The International Fantasy League, Week 8: Midseason Awards

Time to give out some superlatives.

Getty Images

NFL fans dropped quite a few chickens to see this game in London.

Denie Mathew, skipper of Team India and globe-galloping employee of Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, alerted us late last week that he was in Amsterdam, angling to attend the Saints-Chargers game in London on Sunday. He was planning on flying to catch the game if he found tickets. Turns out he didn't go, as tickets were 150-250 British pounds (that's $240-$400 U.S. Dollars). The NFL is truly taking over the world. Would you drop 400 chickens to see a couple of teams from the Bundesliga play soccer in the states? Didn't think so.

It's the halfway point of the inaugural season of the ESPN International League. Time to give out some awards.

BEST TRADE: Give it to Prince Abdullah. The draft had been over for probably three hours when he managed to get Frank Gore from Team Poland in exchange for Santonio Holmes. That's a first-round pick for a fifth-rounder, leaving Holmes's recent problems aside. Team Chile's Jonathon Aledda called the trade "appalling," claiming it set a precedent of ridiculous trade offers from league owners.

MOST PUNISHED BY TOM BRADY'S INJURY: Team Canada picked Brady with the seventh overall selection, and Team USA picked Randy Moss with the ninth.

BIGGEST DRAFT BACKFIRE: Team USA's effort to leverage the ninth and 12th picks by grabbing two top wide receivers: Moss and Marques Colston.

BEST VALUE PICKS: Team India nabbed Philip Rivers in Round 13; Matt Forte and Ronnie Brown were the first and last picks of Round 7.

WORST TEAMS: Tie: Team Poland and Team Lebanon. Putting records aside, these teams are largely absent, starting players on their bye weeks and not competing with the big-hearted zest that any fantasy league needs. I'm calling out both teams here, and requesting that the honorable citizens of Poland and Lebanon find these guys, sit them at their computers, and make them manage their teams.

(To be fair, I should note that I set my lineup each week and try to make Team USA competitive and I've still got the same record as these two absentee managers.)

BEST WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS: Team Chile got Matt Schaub after Week 5; Team India picked up Mewelde Moore before his recent tear.

BIGGEST FANS: Tie: Alberto Levet Cervantes of Team Mexico and Team Chile's Aledda. Cervantes told us recently that he was in Philadelphia for work-related training and got to see Eagles Stadium, where his favorite team plays. It was during the week, so no game, but he said, "Being a Philly fan, it was incredible." Aledda is preparing to visit family in Colombia, and he told us that one of his chief worries is missing his football fix while he's there.

Print Article . Email Article. Subscribe to The Magazine