Live Chat With Greg & Tom: Thursday at 3 p.m. EST

[ALL-IN JD]

Greg,

As far as NFBC XII goes, is there a drop dead number of signups that you have to have in order to guarantee to the prize pool? Thanks.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Greg,

As far as NFBC XII goes, is there a drop dead number of signups that you have to have in order to guarantee to the prize pool? Thanks.

Even if we hit 180 that's $180,000 in revenue and $164,000 in prizes, so let's keep pushing. Obviously that's before live event costs, facilitators, etc., but you can see that we can hit a fair number and really give you guys great ROI. I don't want to do anything but make this work and grow this 12-team Main Event. Everyone who has doubled up with the Main Event and the NFBC XII is setting themselves up for a possible $75,000 cash bonus. When the numbers looked too low last year we filled up Online drafts like crazy in late March. I think the same thing can happen here, but we need commitments. I'm willing to commit to a good number, but we need help. We don't need someone just cancelling two entries because of what I said like that person just did. That doesn't help. If you want me to be honest, then stay with us.

Make sense?

[Outlaw]

Greg,

As far as NFBC XII goes, is there a drop dead number of signups that you have to have in order to guarantee to the prize pool? Thanks.

Even if we hit 180 that's $180,000 in revenue and $164,000 in prizes, so let's keep pushing. Obviously that's before live event costs, facilitators, etc., but you can see that we can hit a fair number and really give you guys great ROI. I don't want to do anything but make this work and grow this 12-team Main Event. Everyone who has doubled up with the Main Event and the NFBC XII is setting themselves up for a possible $75,000 cash bonus. When the numbers looked too low last year we filled up Online drafts like crazy in late March. I think the same thing can happen here, but we need commitments. I'm willing to commit to a good number, but we need help. We don't need someone just cancelling two entries because of what I said like that person just did. That doesn't help. If you want me to be honest, then stay with us.

Make sense?

I'm in for one and will consider one. Only way I back out is if you cancel it. I love 12 team format!!!!

[Glenneration X]

Greg, sorry to break up the great fantasy related questions, but I have one on the contests, the NFBC XII specifically.

The Main Event, the Slow Drafts, the Auction Championships, the Premium Leagues all seem to be selling like hotcakes and have already or seem assured to sell out or better. The XII seems to be lagging behind a bit.

Are your expectations for that specific contest the same as when you started? Do you still expect to sell out?

I'm considering grabbing a 2nd team. However, I'd like to know that the prize structure will remain as is if I do. Is there any chance at this point that the prize structure gets reduced?

Okay, let me address this one:

The NFBC XII is a new event that needs to be communicated better by me and Tom. I'll take the blame here. I got an email yesterday from someone who competed in the Live Double Play last year and he wondered which event is replacing the Live Double Play. He couldn't figure out where that event went. That's totally my fault for not better explaining our concept.

The Live Double Play had 252 teams in it last year at $525 each, yet it wasn't profitable or smart to run it at that level. You can't run $500 live events with food, beverage, space and make money in live events. You just can't. We love the 12-team live event concept, we love adding another level of a national contest that you guys can compete in while you're at a live venue and we love the idea of hosting the only 12-team national contest. But maybe there's resistance at $1,000 per team and only a $50,000 grand prize. I don't know what it is. Still, we need to get these numbers up if we're going to succeed with the plan I put out there. And we need to do that soon.

I am going to personally email everyone tomorrow who competed in last year's NFBC Live Double Play with our plans for 2012 involving the NFBC XII and the Online Championship. Last year it was very confusing to have two pools of teams being combined into one. The NFBC Online Championship had 780 teams competing for $50,000. Now we are limiting the Online Championship to 600 teams for $50,000 and having ANOTHER $50,000 grand prize for 300 teams. We want these separate 12-team championships and we believe there is a strong market for the 12-team contest, but we obviously aren't providing something good enough to reach 300 teams yet.

Still, we have 90+ NFBC owners taking teams in both contests. I just love the idea of a baseball Main Event Doubleheader, like we have in football. We have several more like yourself who say they are going to take another NFBC XII team, but just aren't ready yet. We have 127 teams signed up for the NFBC XII right now. Do I think we can get to 300? Probably not. But we can still have a productive year at 240 teams and 20 leagues, and keep the prizes intact.

