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The Draft Championship leagues are wrapping up today. No leagues in the NFBC are as loved/hated as the Draft Championships.
They are loved because they are among the first leagues to open. Most of us can't wait to draft.
They are loved because we are free to go at our own pace. If busy or can't get away to a computer or phone, it is ok because this draft will wait for you.
They are loved because for some, it is their big leagues. A chance to see if they belong in larger, more expensive leagues.
They are loved because they are used for tune ups, by some, for those larger leagues.
There are just many reasons to love these drafts.
Then, there is the 'hate' side.

The hate is all about time.
Some like the pace to be fast.
Some like moderately fast.
Some like a 2-3 round a day pace.
Some want to take all the time they can.
And what everybody hates is drafters who time-out.

This year, we changed from an eight hour clock with no overnight stoppage to two and four hour clocks with a night stoppage.
It was most definitely better for most involved in that drafters knew the picks would not take a third of a day and can rest at night assured that their pick, at worst, would be waiting for them when waking.
Still, there was a lot of hate when it came to the draft times of some drafters.
Time-outs are long. Whether two, four, or eight hours, they are just long.
Worse, we waste our time in checking in, only to see the same darned drafter on the clock.
Time-outs are born in either selfishness or laziness.
The selfishness comes in not caring about the other drafters.
These drafters will use clock entitlement as an excuse and remind others that 'I have a life' (we all do) or that 'it IS a slow draft' (only because of drafters like him).
The clock entitlement is what drives me crazy. If playing Monopoly and Mr. Clock Entitlement lands on Marvins Gardens with two hours to make a choice in whether to buy the property or not, he would take the two hours.
Because of entitlement.
It is not good for Monopoly and it is not good here.
Some drafters are just lazy. They don't know if they'll get to the computer to draft, so they do nothing....and time-out

All this happens while other drafters are imploring these drafters to use 'Auto'.
And they should, but most won't.
I know that I don't like using auto.
I prefer to be 'there' for all my picks.
Information changes very quickly and if auto'ing Madison Bumgarner while he is falling off a trike or breaking a pinkie, I would feel badly that I used auto.
This is the chief reason most do not like to auto. Whether fast or slow drafters. Whether 'good' or 'bad' drafters.
There is also that small point of pride in pushing the 'draft player' button ourselves.
I don't know why, but I like it better.
Sufficeth to say that we're not going to get everybody on board with Auto, but it is a good tool for 'good' drafters in using if there is a largel chance at not being able to make it online for our pick.

So, what about next year?
I believe there should be one, two, and four hour clocks with a six hour night light.
I believe there should also be 'personal clocks' in which drafters can only have so much time per draft.
It would take a person smarter than me to determine how much time on a players personal clock, but 25, 50, and 100 hours for one, two, and four hour drafts might be a good start.
If running out of time, picks would come from the top of the queues.

I also believe that draft times of each drafter should be posted next to that drafters name.
This could be of help for drafters to know which league is right for them.
Some drafters may enter drafts thinking they are a fast drafter and realize by the time of their picks, that a slower draft may be more their cup of tea.
It would also spur competition among drafters.
If there is one thing that all fantasy players enjoy, it is their numbers.

Draft Champions leagues are one of the best items that is offered in the NFBC.
We just have to try and take more and more 'hate' out of the love/hate in relationship to these leagues.
Who knows, maybe one day it'll just be universally loved.

Nice summary, Dan. I love the DC format, as I'm usually itching to start drafting again in November. The format appeals to me because it goes deep into the player pool, retains the strategy of setting lineups, avoids the need for FAAB, and helps keep me occupied during the depths of winter. (Regarding FAAB, I am finding it much improved so far, but generally stay away from FAAB for my "early" leagues.)

All that being said, DC leagues can be frustrating when a few really slow and/or discourteous drafters drag things out for everyone else. Also, once a few folks start timing out, others naturally do not enjoy hanging out in the draft room, and so all momentum tends to be lost, resulting in a slow, drawn-out affair with little interaction among fellow owners. I tend to be among the faster drafters, and I lose patience with never-ending drafts and so I'll frequently go on Auto after Round 25 and stay on Auto through the end, manipulating my queue in the background. The best DC drafts, by far, are the "fast" ones that Mike Massotto and Dan Kenyon organize. For many of these drafts, the clock becomes superfluous, and the chats (and ball-busting) are priceless. I also very much enjoy the DC auctions that Andy Saxton runs, although, honestly, the auctions are great and the DC phase tends to go very slowly.

In terms of the structure going forward, I have several thoughts:
1. I am OK with the 1-hour, 2-hour and 4-hour options. Some folks like to go faster or slower than others, and one size need not fit all.
2. The nighttime pause is great, but needs to be improved in two ways. First, the pause should be shortened down from the eight hours employed this past year. I think six hours are more than sufficient, and would suggest four hours for a four-hour clock draft (this is no worse than the prior eight-hour clock without a nighttime pause). The current situation, where a drafter can take two or four hours alongside of an eight-hour pause is untenable long-term and a source of great frustration. Additionally, I think all of us need to do a better job getting the word out that teams still can and should keep drafting during the nighttime pause. I had the distinct impression that some owners did not realize this and some drafts completely shut down during the pause.
3. Whether the clock is two hours or four hours, I'm convinced you still will get at least a few very slow and discourteous drafters in nearly every league. (I realize life happens and sometimes folks cannot draft quickly. I'm not referring to these types of situations, which can happen to anyone. I'm talking about folks who repeatedly time-out or take almost the entire clock every round and rarely, if ever, bother to communicate their availability to other drafters.) Thus, to me, the fairest fix is a chess-like clock, where everybody gets the same amount of time for an entire draft. If folks want to take forever to make a second round pick because they've already lost interest in the draft, fine, but they'll have much less time available for their remaining picks. Once the clock runs out, they either go on Auto or, if the NFBC wants to be lenient, they get an extremely-short clock for each pick, like five minutes. In this case, they could consume their entire clock and still not be forced onto Auto, but they would have to either use Auto or be responsive.
4. If a chess-like clock is not feasible from a technology standpoint or rejected for some other reason, then, at a minimum, I think we need to program things so that if a team times-out twice (we'll give everyone one Mulligan), the clock for their picks gets reduced to 10 or 15 minutes per pick for the remainder of the draft, no matter how many more rounds there are until completion. This way, no one gets to unduly delay things more than twice per draft. (The danger with this, of course, is that there will be jerks that purposefully take most of the clock for every pick but make their selection moments before timing out. Still, I think this suggestion would be an improvement over the status quo.)

I'm sure there are other ideas out there. I want to emphasize that I think the DC format generally is great, but still requires some tweaking to improve the experience for the majority of drafters that pick diligently and are courteous to fellow drafters.

Mike

An interesting read. Both previous posts.

I think the solution is more options for those who want clocks of 30-90 minutes. Plus perhaps DC drafts with the overnight pause based on the Pacific time zone too.

Drafters who are taking their first stab at an NFBC slow draft seem to want the slower pace and SportsHub wants more new customers so it seems wrong to eliminate the DC with clocks of 4 or 2 hours.

More choice not less.