One of the more stressful things to deal with, when it comes to Fantasy Football, is when you are away from your computer right before 1pm. I know everyone has called a friend to change their lineup, and I've even ran into a random library or two in my day. Well, ESPN has a solution for you if you use their fantasy services. Yes, ESPN is starting a "help desk", that runs from 8am to 1am seven days a week, and will actually change your lineup for you. Via 12SD....


While that seems like a great idea, it seems equally creepy. Obviously Fantasy Sports are a huge business nowadays, but this might be taking it too far.

The Leader: You Never Call Anymore (12 Step Drop)

You rarely hear about broadcasters playing fantasy sports, but there are a few that are willing to share their thoughts with you. One of those people is Jim Nantz, and the CBS announcer even attributes the game to helping him in his play-by-play role. Via NFL.com....

Fabiano: So was your friend right in that playing fantasy football helped you become a more knowledgeable sportscaster?

Nantz: Well, it's certainly opened up a whole new perspective on the NFL for me. It's really been a great way to find out even more about players around the league. And my participation in fantasy sports has grown since that first league back in 2001. When Jay Glazer, who used to work for us at CBS, told me about this young kid named Fabiano who wanted to start a flagship fantasy football league, I was really open to the idea. That became the Gridiron Guru League, which I won in the inaugural year.

Fabiano: What do you attribute to your fantasy success?

Nantz: It took me a season to understand how to compete and how to build a team, how to watch the waiver wire. I also monitor player trends. It might just start out with two carries in a week, but maybe the next week a running back gets four carries and his long run is 18 yards. That must have gotten the coaches' attention. I'm looking for a trend that shows me a player could be a few weeks away from seeing a more prominent role at his position. I've seen it happen where a player is trending on seeing more playing time. I'm not talking about just one week when a back rushes for 96 yards on 21 carries, because everyone can see that. I've been in three leagues and I've won each league at least once. I think that watching these trends has really helped me take home a few titles.

I never really thought about it helping broadcasters, but honestly think how much better Joe Morgan would be if he played Fantasy Baseball. He would actually know that there was a team in San Diego, and might even know some of the players!

Nantz is not only the voice of CBS Sports, he's also a fantasy fan (NFL.com)

It's that time of the year friends. Yes, the time when you see a Fantasy ad just about every five seconds on TV and the Internet. While NFL's "Fantasy Files" continue to lead the pack, there are others that go by undetected. Kind of like this random online ad from CBS' Bill Cowher, in which he plays a Keytar rather well....

There are a total of four Cowher spots, and while the others don't feature rockin' synethesized music, they're all pretty funny. Check them out below.

Last year's ESPN Celebrity Fantasy Football challenge was so competitive that I didn't think they could do it again. I mean how do you replace such marquee names as Sean Salisbury, Mark Schlereth, Steve Young, and The Big Lead's Best Friend, Jerry O'Connell? Well I'll tell you how....

With f'ing Method Man (TICAL!), Merril Hoge, Roy Williams and Summer Sanders....That's How! Well all of those names mean nothing when you have Chris Mortensen returning to the fray. You would think that the number one NFL reporter on ESPN, would know something about the Sport he covers but alas....let's go to the videotape!!!

He seriously picked McFadden in the second and Devin Hester in the seventh....In an eight team league!!! Are you kidding me?!? This is the guy you go to for all your insider Football information? The same guy who in the draft picked Devin Hester because, "he's a receiver now," and, "he's going to touch the ball twenty times a game," and because the Bears have Kyle Orton!!! Good god. I'm pretty sure Mort has never watched the Bears.....ever. The guy just continues to amaze me and not in a good way. Oh and everyone please check out Roy Williams' team if you have a chance. Guess where he drafted? Of course right after ESPN's Football expert, Chris Mortensen.

I'd also be remiss to not comment on Merril Hoge. He's seriously drafted the following starting lineup: Hasselbeck, AP, Brandon Jacobs, Rashard Mendenhall?!, Santonio Holmes, Anthony Gonzalez and Ben Utecht

How are these people still employed? They deserve to be fired after that showing.

