Ask Your Fantasy Football Expert: Shane Hallam

"This is why you need to watch the games and KEEP changing evaluations. Don't make evaluations fit your preconceived notions!"

Find previous Ask Your Fantasy Expert interviews.

When I first started the interview process, I thought the only way you could get into the FSWA was to show your Steelers tattoo. I haven't interviewed a Steeler fan/fantasy guy in a month and I just pulled off two in a row. Sorry, or if you own a Terrible Towel, yinz having fun yet?

Shane P Hallam (for now, assume the P stands for Pittsburgh) is a draft guru. He writes for Draftcountdown.com, a site that literally counts down the seconds to next April's NFL draft. If there is a draft-eligible college player with a pulse, Shane has an opinion.

All fantasy writers name-dropped will get a link to their Twitter feed. We'll keep with the theme of my questions/comments in Titan blue and Shane's in non blue.

How did you decide to become an NFL draft guru?

Football was always a passion of mine, I’ve been watching it since I was 5 months old. The NFL Draft was always a mysterious conundrum to me. Studying prospects, projecting trades, seeing what teams wanted, I loved reading about it and really loved college football so I took up scouting, reading and talking to anyone with knowledge about the process to get where I am today. It led to writing about fantasy football and the NFL Draft for a few years, eventually ending up with Scott Wright at draftcountdown.com.

How did you get involved with draftcountdown.com? Tell me about the site updates as you ramp up for NFL draft 2012.

A fantasy football friend of mine suggested I check out the site and forum. I began posting in the forum in December of 2005. As I shared my opinions of views as well as writing and doing radio/podcasts elsewhere, Scott Wright took notice and invited me to run the forums and do a weekly "Hot List" article for the site. Now, we are co-hosting a Podcast and I am contributing to the blog. Hopefully the future will bear more contributions to keep growing the site.

How do armchair scouts such as myself watch games differently to get a feel for players?

Keep watching and listening. My first few years of learning how to scout, I sought out opinions I trusted and compared them to tape. I figured out how to see what these scouts were seeing and what small attributes were important for those to be successful in transitioning to the NFL. Find the position that you played or know the most about and start there. Though some say “true” scouts don’t read other reports, I disagree. Read as many scouting reports as you can, compare your notes to them, and ask questions to see why differences exist. I’d also suggest keeping notebooks or databases and take notes as you watch that you can go back to.

What's up with this new podcast you're going to do with the perpetually podcasting Jim Day?

It’s going to be exciting! My first real love was fantasy football and like to share that knowledge to help others as much as possible. Jim does such a tremendous job on blogtalkradio and came to me with the idea to do a Friday night show to help people fill their lineups and make decisions. Add in high profile experts, and I believe him and I have a winning recipe. We are pretty excited for it and hope people will check it out on Friday nights at 8:00 PM EST.

Tell me about your real-life NFL rooting interests.

I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I come from a family of Steeler fans including a father and two older brothers, so it was natural. I was watching games before I could walk or talk. The Steelers have been and will always be a rooting interest for me as a Pittsburgh resident. As a youngster, I liked the Miami Dolphins as well and my favorite player of all-time is still Dan Marino, a Pittsburgh native. [Zach note: Can't hate on the Marino love.]

Where do you live?

Pittsburgh, PA.

Tell me about your day job.

I’m a high school teacher at Keystone Oaks High School in Pittsburgh. I teach English and Social Studies to 9th and 12th graders as well as direct the middle school and high school musical there.

Do you have long-term goals with your writing?

I’d love to one day make a career of it since it is a true passion and there just are never enough hours in the day to watch all the tape I need to and write everything I see in a presentable manner. Hopefully one day I can have the time to do that and continue to perfect my craft.

How do you deal, as an in-demand fantasy expert, with all the league requests? Do you have a limit on leagues?

I don’t limit the number, but more WHERE the leagues are. I like to stick with myfantasyleague.com and Yahoo Sports for fantasy football. I have been roped into a few interesting ESPN leagues as well, but I’m hitting close to 20 this year.

The spouse question: Does your wife/gf/sig other have any issues with your obsession?

Not yet, haha. My girlfriend doesn’t know much of anything about football. Her and I watched the Falcons/Jaguars preseason game in Week 2 actually and I taught her the basics of the game. I’m not sure if that will help or not.

Football or sex: which do you think of more?

Haha man, as much as I’d hate to see it, football definitely occupies my time more.

Who's a player that you absolutely loved but didn't make it? What do you think happened?

Matt Leinart was a player I thought would excel in the NFL with his vast experience in big time college football. He had the poise and accuracy, but just could never make his way to the top. The attitude wasn’t there. I think this proved to me how much intangibles play a part in the NFL and specifically the quarterback position. It was definitely a learning experience.

Tell me about a player you loved from the start who made it big in the NFL.

Mike Wallace has been my success story in terms of scouting. He was a guy I identified after his junior season as to just not catching the break he needed at Ole Miss. Big, strong, fast, and he improved every season. He was better than a 3rd round pick to me and he has proved it.

Where are you on the usual football Sunday? Is there a man cave?

You would be correct, on the couch, watching redzone and any Steeler game that is on.

Tell me about a hobby/interest outside of football.

It may be a complete dichotomy, but I love musical theater and I am a bit of a connoisseur of musicals. I go to almost a dozen high school musicals a year and direct my own at K.O, as well as catch a number of shows in the Pittsburgh Cultural District.

Your public wants to know. What does the "P" of Shane P Hallam stand for?

It stands for many things! In high school, I went by the full name with the “P” and it became a nickname. My best friend actually refers to me as P. That being said, I am 95% Irish, so my middle name is Patrick.

Which fantasy writers are on your must-read list?

Jim Day, Evan Silva, Joe Everett, Cecil Lammey and Sigmund Bloom, Chet Gresham, Mike Clay and Bryan Fontaine, Andy Miley and many more. So many great guys out there, I apologize to anyone I forgot!

Better fantasy experience: Long-term league with friends or fantasy "expert" league?

Fantasy expert league. Nothing like a good challenge, good trash talk, and I LOVE when experts talk about leagues I’m in on their podcasts. It feels pretty big time and the differing opinions are always tremendous.

Tell me about any plugs that you'd like. Podcasts, sites that you write for, expert leagues, anything.

Check out www.draftcountdown.com! We just relaunched for 2012 with a new mock draft, rankings, and I will have my weekly "Hot List" feature coming out every Tuesday or Wednesday. Likewise, Scott and I have the Draft Countdown Podcast every Tuesday night at 8 PM EST. If you need more fantasy football, myself and Jim Day have started the Goaheadscore WDIS Podcast at 8 PM EST on Friday nights.

Thanks to Shane for answering my questions. He'll answer your draft, be it NFL or fantasy, questions on his Twitter feed at Twitter.

Read previous Ask Your Fantasy Expert interviews.

Andy Miley

Jim "Taz" Day

Chet Gresham

Bryan Fontaine

Eric Yeomans

I Hate JJ Redick

Fantasy Douche

Eric from DL Football

Clint Chugg

Matt Waldman Part 1 and Part 2

Chris Wesseling

John Sarmento

Ryan Forbes

Alex Miglio

Cecil Lammey

Ask Your Fantasy Football Expert: Cecil Lammey

"Had a guy next to me last night that was yelling 'scoreboard bitches!!' in preseason game."

