Archive for September, 2010
Carl K, 24, from Philadelphia – a Vegas Virgin!
Carl....He's smiling inside!
Carl K lives at home with his parents in Philadelphia. He works in Target. He doesn’t own a car and has never been to Vegas before. But he wants that all to change by winning the $25,000 prize in the FFFC Grand Final!
Carl (aka phiflyers200345) is our Week 3 FFFC winner, winning $500 plus the expenses paid trip to Vegas for the Grand Final in December. He’s also our youngest winner yet – only 24.
I caught up with him today and discovered how he was about to give up on the FFFC…
Name: Carl K
Age: 24
Occupation: Works in Target
So, you won! You must be so pleased! How did it feel?
I was shocked. So shocked. I actually cried when I realized I won. I only started watching the games around 4pm because I’d been so busy before that doing my rosters for my fantasy baseball leagues. I honestly thought I was going to lose until it was all over on Monday. I couldn’t believe it.
What did your family say when you told them about your win?
I waited until Monday before I told my mom, just to be sure. She was so happy – she was calling people at 1am.
What was your winning formula?
I’d entered the two previous weeks, but thought there was such a slim chance of winning, there was little point in entering again. But I figured I could try something different this week, shake it up a little.
Boldin hadn’t done well the past two weeks, I thought it was time for him to finally do some good this week. And he delivered. I didn’t have Vick on my winning team, although had him on the other teams I entered. I was mad at myself for not having him, but it turned out having Brady, Johnson and Peterson combined with Boldin was enough!
Have you won anything like this in the past?
I won a $5,000 contest on Fanball a couple of years ago, but nothing like this really. A chance to win $25,000 is just incredible.
Other than winning, what was the best thing about the FFFC?
The daily draft concept is very cool, and FanDuel doesn’t take as much in commission as the other sites, so I love playing here.
What do you do when you’re not winning fantasy football contests?
I play hockey. Real hockey, not just fantasy hockey! I’m really into sports.
Have you been playing FanDuel long?
No, I just joined this season.
Have you been to Las Vegas before?
I have never been to Vegas before, and am so excited about finally getting. This will probably be my only trip there ever, so I’m really going to enjoy myself!
If you won the $25,000 in the Grand Final, what would you spend it on?
I still live with my folks, so I’ll put it towards getting my own apartment or maybe a car. It would totally change my life.
Week 4 of the FFFC is now open for team selection – click here to get your picks in now.
Does that $25,000 have YOUR name on it?
FanDuel’s Fantasy Football Writers League Week 3 Report: One Solid Week
Week 3 was an impressive week for the Writers League, with nine of the contestants finishing within the top 200. Even more impressive was that for the second week in a row, one of the writers placed in the top 10. This week it was Paul Greco of Fantasy Pros 911 who came in 10th place overall (and picked up $50 in the process). Nate Zegura of The Fantasy Consultant also had a very good week, finishing 18th overall.
The Writers League leader remains Chet Gresham of Razzball, who finished 8th overall in Week 2. But it seems like that finish may not hold up much longer. With seven weeks to go in the contest, there’s still plenty of time for someone else to make a move.
Below is a list of where all the writers placed in Week 3 with their corresponding scores:
10. Paul Greco – Founder of FantasyPros911 and associate editor of Baseball Digest (paulgreco) – 162.3
18. Nathan Zegura – Founder of The Fantasy Consultant (tfc_zegura) – 157.04
82. Joe Fortenbaugh – National Football Post (national_football_post) – 138.64
88. Eric Fisher – Sports Business Journal (e_fisher) – 136.88
118. The sports staff of Philly.com (philly_sports) – 131.34
128. Will Brinson – CBS Sports football blogger and writer (rwbrinso) – 130.14
141. Tom Lorenzo – AOL Fanhouse and RotoExperts fantasy writer (snydayre) – 122.44
157. Marc Caviglia – Bruno Boys Fantasy Football (brunoboys) – 125.14
188. Jimmy Traina – Sports Illustrated (jimmy_traina) – 121.64
210. Brian Berkowitz – Senior Director of Digital Media at Maxim.com and Blender.com (bberkowitz) – 119.28
234. Chet Gresham – Editor at Razzball (cgdoc) – 116.34
238. Andrew Isaac – Sports editor at Guyism (isaacand) – 115.96
292. Jack Decker – Lead fantasy football writer at Sports Blog Nation (thesavant) – 109.8
390. Stephen Douglas – Writer for The Big Lead (crm_stephen) – 98.74
436. Will Leitch – former editor of Deadspin, contributing editor to New York Magazine, Sporting News columnist (will_leitch) – 93.66
476. Randy Youngman – Columnist at Orange County Register (R_Youngman) 86.4
515. Matt Ufford – Editor at Uproxx Media, author of Warming Glow, founder of With Leather and Kissing Suzy Kolber (matt_ufford) – 74.38
539. Bill Kline – Sports editor of The Morning Call (bill_kline) – 61.88
| 162.3 |
FFFC Week 3 Monday Update
Phiflyers200345 is leading after all Sunday games finished with 178.34 points. The only player in the top 50 who isn’t mathematically eliminated from passing him is D_fresh, who has 145.94 with Jennings playing tonight. Four players in the top 50 have Finley, but Phiflyers200345 is safe, because the top score among those 4 is another one of his teams! The other three are paulgreco, dbird731 (last week’s winner!), and d_fresh. There is also one other player in the top 50 with Jennings (moneymaker). It seems as though the main threat to Phiflyers200345 will be if anyone has a combination of two or more players in tonight’s games. That seems very possible, with Finley, Jennings, Rodgers, Driver, Jackson, Forte, Cutler, and Knox all appearing to be reasonable choices.
