Fantasy Sports and Its Positive Effects

Fantasy sports probably seem like an extraordinary waste of time to the outside observer- grown men hunching over their computers or television sets, managing make-believe teams in make-believe leagues to win... well, most of the time to win nothing but bragging rights. However, there is more to fantasy sports than meets the eye.

First of all, fantasy sports have allowed sports fans to expand their interaction with their favorite sports and players to a whole new level. Fans can now own their own teams, make important trade and draft day decisions, and get a taste of what they enjoy so much. Whether or not their home teams are competitive, their fantasy teams always have a chance to win (and, if they don't, they have no one to blame other than themselves).

Fantasy sports provide an arena for fans to test their own knowledge of the game and their opinion of players' values. Owners can try to best each other through the draft and waiver wire pickups or try and get the upper hand in a trade. This inter-fan rivalry is perhaps the most addicting aspect of fantasy sports.

Another value of fantasy sports is its ability to make usually non-descript games intensely interesting for the fantasy owner because of its impact on team. I don't care about non-Dallas area teams if they're not playing one of my favorite teams, but, because of fantasy sports, I actually pay attention to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, if only because I have Carlos Pena on one of my fantasy teams.

This concept also applies to mid-season games in any sport, but specifically baseball, whose regular seasons are so long (162 games for Major League Baseball) that the outcome of a single game, especially in the summer months, is seemingly unimportant. Attach fantasy sports to these games, however, and they attain a new level of impact.

Fantasy sports have clearly made inroads in sports fandom. Games scroll live stats for fantasy owners, ESPN brings in fantasy analysts to breakdown potential trades, draft picks, etc., and millions of people own a fantasy team of one kind or another.

Thanks to fantasy sports, professional sports are as popular now as ever and won't be going anywhere soon. After all, how else would I waste my time if I didn't have 9 fantasy baseball teams to manage? I suggest giving it a shot. There are fantasy leagues available for just about any sport - hockey, football, baseball, basketball, golf, auto racing, you name it. Any of your fantasy-league friends would welcome you with open arms.

Fantasy Sports Tips For Beginners

We can’t deny that Fantasy sports had been very popular especially in this internet age. It took the world by storm and almost every sports fan knows about it. But the fact is that, many sports enthusiast still don’t know what fantasy sports is, how you can join in one and what’s the feeling of playing in one. If you’re one of these people, then this article is definitely for you.

If you can turn on a computer, you can play fantasy sports. It’s as easy as ABC if you choose the right site to play. The first step is to get signed up with a site that provides fantasy sports, like FantasyFactor.com or ESPN. You go to one of these sites and go to the fantasy sports tab and pick a user name and a password, and you’re ready to go. All sites with fantasy sports will have different categories which include different pay scales or free.

I recommend that Beginners should start out with free, it's less intimidating and you will not have anything to risk (especially if that money you’ll put is your hard earned money). You then join a league that suites your interest and follow the directions. Just be very careful with these first step especially if you want to play fantasy sports with money involved. Choose a site that is trusted and is already well known in the Fantasy sports world. I personally choose Fantasyfactor.com in playing fantasy sports. Although it’s not as popular as ESPN, the interface is just so great and it is much secured too.

Now the fun begins, if you are a stats nut this is where you can really dig in and do some research on who you might want to pick in the draft. Some fantasy sports sites even provide their own research so that you can see who the best players for your draft are. If you are not too serious with fantasy sports, this will do. But if you are eyeing on winning, then you should do your Due Diligence and start your research. The draft for most people is the funniest part; it's where your strategy for the season begins.

In the draft you have specific rules, which will be drawn out before the draft begins, and you follow the rules to pick certain positions and a specific number of starters and backup players. You pick players from all over the "real league" and those players from different teams make up your specific team. Take the NFL for example, you can draft Jay Cutler from the Broncos as your quarterback and Terrell Owens as your receiver from the Cowboys. It's a matter of taking the best players from different teams as soon in the draft as you can. The great thing about fantasy sports is there are thousands of different strategies to use.

So, for either the avid sports fan or the casual, fantasy sports can be a fun way to get to know your favorite players better and also get a little competition in your life. A fantasy sport is easy and enjoyable. It is a perfect thing to do in your leisure time and I would probably be playing fantasy sports after writing this. So good luck and see you playing!