Other highlights:

- Matthew Berry calling Mort's pick of Westbrook a steal....at pick four.
- T.O. lasting until Round Three
- Method Man picking Tight Ends in both Round Five and Six (clearly wasted)
- Ronnie Brown lasting until Round 8

Good times!

2008 ESPN Celebrity League Rosters (ESPN Fantasy)
2007 ESPN "Celebrity" Fantasy Football League Filled With Big Names (Awful Announcing)

Again, I always preface this with the statement that I'm not one to necessarily poke fun at typos and errors, but to have twenty seven found in a national publication is a tad bit too much. ESPN's Fantasy Mag is out in stores now and for the low low price of $7.99 you can see some of the errors found by Walter Football too! Here are some of my favorites....

Who the Heck is Greg Smith? (Page 55)

I have no idea why ESPN even ranked Chauncey Washington, a Jaguars rookie running back, but it says the following in his write-up: "It's possible he could emerge as the inside rushing complement to MJD, but he'd have to bump Greg Smith first." I searched high and low on NFL.com's Web site, but I couldn't find any player named Greg Smith. The man they were referring to, of course, is Greg Jones.

Spelling Error No. 1 (Page 45)

Taking a look at the first sentence of Jamal Lewis' write-up:

"Dust when you thought he was done, Lewis pulled us all back in."

Special News Alert: Steve Smith Has An Is (Page 66)

Sounds like something out of a Dr. Seuss book, doesn't it? At any rate, you can find this grammatical blunder in the Steve Smith analysis:

"He's not a burner but has is savvy enough to make occasional big plays."

Quinn Sypniewski, Miracle Man (Page 81)

Just a slight contradiction here. In the Quinn Sypniewski write-up, ESPN writes, "He tore his ACL during Ravens minicamp this April and will miss the season."

Yet, for projected stats, they have Sypniewski catching 21 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown in 13 games.

Lorenzo Booker - Lost in the Mail (Pages 45 and 53)

In the Ronnie Brown write-up, ESPN writes:

"Ricky Williams is still hanging around in south Florida, and Lorenzo Booker should be a bigger part of the offense."

OK, so maybe this magazine was released prior to the Booker-to-Philadelphia trade? Or maybe not - on Page 53, they list: "Lorenzo Booker, PHI."

It's rare to not get through an entire magazine without finding a mistake, but doesn't ESPN employ people to proofread? It's one thing to have a typo or two but if you read the WF post you'll find that no one took a second look at any of the sections. Things contradict each other and they leave players out entirely (Steve Slaton). If you have the magazine, also keep an eye out for Merril Hoge's sound fantasy advice including taking Braylon Edwards as your first WR because he's, "like [Terrell] Owens without the drama."

I'm sure fantasy owners really care about that, Merril.

2008 ESPN Fantasy Football Magazine: 28 Factual Errors, Omissions and Illogical Statements (Walter Football)

I know I'm not alone here in noticing that AOL's Fanhouse has seemingly recently received a bump in their advertising budget. At the beginning of the month, I noted that Fanhouse had a rotating ad on the scoring table at a WNBA game. Since then I've noticed them popping up everywhere. Even on other blogs.

Now I'm not against getting the word out there, but this is just a little bit more than weird. Fanhouse is advertising their Fantasy Football somethingorother and has featured ads on both The Big Lead and Deadspin....


I don't deny that some Sports Blogs reach a ton of people, but this campaign is more than just a bit curious. Outside of hitting up your friends for a spot on their site, I also have no idea what the campaign is about. Sure it's about Fantasy Football, but what does a cellphone and a shady looking motel have to do with the topic?

It's a very curious decision, but hey....whatever works right?

The WNBA Has Some Interesting Advertisers (Awful Announcing)

I had no idea that ratings wars and running late were major issues on ESPN Fantasy podcasts, but apparently they are. Reader JK sent me an email stating that I needed to listen to the Football Today podcast and he was right. Listen to this clip as Fantasy Football guy Jeremy Green decides to take umbrage with the Baseball guys, Matthew Berry and Nate someone....

I love how ESPN still posts these little tiffs and that ego line by Berry was priceless even though I have no idea who Jeremy Green is. Fights about Fantasy Sports between people I don't know are so awesome.

(P.S.- Stick around for an even better fight between ESPN employees.)

