Fantasy Sports Writers Association Explained
The Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) is an organization that represents journalists in the United States who cover fantasy sports. It was founded in 2004.[1] According to its website, the organization's mission is to "be a voice for writers in the arena of fantasy sports... [and] strive to promote and acknowledge the hard work and dedication shown by fantasy sports writers throughout the industry." Andy Behrens serves as the President of the FSWA. The website can be found at www.FSWA.org.
History
The association was founded in 2004. Ryan Houston was the first president, succeeded by Kirk Bouyelas in 2006, Mike Beacom in 2008, and Andy Behrens in 2014.[2] Near the end of each calendar year, nominations are made through a blind process. A group of judges with teaching backgrounds and a familiarity with fantasy sports narrows down the submissions to a group of typically 3-5 finalists. A second group of judges then chooses the best submission in each category. The finalist is typically announced in January, with winners announced about a month later. In order to garner more of an audience for the industry awards, the last few have been broadcast live on Sirius XM radio's Fantasy Sports channel.
Writing Awards
The Fantasy Sports Writers Association has been providing awards since 2004 to honor the industry's best writers.[1] The awards are typically presented each January at a meeting of the organization in Las Vegas. Many of the winners come from sites and publications dedicated to fantasy sports, while others come from general-purpose sports publications.
Past winners
| 2017 Award Winners | | |
|---|
| Football Awards | Baseball Awards | Other Awards |
| Writer of the Year - Gary Davenport, Fantasy Sharks | Writer of the Year - Todd Zola, Mastersball | Humor Article of the Year - Sammie Reid, Rotogrinders |
| Best Article on the Web - Jeff Ratcliffe, Pro Football Focus | Best Article on the Net - Jim Sannes, numberFire | Racing Writer of the Year - Mark Taylor, Rotowire |
| Best Article in Print - Jamey Eisenberg, CBS | Best Article in Print - Tim McCullough, FantasyPros | Golf Writer of the Year - Adam Daly-Frey, Fantasy Golf Insider |
| Best On-Going Series - Tyler Loechner, Pro Football Focus | Best On-Going Series - Scott Engel, RotoExperts | Basketball Writer of the Year - Benny Ricciardi, GuruElite |
| Best Publication - Football Diehards | Best Publication - RotoWire | College Writer of the Year - Brad Evans, Yahoo |
| Podcast of the Year - The Fantasy Footballers | Podcast of the Year - USA Today | Podcast of the Year (All Sports) - Rotowire |
| | Hockey Writer of the Year - Doug Shain, Bankster DFS |
| | Soccer Writer of the Year - Andrew Laird, RotoWire |
| | Newcomer of the Year - James McCool, DraftKings |
| | Video of the Year - Yahoo Fantasy Football Live |
| | Radio Show of the Year - Pro Football Focus - Jeff Ratcliffe | |
| 2016 Award Winners |
|---|
| Football Awards | Baseball Awards | Other Awards |
| Writer of the Year - Jeff Zimmerman, Rotowire | Writer of the Year - Ray Murphy, Baseball HQ | Humor Article of the Year - Chris Mitchell, RotoExperts |
| Best Article on the Net - Drew Loftis, New York Post | Best Article on the Net - Michael Rathburn, Rotowire | Racing Writer of the Year - Mark Taylor, Rotowire |
| Best Article in Print - Jeff Zimmerman, Rotowire | Best Article in Print - Rob Leibowitz, RotoHeaven | Golf Writer of the Year - Michael Riek, Rotowire |
| Best Series - Brandon Murchison, RotoExperts | Best Series - Ray Flowers, Fantasy Alarm | Basketball Writer of the Year - Ryan Knaus, Rotoworld |
