Final Essay

Do You Think Fantasy Sports Leagues Should Pay Royalties to Professional Leagues and Players?

           

Did you know that roughly 36 million people play fantasy sports in North America and the average amount spent per player is one hundred dollars, which means fantasy sports is roughly a 3.6 billion dollar industry. Fantasy sports leagues consist of participants who act as owners to build teams that compete against each other based on the statistics generated by real players on professional sports teams. Fantasy sports have been around long before the internet existed and scores would have to be manually calculated by a leagues commissioner. Now with the internet, there are several sports sites available where points are automatically calculated for the league. With more and more people playing fantasy sports a question keeps coming up, should fantasy sports leagues pay royalties to professional leagues and players? With any argument there are always two sides, the people that are for paying royalties say that fantasy leagues are benefiting from the hard work of professional sports teams and athletes. The people that are opposed to this say that the professional athletes already make enough money and that their names and statistics are public knowledge and they should not receive any royalties. I am definitely one of those people who say they should not receive royalties.

            One of the biggest things that bother me is, Major League Baseball or MLB and other sport leagues and their players make entirely too much money already and now they are going after not only the sites that offer fantasy sports but the people who are playing. “The average salary of the NBA is 5.15 million, MLB is 3.31 million, and NFL is 1.9 million” (Dorish). If you think that athletes or the people paying them need more money then you are crazy. Fantasy sports are helping the sports world, not hurting it. “You say Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols are exploited because they're bought and sold in fake transactions in a fake construct? Well, how much of their chunky (and very real) salaries are owed to all that fakery? Without fantasy ginning up interest in their game, do they still command the numbers they command?” (Smith). I could not agree with this any more and I know without the fans, most professional athletes wouldn’t make any money and would probably be flipping burgers ant some fast food chain somewhere. I personally have a friend who five years ago had no interest in any sport until I talked them into playing fantasy baseball and now he goes to at least ten games a year just because he knows the players and what is going on, and that’s just baseball. Now he is also playing fantasy football, buying jerseys and just spending money that directly helps sports. If more people were like him, and I’m sure there are a bunch out there that are, then that can only mean one thing, fantasy sports helps real sports.

            The next reason that leagues should not pay any royalties is, the names and stats of the professional athletes is public knowledge. They knowingly put themselves in that position and in my opinion cannot say that their names or stats cannot be used. “Those stats are public domain. They must be. If they're not--if the courts ultimately decide they aren't simply because money changes hands among the fantasy nerds who use them--we'll all be paying A-Rod's salary, eventually. The National Pastime not only won't belong to us anymore, we'll be paying MLB a fee every time we use the phrase "National Pastime"” (Smith). I am a huge fan of baseball and think that it is “The National Pastime” and if we had to pay more than we already do just because of the greed of the players and management I think I would lose a little of my love for the game. There have been a few instances where this issue has gone to court. The case before the high court--Major League Baseball Advanced Media v. CBC Distribution and Marketing--was a high-stakes battle between professional athletes and fantasy sports businesses. Ultimately the case involved striking a balance between free-speech guarantees and the publicity rights of famous people (Richey). I just don’t understand how it is any different reading the stats in the newspaper just for the information or calculating them to compete against other people to see who knows the most about a sport. CBC went to court, arguing that it didn't need a license to operate a fantasy baseball league using publicly available information about players. The courts agreed (Richey). So in this case MLB was trying to go after the companies that create the sites available for playing fantasy sports and they lost. I think this is a good thing because they were trying to get this company to pay for using the stats and names of players.

The last reason that I think that professional teams and athletes should not receive is because a lot of the time fantasy sports are just played for fun. It’s not just that they want the people playing fantasy sports to pay them but they are going after the sites that design the leagues online. Their argument is that the sites need to pay to use the information. They should not have to pay for information that they are just organizing for the public to use for free. That’s right I said free, most fantasy sites are free of charge and only make money on advertising. Even if there is money involved, the owners of the fantasy teams spend quite a bit of time on their teams and deserve to make whatever money they earn. I know that in my leagues I spend about 10 to 15 hours a week all year round, just getting ready to play each matchup and outside of the year just as much time getting ready for the next year.

