Fantasy Football Tips #209: The Odds do not always mean what you think

Let me start right off the bat by saying that I am a big believer in using the Las Vegas Odds as a "Tool" to help decide starters; especially if all other means show them even.

For example, your 2 kicker choices are Nick Folk Dallas and Ryan Longwell Minnesota.
Previous analysis shows both kickers to be about even. Both are at home, kicking in a dome so no weather issues, etc. To help decide WDIS (who do I start) look at the odds.

Dallas is a -7 point favorite with over/under of 44.

Min is a +4 underdog with an over/under 50.

So the bookies think DAL will win 24-17 and MIN will lose 27-23. AHA you say go with Folk since he should score more points.

NOT SO FAST!

The odds are not what you think. They are not designed to be exactly what will happen in a game but rather are designed to draw the same amount of bets to both sides so that Vegas can win on the vig. The Vig (or "Juice" as it is sometimes referred to) is the commision on the bet.

If a bet in the U.S is straight up (lets say a coin toss of heads or tails). The sports book will charge 110 for the bet from both parties. A heads bet costs 110 and tails bet also 110. So the bookie will take in 220 and pay out 210 to the winner, keeping 10 as the vig or commission.
But if everyone is betting heads; the sportsbook will want to "encourage" others to bet tails so that in the event that Heads comes up they do not lose too much. So the line moves...

Most point spread bets are for 110 wagered which wins 100. So the 10 lost if you lose the bet is the vig.

Also note sports books often set the point spread at half a point so that there is always a winner and a loser so that the book can keep their commission (if their is a push-the teams tie based on the point spread-then all wagers get their money back).

One technique is to bet the favorite early and bet the underdog late. Why? Because as more bets are placed on the favourite, the odds become shorter since the bookies do not want you to keep betting on them. Conversely when wagering on the underdog, leaving it as late as possible will usually mean the odds on offer will increase and you get the best wager possible.

But what if the betting public really favors one team?
It has been shown that some teams take in more bets from the public in general. Dallas, Green Bay and Pittsburgh all are favored by their fans and generally take in more bets on them. The book makers know this and will set their odds as high as possible in some cases. So GB may be favored by 9 points when really they are only expected to win by 6 points but the book makers want to get more money on their opponent. This is called "Shading" the line.
Often it is more for the playoffs, Super Bowl or big National games.


Ok so I have digressed some. Lets review so far.

1) Most Sportsbooks would love to have the same amount wagered on each side. That way they make money on the vig and do not have to pay out more to one side or the other.

2) If a fan favorite is involved in a big game, the book makers may "shade" the line to their opponent since they know the public will bet "Dallas" no matter what.

3) If one team gets too many bets, the line may move to "encourage" more bets on the other team.

Conclusion: There are times when the line is not what Vegas thinks will happen; instead it is what Vegas needs to make the betting more equitable for Vegas.

So in our example above maybe Ryan Longwell is the one to go with if Dallas really has a shaded line. Just something to think about as we move closer to the big games.

Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669

Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

Fantasy Football Guidebook and Fantasy Football Tips featured as Holiday Gifts for 2009

Check out the latest press for Fantasy Football Guidebook and Fantasy Football Tips as they are both listed as great Holiday Gift ideas for 2009 at Nicole's Nickels.

See the link below for her reviews:

http://www.nicolesnickels.com/holidaygiftguide/?p=221

Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669

Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

Fantasy Football Guidebook-Author Q and A in Blogging 'Bout Boys

Books for Boys: Fantasy Football Guidebook

(As seen at http://www.bloggingboutboys.blogspot.com/)

'Tis the season -- for football!

Those football fans among you have probably been enjoying the season for weeks now (depending on your team). And the die-hard football fanatics are probably already well-aware of the phenomenon that is fantasy football. For the uninitiated, though, fantasy football is a game in which players "draft" real, live NFL players to be on their fanatasy teams. Their teams then score points based on how the players perform in their real-life football games.
Sam Hendricks, an avid fantasy football player with almost two decades of experience, shares his tips and tricks for fantasy football success in Fantasy Football Guidebook and Fantasy Football Tips. Fantasy Football Guidebook was a Finalist in the 2009 National Indie Excellence Book Awards and the 2008 USA Book News Best Books contest.

