CREATiVESPORTS is an award winning site, both in terms of fantasy content, and fantasy game playing.
Founded in 1996 by Lawr Michaels, CREATiVESPORTS has been a leader in providing in-depth strategy, analysis, research, and applications to the advanced fantasy baseball player since the site’s inception.
Lawr was especially proud of the site’s focus on assisting aspiring writers, including women, to establish a foothold in the industry.
Lawr Michaels was a major player in the fantasy world since he began working with fantasy publishing pioneer John Benson in 1993 until his passing in December 2018. He wrote for the STATS Scouting Notebook, CBS Sportsline.com, MSNBC.com, Total Sports, KFFL, MLB.com, and many other sites and periodicals over more than a quarter of a century.
In 1996 Lawr founded CREATiVESPORTS, and in 2017, he rebooted his company as CreativeSports 2.0.
Dubbed “The Zen Master” following his surprise 2001 AL Tout Wars win (Lawr also won in 2009) Lawr was a principal character in Sam Walker’s 2005 book Fantasyland. He was active in a multitude of other areas as well, with special fondness for making music and playing golf (as the author of a hole in one).
Lawr was named to both the Fantasy Sports and Fantasy Sports Writers Halls of Fame. Tout Wars, where Lawr served as a long-time board member, established the “Lawr Michaels Zen and Now Award” to annually recognize the individual who demonstrates the most positive energy, provides the greatest contributions to the overall competitive experience, and inspires others in the Tout Wars community and across the fantasy baseball industry.
Todd Zola is one of the principals of CreativeSports and owns and operates Mastersball.
In 1997, after a failing to fleece him in a trade, Jason Grey decided if he couldn’t beat him, he may as well ask him to join him, and Mastersball was born. Focusing primarily on the science of player valuation and game theory, Todd carved out a niche in the industry, earning the respect of his peers. In 2006, Mastersball.com was purchased by Fantasy Planet and Todd became the Research Director for Fantasy Planet. In 2009, Todd relaunched Mastersball, soon thereafter merging with Lawr and CREATiVESPORTS.com.
In November 2017, Lawr rebooted CreativeSports2.com, with Todd returning Mastersball to its roots as a baseball only site.
In 2016, Todd won both NL Tout Wars and Mixed LABR champion and is a multiple National Fantasy Baseball Championship winner, including three NL only auctions and co-owning an Ultimate Auction champion. Lord Zola, as he’s affectionately known, contributes to ESPN.com and Rotowire. He’s a frequent guest on Sirius/XM and an annual speaker for the spring and fall First Pitch Forum symposiums. Todd’s work has appeared on SI.com, MLB.com, Fantasy Alarm and Baseball HQ. In 2013, he was the Fantasy Sports Writers Association recipient for Article of the Year and in 2017, named the Fantasy Sports Writers Association Fantasy Baseball Writer of the Year. Todd was also the first recipient of the “Lawr Michaels Zen and Now Award.”
Todd has an advanced degree in Chemistry and was employed as a Peptide Chemist for 15 years before giving up his labcoat and goggles to work full time in the fantasy sports industry . Readers can contact him at todd@mastersball.com and follow him on Twitter.
Brian Walton is one of the managing principals of Creativesports2.com, where he writes a column. He also contributes to the Fantasy Baseball Guide while competing in the XFL, Xperts Fantasy League, and National League LABR.
Brian was the 2009 National League Tout Wars champion, scoring the most points in the league’s history and continues to compete there.
His work can also be found daily at TheCardinalNation.com, where he writes about the St. Louis Cardinals and their minor league system.
Follow Brian on Twitter @B_Walton
Marc Meltzer has been the lead Fantasy Football writer for CreativeSports2.com for more than a decade. His weekly football contributions include the weekly Hotpage. Marc has been a major contributor and editor of the Fantasy Football Guide since 2002.
Marc has been an avid fantasy sports player for over 20 years with multiple championships in football, baseball, and basketball.
