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Fantasy Football?


madkat7

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50 minutes ago, aubearcat said:

😎

I think you have too many guys you won't use.  I can take one of your hands lol

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3 hours ago, AUBwins said:

I think you have too many guys you won't use.  I can take one of your hands lol

Make an off I can’t refuse 

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14 minutes ago, aubearcat said:

Make an off I can’t refuse 

Don't know about that, you are too stacked already to do that lol, but I may look into something.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I come with sad news in the fantasy football community as Mike "Tags" Tagliere lost his battle with Covid yesterday.  I would look for his articles and insight on fantasypros every week as he was one of the best to give it.  He used to do a primer on Thursdays that would highlight the fantasy relevant players each week. I'll miss his articles because you felt you knew a little about the type of person he was in reading them.  Here is the intro by Kyle Yates (another guru on the site) and an open letter to his friend Tags. 

The Game Plan: Week 4 Edition (2021 Fantasy Football)
by Kyle Yates
2 hours ago
 
I'm sitting down to write this intro on Wednesday evening and I didn't think I would get here.

This article takes me all week to write and when I sat down on Sunday evening to begin writing this week's edition of The Game Plan, I thought for sure that I was not going to be able to finish it. I didn't think there was mentally any way that I could power through and write close to 20,000 words about fantasy football after what I had just experienced.

For those who are not aware, one of my best friends and my co-host on The FantasyPros Football Podcast, Mike Tagliere, lost his battle with COVID last Friday. Even as I type this sentence, it still doesn't feel real. It's been a difficult week of working through emotions of grief, sadness, anger, and essentially every other feeling known to mankind as I reconcile what life is going to be like moving forward without one of my best friends.

As I thought about what I wanted to talk about for this intro, I thought it would be appropriate to share the open letter that I wrote to him. I began writing this letter last Friday evening when I got the news that Tags was most likely not going to make it and that it was only a matter of time. It was a way for me to process the news and I thought it would be fitting to share it with you here today.

An Open Letter To One Of My Best Friends
 

I don't know how to start this letter.

 

I never imagined that I would have to write something like this to someone so close to me and it still doesn't feel real.

 

Tags, I'm going to miss you. As I write this now with tears in my eyes, I don't want to have to admit that you're no longer here on earth with us. It doesn't make sense, it doesn't feel fair, and I feel robbed. I feel robbed of one of the greatest friendships I've had in my entire life. 

 

Back in 2017, I was enthralled with fantasy football and started out my own podcast just to have fun. I reached out to a few analysts that I listened to and followed and I could not believe that I was able to get the person known as "Tags" on this podcast that had five listeners on a good day. He was just as nice and welcoming as how he came across on his podcasts and I was thrilled to be able to chat with him for those twenty minutes or so.

 

As time progressed, I stayed in touch with Tags as I wasn't even in the fantasy industry or doing anything remotely related, but I still had plenty of questions for this person who I held in high regard as I was setting my matchups, etc. He replied to every single one of my messages. Every. Single. One. 

 

I eventually got back into writing about football and fantasy and Tags was quick to bring me into a Dynasty league with a bunch of other industry people that knew way more than I did. However, he didn't care what the number of Twitter followers I had was or what size my audience was. He was just welcoming and kind like that.

 

In January of 2020, I was hired on by FantasyPros and that meant that I was going to get to work side-by-side with Tags, which felt surreal. One of my all-time favorite memories with Tags was going on the company retreat and heading out to Universal Studios for the day. We ended spending the first part of the day hanging out with the group, but broke away later on to just chat. It was damp, it was cold, and our socks were soaked through due to stepping in the water-soaked paths in the park. However, we managed to find a table that wasn't completely drenched and we sat and just talked. We talked everything from family, to music, to the state of current offensive lines in the NFL and the fantasy football implications. I've never been able to make conversation with someone that easily for that long, but that's Tags for you. He's one of the most welcoming and relaxed people you'll ever get to know. 