If you have a son interested in fantasy football, get him these books. They include everything, from Top 10 Reasons to Play Fantasy Football to 10 Rules of Trading to Observations to Let You Live a Normal Life While Enjoying Fantasy Football. One note: the word is a$$ is included at least once in the book. That's not a deal breaker for me, but something you might want to know before handing the books to your son.

On to the author Q & A!

How did you get interested in fantasy football? I loved NFL football but became very frustrated when the only matchups on TV were boring contests between weak teams. I wanted more excitement. A fellow aviator from my flying squadron (336th FS-we flew F-15E fighter jets for the USAF) suggested a “new” game called Fantasy Football and from that moment on I was hooked. I loved the ability to have different players from different teams (now I had a reason to watch those boring games because my players were in them and I had a vested interest). The more I played, the more I wanted to win and the more I wanted to learn everything about it. And it gave me a better appreciation of football too.

What's a good age to introduce a boy to fantasy football? Why? It depends on the maturity of the child, but I would say the earliest is around 7 or 8. At that age parents can share their enjoyment of watching football and the basic math skills of fantasy football can be introduced. Math skills such as addition (points for TDs), subtraction (lose points for INTs) and multiplication (multiple TDs) are easy to show and foster with fantasy football. Later at around age 12 or 13, the boys are getting more interested in sports and team play. Fantasy football is a great way to teach them good decision-making skills (who do you want vs. who is available at what time), problem-solving (when to switch players to maximize efficiency of the whole team), and also risks vs. rewards (choosing proven veterans over unproven high-priced rookies, etc.) It can be a good teaching tool if implemented correctly. The child learns that "owner" decisions have an immediate impact on the team and one player does not control the game.

A lot of people consider fantasy football "a waste of time," but there's a lot to it. It's fun, of course, but there's also statistics and critical thinking. Your book even includes anatomical info about common football injuries! Over 30 million people play fantasy football each year and the numbers keep growing. I have seen the media adapt to this ever increasing demographic as well. Most of the highlight/update reports now include players and their statistics at the bottom of the screen. Those statistics have even evolved from simply who scored the TD to how many catches they have, their yardage and TDs or injury status. This is because of the fantasy football fan! So opinion of fantasy football has moved from the obscure “waste of time” to a billion dollar industry as evidenced by the 20+ magazines devoted to this fascinating hobby. Fantasy Football Guidebook is my attempt to provide a comprehensive guide to playing fantasy football.

How can a parent support and nuture their son's interest in football and/or fantasy football? Parents can spend time with their child enjoying the game while noting the "mathematical" aspects of the game. Also, encourage their child to be a participant, either on an actual football team or in a fantasy football league. By encouraging participation, parents can nurture the interest and will be able to communicate with their child on subjects of mutual interest and appeal. Since Fantasy Football Guidebook came out, I have spoken with hundreds of parents who have told me about the “bonding” time that fantasy football has created. Fathers and sons are fielding teams together as co-managers and spending more time together deciding on strategies (who to start) and watching their players perform.

"Ask the Expert" Question: What one player should fantasy owners be most thankful for this season, and why?

Fantasy Football Index Magazine "Ask the Expert" Question for the week: What one player should fantasy owners be most thankful for this season, and why?

Hands down Brett Favre is my candidate. He has the Minnesota Vikings at 9-1 with a three game lead in the NFC North. The Vikes QB is No. 1 in the NFL in passer rating (112.1), No. 1 in fewest interceptions thrown (three), No. 2 in completion percentage (69.7) and No. 2 in touchdown passes (21). He is averaging 20 points per game in most leagues (7th best QB); not bad for someone going in the 11th round in many drafts.


ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly at www.fantasyindex.com with answers to a new question posted Thursday morning.

