!!! FantasyFootball !!! - We have a free league

[Hawg73]

Anybody here into FantasyFootball? - What if we had a free league?

....that's right - I said FREE.

In 2001 I was in a fantasy football league similar to the one that SNR_chief mentioned on another thread.

I knew nothing about how it worked at the time but was kind of intrigued when I was invited to join a private league with some guys at work and decided to give it a whirl. It cost me about 20 bucks to join and our league had some custom rules whereby it cost two bucks to make a roster move and some other cash-type moves in order to create a pot for the top two teams at the end of the season.

I thought it was really a fun experience and did pretty well, but the league collapsed when a few guys wouldn't pony up their debt to the league (the roster moves added up fast) and people got pissed off and disbanded it.

For those that have never tried it - the league we had was pretty simple and required only minor effort to participate.

When you join you become the GM of a team that you create - we had some fun by creating custom team names and graphics and they showed up on the league webspace very similar to the way you customize your own avatar here on the Planet.

A draft is set up and you pick a roster which contains i.e., 2 QBs, 3 WRs, 2 TEs, 2 Rbs, etc. along with a team defense (you pick the whole defense at once). You are allowed to activate a certain amount of players at each position and points are accumulated based on the actual points scored by that player in his game that week along with other stats like receptions or yards rushed, i.e. a touchdown by your WR might be scored as 6 points with extra points for each 10 yards of distance. Same basic thing with QBs and the rest. Emphasis is given to the long scoring plays.

You just pick the players and activate them on the league website and it tallies all the points. Naturally the points are accumulated as the season goes on and the fun of it is talking smack with your opponents and using a little strategy to figure out who to activate from week to week.

Bottom line is that we could do something similar with the people that post here and it could add a layer of interest to the coming season.

So my question to you all is do you have any interest in getting involved in a league simliar to the one I described? I'm not looking for a firm commitment, just if you might be interested.

If I get enough people - around a dozen or so, I'm thinking of buying a private league from NFL.com and allowing people to join for free.

Based on the lack of response to SNR_chief it's possible nobody cares (it was a nice gesture SNR) , but if it was a private league with planeteers and didn't cost anything to join maybe people would.

I don't pretend to have all the answers at this point but if I get enough interest by this time next week I will definitely look into it.

Call this a feasability study.

 

[Spinal Tap]

I would definately play hawg. count me in if you do it.

-derek smalls

 

[Ottawapatty]

yeah I would be all about it


you can always join a free league or set up a Patriots Planet league at Yahoo.com

If ya'll want to I would be commissioner and set it up I have in the past.


Matt

 

[Ottawapatty]

Also, I am currently in a Fantasy Baseball league and I love it. I make my changes every day and have been a part of a league every year since 1999. It is a great way to keep an eye on players. I like the idea of a football league because you'd only have to check it two or three times a week (cause of schedule) as opposed to every day w/ baseball.

Also, CHEZ FM (an Ottawa radio station) has a contest every year. I will let you all know when it is going on! You sign up for free and each week you pick what teams are going to win/cover the spread and you have a chance to win $106 (unfortunatly it is in Canadian dollars so it is like $3.72 US) if you have the best record. However, the really good part is at the end of the year if you finish 4th out of 500 you get 496 balllots in a draw (if you finish 498 you get 2 ballots) to win a big screen TV, a years supply of wings and beer (I forget what movie they say it in, but they claim Canadian Beer is like LSD LOL) it is fun and makes games between the Lions and Bengels interesting when they shouldn't be. So I will let everyone know that.

Peace,

Matt

 

[Hawg73]

yeah I would be all about it

you can always join a free league or set up a Patriots Planet league at Yahoo.com

If ya'll want to I would be commissioner and set it up I have in the past.

Matt

Sounds interesting. I briefly checked out NFL.com and they had a deal where for about 140 bucks I could have purchased a private league and just let everyone play and that was my intent just to get some commisioner experience and amuse myself (and maybe help inject a little life into this place in the process), but if there are free leagues that provide the same framework then I would be on it like a bulldog on a mailman. I think a basic, simple league would probably be best for a first try.

It really does help you follow what's going on in the rest of the league and should our guys have an off week you always feel better if your fantasy team does well.

Tell me more, former commisioner (!). In the meantime I'll check out Yahoo and see if I can figure out how it works. Thanks.

 

[Hawg73]

However, the really good part is at the end of the year if you finish 4th out of 500 you get 496 balllots in a draw (if you finish 498 you get 2 ballots) to win a big screen TV, a years supply of wings and beer (I forget what movie they say it in, but they claim Canadian Beer is like LSD LOL) it is fun and makes games between the Lions and Bengels interesting when they shouldn't be. So I will let everyone know that.

