Alternatives to Fantasy Football

We are all aware of the obvious Yahoo! and ESPN fantasy football leagues. But what if that isn't enough for you? Well, ESPN offers a multitude of other games for the fantasy fanatic to partake in. I've searched and found what I believe to be the top 3 alternative games to play to get your fantasy fix.

Build the best streak, win $100,000. Seems easy, right?

My personal favorite is Streak for the Cash. The idea is simple, yet executing it is nearly impossible. The basic idea is to build the longest winning streak by picking a winner of a specific game. Every day over the course of 1 month, the "streak master" will put various games and proposition bets for you to pick a winner of. It can be as simple as who will win a particular football, baseball, or soccer game. But, it can also have bets along the lines of "Which side will record a higher total: Dodger's runs scored in the 4th-6th innings or Padre's hits recorded in the 4th-6th innings." Get a pick right, and watch that line turn green and you are off to a W1 (winning streak of 1). Get it wrong though, and watch that line turn an awful red, and your back to square one. If you are able to link together the longest streak, you automatically win $50,000. If you can do that, AND eclipse the number of 27 in a row, then you get whatever is in the "stash" from previous months, as they carry over. Currently the stash is at $150,000, making a possible $200,000 up for grabs this month! Oh yeah, and its FREE to play! Happy streaking.

Pick the winner of every game, every week

I'm new to this one, but it is something I have been interested in for some time now. Basically, you log on here and are shown a list of every match-up for every week of the NFL season. You can choose to pick who will win with the spread, or who will simply win straight-up. For every pick you get right, you get a point. If you are the overall winner for the week, you are awarded a $50 ESPN Shop gift card. If you are the overall winner for the entire season, you win a $1,500 Best Buy gift card. Again, another free fantasy game with some large prizes. Why not play?

This game involves you picking just 1 winner each week throughout the entire season. Seems pretty easy right? Wrong. You can only pick each team 1 time throughout the entire season. If you pick the Packers to win in week 1, that's the only time you can pick them. This game involves some deep strategy and looking ahead at other team's schedules. You may want to hold off on picking the Packers til later, and focus on when you would pick the Falcons to win instead. If you are able to put together the best entry, you will win the grand prize of a $2,000 Best Buy gift card, with second place being rewarded a $1,000 Best Buy gift card as well. Just like the other 2 games discussed, this is also free.

With these games being free to play, having large prizes, and feeding fantasy addicts.. I don't see why someone interested in fantasy football wouldn't participate in any (or all) of these. Good luck!