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Fantasy Football enthusiast releases new book providing fresh perspectives on Fantasy Football
By MYRON LOVE Noah Lieberman has been playing Fantasy Football since he was 12 or 13 years old and he says that his ratings are in the 99th percentile worldwide. Three weeks ago, the recent graduate of the Asper School of Business released the quintessential book on the popular pasttime.
“Lieberman’s “If You Think You Know Fantasy Football… Think Again” became available through Amazon on July 26 and is now also on sale at Chapters at Polo Park and Indigo on Kenaston (where he will be having a book signing event on August 20).
For readers who are not familiar with Fantasy Football, this is a pasttime that puts the player in the position of owner or general manager of a fictional NFL (or CFL for some Canadian players) football team. A group of friends or co-workers get together to form a “league”.
Each player, Lieberman explains, puts a fixed amount of money – perhaps $20 – into the pot at the beginning of the season. Some groups also have trophies for the winning “team”. The players “draft” from the NFL rosters (or CFL if playing the Canadian game) before the NFL season begins in middle to late August. Points are tallied each week based on how the “drafted’ players do in real play. At the end of the season in December, the player with the highest number of points collects the all or most of the total monies in the pot.
Sometimes, second and third place finishers also receive a portion of the collected dollars, Lieberman adds.
“There are rules and stipulations as to how to draft,” he explains. “We play on platforms such as Yahoo.”
There are tens of millions of players in North America alone,” he reports.
Lieberman, a Gray Academy graduate, became involved when he was invited to join a Fantasy Football league by friends who were enthusiastic football fans.
The newly-minted author notes that there are already many books out there on how to win at Fantasy Football. In his book, however, the younger son of Jeff and Robyn Lieberman has taken a different approach. He delves into the social and psychological aspects of the competition – what goes on behind the scenes in fantasy sports.
According to the blurb about his book on the Amazon website, “whether you’re a seasoned pro, or you’ve never played before, ‘If You Think You Know Fantasy Football… Think Again’ will give you a fascinating perspective on one of the world’s fastest growing games. Noah Lieberman provides the perfect combination of theory and humor that makes complicated ideas seem simple, fun, and easy to learn. By the end, you’ll be ready to take on the world of fantasy sports.”
“When you are competing with family, friend and co-workers, there are social dilemmas that might arise,” Lieberman points out. “There are different ways you can win. There are those who want to win no matter the cost. The ideal is to compete in a healthy way while avoiding interpersonal conflict.”
For readers looking for tips on how to draft, Lieberman suggests trusting your gut. Of course, you have to do your research.
He further notes that the initial rounds are the easiest as that is when the star football players are selected. “The secret to success,” he suggests,” is finding those hidden gems that will give your team an advantage.”
Lieberman reports that he began working on the 242-page “If You Think You Know Fantasy Football… Think Again” in December, 2020, right after the regular NFL season wrapped up.
He notes that he is already working on a second book and has ideas for a few more.
He can be contacted at noahlieberman99@gmail.com.
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Talented Winnipeg composer Sara Kreindler teams up with her mother Reena Kreindler to create new satirical show to premiere here in May
By BERNIE BELLAN It’s been many years since I’ve heard from Sara Kreindler. Sara’s name first appeared in The Jewish Post & News in 2002 when a satirical musical titled “A Touch of Class” was reviewed by the late Arnold Ross. That particular production featured songs from popular Broadway shows that touched upon themes such as “greed, poverty, oppression, and social unrest.”
When she appeared in that show, Ross noted, Kreindler had just recently returned to Winnipeg from England, where she had obtained a doctorate in Social Psychology from Oxford University.
While at Oxford, Kreindler found time to compose a satirical musical titled “Charity,” which played to rave reviews there, and was performed five times.
Continuing in the theme of writing satirical musicals, Sara has now teamed up with her mother, Reena, to write a new musical titled “A Perfect Man,” which is set to run at the Gargoyle Theatre from May 6-17.
According to a press release we received, “A Perfect Man” is “a satirical musical, set on a fictional analogue of ‘The Bachelor’.
“The story follows an anthropologist who arrives to research TV’s hottest reality-dating show — only to discover she’s been made a contestant, and the bachelor is her high school crush. Past and present collide against an exuberant pastiche score that uses vintage musical styles to highlight modern absurdities.”
