| Please explain the "open" divisions further. What happens to the Asian divisions? |
First of all, you should do a thorough perusal of the Rumor Mill page. Nothing has happened to the Asian divisions, as they will still exist as before. Open divisions have been ADDED. As of this writing, we expect two open divisions: one in AAA and one in the AL. They will be called AAA-Open and AL-Open. If there are enough teams and depending on critical mass, we could add other divisions that are open to non-Asians, such as the REC.
In fact, the AAA-Open and AL-Open divisions already exist! Maybe you didn't notice. As the Rumor Mill explains, the AAA-Open was merged with the AAA-Elite and AAA-30+ (Veterans) last season. The AL-Open already exists. Both of these divisions were previously limited to two non-Asians per team. Because we found that not many of these teams were adhering to these rules, and because it is time to open up that wonderful thing that is the Asian American way of running leagues, there is no longer a restriction to two non-Asians. "Open" teams can have as many non-Asians as they want. Back to top |
| Is there anyone whom my team should NOT pickup? |
You should not pickup anyone who is not reliable, as in paying for their part of the franchise fees (as determined by your captain), as well as showing up to every game.
Furthermore, no team is allowed to pickup any players on the banned player list. Back to top |
| What if I only have 3 or 4 guys interested in a team? |
Teams that need extra players to complete their roster can ask the league for help in picking up free agents by position. However, if you don't already have 5 committed players, based on our experience, it will be very difficult for you to round out the team. We would advise you not to signup for something that you do not have a full commitment for.
Free agents who cannot find a team will either be placed by the league on a team needing free agents, or combined with other free agents to form a free agent team. However, we would require one of the free agents to be a "franchise owner". Even though it is a team of free agents who might have not ever played together, we will treat it as any other team. That means the entire team starting with the team captain will be responsible for the team's franchise fees.
On average, free agent teams have finished in the middle of the pack, although quite a few have made it to the championship. Back to top |
| What if I have guys who have not called me back and my roster is in flux? |
| We advise that you drop players who have not called you back in some time. These players simply have other priorities for now and you should not put your team at risk with unreliable players. Back to top |
| When is the last day to finalize our roster? |
| With the franchise fee format, you can have as many players on the roster as you want, but no more than 12 at any one game. However, each player on your roster heading into the playoffs as an "eligible" player must have a minimum of 2 games played out of 7 regular season games. Back to top |
| What if my team wants to carry a roster of less than 8 players? |
| With the franchise fee format, you can have as many players on the roster as you want, but no more than 12 at any one game. However, each player on your roster heading into the playoffs as an "eligible" player must have a minimum of 2 games played out of 7 regular season games. Back to top |
| What if my team only has 4 guys for any particular game? Can I pickup someone as a replacement? |
| With the franchise fee format, you can have as many players on the roster as you want, but no more than 12 at any one game. However, each player on your roster heading into the playoffs as an "eligible" player must have a minimum of 2 games played out of 7 regular season games. Back to top |
| How many regular season games must players play in to be eligible for the playoffs? |
| To be eligible for the playoffs, a player on a team must have played 2 regular season games out of 7 for that particular team. The only problem with this is the risk of other players showing up and claiming to be another player, which brings us to the impostor rule. Back to top |
| How do we know for sure that a player has played in 2 regular season games? What if one week, someone else shows up and puts the original player's name down on the statsheet, thus posing as an impostor just to make that guy playoff eligible? |
To counteract the risk of impostors utilized to make certain players eligible for the playoffs, we must invoke...
a "come clean" policy
...which will encourage captains to manage their rosters and 3-game playoff eligibility as honestly and as best as they can:
- NEVER USE AN IMPOSTOR OR ELSE YOU WILL FACE THE CONSEQUENCES. The league is a pretty tight-knit community and you don't want to develop the wrong reputation. If an impostor is exposed, the player he was posing as will NOT BE ALLOWED TO PLAY IN THE PLAYOFFS. There will be no replacement for that player and the team will enter the playoffs with one forfeited roster slot.
- IF YOU ARE IN A BIND, ASK THE LEAGUE FOR PERMISSION (PEER REVIEW). Let's say you have tried your best, but for some reason it just didn't work out. The captain must then send a request in writing to the league office, describing the situation, to pickup any player for the playoffs who has not played in at least 3 regular season games. The other teams in the league will then have full disclosure and will decide democratically how to resolve the situation.
- YOUR TEAM MUST PAY A $25 FEE FOR VIOLATIONS OF RULES. If we find that you have intentionally broken a rule and compromised a system of fair play and playing from the same level playing field, we will fine your team $25, which must be paid within 48 hours of the ruling, or else your team will be expelled without refund. Back to top
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| What if a player goes down with an injury right before the playoffs? |
Same answer as the impostor rule: you will need to suck it up unless you want to face potential embarrassment from the peer review.
Like in the pros, injuries are part of the game and part of the playoffs: Magic Johnson in '88, Peja Stojakovic in '02, Karl Malone in '04, Joe Johnson in '05, the list goes on. And it wouldn't be fair to bring in a brand new player just for the playoffs. It's no surprise that a majority of our championship teams have consisted of large rosters to endure the marathon.
However, you can still ask the league office for a vote amongst the teams in your division, depending on your specific situation.
Just don't try to bring in impostors to get around the 2-game playoff eligibility rule, because the consequences of being caught would be dire. Back to top |
