended.

I just think it's part of the game and football should continue being football.

When players try to tackle someone are they trying to knock them out?  Yes, but anyone that truly believes a player is leading with their helmet on purpose should go put a helmet on, run into a steel door a couple times, and then see if that's how you would take aim all game.

Injuries happen.  Some can be preventable and some can be reduced, but when you have a game where two men are running full speed at one another then someones bound to get knocked out a time or two.

I guess I just understand that injuries and mishaps like the ones during the Steelers/Browns game happen on a regular basis. I guess that's why I don't need to feel bad about what happened.  To me it's just is what it is.

I'm an optimist and I focus on the positive.  If the opposing teams' best player isn't on the field then that's a plus in my book.  Some my think that's uncaring, some my think I don't have sympathy for the players injured.  I just think I have empathy for my team and I understand the thought process that goes through a defensive players' mind.

Of course I don't want anyone to be seriously injured or in the worst case have a career ending injury, but for those 60 minutes I understand that injuries are part of the game, so why not look for the benefit in them.

Sorry Cribbs and Masaquoi, you won't be receiving a get well soon card from me.  How about I just bring an extra strength bottle of Aleve with me the next time you face the Steelers.

P.S.  Have fun in rehab Robbie Hummel.  Go Duke!

Welcome to Waiver Wire Wednesday.

Each Wednesday will be designated to fantasy football to help you achieve not only the best team, but the best league as well.  To really get the most out of your league year in and year out, you have to keep trying to make improvements and keep everyone engaged.

So what could be annoying about fantasy football?

Isn't fantasy the greatest game to flourish since Pogs came and went?  It's almost up to RPS (Rock, Paper, Scissors) status for appeal around the masses.

Now there's always going to be little problems in everyone's fantasy league; people not paying up, to not having their cheat sheet in hand, or in my case finding out that one of your players has to miss the draft on Sunday because he was just put on house arrest.  I kid you not!

Even with all these minor distractions comes a game that every sports enthusiast loves to play.  It's way to root for someone in almost every game and gamble on every game as well.  Now the best part about fantasy is always the draft, but the draft can be better.

Yes, the draft can be better.

No, I'm not talking about having an auction draft like every fantasy guru out there who makes it sound like auction leagues are life and death to them now.  I am talking about adding little changes to the draft each year to keep it fresh and make it interesting for all.

So below I am presenting to you different draft ideas for auction leagues, keeper leagues, or standard draft leagues that will keep things fresh every single year.

The Redshirt Rule: If you draft any rookie player during your draft you may keep them the next year for no loss of pick or for $1 in auction leagues as long as you do not start them a single time throughout the season.  This rule forces the owner to decide if a rookie will help their team or if he should just lose the bench spot all year for their potential next year.  The only stipulation is if you have IR spots and the player gets injured they cannot be moved to the IR.  This rule can be used in all draft types.

The Specific Round: Your league will designate a specific round in the draft that everyone MUST keep the player they drafted in that round on their team next year.  This rule makes everyone strategize as some people may reach on picks in this round for the potential next year and some people may grab someone like J.P. Losman who won't get you any points unless you count the UFL stats.  This rule can be used in all draft types

The Random Round: The random round is the same as the specific round rule except that you will randomly choose which round will be your keeper.  The rule is more exciting if you randomly pick the round after the draft is over.  This rule can be used in all draft types.

The Survivor Rule: This isn't so much a rule as it is a stipulation.  If you have a highly competitive league and other people want in then you can add a stipulation that will allow someone in the current draft to be removed from the league and a new person will be allowed in.  The way the person is removed is by a group vote where the person with the most votes get removed from the league.  The winner of the league will have immunity.  This rule can be used in all draft types.

The Winner Eliminator Rule: This rule is similar to the survivor rule except that the winner of the league gets to pick who will be eliminated from the league from the remaining owners.  This really puts the pressure on the owner to decide to remove someone based on skill level or based on personal friendship.  This rule can be used in all draft types.

The Loser Eliminator Rule: The Loser Eliminator Rule is the same as the survivor rule except that the loser of the league will automatically be removed from the league.  This will make the losers bracket very competitive during the playoff season.  This rule can be used in all draft types.

Draft Lottery Rule:  This rule is similar to the NBA Draft lottery where the loser of the league will get the most chances to get the top pick and the winner will get only one chance.  The losers chances should be the sum of the total players in the league and then continue with each owner based on finishing position.  This will add some excitement and allow everyone a  chance at the first pick.  This rule should not be used for keeper leagues.

The Half and Half System:  The half and half system really is the best of both worlds.  In this system you use an auction draft and standard draft.  You start out with an auction draft for the first five to eight picks and then the remaining picks in your draft will be standard drafted in a snake format.  This allows league members to enjoy the auction format and the ability to pay more for players they really want on their team, while also sticking to your roots and creating an actual draft where sleepers can be scooped up in the later rounds.

The Vulture System: The vulture system seems kind of complex, but it's a pretty simple way to make the draft interesting, deceitful, and most importantly entertaining.  The vulture system should be used in keeper leagues where if you keep a player then you lose your first round pick.  The vulture system will allow the first pick in the draft (usually the last place person in keeper leagues) to A. Keep a player on their current roster and lose their first round pick  B. Keep no one on their roster and have a first round pick or C. Use the vulture system to steal any player they would like off the last pick in the draft (usually the champion) and use that player as their first round pick.

