Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck was sensational in fantasy leagues this year — the top scorer in standard formats and the most consistent passer. Just dont point that out to fantasy players who used him in the title game last week and watched him put up zero points.Still stings, doesnt it?Its one of the roughest truths about fantasy football, that the regular season and playoffs are two very different formats.And as much as you study and make good lineup decisions, you need more to win a title.Theres an element of luck, said John Paulsen, senior editor of 4for4 Fantasy Football (www.4for4.com ). Obviously, if you have a season-long roster and youre hit by injuries or bad performances ... youre going to have a tough time winning your league.Rankings aggregator FantasyPros ranks Paulsen as the most accurate fantasy expert of 2014, with the best advice on weekly rankings among 125 experts. Paulsen got a 60.7 per cent accuracy score — remarkable high because the calculation only includes rankings where experts give differing advice.Even if you are only getting a 10 per cent edge from a 50-50 type of prospect you still have that edge over people in your league, Paulsen said.Paulsen stayed away from top fantasy quarterbacks this year because he saw much more value in Russell Wilson, who delivered a knockout performance last week against Arizona, putting up 35 points to help Paulsen win two leagues.Luck meanwhile, had little to play for with a playoff spot locked up, prompting his coach to pull him from the game in the second half.Skill can put you in the position to win but then you need some luck, Paulsen said.And the ability to be OK if that luck doesnt come.Paulsen thinks this years finish among quarterbacks will prompt fantasy owners in 2015 to wait even longer to draft a passer.Here are some other lessons from the 2014 fantasy season:___WIDE(OUT) EXPECTATIONSIts difficult to overstate the value of Odell Beckham Jr. in fantasy circles, even though he was snubbed for the Pro Bowl, lacking the star power of Calvin Johnson or A.J. Green despite clearly better numbers.According to league data from CBS Sports, Beckham was on 30 per cent of teams that won championships last week — far and away the most title teams for any player. LeVeon Bell was on 18 per cent of title teams, while Antonio Brown was on 15 per cent of championship rosters (Joseph Randle was a reserve on 24 per cent of title teams — some manoeuvring there on the DeMarco Murray injury).But Paulsen says the success of Beckham and other rookies like Mike Evans, Kelvin Benjamin, Sammy Watkins and Brandin Cooks will change expectations of rookie receivers heading into next years draft.I think some of the rookies that come in are going to be expected to do that immediately and people will criticize them when they dont, Paulsen said. Most seasons that wouldnt work very well for you.___HEADS-UP WINSBeckham might be on the most championship teams, but four players topped him in terms of helping teams win the most games this season, according to CBS data.Teams with Bell, Antonio Brown and Luck each won 58.2 per cent of their games, while DeMarco Murray teams won 57.8 per cent of matchups, the data said.___QB CONSISTENCYOne more thing on Luck — he was the only quarterback to post a top-12 score 13 times this season, meaning he was worthy of starting in a standard league that starts one quarterback. Only four other quarterbacks cracked the top 12 in at least 10 games: Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Wilson.___WEEK 17?If youre still playing this weekend, sorry about the drop-off on advice. But might want to convince your commissioner that itd be better to settle your fantasy championship in Week 16. Even if its a two-week playoff, jostling for playoff position puts teams in wacky situations.Know whether Tom Brady or Rob Gronkowski will play for the Patriots, who have a top seed locked up? Or how much Luck might play given that the Colts, given the AFC South title already locked in? Or how much other guaranteed playoff teams will jockey for things like division titles and first-round byes?Tough propositions that will directly affect some of your top fantasy starters. Good luck — hope you make the right choices.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.organd AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Oskar Garcia can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/oskargarcia Glen Sather Jersey . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a course-record 10-under 62 on Wednesday to take the first-round lead in the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. Rod Buskas Jersey . Maria Silvia Bastos Marques, president of the EOM (Municipal Olympic Company), will be leaving her post but will remain as an advisor, a city hall statement said Tuesday. https://www.cheappenguinsjersey.com/321q...y-penguins.html. -- Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera has a broken bone below his right eye after being struck by a bad-hop grounder, sidelining the star slugger for at least a week with opening day on deck. Jared McCann Jersey .com) - Sporting Kansas City announced Thursday that club has signed former on-loan midfielder Jimmy Medranda to a permanent contract from Colombian side Deportivo Pereira. Matthew Barnaby Jersey . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., who trains out of San Diego, will fight bantamweight champion (Rowdy) Ronda Rousey on July 5 in the co-main event of UFC 175 in Las Vegas.LAKE LOUISE, Alta. - After a fifth-place finish in a World Cup super-G, her third race in three days, Lindsey Vonn used six simple words to sum up where things stand in her comeback from major knee surgery. "I know," Vonn said, "I can win again." She also had this to say after coming within a second of winner Lara Gut of Switzerland on Sunday: "Im ready for Sochi." The 2014 Winter Games are less than two full months away, and Vonn said she might only race one or two times before then. "I know that Im skiing well," said Vonn, the 2010 Olympic downhill gold medallist and a four-time overall World Cup champion. "So I know that I dont need to push myself and try to push the limits of my knee to race as many as races as I can." Until this weekend, the 29-year-old American had not competed since a high-speed crash at the world championships last February ripped two ligaments in her right knee and broke a bone in that leg. Working her way back from that, Vonn had a setback less than three weeks ago, partially re-tearing her reconstructed right ACL. "She had a trauma about a month ago, so its very impressive that shes doing it," said U.S. teammate Leanne Smith, who was sixth Sunday. "Every one of her teammates are her biggest fans, I would say. Were happy to have her back." Vonns first race in 10 months was Fridays downhill, and she was — not surprisingly — rusty and a tad nervous, and wound up 40th, ending a seven-race winning streak at a resort in the Canadian Rockies nicknamed "Lake Lindsey." In Saturdays downhill, Vonn was 11th. The "very goood progression," as U.dddddddddddd.S. Ski Team womens speed coach Chip White put it, continued Sunday with Vonns best showing yet. She declared herself pleased with her mental and physical improvement over these past few days. "My run was pretty good. I was pushing the line really hard and I think I went a little bit too straight in some sections. But thats a good mistake to make — pushing the limits and trying to go straighter," Vonn said after finishing in 1 minute, 23.71 seconds. "Thats far from where I was two days ago. So I think it was a huge step in the right direction. I think it was a perfect way to end the weekend." Gut was timed in 1:22.86, edging Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein by three-hundredths of a second to reclaim the lead in the overall World Cup standings with her fourth victory of the young season. Shes won half of the races so far. Vonn, of course, knows how to ski rather well, to say the least. What shes needed to do of late is figure out how to do it properly with, as she joked Friday, "a little bit of ACL left." Skiing with a brace on, Vonn felt her right knee was stable and came through what amounted to a 72-hour test in good shape. Now she will huddle with her coaches and try to decide where and exactly how often to get in a starting hut ahead of the Olympics. "I do need a couple more starts," Vonn said. "I want to make sure that I get on the podium at least once, if not win, before ... Sochi. For me, mentally, I really want to have that in my back pocket." ___ Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich ' ' '