DobberPool 2 - anyone else really bored?

[repenttokyo]

This pool, I dunno - the way it\'s set up, it makes it hard to have any fun. 4 skaters per position and 12 teams = no real way to improve your team on the waiver wire, as so many players are selected. Also, with so few bench spots, every player on your roster has to be good enough to play every game. That makes it really hard to pull off any beneficial trades. If I trade a RW for a D, I better have a good D sitting on one of my 3 bench spots, because there is no way I am picking up a decent replacement off the waiver wire.

I also find the scoring to be really limited. including points along with goals and assists seems redundant. the fact that there are no points awarded for power play, short handed points, or faceoff wins really makes things plain jane - there\'s no role for speciality players except maybe in the PIM category.

In short, with 4 skaters per forward line I end up with a 4th line composed of 40 point players, maybe. With a more comprehensive scoring system, that 4th line could have been made up of special teams experts putting up stats for special teams categories. Even better - 3 lines instead of 4.

Just my opinion. But it\'s really hard for this pool to hold my interest.

[Pete]

Eeeeee no ... B)

I like it !

[repenttokyo]

what is the scoring format of your other pools?

[Dobber]

You don\'t want easy pickins from the waiver wire...where\'s the challenge in that?

Berard is a good pickup. There are always good pickups out there. The expert league has tons of action right now. I\'ve already made two moves (drop Bergenheim, picked up Cogliano, placed Theodore on IR and grabbed Jeff Hamilton).

[repenttokyo]

Dobber wrote:

You don\'t want easy pickins from the waiver wire...where\'s the challenge in that?

Berard is a good pickup. There are always good pickups out there. The expert league has tons of action right now. I\'ve already made two moves (drop Bergenheim, picked up Cogliano, placed Theodore on IR and grabbed Jeff Hamilton).

With the way the pool is set up, in order to pickup Berard, I would have to drop one of my 3 bench positions - to take a risk on a guy who\'s back is made of glass. Now, if we had 3 fewer starting forwards, and 2 fewer starting defencemen, it would be a lot easier to take a gamble like that - and there would be more gambles available for the taking.

and just think of how BARE the wire will be by the end of november, when every fantasy surprise performance has been scouted and noted. How many times can you drop sergei federov to pick up sergei samsonov?

i\'m not looking for easy pickings, i\'m just looking for something interesting. Where is the fun in picking up a 30 point player from the wire to stick on my fourth line? Maybe if they could contribute with shorthanded goals, or as a power play specialist - but in our current scoring format, they can\'t. My main complain is that the rosters are too big and the scoring is too simple / redundant.

[The Comish]

Maybe you just need to be in more pools? I\'m in 5 hockey pools (all roto, 4 are keeper pools), keep the stats for 4 of them and commish 2 of them. Plus I run an NFL pool with 16 teams.

Your point about the scoring being redundant is accurate to a point. Point scoring is the core of fantasy hockey and is weighted accordingly.

The problem with NHL stats like Hits, Blocked Shots, Face off Wins, etc is that they are subjective and are not reported in most box scores and highlight packages.

My only complaint is that our 4 man bench could have one more spot, but we all have to live with a short bench.

I\'ve never been in a Yahoo pool before and am learning new things everyday. I lost out on Hlinka\'s first two points because he was on my bench and I even had two centre spots open that night. I am just starting to figure it out. It seems to me that if you\'re active, you won\'t be bored.

I assume we\'ll get updated on how DobberPool 2 is doing every so often? I guess that\'s a question for Bursny or Dobber.

[repenttokyo]

i don\'t see how being in more pools would make this one any more interesting...i\'m in one other pool, that i have been in for about 6 years now, and it takes up enough of my time.

you will notice that i didn\'t suggest we use hits or blocked shots, which i agree are subjective. but ppp and shp are not subjective at all. we use plus minus, why not FW? It would make centres multi-dimensional, for example.

anyways, if other people are having fun, i\'m glad, but i certainly don\'t find myself checking this pool as obsessively as I do my other one.

[The Comish]

I guess what I meant is that maybe you were too focused on only one pool. I admit that I may have gone with a slightly different format and roster size, but I don\'t know if it qualifies as boring.

My question regarding face off wins is where is it written what constitutes a win and a loss. Puck possession? What if you\'re on the penalty kill deep in your zone and you want to hammer the puck to the other end of the ice. What if all you do is tie up the other centre and your winger is faster than the other teams. From my viewpoint, it\'s not always cut and dried as to who \"won\" the face off. That\'s what I meant by subjective.

