SOLD OUT: 1st 4 HOUR Draft Champions League

[Brock]

Okay, thanks to Hal Goldstein for starting this thread and reviving the 4-Hour $150 Draft Champions League. This is Greg A and I've hijacked his initial post. Wiped it out even!!

We agree with his assessment that there is demand for a quicker NFBC $150 Draft Champions format where owners are with like-minded individuals who want to do 4-6 rounds per day. If you are looking for a format like that with a lot of Chat in the league forum, a lot of baseball talk, and a lot of picks per day then this is your league.

If you can't be around for 75 or so picks a day then please don't sign up for this league. Only die-hards welcome here.

So here is this format:

* NFBC $150 Draft Champions League with a 4-Hour Clock
* We expect to get through 4-6 rounds per day, so you must be prepared to set your 1Round Auto or be ready to pick each day
* We want die-hard drafters who are respectful of others throughout the day and night
* If requested, we can turn the clock to 8 hours at night and keep it at 4 hours per day. This would happen at 11 pm ET.

We believe this can be a very popular option for those veteran NFBC players who are frustrated by the slower pace of the 8-Hour DC. These leagues can be great social networks as well as draft leagues, but the key is communication and everyone having respect for everyone else. Again, we ask only owners who are willing to accept the quicker pace to sign up for these.

We do have an etiquette thread on the boards and we'll post it again:

http://nfbcforums.stats.com/viewtopic.p ... te#p182916

But I'll add some other tips shortly. Look for those on this thread as well.

We will get this added to the Countdown page, but on Registration just click on $150 Draft Champions (4 Hour)

Okay, let's try this again and see if we can't get this format off the ground and get our veterans in a quick-paced, fun-filled Draft Champions League again. Here's the current signup list for this 4-Hour DC:

2016 NFBC $150 4-Hour Draft Champions League 1
Starts At 1 pm ET The Day After The League Fills
15 Teams, 50 Rounds, 4 Hours Per Pick
1. Hal Goldstein, Albany, New York
2. chris king, austin, texas
3. Jason Martin, Dallas, Texas
4. Stephen Marchesani, Rockville, Maryland
5. Martin Lowy, Farmingville, New York
6. Bobby Brendler, Rockville, Maryland
7. Gregg Jahnke, Dallas, Texas
8. Ron Marien, Bloomington, Minnesota
9. Alan Appel, Maineville, Ohio
10. Karl Mische, Fridley, Minnesota
11. Brian Willis, Henderson, Nevada
12. Marc Winokur, Fort Collins, Colorado
13. Michelle Smith, Santee, California
14. donald Dismuke, Williamsburg, Kentucky
15. Jason Austin, Madison Heights, Michigan

ralph Byron, cicero, Illinois (tentative)

[Brock]

Haha ok Tom, I owe you a drink in New York. Nice job as always.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Okay, thanks to Hal Goldstein for bringing the 4-Hour Draft Champions League back to the forefront. As I suggested in another thread, if NFBC veterans want to compete in a faster paced DC league where we can even push the clock back to 8 hours at night if needed, there already is a spot on Registration for these. They are listed under $150 Draft Champions League (4 Hours) and these should be done in about a week to 10 days. If you want to compete in a league that gets through 5 rounds or more a day, this is the one for you.

I'll reach out to the other owners who signed up weeks ago to see if they want to stay in this one. I'll update this thread as we go and hopefully we can fill this one in the next week and be done by the end of the month. If that's the pace you want then this contest is for you. Let's fill this up and get serious. Thanks all.

Okay, here's the official list right now:

2016 NFBC $150 4-Hour Draft Champions League 1
Starts At 1 pm ET The Day After The League Fills
15 Teams, 50 Rounds, 4 Hours Per Pick
1. Hal Goldstein, Albany, New York

[Greg Ambrosius]

Okay, we have an etiquette thread in all of our DCs, but let's update that for this 4-Hour format. Here it is:

Okay, here are some tips to prepare for the upcoming Draft Champions season and some etiquette tips. These can be fun if you follow three simple rules: PREPAREDNESS, COMMUNICATION and RESPECT.

