Thank You New York

[Tom Kessenich]

Our two days of live events in New York came to a conclusion last night and I wanted to take a moment to say thanks to everyone who came to the Stewart Hotel to take part in the drafts and auctions we held there. I'm not going to say the event was a bit smaller than years past - let's call it leaner and meaner . I will say, however, a great time was absolutely had by all. From the first auction Friday morning until the end of the MTM Ultimate last night there was a tremendous amount of enjoyment and fun in the room and I think I can safely speak for everyone who attended that they were glad they came and took part.

I cannot begin to express enough gratitude to the folks at the Stewart for all of the work they did to help us make this event happen. They were accommodating at every turn and Lord knows there were plenty of turns throughout the lockout. There's a reason why I've enjoyed hosting our NFBC and NFFC events there the past few years and their flexibility and staff's kindness and overall sense of partnership is absolutely at the top of the list. We absolutely could not have made this weekend happen without that.

To all the vets who returned it was great seeing you again and to all the new players who debuted with us it was wonderful meeting you and I hope to see you back again in the future. I know at least one of you will be back at the Stewart for football in September so I look forward to seeing you then.

For the first time in NFBC history New York closed out our Live Events in the NFBC and it felt fitting that the MTM Ultimate was our final event. It's one of our most prestigious events and I wanted to share on the boards some of the thoughts I expressed to the folks at the Stewart about Mike Massotto. Mike has become one of the biggest (some may say loudest ) ambassadors of the NFBC. From pushing the $150 "Fast Draft" DCs to helping create $2,500 DCs and $5,000 DCs which is an incredible expansion of the format, it really speaks to Mike's dedication and love of our contest and this community that I know means a great deal to him.

So I think it really was fitting that the MTM Ultimate closed our live event schedule this year. It was a fantastic draft again this year, featured four hours of coverage on Sirius Radio and everybody had a good time.

Once again, thanks to everyone who attended and next year hopefully there will be no lingering health issues of any kind and we definitely won't have any labor disputes to deal with and New York will be back to normal and we'll have a rousing number of attendees once again. But for this year it was a damn fun two days and I hope everyone had as much fun as I did.

[mdecav]

Tom,

I've been absolutely swamped but wanted to formally thank you again for stepping up and helping me.

For the many of you who didn't know, I got the covid two days before I was supposed to be at the $2,500 auction (and the subsequent Main Event afterwards). Tom was able to come through and do the auction with me over the phone. I would've much preferred to have been there as I live minutes from the Stewart but given the circumstances it went about as smoothly as it possibly could have been.

I look forward to a full slate of NYC drafts next year!

Thanks again,
Mike

[Tom Kessenich]

Tom,

I've been absolutely swamped but wanted to formally thank you again for stepping up and helping me.

For the many of you who didn't know, I got the covid two days before I was supposed to be at the $2,500 auction (and the subsequent Main Event afterwards). Tom was able to come through and do the auction with me over the phone. I would've much preferred to have been there as I live minutes from the Stewart but given the circumstances it went about as smoothly as it possibly could have been.

I look forward to a full slate of NYC drafts next year!

Thanks again,
Mike

That's what I'm here for Mike. Hope you're feeling better.

Oh, the people you're going to want to attack when you are feeling better for stealing all the players you wanted for $1 more than you bid are the following:

RT Davis & Chris Throop
Glenn Schroter
Andy Saxton

Do with them as you will.

[mdecav]

Tom,

I've been absolutely swamped but wanted to formally thank you again for stepping up and helping me.

For the many of you who didn't know, I got the covid two days before I was supposed to be at the $2,500 auction (and the subsequent Main Event afterwards). Tom was able to come through and do the auction with me over the phone. I would've much preferred to have been there as I live minutes from the Stewart but given the circumstances it went about as smoothly as it possibly could have been.

I look forward to a full slate of NYC drafts next year!

