TUESDAY’S TAKE: Dear Mr. Fantasy

Hi, I’m Mike, and I have a fantasy football addiction.

It’s sad, really.

I can’t go through a Sunday morning without consistently refreshing my lineup to check the latest projections for the day.

Last-minute injury reports are crucial to victory in the week. Nobody wants to leave an inactive player in their starting lineup.

Once the games are on, I’m refreshing my matchup to see the latest scores in real time and to gauge whether I can send a trash-talking tweet to my opponent for the week.

As Sunday progresses and my points don’t increase, the “what if” scenarios start running through my head. What if his running back tears his ACL? What if his quarterback throws four picks? What if I hadn’t drank so much during the draft? It’s stressful.

On Sunday, I’m glued to NFL Red Zone. If you’re a serious fantasy player and you aren’t watching the Red Zone Channel, which chronicles every scoring play and red zone opportunity commercial-free with stats constantly running along the bottom of the screen, then you’re doing it wrong. Get Red Zone.

I use ESPN’s fantasy football, and it’s great. If you aren’t there, get there. It’s comprehensive and free. It has the best resources to bring you the most current news on all of your players. Make the switch. I’ve used Yahoo!, and it is a joke compared to ESPN.

Put simply: I’m hooked on fantasy football.

And you should be too.

If you aren’t already playing, what’s stopping you?

It will get you more involved in Sunday’s games. You’ll be more knowledgeable during those Monday morning discussions about plays that went awry.

The competition is most of the fun. Fielding a better team that week than an opponent is so gratifying. And on Sunday, the beer will taste that much better when you’re team is on top. There is no reason to not be involved. I know people who have never watched any football that have done well in fantasy leagues. It’s all about having the right players at the right time in the right place, and if you do a little reading up you can do well enough.

It’s a small commitment for the opportunity to steal some cash from your buddies along with bragging rights at the end of the season. It enables you to be the GM that assembles that all-star team that is the envy of the league. There’s nothing better than to be the GM that leads a championship season.

Unfortunately, I’m not that GM too often. And this looks like it’s going to be one of those seasons.

This year, I’m in over my head. I normally dedicate all of my time to one league, ensuring I give it 100 percent. I joined a league with my co-workers from Fenway Park. It’s not like they’re that good, but it’s taking up time.

I’m at about .500 in both of my leagues and can’t seem to keep my head above the water. I find myself simultaneously cheering and swearing on Sunday as a touchdown pass from Tom Brady goes to a receiver other than Gronk. And when a quarterback from one league goes up against a defense from another league, forget it!

Word to the wise: just go with one team and give it your all. One-hundred percent effort gives you a 100 percent chance at dominance and a championship season.

I look back longingly at my championship teams from the past and wonder what I have to do to bring myself back to those glory days.

As good as I like to think I am, my buddies will tell you I’m not. And don’t mistake this for bragging, things don’t go my way all the time.

I’ve experienced too many playoff defeats, including two championship losses by less than 10 points. Yeah. An entire season decided by fewer than 10 points. Real kick in the gut. I lost fantasy football last year and fantasy baseball this past year, by one point.

I feel like the Patriots: just not able to close it out.

I guess I could take a cue from the Red Sox and just pack it in for the year.

One thing is certain: if I dedicated as much time for research and organizing that I do for fantasy, toward my schoolwork, I’d be a much better student.

I’m Mike. Thanks for letting me share my story.

Mike Neff is a weekly columnist for the sports section. He can be reached via email at mneff@bu.edu or via Twitter at @mneff2.