Now, that being said, we're not in the business of running contests that lose money. If we're not close to 240, we have to evaluate the situation and honestly present the facts to our customers and make some tough decisions. It's no different than we've done in the past. We have $74,250 in overall prizes that we need to cover, plus $6,000 per league. There's no funny math here. This is a contest that could have the best return on investment even if we don't sell out, but if we're not close then we will present a plan to all who have signed up and ask you to sign off on it or move to a different contest. No money will be taken before that decision is made.

As I just said, we are not hitting any credit cards for the NFBC XII until we know for sure what the final verdict is. We hope that you folks will support this contest and see the great value here and jump in. We already have the insurance policy for the $75,000 cash bonus for winning the Main Event and the NFBC XII, so the contest definitely is going forward. But I will be honest with you and say we will evaluate the prize structure if we don't improve on our numbers in the next two weeks. Again, feel free to sign up for that 2nd team and we won't charge you until we know for sure that nothing is changing.

I want the 12-team concept to make it so badly, and more than just our Online Championship. I have great hope for that one to reach record levels this year, especially once our Countdown Page is more visible and complete. But it would be a great disappointment if the NFBC XII doesn't blossom. I'll contact everyone who played in the NFBC Live Double Play from last year and let you know if anyone wants to return. If many of them do, then we'll be headed in the right direction. If not, then we'll have to re-evaluate our initial plan and make adjustments. We'd have no choice. Just being straight, which is what you expected, I hope.

Thanks for asking.

Greg, I appreciate the honest answer. I'm sorry it led to someone dropping out of two registrations, but I'm sure you can understand someone not wanting to commit to a contest and prize structure when the prize structure may change. I'll admit that's the reason for my original question.

However, I read elsewhere that you may guarantee the prize structure at 180 teams, did I read correctly? If that's accurate, I'll go the other way and bet that others will see the potential ROI and get us there and beyond. Let me know if that's the case and I'll start looking at dates and grab that second team today. I hope that'll help get you and us there.

[edelman24]

Greg,
I see that you keep saying you are going to have a counter to show how many openings are for each league on the sign up page. When can we expect to see that? Also the more important question will there be sit and go type Online championships each night for the person who wants to draft right now or will you be sticking with your scheduled draft times? I think this would be highly successful and explode the online drafts even more.
Thanks,
Mike

[Greg Ambrosius]

Greg,
I see that you keep saying you are going to have a counter to show how many openings are for each league on the sign up page. When can we expect to see that? Also the more important question will there be sit and go type Online championships each night for the person who wants to draft right now or will you be sticking with your scheduled draft times? I think this would be highly successful and explode the online drafts even more.
Thanks,
Mike

The Countdown is listed under Home, but the guys are still working on the tabs and the overall event listings. So there will be a listing that shows how many spots are left in the Main Event and then you'll click on the Main Event tab and each city's listings will pull down with exact numbers. We hope to have that done very soon, but you can see the initial look of the page under Home, Countdown.

The counters will be there for every Online Championship listing as well as every NFBC XII listing (and satellites too). You can see those now under the Countdown link. We can fill these up to 4 hours before draft time, run the KDS, set up the league and run these. So sure, we'll fill these up as we go if demand warrants it. As you can see on the Registration page, we have dozens and dozens of times and dates, so if we fill every one we'll get to our goals. If we do more than one per night, even better for everyone!! So to answer your question, yeah, we will have the Countdown done shortly to better show you how many spots are available in every contest and the Onlines will be open as long as we possibly can to fill up as many leagues as demand warrants. It's all being set up that way for NFBC and NFFC. Good news.

[Money]

Greg,

As far as the IT priorities when it come to things we can see, where do these things fall in the pecking order?

1) With the popularity of the slow drafts, has the alphabetical listing of the reserve players been elevated for the IT group?

2) Live scoring for the slow drafts? Improved?

Because I ask unpopular questions, to make it up to you, I'm going straight from this post to sign up for a second NFBC XII.

I actually think you'll make your original goals for that format.

Thanks.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Greg,

As far as the IT priorities when it come to things we can see, where do these things fall in the pecking order?

1) With the popularity of the slow drafts, has the alphabetical listing of the reserve players been elevated for the IT group?

2) Live scoring for the slow drafts? Improved?

Because I ask unpopular questions, to make it up to you, I'm going straight from this post to sign up for a second NFBC XII.

I actually think you'll make your original goals for that format.

Thanks.

Sorry Joe, busy day. I should have answered this one first thing like I had planned before getting to the office this morning. I got buried with all of the signups.

