Fantasy Draftathlon, Event 4: Sports Movies

You can’t out-strategerize Mike Tagliere. And while the word “strategerize” doesn’t actually exist, Tags’ strategic genius certainly does.

After using a brilliant-but-risky category-punt tactic to edge out a game Bobby Sylvester in a thoroughly entertaining Fantasy Feud, Tags was given Bobby’s first two picks in the fourth event of our Fantasy Draftathlon competition (Sports Movies). And he turned that advantage into a truly impressive roster of sports-themed films as he looked to build upon an already strong lead in the overall Draftathlon standings.

Tags thrived even despite handing Dan Harris the gift of Kyle Yates’ first pick in the draft (an added perk to Tags’ Fantasy Feud triumph). That gave Dan the first two overall picks in the competition – but while Mr. Harris landed a classic at 1.01, his choice at 1.02 was met with plenty of skepticism.

Check out the Fantasy Draftathlon Sports Movies podcast here >

The rules for this draft were (fairly) simple:

Each draft participant was required to build a 12-movie roster using 3 movies released prior to 1990, 3 released from 1991-2005, 3 released from 2006 to the present day, and 3 FLEX.
The interpretation of “sports movie” might seem a bit loose, but that’s intentional; as long as the drafter was able to make a cogent argument that a movie should be considered a sports movie, it was permitted.
Originals and remakes are indicated where applicable.

Here’s a look at the results:

Final Draft Board

* Pick transferred to Dan Harris
** Picks transferred to Mike Tagliere
*** Bobby’s 1st round compensation pick
# Pick transferred to Kyle Yates
## Picks transferred to Bobby Sylvester

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Final Rosters

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Notable Omissions

The Natural
The Pride of the Yankees
Tin Cup
Mystery, Alaska
The Blind Side
Goon
The Replacements
Seabiscuit
Blue Chips
Eight Men Out
Love and Basketball
He Got Game
When We Were Kings
Cinderella Man
Ali
Hoop Dreams

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Hot Stuff!

What would Bobby do for a supplemental first-round pick? That was the “burning” question as everyone’s favorite buttered pizza connoisseur pleaded for an opportunity to snag the 1.05, rather than wait until 3.04 to make his first selection. His proposal? He would down a tablespoon of one of three hot sauces: cholula, sriracha or jalapeno pepper sauce.

After some back and forth between the other three draft participants – Tags was initially hesitant, labeling Bobby’s sauce choices as “weak”, the trio agreed to give Bobby the 1.05 in exchange for a heaping spoonful of sriracha.

Bobby then did what Bobby always does, proudly proclaiming after his 1.05 pick of Remember the Titans: “I’m going to win the draft now, so thank you for that.” And also in typical Bobby fashion, he then tried to get another supplemental pick. You can guess how that went.

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They Said It

Even with the severe handicap in place ( losing my 1st and 2nd round picks!) I still put together a list of movies that trumps everyone else’s drafts. Friends, Remember the Titans should have been the 1.01 and you know it! Not only that, but I ended up with classics like Hoosiers, The Sandlot, The Longest Yard and added to my high school football movies stack with Friday Night Lights and Varsity Blues. By the way, Gladiators had general managers, scouts, coaches, trainers, positions, fans and stadiums so yes, it absolutely was a sports movie. And sure, I punted the 2006-2010 category, but the rest of the team is so much stronger than everyone else’s that you know it makes up for it.
-Bobby Sylvester (@bobbyfantasypro)

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Tags is a bully. If you’ve ever wondered that before, you’re certain of it after listening to the podcast. However, despite Tags’ best efforts to keep me down in the basement of the Draftathon rankings, I feel like I put together a very solid roster. I was able to honor the classics, but yet also snag some of my personal favorites. Tags has a good roster, but at least I know I’ve got Bobby beat after he selected all three Cars movies.
-Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL)

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Gifted the first and second overall pick, it was easy for me to lock up Rocky and then Moneyball. The guys gave me quite a ribbing on the podcast about the early Moneyball selection but it’s easily the best sports movie post-2005 which, as we all conceded, was the shallowest category. I moved early on The Fighter for the same reason but, other than that, it was just about quality films up and down my lineup. I got swiped hard twice – once by Yates on Miracle and by Tags on Dodgeball but, to be honest, this isn’t much of a competition to me. Classic Oscar-winning films, feel-good stories, comedies, and my personal favorite of Bull Durham. Other than the mistake of choosing Rocky III over Little Giants with my last pick, this was a near perfectly-executed draft.
-Dan Harris (@danharris80)

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Bobby and Yates took the “wait on a late quarterback” approach to the 2006-Present movies, and it shows on their roster. Keep in mind, that era accounts for 25 percent of their roster. Bobby took Cars 1, 2, and 3 with his final three picks and should flat-out be eliminated by voters for ignoring 25 percent of his roster, because you can’t play the waivers in this competition. The rest of his roster is actually very good, but it’s due to his ignorance on his 2006-Present movies. I respect Harris’ approach, as I love a lot of the older movies he chose in the draft. The real issue is his selection of Moneyball in the second-round, as it was a major reach, and limited his overall potential. That needed to be a can’t-miss pick, but instead, he chose a movie that may have gone undrafted. Meanwhile, my roster is littered with movies that you can watch over and over, and there isn’t a weak era on my team like there is on the others.
-Mike Tagliere (@MikeTagliereNFL)

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Draft Highlights

Bobby wasted no time panning Dan’s pick of Moneyball at 1.02. “I’m a huge baseball fan. And that movie sucks!”
Yates, as the last holdout on Bobby’s request for a supplemental pick in exchange for a mouthful of sriracha: “Sure. Yeah. Go ahead and die.”
Bobby on Yates’ selection of Miracle: “I grew up a big America fan, so I’m kinda fond of the pick, but the movie’s just okay.”
Dan’s crowd-pleasing moment of the podcast: Pronouncing karate as “kuh-RAH-tay”, a la Ross Geller in Friends. (Yates was especially tickled, as you might have guessed.)
Bobby’s impassioned presentation of his “Gladiator” pick (which was pre-approved by the event commissioner) didn’t impress Dan, who suggested that “our fans will see right through it.”
An apparently blood-thirsty Yates on Bobby’s selection of the Cars franchise: “You’re gonna get murdered for it.”
Tags, without context: “Little Giants?!? How did I overlook that? Damn it!”

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