Daniel W from Atlanta steals the #2 seat in the Vegas Final
Daniel - "My cheeks hurt from smiling so much"
Daniel W from Atlanta, Georgia is the latest winner of the FanDuel Fantasy Football Championship weekly qualifiers. He’s won a trip to Las Vegas and $500 spending money and is gunning for the $25k top prize on December 5th in the FFFC live final.
A relative newcomer to FanDuel, Daniel entered 3 teams in the FFFC this week and not only won the top prize of the week, but also came third! I gave him a call tonight to find out more about his winning strategies.
Name: Daniel W (aka dbird731)
Age: 38
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Family: Wife, 4 kids
Occupation: Medical Retirement from the Navy
So, you won! You must be so pleased! How did it feel?
Yes, it was totally amazing to have won. My heart was racing the whole time. My cheeks are sore from smiling so much! I was nervous, excited, my heart was in my mouth and I was jumping around the lounge yelling. My wife thought I was crazy! Just wonderful.
It’s the most exciting fantasy game I’ve played – and I play a lot of them. You never know until the games are over whether you’ve won – there was only 1 point in it at the end. I was hopping back and forth between games, from the NFL channel back to my laptop. I was 1st and 2nd for a while, until Reggie Wayne scored and one of my teams moved to third. Sunday night was so nerve-racking, but by the end of the games, I pretty much knew I won so Monday was less intense.
Have you won anything like this in the past?
I won a $25,000 prize on another site last year. I entered the FFFC last week, but didn’t do so well at all. The competition was good – there are a lot of people thinking a lot. But I was the only person in the top ten who had DeSean Jackson. But even last week when I wasn’t winning, I was totally excited, and beat myself up about dumb decisions afterwards.
Have you told your friends/family about your win? What did they say?
My wife was thrilled. She just couldn’t believe it and couldn’t sleep afterwards. She was on Facebook at 1am telling everyone about it, texting people and waking them up! She thinks I’m the best fantasy player ever! My kids are age 15, 9, 8 and 2 and they’re all into sports too so they were really impressed.
Other than winning, what was the best thing about the FFFC?
It makes me so PUMPED! It makes football more than just football. The whole concept of FanDuel makes me so competitive – it’s a bit like chess, out-thinking your opponent. Proving that you’re smarter than them. I knew everyone would draft Mike Vick this week after his performance last week, but it’s about thinking differently and finding the perfect sleeper. I do a lot of research on match-ups and play the game scenarios out in my head before I pick. The games all went according to my plan! You do have to take some risks, it’s too easy just to pick a Tom Brady, you can’t just draft an all-star team.
You entered 3 teams in the FFFC this week – how were they different?
I had the same players on both my winning teams except for my Wide Receivers. I wasn’t sure between Roddy White and Miles Austin, so I entered them both in different teams. And I thought Reggie Wayne might also be good, so I drafted him in another team. Maurice Jones-Drew was disappointing and messed it up for a lot of people. Pinpointing the second running back was key.
What do you do when you’re not winning fantasy football contests?
I play all kinds of fantasy other than football – NASCAR, Golf, baseball, basketball. It just makes sports more fun!
How did you find out about FanDuel?
Before the start of the football season each year, I just Google to see what’s out there for fantasy football games. I like variety, so I usually play on a lot of other sites, but FanDuel is the best fantasy game on the planet! The others are just same old same old. FanDuel is different – the skill is in the Salary Cap, it’s a totally different way of playing Fantasy Football and I love it!
