Attention Live Drafters: A Little Addition This Year

[Greg Ambrosius]

One of the cool things about the new draft software at SportsHub Technologies is the way we're going to be able to enter draft picks at the live drafts. This new software basically allows us to enter the draft room as an Administrator and make the picks just like you are doing now in an online draft. With STATS, we had a special Administrative tool for each draft that was much different than the actual draft room.

What this new setup means it's interesting on two fronts:

1) It will make it so much easier for us to have one person enter the draft picks. We probably won't fully implement this until football, but we'll likely test this in some drafts this baseball season. Basically Brady (and any other facilitator) could walk up to each drafter and not only announce the pick but enter the pick as well on a tablet. It's that easy. Then the big sticker pops on the screen and the draft board fills in appropriately. We added more HD projectors this summer, so every live draft should have HD projectors this spring. Anyone who drafted in the NFFC at the Bellagio this September knows how cool those looked on those big screens in the Monet Ballrooms. It was crystal clear and worked beautifully.

2) Secondly, anyone who brings an iPad or laptop or even smartphone will now have access to the draft room and see the list of players that are remaining. If you have pre-rank draft lists, those will flow into that live event's draft room and you'll have that right there in front of you. We could even give you access to make the pick yourself, but either way you'll see the draft board on your device and even have a separate window open to the draft room. You don't have to print out your Cheat Sheets if you don't want to because now it's going to be right there on your computer. We have free WiFi for all drafters at the Stewart Hotel in New York and this summer at the Bellagio and Aria there was also free WiFi for all drafters. That was a new policy with the MGM this year.

So that's a nice plus. And if we happen to have a phone hookup like we had last year in the NFBC Diamond League or some other leagues, those drafters on the phone can now actually see the draft room and make their picks that way if needed. They can still hear every pick if they want to and see the same draft board, but this will make any draft like that so much easier going forward.

We've come a long way from the stickers and three facilitators per draft. And a long way from us actually shipping the small draft boards home with us and having a staff enter those draft picks over several days. I'm sure many people still long for the cardboard draft boards, but technology has evolved and we continue to evolve with it. It's so much easier and more efficient to do it with HD projectors, HD screens and tablets. We sure like it.

The live auctions will still need someone just entering every single pick and dollar value for the auctioneer. Nothing will change there and the live auction board will still have Max Bid, Remaining Dollars and the final auction dollar bid on each player. STATS did a great job developing the new auction software and all of those features will remain.

Hope this helps. Enjoy and we can't wait to start hosting the live drafts and auctions.

[Wolfpac]

Greg,

This is great, especially as I come to the live drafts and will have my cousin with me, so now we can have someone check any last minute news right prior to our turn to make a pick. Great job on this all, after 7 year absence from Vegas I look forward to seeing you again, and meeting Tom. Oh and my man Texas Connection(ill see you at that Main on Thursday)

[DOUGHBOYS]

If needing extra time for a pick, I remember hoping that one of the three facilitators would take a long time finding the sticker

[76erfan]

I started as a sticker boy...this makes me sad....lol

Just kidding.

Good stuff.......

[Tom Kessenich]

From Day 1 I hated those damn stickers. After the very first event we ever ran I came back to the office and told Greg we had to get rid of them as soon as possible. Just the absolute worst. LOVE how far we've come without them.

[Greg Ambrosius]

If needing extra time for a pick, I remember hoping that one of the three facilitators would take a long time finding the sticker

I did the stickers for some of those drafts and there were hundreds of stickers for Outfielders and Pitchers (these drove me crazy). By Round 10 they could have said my name and I wouldn't know what letter it started with. You went crazy doing those stupid things and then making sure you had nails long enough to scrape them off. It sure was tough to do them quickly...or accurately. And then you had to write in some names.

They worked at the time and they bought you some extra time, but technology has eliminated Sticker Boys like Andy!! Now they just become good drafters on the other side of the table. LOVE IT!!

[76erfan]

well I started announcing picks instead and delegated stickers to other people.....lol....which then become computer entering stuff

I do think we should have a sticker boy reunion...there were others of us.....we are a close knit group:)

[SpinningSeams]

I enjoyed the nostalgia of stickers at FPAZ 17. And you are right Dan, it did give us more time. Particularly when they were looking for the Ohtani one.

[Greg Ambrosius]

well I started announcing picks instead and delegated stickers to other people.....lol....which then become computer entering stuff

I do think we should have a sticker boy reunion...there were others of us.....we are a close knit group:)

We had a lot of better looking Sticker Girls than you Andy!! Bring them to the reunion.

[Greg Ambrosius]

I enjoyed the nostalgia of stickers at FPAZ 17. And you are right Dan, it did give us more time. Particularly when they were looking for the Ohtani one.

A dozen write-in stickers were not fun at the AFL drafts. Hopefully we'll make those drafts electronic next year too!!

