Who's Coming To The 2012 NFBC And Where?

[Greg Ambrosius]

We have 340+ signups for the NFBC Main Event as we welcome yet another first-time member to our growing NFBC family. Let's give it up for Bill Miller of Baltimore, Maryland as he will be joining us for the NFBC Main Event Online on Saturday, March 31st at 1 p.m. EST. This is Bill's first venture in our national contest, but we're more than glad to have him on board. Welcome aboard Bill and best of luck in the hunt for this year's $5,600 league prize and the $100,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

We filled up the Friday, March 30th, 9 am Auction Championship League in Las Vegas this morning as Rick Talley of Baltimore, Maryland grabbed the last spot. We now have 15 owners for that early morning live auction. Great job all. Rick competed in the NFBC Main Event last year and will be returning to the Bellagio again this year for this auction league and maybe more. Glad to have you on board in this one Rick and we wish you best of luck in the hunt for the league prize and the $15,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

We now have ONLY 4 SPOTS LEFT for the Sunday, April 1st New York City Auction Championship at the New York Hilton. That one starts at 1 p.m. EST and we have 11 teams signed up now. Our newest entrant is a new member to the NFBC. Let's give it up for Jae and Laura Byun of New York City and let's wish them best of luck in the hunt for this league prize and the $15,000 grand prize. Thanks and welcome to the NFBC family Jae and Laura.

[Greg Ambrosius]

We now have ONLY 3 SPOTS LEFT for the Sunday, April 1st 1 pm ET New York Auction League as we welcome NFBC veteran Brian Feldman of New City, New York and his co-manager Matt Cederholm. Brian has competed in the New York Auction League with us in the past and he's even served as an NFBC auctioneer. Last year, Team Feldman finished 8th in the March 27th New York Auction League with 75 points. This year he's teaming up with BaseballHQ.com veteran writer Matt Cederholm, a person Brian has competed against for the last 15 years. Matt is from Massachusetts and writes about Rotisserie auction formats for BaseballHQ. Welcome aboard guys and best of luck in the hunt for this year's league prize and the $15,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Our next NFBC Main Event signup takes the cake on how he came to join in 2012. Matthew Foster of Hudson Falls, New York is in a league with 14 other guys and all of them read about the NFBC and wanted to compete in the Main Event. But nobody in the group had the entire $1,400 for an entry fee last year, so they created a home league NFBC-style $125 satellite league and agreed that whomever won the league title would represent the group the next year in the Main Event in Atlantic City. That owner would earn 50% of any future winnings and the 14 other owners would split the remaining 50%. So all 15 owners are invested in this league. INGENIOUS!!! However, we threw a monkey wrench in their plans when we didn't return to Atlantic City. That won't stop this group, however, as Matt said they are going to Atlantic City on March 24th to party as a league and then will draft in the Main Event Online on Saturday, March 31st. LOVE IT!! Thanks Matt and the entire league, 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 now one spot away from a second full league in Chicago for the Main Event as we welcome Michael Makula of Chicago, Illinois back to our signature event. Michael is claiming home field advantage as he will be joining us on Saturday, March 31st at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare. He is an NFBC veteran who has played a lot of online leagues with us, but he's returning to the Main Event and the live draft in Chicago with us this year. Welcome back Michael and best of luck in the hunt for this year's $5,600 league prize and the $100,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

We now have 4 full Main Event leagues in New York City as we welcome back NFBC Charter Member Cory Schwartz of Merrick, New York for his 9th straight big dance. Cory is a writer with MLB.com and he also appears on MLB Network for its daily Fantasy show. He has had good success in the past with us and has battled for the overall title several times. And as anyone who met Cory at the Arizona Fall League Symposium in November knows, he's as passionate about the NFBC as he is about anything else. It's great to have him back in the NFBC's Main Event along with his co-manager Mike Siano. Cory knows he has some work to do this year because last year his Schwartzstops finished 10th in New York 1 with 68.5 points and placed 240th overall with 1,746.0 points. I have a feeling he will return with a whole new winning strategy as we wish Cory best of luck in the hunt for this year's $5,600 league prize and the $100,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

We're working on our 9th Main Event league on the First Weekend as we welcome another new member to our growing NFBC family. Let's give it up for the tag team of Chris and Tom Killman of Long Beach, New York as they will be drafting in the Main Event Online on Saturday, March 24th. This is their first venture into the NFBC and we're glad to have them involved in our signature event. Welcome aboard guys 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 another new member to our growing NFBC community as Marc Ewanishan of Edmonton, Alberta has jumped into the Main Event Online on Saturday, March 31st. This is also Marc's first venture into our NFBC games and he jumped right into our signature event. Welcome aboard Marc and best of luck to you in the hunt for the $5,600 league prize and the $100,000 grand prize.

Wow, it's great to have so many new members in our Main Event this year. THANKS ALL!!