Have you been playing FanDuel long?
I just started this season.
Have you been to Las Vegas before?
I’ve been once before, and am going again with my wife next month for our anniversary.
If you won the $25,000 in the Grand Final, what would you spend it on?
I’ll use it for my son’s college education. He’s the first from our family out of high school.
Week 3 of the FFFC is now open for team selection – click here to get your picks in and you could be joining Dave and Daniel in Vegas to battle it out for the $25,000.
FanDuel’s Fantasy Football Writers League Week 2 Report: Chet Gresham of Razzball Takes The Lead
The FanDuel Fantasy Football Writers League is done for Week 2. All the writers are seeing who can place the highest for any individual week in the FanDuel Fantasy Football Championship, so let’s see how everyone did.
Chet Gresham of Razzball has taken a commanding lead in the writers league by coming in eighth place overall (and winning $70 in the process). Gresham jumped past Will Brinson of CBS Sports who had the previous high finish of 41st overall. Gresham’s set the bar pretty high for the remaining eight weeks of the contest, but there’s still plenty of time for someone to knock him off.
Here are all the final positions and scores for all the writers in Week 2:
8. Chet Gresham – Editor at Razzball (cgdoc) – 146.26
58. Will Leitch – former editor of Deadspin, contributing editor to New York Magazine, Sporting News columnist (will_leitch) – 130.40
66. Jack Decker – Lead fantasy football writer at Sports Blog Nation (thesavant) – 128.36
75. Joe Fortenbaugh – National Football Post (national_football_post) – 127.20
87. Nathan Zegura – Founder of The Fantasy Consultant (tfc_zegura) – 125.10
94. Brian Berkowitz – Senior Director of Digital Media at Maxim.com and Blender.com (bberkowitz) – 124.50
102. Will Brinson – CBS Sports football blogger and writer (rwbrinso) – 123.26
118. Matt Ufford – Editor at Uproxx Media, author of Warming Glow, founder of With Leather and Kissing Suzy Kolber (matt_ufford) – 122.06
120. Tom Lorenzo – AOL Fanhouse and RotoExperts fantasy writer (snydayre) – 121.90
152. Marc Caviglia – Bruno Boys Fantasy Football (brunoboys) – 118.56
255. Paul Greco – Founder of FantasyPros911 and associate editor of Baseball Digest (paulgreco) – 108.86
267. Bill Kline – Sports editor of The Morning Call (bill_kline) – 107.86
271. Eric Fisher – Sports Business Journal (e_fisher) – 107.60
283. Ben Ice – Founder of RotoExperts, Senior writer at Fantasy Sharks (ben_ice) – 106.70
395. The sports staff of Philly.com (philly_sports) – 95.00
429. Randy Youngman – Columnist at Orange County Register (R_Youngman) 91.26
448. Stephen Douglas – Writer for The Big Lead (crm_stephen) – 88.52
453. Andrew Isaac – Sports editor at Guyism (isaacand) – 87.86
479. Joe Kinsey – Founder of Busted Coverage (bustedcoverage) – 82.96
498. Jimmy Traina – Sports Illustrated (jimmy_traina) – 79.76
FFFC Week 2 Update
With only one game left on this week’s schedule, we can take an early look at the FFFC Week 2 results. The leader is dbird731. His lead is less than 1 point over cmdrunners, but (like all of the top ten) cmdrunners has no players in tonight’s game. Incredibly, dbird731 also has the 3rd place team!
We’ve looked through the rosters of the top 100 teams, and it appears that only four of them have players in tonight’s game:
69, hatepaste 125.4 (Nedney)
70, wonderboy 125.25 (Saints D)
76 injuryrate 124.76 (Saints D)
82 cstraw 124.06 (Henderson)
While it wouldn’t be a surprise for one or more of them to break into the top ten, none look like they have a chance to win the contest. If anyone is going to overtake dbird731, it will need to be someone currently outside of the top 100, with at least two players in tonight’s game.
Meet Dave N – he’s just won the first seat in the Vegas Final
Dave is smiling. Unsurprisingly.
According to Dave N’s Facebook profile, he’s just had the best weekend ever. Not only did the Chiefs win, but he also won an expenses paid trip to Vegas and a chance to win $25,000 in the first ever FanDuel Fantasy Football LIVE Championship. Yes, he’s won the first seat at the table in December. Not bad for a $10 entry fee.
I just caught up with him on the phone – he’s one cool dude. Here’s what he had to say about his win.
