Back before most people knew what an Internet was and where to find it, SportsBuff.com started sending fantasy football winners out to Las Vegas for a grand prize playoff draft and whatever else they could manage to do. (Sorry, that part stays there.)

Thursday night brought the latest installment at the Monte Carlo, with the top eight finishers in the salary-cap contest vying for the $30,000 lead prize and the title of 18th annual Mr. Fantasy Football.

Ron Schoenbach of Muskego, Wis., opened the playoff fantasy draft with likely everyone’s top pick: Patriots QB Tom Brady. Playoff drafting, of course, introduces the strategy piece of having to guess which teams will advance. Thus, it wasn’t a surprise when Tim Kawakami of Chino, Calif., and Steve Krenek of Lisle, Ill., made New England the most represented team in the first round.

Rafe Wysham of Hanford, Calif., showed his belief in the Bears by selecting RB Matt Forte second overall, followed by three of Forte’s teammates. Krenek, with two teams among the top eight, could afford to take a chance with his second squad (drafted by his wife) going heavy on Falcons.

Experienced fantasy player and teacher John Lowery, meanwhile, started with the two biggest fantasy factors from Atlanta: Roddy White and Michael Turner. Shawn Foster of Huntington Beach, Calif., and Jeff Stanley of Springfield, Mo., chose to open with quarterbacks, helping take four off the board in the first round (half of the eight available).

The full teams are below, with players listed as they were selected (round-pick). We’ll see who prevails …

It might not look like golf weather outside for many of us, but it is in fact golf season.

With the Hyundai Tournament of Champions set to open Thursday, The Golf Channel introduced this week its Fantasy Challenge.

“The Golf Channel reached out to World Fantasy Games to create an innovative, fun and easy-to-play game for their viewers and Web followers,” said WFG CEO Jeff Thomas. “It has been a very productive, collaborative effort since day one and the result is a unique and engaging game.”

The game simply asks you to select three golfers at the beginning of each tournament, earning points when they win money in the tournament. In addition to the full-season version of the game, the Golf Channel will also award prizes to the winners in each of three season segments (Kick-Off, Spring and Summer) and weekly at the end of each tournament — allowing users to join at any time.

The Golf Channel also promises to pit a panel of its experts against those playing the game, with analysis and promotion carrying over from the GC website to its broadcasts.

Golf can often prove a fairly niche fantasy sport, but the ease of this setup caters to players at any level, while the format allows those who might only follow the majors to place their focus there. Of course, the biggest benefit of fantasy can often be the fact that it gives fans a reason to care about games or events in which they might not otherwise be personally invested.

Thomas sees plenty of potential for benefit in this case.

“We think it’s going to be a hit and break all records for participation when compared to past games from the Golf Channel,” he said.

By Jeff Thomas

The split with Fanball is just a bump in the road for Charlie Wiegert. He’ll be back, although he’ll probably spend more time on the beach and with his family. He deserves it.

I have a unique view of Charlie’s career — as a long-time competitor. Ali and Frazier? Maybe not, but we’ve been in the ring together more than once.

Charlie and his partners launched CDM about nine months before I opened Sports Buff in the early 90’s. We battled often for game-management deals and watched a long, long list of competitors come and go. CDM actually made an offer to purchase Sports Buff in 1999. It didn’t work out, but I was able to get to know Charlie better during the process. He’s a great guy, he loves this industry, and he has worked hard to help it grow and prosper.

His contributions are extensive. In fact, most current industry operators have no idea how extensive. Even before the FSTA was created, Charlie organized meetings in St. Louis to begin the communication process between companies in a very young industry. He and CDM invested heavily and led efforts to help clarify legal and licensing issues, years before the FSTA or the MLBAM lawsuit. Without these early efforts, many of today’s content companies and game operators — small, medium and large — would not exist.

He has followed that up with 12 years of devotion to the FSTA Board, continuing to contribute to industry growth for a second decade.

This is an odd set of events with Fanball. I think Fanball is in trouble. Charlie’s not. He’ll be fine.

(Jeff Thomas is an 18-year veteran of the fantasy sports industry, fellow founding member of the FSTA — for which he served a three-year term as president — and CEO of World Fantasy Games, which owns and operates this site.)

A roundup of items recently posted on the FSB News page.

– What has Gary Busey been up to on the rare occasion he steps away from Twitter? He got a new name, a new law degree and is helping professional athletes collect on fees they haven’t been receiving from us fantasy owners … all in the name of selling Vitamin Water. Meet Norman Tugwater.

– The most recent Fantasy Sports Writers Association newsletter announced the plan for “launching a new website that focuses on fantasy football in a unique and innovative way.” In the words of FSWA president Mike Beacom, “This is not your typical fantasy football site but one that has potential to change the fantasy football landscape.” Interested writers with daily availability to produce content throughout the season can contact jsf1111@gmail.com (Josh).

– Pro Football Focus is looking for “stat-oriented” writers to add to its recently built-out fantasy section, especially those with the ability to cover individual defensive players. Writers will get access to PFF’s player stats and ratings data, which requires a subscription otherwise.

– World Fantasy Games is on the lookout for fantasy hockey and fantasy basketball folks looking to make their way into the industry. Contact some dude named Matt Schauf if you’re interested.

– Just as it has for the past couple of seasons in football, the FSWA will ask its membership this year to vote on the top fantasy performers in baseball. The ballot will be put together between now and the end of the season, with the winners to be announced during the World Series.

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