Several years ago I began working remotely for a startup non-profit after spending most of my career in retail and corporate offices. As any quality researcher would do, I immediately began looking into tips and tricks of how to be successful working remotely. I stumbled across an article series by Lifehacker, called “How I Work,” which essentially was a collection of interviews, focusing on best practices, workflows, workspaces, and gadgets used by successful business people.
This article series is a nod, or rather a direct copy of their idea, from a fantasy football perspective. I’ll seek to interview the most interesting minds in fantasy football, procuring their secrets, routines, bookmarks, and more in an effort to pull back the curtains and provide you with resources and information. I hope you enjoy!
Your name
Regan Yant
Your Twitter handle
RY: @ReganFP
Your location (city/state)
RY: Phoenix, AZ
Current day job
RY: Service Coordinator/Sales
Current fantasy job(s)
RY: Co-Owner and Fantasy Supercross Writer at FakePigskin.com
One word that best describes how you play fantasy football
RY: Aggressive
Who is your favorite (non-current) NFL player? Why?
RY: Adrian Wilson, former Safety for the Arizona Cardinals. I love the way he played, tough and aggressive. He played an entire season with a torn adductor muscle and still made the Pro Bowl. He also was among the first players to change the culture in Arizona.
Current mobile device
RY: iPhone 7
Current computer
RY: Toshiba laptop
First of all, tell us a little about how you got your start in fantasy football. How did that evolve to what you’re doing now?
RY: I started a fantasy baseball league with some friends from my junior high baseball team in the 8th grade (1989). I used to hand write each matchup each week in a notebook and use the newspaper box scores to write in the scores. It was very rudimentary at the time but it did the job. I ran that league through high school then stopped when I went in the Navy.
10 years ago I started my home league with my wife’s 11 year old cousin as a redraft league. Five years ago we switched to dynasty and it’s still going strong. Searching for info is what led me to twitter and Adam Rainbolt (my co-owner and my wife’s cousin’s husband) planted the seed to start FakePigskin.
How many fantasy football leagues do you currently play in? What is your favorite league and why?
RY: I currently play in 3 dynasty leagues, the SFB480, and I’ve already been eliminated from two Draftmaster eliminator leagues. I really enjoy the SFB480, but my favorite league is my home dynasty league. It’s all local guys, including a couple of industry guys. My wife’s cousin is now 21 and has won the championship twice, and his little league teammate, who also started playing at age 11 when we created it, finally won for the first time last year while serving in the US Navy aboard the USS Ronald Reagan from Japan.
What’s your best time-saving shortcut or fantasy hack?
RY: I absolutely love the RotoWorld app to stay up to date on injuries, starters etc. I obviously read everything my own guys write, and I love the people I follow on Twitter to get varying opinions on players.
In order to be successful in fantasy football, you have to do at least one thing better than the average owner. What’s your secret?
RY: I draft well. I’ll call it luck, but I’m good at building a solid bench to keep me afloat during bye weeks and finding hidden gems earlier than other guys that end up panning out.
What’s your greatest weakness in fantasy football? Startup drafts, mining the waiver wire, making trades, lineup decisions? How do you make up for it elsewhere?
RY: I’m generally terrible at working the waiver wire. I just don’t use it as much as others or get to it fast enough for claims. I also am terrible at judging how much FABB I should spend on a player on the occasion I get a shot at one I like. I make up for it by making better trades to land “my guys” and setting good lineups. I’ll sink or swim with the players I prefer.
How would you describe your fantasy football philosophy?
RY: Once again, I’m aggressive. I’ll trade for draft picks, trade away draft picks, make trades to get the guys I want, even if it looks lopsided to others. I’m an opinionated person and I’m usually pretty firm on making my own decisions, and I don’t usually put up polls asking for help.
Walk us through what your week looks like during the season as a fantasy owner. When do you watch games, process waivers, propose trades, etc?
RY: Thursday, Sunday and Monday are for watching, obviously. I don’t care if it’s a bad matchup, no rooting interest, or no fantasy players involved, I’ll watch the games that are on. I just enjoy watching football.
I’ll preliminarily set my lineups on Tuesday, then monitor practices, injuries, and matchup issues throughout the week. I tend to not propose very many in-season trades for reasons I don’t really know, but I’ll entertain offers from others.
What’s your favorite article you’ve ever written? Why?
RY: The Curious Case of DeAngelo Williams, because it was my debut article and the first published article at FakePigskin.
Who is the best fantasy football owner you’ve ever played with and why?
RY: I’m in a league with 479 other owners, and have played in numerous leagues with great players. It’s hard to narrow this down. I will say I’m envious of Ty Miller for having won the Scott Fish Bowl and I haven’t, yet…
What’s your current workspace (for fantasy football) like? Coffee shop with laptop and headphones? Home office with a standing desk?
RY: I actually run FakePigskin from my phone. Almost everything I need to be able to do I do from my iPhone. When I’m writing/researching on the laptop it sits on my bar and I work on it from a barstool in my living room (I’m Irish, it’s like a law to have a bar in your living room).
Besides your phone and computer, what gadget can’t you live without and why?
RY: Is there anything else other than those two items? There is nothing I can’t live without, so I guess I’d just say my pocket knife. I never leave home without one. I guess that qualifies as a “gadget”.
What apps, software, or tools can’t you live without?
RY: I mentioned earlier the Rotoworld app. I also use Fantasy Pros and Dynasty League Football to compare ADP, the My Fantasy League app for my leagues, Football Guys depth charts, and Twitter of course.
What is your go-to site for your tough start/sit decisions?
RY: That would be FakePigskin.com
If you could only read one website (other than those you contribute at) for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
RY: If FakePigskin didn’t exist I’d honestly be exclusive to Dynasty League Football.
Take a quick peek at your bookmarked sites. What are the top 3-4 sites on the list?
RY: Other than my own, it’s My Fantasy League, Fleaflicker, and My Football Now, which is a virtual league simulator I play.
What podcast is currently queued up on your phone?
RY: Angle of Pursuit by my guys.
What are you currently reading? A novel, comic book, website, magazine?
RY: Right now it’s almost exclusively Supercross websites as I start researching for the upcoming Supercross season in January. My only magazine subscriptions are to ATV magazines. The last book I read was Unbreakable about a month ago.
What do you listen to while you play? Got a favorite playlist? Maybe a podcast? Or do you prefer silence?
RY: I’m a music guy. I like most music, punk, country, classic rock, and old school rap. A little Regan trivia, I used to sing in a punk band when I was in the Navy.
Do you have any superstitions on game day? Wear the same lucky T-Shirt? Always make homemade chili before the games?
RY: I’ll wear a Cardinals shirt on game days. If we’re going to the game or to a bar to watch it I’ll wear a jersey.
How do you recharge?
RY: ATV’s! I’ve been riding them for over 30 years and won’t stop until a doctor says I physically can’t any longer.
What’s your sleep routine like? Are you a night owl or early-riser?
RY: Yes. I’m usually to bed around 11:00 each night during the week and up at 4:30. On the weekends I’ll stay up late and am still usually up by 7:00.
Fill in the blank: I’d love to see _________ answer these same questions.
RY: Chad Scott
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
RY: My dad told me once that “Nobody in this world is gonna give you anything, so if you want something you bust your ass to get it.”
The How I Play series asks writers, developers, editors, and fantasy football degenerates to share their secrets, bookmarks, routines, and more. Have someone you want to see featured, or questions you think we should ask? Email Eric Dickens or start a conversation with him on Twitter.
I absolutely love this series! I always pick up a few new things that make me (as a total noob dynasty owner this year) better.
