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Kevin Brewer's Season III YEAR IN REVIEW

It's over. Just as quickly as it begun. The fantasy football season, often called a metaphor for life, has closed the imaginary door on another imaginary season. Cue Kenny Rogers' "Through the Years" ...

But first, let's review the essentials. The Bottlerockets won the Tech Bowl; the Collard Greens won the league title -- determined by total points. If that's unclear, it's like NASCAR. The Greens are the points standings winners. The 'Rockets won the Daytona 500. And the Jayhawks came in second a lot. To summarize, there were three big winners: the Greens, 'Rockets and 'Hawks will all take home more than $70. There's also an Olympic (gold, silver, bronze) metaphor, but I will spare you.

Only T-Bird2 and the Weathermen will pay out more than $25. But for the Weathermen, the tough financial times were too much. They are the only TFFL franchise that is folding after this season. The league plans to add two teams for TFFL '99.

Steve Young won the Player of the Year award. But Randall Cunningham deserves special recognition. He was the best when he got the start, averaging 20.6 points per week. Young averaged 19.3, second-best in the league. The other awards are covered right here:

Best draft picks:

Round 18, Randall Cunningham, Collard Greens. He was later traded to the Jayhawks for Derrick Alexander in the most-lopsided trade of the season.

Round 6, Randy Moss, Collard Greens. The prototypical fantasy player. He catches lots of long touchdowns.

Round 8, Jamal Anderson, the Bottlerockets. Anderson had an eventful year for a first-team all-TFFLer. He was released by the Rockets, picked up by the Jayhawks and traded to the Greens for Eddie George and Warren Moon.

Round 18, Eric Moulds, the Gamblers.

Worst draft pick of the year:
It's got to be Kordell Stewart by the Weathermen with the third pick overall. Stewart went from 32 total touchdowns in 1997 to 13 in 1998. But most of those never counted because he lost his starting job to Vinny Testaverde. His trade price was too high, so he remained on the Weathermen bench all season.

Here are some other draft busts:

The Jeff George-Tim Brown combo in the first two rounds by the Carolina Killers

Terry Allen (Hominy Swampers) in Round 3

Nap Kaufman (Weathermen) in Round 4

Most disappointing fantasy teams:
1. Oakland. (See above); 2. Pittsburgh (What happened to Mark Bruener?); 3. Houston/Tennessee

Best fantasy teams:
1. Minnesota; 2. San Francisco; 3. Denver

Worst fantasy teams:
1. Philadelphia; 2. New Orleans; 3. St. Louis

Best free-agent pick-up:
Fred Taylor, Hominy Swampers

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