| Best Publication - Football Diehards | Best Publication - Rotoworld | College Writer of the Year - John McKechnie, Rotowire |
| Podcast of the Year - Draft Sharks | Podcast of the Year - USA Today | Podcast of the Year (All Sports) - Rotowire |
| | Hockey Writer of the Year - James Capone, Scout |
| | Newcomer of the Year - Juan Carlos Blanco, Rotowire |
| | Video of the Year - Yahoo Fantasy Football Live |
| | Radio Show of the Year - Pro Football Focus - Jeff Ratcliffe | |
| 2015 Award Winners | |
|---|
| Football Awards | Baseball Awards | Other Awards |
| Writer of the Year - Brad Evans, Yahoo | Writer of the Year - Mike Podhorzer, Fangraphs | Humor Article of the Year - Chris Liss, Rotowire |
| Best Article on the Net - JJ Zachariason, Numberfire | Best Article on the Net - Ryan Bloomfield, Baseball HQ | Racing Writer of the Year - CJ Radune, Rotowire |
| Best Article in Print - Gary Davenport, Fantasy Sharks | Best Article in Print - Dave Regan, Rotowire | Golf Writer of the Year - Jeff Bergerson, Fantasy Golf Insider |
| Best Series - Robert McMann, RotoExperts | Best Series - Logan Hitchcock, Daily Roto | Basketball Writer of the Year - Ryan Knaus, Rotoworld |
| Best Publication - USA Today Sports: Fantasy Football | Best Publication - Ron Shandler's Baseball Forecaster | College Writer of the Year - Christopher Feery, Footballguys |
| | Hockey Writer of the Year - Andrew Fiorentino, Rotowire |
| | Newcomer of the Year - Alex Chamberlain, Fangraphs |
| | Video of the Year - Pat Mayo, FNTSY |
| | Podcast of the Year - Christopher Harris, HarrisFootball |
| | Radio Show of the Year - Jeff Mans and Tommy G on SiriusXM | |
| 2014 Award Winners |
|---|
| Football Awards | Baseball Awards | Other Awards |
| Writer of the Year - Steve Schwarz, The Sports Network | Writer of the Year - Michael Rathburn, Rotowire | Humor Article of the Year - Ken Crites, Rotowire |
| Best Article on the Net - Walter Collazo, Fantasy Sharks | Best Article on the Net - Benny Ricciardi, DFS Report | Racing Writer of the Year - Eric McClung, FF Toolbox |
| Best Article in Print - Matt Lutovsky, Sporting News | Best Article in Print - Steve Gardner, USA Today | Golf Writer of the Year - Gibb Pollard, RotoGrinders |
| Best Series - Evan Silva, Rotoworld | Best Series - Jeff Zimmerman, FanGraphs | Basketball Writer of the Year - Aaron Bruski, Rotoworld |
| Best Publication - USA Today Sports: Fantasy Football 2014 | Best Publication - USA Today Sports: Fantasy Baseball 2014 | College Writer of the Year - Brad Evans, Yahoo! |
| | Hockey Writer of the Year - Jesse Pantuosco, The Sports Network |
| | Newcomer of the Year - Dan Ciarrocchi, SB Nation |
| | Video of the Year - Yahoo Fantasy Football Live |
| | Podcast of the Year - Dan Back, RotoGrinders Daily Fantasy Fix |
| | Radio Show of the Year - RotoExperts on SiriusXM | |
| 2013 Award Winners |
|---|
| Football Awards | Baseball Awards | Other Awards |
| Writer of the Year - Dave Richard, CBS | Writer of the Year - Jason Collette, Rotowire | Humor Article of the Year - Thomas McFeeley, RotoExperts |
| Best Article on the Net - Mike Clay, Pro Football Focus | Best Article on the Net - Todd Zola, ESPN | Racing Writer of the Year - Daniel Dobish, RotoExperts |
| Best Article in Print - Alessandro Miglio, Pro Football Focus | Best Article in Print - David Martin, Baseball HQ | Golf Writer of the Year - Greg Vara, Rotowire |
| Best Series - Salvatore Stefanile, XN Sports | Best Series - Erik Siegrist, Rotowire | Basketball Writer of the Year - Jesse Pantuosco, The Sports Network |
| Best Publication - Fantasy Football ProForecast | Best Publication - Rotoworld | College Writer of the Year - Brad Evans, Yahoo! |
