August 26, 2005  I’m ashamed to say it, but a few years ago, I was starting to lose interest in the NFL.  At the time, the Redskins (my favorite team) just totally sucked.  In fact, they still do other than their defense.  I didn’t really have a favorite AFC team, so I had to find a team that I found interesting enough and not be totally disappointed in how their season turned out.  I chose the Chiefs because the Chiefs-Raiders game always made the TV in Shreveport (the Texans hadn’t been formed yet and the Oilers were long gone).  I hate the Raiders, so the Chiefs it was.  There are other reasons I chose them, but that’s not where I’m going with my column today.  The Chiefs definitely were not the reason I became the Sunday diehard that I am today. Two words: Fantasy Football.  I know it’s a popular subject these days because football season is just around the corner.  You might hear people talking about it in the most random places.  It has changed the way fans look at the game and follow the stars they watch every Sunday.  I want to take a look at what FF has done to help the sport and why it is so popular.  Then I’ll give my take on how to form a solid team. All of the major sports have been doing fantasy games for years.  Football is by far the most popular, and for good reason.  In other leagues, games are held daily, so it’s hard to keep up with your roster on a daily basis.  In football, most games are on Sunday with one game on Monday (don’t forget 2 on Thanksgiving).  So with NFL fantasy, you just take a look at your roster on Friday before you leave the office and you are pretty much set.  I go a little extreme and take a peek every day just to make sure none of my players were busted with a Whizinator or got hurt during the week.  But the point is, I don’t have to change my roster daily.  Another great thing about the NFL fantasy sports is that there are only so many players you can choose from for your roster who are going to start.  It seems that the number of baseball and basketball players to choose from are endless and it can get confusing.  I know.  I’ve played fantasy baseball.   Fantasy sports allow fans to keep up with athletes from teams other than their favorite.  My friend Billy probably couldn’t name 5 players who don’t play for the Saints, yet he could name everyone down to the 4th string from New Orleans.  I found myself amazed last year that I knew just about every 1st and 2nd string offensive player (excluding linemen) for every NFL team.   I even knew some of the linemen just because if some got hurt, that could affect the performance of my player.  The point is, you start to know more about the league.  When it comes to the NFL playoffs and the Redskins are yet again sitting at home, I actually know the players who are playing because I’ve kept up with them all year. I tend to go overboard with my fantasy play, because this year I have 8 teams.  They come from different types of leagues, including Yahoo and Sporting News.  In the Sporting News league, I play in a league of 20 and go up against strangers in a salary cap format.  I start with 50 million dollars and choose a roster of 2 QB, 3 WR, 3 RB, 1 TE, 1 K, and 1 DEF with my money.   I pick certain players, but that doesn’t mean another player in my league can't pick them.  We just pick the players we feel will bring in the most points.  The players I choose from are given prices based on their performance last year and their potential.  They also gain/lose value based on their play throughout the season.  So my franchise can lose or gain value depending on their performances.  I am allowed 4 trades a week.  In this type of league, you try to accumulate as many points as possible throughout the season.  The franchise with the most points in the league of 20 at the end of the season wins.  You also play globally, but your league is most important.  It’s nice to see where you’d rank amongst other leagues, though.   The other type of league is the Yahoo leagues.  There are different formats, but the principal is the same.  In Yahoo, I go up against my friends and co- workers.  We draft players who will be exclusive to our team.  So if I pick Peyton Manning, nobody else in my league can have Peyton.  Then, each week we go head-to-head with one opponent within our league.  This league is set up on Win-Loss records, not total points.  This allows for a player’s team to have a really bad week (maybe his best players were in a bye week), and it only counts as one loss rather than getting hammered in points.  Chances are, he’ll still make the playoffs with only one bad week.   Trades can be made between players and free agents can be picked as well.  Just to be clear, there is a roster size limit, so you can’t just go pick as many players as you want.  This is a fun way to play because the amount of smack that is talked between weekly opponents is usually priceless.  Luckily, this year I’m starting off in my first Yahoo team game against Hot Carl, who I somehow have an unofficial rivalry with.  I don’t know why we have a rivalry, but I suspect it’s because I’ve called him Hot Carl since the day I met him (and it’s not because I think he’s hot). Here's just a sample of some of the smack that has went on so far (and the season hasn't even started yet): -That’s funny coming from a guy whose nickname means someone shit on your chest. (to Hot Carl) -Drew Brees?  Is that Philip River’s theme music I hear cueing up? -Why is Jeff Garcia behind Joey Harrington? -Because he’s gay and he’s a giver. -Tell me you didn’t just pick Ricky Williams in the first round! (in 2004-2005 season) -I hear he’s got a lot of upside. -He just got cut from the team.  He can ONLY go up. -Kyle Boller, this is gonna be his year! -(crickets) -I’m gonna kick you square in your box *not really a quote, but my team name in one league is “Kick a Bulldog” in a league where I’m one of the few who didn’t attend Louisiana Tech. Both salary cap and head-to-head leagues are clearly different.  Therefore, a different approach must be taken to fill your rosters.  I’ll start with salary cap.  It’s important that you get solid players who will definitely get some playing time.  I like to start by getting one guy who will be a stud.  If you get Peyton Manning, you automatically take $11 million out of your salary cap, which is just over a fifth of your funds (hmmm, sounds like the Colts salary cap problems).  It’s better to take a player who’s top tier, but not a total stud.  Balance is the key.  Make sure they are starters or they get significant touches or scores.  Jerome Bettis only touched the ball about 8 times in the first 2 games last year.  BUT he was one of the highest scoring running backs in fantasy football because he scored on about 5 of those runs.   Kickers aren’t very important, so just take a decent kicker who plays for a team that either scores a lot of points or can’t seal the deal in the red zone.   Defense actually scores a heavy amount of points, so it’s good to have a good defense that either gets lots of turnovers or doesn’t let other teams score. In head-to-head, drafting is every bit as strategic, but the objective is to get as many studs as possible, since you are not limited by money.  Autodrafts suck, so I’ll go over the Live Drafts.  At a designated time, the fantasy “coaches” get together in a chatroom that has allocated a draft position for each team.  Then the coaches take turns picking a player until their roster is full.  It’s a pretty simple concept, but you have to know what players to go after before entering the draft.  A guy in one of my drafts last year had no idea that Ricky Williams had “taken a break” from football and picked him in the 1st round.  Not good times for him.  Chances are, you aren’t going to get the roster you hoped for, so always have a few backup plans for who you might take as a replacement.   So now you have the layout of it.  It’s fun and I hope anyone reading this column decides to play if you aren’t already in a league.  Leagues are easy to set up and as I said earlier, the NFL FF leagues are fairly low maintenance.  If this is your first time or need some help, I’ll list some studs for you to go after, by position.  Remember, great players don’t always make great fantasy players.  Ben Roethlisberger might have been a great QB last year, but he’s not fantasy material because Pittsburg is a running team.   Same with Tom Brady. QB:  Peyton Manning, Daunte Culpepper, Donovan McNabb (if TO behaves himself this season) RB: LaDainian Tomlinson, Priest Holmes, Shaun Alexander WR: Randy Moss, Marvin Harrison, Nate Burleson (you heard it here, folks), Tory Holt Remember, a WR is only as good as the QB throwing to him, so take that for what it’s worth. TE: Tony Gonzales, Antonio Gates, Alge Crumpler, Jeremy Shockey, Todd Heap K: doesn’t matter DEF: Baltimore is your most solid pick, anytime. That’s just the basis.  But if you need any advice on a player you have in mind, you are welcome to ask me... unless I’m in your league.   Until next time, throw up a “T” for… T-BONE!