The Fantasy Show
Encyclopedia
The Fantasy Show is a fantasy football talk and debate show on ESPN2
. The show was supposed to air for 18 weeks a year during the National Football League
season every Thursday at 6:30pm ET
on ESPN2. However, the debut season of the show only had 11 episodes (see the Cancellation or Termination debate below).
veteran Rob Stone
, who has covered the MLS
and World Cup
the majority of his time at ESPN. Joining Stone was fantasy expert Matthew Berry
from TalentedMrRoto.com and seventeen year NFL veteran Ron Jaworski
. Others contributing to the show were: Will Carroll
, who served as the Injury Insider, Antonio Freeman
, hosting the segment called Free's Flex, where he would inform fantasy players of the second and third wide receivers they needed to acquire and start and Danni Boatwright
, who also contributed to the show.
While Freeman's Free's Flex included information about unnoticed and under-the-radar players, the advice of main commentator Matthew Berry was often extreme and over-the-top.
to trade him away claiming that Tomlinson would never have another game that season with four touchdowns as he had done the previous Sunday when the San Diego Chargers
beat the San Francisco 49ers
, claiming Tomlinson's fantasy value was as high as it would ever get and that fantasy owners should cash in on Tomlinson's currently over-inflated value. Tomlinson since Berry's statement went on to have two more games where he scored four touchdowns for the Chargers in NFL weeks 10 and 11. Berry also stated that he did not believe Saint Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson
would rush for 1,000 yards as he had done in the 2005 NFL season. Jackson crossed the 1,000 yard mark in week 13 of the 2006 NFL season, with 4 games still remaining on the Rams schedule. Such bold and incorrect predictions would have proved unpopular amongst the audience members who followed Berry's advice.
instead. Fans of The Fantasy Show appeared on various Internet web sites asking about the sudden disappearance and apparent cancellation of the show by ESPN. Confusing the matter, Internet TV listing web sites including Yahoo! continued to list The Fantasy Show as airing at 5:30 pm ET on ESPN2 on November 23, one week after the first missed episode. Meanwhile, ESPN seemed to indicate that the show was over by its lack of any further mention of the show. ESPN's own TV listing web site, espntv.com, showed 2006 World Series of Poker
as airing during that time. Further, the links to The Fantasy Show on ESPN's web site pointed to a web page that no longer existed.
On November 22, a post at Berry's official website (http://www.talentedmrroto.com/forum/Topic281455-38-1.aspx#bm281579) inquired if the show was cancelled. The response from one of the website's other employees was as follows:
While no official announcement from ESPN has been made, all indications would be that The Fantasy Show was at least terminated prematurely in its debut season if not canceled completely, despite the above comment by "Pete" on Barry's website. If this information is ultimately substantiated, the number of episodes of the program per season would then be 11 instead of 18 as originally listed. It would seem that at best this is an effort to put a positive spin on the situation, however, since if indeed only 11 shows were to be made it seems unlikely then that ESPN would not have originally provided TV lineup data listing The Fantasy Show as continuing to air for more than a month after its final show for the 2006 season (some TV listing guides were showing The Fantasy Show as airing as late as Thursday, December 21). Given the lack of an announcement on the November 9 (Week 10) episode from the show's host or commentators that they were done for the season and the original TV lineup data provided by ESPN, it would seem that the show's 2006 season was terminated prematurely. Given the above comment on Barry's website, it would seem that The Fantasy Show will at least be reformatted and changed from its 2006 format if it re-appears for the 2007 NFL season.
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
. The show was supposed to air for 18 weeks a year during the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
season every Thursday at 6:30pm ET
North American Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
on ESPN2. However, the debut season of the show only had 11 episodes (see the Cancellation or Termination debate below).
Overview
The thirty minute program consisted of stats, charts, recommended benchings, trash talking, trade debates and updates on the personalities of The Fantasy Show's own fantasy football league. The Fantasy Draft Special aired at a special time at 5:30pm ET on Thursday, August 31, 2006. An odd thing about The Fantasy Show from other shows is that it was broadcast in a living room type set and Stone, Berry and Jaworski were dressed in casual apparel. It was produced by ESPN Original Entertainment.Hosts and contributors
The show was hosted by ESPNESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
veteran Rob Stone
Rob Stone
Rob Stone is a sports commentator for ESPN. He has covered various sports including Major League Soccer, NCAA and NFL football, and is now the play-by-play announcer for PBA Tournament Bowling alongside color commentator and 13-time PBA titleist Randy Pedersen.-Early life and career:A native of...
, who has covered the MLS
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
and World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
the majority of his time at ESPN. Joining Stone was fantasy expert Matthew Berry
Matthew Berry
Matthew Berry is an ESPN fantasy sports analyst and ESPN.com columnist. He writes under the nickname "the Talented Mr. Roto," or "TMR". Berry currently works as ESPN's senior director of fantasy sports.-Hollywood writer:...
from TalentedMrRoto.com and seventeen year NFL veteran Ron Jaworski
Ron Jaworski
Ronald Vincent "Ron" Jaworski is a former American football quarterback and currently an NFL analyst on ESPN. He is also CEO of Ron Jaworski Golf Management, Inc., based out of Blackwood, New Jersey, and manages golf courses in southern New Jersey, northeast Pennsylvania, and West Virginia...
