NFBC Champion Profile - Jon Ugent
Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:32 am
There are some fantasy championships that evolve from the start of the season. The ones where teams are in control from start to finish, allowing the owner to savor every minute of first-place standing in their league.
And then there are the ones that don’t materialize until late in the season. The ones where a strong stretch run culminates in fantasy greatness.
Jonathan Ugent enjoyed the latter in the NFBC in 2006 as a strong run in the season’s final weeks helped him take home the top prize in the Chicago/Tampa $650 Auction League.
“It was an awesome feeling to win the league,” Ugent said. “It was right up there with my college graduation.”
There may have been times when the NFBC season felt like four years long but fortunately for Ugent it ended on schedule and with his team sitting atop the league, a place he believed he had a shot at right after his auction ended.
“I thought we could contend for the title after the auction as long as we could avoid the injury bug,” said Ugent, who is a life skills therapist in Carbondale, IL. “However, I never thought we would win going away until the last couple of days of the season.”
Ugent and his co-manager, Jeremiah Claussen, went into the auction with a plan to divide up their hitting and pitching with a $190/$70 split and a decision to punt the Saves category. That plan proved quite profitable.
“We wanted to buy the best-up man that money could buy (Scott Linebrink for $6) to go along with four solid $1 relief pitchers,” Ugent said. “(Jeremiah) convinced me to go with the $1 catcher strategy where you draft two catchers that seldom play as to preserve the team’s batting average.”
Not only did that plan work but the team was also able to snare some strong value picks.
“Getting Alfonso Soriano for $26 and Nomar Garciaparra for $17 who qualified at second base and shortstop respectively despite not playing there during the 2007 season were two big keys for us,” said Ugent, who has been playing fantasy sports for the past 21 years. “We also got big seasons out of our top money players – Carlos Beltran ($34) and Aramis Ramirez ($28).
“Bargains John Smoltz ($17) and Derek Lowe ($14) anchored the pitching staff and we had a great reserve draft. That got us Adrian Gonzalez and Jason Jennings, who ultimately replaced disappointments Lance Niekro and Kerry Wood.
“I have to thank (Claussen) for Jennings and excellent middle reliever Duaner Sanchez ($1), who was clutch before his season-ending car accident.”
Ugent also hit on a couple of strong FAAB moves during the season as Ryan Theriot ($6) and Bobby Howry ($50) both proved to be strong free-agent acquisitions.
And then there are the ones that don’t materialize until late in the season. The ones where a strong stretch run culminates in fantasy greatness.
Jonathan Ugent enjoyed the latter in the NFBC in 2006 as a strong run in the season’s final weeks helped him take home the top prize in the Chicago/Tampa $650 Auction League.
“It was an awesome feeling to win the league,” Ugent said. “It was right up there with my college graduation.”
There may have been times when the NFBC season felt like four years long but fortunately for Ugent it ended on schedule and with his team sitting atop the league, a place he believed he had a shot at right after his auction ended.
“I thought we could contend for the title after the auction as long as we could avoid the injury bug,” said Ugent, who is a life skills therapist in Carbondale, IL. “However, I never thought we would win going away until the last couple of days of the season.”
Ugent and his co-manager, Jeremiah Claussen, went into the auction with a plan to divide up their hitting and pitching with a $190/$70 split and a decision to punt the Saves category. That plan proved quite profitable.
“We wanted to buy the best-up man that money could buy (Scott Linebrink for $6) to go along with four solid $1 relief pitchers,” Ugent said. “(Jeremiah) convinced me to go with the $1 catcher strategy where you draft two catchers that seldom play as to preserve the team’s batting average.”
Not only did that plan work but the team was also able to snare some strong value picks.
“Getting Alfonso Soriano for $26 and Nomar Garciaparra for $17 who qualified at second base and shortstop respectively despite not playing there during the 2007 season were two big keys for us,” said Ugent, who has been playing fantasy sports for the past 21 years. “We also got big seasons out of our top money players – Carlos Beltran ($34) and Aramis Ramirez ($28).
“Bargains John Smoltz ($17) and Derek Lowe ($14) anchored the pitching staff and we had a great reserve draft. That got us Adrian Gonzalez and Jason Jennings, who ultimately replaced disappointments Lance Niekro and Kerry Wood.
“I have to thank (Claussen) for Jennings and excellent middle reliever Duaner Sanchez ($1), who was clutch before his season-ending car accident.”
Ugent also hit on a couple of strong FAAB moves during the season as Ryan Theriot ($6) and Bobby Howry ($50) both proved to be strong free-agent acquisitions.