TooSerious

The clocks ticking down... weve got just over a week to go until our draft, and just over a month to go until the season starts!

With the draft fast approaching, those of us that may not be able to make it on the night, should probably sort out the Pre-Draft Player Rankings list, and maybe the Autopick Strategy. Both of these can be found in the Roster section of the My Team tab, in the grey box underneath your team name.

Also, it looks as though the draft pick trades are drying up. There have been a couple done so far and I know another is in the pipeline as it involves me - actually they have all involved me. Whats with that? I think trading is one of the funnest things about this game and it is one thing that really sets it apart from other fantasy games where everyone has all players to choose from. Most completed trades are win-win and its fun too!

Now for more info on the Pre-Draft Player Rankings list, the Autopick Strategy, and how to trade, have a look over the break:::<!--more-->

For a brief rundown on the Pre-Draft Player Rankings list, courtesy of ESPN, have a look here: <a title="draft list" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/resources/help/faq?name=how-do-i-update-my-draft-list" target="_blank">http://games.espn.go.com/fba/resources/help/faq?name=how-do-i-update-my-draft-list[/url].

And for more detailed info regarding the draft, again from ESPN, have a look here: <a title="draft" href="http://games.espn.go.com/fba/resources/help/content?name=drafts-live-online" target="_blank">http://games.espn.go.com/fba/resources/help/content?name=drafts-live-online[/url].

As well as the Pre-Draft list, your Autopick Strategy is very important, as it allows you to set criteria for each pick and also limits to how many players from each position you can choose. I should point out, it will only come into play if you are on Autopick mode during the draft, as you are either not in attendance or have selected Autopick during the draft, etc.

Here...

So, were down to two. Collingwood- who looked absolutely dominante this weekend vs the Sainters. Personally, I cant see the Magpies losing. They were just so bloody strong against *the* most dominantant team of the last 3 years. I cant believe how easy it looked- they just absolutely and systematically tore them to shreads. Couple that with the fact that the Saints looked so shaky for the first half of last week- and youve got the ingredients for a white wash.

That said though, as a non-collingwood supporter, I sure as hell wont be cheering for them to take out the prize- but Im at a bit of a standpoint. As much as I dont want the Pies to win a premiership, and how nice it would be for Saints fans everywhere to score one- the idea of Milne holding a premiership medal give me the creeps. Yes, its probably poor form, but hey, if theres no room for irrational dislikes in football, then where would there be room for them!

Anyways, just a quick update on tonight- Its still at the Lagerfield at Crown. Still starting at 7-7:30ish. And Ill still be sporting a ponytail. However, Ill also be sporting a mobile, so if anyone would like to get hold of the number, drop me an email- itll probably make life easier tonight.

And thats it. Not much more to say- I know I have a handful of folk that Ill be cheering on tonight- Hayes, Swallow, Barlow- along with many others. But most of all, Im hoping that all our bets pay off tonight! Cause damn, it would be nice.

Hi guys,

We kick off this week end shortly and with a few hours to before lockout, it is critical to check the injury tables, game previews and best buys in the VS competition.

The news is that Valencia, Zamora and McFadden (injured his knee in training this week) are out for about 5 months, Defoe is out for 3 or so months, Kuyt is out for another month, Bosingwa, Diaby, Vermaelen and Carrick are out for another 2 weeks. Carroll, Lampard, Van Der Vaart and Modic are very doubtful.

More over the break...<!--more-->

With the table below, where no return date is indicated, because of the nature of the injury and the club not making any statements, it is not possible to give an accurate return to training date.