1. No, this isn't Priority 1. I know this looks jumbled on your team pages now, but we're really not setting starting lineups yet. Let's get the Countdown Page live and some other tools we need for partial payments, draft software, etc. first. But we do have this on our To-Do list.

2. Live Scoring is tied in for EVERY contest. I don't see a problem here as we discussed this previously. You let me know when you see something there that needs improving. Let the games begin!!

[Greg Ambrosius]

Greg,
I see that you keep saying you are going to have a counter to show how many openings are for each league on the sign up page. When can we expect to see that? Also the more important question will there be sit and go type Online championships each night for the person who wants to draft right now or will you be sticking with your scheduled draft times? I think this would be highly successful and explode the online drafts even more.
Thanks,
Mike

I saw the Countdown Page today. Looks better and we're close. We just had some overall number changes we had to make and then we'll be there. This will be a fun page to follow and you'll have access to it from every contest page. Everyone looking to sign up for any individual contest will see these counters easily. This will be a big selling tool for the Online Championship Leagues, no doubt.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Greg, sorry to break up the great fantasy related questions, but I have one on the contests, the NFBC XII specifically.

The Main Event, the Slow Drafts, the Auction Championships, the Premium Leagues all seem to be selling like hotcakes and have already or seem assured to sell out or better. The XII seems to be lagging behind a bit.

Are your expectations for that specific contest the same as when you started? Do you still expect to sell out?

I'm considering grabbing a 2nd team. However, I'd like to know that the prize structure will remain as is if I do. Is there any chance at this point that the prize structure gets reduced?

Okay, let me address this one:

The NFBC XII is a new event that needs to be communicated better by me and Tom. I'll take the blame here. I got an email yesterday from someone who competed in the Live Double Play last year and he wondered which event is replacing the Live Double Play. He couldn't figure out where that event went. That's totally my fault for not better explaining our concept.

The Live Double Play had 252 teams in it last year at $525 each, yet it wasn't profitable or smart to run it at that level. You can't run $500 live events with food, beverage, space and make money in live events. You just can't. We love the 12-team live event concept, we love adding another level of a national contest that you guys can compete in while you're at a live venue and we love the idea of hosting the only 12-team national contest. But maybe there's resistance at $1,000 per team and only a $50,000 grand prize. I don't know what it is. Still, we need to get these numbers up if we're going to succeed with the plan I put out there. And we need to do that soon.

I am going to personally email everyone tomorrow who competed in last year's NFBC Live Double Play with our plans for 2012 involving the NFBC XII and the Online Championship. Last year it was very confusing to have two pools of teams being combined into one. The NFBC Online Championship had 780 teams competing for $50,000. Now we are limiting the Online Championship to 600 teams for $50,000 and having ANOTHER $50,000 grand prize for 300 teams. We want these separate 12-team championships and we believe there is a strong market for the 12-team contest, but we obviously aren't providing something good enough to reach 300 teams yet.

Still, we have 90+ NFBC owners taking teams in both contests. I just love the idea of a baseball Main Event Doubleheader, like we have in football. We have several more like yourself who say they are going to take another NFBC XII team, but just aren't ready yet. We have 127 teams signed up for the NFBC XII right now. Do I think we can get to 300? Probably not. But we can still have a productive year at 240 teams and 20 leagues, and keep the prizes intact.

Now, that being said, we're not in the business of running contests that lose money. If we're not close to 240, we have to evaluate the situation and honestly present the facts to our customers and make some tough decisions. It's no different than we've done in the past. We have $74,250 in overall prizes that we need to cover, plus $6,000 per league. There's no funny math here. This is a contest that could have the best return on investment even if we don't sell out, but if we're not close then we will present a plan to all who have signed up and ask you to sign off on it or move to a different contest. No money will be taken before that decision is made.

As I just said, we are not hitting any credit cards for the NFBC XII until we know for sure what the final verdict is. We hope that you folks will support this contest and see the great value here and jump in. We already have the insurance policy for the $75,000 cash bonus for winning the Main Event and the NFBC XII, so the contest definitely is going forward. But I will be honest with you and say we will evaluate the prize structure if we don't improve on our numbers in the next two weeks. Again, feel free to sign up for that 2nd team and we won't charge you until we know for sure that nothing is changing.

