It’s been a long while since the last edition of the Fantasy Factoids, but that does not mean I stopped loving you. Getting you some quality fantasy sports news has always been on my mind.

Just today, I was thinking, “Wow! My readers would really want to check out these articles. I should do something about it!” Here is me doing something about it. Check these out:

• Fantasy football pays off for area men (Chronicle-Telegram) – A local new article about the team that won the 2009 World Championship of Fantasy Football . Although newspapers are having financial issues, local press can have a great impact in terms of drumming up interest.
• The rise and rise of fantasy sports (CNN) This is actually written from an international perspective and discusses that the international fantasy sports market, particularly fantasy soccer, may be the biggest fantasy market of all of them.
• ESPN Mobile Thrives Despite No Ties To Ad Networks Or Android (Just Another Mobile Phone Blog) It looks like ESPN found a mobile strategy that works for it. After famously fumbling with ESPN Mobile phones, by refocusing on distributing its sports content (content is ESPN’s core competency) in the mobile arena.
• Greene still going strong in postseason (Sporting News) – Shonn Greene may have officially obtained 2010 fantasy football sleeper pick of the year that everyone knows about. Do not be surprised if someone grabs Greene in the second round of your draft next season regardless of how his training camp goes.

I hope you enjoyed these articles. Keep checking back here regularly for additional and, I dare say, awesome fantasy sports news.

With the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics just 26 days away, it also means that the Fantasy Olympics are just around the corner as well! Fantasy Olympics are a great opportunity for you to learn about not just American Olympic hopefuls, but some of the more interesting Olympians from around the world. With the Olympics lasting just 17 days, it is not a very long season. Since you are going to be glued to your television wondering if Shaun White is going to win additional gold medals, you may as well play along.

As of January 26, Fantasy Olympian is the only site I came across that has its fantasy Olympics game all ready to go. I am expecting NBC Sports to launch one closer to the start of the games, as it had a very popular fantasy game during the 2008 Beijing games. I will update this article as additional fantasy Olympic games pop up closer to the games.

Fantasy Olympian is run by the guys who ran The Fantasy Olympics for the last two Olympic games. Fantasy Olympian encourages leagues to form in groups of at least ten (although leagues than fewer teams are more than acceptable). Teams draft 10 Olympians and 1 tiebreaker country, and accrue points as your fantasy Olympics team earns medals.

The Fantasy Sports Trade Association’s (FSTA) 2010 Winter Conference is only 12 days away. The agenda for the winter conference was recently published. This year’s conference is a hodge-podge of topics, including fantasy sports basics, internationalization, legal issues, advertising, and working in the current industry.

If you have never been to a FSTA conference and are thinking about investing in a future in the industry, attending an FSTA conference is a great way to get a feel for all the players and the complexities of running a fantasy sports business.

In other news, FSTA Association Manager Justin Cleveland announced that he will be leaving the FSTA at the end of January. Justin was responsible for the day-to-day operations, organizing the two annual conferences, working with FSTA members, and responding to incoming requests from media or other interested parties. Justin you were great for the industry and good luck in your future endeavors.

For you opportunists (or just a job seeker), this means that the FSTA is looking for a new Association Manager and is currently hiring. If you are interested in the position, feel free to contact the FSTA.

After 20 years, the No Name League (NNL) is folding. The NNL was the first fantasy baseball league of which I was a member. Unbeknowst to myself at the start, it is one of the few events in my life that I can say was life changing.

I joined the league for its second season, taking over for a league member who moved to Jordan and would not be able to actively manage the team (remember, Al Gore hadn’t invented the internet then). I was in the fifth grade, and the league consisted of my older brother (by 11 years) and mostly a bunch of family, his friends, and friends of friends. But, since I was such an obsessive baseball fan and had lobbied for a team of my own, I was brought in when the league needed that replacement owner. While everyone else in school was trading baseball cards (actually, I think Marvel cards were the big thing at the time), I was trading real players with real implications. Yeah, I was a dork, but I loved every minute of it.

Since it was the early days of fantasy rotisserie baseball, there were no standard rules, so we just made them up (there is still no standard set, but at least now you can use the defaults from your commissioner service). We ended up with quirky rules like you could start a guy eligible at two positions (say, 1B and 2B) and could then start an extra player. If you did this right, you were able to start seven outfielders and get a little extra offensive power into your lineup. The NNL was a keeper league (we started over every five years just to shake things up), so if you had a couple of good drafts, you could really set-up your team.

The progression of the league in a lot of ways mirrors the growth of the industry. League stats were kept by hand and moves were only biweekly. If a guy was hurt on the first day after the transaction deadline, you were just unlucky. Moves were due by Monday night because that was the cut-off date for the statistics that were published in the Wednesday edition of the USA Today. In fact, the USA Today and the Baseball Weekly were really the only reliable sources for national player information. Sometimes, we had to wait days before finding out why a player left a game early, if ever. Sometime around 1995, the NNL decided to get a stat service. This was an amazing breakthrough. We could dial a phone number with our computers and get stats on a daily basis if we so choose. That was revolutionary.