This will continue on to the corresponding teams so second pick can steal from second to the last and so forth.  Once you get to the middle the teams who had a chance to get a player stolen from them then it's their turn to reciprocate the favor.  They can not steal their player back though.  This rule uses the utmost strategy because you have to look at who you have on your roster and if they're worth your first round pick, who the other team has and if they're worth it, and who you have on your roster that the other team may steal.  It's also a good way to make enemies quick!

So now that you have some new ways to improve your draft then incorporate one of them and force the owners to try it.  They'll love it once they do!

Check back next Wednesday for a new Waiver Wire Wednesday column.

I've been to some great new and old stadiums before, including old Yankee Stadium, new Yankee Stadium, PNC Park, and Wrigley Field, but I never had the opportunity to make it to Boston for a game at Fenway.

The opportunity finally appeared last Saturday when I went to the Toronto Blue Jays/Boston Red Sox game.

To make the trip even more significant, I was able to have four of my best friends come visit me over the weekend in Hartford, CT from all over the map.

Two friends from Pittsburgh, one from Cleveland, one from North Carolina; none of us had ever made it to a game at Fenway before.

We decided the best way to get to the game was through a bus trip from my company. 

As expected we were running late and neglected to bring a cooler with food and beverages.  We didn't even have a single water bottle to pass around.

It was about 3pm when we got to the bus and it left about five minutes later.  The trip wasn't too bad as it only took about two hours and we got to watch Field of Dreams on the trip there.

The bus approached the parking lot and we eagerly awaited hopping off and grabbing anything in our sights to quench our thirst.  At this point I think a couple of us would have been okay with a puddle of rain water.

Luckily, we didn't have to go the last route and we walked over to Cask'n Flagon's to grab ourselves a beer.

The place was huge, but crowded.  This may have been the cause of one of my friends having a panic attack within 20 minutes and having to go outside to grab some fresh air.

He cooled down, bought a hat, and it took every fiber in his being for him to come back inside and relax.

The five of us left the bar and headed over to the stadium around 6:30pm; first pitch was at 7:05pm.

We decided to grab another drink once we entered. 

The ironic thing about the beer prices at Fenway is that Sam Adams, which is brewed about 20 miles away, is considered premium beer and Budweiser, which is brewed 1,220 miles away, is considered domestic.

I expected that though.

Walking through Fenway was pretty cool.  Definitely a little more room to walk in there than there was in Yankee Stadium.  The stadium layout reminded me a lot of Wrigley Field.

Our seating arrangement was that two of us sat in one row and three of us sat in the row in behind.  We were located in the lower level near the right field foul pole about 30 rows up so we had a pretty nice view of the game.

With Dice-K pitching for the Red Sox I thought it was going to be a long game.  I also noticed that the Asian community definitely comes out when he's on the mound.

When a few of us left our seats to go grab something to eat, we came back and actually couldn't see where our friends were sitting because they were being blocked by an Asian family holding up a sign that said something in Japanese symbols.

The game was actually going pretty fast.  About midway through the 3^rd inning one of my friends commented about how the old guy in front of him was the dirtiest guy he's ever seen.

Little did he know the next inning he began taking a sip of his beer and just so happened to have a long, greasy gray hair hanging from his lips.  It was hilarious, but disgusting at the same time.

Earlier in the game I jokingly commented about how I thought the game was going to go 20 innings.  Hardly any game has ever gone 20 innings, but this one seemed like it was about to.

Both the Sox and the Jays had chances to win the game.  Big Papi went hitless and I thought the Sox were about to get beat.

The game went to extras and in the 10^th the Blue Jays had a man on second with 1 out, but luckily he made a bad base running error and got caught in a pickle and was tagged out.

Finally, in the bottom of the 11^th, Jed Lowrie came up to bat and with a 2-2 count he hit a walk off homerun over the right center field wall into the bullpen.

It was definitely a magical moment to be a part of and the reason I may never go back.

How can I top that experience?  Do I really want to risk changing my perception of Fenway and the outcome that I witnessed over the weekend?

I don't know.

My fantasy football league is better than your fantasy football league.

That's right folks; Favre Dollar Footlongs is unretired!

After speaking it over with a lot of friends and family members I came to the conclusion that I made a rash assessment of the situation and I just can't leave the blogging world.

It's all I know, It's all I love.  I just can't give the game up.

I can give this stupid gimmick up though.  Sorry for those of you who actually fell for my "retirement" and for those who were happy to see me go, but Favre Dollar Footlongs is here to stay.

There were many that were unsure or who guessed right initially that it was all a prank, but I definitely got some of you.  I'd say I'm sorry for lying to you, but that's just a lie in itself.

Did you really think I was about to leave with the football season right around the corner?

It's my favorite time of the year.

It did feel nice to hear the people who were sad to see me go, but I couldn't leave.  I got a lot more in me, from compelling columns, to rants about the sports world, and maybe I'll even attend Blogs with Balls 4 just so I can rip on all those losers again who I'm sure will be back and brown nosing to the fullest.

So keep coming back to Favre Dollar Footlongs and enjoy some inspiring columns that you'll either love or hate, but ones that will always make you think a little.

I guess the moral of my shenanigans is that you just never know the truth in the sports world until you see it.  It doesn't matter if it's on The Mort Report or Schefter's Tweets, you just can never be certain.

Everyone jumped to conclusions early last week with the Favre "retirement" talk.  There were plenty who didn't fall for it, but it made us talk about it for a couple days.

Some people wonder why ESPN would run with a story like that with no viable sources?  I think the answer is pretty obvious.