The NFFC Diamond League Is SOLD OUT!!

[Greg Ambrosius]

Wow, we're moving closer to a full NFFC Diamond League as we now have eight owners signed up for the Friday, Sept. 10th, 10 am PT debut event. This is a $10,000 entry fee with a 95.8% payout as one team could walk away with as much as $80,000 for beating just 11 teams. This is going to be fun as we will fill this league soon.

I'll keep this thread as the official signup page and obviously we'll pick a desired time to pick the draft slots once the league is full. Not too soon, but definitely with plenty of time to prepare and video-taped as well. Damn, this is going to be fun.

Here's the lineup card so far for this one:

NFFC DIAMOND LEAGUE
12-Team League
Friday, Sept. 10, 10 a.m. PST
Bellagio, Las Vegas
1. Glenn Schroter, Whitestone, New York
2. Peter Berall, Montreal, Quebec
3. Jules McLean, Los Angeles, California
4. Rob Silver, Toronto, Ontario
5. Louis Tranquilli, Clinton, New Jersey
6. Chad Schroeder, Omaha, Nebraska
7. Larry Schechter, Rexford, New York
8. Pat Sorge, Schaumburg, Illinois
9. David Coman, Tulsa, Oklahoma
10. Jim Ferrari, San Diego, California
11. Brian Zeid, Aurora, Ohio
12. Kevin Schiller, Phoenix, Arizona

Let's keep it going. FOUR SPOTS LEFT!! Who wants to join us?

[ August 11, 2010, 03:44 PM: Message edited by: Greg Ambrosius ]

[Greg Ambrosius]

We have never offered an event with an entry fee above $5,000 per team or a prize payout above 85%. Until this year!!

As you can see, the NFFC landscape is changing and for the better for the players. Our private Super, Ultimate and Diamond leagues are getting a boost in payouts as we know that many players in the industry like the odds of winning ONE LEAGUE and are willing to step up for the bigger league prizes. In 2010, Fanball is debuting the NFFC Diamond League with a 95.833% payout!!!

We will host the NFFC Diamond as a 12-team league on the Opening Weekend of the NFL Season only at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. This event will not be part of our Labor Day weekend offering, rather Ryan and I will stay in Las Vegas to host this event in the Monet Room at the Bellagio. It's the same room we hosted the Ultimate and Diamond NFBC leagues in March.

The time is set for Friday, Sept. 10th at 10 am PT. The 12-team Ultimate League would follow at 2 pm PT with 12-team Supers scheduled for Friday at 6 pm PT and Saturday at 4 pm PT. 12-team formats will be offered only at the Bellagio Las Vegas on this second weekend. Ultimates and Supers will be offered as 14-team options on Sunday, Sept. 5th as part of our first-weekend slate of events. These two formats will have the same prize payout percentages, but slightly different game formats. A little something extra for everyone.

Oh, and did I say we'll have a 95.833% payout in the Diamond League?? Think about this:
** $10,000 league entry fee
** 13 weeks of regular season similar to the Primetime format
** $10,000 to the h2h champion after Week 13
** $10,000 to the total points champion after Week 13
** four teams make playoffs; $60,000 to total points champ in Weeks 14-16
** One team could win $80,000!!!! IN A 12-TEAM LEAGUE!!

Let's get the ball rolling on this one NOW. Here are the official rules:

Section I: Official Rules and Regulations of the
National Fantasy Football Championship
Diamond League

1. Overview: The National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) Diamond League will consist of 12 teams/managers per league. The NFFC regular season will begin with all Week 1 NFL games (including results from the Thursday, Sept. 9th game) and through all Week 13 games. Teams will play every other team in their league once in head-to-head competition, with the team with the best overall record winning a $10,000 prize and the team with the most total points during the regular season also winning $10,000. One team can win both prizes if they accomplish both achievements. Tie-breakers for the head-to-head title is total points. The top four teams based on total points and h2h record designated below will make the Championship Round, while the eight other teams will compete in the Consolation Round. The four teams in the Championship Round will take their weekly scoring average into the playoffs and add that to their scoring totals in Weeks 14-16 and the team with the most points wins the title and the $60,000 prize. Prizes will be paid to the top three scoring teams in the Championship Round. The Consolation Round will be set up the same way, with only the top team receiving $2,000.