So, you won! You must be so pleased!
It was amazing. I went to watch the 1pm games at a sports bar with my buddies and by 2pm I realised that all my players had scored touchdowns - I knew then that my FanDuel team must have been doing well. I got home at 4pm and immediately switched on my laptop and my buddies and I were glued to the live scoring for the rest of the day.
How did it feel when it was so close?
I’ve never won much in fantasy before, certainly not much in the way of money or against really good players – and there are some awesome players on FanDuel. I knew that all the good players had Arian Foster, and I didn’t have him, I thought I’d made a big mistake.
It was nerve-wracking.
Have you won anything like this in the past?
I’ve entered a few high stakes fantasy games in the past, but not even made the play-offs before now.
Have you told your friends/family about your win? What did they say?
My mom is my Facebook stalker, so as soon as I updated my Facebook profile saying that I was leading in the FanDuel tournament and in with a chance of winning $25k, she was on the phone to me finding out more. She was following it as closely as I was!
Other than winning, what was the best thing about the FFFC?
I was leading pretty much from the beginning, and was then just glued to the live scoring after that. I was trying to track who I needed not to do well! I needed Phil Rivers not to get a Touchdown pass, I needed San Diego defense not to do well. I couldn’t take my eyes off the live scoring, that was awesome.
Which was your best player?
While Chris Johnson obviously scored the most points, I think a lot of people had him. My most important player was definitely Hakeen Nicks who scored three touchdowns.
What do you do when you’re not winning fantasy football contests?
I’m really into sports, so I do a lot of running, I play in baseball and basketball teams and I also spend a lot of time playing poker.
How did you find out about FanDuel?
My buddy played FanDuel last football season and told me about it back in April this year. I signed up and I’m no fantasy baseball player, but I knew I wanted to play fantasy football there just as soon as September came round. I joined FanDuel’s Facebook fan page, to make sure I never forgot about it.
Have you been playing FanDuel long?
I entered a couple of regular football contests last week, then entered a couple of teams into the FFFC, so not very long!
Do you enjoy playing it, if so why?
I loved playing it! I love the salary cap. Obviously I’m a big fan of the regular draft too, but it’s very cool to go week-to-week, it adds an extra element to it, a new aspect to playing Fantasy. I’m already in 3 season-long fantasy leagues this year, all around $200 entry, but they’re just with my buddies. FanDuel is a whole new way of playing Fantasy.
Have you been to Las Vegas before?
I’ve been to Vegas a million times, but I totally love it! I lived there for 4 months and am going to move back there soon, at least for a year. Besides that, it really suits my lifestyle, the weather is much better than in Ohio!
If you won the top prize of $25,000 in the Grand Final, what would you spend it on?
I know it sounds boring but honestly, I’d use it to supplement my poker bankroll and play in higher stake poker games. And obviously to play even more FanDuel fantasy football!
Dave will be joining us at the $40,000 grand final in Vegas on December 5th – will you?
Click here to draft your team for the Week 2 Qualifier
FanDuel’s Fantasy Football Writers League Week 1 Report: How Did They All Do?
The FanDuel Fantasy Football Writers League is done for Week 1. All the writers are seeing who can do the best in the FanDuel Fantasy Football Championship, so let’s see how everyone did.
Will Brinson of CBS Sports has the early lead amongst the writers, finishing 41st overall in the FFFC with a score of 125.02. Will fielded a team of Peyton Manning, Ryan Matthews, Matt Forte, Greg Jennings, Wes Welker, Dwayne Bowe, Chris Cooley, Sebastian Janikowski, and the Miami Dolphins defense.