Sam Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Almanac 2009, all available at his website, http://www.ffguidebook.com/ , at all major bookstores, and at http://www.amazon.com/. He is a 19-year fantasy football veteran who regularly participates in the World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF), National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th overall in the 2008 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC).

Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669

Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

Ranked 6th overall in the Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC)

FFGuidebook.com is currently ranked 6th Overall (out of 228) in the high stakes Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC, www.theFFPC.com) with 1671 points.

FFGuidebook.com is the League #10 "Joe Montana" Regular Season H2H champion with a 8-3 record and is the Total Points winner for the league as well. FFGuidebook.com wins $1,000 and earns an automatic berth to the Championship Round and a chance at the $75,000 Grand Prize in Weeks 14, 15 and 16.

Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669

Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

Week 11 Results for FFGuidebook.com

Week 11 Results for FFGuidebook.com.
How did we do in Week 11? Lets look at all leagues and results.

First a Recap: Went 7-3 in my 10 leagues (64-45-1 for the year). Won in the FFPC Main Event to clinch the #1 seed as the Regular Season League Champ with best H2H record of 8-3 and the most points scored as well. Overall a great week with a strong showing and the 3 losses coming in 1 Expert League, 1 DraftMaster League and a Rapid Draft Free league.

Leagues This weeks Result/Overall Ranking (W/L or TP)BOLD = improvement

Fantasy Football Players Championship“Joe Montana”Main Event League #10 Win 8-3 /1st place regualr season finish and #1 seed (1st in TP/6th of 228)

FFPC $125 Satellite League #27 Win /3rd place

Local Lakenheath League Win 10-1 /First Place

Rapid Draft FantasyFootballTips Loss 6-4-1 /3rd

Rapid Draft FFGuidebook.com Win 8-3 /1st place finish at the end of the Regular Season

Fantasy Sports Magazine Expert League 2 Win 3-8/ 11th (Injuries to C Portis, D Owens hurt, although I am 3rd in the league in Total Points scored so my 3-8 H2H record appears to be really bad luck in the scheduling department as I have several games while outscoring most of the other teams)

Fantasy Draftbook.com Expert League Loss 5-6/ 8th

FFPC Pros vs Joe’s DraftExperts (Draftmasters) Win 8th

Fantasy Index Expert Auction (Draftmasters) Win 4th

FFPC 77 DraftExperts (Draftmasters) Loss 7th
-------------------------------------------------
7-3 (64-45-1 overall)

NOTE in DraftMaster/Expert leagues that are not H2H a win is defined as beating half of the opponents scores for the week.

Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669

Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

Fantasy Football Tips #208: Plan for three seasons...not one

The entire Fantasy Football season can really be broken down into three (and sometimes more) parts. You should plan for and think of each of these parts as a separate season.

What are the parts?

1) The regular season (usually anywhere from 11-13 weeks)
2) The Playoffs (normally 2 or 3 weeks)
3) The League Championship Game (or the FF Super bowl) (Should be week 16)

NOTE: The parts mentioned above are for the conventional Fantasy Football league. The High Stakes leagues like the Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC), World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF) and National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) have three parts as well but I consider the third part to these contests is the “Championship Round” where if you advance, you leave the H2H matches behind and instead play against the other Champions in the final weeks in a total point format.

So why divide up the season into parts? Because each can have different strategies that provide advantages and disadvantages.

For example, once you have made the playoffs now it may be better to add another Kicker or TE as a backup (if you only had 1 on your roster). Why? Because if your TE or K comes up as: “Out” for the big single elimination playoff game, then you will lose an easy 5-10 points in that match up if you do not have a back up. In the regular season I advise NOT carrying an extra Kicker and maybe not an extra TE (unless he is good enough to be used as a Flex player and your rules have a Flex option) because those spots are better used for sleepers at RB or WR. But in a H2H single elimination game those extra points may be the difference between a win and advancing and losing and watching some other owner win the prize.

In the regular season, you can afford to lose a few points during the longer season if such a calamity occurs, secure in the knowledge that the extra RB or WR you have may prove more valuable in the long run.

