Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

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rkulaski
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by rkulaski » Tue Mar 17, 2020 1:32 am

Second, what about owners who do not want their teams cancelled? I fall into that boat. Not because the delayed season is working to my advantage; if anything, it is not, because I try very hard to avoid drafting injured players (who now may not miss time) and in most cases tend to value young starting pitchers who are innings limited less than most owners (at those pitchers' relative value now increases with a shorter season). Rather, I want my leagues to play out because: (a) I spent a hell of a lot of time preparing and drafting those teams (10 Draft Champions teams); and (b) I had a damn good time drafting those teams
Well said. I’ve put a lot of time and effort into my teams and would hate to start from scratch.
Richard Kulaski
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by steveymer2 » Tue Mar 17, 2020 8:04 am

Frozen Tundra wrote:
Mon Mar 16, 2020 8:21 pm
It is completely unrealistic to expect NFBC to cancel the hundreds of drafts that have been completed and refund our money. I daresay the vast majority of us don't want them in jeopardy of going out of business. And I, for one, have zero interest in redrafting my teams. And any number of teams get drafted even before spring training and those owners clearly are taking their chances on what may transpire by the time the season starts.
There are increasingly realistic scenarios in which it's completely realistic to expect them to cancel drafts and refund money. The cancellation of the MLB season is obviously one, but it's not the only one. If MLB just goes to some kind of tournament, that would also be necessary. Likewise if there's a very short regular season that serves as seeding for an expanded playoffs. Early drafters can't reasonably be said to have "taken their chances" on that kind of thing happening.

The question isn't *whether* changes to the MLB schedule could necessitate the cancellation of early drafts, but *which* changes to the MLB schedule could necessitate that.

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Philippe27 » Tue Mar 17, 2020 8:25 am

steveymer2 wrote:
Tue Mar 17, 2020 8:04 am
Frozen Tundra wrote:
Mon Mar 16, 2020 8:21 pm
It is completely unrealistic to expect NFBC to cancel the hundreds of drafts that have been completed and refund our money. I daresay the vast majority of us don't want them in jeopardy of going out of business. And I, for one, have zero interest in redrafting my teams. And any number of teams get drafted even before spring training and those owners clearly are taking their chances on what may transpire by the time the season starts.
There are increasingly realistic scenarios in which it's completely realistic to expect them to cancel drafts and refund money. The cancellation of the MLB season is obviously one, but it's not the only one. If MLB just goes to some kind of tournament, that would also be necessary. Likewise if there's a very short regular season that serves as seeding for an expanded playoffs. Early drafters can't reasonably be said to have "taken their chances" on that kind of thing happening.

The question isn't *whether* changes to the MLB schedule could necessitate the cancellation of early drafts, but *which* changes to the MLB schedule could necessitate that.
Anything is possible. Another option is the MLB plays only 80 games for example is to cut all the entry fees and prizes in half for all the leagues already drafted. I'm not sure if they can do it legally but it would seem like a fair option if the MLB ends up with a much shorter season.

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Tue Mar 17, 2020 9:02 am

Everyone, the integrity of ALL NFBC NATIONAL CONTESTS will be retained and you'll see our plan within the next day or two. We have a good grasp on what needs to be done and we will make the official announcement once we have run all of the numbers. Please give us a little more time to develop this plan, but it will be fair for everyone involved in these contests.

We have no plans to reduce our guaranteed prize structures in any of the national contests that have already held drafts. And we have no plans of making those national contests unfair as they were originally set up. You will see why very shortly.

We will unveil that plan and set a deadline for when drafts in those contests will end. We NEVER said we would continue hosting drafts up until the new Opening Day involving those national contests, so let us set that deadline for when those drafts will end so that we can retain the level playing field that you all signed up for earlier.

Then, of course, we'll need a baseball season. Until we know the start time or the length of the season, other decisions can't be made. We will make quick, decisive decisions once we know all of that, but right now we as a country just have to hunker down, stop the spread of this virus and hopefully one day contain/eliminate it.

