Q&A - How to manage trades

How should I manage trades as commissioner?

Ideally, commissioners should not review every trade in their league. Reviewing trades is time consuming and creates a lot of unwanted drama.

As commissioner of 12 years, I only vetoed one trade. And although I still feel that my veto was justified, it caused me a lot of grief and has lead me to set my league to 'Trade Review - League Votes.'

By setting your league to: Trade Review - League Votes, the commissioner is taken out of the picture. This democratic approach allows the commissioner to react to trade arguments objectively. If there comes to be too many trade vetoes, or not enough, then that is the fault of the team owner majority, and it's up to them to communicate and react to trades fairly. If major trade problems occur in the league, the commissioner should speak up, and request that owners be more reasonable or they won't be invited back to the league next year. Commissioners who opt out of reviewing trades, and leaving the responsibility to the team owners, strengthen the integrity of their league. The Trade Review - League Votes setting eliminates the chance for you, as the commissioner, to make a mistake managing trades. You won't be accused of vetoing a trade that would otherwise affect your team's chance at winning. And you won't be accused of helping out, or not helping out, another team for some insinuated personal reason.

Set the time to vote on trades to 1 day.

To stimulate trading in your league, try reducing the standard 2 days for voting on trades to 1 day. 24 hours is enough time for team owners to get the notice of a trade and make their call whether to allow it or not. Trades should have some advantage over waiver pickups, which are typically set to 2 days.

Fantasy football websites should allow teams to include acquisition budget dollars into trades.

Wouldn't that be cool?

Q&A - Dealing with team owners who quit

Should the commissioner dump all of the players from an abandoned team into the free agent pool?

I've learned the best way to handle things as a commissioner is to do so with the least amount of manipulation as possible. Don't overreact to problems. Remember, you're the commissioner, but you're also a team owner. Other team owners in the league should understand that there may be some problems along the way, and you can only do your best to make things as fair as possible.

There are at least four things a commissioner can do when someone quits the league. I'll rank these in order of most ideal to least ideal.

1. Assign the team to a new owner. Some fantasy football sites like Yahoo allow you to do this. Look in Commissioner Tools. If a new owner takes over and actively participates - problem solved!
2. Do nothing! I call this the "as is" solution. You simply do nothing to the team - no add/drops or any roster changes. Teams will have to face the so-called "dead team," and while the matchups will not be fair for each team that faces the dead team - at least you won't be blamed for making things worse. The last thing you want is to manage a dead team to somehow honorably lose each week. That's too much manipulation from the commish in my book.
3. Place all the dead team's players on the bench. This only works if each team in your league plays the dead team the same number of times. It's like creating a bye week for each team.
4. Dump the dead team into the free agent pool. Some team owners request that the commissioner dump the players from the dead team into the free agent pool. I've found this to be the worst thing you can do. Rarely will each team owner accept this idea. Also, depending on your free agent acquisitions, and who's on the dead team, the opportunity to pick up players will probably not be fair to each team. I consider dumping players to be a overreaction by the commissioner and will only make things worse. Keep your leagues integrity and go with one of the other solutions above.

Creating the Schedule

One of the most overlooked tasks for a fantasy football commissioner is devising a simple way to
create a fair schedule. The schedule has a profound influence on how a team will perform in the season. As team owners look anxiously over their schedule, they check for those tough weeks and for those big breaks that come throughout the season. What will you do when both your #1 QB and your #1 WR face the Seattle Seahawks defense in the disruptive CenturyLink Field? Could you, in fact, luck out and face the team that has Adrian Peterson and RG3 when they're both on their bye weeks? Lots of things can happen, and it's all dictated by the schedule.

There are three ways to create a fantasy league schedule:

1. leave it based on the order in which team owners joined the league (default)
2. the commissioner manually creates the schedule week to week
3. the commissioner randomizes the schedule

Although the default method of allowing the schedule to be based on when team owners joined is basically random, and it requires no action from the commissioner, there is no way for the rest of the league to know that. In fact, the case may be that the commissioner could have invited owners and had them sign up in an order that's fortuitous for their team by cherry picking who they'd rather face more often. Also, leaving the schedule based on sign ups just doesn't feel right. It's generic.

