About the Game Time Decisions Fantasy Football Crew
Brian Swaw - President Brian is a bonafide fantasy nut and sports memorabilia maniac. A quick tour through his guy's guy basement in and you'll see everything from signed jerseys and helmets from the likes of Joe Montana and Terrell Davis to Peyton Manning. His hockey collection includes the signed hockey sticks of Bobby and Bret Hull as well as the 1980 U.S. Hockey Jersey signed by the entire team and staff. Brian is also the biggest Denver Broncos fan East of Rockies and has a workout room in dedicated to his favorite team.....really sick....
Brian is the fantasy writer for the Chicago Tribune and currently is Co-Host of Fantasy Football Island for AM 1000 as well as a Fantasy Expert for ESPN Radio in Chicago. Brian can be heard on ESPN Radio Every Friday and Sunday and also does live appearances every Thursday in the Chicago land area from 7-10 for the Brian Swaw Fantasy Football Chalk. Brian has also been key note speaker at the FSTA and will be host for ESPN Fantasy Football Convention with the likes of John Clayton, Mark Schlerth and Chris Mortensen to name a few. Brian began playing fantasy football in 1987 when fantasy was just that, a fantasy. He has written for numerous fantasy web sites and is considered the voice of Fantasy football in the Midwest by the likes of radio legend Chet Coppack, and plays in over 20 fantasy leagues a year. Chet Coppack quote: "Brian is so ridiculously immersed in fantasy football that his idea of a three-way would be to give out that weekend's leading quarterback, running back and wide receiver!" Brian's one of the good guys and is a rising star in the fantasy football world. What makes him so great?.......probably because he would trade his own mother for an advantageous slot in a competitive draft.STAFF / WRITERS
Scott Bertram Born and raised in the Chicago area, Scot has been involved in fantasy sports for the last 15 years. Friends call him a sports encyclopedia of knowledge.
Among his favorite fantasy football picks: drafting Isaac Bruce in '95, Daunte Culpepper in '04, believing in Drew Brees in '06 and picking Mike Furrey off the waiver wire early in the season. He hates wide receivers...perhaps because somehow, every year, Chris Chambers ends up on his team. He's not proud of his first three picks in his '05 draft: Priest Holmes, Tony Gonzalez, and Terrell Owens (ouch). Scott also is a baseball addict and a die-hard White Sox fan. His rotisserie team is a 2-time champion of the Kerry Piper Roto League. Scot grew up in Darien, IL and now lives in Lisle, IL. He works for ESPN 1000 in Chicago.Matt Bossaers Matt Bossaers has been playing fantasy football (and baseball) since the early 90`s, acting as commissioner of a highly competitive fantasy football league in Chicago for the past 15 years. In addition to that league he has played in many other football leagues in different formats. Over the years Matt has also played in rotisserie, points and dynasty baseball leagues. Matt has a B.A. in Marketing from Florida Atlantic University and years of experience as a Sales Engineer. Matt grew up in Chicago an avid Dallas Cowboys, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls fan. He never misses a White Sox game on TV and watches Sunday football with a Cowboys fan club at a local bar.
Matt Kolsky
Matt is not hindered whatsoever by a cumbersome Economics degree from Pomona College. A graduate of Evanston High School (on the northern edge of Chicago) his original career plans were shattered like a Rex Grossman ankle when he was unmercilessly cut from E-Town's basketball program - it seems even the Freshman B-Team has no use for a 5-foot small forward with limited ballhandling skills.
A growth spurt, a number of years, one tour as a traveling musician, a stint tending bar in a London pub and any number of unpaid sports media positions later, he has become a web editor, writer and broadcaster; all the while watering the seeds of his fledgling radio career with his work for the Morning Break ( morningbreak1240.com
Jim Mackowiak I've been involved in Fantasy Sports for the last 20 years, starting with Fantasy Baseball. It opened the door to the obviously more popular Football, but I've dabbled in Basketball and even Golf... Basically, wherever there was action, I was in!!! Throughout all of the Homerun Leagues, 13 run pools, Confidence pools, NCAA Brackets, 100 square pools, strip cards and a little poker, there is always the related handicapping excitement of sports.... Simply put, I don't know anyone that knows, watches or plays sports that hasn't tried the "Friendly Wager!" Of course, it's always done in the most completely legal fashion and used for "News matter Only", but that is how I spend most of my time on Sunday afternoons (not to mention every other day..)
