Name: Michael Fabiano
Nickname: Gridiron Guru
Job title(s): NFL.com Fantasy Editor
Full-time in fantasy? October 2000-present
Age: 37
Education: Bachelor’s degree
Family status: Single
Favorite fantasy sport to play: Football
Favorite sport to watch: Football
Favorite team (any sport): Dallas Cowboys
All-time favorite athlete: Troy Aikman
Years playing fantasy: 15

I got my start in the fantasy industry when: I was hired by COMMISSIONER.com/CBS SportsLine.com in October 2000 as a Fantasy writer covering the NFL, MLB and NBA.

Since then, my fantasy résumé includes: I worked for CBS SportsLine.com as a Senior Fantasy Writer from 2000-2006 before taking the position of Fantasy Editor at NFL.com. While at CBS, I also worked with The NFL Today and was the first fantasy writer to ever appear on one of the four major networks on CBS’ Fantasy Football preview show. Now with the NFL, I also appear regularly on the NFL Network as a fantasy football analyst. I have also created two celebrity fantasy football leagues including such participants as Jim Nantz, Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason, Warren Sapp, Rod Woodson and Marshall Faulk.

Three questions

1. You’ve been a fantasy writer for a long time and active in the Fantasy Sports Writers Association for the past few years. Other than the explosion in volume, what has changed about fantasy content over your time in the industry — good and/or bad?

I think the thing that has changed the most IS the explosion in volume. There are tons of websites and talented writers out there covering every fantasy sport from every angle. It is amazing how many fantasy magazines you see on newsstands these days, especially when it’s time for football season. It’s also been very cool to see fantasy sports go from a hobby played by the hardcore fans only to becoming much more mainstream across the board.

2. Can you describe for us how your current setup with the NFL came about?

A lot of hard work and networking! It has always been a dream of mine to be involved with the NFL, especially since I’ve been a fan of pro football since I was eight years old. When I felt like it was time to move on from CBS SportsLine.com, I talked to the NFL about how the league wanted to move forward with fantasy football. Luckily, it was around that time that the owners decided to bring NFL.com in house. I started off with the league in 2006 as a contracted writer and analyst and was hired full time in 2007. The rest is history …

3. Do you gain any edge by working for the media arm of the league we all follow (first-hand news, players stopping by, analysts on hand — particularly the Playbook crew)?

Honestly, I don’t think I have any more of an edge than anyone who works at ESPN, CBS, FOX, etc. Regardless of who breaks news, everyone else in the industry has their version of it soon thereafter. There are some instances where I’ll be talking to one of our analysts and get information that I can use for my own fantasy prognostications, but for the most part I’m all about analyzing the stats. The NFL and fantasy football has become unpredictable in recent seasons, so even if I do get a nice nugget it doesn’t always translate into an “edge.”

Bonus: What, no fantasy baseball?

I actually started out primarily as a fantasy basketball writer at CBSSportsLine.com. I also wrote fantasy baseball columns, but neither of those sports compares to football. It’s always been my favorite sport, and it’s clearly the best fantasy sport. The season doesn’t last forever like baseball, for example, so every single game counts. People do often ask me what I do during the NFL offseason, to which I reply, “what offseason?”

The NFL has now become a 365-day-a-year sport, especially with all of the media coverage of such events as the Scouting Combine and NFL Draft. The NFL has truly become America’s passion, so it only makes sense that fantasy football would become similarly as popular.

Name: Greg Kellogg
Nickname: Greg to friends, komments on the web
Job title(s): Solutions Architect (real world), BlogTalkRadio Host (fantasy world)
Full-time in fantasy? Not currently though I have been in my past
Age: 55
Education: Lots of college — no degree
Family status: Married for 34 years
Favorite fantasy sport to play: Football
Favorite sport to watch: Football and college basketball
Favorite team (any sport): Detroit Lions (yeah, I’m a masochist at heart)
All-time favorite athlete: This is tough: In football probably Barry Sanders, but overall I would have to say Jesse Owens for how he represented us at the Berlin Olympics.
Years playing fantasy: 21 (since 1988)

I got my start in the fantasy industry when: I started writing a column titled Kellogg’s Komments in the mid-’90s. I was the first to syndicate my work to multiple fantasy sites, with Komments appearing on more than two dozen sites, including Mr. Football (now Football Guys), The Huddle and Sam Caplan’s Fantasy Insider. Shortly after that I opened my own site, Komments.com, where I provided a forum for up-and-coming writers to be published.

