NFBC Ultimate Is Being Proposed

seefer · Post by **seefer** » Mon Jan 10, 2005 6:17 am

I am 100% in for the live draft Greg as we have talked a few times. This serves as my confirmation.

Let's fill this puppy up so we can get our draft order determined plenty early!!!

Bama · Post by **Bama** » Mon Jan 10, 2005 3:02 pm

Greg i am interested in the ultimate draft if there is a spot.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Tue Jan 11, 2005 2:25 am

Yes, we have room for three more and one other NFBC member e-mailed me last night to say he was interested. Just e-mail me at [email protected] if you want me to tentatively hold that spot for you and I'll do it. We'll finalize everything once we have that one full with 15 tentative signups. Thanks.

Captain Hook · Post by **Captain Hook** » Tue Jan 11, 2005 2:26 am

The Desperados are IN!!! the Auction. What's Beltran worth $$$ in a Mets uniform??

Not as much as if he was in an Astros uniform(more SB) or Yankees uniform (more R and RBI) - unless you are from the Big Apple of course.

King of Queens · Post by **King of Queens** » Tue Jan 11, 2005 3:02 am

Originally posted by Captain Hook:

quote:The Desperados are IN!!! the Auction. What's Beltran worth $$$ in a Mets uniform??

Not as much as if he was in an Astros uniform(more SB) or Yankees uniform (more R and RBI) - unless you are from the Big Apple of course. [/QUOTE]Even the King of Queens knows to stay far away from all Mets players. I broke one of my cardinal rules last year and grabbed Kaz Matsui--an absolute killer. Beltran is more than a tad better than Kaz, but believe me, I've learned my lesson the hard way...

seefer · Post by **seefer** » Tue Jan 11, 2005 4:50 am

Hey everybody, the NFBC Ultimat Draft is down to 2 open spots!!! A mere $5K to enter and you can walk away with a cool $40K!!!

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 4:46 am

David DiDonato of Johnston, Rhode Island has tentatively secured one of the last spots in the NFBC Ultimate Draft League as he definitely wants to add this league to his current signup of the NFBC main event. He's working on his travel plans now and should have a final answer now. We've listed him in New York for now, but he's doing his best to come out to Las Vegas. The current list of signups for the Ultimate League Draft and Auction is on the first page of this thread. Thanks David and I hope you can work this out and join us for the Ultimate Draft League.

Gordon Gekko · Post by **Gordon Gekko** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 4:53 am

greg,

has the prize schedule been cemented? 40K sounds like a lot for winning, but i'd like more.

if it hasn't been finalized, would you consider a more top-heavy schedule? 3rd place should never win more than their entry fee. actually if it were up to me, i'd just give the bloat a free entry to next year's NFBC.

1st: $45,000

2nd: $12,500

3rd: $5,000

also, will you only accept 15 teams in the mixed auction, or will you allow additional teams?

not saying i'm going to join, but you NEVER know what's going to happen.

thanks

la Jolla · Post by **la Jolla** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 5:31 am

my $0.02,

option 1:

1st-50k

2nd-10k

3rd-5k

this would obviously mean bumping the payout slightly from 62.5k to 65k, but imo helps in the marketing of the event as 50k looks and sounds better than 40k to potential advertisers.

option 2:

1st-40k

2nd-15k

3rd-5k

4th-5k

if the top prize stays at 40k then offer 4th his money back. if the payout stays at 62.5k then adjust 2nd place to 12.5k.

option 3:

if you really want to go nuts with this, make it winner take all, excluding nfbc's fees. that would draw some serious attention.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 5:46 am

Howard Markowitz of Las Vegas is DEFINITELY a go for the Ultimate League and he wishes the Auction and the Drafts were at separate times so he could do BOTH!!! Man, I'm going to have to take this Ultimate League thing more seriously and start making this a more permanent part of the schedule going forward. Howard, I'll list you in the draft for now, but I'm glad to hear you'd be willing to do either one on Sunday, March 20th.

