Let me first start out by saying that I rarely post on the message boards for fear of coming across as negatively as many of the other posts do. Also, I am a man with a rather discerning eye, a taste for the finer things in life and not easily impressed, a curmudgeon some might say.
But I must say the events in Chicago (I participated in the Auction and Main Event) was absolutely First Class all the way. It was a flawless two days, from the site itself, to the ballrooms,the setup,the hosts and moderators, and everyone involved running the events from STATS it was an A+ in my opinion. Outstanding job to everyone involved in Chicago. Awesome attention to detail on every little thing. It was definitely noticed. And the cherry on top for me we was to get home at 11:30 PM after the Auction (and after the Main Event) and to have the rosters fully loaded with a Draft Board to stare at for another two hours when I got home. Brought a tear to my eye.
Also, I must say the Chicago Hyatt did an awesome job as well. The food spread was AWESOME, plenty of cold beer and drinks, and great service. The ballroom for the Main Events was majestic and gave you the feeling of being involved in a big-time event. In this era of social isolation (with me leading the way as the Grand Marshall of the parade, I must say), some might say the Live Drafts are dead, that it is easier to draft online, save the $75.00 events fee, etc. Blah, blah, blah. To that I say there is nothing better than the real thing of the Live Draft. And this weekend in Chicago confirmed that for me. To walk into the majestic ballroom and see a group of people as sick as you are, to feel the tension in the air, to have the clock in your face, to look your opponents in the eye, the smell of draft boards, the slap of the sticker on the board. FANTASY BASEBALL. LIVE. Nothing better, in my opinion.
Great job to everyone involved in the event in Chicago. It was PERFECT. To think last year at this time we wondered if there would even be an NFBC to this, a flawless event in Chicago. Greg & Tom & the staff of STATS, you guys should be proud of how far you have come in one year. AWESOME JOB. I had a great time.
Chicago Venue Review
Chicago Venue Review
COZ
"Baseball has it share of myths, things that blur the line between fact & fiction....Abner Doubleday inventing the game, Babe Ruth's Called Shot, Sid Finch's Fastball, the 2017 Astros...Barry Bonds's 762 HR's" -- Tom Verducci
"Baseball has it share of myths, things that blur the line between fact & fiction....Abner Doubleday inventing the game, Babe Ruth's Called Shot, Sid Finch's Fastball, the 2017 Astros...Barry Bonds's 762 HR's" -- Tom Verducci
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Winston's Empire
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Re: Chicago Venue Review
Could not agree more! The Chicago Main Event was great! Great venue, food, STATS Team and fellow drafters! This was my favorite live draft ever! Thanks again all!
My response to people trying to change my baseball loyalties.
“Being a Cubs fan is the same as having a life insurance policy… It makes no sense to cancel it early!”
Cubs Fan Since 1987
“Being a Cubs fan is the same as having a life insurance policy… It makes no sense to cancel it early!”
Cubs Fan Since 1987
Re: Chicago Venue Review
both the Main Event and the NFBC XII were run without a hitch.
The food was very good. The facilitators were pros.
a good time was had by all in Chicago. good job this year guys.
The food was very good. The facilitators were pros.
a good time was had by all in Chicago. good job this year guys.
Re: Chicago Venue Review
I have to add my 2 cents....everything was top notch in Chicago. Great space, great facilitators, you name it, it was all top shelf.........Anyone that went to St Louis and Chicago could really see the difference.
St Louis: Facilitator didn't know many players(not a biggie)
Chicago: Knew them better than I did
St Louis: Space was a joke(We have had it at the same venue for years, think we would learn our lesson)
Chicago(Great, plenty of room etc...)
St Louis: Drink Tickets?
Chicago: Endless beer and Soda
St Louis: Hotels near by
Chicago: Drafting in the Hotel
St Louis: Didn't have enough 15 player sheets to track drafted players
Chicago: Everything in place with extras
I could go on and on....shouldn't be that noticable of a difference between locations.
St Louis: Facilitator didn't know many players(not a biggie)
Chicago: Knew them better than I did
St Louis: Space was a joke(We have had it at the same venue for years, think we would learn our lesson)
Chicago(Great, plenty of room etc...)
St Louis: Drink Tickets?
Chicago: Endless beer and Soda
St Louis: Hotels near by
Chicago: Drafting in the Hotel
St Louis: Didn't have enough 15 player sheets to track drafted players
Chicago: Everything in place with extras
I could go on and on....shouldn't be that noticable of a difference between locations.
