Grantland: Fantasy Island Competition (Loser)

A fantasy writing opportunity? Keep dreaming. (Getty images)

Bill Simmons' site, Grantland, on ESPN launched a contest to find their next fantasy football writer. Now, as a purveyor of sports/fantasy knowledge, aside from the odds being against me, I was forced to enter at the mere shot of getting into the competition.

The rules were simple enough. Pick your top 5 fantasy players and 1 sleepers, keep it to 750 words, and be original. Ok, I can do that. As a matter of fact, I can easily do that.

As I focused in on writing my 750 word essay, I started to think of the implications of what I was doing. The essay would only get me into the contest, where a varied point system would be developed among the 10-12 other contestants in order to pick a winner at the end of the football season.

Would you believe it, but some people took the cynical approach and "thanked" Grantland for offering to get free fantasy football content for a year and then offer up a "meager" contributor contract to write for Grantland for a year (and I guess potentially longer if you're the bee's knees).

I write and maintain Lockration. not because I have some delusion of becoming the next Bill Simmons or that ESPN or Yahoo or CBS will shoot me an email saying they like my stuff and want me to work for them full-time. I know that requires this site to get probably close to 100K hits a day, which this site is currently running behind by about 99,989 hits. I would write about fantasy sports, MMA, major sports, or that sport where the horses dance around with braided manes if I could earn a living off of it. This is fun for me. This is leisure. Each post is basically a first draft I write off the top of my head, do a little research for links and such, and I post it. All-in-all, I can write something up in about 40 minutes. This is my zen.

This takes me back to the implications of entering the contest and wanting to really, truly win. I was having dreams of winning, I felt it in my guts. You'll see in the entry below for my sleeper pick of Kyle Rudolph, I make some very similar comments to a Bill Barnwell (see. Copycat Contract) article posted days later! I was basically writing as a Grantlander already! Now, of course, I'm no where as prolific, good, or anything positive compared to Barnwell, but to me it was a sign.

If I entered this, did my best, and didn't win, then what? Would I sully my zen? Validation is a word I always tied to a weakness. Validation is something a person needed to know they belong. How could they possibly ever know if they were good enough if someone didn't pat them on the back? I thought it was weak, lame, and unnecessary. But as I wrote the article, submitted it, and waited for the results, what I was looking for was...validation. I wanted a pat on the back welcoming me to a new life and career path with unlimited potential and making me probably one of the happiest people on the planet.

In that instance I saw when people say validation, what they meant. Most stories you hear of people needing validation are famous cases. A QB getting the starting gig, a baseball Hall of Famer tabbing a youngster as the future of the sport, a maligned NBA superstar finally getting his first/overdue championship. These are not instances of weak people but people that are seeking to find that cozy spot in life where they know and feel they've always belonged.

That's what getting into this contest would have represented to me. So, now that the  results are out and I'm posting this article, clearly that did not happen. While I was bummed for about 10 minutes, I was happy to realize that this did not mess with my head. I didn't say screw this writing stuff. I was happy to continue on this path that I'm making and come of it what may.

Plus when I saw some of the entries that were posted online for this contest, they were horrible! I mean HORRIBLE! So I know that my entry wasn't the worst, but it wasn't the best either.

The gist of what I've gathered regarding the winners submissions they were a little more over the top than my entry. My thought process was, they're asking for the Top 5 Fantasy players and a sleeper not to judge your football acumen (as many Top 5's are the same thing) but rather narrow the scope to judge the best writing. So maybe I should have authored another essay but only made it Game of Throes themed or something more outlandish to really...show...my chops.

But it's also possible the other articles were just vastly superior to mine. It's happened before, it'll happen again. Nonetheless here are my Top 5 Fantasy picks for Football (note: some of the links may not work since I copied and pasted it).

Arian Foster, RB

Last year dramatically shifted the way fantasy football is played. Four of the top six all-time single season passing yardage records were set in 2011, tight ends put up wide receiver numbers, and numerous cable packages geared towards fantasy football revealed to an untold number of significant others how pathetic the person they thought they loved really was.

With all that changed in fantasy, some things stay the same. You take the best running back available with the #1 pick. Foster, the pontificating point-smith of fantasy, has said he doesn’t care for the hobby, but he certainly plays like he does by averaging 140.25 total YPG and 1.03 TD/G. Also, for those nervous about injuries, or Ben Tate, or Ben Tate injuring Foster Showgirls style – don’t play scared.

Aaron Rodgers, QB

Rodgers is fantasy’s cool ocean breeze at the par 4 No. 8 at Pebble Beach, as innovative as a James Murphy track, and as comforting as a guaranteed 20 points a week (which Rodgers did in every week last year but one). He threw all of 6 INTs last year while scrambling for an additional 3 TDs. Also, he’s the only player that has been in the top three in fantasy points the last four years.