Another reason to use the “different seasons” theory is for free agent acquisitions.
If I know I have made the playoffs a week or more early, then I can focus on the critical playoff weeks and add players who should excel in those weeks rather then worry about a pick up to win the last week of the regular season. As an example, if I am assured of a playoff spot in week 10 of an 11 week season, then I can add a K or DEF that should explode in week 12 of my playoffs and hold them for an extra week because I do not need to struggle to win in the regular season.

Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669


Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

Week 10 Results for FFGuidebook.com. Late due to vacation and on a 7 day cruise in med. Better late then never.

Week 10 Results for FFGuidebook.com

I know, I know, Week 11 is almost in the books. But since I was absent for a week on vacation with my lovely wife Birgitte; I decided to give a quick update on what went down last week. This segways into the Week 11 results which I will post shortly.

How did we do in Week 10? Look at all leagues and results.

Recap: Went 5-5 in my 10 leagues (57-42-1 for the year). Lost in my two money FFPC leagues (Main Event and the $150 satellitte league) but it did not cost me too much. I say this because I play the #1 team in the main event this final week 11 and if I beat him I win the league regular season, get the #1 seed and $1,000. So I control my own fate. By the way that FFPC main event loss was to the top scoring team of the week (guess who was 2nd highest scorer?) and I am now the Total Points leader for the league going into this last week 11. So if I can outscore the other 2 close competitors I can win that $1,000 even if I lose the H2H matchup.


Leagues This weeks Result/Overall Ranking (W/L or TP)BOLD = improvement

Fantasy Football Players Championship“Joe Montana”Main Event League #10 Loss 7-3 /2nd(1st in TP/12th of 228)

FFPC $125 Satellite League #27 Loss /3rd place

Local Lakenheath League Win 9-1 /First Place

Rapid Draft FantasyFootballTips Win 6-3-1 /3rd

Rapid Draft FFGuidebook.com Loss 7-3 /2nd (Even when I lost I scored more and advanced to 2nd place)

Fantasy Sports Magazine Expert League 2 Loss 2-8/ 12th (I stink-injuries to C Portis, D Owens hurt)

Fantasy Draftbook.com Expert League Win 5-5/ 6th

FFPC Pros vs Joe’s DraftExperts (Draftmasters) Loss 8th

Fantasy Index Expert Auction (Draftmasters) Win 5th

FFPC 77 DraftExperts (Draftmasters) Win 7th
-------------------------------------------------
5-5 (57-42-1 overall)

NOTE in DraftMaster/Expert leagues that are not H2H a win is defined as beating half of the opponents scores for the week.

Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669

Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

Back from 7 day Cruise in Med. Week 11 matchup in FFPC for 1st place in League

Great vacation.
Missed some football action- NE vs IND game which I heard was great.
Excellent weather in France and Italy.


I face BabyRat in the FFPC "Joe Montana" League in the last regular season game as a showdown for 1st place. Winner is #1 seed for playoffs and wins $1000.
More on the Fantasy Football outcomes later....

"Ask the Expert" Question: How concerned should fantasy owners be about players from those teams with big leads being rested as early as week 16?

Fantasy Football Index Magazine "Ask the Expert" Question for the week: Several teams have 3-game leads in their divisions. How concerned should fantasy owners be about players from those teams being rested as early as week 16?

Be afraid. Be very afraid. Just look back to 2005 when both Reggie Wayne and Peyton Manning pretty much sat out the last 2 games of the season giving their owners minimal points. But quite frankly it is way too soon to worry about it now. Of the three teams with 3 game leads, IND has a tough schedule ahead and a ton of injuries; I do not see them securing home field advantage early enough. Minnesota with four of the next five games at home could be in a position after week 14 and NO may be the same. But then again they both may be fighting each other for that #1 seed. So don’t sweat it yet.




ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly at www.fantasyindex.com with answers to a new question posted Thursday morning.