Peace,

Matt

Having been knee-walking drunk on Molson Bradours during a lost weekend in Montreal, back before the French Revolution up there, I can attest to the enhanced potency of Canuck Suds.

I anyone here hits the jackpot we'd have to donate the wings and beer to you as it would probably be a long drive to collect.

 

[Spinal Tap]

yahoo is definately the way to go for free leagues. the league i commish is drafting this sunday. bitchin!

-nigel tufnel

 

[pookie]

I'd love to take part. I used to help run a weekly pool with about 30 or so guys and gals in it, but I've never done the fantasy league thing. I'd love to try.

 

[headcase]

I would like to try it out as well.

As I've told the wife in the past;

"I'll try anything once, and if I like it.....I'll do it again!"

 

[Hawg73]

Thats 5 so far. Not bad since many people surf at night.

1. Hawg73
2. SpinalTap (if he doesn't spontaneously combust first)
3. Matt
4. Pookie
5. SEPatsFan

I know that I can talk DropKickMurphy and It's_Good into it cheap bastards that they are.


I checked out Yahoo and it looks like you can start a private league for free, we have only to get a few more folks interested and to determine what the best way to do it is.

A few questions which I will defer to the more experienced are:

*Should we have a "points" league or a "head-to-head" league?

*Should we try to do a real-time draft (might be tough to put together) or let Yahoo pick the players for us?

*What is a good number of teams to work with?

Maybe Nigel or Matt can provide some much needed guidance.

 

[dropKickMurphy]

Having been knee-walking drunk on Molson Bradours during a lost weekend in Montreal, back before the French Revolution up there, I can attest to the enhanced potency of Canuck Suds.

I anyone here hits the jackpot we'd have to donate the wings and beer to you as it would probably be a long drive to collect.

Count me in, Hawg.

And if I hit that jackpot you know I would be up for a road trip. Hell, if I drove all night from Boston to Montreal, through a blizzard, just to get a smoked meat sandwich at Schwartz', I guess I'd do the same for free beer and wings. Care to ride shotgun?

 

[Undertaker #59*]

I've only played once before....Count me as an alternate if you after everyone has had a chance to join you are short one guy.

 

[Hawg73]

Ok, currently the list stands at 8

1. Hawg73
2. SpinalTap (if he doesn't spontaneously combust first)
3. Matt
4. Pookie
5. SEPatsFan
6. DropKickMurphy
7. Undertaker59
8. FallingAlice

Now if SpinalTap or Matt can let us know the ideal number we can go from there.

p.s. - if anybody is thinking about it but don't want a big hassle - I can guarantee that it is not and requires very little time to have a lot of fun with it.

You don't have to spend endless hours poring over FF tips.

 

[mrsteel]

I would also be interested.

I've been in drafts/leagues in the past, NFL.Com ,CnnSi.com , they used to be free , now it seems everyone is charging.

 

[pookie]

I've never done this before

Alice, I bet you say that to all the boys............

 

[Hawg73]

I've never done this before, so I'm very curious...

Do we have to go through some draft process? Or can we pick the same guys?

I'm also curious, but yellow. (rimshot)

Enough jokes already.

Yes there is going to be a draft. The options seem to be hook up online for a live draft (I doubt that would work very well given peoples conflicting schedules etc., plus it takes hours) or you can have the league administrator (i.e. Yahoo) assign players based on a computer program that will fairly distribute them using projected numbers. Not sure if we have to determine the draft order or they do - I'll check on that.

I have asked our two experienced commisioners out there Matt and SpinalTap for some advice, but think we will probably just opt for the latter and then liberalize the trade rules to allow movement. It's a very fluid and developing situation and we have plenty of time to get things settled before the season starts. Plus, I just thought of it this morning.

If anybody has any views on the situation please feel free to chime in.

 

[brew-ski]

A few questions which I will defer to the more experienced are:

*Should we have a "points" league or a "head-to-head" league?

*Should we try to do a real-time draft (might be tough to put together) or let Yahoo pick the players for us?

*What is a good number of teams to work with?

being a 4 year yahoo veteran I would suggest the following:

1) points vs head-to head..in head to head you could technically have the most points for the season but still lose based on W/L record because your opponents happened to have their best day against you....the problem with points is you cant have playoffs ..only in head to head can..I still prefer head to head because of the playoff factor ..head to head is kinda mute because no matter who your placed against you are always going to put your best players in your lineup..it doenst have to do who you are placed against for that week

2) realtime drafts are cool but hard to organize..you have to set aside at least 1 hour of a day and hope that the software is compatible with your machine and doesnt crash..I prefer auto draft with all the rest of the players placed on waivers...this way the teams can try and pick up players to fill thier weaknesses..the tough part is once you pick up player on waivers your back to last on the waiver priority list

