Well, ladies and gentlemen, the first ever Daily Norseman Fantasy Football League Championship Game went right down to the wire. . .much to the delight of one of our teams, and much to the chagrin (I'm sure) of another.

The championship matchup was between the #1 seeded "the hamburglars" and the #2 seed, "Packers Suck."  Going into Monday's game between Denver and San Diego, Packers Suck was trailing by a tally of 82.30 to 48.38.  However, the latter had the formidable combination of LaDanian Tomlinson and the San Diego defense yet to play.

Tomlinson more than held up his end of the bargain, rushing for 107 yards and a touchdown against the porous Denver defense.  However, as the clock ticked down, Packers Suck still trailed the hamburglars by approximately 1.5 points.  Then, on the first play after the two-minute warning, Broncos' quarterback Jay Cutler dropped back and completed a long pass to Quentin Jammer.

Unfortunately for Cutler, Quentin Jammer plays for the San Diego Chargers.

Yes, folks, Cutler threw a last-minute interception, and that two points provided enough of a lift for Packers Suck to pull ahead of the hamburglars and win by a final margin of 82.78 to 82.30.

Congratulations to chadly10102 for winning the first ever DN Fantasy Football League.  He gets his choice of an Adrian Peterson "Fathead,", or a replica jersey from NFLShop.com (his choice of either purple or white), customized with any name and number of his choosing.  So, to chadly10102, a hearty CONGRATULATIONS. . .and whenever you get a chance, let me know which prize you've chosen, and I'll get it out to you shortly after the first of the year.

Also, in addition to that, I have a small something for everyone that participated in the league this year.  Sometime in the next month or so. . .or whenever I have time to do them all. . .all 11 people (not counting myself) that participated in this year's Fantasy Football League will be receiving. . .

drum roll

A DVD copy of Adrian Peterson's record-setting rushing performance against the San Diego Chargers!  Yes, everyone that participated in the league this year will get to have this little piece of history available to them whenever they feel like watching it.

So, when the time comes, I'll have to collect mailing addresses from everyone in the league.

Thanks for a great first season, everybody, and I look forward to doing it again next year.

The finals battle began on Saturday night between the teams that garnered the top 2 seeds in the league. . .the #1 rated "hamburglars" and the #2 rated, and aptly named, "Packers Suck."  The hamburglars finished the regular season at 11-3, while Packers Suck was tied for second at 9-5, but had been given the second seed in the playoffs.

Here's how the matchup has shaken out to this point

Packers Suck
QB Tony Romo - 14.58 points
WR Reggie Wayne - 18.30
WR Anthony Gonzalez - 2.20
RB Willis McGahee - 1.00
TE Chris Cooley - 9.30
K Ryan Longwell - 3.00

Total thus far - 48.38

the hamburglars
QB Tom Brady - 17.70 points
WR Plaxico Burress - 0.60
WR Deion Branch - 2.40
RB Brandon Jacobs - 27.10
RB Frank Gore - 19.20
TE Jason Witten - 5.30
K Nick Folk - 9.00
D Minnesota - 1.00

Total - 82.30

Packers Suck still has players to play tonight. . .a Mr. LaDanian Tomlinson and the San Diego defense, to be precise.  In order to win, Packers Suck will need a combined 33.93 from those two entities.  Otherwise, the owner of the hamburglars will get his choice of either a Vikings' jersey, customized with the name and number of his choice, or an Adrian Peterson "Fathead."

Good luck to both parties as the final game of the fantasy football season kicks off this evening!

Hey, remember when I used to do updates on how my fantasy football teams were doing and stuff through the course of the season?  Well, with the playoffs approaching, here are a couple of updates.

In the SBNation NFC League, after my team got off to a 7-2 start, I managed a 2003 Vikings-esque nose dive, losing my last 4 to drop to 7-6 and finish out of the winner's bracket of the post-season.  The finale saw me lose to Windy City Gridiron by 2 points in a game where two guys in my lineup registered big fat zeros.  Stupid having to have your lineups set by Thursday.