“Praised as ‘a musician [who] can make biofuels funny’ (CBC), Sara is known for whip-smart satire on a panoply of topics. Her digital musical, ‘Larry Saves the Canadian Healthcare System, created during her former life as an academic, has garnered over 84,000 YouTube views. Naturally, she had a field day with the subject of reality dating.
“The topic just begs for campy zaniness, which I think we all need in these times — but also for a more cerebral critique of what these shows say about the culture that spawned them,” says Kreindler. And thanks to the romance context, the satire is woven into a deeper, more personal story. “It’s satire with a heart.”
Here is some more information about Sara Kreindler, taken from a 2009 article I wrote about her:
“Born in Israel, Sara’s precocious talent was nurtured by her mother, Reena, whose own particular talent is literary, not musical. According to Reena, however, Sara was singing from the time she was a baby, and she began to study piano at the age of four.
“As a young girl, Sara began writing her own songs and poems, along with the “occasional musical”, notes Reena. Yet, Sara’s rare talent put her at odds with the typical interests of other children her own age, on top of which she attended a school to which she was exposed to a fair degree of antisemtism.
“As a result, Sara says, being bullied was a common aspect of her childhood. On one occasion, when she was nine, she notes, Sara fought back against one particular bully by reciting the following little ditty:
“I write so many epigrams to you that all the people laugh.
I’m tired of writing epigrams.
I want to write your epitaph!”
“Sara went on to compose a musical titled ‘Flutesong’ while she was a student at Vincent Massey Collegiate, she says. After doing her undergraduate work at the University of Manitoba, majoring in Psychology, Sara won a Rhodes Scholarship to attend Oxford University.
“Sara eventually earned a doctorate in Social Psychology and returned to Winnipeg, where she began teaching at the University of Manitoba, but she said she didn’t enjoy the “mass production” style of teaching upwards of 300 students at a time, so she switched careers and began doing health research for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.”
All the while Sara has been continuing to compose and perform her own songs, often teaming up with her mother, as she has for “A Perfect Man.”
Showtimes and ticket information for The Perfect Man are available at:
http://www.thegargoyletheatre.com/upcoming-events/the-perfect-man
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Rabbi Kliel Rose to leave Congregation Etz Chayim for new post in Ottawa
The following email from Congregation Etz Chayim Executive Director Morissa Granove was sent to members of the congregation on Friday, April 10:
“Dear Members and Friends,
“As we know, Rabbi Kliel recently spent a weekend with Kehilllat Beth Israel where he has since been offered a position. After much thought and consideration, he has made the decision to sign a contract in Ottawa. He will continue to lead our congregation through Yom Kippur.
“This news marks a significant ending for our Etz Chayim community, and at the same time with change comes opportunity. Congregation Etz Chayim will soon embark on our own Rabbinical search with excitement as we look for our perfect candidates and explore the new possibilities that will help us to continue to shape a strong future for our synagogue and members.”
Kliel Rose took up the position of rabbi at Etz Chayim in August, 2018.
In an article announcing his appointment to the position in the June 6, 2018 issue of The Jewish Post & News, Myron Love wrote:
The congregation has been without a permanent rabbi since last summer when Rabbi Larry Lander chose to retire – after ten years here – and relocate to Toronto.
Kliel Rose is already a well-seasoned rabbi. He was ordained in 2004 by the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.
He previously served as spiritual leader at the West End Synagogue in Nashville and Temple Enamu-El in Miami Beach. His current posting is Beth Shalom Synagogue in Edmonton.
Following the example of his parents, Kliel Rose has been active in interfaith dialogue and human rights work for which he was honoured in 2014 with the Human Rights Hero Award by Truah: The Rabbibic Call for Human Rights.
He has also participated in the Kellogg Management Education for Jewish Leaders program at Northwestern University and was most recently chosen to be among 20 rabbis from different denominations chosen to train in the Clergy leadership Incubator – a two-year program, under the leadership of Ranni Sidney Schwarz, intended to educate younger rabbis in innovative thinking, change management and institutional transformation.
In Edmonton, Rose also served as Jewish chaplain at the University of Alberta and took the lead on a program called “Faith and Inclusion”, whose mandate was to support individuals with cognitive and physical learning challenges to feel more welcome within various faith communities.