by Howard Bender

So here I am, tail end of January, sitting with three of this season's fantasy baseball magazines already and none of them are even my favorites for pre-draft prep.  I've got one from The Sporting News, one from Fanball.com, and my latest acquisition, Lindy's.  Still to come are the ones from Fantasy Sports, the Fantasy Index, and the ever popular Fantasy Guide.  Then, of course, there's the online efforts of RotoTimes, RotoWire and fantasy info juggernaut, Rotoworld.  Crazy, right?  And I haven't even mentioned ESPN, CBS Sportsline or Yahoo! Sports yet.

The strides that the fantasy sports industry has made are astounding.  A little more than a decade ago, fantasy sports were reserved for the nerds and the stat geeks that never played the game on a team more competitive than T-ball.  Nowadays, it's everyone.  It's your bartender, your broker, your lawyer, or the guy that just sold you some tires.  It's your boss, your brother-in-law, or your daughter's new boyfriend.  Sometimes, although only in the rarest of exceptions, it's your wife.  Fantasy sports have exploded.  And why?  Simple...we are a society of information junkies.

We are no longer satisfied with just going to the ballpark and enjoying the game.  We need the radar gun, the pitch counts, the out-of-town scoreboard, and even the between innings entertainment.  We need a constant influx of data to occupy our minds.  So fantasy sports helps to satisy that need.  You're no longer just tracking the 25 man roster of your favorite club.  You're tracking the rosters of all 30 teams -- a minimum of 750 players.  But it doesn't end there.  You're even tracking the farm clubs of all 30 teams, and between Triple-A, Double-A, all the way down to the short season low Class-A leagues, that's quite a total of players, stats and projection you're keeping tabs on.

And that's where the overabundance of roto magazines and draft kits come in.  Because we are such information junkies...because we are such a restless species (mentally speaking, that is), we're always looking for more data...more answers....more diverse opinions.  With that, the fantasy sports market has become supersaturated.  With all of the different web sites and magazines, every Tom, Dick and Harry has an opinion on strategy and player projections.  But like my granddaddy always used to say, "Opinions are like a**holes.  Everyone's got one and most of 'em stink!"

So who do you trust?  Do the guys from The Sporting News know more than the guys from Fanball.com?  Are the guys on CBS Sportsline more intuitive than the boys over at Yahoo?  Well, that's where a guy like me comes in.  Do I know more than, say, the Talented Mr. Roto?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  But what I do know is that I read EVERYTHING.  Every magazine, every website, I try to cover it all.  I am addicted to baseball, and with that, addicted to fantasy baseball.  I know that Joe Everyman doesn't always have the time to read player updates and stas on a daily basis.  I do.  I make the time.  Even if it means missing a social engagement or some extra sleep.  Sad?  Maybe.  But I love what I do, and isn't that what life is all about?

So use me.  Pick my brain.  The fantasy season is a war and in any battle, it helps to have allies.  I have my own number crunching sessions, my own cheat sheets and my own player projections.  Stick with me and we'll make it to the championship together.

I'm here to help.

Standing at the newssatnd trying to decide which fantasy magazine to buy?  Check out our reviews of the 2009 editions at Rotobuzz.com.

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Howard Bender is a freelance fantasy sports writer and former champion in both rotisserie and head to head leagues.  For questions, thought, or comments, you can email him at Howard.Rotobuzz@yahoo.com