Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Gildz Nation » Sat Mar 21, 2020 1:01 pm

Greg Ambrosius wrote:
Sat Mar 21, 2020 9:43 am
Gildz Nation wrote:
Sat Mar 21, 2020 6:49 am
Hey Greg
Posted this in another thread. I’m curious about main event entries. You said 3% of owners already opted out but may sign up again? So you’re allowed to request a refund now? I just don’t think I want any part of an 81 game main event season and fear that’s what we’re headed towards. Can you provide some clarity on what options owners have at the moment? Thx
Yes, you can ask for a refund now on the Main Event or any other event. I think we've been as open and transparent as possible through these trying times and we've put money back on account for anyone who has asked. Darik has worked relentlessly to even refund and replace people who are in full leagues. I mean, we're doing everything we can to help everyone who signed up for drafts before this virus ran wild in America.

As an update, we now have almost 40 owners who have asked for Main Event refunds, so we have less than 500 teams signed up right now. We certainly understand why some folks have requested refunds, but we hope that baseball returns to give us all hope because soon we will need America's Pastime more than ever before. At the NFBC, all we can do is plan for a bright future and hope for the best. But if folks want refunds, we have not said no to a single customer. So email me or Darik if you feel the need to sit out for awhile.

I've said this many times, I'm not going to get into hypotheticals on the length of the MLB season. We don't control that or anything else when it comes to actual games. What MLB decides for a regular season we will follow and if it seems to short for a high-stakes contest we'll address that then. But speculating today is just that: speculation.

We have guaranteed the overall prizes for every national contest in the NFBC. Some are in good shape and others we have no idea right now what the final number of teams will be. We could take a serious hit in the Online Championship, the Main Event and the Solo Shot if all go forward, but right now we are moving forward and here for the long run.

Hope that helps.

Thanks Greg. I do appreciate the transparency you provide to your customers. That is what sets apart the NFBC from most other national contests. Or just another reason why I keep coming back. You guys always provide 1st class service. I guess my question more specifically was, will the option to refund be available at a later time, whenever the MLB announcement is made? I want to play first and foremost like everyone else. I think barring anything but 81 I’d be down for. If we have that option to opt out at a later time, I’m more then fine just staying put. Thx again.

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Sat Mar 21, 2020 1:46 pm

Of course. I would love for folks to wait to hear what MLB plans to do and then make a call on entries they already have, but either way now or later during this wild off-season we will refund any paid entries as long as you haven't drafted yet. I think MLB owners will do all they can to maximize the season if they can -- and that includes extending the season to neutral southern sites, expanding rosters to 30 players or more and even scheduling doubleheaders -- but we obviously need to tackle this virus before any decisions can be made.

The whole country has to contribute by STAYING HOME if possible. Let's suffer for several more weeks so that we can tackle this bastard and recover. It's possible. We know it's possible.

Thanks and stay well everyone. Stay safe and healthy.
Greg Ambrosius
Founder, National Fantasy Baseball Championship
General Manager, Consumer Fantasy Games at SportsHub Technologies
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Chthroop » Sun Mar 22, 2020 9:58 am

Greg,
What is the plan for the following given a shortened schedule (apologies if this was covered elsewhere):

1. minimum number of IP
2. minimum plate appearances to get positional eligibility

My suggestion would be to simply take the % of the season and apply, rounding down.

Thanks
Chris

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Sun Mar 22, 2020 10:07 am

Chthroop wrote:
Sun Mar 22, 2020 9:58 am
Greg,
What is the plan for the following given a shortened schedule (apologies if this was covered elsewhere):

1. minimum number of IP
2. minimum plate appearances to get positional eligibility

My suggestion would be to simply take the % of the season and apply, rounding down.

Thanks
Chris
I don't know how many times I can say this, but: All of this will be decided once we know what MLB's schedule will be. Once we know how many games MLB plans to play (as long as they play), we'll make all of those decisions official and announce them.

Thanks and everyone stay at home and stay safe & healthy.
Greg Ambrosius
Founder, National Fantasy Baseball Championship
General Manager, Consumer Fantasy Games at SportsHub Technologies
Twitter - @GregAmbrosius

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Mon Mar 23, 2020 9:41 am

I know it looks bleak right now for our country and America's Pastime, but Vin Scully always looks at the bright side of things. This is a great interview by the Los Angeles Times' Bill Plaschke. Enjoy.

https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/ ... oronavirus
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by mdecav » Mon Mar 23, 2020 10:22 am

Greg Ambrosius wrote:
Sun Mar 22, 2020 10:07 am
Chthroop wrote:
Sun Mar 22, 2020 9:58 am
Greg,
What is the plan for the following given a shortened schedule (apologies if this was covered elsewhere):

1. minimum number of IP
2. minimum plate appearances to get positional eligibility

My suggestion would be to simply take the % of the season and apply, rounding down.

