Welcome back to Robioland Fantasy Football. Can you believe it, but it is year 14 in Robioland? Yes, 14 fucking seasons of Robioland Fantasy Football. Of course we can’t really talk about the future unless we talk about the past. The fact is, we are coming off one of the most amazing seasons we’ve ever had in this league.

We witnessed both Molly and Masterson put together the second and third greatest regular seasons in league history, only to watch them both fall in round one. Molly’s defeat was rough as she became only the second person in league history to earn both the top seed and scoring title, but not win the title. For Masterson though, his first-round upset to Bob had to be more painful. He lost by two freaking points with less than a minute to go in the final game of the week. The 1,625-1,623 upset was arguable the greatest game ever (although my money is on the Bob/Griff Title Game in 2004).

Of course 2011 wasn’t just about Molly and Masterson. It was also the return of Burrier, who produced his first winning season in five years, also bringing home his first division title in five years. More importantly though, he ripped off one of the biggest monkeys a man could have on his back when he won his first playoff game since 2003.

Griff also managed to keep up with the big boys, winning nine games, finishing fourth in scoring. He easily made the playoffs for a league record tenth time in his career (in 13 seasons). Meanwhile Colby again showed his moxie, recovering from another wicked bad start. One season after recovering from a 2-4 start to make the playoffs, he rallied from a 2-5 start in 2011 to make the playoffs. In fact, he made it all the way to the semis for the third time in four years.

Speaking of succeeding, Don just doesn’t seem satisfied with a 13-game schedule, because he’s always looking to play more. Last year though, he made it tough for himself, starting the season 0-3 and 2-5, but he rallied to win four of six and crashed the post-season party for a record-tying eight straight seasons. One more and he gets a set of steak knifes.

Fun Fact, of the teams that crashed the semis last year one was 3-6 (Bob) at one point, while two were 2-5 (Don & Colby). Burrier actually started off well (6-1), he he finished 1-5 down the stretch. Just goes to show, you’re never out of it in Robioland.

Of course to rally like that you need a little lady luck on your side, someone Matt saw little of last year. Looking to bring home his third title in five years, Matt had what I thought was a preseason favorite team, yet the man couldn’t get a break. Despite finishing the season third in scoring, he managed just six wins. He made the playoffs, but lost to Burrier, a team he beat the week before.

Of course not all things in 2011 were puppies and candy. We also watched one of the biggest in-season collapses in league history when I dropped my final five games, wiping away a 6-2 start. Calderon, one season after earning his first top-seed, failed to make the playoffs. It was the first time he didn’t get an invite to the post-season in over four years.

Of course Jeff failed to make the playoffs for the third time in four seasons, which means he’s entering Eric territory. Speaking of, if we are going to have a record-breaking year, you’ll need the Lil’ Vozzola to break some record lows. He became the first person in league history to finish last two years in a row. His two-year record of 3-23 is the worst ever.

In the end though, what really matters is who ends up with the mug. Halfway through the season, it certainly didn’t look like it would ever belong to Bob. He was 2-4 at the halfway point and 3-6 three weeks later. He would end up winning three of his last four, squeezing into the post as a #7 seed. There he would win not just that two-point victory over Masterson in the quarters, he would then beat Colby by just 21 the following week. By the time the finals came out, Bob was the favorite over Burrier, bringing home the title easily, 1590-1283…which brings us to the 2012.

Right now, we are smack in the middle of what I’m calling, “Bobination.”

After winning back-to-back titles and producing six-straight 9-win seasons (regular season and post), Bob has placed himself on top of the mountain. If you want the title, you are going to have to go through him.

As we prep for the upcoming season, I will deliver a few write ups from time to time. No, you won’t see a mock draft. Sorry.

For the purpose of this newsletter, I’m going to stick with the basics.

THE DRAFT

The draft will be August 19, Sunday at 8pm. There will be a 90-second time limit on the pick. If you want to extend that to 120 seconds, this is the time to voice your opinion. Of course, as you all know, if you needed more time and asked for it on CBS, I’m going to give it to you. The time limit is more of a guideline than a rule.

KEEPERS

The keepers will be due August 7. This is a 12-day window, instead of the typical 14-day period. My hope is to get at least one preseason game in before folks make up their minds.

SCORING

This is important. All last season I kept talking about changing the scoring because the points being produced by quarterbacks was getting out of hand. However, after doing some research and putting together some numbers, I’ve decided I will NOT make a change except for one thing (which I will get to in a moment).

I’ve decided that I do not want to overreact to a trend. My hope is that the league will get a grip, let defenders actually defend and they’ll get the passing game back in check. Down the road I assume I will still have to make some adjustments, but I want to spend more time thinking about it.

DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS

Here is where you will find a scoring difference. We are going back to the old way. If a player scores a touchdown on special teams (punt returns/kickoffs) the 60 points will go the team defense and not to the individual player.

DIVISIONS

Gone. They are outta here. I’m sad to see them go and would have preferred to keep them, but as I always say, you can’t always get what you want. They are gone. Now each team will face off with everyone at least once, plus two teams twice (the first two weeks and the final two weeks. The schedule was done randomly by CBS. Would you like to know who you place twice? Let me tell you.

ROBIO: Jeff & Masterson BOB: Don & Griff MATT: Burrier & Don RICH C: Molly & Robio COLBY: Eric & Burrier JEFF: Robio & Molly DON: Bob & Matt RICH B: Matt & Colby GRIFF: Rich C & Bob MOLLY: Rob M & Jeff ERIC: Colby & Rich C

MONEY OWED

Okay peeps, let’s try to get our fees paid. Here is what everyone owes heading into 2012, this obviously includes the $150 for this season. Red is if you still owe from previous years, blue means you are in the clear. Black means you owe just for this upcoming season.

Colby: $350 (Owed $300 heading into last year, but won $100) Eric: $300 (I still have you owing me $150 from last year. Correct me if I’m wrong) Matt: $300 (I still have you owing me $150 from last year. Correct me if I’m wrong)  Griff: $250 (He didn’t pay last year, but won $50, leaving a $100 tab, plus this year’s fee)  Bob: $150 Don: $150 Rob M: $150 Jeff: $150 Rich B: $150 Molly: Zero (she won $300 last year, but didn’t pay. I took the $150 leftover and put it towards this year)  Rich C: Zero (I pay $150 to be in his league)