| | Hockey Writer of the Year - Jesse Pantuosco, The Sports Network |
| | Newcomer of the Year - Pat Thorman, Pro Football Focus |
| | Video of the Year - CBS, Fantasy Baseball Today, Adam Aizer, Scott White, Nando Di Fino and Al Melchior |
| | Podcast of the Year - Patrick Davitt, Baseball HQ Radio |
| | Radio Show of the Year - Rotowire Fantasy Sports Today, Jeff Erickson, Chris Liss, Derek VanRiper, Andrew Martinez and Jason Thornbury | |
| 2012 Award Winners[3] |
|---|
| Football Awards | Baseball Awards | Other Awards |
| Writer of the Year - Brad Evans, Yahoo! Sports | Writer of the Year - Alex Beckey, Baseball HQ | Humor Article of the Year - Matt Lutovsky, The Sporting News |
| Best Article on the Net - Alessandro Miglio, Pro Football Focus | Best Article on the Net - Jack Moore, RotoWire | Racing Writer of the Year - C.J. Radune, RotoWire |
| Best Article in Print - Allie Fontana, Football Diehards | Best Article in Print - Matt Lutovsky | Golf Writer of the Year - Daniel Dobish, RotoExperts |
| Best Series - Patrick Mayo, RotoExperts | Best Series - Patrick DiCaprio, USA Today | Basketball Writer of the Year - Brian McKitish, ESPN |
| Best Publication - Sports Illustrated | Best Publication - The Sporting News | College Writer of the Year - Jesse Siegel, RotoWire |
| | Hockey Writer of the Year - Janet Eagleson, RotoWire |
| | Newcomer of the Year - Scott Spratt, Pro Football Focus | |
| 2011 Award Winners |
|---|
| Football Awards | Baseball Awards | Other Awards |
| Writer of the Year - Ladd Biro | Writer of the Year - Chris Ryan, RotoExperts | Humor Article of the Year - Ladd Biro |
| Best Article on the Net - Jeff Paur, RealTime | Best Article on the Net - Tristan Cockcroft, ESPN | Racing Writer of the Year - Daniel Dobish, RotoExperts |
| Best Article in Print - Jeff Stotts, RotoWire | Best Article in Print - David Regan, RotoWire | Golf Writer of the Year - Daniel Dobish, RotoExperts |
| Best Series - Adam Levitan, Rotoworld | Best Series - Ray Flowers, Baseball Guys/RotoWire | Basketball Writer of the Year - Carson Cistulli, RotoWire |
| Best Publication - Sports Illustrated | Best Publication - The Sporting News | College Writer of the Year - Brad Evans, Yahoo! Sports |
| | Hockey Writer of the Year - Mark McLarney, RotoWire |
| | Newcomer of the Year - Mark Bloom, RotoExperts | |
| 2010 Award Winners |
|---|
| Football Awards | Baseball Awards | Other Awards |
| Writer of the Year - Ladd Biro | Writer of the Year - David Regan, RotoWire | Humor Article of the Year - Chris Ryan, RotoExperts |
| Best Article on the Net - Tim McCullough | Best Article on the Net - Derek VanRiper, RotoWire | Racing Writer of the Year - Mark Taylor, RotoWire |
| Best Article in Print - Cory Bonini, KFFL | Best Article in Print - Chris Liss, RotoWire | Golf Writer of the Year - John McNamara, RotoWire |
| Best Series - Ryan Bonini, KFFL | Best Series - David Regan, RotoWire | Basketball Writer of the Year - Brian McKitish, ESPN |
| Best Publication - Football CheatSheets | Best Publication - The Sporting News | College Writer of the Year - Brad Evans, Yahoo! Sports |
| | Hockey Writer of the Year - Janet Eagleson |
| | Newcomer of the Year - Lane Rizzardini | |
| 2009 Award Winners |
|---|
| Football Awards | Baseball Awards | Other Awards |
| Writer of the Year - Ryan Bonini, KFFL | Writer of the Year - Scott White, CBSSports.com | Humor Article of the Year - Mike Gilbert, RotoExperts |
| Best Article on the Net - Derek VanRiper, RotoWire | Best Article on the Net - David Regan, RotoWire | Racing Writer of the Year - Mark Taylor, RotoWire |