#1 Playoff Qualifier: Most total points
#2 Playoff Qualifier: Best h2h record (not counting total points champ; total points is tie-breaker)
# 3 Playoff Qualifier: Next most total points
#4 Playoff Qualifier: Next most total points

2. Draft: Each NFFC Diamond League will be comprised of 12 teams, and each draft will last for 20 rounds, with each team selecting a player in each round in a serpentine fashion (team 1 through team 12 in Round 1 and team 12 through team 1 in Round 2). All NFFC Diamond Leagues will use 3RR (3rd Round Reversal) in 2010, meaning that the draft order will go back down to 12 to start Round 3 and then continue in serpentine fashion after that. The NFFC is using 3RR in 2010 to balance the talent pool throughout these 12-team leagues. Players can be drafted at any position at any time in the draft, but each team must have at least one player for each of the designated starting positions by the end of the draft. Each team must start a weekly lineup of 10 players and the team roster must remain at 20 players; there are no injured reserve lists beyond the team total of 20.

3. Prizes:
First Place = $60,000.
Second Place = $25,000
Third Place = $8,000
Head-to-Head Regular Season Champion: $10,000
Total Points Regular Season Champion: $10,000
Consolation Round Winner: $2,000

4. No Trading: Trading is not allowed during the NFFC Diamond League season and owners are not allowed to trade draft picks.

5. Roster Requirements: Maximum of 20 players at all times.

6. Starting Lineup Requirements: Starting lineups will consist of:
• 1 Quarterback
• 2 Running Backs
• 3 Wide Receivers
• 1 Tight End
• 1 Flex Player (RB, WR or TE)
• 1 Kicker
• 1 Team Defense/Specials Team
(If no Week One lineup is submitted, the NFFC will determine your starting lineup. After Week One, if no starting lineup is submitted, your starting lineup will be that of the previous week.)

7. Scoring: Players can accumulate points in a number of ways:
PASSING:
• .05 points for every yard passing (works out to 1 point every 20 yards).
• 6 points for every passing touchdown
• 2 points for every 2-Point conversion
• minus 1 point for every interception and lost fumble
RUSHING:
• .10 points for every yard rushing (works out to 1 point every 10 yards).
• 6 points for every rushing TD
• 2 points for every 2-Point conversion
• minus 1 point for every lost fumble
• 6 points for a recovered offensive fumble for a touchdown (RB, QB, WR, TE)
RECEIVING:
• .10 points for every yard receiving (works out to 1 point every 10 yards).
• 6 points for every receiving TD
• 1 point for every reception for WRs, Tight Ends and QBs
• 0.5 points for every reception for RBs
• 2 points for every 2-Point conversion
• minus 1 point for every lost fumble
KICKING:
• 1 point for every extra point
• 3 points for every field goal from 1-30 yards
• 3 points for every field goal plus .10 points for every yard after 30 yards (i.e. a 47-yard field goal would be worth 4.7 points)
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS:
• 1 point for every sack
• 2 points for every interception or opponents' fumble recovery
• 6 points for every touchdown (interception return, defensive fumble return, punt or kickoff return, blocked field goal return, blocked punt return). All special teams and defensive points are awarded to the team responsible, not the individual player. Should a kicker, punter or field goal holder throw a pass off a fake attempt, however, the offensive output for that offensive play would go towards the individual player, not the specials team. Also, any lost fumble or “muff” on a specials team play does not result in negative points for that individual player.
• 2 points for every safety
• 12 points for a shutout by the entire team
• 8 points for allowing 2-7 points by the entire team
• 4 points for allowing 8-12 points by the entire team
• 2 points for allowing 13-17 points by the entire team
8. Free Agent Acquisitions: Any player who is not on a team roster within your league is considered a free agent for that league. The free agent system will be a "blind bidding" process for each individual league (Free Agent Acquisition Bidding or FAAB). Each team will start with a $1,000 FAAB budget, and will be permitted to bid for free agents on a weekly basis through Week 13. No team will be informed of any other team's free agent bids before the winning bids are announced and only the winning bids and the runner-up bids will be announced to the leagues afterwards. The team with the highest bid on any given player will be awarded that player. The amount of the winning bid will be deducted from the winning team's free agent dollars. For each winning bid, the winning team must drop a player to make roster room for the free agent acquisition. If a team's free agent dollars goes to zero, that team will no longer be allowed to bid for the rest of the season. No bid will be accepted that is larger than a team's free agent dollars. All bids must be in increments of dollars (no cents).

