Here's something you might be interested in.
So, I've been doing fantasy football for 20 years now. Each year, we have to try and get a few new teams into the league for people that dropped their teams the previous year.
It's not necessary, because we don't do "keeper leagues." That means you have players you get to keep.
Each year, we have a brand new draft.
The great thing about that is....well, for example, this year I got the first pick. That gave me the chance to have LaDanian Tomlinson. My first time ever getting him.
Of course, sometimes it's better to get the 3rd pick. Then, you have no choice in who you take. The first person might pick Tomlinson, the second pick takes Steven Jackson, and you have no choice but to take the Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (who looked better than Tomlinson last year, especially when he ran for 295 yards against the Chargers!)
As usual, we had someone that didn't show up that said they were going to play. We're always left wondering if we should start the draft, and then wonder what to do when he saunters in 15 minutes later. This year we just started the draft on time, and figured if you were late, you got one of the last picks. But, having the very last pick isn't such a bad thing. Because that gives you the first pick of the following round, and that's also two picks in a row, which has its advantages.
We had another person that was sick, and had to draft via cell phone. We've done that a few times and it usually works fine. I remember a time 7 years ago, where the connection was bad, and it was so annoying to sit there and wait for one guy to call his friend that was in Washington, only to hear him yell "Can you hear me? What is that? You want Brett Favre? No, someone already took him. What? I can't hear you. I'll call you back from a landline."
With 14 teams, getting the first pick in the first round, also meant that I got the 14th pick in the 2nd round.
At that point, I went with Jamal Lewis. He's a guy that was productive for me a few years ago. Until he spent a month in jail (gotta love those NFL players, always keeping you on your toes).
He's older now, so who knows what he'll do.
My other running back is Julius Jones. He always looked good in Dallas, but he's on the Seahawks, so I'm not expecting much.
When someone drafted Chad Johnson, I was waiting to give them a hard time. You see, he recently changed his last name to "Ocho Cinco", which was Spanish for his jersey number (although I read, not even proper Spanish). But when the woman drafted him, actually said his new name.
Paul, who is always nice enough to have the draft at his big house overlooking the water, usually drafts in between shots of Jack Daniels. This year, it didn't seem to effect his picks the way it has in the past. And he had a number of funny zingers. His best was when someone drafted Dwayne Bowe, and he sang "Somewhere, over Dwayne Bowe."
When people draft, you realize just how many NFL players have funky names. There's JaMarcus, Tarvaris, Alge Crumpler, Tashard Choice, Deuce McAllister, LenDale, Anquan Boldin, Plexico Burress, Laveranues Coles....heck, maybe Ocho Cinco isn't so bad.
A lot of people thought Charger tight end Antonio Gates would slip. He still has that nagging toe injury. But, he was the first tight end picked up. After he was taken, someone quickly took Jason Witten of the Cowboys, who I had as the number one TE on the boards this year.
My quarterback is Derek Anderson of the Browns. My mom is from Cleveland, so that's kinda cool. I just hope he lives up to expectations. And, I was set to get Kellen Winslow, Clevelands stud tight end (and son of the Charger great by the same name), but he was picked right before I had the chance. I was hapy to get Tony Gonzalez, though. For many years, he was the first tight end to go. This year, he was the 5th.
When my friend Gerald told me his team name this year was going to be "Hairway to Steven," it reminded me how much I miss my friend Joe playing in our league. Each year, he'd have a hysterical team name. One time, it had to do with Ryan Leaf, the disasterous Chargers draft pick. Another time, it was "The Team Formerly Known as Prince."
Surprisingly, the draft ended in just under three hours. I had enough time to make it to 'Canes with some friends and watch a great Van Halen tribute band.
I got home at 2:00 a.m. and already had a few phone calls on my machine from people in the league.
Being the commissioner can sometimes suck.
So, I've been doing fantasy football for 20 years now. Each year, we have to try and get a few new teams into the league for people that dropped their teams the previous year.
It's not necessary, because we don't do "keeper leagues." That means you have players you get to keep.
Each year, we have a brand new draft.
The great thing about that is....well, for example, this year I got the first pick. That gave me the chance to have LaDanian Tomlinson. My first time ever getting him.
Of course, sometimes it's better to get the 3rd pick. Then, you have no choice in who you take. The first person might pick Tomlinson, the second pick takes Steven Jackson, and you have no choice but to take the Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (who looked better than Tomlinson last year, especially when he ran for 295 yards against the Chargers!)
As usual, we had someone that didn't show up that said they were going to play. We're always left wondering if we should start the draft, and then wonder what to do when he saunters in 15 minutes later. This year we just started the draft on time, and figured if you were late, you got one of the last picks. But, having the very last pick isn't such a bad thing. Because that gives you the first pick of the following round, and that's also two picks in a row, which has its advantages.
We had another person that was sick, and had to draft via cell phone. We've done that a few times and it usually works fine. I remember a time 7 years ago, where the connection was bad, and it was so annoying to sit there and wait for one guy to call his friend that was in Washington, only to hear him yell "Can you hear me? What is that? You want Brett Favre? No, someone already took him. What? I can't hear you. I'll call you back from a landline."
With 14 teams, getting the first pick in the first round, also meant that I got the 14th pick in the 2nd round.
At that point, I went with Jamal Lewis. He's a guy that was productive for me a few years ago. Until he spent a month in jail (gotta love those NFL players, always keeping you on your toes).
He's older now, so who knows what he'll do.
My other running back is Julius Jones. He always looked good in Dallas, but he's on the Seahawks, so I'm not expecting much.
When someone drafted Chad Johnson, I was waiting to give them a hard time. You see, he recently changed his last name to "Ocho Cinco", which was Spanish for his jersey number (although I read, not even proper Spanish). But when the woman drafted him, actually said his new name.
Paul, who is always nice enough to have the draft at his big house overlooking the water, usually drafts in between shots of Jack Daniels. This year, it didn't seem to effect his picks the way it has in the past. And he had a number of funny zingers. His best was when someone drafted Dwayne Bowe, and he sang "Somewhere, over Dwayne Bowe."
When people draft, you realize just how many NFL players have funky names. There's JaMarcus, Tarvaris, Alge Crumpler, Tashard Choice, Deuce McAllister, LenDale, Anquan Boldin, Plexico Burress, Laveranues Coles....heck, maybe Ocho Cinco isn't so bad.
A lot of people thought Charger tight end Antonio Gates would slip. He still has that nagging toe injury. But, he was the first tight end picked up. After he was taken, someone quickly took Jason Witten of the Cowboys, who I had as the number one TE on the boards this year.
My quarterback is Derek Anderson of the Browns. My mom is from Cleveland, so that's kinda cool. I just hope he lives up to expectations. And, I was set to get Kellen Winslow, Clevelands stud tight end (and son of the Charger great by the same name), but he was picked right before I had the chance. I was hapy to get Tony Gonzalez, though. For many years, he was the first tight end to go. This year, he was the 5th.
When my friend Gerald told me his team name this year was going to be "Hairway to Steven," it reminded me how much I miss my friend Joe playing in our league. Each year, he'd have a hysterical team name. One time, it had to do with Ryan Leaf, the disasterous Chargers draft pick. Another time, it was "The Team Formerly Known as Prince."
Surprisingly, the draft ended in just under three hours. I had enough time to make it to 'Canes with some friends and watch a great Van Halen tribute band.
I got home at 2:00 a.m. and already had a few phone calls on my machine from people in the league.
Being the commissioner can sometimes suck.