Since then, my fantasy résumé includes:
Producer, FOXSports.com (full-time)
Creator of the Ladies of Football league that promotes the hobby to ladies
Partner, FantasyAsylum.com
Sr. Writer, GridironGrumblings.com (now SportsGrumblings.com)
Guest Writer, SportsIllustrated.com
Partner, FantasySportsGroup.com
Radio Host, FantasySharks.com

I also was awarded with the prestigious Fantasy Sports Writer’s Association (FSWA) Annual Award for the Best Fantasy Football In-Season Article, Feature or Series — an award that my article, penned by another author, received two years later.

Named to the inaugural FSWA Hall of Fame class in 2010.

Before fantasy, I worked in: The Army (military intelligence — Russian Linguist) and Defense Contracting.

Three questions

1. How did the transition from Komments.com to your various fantasy pursuits since then come about? Was it tough to let the old site go?
I was spending about 40 to 60 hours a week on Komments, and it was getting to be too much when I also had a 50-hour-per-week paying job. I sent a notice to my email list stating that I was going to cut back on the work I was doing for Komments to maintain my sanity (and my marriage). A week later, Mike Perlow contacted me to ask if I would be interested in a job with FOXSports.com. It is always tough to let go of a business you have built from nothing (even when the business isn’t making any money). But the opportunity to get paid for a full-time job in the fantasy sports industry was well worth letting Komments go.

2. How did your background in military intelligence and data analysis feed into your fantasy exploits?
Military intelligence trains you to be very cognizant of patterns — to be logical in your analysis and to dig through reams of minutiae to find one small sliver of intelligence. Fantasy sports analysts — at least the good ones — do the same thing. When I first started, news and insight were hard to come by. Hence the 40 to 60 hours of weekly digging. Now information is everywhere, and the difference is in the analysis. We still dig through all the news, but now things like how the pension change is causing assistant coaches to consider changing careers is as important as a Pro Bowl left tackle changing teams.

3. Can you give us the full (OK, maybe abridged) story on the FAD?
Sure. Joe Bryant and I created FanEx from some folks in the old rec.sport.football.fantasy newsgroup. We started doing live drafts at fantasy football conventions early on. These were extremely popular and presented us with large crowds. We found that if we would give a short analysis to go with our picks, the folks watching would maintain interest, so we took the idea back to the league and started a May Draft where we provide our analysis of our picks, hence the name FanEx Analysis Draft — shortened to FAD for everyone now. In some years we have added guest analysis and during our live drafts we would take questions from the audience. This remains a very popular draft to this day.

Bonus: Be honest — would your bumper sticker say “I’d rather be fishing” or “I’d rather be drafting”?
Truthfully, it would be “I’d rather be CATCHING,” but if the fish aren’t biting then how about “I’d rather be Drafting while I am Fishing”?

Name: Scott Engel
Nickname: “The King”
Job title(s): managing director, RotoExperts.com
Full-time in fantasy? Yes, since 1996
Age: 44
Education: B.A. in journalism, Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus
Family status: Married to Victoria, 16-year old son, Sean.
Favorite fantasy sport to play: Football
Favorite sport to watch: NFL
Favorite team (any sport): New York Mets
All-time favorite athlete: Bernard King
Years playing fantasy: Since the early ’90s, but much earlier if you count games like Strat-o-Matic.

I got my start in the fantasy industry when: I was hired at CBS Sportsline in the winter of 1996 and joined their fantasy department to help in many areas.

Since then, my fantasy résumé includes: Eight years at CBS Sportsline: served as managing editor and senior writer. Four years at ESPN as a fantasy writer, analyst and associate editor. Joined RotoExperts.com in July of 2008. Original executive committee member of the Fantasy Sports Writer’s Association and named 2006 Fantasy Football Writer of the Year. Inducted to Fantasy Sports Writers Association hall of fame in 2010 as part of the inaugural class. Host of the “RotoExperts” morning show on Sirius XM Fantasy Sports Radio.

