THE REMARKER • NOVEMBER 15, 2019
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SPORTS
Basketball league formed by sophomores by Peter Orsak ophomores Camden Reeves and Alex Nadalini founded the St. Mark’s Sophomore Basketball League on Sept. 16. Through four weeks of play, there are ten teams and 40 players involved, all from the sophomore class. The founders say they were inspired to create the league to serve as an outlet for competition and fun. “Groups like this are really good for stress relief and relaxation, which is important at St. Mark’s.” Nadalini said. “If students here go to class then go home to study nonstop, it can become overwhelming. The league offers a way for students to have a break in that routine and for them to have fun, interact with friends and relax during the week.” Reeves and Nadalini say they created the teams based on experience and chemistry. “Our idea was to play 3-on-3 games from the beginning,” Reeves said, “so after sending out surveys determining how many people were interested, we broke down the grade into tiers of players and assigned them to captains. We tried to make the teams even in talent while not upsetting people with the decisions.” As members of the student council, Reeves and Nadalini feel they have responsibility to unify the grade and provide fun opportunities. “One of our goals as class reps’ is to plan more events such as service projects, tournaments and gatherings that bring the class together,” Reeves said. “Projects like the basketball league give the class a unified identity because people willingly come together to play.” Reeves and Nadalini said unlikely friendships have also been created as a result of the league. “By selecting the teams somewhat randomly, opposed to having a draft where friends pick friends, I think we are able to bring classmates together,” Nadalini said. “I think it is good for people to have the opportunity to get out of their little bubble of close friends, and instead, compete and work with people they ordinarily wouldn’t.” As for the league’s future, Reeves hopes it expands and continues. “We want to keep the league running as long as people continue to show interest, whether that’s a trimester, the school year, or spanning over more of high school,” Reeves said.
FANTASY FOOTBALL
The fantasy man
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As the home stretch of the 2019 NFL season approaches, ESPN senior fantasy football analyst Matthew Berry offers his advice to fantasy owners at 10600 Preston Road.
ON SET Matthew Berry prepares to go live for The Fantasy Show, available on ESPN+, where he talks all things fantasy football.
William Aniol: What advice would you give to a fantasy football player here who has endured a rough start to this season? ESPN senior fantasy football analyst Matthew Berry: I think the first thing you have to do is get an honest assessment of your team and figure out why you are losing, why you’ve gotten off to a rough start. So there’s a variety of reasons for that. It just sort of depends. Maybe you got a rough start because you drafted Tyreek Hill with your first round pick. Obviously, he missed the first half of the season or maybe there was another guy that you also drafted. Let’s say you drafted Tyreek Hill and Robert Woods, those were your top two wide receivers and Woods leads the NFL in terms of targets without a touchdown. So he’s just had some really bad luck. The idea would be in that case, it’s a little bit of being honest with yourself and being like, This is a good team and now that I’ve got Tyreek Hill back, there’s a positive regression coming for Robert Woods, so I’m just going to hang tight.’ WA: And another scenario. MB There can be another thing where you look at it and say, I’m the third highest scoring team in the league, I’ve just got really bad luck in terms of matchups. Every week I play the highest scoring team in the league.’ Again, you’ve had really bad luck, so in that case, you just got to stay the course and hope it will correct itself in terms of the scheduling. However, if it’s just that you drafted Joe Mixon and you drafted a couple of busts and Josh Gordon and your tight end was Jared Cook, then you just made a mistake. You obviously got to start making some moves and making some drastic moves. Depending on where your record
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is, one of the things you could do is literally just focus on winning this week. You can’t be sitting there going, Well if I get to the playoffs ’ Literally just win this week survive and advance. What moves can I make literally just to try to win this week ’ And then next week after you won, Okay, what do I have to do to try to win this week ’ Just sort of take it on a week by week basis. That’s my overall advice if you’ve gotten off to a rough start, you need to do a very good self assessment as to why and then you can address it from there. WA: Should you always be looking to upgrade your team, even though you might have gotten off to a hot start? MB: I think this goes back to the same sort of thing, it’s all self-analysis. So why are you five and two Why are you six and one Do you have a really good team Do you have guys that are performing at a very high level Or, again, have you sort of gotten lucky with a couple of big performances I think it’s like, Why are you winning And do you think your team is really good ’ I always think it’s a great idea to try to improve your team, but I also think that at six and two or seven and one or something like that, you don’t want to tinker just to tinker. I think that’s an underrated skill in fantasy football self evaluation. Why is your team doing what it’s doing, whether it’s good or bad And is that sustainable Can it continue to happen Have you just got lucky Or do you have a good team that’s balanced and producing The other thing is you need to know your league. You need to also have a good assessment of your league. Is this the league that’s active on the waiver wire Is this the league that trades a lot nowing how active your league-mates are
• Matthew Berry is a co-host of ESPN’s Fantasy Focus Podcast and The Fantasy Show on ESPN+, where the crew previews and reacts to Sunday’s action • Follow Berry on Instagram and Twitter: @MatthewBerryTMR for instant fantasy analysis • Berry’s nickname, Talented Mr. Roto (TMR), is a reference to his beginnings, as he launched the fantasy sports website “TalentedMr.Roto.com.” • Berry’s weekly rankings can be accessed via the ESPN Fantasy Sports app • Berry is also the founder of the Fantasy Life App, providing players with breaking news and a forum for discussion
going to be will help you determine the course of action as well. If they’re not real active on the waiver wire, you’ll be able to get what you need on the waiver wire, but if they’re all sharks, you may have to try to upgrade and start wheeling and dealing. WA: The phrase “Fantasy football leagues aren’t won at the draft” is widely used. What kind of an emphasis do you place on trading? MB: I don’t know that I’m constantly looking to trade but I am always looking to improve my team, and if that means a trade, sometimes the best trades you make are the ones you don’t make. Just sticking with the team that you have. My philosophy on trading is that you should try to improve your team in any way necessary. Sometimes that’s trading, sometimes that’s staying put because you’ve done a good job at the draft, sometimes it’s being active on the waiver wire. WA: What important skills does fantasy football teach that can be applied to the real world? MB: Number one is communication and working together. It’s very hard to go into a fantasy league and not deal with your league-mates, whether it’s trades, waivers or league rules. So you’ll need to learn how to get along and negotiate, and you’re not successful at fantasy if you don’t pay attention, if you don’t put in the work in terms of researching and setting your lineup. And work ethic the ability to read and process information are all important skills along with attention to detail. Communication is huge and analysis being able to understand why things happen and the ability to analyze your situation and understand what is happening and why it’s happening and whether it’s likely to repeat or not. I think is a very valuable skill in life as well.
INTERVIEW William Aniol PHOTO Courtesy Matthew Berry