| Best Article in Print - Ted Carlson, Fanball | Best Article in Print - Brent Hershey, USA Today Sports Weekly | Golf Writer of the Year - Scott Pianowski, Yahoo! Sports |
| Best Series - Adam Levitan, Rotoworld | Best Series - David Regan, RotoWire | Basketball Writer of the Year - Andre Snellings, RotoWire [4] |
| Best Publication - Pro Football Weekly / Yahoo! Sports | Best Publication - RotoWire | College Writer of the Year - Brad Evans, Yahoo! Sports |
| | Hockey Writer of the Year - Sean Allen, ESPN | |
| 2008 Award Winners[5] |
|---|
| Football Awards | Baseball Awards | Other Awards |
| Writer of the Year - Jay Clemons, Sports Illustrated | Writer of the Year - Jeff Erickson, RotoWire | Humor Article of the Year - Jeremy Fisher, Fantasy Football Trader |
| Best Article on the Net - Chris Liss, RotoWire | Best Article on the Net - Eno Sarris, Baseball Guys | Racing Writer of the Year - Mark Taylor, RotoWire |
| Best Article in Print - Dan Grogan, Athlon | Best Article in Print - Andy Behrens, Yahoo | Golf Writer of the Year - John McNamara, RotoWire |
| Best Major Media Article - Dave Richard, CBS Sports | Best Major Media Article - Matt Lutovsky, Sporting News | Hockey Writer of the Year - Sean Allen, ESPN |
| Best Series - George Winkler, Sporting News | Best Series - Scott White, CBS Sports | Basketball Writer of the Year - Sergio Gonzalez, CBS Sports |
| Best Publication - Rotoworld | Best Publication - RotoWire | College Writer of the Year - Adam Mankuta, RotoWire | |
| 2007 Award Winners |
|---|
| Football Awards | Baseball Awards | Other Awards |
| Writer of the Year - Gregg Rosenthal | Writer of the Year - Jeff Erickson | Humor Article of the Year - John Paulson |
| Best Article on the Net - Jason Powell | Best Article on the Net - Peter Becker | Racing Writer of the Year - Christopher Harris |
| Best Article in Print - Joe Levit | Best Article in Print - Will Carroll | Golf Writer of the Year - Ross Devonport |
| Best Major Media Article - Vinny Iyer | Best Major Media Article - Christopher Harris | Hockey Writer of the Year - Janet Eagleson |
| Best Series - John Rakowski | Best Series - Eric Karabell | Basketball Writer of the Year - Andre' Snellings |
| Best Publication - RotoWire | Best Publication - RotoWire | |
| 2006 Award Winners |
|---|
| Football Awards | Baseball Awards | Other Awards |
| Writer of the Year - Scott Engel | Writer of the Year - Brendan Roberts | Racing Writer of the Year - Christopher Harris |
| Best Article on the Net - Matthew Berry | Best Article on the Net - Peter Schoenke | Golf Writer of the Year - Scott Coombs |
| Best Article in Print - Kirk Bouyelas | Best Article in Print - William Carroll | Hockey Writer of the Year - Janet Eagleson |
| Most Humorous Article - Garett Matheny | Most Humorous Article - Matthew Berry | Basketball Writer of the Year - Matthew Berry |
| Best Major Media Article - Christopher Harris | Best Major Media Article - Matthew Berry |
| Best Series - John Georgopoulos | Best Series - Brendan Roberts | |
| 2005 Award Winners |
|---|
| Football Awards | Baseball Awards | Other Awards |
| Writer of the Year - Eric Karabell | Writer of the Year - Trace Wood | Racing Writer of the Year - Christopher Harris |
| Best Article on the Net - Lenny Pappano | Best Article on the Net - Brian McKitish | Golf Writer of the Year - Greg Vara |
| Best Article in Print - Micheal Fabiano | Best Article in Print - William Carroll |
| Most Humorous Article - John Nemo | Most Humorous Article - Matthew Berry |
| Best Major Media Article - Ken Daube | Best Magazine Advertising Campaign - RotoWire |
| Best Series - Michael Fabiano | |
| 2004 Award Winners |
|---|
| Football Awards |
| Writer of the Year - Bob Harris |
| Best Article on the Net - Tristan Cockcroft |
