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Fantasy Sports 101 sits down with New York Post national basketball and football columnist and frequent contributor to ESPN First Take, Lenn Robbins. We talk fantasy sports, internet journalism, all-time top sports memories, and more. Fantasy Sports 101: For starters, have you ever played fantasy sports or otherwise had any kind of professional reasons to care about them? In other words, do you get what they're all about? Lenn Robbins: I play fantasy football. My team is Sexual Chocolate, the band from Coming to America. FS101: Do you feel like fantasy sports have had a negative impact on fan loyalty or the way fans watch games? LR: I've heard a lot of people say that some fans stop rooting for their teams and root for 'their' players. To be honest, I have too because I don't/cant' root for teams. FS101: Internet media and blogging are polarizing issues for a lot of veteran journalists, even young, handsome ones like yourself. Do you have any take on how easy it is for people to essentially become sports writers overnight? LR: It's the worst thing to happen to the business - ever - by far. Coaches hate it and lump us in with the internet sets. We hate it because editors see something on the net and ask you to chase it ... awful. FS101: Besides your work at The Post and on ESPN First Take, what are some of your other projects? LR: SNY (SportsNet New York), MSG (Madison Square Garden Network), Comcast's Out of Bounds. And I'm brainstorming a book. FS101: How many major national sporting events - Final Fours, national championship games, etc. - would you say you've covered during your career? LR: 40 FS101: Which memories rank as the best? LR: Penn State-Miami in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl USC-Notre Dame a few years ago The shot put competition in the Olympics at the Ancient City Duke-St. John's in the Garden - Elton Brand vs. Ron Artest The Jets' last game at Shea Stadium FS101: Any words of caution or advice for young writer types who want to do what you do? LR: Understand what it is you're getting into. It's a wonderful job and you get to see places you might never see and meet people you might never meet. It's a privilege, but you probably won't get rich. You'll miss a lot of family functions - weddings, Bat Mitzvahs, etc. The greatest part is that every day is different. And, as someone much smarter than me once said, "find something you love and you'll never a work a day in your life." |