Here’s the complete list, with where everyone finished and their point total:
41. Will Brinson – CBS Sports football blogger and writer (rwbrinso) 125.02
65. Nathan Zegura – Founder of The Fantasy Consultant (tfc_zegura) 118.50
74. Randy Youngman – Columnist at Orange County Register (R_Youngman) 117.12
137. Joe Fortenbaugh – National Football Post (national_football_post) 106.32
145. Brian Berkowitz – Senior Director of Digital Media at Maxim.com and Blender.com (bberkowitz) 105.38
148. Andrew Isaac – Sports editor at Guyism (isaacand) 105.12
171. Jimmy Traina – Sports Illustrated (jimmy_traina) 101.12
184. Stephen Douglas – Writer for The Big Lead (crm_stephen) 99.72
229. Bill Kline – Sports editor of The Morning Call (bill_kline) 95.86
234. The sports staff of Philly.com (philly_sports) 95.44
290. Tom Lorenzo – AOL Fanhouse and RotoExperts fantasy writer (snydayre) 90.38
352. Paul Greco – Founder of FantasyPros911 and associate editor of Baseball Digest (paulgreco) 83.62
360. Eric Fisher – Sports Business Journal e_fisher 83.14
392. Matt Ufford – Editor at Uproxx Media, author of Warming Glow, founder of With Leather and Kissing Suzy Kolber (matt_ufford) 79.42
429. Chet Gresham – Editor at Razzball (cgdoc) 76.18
450. Joe Kinsey – Founder of Busted Coverage (bustedcoverage) 73.32
460. Will Leitch – former editor of Deadspin, contributing editor to New York Magazine, Sporting News columnist (will_leitch) 72.22
520. Jack Decker – Lead fantasy football writer at Sports Blog Nation (thesavant) 57.12
531. Paul Hickey – Founder of NoOffseason.com (nooffseason_com) 50.46
532. Ben Ice – Founder of RotoExperts, Senior writer at Fantasy Sharks (ben_ice) 50.12
Overall, not the best week (sort of like Week 1′s games), but there’s still nine more weeks to go for someone to make a move.
FFFC Week 1 In The Books
The FFFC Week 1 is in the books. Dave N. (dnut13) won the first seat in the FFFC finals in Las Vegas, and it came down to the last play as he was just 3.2 points ahead of 2nd place finisher Damian, who had both Philip Rivers and Legedu Naanee active on his team!
The Full Top Ten:
1 dnut13 156.52
2 damian 153.32
3 sportsgarage 149.02
4 rkulaski 148.12
5 cstraw 147.72
6 bman13 145.88
7 halman 144.02
8 yogibuff 142.02
9 ofus10 141.82
10 tonycincotta 139.02
Dave’s winning roster included:
Tom Brady
Chris Johnson
Matt Forte
Reggie Wayne
Hakeem Nicks
Jabar Gaffney
Zach Miller
Joe Nedney
Arizona Cardinals
Read our interview with Dave here
FanDuel’s Fantasy Football Writers League: Who Will Come Out On Top?
A true fantasy football expert
What’s up FanDuel? As you know, the Fantasy Football Championship has begun. And yes, I know you’re certain you’re going to win it (and I’m sure you will). But I have some additional cool news for you. We have a group of celebrity writers who will be competing against each other to see who is the top dog amongst themselves.
Now you’re probably wondering, who are these guys? Well, here they are, complete with their usernames so you can follow them on FanDuel. In fact, you probably know a lot of them already.
We’ll also be posting about them during the whole tournament. That way we can all track how they’re doing, and see which writers really know their fantasy football cold.
| Jimmy Traina – Sports Illustrated | jimmy_traina |
| Will Leitch – former editor of Deadspin, contributing editor to New York Magazine, Sporting News columnist | Will_Leitch |
| Paul Hickey – Founder of NoOffseason.com | nooffseason_com |
| Will Brinson – CBS Sports football blogger and writer | rwbrinso |
| Andrew Isaac – Sports editor at Guyism | isaacand |
| Tom Lorenzo – AOL Fanhouse and RotoExperts fantasy writer | snydayre |
| Chet Gresham – Editor at Razzball | cgdoc |
| The sports staff of Philly.com | Philly_Sports |
| Joe Fortenbaugh – National Football Post | National_Football_Post |
| Paul Greco – Founder of FantasyPros911 and associate editor of Baseball Digest | PaulGreco |
| Nathan Zegura – Founder of The Fantasy Consultant | TFC_Zegura |
| Jack Decker – Lead fantasy football writer at Sports Blog Nation | TheSavant |
| Stephen Douglas – Writer for The Big Lead | CRM_Stephen |
| Matt Ufford – Editor at Uproxx Media, author of Warming Glow, founder of With Leather and Kissing Suzy Kolber | Matt_Ufford |
| Joe Kinsey – Founder of Busted Coverage | BustedCoverage |
| Ben Ice – Founder of RotoExperts, Senior writer at Fantasy Sharks | Ben_Ice |
| Brian Berkowitz – Senior Director of Digital Media at Maxim.com and Blender.com | bberkowitz |
| Marc Caviglia – Owner of Bruno Boys Fantasy Football | BrunoBoys |
| Eric Fisher – Sports Business Journal | E_Fisher |
| Bill Kline – Sports editor of The Morning Call | Bill_Kline |
| Randy Youngman – Columnist at Orange County Register | R_Youngman |
So let’s see how they do and see if they’re as good as they think they are. Also, be sure to give them a big hello when you see them on the site.
