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Thread: Dead Last and Loving It

  1. #1
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    The Wolverine

    Default Dead Last and Loving It

    The past

    The 2010/11 season was a very successful one for me with three titles out of the five leagues I had joined. I knew that I needed a new challenge. Being a Yahoo guy I knew that there is always risk trying to find a new league from those private ones advertised publicly. Furthermore, at that time my activity had also increased on this site from when I had joined in 2008 and I was feeling more a part of this great community. I also felt that there were some incredibly knowledgeable members and I would love to be a part of a league with some of them. However, how do you go about finding one? There is the classifieds section but sometimes that’s too late and it’s also a risk when you don’t know the other managers. Hmm… Well, then I thought occurred to me: I had been running a H2H league for the past few seasons and felt I was comfortable with the role. Given this and my increased knowledge over the years, I decided that I would start up my own league but with a condition: it would comprise solely of Dobber members. The difficulty was in deciding on who to ask.

    It took a lot of research and several private messages to gauge who was interested and who I felt would be a good fit for the league. It took a fair amount of time but it seemed like it would be worth the effort. Finally, in the summer I had found my 11 other managers and the Rocky Horror Roto Show was born. Clicking on the league name will direct you to the forum thread.

    The present

    Four seasons later and the league is still going strong. Fortunately, several managers from our inaugural season are still around, which is a bonus as we all know how difficult it is when life takes priority. It’s always been a competitive group and this year is no exception. The members of the 2014/15 Rocky Horror Roto Show are:

    horrorfan, Shoeless, temek, 4T2, Pengwin7, Chili Con Carne, smack, Nehithaw, dooley89, The Comish, LordoftheRinks and arctic_rogue.

    My performance since the beginning has been mixed, from as high as 2nd place in the first season, to a low of 10th place in the lockout-shortened one. Knowing the usual challenges, I figured my pre-draft preparation would be enough to get back into contention. The draft order was randomly set well in advance to give everyone enough time to prepare and decide on their draft strategies. I had the 3rd pick, so I felt it was a slightly easier decision than a later one.

    It was time for the live draft and the banter and trash talking was well under way. Who would get picked in the first round is always a talking point, even if some of them are more likely than others. Finally, it was showtime!

    Dooley89 had the first pick, and no surprise it was Crosby.

    Shoeless had the second pick, which was a little less certain given the forum thread he created asking for feedback. From this it seemed clear who he’d choose but there’s always a chance for a surprise. The pick came and it was as I expected…Ovechkin (there are hits in this league).

    Now it was my turn, and I knew who I would choose. I wasn’t sure how obvious it would be given the settings but I knew his value was elite in this format. Here goes…I went with Giroux (there are faceoffs won in this league, plus he has RW eligibility). Immediately following the pick, the chat came alive:

    “Ahhh!”
    “Good pick!’
    "I was hoping he’d fall to me!"

    These shouts were music to my ears. Looking back it was still a great pick given his performance to date. I had a scare given his recent injury, and if it turned out to be more serious I might have changed the title of this article to: Dead Last and the Fantasy Gods Hate Me.

    My second round pick comes around and given I have one strong winger who take faceoffs, let’s go after another who should be solid offensively: Duchene. Great pick…or so I thought at the time. Definitely a disappointing performance in the first half of the season; let’s hope for a second half improvement. I chose Bobrovsky in the third, which I still feel was a good pick but the early injury hurt. Thankfully my third goalie, Hiller, had a great start so that lessened the pain a bit. A solid choice in Zetterberg in the fourth but then risked choosing my first defensemen, Chara, in the fifth. Oops, that backfired big time, not just with injury but performance. In the sixth, I chose Ryan but following the draft realised that was a big reach given the quality available much later. Uh oh.

    What followed was a series of mixed picks that seemed sensible but weren’t world beaters. Combine some early poor selections, a few players underperforming and a bit of bad luck, I was in a hole. After a decent start (thank you Hiller), my team went in free fall and now I’m in last place. Yep, last place. I’ve never been in last place before. Can I get out of it? What can I do? Are these guys simply much better than me? Maybe, maybe not, but it looking like it’s not my year. I guess it’s time to give up, right?

    Not a chance.

    (continued)

  2. #2
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    The Wolverine

    Default Re: Dead Last and Loving It

    Realistically, the chance of climbing more than a few spots is unlikely. However, it won’t stop me from playing and trying to improve my team. This sounds obvious for most people since we enjoy this game, but at times it could be disheartening when things aren’t going your way. But the main reason why I would never been as disappointed as I could be is because I love this league. This league is by far the best I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing in. Here are a few reasons why:

    Quality of managers: As touched on briefly already, the quality of the league is a big reason why it’s such a joy to play in. These guys know their stuff and I’m hoping that they can hang around for a while. This is a league that if you finish last you can’t be too disappointed given the competition. Somebody has to lose.

