The Commish Fantasy Segment #1 - 1/6/21

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Now... I know what you're thinking. Could you have come up with a better name for your fantasy segment than "The Fantasy Segment" and putting a number after it? Honestly, probably not. The answer to your next question though is the one that is more important, and that answer is "no, it is not too early or too late to start talking about fantasy football". 

The 2020 Fantasy Football season ends in Week 16 for most players and Week 17 for those of you that also like self-deprecating jokes. And now that the NFL regular season is over everyone will delete their fantasy apps and completely forget about it until August. However, if you are like me, fantasy football is much more than a passion and as I always say football season never ends. And the same can be said about the fantasy season. Throughout the offseason in this series of articles, I will talk to fellow Commishes (if fellow Commishes want to talk to me 😭) about league composition and rules, I will discuss fantasy strategy, and most important I will give instant analysis on any moves that happen to fantasy-relevant players. 

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For our first discussion though, I want to focus on making your fantasy life better in 2021. *Insert corny joke about New Year's resolution here*. I will give 10 tips on things that either you or your commissioner can do to help make your league(s) better. There is no one cure-all or fix for a fantasy league to make it better because maybe you just aren't dating the right fantasy league. There is plenty of fish in the sea, don't lose hope yet. You are only 26, still live with your parents, are a hopeless romantic and... Let's just jump into it.

1. There are many different types of leagues. You have your casual leagues, big money, competitive, charity leagues, fun/silly, whatever it is, there is a fantasy league out there for you. My first question for you is, does the type of league you are in match with the type of league you want to be in? If the answer was no, and I just solved your problem, you can just click off this article because you already gave me your view. Much appreciated.
   
   In all sincerity, this is a very common issue for people, including myself at one point. I am a very competitive person and realized that I was in 2 different leagues that had some casual and competitive players, but weren't serious/challenging enough for me. I ended up combining them both and forming my favorite league.
   
   
2. I will certify that some of the most fun I have had in fantasy is when I have shared it with people who have never played before. Seeing the game through their eyes is an enriching experience. Creating a family or work league is a great to build camaraderie or do something fun with people you hate. At the end of the day, playing a game with the people closest to you can only ever be a good thing. Unless you don't have any those people. In that case... sorry.
   
   
3.  Once you are in the type of league you want, one of the things that makes fantasy better is interacting with those (hopefully) like-minded people. Whether you like to trash talk and pretend to kick someone from the league every week, or just ask your mates about their team. Communication is key to having more fun with fantasy. One of my favorite things about the Sleeper fantasy platform is that they have a League Chat function very visible within the app and on the desktop version. Even something as simple as a text chain with all of your closest fantasy friends so that you can react to the best plays on Sundays can make playing fantasy that much better. For players in unusual leagues, communication can be especially important when you are sharing all of the different rules.
   
   
4. The rules your league plays with are important. But more important than the rules is the ability of your Commish to properly explain those rules so everyone is on an equal playing field. When one person gets the short end of the stick because the Commish didn't do their job, it has the possibility of creating a league-wide effect of bad. If you are a Commish, it is more important to be annoying and overly informative, rather than lazy and cool. As an example, if you have rules that are not able to be enforced on your site (ex: keeper restrictions), those need to be properly identified to each league member.
   

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   I interrupt this program to share with you my "Best Bets" for SUPER FUN WOW WILD CARD MUCH WOW OMG WEEKEND! At least, I am pretty sure that is what the NFL is calling it. Odds are via PointsBet (at 4pm on Tue) where, if betting was legal in Florida, I would be placing all my bets. Highly recommend. If you would like a quick crash course on betting, please see the end of the article.
   
   (7) Colts @ (2) Bills -6.5 O/U 51
   (6) Rams @ (3) Seahawks -3.5 O/U 42.5
   (5) Bucs @ (4) Football Team +8 O/U 45
   (5) Ravens @ (4) Titans +3 O/U 55
   (7) Bears @ (2) Saints -10.5 O/U 47
   (6) Browns @ (3) Steelers -6 O/U 47.5
   
   I won't give my picks on each game because if I'm not bullish on a line, I won't put my own money on it. So I won't give my advice to those that may be risking their own.
   
