A message from the Commish:
Yes, downsizing is even hitting fantasy football! In this case it’s a good thing.
I was surprised (and pleased) at the response to this idea. I never thought we’d get 20 teams, let alone 30 or 40. Please bear with your Commish as I take a step back and reset some things to deal with the numbers.
Assuming Yahoo lets me, I’m going to reduce the size of this league to 14 teams. That will make sure talent isn’t spread too thin – so everybody is able to field a starting QB once bye weeks kick in, for example. When I reduce the league, I believe Yahoo will bounce 6 teams…..probably the last 6 to sign up but who knows, maybe they’ll go alphabetically. If you get bounced, it’s not personal! Just go right over here and sign up for our new BJFL- ‘Murrican Conference:
http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/league/bjfl_realmurricanconfIf there are any issues with the url the League ID is 621589.
The password is alsotoo.The draft for the Murrican Conference will be Wednesday 10am PDT/ 1pm EDT. Maybe that works better for some of you – feel free to join over there. If you create a new team in the Murrican conference please delete your team here!
There may be more conferences created depending on interest. Each conference will play according to the same rules, and at the end of the year the conference winners will meet in a BJFL Super Bowl!
Thanks for your patience as I sort out these details! I was really surprised by the response and am scrambling a little now.
Enjoy!
morzer
Can we haz a “Taking Back Our Tunch” Conference?
Oz
More conferences please! It won’t let me into real murricans ’cause it’s full. :(
I’d love to play with my fellow juicers!
rnoble
I add my voice to those demanding another conference.
Steve
can any readers join up? I’d love to play
You Don't Say
I went to the second one yesterday and it said it was full.
The Commish
Thanks John for posting that update.
There is already a third conference up and running! If you enjoy football jump in, the water’s fine:
B.J.F.L. Blue Dog Conference
Note: newbies to fantasy football are welcome! Yahoo offers lots of helpful info and I’ll answer all the questions I can. I hope, though, that people signing up intend to see the season through, since abandoned teams sort of undercut the fun for people who are more into it.
If this third conference fills today, as I expect, I’ll get a fourth conference up too. I’ll wait to announce it Monday or Tuesday so that B-J regulars who might be offline over the weekend get a shot.
John W.
Still says full. Btw, this is the same league ID as yesterday’s post. In my experience with Yahoo fantasy, new league = new ID.
The Commish
@John W.: I announced the league mentioned in JohnC’s post yesterday in comments. The link in my comment above leads to the third conference…..still 7 spots left as I type this.
The password for all leagues is alsotoo.
John W.
@The Commish, the link sends me to the error page, saying “You are not allowed to view this page because you are not in this league. (Error #152)” so I try the ID and pw, and it says full.
The Commish
@John W.:
Are you clicking the link in my comment #6 to this thread? I still see 7 spots open in that league.
If the direct link doesn’t work go to Yahoo Fantasy Sports and look for league # 623662. Password Alsotoo.
You Don't Say
Do we make up our own team name? Or what one are we using?
Polar Bear Square
The link is saying the league is full when I put in the link or use the ID. Is it too late?
The Commish
Yes make up a team name…..if you can, tie it in with the handle you use at B-J so we know who we all are. “YDS’s [insert pithy mascot here]” is one way to do it.
Polar Bear Square
@The Commish: Thanks. Made it!
John W.
@The Commish:
Got it. Thanks for putting up with my idiocy there.
freelancer (itouch)
@The Commish:
Do you have Any control over the time that drafts are scheduled? The 2nd league’s being in the middle of the day on Wednesday (11EST/Noon CST) is doable, but is a huge PITA.
You Don't Say
@The Commish: Thanks. I named it BJ Bombers. And I’m in a draft room waiting for the draft.
Oops. Should I not be in a draft room yet?
The Commish
@freelancer (itouch): I do have control, but I had to schedule them at different times because as I recall the Yahoo draft app only allows me to work one draft at a time.
The third league’s draft is Wednesday evening, around 6pm PDT/ 9 Eastern. if that’s better for you jump in there while there are spots, and if you get in delete your team in the Murrican conference. I’m sure it’ll re-fill.
@ John W. No worries!
themann1086
I love the team names. I got MyCountertops :P
freelancer (itouch)
Oh, and thanks for all the time you have put into this little project, btw. We don’t want to sound ungrateful, so I just thought you should know we appreciate it.
The Commish
@You Don’t Say: Yeah you’re about 72 hours early!
I guess now’s as good a time as any to post some draft tips:
Whether you plan to be online for the draft or not, DO use Yahoo’s Pre-Draft rankings to prioritize your favorite players. Look for the link to DRAFT CENTRAL, then PRE-DRAFT RANKINGS. That way if you are called away or have tech issues (in past years Yahoo’s draft app has been buggy), Yahoo will choose your favorite players for you.