Sam Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Almanac 2009, all available at his website, http://www.ffguidebook.com/ , at all major bookstores, and at http://www.amazon.com/. He is a 19-year fantasy football veteran who regularly participates in the World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF), National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th overall in the 2008 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC).

Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669

Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

FFGuidebook.com remains in Top 10 at Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC) out of 228 entries

Russ Steele, Weston Pleinis, Mike Grimm and Kip Lockwood are some familiar names on the top of the leaderboard. Jason Tapley, owner of the Bada Bingers scored 223.35 points and vaulted into 8th place overall. Jason took 3rd overall in the inaugural FFPC Main Event last year, so welcome back to the top of the leaderboard, Jason. And Don Thompson put up 201 points to move all the way up to 7th place.

All bye weeks are now completed except for the Giants and Texans, so most teams will be close to full strength as we enter the stretch run in the FFPC Main Event. With two weeks to go in the regular season, here is our top ten overall:

1 - SHOW ME YOUR TD'S - Manny De Jesus - 1401.55
2 - Leonidas' Revenge - Russ Steele - 1395.2
3 - Westonio United - Weston Pleinis - 1394.2
4 - RFL'ers - Mike Grimm - 1376.65
5 - Nimrods - Kip Lockwood - 1371.9
6 - Stallions - Craig Katz - 1368.6
7 - Team Thompson - Don Thompson - 1357.7
8 - The Bada Bingers - Jason Tapley - 1353.6
9 - Michigan Fanatics - Mark Peraino - 1336.9
10 - FFGuidebook.com - Sam Hendricks - 1335.15

The rest of the leaderboard can be accessed below.
The FFPC Leaderboard





Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669

Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

Week 9 Results for FFGuidebook.com

How did we do in Week 9? Look at all leagues and results.

Recap: Lost in 8 of my 10 leagues (52-37-1 for the year though). But the two I won were my two most important money leagues. Won in the Fantasy Football Players Championship Main Event to go to 7-2 and stay in first place in the Joe Montana League. And won in my local league to keep the trash talking going as I remained #1 there as well. So if I had to pick only two leagues to win-those would be the ones. The FFPC $125 satellite League is a 13 week Total Points league where 6 of the 12 advance to the playoffs. So I am not too concerned about missing those playoffs. The top 2 teams get a bye in week 14 and that is all I need. NOTE currently at 2nd just shy of first place.

Leagues This weeks Result/Overall Ranking (W/L or TP)BOLD = improvement

Fantasy Football Players Championship“Joe Montana”Main Event League #10 Win 7-2 /1st(2nd in TP/10th of 228)

FFPC $125 Satellite League #27 Loss /2nd place

Local Lakenheath League Win 8-1 /First Place

Rapid Draft FantasyFootballTips Loss 5-3-1 /4th

Rapid Draft FFGuidebook.com Loss 7-2 /3rd (Drop one game and 2 spots in standings-tough league)

Fantasy Sports Magazine Expert League 2 Loss 2-7/ 11th (Pride is keeping me in this one in a mad fight to not finish last-actually there are 6 teams within 3 games of me so.......)

Fantasy Draftbook.com Expert League Loss 4-5/ 7th (A four game losing streak has me changing up the roster for week 10)

FFPC Pros vs Joe’s DraftExperts (Draftmasters) Loss 8th

Fantasy Index Expert Auction (Draftmasters) Loss 5th

FFPC 77 DraftExperts (Draftmasters) Loss 7th
-------------------------------------------------
2-8 (52-37-1 overall)

NOTE in DraftMaster/Expert leagues that are not H2H a win is defined as beating half of the opponents scores for the week.

Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669

Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

Why the Houston Texans will always lose to the Colts

Lack of thinking ahead.

2:09 left in the frsthalf of their week 9 matchup.
Ryan Moats rushes left and as he is tackled fumbles on the 2 yard line as he goes out of bounds.
The ball lands in the field of play and a Colt player recovers it but the ref rules otherwise.
Moats walks back to the huddle as if nothing happened and lets the Texans just run the clock down to the 2-minute warning without running another play.
This allows IND to review the play and ask for a coaches challenge which is upheld giving IND and Peyton Manning the ball with 2 minutes to go to the half. Denying HOU a chance at a TD.