    Challenge: Linked to the above reason, I’ve never been involved in such of competitive league that it’s impressive to see how people manage their teams using different strategies, many of which are successful. However, when everyone is a quality manager, some of these strategies work better than others. It’s an interesting mix of talent on display.

    Activity: This is also a very active league so rarely do you see rosters being left unchanged for a significant period of time. We have had some unfortunate situations in the past of managers becoming more inactive for one reason or another, but so far this league is right up there with activity and involvement, which always makes for a better league.

    Sportsmanship: Combined with the competition, these guys are quality managers in terms of how they conduct themselves. I’ve only encountered one individual who was deliberately disrespectful and he’s out of the league. These guys are all class so we can compete fiercely with one another, but at the same time do it with respect. This includes friendly and constructive trade negotiations.

    Trust: In my opinion, having trust is a key component to being in a successful league. Firstly, as commissioner, it’s never easy to come up with a system that will please everyone. What’s important is that you keep everyone involved and ensure the league is run as smoothly as possible, without getting too involved. One way I accomplish this is I create a feedback thread every year to gauge everyone’s thoughts on the league. They can comment on anything, including settings, how I run the league, general suggestions, what they like most, etc. This way, they are given a voice, which makes it OUR league rather than MY league. I’m always willing to consider changes if it suits the majority.

    Trust also plays a part regarding trades and that dreaded word: veto. In the past, we’ve pretty much allowed all deals (with a small processing waiting period) and only if managers had concerns then it could lead to further investigation. Recently, we decided that the waiting period was unnecessary as we trusted each other to make deals in order to improve our own teams. Will there be perceived unbalanced deals? Of course, but that shouldn’t be a reason to disallow a deal agreed in good faith. Now, there is no longer a waiting period and all deals upon acceptance are processed immediately and the players will appear on the new rosters the following day.

    Friendship: In being in such a league, you get to know your fellow managers a bit better, which could build friendships even if you have never met or never will meet. It’s that community feeling like on this forum. You recognise people, you chat more and you increase your respect for one another. This league is no longer a group of strangers but a group of friends. This can help make playing the game much more enjoyable.

    Pride: Although I feel the league belongs to everyone, this is still my baby. It's good to feel proud of something that you created turning out well, and based on feedback, others agree. It’s always a risk creating a new league since you really don’t know how well it will be received. Are these guys going to remain active? Are they different when playing the game versus how they are on the forums? Would they get more involved or is this just another league? Will it last longer than a year? Fortunately for us, we’re on four years and counting.

    The future

    It’s been a great run and I look forward to it continuing for many more years. Hopefully, my life allows me to remain active enough to continue running this league. We have a great group of guys so I also hope they are also able to remain active enough to enjoy the experience of playing in this league. Of course, life goes on and people’s priorities change. There will be turnover, but as long as the qualities remain, it should have a bright future.

    Final thoughts

    Let’s go back to my current situation of being in last place. Although it’s been a struggle, it hasn’t lessened my enjoyment of playing or my determination to improve. It will be a major challenge, of course, and whether I can make a difference in the second half of the season remains to be seen. I’ll give it a shot because I love this league.

    Now, if you excuse me, I have some baseball prep to do.

  3. #3
    Pit Bulls's Avatar
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    Default Re: Dead Last and Loving It

    I share your passion horrorfan! Trouble is, it's hard to find quality leagues like yours. I was fortunate to join a first year dynasty league this season and all 14 managers are active and demonstrate many of the qualities you described in your post. I'm in the middle of the pack and loving it as well!
    WHL - 24tm multicast salary partial keeper
    19 Active / 6 Reserve / 15 Minors
    3C/3LW/3RW/3F/6D/1G
    Skaters: G/ A/ +/- /PIM/SOG/PPP/Hit/Blk/FOW-C
    Goalies: GS/W/OL/GAA/SV%/SV/SHO/ShL/A

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    Dobber Sports Deity

    Default Re: Dead Last and Loving It

    Geez, after reading all that, I am almost regretting not joining when you asked me in the summer.

