RAFFLE returns again in 1994 for its fourth year. We have done some major rework of the rules, so everyone needs to look over them--returning owners and new owners. I'm hoping that these rules will undergo little change in the coming years as they have some forward-looking visions written already, but I'm always open to rules changes during the off-season. For the new owners: RAFFLE is a >> NO COST << fantasy football league where all correspondence is done via Email. This is my second year as commissioner and third as statistician (and team owner). For all owners--especially returners: I have an actual job (I'm no longer a student), so responses are limited to evenings only on work days, unless I can get Internet access at work. I log on every day, so there won't be a delay of more than 24 hours. Also, a few new things this year: - the return to the 17-week NFL regular season schedule (giving expanded RAFFLE playoffs). I guess the NFL didn't like the beating they took in the ratings. :) - realignment of the RAFFLE leagues (3 divisions in each league). - a change to combined basic/performance scoring method (details in Scoring). - a rules committee that will vote on decisions that only I used to decide. (They helped revise the rules for '94.) * creation of an FTP site available that will contain all RAFFLE information (details in FTP). 1) Securing Your Spot for RAFFLE '94 ========================================= To make a reservation for a spot in RAFFLE for 1994, send a note to me at "troan@vnet.net" that includes the following information: - your name (as you want it to appear in the mailings) - the Email address to which the mailings are to be sent. - long team name (30 characters) for use in the standings. - short team name (15 characters) for use in the lineups (a.k.a. a nickname). - indicate "keeper" or "no keeper". The earlier you get a "keeper" request in, the better your chance of getting a keeper league spot (see keeper league section for more info). The length restrictions on team names are to make the reports a little easier to create and read. If the long team name is short enough, it can be used as the short form as well. To claim your spot, send a draft list by August 1 (see the section on Drafting for more details). The draft lists will be finalized at midnight on the 19th. NOTE: If I don't have 36 reservations by July 15, I'll start advertising on Usenet until I fill all available spots. Likewise, I will reopen advertising if I don't have all of the draft lists by August 1. 2) Rules for Keeper Leagues ================================================== RAFFLE keeper leagues will be starting this year. For '94 there won't be any changes in procedure. The draft and weekly procedures during the season are identical. The changes come in the 1995 and the following years. Each team will indicate which five players they are going to protect (no more than 2 from a single position). This shortens the drafts to 7 rounds each year after 1994. NOTE: I will not force anyone into a keeper league. This means that as I get reservations for the 36 spots for which I am commissioner, I will note "keeper" or "non-keeper". When I get twelve teams that indicate "keeper", a keeper league will be formed. I will try to leave returning owners in the league they were in last year, but I will be moving teams around as necessary to accommodate the keeper leagues. 3) Fielding a Team/Roster Size =============================================== Every week each team will field one of the following formations: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, TE, K, D, C, TM QB, RB, WR, WR, WR, WR, K, D, C, TM QB, RB, WR, WR, WR, TE, K, D, C, TM QB, RB, WR, WR, TE, TE, K, D, C, TM Because of the bye week and fielding requirements, the roster will be eighteen positions. The team defense/special teams (D) position is ONE TEAM chosen to fill BOTH roles on DEFENSE AND SPECIAL TEAMS. Points are awarded for turnover recoveries, sacks, and points scored. The coach (C) position will scores points based on how the coach of THE TEAM he coaches fared that week. The team (TM) position is used for tie-breakers only. The score given is the total of all fantasy points scored by the team that week. See Scoring for the rest of the details. 4) Drafting/Filling Roster Space ============================================= The draft will be twelve rounds. The pre-draft submission from each team will need: - the team name (so I'll know which team the list is for). - a draft order of preference for picking positions (i.e., draft my highest available RB for round one, K for round 2, etc.). This ordering will play a major role in the shape and [lack of] strength(s) of your team. - a position-by-position draft ordering in a single column. Those three-column lists that we got last year were difficult to work with during the drafts--especially as we were doing the third one. Please use this order to make the draft easier for us to do: QB, RB, WR, TE (if you're drafting any), K, Defense (D), Coach (C), Team (TM). *** Do realize that you won't get all of your desired top choices, so make your lists as LONG as possible. If your list runs out before the drafting is over, I'll choose the highest remaining player for the position from the Combined Basic/Performance list (Basic list for kickers) in Cliff Charpentier's Fantasy Football Digest (Lerner Publications Company), usually available in early or mid July. I'll go alphabetically for C, D, and TM). NOTE: We made use of Top 25 (or some other number) lists in '93. These are OK, but _please_ place them at the top of the list (right after the position preference list). If you put any conditions on the list (i.e., no more than two from any position from the list), place that just before the list so I don't miss it. The additional six positions will be filled by supplemental picks. These additional picks can be taken anytime after the draft results are posted, but before the start of the season. FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED--just let me know who your choices are. + ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ + The draft will occur during the weekend of August 20-21. I'll mail and post (to the FTP site) the initial rosters as each league's draft is completed. + ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ + The draft will be in random order, changing every odd round. The even rounds will be the reversed order of the preceding odd round. In following years (for keeper leagues only), the odd-rounds order will be determined by the teams' previous year's performances. 