[Greg Ambrosius]

We continue to get a nice little push this weekend for the NFBC XII with several new entries over the last 24 hours. Let's welcome our newest entry, which just so happens to be for our newest first-time team in the NFBC. The tag team of Andrew Park of New York City and co-manager Jin Chun will be joining us at the New York Hilton on Sunday, April 1st at 1 p.m. EST for a spot in our debut NFBC XII. This is their first venture into the NFBC live events and we're glad they feel comfortable in our new 12-Team Main Event. We're also glad they've chosen to draft live in the Big Apple because there's nothing quite like the live event!! Welcome aboard guys and best of luck in the hunt for this year's $4,000 league prize and the $50,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Robert DeNofrio of Temecula, California is an NFBC veteran who has been drafting in the NFBC since 2005, usually joining us for the Main Event in Las Vegas. This year he is returning to the Bellagio Las Vegas on Sunday, April 1st but opting for a spot in our debut NFBC XII. I know Robert likes the 12-team format as last year he competed in the Las Vegas Live Double, so we're more than glad to have him opting for our 12-Team Main Event this year. Welcome back Robert and best of luck in the hunt for this year's $4,000 league prize and the $50,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

We begin our 5th Main Event League in New York City today with the return of veteran NFBC owner Robert Fitzgerald of Bethel, Connecticut. Robert competed in the Main Event for several years with us, but opted for satellite leagues last year. He competed in three satellite leagues last year, but is returning for the live draft on Saturday, March 31st at the New York Hilton. Welcome back Robert 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 today as we now have 350 Main Event signups. We're now working on our 24th Main Event league with a goal of 26 leagues. WOW!! Our latest returnee is NFBC veteran Carl Borgatti of Forest Hills, New York. Carl is taking the Main Event Doubleheader with the Classic Online on Saturday, March 31st and the NFBC XII Online on Friday, March 23rd. Nice. I'm really glad to see Carl back because he was one of the many players who didn't get paid his baseball prizes from a competing event and he thought that might prevent him from playing here this year. But he's back and I'm glad to see him bouncing back. Last year in the NFBC, Carl led Mr. Cee's Crew to a 5th place finish in the very tough New York League 2 with 102 points, while placing 79th overall with 2,534.5 points. He also knows how to handle the 12-team format as Mr. Cee's Crew won an Online Championship title and finished 26th out of 780 teams in the Online overall standings. Welcome back Carl and best of luck in the hunt for both league prizes, the $150,000 in grand prizes and the $75,000 cash bonus.

[Greg Ambrosius]

It's great to welcome another NFBC Charter Member back to the Main Event in 2012. We started the NFBC with 195 owners and as of last year we still had 60+ playing in the Main Event. Mark is one of them, having competed in Las Vegas that first year but having to draft Online the last few years because of his busy work schedule. The good Doctor is back to win "The Lindy" as he grabbed teams in the March 24th Main Event Online and an Online Championship team. Last year, his Appleton Hays team finished 10th in the First Weekend Main Event Online League 2 with 67.5 points, while placing 263rd overall with 1,647.0 points. Mark is a former league champ and we wish him better luck this year as he battles for the league prizes and the $150,000 in grand prizes.

[Greg Ambrosius]

There is no question that our Slow Draft Leagues have brought in more new participants to the NFBC than anything else we've ever done. I'm convinced that we have literally 200+ new participants in the NFBC Slow Draft Leagues among the 850+ teams currently competing in that Draft 'N Hold format. It's an amazing accomplishment. One of those first-time participants who has had a lot of fun in multiple Slow Draft Leagues is Jose Parapar of Davie, Florida, who now is taking this passion to the next level by competing in the NFBC Main Event Online on Saturday, March 31st. Great job Jose and I know you'll love this live event format just as well. Welcome aboard and best of luck in the hunt for this year's $5,600 league prize and the $100,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

When we started the NFBC XII, we felt there was an audience out there who wanted a 12-Team Main Event and our goal was to give our current players another national contest with a big grand prize while also luring in new players. We're starting to see the latter part now. We've added a few new players to our debut NFBC XII this weekend with our latest coming to the Windy City. Let's give it up for the team of Ryan Coghill of West Olive, Michigan and Rob Simon as they will be drafting at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Chicago on Saturday, March 31st at 6 pm CT. We now have 11 owners signed up for this one, leaving us with ONE SPOT LEFT for a full league. Welcome aboard guys and best of luck in the hunt for the $4,000 league prize and the $50,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

We now have 9 owners signed up for the Chicago Auction Championship on Friday, March 30th at 4 p.m. CST as we welcome two new owners this weekend. Vincent Escamilia of Chicago, Illinois joined the NFBC for the first time this year in the Slow Drafts and is having so much fun that he wants to do one live event this year. He's going to jump into the NFBC Auction Championship in Chicago and is looking forward to this event. Rob Barshop of Northlake, Illinois also jumped into that event today and will be joining us at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare. Rob competed in a few online drafts and won $1,400 in our $375 Slow Draft League last year. He's using those winnings to compete in the Auction Championship. Welcome aboard guys and best of luck in the hunt for the league prize and the $15,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

We now have ONLY 2 SPOTS LEFT in the Sunday, April 1st New York Auction League as we welcome back William Perry of Washington D.C. William has grabbed spots in the New York NFBC XII and Auction Championship after competing in all three live events last year. Welcome back William and best of luck in the hunt for this year's league prizes and the $65,000 in grand prizes.

