Fantasy teams play one another each week.  There is a fantasy game schedule that lets each owner know who they will be playing.  The fantasy teams with the best head-to-head records go to a playoff round.  Eventually a KODL Champion is determined!  A pool of money is divided between the top teams.  The better you place in the leagues final standings the more money you win.  In some ways it is a form of "advanced gambling".  Don't worry even if you lose everything the cost of playing is actually pretty low.  The entry fee this year is $50.  That figures to only $3.12 per week.

It sounds complicated but it really isn't.  You don't have to be a football "guru" to play.  Just pick players based on stats derived from the previous year.  There are a slew of fantasy football magazine that make this task easier.

If you have any questions send me an email and I'll fill you in on the details.   This document has a lot of information so I would suggest reading the entire thing before asking questions.  My email address is john@usandacat.com.   The KODL web site is http://usandacat.com/kodl.

New League Features For The 2005 Season: For those of you that played last year I wanted to put this information right up front.  Note that this information is detailed in the sections that follow.  Please keep reading to get all of the gritty details.

• 12 Man Rosters - Teams will consist of 12 total players NOT 13 as in previous years.
• KR (i.e. Kick Returner) Added To RB/WR/TE Player Count - Now players that MFL classifies as KR can be drafted.  This should resolve the issue that Louis has hit in the past couple of years with Allen Rossum.
• DT Scoring Change - Number Of Offensive Touchdowns Allowed NOT Total Points Against - DT scoring will not be based on the Total Points Against.  Instead it will be based on the number of offensive touchdowns allowed by the defense.  This was the best way I could find in MFL of not counting offensive scoring by an opponent that happens when the defense is not on the field.  This is the complaint I am trying to address.  Note that the point breakdown will essentially NOT be changing.  This will mean DT should gain slightly more points than in 2004.
• Yardage Scoring Change - Negative Yardage Subtracts - Now if your RB gets a total of -10 yards you get -1 points.  This is the big time gentlemen!
• Pickup Player Another Team Drops - MFL does not support this so I adjusted this in the rules.  In the past when I was entering things by hand this was allowed.
• Conference Calls  - As we did for the redraft and post season draft conference calls will be used instead of instant messengers.  It works much better.
• Payout Percentages Adjusted - This change was made at the draft session.

Positions Used: Each fantasy team will be allowed to START the following players each week.  Each team will be allowed to draft 12 players of ANY position. 

Point Scoring Summary

Each fantasy team plays against another fantasy team each week.  The two teams compete to get the most total points for the week.  If the scores for a given week are even the game is considered a tie and is recorded as such.

NFL statistics are taken from the NFL.com GameBook site.  If you want to confirm a score please check with this source first.  Note that this source is considered the master for MFL statistics on all weeks.

To make scoring simpler ALL offensive players score in the same fashion.  Here is how it works.

Score with a "*" are changes for this year.

Note Regarding Rounding: All numbers will be rounded to the lowest whole number. In other words, if your player rushes for 69 yards you get 6 points.

Two Week Bitch Rule: An owner has only two weeks to dispute posted results.  After two weeks all results are final and will not be changed.

One quick note before I start.  Pickups, trades, and drafting are the most important aspects of the league.  To win you must understand these rules completely.   If there are any questions please ask.  Do NOT make assumptions.

Redraft and Pickup Priority: The priority order for the redraft placement and waiver selections will be:

1. Team with the worst winning percentage.
2. If there is a tie then priority goes to the team with the worst total points.
3. If there is still a tie it is broken by a random coin toss/die roll by MFL.

Timing Information Regarding Pickups and Trades: Trades begin at any time after the draft.  Pickups begin after week #1.  After week #15 of the regular season only pickups are allowed.

How waiver pickups work?: Each week a player can pickup ONE player from the waiver wire.  To select the NFL player the team owner can place an UNLIMITED amount of waiver pickup requests to make sure that they get at least one.  This is all completely controlled by the MFL online software.  HINT: There are only 11 other teams so if you are in 1st place (i.e. you have the last pickup) then to guarantee yourself a player you would need 11 waiver requests.

How does the pickup round work?: The pickup round is conducted by the MFL software in order by the team's priority (see the chart above).  The player with the highest pickup priority get his first first waiver request.  Players get their first valid pickup during the pickup round.  It may take all of the players requests to generate an actual waiver selection.  

Can I try to pickup a player that another team drops on the same week that they drop them?: No.  MFL does not support this function.

How do trades work?: An unlimited amount of trades are allowed each week.  "Like" player position trades are not required.  A WR may be traded for a RB!

What do I bring on draft day?:  First off, here is a list of stuff to bring on draft day.

