Twitter has long been an excellent source of instantaneous news and wide-ranging opinions. We ran a series of interviews two years ago to help users new and old get to know some of our favorite tweeters.
Our series is back for 2014. Today we interview John Sarmento, co-founder of 2MugsFF.com. Get to know him below.
Browns draft Andy Dufresne (Manziel), and they wanna cage em.’ Silly Haslam.
— RumfordJohnny (@RumfordJohnny) June 27, 2014
Who Am I?
Name: John Sarmento
Twitter handle: @RumfordJohnny
Tweeting since: July 2009
Number of tweets: 110K
Follower count: 7,866
Hometown: The same town as Herman Melville—New Bedford, MA
Day job: Managing an outreach program for people with developmental disabilities
Family life: Married, eight years with two rescue dogs, Brimley and Banjo
Quick bio (who you are, site(s) you represent, etc.): Ryan Forbes and I were writing for another site, but we co-founded 2MugsFF.com. The name came up because we’re both big-time beer geeks, and we wanted to do something with beer involved. We do a beer draft once a year and review a beer every month. I do the graphics stuff and Ryan does all the IT stuff.
What is something unique about you that few would know about? I do impressions, and I’ve done some voiceover work for radio when I was a younger man. I do about 100 different voices. (Interviewer’s note: Ray Romano was very good.)
What you do for fun during the football offseason: I’m like everybody else, I go into part-time draftnik mode.
Favorite NFL team(s): New England Patriots
Favorite NFL player(s): I once met Mosi Tatupu, and he kind of represents the Patriot Way. He did whatever they asked him to, the lone representative for the Patriots in the Pro Bowl for a long time. Patrick Willis. I like the way he goes about the game and how he prepares himself, coming from a rough background.
Give us your “must follows” on Twitter: There are so many football follows and fantasy follows, there are too many to mention. Just go look at who I follow and you’ll find a lot of smart people to pick from. But I’ll say some of the non-football ones: @History_Pics, @DaveChoate, @PaintManning, @DraftBreakdown, @bsblcardvandals, @DanaJGould
What do you like most about Twitter? The ability to connect with people that, 10-15 years ago, we would have no way to connect with. It provides an outlet where you’re able to talk to people about anything.
Years playing fantasy football: I’ve been doing this for about 18 years.
How many leagues, typically? I’ve cut it way down—it used to be like 10-12, which is crazy and stupid because you end up losing track of one or two. For me now it’s like 4-5, and that’s comfortable for me.
The great thing about the #MFL10ofDeath is that everyone is a silverback. No strategy is wrong…until December. We shall see.
— RumfordJohnny (@RumfordJohnny) July 2, 2014
Inside the Guru’s Studio
What is your favorite fantasy word? Streamer
What is your least favorite fantasy word? Sleeper. This goes back to social media—we have so much instant information that there are no sleepers anymore.
DC Comics or Marvel? Neither. Dark Horse Comics. I love the style of those comics, and I think they’re darker and funnier than the other ones.
What is your favorite film? Cool Hand Luke
What is your favorite book? Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. Again, dark and funny, which is really hard to write.
Cake or ice cream? Lactose intolerant, so cake.
Star Wars or Star Trek? Star Wars, because it was the first movie I saw at a drive in as a kid, and I’ll never forget it.
What sound do you hate? The squeal of bad brakes.
What sound do you love? The sound of narration of an old NFL film by John Facenda.
Film or Stats? Here we go. I think it’s both. I’m going to give a shoutout to Rich Hribar, I think he’s doing a really good job of trying to bridge those things. The guys at Rotoviz are stat-heavy, but they’re starting to lean toward look at film. I think it was Russ Lande who said this today, that it’s about the film, but if you see something in the measureables that doesn’t add up, it makes you go back and look at the film. (Interviewer’s note: Mike Mayock said the same exact thing after Teddy Bridgewater’s pro day.) I think there is such thing as game speed.
Give me the geezers, Colston, Wayne or even Decker> Torrey Smith. All three have lower ADPs, better odds of higher production.
— RumfordJohnny (@RumfordJohnny) July 1, 2014
Predictions and Advice
Favorite fantasy style or combination of styles of play (Dynasty, Redraft, Auction, Best Ball, Daily, Survivor, etc.): I love daily fantasy and auction leagues. I think snake drafts are stupid and archaic.
Studs ‘n Duds or Value Based Drafting? Little bit of both, I think. Value is good only if the value you’re getting is a viable player that can become a key component to an offense. Take Keenan Allen last year, for example. He wound up being a stud, but he was a great value.
What's the biggest mistake you see fantasy players make? Groupthink. I hate it. If you’re gonna be true to yourself, stay true to the talent of a player.
How much of fantasy football is skill? How much is luck? I’d say 70 percent skill and 30 percent luck… maybe 60/40. The luck part is really just the luck of the draw—if a guy gets injured, you’re screwed. A top receiver gets injured early and it affects the entire league.
Go out on a limb—give a wild prediction about the 2014 season that would shock the world if it happened: I don’t know if it would shock the world, but I think Tony Romo passes for over 5,000 yards. I say that because Scott Linehan doesn’t know how to do anything but throw the football.
Super Bowl XLVI Teams and Score: New England Patriots 27, San Francisco 49ers 21
2014 Fantasy MVP: Tony Romo. See: above.
2014 Fantasy Most Improved: Stevie Johnson. I think he’s perfect for Colin Kaepernick, the receiver he really needs. He’s got all the right people around him and he’ll have a really good season if he stays healthy.
2014 Fantasy Bust of the Year: Michael Crabtree. I think he’ll be the odd man out in San Francisco, and he’ll be overdrafted.