Today while performing my morning ritual of sitting down with a cup of coffee and my laptop while perusing my places in the various league and overall standings, I saw that I stood at exactly 100 in the Main Event Overall. What a nice round number. Not as nice as 1 of course, but interesting nonetheless (and very nice compared to where my other Main lies).
When I saw where I stood, I took a quick glance through those who are currently above me in the Overall standings to see what names I recognized (c'mon, you know you all do it
). There were quite a few. Last year when I found myself in a similar position at a similar time, I took the time to post a few thoughts for each of the players I knew above me in the standings. Today I've decided to perform the same exercise. The following are some of those players that I recognize, where they stand today in the standings, and a thought or two that crossed my mind as I ran across those names.
93 - Incredible Hulking Us - Michael Edelman - A fellow East Coast drafter for both baseball and football, one of the quietest, most unassuming and nice guys I've met in these contests. However, he does have his moments.
Though I typically utilize a laptop during my live drafts, I haven't yet joined the modern age of checking Twitter, etc. on my laptop or phone during these drafts for the latest updates. During last year's Live DP in Atlantic City, I chose Johnny Cuerto with a pick right before the 2nd break. I saw Edelman and Mike Massotto smiling while passing Edelman's phone back and forth after my pick. During the break they showed me why. Edelman had an update on his phone that Cuerto was just pulled from his start with arm issues.
With my last pick in that same draft, I chose Pedro Borbon. Again Edelman and Massotto were passing the phone back and forth grinning. At draft's end I was shown why, a phone update regarding an announcement that David Murphy would likely be given Texas' 3rd OF spot over Borbon. I was glad to make their day.
Luckily, I got to be the last one smiling when all was said and done. I won the league.
89 - Get the Bag - John Menna - A member of the infamous CDM crew, I met John for the first time this year in Vegas when we drafted next to each other for the Main Event. In the 13th round of that draft, I chose Logan Morrison right before John's pick. It turned out that John had Morrison all queued up there and was so sure he was falling to him that my pick seemed to throw him. John had both picks at the 13/14 turn and was flustered enough that he utilized the full minute for both those picks without making one. Feeling to blame, I took my full minute without making a pick to give him a chance to make his. He thanked me. Still, it turns out I should have done anything but helped him. Today, John's fighting near the top of this league with around 100 points while I'm languishing in never-ran territory with around 70!! Whatever happened to getting a return on good Karma??
82 - Complete Domination - Dave Hubbard/Shawn Coots - I know these boys from the WCOFF and FFPC. Shawn was/is an active member of those boards and Dave typically drafts around 700 teams in the FPC.
Both are good guys and I actually got to meet Dave briefly for the first time this year in Vegas. They're doing a very nice job here, but I'd be curious how much FAAB they have remaining. Dave was in the top 5 of the WCOFB Overall all season last year, but was down to single digit FAAB by week 3. I'm only mildly exaggerating.
I wouldn't worry about these guys too much. Come September and the start of Fantasy Football season, they'll forget they even have baseball teams.
76 - Harry Crumb NJ - Joe Anthony - Half of the power couple entry in the MtM Super with Ken Magner, I was surprised by their fast start there as I figured two great players with strong opinions would have trouble agreeing on a strategy and who to draft. I was wrong, they're right up there fighting at the top.... but not the top.
As they also are two of the players who joined forces with Massotto in harassing me into joining up for that league, I have one more question for you guys. How's my a** look?
Just kidding, it's tight there between us and a few others and there's a long way to go. Should be a great battle to the end.
67 - KJ LV4 - KJ Duke - Not only one of the best players in this game for both baseball and football, KJ's one of the most innovative players we have regarding both rules and ideas for new leagues. We have him to thank for the Slow Drafts, the MLBC Leagues, the NFBCK Keeper League and more, all his brainchilds. As a player, he was one game, one at bat in fact from winning it all last year. Listening to him tell his story in Vegas this March, I realized we share an understanding of what it feels like to be so close only to fall short. His experience with the NFBC Overall last year mimics my experience with the FFPC where I also had the lead on the very last day. Whenever I tell someone that I don't feel like I won $20K for coming in second in that event, I lost $180K, I get that odd look back. I know they don't understand. I know KJ does.
66/98 - MGBS2 - Martin Bedell - I've gotten to know Marty over the years as a smoking partner during a few of the Live Main Events for both baseball and football on the East Coast. However, the first time I saw his name was during my rookie season as we were both entered in the same $500 online satellite. I remember that he was competitive most of the season but was completely out of FAAB by mid-summer, I mean not even a dollar. I thought it impossible for him to hold on to a cash spot. I personally managed to cash in that league. However, Marty not only cashed, but won the whole thing. I think by season's end, all seven of his reserve spots had the dreaded red DL tag next to them. I'm still not sure how he pulled it off.
54 - Triple A - Artie Rastelli - I never actually met Artie, but did draft against him last year for the Main Event in NY. Our very first champion, I don't know why it makes me feel good to see that inaugural champion approaching the top of the Main Event again. I must be more nostalgic than I realized.
