The show will be hosted by Fanball experts Kyle Elfrink, Ray Flowers, and Charlie Wiegert, but I would not be surprised if other Fanball writers and editors managed to get some air time. While the show will not limited to just fantasy baseball and fantasy football talk, expect those two to seasonally dominate.

This is a great move by Fanball as the radio show becomes a great vehicle for it to talk about the National Fantasy Football Championship and continue to position that game as the premiere high stakes fantasy football game. The World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF) is generally recognized as the biggest competition, but ultimately, fantasy players will flock to the game that offers the biggest prize and the best competition. Fanball has already expanded the NFFC to eight cities, which is bound to help the size of its player pool.

What high stakes fantasy football league are you going to play in this year?

How did you get involved in fantasy sports?
I drafted my first fantasy football team as a sophomore in high school back in 1999. I went undefeated in the regular season with the likes of Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Tony Gonzalez, but lost in the first-round of the playoffs. I’m still seeking vengeance for that extremely painful loss.

My start in the industry came from applying for a job that was posted on Grand Valley State University’s — go Lakers! — Web site: part-time Fantasy Sports writer. That job would eventually turn into Operations Manager at Mock Draft Central.

What’s your reaction when you read your old columns?
It’s been a while since I’ve read some of my older stuff, but I’m always shocked about how far I’ve come as a writer when I do. Not too bad for a broadcasting major who only took one writing class in school. I’ve learned from many talented folks, though, most notably my good friend Herbie Teope, who I credit for a lot of my growth.

How has your fantasy advice evolved since you started?
Instead of telling people what they should do, I try to present information to allow them to form their own opinion. Fanball offers a Live Advice option that allows me to chat with users that have questions; the first thing that I always ask is, “what do you think you should do?”

What’s been your favorite part about becoming a fantasy football expert?
Definitely just watching how the game has grown. When I first started in the industry, most people didn’t have a clue what I was talking about when I told them what I did … mostly just shook their heads while thinking, “I wonder when he’s going to get a real job?” Now, a lot are stunned when I tell them that I make my living in the fantasy sports industry. It’s a good gig.

What is the worst move you ever made as a fantasy owner?
No single move sticks out as being horribly awful, but I’ve trusted in a lot of turds over the years who have killed a lot of teams. The most recent memory involves Francisco Liriano on almost all of my squads
last season. While I think he may finally be “right” again in 2010, I can never muster up the courage to click the “Draft” button next to his name when I’m on the clock.

Tell us about your new role at Fanball. Also, what made you want to leave your previous gig?
I consider myself to be Fanball’s Mark McLemore — super utility man. In my two months with the company, I’ve done it all: writing for both the online Owner’s Edge product and magazines for the upcoming Fantasy Baseball season and NFL Draft; I’ve sat in on tech meetings and helped a fine technical team put together drafting software for the National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC); and a lot of my time has been spent helping with various NFBC festivities. There is also more in the works that I am really excited to be a part of.

Moving to Fanball seemed like the next natural step in my professional career, and the change in ownership at MDC made it the perfect time to do so. I always respected the work that Ryan Houston, Charlie Wiegert, Greg Ambrosius, and Tom Kessenich have done, so getting a chance to learn from them was just too much to pass up. I’ve quickly learned that the entire Fanball operation is first-class with many quality people, and have no doubts that the decision to join their fine team was the correct one.

What do you think is the next big thing in fantasy baseball?
I’m a big fan of the daily and high stakes games — and not just because Fanball offers versions of each. Both games have a way of keeping people interested whether it’s the third week of May or the last week of September.

How do you approach the daily fantasy games differently than you would a regular season-long fantasy game?
Three words about the daily fantasy games: matchup, matchup, matchup. While I think strength of schedule is overrated in games that are played over an entire season, matchups are key to putting together a successful daily squad.

Thanks again to Geoff for the interview, and congratulations on your new position!

I took the liberty of looking at the available iPhone applications that would enable this not-to-distant future:

• 2010 RotoWire Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit ($3.99) This is the mobile version of RotoWire’s fantasy baseball draft kit and is complete with rankings, historical stats, projections, and analysis on the names you will hear on draft day. RotoWire also has a free fantasy news application that you may want to look into.
• Fanball.com Fantasy News and Updates (Free) Another players news application from a completely different source than RotoWire uses. For hot news, I like to check to multiple sources for the latest information, so having two player news applications on your iPhone can be nothing but good for you.
• CBS Sports Mobile (Free) This application is a mini-version of the full-fledged CBS Sports site. In addition to easy up-to-the-minute player news, you can adjust your fantasy baseball roster on the fly.
• Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball (Free) Not officially released yet either, this application will allow fantasy players to manage their teams and get real-time scoring. Conceivable, you could go the entire season without ever having to use one of those antiquated laptops.
• MLB.com At Bat 2010 (TBD $14.99) The pricing for the 2010 edition has not been announced yet, but expect this year’s version to improve on an already stellar product. Just released, MLB.com At Bat 2010 will allow users to watch any game they want (subject to blackout restrictions). In addition, just like last year’s version, fantasy players can listen to audio from every game. We can only hope that the 2010 version will feature video from every MLB game. It has in fact, gotten even better!
• ESPN ScoreCenter (Free) Just think of this application of all of ESPN’s scoreboards tucked into a nice little application. You can check out in game boxscores and even watch the gamecast of a your game of interest. This is a great free alternative to MLB.com At Bat.