Re: Chicago Venue Review
Great Job By Dean and his crew.Chicago venue was very nice and well organized.
Re: Chicago Venue Review
Great Pic Rob!!!RBenetti wrote:Here is a link to some pics from the Chicago drafts.
http://robbenetti.smugmug.com/NFFC-NFBC
It would be fun if we could put a name to some of the faces.
Joe
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Winston's Empire
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Re: Chicago Venue Review
I know the guy in the Cubs hat... Good drafter!
http://robbenetti.smugmug.com/NFFC-NFBC ... 49_tBtzCQb
http://robbenetti.smugmug.com/NFFC-NFBC ... 49_tBtzCQb
My response to people trying to change my baseball loyalties.
“Being a Cubs fan is the same as having a life insurance policy… It makes no sense to cancel it early!”
Cubs Fan Since 1987
“Being a Cubs fan is the same as having a life insurance policy… It makes no sense to cancel it early!”
Cubs Fan Since 1987
Re: Chicago Venue Review
Well I'm back home a couple states south of Chicago now... I just wanted to agree with the other fellows that everything was top notch in Chicago this year.
Things I liked:
Food, soda, and beer
The facilitators get an A+. Everything ran so smoothly. Was kind of fun with the Ryan Roberts and Brian Roberts mixup and that was easily fixed.
Lots of space to spread out during the draft. This is always important so great job to Greg and company for this.
Always good to see some familiar faces and always good to meet some new ones too. Was a pleasure drafting next to Tom Z and his partner, Russell and Max. Great group of guys. Nice chatting briefly with defending champ and always tough David Shovein and then some of the guys from league 2- Ted, Gary, Dark Vander... I'm sure there are others, just don't know everyone's names.
Anyways, everything in Chicago was top notch. Thank you Greg, Tom, and STATS. Sensational job on your part. Now let's hope I did my part and drafted a strong team.
Things I liked:
Food, soda, and beer
The facilitators get an A+. Everything ran so smoothly. Was kind of fun with the Ryan Roberts and Brian Roberts mixup and that was easily fixed.
Lots of space to spread out during the draft. This is always important so great job to Greg and company for this.
Always good to see some familiar faces and always good to meet some new ones too. Was a pleasure drafting next to Tom Z and his partner, Russell and Max. Great group of guys. Nice chatting briefly with defending champ and always tough David Shovein and then some of the guys from league 2- Ted, Gary, Dark Vander... I'm sure there are others, just don't know everyone's names.
Anyways, everything in Chicago was top notch. Thank you Greg, Tom, and STATS. Sensational job on your part. Now let's hope I did my part and drafted a strong team.
Richard Kulaski
Fairview, TN
Fairview, TN
Re: Chicago Venue Review
Great job Rob B with the pics and getting them posted so quickly. Nice job capturing the moments from Saturday. Group picture at the end is nice finishing touch.
Richard Kulaski
Fairview, TN
Fairview, TN
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Winston's Empire
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Re: Chicago Venue Review
Was fun meeting all of you guys too Richard! We had a great group of guys in League 1 and it will be fun to stay in touch during the year to see how some of these picks we all hammered out pan out!
Good Luck
Max
Good Luck
Max
My response to people trying to change my baseball loyalties.
“Being a Cubs fan is the same as having a life insurance policy… It makes no sense to cancel it early!”
Cubs Fan Since 1987
“Being a Cubs fan is the same as having a life insurance policy… It makes no sense to cancel it early!”
Cubs Fan Since 1987
Re: Chicago Venue Review
Team 14 in the Tigers jerseys in league 2. Tom Amoroso and Dan Wydick (myself). I'm the more handsome one which I assume will make it obvious. 
Chicago was great fun again and I agree that it was extremely well run. Good luck everyone!
http://robbenetti.smugmug.com/NFFC-NFBC ... 44_9fPTtT2
Chicago was great fun again and I agree that it was extremely well run. Good luck everyone!http://robbenetti.smugmug.com/NFFC-NFBC ... 44_9fPTtT2
"I’d rather impress the chicks with my technique than with my brute strength. Then, every now and then, just to show I can do that, too, I might flirt a little by hitting one out.” - Ichiro Suzuki
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Navel Lint
- Posts: 1720
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- Contact:
Re: Chicago Venue Review
I’ll echo the thoughts of some of the previous posts.
