8/17/01
Email Commish
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Last year we had a contest to name my article series and since it
always seemed to revolve around food and my general love for cooking
it was named "In the Kitchen with the Commish." Last week's
article was an aberration from my general style and I'd like to
get back to where everyone is comfortable…including me.
We will again track the progress of my different leagues this season
and the next article will give you the run-down of my drafts. One
of my leagues is a dynasty league that is in its third season, the
other of my long-term leagues is turning itself into a keeper league
this year. I recommend to you that if you are in a league where
the guys or gals have made the commitment to keep the league together
over a long period of time then turn your league into a keeper.
Over the years we have transformed my local league from a complete
re-draft to a limited keeper (kept 3 players) to finally a brand
new draft, 10-team 17 keeper league.
Now that the introductions are out of the way I thought a nice purpose
to this installment might be giving life lessons on cultivating
your dynasty/keeper league experience.
I just moved into a new house… my wife and I had been renting
an apartment for about two years and we decided to take the plunge
and buy property and have a contractor build us a house. This is
an arduous process… or so my wife tells me. I pretty much let
her make the decisions because no matter what I said about lighting
choices or wall colors she was going to make the final call anyway.
I did put my foot down in one area though… the yard. I have
an acre of land covered with beautiful green grass but before the
first blade popped it's shiny head through the fertile ground I
bought a brand new roto-tiller and Cub Cadet 42" cutting deck
lawn mower. Ahh the power and beauty of this machine... I digress
though.
One thing that I knew that I wanted was a garden in my backyard.
I wanted to eat tomatoes, onions, carrots, corn, zucchini, and cucumbers
from my own ground. Growing vegetables in a garden is a lot like
playing in a dynasty league. You don't think so? Let me show you…
A. This was my first garden and I
wanted it to be successful. So I measured out to property that I
intended on using for my garden and then made a map of where all
of the seeds were to be planted. I wanted to make sure that when
leaves started to appear I knew what was growing where. I laid out
the map and had a clear plan going into process of what I wanted
to do.
You need to do this with your team too. Look at the rules…
two in particular, scoring and lineups. Figure out what combinations
of scoring and lineups variance work the best together in your league
and set a draft strategy that helps you utilize that plan. For instance
if your league allows you to start your choice of 2 rbs and 2 wr's
or 1 rb and 3 wr's you need to know before the draft what line-up
you will employ. If you know your draft order this will be relatively
easy. Look at this year crop of running backs and receivers... which
has more depth. Plan to the strength of the available talent.
B. Here is another scenario…
you just moved into house and the previous owner had a garden but
you don't know what's going to come up perennially and you are in
the planting season what do you do. It's the same thing if you are
new owner in a current dynasty/keeper league. Your taking over the
team that someone else left behind. Chances are its not going to
be very good or it wouldn't have been left behind. Look at the landscape
and decide what it is going to take to make that team a winner.
Give it an honest evaluation. Are the quarterbacks and running backs
worthless but the receivers all right? Hopefully you won't find
that the whole team is a loser except for your kicker. Cut the dead
weight that can be replaced via expansion drafting and set up a
plan of attack that allows you to win the league within 4 seasons.
Each year concentrate on getting closer to that goal. This year
for instance you should plan on patching up that receiver corp.
Sometimes you just have to plow the entire garden under and start
over. Before you make this commitment make sure that you have investigated
to see the effect this will have. If you have anyone at all with
talent you better keep them because there won't be much to draft.
You might end up with Shyrone Stith at starting running back!
A. After I mapped out my garden
it was time to prepare the land for growing. I staked out the
area and roped it off. Luckily for me the grass wasn't growing
yet so the tilling was easy and I didn't have that much hard work.
For most though this is the hardest part. Breaking in to hard
earth and tilling it up. Loosening the dirt so that it breathes
and allows water to reach deep into the root base.
The same thing needs to happen when you plan your draft. This
is the most difficult part. It's one thing to show up to a draft
with a magazine when it's a re-draft league and you'll easily
cut these guys lose after the year is over. But this is a keeper
league… they will be on your team for a long time. Make a
custom draft list. Prepare until blood trickles from the corners
of your eye. Make sure that you set up your list to match the
plan that you put together beforehand. Your plan is supposed to
be a closely guarded secret. If you have played Risk or other
combat oriented games that require planning and alliances then
you know that plans will unfold and everyone will eventually be
able to see what your up to. What you have to do is make sure
that once they figure it out it will be too late. If your cornering
the market on receivers then do it and by the time it's obvious
no one will be able to hurt you. Get your list ready because it's
time to show what your made of.