9. The Draft: The draft will be held at the Bellagio Resort & Casino Las Vegas on Friday, Sept. 10 and will include stats from the already completed game on Thursday night. If a full league of members can’t be formed in Las Vegas owners can be added via teleconference to fill out the 12-team league, but live owners get first preference. The draft will be held in a serpentine fashion for each round while using 3RR (3rd Round Reversal, 1-12 in Round 1, 12-1 in Round 3, 12-1 in Round 3, 1-12 in Round 4 and continuing in serpentine fashion from that point on).
A. League Management Web Address: Fanball will manage the NFFC and provide real-time stats online. You can access your league via the Internet by going to http://nffc.fanball.com.
B. Lineup Submission: All lineups may be submitted on the league web site and must be entered prior to the scheduled kickoff for the game affected.
C. Scoring: The National Fantasy Football Championship will use a head-to-head scoring setup. Scoring will be accumulated each week from your 10 starters. Scores in the NFFC are finalized with no changes possible after 6 p.m. EST each Thursday after the weekend games.

10. Bidding Time Frame: The bidding process will be held each week after Week 1 and continues through the end of the NFFC regular season. Bids will be accepted on the league web site from Tuesday at 9 am ET until Friday at 9 p.m. ET in each of those weeks. If you are submitting by phone, you must submit your bids by 2:30 p.m. ET on Friday. Rosters will be updated by 10 p.m. ET Friday with the results of all successful bids.

The FAAB deadline will be moved to Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 8 p.m. EST to comply with the Thanksgiving Day games and to Wednesday, Nov. 4, Wednesday, Nov. 11 and Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 8 p.m. EST to comply with the early Thursday games as well. There are no FAAB pickups in Weeks 14 through 16 during the NFFC Championship Round and NFFC Consolation Round. All winning FAAB bids on Nov. 4-25 are final at that time, even if a scoring change is made after that which would affect tied winning bids.

11. Conditional Bids: Conditional bids can also be offered. In the event you may lose out on a player, you can place conditional bid(s) for other players during the bidding time frame. The first conditional bid will become relevant only if you lose out on the first bid. Subsequent conditional bids will become relevant only if the previous conditional bid fails. Bids do not require conditional bids. Bids may have several sequential conditional bids.

12. Number of Bid Limits: There is no limit to the number of bids each week in which bids are permitted.

13. Tied Bids: If there is a tie bid, the team that receives the player will be determined in order by:
1. Worst league record.
2. Lowest total points.
3. Head-to-head matchups of teams (losing team would get the player).
4. Worst previous week score each week from most current back to Week 1.
5. Lowest draft spot from 12 up.
14. Trades between managers: To minimize the possibility of collusion, there will be no trading allowed. All drops are also subject to review by the commissioner of the NFFC and can be revoked if the dropped player is deemed too valuable to be offered to that league's free agent pool, thus damaging the credibility of the overall contest. In the case of a “star” player being dropped in a league for a valid reason, the NFFC commissioner does reserve the right to allow the cut but keep the player out of that league's free agent listing for any length of time, possibly the entire season. All decisions by the NFFC commissioner will be final.

