Who's Coming To The 2012 NFBC And Where?

[Greg Ambrosius]

Oh boy, it's that time of year again when I get to introduce the new signups to the NFBC live events. I love to do this because it allows all of us to look at our competitors and learn more about our competition. It's also a good intro for folks who are looking to join the NFBC and see what a great group of folks we have. We are entering our ninth season of live drafts and many of you have been around for the majority of these seasons. Let's recognize that in this thread.

Our first official signup of 2012 is none other than our two-time NFBC overall champ, Lindy Hinkelman of Greencreek, Idaho. You may know him as the most famous pig farmer in the history of fantasy sports, but we know him as a 7-year NFBC veteran who is going to get inducted into the NFBC Hall of Fame in Las Vegas this March. It's an honor he has earned, becoming the only person to win two NFBC overall titles, including last year's $100,000 grand prize. He's the NFBC's Career Money Leader with $360,750 in earnings and he has proven his mettle in just about every format we offer: 15-team drafts, 12-team drafts, online drafts, auctions. He's had an amazing run and we're glad to have the Champ back in 2012.

Lindy will be returning to the Bellagio in Las Vegas the weekend of March 30-April 1 to defend his Main Event title. He's also returning to compete in the debut NFBC XII, the Ultimate Auction League and the NFBC Auction Championship, an even he finished second overall in last year. Amazing.

In 2011, Lindy won four league titles out of seven events he entered. He won Las Vegas League 4 with 138 points (92%) and won the overall title with 3,407.0 points (87.4%). He won Las Vegas Auction League March 25th 9 am with 120.5 points and finished 2nd overall in the Auction Championship. He won the March 8th Online Double Play with 85.5 points and tied for first place in the March 25th 4 pm Live Double Play with 82 points. He finished third in the Las Vegas March 27th Live Double Play with 76.5 points, finished 5th in the Ultimate Auction League with 85.5 points and finished 9th in the $150 Slow Draft League #13 with 74 points.

All I can say is GREAT JOB CHAMP and best of luck in the hunt for this year's $100,000 grand prize, $5,600 league prize, $40,000 Ultimate Auction League prize, $15,000 Auction Championship prize and $50,000 NFBC XII prize. That should keep you busy, my friend!!

[Greg Ambrosius]

It's only appropriate that I welcome KJ Duke of San Diego, California second in our Welcome list. KJ is an NFBC Charter Member who came as close to winning his first $100,000 grand prize last year as anyone can. He won Las Vegas League 2 with 135.0 points and then finished second overall to Lindy, just 2.5 points (one-tenth of one percent) behind with 3,404.5 points. He made up ground on Lindy each of the last three days, but basically ran out of time. Still, he took home $25,600 for his efforts. KJ also won $10,000 by finishing fourth in the NFBC Diamond League with 99 points, finished second in the March 18th Auction Championship with 113.0 points, finishing 11th overall there, while also finishing third in the Las Vegas Weekend 1 Main Event with 103.5 points (64th overall). Heck, he even teamed up with Jim Stanard to finish third in the March 26th Super League. It was easily KJ's best season in the NFBC and he will be back to defend his Main Event league title in Las Vegas on the weekend of March 30-April 1, adding the Diamond League, NFBC XII and Auction Championship to his weekend of fun. GREAT JOB last year KJ and best of luck in the hunt for all of these titles and the $100,000 grand prize again this year. See ya in Sin City.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Stephen Jupinka of Waldwick, New Jersey won the $100,000 grand prize in 2010 and will be back again with the NFBC in full force again in 2012. With Steve and Lindy back, we now have our overall champions from each of the past three years on the signup list. Steve tried to defend his Main Event title last year, but came up a little short at his Quahogs team finished second in Las Vegas League 3 with 115.0 points, while finishing 24th overall with 2,873.0 points. Steve is still our Lifetime Standings leader in the Main Event since 2004, averaging about 39th overall for all of his Main Event teams each time. He also competed in the Atlantic City Main Event 2 and finished 5th with 95.5 points (112th overall). Although it wasn't his best NFBC season, Steve still cashed in 5 of 10 leagues last year. He won his March 29th Online Championship league with 106 points and finished 5th overall in that contest with 6,818.0 points. He also won the $375 Slow Draft League 3 with 132 points and finished third in the $1,000 Slow Draft league with 103 points. His Las Vegas Live Double Play March 25 team also finished second with 86.5 points. Steve will now return to compete in the Main Event and NFBC XII in Mahwah, New Jersey on the first weekend and the Main Event and Diamond League in Las Vegas at the Bellagio on the second weekend. He's among our toughest competitors and one of our best champions and I can say we're glad to have him back in full force. Best of luck Steve in the hunt for all of these league titles and the $100,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Let's welcome another NFBC Charter Member back to the Main Event in 2012 as Lenny Diveglio of Medford, New York will be back for both Mains Online. He's our first official signup for the Main Event Online on March 24th and March 31st. Last year, Lenny finished 5th in Online 3 of the First Weekend with 88 points, placing 151st overall with 2,133.5 points, while his baseball savant 2 finished 8th in Online 1 of the Second Weekend with 74.5 points (214th overall). Welcome back for a 9th straight season Lenny and best of luck in the hunt for both titles and the $100,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Our first official signup for the Chicago Main Event -- which will be held at the beautiful and convenient Hyatt O'Hare on Saturday, March 31 -- is none other than Max Ogden of Neenah, Wisconsin. My fellow Cheesehead limited his fun to three Slow Drafts last year, but one of them gave him enough money to get back into the 2012 Main Event. He led his Winston's Empire to a third place finish in $375 Slow Draft 1 with 97.5 points to win $1,400, while finishing 9th in $375 Slow Draft 2 (83 points) and 9th in the $1,000 Slow Draft (76 points). Good job Max and best of luck in the hunt for your league title and the $100,000 grand prize, and WELCOME BACK.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Let's stay in the Windy City and welcome another NFBC veteran to the Main Event on Saturday, March 31st. Eric David of Boca Raton, Florida competed in New York last year, but the Big Apple League 2 didn't treat his Wahoo Blue team very nicely as it finished 11th with 62.5 points. Eric is heading to Chicago this year, where the wind is stronger and so will his Wahoo Blue team!! Eric will also be competing in the debut NFBC XII league in Chicago, with a shot at that $50,000 grand prize. Welcome back Eric and best of luck in the hunt for both league prizes and the $150,000 in grand prizes.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Let's welcome back NFBC veteran Jeremy Wilck of Dublin, Ohio to the Main Event as he also will be drafting at the Hyatt O'Hare in Chicago on Saturday, March 31st. Jeremy wants to join us in Las Vegas one day, but for now the schedule works best for Chicago. Last year, The Icon finished 10th in Chicago League 2, while placing 223rd overall with 1,826.0 points. Welcome back Jeremy and best of luck in the hunt for this year's $5,600 league prize and the $100,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

