Happy New Year, folks!  BEL has completed two months of competition.  Michael Vu from FantasySportsMatrix.com holds onto the lead, but there are many others creeping up on him.  Fantapedia.net will help you see past the smoke and mirrors in order to get an idea about what's really going on.  Hopefully, you'll be able to apply that in your own fantasy leagues.

Here's the current BEL standings:

1. Michael Vu (FantasySportsMatrix.com)  80.5 (Game Pace +25)

2. Ken Slight (BasketballMonster.com)  71 (Game Pace +11)

3. Ari Bluestein (SportsFanBase.com)  68.5 (Game Pace +11)

4. Matt Satten (DroppingDimes.com)  66 (Game Pace -16)

5. Phil Partington (Fantapedia.net)  65 (Game Pace -1)

6. Zach Harper (TalkHoops.net)  57 (Game Pace +31)

7. John Karalis (RedsArmy.com) 52.5 (Game Pace -16)

8. Geoff Stein (MockDraftCentral.com)  52 (Game Pace -13)

9. Howard Mash (GameDayDraft.com)  50 (Game Pace -73)  

10. Julie Simmons (SportsRefuge.com)  49.5 (Game Pace -2)

11. Patrick Lee (GOTathletes.com)  45 (Game Pace -69)

12. Matthew Hinzpeter (FantasyInsiderOnline.com)  45 (Game Pace -12)
  

I have to be honest. I'm a little embarrassed that we have two managers who call themselves "sports experts" at a minus 69 and 73 pace.  That means they're blowing off the league.  No matter. If it continues they won't be invited back.  I couldn't imagine joining a league and blowing it off, especially one that pools my peers from the sports web-writing world. Embarrassing. In addition to these two, there is a third manager who hasn't made any league activity since October, but has been lucky enough to have drafted a pretty solid team. 

Anyway, I'm not here to complain, so let's move on. There are some impressive things happening in the BEL League.  Ken Slight has been a basketball monster (no pun intended) on the waiver wire with 41 moves! Phil (that's me!) is next highest with just 19 moves. 

Also, there is a trade to report.  Geoff from Mock Draft Central dealt PG Jason Kidd and PF Al Horford to Zach from TalkHoops.net in exchange for C Yao Ming and SG Carlos Delfino.  Read additional details on the trade.

Here's a look at what the standings would look like by averages: 

1. Howard Mash (GameDayDraft.com)  81

2. Patrick Lee (GOTathletes.com)  73

3. Michael Vu (FantasySportsMatrix.com)  71

4. Matt Satten (DroppingDimes.com)  65.5

5. Ken Slight (BasketballMonster.com)  63

6. Phil Partington (Fantapedia.net)  58.5

7. Ari Bluestein (SportsFanBase.com)  54.5

8. Geoff Stein (MockDraftCentral.com)  53.5

9. John Karalis (RedsArmy.com) 52

10. Matthew Hinzpeter (FantasyInsiderOnline.com)  47.5

11. Zach Harper (TalkHoops.net)  42.5

12. Julie Simmons (SportsRefuge.com)  40

Obviously, just because this is how things would look if we went purely by averages doesn't mean this is how things will end up.  It usually works out that the more games you get in, the lower your average will be.

Here's a team-by-team look at the situation for each BEL manager: