2B = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
FRIDAY,AUG.24,2001
Fans find extra thrill in fantasy football
Internet leagues help some students stay interested in NFL football
By Jason Hwang Kansan sportswriter
Summer is coming to a close.
Sharpen your pencils, analyze your research and rally your brain cells. It's time to go back to ... fantasy football?
That's right. The start of the 2001 National Football League season is almost here. While fans gather to see how well — or in some cases, how bad — their favorite team or players will do, more passionate fans go a step further and participate in Internet fantasy football leagues.
Jay McLaughlin, Winnetka, ill., junior, said he played fantasy football to be more involved as a spectator.
"I like to gamble with fantasy football because none of us are athletic enough to play anymore." McLaughlin said.
The ideology of fantasy football leagues is simple. Participants select a certain number of players, and most often, each participant selects players with the best statistics. The better a participant's players perform in each game, the more points the participant can earn. The more points a participant earns, the bigger his or her chances are to win.
Traditionally, participants of
fantasy football tend to shy away from selecting football players who are injury-prone, inconsistent in their play, playing for bad teams or just plain awful.
In most leagues, participants select two quarterbacks, three or four running backs, three or four wide receivers, two tight ends, two kickers and two team defenses.
Jonathan McQueen, Lenexa junior, said he enjoyed fantasy football leagues because he got to do more than just watch the games.
"Itgives me something to follow," McQueen said. "You get into the game more by watching the games through the TV or newspaper and follow your players and see how they did each game."
The points participants earn each week through fantasy offense positions are based on the amount of passing, rushing and receiving yards, touchdowns, field goals, extra points after touchdowns and so forth. Points can also be deleted for player miscues, such as fumbles and interceptions. For team defenses, points can come from defensive touchdowns, quarterback sacks, fumble recoveries and fewer points and yards allowed per game.
McLaughlin said fantasy football kept him in contact with friends from a distance.
"Despite the life changes through college, fantasy football is one thing that keeps us connected," McLaughlin said.
The Breakdown
Each participant selects a certain number of professional football players.
The better a participant's players perform each week, the more points the participants earn.
- Offensive points are based on the number of yards and touchdowns a player earns per game.
- Defensive points are based on the number of defensive touchdowns, sacks and fumble recoveries.
- Points can be subtracted for errors such as fumbles and interceptions.
There are two types of fantasy football leagues: salary cap and draft.
Salary cap leagues allow participants to pick any players until the quantity limit, which varies in each league. Participants are given a limit of how much "imaginary money" to spend on the maximum amount of players picked. Players worth more money tend to be more talented and more productive statistically. Participants must pick the bare minimum amount of players, and the combined amount of salary money must remain under the salary cap.
Draft leagues allow participants to pick players in a draft order. There are two types of drafts: live online and automated drafts. In live online drafts, each participant must be logged onto their computer at a scheduled time and participate in a live draft. Each participant is given a random draft number. In most leagues, there are 15 draft rounds, and each participant drafts one player per round. In
automated drafts, the fantasy league computer system drafts players for each participant based on player rankings in each football position. Again, each participant is give a random draft order number.
While many participants play in free fantasy leagues, some competitors, like McQueen, value leagues that charge money to play.
"It's fun to wager a little to spice up the competition," McQueen said. "It keeps people even more interested, especially weekly wins."
There are several fantasy football leagues to join on the Internet. Most leagues are formed at the Web sites of major sports corporations, such as ESPN, Sports Illustrated and CBS. Free leagues are available, but some leagues require a small fee to play. But money leagues offer prizes to the winners. The price range in money leagues is $9.95 to $29.95.
Reach Hwang at 864-4810.
Men's golf team trying for comeback season
By John Domoney Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas men's golf team begins its quest to re-join the elite teams of the Big 12 Conference at practice at Alvamar Golf Club today.
Jayhawks faltered down the stretch last season at the Big 12 Championship to limp to a seventh-place finish.
After the team finished first in the Big 12 in 1999 and second in 2000, the
Although Kansas was still a participant in the NCAA Midwest Regionals, the team could muster only a 15th-place finish and failed to qualify for the NCAA Championship.
Going into this year, however coach Ross Randall is confident that this season's Jayhawks have a competitive streak that should make this team dangerous toward the end of the season.
"It's a new team with a lot of young players," Randall said. "I have high expectations, and I think we're going to be pretty good."
The bulk of those expectations rest on the shoulders of the team's top three returning players from last year.
Seniors Casey Harbour and Travis Hurst, along with junior
Chris Marshall, look to lead the youthful team into competition
Although the top three spots on the team are fairly secure, Randall must turn to a host of young players that includes four freshmen and two sophomores.
One young gun Randall is counting on is highly-touted incoming freshman Ryan Rainer.
The Norman, Okla., standout comes to Kansas with an impressive resume that includes last year's 6A Class Championship in Oklahoma, where Rainer won the championship by five shots.
Along with Rainer, Randall expects the other freshmen, Peter Krsnich, Kevin Ward and Jason Sigler, to make a strong impact on this year's team.
"This year's recruiting class is the best recruiting class we've ever had," Randall said. "They're really solid, good players."
Randall will throw his troops under the microscope starting tomorrow when the Jayhawks begin their qualifying rounds at Alvamar, where the players will be fighting for the spots to represent Kansas in the early tournaments.
"It's going to be very competitive, especially for the younger guys playing for spots," Harbour said.
The Jayhawks begin their fall schedule Sept. 8 at The Ridges Intercollegiate in Jonesborough, Tenn.
Reach Domoney at 864-4810.
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