   Ravens -3.5: Ravens have been playing great football recently, even though they haven't really been tested. Last year in January when these teams met, the Titans defense stood up and said we won't let Lamar beat us. Well, the Titans have arguably the worst defense in the league this time around. If they go down multiple scores, they can't get Henry going by the 4th quarter. I see a blowout.
   
   Browns/Steelers OVER 47: Hear me out. Everyone thinks of the AFC North as this rough 'em up defensive division. Which of these defenses is actually doing that this year? Steelers have a good PPG, but they are nowhere near as dominant as last year. The Browns allowed Mason Rudolph to put up 20+ points on them just a few days ago! If you wanted to parlay the Steelers -6 with this as well, I wouldn't be opposed. Browns may have given away some of their playbook just to make the dance while the Steelers sat and saved their best stuff for this week. Also, not having your head coach for the Browns will hurt them.
   
   Honorable mentions: If Jared Goff plays this week, I expect that O/U to rise from 42.5. I would put my money on an under if it reaches 46 or above. Something about the WFT's DL has me super worried for Tom. He has never performed well if he doesn't have time to set up. If Washington can create pressure with 4... I still think the Bucs win. But they might not win by 8...
   
   Parlay of the Week: I am going to try to set rules for myself that I pick a +300 parlay each week there are games. For the Super Bowl and possibly Champ games, it may include prop bets.
    
   Seahawks ML -200 AND Steelers -6 -110 AND Bills/Colts O51 -110
   $100 pays $446

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5. For the next few pieces of advice, I will focus a bit more on specific ways to help you have more fun depending on the type of league you are in (or want to be in). 
   
   As I mentioned, I am a competitive player and had always wanted to create a league that was long-standing and additionally required a thoughtful strategy that could be years into the future. If you are similar to me, seek out fantasy platforms that allow you the most customization as possible. Platforms like ESPN are the most popular to the general public because they are the most accessible and least customizable. They work well for what they do, but if you want to get fun and fancy free (I laughed writing this because ESPN/Disney pun IDC IDC.) it is best to try sites like Sleeper, FleaFlicker, or MyFantasyLeague. All are less mainstream but still pack a punch for doing neat and unique rules.
   
   
6. If you are interested in trying fantasy football but are new to the arena... Don't fret! Grab a couple friendos and maybe a dog or two and start up a league. The size of your league doesn't matter (or does it?). One of my best tips (lol) to those that have never played before is to co-own a team with a friend that has played before. It is a great way to get your feet wet, but also share your success (or most likely failure) with someone. Also to my fellow manish boys, if you can somehow convince your girlfriend or wife or simpee to try fantasy out, she may just see the enjoyment it brings you and resent you less.
   
   
7. To those of you that have played fantasy for years and are losing interest, is it because you suck at fantasy? No? You're saying you don't really suck? It is just BS year after year? Mhmm sure. Well, have you ever tried out different types of fantasy? I myself am not a fan of Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS), but I know many people that are. Additionally, depending on the state you live in mobile sports betting may be available. And if none of that tickles your goodies, there are a few new types of leagues that are very interesting like the Guillotine or Vampire leagues. 
   
   A Guillotine league is a 16 or 17 team league where there is no Head to Head. The lowest-scoring team each week gets "guillotined" from the league and their entire roster goes into Free Agency. FAAB (Free Agent Acquisition Budget) is how the remaining teams will choose to comb over the waivers. Last remaining team wins.
   
   A Vampire league is where one team that is deemed the Vampire does not draft. In Week 1, their entire roster is comprised of players off the waiver wire. However, whenever they win a game during the season, they get to swap one player from their starting lineup with a player of the same position from their opponent. When playing against the vampire, do you sit your best players? Or go all out for the win and risk losing? It is a normal H2H league besides that.
   