I think that the main argument for paying royalties to players and leagues is that people are benefiting from the hard work of the athletes and teams. I agree that people are benefiting from their hard work, however I think that they should be able to. I know for a fact that I have more than doubled the money that I have invested in fantasy sports over the last ten years and I believe I deserve it. So, the main argument is they should get money from us because we make money off of them. If you turn things around, the only reason they are in the position they are in is because the fans of the game work hard at their jobs so they can afford to go to games and buy their favorite apparel to support their favorite teams and players. A recent study by the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA), shows that Americans 16 years and older spent more than $8 billion on sports logo apparel (Guigotti). So really the teams and players are also benefiting from the hard work of the people who support them. Should fans get paid royalties or get kickbacks because they benefit from our hard work. If that was the question people would think it’s absurd because it makes no sense and I agree. If it makes no sense on way than it doesn’t the other way also.

In conclusion, I do not feel that professional sports teams or athletes should be paid royalties from fantasy sports players, leagues, or sites. I feel that I made a good argument of this, whether it is the fact that the athletes and teams make too much money already or that the information used is public knowledge. I also feel that I proved that the argument for paying them royalties because people are benefiting from them is not a valid argument. I hope after reading all that I had to say you can develop your own opinion on this topic. I just hope you choose the right side.

 

                                                             

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Smith, Ben. "Baseball Squeezing Fantasy Geeks Dry." Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne, IN). 15 Aug 2006: 6.B. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 10 Dec 2013.

Richey, Warren. "High Court Rejects Fantasy Baseball Challenge." Christian Science Monitor. 03 Jun 2008: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 10 Dec 2013.

Dorish, Joe. "Average Salaries in the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL." Yahoo Sports. Yahoo, 12 Nov. 2011. Web. 10 Dec. 2013

Guigotti, Daniel. "How Much Americans Spend on Sports Each Year." Bad Credit Loans Approved by Capcreditcom. Forbes, 2013. Web. 11 Dec.

 

Final Essay Brianstorm

Final Essay Brainstorm

            While thinking about what to write for my argumentation essay several different ideas popped into my head. The first being that fantasy football is better than fantasy baseball. Ever thought there are quite a few reasons in my eyes that football is better than baseball, I think that I could struggle making it into an actual essay. I mean that I don’t think that I would have enough material for it to be long enough. Another idea that I had was why a PPR or point per reception league is better than standard scoring systems but I think I would have the same problem with the amount of material that I would be able to write about. The only topic that I came up with that I think I could write enough about is why a dynasty fantasy football league is better than a standard redraft or a small keeper league. I feel that while doing this I could also bring in that a PPR is better than standard scoring also. In my mind a dynasty fantasy football league is way better than any other format of fantasy league, it really shows how much a person knows about sports.

          After doing a little more thinking i will be doing my final essay on, should fantasy sports leagues pay royalties to professional leagues and players?

Argumentation, Response to Web 2.0

Response to Web 2.0

            I chose to respond to the Web 2.0 essay this week. To be completely honest I chose it because it is the shortest and I really don’t like reading that much. I was actually surprised by what was said in this writing. I think that Andrew Keen made a good argument on why the Web 2.0 movement is not a good thing but I feel pretty much the exact opposite way on the whole thing. Starting out, Keen said something along the lines of, if everyone is a writer then there will be no readers, I disagree with this. For example, I have two friends that have their masters in English or literature related fields and I know that both really enjoy writing and reading, I’m sure both would be lost without doing both every day. What I’m saying is, I would be willing to bet that almost all writers love reading and the argument, if all people were writers there would be no readers just makes no sense. Another thing that really stood out to me was when he talked about losing influential people such as Hitchcock, Bono, and Sebald. I don’t think this could be anymore wrong, with the technology we have today I think we will be able to discover more amazing talent than ever before. Just think if this technology did not exist we could be missing out on some amazing talent across the world. The last reason I think this movement is a good thing is because people have the right to express how they feel through writing, music, and movies and they should be able to share it with whoever wants or is willing to read, watch, or listen to it. I do believe that some people will abuse the technology by posting absolute garbage but the serious writers and other posters will use it as a tool to get their message out to as many people as possible. Just because everyone will be able to become an author it will not take away from an accomplished writer.

