| August 2023 |
I'm
not sure how many of you have already received this
message but Fleaflicker has upgraded our entire league, so
that all owners have access to Competitive Edge for the
2023 season! This is because the UFFL is entering its 16th
year using the Fleaflicker website. Competitive Edge is fantasy football analysis which normally requires a subscription. NFL players with recent updates written about them will have green note icons next to their names throughout the site (in areas such as the team roster pages or free-agent pool). - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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July 2023 |
The Ultimate Fantasy
Football League is officially back for its 22nd season -
the last 16 of which have been hosted by Fleaflicker. The
live draft is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 29
at 8:30 p.m. Eastern, and the annual owners' questionnaire
will be distributed to everyone via e-mail later this
week. A link to the survey will also be posted on the
Fleaflicker message board when it is ready and all owners
are encouraged to respond as soon as possible, so that any
potential rule changes or scoring changes can be put into
effect for the upcoming season. Stay tuned for registration information about the UFFL survival football and NFL pickem games, which will be hosted on Yahoo! In the meantime, any questions/comments can be sent to me at jared259@alumni.upenn.edu. I look forward to competing against all of you this season. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| June 2018 |
This offseason,
Fleaflicker has made several new options available for
commissioners to implement in fantasy football leagues.
These options include taxi squads, customizable individual
defensive player categories (IDPs) and the introduction of
punters. Some of these ideas would be great fits for the
Ultimate Fantasy Footnball League, while others probably
would not work out as well. Taxi squads: Also known as practice squads, taxi squads allow fantasy owners to carry extra players on their team in an area separate from their main roster or the injured reserve section. This idea actually works best in dynasty formats with deep rosters, where knowledgeable owners who are looking toward the future are able to stash rookies with plenty of long-term upside without occupying valuable active roster space on players who won't contribute in the NFL immediately. Individual defensive player categories: In the past, Fleaflicker commissioners who used IDPs in their leagues could only break players down into four categories: defensive linemen, linebackers, defensive backs or defensive flex players (which was inclusive of some or all of the aforementioned categories). Now, defensive linemen can be split into defensive ends and defensive tackles, while defensive backs can be split into cornerbacks and safeties. Currently, UFFL starting lineups include two spots for IDPs from any position and this is unlikely to change. Punters: I have been interested in implementing punters for years, although I've never participated in any leagues which have used it. In fact, Fantrax was the only free website I was aware of which had the punter option available prior to the 2018 season. Rosters are likely to be expanded by one or two active slots in order to accomodate the new category, although it is uncertain what statistical categories would be used for punters at this point. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| January 2018 |
In last month's
Commissioner's Note, I referenced an article that I had
written for the now-defunct website CommishTalk.com about
the UFFL Pro Bowl, which was created about a decade ago as
an option to fill the fantasy football void during the
seventeenth week of the NFL regular season. The article
was previously believed to have been gone forever after
the website folded. However, I recently stumbled upon an
original copy of the story in the sent folder of an e-mail
account I rarely use anymore. Without further ado, here is
a link to that story, which appeared as the "Bright Idea
of the Day" on the site in January 2016: Bright Idea of the Day: UFFL Pro Bowl - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| December 2017 |
Several years ago, I
was interviewed for the "Commissioner Spotlight" feature
on a now-defunct website called CommishTalk.com, where
fantasy football commissioners could exchange ideas to
improve their leagues. Once the website disappeared, the
interview was thought to be lost forever, until an extra
copy was found on my laptop computer. Here it is, in its
entirety: Commissioner Spotlight Interview: Jared Byrd One of the ideas I discussed (the UFFL Pro Bowl) proved to be so popular that I was later asked to write a guest column explaining how the concept worked. Unfortunately, no additional copy of that article has resurfaced anywhere. However, if I am able to find it, then it will be posted here. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| December 2016 |
The 15th season of the Ultimate Fantasy
Football League has come to a close, which means that the
time has come to begin thinking about ways to make the
2017 campaign even better. This year marked the return of
individual defensive players for the first time since
2007, which happened to be the league's final season at
Yahoo! Sports before relocating to Fleaflicker. However,
the statistical impact of IDPs in 2016 was nowhere near as
prevalent as nine years ago, due to the current scoring
system (where, for example, a sack or an interception
would have been worth the same number of fantasy points
for an individual player as for a team defense). After doing some research to compare various scoring systems, it turns out that this was not the case from 2004 to 2007 at Yahoo!; for instance, an individual player back then would have received three fantasy points for a sack but a team defense would have received just two points on the same play. Featured below is a chart comparing four different league settings for individual defensive player scoring: - 2016 Yahoo! Default: These are the standard settings for Yahoo! fantasy football leagues where the commissioner has not customized scoring rules for individual defensive players. - 2004-07 UFFL: These are the settings which were in place for IDPs during the league's final three seasons on Yahoo!, prior to the Fleaflicker move. Veteran owners will remember that the concept of individual defensive players was dropped at the time only because it didn't appear as though Fleaflicker was designed to handle both IDPs and team defenses simultaneously. Please note that the scoring settings in several statistical categories were different for team defenses (as mentioned above). - 2016 UFFL: These are the settings which are currently in place, typically resulting in very low scores for IDPs. - 2017 UFFL (Proposed): This column features adjusted scoring guidelines which could go into effect for the 2017 season, after discussion with the league during the offseason, with asterisks denoting categories where point values would be adjusted. Other options being considered include the possibility of making interceptions and/or sacks worth three points or making all tackles (both assisted and solo) worth one point each. Team defense scoring guidelines are not expected to be changed.
- Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| October 2016 |
As we head into the
second month of the 15th season of the Ultimate Fantasy
Football League, it is time to begin thinking about
improvements for 2017. Due to the fact that the league has
existed for so long, most (if not all) proposed changes
should be relatively minor in nature. One possible adjustment that is likely to be discussed involves the timer for the live draft. Currently, each team has up to 90 seconds to make their selection, although owners are encouraged to use as little time as possible if they know who they want to choose. However, the 2016 draft had three rounds tacked on in order to accomodate the addition of individual defensive players, resulting in this year's draft running approximately 30 minutes longer than the 2015 version. The league is expected to vote on whether or not the timer should be reduced from 90 to 60 seconds on this offseason's questionnaire. In addition, one owner asked during the draft if it was possible to reduce the value of a defensive touchdown (which is currently set at six points) for team defenses due to the inclusion of individual defensive players (IDPs), because one touchdown could theoretically be worth 12 fantasy points if the same UFFL franchise owns the IDP and the NFL club who scored. However, this change might be more difficult to implement because it has been possible for the league's entire existence for a receiver or running back to score 12 points on a touchdown on a kickoff or punt return if their UFFL franchise also owns the NFL team defense/special teams. As always, owners should feel free to send potential rule changes to jared259@alumni.upenn.edu and they will be taken under consideration. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| July 2016 |
The Ultimate Fantasy Football League is
back and better than ever for its 15th year! When this
league was created as a way for former members and admins
of the old CBS SportsLine chat rooms to stay in touch
prior to the 2002 season, no one could have ever predicted
that it would be as wildly popular and successful as it
has turned out to be today. Thanks to a dedicated core of
knowledgeable, passionate owners, the UFFL has continued
to thrive as one of the most competitive free fantasy
football leagues on the internet. Earlier this month, the annual league questionnaire was distributed to all owners, in order to gauge everyone's interest for competing during the 2016 season. As of this writing, I have heard back from nine owners who have pledged to return (and of course I am coming back, giving the UFFL 10 confirmed participants). I am still waiting to hear from Mark Bender (Shelburn OrangeHats), Grace Cloud (Sisyphean Endeavors), Jim Douglas (CheeseWhiz) and Andrew So (The Catch) regarding their plans for 2016. For those of you who have already submitted your answers, thank you. Aside from the typical questions asked, this year's survey is asking for opinions on possible rule and setting changes covering categories ranging from using individual defensive players in starting lineups to awarding points for fourth-down conversions and yardage on interception and punt returns. Although there are nine questions, the survey will take less than 10 minutes to complete (and may take many owners less than five minutes to finish). If you misplaced your copy of the e-mail containing the questionnaire, click here and please send your answers along as soon as possible, so that necessary adjustments can be made to the league. Remember, the live draft will be held Wednesday, Aug. 31, at 9:30 p.m. Eastern on the Fleaflicker website. I hope to see everyone there! - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| December 2015 |
Some of
you may have noticed that I have been sending out fewer
UFFL-related e-mails and updating the league website less
frequently this season. This is because I have increased
my work schedule with USA Today Fantasy Sports over the
last few months (going from two days a week to five days a
week) and have less spare time than in previous years.
Rest assured, I am still actively monitoring and
participating in the league and continue to enjoy serving
as a fantasy football commissioner. Since I am currently
on winter break from my other job, don't be surprised if
website updates and e-mail correspondence are more common
over the next few days (although I will try my best not to
clog everyone's inbox). In the event that I will be unable
to perform commissioner duties over an extended period of
time, assistant commissioner Mozelle Meyers will step in
for me. In other news, I am looking at various free fantasy football hosts to see if they are better than Fleaflicker. I am participating in seasonal leagues on Yahoo! and NFL.com this year, and I have competed in leagues on ESPN.com in the not-too-distant past but I haven't been compelled to uproot the league to another platform yet. Fantrax (which recently became the home of one of my dynasty fantasy baseball leagues) looks promising and extremely customizable but it's difficult to determine which features are available to paid leagues only and which ones are available to everyone. If anyone in the UFFL has prior experience with Fantrax as either an owner or a commissioner, I'd like to hear from you because reviews of their fantasy sports games are difficult to find (aside from testimonials posted on their site). - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| October 2015 |
Recently,
several
UFFL owners have written to me expressing their concern
about teams that have gone extended periods without
setting their starting lineups or updating their rosters
(for instance, to put injured players on the bench or
injured reserve or releasing players who are no longer on
NFL rosters). Some of these owners have even threatened to
leave the league following the season due to the lack of
perceived commitment from everyone to field the most
competitive squad. I'd like to take this moment to remind everyone to please set their starting lineups and check your roster regularly to insure that situations like this don't happen again. There have been weeks in years past where injured players remained in a team's starting lineup and, predictably, they scored a big fat zero for their team ... and the opposition cruised to an easy victory. Not only is this unfair to the fantasy owner facing the shorthanded team, it's unfair to the rest of the league as they battle for potential playoff spots, because one team's lack of lineup and roster activity could impact the postseason picture. This message is not meant to target any owner or franchise in particular but just to remind everyone to be mindful of their actions (or lack thereof). In addition, if you place players on injured reserve, you are allowed to pick up players to replace them on your active roster. I noticed several teams that had multiple IR-eligible players occupying spots on their active roster while they had zero players stashed away on injured reserve. These things might be somewhat understandable if this were a first-year league with rookie owners and no history but as we compete in our 14th season, scenarios like this should not be happening. A league where all owners are actively involved is infinitely more enjoyable (this goes for fantasy baseball, basketball and hockey as well). - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| September 2015 |
