2012-13 articles
HAC Finals Review and the Offseason
APRIL 20, 2013
Firstly, thank you to everyone who made the HAC worth playing in this season, at least for myself. This renewed HAC season, after two seasons of false starts, slight abandonments and poor overall league management has been ever so slightly reversed this season. It has made me very excited for this league going forward.
And the 2013 HAC Playoffs also did that, especially the Finals week. Congratulations to league champion Gary and his Lennay Kekua Is Real (LKIR) squad. While named after a (now) very dated pop culture reference, that is about the only negative thing you can say. He had big performances by his big guns Kobe Bryant and Caramello Anthony and from free agent acquisitions Pau Gasol and John Wall. That helped to pile on the points, 1990 of them, to defeat Latrell’s Hub Caps, a very worthy opponent.
This should help every franchise to learn that acquiring free agents are so important. While most of Gary’s free agent acquisitions were quantity over quality, John Wall was a tremendous addition early in the season, when it wasn’t certain how much he would contribute. It turns out, he contributed a lot. And Pau Gasol was a big addition during the playoffs when he was released because of injury concerns. Gasol really turned his season around with a big showing in the HAC Playoffs.
John Wall was a very important free agent acquisition for LKIR. Wall had a terrific second half in the HAC season.
In the Consolation Bracket, because you can’t forget that, Hickory High surprised me, beating Left Coast Gravity, 1590.4 - 1426.7. It just seemed that after barely missing out on a playoff spot, the Gravity were on their way as the top seed in the Bracket to win. But Hickory High also was in the playoff race until almost the bitter end and had the #8 seed and a first round Bracket bye. They also scored more points than the Gravity in the Semifinal round, breaking the 1000 point barrier. So, congratulations to Wes and his Hickory High!
I know I’ve written this before, but my hope is that once keepers are established in the league rules (which are busily being constructed and formulated!), players like Wall and Gasol and a host of other players who are very talented but were released from teams this season, won’t be because HAC franchises will want to retain them. I think this group going forward is the perfect one to introduce a keeper system into, a simple one at that, to create more of an identity that owners can have with their teams. I’ll write that up in the offseason and hopefully it won’t take too long.
Going forward, we have one new owner in the league to take over one of the inactive franchises, Mike Koeth. There is still one more franchise needing an active owner, and hopefully that will be done soon.
Another thing is, if anyone has any talent with photoshop or a creative eye, I would love to get a High Above Courtside logo. If anyone could do that, I would definitely make it worth your while...or at least make it worth your franchise’s time!
The HAC offseason website I’ve made is taking shape. You can see it here: https://sites.google.com/site/highabovecourtside/home
Basically, it is just a basic Google Sites page, but eventually it will have everything important about the league. Already, it has this past season’s draft, every article I wrote for the league, all league trades and the complete Playoffs and Consolation Bracket rundown. It’ll have more too and soon it will have a league constitution.
So, the offseason should be some time off to get rested up for the 2013-14 HAC season. I’ll get a (hopefully) active person that will take over the 12th franchise in the league and hopefully he (or she) will stay with the league for a long time...because I’m hoping the HAC will be a long-term idea. Next, the constitution will finally be rounded into form. Also, I’ll be in communication with you all regarding the setup for next season. I’ll do it with a lot of notice (as opposed to this season) and we’ll start on time - a novel concept.
For next season, I am leaning on an auction draft which would necessitate getting every single owner online at the same time for a couple of hours to do this, which I think is possible if I have enough time to coordinate with everyone’s schedule. Could be easier said than done, but with a lot of time and communication, I think it can work. Why I’m leaning towards an auction is because I’m debating between two different types of keeper systems, and having an auction and where the league would dictate specific market values for each player would make a keeper system and a leaguewide financial system easy to maintain.
In more detail, one system I was thinking of, which would have an auction draft, would allow every franchise the opportunity to keep a first or second round draft pick by spending money from a keeper budget. With this, they could sign players to contracts (more details about this soon). With the other system, while it could work well, it would be where the league would have a straight draft and teams would have to give up draft picks in order to retain players from season to season. I played out many different scenarios in my head, and I couldn’t really think of one where it’d be fair for a first or second round pick to be retained. And since Yahoo’s draft software can run an auction draft, I’m thinking going with that would make an online draft the most enjoyable rather than sitting around waiting for your draft pick. With an auction draft, you are invested in every player and no team would be shut out of having a chance at getting LeBron James or Kevin Durant if they wanted, just because they don’t have one of the first two draft picks.
So, without getting ahead of myself. I’ll be keeping the Facebook page up to date intermittently about league updates or just things I’m thinking about and things I’ve added to the Google Sites page. Thanks again to all of you for making this a very enjoyable season and I’ll be in communication again soon about next season’s details.
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HAC Finals Week
APRIL 9, 2013
It is down to two teams in the 2013 HAC Finals: Lennay Kekua Is Real against Latrell's Hub Caps.
There are only two teams still alive in the HAC Playoffs, and that can only mean one thing: it is the HAC Finals! The two top seeds are fighting it out. #1 seed Lennay Kekua Is Real (LKIR) and #2 Latrell’s Hub Caps. These two teams have taken different paths to the Finals. LKIR was at the live draft and has utilized free agent transactions for all they are worth all season long. At the same time, the Hub Caps have only made 13 free agent transactions all season long and missed the live draft at the beginning of the HAC season. Still, that hasn’t stopped them from winning a Frazier Division crown and advancing to the Finals.
While the HAC Finals are going on, there are still other important matchups too. For example, The Race For Third Place, for the two teams who were eliminated in the semifinals round, is going on. It is between the Donkey Crankers and Granny Dangers. Also, the Consolation Bracket title is up for grabs between Left Coast Gravity and Hickory High. Interestingly, there have been no upsets or surprises in this year’s playoffs or consolation bracket as all of the top seeded teams have advanced in each respective pool.
