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Bt534

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Fantasy Sports: A Love Hate relationship

by Bt534
created May 21, 2008, last edited February 10, 2009
22
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      Fantasy sports have soared in popularity over the years. This has not always been the case however. When I first started playing ( circa 1 995) I had trouble getting 9 other people together who would actively participate for an entire season. Now when I start a league I have to beat people off like lions with my chair and whip. Everyone and there mom’s cousin knows at all times what the status of Chauncey Billups groin is (at least during the regular season) and everyone is ready to sell high or buy low. We all value FG% and we have all adapted the money ball philosophy. Most loyal fantasy sports (FS) patrons know who Bill James is and I can honestly confess that his philosophy of getting guys who don’t strike out and have a high OBP has improved the quality of my life. (I take my leagues personally and am happier when I win) Am I an extreme case? ABSOLUTLY, I’m proud of that, but am I alone? Not by a long shot.

 

Unfortunately the current fantasy sports product is not perfect. Yahoo and ESPN dominate the industry and while there are both other large websites to choose from (cbs.sportsline.com, sportingnews.com, SI.com) and numerous smaller websites, no one has managed to hit the nail on the head.

 

How is it possible for FS interest to be growing at higher rate then FS innovations? While no one can deny that the fantasy sports programs have shown some improvement, they still do not offer players the type of customization and adaptability that hard core fantasy players desire. That being said, I know that eventually someone will blow me out of the water with a revolutionary concept that will change the way that fantasy sports are played. BUT I for one am tired of waiting. I am frustrated. There are basic changes, obvious to the advanced (obsessed) players that NEED to occur, and if they do not then I for one quit.

 

FS hosts (e.g., ESPN, Yahoo) have become static. What was the last good improvement to fantasy sports? Why haven’t certain obvious features been added? For example how come draft order isn’t announced until half an hour before the draft starts? Better yet, how come players are not allowed to trade draft picks? If draft order were announced ahead of time it would allow players to better plan their 1 st, 2 nd, and 3 rd round picks. It would also give players time to do pre-draft trades. I would love to try to package my 1st round and 9th round picks to someone less experienced for their 2nd and 3rd round selections (Have I mentioned that I love fantasy sports?) This however does not exist in the mainstream leagues at this time. I have offered my fellow fantasy competitor’s trades like this in the past via the chat, but to this point have yet to complete a pre-draft transaction. This particular improvement however has always seemed obvious to me. It is a basic change to the system that would add realism and interest to what is starting to become an otherwise uneventful season. It can not be the only change however.

 

 Alterations such as the one I proposed are necessary for the “fantasy sports boom” to continue. In my short time on armchairgm.com I have noticed that the users of this particular website have extremely strong opinions and are not afraid to voice them. That is why this is the perfect forum to ask: What have you always wanted to change about FS? What would you add? What would you remove? What cool features have ESPN and Yahoo not yet thought of?

 

 I have always been curious as to what other innovative things people have thought of over the years that have never occurred. I hope that this is my chance to find out.  


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CrackajgDraft Pick
583 days ago
Score 3+-
Great article. I think it's interesting to note that playing fantasy sports for money makes one even more engrossed than normally possible. The day to day high's and low's and potential big payouts have also made fantasy sports popular because it's basically legal gambling.
Permalink | Reply
JuTMSY4Legend
583 days ago
Score 5+-
its not legal gambling...

its about as legal as an office NCAA Pool...which technically speaking, isn't legal at all

that being said, I don't have too much experience with big money leagues...my two current MLB leagues are $20 and $30 respectively, with payouts of roughly $100 for a win (regular season and another for playoffs) and 20 or 30 for 2nd (same situation)...