51/91 - Doughboys - Dan Kenyon - I would guarantee that there's a whole generation of NFBC player that thinks Doughy is only known for his message board persona and doesn't even realize that he has both a 2nd overall and 4th overall finish in past NFBC Main Events. With two teams in the top 100, he's obviously looking to remind everyone that he's not only our Dr. Seuss but the Dr. Kevorkian of the rest of our fantasy hopes as well. Still, as good a player as Doughy is, he's also everyone's favorite poster, his message board presence irreplaceable. From someone who truly enjoys our boards, it's in times like these when the boards go eerily silent, that we can always take comfort in the fact that Doughy will bring us an interesting story, fact, idea, thought, etc. to enjoy. It's not all good of course. I can never use the term "value" again without feeling subconsiously guilty. Still, it's worth it. Doughy, it's been awhile since our last episode of Fantasy Camp.
50 - Bob Enzyte - Lindy Hinkelman - Probably the most renowned fantasy player "outside" of the High Stakes fantasy circles, his incredible exploits have made it to the pages of the NY Times, ESPN, etc., etc., etc. He's become the Elvis of fantasy sports. However, having met him for the first time this year in Vegas, he couldn't be less "affected" by his new-found fame. He's far more humble than I would be in the same situation.
He deserves all the accolades he's received. He's so good at this game that I'm sure he's considering 50th overall an abject failure. Wanna trade spots Lindy?
46 - Winston's Empire - Max Ogden - I don't think there's a player on these boards that exudes enthusiasm for this sport, this contest, and this hobby in a manner that comes off as truly genuine as Max. During my pre-season Countdown to the live drafts, Willie Mays was represented with 24 days to go. Max sent me a video of a parade he attended that Mays was part of. If you could have heard Max's screams for "Willie!!!!!", you'd know for sure as I do that his love for this game is very, very real. The fact that he's a Cubbie fan makes his love for baseball even more remarkable.
This year represents a return to the Main for Max after a couple year absence. I'm rooting for him. Where ya been Max, the boards miss you.
44 - Low Talkers - Dave Potts - I met Dave this year in Vegas. A very nice guy, very quiet, very humble, very unassuming, something I wasn't used to being a veteran of the NY drafts.
Dave and I shared a table to eat during the NFBC NCAA Viewing Party in Vegas. We had a quiet, soft-spoken conversation. That is until Greg and his brother-in-law sat down with us. For some reason, the conversation got a lot less quiet and soft spoken. Hmmm, I wonder why?
43 - Schwartstops - Cory Schwartz - A member of MLB.com and the MLB Network, Cory Schwartz is one of the rare industry experts who have a pretty impressive history in the NFBC. The first time I heard of him was in reading his article describing how he gave himself a Yoo-Hoo shower after his NFBC league championship in 2009. I never even knew there was such a thing as a Yoo-Hoo shower before that.
He's also regularly one of the more interesting speakers at Shandler's annual First Pitch Forums, I respect his opinions.
40 - FFBL's Finest - Kevin Kirves - I learned who Kevin was during last year's WCOFB where we battled the entire year for that Overall Championship. He prevailed and thanks to his great season, I had to settle for runnerup. However, it turns out we were battling for nothing. Our unfortunate shared experience continues as we are co-plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the former owners of the WCOFF. Hopefully, our shared experience ends in a shared victory against them.
36 - The Good, The Bad, and The Hanley - Jules McLean/Bryan Vogel - Jules is hands down the best female fantasy player in the universe and one of the best players period of either gender. Last year in football, it seemed she won every league we were in together, Trendsetters, Genesis, Legends Dynasty, it honestly got annoying getting my a$$ regularly handed to me by a.....girl!!!
All joking aside, a great and respected player. Hopefully her sharing this team with Bryan Vogel won't bring her down.
Just kidding Bryan.
31 - Quahogs - Steve Jupinka - Juprinka, Juprinka, Juprinka!!!
Simply one of the top two or three players in this contest, possibly the best. He wins so often, it's honestly gotten a little annoying. He even wins regularly in football! Jeez! I'd love to hate him, but he won't even let me have that because he's such a nice freakin' guy. To top it off, there's no one quicker with a picture post. He's even taken that to a new level with the damn stick figures!! Juprinka rant over, time to move on.
30/56 - RoundTrippers! - Rick Thomas - I knew of Rick before I ever got to know him. I knew he was one of the best players in this game. Though we've been in a few online leagues together, a few E-mail football leagues, chatted on the boards or in league chat rooms and on the phone a couple times, I got to meet him for the first time this year in Vegas....and got to see the infamous RT Draft Board for the 1st time as well!
As great a guy as he is a player, I'm unfortunately in way too many leagues with him. One of his two Mains in the top 100 currently leads my Vegas Main Event league. Lack of sleep in Vegas must be the reason, but I unwittingly made a side bet with him on our combined scores in the Diamond, this Main, and a XII. I'm already putting aside the money I'll owe him.
29 - Men Without Helmets - Ray Murphy/Win Murray - Ray Murphy's another industry guy with a pretty impressive NFBC resume, the Murphy/Murray team finished 4th overall during my rookie season with the NFBC in 2009. Ray's a regular administrator/contributor on the BBHQ Forums and one of the more interesting reads there.
25 - Raskols - Emory Upchurch - It was Emory's team that I took over last year when I joined the NFBCK Keeper League. Jeez, what a disaster!! Thanks Em!
Still, it's good to see Emory do so well in the Overall this year, a very nice guy. But once again, thanks Em!
24 - Welcome to Stevieland - Andrew Nolan/Christopher Stephenson - Probably the best least known players in the NFBC. They don't get a lot of hype, but I believe they were 2nd in the NFBC lifetime standings (behind that damn Juprinka guy) when these standings were last available in 2009.
21 - The Franchise - Nelson Sousa/David Hubbard - Nelson is probably the guy I've gotten to know best in my time with High Stakes fantasy contests. We met my first year but only started to chat regularly during the whole WCOFF criminal fiasco last year, a fiasco that cost both of us tens of thousands of dollars. We've chatted regularly since. I consider him a true friend. Still, he knows I blame him for my runner-up finish in last year's FFPC by not doing a better job of talking me out of benching CJ Spiller the 2nd to last week of that playoff season. Of course, he talked me into targeting CJ Spiller for my drafts during the pre-season in the first place, but that's getting off point. In my mind, he owes me $180K.
We do have a Paul Goldschmidt vs. Justin Smoak side bet for a dinner at next year's Main Event. How many lobsters do I have to eat to make up $180K?
19 - Strike Force - Mark Bendar - Another member of the East Coast drafts, Mark may be the only Mets fan bigger than I am at those live events. It was nice to see him leading it all after Week 1 and nicer to see him still seriously in the hunt Week 10.
12 - Heartbreakers - Gene McCaffrey - It's looking like a good year for industry "experts" as Gene is the 3rd now that I've noticed in the top 100. His Wiseguy Baseball publication is one of my favorites each year as it's not only informative but an unbelievably enjoyable read. Gene's also the shepherd of the CDM crew as his publication and website deals just as much with the Diamond Challenge as it does with the NFBC. One of the reasons that I enjoy Gene's work so much is that it often relates to the High Stakes games I play, like Mastersball always did, and as Sports Draft Daily and Rotowire do now. I read somewhere that Gene drafted his NFBC team from a hospital bed last year. Pretty impressive, though I believe many of us would have insisted on doing the same under the same circumstances. Addiction's a bitch.
11 - Layin' the Smack Down - Jaime Baird - Canada in the house!! I find it interesting that you can draft a team from Canada, but not from Washington, Arizona, or a few other states in the union.
Sorry Rockit, sorry Walla. However, at least you guys know you can draft if you move out of the country.
6 - Team Erickson - Jeff Erickson - A 4th industry "expert" in the top 100, he's probably the most well-known of these experts in this contest. I'm glad to see him take part in this contest this year. He's been a part of the WCOFB the past couple years and was in the hunt for the overall all the way into the last month there two years ago. I'm also happy to see him reference his NFBC teams on Rotowire where I read that the team he's most focused on of all his teams is this one here fighting for the NFBC Overall Championships. Jeff has bragging rights on Derek Van Riper right now. Let's see if he can talk Liss and Del Don into joining up next season. I do wish he'd join in the message board conversations a bit more. I thought his participation earlier in the year added to them.
5 - Dutch Mafia - John Pausma - Though John's the quieter, less rabble rousing half of the Pausma/Haan conglomerate
, both John and Jack are good guys and great fantasy players. Though I'm not sure if they're teaming up on this specific team, I do know that they've shared a few, and won with many of them. John was also easily the biggest fan of the Philly girl who was part of my pre-season Countdown, as his requests for new pictures of her stood at around 10 during the Countdown itself and I think even continued into the first few weeks of the season.
4 - The Pale King - Robert Particelli - A fellow East Coast drafter who also made his first NFBC pilgrimage to Vegas this year, Bob's a great player, a great competitor, and a better guy. I recently learned that Bob will be making another trek to Sin City as he recently won one of the entries into Fanduel's DFBC and their potential $100K Grand Prize. Nice job Bob and good luck Buddy!!
1 - Cocktails and Dreams - Chad Schroeder - Just freakin' ridiculous. What Chad's doing this year in the NFBC is just freakin' ridiculous. Leading the Main, near the lead in every other Overall, leading the Diamond, another Super, he makes it look easy. We already know that he knows how to finish as he has WCOFB, NFFC, and FFPC Overall Championships, an FFOC Overall runnerup, and countless other league championships on his resume. Up 'til a few days ago, I believed him to be a truly nice and humble person considering his accomplishments. However now I think Particelli hit it on the head. The man's a quiet assassin!!! The best all around fantasy player in the world. There's no surprise that he's currently on top of this contest.
Today I'm in 100th place. 99 of the greatest fantasy players in the world to pass, less than 4 months to do so. It won't be easy, but I'm sure gonna give it a try.
Good luck everyone the rest of the way, whether in 1st or 420th, it'll be a fun and exciting last few months.