I want the 12-team concept to make it so badly, and more than just our Online Championship. I have great hope for that one to reach record levels this year, especially once our Countdown Page is more visible and complete. But it would be a great disappointment if the NFBC XII doesn't blossom. I'll contact everyone who played in the NFBC Live Double Play from last year and let you know if anyone wants to return. If many of them do, then we'll be headed in the right direction. If not, then we'll have to re-evaluate our initial plan and make adjustments. We'd have no choice. Just being straight, which is what you expected, I hope.

Thanks for asking.

Greg, I appreciate the honest answer. I'm sorry it led to someone dropping out of two registrations, but I'm sure you can understand someone not wanting to commit to a contest and prize structure when the prize structure may change. I'll admit that's the reason for my original question.

However, I read elsewhere that you may guarantee the prize structure at 180 teams, did I read correctly? If that's accurate, I'll go the other way and bet that others will see the potential ROI and get us there and beyond. Let me know if that's the case and I'll start looking at dates and grab that second team today. I hope that'll help get you and us there.

It's cool Glenn. Honesty is always the best policy and then you let folks make their own decisions. Here, you just wanted to know the plan and I told you; we need to grow this together or make hard decisions together. Fair enough. No BS.

Plus we added 6 new NFBC XII teams in the last day, so obviously we have more supporters of the 12-Team Main Event than defectors!! We're at 130 teams now and it's a good start. We can get to a good level with continued support. Again, there is no way we are going to charge for the NFBC XII until we know for sure, so there's no risk in signing up and supporting this event. Let's fill up these early draft dates and grow from there.

We need to get to 140 before we get to 150 and then to 160 before we get to 180. I think if we get to 180 we get to 240. We saw that last year when you guys saw the great ROI on the Live Double Play (which also was budgeted for 300 and we guaranteed it after 180. We finished with 252). Everyone loves a good ROI and this one is definitely going to give it. But if we keep moving like today, all will be good. I really believe these last week Live NFBC XII drafts will fill big-time as folks see the best ROI in this space.

I feel better today about our prospects, but we still have a lot of work to do. I can say yes to 180, but we need to get to that level first before even saying that much. I'm sure you understand.

[Greg Ambrosius]

I didn't know where else to post this, but it's an interesting update on Justin Morneau:

http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/140383963.html

[Glenneration X]

Okay, let me address this one:

The NFBC XII is a new event that needs to be communicated better by me and Tom. I'll take the blame here. I got an email yesterday from someone who competed in the Live Double Play last year and he wondered which event is replacing the Live Double Play. He couldn't figure out where that event went. That's totally my fault for not better explaining our concept.

The Live Double Play had 252 teams in it last year at $525 each, yet it wasn't profitable or smart to run it at that level. You can't run $500 live events with food, beverage, space and make money in live events. You just can't. We love the 12-team live event concept, we love adding another level of a national contest that you guys can compete in while you're at a live venue and we love the idea of hosting the only 12-team national contest. But maybe there's resistance at $1,000 per team and only a $50,000 grand prize. I don't know what it is. Still, we need to get these numbers up if we're going to succeed with the plan I put out there. And we need to do that soon.

I am going to personally email everyone tomorrow who competed in last year's NFBC Live Double Play with our plans for 2012 involving the NFBC XII and the Online Championship. Last year it was very confusing to have two pools of teams being combined into one. The NFBC Online Championship had 780 teams competing for $50,000. Now we are limiting the Online Championship to 600 teams for $50,000 and having ANOTHER $50,000 grand prize for 300 teams. We want these separate 12-team championships and we believe there is a strong market for the 12-team contest, but we obviously aren't providing something good enough to reach 300 teams yet.

Still, we have 90+ NFBC owners taking teams in both contests. I just love the idea of a baseball Main Event Doubleheader, like we have in football. We have several more like yourself who say they are going to take another NFBC XII team, but just aren't ready yet. We have 127 teams signed up for the NFBC XII right now. Do I think we can get to 300? Probably not. But we can still have a productive year at 240 teams and 20 leagues, and keep the prizes intact.

Now, that being said, we're not in the business of running contests that lose money. If we're not close to 240, we have to evaluate the situation and honestly present the facts to our customers and make some tough decisions. It's no different than we've done in the past. We have $74,250 in overall prizes that we need to cover, plus $6,000 per league. There's no funny math here. This is a contest that could have the best return on investment even if we don't sell out, but if we're not close then we will present a plan to all who have signed up and ask you to sign off on it or move to a different contest. No money will be taken before that decision is made.

