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As current champion of my fantasy football league, I have the high honor of being the 'Keeper of the Champion Plaque'. It is hanging on my wall right now with my name and team engraved under 2007 (as well as 2005). It's great to have the Plaque back, after that horrible year it must have spent with 'Reno Dave' in the deserts of Nevada. Our league of ten, spread across four different states, doesn't go head-to-head with playoffs ("Playoffs? Are you kidding me? Don't talk about playoffs!"). It's the team with the most points at the end of the season that wins it all. We like it that way. It is good.

So why do I brag about being champion and the coolness of our league? It is because the first key to winning your league is that you have to want it. You have to really want it and want it badly. You need to be motivated. You can't sleep at night until your name is on the Championship Plaque and you want to absolutely crush everyone else in your league. Your desire must burn. Playing for fun or just money is fine, but if you really want to step up the competition, play for the Plaque.

So if you really want to win, the next thing you need to do is research and learn as much as you can about every active QB, WR, and RB in the NFL. I didn't know this when I first started; I only knew the famous players and the players on my favorite team. If you don't know the starting QB for the Dolphins (which is a funny example because at the time of this writing, they don't!) because you hate them and refuse to watch them, well sorry but you have to get over it.

Players change teams each year so you have to keep up. Do a spreadsheet. I'm serious. When the fantasy magazines come out in a couple of months buy a couple of them and plug their ratings into your spreadsheet. Get more data from the internet. There are hundreds of sites and most of them are free. Keep an eye on the NFL draft, but chances are, rookies with the exception of some RB's probably won't be too much of a factor in their first year. Keep an eye on training camp (NFL Network is awesome), but remember that no one goes into the year thinking that their team is going to be bad. Lastly, keep an eye on the pre-season, not only scouting players (especially in new situations), but take note of injuries to players. Unfortunately a couple of would-be stars go down early every year.

You do all this research ahead of time so when the day of your league's draft comes, you are totally prepared. Don't be the guy who buys one magazine

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