Welcome
back for the fourteenth season of the Ultimate Fantasy
Football League! All of the owners who competed last year
have returned and only one rule change was instituted
during the offseason, thanks to an adjustment to the NFL
rule book - team defenses will now receive two points
whenever they successfully return an extra point or
two-point conversion attempt. As far as the maintenance of this website goes, certain areas of ultimatefantasyfootballleague.net will be updated regularly throughout the season, while other areas will remain untouched until the season has ended, due to time constraints for the webmaster. Here is the 2015 update schedule: MONDAY - No updates planned TUESDAY - NFL pickem and survival football pages WEDNESDAY - Horse trailer and schedule/results pages THURSDAY - League transactions and franchise pages (current roster section only) FRIDAY - Current standings page SATURDAY - League transactions and franchise pages (current roster section only) SUNDAY - League transactions and franchise pages (current roster section only) League news articles and new commissioner notes will be posted as necessary. The following areas will remain untouched until the offseason: league owner pages, franchise pages (aside from the current roster section), all-time roster pages and league record book pages. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| January 2015 |
Happy
new year! Hopefully everyone is enjoying a great start to
2015. I just found out that it's possible to make UFFL trades right now even though leagues can't be renewed on Fleaflicker until February. Apparently, trades (and trade proposals) have been allowed since the championship game ended and there's no way for any commissioner on Fleaflicker to turn off this feature. The free agent pool, however, is unable to be unlocked until after the draft (which will take place sometime in late August). That being said, I'd like to announce that all players on my roster are available for trade with the exception of Odell Beckham. In return, I am looking primarily for running back help and draft picks. In other news, time is running out to register for the UFFL Postseason Challenge contest on NFL.com. If you'd still like to register, click here. If prompted, the group name is UFFL and the password is playoffs. Thanks to Tony, George, Mozelle and Craig for signing up. Good luck! - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| August 2014 |
In an
attempt to bring you the best fantasy football experience
possible, I compete in games on many different websites
each year. For the 2014 season, I have committed to
participating in eight different fantasy football leagues
- two on Fleaflicker, four on Yahoo! and two on NFL.com.
Some are public leagues, while others are private. Some
are keeper leagues, while others are redraft. In several
of these leagues, I am the commissioner, while in others,
I am just an ordinary owner. I do this to see if better options exist for the Ultimate Fantasy Football League, as we enter our 13th season. So far, Fleaflicker remains the gold standard among free fantasy football websites, although Yahoo! has gained a lot of ground since 2007, when the UFFL left for greener pastures. Keep in mind that seven years ago, the following options were either completely unavailable on Yahoo!, or only available for paying customers: a. Live scoring b. Divisional play c. The ability to create injured reserve slots (IR) or slots for non-active players (N/A) 4. The ability for league owners to designate keeper players on their own 5. Awards (league trophy case) 6. League record book 7. An app for smartphones and tablets There are many other improvements that Yahoo! - and their competitors - have made over that stretch, but until other websites create fantasy games that are accessible year-round like Fleaflicker, they won't merit serious consideration for the UFFL. One league that I am not participating in this year is the KFFL staff fantasy football league, whose round-by-round recaps had been posted on this website in past seasons. The primary reason is that KFFL.com merged with USA Today Fantasy Sports earlier this month and did not conduct their typical offline draft. (Both websites had the same parent company for several years but had operated separately until approximately three weeks ago.) The secondary reason is that e-mails for the replacement league, which combined former KFFL personnel and USA Today personnel, went to my spam folder and weren't discovered until it was too late. This year's draft happened to be a live event and did not feature the round-by-round recaps from the KFFL days. Hopefully, I can return to action for the 2015 season. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| November 2013 |
In this
edition of the commissioner's note, I will provide a list
of frequently asked questions for the Ultimate Fantasy
Football League. 1. Do playoff results affect seeding for the following year's draft? The draft order is determined by the regular season worst-to-first record, with the exception of the last pick of all odd-numbered rounds going to the league champion and the next-to-last pick going to the runner-up (like the National Football League). Because the UFFL draft is serpentine, this means that the league champion picks first, and the runner-up picks second, in all even-numbered rounds. 2. Could a team protect fewer than three franchise players for next season if they wanted to? By default, if a team selected fewer than three keepers, the extra picks (to insure that all rosters had the same number of players) would be awarded by Fleaflicker at the end of the draft - not the beginning. Therefore, it makes no sense to nominate fewer than three franchise players. 3. Will the UFFL ever refert to the pre-2008 postseason setup, where the teams who were not ranked in the top eight at the end of the regular season completely missed the playoffs? It appears unlikely. On Fleaflicker, all teams compete in the postseason, although only the top eight franchises are eligible for the UFFL championship; the rest compete in the consolation bracket. Another oddity of Fleaflicker is that any team that loses during the first week of the postseason (regardless of whether they are in the consolation or championship bracket) is completely finished for the year. However, if they lose during the second week, they are guaranteed to play again in the third week - even if they had a bye in the first week of the postseason. None of these things can be changed by the commissioner and it is uncertain when, if ever, these powers will be granted to Fleaflicker commissioners. 