We hope to have all details of this plan approved and thoroughly vetted by tomorrow. Please give us that time and then look for the plan for:

Rotowire Online Championship
NFBC Best Ball Cutline Championship
NFBC Draft Champions National Championship
NFBC Online Auction Championship

All guaranteed prizes stay the same. New draft deadlines are coming that are fair. ROI could be better for all players. Integrity of the contests remains. Look for details tomorrow. Thanks all and stay safe & stay healthy.
Greg Ambrosius
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Wed Mar 18, 2020 7:49 am

The entire team is meeting with management at the top of the hour to finalize our plans. Give me a couple more hours to get all of this set in stone and through the proper channels before posting. Thanks all and stay safe/healthy today.
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Wed Mar 18, 2020 11:51 am

I posted this in the Official Statement thread, but I don't want anyone posting in that thread. I'll post here as well so that we can have dialogue on this if needed. Thanks all.


Today the NFBC is making firm Draft Day deadlines to protect the integrity of our four national online championships. Those contests have held drafts since early November and now it's time to make sure the playing field is level for everyone competing for those overall and league prizes.

Drafts were set up for those national championships from November until Opening Day, and we already had full NFBC Cutline Championship and Rotowire Online Championship leagues scheduled for Opening Day on Thursday morning, March 26th. Now Opening Day is out on the horizon and nobody can accurately predict whether it will be May 15th, June 1st, July 1st or later. Even the prospect of no baseball looms before us today.

But even with that grim thought, we have to plan as if the world will tackle this beast and life will resume. And we have to plan as if Major League Baseball has a chance to resume in 2020, so this plan covers that. But rest assured, these plans are being made contingent on MLB resuming the season. If there is no MLB season in 2020, all games will be cancelled and ALL ENTRY FEES WILL BE REFUNDED to your Player Accounts by SportsHub Games Network. That's our guarantee and it's an easy guarantee to make.

So here's what we're doing: We are setting firm, concrete final draft dates for the Rotowire Online Championship, the NFBC Cutline Championship, the NFBC Draft Champions National Championship and the NFBC Online Auction Championship. No new leagues will be formed after these set draft dates and the contests will go forward with those teams even if we finish below our projections. This is not about getting the last dime through Registration, it's about making sure all teams are on the same playing field and have fair shots at the overall titles and the prize money that goes with them.

ALL PRIZE MONEY IS GUARANTEED AND HAS NOT BEEN CHANGED for those four national championships as long as MLB starts this season, no matter how far short we finish from our projections. Two of those contests are not near our goals at this point, but that's fine. We must ensure a level playing field for everyone who drafted early, who drafted later and who will be drafting next. That is PRIORITY 1.

So here's the current update on each of our national online championships and the new draft deadlines:

NFBC Draft Champions National Championship: This contest has already exceeded expectations and we will end the "slow drafts" (4-hour, 2-hour, 1-hour, 30-minute) as soon as we can combine everyone into one time frame. We will offer nightly Draft Champion Express leagues through Sunday, April 5th and then end all drafts. All "slow" drafts must conclude by then too so that it's a level playing field for everyone. Again, all prizes are not only guaranteed but we will be expanding overall prizes from 2nd place down.

NFBC Online Auction Championship: This contest has also exceeded expectations and we will end the $150 offerings with Thursday's final $150 Online Auction Championship. There is a $500 Online Auction Championship League set for Monday, March 23rd that is partially full and we will officially end this contest with that league. Anything we offer after March 20th will be private online auction leagues with nice league prizes (Pay Top 3). Again, all prizes are not only guaranteed for this national contest but we will be expanding overall prizes from 2nd place down.

NFBC Cutline Championship: The Draft Day deadline for the Cutline is Sunday, April 12th. We will stop offering "slow" Cutlines on Sunday, March 29th and we will offer nightly Cutlines through Sunday, April 12th. This national contest is not near our guaranteed goals at this point and over 20% of signups in the past would come during the two weeks before Opening Day. We have now lost that timeline due to coronavirus. But we are still guaranteeing the overall prize pool that everyone signed up for and we think there will be interest in this Best Ball Championship with a known deadline a few weeks away.