Find previous Ask Your Fantasy Expert interviews.

There are lots of self-made stories in the relatively new industry of fantasy football. Then you have Cecil Lammey, the irreverent host of the footballguys.com podcast The Audible and a fixture of Denver sports radio. While Footballguys.com has plenty of great writers, they have a primary voice, and it's the man who refers to himself as Big Mex.

All fantasy writers name-dropped will get a link to their Twitter feed. We'll keep with the theme of my questions/comments in Titan blue and Cecil's in non-Titan blue.

How'd you get started with footballguys.com?

I was a frequent poster on the message board The Shark Pool at Footballguys. I had been working in radio for a couple of years and had written for sites like Fantasy Football Journal and Gridiron Grumblings. Footballguys did a contest in 2004 where message board members got to compete against members of the Footballguys staff in a Survivor style fantasy league. I lobbied to be selected, was selected, and then promptly started running my mouth.

I said that I would win the league and get hired by Footballguys as a staff member after that. I had lobbied both Joe Bryant and David Dodds to hire me for about a year but to no avail. Well, because of guys like Billy Volek and Drew Bennett I actually beat everyone involved and won the Footballguys board vs staff league. Soon after that I was hired by Footballguys as a part-time staffer. The next year (2006) I was charged with starting a podcast for Footballguys. The Audible was born in March of 2006 and the rest is history.

All right, mister Steeler. Tell me all about your love for the black and gold.

I grew up very poor in the country as a rancher/farmer. I didn’t have many nice clothes, but through a second hand store I was able to get three Steelers jerseys - Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, and a long sleeved Lynn Swann jersey. My favorite color is black and I loved running around rodeos with my Steelers jerseys on. In the late 70s the Steelers won 4 Super Bowl titles in 6 years and thus my passion for all things Steelers was born.

Have you been in Denver all your life? How's Mile High living?

I grew up on the state line and my family had land in both Colorado and Wyoming. Our house was actually 20 yards inside the state line on the Wyoming side. However, our mailbox was 3 miles south in Colorado. Because of that I grew up with a Wyoming phone number and a Colorado address. I’ve always lived in Colorado or Wyoming and couldn’t imagine a better place to live. I live in Southwest Denver near Red Rocks and at the base of the foothills to the great Rocky Mountains. I’m not much of an outdoorsman but do enjoy hiking, mountain biking, and skiing/snowboarding from time to time.

I enjoy your work on Denver's The Ticket. How's the sports radio biz treating you?

Great! I started in this business as a regular caller. I did not go to broadcasting school, but instead wanted to be a comic book artist. I did work for Legend Comics back in the early 90s but the company quickly went out of business and my time as a professional artist came to a close. I bounced around from odd job to odd job. I worked at 7-11, was a farmer, and then worked as a machinist making firefighting equipment in Denver.

Working as a machinist, I loved listening to sports talk radio all day. I had no experience in broadcasting and did not go to college for that. I didn't graduate college, but was comfortable doing a job (machining) that I was good at. However, I wasn't happy.

I would call in to Jim Rome, Irv and Joe, Drive Time Sports (Mark Schlereth and David Diaz Infante's show), etc. One day they were talking fantasy football on AM 760 the zone and the guy that was talking was full of it, spitting out bad information.

I called (again) and dropped some knowledge about guys like Musa Smith (LOL). I hung up the phone and went back to work. My best friend was a landscaper up in Ft. Collins who listened after I was off air and the caller behind me said "Wow, that's guys good...you should hire him!" I didn't hear it, but my best friend did. He called me on my way home from work to tell me and I thought "Yeah, they DO need to hire me!"

I remember telling my wife what happened and I said I was going to contact the producer of the show and see if I could make it happen. My philosophy in life is simple: It doesn't hurt to ask.
I thought 'Am I working in radio now?' the answer is no. So if I ask and the answer is still no what does it change??? It changes nothing and is not disheartening as nothing is being taken from me.
I contacted Andy Lindahl, who was the producer at the time and he agreed to have me on as a weekly guest. I did not get any money, but I got something much more important – opportunity. I did everything I could to get my name out there. The work gets you noticed. If you're talented you will get noticed if you work hard.

I have to thank several people, most notably Adam Schefter, Scott Hastings, and Mark Schlereth for helping me out along the way. They're super nice guys who opened doors for me and I will forever be grateful to them.

How'd the audible get together? It seems like you've been working with Sigmund Bloom for a while but Matt Waldman is the relative newcomer.

I was working for Footballguys for a year when Sigmund Bloom was hired. He and I had several great discussions in the ‘Shark Pool’ before he was hired and I knew the guy knew football. When he was hired I called him to congratulate him and finally put a ‘voice’ with the name. We talked like teenage girls for about three hours and had an instant connection. [Zach note: It's a groovy kind of love.] At the end of the phone call I asked ‘Can we do that again and record it?’ The first episode of the Audible we did on speaker phone, recorded to tape, which I then transferred to CD, which I then put on the computer in .mp3 format, then on the server where Itunes could pick it up. That was back in 2006, today it’s much more streamlined. Every show is a joy to work with Sigmund. We interviewed Matt when he worked for another site, and were always big fans of the Rookie Scouting Portfolio. Both Sig and I were elated when he was hired by Footballguys, and soon asked him to join the booth on our Thursday night Live! show.

You talk about your son Liam and his progress as a QB. Does he have the fantasy football bug yet, or does he keep it on the field?

Liam is now in Junior High and they actually have a ‘Fantasy Football Club.’ He’s starting to get the bug, but spends most of his time working on his game. High school teams are already interested in what he can do, and he’s getting tutored from former CU QB Joel Klatt. It’s been a joy to see him grow and evolve as a player. Many ask me ‘does he love football for himself, or because you love it so much?’ The answer is easy: Liam loves the game himself. I would not force the game on him if he didn’t love it. Your body takes a beating in football, and if you don’t love hitting/getting hit then this game is not for you. I was a fantastic roper as a kid/teen and could have pursued a career as a professional cowboy. I was very good at it, but I didn’t LOVE it. If my son wanted to be the best cello player in the state I would do everything in my power to support him. Too many football parents ask me ‘can my son play in the league?’ It’s a silly question, as nobody knows what the future holds. I want my son to have fun, learn life lessons, grow as a player, and grow as a young man. Football teaches you so much about life, and that’s where the value is. Whether or not he plays D1 football, makes it to the NFL, or stops after high school it doesn’t matter to me. I just want him to have fun and enjoy himself, while giving him all the opportunities I can.

The spouse question: Does your wife/gf/sig other have any issues with your obsession?

I’ve always been like this. My wife and I have been together since 1995, married since 1997. Even when I wasn’t getting paid to talk/write about football, when I was a farmer in the country I still followed the game as closely as I do today. I’ve been recording games/preseason games since 1992 CHI v NO. I wanted to see Vaughan Dunbar in his first preseason action and still proudly have that game on tape. Unfortunately Dunbar never lived up to expectations (I loved his game at Indiana). Stacey met me, and has always accepted my love/obsession for football. She’s not a fan, but does watch the Super Bowl with me every year. On Sundays she’ll go shopping while I’m doing pregame and postgame shows.