His football environment breeds success. He may not get much better, but at his numbers that’s perfectly alright.

Ray Rice, RB

Rice may be the best running back in football, but that doesn’t mean he’s the best fantasy running back. Aside from being healthy (playing the full 16 the past 3 years) and coming off a career year (eclipsing his personal record for total TDs in a season by 7), the concern with Rice has always been his supporting cast. The thing that makes him as valuable as he is – is his greatest weakness: he’s all the Ravens have on offense. Every week the opposing team’s defense focuses on stopping Rice. Now you can file that under ‘E’ for Easier Said Than Done, but accounting for 48% of a team’s offensive touches week by week can lead to inconsistency.

LeSean McCoy, RB

You know you’ve arrived when you’re known by your nickname. Happened with my buddy, Patch (he had a birthmark over his left-eye…kind of like the Target dog). For Shady, scoring 20 total TDs helped him dash and cut his way to the elite RB table and grab the big piece of chicken.

Shady’s fantasy potential is contingent on the exact opposite issue Rice has. “There aren’t enough TDs to go around!”[1] He’s grabbed 40, 78, 48 passes the past 3 years in Philly’s hybrid West Coast offense and led all backs in FootballOutsiders.com’s effective yards. The Eagles have many weapons, but even if Shady loses a couple goal line scampers, he’s still elite…although you might want to discuss that with this blasphemer.

Calvin Johnson, WR

There isn’t a more fun player to watch play football than Johnson. He passes the eye test, science test, and nerd test. He needs to be included in any-and-all, “What if this guy played this other sport” and “who needs their own YouTube channel” conversations.

There are some Optimus Primes sullying the Megatron love-fest. The pesky regression police have increased their jurisdiction from fantasy baseball to fantasy football.  No receiver has caught the number of TDs (16) Megatron did last year and matched/increased that number the following season. But he did score 73 more fantasy points than the next best WR, and that receiver has him or him hurling hog-hind and reading defenses. In a shallow pool, take the elite level wideout.

Kyle Rudolph, TE

Football is a copycat sport. Someone finds a Madden-type-glitch in the game and people follow suit.  Looking at the breakout stars of 2011; all signs pointed to tight end and Kyle Rudolph. He may just be Gronk-incarnate.

The 6’6 2^nd-year pro started only 1 game (played 8), but he managed to haul in 3 TDs. Along with a nose for the end zone, it’s also important to show that Rudolph can utilize his size to catch the ball and stretch the field. Looking at advanced stats, he was able to do this with an above-average catch rate of 66.7% and 20% of pass attempts his way being beyond 15 yards from the line of scrimmage.  While he has been injured during the preseason, the Vikings have the offense to make Rudolph a fantasy factor and continue the TE trend.

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[1] Quote: Scared Fantasy Owner

What is this Sport...Basketball?: The Ignant NBA Fan

Just like the Georgetown days, huh Roy? (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

The allure of NBA basketball escapes me. I feel that the idea of the NBA as a major sports entity is one more conjured up by ABC and ESPN who have millions upon millions of dollars invested in it because it provides a lot of live sports for them to fill up their airwaves. I don't know any die hard NBA fans or anyone that would invite me over to watch the Sixers play the Bucks in January. It's a sport as lost upon me as NASCAR is in that I see the popularity, I hear the ratings, but I have no personal evidence to back up that if the NBA disappeared tomorrow anyone would care.

It's a sport that has built up some of the most marketable figures of our lifetime. Michael Jordan is the most famous athlete on the planet even years after he's retired and taken ownership of the worst NBA team ever assembled (seriously, when the team's own site is "hoping things work out at the draft" you know things are embarrassing). Kobe Bryant is a mega star in the biggest media market. LeBron James was a multi-millionaire before he even laced up his custom Nike's for his first NBA game. So there is an impression that the players leave, but unlike the game itself, I'll pass.

The reason these individuals are so easily marketed is that they appeal to a wide demographic (white, suburban, urban, country, Jewish, Asian, et al.) as virtually everyone plays basketball around the world in any economic environment, the players are in tank tops and shorts so they are easily recognizable, and their immense athleticism and ability to run, jump, and dunk is the perfect action to...ahem...jam into a 30 second commercial spot for shoes that can make you run, jump, and dunk better.

When I watch an NBA game (for the 3 minutes I can stand it, or for the last 2 minutes because that's all that matters) I don't see ballin' Baryshnikovs (reference: his ballet dancing, not his guest spot on Sex and The City) so agile and fleet a foot that all you can do is watch in awe. A sport that has spawned a million internet sites and 700 page books that was poetic about the sport like it's baseball. I see a sport that has all the makings of a team game, but is very much an individualized sport.

