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(1) FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFT TIPS

Do your thing, owners--but don't screw up.

Teachers and writers swear a rough draft is the best way to start anything. For fantasy football owners, there's no worse way to start a season than with a rough draft. Paying attention to a few dos and dont's will help your team become a finished product you can be proud of.

Do stay up to date. You see it at every draft: A few owners buy a fantasy magazine the night before and think they are ready. That approach works if you're OK with losing.

Don't ignore open weeks. There's nothing worse than sitting down after the draft and realizing three of your receivers have the same week off.

Do keep tabs on those close to you. No, you don't have to be paranoid. Simply track what positions the owners around you have filled so you'll know if you can wait on a given player.

Don't overload on players from one team. Besides having problems with open weeks, you'll be in trouble when that offense has an off game.

Do value running backs. Without getting into too much theory, the demand for top backs is greater than the supply. Elite running backs also tend to be more consistent than players at other positions.

Don't stockpile players from bad teams. One Cardinal, Texan or Lion is more then enough.

Do keep backups in mind. Ask the Bears how quickly injuries can derail a winning team. If you draft Kurt Warner, it makes sense to pick up Marc Bulger just in case.

Don't draft a kicker early. The difference between the No. 1 kicker and the No. 12 kicker is relatively insignificant.

Do participate in some mock drafts. Mock drafts are fun, and they prepare you for the real thing. If Jeff Garcia consistently gets picked in the fifth round, it would be foolish to draft him in the first.

Don't take too many risks. A good fantasy team is similar to a good stock portfolio--a diverse collection of safe choices with a handful of gambles.

Do remember this isn't a frat party. Drinking and drafting is a bad combination when not done responsibly.

Don't forget to manage your team. The saying "You are what you draft" is a half-truth. Though it is tough to make up for a poor draft, it's easy to ruin a good one if you don't monitor your team.--Rob Hurtt

(2) NFL DRUG TESTING

Penalties can be too harsh

The problem of NFL players unknowingly taking supplements that are banned by the league continues to grow. Last week, Cardinals backup center Frank Garcia was suspended four weeks for violating the league's policy on performance enhancers.

Now, sources say, several name players are expected to be handed four-week suspensions in the next month. The players already have tested positive and are going through the appeal process. None of them is expected to have his suspension overturned.

The NFL Players Association is close to striking a deal with a supplement company that will help clear up some of these problems, but that shouldn't take the league off the hook for acting too heavy-handedly. Suspending players four games for taking over-the-counter products is too severe.

"I don't think it's right," Packers quarterback Brett Favre says. "I understand the NFL's reasoning. It's all for the safety of players and the integrity of the NFL. The intentions are good, but it's so easy to accidentally take one of these supplements. They are in every store around. It's not like you have to go around the back alley and buy some crack or something You buy something your girlfriend or wife takes, everyone at the gym is taking.... I can't read those labels, I can't pronounce any of the names, but yet you can be suspended for that. At the same time, you get a slap on the wrist for doing cocaine."--Dan Pompei

(3) DAVE BLISS' FUTURE

He'll take a break, then try to rebuild his career

In a hotel lobby in Tampa in April 1999, Dave Bliss told me that becoming head coach at Baylor was ideal at that stage of his career. He was in his mid-50s, had taken New Mexico as far as was possible and considered himself a builder of programs. He was beginning to think about what his life would be like after college basketball, and he owned a lake house in Texas that figured to be his home in retirement.

He never figured to be using it this soon, under these circumstances. And he'd like not to be staying there long.

"I'll always enjoy coaching young people," said Bliss, 59, last Saturday, the day after his highly publicized resignation from Baylor. "I feel badly about what has transpired. But as in other walks of life, you admit your mistakes and try to help situations get better."

Some successful coaches forced out after encountering scandalous situations returned to NCAA basketball--notably Lefty Driesell, who left Maryland following the cocaine-induced death of star forward Len Bias. Driesell took both lames Madison and Georgia State to NCAA Tournaments after getting back into coaching. When Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton gave a clinic last weekend, he reminded his audience he has coached the Cowboys 14 years, a long time since he was chased from Kentucky by severe NCAA sanctions.

Says one of Bliss' close friends in coaching: "He's not going to want to go out like this."

Bliss, who might move from Texas to Colorado, figures he'll step back from the game for a while and hope to find a program "that feels we can help them." Although he won 526 games at Oklahoma, SMU, New Mexico and Baylor, his attempt to recover his career will be the most challenging rebuilding job he has faced.--Mike DeCourcy

(4) MELTDOWN

Lost: 39 pounds in 24 days

Of all the new diet trends, the Kenneth Harris plan may be least appealing. On this program, you reach 380 pounds before really going to work.

Harris, who will be a freshman center for Valparaiso's basketball team this winter, played most of his prep career in the 330-pound range--"But I don't know how often he weighed himself," Valpo coach Scott Drew says. Upon being sidelined with a stress fracture in his foot, Harris drifted above 380 and needed help. He was put on a strict diet and exercise plan that trimmed away 39 pounds in 24 days. Harris was working out at least three times a day, eating smaller meals more often to keep his metabolism buzzing and cutting out fat-building foods. "A couple McDonald's and Burger Kings have gone out of business," Drew says.

The ultimate goal is for Harris to play his freshman year at 300 pounds. The Valpo staff believes he could become a great player at that weight. He once was ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation among center prospects and still was a top 100 prospect when he signed with the Crusaders.

The one sad aspect of this situation is that the man who designed Harris' conditioning program, strength coach Pete Kutsugeras, a former Mr. World bodybuilder, was killed in an automobile accident in July. Harris is dedicated to becoming a smaller man in Kutsugeras' honor.--M.D.

(5) EVERYTHING'S BIG IN TEXAS

Found: 60 tons of P.R.

It fell short of the magical 5-pound barrier, but it's the largest in the country--by a hefty margin. The University of Texas football media guide weighs 4 pounds, 12.5 ounces. The awfully thick Ohio State guide, by comparison weighs 2 pounds, 9.6 ounces. Texas has a 25,000-copy press run. That's more than 119,500 pounds--one big ol' Longhorns lineman's bench press shy of 60 tons.

(6) THE EDGE

The matchup

A.L. Central vs. N.L. Central

Whose "race makes less of a mockery of the word?

Edge-ucation The A.L.C. is like Zola Budd: It may not look like much, but as the finish line nears, ignore it at your own risk. The White Sox, Royals and Twins, unlike the three-toed sloth that is the N.L.C., have some giddyup in their step--specially the ChiSox, who have the bats and the starting arms to leave any playoff favorite in a crumpled heap.

Kenyon Martin vs. the rumor mill

Does he really want out of New Jersey

Edge-ucation Of course not. Martin's agent really wants to squeeze more millions out of the Nets, but as for Martin's wishes, well, there's nothing to see here, folks. Thing is, sometimes agents are given leashes so long they make a tangled mess of players' careers. Edge-of-the-Earth to K-Mart: Tell your guy to go wait in the car so you can do some sensible shopping.

Reality vs. myth

What's the most important position in football?

Edge-ucation If Edge had a dime for every time some no-neck said teams should be built from the left tackle out, Edge would buy a real name and move to the beach. So quarterbacks are pretty, and they get all the girls, and some of them are so soft they still have cartilage in their knees--if your team hasn't ID'd its starter yet, get ready for the Bad News Bears without the sappy ending.

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