Three questions

1) How did the fantasy scene of 1996, when you were with CBS Sportsline, compare with that of today? What do you see as the pros and cons of each landscape?

It was so new and exciting then, and I was able to help heavily shape the future of a great company in one of its most important departments. Early on, though, fantasy sports was viewed as an afterthought that didn’t need much attention overall. That thinking changed in a major way over the years, and it was so exciting to be part of the rise from a tiny section on the site to a major component of a successful corporation. Today, I’m back as part of another fast-rising company, enjoying that thrilling growth spurt all over again. It was more challenging in recent years to crack the industry, obviously, but with the right model and people, you can still make a major dent, as RotoExperts has proved.

2) With so many people analyzing and writing about fantasy football and so much luck factoring into the game itself, what does it take to be a truly good fantasy football analyst?

You must not go by numbers alone and realize there are so many other factors that can contribute to performances — emotions, rivalries, and a lot more. Plus, you must be able to write well and have in-depth knowledge of individual sports. Many potential prospects in the industry do one or the other well, hopefully they learn to combine the two.

3) Why did you leave ESPN, and what drew you to RotoExperts?

Working at ESPN was, at the time, reaching the top of the mountain in my career. It was like running out of the tunnel in the NFL when I first arrived there. It was a thrilling, unforgettable period in my life. Yet I thirsted for more creativity and avenues to share my experience with a company that wanted to meet the challenges of trying to crack the industry. Nothing ever matched the thrill ride of being with CBS Sportsline from the beginning and being part of that growth process. With RotoExperts, I saw the same kind of visions and people who wanted to scale great heights and believed in themselves. It was great being with ESPN, which was like a rock legend playing stadiums. Yet RotoExperts was the band I saw in a local club and knew they would be famous, and I wanted to get in early on the ride to stardom.

In well less than three years, I’ve already seen the RotoExperts audience grow in major ways, and we are ready to rock the fantasy world for years to come. I am actually playing on bigger stages than I did at ESPN, and RotoExperts now draws large audiences as its own popular fantasy act. I grew up wanting to be in KISS, and RotoExperts is the fantasy equivalent: unique, groundbreaking and unmatched for excitement. Joining forces with RotoExperts CEO Louis M. Maione was like meeting and joining up with Gene Simmons, they both are history-making visionaries with incredible work ethics. We already have churned out big hits like our significant presence on Sirius XM’s fantasy sports channel and partnership with NFL.com as an exclusive fantasy content provider. We have more to come, including our totally groundbreaking Sports Grinder product and Upset Challenge game. Rock and roll!

Name: John Tuvey

Nickname: 2V or just Tuv (pronounced Toov, hence the 2V); I had friends in college who didn’t even know my first name, and even my wife calls me Tuv

Job title(s): Senior NFL Analyst at The Huddle

Full-time in fantasy? Yes, since 1999-and I have no desire to go back

Age: John Smoltz and I will turn 42 on the same day this May

Education: Appropriately, I have a BS degree in Management with a minor in Communications from St. John’s University (the Division III football power located in central Minnesota, not the New York alma mater of Chris Mullin)

Family status: Married for almost 15 years to Mary, the most patient woman in the entire world. We have four wonderful kids: Mariah, 11; Elliott, 9; Amanda, 7; and Rebecca, 5.

Favorite fantasy sport to play: It’s still football, though I must admit the year I tried NASCAR was surprisingly enjoyable. I think I’ve played just about every fantasy sport out there; we even came up with Fantasy Nielsen Ratings to occupy our time during the baseball strike in the mid-’90s.

Favorite sport to watch: Football at any level. I’ve stopped at a junior high game while driving home and just watched, but Saturday afternoons at the Nature Bowl at St. John’s are the best — a little slice of heaven. Or a Sunday in the old office, with 10 flat-screen TVs all hooked up to the Sunday Ticket.

Favorite team (any sport): The Minnesota Vikings keep breaking my heart-not re-signing Matt Birk was just the latest kick to the store-but I keep coming back for more.

All-time favorite athlete: There are so many; Tony Oliva and Julius Erving were my childhood idols, Anthony Munoz was my favorite lineman, and Eddie George is my favorite football player

Years playing fantasy: The upcoming football season will be my 22nd of playing, and I have three leagues (two football, one baseball) that are at or beyond 20 years of existence.

