2013-14 Full Year Sign-Up Sheet

[numbersix]

Welcome Skunk!

I see John's logic for 3 divisions but I feel like 2 suits me better. It's more competitive to be up against more people, and with only 6 people per team you're looking at each person drafting 25 or 26 films each. It's a lot to handle and more chance of luck coming into play (i.e. you happen to get the film that does better than expected rather than choosing it).

Last year the newbies were incorporated into the system by randomising everyone who wasn't in the Top 2 or the bottom 2 of the previous game. My suggestion is to do the same by putting all the newbies into the bottom league (where I'll be.... fucking Gangster Squad...) and randomising the middle section to incorporate them. So John, you'd still get first pick in your league.

[BanksIsDaFuture]

The player with the last pick in each league would have a legitimate shot at winning

Ahem. As the last pick last year and finishing (most likely, come on Tom Cruise - FLOP!!) 2nd, I think I had a pretty legitimate shot at winning.

Sorry, I vote no on 3 divisions, 2 is more than enough.

[JohnErle]

You had one hell of a draft, but you're still $200 million from first place, as Geezer would surely point out. Who knows how much damage you could have done with a better pick.

I'm fine with two divisions of nine if that's what the consensus prefers because that will level the playing field quite a bit. If we get 3 three more people signing up that would make 21, so maybe 3x7 would work better at that point.

[Chienfantome]

But that's just the Avengers effect, John. Yes, had Banks or any of us picked it, we would have ended up #1, but the point is, without an Avengers like phenomenon anyone has a shot, Banks proved it perfectly this year, and others did on previous years.

[JohnErle]

That's not true. Ozzy had $300 million from The Hobbit in the first round and still finished pretty low. Give him an extra $320 for The Avengers and he'd be in the hunt, but there'd be no guarantee of victory, especially considering someone else would have had a chance at the Hobbit and that might have increased their totals.

My point is that smaller divisions would increase the chances of giving everyone a real shot, or at least letting them think they have a real shot and keeping things interesting all year. Smaller divisions could negate the Avengers effect completely.

And there are other potential advantages as well, like not having to wait three days between making picks like sometimes happened last year. (Maybe it wasn't actually three days, but it sure felt like it some times.)

[Chienfantome]

Ozzy had $300 million from The Hobbit in the first round and still finished pretty low.

You just proved my point.
You have to draft wisely, from the first pick to the last, because even when you have 15 players drafting, you can be 2nd or 3rd drafting and end up in a lesser position at the end of the year than someone who picked 12th or 13th.

[englishozzy]

My mistake was the follow-up picks to that (The Watch, The Host)?? What was i thinking....

[Geezer]

I say leave it at 2 divisions. I think it would have to get to over 20 before considering breaking it into 3.

Also, are we completely sold on this reverse order of finish drafting thing? When I hear talks about people just tanking their slates and not even trying to get better picks on the waiver wire just so they can get a better draft pick, that kinda makes me wanna just make the whole draft selection process random. Or at the very least, have a lottery similar to the NBA.

[JohnErle]

A lottery or random draft wouldn't have made me any more active on the waiver wire. Spending hours evaluating waiver wire picks just so I can finish 12th instead of 15th? What's the point?

We all seem to be in agreement that two leagues of nine will be more competitive and fun than one league of 18. Doesn't it follow that three leagues of six would be slightly more competitive and fun? That's all I'm saying.

[Geezer]

I completely understand the logic, but I think three leagues makes it very difficult to climb up. Those in the bottom have to wait two full years to get to the top! The one thing I do like about having bigger leagues is that you get to play against everyone. It is weird not playing against some of the regulars as it is, cutting it to three takes away even more of those rivalries.

And as for the lottery, I feel like we'd be fine if we did something similar like this year that maybe the bottom 4 teams in each division are in the lottery and those in the top 5 get reverse order. I think it would be more fun, and this is coming from someone who would likely be in line for the first overall pick in the A division.

[Shrykespeare]

I agree that we shouldn't expand to three divisions unless we get our number up to 24.

As it stands a person picking ninth has a chance to win as much as the first pick (look what Banks did two years ago with a low-first-round status... or was it Boosh?). Since there won't be any Avengers-type breakouts this year, it should be a LOT more competitive.

Hell, Avengers by itself made more money than half of the players' ENTIRE slates. That won't be happening again. As we've said, I think there won't be any film that even makes $400M, though a couple of films have an outside chance.)


By the way, my friend and co-worker, RathfulProphetic, may be interested in joining.

[JohnErle]

I completely understand the logic, but I think three leagues makes it very difficult to climb up. Those in the bottom have to wait two full years to get to the top! The one thing I do like about having bigger leagues is that you get to play against everyone. It is weird not playing against some of the regulars as it is, cutting it to three takes away even more of those rivalries.

And as for the lottery, I feel like we'd be fine if we did something similar like this year that maybe the bottom 4 teams in each division are in the lottery and those in the top 5 get reverse order. I think it would be more fun, and this is coming from someone who would likely be in line for the first overall pick in the A division.

Yes, people in the third division will have to wait longer for a shot at the crowning glory, but everyone will have a greater chance of winning their division or being demoted every year, which will give more people something to play for or avoid.

You bring up an excellent point about rivalries. That's a good argument against small divisions that I hadn't considered. This is why brainstorming is good sometimes. I think I still like the idea of smaller leagues though because new rivalries could develop pretty quickly that way.

And Shryke, I'd say there's a chance of an Avengers-type breakout every year. No one saw Titanic coming either, and lots of people thought Avatar's blue cat people would flop hard.

[Chienfantome]

(look what Banks did two years ago with a low-first-round status... or was it Boosh?)

Banks did it in the current draft, and Boosch the previous one.

[BanksIsDaFuture]

My point is that smaller divisions would increase the chances of giving everyone a real shot, or at least letting them think they have a real shot and keeping things interesting all year.

Buscemi won the 2010-11 Draft drafting 2nd overall, I came in 2nd drafting 5th.

I won the 2011-12 Draft drafting 2nd to last (10th overall), W. came in 2nd drafting 8th.

Tranny won the 2012-13 Draft drafting 2nd overall, while I/UDM came in 2nd drafting last (16th overall)/7th overall.

Needless to say, I think everyone has had a real shot at winning each year we've done this.

[BanksIsDaFuture]

Also: I finished in the Top 3 every year! I'm effing awesome at this game

Now, if I could only transfer this success to the regular 3 month games....