First, anyone who enters the 4-Hour Draft Champions format is saying they are going to be committed to making quick picks throughout the day. We don't expect everyone to be tied to a computer, but anyone who enters this format will have access to making picks via phone or laptop or be smart enough to set up picks via 1 Round Auto Pick. We expect to get through 4-6 rounds per day with the hope of finishing these drafts in around 10 days. If that's a pace you are uncomfortable with, then please compete in the 8-hour Draft Champions Leagues.

We do not automatically revert back to 8 hours at night, but any 4-Hour DC that wants us to turn the clock to 8 hours starting at 11 pm ET is welcome. We can easily do that for any league. That still allows anyone who is on the clock during the night to make their pick, but at least everyone will know when the clock will be lengthened. Easy to do.

As we all know, the best part of these "slow drafts" is the camaraderie in the Chat Room. This is like a mini-social network where you have time to talk about certain players, ask for feedback on your picks, talk about certain teams, and get to know like-minded baseball die-hards in a unique setting. It really is fun and these leagues are a blast to manage during the season. ENJOY the entire experience.

Now, that being said, there are easy ways to make solid picks in a timely fashion. Let's start with PREPAREDNESS.

PREPAREDNESS
** Once your league is set up, go to Draft and pull down to Draft Prep. That is the player default listing that will show up in your draft room. If you leave it as is, it will remain as the NFBC's player default list. But if you'd like to customize this based on your rankings, you can set this up so that the player default list comes up with YOUR rankings. And the best thing is that each time you enter a new NFBC online league, your Draft Prep list will load into the draft software. It does take a little while to move players around the way you want them, but each time you enter a new league you can tweak your lists and YOUR players will always be ranked the way you want them. Please take the time to do this and trust me you will never have to Search for players when it's time to make a crucial pick. Also NEW THIS YEAR: There is an ADP button on the Draft Prep page that allows you to load the latest ADP as your player default list. That's a great new feature this year as well.

** Que List: This is very important for these Draft Champions Leagues. If you have players you want in the upcoming round, feel free to put them in your Que list. Just highlight the player and click the Que button and they will move over there. If I had the 4th overall pick in today's draft, I'd set my list up with Mike Trout, Ryan Braun, Miguel Cabrera and Matt Kemp in that order in my Que. I'd then click on Round 1 Auto and when my turn came up the computer would automatically pick the highest available player. It would take seconds to make my selection and I'd get the top player on my list. The Round 1 Auto would then turn off after my pick and the next time up I'd be back on an 8-hour clock. This is just one great example of how it can work. If I was at work and I was three picks away, again I'd set my 3 most desired players aside in my Que and wait until it's my turn to pick. Not using Round 1 Auto this time, I'd get emails of the next picks and when it was my turn to pick I'd have an easy decision between the players still left in my Que. Heck, I could take an hour to think that one over, but at the end of the day the top players would be right there for me and I could make my pick in a timely fashion. The Que IS YOUR FRIEND!! Use it. I promise you can't be hurt by putting players in your Que because they also remain in the Player Default List.

** Round 1 Auto: There are two boxes you can check under the Que List: Round 1 Auto and Auto. Round 1 Auto allows you to pick JUST ONE PLAYER automatically based on the players in your Que. It takes the top player there. If all of your players in your Que are gone, it would take the top player from the default list, but the goal is to have enough players in your default list. When your turn comes up, the computer automatically takes the top player in your Que and then it goes off Round 1 Auto. It just picks once. If you click on Auto, it will automatically make every pick immediately when you're on the clock. It will first take players from your Que and if there are no players in your Que it will take the top player from the player default list. I'd only check that if you are in the final rounds of your draft and you don't have a preference for your final picks or if you load your Que up and let's say you have the 15th pick and you want two of the top players from the Que that you set up. Then it works quickly, you get the players you want and the draft keeps moving. In that instance, it would pick both players in seconds.

