It’s not a smile, a grin, a knowing look or any other friendly facial expression; it’s a smirk. It’s the same condescending look that Vince Carter always wears when he plays the Raptors. He flashed it at Chris Bosh when fans chanted “MVP!” and he smugly threw it at Mo Pete while the longest serving Raptor tried to pump up the crowd but by the end of the game the Raptors had wiped the smirk from his face. During the final minutes of last night’s match up between the top teams in the Atlantic, Carter had a face like a slapped ass. It was fantastic. It doesn’t matter that the Nets were missing three of their starters; a message was sent. The Raptors are the better team.
Let’s talk about fantasy sports. For those of you who don’t know, I started a keeper hockey league with nine friends of mine a year and a half ago. We had been playing in an annual pool and decided that the best way to make the General Manager experience more complete was to allow each manager to keep two players from their teams every year. This means that managers with teams on the edge can trade away picks to try and win this year and others can improve their chances in next year’s draft.
This season started slowly but as the NHL’s and fantasy league’s trade deadline approaches people have been more interested making moves. In the past week, someone traded away Jagr for a second round draft pick. The manager who grabbed Jagr now has an excellent chance to win this year and the other GM will have 2 second round picks next year. It has been interesting to watch as managers decide when it is time to make a move. My team is sitting in the middle of the pack but I don’t think that adding one more player is going to put me into the top 3 so, as of now, I am holding on to my picks.
This is the next level of fantasy pools. Being able to trade next years draft picks and choosing franchise players to keep adds an exciting extra dimension.
The only problem with a keeper pool is that you have to have a group of people who are willing to commit to the pool for a number of years and it can be difficult to replace managers. New comers have to choose keepers from someone else’s team and it take a while for them to put a personal touch on their team.
Years ago a website called sandbox offered keeper baseball leagues. They were great leagues but you had to pay for them. I am organizing a keeper baseball pool this year and am hoping that it will as successful as the hockey venture. Baseball is the best sport for fantasy pools. It is a statistical game and the seemingly endless season is made more bearable when you have a vested interest in a pool. There are so many positions and player in baseball that keeping 3 players per team will allow managers to create a team identity. Some people will decide to keep all hitters, others pitchers and some a combination of both. Being able to stockpile talent at a position will also create new trading options.
The baseball pool season is about to open on Yahoo and I am planning to get my leagues ready tomorrow. I will be getting together with some other fantasy experts to put together some draft tips as well as fantasy draft guides so stay tuned!
1 comment:
You write very well.
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