    Good post hf!
    10 Team, Points Only, Cash League

    25 Man Roster (no position), top 20 point getters count at end of month
    Keep 20/25 at seasons end, Cut 5 to FA for redrafting
    Goalie points W=2pt L=-1pt SHO=2pt

    Stamkos, Tavares, Eichel, Mercer, JRobertson, RThomas, Kucherov, Nugent-Hopkins, Tuch, KConnor, Necas, Point, Konecny, SJarvis, Cozenz, Morrissey, Bouchard, Josi, Novak, Tolvanen, Peterka, Brink

    G- Vasilevskiy, Sorokin, Oettinger


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  5. #5
    4T2's Avatar
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    Default Re: Dead Last and Loving It

    The RHRS is by far the most amazing league I have ever been a part of. Back in 2011, I couldn't help but feel like I was in over my head with such great competition. I actually considered my 8th place finish that year to be successful. Over the last few years, this league has taught me as much about fantasy hockey as this site/forum has. And I truly have developed friendships with the other managers. Cheers Brandon for putting this together. We couldn't ask for a better commish.

    As far as being last goes, trading me Giroux would probably be your best option to climb out of that hole.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Oh and Axeman, I'm sure we could make room for you next year
    Without me, it's only "aweso".

  6. #6
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    Dobber Sports Demi-God

    Default Re: Dead Last and Loving It

    Awesome write-up.
    I'm heading for last... with my TeamInjury (+ Gibson's "What do I do with him?" NA status).

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Dead Last and Loving It

    Awesome write-up Brandon! It was fun to read your thoughts on the RHRS. Although I am only a noob in this league, I do have a little bit of hockey pool experience to draw upon and agree wholeheartedly that this is one of the best leagues going. Kudos to you and thanks for inviting me into your group. It's my first year using face-off wins.

    Peng - I'm actually hoping for some of my bottom feeder forwards to get injured so that I can bring my GP down to manageable numbers while still trying to maintain my position in the standings! A nearly impossible task I'm sure, but like you, I'm not going to stop trying to put forward the best team I can.

    P.S. Shoeless is NOT Mother Theresa (or is that Teresa?). He is a stone cold hockey pool chiller and is without Ruth. "I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next." - Gladiator
    "For I am a sinner in the hands of an angry God. Bloody Mary, full of vodka, blessed are you among cocktails. Pray for me now and at the hour of my death, which I hope is soon. Amen." - Sterling Archer

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  8. #8
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    The Wolverine

    Default Re: Dead Last and Loving It

    Thanks guys. The first thing I want to say is that one day after posting this, I've moved up two spots and into 10th place! Look out league haha! I could easily drop back so my feet are firmly on the ground.

    Quote Originally Posted by Pit Bulls View Post
    I share your passion horrorfan! Trouble is, it's hard to find quality leagues like yours. I was fortunate to join a first year dynasty league this season and all 14 managers are active and demonstrate many of the qualities you described in your post. I'm in the middle of the pack and loving it as well!
    Great to hear and thanks for sharing. It can be a challenge to find such a league so we both can feel fortunate that it's worked out.

    Quote Originally Posted by Axeman33 View Post
    Geez, after reading all that, I am almost regretting not joining when you asked me in the summer.

    Good post hf!
    Almost regretting?

    Thanks.

    Quote Originally Posted by 4T2 View Post
    The RHRS is by far the most amazing league I have ever been a part of. Back in 2011, I couldn't help but feel like I was in over my head with such great competition. I actually considered my 8th place finish that year to be successful. Over the last few years, this league has taught me as much about fantasy hockey as this site/forum has. And I truly have developed friendships with the other managers. Cheers Brandon for putting this together. We couldn't ask for a better commish.

    As far as being last goes, trading me Giroux would probably be your best option to climb out of that hole.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Oh and Axeman, I'm sure we could make room for you next year
    I'm glad you are enjoying it. I'm not glad you are ahead of me so I can't see (m)any scenarios where trading Giroux to you is a good idea.

    As for Axeman joining us next year, if there's a dropout...

    Quote Originally Posted by Pengwin7 View Post
    Awesome write-up.
    I'm heading for last... with my TeamInjury (+ Gibson's "What do I do with him?" NA status).
    Thanks.

    You still have a lot of quality players so you could easily move back up.

    Speaking of NA, you could bring that subject up when I ask for feedback.

    Quote Originally Posted by The Comish View Post
    Awesome write-up Brandon! It was fun to read your thoughts on the RHRS. Although I am only a noob in this league, I do have a little bit of hockey pool experience to draw upon and agree wholeheartedly that this is one of the best leagues going. Kudos to you and thanks for inviting me into your group. It's my first year using face-off wins.

    Peng - I'm actually hoping for some of my bottom feeder forwards to get injured so that I can bring my GP down to manageable numbers while still trying to maintain my position in the standings! A nearly impossible task I'm sure, but like you, I'm not going to stop trying to put forward the best team I can.

    P.S. Shoeless is NOT Mother Theresa (or is that Teresa?). He is a stone cold hockey pool chiller and is without Ruth. "I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next." - Gladiator
    Thanks, I'm glad you are enjoying your first year in the league.

    (notice that the word 'first' implies that it's just the beginning)

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