Countdown to the NFBC

[Captain Hook]

Okay I give up - Who is Audrina Patridge?

and why does she have a pacemaker hooked up to her right boob?

[Glenneration X]

58 Days 'til we decide what athletes will populate our fantasy rosters.

Several times a year, aspiring ballplayers gather at combines to hone their craft and get tested for such critical baseball related skills as the broad jump, working with the medicine ball, and the sit & reach.






However, baseball is a game where pure physical gifts such as speed, leaping ability, and strength are secondary to more subtle gifts like hand-eye coordination or instints. Many a gifted athlete who's excelled elsewhere has failed at America's pastime.








While others, let's call them slightly less athletic, have excelled.


(The player used for this picture was changed considering the recent news of yesterday's "BIG" (yes, a pun) signing )



Of course as Bo knows, occassionally there's that athlete so gifted, no sport transcends his ability to reach greatness.
What a shame that injury sometimes keeps us from seeing what heights these athletes may have eventually reached.

[Glenneration X]

57 Days 'til the 2012 NFBC. If your season gets off to a rough start, don't let it get you down. Remember, it could always be worse......

[Glenneration X]

56 Days 'til our next chase of an NFBC Overall Championship. If you win, will you return to defend your Championship? Or will you ride off into the sunset, never to be heard from again, like our former champion from 2005. "Where have you gone Brian Oldenski, a contest turns its lonely eyes to you...woo woo woo....."

[Glenneration X]

55 Days 'til "next year" in the NFBC. I actually had another direction I was planning on going with this number, but while my father and I were chatting the other day, he mentioned that he was enjoying this thread and casually asked if #55 was going to be the Dodgers. The '55 Dodgers were my father's team growing up similar to how the '86 Mets became my team. So for all of us who've come close to winning it all just to fall a little short, for my friends in Cubbie Nation that I so callously reminded of some rough times 11 days ago, and especially for my Dad....only 55 Days and maybe this will be our next year.
























And one last picture of my father's favorite player growing up......

[Edwards Kings]

Awesome. Look in the stands behind Robinson. All the men in coats and most in ties. Ladies coiffed. It had to hot and uncomfortable most times, but somehow I think I would have like that better than sitting next to the people I see at the games now (tattoos, hairy legs poking through shorts that contain more ass than material, scars, mullets, tank tops, facial hair...and the men are not any better)!

Sorry...kind of slipped into the "Dough-zone" for a minute...

[Winston's Empire]

This has been one of my favorites so far Glenn! Love those pictures of that 55' Dodgers team and Ebbets Field. I have a picture of that world series hanging in my son's room and everytime I see it, I think back to a much simpler time when baseball and America where attached at the hip. I grew up in the 80's and felt that way then!

[DOUGHBOYS]

Loved this one too, Glenn. You do such a great job with these.
The Brooklyn Dodgers were the end of an era. They were the last team to mingle with fans. Most players lived or had their homes in Brooklyn and some would walk or drive to the park with fans. Before games they would chat with fans in the lower boxes.
It was, indeed, a simpler time when players could converse with fans on an even level.
While New Yorkers were sad to see the Giants go to San Francisco, Brooklyn was devastated and heart broken over their team moving.
For those in the area, is Brooklyn, Mets or Yankees territory now, or is it mixed?

[Winston's Empire]

You nailed it Dough. They were a team the fans knew and could stand behind all day long. Listening to the game on the radio to most was the same as being in Ebbets Field... they hang on every pitch.
When I went to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 2010, one of my favorite things was the cornerstone of Ebbets Field. Touching that stone honestly felt like a bridge back to a time I think about often, but never got to see because of age restrictions!

[Navel Lint]

I agree with the previous couple of posts, this has been a great thread with wonderful photos and thoughts from Glenn.

Also

I know there is a picture with Jackie Robinson sliding into home plate, but the picture Wayne is referencing with the men in coats and ties in the stands is of Sandy Amoros. Amoros had a fairly nondescript career that was highlighted by that catch down the left field line.