LKIR has had the best record all season long and will be depending on guards John Wall and Kobe Bryant as well as forward Caramello Anthony to steer the franchise to the league crown just like they had with the Johnny Most Division title and the league’s top regular season record. The Hub Caps have been a surprise all season long with guard James Harden leading the way. Center Omer Asik has been a pleasant surprise as well and guard Mo Williams was a terrific free agent acquisition by owner Erik.
Both teams have only had to deal with one matchup in this year’s playoffs thanks to a first round bye as a reward for clinching one of the top two seeds...which both of these teams did. In the semifinals, LKIR owner Gary outlasted Johnny Most Division rival Granny Dangers by a mere 20 points to advance to the Finals. While the Hub Caps’ margin of victory was a bit greater over Nate’s Donkey Crankers, it still came down to the final day too. So, what will it be? Will LKIR seize the league title that seems to be just waiting for them all season long? Or will the Hub Caps continue to surprise and come up big at the biggest time of the season?
As we all know (and if not, you better know) that the HAC Champion will get the first pick on their draft position in the 2013 HAC Draft. There are only two teams that get to do this. The second? Why, the Consolation Bracket winner, who selects their draft position after the league champion. There are only two teams left after a six team pool in the Consolation Bracket, and they are the two top teams entering the Bracket: #7 seed Left Coast Gravity and #8 seed Hickory High. Like in the Playoffs, both of these teams, because they were the top two seeds in the Bracket, they got first round byes. However, unlike the Playoffs, their semifinals matchups weren’t close. Glen’s Gravity dismantled David’s Detroit Bad Boys, 978 - 773. And then Wes and his Hickory High squad was no small town underdog. They took out the other Wes, of Long Shot, 1058 - 879, the only team in the Consolation Bracket to get to the 1000 point mark. It is fitting that one of the Gravity and Hickory High will be the Consolation Bracket winners because both teams were fighting for a playoff spot virtually the entire regular season, so they deserve it.
The Race For Fifth Place was decided in the semifinal round, between the two teams eliminated in the first round, Ken’s Big Deng Theory and Lundy’s Pap Smear Barbie. The Big Deng Theory proved victorious, winning by over 500 points! Still, it was far from a lost season for either team as they made the second season.
And I don’t think any team had a bad season, at least the ten active owners in the league. Those nine guys (outside of myself) have made the HAC’s 2012-13 season a successful one, at least in my eyes. And those nine guys have given me optimism for the HAC’s future, which I think I’ve said a lot. Right now, I’m contemplating keeper structures and hopefully I’ll be done with it pretty soon and I can give a writeup about it soon. Thank you again to all of you for being in the league and giving the HAC a shot!
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Playoff Update: Round 1 and Semifinals
APRIL 1, 2013
The Donkey Crankers won a hard fought Round 1 series against Pap Smear Barbie.
So, Round 1 of the 2013 HAC Playoffs is in the books and so far, there have been no upsets. However, the first week of the playoffs have not been short on drama. As the two top seeds, Lennay Kekua Is Real (LKIR) and Latrell’s Hub Caps looked on with Round 1 bye weeks, 4th seed Granny Danger barely got by 5th seed The Big Deng Theory, 1137.1 - 1086. It was a tension filled matchup all week long and injuries played as big a part of the matchup as did the players on the hardcourt. The Big Deng Theory owner, Ken, will wonder ‘what if’ for a while as center Al Horford missed two games with injury and The Big Deng’s were also without frontcourt stalwart Joakim Noah for much of the week.
In the other playoff game, Dick Stockton Division winner Donkey Crankers, the third seed, defeated 6th seed Pap Smear Barbie by over 200 points, 1097.4 - 881. Still, this game was also close for much of the week until the Crankers cranked things up over the weekend. Guard J.R. Smith and center Dwight Howard came alive for Crankers owner Nate. Unfortunately, for the Barbie’s and owner Lundy, they didn’t get big playoff performances out of forward Blake Griffin (81 points) and center DeMarcus Cousins (80 points). They needed more from those two.
Now, in the semifinal round, the Granny Danger will take on LKIR which will resume the Johnny Most Division’s main rivalry. LKIR won the division title, but the Grannys were hot on their heels. In the other matchup, Erik’s Latrell’s Hub Caps, the Frazier Division winner, will come back from their Round 1 bye to take on the Donkey Crankers. In the Race For 5th Place matchup, the two losing teams from Round 1, The Big Deng Theory and Pap Smear Barbie will face off in an effort to salvage their season.
As for the Consolation Bracket, the inevitable happened as the team’s two inactive franchises, This Is Lintense and Purple Drank were eliminated. Let them be spoken of no more! Now the remaining four teams in the Bracket are all active franchises and will battle it out for the chance to choose their own draft position in the 2013 HAC Draft. Glen’s Left Coast Gravity and Wes’ Hickory High both earned first round byes that were hard fought. They both came from the ultra competitive Stockton Division where no team won 10 games. The Gravity will take on Dave’s Detroit Bad Boys. On the other side of the ledger, Hickory High will do battle against the other Wes in the league, the owner of Long Shot. Glen’s Gravity surged at the end of the season, threatening for the final playoff spot and Hickory High was in the playoff race as well. These two squads could be the favorites to win the Bracket, but I know Dave’s Bad Boys and Wes’ Long Shot would have something to say about that. There are two weeks to go to fight it out!
I’m excited for the main playoffs and to see if LKIR can keep their winning ways alive and hoist the (fictional...or virtual?) HAC championship trophy. Or will there be an upset along the way? Am I totally disregarding the Hub Caps and Donkey Crankers? Two division winners? Those are going to be two great games to keep up with all week long.
Now it is time for my soapbox for the future of HAC. As the playoffs go on, my interest in making this league be a long-term one grows. I want franchises to be able to retain players for several years and create an identity with their teams. Nowhere but fantasy sports have I become a fan of a seemingly random player. I feel very lucky that while in the two seasons before this one the HAC fell into disrepair (in my opinion), you guys were willing to give it another shot. I think that with two more owners on par with the other current HAC owners, this league is going to take off. Add in some unique and creative keeper rules to add some interesting yet easy to follow wrinkles, and all of a sudden I think the HAC can become a league that will be around for years to come. I hope you guys are ready to share the ride.