I absolutely hate the plus minus stat even though I\'ve used it in my pools for 10 years! It is not the be all end all for how good a player is defensively. It\'s interesting, but because Lidstrom is +2 one year, it doesn\'t mean he\'s average defensively.

Anyway, I\'m getting away from the subject. Repent, I hope that you are able to find this pool more interesting as the season wears on. Good luck. I\'m looking forward to seeing how everyone is doing.

[Shoeless]

While we are on the subject of seeing what is happening in the Dobber pools - why would the league not be changed to public now that it is running and just give us the link so we all can pop in and take a gander?

[Dobber]

repenttokyo wrote:

i don\'t see how being in more pools would make this one any more interesting...i\'m in one other pool, that i have been in for about 6 years now, and it takes up enough of my time.

you will notice that i didn\'t suggest we use hits or blocked shots, which i agree are subjective. but ppp and shp are not subjective at all. we use plus minus, why not FW? It would make centres multi-dimensional, for example.

anyways, if other people are having fun, i\'m glad, but i certainly don\'t find myself checking this pool as obsessively as I do my other one.

Ahhh, I see what you mean repent.

My goal for this kind of pool is to just check the standings every three or four days and maybe once a week spend a half hour on it thinking up strategies and cruising the waiver wire. So for that purpose - this pool is perfect. I don\'t have time for more than that.

To have less players I feel would be less challenging and more luck - you might as well just roll a pair of dice once a week and the highest total rolls at the end of the season wins! I mean, what you are proposing is trying to decide if you should waive Eric Staal to maybe pick up Mats Sundin for the week. Huh? I want more realism than that. I want serious thoughts such as - will Marcel Hossa stick on the top line long enough to warrant dropping Sean Bergenheim?

The pickings are slim...which makes you think more, but your team is set enough that you don\'t need to babysit it daily. I like that.

This stresses a strong draft and fast waiver skills.
B)

[Dobber]

Shoeless wrote:

While we are on the subject of seeing what is happening in the Dobber pools - why would the league not be changed to public now that it is running and just give us the link so we all can pop in and take a gander?

Guys - Burnsy is MIA with personal issues. He has total control of the leagues right now, so I can\'t get in to change any settings. Hopefully he will be back within a week or so and we can get this public.

[repenttokyo]

Dobber wrote:

To have less players I feel would be less challenging and more luck - you might as well just roll a pair of dice once a week and the highest total rolls at the end of the season wins! I mean, what you are proposing is trying to decide if you should waive Eric Staal to maybe pick up Mats Sundin for the week. Huh? I want more realism than that. I want serious thoughts such as - will Marcel Hossa stick on the top line long enough to warrant dropping Sean Bergenheim?
B)

I don\'t see how I am suggesting that at all! What league would have Sundin on the waiver wire??? Certainly not a 12 team, 9 forwards 4 D league.

For every Marcel Hossa with a chance on the top line there is a Jere Lehtinen or Scott Walker plugging along on the third line on his team, and the 4th line on my fantasy squad. What I am saying is, 4th line on a fantasy team = boring.

[smoothfun]

i\'m enjoying this pool , not sure if i\'m going about it right or not , i\'ve dropped and added several players so far.

[doulos]

I think this pool is a good mix for me. I am in a couple far more intensive pools and this Yahoo one is a lot nicer because I basically just check in on it to see if there are any Waiver pickups I want to make and make sure my lineup is set properly. Low key, but enough skill that the winner will have done his work to get there. I havn\'t made any moves yet this year but that\'s only because it\'s tough at this point to drop some of my guys until a few weeks into the season where we find out how guys are likely going to be performing.

[Dobber]

doulos wrote:

I think this pool is a good mix for me. I am in a couple far more intensive pools and this Yahoo one is a lot nicer because I basically just check in on it to see if there are any Waiver pickups I want to make and make sure my lineup is set properly. Low key, but enough skill that the winner will have done his work to get there. I havn\'t made any moves yet this year but that\'s only because it\'s tough at this point to drop some of my guys until a few weeks into the season where we find out how guys are likely going to be performing.

That\'s my thinking doulos - the time spent on this pool is perfect.

Repent - I hear ya, but I see things the opposite way.
4th line = the only real challenge.
4th line = separating the men from the boys
4th line = finding the sleepers who could surprise and get a shot on a big line

B)