Lesson plan
LABR
LABR was the first high-profile fantasy sports experts league of its kind. Formed by John Hunt, the fantasy baseball columnist for USA Today Baseball Weekly, the league was first formed in 1994 and featured such celebrities as Peter Gammons, Keith Olbermann and Bill James. LABR stands for League of Alternative Baseball Reality and was given that nickname and the pronunciation ("labor") by Olbermann as a play on words with the labor strike in baseball at that time. Hunt ran the league and published the results of the LABR league in the Baseball Weekly s (now USA Today Sports Weekly) fantasy baseball preview issue each March from 1994 through 2006. He opted not to return for the 2007 league and was replaced with in-house staff. The dollar values players were sold for in the fantasy league are used as a benchmark for readers in their own fantasy drafts. On its 20th anniversary in 2013 Steve Gardner of USA Today published the LABR of love: Experts fantasy league begins 20th season documenting its first two decades. The LABR has lost its early status as the premier experts' league, as in 1997 a rival fantasy baseball experts league, Tout Wars, was created by Ron Shandler, who was fed up with the lack of promotion USA Today gave the LABR league. The LABR Mixed league, AL-Only league and NL-Only league are online and can be viewed by the general public.…
Article summary
LABR was the first high-profile fantasy sports experts league of its kind. Formed by John Hunt, the fantasy baseball columnist for USA Today Baseball Weekly, the league was first formed in 1994 and featured such celebrities as Peter Gammons, Keith Olbermann and Bill James. LABR stands for League of Alternative Baseball Reality and was given that nickname and the pronunciation ("labor") by Olbermann as a play on words with the labor strike in baseball at that time. Hunt ran the league and published the results of the LABR league in the Baseball Weekly s (now USA Today Sports Weekly) fantasy baseball preview issue each March from 1994 through 2006. He opted not to return for the 2007 league and was replaced with in-house staff. The dollar values players were sold for in the fantasy league are used as a benchmark for readers in their own fantasy drafts. On its 20th anniversary in 2013 Steve Gardner of USA Today published the LABR of love: Experts fantasy league begins 20th season documenting its first two decades. The LABR has lost its early status as the premier experts' league, as in 1997 a rival fantasy baseball experts league, Tout Wars, was created by Ron Shandler, who was fed up with the lack of promotion USA Today gave the LABR league. The LABR Mixed league, AL-Only league and NL-Only league are online and can be viewed by the general public.…
Key claims
- date of formation: 1994 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
- publication date: 1994 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- The record states that the date of formation is "1994". What evidence would count against this claim?
- The record states that the publication date is "1994". What evidence would count against this claim?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
- Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1343206768
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.