Fantasy Insider: Recap of the expert draft  The Fantasy Insider PGATOUR.com contributor Is there anything in the universe that's as crummy as getting the last draft slot in a fantasy sports league? Didn't think so. The Fantasy Insider was dealt the No. 8 card in the Expert League draft. He wasn't going to take Tiger Woods anyway so it's no difference, right? Right? The rotisserie league's live draft the Monday night of Sony Open in Hawaii week went without too much trash talking. This year's participants (*=returnees from the 2006 version): • Steve Alexander, nbcsports.com
Now, "went without a hitch" is a relative term. Randolph drew envy (and several pointed comments) from everyone for missing his first eight picks in favor of playing Kapalua the morning after the Mercedes-Benz Championship. In case you're wondering: 81, and overjoyed. As with last year the Expert League is shaping up as a dogfight. Vitti is the stats guru for the TOUR. Angel and Peterson are atop everything as fanball.com's golf contributors. Alexander was formidable last year and Vara was can't-miss until he went on vacation in August. Auclair's a fantasy rookie but his knowledge of players is plenty deep. Randolph? Plenty of on-site info from doing the XM broadcasts. If you're curious, the first round went: Tiger Woods (Auclair), Jim Furyk (Alexander), Adam Scott (the then-absent Randolph), Vijay Singh (Vitti), Trevor Immelman (Peterson), Phil Mickelson (Vara), Luke Donald (Angel) and Geoff Ogilvy (TFI). Top-ranked player not selected: Jose Maria Olazabal. Last pick: D.J. Trahan. TFI walked away with a mixed bag: Ogilvy, David Toms (ninth overall), K.J. Choi (24th), Steve Stricker (25th), Padraig Harrington (40th), Tim Clark (41st), Bubba Watson (56th), Fred Funk (57th), Anders Hansen (72nd), Kevin Sutherland (73rd), Cameron Beckman (88th) and Steve Gutschewski (89th). Lots of potential. For what, precisely, TFI is uncertain.
TFI's got another draft Wednesday night, on the eve of the Sony Open in Hawaii's first round, for his match-play league. He'll give a full report in next week's column. Typically it's at this point in the column that TFI would list a handful of players he'd love to get onto his roster for the Sony Open in Hawaii. And a handful he'd work hard to ditch. We're in the midst of the proverbial calm before the storm, the first week of the League Fantasy season and it's a little early for transactions. The trade market and waiver wires don't begin operating until next week. In the meantime you're going to have to live with whatever players you drafted. Good luck with that. As a backup there's always This Week's Brilliant Question. Each week TFI shuffles through the mailbag (ebag?) and plucks out an inquiry. In case you've got something on your mind, the email address appears at the end of every column. Remember: There are no stupid questions. Seriously. My question is about injuries. Do you ever get info on stuff the rest of us don't know about? Absolutely, Steve! TFI is in contact with every TOUR member on an almost daily basis. He's sworn to secrecy so he can't tip you to late developments but he'll tease you with this tidbit: One of the game's top players is preparing to announce his Swedish wife is expecting. Remember, you heard it here first! Actually, the answer's a hearty no. Unlike a professional team making its roster moves public as fuel for the next day's transactions agate, TOUR players are independent contractors. If they want to say something to explain an absence of a few weeks -- saying they hit their finger with a hammer while doing home improvements or took a tumble on a ski slope -- that's their business. Then again, if they want to keep mum, no one's stopping them. For the most part, though, players will say if they've got to sit out. One place to spot updated news is the player's own home page. Most have one with most players giving them regular attention. Most players use their sites to drop news of their game ("It seems the hole is as large as a grapefruit!") or adjustments to their upcoming schedule ("So I'm at the top of a slope named Gut Twister ... "). Rotisserie lineup for Expert League at Sony Open in Hawaii: K.J. Choi, Geoff Ogilvy, David Toms, Bubba Watson. Active but benched: Cameron Beckman, Fred Funk, Steve Stricker. Alternate: Steve Gutschewski. Not in field: Tim Clark, Anders Hansen, Padraig Harrington, Kevin Sutherland. Salary Cap Cup results for Mercedes-Benz Championship: The main lineup of Adam Scott (2,700 FedEx Cup points, second), Vijay Singh (4,500 points, won!), Stuart Appleby (483 points, tied 13th), Eric Axley (200 points, 26th) and Kirk Triplett (413 points, tied 16th) totaled 8,296 points and placed 428th. Hey, what do you know, a good week to start! The "Hey, buddy" lineup of Jim Furyk (375 points, 18th), Geoff Ogilvy (325 points, tied 19th), David Toms (725 points, tied eighth), Corey Pavin (185 points, 28th) and Jeff Maggert (170 points, 30th) totaled 1,780 points and finished 11,474th. And to think TFI spent plenty of time mulling David MacKenzie (tied fourth) and Luke Donald (seventh). Dang it! Week 1 winner: Siwash 10,153 (one of two at that score). Salary Cap Cup lineup for Sony Open in Hawaii: Main lineup, Vijay Singh $296,750, Luke Donald $290,250, Stephen Ames $254,500, Bubba Watson $79,000, Will MacKenzie $75,000. Total: $995,500. "Hey, buddy" lineup, Trevor Immelman $287,000, Davis Love III $283,750, Charles Howell III $183,000, Shigeki Maruyama $131,000, Anthony Kim $75,000. Tiebreakers: 262, 3. Have a question or comment for TFI? Send it to him at brettavery@aol.com. Please remember to include your team and league names and whether you're playing Salary Cap Cup, a rotisserie or match-play league. |
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