NYC $1300 Auction

Sack · Post by **Sack** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 9:59 am

First off, I want to commend Tom Kessenich and all of his staff for making this a first rate event. Citi Field was outstanding and I hope the NFBC returns in future years.

I do need to offer some constructive criticism on a few points. As in the past, you normally ask for suggestions in helping to clear these matters up, so I'll do my best to provide an idea or two.

The $1300 Auction on Friday night was slated to begin at 5pm. Fourteen of the Fifteen owners were in place at the table and we were told that this needed to be completed in five hours because the agreement with Citi Field required us to leave by 10pm. Because the pace of an auction is so unpredictable, as somebody that shelled out $1300 the idea of "rushing" through this didn't set very well. Steve, the auctioneer, did an outstanding job and we managed to complete things DESPITE the total lack of respect offered by the missing owner. I'm saving him for last.

If you have a time restraint, please don't do so in the future with an auction league....it just isn't fair. Six hours should be fine.

The Saturday night Super League had four/five owners on speaker at Citi Field, while the majority were in Las Vegas. I felt bad for Tom Kessenich, because he was missing the Draftboard for the Super League. Not a big issue, he did the best to rig something up and the names were written on to the board. It was impossible to read them, but that wasn't my issue. At one point during the draft, Anson Chan ( Team #10 ) ran out of time. He wasn't aware that he was on the clock but the second he was told he tossed out a name and was told that his time expired. Not good enough, he was skipped. The explanation was that OUR time on the clock starts when the sticker is placed on the board in Vegas. The people sitting in Vegas have access to when the sticker is placed on the board, we did not. Heck, we didn't even have a board. Had I gotten passed just once, I'd have started asking you to announce when the sticker was placed on the board in Vegas. Ticky-Tack - but considering Anson was given NO room it was pure bush league. If you want to run $2500 leagues with phone hookups everybody needs to simply be treated in an equal manner. Conversely, on Sunday afternoon in yet another phone Super League it is announced that we are taking a 30 minute break to allow somebody in Vegas to check out of the hotel. Fortunately, that was avoided. But things need to be consistent here as it sure did seem that being in New York on the phone or being at home on the phone presented the chance of being handled as a second class citizen unless you vocalized your displeasure. I don't want to be made out as the bad guy in these draft rooms, but had I been in Anson's place or if some guy in Vegas was allowed to take care of business that needed to be handled prior to sitting at that table while I was made to wait

I doubt that I'd have been in such a sporting mood.

OK - best for last. In all honestly the previous two were minor. i pay a lot to attend these drafts. I love them. I wait anxiously for draft day. I look forward to arriving early and staying late. I treat everybody I come in contact with during these events with respect. During the first weekend, I drafted in Atlantic City in League #1. We had a blast and things went smooth. i would have liked to have a snapshot of League #2, but they were running way behind us. I was told that one owner didn't make it on time and it slowed things down. OK, could happen to anybody. Left without my snapshot, no big deal. Fast forward to this past Friday at Citi Field. Turns out the same guy, I won't name him, is lost for the start of the auction. Add on to that, we are told that there is a 5 hour limit. NFBC handled this EXCELLENT. This guy was on the phone until he finally arrived, we are talking at least an hour, maybe more. He was required to nominate players and bid from his phone. Again, guess this could happen to anybody but this was STRIKE TWO for this guy. In a straight draft it is easy to go with NFBC's draft rankings ( unless you were in the NFFC Boston League ) or reach the guy on the phone for a pick. However, this guy demonstrated a lack of respect for all of the owners that were at that table on time, especially for an auction. Fast forward to NYC Main Event League #5 and he managed to pull the trifecta on Saturday as he was late for a third draft.

This certainly needs to be addressed. For an auction, I suggest that each time his turn comes up he should be penalized $1 and his turned past. This should be written straight into the rules. i understand that 99% of the time this will not come up. However, this guy demonstrated he doesn't deserve to be part of this strong family. Heck, I wouldn't allow him to enter an auction style game next season for what he pulled. He was given a lot of room to nominate his players after he arrived and did the same during the reserve round. He took away from the experience. Years ago, another auction player had a drinking issue during the draft. He became loud an abusive. To this day, I refuse to pony up my money to partake in any league he is part of with the NFBC/NFFC. I'll be doing the same with the guy that was late for Atlantic City League #2, Citi Field $1300 Auction, and Las Vegas League #5. His actions speak loud. Hopefully, Greg & Tom, you'll look into this matter. Once, ok ............... THREE TIMES? Don't allow this guy to bring down your event in the future.