4. Will the league ever expand to 16 teams? Right now, there are no immediate plans to add additional franchises. The last expansion process took place in 2009, when it was known that two experienced, committed owners were coming on board. In order for expansion to be seriously considered, at least of the following things must happen: (1) reduction of roster sizes - either by making the bench smaller or by eliminating one of the positions in the starting lineup or (2) Fleaflicker overhauling their system to allow for conferences, not just divisions. Allow me to elaborate on this point below. In the fantasy football world, there are some larger leagues - usually with 20 or more teams - where the same player belongs to two different franchises in the same league competing in different conferences. The only time during the year where teams from different conferences would meet would be in the championship game. In other words, it would have been like an American League baseball player (in the days before interleague play) cloning himself and also playing on a National League team. Obviously, the first situation is much more feasible than the second one ... and if two more teams were added under that scenario, the league would go from two seven-team divisions to four four-team divisions. This would mean that it would no longer be possible for every franchise to see every other franchise once during the regular season - but on the other hand, it would give me an opportunity to use the name "Metropolitan Division." Have any questions for the commish? Send them to jared259@alumni.upenn.edu. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| August 2013 |
For the
fourth consecutive year, I am participating in an offline
fantasy football draft with other staff members at KFFL.com, one of the
best sources for fantasy football information (among other
sports) anywhere on the internet. While the draft's
primary purpose is to help owners view different
strategies for putting together their teams, it will also
be the basis for a real
12-team head-to-head PPR (points per reception) league. In
other words, it's like a mock draft except for the fact
that the league actually does exist. Entering this year, I have a regular-season record of 13-26-0 and a postseason record of 1-1-0. However, I finished last season with a winning record, made my first-ever playoff appearance and came within a game of participating in the league championship, so things appear to be looking up ... The league will be hosted at MyFantasyLeague.com. Click here to view the scoring rules and here to see team rosters.
EDIT: Unfortunately, I had to disable these links because of website security concerns (there was a malware problem associated with the KFFL links that were featured in this edition of the commissioner's note. If the problem is resolved, I hope to restore these links to this site. For the time being, you can e-mail me at jared259@alumni.upenn.edu if you want direct links to the original pages. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| December 2012 |
No
matter how long you've played fantasy football, there's
always some unusual, bizarre circumstance that pops up
every season that has never happened before (and may never
happen again). This year, I happened to lead the league in
both points scored (a very controllable category) and
points allowed (a category that is completely out of one's
control) and nearly missed the championship bracket for
the first time ever despite having  an
offensive juggernaut. I had a successful draft and made
some solid waiver-wire pickups and trades, yet continued
to wallow in mediocrity all season long, struggling to
hang around the .500 mark. As the season was winding down,
I wasn't worried about defending my championship as much
as I was worried about the humiliation of not even
competing for the championship in my own league. Thanks to
some huge games by Calvin Johnson, I barely snuck into the
playoffs ... before promptly getting eliminated in the
first round, when my team naturally posted their lowest
score of the season (by a huge margin). Of course, this
was the only week my squad didn't break the 100-point
barrier ... and to think that in most seasons, this team
probably would have posted 10 or 11 victories!Then again, I may be downright lucky compared to the Cheeko Chiefs, who are 0-6 over the last two seasons in games decided by five points or less. Four of those contests came during the 2012 season, with two games being decided by less than one fantasy point. This is what makes fantasy football compelling and frustrating at the same time - its unpredictability. How many times has the team with the league's best regular-season record fallen short of expectations just because several players had off weeks at an inopportune time? How often has a team snuck into the playoffs by the skin of their teeth and gone further than anyone could have imagined? While perusing through some recent UFFL statistics, I stumbled across several interesting and bizarre historical facts ... - This year was the first one since 2002 where no UFFL team won at least 10 regular-season games. Back then, the regular season consisted of 14 games instead of 13. The current setup of 13 regular-season games and three weeks of postseason contests was instituted the following year. For the record, two teams lost 10 regular-season games in 2012 - the Cheeko Chiefs and the Shelburn OrangeHats. The only UFFL season where no team lost more than nine games was 2006. - The Cheeko Chiefs lost eight consecutive games to end the season (and nine of their last 10), with their final victory coming during the week of Oct. 9-15. They had started the season 2-2. - For the first time in five years, bbashers head coach Calvin Brown did not end the regular season with an 11-2 record; instead, he finished 9-4, which was still good enough for a three-way tie for the UFFL's best record. - N2deep head coach George Thomas won eight consecutive games before losing in UFFL Bowl XI to The Steel Curtain. - Steph Infections head coach Stephanie George has not won a UFFL postseason game since 2008, going 0-4 in four games since then. - The North Star Sledgehammers of 10,000 Lakes head coach Jay Klinkhammer is the league's all-time leader in postseason victories and winning percentage and is tied for the most championships in UFFL history with three (2004, 2007 and 2008). However, he is only 16-23 during the regular season since 2010 and has an overall away record of 20-21 since 2008 (including playoff games). For more interesting and unusual stats, visit the league records page, which will be updated next summer to reflect developments during the 2012 season. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| August 2012 |
Once
again, I have found myself participating in an offline
fantasy football draft with other staff members at KFFL.com, one of the
best sources for fantasy football information (among other
sports) anywhere on the internet. While the draft's
primary purpose is to help owners view different
strategies for putting together their teams, it will also
be the basis for a real
12-team head-to-head PPR (points per reception) league. In
other words, it's like a mock draft except for the fact
that the league actually does exist. This is my third consecutive year in the league and I am hoping to improve on my 6-20-0 overall record. I am satisfied with how my team has turned out ... but I said the same thing in previous years and fell out of contention early on. Click here to find out more background information about the league, which will be hosted at MyFantasyLeague.com. Click here to view the scoring rules and here to see team rosters.