Having the commissioner manually create a schedule week to week is the most troublesome. Making decisions on who should play who, how often, and when is too difficult and too time consuming for commissioners. And if your commissioner sets the schedule manually after the draft, you should be very suspicious, as all the information they need to rig the schedule their way is there for them to manipulate.

This leaves randomizing the schedule as the optimal choice for commissioners. A random schedule is fair, and it's easy for the commissioner to manage. There are at least three important things for the commissioner to do when randomizing the schedule for their league:

1. randomize and set the schedule before the draft, this virtually rules-out the idea that the commissioner could have rigged the schedule
2. click the 'Randomize Schedule' link only once, clicking it multiple times suggests some level of manipulation from the commissioner, and it's unnecessary
3. have a team owner present as a witness, or document the randomizing of the schedule with a Screencast-O-Matic video

I have followed-through on all points of my scheduling creed. You may view the randomizing of the Greed is Good FFL schedule here on YouTube.

 

Football Never Sleeps

Every fantasy fanatic knows football never sleeps. Ever since the lights went out in Superbowl XLVII, you've been pondering over your strategy for the next season. Like the buying high and selling low jungle of the stock market, you've envisioned your #1 pick, your must-starters, your trusty backups, and your sleepers. You cannot afford to make the same simple mistakes of last year. You cannot allow yourself to pity those who are not worthy. You must dominate! No loss will be tolerated; no win will be apologetic! This is business!

"I don't throw darts at a board. I bet on sure things. Read Sun-tzu, The Art of War. Every battle is won before it is ever fought." - Gordon Gekko

Welcome to the Greed is Good FFL! This year there are no excuses, no fear, no holding back - you will put your best foot forward, you will go all-in, you will let your balls hang out!

"If you need a friend, get a dog." - G.G.

I'm excited to have you all back, and I'm excited for the improvements we will have this year. One more round of applause for the top three of 2012: (3) Discard After Use, (2) CareFree CFC, (1) DC In Yo Face - clap - clap - clap - SILENCE! The slate is now cleaned. We begin anew. This year our champion will sit atop Fantasy-opolis in a skyscraper looking down on the wannabes like ants. The sacko will peek up through the bars of sewer drains with treacherous envy. 

2013 League Improvements

• League size pledge - minimum number of team-owners = 8, maximum = 14
• Flex spot - WR #3 has been replaced with a W/R/T flex spot
• Trade time - the time to protest trades has been reduced from 2 days to 24 hours
• Player adds - the maximum number of players you can add per week is now 4

Check your email for the payment request from LeagueSafe. Once you're paid up, I'll send you the invite to re-register your team in Yahoo.

The draft is set for Labor Day 9/2 at 2:30 PM. I'll keep you all posted on a possible draft party or post draft party.

Again, welcome back and good luck - you're gonna need it!

Commish

2012 Championship Report

In one galaxy the mighty Sith has been beaten. Blasted in the wing of his TIE Advanced +1, the dark lord ricochets out into space. He will return, rebuild his empire (with the third pick in the draft), and restore order to the galaxy . . . .

In another parallel universe, the mighty Sith has met his match with the one who is true to the powers of the force. "Obi-Wan has taught you well." says the father to his son. They each fight to their last breath. Good prevails! But not by the hands of the padawan, for, it was the the "chosen one" all along who was - - - - destined to bring balance to the force.

The story ends.

Until Disney starts it up again in 2014; let's hope they don't ruin a classic [fingers crossed].

I hope you all had as much fun as me this season. 

Both BFFG Paid and Free leagues are settled. I expect Yahoo to update the results of the brackets tomorrow morning. In the meantime, expect the final scores from yesterday to stand. Below are the final standings and awards. Those of you who paid dues and placed 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, can login to LeagueSafe soon to retrieve your prize.

Congratulations everybody!