A) Moats should have told the team to quickly run another play so no review could occur. He DID NOT THINK AHEAD.

Week 9 Updates

Ryam Moats will start for Hou but expect Slaton to get half of the carries off the bench

Kolby Smith activated by KC but look for J Charles and D Savage to have most of the carries today

Who is out?

L Moore is out so look for D Henderson to half more action as will R Meachem

J Finley is out at TE for GB again so the other guy Havner ? get his chances at TDs again

Kevin Curtis is out-big surprise so Maclin and Celek get upward ticks

M Muhammed-CAR-WR so Dwayne Jarrett aw heck who is kidding who nobody gets an upgrade cause Jake Delhomme is struggling

Game Time Decisions

A Boldin-I expect him to play

A Bryant-?

Questionable
Brian Westbrook- I expect him to play cause he made Wed and Th practices, but he took Friday off. Maybe just to rest

J Stewart-?

T Heap- he is back to his old self Todd "Questionable" Heap-he'll play

R White- he will play

Kevin Smith-he will play

Devin Hester-yes

Pierre Garcon-He better play

Watch closer

A Rodgers DNP Thurs

L McCoy reportedly had the flu on Wed.

D Driver missed some practice time

Fantasy Football Index Magazine "Ask the Expert" Question for the week: Who gets your vote for Fantasy MVP so far?

Either Peyton Manning or Drew Brees. Both have led their teams to an undefeated 7-0 start. I give the nod to Peyton because even though Brees has scored more fantasy points (172 to 169), Manning has been more consistent. Peyton has roughly a 23-point FP average with a low of 17 and high of 33. Brees on the other hand has two ten point games and a 40-point game; too much feast or famine for my taste. Winner so far: Peyton Manning and his 2227 yards, 15 TDs and 4 INTs. Honorable mention goes to Brett Favre and his league leading 16 TDs to three INTs while leading Minnesota to a 6-1 record.

ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly at www.fantasyindex.com with answers to a new question posted Thursday morning.

Sam Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Almanac 2009, all available at his website, http://www.ffguidebook.com/ , at all major bookstores, and at http://www.amazon.com/. He is a 19-year fantasy football veteran who regularly participates in the World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF), National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th overall in the 2008 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC).

Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669



Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

FFGuidebook.com back in the Top 10 Overall at the Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC)

Thanks to a strong showing from Tim Hightower, Steven Jackson and Chris Johnson, FFGuidebook.com climbed back into the Top 10 Overall (Out of 228 teams) at the Fantasy Football Players Championship (theFFPC.com).

The three RBs scored 85 points to propel FFGuidebook.com to a 167 point Week 8 finish.

From the FFPC results page:

FFPC Week 8 Results
Props to Brett Favre for playing like a champion even at the ago of 40. Love him or hate him, he is one heck of a football player.
His baby must be sleeping through the night as Russ Steele managed to get his team back to the top of the FFPC Main Event Leaderboard in a fairly low scoring fantasy week. Russ holds a less than 3 point advantage over our top scoring team for the week, RFL’ers, owned by Mike Grimm and Jack Guydish. Mike and Jack are getting a little cocky, and figured they could dominate the entire field with just 9 players this week. Way to go, guys! Nimrods checks in at 3rd, and Manny DeJesus and Weston Pleinis are near the top at 4th and 5th respectively.
With three weeks to go in the FFPC Main Event regular season, we have some very tight races. There are six teams within 44 points of each in the Gale Sayers league. The Joe Montana league has 9 teams within 2 games of the lead and 6 of them have records of 4 and 4. League after league has some fierce battles going on for the four playoff spots. The bye weeks are winding down, with just four teams on bye this week and two on bye in week ten. Here's our top ten overall:
1 - Leonidas' Revenge - Russ Steele - 1248.8
2 - RFL'ers - Mike Grimm - 1245.9
3 - Nimrods - Kip Lockwood - 1237.8
4 - SHOW ME YOUR TD'S - Manny De Jesus - 1234.6
5 - Westonio United - Weston Pleinis - 1219.8
6 - Rex Kwon Do - Brett Ford - 1201.3
7 - Stallions - Craig Katz - 1196.15
8 - MORE FIERCE! - Jeffrey Schmitz - 1189.3
9 - FFGuidebook.com - Sam Hendricks - 1187.2
10 - Michigan Fanatics - Mark Peraino - 1182.2


