Fantasy Football Contest

In the case of the Albuqueque Journal, fantasy football is a simple and FREE game anyone can play in a matter of minutes. The object of the contest is to pick a passer who throws for 300 yards, a receiver who gets 100 yards in catches, a rusher who gains 100 yards, a kicker who makes a field goal of 40 yards or longer, and a winning team. All this is done under a $1 million salary cap, and in case of ties the weekly winner is the one who spends the least amount of money.
And what makes it extra special is that the grand prize winner, to be determined in a Week 17 showdown, wins a 55-inch Mitsubishi HDTV. Although the Journal's Pick 5 game is easy to play, it's not easy to win. Out of almost 1,600 players last week, no one got all five correct.
Then again, there's also the fantasy football that has been going on for decades in which participants pay fees, hold drafts and make trades in leagues. While that can be enormous fun, it also makes demands on your time.
Keys to the Journal game are that you can pick a team in virtually no time and tweak your lineup 50 or more times if you wish until kickoff Sunday.
Also, if you skip a week, you haven't fallen behind on anything. Every week is a fresh start.
You can sign up at http://www.abqjournal.com/fantasy/

And don't use popular bob as your team name. It is already taken!

When the Journal decided to run a fantasy football contest last year, almost the entire sports staff screamed for a chance to be Mr. Fantasy. Then, when each person found out how much work it would be, I was the only one left with his hand raised to do the job. And since I have been following the pro game since before I could ride a bike (had Eagles season tickets from 1963-69), it only seemed logical I handle the material.
Thanks for asking.

Jeff:
I actually try NOT to pick the best team, or otherwise I'm with the rest of the pack picking Donovan McNabb, Warrick Dunn and Donte' Stallworth each week and spend almost all my $1 million. I look not only for a player at a discount salary, but I examine which players are being selected by other fantasy players. If two QBs are at the same price and of the same skill and I'm torn between them, I'll look at "Popular Picks" and see which player has been taken the fewest number of times. That way I won't be with the masses if I'm correct. For instance, Torry Holt was taken by 42 fantasy players last week, but Stallworth was taken by 272. I would avoid Stallworth for that reason.
Hope that covers all the bases.

Donn:
You can pick your favorite college players, provided they are in the pros. A list of players available to select are listed to the left of the contest home page.

Well, if you're a Raiders fan, you might want to re-think that strategy. Last week, if your favorite players were Brett Favre, Willis McGahee, Torry Holt, Matt Stover and the Saints, you'd have a $250 Paradise Village gift certificate zooming your way and you'd be entered into the Week 17 showdown for the grand prize.

From what I understand, there was no money involved,
and the purpose was to give a little publicity to prep standouts.
It sounds, though, there are a lot of cranky coaches and parents who disapprove and therefore the fantasy idea might die out. Too bad.

What are you, a Brian Urlacher fan? The idea of the game is to be as mega-simple as possible and to appeal to the casual fan as well as the biggest fan. Whereas most everyone has heard of Tiki Barber and Drew Bledsoe and can offer an opinion on whether they'll succeed, having to pick someone who's going to have the most sacks can leave casual fans behind. All of a sudden fantasy players would have to put in more time studying which left tackle is questionable and, with regard to interceptions, which nickel back has been benched.

Check out the fantasy football page in Friday's Journal. It's a fun read for even non-football fans. There are a few peculiar trends developing for Week 4 and I'll try to identify them as best I can. -- Bob

I think the most difficult aspect of the game is spending the least amount of money possible (that's the first tiebreaker) in selecting your players. So, my strategy is to skip Peyton Manning and LaDainian Tomlinson and go for lower-budget players. Anyone can pick a 300-yard QB, a 100-yard rusher, a 100-yard receiver, a 40-yard field goal kicker and a winning team if you spend all the money available. And then still might not win the tiebreaker. But pick cheap players, and you would win if they came through.

I hope not. Not for 2019 either.

