Any veteran FFL owner’s out there can tell you where, when, and in most cases the first player they drafted in their first season as an owner/coach in Fantasy leagues. We’ve noticed quite a few of the members here at DraftGuide are in that magical 1^st year, so the Dog will ramble and rant for the benefit of those folks, and the many others that have just discovered this bit of insanity in this issue of... Notes from the Dog Pound.

Not only do I remember the first inaugural season as an owner, I remember the very first time I had ever heard of this stuff. I was living in a small village on an island off the coast of NW Washington. We were cruising home one night, and when we passed by one of the taverns I noticed it was full of drunken, brawling, arguing folks...and some of them looked pretty damn serious about whatever was going on. I asked the guy I was with "What’s goin’ on in there tonight?" and he says "Oh...it’s just draft night" and shrugs his shoulders. Of course, I ask the next series of regular questions, and found out what all this stuff was about. Never really thought much about it again...

Flash forward about 2 years: I’m sitting in my house (different and current residence) hangin’ out one day, and a friend of mine pops in and tells me I need to own a fantasy team in a league he just started a year before. I argued that I didn’t have a clue, and basically was railroaded into it anyway. He gave me a list, a ‘Cheat Sheet’, and said just go-for-it. I thought about it for a bit, and headed to the draft some hours later. It’s to those folks that this issue of the Pound is dedicated. Too many times in this business is the beginner washed away in a sea of folks talking over the heads of new folks like everybody should know what they’re talking about. If you’re just starting out, and need a quick road map to get you on your feet...read on friend. I’ve been there, and I remember it well. Here are a few little things to keep in mind...

Primary Objective: To understand and learn more about how this all works.
This is an often overlooked and much underrated part of the game. In your first year you will not dominate and show your great knowledge of the game. You may get lucky...you may grasp this concept fairly quickly...but you will not dominate. Your first year should not be centered on bragging rights, but cold calculation of why/what is going on.

Secondary Objective: To Have fun !!!
Another overlooked part of this. This is about losing or winning close games/weeks. This is about standing in your living room screaming at the TV for them NOT to go for it on 4^th and 2, because you want one more FG for your kicker. This is about trash talk. This is about rising above the masses, or going down with your ship...with a smile on your face.

Goal #1: To get as many points every week as you can possibly get.
This is not a game of favorites. It would be really cool if you can get a player you can root for whole-heartedly, but that is not always the case. Sometimes you have to get a player that you really don’t like, or don’t know very much about for the benefit of the team. I don’t particularly think much of M. Irvin as person, but I won’t deny the fact that he is set for a monster year. At this point in early July, a guy by the name of John Becksvoort is slated as the kicker in SF. Now, I don’t really have a clue how or why this is, but if he IS the 49ers kicker...well, enough said. Points are points are points.

Goal #2: To NOT look stupid.
In your first year it will be extremely tempting to try and act like you know something. It will also be tempting act like you know something that everybody else doesn’t. My first draft I stunned the crowd with a breakthrough 2^nd round pick of none other than...that’s right, Leroy Hoard. Yep, big ole’ Leroy from the Cleveland Browns. I had read a brief article from somewhere, and the writer seemed pretty high on him to me, so, like an idiot, I dipped way down the sheet and just grabbed him. Looking back, I realize I was just trying to act like I knew something. Word of warning: You don’t know anything. Play it safe, be conservative, and learn something. Believe me, your league will respect you for it. Save the dramatics for somebody else, your turn will come.

The Draft:
If you’re absolutely new to this, I will try in this one brief section to give you a blind fighting chance. Keep in mind that this is only a quick overview, and should not be considered ‘the law’ of open drafting. It is meant to get you on your feet and into the season, and to avoid you the grief of having to go into the draft ‘on the fly’. This is the MINIMUM requirement necessary to let you compete and learn.

#1. Show up to draft night with 2 pencils, a pen, 2 hi-lighters (I like yellow and blue, yellow for your draft picks) a clip board, blank paper, and your DraftGuide.com draft sheets sorted QB, RB, WR, TE, K, Def. Look cool, and try not to talk too much. (If you’re drafting over the net, you can forget the cool look; no one can see you)

#2. You need some kind of plan. With the absence of a plan of your own, I will give you a generic attempt at a draft order. It’s impossible to say one way is better than another, and your draft order is part of the art of open drafting. You will figure your own out as time goes on, and you will inevitably break off this order, but without a plan you got nothing. So, if all else fails... try QB-RB-WR-RB-WR-TE-QB-K-RB-WR-Def ...and then fill in your open slots, as you feel fit. The variations are endless, and most folks this year with the first 4-5 picks are going RB with the first pick. (B. Favre being the exception)

#3. When the draft starts, calmly pick up your blue hi-lighter and cross off each player’s name as they are picked. If needed, grunt something to clarify who is being picked. When it comes to your turn, stoically pick up your yellow hi-lighter, and focus hard on your ‘plan’. Visualize that name in front of you...if it’s a QB, focus on the highest ranked QB left. Take the yellow hi-lighter and slowly streak the players name as you say " Drew Bledsoe,...quarterback...New England Patriots". Once that is done, repeat the process until your roster is full. Please look at the bye weeks, especially for the TE-K-Def (and QB) positions. You usually only have 2 roster spots at those positions, and you can’t afford to get stuck without a player at the position for a week.

#4. When the draft is over, copy your draft picks on the league ‘team worksheet’ (or blank sheet of paper, as is usually the case). Print them clearly and mutter a trash talk or two to confirm that you are there. Go home and review, despair, glorify, and lament your team. Get to know it, pick your starters, and find your duds.

#5. $$Money$$. If your league has any dues and/or fees...it’s a real good idea to fork over the dollars right off the bat. Don’t chump these folks, they are in most cases just trying to keep things afloat.

Now, following these brief steps will not guarantee any thing other than a somewhat intelligent start. You have to pay attention ALL SEASON LONG. Watch those injury updates, and especially those dreaded bye weeks. There is nothing worse than starting a player that is on bye, or on the disabled list. If you pay attention through the season, and actually try to learn what’s going on, there’s no reason you can’t finish 5^th or 6^th in your league. You should even win a few weeks in the process.

I will continue these thoughts in a more detailed and ‘intermediate’ level in a future Pound, but for now I’ll stop here. This was, after all, just the very basics. And by the way...for those of you that have hung in there since the first paragraph...I picked Randall Cunningham with the 3^rd overall pick, it was dusk, and it was at the Villa Mart on Highway 11 outside of Milton-Freewater, OR. <grin>

Until next time

...the Sun Dog

David James Didion