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HAC Playoffs: What's Going to Happen?
MARCH 24, 2013
The Walt Frazier Division had style this year with Latrell's Hub Caps and The Big Deng Theory battling to the very end. The Hub Caps ended up winning the divison title in the final week of the regular season.
What is going to happen come playoff time? I’m here to tell you. If you don’t already know, the postseason, or how we refer it in these parts, the “second season” starts on Monday, like tomorrow. Technically, that will be Week 22 of the season, but it will also mean the conclusion of the HAC 2012-13 regular season. What a ride it has been! For the first time I feel like there is a strong potential going forward for this league. And that, in turn, makes me excited for the 2013 HAC Playoffs.
In addition to the main playoffs, the Consolation Bracket is also going to be a thing I’ll be following as well. Thankfully, Yahoo makes it very easy to follow along. On the “Playoffs” tab on the main page, there is an additional link within that called “Consolation”. The 2013 HAC Champion is going to be able to choose their draft position for next season. I wanted to offer up a prize somehow, and my options were limited. And I want the teams that didn’t make the playoffs to have something to shoot for, so the winner of the Consolation Bracket is going to be able to choose their draft position also...after the champion picks their spot. So Consolation teams, keep setting your lineups!
On that note, I posted this on the message board, but I’d really like to try to sprinkle in some prizes for teams that achieve things during the season. Things like the draft position choice. Nothing to throw the balance off the league, but something minor...and yet still somewhat significant and a bonus for teams to shoot for. During the offseason, I will try to think of some things and hopefully the lot of you will be willing to deal with my tinkering after this season to give it another shot.
With the #6 and final playoff spot up for grabs in the final week of the season, an update deserves to be mentioned. Left Coast Gravity’s 1-6 start has been mentioned before, but no team could have made it a tighter race for the playoffs than what the Gravity has done. It looks like Lundy’s Pap Smear Barbie is going to hold off Glen’s Gravity, but not by much. The Barbie’s had the inside track on the #6 spot pretty much all season long, but the Gravity, in recent weeks, has surged. First, the Gravity leap frogged Wes’ Hickory High in the Stockton Division. The Barbie’s were lucky to hold a 643 point (I rounded up to eliminate decimals) lead entering the final week of the season. This would prove to be way too much for the Gravity (or any team) to make up, but the Gravity looks like they’re going to slice it in half! The Gravity has over 1300 points during Sunday’s games while the Barbie’s have only tallied 995.
The Gravity even came close to a division title after toiling away in 3rd place in the Stockton Division for much of the season. While the Gravity are en route to defeating division leader Donkey Crankers this week and move into a tie for record (9-8 for both teams), unfortunately, Yahoo’s next tiebreaker is divisional record. Partly due to the Gravity’s slow start, they compiled a 5-4 (with their win this week) divisional record but Stockton Division winner, Nate’s Donkey Crankers, even though they’ve lost handily to the Gravity this week, have a 6-3 division record and because of that, will win the Stockton Division crown. The Crankers had a very nice season and deserve the division title. But the Gravity made things pretty tense which is great for the league.
Another great division race that came down to the very final week is the Walt Frazier Division. This almost shouldn’t have been a race, but Erik’s Latrell’s Hub Caps had a great middle of the season after a 1-3 start, rattling off seven straight wins. First they climbed into second place into the division over Wes’ Long Shot, then caught up to Ken’s Big Deng Theory. The Big Deng Theory started off the season 5-0 and looked like a lock to win the division, but the Hub Caps proved that idea wrong. Both teams entered the final week of the regular season with 11-5 records and both teams are slated to notch victories against other division rivals this week to finish the season at 12-5. Then, because both teams are going to defeat division rivals, they’ll have identical 7-2 division records. Another tie! So...now to Yahoo’s 3rd tiebraker - season points. Coming into the final week, the Hub Caps had roughly a 500 point lead on the season, and the Big Deng’s didn’t really cut into that much this week. So, the Hub Caps will have secured the Frazier Division in a real hard fought, drawn out race. Another fantastic finish.
However, the team with the best regular season record, Lennay Kekua Is Real, at 14-3 (after this week’s games, when their defeat of the Barbie’s becomes official), will have the #1 seed after wrapping up the Johnny Most Division title, the worst held secret in the HAC. Along with them, the #2 seed, Latrell’s Hub Caps will also get a bye for the first round of the HAC playoffs. The next four seeds will battle it out in Round 1. Then, LKIR will face off against the lowest seed to advance to the Semifinals and the Hub Caps will take on the other team. A three week season is coming upon us!
With six teams in the HAC Playoffs and the Consolation Bracket, it works out nicely that the Consolation Bracket runs the same way. The #7 (Gravity) and #8 (Hickory High) seeds will get byes for the first round. Seeds #9-12 will then go at it in the first round. I know we have two inactive teams, and hopefully they will be eliminated in the first round of the Bracket. Like I’ve said numerous times, I hope all of you will be interested in carrying this league forward for next year, and if so, I will do whatever I can to find two loyal, active and faithful owners for those two franchises for next season.
Speaking of that, with the end of the regular season, I just want to say one more time at how much fun I’ve been having following the NBA again. No way did I think that was going to happen when I thought of this league, on a whim AFTER the NBA season started. I sent out invites, throwing darts at a wall basically, and you guys were brave enough to accept. And I thank you for that because some of you guys truly didn’t know what to expect. Others of you had reason to be wary seeing what’s happened the previous two seasons with a general lack of activity. But all I really needed was some co-conspirators to make fantasy basketball fun again for me. Now I’m all in, and I hope most of you guys will be too.
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Pre-Playoff Chatter (and Prizes)
MARCH 22, 2013
So, this is gearing up to be a big weekend in the world of the HAC. And please go to the last paragraph to see news about the Consolation Bracket. The winner of the Bracket will get a prize for next season! Let's look into it...