Then, the internet really happened. You could get player news and stats the same day! This minor miracle also enabled me to stay in the league when I moved away to college. I was still able to draft my teams via chat, while the rest of the league still met in person to draft. If you had a brilliant trade idea at 1am, you could email it off and wait for a response. This brought about a new era in fantasy baseball,

Over the years, league members got older, got married, had kids, and moved in various directions. Some owners dropped out and were promptly replaced. No matter what though, we somehow managed to find a draft date in March or April where (almost) everyone could get together and draft our players. It was a constant in my life and that of many of my fellow owners.

But as I mentioned, things changed. 2009 marked the completion of our 20th season and the end of one of our five-year cycles. After polling the league, it seemed that no matter what the league did there was no strong reason, other than inertia, to keep the NNL alive.

About four, five years ago when I was looking to start a website, I naturally gravitated towards fantasy sports. It was the one thing in my life that had held my interest throughout all the stages of my life. It was a natural fit. I have enjoyed my time in the fantasy industry. I truly believe that I owe this part of my life to the formation of the NNL and my inclusion in the league.

Farewell, NNL.

Hot off the presses, RotoWire has announced the purchase of Mock Draft Central. We reported earlier that Mock Draft Central was for sale and that Mock Draft Central had received an offer and was negotiating terms. This concludes four months of negotiations by both sides.

The official RotoWire press release did not disclose the terms, but it was definitely more than the $195,000 the original Mock Draft Central online auction would have started. Mock Draft Central’s founder Jason Pliml will stay on with RotoWire for a while to ensure a smooth transition.

These is a great acquistion by RotoWire, as the draft software will perfectly compliment its commissioner product. Even though both sites will be maintained as separate entities, Mock Draft Central’s and RotoWire’s user bases are what you would describe as the heavy fantasy user, which creates a great opportunity to market the two products to both user bases. I would not be shocked if the deal paid for itself just through new subscriptions in the next two to three years.

Congratulations to Peter Schoenke at RotoWire on his new acquistion and to Jason Pliml on the sale of his baby.

One of the most amazing sports businesses in the last 10 years has been the emergence of Under Armour as a major player in the sporting goods realm. Here is a video of speech given by Under Armour’s Chairman, CEO and Founder Kevin Plank. It is a very riveting video and some great insights into how to build a great business–compete. I highly recommend you check it out, if even it takes multiple sittings (it is 74 minutes long):

Did you watch it all? What do you think? Ready to compete?

via Campus Entrepreneurship

I told you earlier about how CBS Sports was cancelling its fantasy NASCAR and fantasy golf games for 2010. Now, it is clear that ESPN is also on this bandwagon and is cancelling its fantasy NASCAR game for 2010 as well. One of our readers received the following message upon logging into his ESPN account:

Although it is a bit fuzzy, it says:

GAME NOTICE
The 2009 racing season will be the last season for ESPN Fantasy Stock Car. Thank you for playing and check back next February to sign up for our other great fantasy racing games on ESPN.com. If you have any questions, please call the Fantasy Help Desk at 1-888-549-ESPN.

This message seems to imply that there will be a new game come Daytona 500 time, but I am not buying it. Why would you tell your customers that the game is gone and chase them away, and then, try to get them back with a new and improved version a month later? If there was a new and improved version coming, you would tell them that right away would you not?

This announcement backs up the speculation that has been going on in ESPN Fantasy message boards for a while now (see Don’t Cancel Fantasy Stock Car and This game won’t be back next year). As in the case of most niche fantasy games, Fantasy NASCAR fans are a very rabid fan base. One reader even offered to run the game for ESPN.

Again, this is a disappointing turn of events. Fantasy NASCAR has been tauted as the next big thing in fantasy sports, but with CBSSports.com and ESPN both dropping it, it may not be as commercially viable as once thought.

ESPN’s decision to cut fantasy NASCAR is probably the same reason that CBSSports.com cut its game–money. Between statistic costs, software maintenance, marketing, and writers, running a fantasy game on a major site like ESPN.com could easily get expensive with very little direct return to date. With everyone’s budgets tight these days, it is not surprising to see a reduction in services.

If you are looking for a business opportunity in the fantasy space, creating a simple fantasy NASCAR game may be. You would not have the same cost infrastructure as ESPN and may actually be able to make money doing it. Just a thought.

I received an email this week from a reader Dennis as to what the proper amount to give your fantasy football commissioner as a thank you for running the league. Unfortunately, in my over twenty years of playing fantasy sports, I have never heard of a commissioner getting tipped out for all the crap he puts up with all season. I say unfortunately because this is a trend that is overdue, and I would not mind seeing grow. Dennis you are a better man than 99 percent of fantasy players.