In the official Daily Norseman league, my team has managed to drop to 5-8 and be on the outside looking in of the playoff picture, too.  Our playoffs start in Week 15, and two teams. . ."the hamburglars" and "Yo Adrian" have already wrapped up playoff spots.  The last two spots will be decided this weekend in a three-way dance between the appropriately named "Packers Suck (8-5)," "Outlanders (8-5)," and "FSUViking (7-6)."  None of those teams are matched up head-to-head, so it's relatively simple. . .if Packers Suck and Outlanders win or FSUViking loses, the two teams currently at 8-5 are in.  Should FSUViking win and one of the other two teams slips, we'll move on to tiebreakers.

I'm pretty sure that I never DID announce what everyone is playing for here.  So, let me do that now.

The winner of the 1st Annual Daily Norseman Fantasy Football League will win either. . .

-A replica Vikings jersey, customized with the name and number of their choice (winner can choose from either purple or white),

OR

-A lovely Adrian Peterson "Fathead" for their wall.

Winner gets their choice.

In addition, everyone will get something for their participation.  I'll collect mailing addresses after the season is finished to take care of that one.

Good luck to everyone else the rest of the way in their fantasy seasons!

Week 3 of Fantasy Football has come and gone, and with it comes a bit of good news for yours truly.

In the official Daily Norseman Fantasy Football League, I finally got off of the proverbial schnide against whodat, winning by a final score of 113.68 to 92.40.  I won this week due pretty much exclusively to a KING-sized performance by Ronnie Brown, with T.J. Whosyourmomma pitching in as well.  Next up for me is a scrap with the 2-1 team of Yo Adrian!  (Great name. . .I'm a sucker for a good Rocky reference.)

In the SBNation National Conference league, I completed the division sweep with a 138-74 thrashing of the folks from Pride of Detroit.  Ironically, the biggest PoD killer of the afternoon was one of their own. . .WR Roy Williams with his 204 yards receiving and his 91-yard touchdown reception.  Philip Rivers got me some good points as well, and the four Matt Stover field goals didn't hurt, either.  Next up as we start intra-divisional play is the crew from Blogging the Boys, who are part of a 3-way tie for first in the Making it Rain Division.  (Sounds like something out of SBNation:  Criminal Intent.)  They lost this past weekend after picking up victories in their first two games.

Got an e-mail tipping me off to this story from the Serious Sports News Network that proves that friends shouldn't let friends drink and draft.

I know of at least one person that made this mistake in one of my many leagues.  It's compounded by the fact that 2007 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Adrian Peterson was usually gone by the 2nd or 3rd round of most drafts that I participated in, and people were selecting Adrian Peterson the (much, much) Lesser in the 12th and 13th round.  Only one person openly celebrated his "steal," however.

More on this week's matchup with the Chiefs later on.  See you then, folks!

Well, another week has come and gone in the world of Fantasy Football, and both of my teams continued along the track they started out on in Week 1.

In the official Daily Norseman Fantasy Football League, the Great Gonzos made a valiant effort, but couldn't notch a W against Camp Norway, falling by the final score of 94.70 to 90.86.  The big mistake this week was, in my infinte wisdom, benching Cadillac Williams when I saw he was "questionable."  Two touchdowns later, and the only thing that's "questionable" is my judgment.  The Gonzos will attempt to get off of the proverbial schnide next week against whodat. . .the team that just happens to be #1 in the league at the moment.  Yeah, good luck to me with that.

However, in the SBN National Conference League, I DID deliver the promised ass-whomping of the folks from Windy City Gridiron by a final tally of 105-83, thanks to a largely balanced attack that saw five different players reach double figures, led once again by a Minnesota defense that put up a 20-point performance.  Next week, DN attempts to complete the divisional sweep against the folks from Pride of Detroit, a team that currently sits at 0-2 and has scored the fewest points in the league through the first two weeks.

The first week of fantasy football is in the books, and I managed to go 1-1 in games that are pertinent to the website in some way.

In the Official DN Fantasy Football League, I lost a close one to Rev Vike's Sons of Bishops by the final tally of 78.98 to 76.68. (When I saw the final score, I DID say "Son of" something. . .it wasn't "Bishops.")  Had I started Jay Cutler at quarterback instead of Matt Leinart, I could have pulled out the victory, but that's the way the fantasy ball bounces sometimes.  Next up for the Great Gonzos is a tussle with Camp Norway, who was the highest-scoring losing team in the league this week.