A big matchup is Glen's Left Coast Gravity against Nate's Donkey Crankers. The Crankers hold the Stockton Division lead right now with a 9-7 record and the Gravity have a 8-8 regular season record. The Gravity is less than 200 points behind the Crankers for the season as well. But even though the Gravity hold an impressive 763 - 439 lead over the Crankers coming into the weekend, a win with a 200 point margin will not net the Gravity the Stockton Division title. As per Yahoo's tiebreakers, divisional record has more priority than season points, which I'm not sure I agree with. But those are the facts and the Crankers are fortunate to have a 6-2 division record (6-3 if they lose). The Gravity have a 4-4 division record, which would be 5-4 if they lose - one game behind the Crankers...and the Crankers, win or lose, should hold on to the division lead, and should win the Stockton Division title.
However, a playoff spot is still up for grabs, and it involves Lundy's Pap Smear Barbie and the Gravity. It looks likely at this point that the Barbie's are going to hold onto that #6 playoff spot that they've had the inside track now for a while. Even if they lose to the top team in the league, Lennay Kekua Is Real (right now, Lennay Kekua has a 634 - 591 lead...not much), they should still be able to hold off the Gravity. The Barbie's have 16,391 season points compared to the Gravity's 15,748. Unfortunately, that will be impossible for the Gravity to make up. As mentioned before, the Gravity has an 8-8 record, while the Barbie's have a 9-7 record. Even if the Barbie’s lose and the Gravity win, which would give them a tie in record, the Barbie’s have more season points (which is Yahoo’s first tiebreaker for a playoff position).
The Gravity has made things uncomfortable both in the race for the Stockton Division and for the #6 spot for the playoffs. Could the Barbie’s continue to make things difficult for Lennay Kekua Is Real? If the Barbie’s defeat LKIR, that would give LKIR a 6-3 division record for the Johnny Most Division. If Granny Danger holds on and defeats Detroit Bad Boys (currently, the Grannys have a 689 - , Granny Danger would end the year with a 7-2 divisional record. If LKIR loses they would have a 13-4 record to finish the year, while if the Grannys win, they would also have the same 13-4 record. You can see where I’m going with this. All of a sudden, the Johnny Most Division could be up for grabs. This is another one to watch this weekend.
Let’s not forget the Frazier Division! Latrell’s Hub Caps and The Big Deng Theory, tied for the division lead with 11-5 records also are tied with 6-2 division records. The Big Deng Theory has the lead in season points (the 3rd tiebreaker), so if all things stay the same, the The Big Deng’s will hold on to the division title. Right now, Big Deng has a 489 - 367 lead over Purple Drank while the Hub Caps are behind 657 - 575 to Long Shot. If the Hub Caps can’t win, that would give the division record edge to the Big Deng’s and there’d be no need to go to the 3rd tiebreaker of season points. Can Long Shot be a spoiler over this final weekend of the 2012-13 HAC regular season?
In Consolation Bracket news, on the front page, where you see the standings, if you click on the “Playoffs” tab, you can see a Consolation ladder. This is going to be used to determine the Consolation Bracket winner...and it *will* matter! The league champion is going to get their pick in what position they draft in next season. However, the Consolation Bracket winner will get the 2nd pick! So it is important for non-playoff teams to keep setting their lineups! The rest of you...you know what to do - get your players to play hard!
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Week 19 and 20 Ramblings
MARCH 17, 2013
The HAC playoff picture is slowly coming into focus.
Week 19 was the start of the three week period of divisional play. That alone is significant, but with playoffs lurking around the corner, it becomes even more of a big deal. And there were some important matchups to look at as well.
First though, I want to keep on stressing that I couldn’t be more impressed by teams like Long Shot, Left Coast Gravity and Detroit Bad Boys...and for different reasons. Long Shot lost to Big Deng Theory in Week 19, but that doesn’t tell the full story. More than likely, Long Shot will not make the playoffs as the #10 seed currently, but owner Wes has set his lineup all season long. Left Coast Gravity and owner Glen scored a huge win over This Is Lintense in Week 19, 1099 - 1075 (I’m going to round up for scores to make it easier for me) which kept their playoff chances alive. With that, the Gravity tied Hickory High with a 7-8 record. Glen has been utilizing the free agent list to his squad’s benefit, interchanging players and signing free agents and when they hit a lull, releasing them for another free agent. And it has served him quite well! After starting off the season 1-6, the Gravity has gone 6-2 since! Glen has never given up either and has really impressed me too. Finally, Detroit Bad Boys have been largely out of contention all season long, languishing in the very difficult Johnny Most Division. Still, Dave, as was expected, has been active all season long and has set his lineups and is doing his part to contribute to make the league competitive. All three of these guys have helped to make HAC a league with potential, and for that I am very grateful.
The start of the HAC this year, with a live draft that not everyone was able to attend was a pessimistic beginning. But Left Coast Gravity really turned things around with their navigation of the free agent list which I just mentioned. Also, Lennay Kekua is Real probably helped make their team even stronger with their acquisition of many meaningful free agents during the season. Furthermore, acquiring free agents has helped keep contending teams like Latrell’s Hub Caps and the Donkey Crankers in the mix even though they lost very important players to injury. For the Hub Caps, losing Kyrie Irving, probably for the year is a huge hit. The Donkey Crankers lost guard Rajon Rondo and forward Anderson Varejao, but they signed players and have still maintained a lead on the Stockton Division. It shows that activity in free agency can help compensate for injuries, a bad draft and lackluster play from players on your roster.
The best team in the league, Gary’s Lennay Kekua is Real, hit a bit of a snag in Week 19. They lost for the first time in 10 weeks to division rival, my Granny Dangers, 1287-1200 (rounding up or down again). Even with that, LKIR still has a comfortable command of the Johnny Most Division. Even though they are only one game ahead of the Grannys, they have a 900 point season lead over the Grannys which would be impossible to make up. As Denny Green once said, “crown their asses!”