EDIT: Unfortunately, I had to disable these links because of website security concerns (there was a malware problem associated with the KFFL links that were featured in this edition of the commissioner's note. If the problem is resolved, I hope to restore these links to this site. For the time being, you can e-mail me at jared259@alumni.upenn.edu if you want direct links to the original pages. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| October 2011 |
Recently,
I
purchased a software program called PrintMaster (version
2.0) at an office supply store. Aside from giving me the
ability to create items such as cards, calendars,
letterheads and newsletters on my home computer, it also
allows me to design fantasy sports logos. After quickly
creating logos for my Fantasy Baseball Challenge league on
Fleaflicker (as well as my team, The Balco Asteroids), I
decided to tweak several UFFL logos and helmets using
PrintMaster. Some, all or none of these ideas may be used
in the future and as time goes on, more designs may be
created.
- Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| August 2011 |
For the
second consecutive season, I am participating in an
offline fantasy football draft with other staff members at
KFFL.com, one of
the best sources for fantasy football information (among
other sports) anywhere on the internet. Normally, this
draft takes place in July instead of August, but it was
pushed back because of the lockout. While the draft's
primary purpose is to help owners view different
strategies for putting together their teams, it will also
be the basis for a real
12-team head-to-head PPR (points per reception) league. In
other words, it's like a mock draft except for the fact
that the league actually does exist. Last season, I finished with the worst record in the league (3-10-0), so I rethought my drafting strategy. Even though the draft is still ongoing, I feel more confident about my roster this season and think I am better prepared to deal with injuries if one of my top players is sidelined for an extended period of time. Click here to find out more background information about the league, which will be hosted at MyFantasyLeague.com. Click here to view the scoring rules and here to see team rosters.
EDIT: Unfortunately, I had to disable these links because of website security concerns (there was a malware problem associated with the KFFL links that were featured in this edition of the commissioner's note. If the problem is resolved, I hope to restore these links to this site. For the time being, you can e-mail me at jared259@alumni.upenn.edu if you want direct links to the original pages. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| December 2010 |
The
ninth season of the Ultimate Fantasy Football League
is finally in the books. Congratulations to Andrew So and The Catch for
winning their first-ever UFFL championship, and thanks
to everyone involved for making this one of the most
exciting fantasy football seasons yet. Here's hoping
that next season can be just as enjoyable - assuming,
of course, that labor peace is reached between the
owners and players during the offseason.
However, just because the champion has been crowned doesn't mean that all fantasy sports-related opportunities will disappear until next August. Just take a look at what's in store over the next few weeks: UFFL Pro Bowl: The third annual UFFL Pro Bowl will take place Sunday, Jan. 2, and the coaches are scheduled to be Jay Klinkhammer (Sir Michael Vick) for the Northern Division and Calvin Brown (bbashers) for the Southern Division. These coaches were selected because they scored the most fantasy points for their respective divisions during the regular season. However, Klinkhammer has not logged in to Fleaflicker for more than a month, so if he is unavailable to coach, someone else from the Northern Division will be appointed to run the team. Pro Bowl ballots have already been distributed to the coaches, and starting lineups need to be submitted to the commissioner by Friday, Dec. 31 at 6 p.m. Eastern. Unfortunately, live scoring is not available for the Pro Bowl, so the scores will have to be manually calculated by the commissioner, with final results being made available early next week. League questionnaire: The annual UFFL questionnaire will be distributed to all owners via e-mail on Friday, Dec. 31. I have decided to send it out sooner rather than later because owners tend to respond quicker during the football season. Pickem contest: For the first time ever, this ongoing contest (sponsored by Yahoo! Sports) will extend into the postseason. As of this writing, Jim Douglas (CheeseWhiz) is currently in first place, with 1,271 points. Postseason football: This year, I have decided to use the postseason football contest from NFL.com, as opposed to the one from the Sporting News website which had been used for the last four seasons. If any of you are interested in playing, here's the registration link (and if prompted, the password is "singletary"). Thanks to assistant commissioner Mozelle Meyers for already registering; the deadline for joining is Saturday, Jan. 8, before kickoff of the first NFL postseason game. Fantasy hockey: There is currently one opening in my Fleaflicker fantasy hockey league, as a result of an owner resigning last week. If any of you are interested in filling the vacancy, here is the link to register. Because it was changed from a private league to a public league several months ago, no password is required. Fantasy baseball: I have one opening in the Fantasy Baseball Challenge league on Fleaflicker (and will consider adding expansion teams if there is enough interest). If you did not play last year but want to participate in 2011, send me an e-mail so I can give you an invitation. Click here for the league website. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| July 2010 |
For a
two-week stretch during the month of July, I participated
in an offline fantasy football draft with other staff
members at KFFL.com,
one of the best sources for fantasy football information
(among other sports) anywhere on the internet. While the
draft's primary purpose was to help owners view different
strategies for putting together their teams, it will also
be the basis for a real
12-team head-to-head PPR (points per reception) league. In
other words, it's like a mock draft except for the fact
that the league actually does exist. Click here to find out more background information about the league, which will be hosted at MyFantasyLeague.com. Click here to view the scoring rules and here to see team rosters.
