The champion

Well folks, it was a wild one for last year's championship  in the dynasty football world. With commissioner headaches and constant group chat battles, we somehow made it through alive. We're like a team of unbreakable superheroes, except instead of saving the world, we just obsess over our players' stats and argue over waiver wire pickups. The man, the myth, the kid that would argue that water wasn’t wet, Rory managed to pull off a miraculous victory over Kevin in the final minutes of their matchup. With a score of 155 to 132, it's clear that Rory left it all on the field and was able to come out on top in this hard-fought battle.

One of the biggest surprises of the game was the no-contest from fantasy football powerhouse Josh Allen, who many had counted on to lead his team to victory. But it wasn't meant to be, as Allen was unable to deliver in the clutch and left his fantasy owners disappointed.

But all was not lost for Rory, as he was able to rely on the impressive performances of Deshaun Watson, Travis Etienne, and Brendon Aiyuk, who all scored over 20 points and carried their team to victory. In the end, it was the young gun Rory who was able to outmaneuver the old-timer. Kev's wisdom and experience may have been enough to land him a spot on the AARP, but it just wasn't enough to get the job done against the tenacious and determined Rory.

But let's be real, who needs wisdom and experience when you've got youthful exuberance and a knack for fantasy football. Kevin may have had a few extra gray hairs and years of knowledge, but Rory’s strategy of trade raping everyone in the league (especially the commish) worked to his favor, at no surprise. 

In the end, it was a classic case of "Youth vs. Experience," and unfortunately for Kevin, youth came out on top. Better luck next time, old timer!

Rookie Draft

Our first ever rookie draft is about to begin and although there was a 40% of myself winning the Bijan Lottery, TheProfessa (Luke) somehow snagged the lucky landing spot with a 1/10 shot. Below is the draft order listed. Please note that first round picks that have been traded will have the team picking listed next to the person’s draft pick. 

Date of the draft: 6/11/23 @ 7pm ET

Rounds: 4

ADP: (average draft position) League has voted that ADP be turned off.

Time: 5 minutes per pick.

We decided to make some changes this year which we will go over. All changes are meant to improve league experience but not everything will always work perfectly. We will continue to make changes in the future as needed, but for now I wanted to make sure everyone is updated on the most recent:

Playoffs: 1 week matchups. Last year was a mess with playoffs and with how Sleeper allows you to create rules, 1 week playoffs will make things easier to follow. This will not affect how payouts or draft lottery is done.

Taysom Hill: Yes, he needs his own rule section…and No he will not be able to be played in the TE position, but he can be played at the Flex or Superflex spot.

ADP removal: As mentioned above, ADP ranks will be replaced with putting players in alphabetical order for all rookie drafts going forward.

Veto/Uphold: this isn’t necessarily new but just a reminder that you need 6 votes total to uphold or veto a trade. It can include the people involved in the trade. Sleeper does not uphold trades so I will do it manually once it hits 6 votes.

*3-Peat Champ: This rule hasn’t been discussed with the group, but if any team from this point on (2023-2024) wins 3 years in a row, we will do a redraft for the entire league. A couple of reasons why we’re doing it this way: 

• We won count last years win as playoffs and rules were a mess so we’re calling that a scratch

• It’s very hard to win 3 years in a row, so if a team does it means the league is pretty lopsided

• The new draft will have the first 2 rounds with 30 minute picks and the rest of the draft will be 5 minute picks (much faster than the previous draft) 

• The team who won all three years will be given a comp pick to make up for having to draft a new team (comp pick TBD)

Loser Punishment: It’s been brought up multiple times now that there should be a loser punishment. Although there are many great punishments to choose from, the main goal is to prevent tanking and keep people engaged in the league. It won’t be as harsh as typical fantasy punishments since some teams will be in rebuild some years, but the loser of the year can choose one of the following punishments, starting this season: 

*(to clarify, loser is last place of the consolation bracket and not worst record) 

• Open Mic standup 

• Cold plunge

• Dinner date with a blowup doll

• Go to 2 WNBA games

• Make a TikTok mimicking a Jackson Mahomes dance

OR

If you decline to participate in any of these, it will result in a $75.00 fine that goes towards a league portfolio. This will be used in the future towards prizes, trips, and events for the league (TBD). 

League fees are due a week before the rookie draft. Please make sure to send a Venmo of $200 (or more if you’d like) to @stefan-livsey. If you need extra time or have any issues, please message me directly.

League Participation: Last but not least, league participation has been pretty weak overall. During the football season it was at its peak obviously, but the off-season has been pretty much a dead zone. Discord didn’t work well and it’s my job as commissioner to make adjustments, but we need more ideas on how to keep an active league. I’m not sure about everyone else but an annoying, overly-active league mate is much more enjoyable than one who doesn’t participate at all. I realize we all have private lives and fantasy football might not be the most important thing in the world, but you should at least participate some if you signed up. Make more trades, participate in the shit-talk (especially towards the terrible league commissioner), pitch ideas or ways to help improve the league. We at least all relate on one level with each other and if we’re going to be doing this league for years and years, communication is KEY. Otherwise, the league will fizzle out. 

If you don’t think you have as much football knowledge as other people, use free resources out there. There is great fantasy football content for free and it’s easy to access. Check out articles and podcasts such as:

Fantasy Footballers (Spotify podcast, the now have a new dynasty podcast as well)

ESPN Fantasy Football (Spotify podcast)

Establishtherun (fantasy football blog)

PFF (blog)

Keep Trade Cut Dynasty Trade Calculator (free trade tool and player evaluator)

And many more!

These tools will help you understand more about fantasy football and don’t consume your life. Put on a podcast on the car ride to work, read an article before bed, use the trade analyzer to send a weekly or bi-weekly trade to improve your team. These are things that will make you better at fantasy football, but also help you relate to your league mates and improve your overall football knowledge. In the end, I want everyone to be competitive and to enjoy playing. My goal is for you to brag to your friends every year that you beat me in fantasy football since I spend way too much time invested (trust me, ask my girlfriend). But overall, it just makes the league better.

Best of luck!

Your Commish,