Thanks again,
Mike

That's what I'm here for Mike. Hope you're feeling better.

Oh, the people you're going to want to attack when you are feeling better for stealing all the players you wanted for $1 more than you bid are the following:

RT Davis & Chris Throop
Glenn Schroter
Andy Saxton

Do with them as you will.

Honestly, that was my error. The auction was going well for me but I had a horrible end-game in what ruined a pretty good draft; doing it mobile was tougher to not see the board live and talk to you and manage my team at the same time.

[Baseball Furies]

Our two days of live events in New York came to a conclusion last night and I wanted to take a moment to say thanks to everyone who came to the Stewart Hotel to take part in the drafts and auctions we held there. I'm not going to say the event was a bit smaller than years past - let's call it leaner and meaner . I will say, however, a great time was absolutely had by all. From the first auction Friday morning until the end of the MTM Ultimate last night there was a tremendous amount of enjoyment and fun in the room and I think I can safely speak for everyone who attended that they were glad they came and took part.

I cannot begin to express enough gratitude to the folks at the Stewart for all of the work they did to help us make this event happen. They were accommodating at every turn and Lord knows there were plenty of turns throughout the lockout. There's a reason why I've enjoyed hosting our NFBC and NFFC events there the past few years and their flexibility and staff's kindness and overall sense of partnership is absolutely at the top of the list. We absolutely could not have made this weekend happen without that.

To all the vets who returned it was great seeing you again and to all the new players who debuted with us it was wonderful meeting you and I hope to see you back again in the future. I know at least one of you will be back at the Stewart for football in September so I look forward to seeing you then.

For the first time in NFBC history New York closed out our Live Events in the NFBC and it felt fitting that the MTM Ultimate was our final event. It's one of our most prestigious events and I wanted to share on the boards some of the thoughts I expressed to the folks at the Stewart about Mike Massotto. Mike has become one of the biggest (some may say loudest ) ambassadors of the NFBC. From pushing the $150 "Fast Draft" DCs to helping create $2,500 DCs and $5,000 DCs which is an incredible expansion of the format, it really speaks to Mike's dedication and love of our contest and this community that I know means a great deal to him.

So I think it really was fitting that the MTM Ultimate closed our live event schedule this year. It was a fantastic draft again this year, featured four hours of coverage on Sirius Radio and everybody had a good time.

Once again, thanks to everyone who attended and next year hopefully there will be no lingering health issues of any kind and we definitely won't have any labor disputes to deal with and New York will be back to normal and we'll have a rousing number of attendees once again. But for this year it was a damn fun two days and I hope everyone had as much fun as I did.

Thanks, Tom! I appreciate the kind words and sentiments. I truly do have an unbridled passion for not only this game but for the NFBC and it's amazing community you guys have created as well. I will continue to put my full-throated efforts and support in my promotion of and participation in the NFBC and all you do. More big things to come, and looking forward to celebrating BIG for the 20th Anniversary next year when the events in NYC return in full-force to kick off the NFBC live event drafting season.

[Greg Ambrosius]

I would also like to echo Tom's comments on the Stewart Hotel. We couldn't have found a better partner in a better location of New York City than the Stewart. This new sales girl is something special and I hope she never leaves. The food was FANTASTIC, the setup was ideal and they worked with us again on the contract due to Covid and the MLB lockout.

In 2020, the Stewart Hotel ripped up our contract for baseball and football because of Covid and didn't charge us any penalties for the space we had committed to. In 2021, they adjusted our contract to make ends work due to Covid. This year, they moved the draft weekend AND made accommodations due to Covid and the MLB lockout to make things more manageable. Who does that for a client these days?

