TooSerious

For those who take it way too seriously

We are only a few days away from the 2011/12 NBA season and we have 3 fantasy leagues set up on the ESPN site. Many of you have played on that site before but I know that for some of you, this is your first time, so Im gonna outline some of the main things that you will need to know how to do, and it would be great if some others who are experienced on the site share some tips and ideas in the comments as well.

Before we head over the break, I want to outline the most important feature imo. Last year we had one or two (Actually Doobs, maybe it was just one) who didnt understand about changing the lineup for each day and which players scores counted. We each have 14 roster spots - 10 starters, 3 bench and 1 IR. On each and every day, it is only your 10 starters that can actually contribute to your total team score, so even if your bench players are playing games, their scores will not be added to your teams total. It is therefore in your best interest to move all of your players who have games on, into the 10 starters spots. Moreover, some days you will have more than 10, so use your discretion to pick which 10 you want in scoring positions.

A really handy feature regarding this, is that you can adjust your roster in advance. Each day, your roster will lock at the beginning of the first NBA game on that day, so you must ensure that you have it set before then (including FA pickups etc). BUT, you do not have to get on every day to do it... On your <a href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/clubhouse?leagueId=23530&amp;teamId=1&amp;seasonId=2012" target="_blank">team homepage[/url], underneath your teams logo, you will see the text "Set Your Lineup" with a series of dates along side it - You can click on any of those dates and set your lineup for that particular date! :) Just make sure you hit one of the yellow "SUBMIT" buttons (They become yellow once a roster adjustment is made) before you move off the page. You can go through and set up the...
Fulham v Man United

Jones and Young both got injured. Awaiting news now on Jones x-ray on his jaw. Young is out for 2-3 weeks. Nani, Welbeck, Giggs, Rooney and Berbatov all scoring. Four goals in three games now for Rooney with Wigan and Blackburn to follow at Old Trafford. Rio missed out with injury while De Gea was rested. Fulham at Chelsea and Norwich next 0-5.

Man City v Stoke

Richards limped off after 59mins and has 4-5 days to try and recover for WBA (a) before heading to Sunderland and then a cracker at home against Liverpool. Lescott was recalled. Adam Johnson started and scored while Aguero scored twice. Etherington and Pennant were both benched as Shotton kept his place. With Villa and Wigan at home followed by Blackburn (a) Id expect Etherington to come back in. 3-0<!--more-->

Wigan v Liverpool

Al-Habsi saved Adams penalty which was awarded after Caldwell handled from Suarezs shot. Maxi  Rodriguez and Kuyt both started. There were chances for both teams with Moses again catching the eye. Wigan have impressed recently with five points from 9 but they face another difficult one at Old Trafford followed by Stoke (a) and Sunderland. Liverpool have Blackburn and Newcastle at home followed by a trip to Man City. Suarez will remain available for these games pending a possible (probable) appeal against his eight match ban. 0-0.

Newcastle v WBA

A cracking result for WBA despite Ba claiming another two goals for himself to make it 13 for the season. Long and Odemwingie (whos really coming into form now) both started again. Odemwingie scored along with McAuley and Scharner while Brunt impressed. Santon started ahead of R Taylor but was replaced by him at half-time.

Newcastle havent won in six and are yet to win at Sportsthingy Arena. Their next game there will be against Man United before that though they are at Bolton and Liverpool. West Brom face Man City, Everton and Spurs (a). 2-3.

Everton v Swansea

Leon Osman is the prolific...
Well Im glad I didnt trade out Kazzough last week, as he has already been cut from the Warriors roster and is heading back to the NBL. He played one preseason game for them and scored 2 points and they obviously didnt think he was a good fit for them. It would be great to see him get another shot at some stage, but Im also happy to have the ol Perma Captain back on board - and he may even be a POD now, if everyone traded him out last week . To be honest, I probably would have traded him out last week had I had the time... With him signing up with Golden State and Sydney having the bye last week, it would have been the smart thing to do, but I didnt make any trades and am happy with that now. And while Im talking about Aussie big fellas making the NBA grade, I want to put it out there that I reckon Nathan Jawai has a lot more potential to be a strong NBA player, and I would love for him to get another chance... but now Im talking about the NBA chances for a fella whos playing in Russia - so Im a bit off topic...