It was one of the greatest catches in World Series history considering the play itself and the situation in the game and series.

It was the bottom of the 6th in game 7 of the ’55 World Series. Amoros was inserted into left field as a defensive replacement after Don Zimmer had been pinch hit for in the previous inning. With the score Dodgers 2 and the Yankees 0, Billy Martin lead off the bottom of the 6th for the Yanks with a walk. Gil McDougald followed with a bunt single that moved Martin to second. Up to the plate walked 1951, 1954, and 1955 MVP Yogi Berra. With the outfield defense shifted to right with the left-handed Berra at the plate, Yogi sliced a long fly ball down the left field line. Amoros made a mad dash from left-center and caught the ball just in front of the fence. He then wheeled and threw to cut-off man Pee Wee Reese who turned and threw to Gil Hodges to double McDougald off of first base. Hank Bauer then grounded-out, the rally was over and the Dodgers went on to win the game and the World Series.

[Edwards Kings]

Thanks for the correction. I did not remember the famous play and thought it strange that Robinson was out there, but then I looked it up and saw he had played left field 10 games that year, so I made an erroneous assumption.

Sounds like it was a helluva catch for Amoros!

[Glenneration X]

Thanks Guys, but my father gets all the credit on the '55 Dodgers post for both suggesting it and for being the inspiration for it.

Wayne, while I agree that it's cool seeing how the fans dressed back in the Golden Age of Baseball, what's wrong with the way fans dress to the games today?



And Dan, having grown up in Brooklyn, I can without a doubt state that it's become a Mets town, as should the rest of the country.

[Edwards Kings]

Hmmm...OK...you got me on that one!

[Glenneration X]

54 Days to complete our prep for the 2012 NFBC. As discussed previously on these boards and in this thread, we have endless resources at our disposal from an infinate amount of publications and websites, 24 hour podcasts and satellite radio stations, 24 hour TV channels dedicated solely to sports and now even to specific sports. Our choices are endless.

Having focused on the Golden Age of Baseball over the last couple posts in this thread, I think back to what our choices would have been for sports coverage then. No computers, no satellite radio, no ESPN. If you wanted sports coverage more global than your local paper, you headed out to the newstand and picked up a copy of The Sporting News or Sport Magazine or the monthly edition of the Baseball Digest. Or in 1954, you checked out an issue of the new kid on the block, Sports Illustrated.




Though I no longer subscribe to the magazine, I still manage to flip through an ocassional issue. Though SI is more renowned for its amazing photos, I of course only read the articles.

[Glenneration X]

53 Days 'til the NFBC live draft season I get to meet up with the infamous "CDM Crew". I've heard reference of the Crew several times before on these boards, but never knew who was part until Ken Magner gave me the head's up a couple weeks back. The CDM crew refers to a group of NFBC vets who first got their high stakes fantasy start as part of the CDM Diamond Challenge and got to know each other on the BBS boards there back before Greg and Tom created our contest here.

Some of the guys Ken mentioned that are part of this CDM Crew includes great guys that I've met in the past like Ken himself and Jim Christie, guys I've just heard of due to their exploits in our contest, may have drafted against in the past, or are already on this year's signup lists so may draft against in the future like the great Lindy Hinkelman, Dan Semsel, Ken Norred, Rich Verost, Pat Gagne, Tom Zarogiannos, and many, many others, and even a guy whose publications I've bought the last couple years in the great Gene McCaffery. A couple other guys that I know enjoy the CDM game that I've met or heard of are Craig Kielinski and the infamous Walla Walla. I've also met the legendary Godfather of Fantasy, Charlie Wiegert, one of the creators of the salary cap format, and an absolutely great guy.

A pretty impressive list of fantasy players. Considering their achievements in "our" contest, maybe they should change their moniker to the "NFBC Crew".




