Drafting Irregularities

So here's where we stand. DaZ did not correctly set his draft and caused a minor irritation during the begining of the live draft. Margaritas are mad because they were counting one extra left winger who was removed when the rosters were reset correctly. Also - many would like to see some action taken against DaZ when it was clearly stated that there would be consequences.

My official comments are as follows:
My initial rules (here)stated that the offending team would lose their franchise players to the free market and the affected teams would ultimately retain their franchise players while picking new players. The unforeseen consequence of this policy would be that the affected teams would effectively get an extra high draft pick, punishing teams that were not involved in the irregularities at all. In this case, Margaritas have been lobbying to retain Zetterburg in addition to their previous two franchise players (both properly restored). While I have no problems with this as a just (though perhaps harsh) punishment for DaZ and recompense for Margaritas, teams that were completely uninvolved will be at a disadvantage posed by this extra firepower. This is unfair as these other teams did not have an equal chance at Zetterburg (or Ovetchkin in the case of Thunder Bay).

So what can be done? The best is probably for DaZ to lose control of Zetterburg and Ovechkin without allowing any other team to access them. Since there is no way for me to do this in Yahoo that is foolproof, I will force those two players off of DaZ or any other team that tries to pick them up with no warning. They would be listed as banned and it would be best to leave them on the free agent market.

Does this sound like a just solution? How long of a ban should there be? Does DaZ lose these players all season or for a part? Please comment. We have until Oct. 3rd when these two play to decide. (Season starts Sept. 29th.)

Draft Rules

Our draft will be on Sun Sep 23 2:15pm EDT. Be sure to arrive a few minutes early to make sure your system works. Better yet, use the "test your system" link to make sure the kinks are out of the system RIGHT NOW so you can ask questions if it doesn't actually work (I'll be happy to help).

To actually make the draft work, there will be a few rules laid down. These will basically assure that you get your chosen franchise players. The rules are as follows:

1. Make sure the players listed here and here are in your "excluded players" section of the Pre-draft Player Rankings. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, ask.)
2. In those same Pre-draft Player Rankings, put your two franchise players in the top two positions. The rest of the rankings are up to you.
3. During the actual live draft, you MUST choose your franchise players for your first two selections (the first two rules assure this will happen for those managers who have to auto-draft).
4. Starting with round 3, each team may choose players according to whatever strategy they think best.
5. The penalty for not following the above rules will be severe:
   • Any player chosen in the first two rounds that was not a team's franchise player will lose that player to the waver-wire.
   • If the player chosen was another team's franchise player, that team will be given the franchise player with the option to drop any of their other players to keep the roster the correct size.
   • Failure to select your team's franchise player during the first two rounds of the draft will open that player to free-agency immediately.

You may notice that under the rules, if you fail to select your franchise players in the first two rounds, you will have effectively forfeited your first one or two draft picks and opened your franchise player(s) to any team's selection. In short - just follow the rules.

Standings after Week 1

Yes I know I suck at html ... deal ... and scroll

Overall Standings

Name	Record	PCT	PTS	Back	WK	Streak
ExBandoRefugeRedux	1-0-0	1.000	109	000	0.5	W-1
Supernova	1-0-0	1.000	109	000	0.5	W-1
Margaritas	1-0-0	1.000	104	005	0.0	W-1
YankeesSuck	1-0-0	1.000	099	010	0.0	W-1
JacksonOrangemen	1-0-0	1.000	099	010	0.0	W-1
Black Dragons	1-0-0	1.000	090	019	0.0	W-1
Chowdaheads Return!	0-1-0	0.000	096	013	0.0	L-1
Irish Mexicans	0-1-0	0.000	091	018	0.0	L-1
Can_I_Football_Too?	0-1-0	0.000	091	018	0.0	L-1
Madison Starlings	0-1-0	0.000	080	029	0.0	L-1
Da Beers	0-1-0	0.000	068	041	0.0	L-1
Stingrays !	0-1-0	0.000	064	045	0.0	L-1

East Side Standings

Name	Record	PCT	PTS	Back	WK	Streak
ExBando Refuge Redux	1-0-0	1.000	109	000	0.5	W-1
Margaritas	1-0-0	1.000	104	005	0.0	W-1
Yankees Suck	1-0-0	1.000	099	010	0.0	W-1
Chowdaheads Return!	0-1-0	0.000	096	013	0.0	L-1
Can_I_Football_Too?	0-1-0	0.000	091	018	0.0	L-1
Stingrays !	0-1-0	0.000	064	045	0.0	L-1

West Side Standings

Name	Record	PCT	PTS	Back	WK	Streak
Supernova	1-0-0	1.000	109	000	0.5	W-1
Jackson Orangemen	1-0-0	1.000	099	010	0.0	W-1
Black Dragons	1-0-0	1.000	090	019	0.0	W-1
Irish Mexicans	0-1-0	0.000	091	018	0.0	L-1
Madison Starlings	0-1-0	0.000	080	029	0.0	L-1
Da Beers	0-1-0	0.000	068	041	0.0	L-1

I'll start doing Power rankings after a few more games get played. Breakdown reports are available upon request.

Draft Options

[The following is a copy of an email sent to the league]
There are two options for the draft:

The first (and obvious) option is to do the live draft as it is currently scheduled (unless a majority have a problem with the time). In this plan, you will need to pick your franchise players in the first two rounds. Failure to pick them then will result in loss of the draft spot (I will drop the player you choose instead) and will open your franchise player to selection in the general draft. Quickly put, you need to have all other franchise players on the exclude list and you MUST pick your players with your first and second pick. With this option, there is no chance to trade draft slots, players, etc while the draft is in motion.

The second option is to do the draft through the fantasy blog. The success of the expansion draft leads me to believe that this would be doable. I would put a post on the blog citing the draft rules and the selection would happen in the comments (I may split it into a couple of posts for clarity's sake). One major rule would be to make sure that you type both the first and last name of the player to avoid any confusion. Other than that, trading would be allowed in almost any form that teams would find acceptable. I would make sure to keep up with the selections in Yahoo so that you don't have to keep scrolling down through the comments to find who has been chosen. This would take a little longer (we have ~2 weeks) but would allow anyone to participate in the draft without having to sit down at the computer at a specific time. Also - if you want an "autopick" option during this draft, you can always email me your potential picks and any additional instructions like "draft a winger in the 5th round".

Which option do you prefer?

Expansion Draft

The Expansion Draft begins now. Leave your pick in the comment section here.

Again, the order is as follows:

Round 1:
1 (1). The Underdogs
2 (2). Stingrays I
3 (3). Creative Team Name

Round 2:
1 (4). Creative Team Name
2 (5). Stingrays I
3 (6). The Underdogs

Keep checking back to see if you are up for a pick. Be sure to make sure your picks do not overlap with those here.

Draft Order

The Draft order for the Main Draft has been posted. These draft picks (viewable here) can be traded just like franchise players.

The order for the expansion draft (2 rounds, 6 picks) is as follows:

Round 1:
1 (1). The Underdogs
2 (2). Stingrays I
3 (3). Creative Team Name

Round 2:
1 (4). Creative Team Name
2 (5). Stingrays I
3 (6). The Underdogs