So it's time to fill out this year's incarnation of the Daily Kos Fantasy Football League.
The last few years I sent out an invitation through a Daily Kos diary inviting people to participate in my yearly free Yahoo fantasy baseball league eloquently named "Cub Hater's Club '13" (or whatever year it was). There was a pretty good response rate, and the league filled fairly quickly. Four years ago I decided to add a fantasy football league to the mix - and while I continue to have no personal success in the league (I have the worst fantasy football luck in the history of time), it's still been a lot of fun.
We currently have four of ten possible spots filled, so we need six more to fill out the league. That being the case, if you have any interest in participating you can read the details after the jump.
It's a free Yahoo league - so it requires nothing more from you than having a Yahoo ID. The live draft is scheduled for Friday, August 30th, at 10:00 pm Eastern (that will be 7:00 pm for anyone on the West Coast - everyone else can do their own time conversions). A Yahoo fantasy football draft usually lasts about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
It used to be easy for me to provide you a link and an ID with which to join - you would click one link, enter the league ID and go. But Yahoo (as many companies do, in their infinite wisdom) decided to make what was an easy simple process, cumbersome and complicated.
So there are two ways to join now:
The easiest way is probably to click on my username in this diary, go to my profile page, locate the "Send Message" link (center top), and send me a direct email asking to join, be sure to include the email address associated with the Yahoo ID you intend to use, and I'll send you an invite.
Or you can go here: Yahoo Fantasy Football Signup Page
Then you have to click the "Join a league" button. On the next page click the "Free Custom League" tab. Now you have to page over a bunch of times. It's probably better to filter (so you don't have to page over so many times), so set the "Scoring Type" to "Head-to-Head", the "Draft Type" to "Live Draft", and the "Can't Cut List" to "None". Then click the filter button. You'll then have to page over about 11 times (by hitting the "next" button just above the league list) in order to get to the page where the league is listed (it's sorted by date/time).
You should find the league on the 10th or 11th page (as of right now). It's called "Daily Kos FFB League" and you have to click the "Apply" button. Then click "Submit" on the next page.
Conversely, you can click this:
http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/...
or enter it directly into the URL bar on your browser and it should take you directly to the page you need to go to. (You may have to click "back" and go back on page if it's scrolled off that page already - either that or change the "1050" in the address above to "1000").
Again, it's called "Daily Kos FFB League" and you have to click the "Apply" link next to the league name. Then click "Submit" on the next page - and I'll get you in.
Like I said, much more difficult to get people in the league than in previous year's, but Yahoo sets the rules.
Anyhow, anyone with an interest can join. I only ask one thing from you: be active, and participate until the bitter end. Nothing is worse than a league where half or more of the managers give up before the season is over.
A few more details:
1. It's a head to head points league (H2H) (that means you compete against one other manager each week - and collect points (and fractions of points depending on statistics in several different categories). The team with the most points gets a Win, the loser gets a Loss (L). (There is the possibility of a tie - but I've never seen that happen in a league with fractional points.) The teams with the four best records make the playoffs.
2. Here is the entire breakdown of the roster positions: QB, WR, WR, RB, RB, W/T, W/R, K, DEF, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN. (W/T means either WR or TE. W/R means either WR or RB).
3. The scoring setting are not standard, so you might want to check the settings if you decide to join. (You can find them here: Daily Kos FFB League Scoring and Settings ) Hopefully you can see the page to which that link directs you.
There are quite a few changes from the Yahoo defaults. The biggest changes are that passing touchdowns are still at 6 points (Yahoo switched it to 4 points a few years back), and there are bonus awards for yardage goals for passing, rushing, and receiving. Also the league awards points for return yardage.
4. Trades are subject to approval/disapproval by the commissioner.
Ok, that's it. If you're interested, you're welcome to join. The league is limited to 10 managers - so once that limit has been reached we'll be out of space. Thanks for your time, and to those who are interested, I hope you join and have fun!!