I tried "their" contest for the first time by registering one team in the Diamond Challenge in 2009, the first year I also tried our NFBC contest here, all as part of my first adventure into the high stakes world of fantasy baseball. I led the league for the better part of the first five months of the season before running into some trouble in September and finishing 3rd. I thought not bad for a first try, 3rd out of 25 without really knowing what I was doing as far as the salary cap format is concerned. I figured this game must be easy and when Charlie Weigert offered a special promotion to NFBC players for a CDM league the following season that would only include NFBC Main Event participants, I jumped in. Unfortunately, so did many of the CDM Crew. I got off to a fast start and led the league for the better part of the first month. Then the CDM Crew put me back in my place and so started my slow descent to my eventual finish in the 20's. Still, it's a great game. I didn't play last year as CDM had the same issues with the Fanball closing as we had here in the NFBC, but was slower to get back on its feet. I haven't decided, but may try a salary cap game again this year with either CDM or Fantrax, we'll see.


If this is the picture of the person who delivers the checks, I'll definately be back.



As fantasy players, we owe a lot to CDM. They not only helped make fantasy sports a national game, but they helped save high stakes fantasy as we know it by winning their lawsuit against MLB and their licensing agreements. They've also brought many a talented fantasy player to our game, several I look forward to meeting in about 53 days.

[Glenneration X]

52 Days 'til our next chance at the $100,000.00 NFBC Main Event grand prize. What will you get if you win the big money?

Earlier in this thread some of us wrote about baseball cards from our youth and how they brought us back to our childhood. A little later in the thread, I mentioned the memorabilia collection I had started for my man cave after my wife and I bought our first home. I always thought how cool it would be to one day add a '52 Mantle to my collection. Though I wasn't a Yankees fan and obviously wasn't around when the '52 Topps cards were first sold, as far back as I can remember I seemed to know the '52 Mantle was a special card that any collector would want. I knew it wasn't realistic though, that '52 Mantle is the most expensive card Topps ever produced.


Still, if I win the NFBC Main Event, I could finally afford one (though still wouldn't get one ).





As costly as a mint '52 Mantle is, it isn't even the most expensive card to obtain. That honor would belong to the T206 Honus Wagner card, which in mint condition recently sold for over a million dollars.
I'd have to win the Main, the XII, the Online Championships and both bonuses to even afford a down payment on that bad boy!!!





Of course, neither of these two cards will be the most desired cards out there for long. With the "MtM' NY Metropolitan League Invitational Super Event and Massotto himself about to make baseball, fantasy, and American history, the values of these next cards are about to go through the roof! Get them now while you can still hope to afford them.







Only 52 more days 'til the cost of these cards surpass that of even Mantle and Wagner. A free set could be given to each and every participant in the MtM Super, but only 2 Spots remain. So please, PLEASE I'm begging you...register today!!!!

[Glenneration X]

51 Days 'til our next chance at achieving the kind of fantasy success worthy of the respect of our fantasy community. As Lindy has proven this offseason during his global interview tour most recently making an appearance on the BBHQ broadcast last week, when you reach the heights of his success, others want to hear what you have to say. Well deserved. 51 Days 'til our next shot to be heard 'round the world.
















And for those interested, a link to what many consider the greatest moment and the greatest call in baseball history.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrI7dVj90zs

[Winston's Empire]

52 Days
Of course, neither of these two cards will be the most desired cards out there for long. With the "MtM' NY Metropolitan League Invitational Super Event and Massotto himself about to make baseball, fantasy, and American history, the values of these next cards are about to go through the roof! Get them now while you can still hope to afford them.







Only 52 more days 'til the cost of these cards surpass that of even Mantle and Wagner. A free set could be given to each and every participant in the MtM Super, but only 2 Spots remain. So please, PLEASE I'm begging you...register today!!!!

Glenn... The MtM Rookie cards are by far the best work you have EVER DONE!!!!!! Rated Rookie

[Glenneration X]

Glenn... The MtM Rookie cards are by far the best work you have EVER DONE!!!!!! Rated Rookie

Don't laugh Max. I just read today in the Beckett's Price Guide that the Massotto rookie cards are up to a penny each now....and rising!

