Happy Independence Day!

Here in America, we celebrate the founding of our great nation with the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. Unfortunately, due to the special SUNDAY NIGHT SUBMISSION reunion episode of THE FDH LOUNGE this past Sunday night, we at FDH had to take our second annual hot dog draft off the schedule. But we wouldn't leave you without a draft board and league guidelines!

Here are our suggested league guidelines:

* We suggest that you include three owners, each selecting three eaters. The first two rounds should move in a standard serpentine fashion, with the final round moving in the same fashion as the first round. This effect counteracts the top-heavy nature of the competitive field (see draft board for illustration of this point).

* Each eater is awarded a point for each hot dog consumed, with fractions of a hot dog not counted as a whole. The team with the contest winner is awarded an additional 10 points, with points for all three eaters on each team tallied. In the event of a tie, the team with the highest total from an individual will win.

Now, here's our draft board, with a brief note first: do not, under any circumstances, draft Jed Donahue. He compromised the integrity of the contest last year, as well as all fantasy leagues out there, by putting himself over and consuming only one hot dog. Unfortunately, he got the media attention he sought, but do not let him corrupt the integrity of your league this year:

TOP TIER
1. Joey Chestnut
2. Takeru Kobayashi

SECOND TIER
3. Sonya Thomas
4. Patrick Bertoletti

THIRD TIER
5. ChipBurger Simpson
6. Timothy Janus
7. Richard LeFevre
8. Bob Shoudt
9. Crazy Legs Conti
10. Seaver Miller

Also, we will be bringing back THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER (9-11 PM EDT) on SportsTalkCleveland.com next Thursday, July 12, after an extended Fourth of July hiatus at the station. Have a safe and happy holiday. God Bless America.