Rotowire Online Championship: This Draft Day deadline is set for Wednesday, April 15th just to spit in the teeth of Tax Day. The hell with government wanting our tax money and wasting it. We're celebrating with one final Draft Day that will still be at least 1 month or more before Opening Day. Plan accordingly as we will add more draft dates between March 26th and April 15th. This contest is far away from our goals because over 35% of all revenue for this contest in the past came in during the final two weeks of drafts before Opening Day. We have lost that time frame, so we will allow a few more draft dates for this contest and then shut it off after April 15th no matter how far short we are of our goals. All overall prize money is guaranteed no matter what the final number of teams is in this contest.

That's the plan moving forward to ensure the integrity of these four national contests. Now for undrafted national contests:

Main Event: The plan for the Main Event is to move forward with scheduled Online drafts the 14 days before whatever the new scheduled Opening Day is and to hopefully get all the TBD teams/owners into times and dates that fit their upcoming schedules. Over 96% of Main Event owners have left their teams as TBDs and several of the other 3.3% of owners say they will likely sign back up once a definitive plan is in place. I'm not even going to get into hypotheticals of what happens if MLB returns with less than a full 162-game season because we'll deal with that when/and if that happens. We also aren't getting into hypotheticals of what happens if it's a 120-game season or 100 games or less. All of that is hypothetical at this point. Again, all overall prize money is guaranteed for the NFBC Main Event and the overall prize structure will stay the same even though we currently are not at plan with the forecasted numbers.

Solo Shot: The plan is the same as above with the Main Event, but nothing is set in stone here. We will evaluate the Solo Shot as we know more about Opening Day because this contest was still more than 20% below plan before folks began asking for money back. I still want to run the industry's first single-entry national fantasy baseball championship, but let's see what happens next before finalizing this contest.

As for the private high-dollar leagues -- the NFBC Platinum, Diamond, Ultimate and Super Draft Leagues -- everyone's entries have been changed to TBDs and we'll await the exact date of Opening Day before rescheduling those. Once we know what Opening Day is, we'll work our way backwards with similar timelines and announce those draft dates. Owners with TBDs obviously have first dibs on those entries, but we may have openings in leagues that were once full. We'll fill as many of these high-dollar leagues as possible and we'll cancel any that don't fill. That's all we can do.

The NFBC Auction Championship has already been cancelled as have the Diamond Auction and Ultimate Auction. If somehow we were able to host live events again, we could host private auctions, but the overall auction championship will not return in 2020. There is no plan for live events at this point, but a guy can dream, can't he?!! :lol: (humor is needed these days)

After these deadlines, we will have drafts available online until Opening Day, but the plan is to offer only private 12-team and 15-team leagues with solid league prizes (Pay Top 3). Offering a second wave of national contests would be tough with Opening Day still an unknown and no idea of how many entries to base overall prizes on. But we'll worry about all of that later. For now, let's get on with this first phase and conclude our four national online championships.

Thanks for your patience all. In these tough times, it's great to have a strong community of great people. We have that here in the NFBC. You can feel that, even just Online. Nobody is panicking and for the most part this community is staying optimistic and hoping for a resumption of the MLB season. We are at the mercy of this coronavirus beast and at the mercy of MLB's decisions for the season, but we will be ready when life resumes. We have to be.

Thanks all and keep yourselves and your families safe and healthy. God Bless.
Greg Ambrosius
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Wed Mar 18, 2020 12:13 pm

Just an FYI: Darik will be adding to Registration later today new draft dates and times extending until our Draft Day deadlines. Give us some time to do that and we'll give you a new Schedule of Events going forward. Thanks all and good luck.
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Wolfpac » Wed Mar 18, 2020 12:22 pm

Alright NFBC high stakes community let’s knock out a 1K draft champions, we know the deadlines we will have to get it done by April 5 so it will go by quickly once it starts, it will likely be our last chance at a high stakes league for awhile.

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by steveymer2 » Wed Mar 18, 2020 12:57 pm

Thanks for the update, Greg.

