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Viva Murillo!

You have a lot of decisions to make this week.

Not AP vs. LT or Tom vs. Peyton. Those will come later. Right now, it’s hot dog vs. hamburger, bottle rocket vs. Roman candle and calling in sick Monday vs. actually showing up after a long weekend.

It would be great to write that the long off-season is almost over and football is upon us, but that’s not really true. You still have a month of camps and a month of fake football games ahead of you. Sure, you can speculate about the upcoming season (and the 2008 issue of Fantasy Football Index is conveniently hitting mailboxes and magazine racks as you read this), but it’s really just speculation right now. There isn’t much you can do to help your fantasy team in early July.

In fact, even if you haven’t been paying any attention to football recently, you’re still in good shape. You should have watched Sidney Crosby battle hard but fall short against the talented Red Wings, and then watched the Celtics outclass the Lakers. That’s a pretty good off-season schedule right there. You might even watch baseball, where perennial losers like the Cubs and Devil Rays (yeah, I know about the name change. I liked the “Devil” part) are dominating their respective leagues. Even the Arena Football League is working its way toward deciding a champion right now. You could watch all of that and catch up on critical football updates in about an hour. That’s it; after months of draft talk and free agency, you’re about an hour behind your most obsessive league members.

It might sound weird that I’m trying to discourage you from thinking about your strategy, but there’s a method to the madness. In reality, I’m trying to discourage your from over-thinking your strategy. If you harp on the same issues for several weeks, your brain will turn to mush on draft day. Don’t bother digesting every nugget of information as it happens. Wait until you have a clearer picture—after teams have actually seen their new acquisitions practice consistently and can evaluate their rookies better.

Now, I’m not saying to totally ignore the upcoming season. In Ian Allan’s mailbag-- now updated regularly for your convenience-- readers liken getting the new magazine to Christmas Eve. That’s great; go ahead and skim it or just read it for pleasure (and there’s a lot to read. This year it’s ridiculously thick). Just don’t start making lists or preparing any cheat sheets yet. Don’t bother with depth charts or try to project anything for anyone. It’s way, way too early for all of that.

Instead, take a deep breath, recognize that real football is still two months away and table all of your big decisions for at least a couple more weeks. Spend a little time with friends and family, enjoy some fireworks and think a about how lucky we are to live in the United States. For all its flaws, people literally risk their lives to come here. For all the political bickering, our two main candidates sat next to each other at Tim Russert’s funeral. All things considered, we have a lot to celebrate. Enjoy the Fourth of July -- then get ready to win your league.

By the way, each week I’m going to try to find an amusing Youtube video to show you. Please, don’t do what you’re about to see. What’s OK in your living room is not OK in public.

You can reach Michael Murillo at vivamurillo@gmail.com..

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