We're glad to welcome our newest member to the NFBC's Main Event today as Roger Martin of Sarasota, Florida will be joining us at the Bellagio Las Vegas on Saturday, March 31st. Roger came to Las Vegas last year to compete in the Live Double Play and led his team to a 3rd place finish in the March 25th, 5 pm league with 77.0 points, placing 47th overall with 1,465.6 points. He also competed in Slow Drafts and has a full slate of NFFC teams with us, but we're glad to have him in the Main Event this year. Welcome Roger and best of luck in the hunt for this year's $5,600 league prize and the $100,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Let's keep the Welcome Wagon rolling by introducing our next Main Event participant. It's none other than Mike Massotto of Caldwell, New Jersey, who is jumping into both Main Events and both NFBC XII's on the weekends of March 23-25 in Mahwah, New Jersey and March 30-April 1 in New York City. They might call him Mikey the Mouth, but they love him at the live drafts!! Last year Mike won one league title in the $1,000 Slow Draft League, finishing with 116 points. The Baseball Furies also finished second in Atlantic City 1 of the Main Event with 113.5 points, while placing 44th overall with 2,745.5 points. Baseball Furies also finished second in the $150 Slow Draft 2 with 104 points (62nd overall). Welcome back Mike and thanks for all your help with the Mahwah Sheraton. Oh, and best of luck for the league titles and the $150,000 in grand prizes.

[Greg Ambrosius]

I'm not sure there's anyone more excited about the upcoming baseball season than Jon Stadtmueller of Little Rock, Arkansas. Jon didn't play fantasy football this year and is ALL IN for baseball once again this year. He's going to be joining us in Las Vegas on the second weekend for the Main Event, Auction Championship, Ultimate Auction League and Mixed Auction League. I probably missed something, but Jon will let me know. Anyway, we're glad to have him back and we wish him best of luck in the hunt for all of those league titles and the $100,000 grand prize. Last year, Jon led The Mudhens to a second place finish in the St. Louis Main Event with 106.5 points, placing 60th overall with 2,639.5 points. Mudhens also finished third in the Las Vegas March 27 Auction Championship with 99.5 points. Welcome back Jon and good luck.

[Greg Ambrosius]

If I do this right I should be able to announce new signups as they come in each day, as long as I don't get behind. So now that I'm pretty much caught up, I'll introduce our newest signup just minutes after he committed to the NFBC in 2012. Let's give it up for NFBC veteran Brian Oakchunas of Alameda, California as he will be back in the NFBC Main Event again at the Bellagio Las Vegas on Saturday, March 31st. Brian returns after a solid 2011 season in which he finished second in Las Vegas 2 with 115 points, placing 22nd overall with 2,918.0 points. Congrats on a job well done Brian and best of luck in the hunt for this year's $5,600 league prize and $100,000 grand prize.

