It was a well run operation at The Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana today. Everything from the expert panel, to the celebrity mock draft to the listeners drafts, went off without a hitch. Harry Teinowitz did a fine job as MC/Commissioner and it was nice to see/talk to Waddle, Silvy, Jurko and Harry as well as talking to John Clayton, Stephania Bell and Matthew Berry. Everyone was very friendly and receptive with the crowd and a good time was had by all. Great job ESPN!

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Go Cubs!!!!

Please let us know which guy let you give him a blow job during the event.

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That's easy, I'm sure it was Harry

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Doing what a bunch of "experts" tell you to do hardly makes one good at FF, any idiot can do that. "Oh but I still have to critically evaluate a lot of different information from a bunch of credible sources!" Nope, still a douche.

I contemplate attending this, but I do agree I would expect mostly the stuff I hear on the radio.

Oh yeah, it was at th Casino! That might have been good too!

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Does the mock draft include the guys drinking before and during so that by the 12th round they are blitzed and throwing out any names just to get it over...because otherwise it does not really represent a fantasy draft.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

So what are your opinions of Hammond, Steve?

Am I opening up a can of wax or a ball of worms, perhaps?

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-"God is great. Beer is good. And People are crazy!"

I agree and I was thrilled when Ray Rice didn't go until 8th in the Mock draft. I was hoping that might influence guys not to draft him too early. (I did get him) However, there were times when guys like Matthew Berry talked about guys I was intending on drafting late (sleepers) and I just wanted to yell "Shut the hell up", because I didn't want anyone else to take his advice and take a guy (Jacoby Jones is one I got for example that was mentioned and I still got him in rd 15) just because Matthew Berry had mentioned him. During the lunch break my buddy Rich and I talked with Berry for about 10-15 minutes and he's really good. I talked to Stephania Bell too, because she's more up to date on injuries than most anyone and those are things I like to factor in.

Yes, any idiot can look at a FF magazine or listen to "experts" and use that information to basically draft for them. I don't do that at all. But, I do listen to what they have to say and consider the information. In ESPN's draft list Ray Rice is listed as the #4 overall guy. I would have taken him at #2 (over anyone but CJ) if I had that pick. In the mock, he went #8, so obviously I make decisions based on things other than the expert advice. I wouldn't take Peyton manning at all either. he might be the most consistent QB ever and a very productive guy, but he almost ALWAYS is sitting the final 2 weeks of a season, or playing only half a game, when it's FF playoff time. I don't want my 2nd round selection sitting on the bench when I'm trying to win a championship.

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Go Cubs!!!!

I admire your drive to do well in FF. It must be tough when basic math eludes you.

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Wrong Section.

And who is Waddel?

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I can't say I have ever admired anything .........about you or your posts.

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Go Cubs!!!!

So what big secrets did they tell you while drafting your fantasy football teams that the common man that has played fantasy football more than a year or two could tell you? I still cant believe alot of these guys would list fantasy football expert on their business cards. I think the only shit Harry knows about fantasy football is what color jersey he likes better for San Diego.

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Please give me one piece of inside injury information she knew that wasn't available online.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Matthew Berry made up the ESPN Fantasy Football site and sold it for 17.4 million dollars. I doubt he has any problem being aligned with FF. I would not say that I learned many secrets, but I got a better idea about the injuries (Stephania Bell's area of expertise) some guys are dealing with and what to expect from them. For example, Leon Washington...I was a bit hesitant to use even a late round pick on a guy that had a compound fracture in his leg. Will he come back okay and is that leg even more suseptible to breaking. No, it's not. In fact, a bone that is broken like his, will heal STRONGER and is less likely to be broken. I didn't know that. Since Clayton and Berry go to the camps, they know how guys are looking and what guys are more likely to get more touches. I don't think I got a lot of information I was not already aware of, since I watch the preseason games and camp reports on the NFLnetwork, but I really enjoyed the day.

As far as Harry goes...I like Harry. I wouldn't want him to draft a team for me and I disagree with some of his opinions when I listen to Fantasy Football Island on Sunday mornings (8am), but I still enjoy that show. I know many people like to beat him up on this site, but I think he's okay. I think Jurko is probably very good in the fantasy Football leagues he participates in. When I talk to him about draft strategies and who I like and who he likes for this season and where to draft guys, I agree with him a lot. But I would take Harry over Carmen. I have heard Carmen in the Mock drafts over the years since they have (4) been doing this and he doesn't seem to know what he's doing. He takes forever to make a choice and then it's usually not very good. Harry has "his guys" (Matt Schaub for example and too many Bears to name) that he falls in love with, but he does know what he's doing for the most part.

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Go Cubs!!!!