Also Terry Haney is now leaning toward the draft rather than the auction. I'm still trying to finalize all of the spots via phone and e-mail and will update the list shortly. But I can say we are getting very close to having 15 DEFINITE participants for the NFBC Ultimate Draft League.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 5:51 am

The prize money isn't set in stone, although I like the original proposal of $40,000 for first, $15,000 for second and $7,500 for third. I think the fact that you can make $2,500 for finishing third is appealing. But obviously I want a setup that the participants want the most, so any and all suggestions are welcome.

Originally I had thought of making these Ultimate Leagues 16-team leagues, but after more thought it made sense to keep it as the same format as our other contests. I think I want to keep these as 15-team leagues and if demand exceeds supply, well, maybe we try for a second league!!! Yikes, I can't believe I wrote that.

I guess this thread is getting VERY serious now. Keep the comments coming.

la Jolla · Post by **la Jolla** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:12 am

greg, is there ANY possibility of running the drafts at different times to allow people to do both the draft and auction. it may create a second league and not have some of us agonize over which 1 to choose. i think there may be enough interest to get that 2nd draft league, not the auction most likely.

King of Queens · Post by **King of Queens** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:57 am

Greg, I currently appear on the draft list on Page One of this thread. I should be listed on the Auction list, no?

Please let me know if this presents a problem--don't want to let anyone freeze me out of a spot!

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 7:15 am

Yes, KOQ you are in the auction league. I'll update that now. I know we talked and you were definitely in the auction league, which is what I have on the list in front of me. Sorry for the confusion.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 7:21 am

I'm not sure there's enough time in the weekend to do both at separate times because honestly we won't have full leagues in any one city. So if we start at 10 a.m. PST, that's 1 p.m. EST. It would be impossible to put two events together on Sunday and get them both done in a reasonable time. Could we do one on Saturday night after the main event? Ummmm, possible, but I'd rather not. And Friday is very full with auctions.

If the demand is there for it, anything is possible. Like I said earlier, maybe we host the Ultimate League events together on Sunday and for 2006 we really look at the schedule and figure out a way to make sure they're not at the same time. I'm sure there are some guys who would also like to do the Mixed Auction League and the AL Auction League, but those are at the same time as well. So the best plan is to think to 2006 to make all of this possible.

Maybe we'll have a four-day event someday!!! Unfortunately, at this pace I'll never get to the casino or the sportsbook when I'm in Vegas. It will just be drafts and auctions for ol' Greg. When is my playtime going to fit into the schedule? You know, all work and no play makes Greg a dull boy!

King of Queens · Post by **King of Queens** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 7:26 am

Greg, thanks for hooking me up.

As for the 4-day fantasy baseball schedule, where do I sign up?

King of Queens · Post by **King of Queens** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 7:33 am

Greg, is there any way that you, Tom and Rocky can rotate cities? Or is Rocky the official New York baseball guy and Tom the official New York football dude?

If nothing else, can you send the FSX girls to New York to liven things up?

la Jolla · Post by **la Jolla** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 7:40 am

fair enough greg, thanks for the quick answer. for 2006 maybe we can get started on thursday and run thru sunday or maybe just make the ultimate drafts on a totally separate weekend if too many people cannot get the time off for thursday....1 more question, are the rules for the ultimate draft and auction the same or is there an innings pitched requirement in the auction, i cannot seem to find anything on the rules page in regards to that. thanks

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 7:41 am

KOQ, somehow I knew you would love the 4-day idea!

Have no fear, this event won't get smaller in future years, it will just continue to grow and grow.

The rotation of KP employees has some reasoning behind it. I run the Fantasy Sports Trade Conference that precedes the NFBC and NFFC in Las Vegas and thus I'm out there running a two-day show for 165+ industry executives prior to running this even for you crazy consumers. Tom is going to help me at the Trade Conference in Vegas this year and then fly to Chicago before the NFBC auctions there. Rocky is free to head up the New York NFBC events along with other KP staffers. It might be the same rotation for football as our Trade Conference is huge at that time of year, unless Tom decides to fly from Las Vegas to New York.

As for the FSX girls, ah, I've convinced them to stay in Las Vegas. They're perfect for the scenery out there!

seefer · Post by **seefer** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 7:42 am

Greg, could we keep the Ultimate Draft at 15 people? This way it is in line with the main event, etc.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 7:43 am

Yes, Thursday through Sunday or an entirely different weekend is an option for 2006. As for the rules, they are the same as the NFBC auctions and straight drafts. No changes at all for now. Definitely no innings pitched needed or minimum at-bats.

