Games are by 1’s and 2’s to 30, call your own foul. When the combined score reaches 30, that is halftime. Each team will be allowed 1 full time-out per half (to discuss strategy, get water, etc) with no carry-over. Each team will also be allowed 1 20-second time-out when you can just sub players in but must resume play immediately (this is because sometimes you want to get subs in but there isn’t a stoppage of play for a long time). Again, no carry-over.
All dead balls will be taken at the top, no free throws. First possession is determined by a do-or-die 3-pointer.
Win by 2, but cap at 36.
For those who played last year, there will be a few changes to make the experience better for all.
1. Fouls: to prevent excessive calling of fouls, this system will be put in place:
A) At any time, a player who thinks another player is calling excessive, ticky-tack, unreasonable, or flat-out wrong fouls may e-mail the commissioner to file a formal complaint. The player must give a decently thorough review of which calls seemed blatant. In order for the complaint to be properly registered, it must pass the common-sense test (e. g. one controversial out-of-bounds call does not constitute).
B) 2 formal complaints will constitute a warning. 3 formal complaints and the commissioner will assign an anonymous arbiter to observe the player-in-question’s next game. If this impartial observer concludes that the player’s foul-calling is legitimately excessive, a reprimand will be dealt out. If the arbiter concludes that the foul-calling was not bad, the player-in-question is safe from the reprimand for the time being, but each subsequent formal complaint will send another arbiter out.
C) A positive from the arbiter will result in a reprimand, most likely a one-game suspension. That player will be on close watch the remainder of the season (i. e. again, each complaint will result in an arbiter). Subsequent reprimands will result in harsher penalties: the 2nd offense will garner a multi-game suspension.
D) Because competitive balance and integrity is EVERYTHING, and a league of call-your-own can be abused so easily, there will be a super-contingency clause in effect. On the 3rd offense for the ENTIRE TEAM, there will be a severe action taken: any game within 5 points during the regular season where there was a formal complaint lodged will be replayed, starting tied at the losing score (i. e. if a team with several reprimands wins a controversial game 30-27 in week 1, and in retrospect there was foul play involved, the teams will have to replay it starting 27-27).
This will hopefully NEVER be invoked, but it’s there to scare players into being honest.
E) Also, to prevent from THIS system being abused, players who are deemed to have purposely, dishonestly lodge complaints against another player to endanger the opposing team will receive 2 complaints against his own record.
2. Picking up random players: to ensure competitive balance and integrity, this is ABSOLUTELY FORBIDDEN. Teams who use a non-registered player immediately forfeit the game. Play 4 on 5 or 3 on 5 if you have to, but no team can just pick up random people at Crown or bring their unregistered friends. Ensuring your team shows up is the GM’s responsibility (and reliability should affect a player’s draft stock) but The League mandates for 8-9 man rosters so on almost every night you can at least field a full squad.
3. Entry Draft: this is not to say we don’t want more participation as the year goes on, but it must be done in a fair manner. The following system will be put in place:
A) If a certain player wants to play, there must be a number of players equal to half the number of the teams who want to join the league simultaneously (or if there is literally NO INTEREST left, that player can wait 10 days and enter a lottery for his services by himself).
B) Supposing there are 12 teams and 6 players who want to enter, at this time there will be a lottery to determine the order for the entry draft. The weighting is yet to be determined, but will probably look something like this:
Last place – 25%; 11th place – 20%; 10th place – 12.5%; 9th place – 10%; 8th place – 7.5%; 7th place – 7%; 6th place – 6%; 5th place – 5%; 4th place – 4%; 3rd place – 1.5%; 2nd place – 1%; 1st place – .5%
The first entry draft can be held no earlier than 5 games into the season, because before then we don’t know who the good teams are and the teams’ records could be more reflective of variance than true skill. And before you think of this idea, note that because there are so few games in the season and you can never have more than a 30% chance to win the lottery, tanking to obtain a great player is probably not a good idea.
Again, let’s say one player wants in but no one can find other players to enter, then after 10 days he can enter his own personal lottery where the teams vie for his services.
4. Trades, expansion draft, management etc:
A) Trades are always viable and interesting. The trade deadline will be 2 weeks before the season ends. 1 for 1, multi for 1, multi for multi, multi-team, inclusion of future draft picks, and trading spots in the drafts are all allowed. No team can go below 7 players at any given time, and while there is technically no ceiling for a roster, no team should have more than 10 players.
B) Since there are so many teams to start the season, with interest plateauing and a tight schedule as it is, there will be no possibility of expansion this year.
C) A team that is not getting along should consider trades. A chemistry trade is good for curing a team that can’t play together. If an individual solely thinks that he needs to go, he can demand a trade or to be released, but this is purely a voicing-of-opinion and holds no actual weight.
A release may only be orchestrated by mutual agreement between GM and player. If that release succeeds, any team that wishes to pick up that player uncontested may do so. If multiple teams want that player, there will be a lottery for his services. Remember, for a player to be released and join another team both that player and the GM must agree.
Trades must be approved by the league office by 5:00 PM on weekdays. Thus, you cannot trade players in the middle of game nights and have him play for multiple teams.
If a GM wants to trade himself, he may do so. The team he left behind will choose another player to manage and represent the team. However, to prevent a GM abandoning ship at the last second and basically giving himself away, a majority of the team he’s leaving behind must agree to the terms of the trade. Finally, a GM cannot release himself, period. You made your bed, now sleep in it.
D) There will be two trade deadlines: a soft deadline and a hard deadline.
The soft deadline will start 3 weeks before the end of the season. Trades made after that time must have the cumulative player value total based on draft position be within 2 (or within 1 if a first rounder is included). This is to prevent fire-sales from lower place teams that have “nothing to play for” at the end of the season (play for pride!)
Example: a 2nd rounder + a 3rd rounder for a 2nd rounder + a 5th rounder is allowed (cumulative 5 vs cumulative 7); a 2nd rounder for a 5th rounder is NOT allowed (cumulative 2 vs cumulative 5); a 1st rounder + a 3rd rounder for a 2nd rounder is NOT allowed (cumulative must be within 1)
For the purposes of calculation, expansion players will have a value equal to their absolute draft position (3rd overall = 3rd round)
The hard trade deadline will be 2 weeks before the end of the season. After this, NO deals can be made, whether trade, draft, or release.