Could you help me understand what the NFBC regards as necessary for a “level playing field” such that people who drafted DCs on Dec. 5 are on a level playing field with those who draft on April 5 … but people who draft after April 5 would not be on that same level playing field? Unless you somehow know that MLB will announce a revised schedule on April 5 (Do you???? ;) ), I’m having a hard time understanding what understanding of “level playing field” is at work here.

Also, I know you don’t want to get into hypotheticals, but I think people who’ve already dropped (a good deal of) money on leagues would be reassured to know that there’s a minimum number of MLB games required for leagues to stand. And that that number is something a lot higher than 1. Beyond reassuring the owners of existing teams, this may help encourage others to jump in. I’m already bored to tears and would love to draft a few more teams. But I’m not willing to do that if there’s a chance that there’s a 40 game season, say, and NFBC leagues aren’t canceled. If I want to drop money on something random, I’ll just buy some lottery tickets (can you do that while in self-isolation)?

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Chthroop » Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:01 pm

Hi,
Crushed to hear that there will be no LIVE Auction events this year. Understandable given the situation. Please put RT and I down for any private league auctions your able to organize in NYC.

What about some more $750 Online Auctions? That I think would fill well (saw the other one too late)

One request: Not sure if it is bandwidth or server capacity but we have done 3 online auctions so far and the system is great, but occasionally seems to have hickups. Not sure if it is server or network but it has happened enough that we know it isn't our side of things...

Thanks again guys, your working in very tough times!

Chris

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by King of Queens » Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:11 pm

steveymer2 wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 12:57 pm

Also, I know you don’t want to get into hypotheticals, but I think people who’ve already dropped (a good deal of) money on leagues would be reassured to know that there’s a minimum number of MLB games required for leagues to stand. And that that number is something a lot higher than 1. Beyond reassuring the owners of existing teams, this may help encourage others to jump in.
This was my question as well. Is there a minimum number of games required for the season to actually become "official" for NFBC purposes?

Also, will Game 163 count? :lol:

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:12 pm

Chthroop wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:01 pm
Hi,
Crushed to hear that there will be no LIVE Auction events this year. Understandable given the situation. Please put RT and I down for any private league auctions your able to organize in NYC.

What about some more $750 Online Auctions? That I think would fill well (saw the other one too late)

One request: Not sure if it is bandwidth or server capacity but we have done 3 online auctions so far and the system is great, but occasionally seems to have hickups. Not sure if it is server or network but it has happened enough that we know it isn't our side of things...

Thanks again guys, your working in very tough times!

Chris
So as we sit here today there will be no Live Events for the NFBC in 2020. It would take a miracle to get there, but as a Catholic-raised boy I'm supposed to believe in miracles!! :lol: So Never Say Never!!

Yes, we will add more private online auction leagues in the next day. Darik is handling a million things right now, but adding to the Schedule of Events is on the plan next.

It's not a server capacity issue, but rather something within the program that needed to be cleaned up. We think we have cleaned it up, but we will continue to investigate. Online auctions need one full facilitator, so we have to be careful how late in the drafting season we add these. Plan accordingly, but look for more soon. The software is fantastic, so let's have fun with it.
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:15 pm

King of Queens wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:11 pm
steveymer2 wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 12:57 pm

Also, I know you don’t want to get into hypotheticals, but I think people who’ve already dropped (a good deal of) money on leagues would be reassured to know that there’s a minimum number of MLB games required for leagues to stand. And that that number is something a lot higher than 1. Beyond reassuring the owners of existing teams, this may help encourage others to jump in.
This was my question as well. Is there a minimum number of games required for the season to actually become "official" for NFBC purposes?

Also, will Game 163 count? :lol:
I heard a number today that MLB is considering and if it holds true it will be a robust season. I'm not going to guess at other numbers until MLB says so. Hey, I'm sure TV networks and season-ticket holders want to know that number too because who wants to invest in a season that isn't representable? So we have to let MLB make that call.

If there is a Game 163 I will kiss everyone I see, including you!! :lol:
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:25 pm

steveymer2 wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 12:57 pm
Thanks for the update, Greg.