Process Analysis Draft

Process Analysis Draft – How to build the perfect fantasy team.

           

When talking about fantasy football the number one goal is to win. Having a winning fantasy football team doesn’t just happen. There are several things you can do to help out. The main things that you can to have a winning team are practice, get rid of any loyalties to your favorite team, be prepared and informed, and have a strategy or pay attention during the year. I like to think of myself as a bit of an expert for a few reasons and they are: I have been playing fantasy football for about 13 years, I have won more leagues than I can remember, I love football, and I have helped other people out and they always seem to do pretty good. I’m not saying what I am going to tell you is guaranteed but it could help.

            The first thing that you need to do to be successful when creating a successful team is practice. You may be wondering how can you practice playing fantasy football and that’s not what I mean. You need to practice drafting, by practice I mean to do mock drafts. A mock draft is a draft that doesn’t count that you can do online with random people or you can do it alone. What this does is show you different situations that could happen during the draft and helps you be more prepared. It will give you a better understanding on where players are going to get drafted in your league and how you should rank them. This does not always help however; I did around 200 mock drafts this year before my real drafts and was still surprised on the way the drafts went. You can’t really predict exactly how any draft is going to go; there are too many things to consider: people’s favorite players, favorite teams, and team’s people don’t like at all.

Now that you have done at least 100 mock drafts you are ready to move closer to the draft. The next thing you have to do is right before the draft, before you even make a pick you have you set aside any loyalties you have to any team. If you don’t do this you will probably lose, for example if you won’t take Aaron Rodgers because you are a Bears fan, that’s just stupid, you could take him and dangle him in front of some Packer fan and get a lot more than he is actually worth. What I’m saying is, be prepared to take the best player available regardless of what team he plays for.

            Next you have the actual draft, I’m going to use this year as an example. You have to go in having a well thought out plan, knowing how many draft worthy players there are for each position, how many roster spots you have available, what scoring system is being used, bye weeks of players, and health of players of course. This year my motto was wait on quarterbacks and tight ends, the reason for this is outside the top two or so in either position they are so close in points and you can find good ones late in the draft or in free agency. I have always been a huge fan of picking running backs in the first who rounds unless there is a player sitting there you just can’t pass on. After you have your top two running backs you want to get a couple receivers. Around the fifth round you should take a look and see what quarterbacks a left still, if there are quite a few pass on one until later. I would pick a running back in the fifth and receiver in the sixth. Then I the seventh round take the best available quarterback and take his tight end in the next round, if he is a good tight end. I was able to pair Tony Gonzales with Matt Ryan in the 7^th and 8^th rounds in one draft this year. After this your team is pretty much filled out just missing a defense and kicker and you will get those with your last two picks. Just play the matchups week to week with your defense, which means to play a defense that is playing a bad team. From pick nine to mid-teens I would alternate running back then receiver to add depth on your team because injury’s happen and usually to running backs and receivers so it is good to have plenty. Finish by taking a backup quarterback and kicker and defense.

            Now that the draft is complete and you have your team you would think it gets easy but you would be wrong. There are several different strategies an owner can use during the season but the biggest thing you have to do is pay attention. It is most important to pay attention early in the season because there are always a few players that are going to come out of nowhere and be fantasy studs. This year that player is Knowshon Moreno; he is ranked in the top five for running backs in most leagues. Picking up a player from free agency that I producing like a number one pick really can help a team win. There are always players that just pop up out of nowhere so keep your eyes peeled. There is a strategy that has worked for me in the past and it is to tank for the first two weeks or purposely lose the first two weeks. I’m sure you are wondering what kind of strategy that is and I will explain. In most fantasy football leagues they have waivers; waivers are a tool that makes fantasy football fairer. With waivers after every week the teams reset in order of worst to best and the team with the worst record gets the first option to pick up available players. In this strategy you will be fighting an uphill battle but it has paid off in the past for me.

            You don’t have to follow these steps exactly but I hope it gave you a little bit better understanding on how to build the perfect team. Just remember to practice, be unbiased, be prepared, and pay attention and I’m sure you will be successful. These steps will help you be more successful in standard redraft leagues only. Good luck and happy Sundays.
    

