Geek alert!!!!

"We interrupt this broadcast for an emergency broadcast message"

I promised a little lighter post for my next one. Well folks, here it is. I'm going to share something that many of my readers know. However, this bombshell could keep me from reaching office someday. OK, maybe not. But, here it is: My name is Ace, and I'm a fantasy sports geek. Most of you already knew I was about the nerdiest character around but this probably seals some sort of all-time dork award. It really is kind of embarrassing and something I certainly don't try to bring up when not around my fellow geeks. But I have to admit, it is one of the most fun activities I participate in and has really made me a more involved sports fan.

I've always been a big sports fan, which is really strange since no one else in my family ever really has been more than a VERY casual fan of anything unless they were dragged into it by me (I'm still quite proud of having gotten the better half both Jordan and A-Rod jerseys, that A-Rod Mariners teal number is sweet!). But I have very vivid memories of watching baseball on TV by myself as a 2nd grader. Strangely, it is one of my earliest memories. That morphed into collecting sports cards (another geeky although fairly typical hobby for youngsters) and I was hooked from there. At various times, I've been more into various sports (Jordan era Bulls being my favorite of all time) but the current and probably most lasting favorite is Major League Baseball. Part of this is due to my participation in fantasy leagues.

For those unaware, fantasy sports basically consist of a group of people getting together and "drafting" teams, by taking turns picking players until everyone has a set number of players. Then, the performance of the players you've drafted is compiled and compared to how other teams are doing. The team that does best wins. This is a very simple explanation and it certainly gets way more involved depending on the sport, number of teams and various league formats. Usually each team ponies up an entry fee to get into the league and the top few teams win the entry fees at the end of the season. Perhaps as important for some are the bragging rights you win. This industry has exploded over the last 10 years or so and you always see headlines in the news talking about the billions of dollars of worker productivity lost due to employees wasting time on fantasy sports (I can't wait to see the dollar figure on productivity lost due to blogging!).

Anyhow, I first got a taste of fantasy sports in high school but really got hooked in college. I currently participate in 2 fantasy baseball leagues with the same groups of people each year. These are grueling as you have to follow baseball pretty closely to be successful - and the baseball season is very LONG. This year, I am in 3 fantasy football leagues and 3 other football "pools" or contests. With the football season starting tonight, I'm very excited to get started and have the typical pre-season optimism that accompanies each season. I generally have been pretty successful in the baseball and football leagues I've been in, moreso in baseball. All in all, it's a lot of fun and gives a good excuse for more closely following the various sports. In one league I got the top pick and feel like I've put together quite a good squad.

So, I'll probably keep a running tally of how I do each week in my blog entries, just to jinx myself and display my ineptitude in front of the masses.

And finally, a shout out to the Appalachian State fans out there, I was very happy to see Michigan get bounced last weekend! I actually know several alums from Appy State and was thinking of them when the big win occurred.

"Now back to our regularly scheduled broadcast"

Until next time.

Ace