ESPN question about free agent pickups

[jizzatch 0]

The league I'm in has no waiver period. As soon as a player is dropped, another team can pick him up. However, players lock 5 minutes before gametime, and they don't unlock until after all games have finished. Actually, this week they unlocked at 5:10 am cst.

 

One owner stayed up all night and snagged Forte before anyone else knew what hit them. It was borderline shenanigans, but he was the early bird so to speak.

 

Rather than have to stay up all night to wait until the free agents unlock, I'm trying to figure out an alternative to keep my sanity.

 

I didn't see a way to configure an ESPN email alert or mobile alert, but I do know of a Check4Changes extension in Mozilla that could probably be configured to do what I need.

 

I was just curious if anyone else has been in this situation, where there is no true waiver period, so they could monitor for when the free agents unlock. Also, I would need another similar strategy for when players are added or dropped by other league managers, in case some bonehead drops a good player. In our league, an owner dropped Santana Moss to pick up Devery Henderson. But, I just happened to be logged in at the time and got him before anyone else.

[Phurfur 70]

The league I'm in has no waiver period. As soon as a player is dropped, another team can pick him up. However, players lock 5 minutes before gametime, and they don't unlock until after all games have finished. Actually, this week they unlocked at 5:10 am cst.

 

One owner stayed up all night and snagged Forte before anyone else knew what hit them. It was borderline shenanigans, but he was the early bird so to speak.

 

Rather than have to stay up all night to wait until the free agents unlock, I'm trying to figure out an alternative to keep my sanity.

 

I didn't see a way to configure an ESPN email alert or mobile alert, but I do know of a Check4Changes extension in Mozilla that could probably be configured to do what I need.

 

I was just curious if anyone else has been in this situation, where there is no true waiver period, so they could monitor for when the free agents unlock. Also, I would need another similar strategy for when players are added or dropped by other league managers, in case some bonehead drops a good player. In our league, an owner dropped Santana Moss to pick up Devery Henderson. But, I just happened to be logged in at the time and got him before anyone else.

 

The guy was playing by the rules. What did you want him to do, wait until you picked him up.

 

I am assuming this is a free league so I can't help you. You get what you pay for.

[jizzatch 0]

The guy was playing by the rules. What did you want him to do, wait until you picked him up.

 

I am assuming this is a free league so I can't help you. You get what you pay for.

 

The guy is the commissioner and the only one that had a good understanding of the rules. I had asked and received an evasive nonanswer as to when the players would unlock.

 

That said, I'm not saying he did anything wrong. I'm only saying that it will suck if I have to stay up all night to refresh ESPN until they unlock, because I will if that's what it takes. I'm trying to find a better way that would allow me to set an alarm when the rosters unlock, because if it's anything like the waiver wire on ESPN, that time will vary like a hurricane trajectory from week to week.

[fantasybubba 0]

Unfortunately we did our league like that back in the stone age. All pickups were a free for all and didn't even lock during the games.

 

I'd same that if you are going to do it that way then you should at least unlock the pickups permanently.

 

At least then you can make the pickups as the games go. This allows for someone to jump on a guy a bit earlier than another guy. Adding minimal skill. Rather than everyone staying up all night for the same guy at the same moment.

 

Best suggestion get a waiver system.

 

[Pinto 0]

One owner stayed up all night and snagged Forte before anyone else knew what hit them. It was borderline shenanigans, but he was the early bird so to speak.

 

What type of league has Forte still available? He should've been gone on draft day.

 

Also, if he played by the rules, it's hardly "borderline shenanigans."

[jizzatch 0]

What type of league has Forte still available? He should've been gone on draft day.

 

Also, if he played by the rules, it's hardly "borderline shenanigans."

 

 

One that only allows teams to carry a total of 3 RB's. And, again, I already mentioned that it was done by the rules, just that the rules were not exactly made clear.

[Kingstowne Dealers 14]

One that only allows teams to carry a total of 3 RB's. And, again, I already mentioned that it was done by the rules, just that the rules were not exactly made clear.

 

Wow. Are you in the Taliban league?

[jizzatch 0]

Wow. Are you in the Taliban league?

 

Yes. How'd you know?

[phan420 0]

The guy is the commissioner and the only one that had a good understanding of the rules. I had asked and received an evasive nonanswer as to when the players would unlock.

 

Aren't your league rules posted on the site and available for everyone to read?

 

[jizzatch 0]

Aren't your league rules posted on the site and available for everyone to read?

 

 

Okay, again, I have already moved on. I don't care, so you don't need to either.

 

I am more looking at how to move forward. My end goal would be to be able to configure a Firefox addon to allow me to automagically claim a player I tell it I want when the players unlock, or at least configure an alarm to wake me up when the unlock occurs.

 

That's the best idea I could come up with and my question is strictly for the more computer savvy people here as to if they have a better idea.

[idiotec 31]

I commish a league and we just switched to ESPN this year; we had used Yahoo in the past. It is a money league among friends.

 

Same thing happened to us; one guy stayed up all night and hit the free agents at 3AM. I am not pissed at him, it was completely legal, but at the same time we are proposing one of the two possible solutions to this.

 

1. We open free agents back up like they were in the past. Players can be picked up any time. In order to do this, we would create a topic on the league message board. If the players are locked and you want to pick someone up, you would post the transaction on the message board. You would need to include all the details to identify the player to be picked up and the player to be dropped. Other teams would need to respect that list and then the team is open to make the move in the system once the players are unlocked.

 

2. We keep the players locked during the games, but push out the time we can start making transactions to a reasonable hour, something like noon on Tuesday. The players will still be unlocked in the system in the early morning, but all transactions are date stamped, so we can all see if someone broke the rules and picked someone up early.