Compare and Contrast

Fantasy Sports: Football or Baseball

            When talking about fantasy football and fantasy baseball there are quite a few similarities. They are all pretty obvious, starting with the draft, it is basically the same other than you usually draft a lot more players in a baseball draft. Another way that they are similar is if you want to be successful you have to pay attention and be knowledgeable in the sport.  The only other way that I think they are the same is the owner of the team has complete control of who is going to play each week. That is where the similarities end.

            Fantasy football and fantasy baseball are also very different. The biggest difference for me is the amount of time spent on baseball. In a baseball league you have to set your lineup every day for about 25 weeks. In football you set you lineup once a week for 16 weeks if you’re lucky (this means you made it to the championship game). In football once you pick your players you usually don’t do that many transactions if you have a decent team. In baseball you have a maximum of ten transactions per week in most leagues and if you don’t use them you probably won’t win. Most baseball leagues 10-12 categories that a player can score in, usually 6 for pitchers and 6 for offense. Each time the player does whatever the category is the, they get a point. For example the offensive categories are runs, homeruns, stolen bases, extra base hits, on base percentage and runs batted in, so if a player hits a solo homerun you get one point in homerun, run, runs batted in, extra base hit, and you on base percentage goes up. It is the same for the pitching categories. Whoever is leading the most categories at the end of the week wins. In football everything has a point value, 10 yards receiving or rushing is one point, 25 yards throwing is one point, touchdowns are six points, and some points for field goals and defensive stuff. Whoever has the highest point total at the end wins.

            There are similarities and differences in fantasy football and fantasy baseball and they are both really fun. Winning really just depends how dedicated you are and how much time you have on your hands.

Process Analysis

Process Analysis – How to build the perfect fantasy team.

           

When talking about fantasy football the number one goal is to win. Having a winning fantasy football team doesn’t just happen; there are several things you can do to help out. I like to think of myself as a bit of an expert for a few reasons and they are: I have been playing for about 13 years, I have won more leagues than I can remember, I love football, and I have helped other people out and they always seem to do pretty good. I’m not saying what I am going to tell you is guaranteed but it could help.

            First comes the time right before the draft, before you even make a pick you have you set aside any loyalties you have to any team. If you don’t do this you will probably lose, for example if you won’t take Aaron Rodgers because you are a Bears fan, that’s just stupid, you could take him and dangle him in front of some Packer fan and get a lot more than he is actually worth. What I’m saying is, be prepared to take the best player available regardless of what team he plays for.

            Next you have the actual draft, I’m going to use this year as an example. You have to go in having a well thought out plan, knowing how many draft worthy players there are for each position, how many roster spots you have available, what scoring system is being used, bye weeks of players, and health of players of course. This year my motto was wait on quarterbacks and tight ends, the reason for this is outside the top two or so in either position they are so close in points and you can find good ones late in the draft or in free agency. I have always been a huge fan of picking running backs in the first who rounds unless there is a player sitting there you just can’t pass on. After you have your top two running backs you want to get a couple receivers. Around the fifth round you should take a look and see what quarterbacks a left still, if there are quite a few pass on one until later. I would pick a running back in the fifth and receiver in the sixth. Then I the seventh round take the best available quarterback and take his tight end in the next round, if he is a good tight end. I was able to pair Tony Gonzales with Matt Ryan in the 7^th and 8^th rounds in one draft this year. After this your team is pretty much filled out just missing a defense and kicker and you will get those with your last two picks. Just play the matchups week to week with your defense, which means to play a defense that is playing a bad team. From pick nine to mid-teens I would alternate running back then receiver to add depth on your team because injury’s happen and usually to running backs and receivers so it is good to have plenty. Finish by taking a backup quarterback and kicker and defense.

            The last thing you have to do to build the perfect fantasy team is pay attention. It is most important to pay attention early in the season because there are always a few players that are going to come out of nowhere and be fantasy studs. This year that player is Knowshon Moreno; he is ranked in the top five for running backs in most leagues. Picking up a player from free agency that I producing like a number one pick really can help a team win. There are always players that just pop up out of nowhere so keep your eyes peeled. You don’t have to follow these steps exactly but I hope it gave you a little bit better understanding on how to build the perfect team.

