My question is, will someone explain to me why I needed Crypt::SSleay in order to get my script to work?

Easy, go to the url in your script;

http://login.yahoo.com/config/login?.done=http://fantas
+ysports.yahoo.com&.src=spt&.intl=us
[download]

Note the tiny note under the login box, new submits over ssl. That means you need ssl encryption for the submit, which Crypt::SSleay provides.

Scott