Thanks
Chris
I don't know how many times I can say this, but: All of this will be decided once we know what MLB's schedule will be. Once we know how many games MLB plans to play (as long as they play), we'll make all of those decisions official and announce them.

Thanks and everyone stay at home and stay safe & healthy.
I realize you have to think of a number of variables while waiting for the revised schedule, but when doing so also consider the remote possibility a “second wave” hits us if the season were to start.

If MLB plays ~50 games and the season suddenly gets cancelled, then what? Is that an official season?

For future years and at the very least for future reference you should have in your rules how many games played constitutes a viable season.

This way you eliminate any repeated questions from owners.

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Wed Mar 25, 2020 1:08 pm

Major League Baseball has been extremely quiet over the last two weeks since they announced a delay to the start of the MLB season for two weeks. It seemed like a conservative estimate at the time and it really seems like a conservative estimate now.

But behind the scenes, MLB owners have been talking about scenarios that would save much of the regular season despite starting two months late. There have been scenarios of the season starting in early June and still having a140 or more game regular season. There was talk of playing post-season games in neutral locations and extending the post-season into November and even December.

Then yesterday Commissioner Rob Manfred opened the news spiggot by sending a memo to MLB employees. In it, he said he believed the 2020 regular season and post-season would go on. He also said the league is committed to playing as many regular season games as possible.

That means up to two doubleheaders per week, extending the season into November and even December at neutral sites, and probably starting the season in stadiums without fans. None of that is explained in the memo to MLB employees, but beat writers are suggesting that could be the case.

What it means to me is that MLB owners are not going to give up easy on this season and if they move forward they will do so with a strong regular season. I know that looks impossible as we all sit here today, but with an expanded roster (30 players is very possible), doubleheaders, regular season through October and games without fans it is possible. Quick testing is also critical as players would likely have to be tested regularly, along with anyone else involved in the early contests.

I'm not saying this is all going to happen, but for the first time MLB officials gave us a glimpse into their mindset and it shows a league that doesn't want to give up on this season easily. You can say that too much money is at stake, but I also think they see how baseball could positively affect the country. Could seeing America's Pastime be the hope we need that there is a light at the end of the horizon? Could baseball in warm and sunshine-filled neutral locations give Americans something to hope for in the near future? I don't know, but it just seems like those in baseball feel that with the right testing and under the right conditions the country could rally around the return of baseball.

Only time will tell, but it gives me some hope. We'll see what happens, but for the first time in weeks I know what baseball is planning for and now we just need to shutter for as long as needed to bend this curve and control the spread of coronavirus. Here's hoping our entire country does this.
Greg Ambrosius
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Gekko
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Gekko » Wed Mar 25, 2020 1:33 pm

Greg Ambrosius wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 1:08 pm
Only time will tell, but it gives me some hope.
Warm up Mustang Harry's in NYC. I have a feeling we will be there at some point this year.

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Gb2715 » Wed Mar 25, 2020 5:52 pm

Gekko wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 1:33 pm
Greg Ambrosius wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 1:08 pm
Only time will tell, but it gives me some hope.
Warm up Mustang Harry's in NYC. I have a feeling we will be there at some point this year.
Is that where you’re going for NFFC drafts in October?

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Gekko » Wed Mar 25, 2020 6:45 pm

Gb2715 wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 5:52 pm
Is that where you’re going for NFFC drafts in October?
May/June for NFBC live events?

All I’m saying is get ready for Mustang Harry’s and Triple Crown cause we are having the MOTHER of all weekends once this is over!

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Doctor Who » Thu Mar 26, 2020 3:52 am

Gekko wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 6:45 pm
Gb2715 wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 5:52 pm
Is that where you’re going for NFFC drafts in October?
May/June for NFBC live events?

All I’m saying is get ready for Mustang Harry’s and Triple Crown cause we are having the MOTHER of all weekends once this is over!
I doubt they do live events and remember reading somewhere, maybe in the lobby, that IF they did a live event, it would be in Vegas and that’s it. But even that was highly unlikely.

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Thu Mar 26, 2020 8:28 am

Well, I'm not surprised that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred went on ESPN's SVP show last night and declared that "baseball will be back." You could kind of feel in the last day that baseball wanted to get back on the sports map and position itself as the league that could heal the country whenever that time is available.