Fulham

R Halliche Groin Strain no return date

F Stoor Groin Strain no return date

B Zamora Broken Leg Feb 11

D Duff Calf Muscle Strain 18th Sep 10

D Stockdale Ankle/Foot Injury 16th Oct 10

D Kamara Ankle/Foot Injury 18th Sep 10

P Senderos Achilles Rupture Feb 11

A Johnson Jumpers Knee no return date

Arsenal

V Diaby Ankle/Foot Injury no return date

T Vermaelen Achilles Tendinopathy no return date

T Walcott Ankle/Foot Injury 24th Oct 10

R Van Persie Ankle/Foot Injury 24th Oct 10

E Frimpong ACL Knee Injury May 11

N Bendtner Groin/Pelvis Injury 18th Sep 10

A Ramsey Broken Leg 16th Oct 10

Sunderland

M Turner Ankle/Foot Injury 18th Sep 10

F Campbell ACL Knee Injury May 11

J Mensah Hamstring Injury 25th Sep 10 doubtful

A Reid Achilles Tendinopathy 18th Sep 10

G McCartney Ankle/Foot Injury 18th Sep 10

C Gordon Arm/Elbow Injury no return date

D Meyler ACL Knee Injury Mar 11

Tottenham Hotspur

R Van Der Vaart Calf Muscle Strain 25th Sep 10 very doubtful

Gomes Groin Strain 25th Sep 10...

Alright, so its been decided. Were going to crown.

More specifically though (cause Crown is a big place), were going to the Lagerfield- at crown.

I think the count starts at what- 8ish, and Ill be looking to get there around 7-7:30ish.

Now, I hear that theyll be showing the count- but there probably wont be sound. But Im sure we can live without that.

If I remember, Ill try to wear something- distinctive- otherwise youll just have to look for the guy that is bringing the 90s back- and sporting a killer Steven Seagal pony tail. PRESURE POINT!!

So yeah, Lagerfield @ crown @ 7-8ish.

And if you need more specific details on where in Crown Lagerfield is- youll just have to check the comments cause someone will let me know.

Hello all,

Welcome to another EPL thread, where this week will feed you all the European football news and results that I know you are hungry for. This weeks format will have the EPL round in review, followed by the preview for Game Week 5, followed with a wrap up of the 1st match day in the Champions League which went off with a bang Wednesday morning. We will conclude with a brief rundown of the 5AS competition and the links for all TS EPL leagues will be included as well...needless to say this is a big one!!!

Now, on the back of ripper week in the IKTS, following last week’s tipping prediction netted a huge 10 points, unless you went with the banker on Chelsea/Arsenal (I went with Man City...never again; its Chelsea/Arsenal for me from now on), or different banker and insurance chip placements altogether...oh well, you cant be right all the time

And on that note, what a strange weekend for results in the EPL where other than the usual suspects in Arsenal and Chelsea getting up, most other results did not go the way of the favourites.

More over the break...<!--more-->

So Game Week 4 started off with a surprise result at Goodisen Park in the lunch time fixture where Everton scored 2 goals late into injury time against Man Utd to level the ledger and draw 3 all. The Arsenal hosted Bolton at the Emirates where Cesc Fabregas put on a dominate display and Andrev Arsharvin terrorised the opposition, and Arsenal cruised home to 4-1 victory against a 10 man Bolton. Over to Upton Park where the news gets worse for the Hammers as Chelsea put 3 past them before a late consolation goal to Scotty Parker made the result 3-1 but in West Hams defence, they had a Carlton Cole goal called offside early on and an easy chance crashed into the crossbar late in the piece.

Fulham found themselves 1 nil down at home early on against Wolves but double from Dembele, one of which was deep into injury time gave them points. Blackburn travelled to the City of...

Howdy everyone-

Now, this excites me. Honestly, I dont know what will come of it, but I like the idea of being part of the process. Ah well, enough talk from me, heres the pitch:

<blockquote>
BE PART OF THE CREATION A FANTASY TENNIS COMPETITION
Tennis Australia, the governing body for the sport in Australia, are looking at a number of initiatives to drive growth in the sport (both participation and fan based) through digital channels. As Head of Strategy, and an avid fantasy competition player, I believe that there is huge potential for an international fantasy tennis competition. I also believe that there is no better group of people to get ideas for how this may look and work than from the Too Serious family.
So, I’m after some creative thoughts on what this fantasy tennis competition looks like. Some of the questions I have are:
· What tournaments would be included?

· How would you score?

· How do you choose a team?

· What prizes do you think need to be offered?

· What can be done different from other fantasy competitions to make this stand out?

I’m a firm believer that any idea has merit, so please throw them out there, no matter how left field.
Those that offer the most constructive/valuable feedback will be rewarded.
</blockquote>

So if this interests you, get on board guys! I certainly know that Ill be putting on my thinking hat over the next few days to try and add to the conversation. (I gotta say though- great work guys! Looks like this community is being recognised as one of the smartest around. )

Related to the Tennis Post - which I encourage you to put views forward with - the thought was raised, what makes Supercoach a great fantasy game, which of course it is, otherwise we wouldnt spend so much time playing it.

