Multiple Leagues Rarely Lead to Multiple Celebrations
by By Ladd Biro, Special to the Times
Forty yards. Forty stinkin' yards. Is that so much to ask, Julius?
I know, I know. I should have heeded the warning signs. Parcells told us you would split time with Marion Barber on Monday night, and I knew you weren't starting. But surely you'd get in there quickly and remind everyone why you were a second-round pick in virtually every fantasy draft this preseason, right?
Apparently not.
Forty lousy yards is all I needed for an elusive trifecta: winning in all three leagues on the same weekend. I've done it before, but just once this season.
Most fantasy players I know are in at least two leagues. Like most addictions, one is rarely enough to sate the appetite.
The problem is that it's tough to win in both leagues; so most weekends, your joy of victory is tempered by the agony of defeat. Worse yet, you often find yourself rooting against your own players, when one opponent starts the same guy you're counting on in another league.
Add a third team into the mix, where you are assured of playing against multiple players on your own teams, and it's almost impossible to experience true fantasy fulfillment on Monday nights.
But it was all there for the taking this weekend. Naturally, one of my opponents also started Julius Jones, but I had such a commanding lead after Sunday's games, he would have had to score four times before I broke a sweat.
Here's what made it worse: Samkon Gado and his three touchdowns were resting comfortably on my bench.
I had acquired the latest Nigerian Nightmare in two of my leagues last week, but only started him in one due to the differences in my rosters and, frankly, my reluctance to put both teams in the hands of an unproven player. After all, he's the 13th running back to start for Green Bay this season and he's, well, Samkon Gado, for Pete's sake.
I also couldn't bring myself to bench both of my top draft picks, Jamal Lewis being the other. Turns out, Jamal's latest stinker would have been enough to put me over the top, but Julius should have had the courtesy of taking care of business himself.
But it wasn't to be, and now it appears that we'll be seeing even more shared duty by Cowboys backs this season.
Welcome to the starting lineup, Mr. Gado…
Hybrid Mode
