ON SPORTS ~ Why Roy Halladay Rocks My World...

Have you ever daydreamed about what the uber concert would be like - seeing the greatest musicians ever in the world up on stage at the same time?  Or just how tremendous a book could be if it featured literature's finest characters together on the pages?  Or maybe what kind of blockbuster you could have if acting's finest artists across all generations could appear on the big screen in the same scenes?  Well, that's pretty much what Fantasy Sports are like.  You try to build the sport's most fantastic team of All-Stars and garner more points than the other participants in your league.  How hard can it be?

After beating all of the boys in the Fantasy Football League in my rookie season, they allowed me entrance into their Fantasy Baseball League this season when they expanded their league to 10 teams.  Andy plays in this league as well and I actually co-managed his first team with him a few years ago - behind the scenes, taking no credit.  He lost the title on the final day of the season.  After that I got too busy building our blog to have time to help his team and he ended up finishing at or near the bottom of the barrell.  So I think you can see the superior influence my baseball skills had on his team.

Acting solo now, competing against each other, it is quite different.  Baseball happens every day over the course of 6 months and rosters are rearranged, players dropped and snagged, trades can be pitched and the standings fluctuate constantly.  It is hard to bite my tongue each day and keep my intel to myself instead of sharing great hunches and hot tips with Andy for his team as has always been my role in the past.  But then again, I don't have to convince him why he should add this or that player - I can just do whatever I want now and he can figure out his own team.

I did about an hour's worth of research before our live online draft the week before the season started and crossed my fingers.  All I really wanted was the Phillies' Roy Halladay - starting pitcher supreme.  Nothing but wins, innings and strikeouts from him in every start - Fantasy gold.  I got some of the players I'd earmarked and watched many of them get picked before I could get to them.  Andy ended up with some I wanted and I walked away with a few he had hoped for.  Both of our rosters have changed dramatically since Opening Day as they have for most of the Fantasy managers.  But I took Halladay with my first pick and haven't looked back.

I have held the lead through the first 3 weeks and I think I'm starting to irritate the rest of the league seeing SOX Girl besting their efforts.  The only other time a girl joined their league, she bailed pretty early and gave up.  I'm here to stay - at the top of the standings.  Provided beloved Halladay stays healthy.  He is my Fantasy Baseball savior and I will crash and burn without his awesomeness.  Every time he pitches he is a sure thing - and that's hard to come by in anything, Fantasy or otherwise.  However, when The Bumbles go on a little road trip in May to see the Red Sox play the Phillies in Philadelphia, I hope Halladay isn't starting.  I don't want to have an internal battle over who to root for.