 

 

 

So far the votes are leaning to #1 as this is what we were used to as Yahoo, although I would be fine with either.

 

Like I said, this is a league among friends. Total $$$ in is usually around $80 a piece after transaction fees, so nothing too serious.

[BMoney 0]

my friends have long been in a league like this....tuesday am, get ready to shake it...

 

well, i work on tuesday mornings and have no access to a phone or net...pretty easy for the commish to just say, ill take so and so...ive missed out on the MJDs of the world because getting home at 2pm was still too late and i couldnt do anything about it...

 

ive long argued that there should be a blind bidding system for FAs..we all get $200 imaginary dollars and you bid on forte or brady lite...all bidding takes place on tuesday...on wednesday, we find out who bid the most and secured the player..after wed, first come for whoever else..

 

its why this is my 2nd year with no FF and im fine with it....had i been in a league, id have brady, colston and the seahawks D...no thanks...

 

they have 11 teams..ive asked if i could trade a team at half price from the FAs available...2 days after the draft...id have still had a great team...they said no

[Dallas_Empire 0]

Stop whining! :cry: :cry:

[Joey Gladstone 33]

your league sucks, find another one

[GridironGuzzlers 3]

What is the advantage to having no waiver period?? You are asking for trouble every week. Espacially late in the season you are asking for collusion.

[mambokings 0]

As soon as a player is dropped, another team can pick him up.

 

That is so focking bush league...you deserve what's coming to you for joining that crap

[thunderbolts 0]

Lock out you waivers until Tuesday night at midnite. People can place waivers moves prior to Tuesday at midnite and transactions can take place by waiver order. People have jobs, a wife, kids and a life. Give everyone a fair chance.

[idiotec 31]

WW system sucks IMO. Why should the worst team automatically get first pick of available players? Just to add that touch of socialism to fantasy football?

[Dallas_Empire 0]

WW system sucks IMO. Why should the worst team automatically get first pick of available players? Just to add that touch of socialism to fantasy football?

 

Yeah, it is possible for the worst team to get most of the waiver wire gems during a season and then get into the playoffs with the lowest seed. I have seen a team built like this go on to win the title.

[GridironGuzzlers 3]

WW system sucks IMO. Why should the worst team automatically get first pick of available players? Just to add that touch of socialism to fantasy football?

1- that's how waivers work in the real world

2- other ways to run waivers--blind bidding or last guy to p/u a player goes to bottom of the list

[Cleaver08 0]

The only time we can pick up players is in one of our supplemental drafts. This occurs every 4 weeks (weeks 4, 8, and 12). The owner with the worst record picks first and so on (serpentine style like the original draft).

[idiotec 31]

1- that's how waivers work in the real world

2- other ways to run waivers--blind bidding or last guy to p/u a player goes to bottom of the list

I am not sure how important the real world is in fantasy football.

 

What ever system works best for a particular league is a good one. Let’s not forget, this is a focking GAME!

[tubby_mcgee 701]

As soon as a player is dropped, another team can pick him up.

 

Okay....

 

 

One owner stayed up all night and snagged Forte before anyone else knew what hit them.

 

 

Okay...sounds like an owner looking out for himself and trying to win....

 

 

It was borderline shenanigans

 

Ummmm....why? What did he do wrong? Ohhh...wait. Was he to wait until everyone was ready, then when the commish said "GO!", try to pick him up?

 

But, I just happened to be logged in at the time and got him before anyone else.

 

So you pulled the same "shenanigans" the other guy pulled? Shame on you.

[GridironGuzzlers 3]

I am not sure how important the real world is in fantasy football.

 

What ever system works best for a particular league is a good one. Let’s not forget, this is a focking GAME!

I am sure the real world is important--we use real stats from real players in a real league to win real money or just for fun in a so called "fantasy" league

[jizzatch 0]

Umm, this is amazing. On my own, I figured out that I can set a Firefox extension or use WSDL to do most of what I want, while the conversation here went off on some completely off topic tangents. Anyway, again, I know my league is lame, it's what our commissioner wanted to try this year. Oh well, it's just for fun amongst friends.

 

Working within that retarded framework and playing by the rules, which I fully intend to exploit for my own gain, and doing so in such a way that the commissioner will see what a clusterfock he has created, I hope to script a bot that will automatically sign the free agents I tell it to at the instant the players unlock. Short of that ultimate goal, I will at least figure out a way to give myself a text message alert.

 

So, if you have any ideas to that end, that is what this thread was supposed to be for. If not, please kindly piss off!

[WhiteWonder 2,734]

i think alot of ESPN leagues deal with this especially first time users because there is no option to make FA's available all the time.. they will lock during game times and not unlock until 3AM tuesday morning or somewhere around there.

 

its really not against the rules to stay up all night and add your player.. if anything that shows commitment and you can't punish someone for that.. What i do find shady after reading all these posts is that you did not get a straight answer about the time free agency opens from your commish who happens to be the owner in question.. This is a little ###### up in my opinion. he clearly didnt wan't to tell you fo fear you might do the same thing

 

before anyone cries to read your league rules, they do not clearly state when the FA period begins during the week. Im sure you could do some extensive research through ESPN fantasy help pages but nothing is stated under league settings.

 

what my league is most likely going to do is set up waivers to last 2 days taking us from tuesday to thursday and then for the rest of the days leading up to game time its free for all FA pickups. alot of owners like to tweak their lineups, pick up new defenses etc and we like to avoid making those minor transactions cost waiver priority.