FSX2 ~ ESPN Football League #57260
i. policies
ii. playoffs
iii. tiebreakers
I. LEAGUE POLICIES
a. Basics:
ESPN's Rules of Fair Play will be upheld in this league.
It is the responsibility of each manager to read and understand all settings and rules prior to participating in the league. The amount of keepers, scoring categories, lock dates and other important information can be found at the settings page of the league. Also, each manager is responsible for accessing the league site on equipment capable of utilizing the features ESPN incorporates into their fantasy games. All managers are required to provide a current e-mail address and will be expected to review all trades, vote in polls, and stay up-to-date on all league business. Failure to demonstrate active involvement could be grounds for expulsion from the league. I like to keep these rules available as a written reminder of policy- for several reasons, one being so that I won't forget how we've done stuff in the past when certain situations arise. And so that anyone can reference them at any time if something comes into question. Most of what's below is nothing out of the ordinary.
a. Team name:
Teams will need to be properly named, and will be expected to provide a logo, which can be generated with ESPN's logo builder or by using an appropriate image. Obscene or offensive team names or logos will not be allowed.
b. Scoring:
The final scoring observed by ESPN will be the official method of determining winners in the weekly match-ups. ESPN rules state a scoring correction could occur up until the Saturday following the end of the match-up. Please be aware that ESPN scoring corrections could result in changes to the standings, the outcome of weekly matchups, or the playoff bracket.
c. Inactive teams:
All teams must remain competitive throughout the regular season. Any team that has shown no activity for the period of one week, and has an injured player starting or a good player parked- or something which indicates he is not trying to be competitive, will receive an email from the LM asking him to set his LU.
Continued failure to respond and/or update their LU may result in the team being re-assigned to a new owner and/or not being invited back next season.
If a manager quits, a replacement manager will be sought. If a manager becomes inactive, and no longer wishes to remain in the league, it will be at the discretion of the LM whether or not to try and give the team away to a new owner for the current season. It can be expected, to some degree and especially later in the season, for teams to become less involved if they fall out of contention.
d. Unruly teams:
Rarely is this a problem and I certainly do not foresee a problem in this league, but in the event that a manager begins to act in an unsportsmanlike manner for any reason, he will be issued a warning. A continuation of unsportsmanlike behavior will result in termination from the league.
I am pretty liberal about what will be tolerated, but the bottom line is that this is my league and I won�t allow cheating, insults or threats which I deem to be of a serious or personal nature, or actions that may compromise the integrity of the league. Again, the rules ESPN has outlined for their fantasy games will be observed and upheld- ESPN's Rules of Fair Play
e. Dropped players:
Even though we are utilizing ESPNs can't cut list, in a deep league such as this, the list will not cover players that fall just off of the list, yet may be keeper quality in this league, or would have very good trade market value. As a rule of thumb, the top 64-80 players basically will fall into this group.
If a drop is questionable, ALL league managers will have the option to call for an inquiry. An email will be sent to the manager making the drop, asking for an explanation. If it is determined the drop does not benefit his team, the player may be returned to the team.
f. Accidentally dropped players:
If a manager drops a player by mistake, in the process of intending to drop another player to add a player from the FA, he must immediately announce that it was an accident by posting on the league board without delay of his error.
If the drop was clearly an accident, the player will be returned to the team who dropped him at the earliest opportunity.
If a manager takes advantage of this situation by streaming other players, or
benefits from this action in any wrongful way, the dropped player may not be returned to his team.
g. Trades:
Trading is a fun and necessary part of the game and adds interest to the season.
It is true that your team may not benefit from a trade between two others, but you should only consider the fairness of the trade when voting on it. Unless there is clear evidence that one team is getting an unfair advantage, trades need to go through.
Four (4) votes against a trade in the 48 hour review period will result in the trade being vetoed.
If a trade fails to make it through the veto process, please try to explain your thinking and/or re-work the deal and try it again.
If the trade is seemingly fair, yet is vetoed twice, the LM will, at the request of both trading parties, email the league and inquire as to the reasoning of those in objection.
A team voting against the trade will need to offer a legitimate reason stating why he feels the trade is unfair and deserving of veto.
In the event that improper discretion has been used to veto an obviously fair trade, the trade may be put through by the commissioner. Obviously, it is to the benefit of all league members to be fair in reviewing trades and to handle league business in a sportsmanlike manner at all times.
h. Draft pick trading:
Draft pick trading can be tricky because teams are not required to keep a set number of players they may elect to keep less than 4 with the strategy of beginning to draft off the board of available players earlier than other teams. Each sport is different, but in football, rookie impact players may be worth drafting this early, and they will not be available to add from the FA until the draft. Draft pick trading can quickly result in significant gains by teams, so be careful when conducting draft pick trading. It is of the utmost importance that everyone understands that teams CANNOT keep more than 4 players and that when trading draft picks for players, you cannot keep the player you trade for unless he is named as one of your 4 keepers.
i. Keeper lockdown:
All draft-pick trading should ideally be completed more than 48 hours in advance of the keeper lockdown time in order for the trade to go through normal league review process. The lockdown date is established not as a deadline for trading, but is a pre-determined time that has been set to lock the league in order to allow teams to prepare for the draft. I usually aim for a period of 3 days for this once the draft date has been agreed to. In the event a trade is made less than 48 hours in advance of the lockdown time, it will not clear on its own and will be dependent upon the LM putting it through. The LM will email the league, expediting a decision. At this stage, having already passed lockdown, as little time as needed will be spent in determining a ruling so that lockdown will not be set back.