COMMUNICATION
This is the key to a successful Draft Champions league. The league Message Board IS YOUR FRIEND in these DC formats. A lot of guys like to jump into the draft room at night and bang out a few rounds of picks if possible. If you are out of town that night or busy at work and taking the family out to eat, just post in the league message board that you're unavailable that night but will be back at so-and-so time to make your pick. This way everyone can stay in the draft room until they know it's your pick and then return when you say and keep things flowing after that. The league members aren't wasting a lot of time and yet the picks are still moving at a nice pace. It also helps if one person takes charge and provides a phone number so that if anyone needs help with a pick or wants to communicate what their schedule is this person can be the voice for the league. I can even make picks if needed sometimes if you just want to email me. Remember, every pick is emailed to you, so it's not hard to keep up with the picks. Also, click on DRAFT BOARD to follow each pick and to see the colored stickers of each position being selected. The tools are in place for you to really follow this league without sitting in front of a computer all day.

RESPECT
Again, communication is key. We have PLENTY of time to finish these drafts, so we don't need to rush them. But just communicate your schedule in the league message boards if you can and realize that folks still want a few picks per day. I really don't think anyone should take 4 hours to ANALYZE a pick. I can understand why all of us would like to do that, but I don't think it leads to more success. Sometimes we can overanalyze something, too, so set some desirable players aside and be ready to pick when it's your turn and when you can comfortably get to a computer to do so.

HAVE FUN
Enjoy the competition and have fun. I think this format is slow enough yet fast enough to appeal to a wide range of NFBC players. Give it a try and I have a feeling this is going to be the perfect match for a lot of you. Here we go.

[Greg Ambrosius]

NOW 12 SPOTS LEFT in what hopefully will be our first 4-Hour $150 Draft Champions League. So far we have owners who have agreed to the conditions in this league and will be ready to get through 4-6 rounds per day. This is the setup that people have asked for with like-minded drafters and we're putting that together. Jump on in if you'd like to do a DC in 10 days or less. Thanks all and good luck.

Here's the current signup list for this first 4-Hour DC:

2016 NFBC $150 4-Hour Draft Champions League 1
Starts At 1 pm ET The Day After The League Fills
15 Teams, 50 Rounds, 4 Hours Per Pick
1. Hal Goldstein, Albany, New York
2. chris king, austin, texas
3. Jason Martin, Dallas, Texas

[Greg Ambrosius]

NOW 11 SPOTS LEFT in our first NFBC $150 4-Hour Draft Champions League where all owners agree to be diligent with their picks and are ready to get through 4-6 rounds per day. If this is the format you want, then jump in now or contact me at [email protected]. If you really want a quicker pace, this is the one for you.

Here's the current signup list with all owners agreeing to the format:

2016 NFBC $150 4-Hour Draft Champions League 1
Starts At 1 pm ET The Day After The League Fills
15 Teams, 50 Rounds, 4 Hours Per Pick
1. Hal Goldstein, Albany, New York
2. chris king, austin, texas
3. Jason Martin, Dallas, Texas
4. Stephen Marchesani, Rockville, Maryland

On Registration, just click $150 Draft Champions (4 Hour). Thanks all and enjoy.

[Greg Ambrosius]

NOW ONLY 10 SPOTS LEFT in the first NFBC $150 4-Hour DC. We're inching closer to a full league with like-minded drafters, so if a draft that finishes 4-6 rounds per day is what you are looking for then this is the one for you. Here you go:

2016 NFBC $150 4-Hour Draft Champions League 1
Starts At 1 pm ET The Day After The League Fills
15 Teams, 50 Rounds, 4 Hours Per Pick
1. Hal Goldstein, Albany, New York
2. chris king, austin, texas
3. Jason Martin, Dallas, Texas
4. Stephen Marchesani, Rockville, Maryland
5. Martin Lowy, Farmingville, New York

All have agreed to the drafting terms. Who else wants to join this one?

[Brock]

Bump, c'mon boys and girls...let's fill this and start drafting this weekend.

