NFL fantasy reality: No recounts allowed in fantasy

By Chris Carr, Star Tribune

Last update: November 20, 2008 - 7:13 PM

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Senate race elections should not end in ties, NFL games should not end in ties and your weekly fantasy showdowns definitely should not end in ties. The NoFunLeague does in fact allow ties, and this, shockingly, was news Sunday to Donovan McNabb after his Eagles and Cincinnati wasted nearly four hours of our lives by playing to a 13-13 tie. McNabb, one of the best and most likable QBs of the decade, then made his biggest mistake of the day: He forgot to lie. After letting on to reporters that he didn't know there were ties and was expecting double overtime, he should have called an audible and said what any of us would have said: "Uh, just kidding. I knew that." What can we learn from McNabb's fumble? Your league needs a clear tiebreaker rule. Our favorites:

The most popular way to break a tie in a weekly matchup seems to be this: Award the victory to the team with the highest scoring individual. The owner who picked and played one of the week's biggest studs gets the W.

We've also heard of the Homer Way: The winning team is the one who got the most points out of Vikings players. There's also the related Rivalry Way: Add each team's Vikings points and subtract their Packers points. The highest total wins the week. You would be penalizing owners for using Packers to their personal advantage. Tough to argue with that.

There is one way ties should never be broken: Most points on the bench. Hello? You're rewarding a team for leaving points on the bench? Bye weeks and injuries also make this one unpopular here. The only thing worse than this idea is actually allowing ties to stand.

We've heard of other tie-breaking methods, some of which include alcohol and firearms and are not fit for discussion in a family publication. But they are dang funny. Which leads us to the moral of this tiebreaker story: Your tiebreaker should be fair, or funny, or both. Follow those guidelines and make sure all your owners know the rules. That way they won't end up like an NFL quarterback and not have a clue.

THE LINE whom to start Week 11: 3-0 • Season: 15-14-6

Sleeper watch:

Warrick Dunn -1 over Derrick Ward

Their names are almost dislexic twins! Or something like that. Dunn always takes advantage of opportunities, and the Lions D is definitely an opportunity.

Eddie Royal -5 over Justin Gage

Cornerbacks determine this one: Royal avoids Oakland's Nnamdi Asomugha, while Gage will be blanketed by INT machine Darrelle Revis.

Vernon Davis -3 over Dustin Keller

Need a sleeper TE? Pick one of these guys. Davis gets the nod because he's a favorite of new QB Shaun Hill. Keller is hot, and the only position to dent the Titans' D lately is tight end.