Dyv · Post by **Dyv** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 9:57 am

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:

Yes, Thursday through Sunday or an entirely different weekend is an option for 2006. As for the rules, they are the same as the NFBC auctions and straight drafts. No changes at all for now. Definitely no innings pitched needed or minimum at-bats. Greg, for 2006... it's clearly time to open up a new venue and expand the dates. Cruise ship, my man... we all meet in Orlando, cruise down to the Bahamas - we draft while the ship is moving and party while it's stopped. Total cost would be same ballpark as travel and hotel to Vegas... those of us who have wives to appease can bring them along. Have a wives' and GF draft just for fun and mockery... The Ultimate draft is done on a beach at a KP barbecue, the FSX girls are there... come on now - make it happen

Dyv

King of Queens · Post by **King of Queens** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 10:03 am

Originally posted by Dyv:

quote:Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:

Yes, Thursday through Sunday or an entirely different weekend is an option for 2006. As for the rules, they are the same as the NFBC auctions and straight drafts. No changes at all for now. Definitely no innings pitched needed or minimum at-bats. Greg, for 2006... it's clearly time to open up a new venue and expand the dates. Cruise ship, my man... we all meet in Orlando, cruise down to the Bahamas - we draft while the ship is moving and party while it's stopped. Total cost would be same ballpark as travel and hotel to Vegas... those of us who have wives to appease can bring them along. Have a wives' and GF draft just for fun and mockery... The Ultimate draft is done on a beach at a KP barbecue, the FSX girls are there... come on now - make it happen

Dyv [/QUOTE]Brilliant! A vacation that is TRULY a Fantasy Baseball Vacation that can EASILY be sold to wives and families.

If this happens, I'm 100% game.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 10:07 am

I'm with you on this Dyv. Cruise ships, naked ladies (well, they were just half-naked in Las Vegas), drafts, barbeques, Packers-game like tailgates, the whole nine yards. But where do the wives come in again? I lost you there.

We have three cities for 2005. A fourth for 2006 makes sense and I actually was thinking about spring training in Florida as a destination spot. I'm not sure what it takes to reserve meeting room space on a cruise ship, but you know I'll find out. But honestly, if I could find affordable space in Orlando or Tampa for 2006 (and I will try) that would make for a solid fourth NFBC draft location as we expand this event to 450 or more teams in 2006. Spring training games and a weekend of drafts has a nice ring to it. Yankees are in Tampa and Orlando is Orlando. Whadda think?

Dyv · Post by **Dyv** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 10:16 am

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:

I'm with you on this Dyv. Cruise ships, naked ladies (well, they were just half-naked in Las Vegas), drafts, barbeques, Packers-game like tailgates, the whole nine yards. But where do the wives come in again? I lost you there.

We have three cities for 2005. A fourth for 2006 makes sense and I actually was thinking about spring training in Florida as a destination spot. I'm not sure what it takes to reserve meeting room space on a cruise ship, but you know I'll find out. But honestly, if I could find affordable space in Orlando or Tampa for 2006 (and I will try) that would make for a solid fourth NFBC draft location as we expand this event to 450 or more teams in 2006. Spring training games and a weekend of drafts has a nice ring to it. Yankees are in Tampa and Orlando is Orlando. Whadda think? Orlando during Spring Break with Disney, etc. ? Umm... Tampa sounds like it would be better!!!

The cruise ship is simply one of those ideas where you can justify spending $10k on a family vacation more easily than spending $8k on a 'Dyv's going to play in Vegas, bye honey!'

And quite frankly, the cruise ship would encourage participants to spend more time outside of draft day. It would be fun to go party with KoQ and everyone else. I don't have time during draft day to meet everyone and put a face to a name. The EVENT is just as important as the contest.

Here's one that breaks down costs:

http://www.mustcruise.com/cruise_info/corp.html

Here's Carnivals biz meeting page:

http://www.carnival.com/CMS/Static_Temp ... tings.aspx

With a group rate it may even be cheaper than Vegas and more cost productive for KP *nudge nudge*

Dave