Your Results May Vary -- by a Lot

How many points did the star of your fantasy football team score last week?
Would your neighbor be impressed?
One of the strangest things about fantasy football is that there is no standard scoring system for it. Every football fan knows that a touchdown is worth six points, whether it's scored by Local High or the Green Bay Packers. Every baseball fan knows a grand slam scored four runs, whether it's hit in Little League or at Busch Stadium. Every blackjack fan knows that a queen is worth 10, whether she's dealt at a church fundraiser or the Bellagio.
But every fantasy football fan learns sooner or later that all points are not created equal.
To illustrate that point, let's look at Tony Romo, one of the quarterbacks for the People's Pigskin. Last week, in a performance that drew its share of attention, he completed 34 of his 47 passes for 331 yards, 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. In the People's League, that added up to 19 fantasy points, which ranked sixth among quarterbacks that week.
In a Yahoo fantasy league, Romo's stats would have been worth 24.99 fantasy points, ranking him seventh among quarterbacks. (To be fair, Yahoo also notes that Romo was sacked.)
In a Fox Sports fantasy league -- that's right, the same site that told us Jamaal Charles was the best available running back -- Romo's stats would have been worth 25.2 fantasy points. Again, he ranked seventh among quarterbacks.
And in an NFL.com fantasy league, Romo's stats would have inflated Violet Beauregarde-style to 46.37 fantasy points, ranking him fifth among quarterbacks.
Of course, there are many reasons for discrepancies like this. Some leagues emphasize yardage. Some punish players more than others for turnovers. Some offer extra credit for "big plays." And on and on.
And until we have a fantasy sports commissioner, fantasy players will continue to say things like, "He got 25 points, but..."
Remember to vote on the lineup polls on your right. The NASCAR polls will close tonight, and the football ones will close Saturday night. We'll be back with the NASCAR poll results.