Everyone with a fantasy team knows that LJ was done for the year, but apparently he was never "technically" classified as so. I had no idea this was even taking place, but apparently the Chiefs had been feuding with a local Kansas City reporter about Larry Johnson's injury. So much so that they wouldn't admit to him missing the year until today.

More than a month after FOX 31 first reported that Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson would miss the rest of the season due to a broken foot, the Chiefs have finally acknowledged that Johnson is done for the year.

For several weeks, the Chiefs denied the report and attempted to discredit the reporter both privately and publicly (the word “crazy broad” was used). On Nov.12th, eight days after Johnson suffered the break, a source inside of Johnson’s camp told Anderson that the Chiefs were likely hiding the truth from their franchise player.

That "crazy broad" is actually a blogger at Denver's Fox affiliate in Colorado (natch), so kudos to her for being right, but this is beyond weird to me. Why wouldn't you tell Johnson that his leg was broken? It appears even LJ's dad was keeping the information from him as well. Weird.


Larry Johnson Done for the Year, Chiefs Finally Confirm (My Fox Colorado)

Well it went well and like me you like me enjoy terrible jokes, awful picks, and complete disregard to any common sense. Winning The Turnover Battle has the lowlights....

- Sean Salisbury selects Laurence Maroney at #5.

- With at least 5 elite fantasy RBs still on the board, [Michael] Smith took Carson Palmer and Marvin Harrison 8-9. I repeat, Michael A. Smith went QB-WR in the first two rounds, and the QB was not Peyton Manning.

- I am guessing that nobody informed these 8 guys that fantasy football success is almost entirely dependent on having good RBs. Evidently someone lied to them and told them that WRs were the key, as they engage in a SECOND WR position run in the 5th round, with T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Reggie Wayne, Larry Fitzgerald, Terrell Owens, Andre Johnson, and Marques Colston going in order from picks 34-39.

- Running backs? Who ever heard of drafting running backs? The awful aversion to the best position in fantasy football continues in round 6, as 7 of the 8 picks in the round are either WRs or TEs. The only sane person is Schlereth, who snatches up Clinton Portis all the way at #45.

- So who are the RBs that are left? Julius Jones comes off the board at #58. Marshawn Lynch is picked at #62. Fred Taylor is selected at #64. It is criminal that those three lasted this long, but not nearly as bad as the fact that...Ronnie Brown lasts until pick #59. No, that is not a typo. That really is Ronnie Brown, at #59.

- Jamal Lewis and Jerrious Norwood finally come off the board at picks #77 and #79. Watching these "experts" do a fantasy draft is like watching a dating advice show hosted by Screech and Bill Nye the Science Guy.

- With all of the QBs, WRs, TEs, and D/ST that have already come off the board, you just know there is still a RB left. And...yep, there he is. Steve Young selects Carnell Williams at #99. Just to recap, a starting RB with little to no competition was drafted after 3 kickers, 5 defenses, and Rex Grossman.

Wow. Just wow. How in the world are these people experts at anything? I hope to have some of the video up later today. My personal favorite moment was when Chris Mortensen went into this diatribe about telling Chargers' GM AJ Smith to trade down to draft Tomlinson. This was immediately followed by Steve Young bagging on him for taking credit that Tomlinson is even in the NFL. Good times. Oh and Nick Bakay is the two-time defending champ.

If you want to see their teams look like head over to ESPN, and be sure to head over to WTB to see which players were left undrafted (E.Manning and Chris Chambers top the list).

Worst. Draft. Ever. (Winning the Turnover Battle)
ESPN "Celebrity" Fantasy Football League Filled With Big Names (Awful Announcing)

P.S.- Michael A. Smith.....you're starting Adrian Peterson and Marion Barber III at Running Back. I'm taking my money off of you and putting it on Schlereth. In fact Schlereth's team of Tom Brady, Frank Gore, Shaun Alexander, Clinton Portis, Torry Holt, Larry Fitzgerald, Tony Gonzalez, Broncos D, Matt Stover, Hines Ward, Matt Hasselbeck, Jamal Lewis, Devery Henderson, Alge Crumpler, and DeShaun Foster....could be the best fantasy drafted team ever.