Could you help me understand what the NFBC regards as necessary for a “level playing field” such that people who drafted DCs on Dec. 5 are on a level playing field with those who draft on April 5 … but people who draft after April 5 would not be on that same level playing field? Unless you somehow know that MLB will announce a revised schedule on April 5 (Do you???? ;) ), I’m having a hard time understanding what understanding of “level playing field” is at work here.

Also, I know you don’t want to get into hypotheticals, but I think people who’ve already dropped (a good deal of) money on leagues would be reassured to know that there’s a minimum number of MLB games required for leagues to stand. And that that number is something a lot higher than 1. Beyond reassuring the owners of existing teams, this may help encourage others to jump in. I’m already bored to tears and would love to draft a few more teams. But I’m not willing to do that if there’s a chance that there’s a 40 game season, say, and NFBC leagues aren’t canceled. If I want to drop money on something random, I’ll just buy some lottery tickets (can you do that while in self-isolation)?
Steve, if you drafted on Dec. 5th and you knew that someone could draft a DC Express on March 25th, you obviously felt that was a level playing field or you wouldn't have gotten in on Dec. 5th? Your league was a level playing field because everyone in your league had the same information at the same time, but YOU KNEW GOING IN that someone on March 25th would have different information and would still be playing for the same overall prize pool.

Why? Because there's no guarantee that more information on March 25th equates to better teams than those who drafted on Dec. 5th. Am I right? But the same level playing field equates to 1) You each have 50 players; 2) You each can't add players in FAAB; 3) You each are playing for the same league prizes and the same overall prizes.

The people who draft on April 5th now have less of an advantage than you thought those drafting on March 25th would have because right now there are no spring training games to scout, there are no updated injury reports, there are no closers being named, no starting rotations being announced, no minor league games, etc. We could have probably gone to May 5th and the playing field would still be level. I mean, we're cutting off signups so that it remains as level of a playing field as possible while possibly losing money in the Cutline and the Online Championship.

I'm not sure how else to explain this. But feel free to ask differently if I haven't explained fully.

As for representative games, do you really think MLB is coming back with a 1-game regular season? 40 games? A round-robin tournament? Again, if they do then I'll respond, but from what I'm hearing the owners want a robust regular season to televise (even without fans in stadiums) and they are willing to extend into November and December at neutral stadiums. I might be wrong, but to have me nail down a number now is like asking the government to tell us how many lives lost they expect from coronavirus right now. What's a good number of deaths, Mr. President? Sorry, I can't nail that down until MLB gives us their plan and we hope it's a good plan that determines the best teams in MLB.

My feeling is that yes luck moves into this equation a little more in fantasy baseball now if the number of weeks played is reduced and there are fewer FAAB weeks. The really, really good players earn a slight edge in FAAB, I believe. I may be wrong, but skill will still win out in the NFBC, but whatever MLB is able to devise -- and GOD I HOPE we get through this and get back to normal lives by early June -- we'll follow their lead.

Hope that helps.
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:31 pm

steveymer2 wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 12:57 pm
Unless you somehow know that MLB will announce a revised schedule on April 5 (Do you???? ;) ), I’m having a hard time understanding what understanding of “level playing field” is at work here.
Steve, no there will be no revised schedule on April 5th or even in the month of April, I'm sure. We chose April 5th to end the Draft Champions drafts so that we could finish the "slow" drafts that started this week or will start today or tomorrow. And since we are allowing those to finish in the next 17-18 days, we decided to offer Express leagues each night during that time. I know that DC Express leagues are more to reduce boredom and give folks something to do at night more than they are anything else, but that's the reasoning for including those going forward.

We could have gone further out for this contest and taken as much money as you'd give us, but that's not the goal. The goal is to put a line in the sand for the last DC drafts so that everyone can compete fairly for the overall prize pool and their league prizes. That's what we did for all four online national contests and we provided different Draft Day deadlines for each because they each deserved different deadlines.

