"Shattered Expectations"

So I've just started a league with The Onion's fantasy football program. I know, I know: yawn, I've got my Yahoo! team, my ESPN.com team, whatever. They all want you to have QBs that throw for 450 yards a game, RBs who go for 225 yards, and Ds that force fumbles and INTs on their way to 16 shut-outs.

Well, if you're familiar with The Onion, you'll know they're not exactly conventional. Their game is called "Shattered Expectations." They force you to pick the worst possible players each week and you are rewarded for their nonperformance. But it's not as easy as flipping a coin and choosing between the Bucs or the Dolphins.

Since it's "Shattered Expectations," the players you choose come from a set pool, each with their own lofty expectations. Week 1 has Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger available among possible starting QBs.

It's really a challenging way to re-think your Sunday afternoons. Rather than hope LdT rushes for 200 yards and catches 10 passes, hope Denver's D can shut San Diego down just enough that Nate Kaeding has an opportunity to miss a few 35-yarders.

Once you've followed the link to sign up and have picked a team name and selected a starting lineup, join the Footlawl League. The league name is (obviously) Footlawl. The password is nflol.

There you have it, the gauntlet has been thrown. Sign up, you punks. Prepare for humiliation at the hands of a team named Unicorns are Pretty.