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Top 10 reasons to keep playing fantasy football
Did your fantasy football season end too soon? Were you left to dwell on a lost campaign after Josh Gordon smashed your postseason hopes and dreams? Well, your fantasy season doesn't have to end. Find out why you should still be involved in fantasy football!

Fantasy football is far and away the best fantasy sport on this big, blue marble, but unfortunately it's also the one with the shortest time span. You're playing in 13-14 fantasy games and if you're lucky, your team makes it to the championship and suits up for 16 weeks. But if you're a smart owner, you know how to extend your fantasy football experience through Week 17 and all the way into the Super Bowl.

I'm a huge fan of the New York Yankees and fantasy baseball, but I have to wait a few more months before I even think about who I'm drafting in my two leagues (I'm bitter, so it won't be Robinson Cano). In all serious, though, going through any part of the calendar year without having some stake in a fantasy league is like being Paul Sheldon trapped in Annie Wilkes' remote mountain cabin -- it's pure "Misery".

If you're not paying attention to the NFL or fantasy football, you miss out of the lovely ladies who are cheering on their teams on the sidelines. Alright so cheerleaders really have nothing to do with the whole fantasy football phenomenon, but really is there any reason not to show more cheerleaders? Well, I guess you can cheer for your fantasy football teams, but you get the point. Cheerleaders rule. Enjoy.

These two teams have combined to win five games going into Week 15, but there is still a lot to like when it comes to fantasy football. The Texans field superstar wide receiver Andre Johnson and a running back in Ben Tate who has become a viable No. 2 fantasy option. Owners are also paying attention to the Skins, who have Alfred Morris, Pierre Garcon and a young quarterback with real upside in Kirk Cousins.

We all love the NFL. Heck, I have been a fan since 1980 when I was eight years old and watching Danny White, Tony Dorsett and the Dallas Cowboys. But for the fantasy football generation, can you imagine watching games without there being some sort of fantasy involvement? I don't know about you, but I can't. Fantasy sports just makes reality sports that much more enjoyable, especially when it comes to the NFL.

If you're like me and a lot of owners, you play in a seasonal fantasy league that involves a lot of the same people year in and year out. So why not make every week of the fantasy football season matter, even if it doesn't affect the current campaign? Owners should continue to play out the entire NFL season even if they're not in the postseason, to help determine the draft order for the upcoming season.

Does your fantasy football league not have a consolation bracket? If it doesn't, it really should. I play in a 10-team league with Jim Nantz and my pals from CBS Sports, and we have two brackets. The top four teams make it to the championship (Masters) bracket, the bottom four play in the consolation (Web.com) bracket and the No. 9 and 10 teams play for the top pick in the following season's re-draft.

I say it all the time -- non-elite players who finish the current campaign on a high note will be in prime position to become attractive fantasy sleepers for the following campaign. So keep watching, keep playing and stay ahead of the competition. A few of the players I'll be keeping tabs on in these final weeks of the season are Kirk Cousins, Giovani Bernard, Ben Tate, Cordarrelle Patterson and Ladarius Green.

Do you want to win $1 million? I do, too, but I'm not eligible so I leave it up to you to take the NFL Perfect Challenge. Each week of the season, you can set a starting lineup of the players you think will lead their respective positions in fantasy points. If you're able to predict that for the top quarterback, running backs, wide receivers, tight end, kicker and defense, you go home with a cool million bucks.

Just because the NFL's regular season is over, the fantasy football fun doesn't have to be. You can still play in the NFL Playoff Challenge and win a trip to Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale, Ariz. The rules are pretty simple -- set a starting lineup of players whose teams are in the postseason. Whoever scores the most points from Wild Card Weekend to the Super Bowl is in line to receive some serious NFL prizes!