Latrell’s Hub Caps and owner Erik just keep on piling up wins and making it uncomfortable for Ken’s Big Deng Theory in the Walt “Clyde” Frazier division. Granted, the Hub Caps easily defeated AWOL Purple Drank, but the bigger deal is that they are only one game behind Big Deng Theory who is leading the division. The Hub Caps interestingly have a 500 point lead on the Big Dengs, but have a 5-2 division record while the Big Dengs have a 6-1 division lead, and that is the first tiebreaker for division standings. A very exciting race going on for the division title because they are playing each other in Week 20!
Another great divisional race is Nate’s Donkey Crankers and Wes’ Hickory High in the Dick Stockton Division. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Left Coast Gravity has a realistic shot at the division title because while they are tied with a 7-8 record like Hickory High, they are 700 points behind Hickory and about 150 points behind the Donkey Crankers who are 8-8. Anything can happen, but my gut is saying no. Also unfortunate is that this could be the only way Left Coast Gravity makes the playoffs. They are sitting at the #8 spot right now, with Hickory High directly ahead of them in the #7 spot. Lundy’s Pap Smear Barbie in the Johnny Most Division is at #6 and holds a two game lead, with a 9-6 record, over Hickory and the Gravity. They also have about a 150 point season lead over Hickory.
Still, the Stockton Division is really up for grabs. Donkey is just one game up in the standings but trails Hickory for season points by 500. But the divisional record is a big key, and Donkey has a 5-2 record while both Hickory and the Gravity have 3-4 divisional records. Donkey is firmly in the drivers seat, and currently, they are leading This Is Lintense in Week 20, but by only 50 points. Anything could still happen with the Gravity and Hickory in a tough Week 20 battle. The Gravity holds a slim lead through Saturday’s games.
Going further, my Grannys are playing Pap Smear Barbie. If Pap Smear Barbie loses two straight games, that could potentially open up the playoff race more and that is what Hickory and the Gravity need to key on. Win their own games, but root against Lundy’s Barbie’s.
Lennay Kekua is Real is heading towards another sure win which should cement the division title even further. They are beating Detroit Bad Boys handily. I’ll get more written after Week 20 is done.
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High Above Courtside Hibernation
MARCH 6, 2013
There are two days until the league's trade deadline!
So the rumblings and bumblings have subsided for quite some time. Far too long in fact. There is much HAC news to catch up on. The new year definitely got me off of my schedule, I'll confess. But with just three weeks left until the HAC postseason, it is high time to get back at it.
And guess what! There are only two days...I repeat, TWO DAYS, until the HAC trade deadline! Will a deadline deal take place? Get your offers in! Gary tried to warn you all before on the message board about the impending trade deadline!
There have been two trades in the HAC this year...and I have been involved with each trade! However, Long Shot (more about them in a bit) and Hickory High were involved in them too. What about other teams?
Speaking of Long Shot, I think I've been pretty consistent this year in demanding that teams who have not done particularly well this year in the standings, but who are still really active in the league, get respect. Long Shot and owner Wes is one of those teams that deserve it. When I put out an S.O.S. hoping to land a point guard in a trade, Wes was right there proposing a trade, and a fair one at that. When I countered with an offer, Wes immediately accepted it which made it possibly the most painless trade negotiation ever.
Granted, a small part of me puts this shout out to Wes here because in Week 15, Long Shot won a very close matchup against my Granny Dangers, one of the closest in the league this year, 1162.6 to 1151.65. I admit, I was checking the scores constantly on that Sunday! But in any case, the HAC would not be what it is this year: a promising league with potential going forward, without guys like Wes. My hope is that Wes will be in the league for a long, long time...until he doesn't want to be. I feel very fortunate that he accepted my invitation for the HAC as I decided to give the league another shot this year.
How about another unsung team? Latrell's Hub Caps have simply been astounding. First, the team starts off 1-3. Then, Erik's Hub Caps run off SEVEN straight victories before losing last week to my Granny Dangers in a short week in Week 16. You could say that I got very lucky against an extremely hot team. But the Hub Caps have done so well, they now have they are at a 9-5 record and are threatening their division rival, The Big Deng Theory (10-4) who has done well the past few weeks to win some games while the Hub Caps have struggled. I never thought that the Walt "Clyde" Frazier division would ever be up for grabs this year as The Big Deng Theory started off 7-1 out of the gate and I didn't think any team in that division would catch up. But the Hub Caps have heated up at the right time. Can it continue?
This week is back to the divisional play period for three weeks. I'm not sure how you all feel about the unbalanced schedule and a lot of divisional play. I think it helps the division races, personally. I like that the division winners are guaranteed a playoff berth, but that there are still three wild card playoff spots available. I think it makes a division title that much more meaningful.
Another team that always deserves a pat on the back is Left Coast Gravity. They struggled coming out of the gate after not being able to make the draft and getting a roster that put them behind the 8-ball. Still, they have relentlessly tried, all season long, to improve their roster. And even though the roster hasn't always performed well, owner Glen has never let up off the gas pedal. And all of a sudden, Glen's squad is now threatening for a playoff berth, in the #8 spot. Glen is two games back from #6 Pap Smear Barbie and one game behind #7 Hickory High. Guys like Glen are what makes this league fun - who still give effort all season long even though their team is struggling, and now he is being rewarded by fighting for a potential playoff spot.
What will happen in the next three weeks!? The Dick Stockton Division is completely up for grabs. Hickory High and the Donkey Crankers have the same 7-7 record, but the Donkey Crankers have the edge right now for the tiebreaker with their 4-2 record within the division, compared to Hickory's 3-3 divisional record. That will be an exciting race to keep track of.
Like I already wrote, the Walt Frazier Division should be close too. The Johnny Most division is all wrapped up as Gary's Lennay Kekua's have clinched a playoff spot, and likely a divisional title will come soon. My Granny Dangers are two games back with three to play, so those are very long odds and virtually impossible to make up against a team like Gary's.
Besides divisional races, wild card playoff spots will be exciting to look at too, to see who should make those. Lundy's Pap Smear Barbie (8-6) in the Johnny Most Division has been consistent all season long, I think he'll be rewarded for it...but who knows! Lundy's squad, right now, is holding the #6 and final playoff seed. Still, Hickory High is in the #7 spot, a game behind in record at 7-7 and about 300 points behind the Barbie's. That is a very slim margin.