[roundmann]

Please enter me in 4 hour draft.
Bobby Brendler

[Greg Ambrosius]

Please enter me in 4 hour draft.
Bobby Brendler

Got it Bobby. Thanks much and enjoy this quick-paced Draft Champions League.

NOW ONLY 9 SPOTS LEFT in the first NFBC $150 4-Hour Draft Champions League. Where's all the folks who asked for this quicker format? Well, we've got 6 owners who have agreed to the faster terms, so what are you waiting for?

Here's the current signup list:

2016 NFBC $150 4-Hour Draft Champions League 1
Starts At 1 pm ET The Day After The League Fills
15 Teams, 50 Rounds, 4 Hours Per Pick
1. Hal Goldstein, Albany, New York
2. chris king, austin, texas
3. Jason Martin, Dallas, Texas
4. Stephen Marchesani, Rockville, Maryland
5. Martin Lowy, Farmingville, New York
6. Bobby Brendler, Rockville, Maryland

[Greg Ambrosius]

The NFBC $150 Draft Champions League (4 Hour) is now on the Countdown and in fact is at the very top. Let's see if that helps push these along a little faster. Sorry for the delay with that, but it's there now. Thanks all.

[Greg Ambrosius]

NOW ONLY 8 SPOTS LEFT in our first NFBC $150 Draft Champions League with a 4-Hour clock. All 7 owners are ready to whip out 4-6 rounds per day, so if a faster DC is what you're looking for this is the one for you. Sign up now and we could be drafting first thing next week and be done in 10 days or so.

Here's the current signup list for that next DC:

2016 NFBC $150 4-Hour Draft Champions League 1
Starts At 1 pm ET The Day After The League Fills
15 Teams, 50 Rounds, 4 Hours Per Pick
1. Hal Goldstein, Albany, New York
2. chris king, austin, texas
3. Jason Martin, Dallas, Texas
4. Stephen Marchesani, Rockville, Maryland
5. Martin Lowy, Farmingville, New York
6. Bobby Brendler, Rockville, Maryland
7. Gregg Jahnke, Dallas, Texas

[Greg Ambrosius]

NOW ONLY 7 SPOTS LEFT in the first NFBC $150 4-Hour Draft Champions League. Anyone who signs up for this league is expected to be ready to draft as our goal is to bang out 4-6 rounds per day for about 10 days. If this pace appeals to you, then look for the (4 Hour) designation on Registration. C'mon, let's fill this one up and tell the world what a perfect setup we have. Who wants in?

Here's the current signup list:

2016 NFBC $150 4-Hour Draft Champions League 1
Starts At 1 pm ET The Day After The League Fills
15 Teams, 50 Rounds, 4 Hours Per Pick
1. Hal Goldstein, Albany, New York
2. chris king, austin, texas
3. Jason Martin, Dallas, Texas
4. Stephen Marchesani, Rockville, Maryland
5. Martin Lowy, Farmingville, New York
6. Bobby Brendler, Rockville, Maryland
7. Gregg Jahnke, Dallas, Texas
8. Ron Marien, Bloomington, Minnesota

Only sign up for this format if the quick pace appeals to you. Thanks all and good luck.

[Greg Ambrosius]

NOW ONLY 6 SPOTS LEFT in the first NFBC $150 Draft Champions League at 4 hours per pick. Only sign up for this one if you can pick quickly and get through 4-6 rounds per day. Thanks all and good luck.