EDIT: Unfortunately, I had to disable these links because of website security concerns (there was a malware problem associated with the KFFL links that were featured in this edition of the commissioner's note. If the problem is resolved, I hope to restore these links to this site. For the time being, you can e-mail me at jared259@alumni.upenn.edu if you want direct links to the original pages. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| February 2010 |
Since
the formation of the Ultimate Fantasy Football League in
2002, I have constantly been on the lookout for ways to
spice up the end of the NFL season from a fantasy
standpoint. In 2006, the annual UFFL: Postseason Edition contest, hosted
on the Sporting News website, was created. In 2008, the
league held its first annual Pro Bowl to make the last
week of the NFL regular season more exciting to watch. And
now, I am considering hosting a postseason fantasy
football contest on the NFL.com website, effective with
the end of the 2010-2011 season. This year, I participated
as an individual contestant to see whether it was worthy
of consideration for next season, and I have come to the
conclusion that it wouldn't be a bad idea. Unlike the UFFL: Postseason Edition contest, contestants in the NFL.com postseason contest are not restricted by a salary cap and can make an unlimited number of transactions. Lineups include one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, a tight end, a placekicker and a defensive team/special teams unit. For every player in your lineup that is on the winning end of a game, you can carry them over to the following week, where they will earn a bonus points modifier to their score. For instance, an NFL player whose team won their first-round game (Wild Card Round) will play for 2x his fantasy points in their second-round game (Divisional Round). If his team makes it to the third round (Conference Championships), he could earn 3x his points. Should he advance to the Super Bowl, he will play for 4x his points. As for now, let's enjoy the exciting conclusion of the 2009-10 NFL/UFFL campaign, and I hope to compete against many of you in the Fantasy Baseball Challenge. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| November 2009 |
Recently,
an
idea was proposed on the Fleaflicker message board to
transform the Ultimate Fantasy Football League from a free
league into a money league. The rationale behind this
suggestion was that having money invested in the UFFL
would force owners to pay more attention to fantasy
football and make the league even more competitive than it
is now. While this is an intriguing idea in theory, I'm
sure that the transition would be frustrating at best and
painful at worst. Here's why: 1. The UFFL recently expanded to 14 franchises (from 12), and this was the first offseason in the league's eight-year history where every owner who participated during the previous season elected to return. What are the odds that all of the owners would return if a mandatory fee were implemented? Most owners have not revealed how they feel about the proposal, so it's difficult to tell if their silence represents apathy, opposition or even support. But let's say that most of the current owners decide they don't want to make the financial commitment to the league - who would replace them? And wouldn't the league lose some of its luster if there's a massive overhaul of owners (or if the UFFL is reduced to six or eight teams)? 2. How can we effectively keep track of league dues, when we are still trying to devise ways for owners to submit annual league questionnaires or franchise player lists in a timely manner? Furthermore, if an owner refuses to pay (or ignores all correspondence via e-mail or other means requesting payment), what should be done? 3. Is the league really "not competitive enough," as the idea of making the UFFL a money league implies? Doing a quick check of login information on Fleaflicker, every UFFL owner has visited the website at least once this week (and more than once, in many instances). Also, keep in mind that it is possible to monitor most (but not all) league developments without even being logged in. All owners have made multiple lineup changes and made numerous transactions this season, and many have been active on the message boards and in trade talks. Owner participation might have been a minor problem in 2002, but is not really an issue now. 4. Last but not least, let's not forget that not all of the UFFL owners are in the United States, so exchange rates would need to be considered. For instance, 20 Canadian dollars are not equal to 20 American dollars. Cost is not the issue here, because twenty dollars is roughly the amount I pay to keep this website running on an annual basis. However, for the foreseeable future, this league will remain free. Of course, if any UFFL owner wants to start their own money league, they have every right to do so. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| August 2009 |
As some
of you already know, the Fleaflicker website has a page
dedicated to "Frequently Requested Features" that fantasy
football players have been looking forward to for quite
some time. Many of these features have already been
implemented, and others are just around the corner. Let's
take a look at a few of these features that appear to be
