Who Is Coming To The 2005 NFBC And Where?

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 4:58 am

David DiDonato of Johnston, Rhode Island is new to the NFBC, but he's not new to high-stakes fantasy baseball contests. He flew out to Las Vegas last year to compete in the WCOFB, seeing that the odds of winning were better in the 45-team WCOFB than the 195-team NFBC. He finished second in his league and eighth overall, but now he's willing to dive into the NFBC in 2005. David has signed up for the main event and is tentatively listed in New York, although he's trying to get his travel plans finalized and join us in Las Vegas. No problem on that and we'll accommodate you wherever you finally decide to compete. David is also interested in the NFBC Ultimate Draft League and will do that if his travel plans work out. Thanks David and best of luck in the hunt for the $100,000 grand prize, the $5,000 league prize and the $40,000 Ultimate League prize if that works out.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 10:53 am

Let's welcome another new member to the growing NFBC family as Jeff Peters of Erie, Pennsylvania has signed up to compete in the NFBC's main event at the Rio Hotel & Casino on Saturday, March 19th with his son, Jeff Jr. Mr. Peters is head of FJ Fantasy Sports, the company that provides the NFBC and NFFC with the large draft boards that we use for all of our drafts. He doesn't have any special "in" for knowing the color of the player stickers, he's just a die-hard baseball fan who has turned his passion into a side industry and now wants to take on the big boys in a friendly game of fantasy for $100,000!

Jeff competed in the WCOFB last year and finished 21st overall, so he's familiar with the format. If you're missing a player sticker in your league, I'll point you to Jeff in Las Vegas!!! Thanks Jeff for trusting and supporting us and best of luck in the hunt for the $100,000 grand prize and the $5,000 league prize.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Jan 12, 2005 3:12 pm

George Acunto of Holbrook, New York is the latest member of the growing NFBC family and we welcome him with open arms. George is new to our family of high-stakes events and his signup officially closes out our ninth full league for the 2005 main event as he has signed up to draft at the New York Hilton on Saturday, March 19th. That leaves us with 11 more leagues to fill before we decide to close off the signups at 300. Welcome aboard, George, and best of luck in the hunt for the $100,000 grand prize and the $5,000 league prize. First beers are on us!!!

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 11:24 am

Let's give it up for yet another new member of the growing NFBC family as Timothy Stevens of Downey, California and Brad Simpson have just signed up for the NFBC's main event at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 19th. Tim and Brad are new to our family of high-stakes events/contests, but they are excited to participate. Tim said he's also checking out the Auction Leagues and will participate in one of those on Friday if his travel plans work out. Thanks for the phone call today, Tim, and best of luck to you guys in the hunt for the $100,000 grand prize and the $5,000 league prize.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Fri Jan 14, 2005 2:51 am

Let's give it up for another new member of the growing NFBC family as the tag team of Nathan Tennessen of Hopkins, Minnesota and Andy Speakman has just signed up for the NFBC's main event at the New York Hilton on Saturday, March 19th. Nathan and Andy have been in a local league with Mike O'Connor for the past several years and when Mike told them how much fun he had in 2004, they agreed to jump in themselves. They were hoping to reunite in Las Vegas for some fun and baseball, but the schedule worked out better for them to visit some friends in New York and still get into the draft. Thanks for the trust and support, guys, and best of luck in the hunt for the $100,000 grand prize and the $5,000 league prize.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Fri Jan 14, 2005 8:38 am

This next signup is a special one. Jeff Chamberlain started www.fantasysportsbrainiac.com this summer and wanted to provide a contest that would bring valued customers to his new site and he asked me if he could give away one entry into the NFBC for 2005. It took me all of one second for me to say yes as the promotion was a good one for us and Jeff was willing to pay for this entry. Sure enough, his new site had a good first season and his winner will be determined after the Super Bowl. Jeff is securing his NFBC spot now and we'll announce the name of the winner and the location of the draft later, but for now we think anyone in their right mind would choose Las Vegas!!!

So thanks Jeff for providing our latest entry into the NFBC and we look forward to working together for an NFFC entry this spring. Let me know when you have the winner's name and wish that person best of luck in the hunt for the $100,000 grand prize and the $5,000 league prize.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Fri Jan 14, 2005 8:50 am

Let's give it up for our 99th returning NFBC member from 2004 to return in 2005 as the tag team of Greg Paley of Chappaqua, New York and Pat Depirro return to the New York Hilton on Saturday, March 19th. Team Paley had a bit of tough luck in 2004 as it failed to cash despite finishing 35th in the overall standings. Team Paley finished fourth in New York League 3 with 95.5 points, just 1/2 point out of third place, 2.5 points out of second place and 7.5 points out of first place. Ouch! Still, we're glad to see that Greg and Pat are back for more and this year they are going for the big prize!!! Thanks for your trust and support, guys, and best of luck in the hunt for the $100,000 grand prize and the $5,000 league prize.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 5:04 am