| Best Article in Print - Sam Caplan |
| Most Humorous Article - JK Rupprecht |
| Best Major Media Article - Matt Watson |
| Best Series - Greg Kellogg | |
Several members of the industry have been nominated for and won multiple awards. The leaders - by individual and media outlet - are listed below:
| All-Time Most Wins - Individual |
|---|
| Wins | Writer(s) |
| 9 | Brad Evans |
| 6 | Christopher Harris, David Regan |
| 5 | Matthew Berry, Mark Taylor |
| 4 | Daniel Dobish, Janet Eagleson, Matt Lutovsky, Chris Liss |
| 3 | Will Carroll, Brian McKitish, Ladd Biro, Jesse Pantuosco, Derek VanRiper, Jeff Erickson, Jeff Zimmerman, Jeff Ratcliffe | |
| All-Time Most Wins - Media Outlet |
|---|
| Wins | Outlet(s) |
| 61 | Rotowire |
| 16 | RotoExperts |
| 14 | ESPN, Yahoo |
| 12 | Sporting News |
| 11 | Rotoworld |
| 10 | CBS |
| 9 | ProFootballFocus |
| 8 | TalentedMrRoto, USA Today |
| 5 | Baseball HQ | |
| All-Time Most Nominations - Individual |
|---|
| Nominations | Writer(s) |
| 15 | Brad Evans |
| 14 | David Regan |
| 13 | Chris Liss, Chris Harris |
| 11 | Tristan Cockcroft, Patrick Mayo |
| 9 | Matthew Berry, Andy Behrens, John Georgopoulos, Ladd Biro, Daniel Dobish, Scott Engel |
| 8 | Heather Cocks, Matt Lutovsky, Jeff Erickson, Mark Taylor |
| 7 | Janet Eagleson, Alessandro Miglio, Jeff Zimmerman, Jeff Ratcliffe, Derek Van Riper, Scott Pianowski |
| 6 | Ray Flowers, Scott White, Greg Vara, Mike Rathburn, JJ Zachariason | |
| All-Time Most Nominations - Media Outlet |
|---|
| Nominations | Outlet(s) |
| 190 | Rotowire |
| 70 | RotoExperts |
| 42 | ESPN |
| 38 | TalentedMrRoto, Sporting News |
| 36 | Yahoo Sports |
| 29 | CBS |
| 24 | Rotoworld |
| 23 | Pro Football Focus |
| 21 | RotoGrinders |
| 15 | Sports Grumblings |
| 14 | Football Diehards |
| 11 | Baseball HQ, USA Today |
| 9 | KFFL, Fangraphs, numberFire |
| 8 | Sports Illustrated, Fanball | |
Hall of Fame
In 2010, the FSWA established a Hall of Fame to honor fantasy sports writers, publishers, and editors "who possess a distinguished body of work and/or those who have helped to advance the careers of others in the fantasy sports industry."[6]
The classes of writers inducted into the Hall of Fame are below.
| Class of 2012 |
|---|
| Ryan R. Bonini |
| Tristan H. Cockcroft |
| William Del Pilar |
| Michael Fabiano |
| Dan Grogan |
| Bob Harris |
| James Quintong | |
| Class of 2013 |
|---|
| Glenn Waggoner |
| John Hansen | |
| Class of 2014 |
|---|
| John Hunt |
| Matthew Pouilot |
| Jeff Erickson | |
| Class of 2015 |
|---|
| Joe Bryant |
| Jason Grey |
| Alex Patton | |
| Class of 2016 |
|---|
| Peter Kreutzer |
| Lenny Melnick |
| Ian Allan | |
External links
Notes and References
- News: Growing fantasy sports scene is big business . . May 28, 2007 . 2013-02-06.
- Web site: Fswa.org . 2023-03-10 . www.fswa.org.
- Web site: 2012 FSWA Writing Awards . Fantasy Sports Writers Association . February 7, 2013. Affiliations are seen at Web site: 2012 FSWA Writing Awards Finalists . Fantasy Sports Writers Association . February 9, 2013.
- Web site: ESPN Fantasy hires award-winning writer and neural engineer André Snellings . Ota . Kevin . 15 November 2017 . ESPN . 10 February 2018.
- News: Matt . Schauf . CBS, Sporting News Take Multiple FSWA Trophies . January 28, 2009 . World Sports Technology Inc. . Fantasy Sports Business . 2009-06-02 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090303092141/http://www.fantasysportsbusiness.com/wordpress/2009/01/28/cbs-sporting-news-take-multiple-fswa-trophies/ . 2009-03-03 .
- Web site: FSWA Hall of Fame . Fantasy Sports Writers Association . April 10, 2013.
- Web site: FSWA Hall of Fame.