Football or sex: which do you think of more?

This is a tough one. It’s literally 50/50. I have a healthy appetite for sex and used to refer to myself as a ‘Sexual Tyranosaurus.’ That was until I said that to Bloom, and he said "does that mean you’re a scavenger?" Needless to say I don’t say that anymore. LOL.

How much fun is your annual College All-Star Game road trip? Any stories you'd like to tell?

The All-Star Game road trip is a blast! It’s why I call it ‘The Ultimate Road Trip.’ For three weeks in January I travel to the Shrine Game, Senior Bowl, and NFLPA Game to watch practice and see some of the nation’s best senior prospects. I also get to hang out with my friends like Doug Farrar, Charlie Bernstein, Mike Schottey and others. Several great stories, some I can share, some I can’t (LOL). First off, it’s always humbling when someone recognizes me in the airport or at a restaurant. Still kind of a trip that someone would ask for my autograph. Makes me feel blessed every time it happens. Favorite story I can share was from my first Senior Bowl trip in 2007 with Sigmund Bloom. We had a great time in Mobile, but stopped by New Orleans on our way back to Houston airport (Bloom drove from Austin, I flew into Houston). Bloom was my tour guide and we went to Pat O’Briens to drink a couple of Hurricanes and ended up singing at the top of our lungs to some Billy Joel at the piano bar inside.

How devastating was it to you when Matt Jones, aka Dr. Rockso, left the league?

I sure do miss Dr. Rockso – he became an Audible legend. [Zach note: I miss the little "kakakaka...yeah" that Sigmund used to do after the clip.]

It's time for a more serious subject. When did you discover that you had a weakness for the large running backs? Who were your favorite old-school guys and who in the league now is going to take the mantle?

I wore the #34 in high school for the Pawnee Jackrabbits. The number had special meaning to me because of Walter Payton. I loved Sweetness as a kid and would pretend to be him (or Eric Dickerson) when running with the football on the farm. I even used to carry the ball like Sweetness, which pissed my coach off. I never fumbled the ball though. Final 6-man football note: my best friend Eric Hoffman was my lead blocker and the guy he blocked never tackled me – ever! We’ve gone through the game film, and quickly noticed that Big E always had my back. We were also played Outside Linebackers together. Anyway...back to the question. I loved Earl Campbell as a young kid. William Andrews for the Falcons, Christian Okoye for the Chiefs, Jerome Bettis for the Rams/Steelers. It’s such a sight to see such big men with nimble feet in addition to the power! Football is all about imposing your will, and nothing hammers that point home like a power Running Back. Seeing the replay of Bettis running over Urlacher in the snow still gives me chills.

In three years, what's more likely: Tim Tebow is the starting QB for the Broncos, or will he be working with Kirk Cameron?

Tebow will start in this league. I’ve actually become a Tebow defender even though I’m not a huge fan of his game. I think the Tebow hate is ridiculous. Guys like Merril Hoge declaring him a ‘disaster’, etc. The football gods will make you look silly for such proclamations. We can go back through history and point out several QBs who were longshots, or had ugly throwing motions, the non-traditional QBs who still ended up making plays as starters in the league. Tebow is a project, he always has been. There’s some things to work with and some things he needs to work on. Tebow is a great guy, actually a sweet demeanor, and TMZ won’t ever catch him doing something out of line. Some people have a problem with that, or think he’s a phony. Tebow is authentic, like it or not. By the way, can we please stop making fun of him because he’s Christian??? Why is it that every headline about Tebow has to include something about halos or clipped wings? It’s ridiculous and certainly wouldn’t happen if he were Muslim, Jewish, or Buddhist. His religious beliefs are his own. What matters to me is how he plays on the football field.

What's a non football-related hobby of yours? Did I hear that you have a ranch? I know, not quite a hobby.

I get back to the ranch when I can. The kids love to ride horses and be outdoors. I like to fish when I can. I also like to ride my chopper. If I had more time I would draw more than I do now. I also have written some treatments for superhero movies I would love to shop around Hollywood. One of my favorite characters I’ve created is Suimmortal. An ancient ninja from feudal Japan who is both suicidal and immortal. He’s trying to save the outside world while battling inner demons himself. I also play Gears of War as much as I can. I can’t wait for Gears of War 3 which comes out on my wedding anniversary (sorry honey!).

Which fantasy writers are on your must-read list?

Sigmund Bloom, Matt Waldman, Jason Wood, Gregg Rosenthal.

Of all the fantasy leagues you're in, tell me about the one you want to win the most.

The one I want to win the most is the one I started in 1993. The Colorado Pigskin League. An auction league that is best described as a dynasty hybrid. We have Franchise Players, Restricted Free Agents, and Practice Squad players. I won it last year and want to defend my title this year.

Tell me about any plugs that you'd like. Podcasts, sites that you write for, expert leagues, anything.

Check out Footballguys.com and DenversSportsStation.com – listen to The Audible on Itunes, and listen to my show ‘Ridin’ Shotgun’ on 102.3 The Ticket.

Thanks to Cecil for answering my questions. Follow him on Twitter.

Read previous Ask Your Fantasy Expert interviews.

Andy Miley

Jim "Taz" Day

Chet Gresham

Bryan Fontaine

Eric Yeomans

I Hate JJ Redick

Fantasy Douche

Eric from DL Football

Clint Chugg

Matt Waldman Part 1 and Part 2

Chris Wesseling

John Sarmento

Ryan Forbes

Alex Miglio

Ask Your Fantasy Football Expert: Alessandro Miglio

"Beware of preseason hype, though, it is much safer to take a proven commodity than a rookie who has a couple of good preseason games."

Find previous Ask Your Fantasy Expert interviews.

My interview this week is with Alessandro Miglio of the up-and-coming site Pro Football Focus. He puts the numbers into context to help readers pick the fantasy team of their dreams. Plus he's your man for office holiday parties.

All fantasy writers name-dropped will get a link to their Twitter feed. We'll keep with the theme of my questions/comments in Titan blue and Alex's in non-blue.

How did you get into fantasy football writing?

Great question, I have no idea! In all seriousness, a little over a year ago I had no serious designs on becoming a fantasy sports writer – mainly because I did not know where I could get my foot in the door, but also because it was something I had not put any serious thought into. Pro Football Focus gave me that chance. As my story below shows, if anyone is serious about wanting to write for fantasy football, Twitter is a fantastic way to make connections and get opportunities.

How did you get started with PFF?

I started following Pro Football Focus’s Twitter feed sometime during the 2010 offseason, and shortly after that I saw a tweet about a writing opportunity. I enjoy writing and fantasy football, so I inquired. Mike Clay, the managing editor of the fantasy side, gave me a shot and I took full advantage. It has been a year since I started writing for PFF, and I count myself fortunate.

How'd you come up with the idea for your recent Draft Steals and White Elephants article? And what exactly do you have against elephants?