Here is the playoff race right now:
#1 - Lennay Kekua Is Real - 12-2 record (clinched playoff spot)
#2 - The Big Deng Theory - 10-4
#3 - Donkey Crankers - 7-7
#4 - Granny Dangers - 10-4
#5 - Latrell's Hub Caps - 9-5
#6 - Pap Smear Barbie - 8-6
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#7 - Hickory High - 7-7
#8 - Left Coast Gravity - 6-8
#9 - This Is Lintense - 5-9
#10 - Long Shot - 5-9 (about 100 points behind This Is Lintense)
#11 - Detroit Bad Boys - 4-10
#12 - Purple Drank - 1-13
Get those trade offers going, men! Sorry for the lengthy, lengthy lapse in an update. I'll try to do better in the future!
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Rambling Thoughts For a New Year
JANUARY 13, 2013
Latrell's Hub Caps have made a fantastic turnaround, from a 1-3 start to winning three straight games.
So, I've been quiet with my rambling thoughts for a little while. For those of you who were in HAC last season, it probably didn't surprise you. "Hell", you all were saying, "he was quiet all season a year ago!" Yeah, yeah...I know. Well, hopefully things have been different this year.
On that note, I'd like to start keeping track, for historical purposes, standings and other important things. I'm exactly sure what, but it'll just be a basic Google website, more than likely. Mainly it'll be in the spirit of my hope that this league has some legs to it and will go on for quite some time, and hopefully with a lot of the same people.
And that brings me to my next point. I knew it was a slight stretch to pump this league up to 12 people when last year it wasn't even the most active league. I was fully aware of that and fully aware of the possible ramifications: inactive owners. I'd say most everyone has been active, so far, this year, except for two guys. We are now almost two weeks into 2013 and two owners: Brian of Purple Drank and David of This Is Lintense! have not even checked in on their teams in 2013. Obviously this is unacceptable, and I want to have more of a hands-on approach to this league, but nothing where it would be invasive. That said, thankfully, Yahoo gives the power to transfer teams to new owners. I have started the search for two guys to take over these teams. I wanted to keep the rest of you all updated about this. Because while you guys check the league and check your teams and your lineups, I want you to know that your energy is not wasted.
Speaking of lineups (can you see that I'm going with a stream of consciousness theme in this Rambling Thoughts update?), it is the greatest thing ever when an opponent leaves players on the bench when there are open spots in the starting lineup. I'm not going to lie - my team may be close to 7-0 right now, but it probably should be more like 4-3. There have been many nights where I've looked at my opponent's roster, and I see empty starting lineup spots, and yet players who have games are on the bench. Don't forget - Yahoo allows you to set your lineup at least a week in advance! There really is no excuse for leaving healthy players on your bench when they could be in your lineup. You're letting fantasy points just waste away and helping your opponent! Don't do it!
Okay, I'm off my soapbox (temporarily) regarding the lineup issue. While you were waiting for the next Rambling Thoughts issue, maybe you missed the fact that Latrell's Hub Caps is now 3-3 on the season? Not only that, but with a big lead over Donkey Crankers, they are moving towards over .500 at 4-3 and a three game winning streak. This after starting off 1-3. Very impressive!
Next week is...you guessed it - back to divisional play week! It is pretty darn important because the team that wins the division gets a guaranteed playoff berth, no matter how weak that division might be. So I expect some fierce battles! Divisional play will run for the next three weeks, and each team will play every other team in their division - just like the first three weeks of the HAC season. And don't forget - the last three weeks of the HAC regular season will also be divisional games. I can feel the tension!
On the subject of standings, I mean, even if a team is 1-5 like Wes' Long Shot for example. That team is still in good position to get a playoff berth. Along with the three division winners, there are three wild card playoff berths too. So all a team really has to do is have the 6th best record in the league and they'll make the postseason. Right now, there are two 3-3 teams: Donkey Crankers and Latrell's Hub Caps and then This Is Lintense! is 2-4. Once divisional play happens, some big weeks by your team, and then some weak weeks by your opponents, and you're right in the thick of the playoff race. Pretty soon, I'll start doing a playoff watch now that I think of it.
Another thing - what do you guys think about a Facebook group for the league? Is it needed/wanted/desired? I know, I know...we have a message board. I'm just wondering if a Facebook group would be any more active. Maybe not. Just throwing it out there. But either way, I may start one, if for nothing else, to keep offseason basketball talk going.
Speaking of offseason (there's that darned stream of consciousness thinking again), when do we talk about keepers? Maybe when we have two active owners to take over for This is Lintense! and Purple Drank. Oh, and yeah, I'm thinking while I'm writing. That is part of what Rambling Thoughts is all about! Still, I think we should talk about keepers...even if it is to shoot the idea down or have the opportunity for each franchise to retain just one player going forward to next season (and I hope there's a next season for HAC!).
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Week 7 and 8 Rambling Thoughts
DECEMBER 22, 2012
Left Coast Gravity may have missed the draft, but he's left his mark on the signing many free agents!
A thought about the scoring system - personally I really like it. What I've found is, it encompasses the parts of head-to-head, category basketball, which overvalues one-dimensional players who provide 3-point shooting, blocks and steals, for example, but brings it all into a system where more well-rounded players are more valuable. What do you all think about the scoring system so far?
An overall thought here. How do only 97% of Yahoo leagues own Detroit Bad Boys forward Dirk Nowitzki? Are these 6 team leagues where Dirk can be on the free agent list? And only 93% own Jrue Holiday, 91% own Roy Hibbert and 95% own Zach Randolph? Bizarre.
I swear, my lack of writing was not because inter-division play in HAC is overwith for a while! Now teams are having to play teams in other divisions. That division lead is still valuable though because of its assured playoff spot.
Credit Glen and his Left Coast Gravity. They are 0-3 but the first team to crack 10 free agent transactions. At least he is trying new players, trying to jump start his team. I'm impressed, but I shouldn't have expected anything less than Glen.