[Baseball Furies]

Let's keep the Welcome Wagon rolling by introducing our next Main Event participant. It's none other than Mike Massotto of Caldwell, New Jersey, who is jumping into both Main Events and both NFBC XII's on the weekends of March 23-25 in Mahwah, New Jersey and March 30-April 1 in New York City. They might call him Mikey the Mouth, but they love him at the live drafts!! Last year Mike won one league title in the $1,000 Slow Draft League, finishing with 116 points. The Baseball Furies also finished second in Atlantic City 1 of the Main Event with 113.5 points, while placing 44th overall with 2,745.5 points. Baseball Furies also finished second in the $150 Slow Draft 2 with 104 points (62nd overall). Welcome back Mike and thanks for all your help with the Mahwah Sheraton. Oh, and best of luck for the league titles and the $150,000 in grand prizes.

Great stuff, Greg. Love these. Great that you personally acknowledge all of the competitors like this. I enjoy reading about the competition...as feeble as it may be Looking forward to winning several league titles this year. Lindy, Steve, and Mikey the Mouth...has a nice ring to it! And it was my pleasure to help you guys out with Mahwah.

[Greg Ambrosius]

We are returning to St. Louis on the first weekend of drafts, hosting them again at the Pujols 5 Restaurant where Pujols memorabilia and World Series Cardinals apparel will be EVERYWHERE!!! Plus there are reports that NCAA Sweet Sixteen games will be held that weekend in St. Louis. This should be a LOT of fun there. Our first official signup for St. Louis is Darik Buchar of Lakeville, Minnesota, who drafted there last year and is happy we are returning again. Darik led his Glove Ju!ce team to an 8th place finish in St. Louis 1 with 73.5 points, placing 222nd overall with 1,826.5 points. Welcome back Darik and best of luck in the hunt for the $5,600 league prize and the $100,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Let's keep the Welcome Wagon rolling today with more signups. We're glad to welcome back another NFBC veteran to the New York Main Event on Saturday, March 31st as Erik Sudigala of Saratoga Springs, New York will be back for the big dance. Erik led his Mr. October team to an 8th place finish in New York 4 with 82 points, placing 178th overall with 1,984.5 points. Welcome back Erik and best of luck in the hunt for the $5,600 league prize and the $100,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Let's keep the momentum going in Mahwah for that first weekend of East Coast events as Joe Anthony of Clayton, North Carolina is on board for the Main Event and the NFBC XII Championship on Saturday, March 24th. Joe competed twice in the Main Event last year, leading his HARRY CRUMB team in New York 5 for a third place tie with 112 points while finishing 49th overall with 2,716.5 points. Poorly Played Mauer struggled in Atlantic City 1 to a 7th place finish with 78 points (231st overall) thanks I have a feeling to Joe Mauer's bad season!! Welcome back Joe and best of luck in the hunt for the league titles and the $150,000 in grand prizes.

[Greg Ambrosius]

We are glad to welcome back our defending NFBC Auction Championship winners as the tag team of Richard Gordon of Las Vegas, Nevada and Charles Levitz will be returning to the Bellagio Las Vegas on Friday, March 30th at 9 am and 4 pm. They are also entering the Ultimate Auction League on Sunday, April 1st as we now have 9 teams entered for that great event. Richard and Charles finished 2nd overall in our debut NFBC Auction Championship in 2010, losing to Jeff Dobies by just one-half point. But in 2011, Richard and Charles won the $15,000 grand prize with 1,149.5 points, edging Lindy Hinkelman for the overall title. GORDON/LEVITZ3 won the Las Vegas March 25 4 pm league with 130 points enroute to the overall title. CONGRATS guys and best of luck this year in the hunt for the league auction titles and the $15,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

John Bosch of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina has kicked off our first weekend live events in Las Vegas by signing up for our Main Event, Auction Championship and NFBC XII. John is taking the 3-Pack and looking to have some fun in Sin City!! He won one NFBC league titles in four tries last year, winning his Online Championship league with 94 points and finishing 28th overall out of 780 teams with 6,118.5 points. Nice job John. However, his Stud Depot Auction league finished 6th with 88 points and his Auction League team finished 9th with 67 points. Welcome back John and best of luck in the hunt for all three league titles and the $165,000 in grand prizes.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Also returning in 2012 with an NFBC 3-Pack is Dan Semsel of Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio as he's coming to the Bellagio Las Vegas on the weekend of March 30-April 1. Dan is a longtime NFBC veteran who will be back for the Main Event, Auction Championship and NFBC XII. Nice. Last year he led Madcow and Bama to a third place finish in Las Vegas 3 of the Main Event with 88 points, finishing 118th overall with 2,302.5 points. Now he wants a Main Event league title and a few more. Welcome back Dan and best of luck in the hunt for all three league titles and the $165,000 in grand prizes.