As I completed mock draft after mock draft, a picture of draft day steals formed in my mind, and of course the opposite. The funny thing about this article is that it only took me a couple of hours from inception to completion – it was one of those kinds of articles that gets lodged in your mind and will not leave until you finish writing. I burned right through it! As for the elephant… sometimes I leave the metaphor at the door, but the white elephant one felt like it fit quite nicely. If you have ever spent time with an elephant – especially a white one – you know they are jerks.

Tell me about DolphinsBlog.com, and how you stay a true believer when the Dolphins have treated you poorly as a fan recently?

That gives me a good chuckle – it has been a pretty difficult decade, hasn’t it? I have been a Dolphins fan ever since I can remember, growing up with Dan Marino slinging the ball just about until I got to college. A series of unfortunate decisions and some bad luck have made the post-Marino era difficult to watch, but every team goes through that. The Patriots and Jets – both of which have added to the misery – have been laughingstocks in the past, and they will be again someday. I am a diehard; Miami will be back.

DolphinsBlog.com is something that I fell into as a direct result of my work with PFF. Without PFF, I would not have a football Twitter account, and thus I would not have met Chris Hansen – he manages the blog network. Through the power of Twitter my Dolphins fandom was made known, and Chris eventually asked me if I would manage the site. It has been quite the experience for me.

Where do you live?

Beautiful Northern California via Miami and New York City. Hard to beat.

Tell me about your day job.

I work at as a control systems programmer. Basically speaking, I am in charge of making sure the technology in classroom spaces is controlled and monitored properly.

Do you have long-term goals with your fantasy football writing?

It would be great to help PFF Fantasy grow into something big. They helped me spread my wings, and I feel like the site has some serious potential. Long-term aspirations for a fantasy football writer are tricky – the reality is that the odds of hitting the jackpot as a fantasy writer are about as good as the odds of hitting a jackpot. For now, I enjoy the work and will take things as they come In the future.

How do you deal, as an in-demand fantasy expert, with all the league requests? Do you have a limit on leagues?

There is definitely a limit. Last year I was actually only in a few serious leagues because I did not want to bog myself down with the new writing gig. This year I have been invited to a lot of leagues that I have had to politely turn down. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the invitations, but I would be doing myself and my fellow leaguemates a disservice if I was in too many leagues. Plus I can only win so much before it starts to get boring.

The spouse question: Does your wife/gf/sig other have any issues with your obsession?

My lovely wife is a good sport about all this. She is a football fan (a Patriots fan married to a Dolphins fan, can you believe it?), and she has participated in fantasy football leagues in the past, so my obsession is not something entirely foreign. I try to keep it balanced, though – she deserves more attention than what I pay to fake football, so I definitely try to give that to her… still a work in progress at times. It certainly helps when I bring home a big money league payout as the champion, though.

Football or sex: which do you think of more?

Oh, man, I hope my wife isn’t reading this. I’ll say football, but only because it’s like a second job now. If sex was my second job, well, then I’d be a pretty happy man. [Zach note: That's a completely different blog.]

Tell a story about a fantasy regret. Bad trade, bad draft pick, move you thought about making but did not, something on that realm.

I think this could qualify as one of the worst fantasy blunders in fantasy football history: trading Arian Foster for Joe Flacco. I will wait for the laughter to subside…

This happened last year, shortly after one of my auction drafts. I had drafted Jamaal Charles, DeAngelo Williams, and Matt Forte, but I had skimped out on quarterback and someone outbid me on Flacco because I did not have enough money. At that point, my quarterback was Big Ben, who was suspended to start the year. With Foster being a "sleeper" at the time, I thought I could afford to trade him. Lucky for me, I won the Vick sweepstakes on the waiver wire and traded DeAngelo for Shady McCoy, so I wound up winning the championship anyway.

Tell a story about a fantasy win. Great trade that worked out.

There are so many, it’s hard to choose! I’ll give you two trade wins from last year: traded Legedu Naanee for Mike Wallace in one league, and Jason Snelling to a Michael Turner owner for Jeremy Maclin in another. The latter one was actually vetoed by the league, which ticked me off, but I got the commissioner to allow it.

Where are you on the usual football Sunday? Is there a man cave?

You are about to expose my dirty little secret: I am usually not watching live football. Being a churchgoing man on the west coast, I found it extremely tough when I first moved out here. I spend a lot of long Sundays at church because I am a sound engineer there and I also play piano from time to time, so I tend to have to do a lot of my football watching on NFL Rewind or DVR. I guess this makes me a football heathen.

Tell me about a hobby/interest outside of football.

Hanging out with my daughter is really awesome, as I have come to realize. I really enjoy reading, and lately I am into science fiction or fantasy. I actually aspire to write a book one day. Photography is something I like to dabble in as well, though I have not spent as much time on it as I would have liked to in recent months. I used to be a much bigger video gamer, and I still enjoy them, but there are so many interesting things that life has to offer that I have toned that part down quite a bit over the years. And then there is music, which I have been involved with all my life from playing piano to being an audio engineer to listening to the Glitch Mob.

Which fantasy writers are on your must-read list?

There are so many that it is tough to pick favorites, aside from the PFF staff of course. I really dig Matt Waldman’s stuff – he is extremely knowledgeable, not to mention a great writer. Sigmund Bloom is another guy who I enjoy reading. Chet Gresham and the guys over at 2 Mugs FF are good for laughs while still giving good information. Someone who has climbed the charts for me is the Fantasy Douche, though his real identity is hidden from me. There are dozens of good or great writers out there, you just have to look.

Better fantasy experience: Long-term league with friends or fantasy "expert" league?

This is my first year really doing any experts leagues, so I will have to get back to you. I really enjoy playing with friends, though, so the experts will have to offer a lot of incentives to catch up.

Tell me about any plugs that you'd like. Podcasts, sites that you write for, expert leagues, anything.

Check out the fantasy section at profootballfocus.com, there are a lot of great minds there. Speaking of which, a lot of those minds created the PFF Fantasy Draft Guide, which is 115+ pages of greatness that you can get for $4.99 (PDF) or $7.99 (hard copy) – really great stuff. You can also check out DolphinsBlog.com ,which is doing well, or some other teams on the blog network – we are slowly getting other teams online. I would also like to thank Ryan over at FootballSickness.com and Bob/Chris from AllPurposeRoto.com for having me on their podcasts recently, check them out!

Finally, a big thank you to you, Zach, for the interview. Love your series, and I am honored to be a part of it!

Thanks to Alex for answering my questions. Here's his work on Pro Football Focus. Follow him on Twitter.

Read previous Ask Your Fantasy Expert interviews.

Andy Miley

Jim "Taz" Day

Chet Gresham

Bryan Fontaine

Eric Yeomans

I Hate JJ Redick

Fantasy Douche

Eric from DL Football

Clint Chugg

Matt Waldman Part 1 and Part 2

Chris Wesseling

John Sarmento

Ryan Forbes

Ask Your Fantasy Football Expert: Ryan Forbes

"FEMA to helicopter in hair gel, tanning beds, and Heinekens to New Jersey area for earthquake aid."