5) Waiver Wire Activity ====================================================== Obtaining an unselected player is perfectly legal (and will probably be necessary for most of us). Please wait until the weekly reports have been sent before starting any waiver wire activity. During the first three weeks: The owners can grab unselected players on first-come, first-served after the weekly summaries are posted. Our experience has shown that the good selections are taken during the first month. Therefore, it'll be a good idea to stay on top of things (and be an active trader) during the first several weeks of the season. After the first three weeks of play: The deadlines for each team will be given in the weekly summary. The worst team will get to choose first as long as the request is sent BEFORE the given deadline. Do note that the team whose deadline is first has priority for picking an unclaimed player. NOTE: This does not mean that you can't draft after the end of the deadlines. (After the deadlines, it's first-come, first-served.) It simply gives the weaker teams the ability to become better by getting the developing players first. 6) Trades With Other Teams =================================================== Trades between teams are OK at anytime except between league posts from the commish (usually Sunday at 11 AM thru Tuesday evening). The only thing to do is for both owners to let me know so that you don't get a "PLAYER NOT ON ROSTER" message, resulting in a blank starting position. (I need to hear from both owners to ensure that one team isn't trying to get away with anything. So far, no one has ever tried to do so.) REMEMBER THAT YOU CAN TRADE ONLY WITH TEAMS IN YOUR OWN LEAGUE. 7) Lineup Submissions ======================================================== Lineups for each week will need to be submitted to me TWO HOURS BEFORE THE START of the first game each week (usually Sunday at 11 AM eastern time). For Thursday games, only those teams that are fielding a player playing in the game need to submit their ENTIRE lineup two hours before game time. All other teams submit as normal. (Lineups will not be mailed until sometime after 11:00 AM Sunday). Any lineup submission you make will copied and returned to you within 24 hours. If you don't get one, you'll need to resend it. This was tried in '93 after the season had started with the mysterious loss of a few lineups. This helped take care of any problems we had. If you choose to keep the same lineup, you don't need to submit anything. On the same note, if you wish to change your lineup, you need to submit a new one or I'll use the lineup from the previous week. If there's a player that doesn't play in a particular week, it is the owner's responsibility to field another player for that position for the week. Since several teams will have the same week off, you'll probably have more than one player on your own team that won't play--hence the large rosters. For players that play multiple positions (i.e., Eric Metcalf as RB and DST), see the Scoring notes. 8) Scoring =================================================================== TD scored 6 points TD pass 3 pts 2-pt scored 2 pts 2-pt pass 1 pt Field Goal 3 pts Extra Point 1 pt Safety 2 pts (Team Defense/Special Teams) Sack 1 pt (Team Defense/Special Teams) Turnover Recovery 1 pt (Team Defense/Special Teams) Coach's TEAM wins 4 pts Coach's TEAM ties 2 pts For the players' performance: Rushing/Receiving 1 pt/10 yds (0-9 is 0 pts, 10-19 is 1, etc.) Passing 1 pt/20 yds (0-19 is 0 pts, 20-39 is 1, etc.) Kicker's FGs 45-54 yarders give 3 additional points 55 yards or more gives 6 additional points Def. Sack Yardage 1 pt/5 yds (0-4 is 0 pts, 5-9 is 1, etc.) Coach's Margin of Victory 1 pt/10 pts over opponent (a 10-7 win gives nothing extra while a 56-17 blowout gives four additional points for a total of eight points) NOTE 1: If a player is selected for an offensive position but scores during special teams play (punts/kickoffs), ONLY the special teams (DST) gets the points. For example: Eric Metcalf of Cleveland runs a punt back for a TD. Team #2 has him as an offensive player, but Team #1 has the Browns' defense/special teams. Team #1 gets the points since Metcalf scored the TD on a punt return. If he had scored the TD during an offensive play, Team #2 would get the points instead. In short, the team that gets points is the one that had the player in the proper position. I.e., Deion scored two TDs in a game in 1993--one as a WR and one as special teams. The team who had him as a WR would get one TD and the Atlanta DST would get the other 6 pts. NOTE 2: If a coach goes down with a medical problem (i.e. New England in '92), the assistant takes over in the RAFFLE roster. This means that you're drafting for the overall record of the team rather than the record of that specific coach. NOTE 3: The TM is used only as a reserve and does not count toward the team's point total. If two teams end the week with the same point total for the starters, the TM is looked at. Whichever team' s TM has more fantasy points that week is the winner. If both teams score the same number of fantasy