[Greg Ambrosius]

We're glad to welcome back a 7-year NFBC veteran to the NFBC in 2012 as Jason Duponte of Waltham, New Jersey will be back in New York City on March 30-31 for two Auction Championships and the Main Event. Eric competed in four live events last year and cashed in all of them, battling for the Auction and Main Event overall titles. Jason and his partner Eric led their NY Auction Championship 10 am team to a league title with 123.5 points, while finishing 6th overall with 1,027.0 points. Eric's Liver also finished 3rd in the New York $1,300 Auction Championship with 99.5 points, while finishing 31st in the overall competition with 831.5 points. In the Main Event, Eric's Liver finished 2nd in First Weekend Online 3 with 127 points, finishing 9th overall with 3,104.5 points, while Eric's Liver also finished 3rd in New York 1 with 109.5 points and 56th overall (2,676.5 points). Great job last year guys and best of luck in the hunt for this year's league titles and the $115,000 in grand prizes.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Joe Thelen of Garden City, New Jersey is going to get our Super League signups rolling today by agreeing to play in the Sunday, March 25, 1 pm ET Super and the 7 pm ET Super that same day. Now that's one helluva doubleheader. Joe battled through health problems just before Draft Day and came through to lead his Showtime team to a second place finish in the March 26th Super League with 109 points. He wants a title now...in fact, two of them!! Welcome back Joe and best of luck in the hunt for this year's $20,000 league prizes.

[Greg Ambrosius]

We have a good group of owners in New York City who like to compete in the NFBC Auction Championship with a little extra dough on the line for the league prizes. So we have a $1,300 Auction Championship set aside on Friday, March 30th at 5 pm ET for them and will likely fill that again. Back again this year is Michael Lins of Hillsborough, New Jersey. Michael's team finished 14th last year with 60 points, but have no fear he's back and ready to roll. Welcome back Michael and best of luck in the hunt for the league title and the $15,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

It's great to welcome back another defending league champ to the 2012 NFBC as Michael Leone of Buffalo, New York will be back to defend his Main Event league title. Michael is an NFBC veteran who won his Online Weekend 1 Main Event with 120.5 points, with Team Gracie finishing 19th overall with 2,967.0 points. Team Leone also competed in the Main Event Second Weekend and finished fourth in League 2 with 93.5 points, this time finishing 110th overall with 2,353.5 points. Michael is coming back in 2012 with an entry in the First Weekend Online Main Event and then heading to New York City on March 31 to compete in the Main Event and the debut NFBC XII. Congrats Michael on last year's title and best of luck in the hunt for this year's league titles and the $150,000 in grand prizes.

[Greg Ambrosius]

The head patriarch of the Kleemann household is officially in the NFBC house today as George called today to secure two spots in the Main Event. George has been a Charter Member of the NFBC and NFFC since 2004 as he was one of our last signups that first year and then finished second in his Main Event league. He's been hooked ever since and has even recruited his wife and sons to play each year. George will be back for the Online First Weekend Main Event and will be in Chicago on the Second Weekend for the Main Event. His Goofy Online First Weekend team finished 10th last year, while Craby in Las Vegas 6 finished 12th. Get those teams back in the money George, like it was in 2004!! Welcome back my friend and best of luck in the hunt for both league titles and the $100,000 grand prize.

[Winston's Empire]

I for one look forward to meeting George in Chicago! We will be in a minimum of 3 leagues together this year and most likely more between other slow drafts and if we sit at the same table in Chicago!
Plus to top it off I think George is also a Cubs Fan!? Always good company those cubs fans!

[Greg Ambrosius]

While we wait for the Slow Draft software and Registration to go live, we might as well get to know our early registrants. Let's welcome back another defending Main Event league champion as Dave Potts of Auburn, Alabama will be back in Las Vegas on the second weekend for a full slate of events. Dave is back for the Main Event, the Ultimate Auction League, the $1,300 AL Auction League and the $1,300 NL Auction League. He may even join me on the first weekend in Las Vegas again. Last year Dave led his Low Talkers to the league title in Las Vegas League 3 of the 1st weekend, finishing with 125 points and placing 11th overall with 3,051.0 points. Nice job Dave. He just missed a money finish in the Ultimate Auction League last year as his Vandelay Industries placed fourth with 88 points. Dave is back for both $1,300 single league auctions as he loves those formats and he's hoping to improve in the AL (5th last year with 69 points) and the NL (8th last year with 71 points). Welcome back Dave and best of luck in the hunt for all of these league prizes and the $100,000 grand prize.