A. You've planned the garden and
prepared the land now is the time to plant the seed. I bought
my seed directly from Burpee. It wasn't necessary as I overpaid.
Don't you make the same mistake.
And don't make the mistake in the draft. You don't have to dig
very deep to plant your seeds. Most of the plants will grow with
just a half inch of dirt covering them. When your drafting you
won't have to go very deep before your presented with the choice
of drafting to your plan or veering off the course (let me preface
my next comment by saying DON' T BE STUPID, if your drafting for
receivers and you have a chance at Edgerrin James don't pass him).
Stay the course. You are building for the long term at this point.
If your plan was to win right away stick with players that are
older and more consistent…guys like Emmitt, Cris Carter and
Tim Brown. However, if you are building a team that will become
a dynasty, mix the young and the old and stick to your plan. I
am giving you credit for being able to formulate a winning plan.
A. No garden will grow without constant
attention. It needs to be watered, tomato plants need to be staked
or supported some way, and pumpkin plants will need to be corralled
to keep them in the confines of the space allotted for them. You'll
also need to fertilize to give the ground the nutrients it needs
to grow. You need to weed the garden to keep the weeds and grass
from choking out the stars of your garden.
After the draft you will probably recognize some immediate holes
on your team. If you don't you'll see them in about week 4. Don't
be afraid to trade during the year because your ultimate goal
is to win the league within four years. You have to be able follow
your plan though. The benefit you have other re-draft leagues
is the ability to trade picks in future drafts. Don't underestimate
this power. Look at the college crop of Juniors and Seniors and
see if there is anyone that can help your team. Don't get blinded
by the allure of rookies right before the draft remember your
long-term goal and don't trade away your plan for rookie gold.
Build your team one year at a time, sprinkling it with a little
fertilizer now and then to strengthen the base. Each year add
a player or two that can help. I drafted Ahman Green three years
ago and look at him now. Stay with plan and add to it each year.
A. One of the most fun things in
the world is walking back to your garden one-day and finding a
zucchini or cucumber. Picking a ripe red tomato off of the vine
is cool too.
Winning a dynasty league that you have made a plan, executed a
plan and cultivated to your plan makes winning all the more sweet.
Even if there isn't a lot of money in it. My garden isn't the
best looking thing this year. But I have learned. Next year it
will be a raised bed monstrosity so I don't have to weed it. I'll
have my hoses mixed in with the roots for direct watering.. I
am in year three of a four year plan in one dynasty league with
Trent Green finally starting at QB, and Tyrone Wheatley at running
back. Injuries to Sylvester Morris hurt my chances but I should
finish in the top 6 this season and next challenge for the title.
I am beginning a new four year plan in my newest dynasty league
and I hope to rule for many years to come.
My article two weeks ago caused much
response below are some of the e-mails I received. Many were positive
although not all of you saw it the same way as I did...
I've read and enjoyed your columns in the past but when I was
reading your column on Stringer's death, it pretty much made me
sick.
You make such a big deal out of the fact that 18 people have died
playing football since 1995. And your outrage when discovering that
this has happened six day after Eraste Autin's death. When you consider
that since 1995 hundreds of thousands of kids have played football
with only eighteen death, that's pretty low odds. Getting hit by
lightning probably carries better odds. So after Eraste Autin's
death (an extremely likely event) what did you expect people to
do? Shut down football? Cancel the NFL season? Ban the game in case
this event that happens 18 in hundreds of thousands happens to occur
again?
You ask if I'd be willing to die in my cubicle for my boss. If I
knew that since 1995, 18 people had died working in their office,
I'd still come to work tomorrow. Does that mean that I would be
willing to die for my boss? I think what it means is that I understand
that life is full of extremely rare but significant risks. Getting
hit by a car crossing the street. Eating something poisonous at
a restaurant. Dying in a airline accident. All of these are possibilities
but does that mean that I will no longer cross streets or eat at
restaurants or fly in planes?
Every day when I wake up, I read about someone that I never knew,
dying somewhere (I'm from NYC). Maybe that makes me jaded. I don't
want to minimize Stringer's death but I did not consider his death
any more or less significant than any other death that I read about
daily. So it just doesn't sit right when I open up a Fantasy Football
column and read a sermon about how my morals are all screwed up
because I didn't break down in tears when I read that Stringer was
dead.