Fantasy Sport Guideline - How to Enjoy Fantasy Football

Fantasy sports is a great innovation and something that sports buffs can be thankful for as it allows people like us to enjoy the sports we love and participate in it via fantasy sport games. Today there are millions of fans who participate in fantasy sport. There are also many varieties of fantasy sports available for everyone. These fantasy sports range from major sports such as basketball, baseball, to golf, hockey and even cricket. Whatever sport you prefer, you will find a fantasy sports version.

This article focuses on one of the most popular fantasy sports—fantasy football. I have been a fantasy football owner and league commissioner so I decided to share tips I have learned from my many years of experience playing fantasy football. I hope you find my advice useful and apply these tips so that you have a more enjoyable fantasy football season. Good luck!

Advice # 1: Always check the injury list. Injuries are an important component of football. An injured quarterback affects the performance of a team and will therefore affect your fantasy football season as well. It is best to always read up on the latest news on a daily basis.

Advice # 2: Veer away from jerks. Yeah, there will be players in your league who are trash-talkers and whose main role is to wind up the other team members. Ignore these kinds of players and do not get emotional. Animosity can affect the happy dynamics of a fantasy football league.

Advice # 3: Years of experience has shown me that the kicker of the NFL is the last position you should draft. So, that player Nick Folk, he is a 6th round pick.

Advice # 3: Live drafting is great and it is the best way to do your draft. Gather the boys, grab a few beers, devote the weekend to the league, do your research and draft a cheat sheet. Then let the drafting party begin! Live drafting can be a fun bonding experience with the boys.

Advice # 4: Manning is known as the 1st family of QBs. It will be most likely everyone will want to pick a QB, so we just hope you are lucky enough to get into the first round.

Advice # 5: There are reliable players you can count on year after year. Stick with them if you know that the player has that kind of quality. These players include Torry Holt. Of course, there are players who are also big disappointments such as Kyle Boller, and they consistently do so stay away from them.

Fantasy Rankings - Fantasy Baseball Players to Look Out For

Baseball season is close and I’m sure everyone wants to read about the fantasy rankings of these baseball players. Reading up on fantasy rankings is an important aspect of playing fantasy baseball. Because when you know the fantasy rankings, you know which players to get. If you know which players to get, you can form a good team or have a good fantasy draft. Having a winning fantasy draft can be an exciting thing for players, and it can make you win in your fantasy baseball league.

Now, let us review the fantasy ranking of the following players.

First, let us take a look at Alex Rios (CHW RF). Alex Rios showed solid performance in the first year that he played for the Chicago baseball team. His number of hits reached .284 - 334 - 457. Alex Rios also has a 20-home run and a 30-SB season. Now, the big question that is running through everyone’s head is, can Alex Rios be able to replicate the outstanding performance he has shown us in 2011? Our take is it is possible to do so. The only caveat is he has to remain healthy and injury free. Rios is the man who can hit a solid line up. Get him in your draft.

The second player in focus is a TEX RF named Nelson Cruz. We are thinking, how many home runs Nelson Cruz can possible make if he remains injury-free and healthy for 600 at bats? The numbers that Cruz has been crunching are a hit of .318 - .374 - .576 with 22 home runs, 78 RBI and 17 saved bases. And that is just as low as 400 bats for last year. What we like about Cruz is he is able to hit a lot of flyballs and he gets a 45 percent FB number. The thing is, we mentioned that Nelson Cruz can perform well if he remains healthy. The problem is he already has an injury risk. To all fantasy sports people out there, you know you really have to read up on those injury lists.

Another player to look at is Chris Young (AR CF). Mr. Young has .257 - .341 - .452 with 27 HRs. Chris Young also has 27 HR, 91 RBI, 94 runs and 28 SB in 2010. So, what will his future be in 2011? Well, Young is actually 27, and he is in the peak of his career in 2011. He also has a newly hired manager in the person of Kirk Gibson and he is telling everyone that Young will become more aggressive on the base paths this year.

Fantasy Sport Online - Focus on Fantasy Hockey

Fantasy sports online is a great innovation in this digital age. And this is especially true for the millions, or perhaps even billions, of sports fans out there. What fantasy sports online does is it binds people from all over the world and allows them to enjoy building teams in a fantasy format of their favorite sports. Sure, there were fantasy leagues way before the Internet, but the evolution of fantasy sports online has made the hobby more accessible, more exciting and more interactive.

I’m sure fantasy hockey fans are happy about the development of fantasy sports online. So, let us focus this article on fantasy hockey.

