What's Up With Rhode Island?

[Greg Ambrosius]

The last time I checked, Rhode Island did not have a Major League Baseball team. But it sure looks like it has some major league fantasy baseball players!



Our 2006 NFBC champion, David DiDonato, resides in Johnston, Rhode Island. It's also interesting to note that two of our Ultimate League champions reside in Jamestown, Rhode Island and live about a quarter-of-a-mile from each other. Eddie Gillis becomes our first two-sport national champion as he won the Las Vegas Ultimate Baseball League this year, edging Shawn Childs and C.C.'s Desperados by a half-a-point for $40,000. Eddie also won the NFFC Ultimate League title in 2005 for a great double victory in football and baseball. David Deterra also won the NFBC Ultimate League 2 title and $40,000, edging Eric Peden's Lollygagger's team by 1.5 points. Wow, two Ultimate League champs within a quarter of a mile of each other in Rhode Island. Unreal.



Eddie also won the Las Vegas $1,250 AL Auction League title for another $7,000, beating an all-star cast of top players. Eddie also won the New York $1,250 Auction League in 2004, giving him two auction league titles in three years. Deterra also was a double champion in 2006, winning the main event's New York League 2 title and another $5,000.



Just as a side note: Eddie and Dave had a side bet for the most Ultimate League points, even though they were in separate competitions. They both finished with 117.5 points, so the bet was a wash!! Another unreal.



We'll leave the real story about how Eddie won the Ultimate League title for a separate article, but let's just say that it came down to a pinch-hit single by Moises Alou on his team's final at-bat and one less strikeout that Rich Harden and Houston Street failed to get for Shawn that resulted in the $40,000 league prize going to Eddie. The two were on the phone during those final innings keeping track of every statistic, so they knew what was at stake. It's hard to believe how a 26-week season can come down to the final pitch, but that's exactly what happened in this Ultimate League and a few other NFBC leagues this year.



Kudos to Rhode Island!!! You've earned your props this year.