NFBC Message Boards

This brought back a lot of memories:

http://web.archive.org/web/200401230348 ... ip.com:80/

King of Queens wrote:This brought back a lot of memories:

http://web.archive.org/web/200401230348 ... ip.com:80/

That is beautiful on so many fronts!! What a web site.

I think 5 or 6 of the promotional partners are out of business right now and Fantasy Sports Magazine is also dead. Not only did we lose a lot of money that first year but we paid a licensing fee to the MLBPA.

Oh the good ol' days. Thanks for that blast to the past.

This is great. Fun to check out the links and rankings from that '04 pre-season. The player news rotates on the right side as well. This one popped up on my screen and made my day:

Recent News
David Ortiz, (Bos) -- 10:09AM CT -Ortiz and the Red Sox have agreed to a one-year deal worth a reported $4.58 million.

Top Players at Every Position in 2003

Top 50
Player Team
1. Alex Rodriguez Tex
2. Albert Pujols StL
3. Vladimir Guerrero Ana
4. Alfonso Soriano NYY
5. Todd Helton Col
6. SF Outfielder SF
7. Nomar Garciaparra Bos
8. Mark Prior ChC
9. Manny Ramirez Bos
10. Carlos Beltran KC
11. Gary Sheffield NYY
12. Magglio Ordonez ChW
13. Sammy Sosa ChC
14. Preston Wilson Col
15. Miguel Tejada Bal
16. Ichiro Suzuki Sea
17. Pedro Martinez Bos
18. Eric Chavez Oak
19. Randy Johnson Ari
20. Mike Piazza NYM
21. Scott Rolen StL
22. Curt Schilling Bos
23. Ivan Rodriguez Det
24. Edgar Renteria StL
25. Mike Lowell Fla
26. Roy Halladay Tor
27. Kerry Wood ChC
28. Eric Gagne LA
29. Bret Boone Sea
30. Derek Jeter NYY
31. Jason Schmidt SF
32. Carlos Delgado Tor
33. Jim Thome Phi
34. Vernon Wells Tor
35. Richie Sexson Ari
36. Bobby Abreu Phi
37. Rafael Furcal Atl
38. Juan Pierre Fla
39. Jeff Kent Hou
40. Chipper Jones Atl
41. Andruw Jones Atl
42. Mike Mussina NYY
43. Jason Giambi NYY
44. Jeff Bagwell Hou
45. Lance Berkman Hou
46. Carl Crawford TB
47. Javy Lopez Bal
48. Jorge Posada NYY
49. Tim Hudson Oak
50. Derrek Lee ChC

I love this blast from the past so much. Like most of you baseball fanatics, I love the history and tradition of the game. Hell, if I hadn't decided to enter the low-paying world of journalism, I was going to be a History teacher. I loved history that much.

But the best part of history is when it's told from those folks who were part of history. That's what I want to accomplish here. Let's hear from the people who were with us from the early days and tell their stories about what they remember from those first seasons. I'm going to start a separate thread for this and even post some of my recollections. Let's have some fun with this.

And this isn't just from the NFBC Charter Members. I'd like to hear about something you remember from your first NFBC experience no matter what year you joined our contests.

So here's what I'm looking for: What do you remember from your first NFBC experience?

In other words, let's hear about how you first heard about the NFBC to what made you decide to join a high-stakes league for the first time. Or maybe it's an experience you remember at your first NFBC live draft. Or maybe it's a run-in with an NFBC veteran like Shawn or Lindy that you had heard about before joining and met at a live draft. Or maybe it's the feeling of those last games as you tallied your stats before we had live scoring and live standings. Anything that stands out from your first year in the NFBC would be so cool to see in print and I think a lot of folks would enjoy reading that thread.

I mean, this story that Tom wrote yesterday about our NFBC champion Chris Fessler tells a lot. He read about Lindy Hinkelman, the famous pig farmer, who won the NFBC title and was written up in the Wall Street Journal. That spurred him to join us. I'd love to hear any first-hand account of his first year in the NFBC. Here's what Tom wrote:

Fessler began playing fantasy baseball in 1997 and won an ESPN.com grand prize in 2004. He joined the NFBC in 2012 after reading a Wall Street Journal story about Lindy Hinkleman’s success in the contest. He’s been hooked on the contest ever since.

Look for the new thread shortly and bring your stories to light. I'd love to read them. Thanks all.

King of Queens wrote:Top Players at Every Position in 2003

Top 50
Player Team
1. Alex Rodriguez Tex
2. Albert Pujols StL
3. Vladimir Guerrero Ana
4. Alfonso Soriano NYY
5. Todd Helton Col
6. SF Outfielder SF

Oh man, I forgot about that. Our first year of running a high-stakes contest and we were told that we couldn't allow anyone to draft one of the best players in the game. Oh my!!

We were licensed by the MLBPA and Barry Bonds decided not to be part of the union as he was bigger than the game (in his eyes). So they told us he couldn't be included in our game and in other games licensed by the MLBPA like CDM Fantasy Sports. We told them that just can't happen and they allowed it to happen as long as he wasn't named. Thus SF Outfielder in the rankings.

If that happened today the Message Boards would be lit up....against me and Tom!! Thankfully no player is bigger than the game right now.

Wow, I love these blasts from the past.

True story....

Stayed at the Motel 6 for the first NFBC, before heading to the..Boardwalk? Can't recall, may have even been the one pre-NFBC.

Get into the cab, the driver hears my destination and asks, "Would you like me to arrange some female companionship?"

I respond, "Does she know Excel?"

ToddZ wrote:True story....

Stayed at the Motel 6 for the first NFBC, before heading to the..Boardwalk? Can't recall, may have even been the one pre-NFBC.

Get into the cab, the driver hears my destination and asks, "Would you like me to arrange some female companionship?"

I respond, "Does she know Excel?"

And the cabbie says, "Oh, she excels! Most certainly she excels!"

ToddZ wrote:True story....

Stayed at the Motel 6 for the first NFBC, before heading to the..Boardwalk? Can't recall, may have even been the one pre-NFBC.

Get into the cab, the driver hears my destination and asks, "Would you like me to arrange some female companionship?"

I respond, "Does she know Excel?"

The winter FSTA Trade Conference was at the Boardwalk Casino in 2002. It was after 9/11 and we had 55 attendees after having over 100 the year before. We had Vida Blue there and Tug McGraw was our featured speaker. Tug was so nervous of speaking to a group he knew nothing about that me and Jonathan Mayo took him to lunch and just talked baseball for two hours. He was fantastic. One year later he was diagnosed with a tumor and was dead shortly after that.

You had a booth at that conference and I remember meeting you for the first time. That was the last year of the Boardwalk Casino as they demolished that hotel as the first step toward building City Center. It all seems like yesterday....or 15 years ago!!

Two years later we were at the Rio for the launch of the NFBC. We were at the Rio in 2004 and 2005 before moving to the Stardust for three years. Then Flamingo for one or two years and then to the Bellagio.

King of Queens wrote:Top Players at Every Position in 2003

6. SF Outfielder SF

Completely forgot about that. Seems like an eternity ago.