[Winston's Empire]

Glenn... The MtM Rookie cards are by far the best work you have EVER DONE!!!!!! Rated Rookie

Don't laugh Max. I just read today in the Beckett's Price Guide that the Massotto rookie cards are up to a penny each now....and rising!

Did they have the Green Arrow heading up next to his name, so guys know to get on board before they go through the roof?

[Quahogs]

MtM thinks he the best out there and drew up his own fantasy card (left)...thankfully an artist at TOPPS cleaned it up a bit for him.

[Glenneration X]

Impressive!!! Steve, with you now providing clear evidence of Mikey being up to three letter words (and almost four ), I think we could see another big jump in the Beckett Price Guide in the offing.

Time to invest.

[Glenneration X]

As we make the turn to the back stretch of our Countdown, there are now only 50 Days left 'til my favorite time of the fantasy year, the live NFBC draft season.




My first taste of a live fantasy baseball league was through the great game of Strat-O-Matic.

However my first taste of live fantasy baseball itself was through another great board game called All*Star Baseball. When my brothers and I were just kids, my parents bought us the game one year. It was similar to Strat in that each player had a card, or in ths case a disc, that had different results printed on each based on the player's stats from the previous baseball season. When any batter was up, you would place the disc in a spinner and whatever the spinner would land on would be the result of that at-bat. It was a great game and my brothers and I would play for hours. However, we shortly outgrew the game as we started playing live baseball and other sports through little league, sandlot, school, etc.

Many years later after I came home from being away at college, my younger brother had picked up a new sim game I hadn't heard of prior, Strat-O-Matic. He talked me into playing him. At the time into more critically important endeavors like girls and drinking, I reluctantly gave in. I loved it!! Before you knew it, my brother would be setting up tournaments between he, I, our younger brother, my father, some other baseball crazed friends of ours, all for modest stakes of course.

A year of so later, my brother and a close friend of ours had joined a live face to face league. They talked me into grabbing a team that opened up within the league. Again, I reluctantly agreed to give it a try. I'm happy I did. This league had 20 teams, allowed seven keepers per team each season with trading, held two live drafts and played two seasons a year. The entire league would meet twice a month every other Thursday night to play live series, there was playoffs, and a World Series with the Champion recieving a trophy and modest financial prize. I loved the league and remained a part of it for over a decade from the end of the '80's through the entirety of the '90's before eventually leaving the league due to increased time commitments at work and home in 2000 (getting older with more responsibilities really sucks sometimes).

I eventually moved on to local rotisserie leagues and I heard that the Strat league eventually disbanded shortly after I left. I miss it and think back on it fondly. I still have my trophies on a shelf in my man cave and every once in a while, check out the Strat website to see if there are any openings in a live local face to face league. I could never join, the responsibilities on my time are even greater now. It's nice to think about though.


What a great game......




Even the evil 20 sided die.....




And of course the best part of the game, the cards themselves. Here are two of the greatest cards Strat's ever produced.....

[Winston's Empire]

Great one for #50 Glenn! I love hearing how other guys got introduced to the game we love so much and often hope my son Winston comes to love the game 1/2 as much as I do. When I was a kid, I literally couldn't get enough of baseball... Obviously I never grew up, because my wife still says I can't get enough of it!!

[Glenneration X]

When I flipped the calendar from January to February in my office yesterday, I noticed something that I didn't consider when I started this Countdown 50 or so days back..... February 29th! That's right Gents, it's Leap Year. A fact and a day I didn't account for while doing the math in my head to figure out when to start this Countdown way back when. So like Masstto's Jersey Countdown, this one will require a slight recalibration (though I'm pretty sure I'd be OK if asked to count back from 4 ). I apologize to everyone who may have been misled into believing we were a day closer to Draft Day than we actually are and am happy for Greg & Tom who can now breathe easier with a whole extra day to meet their registration goals.

So in honor of Groundhog's Day and the slight Deja Vu you might feel.....

Only 50 Days 'til the 2012 NFBC (really this time, I promise ).











PS....Ummmm just to be safe, someone check my math please.