points, the game remains a tie. 9) Scheduling ================================================================ The schedule for all of the leagues is the same this year. There are nine divisions across the three leagues. League I consists of the Sisko, Kira, and Dax divisions; League II has the Picard, Riker, and Data divisions; and League III has the Kirk, Speck, and Scott divisions. Yes, I AM into _Star Trek_ as well as football. For those who don't see the pattern, the divisions are the commander, first officer, and second officer in _Star Trek_ (the original 1960s series), _Next Gen._, and _DS9_. (I don't-know what I'll do when _Voyager_ starts in '95. :) The RAFFLE regular season is during weeks 1-14. Weeks 15-17 are devoted to the RAFFLE playoffs. Div: Sisko/Picard/Kirk Kira/Riker/Spock Dax/Data/Scott Team #: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Week # 1 6 3 2 11 8 1 10 5 12 7 4 9 2 4 8 6 1 11 3 9 2 7 12 5 10 3 3 11 1 12 9 10 8 7 5 6 2 4 4 8 4 10 2 6 5 12 1 11 3 9 7 5 5 12 4 3 1 8 11 6 10 9 7 2 6 11 9 5 10 3 7 6 12 2 4 1 8 7 12 7 9 6 10 4 2 11 3 5 8 1 8 2 1 12 7 8 9 4 5 6 11 10 3 9 3 10 1 9 7 8 5 6 4 2 12 11 10 7 4 11 2 6 5 1 9 8 12 3 10 11 10 5 7 8 2 11 3 4 12 1 6 9 12 2 1 4 3 12 7 6 10 11 8 9 5 13 4 6 8 1 7 2 5 3 10 9 12 11 14 9 3 2 5 4 12 8 7 1 11 10 6 Key: Read across the top for each team, down for the opponents; the leftmost column is the week. Since there is no homefield advantage, no homefields are indicated. In following years, the schedule will be determined by how well each team did the previous year. It is at this point that the schedule for each league will be different. Playoffs: The top eight teams will be going to the playoffs. They will be seeded 1 to 8 based on record (with the usual tie-breakers applied as needed). When one of these teams loses, they will play another team that lost at the same level that week. (This keeps everyone playing for something until the very end.) The last four teams will play each other. After the three weeks, they will be ranked by their records during the "mini-tourney". When we did this in 1992, the top team of the four was not decided until the last week. 10) Standings ================================================================ Standings will be decided by looking at (in this order): Overall record Points for (most points) Head-to-head Division record Points against (most points) Coin toss (witnessed by as much of the rules committee as possible) By the time the end of the season rolls around, we probably won't have to drop below the head-to-head line--but you never know! 11) Weekly summaries for ===================================================== Every week, I will post the following information: Standings for the week Final scores for the week (guaranteed) Game summaries for the week (if time allows or if someone from league wants to write and mail them to me for inclusion in the reports) Trades/transactions from the week Next week's games The order for trading with the unselected pool for this coming week (starts with the Week 3 posting) 12) Unresponsive Ownership =================================================== If an owner is not heard from by the commissioner for four consecutive weeks, the commissioner will send a note to the owner (cc'ing the rules committee members) asking whether the owner wishes to maintain ownership of the team. If a NO is returned (or no response within three days), the commissioner becomes the temporary owner of the team until an owner is found (via Usenet). If a YES is returned, the owner maintains ownership of the team. If a second four-week period elapses with no communication from the same owner, the commissioner automatically takes over temporary ownership until a new owner is found. The only exception is when the owner lets the commissioner know that he/she will be away from the computer for an extended period of time (1 wk or more) and not have access to Internet and/or necessary the RAFFLE materials. NOTE: This was put in only because I don't like inactive teams. These leagues (and all other fantasy leagues) were set up to provide fun for the members. An inactive owner makes playing difficult for the other owners in the league. 13) Upcoming Possible Votes ================================================== None at this time. 14) FTP ====================================================================== There is now an FTP site for football information at "ftp.vnet.net". It contains NFL, fantasy football, and RAFFLE information. All posts will be available for those times you accidentally "rm -f" the files. By the time the '94 season starts, I hope to have all of my files from 1993 uploaded. If you have requests for information you wish to see at the site send me some mail and I'll see what I can do to take care of it. Likewise, if you have information you wish to contribute, don't hesitate to put it in the incoming directory. 15) Miscellaneous information ================================================ There is no monetary requirement for this league. We are a league that believes in being run by the owners. In pursuing this course, we will have a VOTE on various issues as they present themselves. For the vote to be valid, 19 teams need to vote. A simple majority of the votes cast will determine the outcome. I am always open to changes in the rules, but the discussion will always be done during the off-season. The [voting] rules committee members are: John M. Troan Trouncers troan@vnet.net John Billcheck Phantoms jmbillch@eos.ncsu.edu Eric Witzgall Warlords eawitzga@eos.ncsu.edu Honorary (non-voting) member: Alien Wiles Airballers If you have any questions, feel free to drop me Email. (I check my mail at least once a day while I'm in town.) My Email address won't change since I'm still using a private company--and not relying on my soon-to-be- inaccessible school account.