Maybe I'm just super rich (??) but it isn't a whole heck of a lot, but enough to make it interesting
Permalink
CrackajgDraft Pick
583 days ago
Score 2+-
Yeah mine isn't much more. The payout is decent though, so it does make it more interesting. And your right... it isn't quite legal.
Permalink
Bt534Waterboy
583 days ago
Score 4+-
Yeah playing for money does add to the intensity, but dont you think that there are other ways to make it more exciting by simply making some rule changes and improvements?
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JuTMSY4Legend
583 days ago
Score 3+-
I'm confused my what are innovations...

you want rule changes, then you need to find things that constantly ruin games...

games based on numbers tend to extrapolate that

in real football or baseball or basketball, we've got human error we try to remove (except the strike zone!)...fantasy sports already does that

its just a different type of innovation...

I'll tell you one thing...the one guy who runs my league is smart...its 5 offensive stats and 5 pitching stats...the other guy made hitting way more valuable (9 to 6)...

Both major sites could stand to provide some guidance rather than customized settings and their settings

they could stand to be more keeper league friendly
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Taytay 24All-American
583 days ago
Score 2+-
Totally agree on the keeper league comment.
Permalink
CrackajgDraft Pick
583 days ago
Score 2+-
Absolutely, I agree there's going to be breakthroughs of sorts that will change the game as we play it. It's already started to some extent with people being able to manage their teams on their cell phones and thus, from anywhere on Earth.
Permalink
Taytay 24All-American
583 days ago
Score 5+-
With a big shift to RB by committee in the NFL, I think it is time that RB become a team pick like defense in fantasy football. I think this should at least be an option in Yahoo, ESPN and the like. The past two years I have started my league expecting to see that option and for some reason am surprised when it isn't.
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JuTMSY4Legend
583 days ago
Score 2+-
now that is an excellent point... more plusses if I could
Permalink
CrackajgDraft Pick
583 days ago
Score 2+-
Absolutely agree. I think there should also be an option to select offensive lines as well. Allow no sacks in a game? 5 points. Running back rushes for 100 yards? 5 points. Etc, etc.
Permalink
Taytay 24All-American
583 days ago
Score 2+-
I first thought of it when Denver had a great running game split between three players for several years. As a team, they would be a great pick, but you couldn't touch any of them individually. Since then, as more and more teams have gone that way, it has created a disparity in fantasy leagues. If you don't have Tomlinson, Jackson, Johnson or maybe Peterson now, you probably aren't going to win. But if you go with teams, suddenly RB combos in Dallas, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, NYG, and others become viable players, in addition to San Diego, St Louis, KC and Minn with their individual stars.
Permalink
CrackajgDraft Pick
583 days ago
Score 1+-
Here's a crazy one: What about individual head coaches? You get points for wins?
Permalink
Steel TownDraft Pick
582 days ago
Score 1+-
My league has head coaches. I had Belichick this year. 5 points every week.
Permalink
T RozJV Squad
583 days ago
Score 3+-
The one tool I've been dying for, is a compare schedule tool. For example, in fantasy basketball I have 2 centers on my roster, but if they play 60 of their games on the same day, I'm only going to play the lesser player 22 times. I could likely pick some one up of the free agent list, who might play 40 times for me, and equal the same or better production, while packaging the back up center in deal. This takes so much effort to compile right now.
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Anonymous Fanatic #1
583 days ago
Score 3+-
what about a chat environment embedded into the fantasy league. I know yahoo shows if another player is logged on to Yahoo Messenger but 1) i dont want to download Yahoo Messenger and 2) I don't want to add everyone I play fantasy sports with to my Messenger friends list. Like during drafts at Yahoo you can chat with other players. Why not have that chat box be there all the time. So you the talk to anyone else that is currently logged in... a conversation could be going on between 6 people or you could have a private conversation with a single person so that you could work out a trade deal through that instead of through Posts. That would make it a LOT better.
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JuTMSY4Legend
583 days ago
Score 2+-
but that's not the league, that's technology...
Permalink
CheezerAll-Star
583 days ago
Score 4+-
Try using email or *gasp* the telephone.
Permalink
JuTMSY4Legend
583 days ago
Score 2+-
skype if your so inclined ; - )
Permalink
CheezerAll-Star
583 days ago
Score 4+-
Sounds to me like you guys need to learn to use excel. Set up your own scoring and maintain the spreadsheet yourself. If you do it right, it's easy to copy and paste the stats from an online stat source.

