It's football season, and I've never won a fantasy league. This is probably my fifth season, and I think I'm ready. I'm only going to be in one this year, I say, because I want to focus. Too many leagues mean I'll have too many excuses.

No excuses this year, because I have a plan: running back, running back, wide receiver, wide receiver, quarterback, RB/WR, RB/WR, etc. No kickers or defense till the last rounds. Been burned by Neil Rackers and my Buccaneers defense too often.

I'm in a free Yahoo league, and this past Saturday was our live, Internet draft. My brother is the commish. It's a mix of his friends, my friends and our mutual high school acquaintances.

And I have the third pick. This is important because my buddy Rich, whom I coaxed into taking the 12th spot in the league, ended up with the first pick.

Grrrr, Rich.

Round 1

I find out about 15 minutes before the draft that I'm up third. Better than 10th, right? But this year, third doesn't help you much unless you're in love with Larry Johnson. I'm not. Rich gets LaDainian Tomlinson, of course, and one of the members using Yahoo's auto draft takes Steven Jackson, who I picked early two years ago and got burned (I guess I was two years too early -- he's supposed to be the guy this year). In previous years -- OK, for the past three -- I would have killed to get Shaun Alexander. I finally have a clear shot at him, but I'm hesitating. His numbers and health didn't hold up last season, and now the clock is ticking. Peyton? Ronnie Brown? Oh, man, OK.

Pick: Shaun Alexander (RB)

Round 2

Of course, all the running backs are gone. I'm glad my brother's new girlfriend is in the league -- she somehow grabbed Jake Plummer with the 11th pick. I have the 22nd pick. Need another RB. Laurence Maroney went 10th? That's a stretch. I was hoping he'd be there for me. My plan this year was to stock up on running backs on teams with good defenses. That leaves the Bears' Cedric Benson. Thomas Jones left for the Jets, so leaves Benson with the load in Chicago. Lovie will have Rex handing off because his QB's arm is unpredictable at best.

Pick: Cedric Benson (RB)

Round 3

My third pick (27th overall) is coming up quick, I have to be ready. Need a top wide receiver. I guess I could have picked Chad Johnson. In retrospect, yeah, that would have been a better choice. He went 29th. But for some reason, I had Torry Holt higher on my list. Everyone's been touting the Rams this year, and I always pass on St. Louis' top guy thinking he's not gonna be as productive as the previous year. Let's hope I didn't pick the one year to be wrong.

Pick: Torry Holt (WR)

Round 4

Need another No. 1-option WR. By now, the top guys left (Marques Colston, Larry Fitzgerald, Roy Williams) are gone. That's fine, I didn't want any of them, anyway. I had my sights on Javon Walker. Hey, he's there (just barely, according to Yahoo's quickly dwindling list of top players -- isn't it funny how when pre-ranking your players you actually fool yourself into thinking all these guys are going to be there 46 picks into the draft?).

Pick: Javon Walker (WR)

Round 5

Got it. Two top RBs and two top WRs. So far, so good. All solid choices with legitimate chances of putting up numbers each week. None too flashy, just consistent guys. What did I say I needed now? Right, how are the quarterbacks going? Peyton went 8th, Plummer (hehe, can't get over it, sorry) went 11th, Bulger went 24th, Palmer went 33rd, Brady (who I really wanted) went midway through the 4th. I like Philip Rivers. He's like fifth or sixth back on the rankings list, but I don't want to take the chance that he won't be there later, and thus be stuck with someone I don't want.

Pick: Philip Rivers

Round 6

My top five starters are set. I need another WR and another WR/RB flex. Of course I'm gonna dip back into the running back well. At the bottom of the barrel with the 10th pick in Round 6, I get Fred Taylor. (Again, backs with good defenses.) I know Maurice Jones-Drew went 19th overall, and he's probably gonna get fewer carries, but I saw him make a nice run in a preseason game against the Bucs. Plus, it's the Torry Holt thinking -- I passed on him in previous years and got proven wrong, so there you go.

Pick: Fred Taylor (RB)

Round 7

I should probably switch back over to rounding out my wide receiving corps (I need three starters), but ... aw, man. I hate Rich. Dude picked Darrell Jackson at the end of Round 6. He was at the top of my remaining list. There's no one else I like. I figure it's now or never for RBs. By now, the first-string guys are gone (I did just take Fred Taylor five picks ago), but Dallas does have a good D, and Julius Jones could be the guy in Big D. Uhh, uhh, time's running out.

Pick: Julius Jones (RB)

Round 8

I have four running backs, but I can only start three. Should really consider my third receiver about now. I'm OK, though. People are starting to pick up defenses already, and they're getting backup QBs. I remember Bernard Berrian having a good start last season, and even though I'm neither a Rex Grossman nor Fresno State fan, Berrian is easily the best option still left in the draft.

Pick: Bernard Berrian (WR)

Round 9

Oh, shoot, oh shoot, dang, darn, fart. I drafted Benson in the second round. Now I have the Bears' top RB and WR. I didn't want to stock up starters on the same team. I like to spread the love (not hedge my bets). That was a waste. By now, I'm switching over to ESPN's team-by-team depth charts to see if there are any second receivers I'm missing. Plus, my boy Rich just took Terry Glenn. That's twice. Arghhhh. Oh, the Saints' Devery Henderson is available. I guess that's the best I can do.

Pick: Devery Henderson (WR)

Round 10

Pick: Isaac Bruce (WR): Not a bad second option. Good insurance if Holt goes down.

Round 11

Pick: Eric Johnson (TE): I remember the former 'Niner being a threat, and with the Saints offense on fire, I'm betting he's going to be one of their top ball catchers. (Yahoo's projections don't see it that way, but he's my sleeper pick this year, and a steal in the 11th round, if you ask me.)

Round 12

Pick: Michael Turner (RB): Speaking of insurance, I'm gonna laugh if LT goes down and Rich is watching my team ride to victory with the best backup running back in the league.

Round 13

Pick: Tampa Bay (DEF): Yeah, baby. We're so gonna be back. And we just picked up Trotter. Him, along with Gaines, and our "old" defense is gonna be as aggressive as ever. (I learned long ago never to draft an offensive player from your home team, because double disappointment is never a good thing. But the Bucs defense is always a safe pick.)

Round 14

Stephen Gostkowski (K): See? This is when you're supposed to draft your kicker. The Pats usually score a bunch of points, right? Yeah. I'm confident a few will be field goals.

Round 15

Matt Schaub (QB): The draft thing screwed up. Oh, well. I guess I need a backup.

... Well, if I had to grade the draft, I guess I'd give myself a B- (even though I detest the plus-minus grading system). I definitely shouldn't have passed up Ocho-Cinco. But, whatever. As long as I beat my brother in Week 1, I'll be fine.

OK, Beehive faithful ... now don't make the same mistakes I did. Have fun this season.

And go Bucs.