If you’d rather take a hands-off approach, or the schedule is impossible for you, the Yahoo experts do a pretty good job of ranking players. It’s fun to draft your own team, but only a modest competitive advantage. I will probably only be online for the first few rounds of each draft myself, then let the computer take over.
DO test your system compatibility with Yahoo’s draft app well before the draft. The link to test is on your conference’s homepage. If your system is incompatible, rank your favorite favorite players as described above.
If you want to draft live DO log on at least 15 minutes early. In the past the draft app has been slow and buggy, and took much longer to load than in testing.
Joseph Nobles
Do you have to be present at the draft to participate? Because I’ll be at work during the draft time (Wednesday 8:30 pm). If so, I can unregister, I guess, and give my slot to someone else.
The Commish
Annnnnnd…..Conference 3 is full!
As promised there will be a fourth conference, but that is the most I can handle. I will announce it Monday or Tuesday to make sure people who have been offline over the weekend get a shot.
IF you got bumped out of the first league during the downsizing, and shut out of the new leagues (I think there are one or two people in this boat), drop me a line directly and I will send you the link to the 4th conference early to make sure you get in.
@ freelancer – Thanks!! It’s all fun for me….so far.
The Commish
@Joseph Nobles: If you can’t be online for the draft Yahoo will draft for you, and you can pre-rank players and they will use your list as far as it goes, then swtich to their own “expert” list. See my comment #19.
Joseph Nobles
Ah, well, now that I see everything that’s involved, I also work on Sunday afternoons/evenings, so I went ahead and pulled my team. Maybe if I score a different schedule in the future…
You Don't Say
@The Commish: Thanks. Sorry to be such a pill. I’m at the rankings page now to rank my players. One more question: If I rank players can I log on to the draft and just watch? Or not log on at all? I don’t want to screw up the draft as it’s happening.
The Commish
@Joseph Nobles: Your call, but you don’t need to be online at all during the draft or games. I work many weekends too and certainly am not online for half the games! Most “gameplay” occurs midweek, when you check injuries and matchups and set your lineups for the coming weekend. Then you sit back and watch, or just check the scores Monday AM. This year for the first time I have a mobile app to follow my fantasy scores, should be fun.
@ YDS. Hmmm. I have guessed wrong about the Yahoo interface before but my best guesses are…..you will need to be logged on in order to watch the draft. And, if you’re logged on, the computer will wait for you to make the pick. Eventually it will pick for you, but it will be a PITA for everybody to sit there waiting.
My advice: Pre-rank your players (I suggest this for everybody), then log on 15-20 minutes before the draft if its convenient and make your own picks, then log off when you run out time and get bored. The computer will take over.
The Commish
“Track Palin’s Bus?” Someone’s going to have to explain that one to me.
freelancer
@The Commish:
Also, doing a mock draft or two is a pretty decent education, at least for a newbie like me.
Greenhouse Guy
@The Commish: I’m guessing it’s “The Short Bus”.
The Commish
@Greenhouse Guy: Isn’t Track the one in the Army? I didn’t know they’d lowered the IQ standard that far…..
Scott de B.
Well, I’ve tried to get into all three leagues as they were posted, and apparently arrived late to all. Any chances of getting into #4?
chaseyourtail
My husband did his draft yesterday. Today, he’s hungover on the couch…and my football widow-dom officially begins. Sigh.
Actually, it’s not so bad. At least I like football. The only thing that gets to me is when he roots against a Niner because someone else has him.
Greenhouse Guy
@The Commish: Shit, I don’t know and don’t care to know. Why these fuckos appear all over the place just baffles me. dumb, dumb, dumb. They named their kids some weird shit…Also, too.
The Commish
@Scott de B.: I’ll set up a 4th conference and announce it Monday.
I want to keep signups democratic but also feel as many spots as possible should go to people who are really into the game. If this describes you send me contact info directly: sfjaykey48 at yahoo dot com.
For next year, I’m thinking maybe I will setup one head-to-head league, and invite top finishers from this year’s conferences to fill it. And also run a couple of points-only leagues with open signup.
So while we have no official prizes this year (yet), at least you’ll be playing for something: qualification for next year’s “champions” league!
Oz
Dammit, I ask for a conference, go to breakfast, and next thing I know, it’s full. I hope I can get into the fourth one, but one favor – can the draft be Thursday morning when I can actually do it live? Pacific AM please!
I hope I can register for this next one. I really do.
dand
Cleo’s Club will smoke you all! Cleo being my black lab of course.
TVL
That’s the catch-22 about Fantasy Football.
morzer
@The Commish:
Will ACORN be involved in this?
Faisal N. Jawdat
This is getting so popular, by the time we’re done we’ll have ourselves a nice little fantasy football group with an associated blog that occasionally meanders into politics, pets, and pasta.
fucen tarmal
what about an auction league? we can let the invisible hand give us a full reach-around.
Patrick
@The Commish: Any chance of yet another conference? I’d love to play with the crowd here and my friends are all tired of me rolling them year in and year out.