Manifest Destiny

Gentlemen....I received a text message from our long lost friend James Carl Wood this morning around 10:30 a.m. Jimmy is interested in getting back into the Gentlemen's Game. If you remember, Jimmy made the playoffs in our flagship season after he and Old made a bogus trade and where Jimmy somehow acquired Randy Moss for a couple of injured studs. Of course, Moss goes off the last season of the game in my head to head with Jimmy and puts him over the top and into the playoffs. We were tied going into that game, for those of you who don't remember, and battling for the last playoff spot.

Since then I have forgiven these two, moved on, and am now seriously considering Jimmy's request. He is a dear friend, and strong competitor. However, I don't think this is one of those decisions that should be made by the Commissioner. I believe this is something all league owners should discuss and vote on. Here are the issues that must be discussed and resolved in order for our league to expand.

1. No one wants buy weeks, so if Jimmy is in we must get one more. Bebo is a logical choice as he is friends with most owners in the league. However, we have to make find a player who is committed and willing to do the work necessary to be competitive.

2. We are a keeper league now...and I love that. It sets us apart from other leagues, creates off-season buzz and has really made this a year round discussion piece. I don't want that to change...ever. With that said, how we expand a keeper league is problematic. We could allow the two new players to pick from our left overs after our keepers are chosen, they lose picks like the rest of us, and draft 9th and 10th. However, that doesn't seem fair to Jason, Taylor, Scott and even Brandon as those guys will lose some great left overs (Jason could even keep 3 of his own). We could also allow them in....give them the first and second overall picks and they don't lose picks in any rounds. However, Jason is still getting slighted in that situation, not to mention there will be a lot less left for us non-play off makers toward the end of the first round and the 4th round which is when the rest most of us will be picking again.

3. If we expand, do we change our positions(keep the flex or go to 3wr), do we create divisions, and do we expand the playoffs to six teams...which would create a buy week in the playoff for division winners.

So owners, we must decide....Is it time to expand into the unknown wilderness of a ten team league and completely alter the culture, nature, and operation of our Gentlemen's Game or do we stick to what we know and keep things the same?

Fantasy Update/Greetings

Good morning to all. I'm glad we've decided to start this fantasy blog...too bad it has taken us to the third year before we decided to do it. Gearing up for the season, I have posted a link to an apparent fantasy football TV show that is in the works. It looks like it will be put forth by some of the guys from Curb Your Enthusiasm, so it has some potential.

I also wanted to see if we were still wanting to try to do this draft in person, and if so, when would we do it. I am planning on coming home for Labor Day weekend so we could do it then even though its cutting it close. I don't see myself coming home before then though...let me know what everyone thinks.

http://cuzoogle.com/2009/07/15/fx-to-make-comedy-about-fantasy-football/

Commissioner Doin Work

Lesbianist....I have a very small chance at winning this league. Partially because I believe I am cursed in all things fake football. I have never made the playoffs. Not in Madden and certainly not in fantasy. Partially because I make all the mistakes that Digital mentioned in his last post. And finally, because I have assembled a league of individuals who for the most part have a perfect combination of intelligence and assholishness. So I have decided on a new goal for this upcoming season, and that is to be the best Fantasy Commissioner ever. I know what you all are thinking.....you already are. At first glance I would agree. Even upon closer inspection, I am pretty much amazing at running a league. However, when one digs really really deep there are faults. Minor faults, but faults nonetheless. How does the Commish get the first overall pick in the first ever Gentlemen's Game? How does Taylor lose a game he should have won because Devin Hester's return didn't count? How does Brandon pick David Garrard in the 3rd round of the 08 draft? The answer of course, poor planning by the Commissioner.

For me to be a perfect commissioner however, we all have to communicate and to vote on matters as they come up. So here are some things we need to talk about...

1. This matter is not really up for a vote because ss I understand it, it was decided in the middle of last season. In our keeper scenario, owners will forfeit draft picks in the rounds immediately after the players they choose to keep are projected by the official Yahoo fantasy rankings.
In a special situation where an owner may be keeping two first round projected players...that person will lose picks in the second and third round. Obviously that allows the champion to keep three players if he chooses. However, he has earned that right by winning the league.
Also, we must all understand that the official yahoo rankings are subject to change as we get closer to the season. We are not going by any one person's bid board. We will be going based on where Yahoo has the player rated as of one week prior to the draft. At that point the rankings will be locked in and players will have until 11:59 that night (one week prior to draft) to submit their two keeper players to a third party email address yet to be determined. This will allow owners to prepare for the draft and trade keepers.
As far as trading keepers....We need to discuss this. I am for off season trades. But we have to decide if they will be done only within the week prior to the draft after each owner has publicly established their keepers or if off season trades should be able to occur soon where all players on the owners final roster from last year are up for negotiation. The latter scenario makes things more interesting, however it will take a lot of blog checking and commenting by all owners in the league.