Back to the NBL and our fantasy league.

Firstly I want to point out that the round coming up is a little different to usual, in that all 4 games are on Friday night. Wollongong have a bye this week - and I am finally saying goodbye to Tha Show - Showron Glover - who has completely spudded up since I traded him in about a month ago.

Secondly, Parasite has slipped a little - to 15th overall - but he is still within striking distance I believe. Keep it up mate... Theres still a long way to go :) . And before we head over the break, a special shoutout needs to go to Bearfly who didnt have a great start to the season, but has his team firing lately leading up to a big score this week - 309 - ranking 73rd for the round :D .

Now "read more" for the Round 11 results in our league, our H2H ladder, and next weeks schedule:::::

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Round 11 results:
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LeBron James and Kevin Durant were picks 1 and 2 across all 3 drafts.

We started of this weekend with Division 1 drafting on Saturday morning, and Division 2 and then Premier both this morning (sunday). Everyone was in attendance at the Premier League draft although Heaver did leave early and was on AutoPick for most of it. Mick had pick 1 and logged in when he was already on the clock, but I suppose he had a couple of weeks to work on that selection anyway. Division 1 had everyone in attendance except for Costak, who knew that he would be up in an airplane at the time, and Sainter who was MIA. Division 2 apparently had 5 people missing from the draft which is a bit disappointing - 2 could not log on for some reason. There has been talk in the last thread about rescheduling the draft for Division 2. This could be hard to do, but if there is consensus - ie everyone, or almost everyone (say 10 or 11 out of the 12) agree - to rescheduling, we can do that.  Lets discuss it in the comments down below.

Dont want to rub it in for those that couldnt get online, but it was heaps of fun :D . In saying that though, I had a much tougher time this year, and there were a heap of anxious moments when that beeping started up. Last year, I had a solid plan that worked out for me, but this year my plans kept getting thrown into disarray, as my targets were repeatedly snapped up before my eyes. It started with my first pick where I was sooo nervous :lol: waiting to see if Dwight Howard (or my 2nd choice - DWill) were still around. I would have picked Dwight Howard with pick #2 if I had have had it, and was very happy to see he was still available at pick 8 - one before mine. DaBombers held me in suspence for as long as possible, taking the full allotment of 30sec to make his decision to draft the big fella :( . Amazingly, there were 3 more times that the player I wanted to draft was taken the pick before mine!

The top 10s were all fairly similar across the 3 drafts. The...
Looks like weve got a couple of changes coming to the fantasy world next year, as well as some confirmations on what we already knew.

- Were reverting back to the 9-8-4-9 structure (ie: 30 players), however, because of the byes, well be keeping our 24 trades.

- Speaking of the byes, rounds 11, 12 and 13 will allow us to cash in 3 trades in those rounds, which should allow both some bye coverage, but also some rapid upgrades to finish off our squads.

- Trades can now occur in a package of sorts, meaning you do all your trades at once. This allows you to move your DPP players between positions throughout the trade
ie: Lets say I have Paddy Ryder (F/R) up forward, and am looking to trade out the injured Cox (touch wood) - even without the DPP link in the rucks, Id be able to trade Cox out for a forward and move Paddy to the Rucks within the one trade.

- Reverable trades are a reality, meaning that youll be able to back out trades all the way up to lockout.

- Leagues will have 18 teams, starting from round 3 through to 19, with finals going from 20 through to 23.

So thats the long and short of it- what do we think? Me- Im pretty happy with it, nothing gamebreaking in there to say the least.

Oh, and also- Ill be heading off on mah Christmas holidays this weekend (Got an NBA draft to do first though!!), so you probably wont hear too much from me until the new year - That said though, the official fanplanner (sorry, assistant coach) will be coming out next week, which means Monty should have his data up to date in his original fanplanner shortly after- Im very much looking forward to checking that out when I get back!
QPR v Man United

As all Aussies know, droughts are always followed by floods, which is usually the same as what happens with Rooneys goalscoring.... and the drought is over. With upcoming games against QPR (a), Fulham (a), Wigan and Blackburn it would take a brave man to bet against a flood of goals for the formerly folically challenged half boy/half genius.