In the last four years, this is the fourth different location for the Chicago Main Event, and it was probably the best.
Three years ago we were at the Stevens Convention Center. It’s a huge facility located in a great spot, but at the time we weren’t paying an event fee and we didn’t have any food other than a bowl of pretzels and a bag of chips. But that spot is too big for just the two Chicago leagues.
Two years ago we were at the Cubby Bear. The main draw was supposed to be the location, right across the street from Wrigley Field. But the place was way too small. All four leagues literally sat back to back for the Main Event. And on Friday night for the Auction League we had a live band playing just below us……very loudly
.
Last year we were at the Arlington Race Track OTB. Good food, plenty of room, but not the most ideal location; unless of course you live near there, which I don’t.
This year we were at the Hyatt Chicago. It’s right across from the Convention Center. Easy to get to and parking on site. The room was plenty big enough for the two leagues we had.
When I got there I was greeted by one of the event hosts from STATS, checked-in, and given my NFBC badge. I then saw my friend Rob “$100,000 NFFC Champ” Benetti. We got a chance to talk and catch-up before I went into the draft room.
Inside the room I got a chance to talk to and say hello to past Chicago League players and friends like Rich, Dave S, Dave V, Dave G, Gary, Kim and others. I also had a chance to meet some others for the first time like Tom and Jared. I also had the pleasure of meeting fellow Cubs fan Max. Max is a really nice guy and we had a couple of chances to talk during the day. -- Max, if you ever want to hook up for a game at Wrigley and watch the Cubs, let me know and I’m in –
Right before we started the draft I thought I better get something to drink. I started looking around for drink tickets, I didn’t see any; first reaction – that’s a bummer. Then I looked for the bar, didn’t see it
. But then I saw what I needed, a table stocked full of pop, water, and bottle beer . It was a nice pleasure to be able to just walk over to the table and grab a drink.
Once the draft started it was all business. There were a couple of comments tossed around the room, but mostly everyone just stuck to the polite “Nice pick”. I would have liked to have seen things lighten up just a little, but it’s hard to do that when you don’t know everyone real well. I mean, in my head I was making cracks like, “Hey, round 7 was a great time for that pick…….in 2009” or “That would be a great pick………if we were in a keeper league”. But I didn’t do that out loud for two reasons; first, as I said, you don’t always know how people are going to react to some fun ribbing; and second, I finished 15th last year, I wasn’t really in a position to poke fun at people. ( And for those that remember this post next March, don’t worry, I can take the jabs better than I give them….so fire away ).
The facilitators for our league were great. We had Rob B working the stickers, fast and timely. Our moderator/time keeper ( I apologize I don’t remember his name) was very friendly and knowledgeable. He kept the draft moving along nicely.
During the second break we had our food. It was a nice spread of chicken and steak fajita fixings. They also had salad and desserts. I guess my only ever so slight complaint would be that I wish we had maybe just a couple of minutes longer of a break. After making the longgg walk back and forth from the restroom, getting the food from buffet and a drink; I could have used another 5 minutes. However, when the biggest complaint I have is that I didn’t have enough time to get seconds from the buffet, I’d say that’s not bad.
After the break we finished the draft. When it was over we all got a chance to look over the big board and talk about all our great picks and about the guys that we wanted but that were taken just before it got to us. We also had a chance to take a league photo in front of the board (Thanks again to Rob for that photo and all the others that he took throughout the day).
Overall, Great Day!
Good Luck and I’ll see you guys next year.
In the last four years, this is the fourth different location for the Chicago Main Event, and it was probably the best.
Three years ago we were at the Stevens Convention Center. It’s a huge facility located in a great spot, but at the time we weren’t paying an event fee and we didn’t have any food other than a bowl of pretzels and a bag of chips. But that spot is too big for just the two Chicago leagues.
Two years ago we were at the Cubby Bear. The main draw was supposed to be the location, right across the street from Wrigley Field. But the place was way too small. All four leagues literally sat back to back for the Main Event. And on Friday night for the Auction League we had a live band playing just below us……very loudly
.Last year we were at the Arlington Race Track OTB. Good food, plenty of room, but not the most ideal location; unless of course you live near there, which I don’t.