Here's the current signup list:

2016 NFBC $150 4-Hour Draft Champions League 1
Starts At 1 pm ET The Day After The League Fills
15 Teams, 50 Rounds, 4 Hours Per Pick
1. Hal Goldstein, Albany, New York
2. chris king, austin, texas
3. Jason Martin, Dallas, Texas
4. Stephen Marchesani, Rockville, Maryland
5. Martin Lowy, Farmingville, New York
6. Bobby Brendler, Rockville, Maryland
7. Gregg Jahnke, Dallas, Texas
8. Ron Marien, Bloomington, Minnesota
9. Alan Appel, Maineville, Ohio

[Tom Kessenich]

FIVE spots left

2016 NFBC $150 4-Hour Draft Champions League 1
Starts At 1 pm ET The Day After The League Fills
15 Teams, 50 Rounds, 4 Hours Per Pick
1. Hal Goldstein, Albany, New York
2. chris king, austin, texas
3. Jason Martin, Dallas, Texas
4. Stephen Marchesani, Rockville, Maryland
5. Martin Lowy, Farmingville, New York
6. Bobby Brendler, Rockville, Maryland
7. Gregg Jahnke, Dallas, Texas
8. Ron Marien, Bloomington, Minnesota
9. Alan Appel, Maineville, Ohio
10. Karl Mische, Fridley, Minnesota

[Tom Kessenich]

FOUR spots left

2016 NFBC $150 4-Hour Draft Champions League 1
Starts At 1 pm ET The Day After The League Fills
15 Teams, 50 Rounds, 4 Hours Per Pick
1. Hal Goldstein, Albany, New York
2. chris king, austin, texas
3. Jason Martin, Dallas, Texas
4. Stephen Marchesani, Rockville, Maryland
5. Martin Lowy, Farmingville, New York
6. Bobby Brendler, Rockville, Maryland
7. Gregg Jahnke, Dallas, Texas
8. Ron Marien, Bloomington, Minnesota
9. Alan Appel, Maineville, Ohio
10. Karl Mische, Fridley, Minnesota
11. Brian Willis, Henderson, Nevada

[Tom Kessenich]

THREE spots left

2016 NFBC $150 4-Hour Draft Champions League 1
Starts At 1 pm ET The Day After The League Fills
15 Teams, 50 Rounds, 4 Hours Per Pick
1. Hal Goldstein, Albany, New York
2. chris king, austin, texas
3. Jason Martin, Dallas, Texas
4. Stephen Marchesani, Rockville, Maryland
5. Martin Lowy, Farmingville, New York
6. Bobby Brendler, Rockville, Maryland
7. Gregg Jahnke, Dallas, Texas
8. Ron Marien, Bloomington, Minnesota
9. Alan Appel, Maineville, Ohio
10. Karl Mische, Fridley, Minnesota
11. Brian Willis, Henderson, Nevada
12. Marc Winokur, Fort Collins, Colorado

[Tom Kessenich]

This league is SOLD OUT

2016 NFBC $150 4-Hour Draft Champions League 1
Starts At 1 pm ET The Day After The League Fills
15 Teams, 50 Rounds, 4 Hours Per Pick
1. Hal Goldstein, Albany, New York
2. chris king, austin, texas
3. Jason Martin, Dallas, Texas
4. Stephen Marchesani, Rockville, Maryland
5. Martin Lowy, Farmingville, New York
6. Bobby Brendler, Rockville, Maryland
7. Gregg Jahnke, Dallas, Texas
8. Ron Marien, Bloomington, Minnesota
9. Alan Appel, Maineville, Ohio
10. Karl Mische, Fridley, Minnesota
11. Brian Willis, Henderson, Nevada
12. Marc Winokur, Fort Collins, Colorado
13. Michelle Smith, Santee, California
14. donald Dismuke, Williamsburg, Kentucky
15. Jason Austin, Madison Heights, Michigan

[Greg Ambrosius]

I just want to say a big THANKS to all of the owners in this first NFBC $150 4-Hour Draft Champions League. I emailed most of you to make sure you wanted the faster pace and to a person you said YES. Many of you returned to the DC because of this 4-hour format. In fact, I think there's 4 or 5 of you who haven't participated in a DC yet this year who were regulars in the past. It's great to have all of you back and no make us proud with a good, consistent stretch of picks in this league. We'll be watching.

Thanks again and I have a feeling if you folks do this right the word will spread and these 4 hour DCs will take off. Set the path for us everyone.