For the most part it's that you don't have a "team" like most leagues have. And it's free. And in most leagues, a $5,000 HDTV from Paradise Village isn't for the winner to take. In the Journal's contest, you don't draft Drew Brees at a BBQ in August and have him the whole year. Also, in this contest, touchdowns don't matter. It's all about yards. I don't play in any "leagues" because it's too time consuming. You have to beat your competitors to the waiver wire and try to outsmart them. In the Journal's contest, you simply pick one person from each of five categories (salaries are attached to each player) for a total of $1 million or less. If your five selections (300-yard passer, 100-yard receiver, 100-yard rusher, 40 FG kicker and a winning team) come through, the person who spends the least amount of money wins. If no one gets all five -- and that happens -- it's the cheapest selector who goes 4-for-5. I pick my players in about five minutes. One time I finished third out of about 1,500 players. And, the contest Web site is updated quickly and is loaded with important stats and so forth. I'll quit talking now.

I always think it's the job of the spouse early on to determine if their mate is a fantasy player. They should do this before any wedding ceremony. If my wife had been a fantasy player in a league it surely would have been a deal-killer for me. But, seriously, you can literally take no more than five mintutes a week (counting logging in)to make your selections and still be a viable contender for a prize.

You will be able to count on the Journal to have a weekly fantasy page throughout the pro football season, starting with Wednesday, Sept. 5. In all other weeks (except Thanksgiving week) the page will appear on a Friday. During the season I will attempt to provide information (stats, trends, injury updates) you won't find anywhere else. In addition, KOAT-TV's Bob Brown and The Sports Animal's Ian Martin (610-AM) will join me in making contest selections. Also, each week nationally syndicated fantasy columnist Dave Del Grande will provide his unique insight.

The grand prize is a 55-inch Mitsubishi Digital Cable Ready HDTV and a surround sound system with professional installation (is that important, or what?) -- all from Paradise Village.
There are weekly prizes of $150 gift certificates from Paradise Village. Also (and this is different from last year) there is a second-place grand prize of a $1,000 gift certificate to Paradise Village and a $600 certificate for third place. Thanks for writing, Dorothy.

The Patriots are likely to march deep into the playoffs again, but for contest purposes they aren't such a good value. They always have a lot of active guys on defense but are one of the most expensive team to purchase. Sure, they'll win, but you'll be spending too much money on them. Have a nice day, Michael.

The Eagles (my favorite team) are going to be outstanding. Kevin, if I knew where you lived I'd show up at your house and give you an Atomic Wedgy for being a smart aleck. The Eagles are going to be a powerhouse again, but like the Patriots, aren't going to be a good value on the fantasy board.

Actually, I don't seek to pick the "best players" because in all likelihood everyone else is taking them. I like to select players who might be on the fringe of stardom but have a great matchup that week. For instance, a certain QB might be ranked only 20th in the league and has a cheap value, but if he's playing against a week defense, I might select him. It's especially important with kickers to know where they are playing. I like to take kickers who are playing in domed stadiums or in nice outdoor weather on turf.

He may be the best in standard fantasy leagues in which touchdowns are counted, but not in the Journal's contest in which only yards matter. He no doubt will have the highest price tag of all QBs this season -- at least early on. I'd definitely look elsewhere for better value. And, I sense that coming soon Manning will be spending too much time shining his Super Bowl ring and won't be so concerned about winning.

I'll just say it's painful. You don't want to go there.

I certainly hope you're not married, because if your husband sees this there are going to be questions to answer.
As for Handsome Mr. Quinn starting, I'd say sure. The Browns invested a lot of money into him and have a lousy team. That means two things. Their current quarterbacks will either get injured from poor blocking or play themselves out of a job.

Thanks for asking Michael. Two years ago i went 5-for-5 in the Journal's contest and finished third overall that week. Alas, even if I had won, i would have been ineligible to take home the weekly prize. I'm just making picks for the glory anyway.

Amazingly, I'm also a fantasy golf aficionado. I took home the first-place prize in my league just two weeks ago. Here's a bonus piece of advice for golf selectors -- STAY AWAY FROM TED PURDY.
And, before anyone can ask, I don't play fantasy baseball, basketball or hockey.

The fine folks who run the Pick 5 Fantasy Football Web site make those determinations and update throughout the season as needed. For instance, two year ago Willie Parker was the cheapest guy on the board and he was running like crazy. Not long afterward, his salary zoomed. I understand they also will have a greatest number of players to select from this year.