I don't care if he averages 106 yards, a 50.3 QB Rating, and 0.12 TDs per game. I'm picking anyone who can pull this off. Plus is a league with Fantasy Team Name's like "Brian’s Dong" really going to care who I pick? They will??? F**k.

These commercials are awesome by the way. Lebron's 90-footer has nothing on this.

Done and done, Jason Campbell. (Hogs Haven)
Jason Campbell’s NFL.com TV Spot (Mister Irrelevant)

I alluded to this last week, but ESPN finally unveiled their Fantasy Football Hall of Fame and it's pretty darn interesting. It seems like they took a ton of time coming up with this, and I've been flipping through the site the whole morning. It takes a while to load but it's worth it.

Here's some of the info....

Categories:

* Waiver Wire Wonder (WWW) - An undrafted player added through free agency who becomes a star.
* Touchdown Vulture (TV) - A running back who scores goal-line touchdowns, thereby depriving the primary running back of a touchdown.
* Stud (STUD) - The best of the best, an elite fantasy player.
* Out of Nowhere (OON) – Players who turn in a truly unexpected performance for their GMs.
* Unheralded Rookie (UR) - A rookie who enters the league with little fanfare and becomes an instant star.
* Handcuff Hero (HH) - A player drafted as the backup to a star, and excels after the star goes down.

The site is extremely detailed, and all of the inductees have their own plaques and are decked out in red sport coats similar to the yellow ones for the actual Hall. My favorite entry has to be TD Vulture Leroy Hoard who single-handily knocked me out of my leagues playoffs in 1998. The dude who had him somehow drafted him and stopped playing halfway through the season. Good times.

Be sure to flip through there today....it's worth a visit.

ESPN Brings To You The First Two Members Of The Fantasy Football Hall Of Fame (Awful Announcing)
ESPN Fantasy Football Hall of Fame (ESPN)

The Inductees:

Player	Induction Yr Team	Season	Position	Category	Current Team
Abdul-Jabbar, Karim	Miami Dolphins	1997	RB	WWW	N/A
Alexander, Shaun	Seattle Seahawks	2001	RB	HH	Seattle Seahawks
Alstott, Mike	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1997-01	RB	TV	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Anderson, Mike	Denver Broncos	2000	RB	WWW	Chicago Bears
Bennett, Drew	Tennessee Titans	2004	WR	WWW	St. Louis Rams
Bettis, Jerome	Pittsburgh Steelers	2004, 05	RB	TV	N/A
Betts, Ladell	Washington Redskins	2006	RB	WWW	Washington Redskins
Beuerlein, Steve	Carolina Panthers	1999	QB	OON	N/A
Boldin, Anquan	Arizona Cardinals	2003	WR	UR	Arizona Cardinals
Colston, Marques	New Orleans Saints	2006	WR	UR	New Orleans Saints
Culpepper, Daunte	Minnesota Vikings	2000, 04	QB	STUD	Miami Dolphins
Cunningham, Randall	Minnesota Vikings	1998	QB	WWW	N/A
Davis, Domanick	Houston Texans	2003	RB	UR	N/A
Davis, Terrell	Denver Broncos	1998	RB	STUD	N/A
Duckett, T.J.	Atlanta Falcons	2003-05	RB	TV	Detroit Lions
Faulk, Marshall	St. Louis Rams	2000, 01	RB	STUD	N/A
Gado, Samkon	Green Bay Packers	2005	RB	WWW	Houston Texans
Garcia, Jeff	San Francisco 49ers	2000	QB	OON	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Gary, Olandis	Denver Broncos	1999	RB	WWW	N/A
Gates, Antonio	San Diego Chargers	2004	TE	OON	San Diego Chargers
Goings, Nick	Carolina Panthers	2004	RB	WWW	Carolina Panthers
Gould, Robbie	Chicago Bears	2006	K	WWW	Chicago Bears
Harrison, Marvin	Indianapolis Colts	2001, 02	WR	STUD	Indianapolis Colts
Hoard, Leroy	Minnesota Vikings	1998, 99	RB	TV	N/A
Holmes, Priest	Kansas City Chiefs	2002, 03	RB	STUD	Kansas City Chiefs
Jacobs, Brandon	New York Giants	2005, 06	RB	TV	New York Giants
Jeffers, Patrick	Carolina Panthers	1999	WR	WWW	N/A
Johnson, Larry	Kansas City Chiefs	2005	RB	HH	Kansas City Chiefs
Johnson, Rudi	Cincinnati Bengals	2003	RB	HH	Cincinnati Bengals
Jones-Drew, Maurice	Jacksonville Jaguars	2006	RB	UR	Jacksonville Jaguars
Mack, Stacey	Jacksonville Jaguars	2001, 02	RB	TV	Jacksonville Jaguars
Manning, Peyton	Indianapolis Colts	2004	QB	STUD	Indianapolis Colts
Mayes, Derrick	Seattle Seahawks	2000	WR	WWW	N/A
Moss, Randy	Minnesota Vikings	1998, 03	WR	STUD	New England Patriots
Muhammad, Muhsin	Carolina Panthers	2004	WR	OON	Chicago Bears
Owens, Terrell	San Francisco 49ers	2001	WR	STUD	Dallas Cowboys
Rackers, Neil	Arizona Cardinals	2005	K	WWW	Arizona Cardinals
Rhodes, Dominic	Indianapolis Colts	2001	RB	WWW	Oakland Raiders
Robinson, Marcus	Chicago Bears	1999	WR	WWW	Detroit Lions
Sanders, Barry	Detroit Lions	1997	RB	STUD	N/A
Smith, Lamar	Miami Dolphins	2000	RB	OON	N/A
Smith, Rod	Denver Broncos	1997	WR	WWW	Denver Broncos
Stewart, Kordell	Pittsburgh Steelers	1997	QB	OON	N/A
Stokley, Brandon	Indianapolis Colts	2004	WR	WWW	Denver Broncos
Tomlinson, LaDainian	San Diego Chargers	2006	RB	STUD	San Diego Chargers
Volek, Billy	Tennessee Titans	2004	QB	WWW	San Diego Chargers
Warner, Kurt	St. Louis Rams	1999	QB	WWW	Arizona Cardinals
Williams, Moe	Minnesota Vikings	2002	RB	TV	N/A

