AFSN Fantasy Baseball Guide:
The Live Online Draft 2001

IMPORTANT: Read SportsLine's Guide to Live Drafts manual -- a lot of good information, including how to prepare for the draft.

As Commissioner, I have control of the draft. If your computer crashes and you'd like the draft paused, if you have a question, whatever -- call me and I'll help you. The two-minute timer is to move the draft along so we don't have to sit in front of our computers for four hours. The timer is not meant to penalize you. Especially those of you who haven't done an online live draft before -- come prepared, but don't be afraid to ask for help via the Chat area (more below) or the phone. My phone number during the draft will be:

715-346-3586.

No More "Auto Pilot"

There will be a two-minute time limit per pick during the draft. However, we are not going to use the draft robot this year! In other words, there will be no "auto pilot". The time limit is there to move the draft along, not to penalize owners who are having computer problems. Having the computer pick players automatically when someone's time runs out has been the source of almost all our draft frustrations over the years. With "auto pilot" turned off, if your two minutes runs out, the draft will be suspended and I will have to submit your draft pick for you -- so call me!

Because there is no penalty for going beyond your two minutes, we are on the honor system. Let's keep the draft fair and moving along. You shouldn't go beyond your two minutes unless you are having computer problems. If you do go beyond your two minutes and the draft is suspended, contact me immediately! I will send everyone a phone number before the draft. Send me a number where I can contact you during the draft.

Java vs. HTML

Like the manual explains, there are two versions of the Draft Room: Java and HTML. I recommend using the HTML version of the Draft Room. It works just as well as the Java version, causes fewer problems, and reacts a lot quicker to your commands.

One of the advantages the Java version offers is that when players are taken, they automatically disappear from the list of available players. The HTML version does this too (by clicking the Clear button in the lower left section), but the players are listed alphabetically in a small window and aren't sortable by position like they are in the Java version. But here's the problem: The Java feature doesn't always work. So even with the Java version, you're going to want a list of players (like a cheat sheet from a fantasy magazine or web site) to cross off which players have been taken.

Players Already Drafted

As mentioned above, both the Java and HTML versions of the Draft Room have the capability to remove players from the "available player list" once they've been drafted. The Java version does this automatically (unless the feature is not working properly) and the HTML version requires the Clear button be clicked. How can you be sure that the player you want hasn't been drafted?

• Java version: Click on the player. If their name doesn't show up in blue in the lower right hand box (by the Draft and Queue button), they are not available. If you still try to click the Draft button, nothing will happen and your two minutes will run out, or you may draft the wrong player.
• HTML version: Click on the player and click the Submit button. If they are not available, a box will appear to tell you that.
• Both versions: Go to the league web site, type the player's last name in the FIND PLAYER box, and click the Go button. The page that appears will tell you what team he's on or that he's available (a Free Agent).

Java = Patience

Over my high-speed (768 kbps) DSL connection, the Java version of the Draft Room took about 3 minutes to load the first time. And according to the SportsLine Owner's Manual, "it can take as long as 5 minutes to load over a 56K modem connection." Be patient! A "Please Wait -- Loading Live Draft" message will display while the Draft Room loads. It will look like nothing is going on and then suddenly the Draft Room will appear. (It shouldn't take as long after the first time, but you never know.)

To minimize the potential for problems, the Owner's Manual recommends closing down and restarting your browser before loading the Java Draft Room. I'll take that one step further and recommend you shut down and restart your computer.

The Chat Area

During the draft, the Chat area is very important. It's the only way I can communicate to you during the draft, so pay attention! If you use the Java version, the Chat area updates automatically. If you use the HTML version, you'll need to click the Reload button every so often. Better yet, click the Auto button to have the Chat area update automatically.

Potential problem: The Chat area may not work. If the Chat area is broken and I have something really important to communicate, I'll call you or send everyone an email.

After The Draft

As soon as the draft is complete, you can set your lineup by clicking on Transactions,Set Lineup. You are responsible for setting your lineup each week. This is especially important for week 1 because after the draft your roster will probably be illegal. If your roster is illegal when the games begin, you will get zero points for that week.

TIPS:

• You can load the Java and HTML Draft Rooms right now! Don't wait until the last minute to see if they work on your computer. Try it now!
• For those of you with high-speed Internet access (e.g. DSL or Cable), feel free to run the Java and HTML versions at the same time.
• On the right hand side of the Java version of the draft, click on the column headings to sort the table. For example, to sort the players by last name, click on the Player column heading.
• If one of the four sections of the HTML Draft Room isn't refreshing automatically like it should, right click on the section and select Refresh or Reload from the menu that appears.
• Use the Queue. It helps you organize your thoughts.
• For those of you who co-own a team, all of the owners can be in the Draft Room at the same time. If you all can't get together at one computer, just log into the Draft Room from your separate computers and chat back-and-forth using the Private Chat feature the Draft Room provides.
• While the draft is going on, you can use the rest of the league web site to do research. Need to know how someone did last year because you might take him with your next pick? Leave your Draft Room window open and use another web browser window to go to our league web site. Type his name in the Find Player box and click the Go button. You're looking up stuff and drafting at the same time!

Draft Order

The league web site set a random draft order for us. Go to the site and click on Rules at the bottom of the page to see it. In round one, team 1 picks first and team 10 picks last. In round 2, team 10 picks first and team 1 picks last. And so on.

Trading Draft Positions

Teams can trade draft positions and do so without the rest of the league's approval. However, they do have to inform me of the trade so I can make the change and inform the rest of the league. For example, if someone didn't want the number 1 spot, they could trade positions with the owner holding the number 10 spot. The result would be the two teams' names being swapped in the Draft Order list. In other words, the change would effect every round of the draft.

Due to the complexities of holding a live online draft, trading of individual draft picks is not allowed.