3) IMO..no more than 10 teams..that still leaves some decent players to fill holes..any more and you have to beg/cheat/steal players from others

 

[Ottawapatty]

being a 4 year yahoo veteran I would suggest the following:

1) points vs head-to head..in head to head you could technically have the most points for the season but still lose based on W/L record because your opponents happened to have their best day against you....the problem with points is you cant have playoffs ..only in head to head..I still prefer head to head because of the playoff factor ..head to head is kinda mute because no matter who your placed against you are going to put your best players in your lineup..it doenst have to do who you are placed against for that week

2) realtime drafts are cool but hard to organize..you have to set aside at least 1 hour of a day and hope that the software is compatible with your machine and doesnt crash..I prefer auto draft with all the rest of the players placed on waivers...this way the teams can try and pick up players to fill thier weaknesses..the tough part is once you pick up player on waivers your back to last on the waiver priority list

3) IMO..no more than 10 teams..that still leaves some decent players to fill holes..any more and you have to beg/cheat/steal players from others

Hey,

I actually agree on all the factors except.

1) I kinda like the points system, but the playoff factor is cool. I do enjoy both they just need a little different strategy for each. The only reason I have a prefence has to do with personal success.

2) I think I have a solution. Pick a time and date and set it for a real time draft. You can pre-rank your picks (which takes about an hour) or you can show up and draft it live (takes an hour and a half) this way we get the best of both worlds. If you miss the draft it takes your pre-picked players or the Yahoo ranked players. Live drafts are fun especially because I haven't "real time chatted" with anyone here. I say set it up for a weekday around 11 a.m. or 1 p.m. to avoid crashes.

3) I agree ten teams is about enough. with head to head I cannont stress enough having an even number of teams. Bye weeks suck when you are not a player.

4) We should try and work out a prize or something. Even if it is just the thing I got for being the 100th member (shameless self-plug) or a Pats Planet T-shirt paid for by other members or something from the Patriots store. I mean 10 people at $3 a piece is a $27 item or $30 if the winner chips in too! Just some thoughts.

Peace,

Matt Perry

 

[Hawg73]

Matt,

Could you explain exactly what you mean by pre-rank your picks?

How would that work assuming we end up with 10 teams?

I'm all for individual choice, but worry that trying to do a draft online might be really awkward for reasons of coordination, connection complications etc. If there is a way of doing it that involves minumum hassle, that might be best for everyone.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Ottawapatty]

Sure,

It doesn't matter which draft your use each GM gets a chance to pre-rank its choices. For the first example we will use the Auto-draft method.

Each GM up to the day of the draft has time to pre-rank his/her players. If they choose not too the Yahoo ranks are used as the default. Here are the Yahoo rankings as of today -- Top 10:

Example of Yahoo's Rankings
Holmes, Priest (RB-KC) 1
Gannon, Rich (QB-Oak) 2
Williams, Ricky (RB-Mia) 3
Tomlinson, LaDainian (RB-SD) 4
Brooks, Aaron (QB-NO) 5
Manning, Peyton (QB-Ind) 6
Portis, Clinton (RB-Den) 7
Brady, Tom (QB-NE) 8
Alexander, Shaun (RB-Sea) 9
Green, Trent (QB-KC) 10

These are obviously crazy to me a) being a Patriots fan and b) having my own strategy. So I pre-rank my top 10

Tom Brady
Ricky Williams
Mike Vick
Marvin Harrison
Ahman Green
Terrell Owens
Jeremy Shockey
Antowain Smith
Garcia, Jeff
Adam Vinatieri

Now of course you don't get your top ten, because it goes in order let us say the league only has three people here are the rankings you get.

Alice - 1, 6, 7
Hawg - 2, 5, 8,
Matt - 3, 4, 9, 10

Now this means I pre-rank my player for people I think will be there. Sometimes I gamble (i.e. with Williams) that everyone else will figure he is gone and I'll nab him, but that rarely works so I back him up with Harrison who I KNOW will be there and guarantee me receiving yards. I also do the same with kickers. Yahoo thinks kickers are non-important, but a point is a point in my books so I make sure I draft the kicker (the best of all time by the way) fairly early say over my back up tight end who may never see the field. These are crazy and eccentric, but so am I. It may be right or wrong or neither or both, but it makes me smile and that is how I live life.

Now in a live draft you have the options of playing off people's choices as they happen -- I like that better. However should I suddenly get called to Boston to work for a radio station or condition Ty Law for a living and need to be on a plane and can't make it. I simply pre-rank my picks and the computer makes them for me. It also covers my ass if my system crashes (I guess more likely)!

I hope this is clear. If not I will try again.

Peace,

Matt