George B
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You may want to lighten up some. These guys are paid huge amounts
of money to put there asses on the line. Most athletes know about
the deaths as well as the media has now made us. Keep in mind these
guys are pro's and have been in football since pee wee leagues,
and know when they're pushing too hard... like any halfway normal
person that hears about such a tragic thing, it will effect you.
However that's why they wear the pads and use the tape and suck
up the fluids... its the price they pay. They sacrifice their bodies
for their jobs... that's the gig!! you get stupid ,and push too
hard and you're a vegetable. Korey forgot to do the #1 thing all
pro athletes need to do. Take care of the equipment.
As for your article, while the sentiment is appreciated this isn't
the appropriate forum for this type of dribble. Life is for the
living... get back to what you do best... say a prayer for the family
and take care of your equipment!!
Steve T
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Thank you for the great article I read on FFToday about Stringer.
On The weekly sports radio show here in the Twin Cities, people
were calling in wondering how this would affect the offensive line
and more
importantly, the performance of Michael Bennett this coming season.
I got sick to my stomach. Thank you for trying to use your position
to get people to come back down from fantasy land. I'm a devoted
Viking fan and while of course never knowing Korey personally knew
what a great man he was. He had plenty of charities and helped with
kids in the local area regularly. The community didn't just lose
an offensive lineman, the lost a valuable member of the society.
After listening to these questions on the radio show, I turned the
radio off, my computer off, my television off, and spent the rest
of the day with my family. I'll probably be doing a lot more of
that now.
Jeff Y
....................................
That was a very good article about Korey Stringer. You hit the
nail right on the head and someone needed to do just that.
Thank you
Thomas L
....................................
Thank you for not being overwhelmed by the emotion shown by all
those involved with Korey and the Vikings. It is truly a sad event,
and although I'm sure the Vikings org. is remorseful, if they do
not spearhead the charge for safer practice regulations, I'd be
disappointed. When I heard that statistic (18 dead) the first time
I was shocked, yet no one seemed to want to put it into the context
of what has happened in Minnesota, that is until read your editorial.
Keep up the good journalism!
Corri A
....................................
You are absolutely right. No one should die for football. I would
just
like to know what the coaching staff was thinking practicing in
that intense heat and how the trainers could not realize the possible
consequences after seeing Stringer vomiting on the field. It really
is sad. Good article. Sometimes we need to be brought back to reality.
Nine Iron
....................................
Just wanted to tell you that was a great article this morning....
I love fantasy sports... (baseball & football mostly) and it's
been something that I have enjoyed for years... but we do get wrapped
up in it and forget where we are...
After the news came down about Stringer, I went to work and had
a co-worker say to me... "Well, it looks like Bennett is going
to have a tough time now!"
All I could think of is... this is a 27 year old father of two!
This is a guy who was finally reaching a goal that he had since
he was little.. This is a guy who had reached the top of his profession
and was one of the premier linemen in the league!!! And now he is
gone because something like this. I have people telling me how it's
going to effect the Vikings fantasy stats? My god... if you want
to talk about how it would feel to his friends on the team... ok.
I'm very sad by this entire incident and I'm just glad that someone
in the fantasy world is keeping things in perspective. I want to
thank you
for your column... it's nice to see someone say what needed to be
said...
Mark M
....................................
Thank you very much for an insightful and sensitive article.
It Certainly put things into perspective for me. I'd found myself
prepping for my draft in an almost obsessive manner. I am, after
all, the first and only woman to participate in our Traditional
and Keeper leagues this year.
And then, Korey Stringer died. And I watched Randy Moss completely
fall apart at a press conference. And I struggled along with Cris
Carter as he tried to make sense of the senseless. All of a sudden,
it seems much more important to celebrate the men, rather than the
players. When it's all said and done, I'd like to believe that Korey
Stringer is in heaven, or wherever good people go, because he did
things like give his Pro-Bowl check to a group of kids. Because
he was a good father and husband. Because he made everyone who knew
him a little bit happier on this earth.
Suddenly, I don't care to draft players who are "questionable".
Am I throwing away my chance for fantasy football glory, and thinking
like a
girl? Perhaps. It's a shame that someone had to die to make me remember
what's really important. It's a lesson that I won't soon forget.
I sincerely hope that my fellow fantasy players learn it as well.
Sincerely,
Talya G
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commish
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