Find previous Ask Your Fantasy Football Expert interviews.

You'd think that after a dozen interviews, I would have seen it all. Oh no. It turns out that you can take the fantasy football concept and insert anything into a draft. I don't know if there's a better something than beer.

Ryan Forbes is the sane genius behind the 2 Mugs first-annual beer draft. I better get an invite to the next one. Ryan is the stats-cruncher of the 2 Mugs duo while John aka RumfordJohnny sticks to the "strategery" of winning leagues. How did these wild and crazy guys get together? Read on.

All fantasy writers name-dropped will get a link to their Twitter feed. We'll keep with the theme of my questions/comments in Titan blue and Ryan's in not blue.

How did you get into fantasy football writing?

This will be like my 11th year playing fantasy football and I just started writing last season. I joined Twitter right around the start of free agency last year to keep up with all the news, and also started following some fantasy football people. I don’t remember how or why, but I randomly got a tweet from @PYRO_LION at the time. We talked a little more and I started writing for ffpharmacy.com and pyromaniac.com, two sites he was involved with. I still remember my first piece: "10 People You Might Meet at Your Fantasy Draft." It was just a humorous piece, but it helped me to get my foot in the door.

What's the story behind 2 Mugs, the site and the podcast?

My partner in crime, John (@RumfordJohnny on Twitter), and I both pumped out a lot of content for ffpharmacy.com last year. We got to talking more and more and realized we wanted to have something of our own. After a little back and forth in the e-mails, John threw out 2 Mugs Fantasy Football and it stuck: Beer and Football. I bought the domain name the next day and started coding away.

John and I really fit together well though. I’m more of a stathead and he’s the strategy guy, so between the two of us we’re able to release some intriguing content. The podcast is probably my favorite, just because we spend anywhere from a 30-60 minutes just shooting the shit about all things fantasy football. It’s real laid back, uncensored, and we try to occasionally mix in some funny impressions (good or bad).

Between you and Rumford, who would "win" the beer draft?

Well, we did have a 3 round beer draft this year, and there’s no doubt that I won. Did you see John’s picks? He picked 3 dark, malty beers. Malts might put points on the board, but hops win championships.

Tell me about the pain and the sorrow of being a Chiefs fan. Is Todd Haley the long-term answer?

It’s tough to ignore the mentality that Haley has brought into that locker room, and I do think they’ll continue to have success with him running the show. It’s easy to look at how he treated a guy like Bowe when he first came to Kansas City and think "what an asshole," but he helped Bowe take his game to the next level. He did the same thing to Larry Fitzgerald when he was in Arizona, and Fitz will tell you that he gives a lot of credit to Haley into making him the player he is today.

They have a solid young core though (a lot of which was brought in by Herm Edwards) and I’m excited for the future of the franchise. Plus, how many people can say their favorite team’s head coach looks like a meth addict?

Living in Wisconsin, do people still give you crap about Super Bowl 1? Get over it, people. Seriously, what's it like in Milwaukee?

Surprisingly, I don’t get that too much. Milwaukee though has its ups and downs. I love the spring/summer/fall, but the 6 months of winter (ok, I’m exaggerating slightly) really takes its toll on you. The area in general is great though. People automatically think Miller Lite, but Milwaukee, and really all of Wisconsin, has some quality craft breweries.

During the summer, things liven up by the lakefront. Summerfest (the biggest music festival in the world) is an 11-day event that starts at the end of June and has 12 different stages with all sorts of bands and artists. There’s also Irish Fest, German Fest, and every other cultural fest you can think of throughout the summer. Combine that with a little tailgating at Brewers’ games and the nightlife on Water Street—let’s just say there’s no lack of things to do.

Tell me about your day job.

I’m a Software Engineer for GE Healthcare, and work in their CT (Cat Scan) modality. We essentially build and design the latest and greatest CT scanners. My specific job involves writing the software that makes the images from all the data the scanner collects. I love it. I’m on a real high energy team solving some very challenging problems. Plus, I can say I save lives (sort of).

Do you have long-term goals with your fantasy football writing?

My main goal is to just keep doing it. I’m 26 now and continue to realize that the older I get, the busier life becomes. I really enjoy it though and I’m certainly not in it for the money. I’ve never made one dime from my writing.

How do you deal, as an in-demand fantasy expert, with all the league requests? Do you have a limit on leagues?

This year I said I was cutting it off at 7, and I’m in 9. I’m always seeking out new challenges though. The Fantasy Premier League’s new Redraft2 format this year sucked me right in. It starts with 2 conferences of 12 teams each, and then the top 12 teams after week 6 move on to redraft a completely new team to finish out the season. If the league is right and there’s some money involved, I’ll gladly join.

The spouse question: Does your wife/gf/sig other have any issues with your obsession?

I just had my one year anniversary last Sunday, but I have an awesome wife. She’s a pretty big Chiefs fan herself, so that’s a plus. She does think the fantasy obsession (which has also led to a Twitter obsession) is a little crazy. She supports me though, and that’s all I can ask. The other day her mom asked me, "What do you think of Mike Vrabel retiring?" I was a little puzzled (because her mom doesn’t watch any football), but gave her a pretty lengthy answer. She just replied with, "Ok, just checking to make sure you’re ahead of the game."

Football or sex: which do you think of more?

I’d say 81.75% of the days of the year: sex. The other 18.25%: football Sundays. [Zach note: Did you expect anything less from a stat guy?]

Is there one fantasy player you wish your cohorts would stop talking about?

I’m not a big Pierre Garcon fan. It’s mostly from watching him play…I’ve just never been that impressed. With a healthy Wayne, Collie, and Clark, he’s at best the 4th option on that team and I just can’t justify a 6th round pick for him. We all have guys that will will just never draft, and Pierre is one of those guys for me.

Tell a story about a fantasy regret. Bad trade, bad draft pick, move you thought about making but did not, something on that realm.

In the 2009 semi-finals of my biggest money league, I let my Chiefs fandom get the best of me. I was attending the Chiefs vs. Browns game at Arrowhead and sat Jerome Harrison. Not only did the Chiefs lose because of his 286yd/3TD performance, but my fantasy team also didn’t move on to the finals. I ended up getting third, but I would have beaten the guy who won the league.

Tell a story about a fantasy win.

I’d say it was last year in a dynasty startup draft. This league starts 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 3 Flex, TE, K, D. I managed to pretty much hit the jackpot on a lot of my picks. Matt Ryan, Chris Johnson, Matt Forte, Roddy White, Reggie Wayne, Dwayne Bowe, Austin Collie, and Darren McFadden (among others) led me to a pretty easy championship. Plus it’s a team I get to keep building on every year. I have since moved Matt Ryan and two 1st round picks for Aaron Rodgers as well.

Where are you on the usual football Sunday? Is there a man cave?

The living room is indeed transformed into a man cave. I went to college here in Milwaukee and still have a lot of buddies around. Plus my brother goes to school at the University of Wisconsin which is only about an hour away, so there’s usually no shortage of people at my house.

