Ask the Experts

ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them:

Do you agree with week 17 being scrapped in most fantasy leagues?

SAM HENDRICKS

I am absolutely convinced that week 16 should be the fantasy football Super Bowl. Too many teams do not play or play minimally their super stars in week 17. Sure it can happen earlier in the season, but is all too common in week 17. This does not mean week 17 is a waste. On the contrary, in leagues where I am the commissioner I always try and have a tournament for all league teams in week 17 where owners submit a lineup using any players they want (not just those on their original team)-kind of like a Pro Bowl lineup. Some teams may have a few duplicate players but for the most part it is a very diverse lineup. The prize is a few bucks but it gives everyone one more chance at fantasy football fun before the league post-season tournament during the NFL playoffs.

Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook and the recently released Fantasy Football Almanac 2008 which are both available at his website, www.ffguidebook.com, at all major bookstores, and at www.amazon.com. He is an 18-year fantasy football veteran who regularly participates in the World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF) and will participate this year in the inaugural season of the Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC).

SCOTT PIANOWSKI

In head-to-head leagues, I'm all for Week 16, scrub the final week. But in any exercise that is based on total points, use all 17 weeks - the potential flukiness of the final week is significantly minimized in those formats.

Pianowski is a fantasy expert for Yahoo! Sports. His work regularly appears on Yahoo's Roto Arcade Blog (rotoarcade.com), and you can also email him at pianowski31@yahoo.com.

SCOTT ENDSLEY

Week 17 has largely turned into a week off for the top teams and if you have a top quality fantasy team it’s likely you have players on the best teams. Not only do we favor ending the season before week 17, we prefer to skip week 16 as well as many years we see a similar situation.

Endsley is co-owner and a senior fantasy football consultant for FantasyDraftEdge.com offering customizable fantasy football cheat sheets and professional VIP advice all season long. For more info, go to www.fantasydraftedge.com.

IAN ALLAN

I think you toss out that final week. Too many key players will be sitting out. I’d rather see the championship game played in week 16, when the teams are still being led by the players who got them into the playoffs. Kurt Warner, Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, Adrian Peterson, Tony Romo, Terrell Owens, DeAngelo Williams, Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, Peyton Manning and scores of others potentially will be sitting out this year.

Allan is the senior writer for Fantasy Football Index magazine. He’s also one of the main content contributors for that company’s website, www.fantasyindex.com. His IAN ALLAN’S MAILBAG column is posted on Fridays.

CHRIS LISS

I think week 16 is better because of all the rested players in week 17. Then again, I think baseball leagues should end on September 1, too.

RotoWire.com is a leading independent provider of fantasy sports news on the web, covering all the news as it breaks, combining innovative analysis with an easy-to-use format. The site’s content has won numerous awards and has earned partnerships with ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, FoxSports, XM Satellite Radio, NFL.com, NBA.com and many other sites and networks. To sample site content, take advantage of their free 10-day trial.

LOUIS TRANQUILLI

I agree with the current format of having week 16 represent the championship game. Too often NFL teams have secured a playoff spot or are locked into a seeding that a week 17 win means nothing to them. Unless you allow free agent waiver pickups prior to the championship game I wouldn't risk having a number of unusable studs sitting on your fantasy bench.

Louis Tranquilli is the founder and the primary "brains" (if you stretch it) of BFDFANTASYfootball.com. BFD is about giving advice to players from a player. Lou's been a highly successful owner in many high stakes contests. BFD is giving away 50 fantasy football teams in 2008.

MIKE NAZAREK

The Fantasy Bowl in ALL leagues should ALWAYS be in week 16, so most of the studs on playoff bound teams won't be rested for the playoffs. It simply isn't fair to have the players that earn your team a trip to the big game only to sit that week. All the leagues I play in end in week 16, and I'd never have it any other way, barring an extension of the regular season.

Nazarek is the CEO of Fantasy Football Mastermind Inc. His company offers an online rookie draft kit, preseason draft guide, customizable cheat sheets, fantasy auction & regular drafting programs, weekly in-season fantasy newsletters, injury reports and free NFL news (updated daily) at its web site. He is the reigning four-peat champion of the SI.com Experts Fantasy League, a nationally published writer in several fantasy magazines and a columnist for SI.com. For more info go to www.ffmastermind.com. Nazarek can be reached at 702-568-7118 or miken@ffmastermind.com.

BOB HECK

Week 16 championships are the only way to go. You can't have one single game come down to reserves or rested player impacts as week 17 often brings (certainly for some teams each year). We like playing in head-to-head leagues and well-run total points leagues -- week 17 is in fair play for total points leagues.

Heck is a founding partner at Dynasty Rogues, a fantasy football website filled with football enthusiasts, run by football enthusiasts. The company provides year-round dynasty and redraft fantasy football coverage and analysis, including Dynasty Rogues Radio and the Rogues Forum. The site can be reached at www.dynastyrogues.com.

JEFFREY KAMYS

Barring a league where you re-draft for the playoffs, I think this is the best solution for fantasy playoffs. Each year there are good teams that will not be playing many of their star players in the final week of the season, so it is best to have those playoffs in week 15 and 16.

Kamys is president of Dr. Stats Fantasy Sports. His company, via the web, offers player news, injury reports, cheat sheets, projections, weekly matchups, statistics, and a customized team tracker. Dr. Stats Fantasy Sports also e-mails preseason newsletters and reports throughout the season. For more info visit www.docstats.com or send email to webmaster@docstats.com.

ANDY RICHARDSON

I'm probably in the minority, but I think the season is too short already to just dismiss an entire week of games. Even if a lot of starters get held out in week 17, that just adds a layer to owner strategy -- making sure to have the right players on hand to start in those games. Here's an idea: A two-week Super Bowl over week 16 and 17. (Some leagues do use this.) You'd have all your usual stars in the first week, then probably some backup types in the second. Who's with me? Basically, I just think it's odd that so many fans are ready to dismiss 1-17th of the season so easily.

Richardson has been a columnist and contributor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and web site for the past seven years. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections, as well as various site features. He has run the magazine's annual draft and auction leagues since their inception. His A DAY OF FOOTBALL wrap-up column appears Mondays during the NFL season. For more information go to www.fantasyindex.com.

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