[DOUGHBOYS]

I love the hd stuff, but the old sticker boards will always have a special place in my heart.
Gathering around one after a draft was where some of the best conversations involving fantasy baseball were founded.
Unless somebody wanted to go through the arduous task of writing down every player, it was the last chance to look at the draft before going home.
Winners were predicted, 'good picks' were discussed, and a lot of, "What was this guy thinking!?" were thrown around.
Good times.

[Edwards Kings]

I love the hd stuff, but the old sticker boards will always have a special place in my heart.
Gathering around one after a draft was where some of the best conversations involving fantasy baseball were founded.
Unless somebody wanted to go through the arduous task of writing down every player, it was the last chance to look at the draft before going home.
Winners were predicted, 'good picks' were discussed, and a lot of, "What was this guy thinking!?" were thrown around.
Good times.

Dan writing his first draft notes....

[MadCow Sez]

I love the hd stuff, but the old sticker boards will always have a special place in my heart.
Gathering around one after a draft was where some of the best conversations involving fantasy baseball were founded.
Unless somebody wanted to go through the arduous task of writing down every player, it was the last chance to look at the draft before going home.
Winners were predicted, 'good picks' were discussed, and a lot of, "What was this guy thinking!?" were thrown around.
Good times.

Still saw that at the Vegas mains last year. Lots of people wandering around looking at screens of the other league drafts

[DOUGHBOYS]

I love the hd stuff, but the old sticker boards will always have a special place in my heart.
Gathering around one after a draft was where some of the best conversations involving fantasy baseball were founded.
Unless somebody wanted to go through the arduous task of writing down every player, it was the last chance to look at the draft before going home.
Winners were predicted, 'good picks' were discussed, and a lot of, "What was this guy thinking!?" were thrown around.
Good times.

Still saw that at the Vegas mains last year. Lots of people wandering around looking at screens of the other league drafts

True. But it's not the same.
Those rosters are available on league pages right away and a picture on a phone is done in a flash.

[DOUGHBOYS]

I love the hd stuff, but the old sticker boards will always have a special place in my heart.
Gathering around one after a draft was where some of the best conversations involving fantasy baseball were founded.
Unless somebody wanted to go through the arduous task of writing down every player, it was the last chance to look at the draft before going home.
Winners were predicted, 'good picks' were discussed, and a lot of, "What was this guy thinking!?" were thrown around.
Good times.

Dan writing his first draft notes....

That's how slow I feel I am in writing names at a draft.
We've seen the computer guys go from being in a strong minority to now, a majority.
I'm still that paper and pen guy!!!

[Glenneration X]

And what exactly is wrong with sticker boards?

[Baseball Furies]

And what exactly is wrong with sticker boards?

I agree with Lowry. Let's bring on the babes and the boards! Much more interesting live than all the high-tech computer screens. This way Tom can put the computer to better use like monitoring his cat nanny cam during the drafts.

[Glenneration X]

I agree with Lowry. Let's bring on the babes and the boards! Much more interesting live than all the high-tech computer screens. This way Tom can put the computer to better use like monitoring his cat nanny cam during the drafts.

Tom's cats aside, I think Mikey and I agree that bringing back the sticker boards would prove to be an "ass"et to our competitions.

[Baseball Furies]

I agree with Lowry. Let's bring on the babes and the boards! Much more interesting live than all the high-tech computer screens. This way Tom can put the computer to better use like monitoring his cat nanny cam during the drafts.

Tom's cats aside, I think Mikey and I agree that bringing back the sticker boards would prove to be an "ass"et to our competitions.

Yes Glenn, I do think it would be in all our breast interests to do so.

[Ando]

Big fan of the stickers and the boards. Watching Kay Adams in her tight black spandex turn her back and put stickers on a board 450 times in St. Louis in 2012 or 2013 for 5 hours was well worth the 1500 entry fee that year. Good. God. I'm still coming down from that plateau.

[MadCow Sez]

They don't even need to do stickers...just stand there in bikinis and point to the big screen, a la Vanna White in her prime

[slopshot]

Will this be available in Chicago this year

[Greg Ambrosius]

Will this be available in Chicago this year

Of course!!! Not the girls, the electronics!!

[Baseball Furies]

Sorry, but she was the best NFBC sticker girl we ever had by far...

[Baseball Furies]

And as far some "little additions" this year, how about some free NFBC-wear and merchandise for the live drafters? I would think that having as many of us walking around as advertisements for your contests would be a good thing and worth it as a loss leader. And what about raffling off some free contests for us? One grand-prize of maybe a Main Event entry, and a few lesser dollar league prizes like DC's maybe? You could also include some gift certificates with promo codes for discounted or free entries for us to give out to friends and family as a first time introductory offer for the 2019 season in whatever swag you decide to give out. Just some free marketing and promo advise...