Speaking of transactions, I fully admit - it is a learning process to see what the right numbers is for a transaction cap. And I'm not even sure that a cap is needed in this league. I have been in leagues with, or know personally, every single person in this league, and I don't think anyone would use the lack of a transaction cap as a loophole to do something shady. So, if the transaction cap is too strict, I'd be in favor of moving it up from say 40 to 50 for next season (if there is one? I'm hoping so!).
Only two teams left which haven't won a game yet, but Detroit Bad Boys are on their way, with a pretty big lead, as of Saturday night, over Purple Drank. Left Coast Gravity also has a sizable lead over Long Shot. Good for them; hope it can continue throughout the weekend.
On the other hand, two of the three undefeated teams in the league are playing each other: Hickory High and my Granny Danger's. So far, the Grannies have the lead, but there is a long way to go. One of these two teams is guaranteed not to be undefeated after this week. With the third undefeated team, The Big Deng Theory has a nice lead over This Is Lintense so far. Every undefeated team: Hickory, Grannies and Big Deng all have 1,000 points as of Saturday night already. Only two other teams have broken that barrier (Pimp Petraeus and PapSmear Barbie).
In NBA news, Derek Fisher has begged yet ANOTHER team to release him, asking the Mavericks to release him so he could go home to his family. I'm sure the Utah Jazz know how this story ends as they've seen it before. What are the odds this guy goes back to the Lakers...again?
This is Lintense's forward Kevin Durant has the most fantasy points of any player in HAC. But he leads the second leading fantasy point getter, forward LeBron James of PapSmear Barbie by almost 100 points (1147.7 to 1053.7)!
The Donkey Crankers' forward-center Anderson Varejao has the 8th highest amount of fantasy points in the league with 959.45 (as of Saturday night). Varejao was most definitely not the 8th overall pick in the HAC Draft. He was selected with the 11th pick in the FIFTH round by the Crankers. Well done, Nate!
Until next week...
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HAC Look Back at Week 6
DECEMBER 12, 2012
Marc Gasol was the centerpiece of the first trade in the renewed HAC between Hickory High and Granny Danger in Week 6.
Pimp Petraeus put up a TON of points this week. Too many as far as I am concerned. It is only going to make Gary crow about it on the message board! Someone take him down!
Detroit Bad Boys struggled for the second straight week to put up some points. Dave is a great owner though, but had a tough draft. Can he make up for it? Based on his track record, I *know* he can.
Donkey Crankers' one week losing streak did not last long. Nate has always captained competitive teams, and this year looks no different. They just outdistanced This Is Lintense! 1175.60 to 1124.10. Fans of This Is Lintense! would deem it a heartbreaker.
There was a trade! The first trade of the season for High Above Courtside. Hickory High has acquired F/C Tim Duncan and G Darren Collison while the Granny Dangers have picked up C Marc Gasol.
The Big Deng Theory not only has a great franchise name, they also defeated Latrell's Hub Caps by outscoring Latrell by almost double, 1194.25 to 644.10. Come on Hub Caps!
Long Shot's Jason Kidd has come alive in the past two games, scoring 18 and 17 points and he's scored over 90 fantasy points. Is this 2004 all over again?
There are three franchises that are undefeated with 2-0 records and three that haven't won a game. Will that change? I'm sure it will. The Granny Dangers, Hickory High and The Big Deng Theory have shot out of the gates at the front of the pack with two fast wins in the first two weeks. Can it last? Well, one thing won't: Detroit Bad Boys, Left Coast Gravity and Latrell's Hub Caps remaining winless. All three have veteran fantasy basketball owners, so they will right the ship. With 19 more weeks, they have plenty of time too.
So, those are some Week 6 ramblings. I'm sure I'll have more. Or maybe I'll just move on to Week 7 soon. Either way, I'm sure I'll be rambling on and on again soon.
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Week 6 Ramblings
DECEMBER 3, 2012
Anderson Varejao leads all players in scoring after the first week of HAC play. Wow!
I see some teams left players on their bench last week. I won't call any of you slugs out, but remember, you can set your lineup for the whole week in advance. And even further out than that. But you don't have to visit the website every single day. I'd hate to see people leave points on their bench when they don't have to!
At worst, you can always ask me to set your lineup, and I can do it. But don't forget - the Android (and maybe iPhone?) app for Yahoo fantasy basketball is fantastic! You can set your lineup, pick up free agents, post on the message board...who knows what else.
Now for the opening week of High Above Courtside in 2012-13...
So, it seems like 1,000 points is the barometer for a good week. Not a guarantee for a win, mind you, but the barrier to shoot for each week. I'd forgotten about this but it brings back memories of fantasy basketball for me back in 2004-2006. Some in the league, like Gary, played with me then. After 2006 though, I didn't take a heavy interest, but I think I'm more interested now, and it is nice to see that the scoring settings are where they probably should be.
- So, Rasheed Wallace is rostered on an HAC franchise. Of course, Purple Drank from Newark snapped him up. I wouldn't expect anything else from that team.
- Well, at least three teams are well on their way to 40 transactions for the year. Not a surprise that Pimp Petraeus and PapSmear Barbie are two of those squads, but rookie owner Wes from Hickory High is also one team active on the free agent wire.
- Four teams broke the 1,000 point barrier for the opening week.
- Who would have guessed that Anderson Varejao of the Donkey Crankers would lead all players in scoring last week with 190.95?
- Or that Mike Conley of Left Coast Gravity came in 5th with 134.70 points?
- 2nd, 3rd and 4th weren't exciting: Granny Danger's Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant of Team Name TBA (what's that name, or lack of one about!?) and Pimp Petreaus' Carmelo Anthony in order.
Until next week, or until I have anything of note to add, there you have it. Keep bouncing the roundball!
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Week 5 Rumblings and Bumblings
NOVEMBER 27, 2012
A head-to-head points based scoring system is an accurate one and it has always worked out well.
