43 Days, 10 Hours, 30 Minutes until Kickoff!!!!!

Okay folks!  Not much to report except for the fact I am home!  Finally!  My year in Pakistan is over!  And although that is excellent news, it is dwarfed by the news of the likely NFL Lockout resolution!!!!

Seriously folks… the only reason I agreed to go to Suriname for my next tour is the fact it’s located in a football watching friendly time zone.  If the NFL season is cancelled… I’ll cry like a little baby.

DiploBall 3

We’re up to 10 people so far.  Not bad, but not great… especially since there are a half dozen regulars who haven’t signed up yet.  Remember!  We switched to PoolTracker.com.  Email me at Diploball@gmail.com with the subject “PICK ME!” and I will send you the link and password to join.

Also, please remember: All Active/Retired Diplomats and Military personnel (AND their friends and family) are eligible to join!  My unrealistic goal for DiploBall 3 is 30 players… so help a brother out and recruit some fresh blood!

DiploBall - Legacy League

So, my Legacy Fantasy Football League experiment isn’t doing so great.  I’ve only filled 3 or the 20 available positions so far, but we still have a lot of time.  If you are interested in a more traditional fantasy league let me know.  Send an email to diploball@gmail.com and write “I’m Awesome” in the subject line.

That’s it for this week!  Take care everyone!    

50 Days, 10 Hours, 30 Minutes until Kickoff

DiploBall Recruitment Report:

Not a bad start to the recruitment season… but we could be doing a LOT better.  Right now there are 6 people registered to play.  But this year’s goal is 30!  So get out there and recruit! 

For an invitation email diploball@gmail.com and write “Pick Me!” in the subject line.

‘The Legion of Awesome’ – A (more) Traditional Fantasy Football League:

So… I don’t know about the rest of you… but I am crazy about American Football.  Honestly, it’s the only sport I like to watch (or even follow) and I tend to go a little bonkers during football season.

Well, now that Pool Tracker is hosting our Pick ‘Em League, my DiploBall workload is vertically nil… and I’ve decided to channel this free time into forming a more traditional style Fantasy League.  I call it ‘The Legion of Awesome’ and I’m using a ‘Legacy League’ format, which pretty much means you get to keep your line up from year to year without having to start over each season.  Once you draft a player he is yours forever (or until you decide to drop him from your roster). 

So!  If you or someone you know would be interested in branching out into ‘The Legion of Awesome’ send an email to diploball@gmail.com and make sure you write “I’m Awesome” in the subject line.

About DiploBall

Players

DiploBall participation has grown every year, starting with a mere 12 players four years ago and now has 30+ players living all over the world.  Our players consist of are Diplomats, members of Military, and their friends and family.    

Games

DiploBall includes, both, NCAA and NFL games in a combined Pick ‘Em format.  The season lasts 22 weeks, starting with the first week of NCAA regular season and continuing through the NFL regular season, NCAA conference championships and bowl games, NFL playoffs and Super Bowl.

Scoring

DiploBall is not merely about picking games correct.  It is about being confident in your picks. 

DiploBall uses a confidence based (Jeopardy style) scoring system. Essentially, players assign a point value to each game based on how confident they are in their pick to win.  The higher the value the more confident the players are and vice versa.   When a player picks the winner correct, they will receive the number of confidence points they assigned to that game, however, if they guess incorrectly, they will lose those points.

Picks

You can make your picks any time before a games kick off.  Each game has a different kick off time, so if, for some reason, you forget to make picks and miss a game or two, don’t worry, you’re still eligible to make picks for the remaining games that week.

64 Days, 10 Hours, 30 Minutes until Kickoff

Well… tomorrow the movers are coming to pack-up my stuff and ship it all off to where ever the heck I’m going next.  And in the spirit of my personal move, I thought this would be an excellent time to announce where DiploBall is moving.

Now, as many of you know, for the last two football seasons DiploBall has been pounding it out over at CBSsports.com.  All in all, the site isn’t bad… it’s a bit clunky… error messages abound and pages fail while trying to make picks… customer service is rather lack luster… as a whole, CBSsports.com doesn’t seem to fully understand how to properly implement the scoring options THEY created… and well… they only seem to care about football during regular season play! 

Poppycock! 

I guess in fairy-CBSsports.com land Conference Championships, Bowl Games, and the NFL Playoffs don’t exist!

Well, you know what CBSsports.com?  They do exist in DiploBall Land!  And DiploBall never rests!  Even during week 19 when we really wish it would be over… we KEEP GOING!  We start with the first kickoff of the NFL seasons (the second week of college play… sorry first week)… and we keep going until the last down of the Super Bowl!  Whether we want to or not!

For this reason, when CBSsports.com decides the season is ‘over’, DiploBall has trudged forward… continuing play within nothing more than a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet and an insanely large amount of annoying emails.

Well, listen up my DiploFriends… those days are over!  The time of Excel Spreadsheets are nothing more than a flittering memory… and trust me… that decision has nothing to do with Bill Gates’ inaction on the DiploBall sponsorship proposal I drew up last year.

No… it has everything to do with the fact that I can’t stand CBSsports.com.  (David, can I get an amen?)

And, I’ll tell you this!

If I was going to go through the hassle of moving DiploBall to a new webhost, I was sure as gravy going to find a NEW host that will accommodate DiploBall’s intense format.

And well… I did.

Ladies and Gentlemen.  I found a site that not only accommodates NFL & NCAA regular season games in a combined confidence weighted pool format… but I found a site that also allows our league to continue into the NCAA Conference Championships, Bowl Games, the NFL Playoffs, AND the Super Bowl seamlessly… one game, one format… no spreadsheets… PEACE ON EARTH!

You name it they got it.

Ladies and Gentlemen.  I give you:

www.pooltracker.com

Don’t forget to claim your spot!

If you plan to participate, please send an email of intent to diploball@gmail.com, make sure you write “Pick Me!” in the subject line.  (Please note: there are unlimited spots, so as long as you are eligible to play, you will be picked.)

PS:  As it turns out… there is no such thing as a ‘perfect’ webhost for DiploBall.  Although the move to PoolTracker.com means a smoother road through the season, it also mean adjusting our point’s accrual system a bit… but don’t worry… the new system has the potential of keeping the season very close… missing a week could become a strategic move… no more worrying about ‘points percentage’ because this year is all about who has the most points… AND!  This could turn out to be the toughest season of DiploBall yet.  

Want a hint?  The answer is: ‘The greatest football pick ‘em league in the world.’  (What is DiploBall?)

Come back next Wednesday at 10am (EST) for all the juicy details.