I’m big into smoking food (I mean come on, it’s a Kansas City tradition) so there’s usually ribs, pork shoulder, or a big ol’ brisket that gets thrown on around 1 a.m. Couple that with a lot of beer and NFL Sunday Ticket and it’s easy to see why I love NFL Sundays so much.

Tell me about a hobby/interest outside of football.

I wrestled starting at the age of 3 all the way through college. It’s an awesome sport that has taught me to bust my ass in everything I do in life. I don’t get on the mats much anymore, but I still like to stay active and lift weights 4 times a week and get out on my bike as often as possible.

On the softer side, I’m an avid gardener. Nothing beats fresh fruits/vegetables that you grow yourself.

Which fantasy writers are on your must-read list?

Prior to last year, before I really came to know a lot of the writers I do today, Rotoworld was the only fantasy site I ever visited. So I really enjoy Evan Silva (his weekly matchups piece should win a Pulitzer), Chris Wesseling, and Gregg Rosenthal. It’s really amazing how Twitter has allowed me to be able to talk to these guys about fantasy football on a day-to-day basis, as well as introduce me to some other great writers. Mike Clay (Pro Football Focus Fantasy) works as hard as anyone and really dives into stats, which being an engineer I love. Matt Schauf’s (formerly of RapidDraft, now with Draft Sharks) Monday followup to the Sunday games is also another gem. Chet Gresham (Razzball) and of course my partner Johnny also put out some great content.

Better fantasy experience: Long-term league with friends or fantasy "expert" league?

I’d have to say the long-term league with my college friends. We used to do the whole draft party thing where we’d all get together, have a "couple" beers, and draft. Since then, a lot of people have moved away. Still, there is no shortage of e-mail threads that rack up 100 replies amongst us in a given day during football season.

Tell me about any plugs that you'd like. Podcasts, sites that you write for, expert leagues, anything.

Of course, visit 2 Mugs Fantasy Football. We’re starting out slow (just debuted in April) with a handful of articles every week, but the goal is to continue to add features, contests, and content every year. I do all the website design so the only time I have to add new features is really during the offseason. It’s a gradual process. And of course, subscribe to our podcast on iTunes. At the very least, give a listen to the first 2 minutes of our Free Agency Recap. I did a nice little "movie trailer" lead-in previewing the Seattle Seahawks’ season that I was pretty proud of. And of course, you can follow John and me on Twitter. I love fielding fantasy questions and talking all things football.

Thanks to Ryan, and I'll be at your place around 12:45 opening NFL Sunday.

Read previous Ask Your Fantasy Football Expert interviews.

Andy Miley

Jim "Taz" Day

Chet Gresham

Bryan Fontaine

Eric Yeomans

I Hate JJ Redick

Fantasy Douche

Eric from DL Football

Clint Chugg

Matt Waldman Part 1 and Part 2

Chris Wesseling

John Sarmento

Fantasy files: One Yahoo in Twelve

A fantasy football-related blog would be nothing without some self-congratulatory posts about one's own drafts. I got into a work-related league and the draft was last night. Responses ranged from "cool" to "what's football?" I tried to get as many guys in the latter category involved as possible. We had to rush to draft because one guy's wife is due to give birth like tomorrow. He's a big University of Florida fan so I expected him to take Rex Grossman in the first round.

I signed up for Yahoo because I've used it for countless baseball leagues. The highlight was the entire draft page crashing a minute into the first pick. Once we collected ourselves and reconnected, the draft took off. We started with a bang, finishing the first two rounds in ten minutes. I thought the pace would slow, but the entire draft was complete in 84 minutes.

I had pick four and I knew who I was going to get. I debated taking Chris Johnson, even to the point of discussing it with my ever-patient wife. Her response to my worries about holdouts getting hurt was a curt "that sounds like superstition." Yeah, she hit the right buttons.

With the possibility of CJ being a wasted roster spot, I wondered if I would have to reach for another RB in the second round. My first sign that running backs would fall in the draft was the selection of Philip Rivers at 1.07. He did get Darren McFadden in the second round. Running backs falling in the draft would be a theme.

I got LeSean McCoy in the second round. I would have taken him at pick 1.06. In the third I took Mike Wallace over Miles Austin. Miles Austin feels like that good slice of pizza that's good mainly because it's pizza. No excitement there.

Continued strange picks: first team D was Green Bay in the third round. At this point I knew that I could wait on players I liked. The problem with knowing that players are going to fall is that you have to pick someone.

My fourth-round pick was Mike Williams of the Bucs. That felt like stealing money. I had Mark Ingram queued up for that pick and felt fortunate to get him in the fifth. I never expected to get three running backs in the first five picks. What the heck; I assumed that I'd catch up on wideouts later.

In the sixth, the WTF pick was Michael Crabtree. Even if he's completely healthy this would be a reach. I started referring to the guys who made those picks as "stretch". I took Vernon Davis. He was the last of the so-called stud tight ends, although like when I took Jimmy Graham in my keeper, few tight ends went off the board in the next three rounds. Kenny Britt in the seventh? Too soon?

In my last mock draft, I took Josh Freeman and Matthew Stafford at the 8/9 turn. I did not think this could happen in real life. QBs flew off the board until Tony Romo in the fourth round then it slowed down. I could have waited on Stafford until the 10th but I was glad to get a solid QB duo and did not feel the need to take another.

After I took three running backs early, they stayed on the board for ages. Fred Jackson went in the 10th, after Ryan Torain. Jonathan Stewart was pick 10.11. Joseph Addai also went in the 10th. I took Ryan Williams. Lance Moore and Jacoby Ford were my next two picks. I thought about Beanie Wells in the 12th but passed. Eric's going to be so pissed.

I thought the final six rounds would be slow, but again the pace was insane. Kickers flew off the board, as did defenses and receivers I thought would be on few if any fantasy rosters like Louis Murphy and Kevin Walter. I took McGahee in the 13th, Chris Cooley in the 14th, Greg Little in the 15th, Javon Ringer in the 16th, the Rams D in the 17th and scored with Alex Henery as my kicker in the 18th.

Another one of my favorite moments, the bad trade offer, came this morning. Marshawn Lynch and Mike Sims-Walker for LeSean McCoy. Is that two nickels for a quarter, or two dimes?

If holdouts do not continue, I will be starting Josh Freeman, Chris Johnson, LeSean McCoy, Mark Ingram, Mike Wallace, Mike Williams, Kenny Britt, Vernon Davis, the Rams D and Alex Henery. Oh, I see the Eagles are playing the Rams. Yeah, it's time to hit the waiver wire.

Ask Your Fantasy Football Expert: Chris Wesseling

"Trying not to go overboard, but Julio Jones may be most explosive size/speed package after the catch in NFL. A bigger Nicks/Austin, TO-like."

Find previous Ask Your Fantasy Expert interviews.

There once was a mythical creature called the Kraken. The creature evoked terror in sailors in part because there was no one could get a picture of one alive. I feel the same way about the fantasy football writer who actually makes a living at the craft. It took me 11 interviews, but I have discovered the Kraken. It turns out that the Kraken's quite pleasant.