Also, if the trade involves keepers, the trading teams must specify to the LM in advance how the trade will affect his keeper situation, and he will not be allowed to change this after the lockdown, since he will have had an opportunity to view everyone else's keepers.
j. Bad trades:
In a league as active as this will be, I doubt we have any really bad trades get through. It could be within the realm of possibility that a retarded trade somehow gets through.
In the event that this were to happen, that a bad trade slipped through- (like Morten Andersen for Tom Brady or something) the trade will be voided and the players returned to their teams. This would be used only in the circumstances described above and would just serve as a protective measure in the event it did happen. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the LM to protect the competitive balance of the league and any trade which undermines or compromises the fairness of play or integrity of the league may be voided. This does not apply to lopsided trades, but truly horrendous trades that damage the league will not be allowed.
k. Requested veto:
If it occurs that one of the teams involved in a trade requests that it be vetoed, for whatever reason, injury, demotion, etc, the league will consider this and vote appropriately. In this situation, the manager must depend on the league to veto the trade, because the LM will not overturn it. It is therefore important to retract dated trade offers and not to agree to trades without closely reviewing them.
In a situation where one manager clearly has unknowingly agreed to a trade for damaged goods, requested a veto from the league, yet failed to receive it, the commissioner may with extreme discretion elect to turn back the trade.
l. Trading deadline:
The trading deadline will be the week after election day (2nd week in November). NOTE: Trades accepted before the trade deadline but are scheduled to process after the deadline, will still process normally. Please note that the league is open for business year round, meaning players may be added from free agency or waivers at any time. The exception is new players entering the NFL, who must be drafted into the league.
m. Keeper selection:
Teams will be permitted to protect from 0-4 players from year to year. There is no required minimum. The maximum players you may keep is 4. Players must be assigned as keepers by you if you wish to retain them to your team. Players with a BLUE K beside their name will be kept to your team and players w/o a BLUE K will be returned to the available player pool prior to the draft by ESPN. These players will be available to be drafted by all teams during the draft. Kept players will be auto-drafted to their teams in the keeper rounds, which are straight, and are rounds 1-4. If you elect to keep fewer than 4 players, you will select from available players in the round following your last keeper selection. Example, you keep 2, in round 3 you begin drafting from available players. Again, snake draft does not start until round 5; prior to that the draft is straight order. This is the way ESPN handles the keeper rounds and cannot be altered. This could significantly alter someones strategy if they are high draft order. Keeper selections will be final. Teams that fail to set keepers or forget to assign keeper status to a player they intended to keep will lose those players to the draft, so don't forget to set your keepers and consider your options in advance of the lockdate, because once we reach the lock date no changes will be allowed. Failure to set keepers isn't necessarily grounds for expulsion from the league, but managers who aren't involved enough to fulfill basic managerial obligations will be removed from the league and replaced with actively involved managers.
n. Draft Order:
The draft order will be generated by ESPN.
o. Tanking:
Tanking, for anyone unfamiliar with the term, occurs when a team does not try to win for the current season. Tanking is not allowed. All teams must attempt to maintain competitive rosters throughout the ENTIRE season. Depending on the severity of the offense, an owner who tanks may be removed from the league immediately, or may not be invited back for the next season.
II. PLAYOFFS
a. Playoff qualifiers:
Six teams will make the playoffs. Each Division Winner will automatically make the playoffs and be seeded 1-4 in order of winning percentage.
Wildcard playoff spots will be awarded to the two teams with the best winning percentages, which are not divisional winners, and will be seeded 5-6 in order of winning percentage. This is standard ESPN default and will not have to be edited by the LM.
b. Playoff game selection process:
Playoff selection is ESPN default. It will be the 4 division winners seeded 1-4 based on winning percentage and then the next two teams with the highest winning percentage will be the wild cards. No LM editing is required.
III. TIEBREAKERS
a. In the event that two teams end up tied for a playoff spot:
The league tiebreaker to determine playoff seeding is set to H2H.
ESPN will determine who advances if further tiebreakers are needed. No LM editing of the playoff bracket will occur. Whichever team ESPN has advancing from a tie may not be challenged.
b. To determine the winner of a tie game in the postseason:
If a playoff game or the cg ends in a tie, ESPN will determine which team advances. I believe they use high seed as the determiner, but whatever ESPN decides cannot be challenged.
SINCE THE LEAGUE HAS GONE TO FRACTIONAL SCORING, A TIE GAME WOULD BE HIGHLY UNLIKELY, BUT STILL POSSIBLE. ESPN displays the scores only to the 10ths, but scoring to the 100ths is recorded. If you mouse over the final score, the true score will appear.