However, I made up for my performance in that league with a complete thrashing of Acme Packing Company in the SBNation NFC Fantasy League.  Buoyed by a strong effort from the Vikings defense and supporting contributions from Marshawn Lynch and Santonio Holmes, and the fact that APC actually had players in his starting lineup that play for the Green Bay Packers, we rolled to a 105-78 victory.  This Sunday, DN will be stomping a mudhole in another division rival. . .this time it will be the folks from Windy City Gridiron.  Based on the lineups that are currently set, DN enters the game as a 1-point underdog. . .but we shall overcome that, ladies and gentlemen, and sit atop the Black and Blue Division of the SBNNC after this coming week's action.

So, as you may or may not have seen on one of the other SBNation websites, the writers of SBNation have gotten together and created a couple of fantasy football leagues this year.  Two different leagues, actually. . .one for the AFC bloggers, and one for us NFC bloggers.  The NFC league held its draft on Wednesday night.  I would have attempted to live blog the whole thing, but it would have been tough to do.

The blogs that are participating in the NFC league are as follows.  This is also the order that we drafted in. . .snake format, natch.

Blogging the Boys
Pride of Detroit
Canal Street Chronicles
The Falcoholic
Acme Packing Company
Buc 'Em
Field Gulls
Cat Scratch Reader
Niners Nation
Windy City Gridiron
Turf Show Times
and yours truly here at The Daily Norseman.

Now, let me just throw this out there. . .when it comes to these sort of drafts, I absolutely, positively hate picking #1 or #12.  Ideally I'd like to be somewhere in the 5-8 range.  I just hate watching 24 players go in between one pick and my next pick. . .and no, getting two picks in a row when your time comes doesn't make up for this.

Our starting lineups consist of 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 "flex" spot (WR/RB), 1 TE, 1 K, and 1 defense/special teams.  There are also 6 bench slots, so it was a 16 round affair.  Here's how things went for my team, drafting from the #12 spot.

Round 1:  Willis McGahee, RB, Baltimore - I was really hoping for Reggie Bush to fall to this spot, but Turf Show Times grabbed him with the pick just before mine.  McGahee should put up some fairly sizeable numbers in Baltimore this year, and he doesn't have any touchdown vultures to take away red zone carries.  I could have done much worse.

Round 2:  Laurence Maroney, RB, New England - Another guy who should benefit from not having to share the load with anyone else, as Corey Dillon is no longer anywhere to be seen in Foxboro.  People are going to be loading up to stop the Pats' revamped passing attack, and that should mean good things for Maroney.  Plus, he's a former Gopher.  How could I pass him up here?

Round 3:  Marshawn Lynch, RB, Buffalo - With the ability to start up to 3 RBs in this league, I thought I'd get another starter before the pickings got too thin.  I was really hoping that 2007 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Adrian Peterson would make it back to the 36th pick, but that was wishful thinking as Canal Street Chronicles actually grabbed him at the bottom of Round 2.  But Lynch, who replaces McGahee in Buffalo, should be able to put up some pretty decent numbers.

Round 4:  Roy Williams, WR, Detroit - I usually don't draft NFC North players in my leagues. . .certainly won't draft any Bears or Packers. . .but Williams was too good to pass up here.  I'm not drafting him for his math skills or anything.  With Detroit's defense still being atrocious and their running game a big question mark at this point, someone's going to benefit, and I think Williams is going to be the guy.

Round 5:  Tony Gonzalez, TE, Kansas City - At the top of the 5th round, Dave from Blogging the Boys took Tony Romo, setting off the requisite "Homo for Romo" accusations and their offshoots.  In the midst of all of those, I thought I'd shore up the TE position.  In an effort to ensure that Larry Johnson's legs don't fall off at any point during the season, the Chiefs are going to have to attempt to amount something that resembles a passing game, and Gonzalez has been one of the steadiest TEs in the game for years.  He hasn't shown any signs of slowing down, either.

Round 6:  Philip Rivers, QB, San Diego - I noticed that the QB pickings were starting to get a little slim at this point, too.  Some of the more prominent names on the board were guys like Kitna, Leinart, Cutler, Hasselbeck. . .but I went with the youngster from San Diego.  He's got that Gates fellow to throw to, and that Tomlinson fellow to keep defenses honest.  Throw in what I think will be a big year from Vincent Jackson, and he's a steal this late.