Between all of those application, you can prepare for your draft, adjust your rosters, and follow player news. The days of staring at laptop during your fantasy draft just may be over. And if you get an iPad when it is released, your laptop days are definitely over.

One of the things that disturbed me about putting this list was that the fantasy baseball applications worth mentioning were either by the major or mid-major players in the fantasy industry. There is definitely a business opportunity for a killer fantasy baseball application.

There may be additional application releases in the next month, so I plan to adjust this list accordingly.

With fantasy seasons lasting for months, most fantasy companies are limited to a short time-frame to sell to its customers. If you do not have a good (selling) season, you have to wait a year before you can try again. Instant fantasy sports present an opportunity to sell to fantasy players throughtout the entire fantasy season. Instant fantasy sports are leagues that often feature fewer teams and are played for much shorter durations, usually a day or a weekend. The rise of the instant fantasy sports market has been an interesting one, and this bit of data about SnapDraft’s performance is the most promising I have seen to date.

From a business perspective, instead of getting someone to spend $25 for a team in the beginning of the season, you get them to spend $5 each week throughout the 17 weeks of the fantasy football season. In a dream world, you are able to sell that $25 season-long team, and then keep players spending throughout the season, as they those interest with their original teams. Ultimately, you are bringing in more revenue at a much more constant rate.

The downside of this market is that it really only appeals to the much more hardcore fantasy player. However, these are the customers that spend the most, and even a casual fantasy player can be persuaded to play if a buddy recommends the game. Instant fantasy sports may very well be the biggest growth market in the fantasy market over the next five years.

If you are looking to give some of these instant fantasy sports game, you can check out our instructions on how to play SnapDraft for free, use a free RapidDraft Coupon Code, or check out FanDuel‘s suite of instant fantasy sports games.

Fanball, which purchased both the NFBC and National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) from F+W Publications this past year, is really trying to make these high stakes leagues the leading high-stakes leagues. More importantly, Fanball is working towards turning these events into destination experiences that are bigger than just the fantasy baseball leagues which are drafted. With two weekends in Las Vegas, one in Chicago, New York, Atlantic City, and St. Louis, the NFBC gives you a number of places to go away for the weekend and have some fun.

I love this strategy. Fanball is creating places that you can go with your buddies, or, more than likely, your girlfriend/wife/significant other would be willing to go away for a weekend. The NFBC goes from you doing something selfish to a shared weekend for the both of you. As the age of fantasy players increase, fantasy players have to worry about families more often and this is a great move to capture that audience.

Second, by investing in making these great experiences, Fanball is able to create added value for the fantasy player. The guy who places last in a regular high stakes league is much more likely to keep playing and try again the following season if he had a blast at the draft. If he really has fun, maybe he will get a few of his buddies to enter the following season. While the venues it has chosen may cost a little bit more, the potential for long term relationships with their customers far outweighs it.

With three months to go, it will be interesting to see what else Fanball has planned for the NFBC. Do you have any thoughts on high-stakes leagues, the NFBC, Fanball, or this strategy? Let me hear me.

More importantly, the fact that two of the major players in the fantasy industry are teaming together on a game should make you take note. ESPN has become the number two player (behind Yahoo!) by offering completely free fantasy games. Fanball is the leader in pay-to-play games under its own brand, and hosting white-label games, such as the Fantasy Football Open Championship. According to Ryan Houson, Fanball’s Vice-President of Business Development, that this game came about through, “Lots of discussions. We discussed this a lot and we are excited it finally got done.” It is a win-win deal for both sides. It allows ESPN to tap into the pay-to-play market, while giving Fanball another game to market to its existing customer base, and more importantly, the ability to market to the millions of fantasy players that play at ESPN.

Congratulations to both sides on the deal, and I look forward to see how this relationship develops. If this is successful, you better expect to see something come fantasy baseball season.

With Fantasy Sports Insurance being a secondary service, integration into a commissioner platform is key for the business’ success. Scoring a relationship with Fanball is a major accomplishment for Fantasy Sports Insurance.

No details of how the relationship will work between the two companies. I imagine there will be some sort of revenue share on the insurance premiums paid, and that fantasy football players will be able to seamlessly take out policies on their players and teams.

Well done.

The entire press release is below

Fantasy Sports Insurance Partners with Fanball.com

Contact: Henry Olszewski
Email: fsi@intermarketins.com
Office: 631-421-2424 Ext. 30
www.fantasysportsinsurance.com