I did it for years because of some unique scoring parameters that we had established in our league. For example, we used IDP and TEs before it was trendy. Now, we've simplified our scoring and just use an internet source. I think CBS for the past couple of years.
Permalink | Reply
Taytay 24All-American
583 days ago
Score 2+-
I do weekly updates during my fantasy football season and put excel to use. I keep track of our picks for those who choose to participate using Yahoo's game picker function. I also do an overrated/underrated index based on number of times a fantasy team is chosen to win/actual wins. I also have an achievement index using their projected points/actual points. This is all in addition to MVP watch (top 5 in points), player and dog of the week, smack talk of the week, game of the week and power rankings. Takes me about two hours to get it all together each week, but it keeps it interesting. It's pretty funny to see who gets pissed when you rank them lower than they think they should be in a power ranking.
Permalink
CrackajgDraft Pick
582 days ago
Score 2+-
I do not excel at Microsoft Excel.
Permalink
CrackajgDraft Pick
582 days ago
Score 2+-
..that sounded a lot better in my head.
Permalink
CrackajgDraft Pick
582 days ago
Score 2+-
You got any openings in your league, Taytay?
Permalink
Taytay 24All-American
582 days ago
Score 2+-
Sorry, we've already expanded to fourteen teams--which adds to the problem of finding a decent RB.
Permalink
CrackajgDraft Pick
582 days ago
Score 1+-
Deangelo Williams, breakout player of the year! Write it down!
Permalink
Behbigben15All-Star
582 days ago
Score 0+-
Nah, not DeAngelo. I think his former teammate Deshaun Foster has a better shot out West (he's now a 49er) to have a breakout season. I think the Panthers are screwed. Delhomme can't stay healthy, and Matt Moore had a really hard time filling in for him last year. Plus, Carr is out in Carolina, and is now a Giant.
Permalink
LASportsblogAAA-er
582 days ago
Score 0+-
Ben I think you're forgetting DeShaun came out West to be a back up to This Former Miami Stud
Permalink
Manny StilesMajor Leaguer
582 days ago
Score 3+-
I'm confused by the title. I thought Fantasy Sports were for people who weren't in relationships?
Permalink | Reply
NBA SuperblogVarsity
582 days ago
Score 1+-
No, they have "Fantasy Relationships."
Permalink
CityhockeyfeverVarsity Captain
582 days ago
Score 2+-
I think two ways that pre-draft transactions would work is if fantasy league partcipants did know the draft order sooner and that all of them were available at given time period with a deadline to make such trades. Unless you extend the length of time between picks during live drafts, I doubt it would make sense to allow trades DURING drafts. I've had an up and down experience with fantasy leagues (mainly hockey as in 2006 I finished dead last in one and won a championship in the other) and I'm enjoying a great start to my rookie season with baseball. To me, the commissioner needs to really put together a great system that works from drafting to point systems. The innovation part? I haven't spent long enough in fantasy leagues to really offer a suggestion, but I do say the more fantasy leagues come closer toward the real thing of what actual North American sports leagues, the more potential they'll have.
Permalink | Reply
Bt534Waterboy
582 days ago
Score 2+-
What i had in mind with mid draft trading is shortening the time per pick for each player, but also offering players a 2 min extension to be used one time durring the draft, which they could use to work out a trade if the situation arises. It would only add about 10 min of extra time to the draft in standard 10 team leagues.
Permalink | Reply
Taytay 24All-American
582 days ago
Score 3+-
Here's a question that came up in my league last year: What do you do about kickoff/punt return yards/TDs? Some leagues lump them in with defense, some give them to the returning player, if they are an offensive player. We had a game decided on this when a player in my league wanted a return TD counted for their WR, but the system was set up to give special teams plays to the defensive unit. I can see pros and cons to both methods. Ideas?
Permalink | Reply
JuTMSY4Legend
582 days ago
Score 3+-
A) add a PR/KR position

