LAS VEGAS – All of the fantasy league drafts and auctions I participate in each year culminate in the Power League auction. It’s the highest stakes league I play in and it’s the most competitive with nine players that are all skilled in football and trash talk.

This year the Power League gathered in Las Vegas for the auction at 10 p.m. Las Vegas time in an abandoned hallway/lobby area in the Flamingo hotel.

The participants had been in Vegas for varying amounts of time and many were clearly on the tired side as the night got underway. But everyone was also clearly stoked for our annual football get together and my brother did yeoman’s work in his debut as a fantasy auctioneer.

I didn’t keep track of the order in which I acquired my 16 players but I did feel as though it was one of the better auctions I’ve had. I’m not laying claim to a third title in four years by any stretch. But I do think that my roster leaving the auction this year is stronger than it was in 2007 and 2005, the two seasons I’ve claimed the cash prize and our championship pig trophy.

Here’s the roster and the accompanying dollar amount spent (Each team gets $100):

QB Drew Brees, $11
QB Matt Hasselbeck, $2
RB Larry Johnson, $12
RB Joseph Addai, $36
RB Kevin Smith, $5
RB Edgerrin James, $3
RB Chris Johnson, $3
RB Deuce McAllister, $1
WR Marques Colston, $13
WR Greg Jennings, $3
WR Santonio Holmes, $6
WR Jabar Gaffney, $1
WR Anthony Gonzalez, $1
TE Dustin Keller, $1
K Josh Brown, $1
DEF/ST Chicago, $1

So, many of the picks were consistent with previous teams drafted by my brother and I over the past month. I remain high on Kevin Smith and Chris Johnson. I took a shot at acquiring Ray Rice but was outbid. The Brees-to-Colston combo will be on my watchlist all season long. And Gaffney and Gonzalez have popped up in our drafts and auctions once or more as well.

I was surprised to see Larry  Johnson available early in the auction for $12 – usually a starting back, even on a bad team, with Johnson’s talent goes for more in this league. I’ll definitely take him at that price, especially when I can pair him with Addai and some combo of Smith, James or Johnson (we start three RB in this league).

I spent a little more on Addai than I had hoped but I did feel I needed to grab an elite-level back to pair with Johnson because the Chiefs are going to be bad this year, thus going into the season with him Johnson as an RB1 was a risk. I was also bidding against a division-rival on Addai. That rival confided later that he wanted Addai but that he couldn’t justify going as high as I did in the bidding. I don’t blame him for that – and it did cost me a shot at a couple other guys I like a lot later on.

But again, I do get to go into the season with Brees-to-Colston, a combo that has high expectations this year. And I feel good about the mixing and matching I can do through bye weeks as well. You don’t win a league on the night of your draft or auction, but you can lose it. I think I managed to give myself a solid shot to be competitive in this league and I can roll with that.