Live Chat With Greg: Thursday 3 pm ET

[Greg Ambrosius]

Greg, potential issue with the new draft room. I was out and I was getting emails on my phone so I knew picks had been made in my DC. When i came back to my laptop which I had left open on the draft room (the laptop was in sleep mode) it was not showing those picks had been made and the clock was still moving on the team from several picks ago. I had to refresh the browser (chrome) for those picks to show up. We had an issue overnight when someone said they checked at 2am and they were not on the clock and when they checked again at 8am they had auto picked - sounds like this might have been the issue for them.

We'll take a quick look. Can't have that happen.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Hey Greg, thanks for taking the time to answer some questions.

my question is regarding player position eligibility. when I load this years ADP every player has only 1 listed position even if they are eligible at multiple positions. For example chris davis only has 1b but he also qualifies at OF, encarnacion is only listed at DH even though he really has 1b, schwarber only has OF listed but he is eligible at C. When I click on each players name I need to go back to last years games by position to see where everyone is truly eligible. Why are their positions not listed next to each player's name on the ADP? Why doesnt each player "card" list all positions of eligibility?

now a fun question.. who do you think will be this years chris archer? meaning.. a player with talent who nobody expects to break out like he did.

thanks

Yes, I answered the first question above, but here it is again:

Right now what you are seeing are players with multiple positions just being listed at their dominant position in the ADPs. So a guy like Kyle Schwarber isn't showing under OF and C in the ADPs, he's showing just under OF. We are going to correct that so that a player with multiple positions shows under all of those positions in the ADPs. Trust me, I know some people are confused by not seeing Schwarber at C. I know this is fixed and hopefully we will make this live shortly. That will be a nice upgrade from what we have now.

Raisel Iglesias maybe. Taijuan Walker maybe.

[Greg Ambrosius]

I didn't know where to put this, so I'll do it here:

Just a heads up that we have ONLY 3 SPOTS LEFT in the Las Vegas Main Event on Saturday, April 2nd at 10 am PT for our fifth full league at the Bellagio. Last year we had only 5 Main Event leagues, but it looks like we'll cruise past that total. Still, if you want to be guaranteed in a full league you might as well grab one of these last 3 spots. I'm confident we'll fill at least 6 leagues this year, but just to be safe SIGN UP NOW!!

Great job on the Auction Championship as we've now Sold Out 3 in Las Vegas on the Second Weekend. All we have left is the Sunday, April 3rd 10 am PT Auction Championship League. I have left the Friday afternoon Auction Championship on Registration as we are trying for 2 leagues at 4 pm PT. There's no guarantee we can get there, but let's try anyway.

Also, we can't get additional space on Thursday night for another Main Event league, so we will have only one. I even tried at sister hotels like Aria and Vdara, but no luck. That week is going to be CROWDED everywhere with the National Auto Dealers Association in town, so plan ahead. We are also limited for space on Friday morning, but by the afternoon and weekend we'll have the Convention Center pretty much to ourselves.

With that in mind, we are going to offer just one $750 Online Championship Plus league at 10 am and 1 pm. Both of those will be upstairs in our Executive Penthouse Suite. The NL Auction at 10 am will also be upstairs. I think several people will add these $750 OC Plus leagues once they've finalized their schedules, but don't wait too long because the 10 am will fill shortly and I think we can fill up the 1 pm one as well. Those should be quick and easy. Thanks.

March is right around the corner. That means March Madness is also nearby. It's time to get serious about our draft plans. Thanks all and give me a holler if you need any help securing spots anywhere.

[Greg Ambrosius]

I don't know if anyone saw this in today's USA Today, but here is Mark Cuban standing up for the fantasy sports industry, albeit specifically the Daily Fantasy Sports space. It's pretty good:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2 ... /80707312/

Mark Cuban to politicians: Good luck killing fantasy sports

The death of the fantasy sports industry has been greatly exaggerated.

Yes, certain politicians like New York Attorney Gen. Eric Schneiderman and California Assemblyman Marc Levine have sought to make a name for themselves by promoting efforts to ban daily fantasy in their respective states. They are wrong and misguided.

But the larger story — and the one that’s not being told — is that the industry has embraced sensible regulation and lawmakers are taking notice. In state after state, laws are moving forward to clarify the legality of these games and allow the 50 million players to continue playing with some reasonable restrictions.

As an investor, I don’t make a lot of money following the herd. My job is to discern the difference between signal and noise. Right now the noise is that fantasy is dead; the signal says otherwise.

To prove the point, I’ve invested in two companies within the past year — SportRadar and Fantasy Labs — that operate in the fantasy sports space.

