let the season begin...

Finally! The NBA is here! Not that I'm a big fan of the NBA itself, but with it comes the far more important fantasy basketball season. And after last night's draft the Banshees* are as ready as ever to punish this year's pack of inferiors.

Overall the draft didn't treat me too badly. I'm not the most dominant on paper and I didn't get the Lebron pick, but I ended up with Wade at six (!!!) in the first round and Elton Brand in the second. And Joe Johnson in the fourth should produce too. Not too shabby. My team isn't the most overwhelming in the league but the Banshees could be the toughest to beat. They're stacked to control a few categories, and if I can just scrap for one or two more each week I'll keep winning. Plus, it's the playoffs that really count. I figure I should be able to finish in the top six (out of nine teams) and make it into the championship bracket, and then it's on. The Banshees will be in their element. Blowouts and dominating scores won't count for anything; it'll only be about winning week to week. And that's where the Banshees will shine. The trick worked okay last year and, barring catastrophic injury problems, I expect it will work this year. Banshees in '06, baby!

*That's my team name. For those of you who are tragically unenlightened to the world of Dungeons and Dragons, the Banshee is one of the most feared enemies in the game. Its scream has lethal or near-lethal effects--I don't remember exactly what it does, only that one should avoid hearing it at all costs--so it should fit my team well in that the incessant screaming will come in the form of trash talk. The other teams will get tired of it after they realize they're in over their heads. :)

UPDATE 11/3: The Banshees are off to a very slow start. I take that back; the Banshees are unaware that the season has started and haven't begun playing basketball yet. As it stands now I'm dangerously close to getting blanked 9-0 in the opener, and the underwhelming output of my players so far doesn't give me much hope that they'll close any gaps. Could be a rocky few weeks until I get some guys back from injuries and figure out who stays and who goes. But the season's long and there are plenty of weeks left to make up for the imminent rout. No need to put my hand on the panic button yet...

UPDATE 11/5: Unfreakinbelieveable. The Banshees are right on the edge of getting shut out 9-0 to begin the season. This is just ugly. Or some combination of ugly, pathetic, sick, and disgusting. It seems half my team is injured or otherwise skipping out on games. A slow few weeks I can deal with, but an 0-9 start? That'd be beyond shameful.