Born to Lose

Scott Hardie | October 5, 2014
I have just joined a fantasy hockey league with friends.

I know nothing more about hockey than the average non-fan on the street.

I won't be able to attend the draft as it happens, so I'll have to choose players later from whoever is left over.

Any advice for not coming in dead last at the end of the season?

Steve West | October 5, 2014
I probably know less than you. Picking from players left over seems like a no-win situation... Seems like goalie would be critical and obviously scorers. Focus on wings and centers and not so much defensemen, maybe.

Aaron Shurtleff | October 5, 2014
They don't have an autodraft available? Most leagues online are set up to automatically draft the best available player (based on positions you still need to fill) if you are not present/do not make a pick within a certain time limit. If you are picking from leftovers, that is pretty bad news.

Best advice would depend on how scoring system works. Goaltender is usually easiest (he has ONE job!), but the other players it will depend on how points are doled out. If you review past info, look for players that get high numbers of assists. Unless the value of goals to assists is really wonky, you can sometimes do better with players that don't get as many goals, but are really good at setting up their teammates. Also see how penalties are treated. I've seen leagues where if your player commits a penalty, you lose points, and I've seen leagues where if your player gets penalized, you gain points. Sometimes it's good to look for the goons!

Samir Mehta | October 5, 2014
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Scott Hardie | October 8, 2014
Thanks for the good advice. Auto-drafting was in effect, so I wound up with players who seem decent, about as good as I would have picked on my own I think. The first matchup is tonight and I've readied my team as best I know how, so here's keeping my fingers crossed. This is my first time playing a fantasy sport and I can definitely see the appeal already. :-)

Chris Lemler | October 8, 2014
I know somethings about drafting. I have played in a fantasy hockey league before. And I tried to go after goal scorers and a good goalie if possible

Scott Hardie | October 10, 2014
The first day went well enough. Most players got 12-15 points. I managed second place in the league with 19 points. In first place? The league's sole Canadian with 50 points. This could be a long season...

Erik Bates | November 12, 2014
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Scott Hardie | December 6, 2014
The league is going well so far. We're approaching the halfway point of the season and I've won about half the time so far. I joined a concurrent basketball league -- I know a few major NBA players but I'm still no expert at that sport either -- and I'm donig about as well in that league too. The goal is simply not to come in last and be stuck with the loser trophy on my desk, so I think I'll pull that off.

So far, It's fun and I definitely see the appeal, but there's a lot of waiting involved, since our leagues are on lockdown six days a week. I'd be curious to see what a fantasy league would look like that allowed trading any time.

Scott Hardie | February 14, 2015
The regular season is almost over. I'm one of three teams vying for third place, which are good odds, because the top four teams go on to play each other in the playoffs and I have a shot at winning. Unfortunately, I have some really bad luck. I snapped up a rookie hockey player in the middle of a hot streak, hoping that his four games that week would give my score a boost, but he was on the ice for a whopping 17 seconds in the first game before an injury knocked him out for several weeks. And it seems like whoever I go up against in basketball has a terrific week; I consistently have one of the highest scores in the league every week, but it's a losing score because my opponent pulls off some kind of amazing run in points. We joke that my teams should be called the Black Cats or the Broken Mirrors. Anyway, I think I've managed to do pretty well for myself in both leagues for a guy who had never done this before and doesn't really know sports. Here's looking forward to the final outcome.

Scott Hardie | April 5, 2015
I have really enjoyed the fantasy season. I missed the hockey playoffs by a lousy half-point, but I'm now in the finals with my basketball team and looking good to win. I have already signed up for a baseball league for the summer and I'm eagerly anticipating the next football season when participation should be higher. Ryan Dunn was right that fantasy sports would really appeal to me.

Would anyone be interested in a Funeratic fantasy league? I know that Chris and LaVonne like baseball and that Erik likes soccer, but I believe that the most popular sport among site members is football, so I'm considering starting a Funeratic fantasy football league at the end of summer, and if it goes well, repeating with other sports throughout the year. It would give us all one more game to play and topic to talk about. :-)

Steve West | April 15, 2015
I've always wanted to participate in a Fantasy League but have been either too cheap to join one online or too lazy to look elsewhere. I would jump all over one on Funeratic regardless of the sport.

Scott Hardie | April 19, 2015
I am the basketball champion, and it feels so good. I have no chance in the baseball league because I'm up against some superfans of the sport, but I'm enjoying it so far nonetheless.

A Funeratic football league this fall is likely. I'll post some updates later. :-)