15. League Structure: Each league will consist of 12 teams competing in a head-to-head format for the league championship. Teams will play every other team in their league once in head-to-head competition, with the team with the best overall record winning a $10,000 prize and the team with the most total points during the regular season also winning $10,000. One team can win both prizes if they accomplish both achievements. Tie-breakers for the head-to-head title is total points. The top four teams based on total points and h2h record designated below will make the Championship Round, while the eight other teams will compete in the Consolation Round. The four teams in the Championship Round will take their weekly scoring average into the playoffs and add that to their scoring totals in Weeks 14-16 and the team with the most points wins the title and the $60,000 prize. Prizes will be paid to the top three scoring teams in the Championship Round. The Consolation Round will be set up the same way, with only the top team receiving $2,000.

#1 Playoff Qualifier: Most total points
#2 Playoff Qualifier: Best h2h record (not counting total points champ; total points is tie-breaker)
# 3 Playoff Qualifier: Next most total points
#4 Playoff Qualifier: Next most total points


16. Random League/Draft Spot Selections: The NFFC will randomly select the league and the draft order of the Diamond League once the 12-team league is filled. In 2010, we’ll also use the Kentucky Derby Style process to allow owners more draft preference. The KDS process allows owners to rank their order of preference for Draft Day, ranking their preferences 1 through 12 BEFORE the leagues are selected. If an owner wants the third pick if he is selected No. 1 overall in his league, he would choose that option and he would then be moved to third in that league on Draft Day. NFFC officials will look at every owner’s Draft Preferences after the leagues and orders are randomly selected and then announce the draft orders for each league. Once each NFFC owner has officially signed up for the contest, they can find this feature in their game site under My Settings. Then click on Draft Preferences and you’ll see the Draft Order ranked 1 through 12 and the option to change those preferences next to them. If you decide not to rank your preferences, your preferred order will remain 1 through 12. Owners can change their Draft Preferences right up until the announced deadline is set.

17. Tie-breaker procedures. If after 13 regular season games, teams are tied for first place, second place, third place, etc. the following tiebreakers will be used in this order:
a. Total points through 13 weeks
b. Head-to-head won/lost record (if three or more teams, it's cumulative wins against those common opponents)
c. Highest point total from Week 13
d. Highest point total from Week 12
e. Highest point total from Week 11 and continue until Week 1
f. Lowest draft spot starting from 12 and going up.
This procedure is for determining the head-to-head champion and the league total points leader.
In the post-season, should any teams finish in a tie for prize money, the money would be split among those teams. In the unlikely event that teams are tied with the exact same point total during the playoffs for the NFFC title, the prize money for first and second place would be added together and split evenly. The same is true if teams tied for third place or fourth place or any of the other money spots, including the consolation round.

