keeper

after getting removed from some random keeper league prior to the draft...dan thinks the league manager just wanted to get one of their friends in...i know they were just worried and/or hatin. anyways, i started up my own keeper league: http://games.espn.go.com/ffl/leagueoffice?leagueId=59383&seasonId=2008

dan and chris joined up as well as my cousin who is cracking me up with his trash talk. the other 8 i recruited through hitting the espn boards, aggressively bumping my thread like every 5 minutes. i feel like we have a good group. there don't seem to be any assholes or jerks...most people showed up for the draft.

the draft order was randomized and i was hoping for a top 5 pick. i feel like once you get past those top 5...things get iffy. of course i end up with the 7th pick and regrets of not manually setting up the draft order run through my mind. oh well.

1. i end up with gore who kind of sucked for me last year, but i am expecting (hoping for) a bounceback season with martz running the offense..also we get half a point per reception...gore could easily get 70 catches.
2. on the way back in round 2 i was happy to see ryan grant still available and i grab him to solidify my backfield. generally i feel more relaxed once i have my top 2 rb's.
3. then in round 3 i am again surprised as larry fitzgerald is still there. this guy is already a top 5 wr and he's only 25 (i think).
4. the fourth round is where things get a little iffy...the top 4 qb's are gone, so i know i am gonna punt on that position for a while. i wasn't seeing anything too exciting at rb (mcfadden was taken in the 3rd), so i looked at wr. chad was taken the pick right before me and i cursed at my computer. i then had to decide between consistent and potential top 10 wr (if he stays healthy) in tory holt or nothing but upside santonio holmes. i stayed conservative and went with holt to round out my top 2 wrs.
5. round 5 is another round where i was very conflicted. i was eye greg jennings and he was taken right before me. i was also considering other wr's to be my wr3...brandon marshall, roy williams, megatron and anquan boldin were all still available. then i noticed kellen winslow jr was still on the board. every time i have seen this guy play he is ridiculous. there are injury concerns, but he has the potential to be the top tight end and i like having players that could potentially be the best at their respective position. i took him and kept my fingers crossed.
6. i knew that taking a tight end that early, which i have never really done before, was a luxury and i would have to be really sharp filling out the other starting position on my team. again i passed on qb. wr's with major question marks like marvin harrison and lee evans were available. i decided to take a bet on rookie rb kevin smith. he was a workhorse in college and has been getting a lot of praise from the coaches. he only has tatum bell to pass on the depth chart...i predict he will do so soon.
7. by round 7 i decided i better get a qb and went with one of my sleepers, matt schaub...read more about why i like him here: http://fantasyrelevant.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/thats-not-too-shauby/
8. in round 8 i probably should have grabbed my wr3, but none were looking too enticing so i went with some potential upside and took another rookie rb, rashard mendenhall.
9. in round 9, i again did not like what i saw from wr's, so i backed up schaub with steady david garrard.
10. by round 10 i knew i had to get someone for wr3. i took a gamble on jerry porter, the very talented but not hard working wr who will be catching passes from garrard. i believe he can do it and post solid wr3 numbers.
11. i took yet another rookie rb (this is a keeper league) chris johnson in round 11. he could develop into a poor man's reggie bush, cathing lots of passes, etc.
12. round 12 - pierre thomas (could take deuce's role this season)
13. round 13 - sidney rice (could become minnesota's best wr)
14. round 14 - greg olsen (lots of potential)
15. round 15 - will witherspoon
16. round 16 - julius peppers
17. round 17 - gibril wilson
18. round 18 - robert meachem (former 1st round pick...could be saints #2 wr)
19. round 19 - brady quinn (you never know)
20. round 20 - devin thomas (had to pick a redskin...loads of potential, especially in west coast offense)
21. round 21 - ryan torrain (super value pick....you never know who shanahan will start)
22. round 22 - ravens def
23. round 23 - some kicker (who cares)

looking back, i again fell in love with upside, which will probably hurt my team...at least this season. my wr3 and rb3 spots are questionable. chris and i were drinking (sort of heavily) as the draft went on and i could feel my attention to detail lessening. i really enjoyed doing the draft online as it clearly shows you who is still available and also i set it so that you only had 60 seconds for each pick. this helped in that nobody asked if specific players were still available and also the draft did not take 4 hours. in fact, with 12 teams and 23 rounds, we finished in less than 90 minutes. my main hope, besides league domination, is that this group remains cool and everyone comes back to maintain the keeper aspect of this league.

finally here are some random predictions:

• by week 3 i will cry foul about losing my matchup while having the 2nd highest score.
• by week 6 someone i actually know (chris, dan or my cousin) will give up on their team.
• my cousin will send out many dubious trade offers.
• i will regret many of the league scoring rules i arbitrarily assigned.