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Viva Murillo!

This isn’t just the off-season; it’s the off-off-off-season. As in the “no more hockey playoffs, no more basketball playoffs, baseball has a long way to go before their playoffs” off-season.

So what do you need to know? Just your ABCs; that’s all. As in:

* Player A is excited to be with his new team. Fans can expect an enhanced work ethic, positive attitude and great production. He’s going to be a player to watch in fantasy drafts.

* Player B has no problem with competition from younger players. He’s going to keep doing what he’s doing, and as long as he produces, he expects to be out there on the field. He should still be a decent pickup in fantasy leagues.

* Player C has a lot to prove, but he’s ready to go to work. With little on-the-job training, he expects to be an immediate starter and producer. There might be some growing pains, but in fantasy football, garbage-time points count just as much as regular points. He’s worth a spot on your fantasy team.

Now, who is player A? Well, he could be Randy Moss, Jeff Garcia or Willis McGahee. Player B could be Chester Taylor, Fred Taylor or Warrick Dunn. Player C could be Marshawn Lynch, Adrian Peterson, or Calvin Johnson.

But really, who cares? It’s June; they’re all saying the same thing. Everyone is looking good in camp. Everyone looks faster after losing X pounds, or looks stronger after putting on Y pounds of muscle, or is ready to go back to work after signing an extension for Z million dollars. It’s all talk, but in the off-off-off-season, that’s all we have.

The news outlets will report it, but that doesn’t mean you have to listen. There isn’t any reason to believe what Player A, B or C says, although you can be absolutely certain of one thing: Coach D is a liar.

It doesn’t matter if he’s been with the team for years, has a job in a new city or has never been a head coach before. It’s in their DNA—coaches lie in the summertime. The guys they drafted are picking up the system quickly. A player of questionable character is now a model citizen. Things are looking good at voluntary workouts.

Even bad events have a positive spin. A holdout has plenty of time to get back into camp. A minor injury won’t keep a starter from missing significant time; in fact, it’s better to have it happen now rather than later. Out-of-shape (read: fat) players have some “work to do,” but that’s about it. No coach will tell you think are looking bad for the upcoming season. If he did, they might as well fire him now.

That’s why you have to take any “news” you hear with an ocean’s worth of salt. Almost none of it will affect your fantasy fortunes in 2007, and the few relevant facts will definitely resurface in the coming weeks.

This is a bad time to evaluate fantasy players, but an excellent time to evaluate fantasy leagues. More on that next week.

Michael Murillo is amazed at how many older players look “noticeably faster” in training camp, only to slow back down just as the season starts. You can reach him at vivamurillo@hotmail.com.

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