This year we were at the Hyatt Chicago. It’s right across from the Convention Center. Easy to get to and parking on site. The room was plenty big enough for the two leagues we had.
When I got there I was greeted by one of the event hosts from STATS, checked-in, and given my NFBC badge. I then saw my friend Rob “$100,000 NFFC Champ” Benetti. We got a chance to talk and catch-up before I went into the draft room.
Inside the room I got a chance to talk to and say hello to past Chicago League players and friends like Rich, Dave S, Dave V, Dave G, Gary, Kim and others. I also had a chance to meet some others for the first time like Tom and Jared. I also had the pleasure of meeting fellow Cubs fan Max. Max is a really nice guy and we had a couple of chances to talk during the day. -- Max, if you ever want to hook up for a game at Wrigley and watch the Cubs, let me know and I’m in –
Right before we started the draft I thought I better get something to drink. I started looking around for drink tickets, I didn’t see any; first reaction – that’s a bummer. Then I looked for the bar, didn’t see it
. But then I saw what I needed, a table stocked full of pop, water, and bottle beer . It was a nice pleasure to be able to just walk over to the table and grab a drink.Once the draft started it was all business. There were a couple of comments tossed around the room, but mostly everyone just stuck to the polite “Nice pick”. I would have liked to have seen things lighten up just a little, but it’s hard to do that when you don’t know everyone real well. I mean, in my head I was making cracks like, “Hey, round 7 was a great time for that pick…….in 2009” or “That would be a great pick………if we were in a keeper league”. But I didn’t do that out loud for two reasons; first, as I said, you don’t always know how people are going to react to some fun ribbing; and second, I finished 15th last year, I wasn’t really in a position to poke fun at people. ( And for those that remember this post next March, don’t worry, I can take the jabs better than I give them….so fire away
).The facilitators for our league were great. We had Rob B working the stickers, fast and timely. Our moderator/time keeper ( I apologize I don’t remember his name) was very friendly and knowledgeable. He kept the draft moving along nicely.
During the second break we had our food. It was a nice spread of chicken and steak fajita fixings. They also had salad and desserts. I guess my only ever so slight complaint would be that I wish we had maybe just a couple of minutes longer of a break. After making the longgg walk back and forth from the restroom, getting the food from buffet and a drink; I could have used another 5 minutes. However, when the biggest complaint I have is that I didn’t have enough time to get seconds from the buffet, I’d say that’s not bad.
After the break we finished the draft. When it was over we all got a chance to look over the big board and talk about all our great picks and about the guys that we wanted but that were taken just before it got to us. We also had a chance to take a league photo in front of the board (Thanks again to Rob for that photo and all the others that he took throughout the day).
Overall, Great Day!
Good Luck and I’ll see you guys next year.
Russel -Navel Lint
"Fans don't boo nobodies"
-Reggie Jackson
"Fans don't boo nobodies"
-Reggie Jackson
Re: Chicago Venue Review
Glad that I made the trip back to sweet home Chicago!
The venue is NOT Bellagio; but, the Hyatt O'Hare was very accommodating.
Stats Inc. staff were top notch as everything was run smoothly.
Glad to meet many Midwest NFBCers and welcoming Jared and I to their "venue family."
I am a man of very few words so I'll let Jared post more. Shout out to Paul K, thanks!
The venue is NOT Bellagio; but, the Hyatt O'Hare was very accommodating.
Stats Inc. staff were top notch as everything was run smoothly.
Glad to meet many Midwest NFBCers and welcoming Jared and I to their "venue family."
I am a man of very few words so I'll let Jared post more. Shout out to Paul K, thanks!
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Winston's Empire
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Re: Chicago Venue Review
You got it Russel, when I head to Wrigley I will look you up pal! It was a lot of fun talking with you too and I thought you were a great guy too until you ripped King Felix from me in the 3rd Round!Navel Lint wrote:Inside the room I got a chance to talk to and say hello to past Chicago League players and friends like Rich, Dave S, Dave V, Dave G, Gary, Kim and others. I also had a chance to meet some others for the first time like Tom and Jared. I also had the pleasure of meeting fellow Cubs fan Max. Max is a really nice guy and we had a couple of chances to talk during the day. -- Max, if you ever want to hook up for a game at Wrigley and watch the Cubs, let me know and I’m in –
You get a pass this time because of your loyalty to our Cubs! 
It was a great group of guys in the league and I look forward to keeping in touch and trash talking a bit during the season!
