Fantasizing...

I joined a Fantasy Basketball league this year. Yahoo! Basketball

For those who don't know what that is, you can consider it a statistical game. A league consists of 15 managers (like me), and on a set draft date before the current season starts, we create our rosters by drafting NBA players. In our league, we have 10 positions and 3 spots on the bench. Our teams are evaluated based on nine statistical categories: field goal %, free throw %, 3-pointers made, points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and turnovers. So as the season progresses, the averages or sums (depending on the given category) is accumulated based on how players play in real life. This makes your team susceptible to injuries, inconsistent play, etc. And of course, we can make trades with other teams in our league, pick up players from the free agency, and all that good stuff.

So what does this all amount to? A lot of wasted time.

Since figuring out how to play the game (because there's a very, very slight learning curve), I've been staring at stats and reading news like crazy. Most of these guys, other than the superstars, I'd never even heard of. But now I'm hooked. It's a very day-to-day thing. I started off around 8th place out of 15 teams in my league. Then it's been a roller coaster ride 8th -> 5th -> 6th -> 4th -> 8th -> 12th -> 14th. After all this time I've spent looking at player statistics, reading news and expert advice, I'm in 14th place out of 15. Just horrible.

One big reason is that I've got no bona fide superstars. I have some good players, but they're not going to consistently put in double-double. I don't have people who can regularly drop 30 points on a night. And that really hurts. It hurts me inside.

All in good fun, right? Only when it doesn't mess up your mood. But it's a long season, and like mutual funds, we're in for the long run. Let's go, team MadMen!