18. Draft Rules:
a. Time Limit: Each participant will have a one-minute time limit from the moment the draft facilitator tells him/her that they are on the clock to make their selection. The participant will be told when there is 15 seconds left by the draft facilitator and a countdown from five seconds will go until time has expired. The draft facilitator will have final say on whether a pick was called out in time or not. If a participant does not make a selection within one minute, he/she will be passed over until the next participant makes a player selection. The passed-over player goes back on the clock for one minute after the selection is made. The draft facilitator also has final say on the announcement of the picks as the pick becomes final AFTER he/she announces the pick.
b. Seating: Every team will have two draft spots available at the table and each team will be seated in their draft order.
c. Trading: There is no trading allowed during the NFFC season and all player cuts will be evaluated by the NFFC. Any player cut that will hurt the integrity of the league can be removed from that leagues’ free agent pool for good by the NFFC.
d. Electronic Equipment: Participants can use electronic equipment during the draft as long as it fits in the allotted draft spot at the table. There will be no Internet connections or electrical outlets, so participants bringing laptops will have to supply their own power. Cell phones are allowed at the draft table, but we encourage participants to use them sparingly and not in a way that interrupts the draft process.
e. Smoking/Drinking: Smoking will not be allowed in the Draft Room. There will be a cash bar available in the Draft Room, but we ask that each participant drink responsibly.
f. Breaks: There will be a 15-minute break after Round 10 and we will finish the draft after the break.
g. Week One Lineups: Every participant is responsible for submitting their Week One starting lineup before the Thursday, Sept. 10th game. The Thursday night game results will count in the NFFC scoring. All teams are also required to confirm their team roster and sign off on the players on the list before leaving the draft. Any errors on your roster should be presented to the NFFC management as soon as possible.
h. League Management: The league will be available via the Internet at http://nffc.fanball.com. All lineups may be submitted on the league web site and must be entered prior to the scheduled kickoff for the game affected. In the event you cannot access a computer to make your moves, Fanball can accept transactions via phone during normal business hours. You will need your login and password to submit transactions via phone. You may leave transactions on voice mail during non-business hours, however, you do so at your own risk and any and all changes which result in an invalid lineup, will be voided.
i. Thanksgiving/Saturday games: Any players you want to place in your starting lineup for early games like Thanksgiving or the Saturday late season games, must be entered online at least five minutes before kickoff. Any player involved in those games that isn't in the starting lineup by the regular lineup deadline of Sunday morning, won't be available for those week's games.
19. Refunds: Once a participant submits valid payment, no money will be refunded to participants or co-managers unless the National Fantasy Football Championship is canceled. A team spot is considered filled when the entire $10,000 entry fee is paid. Fanball reserves the right to cancel any entries not comprising a full 12-team league. When a participant agrees to finish the registration form and submit payment, that participant has demonstrated his/her acceptance of the official rules and regulations for the NFFC Classic.

At its sole discretion, Fanball reserves the right to terminate the National Fantasy Football Championship Classic in its entirety if there are an insufficient number of teams by Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010. In this unlikely event, Fanball will refund all entry fees within 48 hours of cancellation notice and/or provide a new application form with the newly stated prize figures. In this situation, all pre-registered applicants have the right to a full refund or to agree to play for the newly announced prize structure. Fanball is not responsible for any loss or liability incurred by any participant or co-managers due to cancellation of the National Fantasy Football Championship Classic, including but not limited to travel or hotel expenses, time taken off from employment, etc.

20. Prize Winnings. If the principal team owner's prize winnings are $600.00 or greater, the National Fantasy Football Championship must file a Form 1099 with the IRS at the end of this calendar year. We will request your social security number and signature on this form. The form contains the amount paid to you and you will receive a copy of the form for tax purposes. Fanball pays ONLY the principal team owner of each NFFC team that was submitted on the entry form and you are responsible for paying any taxes that result from your cash prize; please consult your income tax advisor for filing advice. A 30% U.S. income tax withholding will be applied to all non-U.S. prize winners. In the event that the awarding of any prizes to winners of the Contest is challenged by any legal authority, Fanball reserves the right in its sole discretion to determine whether or not to award such prizes. After 12 months, any unclaimed prize will be forfeited.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Here's the prize payout for the debut NFFC Diamond League:

1st: $60,000
2nd: $25,000
3rd: $8,000
Head-to-Head Champion: $10,000
Total Points Champion: $10,000
Consolation Round Winner: $2,000

[Greg Ambrosius]

Okay, we're coming down the stretch with this one. Pat Sorge of Schaumburg, Illinois is an NFFC veteran who has just signed up for the NFFC Diamond League, leaving us with only THREE SPOTS LEFT!! We're getting closer on this one and could have draft spots by early July!! Wow, looking good. Welcome aboard Pat and I promise we're going to have a great, great time on this one!! Thanks and best of luck in the hunt for the $80,000 in league prizes.

Now, who wants one of the FINAL THREE SPOTS in this unique debut event? Let's keep the momentum going. Thanks all.