Red Sox Nation- · Post by **Red Sox Nation-** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 10:58 am

Great post Sack. To be late once I can understand if something popped up unsuspectingly. (family emergency, car problems, etc) I'm not sure how you can be late on 3 separate drafts though when these dates and times are written in stone months prior. I love the auctions so much but I felt that the $1300 experience was a little bit weakened by having a phone participant. There were numerous times when we were actively in the middle of a bid and it would have to slow down to ensure the owner knew the prices over the phone. This caused potential bids to be drawn out and not get closed on a going once, going twice, SOLD. I know when I have the lead bid and "want" that player I want the going once, going twice, SOLD to come out consistently with no interruptions. I thought the facilitators did an excellent job for what they were dealt.

[ March 28, 2011, 05:00 PM: Message edited by: Red Sox Nation- ]

Sack · Post by **Sack** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 11:10 am

Thanks Jason, we had a blast. Felt I needed this to be stated. Glad to see I wasn't alone. Hoping our Sox go far this season. Maybe I'll bump into you at Fenway this Summer!

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 11:47 am

Ken, with regard to a couple of your points:

1. The 5-hour time window for the $1,300 auction. We had the same situation last year as well and I think going forward what we'll need to do if given the same time constraints is to start the later auction at 4 pm. Now, where this becomes a potential issue is many of the people in that league are also in the morning auction. Considering Citi Field has (to this point) had a strict 12-hour window policy for the entire day in place, starting the earlier auction at 9 a.m. doesn't solve the problem since we'd have to be out of the room at 9 p.m. We'll definitely talk to Citi Field to see if we can extend the time period but if we cannot we may have to look into going with a 10 a.m. start for the first auction and 4 p.m. for the second. Whether that impacts potential signups is the question. We're certainly open to feedback from those who took part in both auctions this year and/or last.

2. With regard to the time issue with the two Super leagues, please find me if you are drafting in NY. That's why I'm there and although Greg and I are keeping an eye on a lot of things at once we are in these locations for a reason. So do not hesitate to come to me if you are in New York if there is a situation you want addressed during the draft. The same holds true for the phone participants. Just ask for someone to find myself or Greg and we will step in and figure everything out. We want everyone to have a great experience whether you're drafting live or on the phone so please be sure to let us know if there is anything going on that you believe we should look into. I'll be more than happy to do that and I know Greg will too.

Edited to add - I'm not saying Ken or anyone did anything wrong by not coming to me in New York. I want to make that clear. Just saying that please come find me if you are having any issues of any kind. I will do everything in my power to ensure the draft experience is first rate and if anything is happening that isn't satisfactory in your eyes please tell me onsite and I'll intervene if necessary.

[ March 28, 2011, 05:58 PM: Message edited by: Tom Kessenich ]

Quack · Post by **Quack** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 11:53 am

Simply put...WOW. That is a total lack of respect for other people's time, money, and efforts...something I can't stand in business or in recreational time.

Once, ok

Twice, maybe we are missing something

Three times...there are certainly ulterior motives that should be addressed

I am curious on who this is as well so that I can likewise avoid any time sensitive events.

Spyhunter · Post by **Spyhunter** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 3:55 pm

Originally posted by Tom Kessenich:

Ken, with regard to a couple of your points:

1. The 5-hour time window for the $1,300 auction. We had the same situation last year as well and I think going forward what we'll need to do if given the same time constraints is to start the later auction at 4 pm. Now, where this becomes a potential issue is many of the people in that league are also in the morning auction. Considering Citi Field has (to this point) had a strict 12-hour window policy for the entire day in place, starting the earlier auction at 9 a.m. doesn't solve the problem since we'd have to be out of the room at 9 p.m. We'll definitely talk to Citi Field to see if we can extend the time period but if we cannot we may have to look into going with a 10 a.m. start for the first auction and 4 p.m. for the second. Whether that impacts potential signups is the question. We're certainly open to feedback from those who took part in both auctions this year and/or last.

