Editor's Note: This is the second in a series of feature stories on the men who make up the Erie Fantasy Football League.

In years past, Erie League rookies would consist of men or women who had zero experience when it came to the game of fantasy football. Those days are long gone, as evidenced by the credentials brought to the table by Godfather GM Doug Frank, a seasoned veteran of both the Great Lakes One and Great Lakes Too Leagues.

Frank, a seven-year veteran of the GLL-2 league, also competed for 11 years in the GLL-1, a league started by Bonecrushers GM Dave Bell back in 1991. In the GLL-1, Frank won four championships before taking a break from the league this year to spend more time with his family.

"The members in that league are also members of GLPP TOO and the Erie League (Dave Bell, Sam Profio, Bill Long, Paul Tanski, Jeff Gallagher). They never kept good records in wins and losses but if you count all my wins during the regular and playoffs, I would have up around 115 to 120 wins. I could take two to three years off and some owners like Sam and Jeff would never catch me!!!"

Frank's Great Lakes Too club - the Ryan Express - currently stands atop the Larry Division with a 5-1 record. His claim to fame in the Too League has been Toilet Bowl Titles in both 1996 and 1997. He finished the 2001 campaign with a record of 6-7, despite averaging 100 points per game (1309.3 points).

His Erie League squad - the Godfather - may be following the same trend. While their record stands at just 3-3, they have scored an incredible 98.2 points per week.

If I can get consistent QB production and one of my young receivers step up, barring no major injuries to my running backs, I like my chances," Frank said.

Frank, whose greatest moment in the Erie League was "getting accepted into the league. (No tears please!!!)" has a 4 1/2 year-old son, a two-year-old daughter, and a wife who hates fantasy football.

My wife hates fantasy football season because I can get loud at times watching my players," he said. "I have settled down a lot since the kids were born but she must be scarred!!"

A native of New Castle, PA, Frank picked up his love for football as a child, playing Pop Warner football as a youth. He continued to play the game for the next 15 years, culminating in his time as a cornerback in college for Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

"I root for all Pittsburgh teams even though it's been hard to root for the Steelers this whole year," he said. "I grew up in New Castle Pa. which is about 20 miles east of Youngstown. I saw Tony Dorsett play in high school when Dorsett played for Hopewell. I also saw Lavar Arrington play while he was at North Hills in
Pittsburgh."

As for his Erie League team name, The Godfather, it can all be traced back to his Italian roots.

"Most of my close friends know that my real last name was Ippolito," Frank said. "It got changed to Frank when my great grandfather came over on the boat to Ellis Island. If you ever watched the Godfather, it shows how it can happen in the beginning of the show."