I'm trying to recall when, exactly, I became such a softhearted weenie, but my memory fails me. I've been playing in these damned fantasy football leagues for 20 years now, and I can't remember another time when I've been melancholy about a playoff victory and genuinely sympathetic for my victim, but there's a first time for everything. Maybe it has to do with Christmastime bringing out sympathy for mankind.

Nah.

OK, here's what happened:

I received one of two first-round byes in the Pro Football Weekly in-house league, automatically sending me through to the semifinals against Neil Warner, the gentleman who diligently edits my online pieces and has been catching my errors for close to 10 years. Besides that, Neil is a genuinely swell guy.

In the Thursday-night game between the Colts and Jaguars, Neil hit me with a big number from his three Colts (Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark), and I got a mediocre number out of my one Colt (Joseph Addai). After one game, I was looking at something like a 50-7 deficit and ready to concede defeat. But then I got some nice receiving totals out of Randy Moss, Vincent Jackson and Derrick Mason. And in one of the late-afternoon games, my quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, put up an inconceivably huge number against the highly regarded Green Bay pass defense.

After Neil's top running back, Adrian Peterson, failed to significantly outscore my other receiver, Sidney Rice (my "flex" player), I had secured a commanding 121.27 to 121.07 victory. More than 500 passing yards out of Big Ben, and I won by a whisker. Wow.

In years past, I might have gloated. But now I've been receiving those types of bad beats (and handing some out, too), and I know how crushing it can be to lose that sort of game. I also know that Neil has more than his share of bad luck, and this might be his biggest serving yet.

I'm either a very compassionate, sympathetic human being, or I've turned into a complete marshmallow.

PFW has launched its brand-new NFL Draft Newsletter series, with the second issue now ready for mailing. Produced by PFW's player personnel department under the direction of Nolan Nawrocki, the series consists of four information-packed issues. For more info or to subscribe — click here for PDF e-pub or here for print format.