B) Add it all to defense (this is what i do currently)

C) add it to skill positions

in general, yards are practically useless, but TDs should count...gaining 20 Return yards is a heckuva lot easier than rushing or recieving yards

I don't think teams should be penalized for not having one though...but then you get things like that play in chicago a few years ago (against san fran) where (i think) mike brown ran a missed field goal back...

what would you even attempt to call that?!
Permalink
JuTMSY4Legend
582 days ago
Score 2+-
by add it to skill positions, i mean, count that person as a receiver...which is easy to do with guys who are receivers already... this is sorta like when you have a pitcher who gets hits...micah owings or carlos zambrano...
Permalink
Taytay 24All-American
582 days ago
Score 2+-
Does Yahoo have a PR/KR? I like that best, but don't recall seeing that before. Ours is also currently set up for defense, but I'm not entirely satisfied with that.


I agree about return yards vs TDs. We definitely have the return yard points scaled back.


As for the Chicago play, I'd give that to the defensive unit. It's a fluke play anyway, so if someone isn't happy with that, just shrug and tell them bad luck.
Permalink
Anonymous Fanatic #2
582 days ago
Score 1+-
I believe Yahoo has DEF/ST splits so that only TD's count for ST. So you'll have a team defense plus the kick return team and while fumble recoveries and stuff count for the defense it's just TD's for the ST. You could choose yards if you like, I think, though.
Permalink
CrackajgDraft Pick
582 days ago
Score 1+-
That sage comment was me, by the way.
Permalink
Bt534Waterboy
582 days ago
Score 2+-
I think that if a returner breaks a return for 65 yards but gets tackled on the 10 they should get points. What points for returning a TD, and incrimentally less points for returning a kick/punt inside the 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50. If a real team has a guy that gives them starting field position like that it almost always translates into points, why shouldnt in fantasy? (this should be done on a team not player basis, and lump kick and punt returners in) That way i dont have to guess if ellis hobbs or kevin faulk or chad jackson or wes welker or troy brown, or whoever is returning.
Permalink | Reply
OneflydudeAll-American
582 days ago
Score 1+-
Great article. This was my first year in fantasy land and I won my NFL Fantasy League. Baseball..ehhh. I suck at it. Im too impatient when it comes to baseball because Ill have a decent hitter who is slumping for a long time (Polanco) and once I get rid of him, he gets hot. And Jason Isranghausen (spelling?) pissed me off because his bitch ass cant get his head together. It's not for me.
Permalink | Reply
Behbigben15All-Star
582 days ago
Score 1+-
Hah, that's why you get in a 4-team league with 3 friends who don't follow the game as closely as you (that's what I did this year). I am already running away in the standings.
Permalink
OneflydudeAll-American
582 days ago
Score 1+-
Yeah, but Ill feel like an idiot if I ended up losing that one.
Permalink
Behbigben15All-Star
582 days ago
Score 0+-
Yeah that's true. I think I am in trouble right now, because they found out that I actually know what I'm doing, and put all the good players on one team. Yet I'm still winning by a whole lot.
Permalink
Anonymous Fanatic #3
582 days ago
Score 1+-
ive got a league in which i have a record of 89 - 29, can anyone top that? Its a league i got invited to where i dont know anyone other then 1 friend so i cant say how experienced they are.
Permalink
OvertheedgeVarsity
581 days ago
Score 0+-
it is a love hate thing, i love to hate fantasy sports
Permalink | Reply
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Categories: Opinions | Opinions by User Bt534 | May 21, 2008 | May 2008

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