January 24th, 2010

Personal Profile: Sigmund Bloom

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

Name: Sigmund Bloom
Nickname: Bloom
Job title(s): Co-host, “The Audible,” Footballguys.com Staff Writer
Full-time in fantasy? Yes
Age: 34
Education: BA, Syracuse U. ‘97 (Philosophy/Policy Studies), JD U. of Texas ‘00
Family status: Married to Kim Bloom; son, Miles Bloom, born 1/12/10
Favorite fantasy sport to play: Football
Favorite sport to watch: Football
Favorite team (any sport): Pittsburgh Steelers
All-time favorite athlete: Muhammed Ali
Years playing fantasy: 11

I got my start in the fantasy industry when … Joe Bryant and David Dodds asked me to be a staff writer for Footballguys.com in 2006.

Since then, my fantasy résumé includes: Co-host, “The Five Minute Drill” WebTV show, ONNetworks, 2007-08; Co-Host, “The Audible”; Fantasy Football Expert, Co-Host, “Gametime Decision” 104.3 the Fan, Denver, Colo.

Three questions

1. You’ve reached a fairly prominent spot for both fantasy and NFL draft stuff. Do you get a bigger kick out of scouting and analyzing the draft or analyzing fantasy and fielding all the start/sit questions?

Draft — The NFL draft is the ultimate cliffhanger, seeing how all the pieces fall in place, then the career of each of a cliffhanger in an of itself, seeing whether the teams look wise or foolish when the dust settles. I also love scouting at the all-star game practices and following all of the rumors and subterfuge leading up to draft day.

2. How do you balance stats versus what you see in the games when doing your fantasy work?

Stat analysis is overrated. The sample size in a football season is too small to extrapolate meaningful outcomes, and stat analysis is backward-looking, not forward-looking. Always trust your eyes.

3. For anyone with entrepreneurial visions, what have you and scouting partner Cecil Lammey done behind the scenes to get to where you can make a living covering football?

Treat everyone with respect, give all glory to the game and those who play it, take risks and believe in yourself!

Bonus: How do your parents and college professors feel about you eschewing your law degree to slum it with us sports folks?

I think my law school professors knew that I wasn’t going to practice law. I went to law school to see if I wanted to practice law. The answer was no, and I don’t recommend that strategy to anyone. My mother has always supported me as long as I pursued happiness, so, of course, she’s happy because I’m happy.

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FSB.com Bringing FSTA Coverage

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

At the moment, FSB.com is taking a few hours to get acquainted with Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, but that’s merely a stop en route to this week’s Fantasy Sports Trade Association conference in Las Vegas.

Once things officially get underway Tuesday morning, we’ll be sharing news and other material straight from the conference sessions, including announcements of the winners in the FSTA’s industry awards and the Fantasy Sports Writers Association awards.

Other noteworthy sessions include Dr. Kim Beason’s semiannual report on consumer behavior, the keynote address from Jeff Schafer and Jackie Marcus Schafer, producers of FX’s “The League.” Day 2 will also include the announcement of the second winner in the rankings accuracy challenge put on by the Fantasy Football Librarian and TheMostCredible.com.

Look for updates here and on Facebook and Twitter, and sign up for our e-mail newsletter to have each day’s material delivered straight to your inbox — if you haven’t already.

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