on the horizon: Team Logos: These are expected to arrive during the 2009 NFL season. While this feature is far from necessary, it's great to have. Virtually every other fantasy football website already gives owners the options to use team logos. Blind Bid Waivers: These are available now, but I will not consider the blind bid waiver system until the 2010 season at the earliest. Unlike the traditional waiver system, which benefits teams with an inferior record, blind bid waivers allow teams to bid for the services of a player, and the team which offers the highest dollar amount gets the player. However, in case of a tie, the team with the inferior record will get him. For instance, if Player X hits the waiver wire, and Team A bids $10 for him, but Team B bids $15, Team B would get Player X. Of course, neither team knows how much other teams have bid for Player X (or even how many other teams are in the running for him), hence the term "blind bid." Each team would be allotted the same amount of waiver wire money at the beginning of the season, and once that money is used up, they would be unable to get players off waivers. In the example above, Team B would have $15 less after getting Player X, but Team A would not lose any money because they did not end up getting him. Co-Owners: This feature is expected to be available sometime in 2010. There are many times during the course of a fantasy football season where an owner may not have access to a computer, but wishes they could make moves. Whether it's to set lineups, scour the waiver wire, make draft picks or trades or pre-rank players, having the ability to name a co-owner for your team can come in handy, especially when you don't want to give someone else your password. Doubleheaders: A doubleheader is when a fantasy football team plays two games during the same week instead of one, using the same lineup for both games. At first, this idea sounded intriguing, because it would allow the UFFL to play a 16-game regular season (with three of the 13 weeks featuring doubleheaders). However, this concept places much more weight on an NFL player's performance during a doubleheader week. If your team has a player who happens to have a terrible game during a doubleheader week, it hurts your team twice as much. So to recap, it looks like blind bid waivers, along with the addition of the co-owner feature, are strong possibilities to be added to the league in 2010, along with the increase of franchise players from two to three per team. On the other hand, the addition of doubleheaders for the UFFL appears unlikely in the near future. In addition, with regards to 2010, the offseason trading window is expected to go from March (when the Fleaflicker website is reactivated) until early August (approximately one week before draft day, so that owners can pre-rank players if they wish). The preliminary franchise player selection process will occur throughout the month of June, but will not become finalized until the date of the offseason trading deadline. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| July 2009 |
In the
time since the Ultimate Fantasy Football League has
deserted Yahoo! for Fleaflicker, several things have
changed for the better, as far as the experience of
playing a free online fantasy football game goes. For
starters, Yahoo! now gives free leagues the option of
having divisional play. Commissioners no longer have to
re-create the league settings from scratch, if they want
to carry over customized options from one season to the
next. Owners now have the option of looking back at what
happened in previous years through their "league history"
feature. Keeper leagues are now encouraged, rather than
looked upon as abnormalities. And recently, even
StatTracker (their live scoring feature) was made free, in
an increasingly competitive market for the fantasy
football fan who would rather play for fun than for a
prize. If all of these features had been added to Yahoo! two or three seasons ago, would the league still be hosted there? Probably. Would there have been further discussion about moving to another host? It's possible, although highly unlikely. That being said, I'm very satisfied with the Fleaflicker experience to date. The recent offseason trade between bbashers and A-Peterson Fan Club illustrated how much better this league has become as a result of the host site being operational 365 days a year ... as opposed to waiting for Yahoo! leagues to re-open every June, and then waiting forever for all of the owners to register. As far as I know, Yahoo! still doesn't allow draft picks for future seasons to be traded. The statistical categories on Fleaflicker, along with the detailed box scores and weather reports for each game are a nice touch as well. In the end, the move to Fleaflicker was an excellent idea, and the deliberate way in which Yahoo! improved their free fantasy football product - when compared to other fantasy football hosts - was a blessing in disguise for the UFFL. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| July 2008 |
I recently
received an e-mail from the site administrators at
Fleaflicker, discussing in-depth their recent merger with
AOL. Apparently, it was a message distributed to everyone
who had registered at Fleaflicker prior to May 2008, when
the merger took place. In case you didn't happen to see
the message, here
it is, in Microsoft Word form. In layman's terms, anyone who did not register for the league within the last two months has to re-register, meaning this news applies to virtually everybody in the UFFL. As far as I know, everyone has an AOL/AIM account, seeing as how we attempted to hold the draft during the last two seasons on AOL Instant Messenger. Even for the owners who signed up less than two months ago, it makes sense to double-check your login name and password at Fleaflicker's website, so that come draft time things can flow smoothly. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| April 2008 |
What a
difference a few months can make! After it appeared that
the Ultimate Fantasy Football League was going to be
hosted by Yahoo! for a seventh consecutive season, it was
recently decided that moving to Fleaflicker would be the
most prudent move, in order to provide the best free
fantasy football service possible. Here are several