[Purple Helmets]

Greg/Tom,

Quick question on the rules for the Diamond League. I think they were initially written with the 14 team format in mind. They say the regular season is through 13 weeks and that you play each team once. With this 12 team format playing each team once would carry you through 11 weeks...correct? Does that mean there would be two weeks of all-play with the top six scoring teams getting the Win? Maybe I'm reading things wrong. Just looking for some clarification...thanks.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Originally posted by Purple Helmets:
Greg/Tom,

Quick question on the rules for the Diamond League. I think they were initially written with the 14 team format in mind. They say the regular season is through 13 weeks and that you play each team once. With this 12 team format playing each team once would carry you through 11 weeks...correct? Does that mean there would be two weeks of all-play with the top six scoring teams getting the Win? Maybe I'm reading things wrong. Just looking for some clarification...thanks. Yes, the first two weeks are "all play" where the top six scoring teams get a win and the six lowest scoring teams for that week get a loss. Then it's h2h for the next 11 weeks. So we have a 13-week regular season just like the Primetime format and then three weeks of the Championship Round. Sound good?

If that's not spelled out that way in the rules I'll update that, but 11 week regular seasons for this kind of money don't turn me on. Hope you agree and hope you are considering this one. It should be fun and rewarding for a few.

[3INTBOY]

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:
quote:Originally posted by Purple Helmets:
Greg/Tom,

Quick question on the rules for the Diamond League. I think they were initially written with the 14 team format in mind. They say the regular season is through 13 weeks and that you play each team once. With this 12 team format playing each team once would carry you through 11 weeks...correct? Does that mean there would be two weeks of all-play with the top six scoring teams getting the Win? Maybe I'm reading things wrong. Just looking for some clarification...thanks. Yes, the first two weeks are "all play" where the top six scoring teams get a win and the six lowest scoring teams for that week get a loss. Then it's h2h for the next 11 weeks. So we have a 13-week regular season just like the Primetime format and then three weeks of the Championship Round. Sound good?

Greg, no change that one team makes the Top4 based on record correct?

So 1 H2H and 3 based on total points per the original rules. Thanks.

3'
If that's not spelled out that way in the rules I'll update that, but 11 week regular seasons for this kind of money don't turn me on. Hope you agree and hope you are considering this one. It should be fun and rewarding for a few. [/QUOTE]

[3INTBOY]

Greg,

Just making sure on team only will be H2H in the final 4?

Thanks,

3'

[Greg Ambrosius]

Originally posted by 3intboyBFD:
Greg,

Just making sure on team only will be H2H in the final 4?

Thanks,

3' Yes, just one team based on h2h will make the Final Four. From the rules:

The top four teams based on total points and h2h record designated below will make the Championship Round, while the eight other teams will compete in the Consolation Round. The four teams in the Championship Round will take their weekly scoring average into the playoffs and add that to their scoring totals in Weeks 14-16 and the team with the most points wins the title and the $60,000 prize. Prizes will be paid to the top three scoring teams in the Championship Round. The Consolation Round will be set up the same way, with only the top team receiving $2,000.

#1 Playoff Qualifier: Most total points
#2 Playoff Qualifier: Best h2h record (not counting total points champ; total points is tie-breaker)
# 3 Playoff Qualifier: Next most total points
#4 Playoff Qualifier: Next most total points

[Greg Ambrosius]

We're glad to welcome David Coman of Tulsa, Oklahoma to the debut NFFC Diamond League as he will be joining us on Friday, Sept. 10th at the Bellagio for this $10,000 entry fee league. David is going to be in Las Vegas for a weekend of fantasy football drafts and he couldn't resist the great payouts in the NFFC Diamond League. Dave is new to the NFFC, but he likes the 3RR/KDS format and is looking forward to the competition that's already signed up for this league. Welcome aboard David and best of luck in the hunt for the possible $80,000+ in league prizes!!

TWO SPOTS LEFT with payouts at 95.8%!! Who wants to secure a spot in the debut NFFC Diamond League?