• $50 entry fee.  Personal check or cash are fine.  Credit cards are not accepted.  :)  Some teams have carry over from last year.  I'll bring this information.
• Pizza party money.  The league will NOT provide any food or beverage this year.
• Your team name.  The stranger the better.
• Draft preparation information. I suggest buying a preseason fantasy magazine. They can be picked up at almost any corner store.
• A good attitude!

The two draft days are probably the most exciting days of the KODL year.  This is were prime is separated from ground chuck!  On draft day we will use an agenda that looks something like this.  The draft session take approximately 3 to 4 hours to complete. 

How does the initial draft position and starting division get determined?: The initial league draft position and division placement will be determined by randomly drawing numbers from a hat. Drafting will proceed from the first draft number to the last draft number then in reverse.  We use a standard serpentine draft.

What if I can't make draft day in person?: We will be having remote people draft over a conference call.

If you can't make the draft day in person or on a conference call don't worry about it! Just submit a list of players that you want to draft over email. Make the list LARGE! I'll use the list as the basis for your draft picks. Granted there is a slight disadvantage not being there in person but it should not be that big of a deal if your list is complete and accurate. I'll send you any questions if I see problems in a draft list.

What if I am late to a draft session? (i.e. "The Goodfella Rule"): If a team owner is late to a draft or redraft session the process starts without them!  If a team owner is late to the mid season Redraft or post season Playoff Draft their draft position becomes whatever is remaining after the other teams have selected their draft positions.  When the tardy teams player pick comes up they automatically draft the highest point getting player from the previous year for the initial draft, or the current yearly stats for the Redraft or Playoff Draft.  Players will be selected from available NFL teams in this order: QB, RB, WR, ST, then DT.  To make a long story short...don't be late it really sucks!  If you are going to be late call and I'll be lenient.

Each player will be allowed to hold one "keeper player" for the redraft.   After the first player the rest of the squad will be determined by drafting.  The keeper player that will be held must be sent to the Commish on the order emails that are sent before the games on the week before the redraft.  I'll send out warning messages that a keeper selection is required.  During the redraft session all of the keeper players will be thrown into a hat.  I'll pull names from the hat and allow the fantasy team owner to announce their keeper selection.  It should make things melodramatic and bit more challenging during the redraft session.

What if I am late with my "keeper player"?: In this case the offending team keeps the highest total point position from the first 8 weeks. 

The person with highest pickup priority chooses their draft position first.  Decisions on draft placement proceeds down the line from the highest priority person to the lowest.   After the redraft order is determined drafting immediately commences.  After the first round the rotation reverses.  From here it works just like the regular draft.  Again the computer will control the draft clock.

Can I Trade For Redraft Picks?: Players can be traded for redraft picks.  This is a good way for a team with no stand out keeper player to get hold of a "gem".  If redraft picks are traded it is done in a gentlemanly fashion among the various parties.  I should be copied on all of these agreements.  Note that during the actual drafting session NO extra time will be allocated when these picks come along.  It is up to the teams in question to keep everything straight.   Note that with the 13 player roster it should be easier to facilitate redraft pick trades.

How is drafting done for the playoffs?: For the playoff draft the progression is NOT serpentine.  Instead the draft will be conducted using a standard "top down" approach.  This means if you draft first then you get the 1st, 5th, 9th, etc. selection.  In other words, the drafting runs like this...1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1,...

This means that the order of the draft will not need to be determined by selection.  Instead the division winning team with the highest league standing gets the first draft position.  The next two division winners follow.  The wild card team always drafts in the last position (i.e. the 4th).

From here it works just like the regular draft.  Again the computer will control the draft clock.

How many players do I get to draft for the playoffs?: Playoff teams are built EXACTLY like they are for the regular season.  Team formation is the same as that used for the regular season (i.e. 12 players of any position).

How many players do I get to start each week of the playoffs?: Playoff teams submit a starting lineup just like the regular season.  The starting positions works just like it does during the regular season.

How is scoring done in the playoffs?: The four playoff teams start the KODL post season with 0 points.  Point scoring works exactly like it does in the regular season.

Are pickups, drops, and trades allowed in the playoffs?: No.  The players drafted at the post season redraft must be used for the entire post season.

How do I win the playoffs?: In the playoffs only the total points are used to determine the division champion.  Points are collected from all NFL wild card, playoff, and Superbowl games.  After the Superbowl the points are totaled and the player with the highest total points is the winner.  All ties are broken by the fantasy teams standings during the year (i.e. league record, total points, then coin toss).   This makes the strategy for the playoffs different than the initial draft or redraft!