FREE AGENCY (Part 2)

Ok --- I have been away from Facebook since yesterday evening so I am catching up now.  I will put my responses in a blog. Here is one part I will write here though. I encourage those “lobbying” to read the blog where I answered your questions in a whole.

1)      I can see clearly now how my needling and attempt to create some excitement/energy is being misinterpreted by some as serious trash talking or real intent. I thought part of the charm of social media is to have fun and not take things so seriously. I have gotten plenty of private emails and FB messages saying they love this and get that it is all in good fun and want me to continue. But apparently some take it way too seriously. This is something I have to own and correct. This was a miscalculation on my part because some people really take it seriously enough to jump to conclusions on items that have no relevance what so ever or have little background info. Again, this is on me. So I need to change that. So this FB page will go back to being bland and boring (no “excitement” creation).  

2)      No matter what anyone says --- this is about CURRENT talent in DCHL. One of the biggest mistakes I made in DCHL was helping FILL teams. This is a practice that I don’t believe most leagues get involved with their teams. I have always been loyal to teams and players and instead of letting a team FOLD, I always get new players and fill their rosters. The problem with this is that it has become a CRUTCH now for some teams --- not all. This is why I have no problem with top level PRO teams LEGALLY stacking their roster with outside “talent” because I do not have to worry about filling their rosters.  Am I a fan of this strategy? NO. It is obvious to most players in this league that some of the top teams only accept “top level talent”. Unless you are star player you will never play for them. This is stacking.  I am not fond of it personally but it is legal if done so with outside talent. I stated to neXus management that I did not want neXus to go in this direction.  We are not going to cut people on our current roster who are not “top level” worthy nor are we just simply go after “top talent” free agents. We want to show to that you can take PRO level players (that are not super stars but can play well) and build a team of unity and strength and togetherness and win. It is not all about stacking. This is why I mentioned that neXus will be built the right way --- LEGALLY via roster rules and ETHICALLY (we will not discriminate on your talent level --- though you do need to be able to PRO level).  This is why I am huge fan of PRO team such as Funkmaster Redux and REC team such as Scabs. They have never cut a player because he or she was not good enough. They have had plenty of players who may not have been PRO or REC worthy but they have developed them.  I know their roster well. They truly personify what the league should be all about. This is why I give them constant praise. They win the “right way” in my opinion. But like I said again , stacking with outside talent is legal but I personally am not a fan of it.

3)      The issue is when current teams then try to stack with CURRENT LEAGUE talent.  There is no way that is happening. When people want to change teams, I allow it but they only go to the bottom level teams to help distribute talent. They do get choices. Some teams are not popular. I can tell you that two of the bottom PRO teams had chances to get significant players next season but the players turned them down. The player should have a right to choose from a small group of bottom teams. Those bottom teams cannot complain because they are NOT ENTITLED to get those players. If they want to improve, they can get better on their own and find outside talent. But to put the onus on the league not only to GIVE them players but then GIVE them TOP talent is a little unfair. The league tries and it has worked well for 13 seasons if you look at how competitive the divisions are! But we cannot force the issue.

4)      There is a misconception on “swing teams” so I will clarify. We can only have 8 Pro or 10 Pro teams. We cannot do 9 because it is a scheduling nightmare. So we have to do groups of 2 if we stay PRO. As far as indications from some bottom level PRO teams and potential REC teams who can possibly promote that they would like to get Current League Talent to move up or stay, I find this very unfair.  Again, if your team cannot stand on your own two feet and be competitive on your own, you are not entitled to go UP or stay UP .  Going after current league players to make you better is not within the spirit.  Either you are good enough or you can get better by getting talent outside. But to ask the league to help you to make you more competitive is unfair if you are a “swing team” WHILE REQUESTING PLAYERS at the same time. I do not want to put a team in a division where they would get killed like UT did this season. This is not fair to the division or to the team.  5MM was a team that should have been REC last year but I gave them a reprieve and kept them as PRO despite the majority of the league stating they deserve REC. Well this season they only had one regular season win. Yes, they have roster and attendance issues. But they cannot ask me to fill rosters AND keep them PRO when there are 8 other teams clearly ahead of them.  At this point they would be the 9^th best team in PRO and may win one or two games again even IF they fill roster holes.  Same thing applies to Babylon Warriors. They are the only REC team who indicate they may promote if they win the Cup.  But they would get KILLED in PRO and may not even win one game. But to ask the league to make them “better” or to ask for current league talent is unfair. Either you belong or you make yourself belong by getting outside talent. I, for one, will not let you PROMOTE if you cannot prove on paper you can be competitive. And to all swing teams --- if you feel you are getting “slighted” on potential talent you are sadly mistaken . The league does you a favor by helping fill your rosters. To feel entitled to be able to get top level current league talent is wrong.  Prove on merit you belong.  Moreover, all the potential current FREE Agent talent was given options to play for you. They turned it down. So it was not that you were not an option for free agents. Thus I will have to add new players to your team for whom I can neither vouch nor guarantee their talent level.

5)      Another issue I find that I keep burning new players on certain teams EVERY SEASON. And it is the same teams who ask for more players AND higher end talent. For whatever reason those teams cannot retain players. Maybe it is time I break up those teams and give a new team a try instead of keep sending and burning new players?  I am doing this with the REC team now as we speak. And I have a PRO team (not 5MM) that may be considered next season as well. If it is not working, then we need to make changes. I am not going to keep retooling. Let’s give some new free agent team a try!

 

Bottom line --- people want to win a little too much in our league. And sometimes people lose sight on why we are here: to have fun. I find the need to win a little nauseating.  Have fun and do things the right way. If you win, great.  Your goal should be to have fun and make lifelong friends.  I sometimes feel the league needs to tone down the recognition because it only makes everyone’s ego get bigger and others aspire to be recognized.  Contrary to what people think, winning is not everything. This is again why I will keep mentioning Funkmaster Redux and Scabs as my favorite teams!