My rationale is twofold: First, fantasy sports create exponential value for the sports, entertainment and tech industries. They are complementary to just about every entertainment product I enjoy and that we, as Americans, collectively love. We are witnessing the next generation of entrepreneurs building small businesses across the country, creating jobs and new technologies, while adding value to the sports and entertainment industries. This innovation should be preserved and protected.

Second, fantasy sports is a game of skill. Fundamentally different from gambling. With fantasy sports, just like in actual sports, a player’s success or failure is determined by their skill.

So let’s talk about what it means to be a game of skill because it’s something that’s misunderstood, and it’s really quite simple. I’ll use my own personal experience owning the Dallas Mavericks to make the point.

Donnie Nelson and my team manage the Mavericks in the same way that most sophisticated people play daily fantasy sports — they collect the data, analyze it and make predictions about what it means. We succeed in the same way fantasy players succeed on daily fantasy sports sites — by making accurate predictions.

We scout, test, research and execute; it’s not that different than your typical daily fantasy player. If it sounds easy, then I suggest you not play because you don’t get it. It takes work and, yes, it takes skill. Like any complicated endeavor, it is equal parts art and science. More often than not we fail, but when we succeed, the rewards justify the sacrifice. The same principle applies to fantasy sports. And that’s why fantasy sports is growing so fast. That job, the job I love and that my team performs every day, is every sports fan’s fantasy.

That’s why soon more Americans will play fantasy sports than play actual sports. Given the popularity, and the advertising, it’s natural politicians would take notice — they always do. That’s why at least 20 state legislatures have taken up or are expected to take up fantasy sports legislation this year. Bills are already moving through state legislatures in California, Indiana, Virginia and Florida that will clarify the laws and regulate fantasy sports.

There may be naysayers and more people who try to restrict access to fantasy games. Here’s what I have to say that: Good luck. Good luck standing in the way of the entire sports-loving population that enjoys the camaraderie that comes with playing fantasy sports. Good luck telling these folks that they are criminals for doing something that is its own American national pastime. And good luck telling us that we are incapable of deciding for ourselves what hobbies we can participate in.

Fantasy sports is here to stay, and that is a good thing.

Mark Cuban is an entrepreneur and owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. He is an investor in SportsRadar and Fantasy Labs.

[Greg Ambrosius]

And since we're on the DFS subject today, here's an interesting one about how important this New York fight with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/20 ... story.html

DraftKings lawyer says firm could go under if it loses N.Y. battle

By Curt Woodward Globe Staff February 23, 2016

DraftKings Inc. could be forced out of business entirely if it loses the next phase of its legal battle with New York’s attorney general, according to a lawyer for the embattled fantasy sports provider.

In court documents filed Monday, Boston-based DraftKings asked an appeals court to keep the company operating in New York while it fights a lawsuit accusing it of violating state gambling laws.

Without a legal lifeline from the appeals court, the company could be hit with a “domino effect” of business partners, investors, and service providers fleeing the industry, DraftKings lawyer Joshua Schiller said in an interview.

“It would have a catastrophic effect. It could be enough to put us out of business, I think,” Schiller said. “There have been those kind of pressures put on us already.”

[Greg Ambrosius]

You guys can ignore me all you want, but I'm back to answer some questions this week. I tried to get Shawn for a Live Chat this week, but he's too busy banging out his LABR dollar values and his player projections. A week from today we both fly to Phoenix for the LABR Auctions. AL will be on Saturday, March 5th and NL Auction will be on Sunday, March 6th. Both will be broadcast live on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio. Shawn promises to do a Live Chat after we get back, so look for that soon.

I will be participating in our 15-team mixed auction online with Tom and 13 other NFBC owners tonight. This should be good fodder for all of you folks watching live. If you have questions ahead of time, go ahead and ask here.

Okay, the floor is open for any questions today. I'm here, if you need me.

[76erfan]

have you had time to prep a gameplan for tonight or are you just going to wing it and entertain us by getting in bidding wars with Tom instead?

[Greg Ambrosius]

have you had time to prep a gameplan for tonight or are you just going to wing it and entertain us by getting in bidding wars with Tom instead?

Winging it of course!! There's only one Brewer either of us would bid more than a dime on, so I don't think you'll see the bidding wars between us two. I'm not sure we're on the same players this year, but we'll find out tonight. See you there.

[Edwards Kings]

Wow! Fowler back to the Cubs! Didn't see that one happening. Who does that impact more, Schwarber or Soler? What about Baltimore? Trumbo in the OF again?