[Greg Ambrosius]

We are working on our 5th Main Event in New York and our 24th Main Event overall as we welcome yet another NFBC veteran back to our signature event in 2012. Richard McCormick of Astoria, New York has been with us since 2005 and he's back again to draft at the New York Hilton on Saturday, March 31st in the Main Event. Last year, his Three Finger Brown team struggled to an 11th place finish in New York League 2 with 62.5 points, finishing 275th overall with 1,587.0 points. Welcome back Richard and best of luck in the hunt for this year's $5,600 league prize and the $100,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

It's great to welcome back another defending Main Event league champion to the 2012 event as we now have 25 of 26 league champs back to defend their titles. Amazing return rate there!! The tag team of Josh Jantas of Metuchen, New Jersey and Matt Pike have been with the NFBC since our debut season in 2004 and those Charter Members used to join me in Las Vegas before opting to remain in our New York drafts. They will be back to defend their title at the New York Hilton on Saturday, March 31st at 1 p.m. as we now have more than 350 Main Event teams. Josh and Matt had a memorable ride last year as they used a last week push to win the New York League 4 title with 107.5 points, while placing 40th overall with 2,760.5 points. That was a wild league with three teams within 2 points of each other and four teams with 100+ points. Nice win guys and best of luck in the hunt for this year's $5,600 league prize and the $100,000 grand prize.

350+ TEAMS NOW IN THE MAIN EVENT!! Great job all.

[Greg Ambrosius]

The NFBC XII has brought in another new team to the NFBC as we welcome first-time members Timothy Lilly of Dallas, Texas and his co-manager Wayne Roewer to our live events. Tim and Wayne will be joining us for our debut 12-Team Main Event at the Bellagio Las Vegas on Saturday, March 31st at 4 p.m. PT, their first venture into the NFBC. We're glad to have you guys on board and we wish you best of luck in the hunt for the $4,000 league prize and the $50,000 grand prize. Let's keep the signups rolling in the NFBC XII and make this a key part of every NFBC draft weekend going forward.

[Greg Ambrosius]

We're back to 14 Main Event entries in St. Louis on Saturday, March 24th as Mike Diedrich of Darien, Illinois has agreed to join us at the Hall of Fame Grill (formerly Pujols Grill) for our First Weekend Main Event. We lost one owner originally on the list for St. Louis over the weekend, but Mike's entry puts us back at 14 teams. ONE SPOT LEFT IN ST. LOUIS EVERYONE!! Mike was already signed up for the Main Event and Auction Championship in Chicago, so it's good to have him in for the Main Event Doubleheader this year. Welcome back Mike and best of luck in the hunt for both league prizes and the $100,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

We now have 96 owners who have teams in both Main Events and are in line for $225,000 in grand prizes, thanks to the $75,000 cash bonus. Let's welcome back Craig Katz of Sherman Oaks, California as he's returning for the Main Event Online on Saturday, March 24th and the NFBC XII Online on Tuesday, March 27th at 9 p.m. EST. Craig competed in our Main Event and Online Championship last year and he's again returning for the 15-team and 12-team formats. His STALLIONS finished 3rd in the March 30th Online Championship League 2, but the STALLIONS stumbled in Las Vegas 4 of the First Weekend Main Event. Welcome back Craig and best of luck in the hunt for both league prizes and the $150,000 in grand prizes.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Our NFBC XII has brought in another new team to the NFBC live event. Let's welcome the tag team of Gary and Greg Harness of Belford, New Jersey as they will be joining us in Mahwah, New Jersey for the NFBC XII. This is their first venture into any of our NFBC drafts and we're glad to have them with us at the Sheraton Mahwah on Sunday, March 25th. We have some work to do in Mahwah and in the NFBC XII, but I like the direction we're going over this last week. Lots of new teams coming into the competition thanks to the 12-Team Main Event. Welcome aboard guys and best of luck in the hunt for this year's $4,000 league prize and the $50,000 grand prize.

[Greg Ambrosius]

We moved another step closer to a 9th full Main Event League on the First Weekend as we welcome back Ronny Mor of Newport Beach, California. Ronny is already signed up for the Las Vegas Main Event on the Second Weekend, but this NFBC veteran couldn't resist and grabbed a Main Event Online spot on Saturday, March 24th as well. Welcome aboard Ronny and I agree that it's a great year to PLAY TWO!!! Thanks man and best of luck in the hunt for both league prizes and the $100,000 grand prize.