Let's welcome back our 100th NFBC member from 2004 to the 2005 main event as John Menna of Fort Collins, Colorado has made it official that he's competing in the trifecta in Las Vegas the weekend of March 18-19. John just signed up for the main event on Saturday at the Rio Hotel & Casino after already committing to the NL Auction League ($1,250) and the AL Auction League ($650). John's Wiseguy Baseball team finished 10th in Las Vegas League 1 last year with 79.5 points as his team battled injuries most of the year. I think John and Meat Loaf jinxed each other as they sat next to each other in the NL Auction League and LV 1 and both had major injuries in both leagues. But we're glad to have you back again, John, and we wish you best of luck in the hunt for the $100,000 grand prize and the $5,000 league prize. I'll see you in Las Vegas and we'll have a beer or three together.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Sat Jan 15, 2005 5:08 am

Speaking of Meat Loaf, the rock star is following John's lead and adding another league to his shopping cart to complete the trifecta. Meat has already signed up for the NFBC's main event at the Rio on Saturday, March 19th and he's in the NL Auction League ($1,250) with Bruce Barnard on Friday morning. Now he's joining forces with Ken Bayes to grab a team in the AL Auction League ($1,250) on Friday afternoon. We now have 15 teams signed up for that auction league and obviously the first 12 are guaranteed a spot. We'll continue to try and fill up a second one, although Ken and Meat said they would do the $650 Auction League if this second $1,250 league doesn't fill up. We'll keep pushing guys and I have a feeling we'll get there as several guys from last year still haven't officially committed yet. Thanks again, Ken and Meat Loaf, and best of luck in the hunt for this $7,000 league prize.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Sun Jan 16, 2005 4:15 am

We're glad to welcome back David Longood of Salem, Oregon to the NFBC's main event in 2005. David becomes the 101st member from 2004 to come back in 2005 for the main event as he competed in Las Vegas League 3 last year, leading his carpe dinero team to an 11th place finish with 65.5 points as his offense struggled badly down the stretch after a promising start. David also competed in the National Fantasy Football Championship in 2004, so he's been a loyal member of our family the last two years. David is also signed up for the golf event on Friday morning, a combination (golf-baseball) I STRONGLY approve of!

Thanks for trusting in us again, David, and best of luck in the hunt for the $100,000 grand prize and the $5,000 league prize.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 9:35 am

Let's give it up for another returning NFBC member as Larry Katz of Morgan Hill, California has just signed up to compete in the NFBC's main event again at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 19th. Larry's wemarriedshiksas team finished fifth in Las Vegas League 5 last year with 97 points, missing third place money by just 2.5 points and finishing 40th overall. Larry becomes the 102nd NFBC member to return from 2004 to our 2005 main event, a great testamonial indeed. Thanks Larry for your trust and support and best of luck in the hunt for the $100,000 grand prize and the $5,000 league prize.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:11 am

Let's welcome our newest members to the growing NFBC family as Steve and Alex Pletkin of Santa Rosa, California have agreed to compete in the NFBC's main event at the Rio Hotel & Casino on Saturday, March 19th. The father-son combo competed in LABR with me in 2003 as the regular guys and honestly I'm not even sure if they beat me or not. Steve had to remind me that my team led for most of the first half before falling to fourth place and I ungraciously forgot to ask where his team finished (he might have won it!). Anyway, he's VERY excited to compete with the best in this high-stakes draft and getting away from tax preparations for a weekend sounds like a good getaway for him and his dad. Welcome aboard, guys, and best of luck in the hunt for the $100,000 grand prize and the $5,000 league prize.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:24 am

Scott Simonetti of Centereach, New York becomes our fourth member to sign up for the Mixed Auction League in New York on Friday, March 18th as he joins the NFBC for the first time. While Scott is new to our high-stakes fantasy baseball game, he's not new to our high-stakes events. Scott participated in the New York Auction League for the National Fantasy Football Championship and led his team to a 12-0 start. His Fandango team made it to the championship game, but lost the title game to JerseyPaul. Now he's ready to try his hand at the baseball auction league and we're glad to have him. Great season, Scott, and best of luck in the hunt for the $4,250 first place prize in this Mixed Auction League.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 3:00 am

George Beason of Chattanooga, Tennessee becomes our 103rd member from 2004 to return to the 2005 main event. George was already signed up for the AL Auction League ($1,250) and is doing the doubleheader again just like last year. He's even looking into the NL Auction League on Friday morning to complete the trifecta. George guarantees a better finish for his NFBC team as last year's Smokey Mtn. Oysters struggled to a bottom finish in Las Vegas League 2. Nowhere but up this year, George! Thanks for your continuing support and best of luck this year in the hunt for the $100,000 grand prize and the $5,000 league prize.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 11:09 am