Illustration

How an Injury Ruined My Week

            I know many of people that play fantasy football along with myself and we all have the same goal, to win. I learned this week that it’s not over until the fat lady is singing. This week in my matchup against Dylan, towards the end of the noon games my team was looking unstoppable and I was already starting to celebrate. I even stopped paying attention to the score and was playing outside with my daughter. We were having a blast out in the front yard, playing catch that is a little more like fetch when playing with a two year old. After a few hours I decided it was time to eat and we went inside to have some meatloaf and mashed potatoes. It was delicious, my wife makes the best meatloaf. When we finished dinner I checked my phone that kept going off and I saw it was Dylan who I was playing this week. He had called and texted me several times to let me know one of my players had gotten hurt and our matchup was getting closer. So, going into the last game I was up about twenty points and we both had a player going. I figured I still had this in the bag. Well wouldn’t you know it, very early in the game the Cardinals called a run play to Rashard Mendenhall and he had to leave the game with an injury. But it wasn’t over yet I was still up twenty points and feeling ok. Dylan still had Jimmy Graham going, and he went off for about 35 points. If this taught me anything it was its not over until it’s over.

Descriptive

Descriptive

                Just about every Sunday morning I follow a pretty strict routine. I almost always wake up to the smell of bacon, I work late on Saturdays and sleep in and my wife cooks breakfast every Sunday. I am usually a little discombobulated form the night before so it takes a little time fumbling around to find my glasses and then I immediately check my phone for fantasy football news. I then head outside for a morning smoke, the ground is usually so cold in the morning it feels like a thousand needles poking me in my feet. After the smoke I head inside and warm up with a hot cup of coffee and breakfast. I chat with my wife for a while because we probably won’t talk much during the day.

                Around 9:00am I’m usually done with breakfast and begin my Sunday football ritual. It takes me about thirty minutes to set up my living room and when I’m done it looks more like some sort of a video surveillance room. I have three TVs set up (two 32” and one 47”), I have my laptop going, my phone is always in my hand, and my Kindle is never out of arms reach. And then I wait, and wait, and wait. The next two hours feel like an eternity. I pace back and forth in the living room sometimes speaking out loud to myself but usually in my head, did I pick the right guys, are the bears going to win, it never ends.

                By the time its 11:45am I have changed my lineup at least ten times, but now I am ready. I head back outside for one more smoke and the ground is always quite a bit warmer since the sun has peaked over the house and is beating down on the walkway. I head back inside open up the window behind the couch, even in the middle of winter. I like that gentle breeze coming in over the back of the couch. I snuggle up with my huge Chicago Bears colored blanket and don’t move for the next 11 hours. I love Sundays.

Narrative Rough Draft

2013 Fantasy Football Draft

            I woke up in a dark and empty hotel room and thought I must have only had slept an hour or two at the most. I felt around for my phone for a while and when I found it, I wasn’t surprised that it was only 5:30 am. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep any more, this was the day I had been preparing for all summer long, doing endless research, taking tons of notes, and checking Rotoworld nonstop, this was draft day.

So, knowing that I would be able to sleep, after a couple hours I decided to call one of the other owners because I knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep either. When Dave answered his phone he said “what’s up, you can’t sleep either? Let’s go have breakfast and a bloody.” I answered him with a little hesitation because I knew it was going to be a long day “ok, but we need to pace ourselves. We have a long day ahead of us.” So we headed out to breakfast and had our meal with a few bloody’s and a shot or two. That is not what I had in mind when I told him we had to pace ourselves. We talked a little about the upcoming draft later that day, not giving up too much information of course. Then we went home to get ready for the day.

After showering and cleaning my golf clubs I jumped in my truck and headed out. It was about noon when I arrived at Princeton Valley Golf Course which is the location of our draft. There were already four other owners there when I arrived and they seemed just as excited as I was. There was plenty to be excited for. First we would golf, but not just golf this would be an opportunity to gauge the other owners on who they want and possibly get some trades done. Golf was very important for another reason, it would determine the order of the draft but not how you think. Next we would watch the games that were on while playing poker and then on to the draft.