 

Throughout our time working together, Tags and I went through some situations that were honestly horrific. And while I wish those had never happened in the first place (on so many levels), it brought Tags and I closer together. We were forced to lean on each other throughout the last NFL season and Dan Harris, Tags, and I legitimately became best friends during that time period. Countless people commented about our chemistry on-air, but it was the exact same outside of work. The friendship wasn't exclusive to as soon as the recording button was pressed on Trycast (no matter how much Dan tries to deny it) and I was beyond saddened that we weren't able to get together in-person this past off-season due to everything going on in the world and travel. That time together with the three of us would have been simply amazing. 

 

Unfortunately, we're never going to get that opportunity, Tags. Again, I feel robbed. Your message to us just a couple of days before you were put on the ventilator will always stick with me. "Hi guys! I love you and miss you all." Little did we know that that would be one of the last messages we would ever get from you, but I think it perfectly embodies the type of friend and the type of man you are. Loving, caring, kind, welcoming. All of these descriptors - and so many more - could be used to talk about you.

 

I wish I didn't have to write this letter. I wish that I could snap my fingers and this would all be a bad dream and I'll wake up to a million Slack messages from you talking about some obscure stat you found during your research, some big play that happened during the NFL game you were watching, or even about how you were excited to go watch a Monster Truck rally with your son. I would give anything to have that happen right now. But I know that that's not possible and that I need to say goodbye. I'm not ready to, but I know I need to. 

 

Tags, I love you buddy. You're truly one of the greatest friends I've ever had in my life and I don't think that I ever told you that enough. If I could go back in time, I'd make sure to tell you that every day. You were an incredible mentor to me as I was getting my start in the industry and I owe so much of where I'm at today to you. You set an example of how to treat others and I'm going to do everything I can to follow that lead. 

 

You'll always be one of my best friends. Always.


I shared this on social media shortly after the news of his passing was announced, but I know that there are plenty of people who read this article weekly that are not on social media and would want to read it. Now being several days removed from the gut-wrenching news of Tags' passing, my grief looks different than it did on Saturday and Sunday. However, I am still hurting and missing my friend. Honestly, getting through this entire article (nearly 21,000 words) was not easy. There were several moments that I wondered if I should even be working, but I ultimately knew that Tags would want me to push through. He pushed me in everything I did in my career and I owe literally everything to him. I've achieved only so much as I have in my entire life up to this point professionally in the fantasy football space because I followed Tags' example and had an excellent mentor in my corner.

I felt that finishing this article this week would be my best way of honoring him. There were moments where I wanted to give up and just say that people would understand if I didn't cover every game, but I knew that he would want me to finish it. And so I did.

Tags, I miss you like you wouldn't believe. And I'm always going to miss you. At this point though, you'd be sick of me talking so nicely about you and would want me to stop and get to talking about some football...so why don't we do just that?

Ladies and gentlemen, the Week 4 Edition of The Game Plan.

If you would like to support Mike Tagliere's family, we have created a GoFundMe where you can give and show your support. You can find that here.
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  • 3 weeks later...
On 9/1/2021 at 1:49 PM, aubearcat said:

Make an off I can’t refuse 

Thomas comes off the PUP next week. I have a couple of pretty good receivers and could use a RB2. Maybe a Jonathan Taylor type if you’re interested.  DJ is possible as well but it’d take a little better RB. I think Thoas is going to be for Jameis what Evans was for him in Tampa. 

Edited by aubearcat
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1 hour ago, aubearcat said:

Thomas comes off the PUP next week. I have a couple of pretty good receivers and could use a RB2. Maybe a Jonathan Taylor type if you’re interested.  DJ is possible as well but it’d take a little better RB. I think Thoas is going to be for Jameis what Evans was for him in Tampa. 

I believe you are underestimating JTs value.  See his recent usage and upcoming schedule, and likely one less RB to contend with by next week.   Top 10 player ROS. DJ is more like a top 15-20. Talking ROS, not start of season. 

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I’m willing to move on either. I actually think Thomas is going to be a beast on his return. Jameis will feed his slants. I really think he’s going to easily get 10-15 touches every weak because regardless of openness, Jameis will force it. Just like Godwin would have explosive weeks and then all of the sudden Jameis would forget about him and cling to his security blanket Evans. 

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