Here's the story and link to last night's interview:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/289 ... mlb-return

Jeff Passan writes in this story:

"Vowing that "baseball will be back" and "will be part of the recovery," Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said in an interview Wednesday with ESPN's Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter that "nothing's off the table" as the sport outlines its plan to return from a coronavirus-related postponement.

Manfred, speaking from Florida on the eve of what would have been Opening Day, said he hopes the sport can begin preparing for a season at some point in May, but the league will work with infectious-disease experts before determining its exact return.

"The one thing I know for sure is baseball will be back," Manfred said. "Whenever it's safe to play, we'll be back. Our fans will be back. Our players will be back. And we will be part of the recovery, the healing in this country, from this particular pandemic.

"Look, my optimistic outlook is that at some point in May, we'll be gearing back up," he added. "We'll have to make a determination, depending what the precise date is, as to how much of a preparation period we need, whether that preparation period is going to be done in the clubs' home cities or back in Florida and Arizona. Again, I think the goal would be to get as many regular-season games as possible and think creatively about how we can accomplish that goal."

It's hard today -- which was supposed to be Opening Day -- to envision a full season ahead, but you can tell by Manfred's interview that owners and players want to resume play and to get as complete of a regular season as possible. Both sides feel the need for this economically and I think baseball could be that uniting sport that brings the country together this summer. It's just hard to see our country get to that point with how bad everything is today.

But it gives me hope that baseball is planning for a robust season in 2020, one that includes 30-man rosters, a deep roster of pitchers, doubleheaders, a post-season in neutral ballparks and even a new Opening Day with no fans in the stadiums. We'll see what the future holds, but it's obvious from the rhetoric over the last 48 hours that MLB plans to return in 2020 and all of us hope that's true.

Stay safe everyone and stay healthy.
Greg Ambrosius
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Thu Mar 26, 2020 9:29 am

The NFL announced today that the NFL Draft will be held 4 weeks from today even though it will not be held live in Las Vegas. They will still televise the draft April 23-25 and teams will be at their own locations and players will be interviewed at their homes. The NFL knows they have the sports landscape to themselves right now and they aren't letting go. Crazy, but true.

The NBA is also talking about a return to action by June 1st. At least that's what Dallas owner Mark Cuban said in an interview:

“I’m proud of the NBA and the way we’ve reacted,” Cuban said in an interview with WFAA. “We’ve led the way and hopefully will lead the way out of this. No one has perfect information right now, so all decisions are tough, but if I had to guess based off the people I’ve talked to at the CDC and other places, I would say that the over-under [for the league’s return] would be June 1 and I’m taking the under.

“Hopefully by the middle of May we’re starting to get back to normal and the NBA is playing games, maybe not with fans, but we’re playing games.”

Cuban has followed up on Twitter by saying “just to clarify, everything I say is always qualified with a statement that it will depend on what doctors and scientists say. That said, Im more hopeful than i was 2 weeks ago about us being able to return and play in front of no fans prior to June 1.”
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Gekko » Thu Mar 26, 2020 9:36 am

Doctor Who wrote:
Thu Mar 26, 2020 3:52 am
Gekko wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 6:45 pm
Gb2715 wrote:
Wed Mar 25, 2020 5:52 pm
Is that where you’re going for NFFC drafts in October?
May/June for NFBC live events?

All I’m saying is get ready for Mustang Harry’s and Triple Crown cause we are having the MOTHER of all weekends once this is over!
I doubt they do live events and remember reading somewhere, maybe in the lobby, that IF they did a live event, it would be in Vegas and that’s it. But even that was highly unlikely.
In these tough times, I am remaining hopeful. Worst case, once It’s safe to return, I will be in NYC and hope to connect with many of the NYC NFBC brothers even if it’s just to get together for a night on the town or to hold a private Live NFBC event.

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Doctor Who » Thu Mar 26, 2020 1:08 pm

Gekko, I know a few of us joked a week or so ago and said we would all fly to Vegas and do an online draft together. I'm all for live events happening, even if most choose not to come. Just hard from a logistics standpoint for NFBC to do all that in a short time. But we both will know for sure when MLB finally gives a firm timetable that gives Greg/Tom/Darik time to get firm plans up.