Nanis back to form with two goals and one assist last week, while Valencia - Youngs replacement - assisted three. Jones played midfield again and with the sad news that Darren Fletchers season is most likely over, there is every chance hell get more game-time there.

Evans looks like he could be Vidics replacement while Smalling - who was given the runaround by Jarvis last week - played right back. United will be on a high after Citys loss coincided with their own thumping victory over Wolves.

QPRs Kenny is apparently over injury but with some excellent games from Cerny he might find that hell not walk straight back in.<!--more-->

Man City v Arsenal

The unbeaten run comes to an end after 15 matches. City looked in cruise control and there were signs that were going to give Chelsea a good going over and possibly would have if they werent denied a Stonewall penalty right in front of the referee. But thats football and theres no time to feel sorry for yourself, especially with RVP and co rolling into town.

Clichy is suspended after his red card, which leaves Mancini with a bit of a dilemma as Kolarov is currently injured. Richards is reportedly ready to come back in, which means Zabaleta - who seems to have lost the faith of Mancini a little - might shift to left back. With Walcott tearing down the right wing towards him, it will make for interesting viewing (if indeed it happens). With RVP still finding the back of the net it will be hard for City to achieve their 1st clean sheet in ten Premier League matches.

Attack would certainly seem the best form of defence for Arsenal...
Our drafts are just around the corner, and the season begins not long after. Yes thats right - The NBA season is about to begin! :D It is official now :) Players were called into camp last Friday and they have been on the market since then too. Its been quite entertaining these last few days in regards to player movements - theres been a few trades, and FA signings signings already, and there will undoubtedly be many more. A lot of the focus has been on just a few players in CP3, DWill, the Gasol bros, Howard, Nene and Billups... But there are plenty of others in the spotlight too, including Odom (not turning up to practice after CP3 trade fell through and) getting traded to the Mavs for next to nothing, David West switching teams, and our very own Julian Kazzough getting picked up by the Warriors. But the big questions are still about CP3, Howard and DWill... I just hope we know where these 3 will be before our drafts begin. If you wanted to find out where all the players are moving, Steve posted <a href="http://www.nba.com/news/features/2011-player-movement/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt1" target="_blank">this great link[/url] in the comments of last weeks post.

We have been sorting out quite a bit over the last couple of weeks, and we still have a couple of things we need to work out prior to the weekend - the main thing being, how many IR spots we each have on our roster. This needs to be set prior to the draft so we need to make a decision quickly. Last year we did not have any, and it was widely accepted that we have one this season. It has been proposed that we have 3 IR spots on each roster - some people have already supported this, although just as many (maybe more) have said that it should be left at just 1 spot each. Today, I changed it so that we have 2 each as its a bit of a compromise, and Im worried Ill run out of time to make changes before the weekend. But please discuss this in the comments, as we are fairly split atm on whether to have 1 or 3......
Walesy mentioned this, and I reckon we take home some TooSerious Cash.

$10k for overall fantasy in the big bash league, $800 for overall for a round and $6k for the best league.

Whats not to like for free. Cha ching.

Anyway Walesy added a league thats full, and Ive chucked another one up in the forum mentioned earlier. If you want to jump in to that forum topic and keep loading more leagues then we may all get a run at the league $.

Happy to discuss who you are picking in your team in the comments.

<a title="Walesys Big Bash Forum Post" href="http://tooserious.net/forum?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&amp;t=1247.0#postid-22451">http://tooserious.net/forum?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&amp;t=1247.0#postid-22451[/url]
Alright, looks like this is done and dusted. It will be interesting to see how these guys can go over the preseason as you just know there will be a few bargains.

A number of recycles which is always nice to see, but let us spare a thought for the guys who missed out, Neon Leon, Fevola, Lovett - a couple of big names missing out.