BFFG Paid

***League Champion - DC In Yo Face - 300 - 12th pick***

**Runner Up - CarefreeCFC - 200 - 11th pick**

*3rd - Discard After Use - 100 - 10th pick*

4th - Mojo Nipson - 9th pick

5th - He Hate Me - 1st pick

6th - Terrorizors - 2nd pick

7th - SvvashBucklers - 3rd pick

8th - Mad Ravens - 4th pick

9th - Rolling Rockers - 5th pick

10th - Knights of N. Hill - 6th pick

11th - Baltimore Smasher - 7th pick

12th - Whatchu Talking Bout - 8th pick

BFFG Free

***League Champion - The Commish - a one-handed clap - 10th pick***

**Runner Up - Turd Fergusons - a pat on the back - 9th pick**

*3rd - Goingfor3 - the irony of your name - 8th pick*

4th - Renegade Roughnecks - 7th pick

5th - Super Heater - 1st pick

6th - Bitchtits - 2nd pick

7th - Tuck&Roll - 3rd pick

8th - Squealer Squashers - 4th pick

9th - FUPAscoopas - 5th pick

10th - FourLoko - 6th pick

  

   

End of Season Report

Fellow team owners - this is it! The championship weekend is here! It looks like we will have our league champion crowned this Sunday night. Since the Monday Night Football season finale ended last week, we will have our league's superbowl little sooner this year. Also, this is a special heads-up: there is a Saturday game this weekend: get your lineups in order and good luck.

I'm happy to be playing for first place in the free league and seventh place in the paid league. I'm also pleased to see how engaged everyone was in the league this year. We have definitely grown to become - what I believe to be - one of the most competitive leagues around. Cheers to you all!

I have a lot of important announcements about changes to the league, all of which will be effective next year - so bear with me. Here is a quick list of what's coming.

1. change to the league name
2. change to the league sizes
3. change to starting roster
4. change to trade rules
5. change to player acquisitions

1. Name Change

I've been wanting to change the name of our league for a long time. The BFFG (a.k.a. Baltimore Fantasy Football Gurus) is so bad I'm ashamed of it. I'm pleased to announce that this horrible name will officially retire after this season.

"What's the new name?" you ask. Well, I wanted to come up with something that fits with the kind of league we have. So, I though about how everyone manages their team and how I felt about the league in general.

The first word I thought up was, "business." I feel like our league is a business because everyone takes it seriously. That's what I like about it! Sure there's some jive - a little trash 'talkin - but mostly it's a steady-pragmatic race to the top. Each week you can count on your opponent to make moves and set their lineup for their best chance to win. Our league is very business like indeed.

So "business" is the theme. Here's a look into my brain during the creative process for coming up with the new name. Brace yourself ;-)

A business . . . "The Business" . . . "Big Business" . . . things that are a business . . . downtown . . . Wall Street . . . 80's Wall Street movies . . . "Risky Business" No! . . . "Wall Street" Yes! . . . "Gordon Gekko" hmmm . . . Gordon Gekko's lines in the movie . . . "Greed is good." Bingo! "GREED IS GOOD FANTASY FOOTBALL LEAGUE!" It's settled.

So what do you think? LMK. I think it has a nice ring to it, and it signifies a good mindset for winning in fantasy football. 

2. League Size Pledge

The minimum and maximum numbers to run the Greed is Good FFL are 8 and 14. I have changed the maximum several times. Yahoo allows up to 20 teams. That is way too big! I have said in the past that I would try to recruit up to 16 teams, but after managing the league as your commissioner for 11 years now, I realize that 14 teams is the best-reasonable limit.

You'll notice when doing a mock draft that your choices for league size is also 8 to 14. These are really the best limits to set for everyone to have the most fun.

The order of team owner recruitment is as follows. (1) Invite all team owners of the paid league to rejoin. (2) Invite team owners of the free league to join the paid league. (3) Invite all team owners of the free league to rejoin. (4) Invite team owners in the paid league to join the free league (*if needed). (5) Invite new members to join either the paid or free leagues (*if needed).