Let's give it up for yet another new member of the growing NFBC family as the tag team of Robert Jurney of Dunkirk, Maryland and J Matthew Meiers will be joining us this year for the NFBC's main event at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Robert and Matthew are new to our family of high stakes events and we welcome them with open arms. We'll have some fun in Las Vegas, I promise, as we now have over 80 members signed up for that main event at the Rio. Thanks for trusting in us, guys, and best of luck in the hunt for the $100,000 grand prize and the $5,000 league prize.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed Jan 19, 2005 2:47 pm

Let's welcome another new member to the growing NFBC family as the tag team of Anthony Sannito of Lansing, Illinois and Dave Kennedy has just signed up for the Mixed Auction League ($650 entry fee) at the Embassy Suites Chicago O'Hare on Friday, March 18th starting at 4 p.m. Anthony and Dave are new to our family of high-stakes events and we welcome them aboard. We now have four teams signed up for that debut event in Chicago and we hope to fill it up with 15 teams. Tom and I will do our best to recruit more members to the Windy City as we are setting up a booth at CubsFest this weekend at the Chicago Hilton. Thanks guys for joining our event and best of luck in the hunt for the $4,250 first place prize.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 2:43 am

Rich Squires and Mike Peterson become our newest members of the growing NFBC family as the pair have teamed up to fill our third full league in the NFBC's main event in New York. Rich and Mike are Leaderboard Sports members who are new to our family of high-stakes contests and we welcome them to the fold. We now have 45 signups for New York and are close to filling our 10th overall league for the main event. Thanks for your trust and support, guys, and best of luck in the hunt for the $100,000 grand prize and the $5,000 league prize.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 4:58 am

Let's get back to the signups as we've had six for the main event this morning! Let's welcome back Parnelli Baker of Columbus, Indiana, who will be returning to the NFBC's main event at the Embassy Suites Chicago-O'Hare on Saturday, March 19th. Parnelli was a co-manager with Chad Meyer last year in Chicago League 2 as they led Triple Threat to a third place finish. They actually were leading Chicago League 2 going into the final week of the season, but fell 4.5 points behind DFW Rough Riders for first place and finished 1.5 points out of second place. Parnelli is taking his own team this year and is hopeful that two other co-managers will grab their own teams as well! Great news. Parnelli is also signed up for the Chicago Mixed Auction League and wants us to fill that one up, which we will. Thanks Parnelli for trusting in us again and best of luck in the hunt for the $100,000 grand prize and the $5,000 league prize.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 5:20 am

Four signups this morning came in from the Leaderboard Sports.com group, which is unquestionably the most dedicated fantasy baseball group of players in the country. These ESPN gamers have found a love for this high-stakes contest and I'm glad they found us!

Anyway, let's start the introductions by welcoming Jake Rie and George Vagelakos of East Stroudsberg, Pennsylvania as they will team up for the NFBC's main event at the New York Hilton on Saturday, March 19th. George was a co-manager last year on the Leaderboard Big Apple team that finished sixth in New York League 3 with 91.5 points, just 4.5 points out of the money. Thanks for trusting in us, guys, and best of luck in the hunt for the $100,000 grand prize and the $5,000 league prize.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 5:34 am

Let's welcome another Leaderboard Sports member back to the fold as Shane Pullen will be returning to the NFBC's main event at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 19th. Shane's DD Diamond Dawgz team struggled with injuries last year and finished 13th in New York League 5, but he promises a better finish this year. Shane becomes the 106th team from 2004 to return in 2005 out of the 195 teams we had! Wow, I like the return rate thus far. Thanks for your trust and support, Shane, and best of luck in the hunt for the $100,000 grand prize and the $5,000 league prize.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 5:45 am

Let's give it up for our 107th returning member to the 2005 NFBC main event as the tag team of Terry Kent and Tom Wachter of Bartlett, Illinois will be drafting at the Embassy Suites Chicago-O'Hare on Saturday, March 19th. Tom was a co-manager of Da Leaderboard team that finished 11th in Chicago League 2 last year with 73.5 points. Terry and Tom are obviously Leaderboard Sports.com members and we again thank them for their support. Welcome back guys and best of luck in the hunt for the $100,000 grand prize and the $5,000 league prize.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 5:53 am

Our fourth Leaderboard Sports.com signup of the morning comes to us in the form of Jeff Jamison and Chris Goudey, who will be a tag team at the NFBC's main event at the Rio in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 19th. Chris was a co-manager in the main event last year, but this is Jeff's first time with us. Thanks again for all your support guys and best of luck in the hunt for the $100,000 grand prize and the $5,000 league prize.

Gordon Gekko · Post by **Gordon Gekko** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 6:01 am

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:

Leaderboard Sports.com i'm starting a Leaderboard Gekko.com organization

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 7:53 am

That must be a football only site, right?

Hey, GG, you still have time to join us for baseball, but the spots are going fast. Don't wait too long!

Gordon Gekko · Post by **Gordon Gekko** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 9:27 am

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:

Hey, GG, you still have time to join us for baseball, but the spots are going fast. Don't wait too long! my people are keeping a close watch on the sign-ups.