John T. Georgopoulos
Encyclopedia
John Tilemachos Georgopoulos is a fantasy sports writer, radio host and computer scientist of Greek ancestry, whose work involving fantasy football analytics has been prominent in the fantasy industry since 1994.
in 1982, where he was classmates with Terence Tolbert
, the late political operative for Barack Obama
and Christopher "Kid" Reid, the rap musician and actor.
After four years at Fordham University
, Georgopoulos graduated in 1986 with degrees in Computer Science and Biology. While still in university, his interest in meshing fantasy sports with computer science became evident as he created a fantasy wrestling game—dubbed Sgt. Slaughter's Matwars-- which was the basis of the formation of the Silverline Games entertainment company.
While working as a programmer for an investment bank in 1994, Georgopoulos produced a simple website, with the goal of teaching himself HTML; he chose this forum to express his views on one of his favorite topics: professional football (the NFL).
The site received several awards, including Netscape's "Cool Site of the Month" and "Cool Site of the Day
", a 'Top Site' recognition by Yahoo! Magazine as well as a recommended site of FHM Magazine.
The success of the FFRS as a tool for fantasy football owners led to the concept being applied to all the major fantasy sports: baseball, basketball and hockey.
Internet Audio Broadcasts as early as 1996, Georgopoulos was producing one-hour audio broadcasts, which were made available to its readers. Dubbed "WGRD Radio", there were 117 episodes recorded through September 11, 2001. His first-person account of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center marked the final broadcast of WGRD Radio.
In 2004, WGRD Radio was reincarnated as Gridiron Grumblings Live!, a two-hour live broadcast covering fantasy football,the NFL and other topical events.
Individual Defensive Players (IDPs) in standard fantasy football leagues. While a staple of fantasy football drafts today, the inclusion of IDPs in 1996-97 was considered FFL heresy.
Consistency Rankings was a metric designed to describe the degree to which a set of player performances varied—either over the course of a season or a career. In essence, the application of a Coefficient of Variance to fantasy play.
Age Variance, a metric to define the statistical effect of player age on performance, by position.
The show had a time slot of 8-11 PM ET on Saturday nights, on Sirius 210| XM 87. Sirius/XM decided not to renew the show for its second season.
Biography
Georgopoulos graduated from the Bronx High School of ScienceBronx High School of Science
The Bronx High School of Science is a specialized New York City public high school often considered the premier science magnet school in the United States. Founded in 1938, it is now located in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx...
in 1982, where he was classmates with Terence Tolbert
Terence Tolbert
Terence D. Tolbert was an American political operative who was the Nevada state director for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and an aide to Joel Klein, the New York City School Chancellor. Tolbert's death came two days before the 2008 presidential election, and the same day as Obama's...
, the late political operative for Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and Christopher "Kid" Reid, the rap musician and actor.
After four years at Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
, Georgopoulos graduated in 1986 with degrees in Computer Science and Biology. While still in university, his interest in meshing fantasy sports with computer science became evident as he created a fantasy wrestling game—dubbed Sgt. Slaughter's Matwars-- which was the basis of the formation of the Silverline Games entertainment company.
While working as a programmer for an investment bank in 1994, Georgopoulos produced a simple website, with the goal of teaching himself HTML; he chose this forum to express his views on one of his favorite topics: professional football (the NFL).
Gridiron Grumblings
The site received enough hits to encourage Georgopoulos to regularly update his commentary, as well as recruit former owners in his college roto leagues to provide additional content. By 1996, Gridiron Grumblings(R) was born, one of the first independent sites of sports commentaryThe site received several awards, including Netscape's "Cool Site of the Month" and "Cool Site of the Day
Cool Site of the Day
Cool Site of the Day is an early website created in August 1994 and originally maintained by Glenn Davis. Linking to one single recommended site off its homepage each day, it soon became an arbiter of taste on the Internet....
", a 'Top Site' recognition by Yahoo! Magazine as well as a recommended site of FHM Magazine.
Fantasy Forecast (R)
In 1998, drawing on his experience in FOREX markets and as a programmer, Georgopoulos designed the "Fantasy Forecast Rating System" (FFRS). A ranking system to be used across all NFL positions, enabling the absolute valuation of players.The success of the FFRS as a tool for fantasy football owners led to the concept being applied to all the major fantasy sports: baseball, basketball and hockey.
Innovation
Georgopoulos' work at Gridiron Grumblings has included:Internet Audio Broadcasts as early as 1996, Georgopoulos was producing one-hour audio broadcasts, which were made available to its readers. Dubbed "WGRD Radio", there were 117 episodes recorded through September 11, 2001. His first-person account of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center marked the final broadcast of WGRD Radio.
In 2004, WGRD Radio was reincarnated as Gridiron Grumblings Live!, a two-hour live broadcast covering fantasy football,the NFL and other topical events.
Individual Defensive Players (IDPs) in standard fantasy football leagues. While a staple of fantasy football drafts today, the inclusion of IDPs in 1996-97 was considered FFL heresy.
Consistency Rankings was a metric designed to describe the degree to which a set of player performances varied—either over the course of a season or a career. In essence, the application of a Coefficient of Variance to fantasy play.
Age Variance, a metric to define the statistical effect of player age on performance, by position.
SiriusXM Satellite Radio
On Sept. 4, 2010, Georgopoulos premiered a new weekly show, Sports Grumblings Live!, on SiriusXM Satellite radio. The show was a three-hour broadcast focusing on all the major fantasy sports, concurrently entertaining and informing the listeners.The show had a time slot of 8-11 PM ET on Saturday nights, on Sirius 210| XM 87. Sirius/XM decided not to renew the show for its second season.
Awards and recognition
- Winner of the 2006 Fantasy Sports Writers Association award for best fantasy football series (for Fantasy Forecast - The Strategy Series)
- Six-time finalist for various Fantasy Sports Writer Association (FSWA) awards