As we all know, fantasy hockey is a variety of fantasy sports online (there are offline fantasy leagues as well). The basic concept of fantasy hockey is building your very own fantasy team. The fantasy hockey player is called a team owner or manager, and his job is to have the best team to beat the other managers in the fantasy league. Now, all the data that is used to determine the owner winning in the league is based on the National Hockey League Ice Hockey Association. The National Hockey League, or what is known as the NHL, is considered as a major sport and is composed of 30 teams all from North America. There are six NHL teams that hail from Canada while the rest come from the United States. Ice hockey is a major sport in North America and every year, the best hockey team is awarded the Stanley Cup. Now, owners of their fantasy hockey teams must build the best team and this team must perform well based on the stats and data that are produced by the players of the NHL.

Usually, you will find that a certain hockey league, or what is called as a hockey pool, consists of 8 to 12 teams. It is not unusual for a league to have as much as 20 teams. Fantasy hockey leagues with more than 20 teams are sometimes a bit complicated and you might find that having more than 20 teams makes it less fun as it dilutes the average talent. Although, if you think about it, the set up of more teams in a fantasy hockey league is similar to real life gameplay in the NFL where, as we all know, has 30 teams. There is even a variation of fantasy hockey wherein there could be more than 30 teams. In this particular league, owners may have the same hockey player or players in their teams. The only thing when it comes to this type of hockey is there are trade restrictions between the owners.

Fantasy Basketball Tips for Beginners

Welcome to the wonderful world of fantasy basketball. This is the total entertainment game for people who are huge fans of sports like basketball, who like watching NBA, like reading up on statistics and who like the competition. Playing fantasy basketball is basically about picking and getting the right draft to win. This can only be achieved through research and being able to read the numbers right.

So here are tips to follow in fantasy basketball so that you can win the season.

Fantasy basketball tip #1: Learn your league’s settings.

Each fantasy football league has different rules and orientation. Choose a draft pick based on which the league prefers. Do they give importance to assists? Does it utilize head to head scoring? If yes, that means you have to choose players with high field goal percentage.

Fantasy basketball tip #2: It's a numbers game.

Focus on choosing a draft based on the number, rather than subjectively choosing a player because you were a fan since that NBA star’s first year as an athlete.

Fantasy basketball tip #3: List down you draft and do tons of research.

Choose the best and the high performers from rounds 1 – 4, then you can add the quirky favorite NBA athlete of yours on round 5 or 6.

Fantasy basketball tip #4: Scan for opportunities.

The right pick, even on a last moment, can make the difference as to winning or losing. Search the web, newspapers and magazines for the numbers and check players who are not so popular but has the right numbers that can boost your fantasy basketball team.

Fantasy basketball tip #5: The better the draft, the less you need to manage.

Want to take it easy within the fantasy basketball season? Choose the correct draft from the beginning and you will have less to manage and worry about in the middle of the game.

Remember, unlike the NFL, the NBA game is more erratic in its value of players and there is a bigger chance of an NBA athlete fluctuating in performance and statistics during the season.

Fantasy basketball tip #6: Watch for changes in the basketball roster.

When they announce in the NBA that there is a new roster, you can bet that it will change the numbers. It can be a positive thing and not totally a negative factor, but either way you be on top of it and know what is going on as a fantasy basketball team manager.

Fantasy basketball tip #7: Follow what your gut tells you.

Fantasy basketball is about the numbers but a small factor to winning is also following your gut. If you think that you need to change your line up, do it fast and do it at the beginning of the season. Start checking free agents if you have to.

Your One Day Fantasy Wager

If it is your first time to play casino games or fantasy sports, then you have so much to learn. Aside from learning how to read the cards, you have to understand the mechanics of the game. More so, you should be able to know what your one day fantasy wager is. That is if you prefer to do the betting for fantasy sports. These things will surely make you more knowledgeable in things. It enables you to set limits for yourself when it comes to gambling, no matter how much bankroll you have.

If you want to know more about fantasy sports, you have to read all about it. Know the basic stuff and then move on to learning the more complicated things about it. Fantasy sports is just like your ordinary sport. The only difference is that you can create your own team and have the chance to compete with others. You are in charge of everything when it comes to the players and the team. You get to say who plays and who stays.

When it comes to the one day fantasy wager , you have to know which team has the best standing or ranking. It gives you that extra boost for your betting. Because you can bet on a daily basis, it is a recommendation that you select your teams before hand. Once the schedules of the games are listed down, know which teams you want to bet on and compute how much you need. Countercheck this amount with your spare money because you do not want to use money that is intended for something else. Just make sure that you get everything right before placing your bet. Asking a friend to help you out here is one of the best things that you can do.

Betting has been incorporated in the lives of people and it seems that it is here to stay.