Which league is best...

[The Samarai]

This will be my first season to play fantasy football so if you guys/girls have any suggestions as to which league to join and where I need to go to learn the ins` and outs`, I`d appreciate it.

[awwchrist]

Get your feet wet using any of the free fantasy league offers that yahoo or nfl.com provide (etc.etc. there are a handful of others).

Stick to a relatively small league size. A larger one can be overwhelming...especially if you're new to professional football to begin with (just on the outside chance).

Feel free to grab a fantasy football magazine or two that hits the shelves a month or so prior to the first week of the season. They generally tailor their info to new players and may not have the most intricate and concise opinions, but overall will prep you well.

Do vague searches on the internet for fantasy football material. There are grips of pages with tons of material hand over fist.

And always come back to the cafe if you have any questions. Just stay away from "Duke". He's a real prick.

[The Samarai]

Thanks for the advice. I've been a New Orleans Saints fan all my life but have never followed other teams or players that closely. So NFL.com it is.

[Guest]

I believe NFL.com was free until last season. I played in 2001 and 2002 but then they started charging fees in 2003.
Yahoo remains free and Sporting News has its free basic salary cap game.
I posted a similar question elsewhere on this forum and will be keen to hear more responses. Some leagues offer discounts if you sign up early, so I guess we need to start looking around.

[PHI]

Yahoo is the only free league I've found that has head-to-head play. It does allow you to have up to 4 teams in different leagues so you can try different strategies. Sporting News and ESPN both offer free salary cap type leagues. I looked all over the place last year and these were the only free sponsored leagues I found. There are many free fan run leagues around. But like awwchrist mentioned, it's better to get your feet wet in a sponsored league or two first.
Good Luck and welcome to the wonderful world of fantasy football.

[Confucius]

I have played free fantasy football for the last three years and finally won my first Yahoo league title last season. Now I think I am ready to compete for prizes and may join one of those leagues where one pays to play.
I am thinking about NFL.com because I played it before back when it was free. I looked at USA Today's site and they appear to have a good budget league run by CFM.
ESPN only awards T-shirts to league champs and some other leagues I looked at offer even less inspiring prizes.
Of course I will have my 4 free Yahoo teams again but which other online fantasy football leagues in 2004 look good to members of this distinguished forum?
(I prefer head to head competition rather than Roto.)

[Toro]

We offer a variety of leagues. We have a Semi-Pro league for less experienced players offered for keeper or redraft. $30 is your only commitment, and you have a shot a cash and trophy. Transactions are all free. If interested please visit, its good place to get feet wet.

http://www.MyNFFL.com

[TheBigBakedBean]

There are a bunch of ff leagues in the links section of the cafe. I'd say that between the links section and the sites that cafe members talk about, there isn't anything you can't find. The Links section has everything that I expected to be there and a whole bunch of sites I'd never heard of.

[TheBigBakedBean]

I will have my 4 free Yahoo teams again

Does Yahoo let you have more than one team with a single login name? Or do you have to create a new login everytime you want to join a different league? I've had a Yahoo fantasy team every year for a while now, but never more than one.

[Flux]

I will have my 4 free Yahoo teams again

Does Yahoo let you have more than one team with a single login name? Or do you have to create a new login everytime you want to join a different league? I've had a Yahoo fantasy team every year for a while now, but never more than one.

You can have multiple teams with the same login name (but not 2 teams in the same league).