For leagues for which I have been the commissioner, I usually consider myself lucky if I finish the season with as many friends as I had at the start of the season. Countless relationships have been damaged because of a trade gone wrong or waiver wire bids. Remember, it this is just a game and is not worth losing friendships over.

Being a fantasy commissioner is on the most thankless jobs I know. The main thing that drives people to actually do it is that they want to play in a fun, familiar fantasy sports league, and that is what it takes to get it done. The upside is, if you are a good fantasy commissioner, you can ensure that people are having fun and that your league will continue for years to come.

In reference to Dennis’ original question, I would recommend around half of the league entry fee for leagues with three or four top prizes and as much as the full entry fee for a league with only one or two top prizes. Other ideas I have heard about are putting some of the winnings towards a league happy hour, or purchasing a championship trophy for the league to pass around to the winner every season.

What are your thoughts on the topic?

Have you ever wondered why NASCAR does not really have stats? Think about it. It is a sport where things are measured in 1/1000th of a second, yet the best stats you can find are start, finish, highest placed, and laps led? I am not that much of a NASCAR fan, but I have wondered for a while why there are not better stats and think this an area ripe for innovation. Enter StatSheet.

StatSheet has built a name for itself through its revolutionary college basketball stats and is now taking a stab at NASCAR. In addition to the usual (read:useless) NASCAR stats mentioned earlier, Statsheet’s NASCAR pages feature stats such as quality passes, green flag pass differential, and driver rating. For example, check out the stats from the 2009 Daytona 500, it becomes obvious that Jeff Gordon lost the race in the pits. Despite starting third and a positive pass differential, Gordon finished 13th. These stats paint a picture that you probably would not see just looking at regular race results.

From a pure fantasy perspective, stats like these can help actually help fantasy players determine who is running hot but not putting up the final numbers or who is outperforming his car. Currently, there is a dearth of quality information about NASCAR drivers, and information like StatSheet’s can transform how NASCAR is watched and perceived.

StatSheet Founder Robbie Allen told me, “I’ve barely scratched the surface with NASCAR and right now there isn’t much available on the web today. I plan on doing a lot more over the next year.” I cannot wait to see what comes next.

With the fantasy football season officially over with the conclusion of the regular season (if you are one of those weird leagues that uses the playoffs, you are truly crazy yet commendable at the same time), you may be looking for things to do to fill the void in your life that fantasy football has left. Because, I care about our readers, I thought I would jot down some things that you may want to dedicate some time to over the next few months. At least until July, when you can reasonably be allowed/expected to spend countless hours on your fantasy football team(s).

1. There used to be a time when your jeans did not require a shoe horn to put-on. When you spend 10 hours a week watching football, checking live scoring, and drinking the beverage of your choice, you are bound to put on a few pounds. Time to get to the gym.
2. Remember in November when you were busy watching the waiver wire and your wife was rushed to the hospital and then came back two days later with a miniature person? That was your new baby. Go meet that little cutie.
3. Speaking of your wife. Remember her? You might want to get back into her good graces. Perhaps start by parrying down your Honey-Do list and take her out to dinner where the television in the bar is not visible from your seats. This applies to girlfriends and various other significant others.
4. Volunteer. Seriously. You have all this free time, and you may actually be able to do some good. Plus, with incentive programs like Give a Day, Get a Disney Day or Give a Day, Get a Night at a Sage Hotel, there is no real reason not to volunteer.
5. Learn to snowboard. Learn to play golf. In other words, learn a sport that requires you to use those muscles in your legs that have atrophied from all of those hours sitting at your computer.
6. Get that degree in economics. Far-fetched? With your new ability to divide by 25 and 10 in your head combined with your ability to determine undervalued and overvalued players based on each player’s ADP, you are already half-way there. You’re so money!
7. The last time you read something that did not contain the words “flex slot” or “sleeper pick” was probably in June of last year. Time for you to catch up on the news of the world. Start with the Balloon Boy Hoax. That might be a good puff piece to get you back in the flow.
8. Now that you have run the 10K of fantasy football, time for you to complete in the marathon that is fantasy baseball. Just for kicks, make sure it is a daily moves league. After watching you get involved in just one fantasy baseball season, your wife will beg you to play fantasy football only.
9. Plan an elaborate revenge against the Colts’ Jim Caldwell for benching Peyton Manning during your fantasy football championship game. Actually, after watching Wes Welker tear his ACL and MCL in a mostly meaningless game, Caldwell made the right decision.
10. You could just decide there is no-offseason and monitor every bit of fantasy football news for the next few months while the slackers focus on all of the rest of the items on this list.

If you have any other suggestions, please feel free to share them below.