This Is Me--2024 A to Z Theme

My A to Z Themes in the past have covered a range of topics and for 2024 the theme is a personal retrospective that I call "I Coulda Been" which is in reference to my job and career arc over my lifetime. I'll be looking at all sorts of occupations that I have done or could have done. Maybe you've done some of these too!

Friday, August 24, 2012

Fun Alternative Fantasy Sports: Guest Hijacker Mike Cushing

       I've been learning all sorts of new and interesting things during all the hijackings and I hope you have been enjoying these guest posts.   The topic today is one that I know zilch about so I will just turn things over to my guest Mike Cushing.


Fun Alternative Fantasy Sports


With summer slowly coming to an end (or a boil), we’re approaching the prime time for workplace procrastination – football season. With college football and the NFL dominating many people’s weekends in the fall, nearly 30 million Americans will sacrifice just a little bit of office productivity each week to set the perfect lineup for their fantasy football team.

Fantasy football is one of the most popular sports leagues formed in offices around the country, but there are plenty of other fantasy sports games for people looking for some friendly competition. If the weekly routine of setting the right running back or the daily lineup changes of fantasy baseball is too much for you to handle, there are some alternative fantasy games that will keep you entertained without requiring an endless depth of sports knowledge.

Daily Fantasy Games

Daily fantasy games like Cover5 are a fun blend of other fantasy sports that don’t require nearly as much expertise or meticulous attention to detail as fantasy baseball or fantasy football. It’s a much more casual online sports game that is much less time consuming. To play, you simply pick five teams from any sport. Depending on their results, your teams will score points as you compete in friendly leagues with friends and coworkers or against the world.

Fantasy Dog Shows

Definitely more of a niche game, but if you’ve ever sat on the couch after a Thanksgiving dinner and thought that you could turn your snoring beagle into a championship show dog, here’s your chance to prove it. Showdog.com lets you manage a kennel of dogs and makes you responsible for breeding, handling, training and grooming of your digital dogs. Even if you know absolutely nothing about dog shows, this brings a fun, unique game experience.

Fantasy Horse Racing

This is another game that might seem intimidating, but is actually quite easy to get into. MyFantasyStable.com is an online horse racing game that lets you pick a stable of horses along with two trainers and two jockeys. The game gives you pretty robust rankings of horses and trainers, and there are plenty of horse races to keep you as busy as you choose. Grab a league with friends and coworkers, or join an open league, and see who can create the next winning stable.

Fantasy NASCAR

Although it is one of the most popular spectator sports in America with more than 75,000,000 fans, it is not as well-known as an online fantasy game, which is a shame. NASCAR pits 43 drivers against each other in 36 races before crowning a champion, providing for a long and fun fantasy season. There are plenty of Fantasy NASCAR sites, from fantasy sports giant Yahoo! to the official NASCAR game, so pick the right one for you and your friends.

Fantasy Wrestling

When I was growing up, fantasy wrestling was me and my brother dressing up in absurd clothes, big mustaches and tearing our shirts to pieces while yelling, “Come on, brother!” It has progressed into a fun online game since then, which is all for the better. Fantasy WWE is the official fantasy game of World Wrestling Entertainment, letting you manage a roster of professional wrestlers and take them to victory. The game follows the many official WWE events each week, most notably Monday Night RAW, the biggest weekly wrestling event each fall.

While fantasy sports and other online games are not for everyone, playing games in moderation is actually a great way to increase productivity, focus and morale in the office. Fantasy football might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you can find plenty of other fantasy games to keep any sports fan happy!


Mike Cushing is a freelance writer for MyFantasyStable.com. He’s been an avid fantasy sports player for years, even though his fantasy football teams regularly finish dead last.





        Any fantasy sports fans out there?  Which ones are your favorites?    


On Monday's post by J.L.Campbell there was a contest for a download of her new book DISTRACTION.   A random drawing was done by me last night.  The winner is Angela Brown.  Joy will be contacting you Angela.   Congratulations!


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17 comments:

  1. Thanks for being here today Mike. There was a problem with comments earlier but it has now been fixed.

    Lee

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  2. Have any fantasy tennis available? I'm not much into football. Horse racing I might be able to do, especially if there's a nice reward $$$ for the winner.

    Enjoyed reading about all these fantasy sports game. I had no idea!

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  3. Since I live in the South, I should check out the Nascar one.

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  4. @cleemackenzie, I did find a pretty good tennis game at GrandSlamFantasyTennis.com - it looks pretty good! I had a lot of fun researching this one and trying out some of the games. The horse racing one is just getting off the ground, but it's fun to play.

    There used to be a Fantasy Congress game that sounded like a blast, but I guess it ended a few years ago. Thanks for reading!

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  5. Alex, it's pretty fun! I'm not a huge NASCAR fan, but if you play with friends it is a good time.

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  6. You know zilch. I know nada. But it's a very cook idea.

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  7. Thanks, Lee. Joy contacted me and I'm stoked. YAY!

    Now I must giggle at the truth of Mike's post. Already, I have a draft coming up for a work fantasy football league we've established. SMH! lol!!

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  8. I'm much more apt to go out and play with a football in the street, or go to the track and bet on the horses than I am to engage in these activities in a Fantasy League-like way.

    However... I am for ANYTHING that keeps people off the streets, out of the jails, and crowding me in the betting line at the horse racing track. So, I support fantasy EVERYTHING!

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

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  9. I was never into Football all that much, but ever since I started Fantasy football I love watching it! it definitely makes it more exciting and you don't have to root for any particular team.

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  10. I just followed your blog - this is a great place, lots of fun stuff here! If you'd like to check out my blog, please feel free to do so: www.amandafanger.blogspot.com - look forward to connecting!

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  11. I don't get the whole fantasy sports thing. My son and grandson are all into it but I'd rather just follow the real teams.

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  12. I haven't tried any of these. Not big on fantasy.

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  13. I did the Nascar one for a year. My husband loves it and the football one.

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  14. I watch Nascar on TV and occasionally watch baseball, but I'm not into the fantasy sport thing. I know they are very popular with a lot of people.

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  15. Great guest post. I played on a fantasy basketball and a fantasy football league, but I'm not a hardcore fantasy guy. Both times, due to a lot of luck, I blew out the league. Needless to say, I haven't been invited back. During the draft, I had it set to automatic since I was busy. My picks all were top performers. It was fun tracking the team and it does boost morale. But I don't fully understand the hardcore fantasy players who track every news, every minute, and could work trades every week. Fun post!

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  16. Okay - fantasy dog shows - now that's something I could wrap my head around.

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  17. Thanks, Mike, for providing this information. I'd never heard too much about any of this and you've provided enlightenment.

    Thanks to all of my readers who stopped in for Mike's post.

    Lee

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