This is literally the fourth link when you google "Leon Washington" and was posted more than a week before the convention.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Leon-Washington-s-comeback-a-big-deal-for-Seahaw?urn=nfl-263859

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Okay....so in the weeks prior to the convention, I had heard he was looking good. He had performed well in the preseason game I watched between the Packers and Seahawks and I tried to check on his status and did not feel satisfied with the information I had received. I guess that information was finally available the VERY DAY BEFORE the convention. Why had I not checked every day, including the day before the draft?? I'm not going to feel silly for not continuing to look for reports on a daily basis for one player. I got the information from Stephania, that I wanted. Plus, it's a lot more enjoyable getting it from her than on a computer. Plus, having a shot at $10,000 ($5,000 in cash) in prizes and competing in the ESPN league, (run by the station) is nice. You have to be at the convention to have the opportunity to be in the competition.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Did it take you half an hour to come up with that great of a response? I made a mistake in thinking that August 20th was in fact last Friday. It turns out that it was actually a week prior to last Friday. I edited it, went and did stuff for like 20 minutes, and now you quote the old post? That may be the most interesting part of that whole response.

So basically, you got week old information. Still waiting on what actual information you got that wasn't widely available on the internet.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

So after you check on information a couple of times and after you don't get what you're looking for, you would continue to look for that information, even though you know you will be in the company of John Clayton, Stephania Bell and Matthew Berry in a couple weeks?? Not me. I was satisfied to wait till the convention where I had the opportunity to ask a bunch of questions to the 3 of them. Could I have spent time every day on the computer continuing to search out the answers for the same questions until all my questions were answered??...perhaps. But I felt it was prudent to wait until the convention and get the answers I was looking for there. Whether the answers to all my questions could have been googled or not was/is not really important. All the information was available to me right there at the convention.

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Go Cubs!!!!

You specifically mentioned that you were "a bit hesitant to use even a late round pick on a guy that had a compound fracture in his leg." and yet you wouldn't do something as simple as type his name into google and instead you would wait for a possible discussion with Stephania Bell who likely just read the same report since she's far from an expert and has no real inside information. You made it clear that you were considering him but were concerned. You must not be very good at FF if you are so lazy that you won't use google. What's going to happen when you don't have the great knowledge base of Stephania Bell to help you?

Your story of winning 40-50% of the leagues you enter seems to have hit a rough patch of track. I mean, if I was good enough at fantasy football to win 40-50% of the leagues I'm in, I wouldn't need to wait for some teleprompter reader to give me week old information about a guy who was starting for the team that weekend(not injured).

Hopefully no one in the leagues you dominate discovers that football information is on the internet or you may not be able to win 50% of your leagues any more.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

What? Football information is available on the internet?? No shit. Next you're going to tell me that you can manage your fantasy team on this internet thing aren't you?

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You never miss your wealth, till your well went dry
Seem like only yesterday, you were here smiling
Now you gone away, but I know you in a better place
No traces of you, what can I do?
Alone and confused

Dr. Ken once told me you could watch games on the ol' picto-cube; I wonder if that's actually true ...

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

For Elmhurst Steve:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=leon+washington
You don't have to wait for the next ESPN event to plan your roster.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Harry says he has played Fantasy Football since 1980, I think unless that's one of his bad jokes, but you look at the things he tells you and it's bad. It was like 1 year he had the 3rd string Jaguars running back on his team, draft a guy that never plays, another year he had both Redskins starting quarterbacks, and gave out a tip to draft the guy's backup, so if you draft Peyton Manning, draft Jim Sorgi. How many rounds is his draft 30, He may be playing a long time, but makes some weird picks and gives out weird information.

Here are my tips to fantasy, who get 3 or 4 big time guys, some middle guys that have decent stats, low guys that you hope can be sleepers,they all stay healthy, and you find 1 or 2 during the season that will help your team during free agency.

It's may be fun to play FF online and sure there is a lot of FF information online . But I think going to this convention and competing with 500 guys for the $10,000 in cash & prizes, along with meeting and interacting with Coach Ditka, Matthew Berry, Stephania Bell and John Clayton (along with local radio hosts) is a hell of a lot more fun than joining some league on your computer where you might know nobody and perhaps there isn't even any real reward for winning. The human interaction with people in the sports entertainment business is something that makes the experience a bit more appealing. But to those who want to just sit on their ass in front of a computer by themselves....hey, enjoy yourselves.

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Go Cubs!!!!

and have you? 4,069 times?

When I'm in the office, sitting at my desk without the more desidable option sure. But given the choice of being at ESPN's convention/draft or doing an online draft with strangers, devoid of interaction, I'll take the ESPN convention/draft every time. I sure didn't choose posting on this site over anything decidedly more appealing like the ESPN convention/draft would be. This is something to do at times when there are not more desireable options.

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Go Cubs!!!!

I for one like it a lot more when you have more desirable options.

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