My sports knowledge is nowhere near the likes of Brian Swaw. However, since we were 13 and played baseball against one another, went to High School/College together, I've cultivated my skills in a slightly different fashion. It helps to know that Maurice Jones-Drew will shine as a back-up or that Marques Colston would be a stud in his Rookie year, but knowing how they play against a divisional opponent on the road laying 3 is a whole different story. Although I have my Bachelors in Business, it's the integration of sports knowledge with that education that make Fantasy and making money so much fun....Jon Pistone My first memories of fantasy football was tagging along with my father to his league in 1992 at age 11. He had been playing a few years before that and it was the first year I was able to go and watch their draft, help get drinks for some of the men, and maybe on a rare occasion, help dad with a late round pick. The next year, starting Jr. High, I got 7 other friends together, invited them to my house and I began my own fantasy football league. We copied the rules from my dad's league, had an 'old school' snake draft and at this time, none of us even had any magazines to follow along with. I am not sure which was a more favorite memory for me that year; selecting my favorite player of all time, Jerry Rice, or winning my first ever fantasy league.
As time has passed, I have continued being the commissioner of that same league and most of the players have stayed the same (though we have expanded the group to 10 players). While the rules have changed from that first league, the main change that could be noted is our change to an auction draft. This change was made in 2001 as the auction draft was yet to 'take over' so many other leagues, including my fathers. It was a nice "passing of the torch" moment, when he invited me back to his league draft, but this time, he asked me to explain to the other members of his league what an auction draft was, its advantages and how they could switch to such a league. Two years later they started an auction format and never looked back. I play in an average of 10-15 leagues each year, some of which are keeper leagues and currently am in the process of writing the bylaws for a dynasty league which I can hopefully start in 2008. Fantasy football is forever changing and in turn, those playing fantasy football need to change as well. There were times when a Monday night game would be on so late, that people may need to wait till Wednesday morning just to get their fantasy stats...and now real time stats change almost as instantly as you watch it happen on TV. Magazines printed in early summer months were once adequate and now without an on-line page to give you up to the minute draft advice, you are at an extreme disadvantage. The one quote from my father that still haunts me at all my drafts to this day is, "Are you giving any thought to who you are drafting or are you just picking them at random...at this rate, you'd be better of letting your sister draft for you." An insult like that is why I'm always more prepared going into a fantasy draft than the other players drafting against me.Geoffrey Stein My first fantasy football experience takes me back to 1999, where I put together a squad consisting of second-year phenom Peyton Manning, his top target Marvin Harrison, an up-and-comer by the name of Tony Gonzalez, ultra-sleeper Stephen Davis, and first round pick “Fragile” (even back in ’99) Fred Taylor. That team breezed through the regular season – going undefeated – but fell in the first round of the playoffs. Despite the heartbreak, I was hooked for life.
I caught a huge break in the winter of 2005 when a random job board posting on my University’s website turned into a position that I hold until this day, staff writer for Mock Draft Central (www.mockdraftcentral.comBJ VanderWoude BJ represents the new school of Fantasy Addicts…Although he has never searched a newspaper for a boxscore, he has been known to search to the ends of the internet looking for the most up to date injury news. BJ’s greatest fantasy conquests have included picking Larry Johnson his first 3 years in the league, as well as pulling off an amazing Shaq for Kobe trade the day prior to Kobe’s 40 ppg month. It hasn’t all been rosy though, a doctor recently confirmed an allergic reaction to drafting Chris Chambers, and BJ has sworn him off completely this year…before the 6th round that is.
BJ has seen fantasy football take him from a dusty college basement, all the way to Las Vegas where he competes in the World Championships of Fantasy Football with one of his original league-mates. This will be his third year competing in WCOFF, and armed with a #1 pick, he is looking to do some serious damage. Although his 6 other local leagues do not offer the grandeur of WCOFF, BJ still loves the back and forth banter and bragging rights that come along with them. What started out as a hobby has become a full fledged addiction that is getting worse as the years go by…and BJ Couldn’t be happier about it. BJ currently works for Varsity Networks, the premier provider of High School sports websites. You can check out his high school sports blog at Myfoxlocker.com for the upcoming season.