Round 7:  Chris Chambers, WR, Miami - Okay, I told myself I wasn't going to do this, and then I went and did it anyway.  I had a league last year where my starting WRs for Week 1 were Chris Chambers and Randy Moss.  Suffice to say, I didn't win that league.  The most logical argument I can make for this pick is the old "Hey, he can't POSSIBLY be as bad as he was last year" excuse.  So. . .here's hoping he's not as bad as he was last year.

Round 8:  Santonio Holmes, WR, Pittsburgh - With Ben Roethlisberger NOT slamming his face into the windshields of oncoming cars this off-season and Pittsburgh's offensive coordinator saying he might open things up a bit more, Holmes is going to put up some decent numbers across from Hines Ward.

Round 9:  Minnesota defense - Hey, why not take what's going to be one of the Top 5 defenses in the NFL this year if nobody else wants them?

Round 10:  Lendale White, RB, Tennessee - Since I don't have to pay his room service bills or anything, I'll take a shot at him.  I believe that he IS the starter in Tennessee, and the Titans are going to have to do something to try to keep defenses off of Vince Young, so why not take a chance on the great White whale?  Call him Ishmael, bitches!

Round 11:  Wes Welker, WR, New England - The Patriots signed 206 new wide receivers this off-season, but most of them fall under the heading of a deep threat.  Welker, on the other hand, is a possession, move the chains type of receiver, and should be open a lot with guys like Randy Moss and Donte Stallworth taking a lot of the opponents' attention.

Round 12:  Chad Pennington, QB, New York Jets - I only need him for one week. . .hopefully it will be one of the weeks that he decides he wants to be healthy for.

Round 13:  Seattle defense - They get to the passer, and they're a pretty decent defense overall.  I can play the matchup game with them and the Vikings' defense.

Round 14:  Najeh Davenport, RB, Pittsburgh - I made this pick less for his production on the field (though if anything happens to Fast Willie Parker, he should be serviceable), and more for the comedic potential. . .particularly jokes about him being a scatback catching dump passes and not being hampered by injuries.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'll be here all week.

Round 15:  Matt Stover, K, Baltimore - Because, hey, I needed a kicker.

Round 16:  Tony Scheffler, TE, Denver - Because there really wasn't another RB or WR worth taking at that point.

So there you go. . .that's my SBN NFC Fantasy Football team.  Considering the position I was drafting in, I think I did relatively well overall.  If you're interested in looking at the draft in its entirety, you can check it out here. And yes, I've noticed that as an NFC guy, 13 out of my 16 picks play for AFC teams. Guess I'll have to follow the "other" conference that much more closely this year.

Have a good one, folks. . .yours truly has a 4-day weekend here (and I'm sure many of you do as well), but I'll effort to have daily updates up here during that time.

Well, it's that time of year. . .and tonight we had the draft for the Great Northern aPaFL, my first FFL draft of the year.  Maybe someday I'll regale everyone with the story of the Thread aPa. . .but not today.

So, here's how my draft went.  14-team league, and I selected #2 overall.  Snake draft format, natch.

Round 1 - Steven Jackson, RB, St. Louis
Round 2 - Carnell Williams, RB, Tampa Bay
Round 3 - Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona
Round 4 - Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit
Round 5 - Matt Hasselbeck, QB, Seattle
Round 6 - Vernon Davis, TE, San Francisco
Round 7 - Ladell Betts, RB, Washington
Round 8 - Jay Cutler, QB, Denver
Round 9 - Joe Horn, WR, Atlanta
Round 10 - Carolina defense
Round 11 - David Akers, K, Philadelphia
Round 12 - Brandon Jones, WR, Tennessee
Round 13 - Priest Holmes, RB, Kansas City
Round 14 - Bobby Wade, WR, Minnesota
Round 15 - Daunte Culpepper, QB, Oakland

Can you tell that I really put zero prep time into this draft?  Because I did.

I think I got pretty decent starters, but overall I'm not terribly pleased with my team.  And don't worry, DN FFL participants. . .I'll be much better prepared come Friday night.  Bow down when Gonzo comes to your town.

Update [2007-8-12 21:30:52 by Gonzo]:

The full draft results can be found here when Yahoo! gets them fixed. My team was the Westward Ho Ho-Hos. (All the teams had to be Canada-based in nature. Hence the names.)