Horse Tracks: Fantasy flashback edition

In 2002 I finally jumped into the fantasy football swimming pool. Thirteen years ago, fantasy was well on its way to becoming the multi-million dollar side attraction to the NFL season. Friends of mine were getting into it and, heck, why not? Recognize any of the names below?

Tiki was a decent pick that year. A ton of yards and 11 touchdowns... and six fumbles. Bubba Franks I picked up because I lived with two Packer fans at the time and they were over the moon about him and Favre. Rod Gardner was decent in Steve Spurrior's disastrous experiment Patrick Ramsey in Washington. Ahman Green was another pickup because of my Packer-fan roomates. Chad Johnson had yet to become Ochocinco and was a stud everywhere but the endzone. Chad Pennington had a career year in the sense that if you added up his stats from the rest of his career, he likely wouldn't come close to his 2002 season. Rod Smith was by homer pick (I blame Brian Griese for his numbers that were worse than Ron Gardner's). Moe Williams of the Vikings would go on to be my secret weapon at tight end for a couple years. For whatever reason, nobody wanted him and yet he produced each week. Among the kickers, few remember Mike Hollis... especially me.

My first foray into fantasy was good enough to keep me interested; I got fourth place. I've run a league every year since 2003 and have only won once. Every now and then, I'll surprise myself and do well, but I assure you that happens far less than getting last place. Although there was this a couple years back...

2013 Champion!

...but I've gotten last place more than first. This year I'm taking a punter number one overall. #Championship

Look at Scotty coming in third. He's a beast!

Take a look back at your very first fantasy team. How did you do an who was on it?

HORSE TRACKS

If you haven't been reading Jon Heath's recaps of training camp, you should be. Do yourself a favor and check it out! Now 100% HORN free (with much love to KaptainKirk).  NFL training camp 2015: Denver Broncos Day 3 practice report

The Denver Broncos website also does a great job in bringing camp to those of us not lucky enough to visit Dove Valley. Here's their recap of day three. Broncos Training Camp Quick Hits: Day 3

Great news for all you Osweiler fans! Plan To Limit Manning’s Snaps Will Also Benefit Brock Osweiler " CBS Denver

As usual, Jim Saccomano's "Sunday with Sacco" article is a great read. Over the team's history, Broncos training camp has changed considerably. Saccomano knows just about everything there is about the Broncos, including how to get a young John Elway a haircut without the media catching wind of it. Sundays with Sacco: Training camp's changes

Former Bronco Jeremy Mincey has ended his holdout and has reported to Cowboys training camp to avoid being fined. He'll likely get some chunk of change for cooperating, but probably not as much as he was hoping for. Cowboys' Jeremy Mincey activated from reserve list - NFL.com

The Southern California grocery store that accidentally created a Broncos themed soda display gets some more run in this article about a popular facebook page for Chargers fans. Bless... You know you're a Chargers fan when | SanDiegoUnionTribune.com

The Chiefs Jamaal Charles has clearly lost his mind. All offseason, sports fans had to endure pundits debate who was the better all around basketball player, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, or Michael Jordan. I hate to tell you this, Jamaal, but there's no debate about you. You're no Emmit Smith, no Jim Brown, and no Floyd Little. Shoot, Priest Holmes thinks you're being foolish. Keep working and maybe one day we might allow comparisons between youand former Broncos RB Olandis Gary. Maybe... Jamaal Charles of Kansas City Chiefs feels like LeBron James of football

The San Diego Union Tribune has forgotten that Peyton Manning, Von Miller, Demarcus Ware, and Demaryius Thomas are on the same AFC West team. Chargers have real shot to win it all, finally | SanDiegoUnionTribune.com

[I'm editing myself. I had some really mean stuff to say, but I thought better of it. You try writing a blurb about this without mentioning prison.] Raiders Hold Alumni Weekend

While the former Alabama standout has a 50/50 shot of making the Raiders, RB Trent Richardson has zero chance of actually making an NFL roster. ZING! Trent Richardson has 50-50 chance to make Raiders - NFL.com

Former first overall pick Jadaveon Clowney should be ready to take the field in two weeks after missing much of last year with a meniscus tear. Texans fans, you're on bust-watch whether you like it or not. Texans' goal is Aug. 17 return for Jadeveon Clowney - NFL.com

Is Chip Kelly a racist? Eagles backup quarterback Mark Sanchez thinks is tired of answering questions about it. I'm guessing that Sanchez's comments went something like this... Mark Sanchez says talk of Chip Kelly being racist is "getting old" | ProFootballTalk

Eagles fans are raising money to tackle the big issues of our day... Like trolling the Dallas Cowboys over their recent acquisition of running back Demarco Murray. If Broncos fans flew a banner over another team's practice, who would it be and what would it say? Eagles fans are raising money to troll the Dallas Cowboys with a "We Got DeMarco" banner - Bleeding Green Nation

What's the first thing you'd do after signing a ridiculously lucrative new contract with the Dallas Cowboys? If you said get into a fight with a player most people have never heard of, you're right! WATCH: Dez Bryant, Tyler Patmon get into fight at training camp