One guy dashed (sorry, LenDale) for 108 yards and four touchdowns in the final week of most fantasy football seasons. The other merely threw for 351 yards and two scores.

One challenged the single-season record for passing yards. The other merely scored three more touchdowns than anyone else in the league.

In the end, the Fantasy Sports Writers Association membership dubbed Carolina running back DeAngelo Williams the 2008 Fantasy Football Player of the Year.

“The 2008 Fantasy Football Player of the Year race was one of the most competitive in the past dozen years,” said Mike Beacom, president and chairman of the FSWA. ““It was exciting to see a wide open competition like this one. “An argument could be made for a number of fantasy football players.”

Williams garnered 55.3 percent of the first-place votes, according to the FSWA, with Saints quarterback Drew Brees tallying just more than 30 percent. Atlanta running back Michael Turner followed in third, with the next two finishers — Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner and Houston receiver Andre Johnson, respectively — also earning some first-place votes.

Carolina’s top back wasn’t even drafted as a starter in many leagues and failed to score in any of the first four games. From weeks 5 through 16, however, he only failed to reach the end zone in one outing. Those who played out the fantasy season through Week 17 got another touchdown-free game, but Williams did run for 178 yards at New Orleans.

The FSWA is composed of experienced fantasy writers, including the nearly 100 new members who joined in the past year. Beacom says the group will begin naming a top player for college football as well next season.

(Note: Beacom also serves as publisher for SportsBuff.com, part of the same company that owns this site.)

A roundup of recent posts on the FSB News page.

– Sports Business Daily reported that December was the best sales month in the history of the NBA Store in New York City, including the online outlet NBAStore.com. Could this mean that money awaits in the NBA fantasy market, which has been tapped into nowhere near as deeply as football and baseball?

– Before finally coming out on top in ESPN’s Gridiron Challenge, David Wegner of Alexandria, Minn., started to feel the pressure of the fight to get there.

– With the Mercedes Benz Championship teeing off the 2009 PGA season, Golfweek has added four staffers to its group of Fantasy Aces that is now seven strong.

– Rallypoint announced a deal with Samsung on Thursday, whereby it will produce a fantasy sports widget for the 2009 line of Samsung HDTV’s.