Living in a fantasy world

Sometimes I'm not sure whether I like real life or fantasy life more. There are many things in real life that are under our control, but what about real life sports? There is absolutely nothing we can do to control how our favorite teams (Lakers, Dodgers, 49ers, Montana State, UCLA for me) go through their days. That's sort of why I want to be a sports journalist, print and radio, so that I can make my opinions public.

Anyway, the fantasy sports world gives us unlimited control over our teams. Want Peyton Manning for your football team? You can have him. And you know what? I have him.

I'm in four fantasy football leagues but I consider my "main" team to be in The RedZone baseball/football league I play in with a bunch of knuckleheads/friends. We have most of the same players in baseball and football, so rivalries are formed, bad jokes are exchanged and one-sided trades are made (I dominate in that last category). Anyway, we're in the second year of our keeper football league, with each team required to keep three players from last year's roster. Naturally, I have Peyton, Marion Barber III and Andre Johnson. I could have kept Michael Turner, but I didn't want to keep a player who was entering his first starting job in the NFL and on a bad team at that. After Turner rushed for 220 yards and two touchdowns today, I may or may not be trying to kick myself in the nuts.

Anyway, I had a very good QB/RB/WR trio heading into the draft. With one more RB, another WR, an additional RB/WR, a TE, a K and a DEF to fill out my starting lineup, the pressure was off to find that one start to fill one of the big three positions (QB, RB, WR). I already had a star at each.

With the second-to-last pick in the "first round" (really the fourth round since each team had kept three players, thus three rounds eliminated), I chose Darren McFadden, (hopefully) pissing off two Raiders fans in our league in the process...you know, I really don't want to give a round-by-round account of my draft.

How about I go position-by-position? Much better and easier to follow.

Quarterback
Peyton Manning and David Garrard
Manning is the mainstay, but with his recovery from a burst bursa sac (my favorite injury since Felix Pie twisted a testicle in April. No, seriously. Oh, wait, I did like that Carlos Guillen suffered from hemorrhoids earlier this summer. Or maybe it's the jock itch the Southern Cal football team experienced in August training camp. Ahhh, so many options!). Anyway, Manning should be fine, but I drafted Garrard just in case he isn't. Garrard is safe, like the family accountant you hire and only hear from if there is a problem (in which case, you're glad he/she is handling it). You always feel good about Manning (Peyton, that is) as your fantasy quarterback, but having Garrard as a backup option is just as reassuring.

Running Back
Marion (The Barbarian) Barber III, Darren McFadden,
Ricky Williams, Edge James, Chris Johnson
Chris Johnson could easily be the sleeper, and I thought that before he rushed for 93 yards today. Williams and James were just picks I made for the sake of consistency. Barber will start every week and should sniff the endzone nearly every game. McFadden could be a star, although I don't think he'll have the impact of Adrian Peterson. How often does a rookie have Peterson's type of impact anyway? Williams will get plenty of opportunities with the Dolphins, especially with Ronnie Brown still nursing his recovery from an ACL tear. James is James, reliable but not fantastic anymore.

Wide Receiver
Andre Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Brandon Marshall, James Hardy, Vincent Jackson
Johnson is a stud as long as he stays healthy. Boldin is in a ridiculous contract dispute, because he doesn't think $4 or $5 million per year is enough for the type of player he is. Perhaps he and McCain can grab a milkshake and talk about how much life sucks when you have less than $5 million (and I know McCain's comment on that was a joke, but I like provoking Republicans). Brandon Marshall could be the key to my season. I grabbed him in Round 7 when everyone had avoided him because of his two-game suspension. However, it was reduced by a game and theAn dude is possibly a Top 10 receiver this year. Thoughts of starting him with Johnson and Boldin, along with Barbarian, McFad and Peyton, make my mouth salivate the way it does when I see Adrianna Lima. As you can tell, I'm excited (not in that way). Hardy and Jackson are just throw-ins. They could each record six or seven touchdowns. But if they suck, I'll just slot in one of my running backs at the flex spot. I figure Marshall, Boldin and Johnson should be good enough, even if one of them gets hurt.

Tight End, Kicker, Defense
Nobody cares about these positions and this posting is too long anyway. This shall remain a mystery.