Finally...Possible Draft dates...Sat Aug 22nd, Sun Aug 23, Sun Aug 30, Sat Sept 5 or Sun Sept 6.
I would love to have a live draft at my house in Hoptown...or at Ray Payne's. Both are centrally located for all but Brandon and Ben. Let us discuss.

Amy just made fun of me for mock drafting.....she thinks its sad that I am playing fake fake football. She is right.

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Using your heart too much in fantasy

Fantasy football like many things sports related comes down to numbers. Often I feel that fantasy players use their heart too much in choosing players either via the draft or to start from week to week. This can only be trouble. Now, I won't say I am not completely guilt free when it comes to this. For one, I don't care if Phil Rivers is the number one QB in the league...that little bitch will never even warm the bench on my team. Also, I don't like Hines Ward (maybe it's his weird face), but fortunately for me, he is only a very mediocre WR2 at the very best. But if I can't win with those assholes not on my team, then I don't deserve to win.
On the other end of the spectrum, there aren't really any players I love. In my mind, this is even more important to fantasy success. How many times have you started a player in a slump (LT last year, Taylor) and it turned out to be a mistake? Often I feel that nagging in the back of my mind when I am setting my roster for the week, "But I used a such-and-such pick on this guy, how can I sit him?" The ability to respond to this question with, "Because I have a player on my bench who has performed consistently better these past few weeks."- can make or break your season. How many people drafted Chris Johnson or Steve Slaton last year behind such names as Ryan Grant, Larry Johnson, LT, Darren McFadden, and Willie Parker? Yet, anyone can look back on last season and clearly see that either one of these two guys was clearly the safer play from week to week. The ability to recognize this quickly and acting on it can mean the difference between making the playoffs and not making the playoffs. A personal example would be Braylon Edwards last year. Now I had Braylon on my team in '07, and he was absolute money...a TD machine. In '08, save for the first game I didn't play him (against the Giants on MNF) he was a disaster. The ability to say-"He just doesn't have it this year, and until he can put together back-to-back weeks of decent play he will not start for me."-honestly saved my season.
Remember, fantasy is all about the numbers...numbers don't have personalities, numbers don't know anything about the draft, and numbers don't lie.

Where We Stand

While polishing my one gold and one silver fantasy football trophies this afternoon I realized that it was fast approaching the time of year for Jason and me to humiliate our friends every Sunday afternoon and Monday night. I have discussed the upcoming season with several of you and there seem to be a few well-settled ideas and a lot of questions for our league manager and yearly cellar dweller.

Here is what we know at this point:
- We each can keep two players from our final roster at the end of season 2008.
- For each player we keep we will lose a draft pick.
- The round of the sacrificed draft pick will be determined by the Yahoo player rankings. For example, if you keep a player ranked 1st among players, and a player ranked 10th among players that will translate to a 1st and 2nd round talent according to our eight player league. As a result, you will lose a second and third round talent, or the following round pick of the projected round of your keeper player. If one decides to keep two players of equal value, e.g., a player ranked 1st and a player ranked 5th, then that manager will still only sacrifice a second and third round talent.

Upon those known facts, the following assumptions may also apply:
- A manager is not required to keep two players. A manger may keep only one player or no one from his final 2008 roster. This may be an option for several of you.
- Pre-draft trades are allowed pending a league vote.

Now here is what we need to decide:
- When do we have to turn in our list of keeper players? And who is the neutral third party to whom each of us will submit our lists?
- What will be the deadline for updates to the Yahoo player rankings be finalized for purposes of ranking the keeper players?
- How will the draft be conducted this year? There have been whispers about attempting to get everyone together for a live draft. The easiest place would be in Henderson, Owensboro, or Louisville

Myself, and I would assume Jason, are both extremely excited about competing with one another for a new season and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to win another gold trophy. From what I've seen and heard, Scott and Brandon are also eager to compete again for the Bronze. I hope the rest of you can also generate some sort of excitement for another year of consolation games.

Gruden replaces Kornheiser

I will be really interested to see what Gruden has to say on MNF. I really like that guy. I did not like Kornheiser and am glad he's too afraid to fly to continue MNF.

The Broncos

What in the hell are the Broncos doing with all of these running backs? I just learned that they signed Darius Walker today. So that gives them: Knowshon Moreno, Correll Buckhalter, Lamont Jordan, Ryan Torain, JJ Arrington, and now Darius Walker. I think Peyton Hillis also deserves a mention since he did a damn fine job filling in last year. The only thing I think I can safely say about this setup is that there is going to be a platoon next year.