The FFPC Overall Leaderboard can be found using the link below:

http://mflbid.com/ffpc/2009/





Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669

Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

Sam Hendricks, Author of Fantasy Football Guidebook and Fantasy Football Tips appearing tonight on Football Reporters Online

Tonight I am a guest on Football Reporters Online (F.R.O.) available at
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Football-Reporters on BlogTalkRadio

Football Reporters Online discuss all Football Topics from the NFL, CFL, UFL Arena, All levels of College Football(FBS and FCS) Plus High School scouting and recruiting, as well as developmental leagues like the CDFL and Regional Combines. They also "tackle" the Tough Issues facing the game today.

I will be on from 9-9:30 PM EST.

Tune in for this Special "Fantasy Football" episode.

Callers to the show can reach them at 646) 200-3472

Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669

Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

How did FFGuidebook.com do in Week 8?

How did we do in Week 8? Look at all leagues and results.

Recap: Won in the Main Event at FFPC moving to 6-2 and advancing to 1st place, and stayed in 1st place there in Total Points.Overall did not do too well in the Expert Leagues but did well in the money leagues, DraftMasters leagues lost some ground but moved back into 3rd in the Fantasy Football Index Magazine Auction league.

Leagues This weeks Result/Overall Ranking (W/L or TP)
BOLD = improvement
Fantasy Football Players Championship“Joe Montana”Main Event League #10 Win 6-2 /1st(1st in TP/9th of 228)

FFPC $125 Satellite League #27 Loss /1st place

Local Lakenheath League Win 7-1 /First Place

Rapid Draft FantasyFootballTips Win 5-2-1 /2nd

Rapid Draft FFGuidebook.com Win 7-1 /1st

Fantasy Sports Magazine Expert League 2 Loss 2-6/ 11th

Fantasy Draftbook.com Expert League Loss 4-4/ 6th (I scored enough to move up on someone else who lost in front of me and has the same record-go figure!)

FFPC Pros vs Joe’s DraftExperts (Draftmasters) Loss 7th

Fantasy Index Expert Auction (Draftmasters) Win 3rd

FFPC 77 DraftExperts (Draftmasters) Loss 6th
-------------------------------------------------5-5 (50-29-1 overall)

NOTE in DraftMaster/Expert leagues that are not H2H a win is defined as beating half of the opponents scores for the week.



Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669



Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

Is it just me or is the wait between the end of MNF and the Sunday start driving you crazy?

Every week the wait between the final snap of Monday Night Football and the first kickoff on Sunday at 1 PM EST seems like it is getting longer and longer.......

Anyone else have these same feelings of time stretching endlessly and slowly during the week days?

I need my fantasy football fix in quicker intervals.

I am fully into the season now with position battles in the leagues, player injuries and suspensions making me pull my hair out (what is left of it after Larry Johnsons little surprise).

I cannot wait until Sunday morning comes and football games return me to a calm only fantasy football can bestow.

How do I fill the cravings of more football sooner?

I NEED THURSDAY GAMES and I need them now!



Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669

Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

I hate the 6 team Week 8 Byes

PIT, NE, CIN and WAS are critical players lost
TB and KC not so much. (okay maybe Dwayne Bowe)

I was forced to add Bulger to replace Big Ben and Palmer in most of my leagues.
Fingers crossed for a big Rams day passing against the Detroit secondary.

Week 10 has some weak sisters on byes as well.
STL, CLE, OAK and BUF all take a seat but MIN and NYJ are not playing too so AP owners beware!


Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669

Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203