In real life, Marc is married with two children and is a Senior Software Technical Leader for Belcan Engineering in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida working on the latest and greatest in aircraft control system technology. Marc holds a BS in Computer Science from the University of Florida (Go Gators!) and an MBA from Embry-Riddle University. Readers can contact him at Briellenoa@aol.com
Zach Steinhorn has been playing fantasy sports since the turn of the century and has written for CREATiVESPORTS/Mastersball since 2011. A graduate of New York University, where he majored in Journalism, Zach worked at MLB.com in New York for over a decade, serving as a production assistant to the Fantasy 411 show, a writer and an editor. He has also worked for Baseball Prospectus as the site’s Fantasy Editor.
Follow Zach on Twitter @zachsteinhorn.
Sam Klein grew up in New York as a Mets, Rangers, and Miami Dolphins fan – so fantasy quickly became the only way for him to actually enjoy watching sports. Evolving from leagues he started with friends in elementary school, Sam now spends most of his time analyzing baseball, hockey, and football, focusing on prospect analysis and roster construction in dynasty leagues – and making sure he knows who the next stars will be in season-long leagues.
Sam graduated from the University of Denver in 2018, where he finally got to enjoy a winning team in the 2017 Frozen Four. He currently lives in Portland, Oregon. He can be reached at SFKlein28@gmail.com.
Thomas L. Seltzer moved to St. Louis shortly before his 8th birthday and fell in love with baseball. He became a hopeless Cardinals fan after watching the Cardinals defeat the Yankees in the seventh game of the 1964 World Series. He played the game with some success until he faced pitchers that threw curveballs. The curveball ended a dream of becoming a major league baseball player.
A retired financial advisor, Tom decided to take a page from Harland Sanders playbook and started a new career after age 60. In addition to writing novels and screenplays, he began writing fantasy sports articles as a freelance writer for various sports magazines, including Texas Sports Monthly. He joined the staff of CreativeSports in 2020, where he focuses on football and baseball.
Tom writes fantasy sports from the perspective of a player, sharing analysis, commentary and strategies he has learned as a successful player. In addition to writing for CreativeSports, he also has his own blog, www.doubtingthomassports.com. Follow Tom on Twitter @ThomasLSeltzer1.
Brian Daring first started to pay attention to baseball in 1969, becoming an Orioles fan, though it was not the best year for that! The sights and smells he experienced when his parents took him to his first major league game at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore in 1973 have stayed with him to this day. He’s been watching, thinking about and writing about baseball ever since.
Brian joined his first roto league in 1990 and has been in one league or another every year since. Most recently, he’s been a member of Dynasty Sports Empire, managing as many as 25 teams at once. Beginning in 2020, Brian has written numerous articles for Dynasty Sports Empire’s baseball and hockey blogs focusing on managing teams in dynasty keeper leagues and evaluating prospects.
Other than baseball, Brian has a passion for running, completing 11 full marathons and several half marathons. However, since his body told him not to train for any more marathons a few years ago, Brian became a sprinter and currently competes in the 200 and 400 at Masters track meets.
You can find Brian on Twitter @BrianDaring1
Alastair Williams‘ baseball journey began in a Calgary coffee shop in 2011. He was invited to join an NL-only contest by a slightly grumpy older gentleman without even a foggy understanding the rules of baseball. Of course, he accepted!
At the time, Al’s fantasy background was in football, basketball, and hockey. He got to know the man over the prior year during his breaks from work. They could be found frequently arguing sports over a cup of joe. The man shared that he was in an active rotisserie baseball league formed in 1989. With an open spot in this peculiar competition, and amid a growing friendship, Al joined the league and decided it was time to learn about baseball. From there his relationship with the game blossomed. He began competing in mixed formats, including head-to-head, as well as adding more NL-only keeper leagues. In 2019, Al began competing in NFBC Draft Champions, in the hopes of translating his success from home leagues to the high stakes stage.
Al regularly researches prominent industry leagues including LABR, Tout Wars, TGFBI, and NFBC. Interest in these leagues has helped him to achieve his own success as a player which he hopes to bring to the readers at CREATiVESPORTS.
Follow Al on Twitter @bigalwilliams
John Henry “JH” Schroeder’s first foray into fantasy baseball was a Yahoo! League in 2005, kicking off a multi-decade obsession with the game.
Since then, he’s had stops with the Dodgers, SFX Baseball, Sports Information Solutions and Baseball Prospectus.
JH is an avid NFBC and Ottoneu player and has recently started participating in MAKI as well. He lives in San Diego with wife and two small boys.
Follow JH on Twitter @schroejh