Other Highlights (via ESPN)........

• The Welcome Rotunda: entryway to FHOF, with navigation to the other halls.
• Inductees: searchable and sortable player “plaques,” with information on each player’s fantasy accomplishments. Fantasy GMs will be able to get involved via chats and polls.
• Expert Lounge: ESPN’s fantasy football experts - Matthew Berry, Eric Karabell, Nate Ravitz, Tristan Cockcroft, Scott Engel and more - will share their fantasy insight and interact with fans in the Expert Lounge. Players can access all of the expert tools ESPN offers from this area.
• Fantasy GM Wing of Honor: This hall is devoted to celebrating the fantasy owner. Players can interact with one another and discuss all things fantasy via message boards and chats. ESPN fantasy experts will honor the top GMs, and “enshrine” them based on their success in ESPN leagues.
• Fantasy History and Trivia: series of dynamic trivia questions related to fantasy football. (launches 8/16)
• Customizable, Interactive Video: (Launches 8/16)
• Pro Shop: Players can download this customizable widget to their desktop to keep all of their league’s Fantasy Football information at their fingertips. (Launches Sept)

I told you I was going to say something good about ESPN, and here it comes. Their marketing department and advertising agency are amazing. The commercials they put together are always well done, and some are just down right hilarious. Well I take that back...all of the commercials but the ESPN News ones...those are terrible.

Well ESPN Fantasy Football is getting the treatment now, and they are just as funny. They decided to parody the Football Hall of Fame Speeches that go with every Induction Ceremonies, and the first two entrants into the ESPN Fantasy Hall of Fame are......(drum roll)

Mike Alstott and Maurice Jones-Drew. Enjoy!

Funny stuff, the "Touchdown Vulture" part is hilarious. Now if they could only get the product to work. Sorry, you knew I couldn't make it through a whole post being that positive didn't you?

According to Sports Business Daily, "ESPN.com will launch an interactive, multimedia Fantasy Football HOF content component later this month that will complement the ad campaign and introduce all of this year's inductees."

Not a bad idea at all....could be fun actually.