Now, I just so happened to read that 700 page book because I love sports and it was written by one of my favorite writers, Bill Simmons. So perhaps my title of Ignorant NBA Fan is a little misleading. I'm perhaps not ignorant as the word is defined, but maybe more ignant as the girls in grade school used to use it; "stupid" or "lame" or "rude" about my approach to the NBA.

The thing is, I don't dislike basketball. I enjoy some pick up hoops when everyone is as bad as I am. And I wildly enjoy college basketball. Going back to my ignance about the NBA, it's not that I'm just writing the sport off, but I have a rather clear explanation as to why I don't enjoy the NBA nearly as much as college. The reason is that while there is no doubt the skill level in the NBA is far superior, what makes interesting basketball is the teamwork involved.

In the NBA, my interpretation of the sport over the past 20 years is that you get one to two superstars and  a solid supporting cast and you win the championship. You don't have at least one superstar, you don't have a chance. The reason is that in this world where everyone in the NBA is crazy athletic and gifted, individuals can take over the game. Individuals can make things happen by themselves so long as the team can hustle on defense and make an occasional shot then you'd be in it.

College doesn't work that way. Not everyone is as talented. Less than 10% of the people on the floor at any given time in any given D-1 game will not be an NBA player. Individuals can alter a game, but they cannot take over a game. In college, teamwork is needed to set up shots, win the battles on defense, and have a continued success in the regular season and through the NCAA tournament.

The comparison between the two styles of basketball is important because basketball as a sport is more fun and exciting when it is a team sport. When Kobe has the ball and everyone clears out for him, hey that's fun in the dwindling seconds of a half, but when that is the offense, it's dull.

What has emerged through the first couple of rounds of these 2012 NBA Playoffs is that team sport has reemerged from the shackles of super teams and pure athletic greatness. As much as marketing firms, shoe companies, and the NBA want to highlight individuals, its the teams that are making an impact. These NBA playoffs have been won by teams that are more college and a collective than pro and apart a part.

Two teams in particular are the San Antonio Spurs and the Indiana Pacers.

The Spurs are in the midst of demolishing the Los Angeles Clippers after sweeping the Utah Jazz on a march to another championship that no one wants to see them in. In a strike shortened season it takes a great coach like Gregg Popovich to have the assertiveness to bench the likes of Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan in order to see the long-term vision for how this season would play out.

It's not terribly surprising to see the Spurs in this position as they are the top seed in the West and they have a lot of veteran guys with playoff experience. Of course, they are also doing their Spurs thing. Getting what they need out of their proven vets and roll players, but also turning late round picks and castoffs into integral rotation guys. Thiago Splitter (1-Top 5 best name in basketball), Gary Neal (1), Kawhi Leonard (R), DeJuan Blair (2) and Danny Green (2) have a grand total of 6 completed season under their belt. Or less than one half of a Duncan (14). Yet they all played key minutes and fit perfectly into what the Spurs want to do.

The are able to be a veteran team, but still have the athleticism and energy to keep up with the gunners. Now, that's not their game, but what they have mastered is ball movement. The ball will be flying all over the court, with relatively little running by players without the ball. It's all positional. What you see a younger, less experienced, and less coached team like the Clippers do is run all over the place trying to stop the ball, when all they are doing is playing right into the Spurs strategy.


In the East, the Pacers have gained more notoriety, especially after last night. They hold a 2-1 lead over the Heat and appear to be yet another out of nowhere hurdle in the path of LeBron James' first championship.

The Pacers quietly won the third seed and came on late after acquiring Leandro Barbosa. The team defense was always in play this season, and like most younger teams the Pacers were able to take advantage of the strike shortened schedule more than most.

Where they have been able to come out as more than just a grind it out defense is through Barbosa and George Hill (former Spur!) being more productive on the offensive end. While the team has their defensive anchors in the front court, the offense really moves through the gang of talented guards they have. None of which are over powering, but they are all able to function together.

With hardly anyone that could be considered a superstar, although maybe Roy Hibbert is on his way, the Pacers certainly don't have the chops the Spurs do, but they are able be a sum greater than their individual parts. Based on why I used to think about the NBA, where a LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were all you needed to win, this very concept of team is winning out.

There's still more basketball to play. The Spurs will most likely have to deal with one of those crazy athletic teams in the Oklahoma City Thunder in the next round and should the Pacers upend the Heat, they'll take on the East version of the Spurs in the Celtics. It's a tough road, but it's good to see teams that play hard and play together still have a shot in today's NBA.

I'll be watching...a little.