And if you want the clock turned off at 11 pm ET, please let me know at [email protected]. It's easy to do. Thanks.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Great job by our 15 owners in this 4-Hour Draft Champions League as we got through 5 rounds on the first day. We went to 8 hours overnight and will do that again going forward. Nice job all. Love the solid pace of this DC.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Kudos to the owners in this first 4-Hour DC. They are completing Round 11 after 2 days. Last night they had 14 of the 15 owners in the draft room ready to pick. There was a short delay as we waited for the owner on the turn, but otherwise this group was ready to draft!! It's a nice pace and these owners have taken charge and are communicating well. Awesome job done by the folks in this group.

These work. Keep it going folks. And great job.

[roundmann69]

There are two or three in this league that are using their own interpretation of the
rules and taking the four hour thing literally. They have not read the rules or are not
adhearing to them. eg, the respect and preparedness portion, and are not using auto
draft. It's not rocket science in the 23rd round. We have 14 people on the live draft
board and another who has iced the field each night and turned an enjoyable process
into wasted time for everyone else. I do not know if this is being done intentionally,
or the person is not aware. I know most everyone in the league would appreciate
some intervention by the facilitator.
J. Worthington Roundfellow

[Le Grand Orange]

We've definitely hit a few rough spots and had some frustrations, but we've also had great chat, great picks (not by me), and a bunch of really great guys. Now, I know that 23 rounds in 4 days is barely half-MTM speed, but it's also not chopped liver as my grandmother used to say. While it's been ugly at times, we've made up for it at others and we're on a 9 day pace to finish this thing. My favorite moment so far was when everyone sat up in their chairs when Principal Ambrosius entered the chat room on Monday night. IMO, however, it does take a facilitator to keep things moving, and I've tried my best to apply the lessons learned at Mikey's boot camp to some success. I was happy to see that another 4-Hour filled and hopefully this will catch on more and more.

[Greg Ambrosius]

We've definitely hit a few rough spots and had some frustrations, but we've also had great chat, great picks (not by me), and a bunch of really great guys. Now, I know that 23 rounds in 4 days is barely half-MTM speed, but it's also not chopped liver as my grandmother used to say. While it's been ugly at times, we've made up for it at others and we're on a 9 day pace to finish this thing. My favorite moment so far was when everyone sat up in their chairs when Principal Ambrosius entered the chat room on Monday night. IMO, however, it does take a facilitator to keep things moving, and I've tried my best to apply the lessons learned at Mikey's boot camp to some success. I was happy to see that another 4-Hour filled and hopefully this will catch on more and more.

Let me just say that this group of owners has been better than expected and so has the pace. During the first four days they have gone through 24 rounds, so 6 rounds per day, which is on pace for the league to finish in 9 days. That's a great, great pace for anyone's DC.

The frustration comes in the fact that 14 owners have been in the draft room each of the last three nights and the one owner missing is on the turn. We've reached out and gotten that owner to pick within an hour or two most nights, but the frustration lies both ways, I'm sure. All 14 owners want to whip out a few rounds at night, whereas the one owner might not have signed up for that. That being said, you can see this is a special group and maybe it's time to be ready on the turn. Everyone has been great and again the pace is solid, but even in a faster DC there can be frustrations when the pace isn't fast enough for everyone. There's always going to be that dilemma when fast still isn't fast enough.

No criticisms here and like other owners have said the Chat has been fantastic. I came in the room one night when things were bogging down and somehow got things back on pace. Since then this league has been moving. Good job all and finish strong. And before you know it, another 4-Hour DC will be available.

[Greg Ambrosius]

NICE JOB ALL!! This first 4-Hour Draft Champions League is now in Round 46 in Day 8. It will finish in 9 days. It was a great pace and folks got together each night to bang out a few rounds and to talk baseball. It was an impressive group of owners. Great job everyone and thanks for setting the pace in this format.

Not every 4-hour draft has to get done in 9 days, but the pace of 4-6 rounds per day can easily be done when everyone is communicating like this group. The format is here for anyone who wants a similar pace during March. Thanks all and good luck.