reasons why the change was made: 1. Divisional play - As mentioned in my most recent edition of the commissioner's note (November 2007), I supported the idea of divisional play because it gives a more legitimate feel to a fantasy sports league. Besides college basketball and football, I am hard-pressed to think of any sports leagues with 10 or more teams in a single division or conference. The divisional play feature was only available on the paid version of the Yahoo! fantasy football service, and had this feature existed on its free counterpart, the UFFL would have been split into multiple divisions long ago. After originally considering splitting the 12-team league into three divisions with four teams each, I settled upon a two-division format with six teams each. The Northern Division will consist of Andrew So (The Catch), Chad Fuller (Cheeko's Chiefs), Craig Hoffman (Deltaman), Jay Klinkhammer (A-Peterson Fan Club), Jim Douglas (CheeseWhiz) and Stephanie George (Steph Infections). The Southern Division will consist of Calvin Brown (bbashers), Craig Lechner (craigntx), Grace Cloud (Exit Strategy), Jared Byrd (Pulverizers), Mozelle Meyers (Football Gal) and Roy Bellamy (A Fake Football Team). 2. Live scoring - The concept of live scoring was only available on Yahoo! for paying customers, with the exception of a free trial period for everyone during the first few weeks of the regular season. In later weeks, fantasy football owners who chose not to pay for live scoring were either forced to wait until the following day to view up-to-date statistics or calculate the statistics by hand. Fleaflicker provides free live scoring to all participants. 3. Easy-to-use features - While the Yahoo! website was very easy to navigate, many other fantasy football services, like ESPN and America Online, were much more cumbersome to use. Fortunately, Fleaflicker doesn't appear to suffer from that problem, even if it isn't necessarily the most aesthetically pleasing site out there. What sets them apart from the rest is how much accessibility fantasy football owners have to their league during the offseason. Drafting can occur at virtually any time of the year, franchise players for keeper leagues can be selected at one's leisure, and new rule changes can be enforced even in the middle of the spring. Executing trades is also much easier to do on Fleaflicker; unlike Yahoo!, draft picks (for this year or several years down the line) can be exchanged in Fleaflicker leagues. 4. Testimonials - Jim Douglas, owner of the CheeseWhiz, has been a Fleaflicker veteran for several years and says it's the best free fantasy football website he's ever used. The website was brought to my attention several years ago, but compatibility issues with my old computer prevented me from testing out the site or moving the UFFL away from Yahoo! sooner. Most of the rules and guidelines from last season have remained unchanged, although roster sizes have been reduced (from 18 to 16), as a result of the elimination of defensive players. Also, the entire draft will be conducted in a live chat room hosted by Fleaflicker, and is expected to move in a more efficient manner than any other draft to date. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| November 2007 |
Even
though the Ultimate Fantasy Football League has had an
exciting six-year period on Yahoo!, and is expected to
remain there for the 2008 season, I am always looking for
new ways to improve the fantasy football playing
experience. In recent years, I have experimented with
serving as the commissioner of leagues on ESPN and AOL, to
see whether their services were superior to those offered
at Yahoo! There were some things that I liked more about
both websites, but there were other features that I didn't
enjoy as much, and therefore I didn't feel like it was
worth moving the UFFL from its current home. Allow this
chart to illustrate the pros and cons of each of these
three fantasy football league options:
However, after chatting with CheeseWhiz owner Jim Douglas, I am considering starting a second fantasy football league in 2008 at Fleaflicker, after hearing rave reviews about the site. If all goes well with the one-year experimental league, a permanent move by the UFFL could be made as soon as 2009. Among the features offered by Fleaflicker are divisional play, live scoring, and the ability to easily make trades involving draft picks several years down the line. Additional plans for the 2008 Fleaflicker league will be announced in the upcoming months, so if you are interested, or can give me an additional testimonial about the website, e-mail me at jared259@alumni.upenn.edu. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| April 2007 |
As the Ultimate
Fantasy Football League embarks on its sixth season,
league owners were asked to complete a survey during
the offseason, regarding which rule changes or
modifications, if any, should take effect for the new
year. Each of the ten owners who completed the survey
agreed to rejoin the UFFL in 2007, and several issues
were raised and debated:
- Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| November 2006 |
It is with
great pleasure that I am here to announce the opening of
the UFFL Online Store, at CafePress.com, just in time for
the unofficial beginning of the holiday shopping season.
Inside the store, you will find merchandise emblazoned
with the league's brand new logo - apparel, housewares,
hats, bags, stickers, buttons, magnets, journals and much
more. Check it out at http://www.cafepress.com/uffl
today! - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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| January 2006 |
Yet another
satisfying fantasy football season has come to a close.
For me, it was particularly thrilling, as I won my
first-ever league championship - but I would have
considered it an exciting season regardless of the
outcome. That's why I play fantasy football - for the pure
excitement of the game and for bragging rights, not for
money. In July, we will begin our fifth season (can you believe it has been THAT long?), and it's shaping up to be better than ever. As time goes on, the official league website will add more and more features, some of which will not debut until next season (such as a weekly newsletter with game recaps, analysis, and predictions), and some of which will be seen right away (such as a league "hall of fame"). Former Belly's Underdogs head coach/general manager Roy Bellamy may even write an occasional football-related column for this website. Of course, other suggestions are always welcome as well. While baseball is without question my favorite sport, nothing matches the sheer excitement of fantasy football. It has been a pleasure to be your commissioner, and I hope to serve in this capacity for many more seasons. - Jared Byrd, UFFL Commissioner |
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