Another League

I'm also in a league that we're using an auction format for the first time. This is a free one with people from work. We use sales performance data for each owner to help/hurt your auction dollars that you have available. People with better sales numbers will get more $$$ to use in the auction. In addition, week-by-week, we tabulate sales numbers and use them to add or subtract points from everyone's weekly scores based on performance (this is why there's no money riding on the league :-). I'm actually kind of excited to do this one; we'll have to see how it plays out.

Draft time

So, I've got a fantasy draft coming up this weekend. Two of them, actually, but only one with prizes riding on it. It's the FFLUM, and it's a great league (naturally, I'm the commish, of course I'm gonna say that), but I'm really disappointed with the position I'm in this fall. It's sort of a hybrid keeper/dynasty league: after the annual draft in August, each team gets to select which 5 players to sign to 2- or 3-year contracts. So there are a few keepers, but it's not a "keeper league" in the traditional sense of naming your keepers right before the draft.

Anyway, here's my team right now: Philip Rivers, Kevin Smith, Wes Welker, Dwayne Bowe, Todd Heap, BAL D. I also have Joey Galloway and Fred Taylor on my bench that could fill the last starting spot (a RB/WR flex). So I'm not in terrible shape there, however, I am left with few picks (in a 12-team league) after a trade or three: #10 and #34 overall. Then, 5th, 5th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 10th round picks.

In my mind, our draft this year really only offers 7-8 quality players: Brady and Brees at QB; Slaton, P.Thomas, and maybe Moreno or D.Ward at RB; A.Johnson, S.Smith (CAR), and Wayne at WR. After those guys, you're looking at Warner or Houshmandzadeh or even T.O. as next best players available. Slim pickings.

So I'm hoping some of the other owners reach for a guy like T.O. or Warner, maybe allowing Pierre Thomas to slide down to my spot at 10. I think that would be huge. I just don't like the idea of Housh being the guy on whom I spend my top pick. The drop off after those top 7-8 is just so huge. I fret about it more each day as the draft nears.

I was the inaugural winner of this league in '06, and was the top seed in the playoffs last season (until my team laid a complete egg in week 15), so I feel like I have a little bit of a reputation to uphold as a competetive team - but this year worries me a little bit. I just don't know what to expect.

Hello

However you happened to find this blog, welcome. It's my first attempt at a blogging; I hope to keep the self-embarassment to a minimum. My plan is to use the blog to ruminate on anything I notice or think about with fantasy sports (ideas, player rankings, etc.), but particularly fantasy football. I know there are lots of other sites and blogs devoted to this cause as well but I hope that mine can appeal specifically to league commissioners, as well as to casual fantasy players and fans.

There's really no schedule for any regular posts; it'll just be whenever the urge to post happens to strike me. Feel free to post a comment anytime.