   
8. If the league you play in has monetary value as a prize for... I don't know why I'm talking like this we know all of you are degenerates. Getting money involved in fantasy is just another way to garner interest and get people to stay focused on winning and playing. However, for some, it can also be a roadblock. Being in a league where one singular person wins the entire pot IS GREAT... for that one winner. Having the best team all year and losing in the championship is incredibly defeating. In my personal opinion, creating opportunities for more people to win or to continue to have a reason to play, is incredibly important. In all of my leagues, there is a prize for 3rd place. In all of my leagues, there is an incentive to win at least a game if you are in the "consolation/loser bowl". Some people just want to be done when they aren't having a good year. Those people are always the first people to leave your league because they never have a good year and are disconnected. Keeping everyone invested will hopefully make the league stronger.
   

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9. Something that I feel I am pretty unique to as a Commish is getting the league involved in activities outside of fantasy football. In one of my now former leagues, each offseason I wanted to come up with a unique way to get the draft order picked. How boring is it to just pick out of a hat or use a random number generator? There is nothing to it. But being able to say "oh yea I did this and this and because of it I earned the #1 pick and got to pick McCaffrey", is cool to me. My suggestion is that you try to incorporate a neat way to do your draft order. Getting the league together more often can help get some of your league mates more used to each other or just gives them a reason to interact with each other again.
   
   The example I was referring to for my now former league was this. One offseason, I had a 6-event draft order affair. It started right as the season ended. The 6 events were as follows: NFL Playoffs Bracket, March Madness Bracket, Lowest Golfer at the Masters, Fastest Driver at Daytona, NBA Player Highest Scorer, and Fastest Horse at the Kentucky Derby. At the time, there were 10 teams in the league. You could get 1-10 points in any single event. The best possible score was 60. Since there were 4 events that required a draft of player/driver/golfer/horse, I had 2 of those draft orders based on the final standings of the year and 2 based on the reverse of those final standings. People that never watched golf before were interested in the Masters. Similar experiences for the Derby and Daytona. I did all the tabulations by hand and also would update the Google Sheet (available for all to check) at the end of each night for the NBA scoring. It was a lot of work for a solo-Commish, but it was a lot of fun for me as well. Most importantly, it was a great way to get people talking and not having an 8-month long lull where some of the people in your league are but a memory.
   
   
10. At the end of the day, the best advice I can give you to have a better fantasy life is to simply remember that fantasy football is a game and to have fun with it. Some people focus so much on the money, some people stop playing altogether and ruin it for themselves and others. Playing a game with friends, acquaintances, family, etc, is always fun and never, ever, not even one time stressful.... Also, I only said "remember to have fun" because coming up with a list of 10 ways to make your fantasy life better is kinda tough. 😅 THIS ISN'T ABOUT FUN! THIS IS REAL FUCKING LIFE!!!

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If you have any have better pieces of advice or would like to tell me how I am terrible at this and should just quit, let me know in the comments or at @KyleTheCommish on Twitter.

Note to writer: Don't forget to insert corny joke at the top of the article.

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Basic crash course on some of the things you will see if you are unaware of betting lines and odds. 

If you see -6.5 after a team, that means that team is favored to win by 6.5 points. So the books are saying that the Bills have to win by 7 for you to win that bet. If the Bills win by 3 and you bet Bills -6.5, you would lose. The odds on this type of bet are normally around -110 or so. The reason they use .5 is to avoid ties.

O/U means Over/Under. The bet is, will the score be over/under the score given? 51 is the example for the Bills game. The odds on this type of bet are normally around -110 or so.

ML means Moneyline which means there is no points given or taken away from vegas. If you take a ML bet, you just need the team you chose to win no matter the score. The odds on this type of bet will vary depending on who the book thinks will win. For the Seattle game, this book is giving us -200 for Seattle to win. This would mean that if you bet $200, you would get $100 in profit if you win.

A minus in front of the number means that team is favored, a plus means they are underdogs and Vegas thinks is less likely to win.
+150 means if you pay $100 and win the bet, you will get $150 back.
-233 means if you pay $233 and win the bet, you will get $100 back.

Book means Sportsbook, also referred to as Vegas.

Parlay means more than one bet in a single bet. Another way of saying, you have to have all of your bets go right to win your money. The odds are more difficult to win a parlay for this reason.