Fantasy Football Crackdown; Where Has Harold Reynolds Gone?

It is the policy of our office to use filters to block access of the employees to sites we deem inappropriate. Included in those filters are gaming sites, which include fantasy sports leagues. Well, somehow ESPN's fantasy football league slipped past our firewall folks and was available last month. And, of course, some of our employees discovered that hole and invited several of our employees to join him in a Fantasy Football League. And this wasn't just a normal invitation...we're talking 9 paragraphs of information on this Fantasy League. It probably took him at least 2 hours to type. Here are some highlights:

"Please accept this year's invitation to participate in everyone's favorite fall and winter pastime. No, not billing hours."

"This year, it's looking as if we'll be able to move to ESPN's fantasy football site. Again, it's a FREE platform, so we don't have to waste prize money on setting the league up."

"Last year, we had $240 in the pot. I'd like to bump that up a little so it's my intention to increase the cost to play this season a mere $5. Thus, the entry fee will be $25"

"Finally, our draft ... one of the most enjoyable parts of the league. Last year we had a great draft with about 75% of the GM's attending in-person. Having everyone there is what makes the draft so enjoyable so I'm really hoping we get a similar -- or better - turnout this year." "... Once we conduct the draft, snake-style (for example, teams pick 1-10 in round 1 and 10-1 in round 2, etc), I'll enter the results off-line in the days following the draft. Again, the draft is a great time, but we need good attendance to make it that way, so short of a trial or court order, I'm hoping to see everyone there. That's why I give this much notice boys and girls."

So, you can see he's put some thought into it. The whole e-mail is way too long to post. Anyway, someone was kind enough to forward the e-mail to me (I wasn't privvy to the original being a nasty IT enforcer). Naturally, I went in and blocked the ESPN Fantasy Football site immediately upon receipt of the e-mail. I don't believe anyone has noticed yet. The draft isn't until August 30th and I expect some fireworks around the second week of the month as people go to login to review rules, etc. The guy who sent the e-mail will probably freak out. But, as I said in the first paragraph, it is the policy of the office not to open gaming sites so there could be an IT showdown in August. I'll keep you informed when it hits the fan.

In other news, Harold Reynolds was canned from ESPN last night. I can't say Reynolds was necessarily my favorite ESPN analyst but I always enjoyed his insight on Baseball Tonight. ESPN hasn't given a reason yet for firing Reynolds but I am pretty shocked by it. I never heard him say another too controversial and I never thought he was a bad guy off-camera. Rumor has it that he might have eaten one of John Kruk's donuts but that couldn't be confirmed. Regardless, the reason must be pretty interesting.

Oh, and beginning sometime, maybe next week, I'll give my rundown of Big East football...starting at the bottom (hello Cincy, UConn) and working to the top (WVU? Louisville? PITT? No, not Pitt). So, I guess be looking for that because, as you know, it will be off-the-hook.