Hope that helps.
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by steveymer2 » Wed Mar 18, 2020 2:23 pm

Greg Ambrosius wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:25 pm

Steve, if you drafted on Dec. 5th and you knew that someone could draft a DC Express on March 25th, you obviously felt that was a level playing field or you wouldn't have gotten in on Dec. 5th? Your league was a level playing field because everyone in your league had the same information at the same time, but YOU KNEW GOING IN that someone on March 25th would have different information and would still be playing for the same overall prize pool.

Why? Because there's no guarantee that more information on March 25th equates to better teams than those who drafted on Dec. 5th. Am I right? But the same level playing field equates to 1) You each have 50 players; 2) You each can't add players in FAAB; 3) You each are playing for the same league prizes and the same overall prizes.

...

As for representative games, do you really think MLB is coming back with a 1-game regular season? 40 games? A round-robin tournament? Again, if they do then I'll respond, but from what I'm hearing the owners want a robust regular season to televise (even without fans in stadiums) and they are willing to extend into November and December at neutral stadiums. I might be wrong, but to have me nail down a number now is like asking the government to tell us how many lives lost they expect from coronavirus right now. What's a good number of deaths, Mr. President? Sorry, I can't nail that down until MLB gives us their plan and we hope it's a good plan that determines the best teams in MLB.
Thanks, Greg - that's very helpful. The rationale for extending DCs to April 5 so that ongoing slow drafts can finish definitely makes sense.

I do think that a level playing field requires more than the factors you listed, including some that arguably will not be shared by early drafters and late drafters this unique (and uniquely awful) season. But I'll leave that discussion for another time, since it may be a complex one and I'm sure you're swamped right now.

Regarding the number of games, maybe I wasn't clear. I wasn't asking you to guess how many MLB games there will be. Obviously you can't do that. I was asking if there's a minimum number of MLB games below which NFBC leagues will be canceled. That's a question you guys can answer. For instance, if there's an 81 game regular season schedule, will leagues that drafted before that schedule is announced be canceled?

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Wed Mar 18, 2020 2:42 pm

steveymer2 wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 2:23 pm
Greg Ambrosius wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 1:25 pm
Regarding the number of games, maybe I wasn't clear. I wasn't asking you to guess how many MLB games there will be. Obviously you can't do that. I was asking if there's a minimum number of MLB games below which NFBC leagues will be canceled. That's a question you guys can answer. For instance, if there's an 81 game regular season schedule, will leagues that drafted before that schedule is announced be canceled?
I know you are trying to ask a serious question, but even when I give you the correct answer you're not accepting it. I've said this many times, our game reflects the entire MLB regular season and we will follow their lead. Our contest will start with Opening Day and continue through the official end of the MLB regular season. I'm sure MLB will make the right call and we'll follow them.
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by acesfull23 » Wed Mar 18, 2020 6:55 pm

Hi guys,

Can you share your rationale on how stopping drafts now and picking them up closer to the season “levels the playing field”? I’m not following that. What is being leveled?

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » Thu Mar 19, 2020 7:34 am

acesfull23 wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 6:55 pm
Hi guys,

Can you share your rationale on how stopping drafts now and picking them up closer to the season “levels the playing field”? I’m not following that. What is being leveled?
Please read the announcement again to fully understand what we are doing. We are not stopping drafts and picking them up closer to the season. In fact, just the opposite. We are closing all four national online contests in the next couple of weeks no matter how many total signups they have per contest and having NO DRAFTS anywhere close to the start of the season. Hope that helps.
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Gildz Nation » 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

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Gekko » Sat Mar 21, 2020 7:30 am

Greg Ambrosius wrote:
Wed Mar 18, 2020 11:50 am
Main Event: The plan for the Main Event is to move forward with scheduled Online drafts the 14 days before whatever the new scheduled Opening Day is and to hopefully get all the TBD teams/owners into times and dates that fit their upcoming schedules. Over 96% of Main Event owners have left their teams as TBDs and several of the other 3.3% of owners say they will likely sign back up once a definitive plan is in place. I'm not even going to get into hypotheticals of what happens if MLB returns with less than a full 162-game season because we'll deal with that when/and if that happens. We also aren't getting into hypotheticals of what happens if it's a 120-game season or 100 games or less. All of that is hypothetical at this point. Again, all overall prize money is guaranteed for the NFBC Main Event and the overall prize structure will stay the same even though we currently are not at plan with the forecasted numbers.
FWIW, My current thought process:
1. We all need to see what MLB decides as far as a season (assuming it's up to them). I'm NOT asking for refunds for my ME entries. As much as everyone is rightfully "doom and gloom" now and disinterested in baseball, as soon as this clears up (and yes, it WILL clear up), i (and others) will be like a kid in a candy store.