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Tue Apr 07, 2020 7:45 am

I'm sure most of you have seen this story on ESPN by now, but it's an interesting read: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/290 ... ly-arizona

The fact that the owners and Players Association are discussing this as a potential solution is the encouraging news. It's only April 7th and hopefully the country can take steps forward to get to the point where maybe games in empty stadiums can be played. There's a lot about this current idea that critics are picking apart already, but again it's the first plan that any major sport has put out that has real possibilities. Obviously there are many concerns about how you quarantine teams safely for 5 months and the thought of what happens when one person tests positive. But it's a first step.

Hope as a country and hope as a baseball fan is what keeps us all going. Let's keep our fingers crossed and let's keep hoping that the tide starts to turn in the right direction during this fight against coronavirus. I'm keeping the faith, I can tell you that!! :D
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Tue Apr 07, 2020 1:32 pm

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Mon Apr 13, 2020 12:14 pm

Is it just me or do you feel like the 2020 Major League Baseball season has more of a chance of returning than at any time since coronavirus hit us hard in March?

Or does it seem impossible for the country to host ANY sporting event until a vaccine is found? Is that the next step needed until sports return?

I'm not sure, but the fact that the country has worked hard to self isolate and reduce the spread of this virus is an encouraging sign on April 13th. The fact that we're seeing governors on the East Coast talking about reopening up the economy at some point and how to do it is also encouraging. I know we have a long road of recovery ahead of us, but is it possible for baseball to show us the way out?

I don't know. I'm wondering if I'm feeling like the only one who thinks baseball can return this year in stadiums without fans. What do you think? Are you feeling more optimistic or more pessimistic? Let's open up the couch at the psychiatrist's office and get things off our chests. Tell me what you think and let's keep the faith that our country can come out of this in some way. Thanks.
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by mdecav » Mon Apr 13, 2020 1:40 pm

I wish we’d know more as to what is happening behind the scenes but maybe it’s all wait-and-see.

I’m annoyed with all of the May/June talk. I’d rather they get this right, take their time than rush ahead.

If we have a season, have it from July-November (5 months) with December playoffs.

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Mon Apr 13, 2020 1:41 pm

mdecav wrote:
Mon Apr 13, 2020 1:40 pm
I wish we’d know more as to what is happening behind the scenes but maybe it’s all wait-and-see.

I’m annoyed with all of the May/June talk. I’d rather they get this right, take their time than rush ahead.

If we have a season, have it from July-November (5 months) with December playoffs.
I have no problem with any of that. Let's get it right and let's still have a robust season.
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Gekko » Mon Apr 13, 2020 2:34 pm

I’m planning on July start date with 81-100 games.

And let’s hope they aren’t waiting for an effective vaccine, as that could be never.

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Mon Apr 13, 2020 2:48 pm

Gekko wrote:
Mon Apr 13, 2020 2:34 pm
I’m planning on July start date with 81-100 games.

And let’s hope they aren’t waiting for an effective vaccine, as that could be never.
Yeah, if the vaccine is 12-18 months away, then we can't just shut everything down for that long, can we? I think quick testing, the development of anti-bodies and empty stadiums has risk, but seems like the way to go. If we wait for the vaccine, then not only is this baseball season over then so is the NFL season and maybe even next baseball season. And I don't think the owners and players want that.

We need testing to mitigate the spread of the disease to everyone involved in the games and hopefully we get to a point this summer where we can safely get players together for competition. I think baseball has the best chance to come back first and unite the country in a small way. Let's hope it happens.
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Yah Mule » Mon Apr 13, 2020 3:36 pm

I just think isolating players in hotels for 4.5 months is a non-starter. "Okay, honey, good luck with this frightening new world. See you and and the kids in October."

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Ultrarunner » Mon Apr 13, 2020 5:24 pm

Yah Mule wrote:
Mon Apr 13, 2020 3:36 pm
I just think isolating players in hotels for 4.5 months is a non-starter. "Okay, honey, good luck with this frightening new world. See you and and the kids in October."
I did that numerous times for longer periods....and didn’t live in a hotel

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Yah Mule » Mon Apr 13, 2020 6:00 pm

Ultrarunner wrote:
Mon Apr 13, 2020 5:24 pm
Yah Mule wrote:
Mon Apr 13, 2020 3:36 pm
I just think isolating players in hotels for 4.5 months is a non-starter. "Okay, honey, good luck with this frightening new world. See you and and the kids in October."
I did that numerous times for longer periods....and didn’t live in a hotel
These guys didn't sign up for that and COVID-19 really changes the landscape. Ownership will expect them to play for substantially less money while enduring pretty significant personal hardships. I'm not sure how to draft to account for propensity for home sickness. But, some sport will be the first one back and we'll see how it works out.

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