My response to people trying to change my baseball loyalties.
“Being a Cubs fan is the same as having a life insurance policy… It makes no sense to cancel it early!”
Cubs Fan Since 1987
“Being a Cubs fan is the same as having a life insurance policy… It makes no sense to cancel it early!”
Cubs Fan Since 1987
Re: Chicago Venue Review
Is this team 6? This is Rich, aka team 7. Pleasure meeting you and your comanager. You guys worked well together... After you swiped Cano from me, it seems like we went about constructing our teams totally differently... I rarely had the feeling "oh no, I hope they don't take my guy" ... And I didn't have to worry about Russell on my other side either since he always picks the wrong guy anywayCatch wrote:Glad that I made the trip back to sweet home Chicago!
The venue is NOT Bellagio; but, the Hyatt O'Hare was very accommodating.
Stats Inc. staff were top notch as everything was run smoothly.
Glad to meet many Midwest NFBCers and welcoming Jared and I to their "venue family."
I am a man of very few words so I'll let Jared post more. Shout out to Paul K, thanks!
Of course I kid here... I will add too the draft moderator who kept the clock and announced the picks was very good. After the draft, he actually took a sec to tell me good job and best of luck. Everyone was a class act in Chicago.
Richard Kulaski
Fairview, TN
Fairview, TN
Re: Chicago Venue Review
Yes, that was team 6, specifically Tom, posting above; and I'm his co-manager, Jared. Thanks for the kind words. You kept your sense of humor all day, Rich. That's one thing that made it a good drafting day.
I thought both of the draft moderators did good jobs at keeping the drafts going smoothly. I know you participated in the XII draft afterwards, as we did -- that makes for a long day automatically, but it could have been a lot longer if there had been a lot of player confusion and delay. Because the mod was good, the Ryan/Brian confusion was just comic relief instead of a source of griping and frustration.
The food and drink was perfectly fine, and when it was late arriving and we had to scramble a little in the XII draft, everybody took it in good spirits and nobody seemed to gripe about it. The room was a good one. The only venue I've drafted live in before is Bellagio, and that's tough competition for any other city.
I wanted to say it was nice meeting Rusty Clark, who lives one town away from me in Ohio but who I had to drive 300 miles to meet. Feel free to stop taking our players, Rusty, and good luck this year. Other than that, I won't single anybody out because it would make for too long a message, but people were friendly and serious at the same time, which made for a good drafting experience. Chicago is of course a great city, and I recommend the live draft vs. the online main event to anybody living in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and other neighboring states if you didn't choose that option this year.
I thought both of the draft moderators did good jobs at keeping the drafts going smoothly. I know you participated in the XII draft afterwards, as we did -- that makes for a long day automatically, but it could have been a lot longer if there had been a lot of player confusion and delay. Because the mod was good, the Ryan/Brian confusion was just comic relief instead of a source of griping and frustration.
The food and drink was perfectly fine, and when it was late arriving and we had to scramble a little in the XII draft, everybody took it in good spirits and nobody seemed to gripe about it. The room was a good one. The only venue I've drafted live in before is Bellagio, and that's tough competition for any other city.
I wanted to say it was nice meeting Rusty Clark, who lives one town away from me in Ohio but who I had to drive 300 miles to meet. Feel free to stop taking our players, Rusty, and good luck this year. Other than that, I won't single anybody out because it would make for too long a message, but people were friendly and serious at the same time, which made for a good drafting experience. Chicago is of course a great city, and I recommend the live draft vs. the online main event to anybody living in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and other neighboring states if you didn't choose that option this year.
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Navel Lint
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Re: Chicago Venue Review
rkulaski wrote:... And I didn't have to worry about Russell on my other side either since he always picks the wrong guy anywayCatch wrote:Glad that I made the trip back to sweet home Chicago!
The venue is NOT Bellagio; but, the Hyatt O'Hare was very accommodating.
Stats Inc. staff were top notch as everything was run smoothly.
Glad to meet many Midwest NFBCers and welcoming Jared and I to their "venue family."
I am a man of very few words so I'll let Jared post more. Shout out to Paul K, thanks!
I did get your PM and I'll get back to you sometime tonight.
Russel -Navel Lint
"Fans don't boo nobodies"
-Reggie Jackson
"Fans don't boo nobodies"
-Reggie Jackson