Ive had a crack, along with Fester at developing a list of things. Heres a few reasons. What are yours? Feel free to add things from a game players perspective, from a league/general perspective, or prospective investors.

Heres a short list...
1. every quality possession matters
2. even dud games matter when you play it
3. competitive leagues which are free to enter
4. good prizes
5. regular event-driven competition
6. different goals for different players
7. skill needed to win

8. a layered game approach where there can be multiple winners (overall, league, multiple leagues, weekly)
9. language that transcends the sport and becomes part of the lexicon (‘he got 100 SuperCoach points tonight’)
10. media that promotes the game, which feeds the sport and media, which feeds the game…
11. live interaction – akin to SimCity and all control games that have come from it – you can make changes during the competition
12. a wider community than just your local ‘tipping competition’
13. greater interest in the overall game, because to be good you need to know even the teams/players you don’t want to get to know!
14. good option for branding of sponsors with continual page refreshes
15. akin to 8 a game that encourages different tactical alternatives to win

Contribute if youre still online!

So, week 1 has finally been and gone and now everyone has some idea of how their team is shaping up.  I had intentions of writing an introductory post but time got the better of me, however I will do my best to get a round review up every week.  Anyway without further ado here goes nuthin...

The first game saw the AUSSIE BATTLERS come up against TEAM STOWIE.  This was an all Eastern conference matchup which saw Team Stowie take the chocolates with a handy 18 point victory.

Next up was BOLDIN SHOWERS against DOOBIA DOOBS , both these teams coming from the western conference.  Showers, led by all-star QB Payton Manning were too strong for Doobs by a healthy 32 points, with Manning providing 29 points of his own, the third highest individual score for the week.

The third game saw the closest battle for the week, both teams coming from the East with TOO SERIOUSESES up against ADELAIDE MAGGOTS.  This was a ding dong battle with the Maggots from Adelaide holding out to a slow finishing Seriouseses by only 5 measly points.  TS was not helped by Greene  from the Jets putting up a shocking -1 to start the season.  A week on the bench should teach him a lesson!

Game 4 an all Western affair, saw the biggest win of the week with THE PACK smashing SAM CROW to the tune of 43 points.  It was always going to be hard for Sam to overcome The Pack boasting Arian Foster, the highest scorer for week 1 with a whopping 41 points of his own.   Poor Sam was not helped with his starting QB getting injured and the 49ers D/ST getting belted and managing a score of  -1.  Sam things can only get better, right? Hopefully!

Finally my boys, MR WIGGLES came up against UNDER ACHIEVERS in what turned out to be the only cross conference matchup for the week.  Happy to say my Pats heavy team dominated the UAs by 42 points, with RB Matt Forte the second highest scorer for the week putting up 30 big ones and everyones favourite QB Tom Brady an excellent 22.

That rounds...

Alright, time to get this discussion back on track. Monday night is brownlow night. The night of nights, where the big names of footy come out to play, maybe even cause a little bit of a stir(ven seagal?- no, that play on words is even bad by my standards!)

Now, I believe there has been some interest in gathering round, with our betting stubs, and cheering on our picks as at least one of us goes on to win thousands.

Well, thats the dream anyways.

So- the question comes back to- where? and what time? should be do this thing. Being a married guy with three kids who lives out in the sticks, Im completely out of the loop when it comes to making the call on a location here, so Im hoping that you lot can work out somewhere, central, that we can all congregate.

Also of note- its my birthday the day before, so you all owe me a beer. Cheers, that is all.

On the strength of the entries to the informal comp, heres our best team. Knowing that none of us are as smart as all of us (and forgiving my demotion of Selwood...):

B,Enright,Lake,Frawley
HB,Hodge,Taylor,Goddard
C,Montagna Swan,Judd
HF,Didak,Pavlich,Chapman
F,Le Cras,J Riewoldt Hall
RUC,Sandilands Selwood Ablett
INT,Pendlebury Boyd,
,Franklin,Hayes/Kelly,

If you want to put a late entry in, heres the spot.
The side is announced tonight.