Chris Wesseling is not elusive because he lives in the deepest depths of the ocean. He's elusive because it's the craziest football offseason on record and he's working reverse banker's hours cranking out the content for Rotoworld. He's one of those guys who probably watched every second of preseason football this weekend while simultaneously posting updates to the site and sending dozens of Tweets.

All fantasy writers name-dropped will get a link to their Twitter feed. We'll keep with the theme of my questions/comments in Titan blue and Chris's in black.

How did you get into fantasy football writing?

I dabbled a bit in free lance work in the late ‘90s, covering University of Cincinnati basketball and a few odds ‘n’ ends on the Reds. After my girlfriend and I picked up stakes and moved to the Savannah/Tybee Island area in 2006, I had a lot of my time on my hands as I went back to school. I started a Dynasty Rankings thread on the Footballguys.com message boards that ended up functioning as the go-to internet home for spirited debate on Dynasty strategy (at over 300 pages and 750,000 views). The thread has withered on the vine of late as I've gone feet-first into Rotoworld, which brings us back to the original question. Gregg Rosenthal, then of Rotoworld and now of Profootballtalk, was doing a casting call for contributors in 2007. I submitted parts of the Dynasty Rankings thread and started the Sons of the Tundra blog. Gregg ran my Dynasty ranks on Rotoworld, one thing led to another, and three years later Evan Silva and I are shouldering the majority of the load on the Rotoworld football beat.

Tell me about your real-life NFL rooting interests.

I grew up in Cincinnati rooting for the Ken Anderson-Boomer Esiason-Anthony Munoz Bengals. The legendary Paul Brown died in 1991. By the late ‘90s, it was clear that I was in a one-sided relationship with his son’s franchise. Paul Brown Stadium was the crash site of unrequited love. Stuck in the football fan’s version of a Catch-22, I broke up with the Bengals [Zach note: You go, girl.] and never looked back. Now my rooting interests lie more in predicting breakout players and teams on the rise.

Where do you live?

Beautiful Tybee Island, Georgia. Often described as Mayberry on Acid, it’s a true end-of-the-road town filled with dreamers, drifters, dropouts, artists, writers, bar flies, fishermen, idlers, runaways, painters, and pensioners. It’s the kind of place where you can belly up to the bar next to a millionaire and a pothead and not know the difference. As Charles Kuralt once said of Key West, "the place has no dignity but much style."

Tell me about your day job.

This is it. I spent a couple of years as a letter carrier in the mid-90s, then a decade as records manager of a prestigious law firm in Cincinnati (the late ‘90s were a boom time for those of us who were under-qualified for office jobs). In between, I racked up enough credit hours to make Blutarsky blush.

Since 2008, though, I’ve gone from free lancing to working full-time at Rotoworld. I’m certainly not in it for the money, but it does allow entrance to the Too Much Fun Club. As Hunter S. Thompson once said about sports writing, "After I first learned that it was possible to sleep late and go to work at Two in the afternoon, and still get Paid for it, I never did anything else."

Do you have long-term goals with your fantasy football writing?

Good question. I suppose the end game would be covering the league as a whole the way Mike Florio and Rosenthal do on Profootballtalk. Mike Miller at NBCSports.com has been great about letting Silva and I pump out general NFL articles when we do get a break from the fantasy side of the ledger.

How do you deal, as an in-demand fantasy expert, with all the league requests? Do you have a limit on leagues?

Definitely a limit. I try to stick to two "experts" leagues per year. I still have a league with my high school buddies going on year 18 or so and another Tybee Bums league with the guys at the local bar Huc-a-Poos.

I also have one Dynasty league in year 13 and another in year three. I’m only interested in Dynasty leagues where the playoffs coincide with the NFL playoffs, which certainly helps when turning down requests. I don’t like getting caught with too many irons in the fire, so six leagues is my limit. Four would be preferable.

The spouse question: Does your wife/gf/sig other have any issues with your obsession?

My eight-year relationship recently went from "living in sin" to "it’s complicated." When we are together, she takes issue with the time crunch more so than fantasy football itself. She wishes I’d spent more quality time enjoying life with her and less time monitoring Twitter for breaking football news. It’s a fair point.

Football or sex: which do you think of more?

We pursue that which retreats from us, right? When you have too much football in your life, you think about sex. When you have enough sex in your life, you think about football.

Tell a story about a fantasy regret. Bad trade, bad draft pick, move you thought about making but did not, something on that realm.

I don’t know about a season-sabotaging trade in particular, but Byron Leftwich sticks out in my mind. I loved his arm, toughness, and leadership coming out of Marshall. I know I had him ranked as a top-10 Dynasty QB for a period of several years -- and clung to hope even after the Jags cut bait. I didn’t realize until it was too late that the elongated throwing motion would kill his career. It’s hard for a receiver to do much after the catch when Leftwich is winding up and throwing darts at his chest instead of anticipating a spot.

Tell a story about a fantasy win. Great trade that worked out.

The Chris Johnson Hype Train in early August of his rookie season ended up as a big fantasy win for anyone who jumped on board. The one that may have worked out best in the long run was choosing Arian Foster as the No. 1 deep Dynasty sleeper in the 2009 Becket/Rotoworld fantasy preview magazine -- a few weeks after Forster went undrafted out of Tennessee.

Where are you on the usual football Sunday? Is there a man cave?

I have a small home office with a big TV (courtesy of the National Football Post’s experts league last season -- Thanks, fellas). Silva and I monitor Twitter and network preview shows for late-breaking news on injuries, depth chart changes, etc. leading up to the 1:00 kickoffs. Both of us usually take a pair of the early games and one late game to cover for news recaps and more in-depth analysis for Rotoworld’s Season Pass subscribers. That wraps up just in time to enjoy NBC’s Sunday Night Football without worrying about taking notes. By the third or fourth quarter, I’ve started research for my Morning After column. That process goes on through the night. Sometimes I catch a few hours of sleep at 3:00 a.m. or so. Other times I just burn the midnight oil until the sun comes up. Needless to say, I’m worthless on Mondays.

Tell me about a hobby/interest outside of football.

I’m an inveterate reader, but my non-football books have been shunned over the past few years. I miss them. I don’t have an ounce of musical talent, but I enjoy the process of finding hidden gems. At 37, I still enjoy playing softball, though my body has started to fight back the past year or two.

Which fantasy writers are on your must-read list?

Rotoworld has been my go-to home for news and analysis since the mid-to-late ‘90s, and nobody beats Gregg Rosenthal and Evan Silva on that score. I also spent a lot of time on the Footballguys.com message boards from the late ‘90s until recently and have a high regard for Matt Waldman and Sigmund Bloom. Mark St. Amant is another former Rotoworld writer (and author of the book Committed: Confessions of a Fantasy Football Junkie), who puts the rest of us to shame for pure writing and humor. More recently, I’ve come to enjoy Chet Gresham’s work on Razzball. I have a love-hate relationship with statistical analysis and those who do too much lamp-post leaning, but Pro Football Focus’ Mike Clay does a fine job of pumping out the relevant info.

Better fantasy experience: Long-term league with friends or fantasy "expert" league?

