By Tom Kessenich

The Dark Knight is taking no prisoners. Mulder and Scully will soon be reunited. Brett Favre is still retired (for now). August is just around the corner and that light you see in the distance is growing stronger. It’s the glow of another NFL season about to commence.

Even though training camps have yet to open for all of the teams, there are still a few items of interest fantasy owners need to be aware of as they begin making their Draft Day preparations. Here is a look at some of them:

Saint Shockey
The worst-kept secret in the NFL finally became official when the Giants traded TE Jeremy Shockey to the Saints on Monday for a pair of draft picks. It’s been obvious since the end of last season that Shockey and the Giants had reached the point of no return and with the Saints in desperate need for an impact TE, this deal had been rumored for months.

So how does it impact fantasy owners? It certainly won’t hurt Shockey or Drew Brees. Shockey’s production in 2007 left plenty to be desired as he ranked ninth in scoring among TEs in the National Fantasy Football Championship, averaging 9.8 points per game. He’s yet to prove he can make a sustained impact over the course of a full season but moving to the Saints, who plan to utilize him heavily in the passing game, will be a plus. It also won’t hurt that Brees loves throwing to his TE (witness Eric Johnson’s 48 receptions last season). Shockey gives the Saints a third quality receiving option in the passing game along with Marques Colston and Reggie Bush, and his presence could also help Bush in the running game if LBs start paying more attention to Shockey and stop crowding the line looking to derail Bush.

Meanwhile, in New York Kevin Boss takes over as Shockey’s replacement. He looked good late last season filling in when Shockey was hurt and he has the talent to ultimately become a Top 10 fantasy TE. He averaged 5.4 points per game in NFFC scoring last season but should become a quality backup TE in NFFC leagues in 2008. I've bumped him up to 16th on my TE rankings, just behind Ben Watson and right ahead of Greg Olsen.

Gimpy Gates
While Shockey’s status is looking better, another top TE – Antonio Gates – isn’t looking quite so good at the present time. Gates slipped to second in NFFC scoring among TEs last season, averaging 15.3 points per game, and his status for the start of this season remains murky as he continues his recovery from offseason toe surgery.

San Diego head coach Norv Turner said Monday he’s “optimistic” Gates will be ready for the start of the season. Optimistic? That’s it? Shouldn’t he at least be “confident?” The fact there is any question at all that Gates might not be ready for Week 1 is a red flag. There’s definitely plenty of time for Gates to get well but if he doesn’t enter camp at full strength, it could lead to owners needing to lower their projections for him this season.

Jason Witten has already inched past Gates as the first TE off the board in many drafts this year although Gates remains No. 1 among TEs in NFFC drafts based on Average Draft Position information on MockDraftCentral.com. But Gates is no longer the sure-fire No. 1 TE in fantasy this year and this news isn’t making his standing any more secure. I currently have Gates ranked second among TEs although I haven’t altered my projections based on this latest development.

But I am watching Gates. Closely.

Porter’s Plummet
Jerry Porter has been one of the hot sleeper picks among WRs in preseason drafts thus far. I’ve never been totally on board with that given how many times Porter has failed to deliver for fantasy owners in the past. Last season, for example, he ranked 52nd in NFFC scoring among WRs at 9.4 points per game.

His sleeper status took a major hit last week, however, when it was announced he had undergone surgery on a torn hamstring that could sideline him for the start of the season. Porter has never been the toughest WR around and when you consider hamstring injuries have a tendency to linger and even when healthy he’ll be in a run-heavy offense, I don't see Porter having a big season. I’ve dropped him on my rankings and no longer consider him even a modest sleeper option.

And finally, although we still have over a month to go before our NFFC and NBC Sports Fantasy Football Championship events, it’s never too late to sign up and reserve a spot. We have openings available for both the 14-team NFFC event and the 12-team NBC Sports event, both of which will be held on Saturday, Aug. 30 in Las Vegas, New York, Chicago and Orlando.

If you’re interested in signing up, you can do so by registering online today. Just go to http://nfc.nbcsports.com and you’ll find all the info you need to get you set up for one or both of our events. In addition to the right to win $100,000 as the overall champ in our events, we also have a $1 million bonus in place for the owner who wins both. That’s right, if you finish first overall in both the NFFC and NBC Sports events, you’ll win a cool $1 million.

That’s a signing bonus worth reporting for, isn’t it? So sign up today and reserve a spot in the industry’s first multi-city, high-stakes event.

We also have plenty of openings available for our online leagues. With entry fees starting as low as $125 and prizes ranging from Top 3 league payouts to free entries in either the 2009 NFFC or NBC Sports events there is a league for everyone. Go to http://nfc.nbcsports.com to find out more about our online leagues.

Tom Kessenich is the Managing Editor of Fantasy Sports Magazine and the Events Director of the National Fantasy Football Championship. Click here to find out more information about the NFFC.