DeathKill Football League Blog #1

So, here I sit, having played King Solomon to the rest of my league...

This is now the eighth year I have been doing this Fantasy Football stuff, and my word, how it has evolved. From back in the day when it was my Brother-in-Law doing all the calculating and tracking with Excel spreadsheets, getting the scores and stats from the paper, to now - fully automated website, easy as pie. Joerg, I don't thik you got enough credit for the effort you put in.

But still the role of Commissioner is an important one. As much as one would like to automate the whole process, it still takes one guiding hand, one stern overseer to make things run correctly. Now, I don't consider myself super stern, but if I see stupid shit going on, then I will do my best to stop it. And in other cases, it is always good to open up an argument or two, for the sake of debate. After all, this is a democratic country, right? As much as Marcus may say "fuck off you foreigner" in whatever warped sense of humor he may have, like it or not I am here to stay. And yup, you agreed on me being Commish. Suck it up, big fella.

So, we're here for another season. After the fiasco that was last year's finances, it has been great to get everyone paid up for their setup fees and entry fees in advance. Makes it a hell of a lot easier for me to keep track of. The finances are the worst fucking thing about fantasy sports - figuring out who owes what, who owes what but has a little bit taken out as winnings, who wins everything and how much is outstanding that these guys need to pay to that guy who then needs to cut a check to this fella who then turns around and says "hey, use this as my entry fee for next year"... it gives a guy a headache. But, that's what I signed up to do, and I like the challenge. Pity my math sucks.

This year should be interesting. After a few years being overrun with guys from Target corporate, we have a couple of new faces, this time from my neck of the woods. No, I don't mean New Zealand, but my place of business. And by the way, to whoever wins, give Bobby or Rafferty a holler, since they are Financial Advisors, they know how to turn your $500.00 into a 126.4% increase over a three-year period, right?

Down to brass tacks - I think I had a pretty good draft, given the fact that I had the 8th pick. Not a bad pick, but I have never had the ability to get one of the top three draft picks in all my time in this league. Sure, I would love to have LJ or LT on my team, but that didn't happen, so I made the best of it. I think I got a steal in Travis Henry, and was amazed that I walked away with Reggie Bush. I have a feeling that Bush will have a better year than Brian Westbrook of the Eagles who, in our league, went six picks higher. Westbrook is playing with a questionable QB in McNabb, Bush is playing with a stud in Brees. Bush has also seen his production ramp up significantly in the latter part of last season as his experience increased and New Orleans figured out how best to use him. Like I said, I think I got a steal right there. My other sneaker pick? Jamal Lewis. How many of you out there have no idea who he played for last year? That's right. And with a powerful O-Line, Cleveland is going to fo their best to relieve the pressure on whoever their QB may be (probably Quinn) by running the ball. JL is back after a year figuring out his reconstructed ankles and is saying that he feels better than ever, making cuts he hasn't made since college, quicker acceleration etc. And he's only 28 - over the hill? I think not people... Kellen Winslow as well - if they're not handing off to Jamal, then it's a quick drop off to one of the future stud TE's. He caught the most passes as a TE last year, and this year he's only going to get better. As for the other TE's out there - Gonz hasn't done shit for the last few years for KC, and Gates for SD is only getting more and more coverage on him. Winslow's year, is what I reckon.

QB - Tom Brady, always a threat with the corp of WR's he has, and my back up is Alex Smith of San Fran, on the verge of a breakout year as he gets more experience undre his belt. No matter how many carries Frank Gore has for SF, remember half of those are dump-offs, and that counts as a pass for my QB!

Kickers - I have the most accurate in the league in Kaeding - sure he's not a Viniateri or Wilkins, but he's going to get 90% or more that are snapped to him through the bars...

My receiving corp I am not too sure on, but I think I got in well with Houshmawhatshisname from Cincy early, and a couple of quiet sleepers in the Jackson boys Darrell and Vincent. Joey Porter for Oakland, if Cuante is throwing his way, look out statistice and points, here I come.

Defensive/Special teams? I got fucked over on that pick, but I'm not bitter. We'll see. I have a feeling that some people didn't look at our scoring system before making their picks, and we'll leave it at that.

But here I seem to be, tooting my own horn. I'm not about that though. Lots of things can and will happen this year, so I will roll with the punches, wherever they may come from. Everyone in our league has the ability to have a great year, and in the end, it's the Owner that manages his team the best that wins it all.

That, and a little bit of luck.