Oh, and a couple of names here a golden! :D (as is the possible combination of Cox passing to Dick.)

Aaron Hall goes to Gold Coast
John McCarth to Port Adelaide
Zac Dawson to Fremantle
Fletcher Roberts to the Doggies

And the rookie draft:
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1. GWS Sam Frost
2. Gold Coast. Kyal Horsley
3. Port Adelaide. Darren Pfeiffer
4. Brisbane. Justin Clark
5. Port Adelaide. Rory Laird
6. Melbourne. Jai Sheehan
7. Richmond. Addam Maric
8. Fremantle. Lee Spurr
9. Western Bulldogs. Ling Jong
10. North Melbourne. Max Warren
11. Essendon. Lachlan Dalgleish
12. St Kilda Sam Dunnell
13. Sydney Shane Biggs
14 Carlton Tom Bell
15 West Coast Michael Mascoulis
16 Hawthorn Broc McCauley
17 Collingwood Lachlan Smith
18 Geelong Cam Eardley
19 GWS Pass
20 Gold Coast Andrew McQualter
22 Brisbane Lions Stephen Wrigley
23 Adelaide Dylan Orval
24 Melbourne Thomas Crouch
25 Richmond Ben Darrou
26 Fremantle Haiden Schlothe
27 Western Bulldogs Tom Campbell
28 North Melbourne Brad Mangan
29 Essendon Corey DellOlio
30 St Kilda Cameron Shenton
31 Sydney Campbell Heath
32 Carlton Nick Heyne
33 West Coast Callum Papertalk
34 Hawthorn Amos Frank
35 Collingwood Marley Williams
36 Geelong Jackson Sheringham
38 Gold Coast Michael Coad
40 Brisbane Lions Jack Crisp
41 Adelaide Tim McIntyre
42 Melbourne James Magner
43 Richmond Steven Verrier
44 Fremantle Sam Menegola
45 Western Bulldogs Alex Greenwood
46 North Melbourne Malcolm Lynch
47 Essendon Mark Baguley
48 St Kilda Jordan Staley
50 Carlton Frazer Dale
51 West Coast Simon Tunbridge
52 Hawthorn Andrew Boseley
53 Collingwood Trent Stubbs
54 Geelong Mark...
I have decided to split the NBA and NBL stuff into two different posts each week. We are currently doing a lot of organising of the NBA leagues, which is resulting in the NBL stuff getting a bit lost amongst it all. I will get the NBA post up over the next couple of days. In the mean time, we can continue to use <a href="http://tooserious.net/ts-fantasy-basketball-4" target="_blank">last weeks post[/url] for NBA related discussion.

The NBL certainly deserves a bit of attention with Parasite continuing to fly the TS flag up near the top of the leaderboard. He had a massive week this week ranking 13th for the round with a round 10 score of 684(!!) , which moved him up to 12th overall. Moreover, I believe he is still well within striking distance being only 163 points away from 1st place and with only 40% of the season completed. Go Parasite! Keep it up mate. :)

Stowie is next best in our league, ranked 68th overall, and UnderAchievers is our only other in the top 100 still, being ranked 98th overall. The newest TS member in the league - Crossy - also scored a massive score in round 10, being ranked 24th for the round, and is sitting 4th on our points for ladder for the season.

Join us over the break, where you will find the recent H2H results, the H2H ladder, and the upcoming schedule:::::::::::::::::

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Results for Round 10:
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<td align="right"><a href="http://dreamteam.nbl.com.au/?p=other_teams&amp;tid=212&amp;lid=1">Duncans Troops[/url]
121
def by
548
<td align="left"><a href="http://dreamteam.nbl.com.au/?p=team">Deadly mills[/url]



<td align="right"><a href="http://dreamteam.nbl.com.au/?p=other_teams&amp;tid=661&amp;lid=1">King Kong[/url]
473
def by
672
<td align="left"><a href="http://dreamteam.nbl.com.au/?p=other_teams&amp;tid=1263&amp;lid=1">Crossy Crusaders[/url]



<td align="right"><a...