2. As Greg said, the overall prize money is guaranteed for the NFBC Main Event and the overall prize structure will stay the same

3. I may decide to INCREASE the number of main events I have due to:
a. less weeks of faab to grind through
b. ROI for main event grand prize may be too good to walk away from

4. Right now, I have 2 main event entries. Under the right circumstances, i could see that INCREASING to 5+

Gildz Nation
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Gildz Nation » Sat Mar 21, 2020 7:54 am

How is ROI any different? Last email I saw regarding ME was they were 65 teams short of a sell out. Assuming they open up drafts again for this (if/when MLB makes a decision), they’ll fill up those 65 spots pretty easily I’m sure.

I view it pretty differently then you. An 81 game season changes everything in terms of fantasy. You start off with 1 rough month, you’re likely screwed. Any injury to your ace or top tier player, you’re likely screwed. FAAB plays a much smaller role then it normally would. Something skilled owners use to their adv over the course of a full season. An 81 game season just increases the luck factor exponentially. And for a big buy in like this, I’d rather not have it be an all-in fest. Just my .02

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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by DOUGHBOYS » Sat Mar 21, 2020 8:00 am

Gildz Nation wrote:
Sat Mar 21, 2020 7:54 am
How is ROI any different? Last email I saw regarding ME was they were 65 teams short of a sell out. Assuming they open up drafts again for this (if/when MLB makes a decision), they’ll fill up those 65 spots pretty easily I’m sure.

I view it pretty differently then you. An 81 game season changes everything in terms of fantasy. You start off with 1 rough month, you’re likely screwed. Any injury to your ace or top tier player, you’re likely screwed. FAAB plays a much smaller role then it normally would. Something skilled owners use to their adv over the course of a full season. An 81 game season just increases the luck factor exponentially. And for a big buy in like this, I’d rather not have it be an all-in fest. Just my .02
Just email Greg or Darik and they will get you a refund.
On my tombstone-
Wait! I never had the perfect draft!

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Greg Ambrosius
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Greg Ambrosius » 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.
Greg Ambrosius
Founder, National Fantasy Baseball Championship
General Manager, Consumer Fantasy Games at SportsHub Technologies
Twitter - @GregAmbrosius

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Edwards Kings
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Re: Open Chat With Greg, Tom & Darik

Post by Edwards Kings » Sat Mar 21, 2020 11:52 am

Not trying to pour salt in any wounds, but it is about draft time in Vegas. This would have been the 17th straight year I would have been somewhere to draft live (Once in Chicago, once in New York, twice in Florida, twelve in Vegas with #17 going to be lucky 13 in Nevada). I'm still a husband (same wife luckily), still a father though my kids are now grown, and now contemplating retirement. All important things but I am amazed at how distracted or displaced I feel having to wait for baseball to restart. It has seriously impacted my mood which seems silly when compared to everything else going on.

However, the NFBC is the one thing I guaranteed that I would do for MYSELF as long as I was physically able. We all sacrifice so much for our families and careers that the times we carve out to be selfish for a change is indeed important. The baseball...the draft/auction...the fellowship...all really important to me.

When the first pitch is thrown, no matter the number of games in the season, I will have my teams and I will compete. It may only be the icing, but if even a few leagues can arrange for a live draft, I will be there wherever they occur.
Baseball is a slow, boring, complex, cerebral game that doesn't lend itself to histrionics. You 'take in' a baseball game, something odd to say about a football or basketball game, with the clock running and the bodies flying.
Charles Krauthammer

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