And kudos to those of you who came to the Stewart Hotel for the live events. We had customers who came from Canada, Florida, Arkansas, Maryland and other parts of the East Coast for the live events, even though they knew participation was down. I was even worried about what our customers would think of just one draft or auction going at a time, but everyone was sooooo cool about it. The auctions were a blast, the Main Events were competitive and quick, and the MTM Ultimate League was FANTASTIC as usual. Yes, only five live events, but there was a ton of camaraderie, competitive bidding and just great fun. Loved it and we'll be back for another go-round in New York City next March. BE THERE.

And kudos to Mike, for putting on another great event and party afterwards. I didn't think he could top the Friday Night Party in Las Vegas, but the festivities in New York City were something special. From the engraved baseballs for each owner to the Iron Balls drawing, to the SiriusXM 4-hour coverage of the draft to the 1-pound Prime Rib each owner ate at midnight after the draft, everything was HUGE and impressive. Would there be any other way? Of course not. But kudos to MTM for making New York special after making Las Vegas special.

On a sidenote: I find it interesting that people think Mike and I have this combative relationship when really it's no different than my relationship with other passionate owners (i.e., Gekko and others I could name). Basically all Mike or anyone wants from the NFBC is the best games, the best software, the best customer service, the best live events, the best payouts, the best of everything. And why wouldn't I want that as well? Where the friction sometimes comes is in asking for something that I can't deliver on because I'm not a programmer or a hotel manager or the CFO of the company or the head of IT. Sometimes I'm just the middle man who relays the request to someone who could fulfill the request and sometimes (like during our days at STATS where they were not going to invest manpower to upgrade the software) the answers aren't what folks want to hear. So I get the wrath.

But in the end, we've pushed our new IT to deliver what you've wanted to make it more enjoyable and less time consuming to play our games. We're still a work in progress, but suggestions from MTM, Gekko, Dan Kenyon, John Pausma, Shawn, KJ, and I could go on and on have been received and many times acted upon. We'll keep pushing these ideas to get done because at the end of the day we all have the same goal in mind: To make the NFBC bigger and better each year and bigger and better than anything else in this space.

So don't flip out because Mike and I took a nice picture together in New York!! We are NFBC friends who have the same goals and objectives in mind. He just pushes for things unlike anyone else, which can be a good thing or a bad thing. It depends whether you're me or not!! Nah, it's all good and the live events in New York City and Las Vegas proved that. It's been an unbelievable trip and now it's time to go back to Kansas....I mean, Iola, Wisconsin.

Thanks everyone. Our 20th anniversary season will kick off in New York City next March and conclude in Las Vegas. Wow, 20 years. Thanks for the memories and thanks for making Season 19 as good as it possibly could be considering the pandemic and the lockout. Good luck in all your leagues and LET'S PLAY BALL on Thursday!!

[Greg Ambrosius]

If there's one thing we don't do a good enough job of, it's showcasing what our live events look like after they're done. We are so busy just RUNNING these live events that we don't take the time to show video or photographs of what these live events look like.

I've actually taken a lot of photos of past NFBC and NFFC live events, but they either remain on my phone or in the old days on a roll of film back at the office. It's time to highlight our players and our past live events with a photo page.

We did create one a few years ago and this year Jon Stadtmueller made us take group photos of some of the high-dollar live event leagues in Las Vegas and New York City. He said his wife wanted to see the other die-hards who play fantasy baseball at these high amounts and she needed proof that there were actually other crazies like her husband!!! So we took group photos of the Platinum, Diamond and Diamond Auction Leagues this year and some of them are on our Live Events page here:

https://nfc.shgn.com/liveevents/baseball

We also did that in New York City for the MTM Invitational Ultimate League and I got Scott Fleming holding the 2021 trophy as well. Hell, there's even a nice shot of MTM and me hugging during Covid!!!

Anyway, I'll start to find some past photos and add them to this page and I'll do the same for football. And then in future years we'll start taking more photos and video so that people who can't make the live events see what a great time it is. Thanks for pushing me in this direction, Jon!! Or better yet, Thanks Mrs. Stadtmueller for pushing me in this direction!!