No question, long-term league with friends. Too much "going through the motions" in expert leagues whereas friends have shared history, inside jokes, and more lively debates. I had one draft just last night where we were bagging on the former commissioner (still an owner) who had mistakenly written "Sleeper = Todd Pinkston"on the back of the draft board for all to see about a decade ago. Another former commish still has dozens of classic voice mails from an angry owner who would call every Monday morning to rant and rave about the performance of his own team. You would have thought this guy was more invested than Steinbrenner. You can't buy that kind of entertainment in an expert league.

Tell me about any plugs that you'd like. Podcasts, sites that you write for, expert leagues, anything.

The Rotoworld Draft Guide, my pride and joy, is now available. Come Week 1, the Rotoworld Season Pass will be active. Much of the work we do at Rotoworld -- including the always updated news scroll -- is free, so be sure to stop by even if you don’t have the money to purchase our premium content. You can also find me on NBCSports.com.

Thanks to Chris for answering my questions. Follow him on Twitter.

Read previous Ask Your Fantasy Expert interviews.

Andy Miley

Jim "Taz" Day

Chet Gresham

Bryan Fontaine

Eric Yeomans

I Hate JJ Redick

Fantasy Douche

Eric from DL Football

Clint Chugg

Matt Waldman Part 1 and Part 2

Ask Your Fantasy Football Expert: RumfordJohnny

"I'm your Sun-Tzu. I'll help make the enemy come to you, as you leap from a tall branch and smother them with a banana leaf."

Find previous Ask Your Fantasy Football Expert interviews.

You can have your fantasy experts with their opinions and numbers. Give me a man with a clear direction and the ability to hold his liquor. This week we have John Sarmento aka RumfordJohnny of the world-renowned 2 Mugs fantasy site. He's not afraid to drop the occasional f-bomb, m-bomb, or q-bomb (he's that rangy). That's not the point. The point is he brings the fantasy knowledge in his own unique, from-the-hip and occasionally profane manner.

All fantasy writers name-dropped will get a link to their Twitter feed. We'll keep with the theme of my questions/comments in Titan blue and John's in black.

How did you get into fantasy football?

Got into fantasy football in the 90's (yes I'm old). Work league, on a flip chart, guys basement, bad beer. You get the picture.

What's the story behind 2 Mugs, the site and the podcast (coming soon: the breakfast cereal)?

2mugsff.com was born when Ryan Forbes and I met while writing for another fantasy football site. We thought the other site's direction wasn't where we wanted to go, so we opted to start our own site. The podcast was a natural progression. No cereal in the works. Beer on cereal isn't bad though. Best on Apple Jacks.

Who came up with the idea for the beer draft? I think I might leave my fantasy leagues to pursue beer leagues full-time.

Beer Draft was all Forbes' idea. He owns the all the residual rights to "Beer Draft" the Musical.

Where's your tattoo of Brady's face? Tell me about being a Pats fan before they were "cool".

No Brady tatts, not even a Pats logo. Just drunken regret tatts.

What can you tell me about your tiny yet fierce home state of Rhode Island?

Rhode Island is awesome, and the only thing bigger than our state pride is our state taxes. Fuck.

Tell me about your day job.

I work with adults with Autism. Can't say any more than that. H.I.P.P.A.

Do you have long-term goals with your fantasy football writing?

I hope to write a little more than just the answers to this interview...just a little.

How do you deal, as an in-demand fantasy expert, with all the league requests? Do you have a limit on leagues?

In years past, up to 15 leagues. Now that I have a mortgage? Six leagues max. I turn down offers daily. Some for fantasy leagues, some to dip myself in chocolate and rent myself out for parties...sorry @FantasyTaz!

Football or sex: which do you think of more?

I like sex in football equipment. A neck roll is pretty versatile.

Tell a story about a fantasy regret. Bad trade, bad draft pick, move you thought about making but did not, something on that realm.

Kevin Jones. Kevin Jones. Kevin Jones.

Tell a story about a fantasy win. Great trade that worked out.

Kevin Jones...that one year.

Where are you on the usual football Sunday? I assume there's a man cave. And I have to know if you have a designated first beer for the opening Pats game.

Pats gear, Red Zone Channel, scented candles. Guinness usually, because it has vitamins and fart producing properties.

Tell me about a hobby/interest outside of football.

Play the drums, I sketch a little. Mostly I like to do interviews via email attachments for shits and giggles.

Which fantasy writers are on your must-read list?

Chris Wesseling from Rotoworld.com, Chet Gresham & Mark St. Amant from Razzball.com, that Forbes kid from 2Mugsff.com, and IDPWithBee for all of my IDP needs. Basically anyone who didn't have to suck off a horse to get a network gig.

Better fantasy experience: Long-term league with friends or fantasy "expert" league?

Best league experience? Still seeking it, my man.

Tell me about any plugs that you'd like. Podcasts, sites that you write for, expert leagues, anything.

2mugsff.com, and 2mugs fantasy football podcast on Itunes.

Thanks to John, or Rummy, for answering my questions, sort of. Follow him on Twitter.

Read previous Ask Your Fantasy Expert interviews.

Andy Miley

Jim "Taz" Day

Chet Gresham

Bryan Fontaine

Eric Yeomans

I Hate JJ Redick

Fantasy Douche

Eric from DL Football

Clint Chugg

Matt Waldman Part 1 and Part 2

Chris Wesseling

Fantasy files: Intervention time

America, I need an intervention. I've made some fantasy football transgressions recently and I need to atone. I'll take these one at a time.

I can't stop making waiver moves in my dynasty league. I checked today and I have picked up 11 guys while releasing 11 guys (many the same guys) since our rookie draft in May. In the offseason we're allowed to have 60 players on the roster. We cut to 53 for the regular season. I thought it made sense to use those seven spots for speculative undrafted rookies. There's a good chance that most of these guys aren't going to make a roster, let alone a practice squad. It's a deep class, at least according to my blog buddy Matt Waldman.

Since the lockout, I've bid on the following players: Mario Fannin, John Clay, Chad Spann, Jeremiah Johnson, Darren Evans, Damien Berry, Adrian Arrington, Maurice Morris, Lonyae Miller, Terrence Toliver, and Jaymar Johnson. What's the deal with guys who have inexplicably spelled last names like Toliver and Mathews? I already dropped flavors of the week Mario Fannin and Damien Berry. To pick up these so-called lottery tickets, I've dropped roster chum that were likely cuts like David Buehler, Rennie Curran, and Mike Kafka. I could be prescient with all these guys and have to make cuts of players who might contribute.

My second transgression is something I've never done but is a sad fantasy cliché. I joined a work fantasy league. Not only that, I took on the role of Commish. Yeah, one of my co-workers lingered at my cube too long and my boss showed up. It was all fun and games until he volunteered me to run a fantasy league. Is this a Philadelphia Eagles situation? I've been in dozens of leagues and thanks mostly to association, I can be considered a fantasy insider. In short, I should dominate this league. If I don't win, it's a disaster. I had to look up a few how-to-play-fantasy articles because I'd say a third of this league has never played the beautiful game. I look forward to explaining that a flex position is not something their wives do in a Pilates class.

The upside? There will be beer. There better be.