After about twenty minutes of hitting balls and chatting the rest of the owners arrived and Corey who is our commissioner decided to call a meeting and go over our itinerary for the day. And then we were off, hole one and the other team already wanted to make it a little more interesting. Pukrop says to me “You boys want to put a little money on this.” To this I answered “you bet your ass I do.” We were playing a two man best ball game so I had to talk it over with my partner and we decided that one hundred dollars would be enough but not too much and the other team agreed. After the first hole we were up two strokes and were feeling pretty confident. No change after holes two or three, but then there is hole four. The tee box of hole four is right next to the clubhouse and my partner Dylan asked me if we should grab some beers and of course my answer to that was yes. Before teeing off we cracked our first beer of the day and we lost a stroke on that hole. Now we are hole fives tee box and still up one stroke, when we decided to shotgun a beer, this was not as good of an idea as it sounded. Even with the shot gunning of beer we managed to pick up two strokes on hole five. Over the next few holes we drank more and ended up on hole nine with a good buzz and a one stroke lead. The other team teed off first and hit both of their shots in the middle of the fairway. I hit my shot in the water and Dylan hit his in the next fairway over so we decided to play his. It was apparent that the wheels had fallen off. We ended up losing by two strokes and realized that betting while drinking a lot was not such a good idea. We were the first team done so we sat on the ninth green and heckled the next few groups that finished their rounds.

After golf we headed down to the banquet room below the clubhouse where we had pizza and more beer waiting for us along with a 60” TV for us to watch the games on. Once we got in the room our commissioner Corey had a little surprise for us, yet another game that would determine the draft order. The game was called “Kaepernick” and basically you could not drink with your dominant hand and it you did someone could call Kaepernick and trade picks with you, it got a little interesting. We still had about four hours till the actual draft started and it is a bit of a tradition for us to play a game or two of Texas Holdem Poker. I was the second one out and decided to try to get everyone to my level and I decided to buy 24 shots of Fleishman’s Gin, it was delicious and piney. I didn’t just want to get the other owners drunk, I wanted to steal their picks, I had the 12^th pick and I knew that was as bad as it could get so I figured I’d be able to move up in the draft because who does a shot with their non-dominant hand. I did it, I moved from 12^th all the way up to 2^nd and I couldn’t have been any happier. About an hour before the draft was going to start we were informed that the golf course was going to be closing early, we tried to convince them otherwise for a while but realized that we would have to change the venue. So, we scrambled and ended up moving the draft to Bridgewater Pub, a place where we had done it in the past and it is attached to the hotel I was staying at. Little did we know that the air conditioning at Bridgewater was broken and it was very hot that day.

Even with the heat inside the new bar, we didn’t have a choice but to do the draft. I ended up having two first and two second round picks along with a few later round picks that didn’t really matter to me. A couple of picks into the draft it was going just how I had planned, my first pick was coming up and he guy I wanted was still there. I got him, Deandre Hopkins, I had talked about him so negatively that the other owners passed on him. Same with my next few picks, I got everyone that I was targeting and could not have been any happier. I was a little surprised because I had a few more drinks than I should have. After the draft wrapped up we sat around and talked about the day, had a few more drinks and headed off to my hotel room. The next day I woke up in a dark and empty hotel room, this time I couldn’t sleep because of an alarm beeping loudly. I had to drive two hours to get to my first Monday class of the semester. I can’t wait till next year’s draft.

Fantasy Sports Intro

Hello everyone,
  My name is Patrick and I just started this blog about fantasy sports. I chose this topic because I have been playing fantasy sports for about 15 years and I am quite the fantasy sports junkie. I would like to think that I know a lot about it because I have several championships under my belt. I am currently in 4 different types of fantasy football leagues. I have two dynasty PPR (point per reception) teams that I have been building for quite a few years and they are the most important to me. I am also in three redraft leagues, one "weekly pick your player league", and have several survivor pools that I am in. I am also in a few different baseball leagues but you probably will not hear much about those because its football season. In the following weeks I hope to keep you very entertained as I will be updating you on how my seasons are going, giving some fantasy advise, my opinions on players, and some history on fantasy sports. I hope you enjoy sports and fantasy sports as much as I do but if not maybe you could learn a little something. Until next time, good luck and GO BEARS!!!

Patrick Chrusciel