Yes, it is Week 1 for us...but it is Week 5 for the NBA season. So, I'm going to stick (or try to) with that numbering system. I'm also going to try to write intermittent notes for the league with what's going on and notable things in the league. I'll be emailing these rambling articles to the league as well as posting them on the league message board.
Why a head-to-head points scoring system you may be asking? A really great question. First of all, this is the system that I started playing fantasy basketball with and maybe partly because of that, I have become a proponent of this system. You'll see some leagues playing head-to-head categories, where if you get more blocks on your team than the other team, you win that category. To me, this is not really basketball. Do NBA teams (or any other basketball team) ever choose a player based on the blocked shots a player can give them? Or assists? Or steals? No player is judged on one single category on a team. It seems short-sighted to me to almost be forced to draft players or trade for them simply because your roster doesn't feature enough players who get 3 point field goals, so you try to acquire these specific one-category players. Why, to me, head-to-head points works is because you are trying to acquire the best overall TEAM. Yes, of course blocked shots matter as do assists and 3 point field goals. But your team has to all pitch in; you are not trying to acquire specific categories, because that is not what basketball is about. It is about working towards a collective goal to outscore the other team, and that is what this scoring system strives for.
I also like head-to-head points based scoring is because you are playing a new team each week, and it is a specific matchup. I like the idea of roto points based scoring, but you aren't playing any other team in the league, and you are just going until year's end. To me, that gets a little boring whereas the weekly head-to-head matchups changes it up and keeps it interesting. And ultimately, the best TEAM emerges with points based scoring. Not the team that gets the most steals or another category that would never decide a basketball game. It is everything combined which is given an affixed value to give a team the most possible points.
Why is this called Rumblings and Bumblings? I don't know...but maybe it should be called ramblings. I am bumbling my way through this though, and I'm assuming that any article that I write like this, a general league article, will be bumbling through it all trying to get random thoughts in. As for the frequency of these rambling writeups, I can't guarantee. I will try to do them as often as I can. Once a week? Twice a week? Once every other week? It will probably vary. But I'll try to write when I get an urge and hopefully that will be frequently. Or maybe for your sake, somewhat less than that.
What about the damn league! Oh, good point. Maybe something specific about the league. Besides the fact that I'm really optimistic and excited about it? Ok, more than that. Well, I designed the schedule to be very imbalanced. Meaning, you will be playing the teams in your division 3 separate times. You'll only be playing every other team in the league once. This week (and the next two) are divisional games for every team in the league. I'm hoping that these games will mean a bit more and hold more weight because the three division winners in the league get an automatic berth into the playoffs.
So, the first waiver claims and free agent acquisitions have been made in the league. Very exciting! Obviously, as the season goes on, we'll better know the pace of transactions and how that is going. With 12 teams, and a big bench, there may not be too many transactions. I'm thinking that the bench should have been four spots instead of five, but it isn't that big of a deal now. The point is, I put a transaction limit on the league at 40. This can be changed at any time, so if any of you have some opinions about that, please feel free to pipe up. Obviously, I'll monitor it and if it seems like it is very limiting, I can always bump it up to 50. But I hope this will make owners aware of it, and value transactions and maybe even explore trades more than they might have.
Other than that, there isn't a lot to add. I'll probably try to get better once some games are actually played in the league and some players and teams perform well, and others don't. So far, I already love that Hickory High has offered a trade, at least to my team, and Latrell's Hub Caps has told me that he's already made waiver claims and is excited for the season. I am too. And I'm happy that most of you gave High Above Courtside another shot from last season. And for those of you coming into the league the first time...I welcome you and hope that this league makes you want to check the NBA more.
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Scoring Starts Monday!
NOVEMBER 24, 2012
HAC Owners -
Just wanted you to be aware that scoring for the league starts Monday. A little late, but hey - we got the league off the ground. I thought the draft went well, and we had five owners counting myself there. Thank you to Gary, Nate, Lundy and Ken for taking time to do it. I hope the rest of you are somewhat happy with your squads. If not, start proposing trades!
And make sure to set your lineups!
I'm excited about High Above Courtside this season and I hope you are kind of as well. Thanks for being a part of it.
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Important League News!
NOVEMBER 20, 2012
With the league starting next Monday, make sure you are aware of this stuff! This will be on the message board as well. I don't know if you all are aware that you can configure your settings to automatically be e-mailed if someone makes a message board post. So, if this is a duplicate, and you've already seen the pertinent details, forgive me. Just want to leave no stone unturned.
--DRAFT - It will be a LIVE draft, on Saturday, November 24 at NOON Eastern time.
After Thanksgiving, on a weekend, hopefully a large majority of the league can make it. If not, worry not - you can still rank your players, and I definitely suggest ranking at least 180 players (12 teams x 15 roster spots).
--HAC REGULAR SEASON - Starts Monday, November 26!
Be aware of this date too. It is when scores will actually start to matter!
--UNBALANCED SCHEDULE - With three divisions, divisional rivalries will matter!
With the HAC's late start, there will be 17 regular season weeks; an optimal number. Every team will play every team in their division three times. Hopefully that will create some exciting playoff races. Every team will play non-divisional foes one time this season. Who is playing who what week will be randomized.
I'll keep updating this with replies as I think of more things. Until then, keep dreaming about hoops!
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The League Is Ready!
NOVEMBER 19, 2012
We got some new owners at the 11th hour that I didn't expect would respond. They were all in the league last season, so it is fantastic that they accepted. It makes the league a 12 team league, so the free agent list will be awfully skimpy, but I'm hopeful that everyone will remain active the whole season.
I'm determined to be more communicative than I was last season! A quicker, more efficient draft will go a long way to making sure that happens. I'm thinking we're going to do a live draft. It may be difficult since this is Thanksgiving week, and I'd like to start league play by next Monday.
I may just try to get the live draft going on Friday, and if people can make it, excellent. If you can't, I hope you will rank your players. It will make a world of difference. I will also send out a leaguewide e-mail to everyone about all of this information too.
I'm happy you're all in High Above Courtside! I'm really looking forward to a great season. More news coming soon, though I will try not to crowd your inboxes. I'll definitely update the Yahoo league site very often.