2. With regard to the time issue with the two Super leagues, please find me if you are drafting in NY. That's why I'm there and although Greg and I are keeping an eye on a lot of things at once we are in these locations for a reason. So do not hesitate to come to me if you are in New York if there is a situation you want addressed during the draft. The same holds true for the phone participants. Just ask for someone to find myself or Greg and we will step in and figure everything out. We want everyone to have a great experience whether you're drafting live or on the phone so please be sure to let us know if there is anything going on that you believe we should look into. I'll be more than happy to do that and I know Greg will too.

Edited to add - I'm not saying Ken or anyone did anything wrong by not coming to me in New York. I want to make that clear. Just saying that please come find me if you are having any issues of any kind. I will do everything in my power to ensure the draft experience is first rate and if anything is happening that isn't satisfactory in your eyes please tell me onsite and I'll intervene if necessary. Tom,

Thanks as always for the work. To echo other's comments, the auctioneers did a great job and the event overall went very well (liked the fish and chips!). Though I didn't do the $1300 this year unfortunately I do agree with starting the $800 at 10am and $1300 at 4pm, this would solve any time issues. I do agree with Ken's points on this player, he was trouble and I think my buddy RT got as mad as I have ever seen him (and btw RT is not someone who gets riled up easily).

I don't think $1 is enough, I would say $10

Thanks to all involved with the drafts!

SlimShady · Post by **SlimShady** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:03 pm

I was also in the $1,300 auction at Citi Field and I am shocked to hear the same guy was late for 2 other events. Not acceptable. I don't care how green his money is. Team 1 lost out on two separate bids due to this guy. He was supposedly "lost" on the way to the stadium. The guys did a GREAT job, considering the circumstances and I had fun. My kid LOVED the fish and chips!

Gekko · Post by **Gekko** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:09 pm

Originally posted by SlimShady:

I was also in the $1,300 auction at Citi Field and I am shocked to hear the same guy was late for 2 other events. Not acceptable. I don't care how green his money is. Team 1 lost out on two separate bids due to this guy. He was supposedly "lost" on the way to the stadium. The guys did a GREAT job, considering the circumstances and I had fun. My kid LOVED the fish and chips! this isn't the same owner who was late to last year's $1,300 auction at citifield, is it?

Sack · Post by **Sack** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:13 pm

Tom:

Thanks for taking the time to respond. All fair points. Had the issue with the stickers happened to me, trust me, I'd have gotten the draft stopped an reached out for you quickly. I'm sure you would have heard me.

I was hot for a minute or two, but the draft kept rolling along. You were there for us all day, but you were tending to another league when this happened. I'm not one that takes things to the last minute so I didn't expect it to come into play on my behalf. By the time we hit the break I was busy planning my next few picks. Again, minor compared to the STRIKE THREE man.

Great job in NYC, well run and I'd certainly be more than happy to attend again. My points were all pointed at improving the event.

SPY: Had the chance to speak with RT for the first time. Gave him the business on Frank Francisco a bit from the morning draft and he took it in a good natured manner. Was nice meeting him. GL

[ March 28, 2011, 10:16 PM: Message edited by: Sack ]

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:18 pm

Originally posted by Sack:

Great job in NYC, well run and I'd certainly be more than happy to attend again. My points were all pointed at improving the event.The feedback is always welcome, Ken. Greg and I definitely want to hear as much as we can from everyone in all of our cities and events.

lschechter · Post by **lschechter** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 4:16 am

I was in both auction leagues this year and last. If I remember correctly, last year we did 10:00 and 4:00. The problem was that there was almost no time in between auctions. When I saw that this year was 5:00, that seemed like a good idea (but I didn't know we had a 10:00 curfew).

If you can't get them to extend the 12 hour limit, my suggestion is make the times 10:00 and 4:00, but if the first auction goes until 3:45-4:00, delay the 2nd one until 4:15 or so, just to give the guys in both a quick break.

As for someone not being there, if you're going to penalize them, how about a rule that you can't bid on a player unless you're there in person?

I hesitate to make any penalty, though, because what if somebody has a legitimate emergency?

I think Tom and Greg should just inform the person in question, and any other repeat offenders (if there are any), that they will be penalized in the future if they aren't there.

I'm shocked to learn this guy was late two other times.

I'm happy to learn Sack is a fellow Sox fan. You can run into me at Fenway April 12 and 13th, weather permitting.