. Others contributing to the show were: Will Carroll
Will Carroll
Will Carroll is a sportswriter specializing in the coverage of medical issues, including injuries and performance-enhancing drugs. He currently writes about sports injuries for SI.com...
, who served as the Injury Insider, Antonio Freeman
Antonio Freeman
Antonio Michael Freeman is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League, most notably for the Green Bay Packers. He attended the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, dominating his high school conference. Freeman played college football at Virginia Tech...
, hosting the segment called Free's Flex, where he would inform fantasy players of the second and third wide receivers they needed to acquire and start and Danni Boatwright
Danni Boatwright
Danni Boatwright , a beauty queen and model from Kansas, won $1,000,000 on Survivor: Guatemala, the eleventh season of the reality television show Survivor...
, who also contributed to the show.
While Freeman's Free's Flex included information about unnoticed and under-the-radar players, the advice of main commentator Matthew Berry was often extreme and over-the-top.
The October 19, 2006 episode
On the October 19, 2006 episode of The Fantasy Show, Berry advised fantasy owners of LaDainian TomlinsonLaDainian Tomlinson
LaDainian Tramayne Tomlinson is an American football running back for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers fifth overall in the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas Christian.Tomlinson, often referred to by his initials, L...
to trade him away claiming that Tomlinson would never have another game that season with four touchdowns as he had done the previous Sunday when the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
beat the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
, claiming Tomlinson's fantasy value was as high as it would ever get and that fantasy owners should cash in on Tomlinson's currently over-inflated value. Tomlinson since Berry's statement went on to have two more games where he scored four touchdowns for the Chargers in NFL weeks 10 and 11. Berry also stated that he did not believe Saint Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson
Steven Jackson
Steven Rashad Jackson is an American football running back for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Rams 24th overall in the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oregon State University....
would rush for 1,000 yards as he had done in the 2005 NFL season. Jackson crossed the 1,000 yard mark in week 13 of the 2006 NFL season, with 4 games still remaining on the Rams schedule. Such bold and incorrect predictions would have proved unpopular amongst the audience members who followed Berry's advice.
Cancellation or termination
On November 16, ESPN failed to air The Fantasy Show, broadcasting the 2006 World Series of Poker2006 World Series of Poker
The 2006 World Series of Poker began on June 25, 2006 with "satellite" events, with regular play commencing on June 26 with the annual Casino Employee event, and the Tournament of Champions held on June 28 and 29...
instead. Fans of The Fantasy Show appeared on various Internet web sites asking about the sudden disappearance and apparent cancellation of the show by ESPN. Confusing the matter, Internet TV listing web sites including Yahoo! continued to list The Fantasy Show as airing at 5:30 pm ET on ESPN2 on November 23, one week after the first missed episode. Meanwhile, ESPN seemed to indicate that the show was over by its lack of any further mention of the show. ESPN's own TV listing web site, espntv.com, showed 2006 World Series of Poker
2006 World Series of Poker
The 2006 World Series of Poker began on June 25, 2006 with "satellite" events, with regular play commencing on June 26 with the annual Casino Employee event, and the Tournament of Champions held on June 28 and 29...
as airing during that time. Further, the links to The Fantasy Show on ESPN's web site pointed to a web page that no longer existed.
On November 22, a post at Berry's official website (http://www.talentedmrroto.com/forum/Topic281455-38-1.aspx#bm281579) inquired if the show was cancelled. The response from one of the website's other employees was as follows:
No, fear not, Legion of TMR fans. There was no cancellation. In fact, the Fantasy Show was definitely well received by all. This is merely the end of the first season's run. Look for bigger and better things coming down the pike... but I'll let the TMR announce such things when and how he sees fit.
Pete
____________________
Becker@talentedmrroto.com"
While no official announcement from ESPN has been made, all indications would be that The Fantasy Show was at least terminated prematurely in its debut season if not canceled completely, despite the above comment by "Pete" on Barry's website. If this information is ultimately substantiated, the number of episodes of the program per season would then be 11 instead of 18 as originally listed. It would seem that at best this is an effort to put a positive spin on the situation, however, since if indeed only 11 shows were to be made it seems unlikely then that ESPN would not have originally provided TV lineup data listing The Fantasy Show as continuing to air for more than a month after its final show for the 2006 season (some TV listing guides were showing The Fantasy Show as airing as late as Thursday, December 21). Given the lack of an announcement on the November 9 (Week 10) episode from the show's host or commentators that they were done for the season and the original TV lineup data provided by ESPN, it would seem that the show's 2006 season was terminated prematurely. Given the above comment on Barry's website, it would seem that The Fantasy Show will at least be reformatted and changed from its 2006 format if it re-appears for the 2007 NFL season.