Some have said the measure of a man is not where he stands "...in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

Rick Kamla, fantasy guru. NBAE Images

For others, the measure of a man "...is not what society thinks of him but what his actions teach him that he is."

And for the very few, it's their favorite Clay Aiken CD.

But for Rick Kamla (who, as you'll find out later in this bio, would kill you with his bare hands you if you gave him a Clay Aiken CD), the true measure of a man not only comes from where that man stands when the going gets rough, but the measure of a man also includes points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals and percentages for field goals, free throws and three-pointers.

Yes, Rick Kamla, looks at the cold, hard stats and divines who thou shalt pick. And the advice and insight is good. It is light. It is heat. Kamla is a fantasy basketball god.

Yet, no one knew that when Richard Kamla was born on July 19, 1969 -- one day before Neil Armstrong placed his moon boot on the lunar surface -- that a fantasy guru had been placed in our midst.

But, the question remains, are fantasy hoops gods born or made? For Kamla, it seemed a little of both.

Growing up in Edina, Minn., Kamla had no home team for which to root, so, he turned to a team who pulled up roots from Minnesota. Rick, like many of his generation, fell into the thrall of the Showtime Lakers. Magic, Worthy, Kareem. Heck, if there had been a thing such as fantasy basketball back in the '80s, Rick would have nabbed Bob McAdoo with a late-round pick in 1983. Bob would have rewarded Rick with 15-points per and a cool 5.3 rpg.

And while few played fantasy roundball back then, they did play fantasy baseball. Always fond of the numbers side of sports, Rick honed his mighty fantasy skills on the diamond.

He brought those skills with him to the University of Minnesota (The U, in local parlance). Late in the '80s, a few of Rick's friends invited him to take part in a fantasy basketball league.

It was love at first place, as Rick rolled through the competition. And as Rick discovered fantasy hoops, the NBA re-discovered the land of 10,000 lakes. While the old name was in use (lakes in Los Angeles?), Rick found something intriguing in the new Minnesota NBA entry -- the Timberwolves.

While Rick's love for the Timberwolves grew exponentially when one Kevin Garnett arrived on the Twin Cities scene, he had not made his avocation his profession. Well, he did follow the Grateful Dead -- and today, he makes sure to catch any Disco Biscuit show in the tri-state area -- for a while, but the clarion call of fantasy hoops as a profession had not yet reached his ears.

But in 1999, that call came across loud and clear on 50,000-watts on KFAN, an all-sports radio station in the Cities, where he hosted fantasy hoops shows. Four years later, Rick found himself hosting a nightly fantasy show on NBA TV.

And, now, here he is. The man with the fantasy plan. The Joe DiMaggio of fantasy hoops. (I know it's baseball ... play along.)

With the season just days away, a nation -- in search of the sure thing, in search of a sleeper, in search of a halfway decent center after Round Six -- turns its lonely eyes to Rick Kamla.