I got my start in the fantasy industry when: I wrote a letter to Paul Charchian, who at that time was the publisher of Fantasy Football Weekly magazine. In that letter I compared my skills to Randy Moss and John Randle, and he was impressed enough that he brought me in on Sundays to help with the magazine. After about a month he hired me full-time.

Since then, my fantasy résumé includes: I worked my way up from associate editor to executive editor as Fantasy Football Weekly became Fanball. That gig included providing content for AOL and Yahoo as well as Fanball. In my final year there I was a finalist for the FSWA’s Fantasy Football Writer of the Year. I’ve also co-hosted (with Paul Charchian and Bo Mitchell) Fantasy Football Weekly on KFAN, the local sports talk radio station, for the past four years and make regular appearances on stations from Hawaii to Lawrence, Kan., to Tampa to St. Cloud, Minn. — and even an occasional appearance on Fox Sports Radio. Additionally, I’ve written stuff for Fantasy Football Champs, Fantasy Football Trader, Draft Stock, and the Minnesota Vikings’ website. Last spring I signed on with The Huddle as Senior NFL Analyst, and I’ve been with them ever since. Or was this the spot where I was supposed to list all the league titles I’ve won?

Three questions

1) What was your involvement/experience with fantasy writing before joining Fanball?

Before the turn of the century there wasn’t nearly as much fantasy coverage out there. My fantasy writing was pretty much limited to pithy weekly updates in the newsletters I did for the baseball and football leagues I was commissioner of. I had to quickly learn the difference between writing about a close-knit group who all knew each other and writing for a much larger audience who was more interested in finding out how to win their own leagues.

2) How did your association with The Huddle come about, and how does your role there differ from what you did in the past?

In 2007, I had invited David Dorey from The Huddle to participate in a mock auction we were publishing in our magazine, and at the FSTA convention in Las Vegas that August I made sure to introduce myself. I also met Whitney Walters out there; he was one of the FSTA folks making sure it all ran smoothly, and I was there to speak on a panel as well as mingle. So just a few months later, when Fanball moved its offices and revamped its staff (and I didn’t feel ready to return to the corporate world) I was able to draw on that networking and contacted Whitney and David about joining The Huddle team. As luck would have it, they were in the market for a writer and familiar with my stuff, so it turned out to be a great fit.

At the Huddle I get to focus exclusively on football, which I think is a real plus-both for me and for the readers. Whitney and David have me spearheading The Huddle’s draft coverage, something I had just started dabbling in toward the end of my Fanball tenure. With dynasty leagues becoming more prevalent, I feel that’s a real plus for The Huddle. I also have more of an opportunity to get into the forums and talk to people, which has been incredibly helpful because The Huddle has set the bar high with its longtime users and I need to make sure I’m meeting those expectations. And of course, Whitney and David are both great to work with; through the magic of e-mail and messenger, I have a couple great football minds to converse with — not that my wife isn’t a great football mind!

3) What do you absolutely have to have with you at any football draft?

I’ve just started bringing a MacBook to drafts and auctions the past couple years, but I still find myself falling back on a handmade (OK, Mac-made and printed) cheat sheet and an old-fashioned tabloid-size grid so I can track every team, every player. By the time my drafts and auctions roll around I know the players inside and out, but I still need to keep tabs on who’s going where and for what price; without that information, you’re fighting an uphill battle. Oh, and for the record: auctions blow drafts out of the water.

Bonus: You say that your favorite food is your own homemade potato sausage. What in the world goes into the casing for that (other than potatoes)? Doesn’t the lack of unidentified animal innards take some of the fun out of sausage?

My grandpa ran a butcher shop for many years, and my uncle worked with him and then took it over before retiring last year. Among their many award-winning homemade products was a potato sausage, the recipe of which is a family secret-though you’re absolutely correct, it does include real potatoes. Before I was tied up with watching and writing about football every weekend during the fall, I used to go out and help process deer during hunting season-and I can assure you that peeking behind the curtain has done nothing to diminish my enjoyment of any of those products. In fact, running the grinder was pretty fun!

OK, so it sounds like potato sausage does have meat then, right?

Beef and pork. And real potatoes and onions. And a combination of secret spices that maybe only one or two people on this planet know… and I’m not one of them.

Phew.