3. The Flex Spot
Several of you have requested that I open up a flex spot, and I imagine that the rest of you wouldn't mind either. After giving this inquiry careful consideration, I've decided to deliver the goods. Granted! Next year I will replace WR #3 with a RB/WR/TE flex spot.

What I've learned about the flex spot is that it's actually more of a standard in today's leagues. There are several benefits: gives owners more flexibility (pun intended), balances the free agent pool, and increases the overall creativity of not only drafting teams but also setting lineups. Indeed, I'm convinced that adding a flex spot will improve the Greed is Good FFL.  

4. Promoting Trades
The only major feature that's missing from our league is trading. A lot of the players that I see dropped should be traded. There was not a single trade all year! Trading in fantasy football is an essential concept. We lack the experiences of "buying low" and "selling high." The trading block is a ghost town! Let's learn how to use this feature to our advantage.

The deadline to protest trades will be reduced from 2 days to 1 day. This makes trading faster than a waiver pickup.

I will also make repeated requests for team owners to update their trading block status. This does not mean you have to trade any of your players, but it's a good idea to think about it anyway. You never know what kind of deal you may be offered. You could be missing out!

5. Picking Up Players 
The limit for weekly acquisitions (or adding players to your team) will be changed from "no maximum" to 4 per week. This acquisition setting will be added next year to fix a loophole where team owners have the ability to deliberately churn players through the waiver process. Not that we have a major free agent vulturing problem in our league, but I have seen some questionable things go on in the transactions - so I want to put this legitimate fix in now.

And there you have it! Good season everybody!

Please respond with your questions and comments. I'd love to hear from you all. Thanks.



   

Kickoff 2012

The 2012 fantasy football season is finally here! I want to communicate a few points to my team owners before things get rolling.

Most importantly, the NFL season starts on Wednesday this year, which is irregular but exciting. All that fantasy drafting got me siked-up for watching football. So I'm glad it's starting early. NYG vs. DAL kicks-off at 820 PM tomorrow 9/5. It should be a great game with tons of fantasy impacting plays. Bring it on!

Yahoo made changes to the fantasy league pick 'ems. There's a different setup to it, and it's more fun if everyone takes part. If you want to keep up on the fantasy league pick 'ems then you need to make your picks before the first game of the week kicks off. This week it's Wed, but it will be on Thurs every week afterwards. Once the night games kick off, you'll be locked out of making picks. There's no incentive for it, it's optional, bragging rights, superstitions, whatever. Go to "matchup" then scroll to the bottom to find it.

A change to the league.
A minor change has been made to the playoffs settings in the paid league. This change could probably go unnoticed but I wanted to make sure everyone is updated. The playoffs reseeding set to "yes" means that if the #6 seed beat the #3 seed in round 1 then the #1 seed would face #6 in round 2 and #2 would face the winner of #4 vs #5. Got that? I believe this to be what most of you would expect the setup to be so I made the change. The Yahoo default setting follows the NFL with #1 facing the winner of #4 vs #5 and #2 facing the winner of #3 vs #6 regardless. LMK if you have any questions about that.

There's plenty of interesting things I can add about the draft. I'm impressed with how well everyone did. Some of you actually have a chance at beating me ;-) I don't have time for a full analysis but here is a list of the top 1st and 2nd pick-combos for both the BFFG Paid and Free leagues together.

1. RB/WR with 5
2. QB/RB with 5
3. RB/QB with 3
4. WR/QB with 2
5. RB/RB with 2
6. TE/WR with 2
7. QB/WR with 1
8. WR/RB with 1
9. RB/TE with 1

I went RB/RB with the 8th pick in the paid league and QB/RB with the 6th pick in the free. I'm surprised that there were not more RB/RB picks and that there were 3 TEs taken in the first two rounds in both leagues. Back in the day there were way more RB/RBs, and I thought that tactic would come back in 2012 with all the RB uncertainty, but I guess everyone wants their QB locked-up first in the BFFG, which I guess is understandable since a TD pass = 6 pts. That's good math'in y'all ;-)