As I just said, we are not hitting any credit cards for the NFBC XII until we know for sure what the final verdict is. We hope that you folks will support this contest and see the great value here and jump in. We already have the insurance policy for the $75,000 cash bonus for winning the Main Event and the NFBC XII, so the contest definitely is going forward. But I will be honest with you and say we will evaluate the prize structure if we don't improve on our numbers in the next two weeks. Again, feel free to sign up for that 2nd team and we won't charge you until we know for sure that nothing is changing.

I want the 12-team concept to make it so badly, and more than just our Online Championship. I have great hope for that one to reach record levels this year, especially once our Countdown Page is more visible and complete. But it would be a great disappointment if the NFBC XII doesn't blossom. I'll contact everyone who played in the NFBC Live Double Play from last year and let you know if anyone wants to return. If many of them do, then we'll be headed in the right direction. If not, then we'll have to re-evaluate our initial plan and make adjustments. We'd have no choice. Just being straight, which is what you expected, I hope.

Thanks for asking.

Greg, I appreciate the honest answer. I'm sorry it led to someone dropping out of two registrations, but I'm sure you can understand someone not wanting to commit to a contest and prize structure when the prize structure may change. I'll admit that's the reason for my original question.

However, I read elsewhere that you may guarantee the prize structure at 180 teams, did I read correctly? If that's accurate, I'll go the other way and bet that others will see the potential ROI and get us there and beyond. Let me know if that's the case and I'll start looking at dates and grab that second team today. I hope that'll help get you and us there.

It's cool Glenn. Honesty is always the best policy and then you let folks make their own decisions. Here, you just wanted to know the plan and I told you; we need to grow this together or make hard decisions together. Fair enough. No BS.

Plus we added 6 new NFBC XII teams in the last day, so obviously we have more supporters of the 12-Team Main Event than defectors!! We're at 130 teams now and it's a good start. We can get to a good level with continued support. Again, there is no way we are going to charge for the NFBC XII until we know for sure, so there's no risk in signing up and supporting this event. Let's fill up these early draft dates and grow from there.

We need to get to 140 before we get to 150 and then to 160 before we get to 180. I think if we get to 180 we get to 240. We saw that last year when you guys saw the great ROI on the Live Double Play (which also was budgeted for 300 and we guaranteed it after 180. We finished with 252). Everyone loves a good ROI and this one is definitely going to give it. But if we keep moving like today, all will be good. I really believe these last week Live NFBC XII drafts will fill big-time as folks see the best ROI in this space.

I feel better today about our prospects, but we still have a lot of work to do. I can say yes to 180, but we need to get to that level first before even saying that much. I'm sure you understand.

No problem Greg and again thanks for the honest answer. I'll be grabbing one more team this weekend, so look for it. I'm on board in helping you get to where you need to be. Just one question. I'm thinking of grabbing another team that Friday of the 2nd weekend. I already registered for one at 4pm. I see there's one at 1pm. Do you recall how long the live 12-teamers ran last year? 3 hours enough of a spread if I wanted to draft back to back?

[76erfan]

hey glenn....rule of thumb for 12 team leagues is an hour per 10 rounds roughly.......and then the two 15 minute breaks so its roughly 3.5 hours for live in person. I would think online would be shorter if breaks are shorter

[Greg Ambrosius]

Thanks Glenn. As you can see, Chad has three in a row planned. Last year, we were getting them done in 3 hours in Las Vegas. I think we can reach that level again this year. If you plan it, we'll make it happen, just like I told Chad. Thanks man for all your support.

[King of Queens]

As you can see, Chad has three in a row planned.

Eyes.jpg (5.48 KiB) Viewed 4788 times

[ALL-IN JD]

Holy cow, a Glenn Shroeter sighting!! How are you big fella?

[King of Queens]

Holy cow, a Glenn Shroeter sighting!! How are you big fella?

Doing well, Jeff. Making my way back from Jamaica at this very moment.

I believe this fully sums up my baseball preparation to this point:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxMd93aCvd0

Looking forward to catching up with MANY of you over the next few weeks.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Since Thursday night, we've started four NFBC Slow Drafts and Braun has gone 4th, 3rd, 9th and 9th. Interesting that he is still falling out of the Top 5 in some drafts. It's obvious that some people believe the weight of the off-season -- which he readily admitted has drained him -- may affect his 2012 numbers. It will be fun to watch where he continues to go during these online drafts and then where he goes in the Main Events. What an interesting year it's going to be on so many fronts. Good luck all.