Oct. 26 Update (McKay Response to Bill Simmons): "Rather than go negative on Bill Simmons, I'd like to focus on positive. First off, Bill clearly puts a lot of effort and hustle into these fantasy drafts. Will I go as far as calling him the Brian Cardinal of the league? Not quite. But there's no question the league wouldn't be the same without Bill. In other words, he's a locker room guy, which is a notch up from a towel waver. Once again, I'm staying positive. As for the choices that Bill made, I know there's nothing more fun than seeing Al Harrington score 25 points once a week with no steals, blocks or assists. And I'm as big a Jason Richardson fan as anyone. And after Wallace, Okafor and Felton all get their shots in, I'm sure Simmons will get plenty of five-for-11 nights out of Richardson. As for Simmons' last three picks, I think they were really good choices and I can't wait to pick them up off of the waiver wire. And drafting Shaquille O'Neal was a great move for Simmons. It'll give him the perfect conversation starter at the Nike party on All Star weekend. 'Hey Shaq, I drafted you in my fantasy league and you haven't played a game all year because you've been injured. Anyway, do you mind if I put this in my online column?' But I have no desire to see Bill get trounced by the likes of Faison and Potts. So right here right now, one time only offer, David West and Brevin Knight for Paul Pierce."

Having a day to ruminate following the NBA Cares Celebrity Fantasy League draft on Monday, I tracked down Adam McKay in between shots while he was on set directing his next big Will Ferrell comic masterpiece. McKay is one of 12 celebrities participating in this league in the name of charity.

Picture taken prior to McKay-Ferrell stare-down

Q: What project are you working on right now?

A: We're working on a movie called Step Brothers with Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Mary Steenburgen, and Richard Jenkins -- really, really good cast. So we're here on the Sony lot shooting right now.

Q: Thanks for taking a few minutes to talk. How do you think your draft went?

A: I was pretty happy with this draft. It's weird because there are more teams so it kind of diluted the talent pool. It seemed like the players got not as strong around the seventh round this year, but last year I think it went all the way through 10.

Q: Even so, you have a nice team. What was your draft strategy heading in?

A: You know, I got hurt a little bit because I was actually shooting, so I had -- hold on, I'm gonna actually say his name so I can blame him -- Josh Church, producer on the movie, was doing picks for me when I had to go shoot a scene. I got stung by him a couple of times. Otherwise, I was pretty happy. I think I got some good players. I thought Jermaine O'Neal was a bit of a steal in the third round -- he's been looking good in preseason. And then Arenas is always going to fill box scores for you, so I'm fine with that, although I'm a little worried about his turnovers now since they count. I actually think that Steve Francis could have been a steal. I got him in like the eleventh round or something, and I think he's gonna play. And any time that guy plays, he gives 15, five, and five. That could have been a steal considering that's basically like a waiver pick that late.

Q: Wait... You mentioned Josh Church. Wasn't he also helping Will draft his team?

A: He did, and I think Will got the better choices this year. I'm blatantly accusing Josh Church for submarining my draft picks. I think he followed the money train and knew it was Ferrell, and I got the short end of the stick.

Q: This could be the start of a nice rivalry between you and Will, don't you think?

A: There's been some real strong allegations being thrown around about the influence of Josh Church. So that's gotten a little ugly. I flat out told Will that he paid him off. We had a little bit of a stare-down yesterday just walking across the sound stage. Honestly, I haven't said one word to him today outside of directing. I mean, it's gotten really tense around here. He comes over to my trailer and suddenly he spills a decaf latte on me, and I get pissy. So there's real ugliness, real acrimony here around the sound stage because of this fantasy league.

Adam McKay's Draft 1. Gilbert Arenas 2. Deron Williams 3. Jermaine O'Neal 4. Rashard Lewis 5. David West 6. Brad Miller 7. Stephon Marbury 8. Larry Hughes 9. Brevin Knight 10. Steve Francis 11. Grant Hill 12. Joel Przybilla 13. Willie Green

Q: The McKay-Ferrell rivalry aside, any predictions for this year's Celebrity League?

A: I gotta tell ya, I was shocked by Bill Simmons' choices. I really wondered if he doesn't just have other things going on in his life or he didn't notice they take into account turnovers and missed shots. One of the strangest teams I've ever seen assembled. My number one prediction is that Bill Simmons will finish dead last, and it will do tangible damage to his reputation in the sports world. My second prediction will be a tight, tight race with -- I'll say Kenny Smith really steps it up this year, I'm gonna say Ferrell's gonna be strong, and I'm gonna say I'm gonna be right in the mix. It's gonna be a good season. Gonna be more smack talk this year than ever. I think we've gotta get some ugliness going.

Q: You seem fantasy savvy. Do you play fantasy basketball outside of this league, or fantasy in general?

A: I did a league for a couple of years with just a bunch of buddies, and obviously did this one last year. But yeah, I just love the NBA and I'll watch any game. I always get the big package and if it's like Warriors-Bucks I get excited, so it just doesn't matter.

Will Ferrell's Draft 1. Dirk Nowitzki 2. Yao Ming 3. Tracy McGrady 4. Ron Artest 5. Manu Ginobili 6. Randy Foye 7. Rajon Rondo 8. David Lee 9. Troy Murphy 10. Mike Dunleavy 11. Wally Szczerbiak 12. Elton Brand 13. Luke Walton

Q: Don't we all get excited about the Bucks? Sorry, I'm a Bucks fan.

A: I love that you're a Bucks fan. Are you actually from Milwaukee?

I tell Adam that I am originally from Wisconsin.

A: I wanna meet someone who's a Bucks fan who's not from Milwaukee or Wisconsin. My friends and I at one point years ago just randomly decided we were gonna become huge Vancouver Cannucks fans. We just got jerseys and hats, and people would talk about it, like "Why are you in to 'em?" We got really belligerent.

Q: Who in the NBA do you follow?

A: I lived in New York for 10 years, so I always keep an eye on the Knicks. I lived in Massachusetts as a kid, so I was a Celtics fan for a while, but then I started veering towards the Knicks. As much as I'd like to say Celtics right now given the team they have, I have to say it's still the Knicks. I'd be very interested to see what that team does. It will either be a total disaster or a complete shock.