Rise and Grind: NBA All-Star Breakup
Is something missing in your life? The National Basketball Association (NBA) is officially on a break. I’m sure you saw this coming. I know I did. This isn’t a shock to me. First, my picks were being scratched at the last minute for “personal” reasons. Other times, my picks decided to sit out because of “flu like symptoms”.
Look, I’m not stupid NBA. This hasn’t been working out. When you said you needed “a break,” I started to put the pieces together. Neither of us have been happy lately. I think it’s time we used this breakup to date other sports. I will even admit that I have had my eye on a few other sports for a while now.
I hate to do this right before Valentine’s Day, but I’m breaking up with you NBA. I’m taking my friends with me too. We are going to try out CBB, NHL, PGA, soccer and MMA. Here’s how:
Editor’s Note: RotoGrinders has partnered with DraftKings for a $3,000 Mixed-Sport Freeroll during NBA All-Star Break
College Basketball
Oh yeah, I’m taking it here. You think I haven’t noticed your little sister? Sure, the athletes don’t get paid in this sport, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make a little money. Both DraftKings and FanDuel have taken notice of our break and posted some enticing GPPs. Next Wednesday, FanDuel is running a Before the Madness tournament with $75K Guaranteed. Qualifiers are posted in the lobby for as little as $1. I may even just buy in for $100.
Not to be outdone, DraftKings has posted a $100K March Mania Bracket Challenge with a top prize of $20,000. It’s a qualifier only event, but I can qualify for as low as $2. I’m definitely interested.
How will I suddenly become a CBB expert? That’s simple, I can use the resources right here on RotoGrinders. Varncass is one of the best in the game, and he writes the CBB Grind Down. He also recently released a strategy guide. Scott121422 also consistently churns out solid advice in his CBB Daily Plays. I may even take advantage of the free trial for CBB incentives. My card won’t be charged unless I cancel, which I probably won’t. I bet the advice pays for itself over the next week. Even if it doesn’t, it was a free trial.
NHL
Don’t think for one second CBB is the only sport I will try. The increased guarantees in NHL contests have caught my eye as well. FanDuel is running a $75K Goal on tonight. If that fills, we could see an even larger pool for Friday’s five-game slate or Saturday’s enormous ten-game slate. Stay tuned folks.
DraftKings has also increased its NHL prize pools. The good folks at DK are running a $40K Triple Deke at the $300 price point tonight. On Saturday, they also have a $100K Empty Netter for $100 and a WFHC Qualifier for $1000. Remember that time TommyG1979 qualified for Vegas his first try? I think we can do the same.
Let’s get started. Here is a link to the Daily Fantasy Hockey Primer written by the great “TheTonyM”. Just about everything you need to get started is covered there. On a daily basis, pepsi7, boggslite, Billsfan777, dooger1234, and jmbwngfn continue to offer winning advice in the NHL Daily Plays articles and on GrindersLive. I recommend checking the Vegas Odds, using the Starting Goalies page to confirm your goalie, and then stacking players on the first line or power-play line.
Soccer
DraftKings has posted a $20K GPP ($20 buy-in) for next week’s Champions League action (Tuesday/Wednesday) and will be adding more tournaments soon. We will have DFS picks available for reading, and there’s bound to be some great discussion in the forums too.
PGA
Never tried PGA b-Forrreeeee? It’s fun. DraftKings is running a $100K 3-Wood as well as a $100K Fairway for the AT&T Pro-Am. The action tees off at 11 AM EST today. Here at RotoGrinders, we are lucky enough to have Gibbathy (the FSTA Golf Writer of the Year) providing his insight week in and week out. On top of that, the man who never sleeps, Notorious provides his projections every week. This week seems like the perfect week to tee up a PGA lineup. Check out Gibbathy’s article here and Notorious’ here, and also be sure to peruse through Noto’s DFS golf strategy guide.
MMA
Is there something going on this Saturday? It seems like there is. What day is Saturday? February 14th? Oh yeah, I’m so stupid. That’s the night Henderson fights Thatch in UFC action. How could I have forgotten that? DraftKings is offering a $25,000 Ground and Pound, $50,000 Takedown and $30,000 Guillotine at $200, $27 and $2 respectively. Be sure to check the blog section for analysis. Grinders Puig_ca and bbbomb have provided quality breakdowns for every event so far.
Other Ways to Pass the Time
While CBB, NHL, MMA, and PGA all sound exciting, I’m sure plenty of free time will be available. What else is available to pass the time? I’m glad you asked. Well actually you didn’t ask, I asked myself for you. Anyways, here is a short list of things I will be doing to pass the time.
GrindersU – The instructors at GrindersU have worked tirelessly to provide advice for beginners as well as advanced DFS players. Why not take a look at what GrindersU has to offer? Find an interesting topic in GrindersU and dive deep into it. In fact, why not report back to us on your findings?
Give Back to the Community – This brings me to my next point. Now seems like a great time to join the discussion in the forums here at RotoGrinders. Every day we have lively strategy discussions for each sport. There are also various threads on suggestions for the industry. If you don’t see a topic that interests you start one of your own. Just remember to be polite and follow the Community Guidelines. I promise it’s possible to get your point across without attacking any person or DFS site.
Start a Blog – If you are in a really giving mood, or simply have a lot to say, why not write a blog? What have you learned so far in NBA? Could it help others? MLB starts in a little over 50 days. It’s never too early to get started on MLB research and Strategy.
There are numerous ways to pass the time during this short break. None are better than the others. The only idea that isn’t a smart one is going off the grid for the week. We already lost NBA. We don’t need to lose you as well.
Stick around and try out some of the offerings here at RotoGrinders. Try out a new sport or site. Start a discussion. Post a blog. Do literally anything besides take the week off. We already lost NBA, we can’t afford to lose you as well. That would simply be too painful.