THE DREAM LEAGUE
Asian American / Open Basketball Leagues
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2006_ Winter/Spring (Philly) |
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Upcoming DL-Philly Season | |
NBA TIME OUT DEBUTS SUN. 3/19 9PM ON AZN TV (scroll down for more details)
2006 Upcoming Season - TBD Jump down to team lists now! COMMISSIONER'S UPDATE (7/10): WE ARE CURRENTLY STILL WORKING ON SECURING GYM SPACE IN THE PHILADELPHIA REGION. ONCE THIS IS DONE, WE WILL NOTIFY YOU! APOLOGIES FOR THE BIG DELAY. Welcome to the new site for the new Dream League Philadelphia! With Dream League Bay Area, New York, and Las Vegas in full stride, the DL is now looking to bring its game to the City of Brotherly love! Do you have the love? Have you got the brothers? DL Philly is coming! Sign up now! DATES: Games will either be on a weekend day or one weeknight. There will be eight to twelve (8-12) regular season games, followed by approximately four (4) weeks of playoffs. Schedules will morph according to team availabilities and unforeseen circumstances with gym constraints. We do the best we can and expect the same of each team to get us thru the marathon season. HOLIDAYS: There are automatic byes for major holidays. Teams should be available to play on all other weekends. OTHER BYES: Scheduling a multi-team league spanning three to four months is a very complicated process, just like it is for the NBA. Teams that require byes other than the holidays listed make the process even more complicated. We will do our utmost best to schedule games according to your preferences, but on occassion, you will have to play games that you may not wish to and possibly be short-handed. LOCATIONS: TBD. TEAMS/DIVISIONS: For this first season, there will likely be one division with possibly two (2) conferences. See Rumor Mill for the latest list of teams and where you do or might fit in. FORMAT: We are aiming to launch this inaugural season to consist of approximately eight (8) teams in two (2) separate divisions - North and South. How this season's schedule will play out has yet to be determined. If you finish .500 or above, your team will get double-elimination status going into the playoffs, single-elimination for teams lower than .500. We will possibly be experimenting with a new playoff format this season. HOW TO ENTER YOURSELF OR YOUR TEAM: This is a step-by-step guide on how to register teams and players. Please follow these steps carefully, otherwise you run the risk of being left behind... (1) Deadline. To include you and your team in the scheduling, your team must have registered its roster on or before 11:59PM SUNDAY, MAR 5. (2) Free agent players. If you are a free agent, email brian@dreamleague.org. You will register and pay separately. (3) Teams looking for free agents. If your team needs to fill spots with free agents, you must contact the league at brian@dreamleague.org. It is up to you how many players you wish to carry, but the team entry fee will be the same across the board (more heads, less per player.) (4) All other teams and players. If you are a team captain or in charge of the team's finances, you can choose to have your team paid for all at once or individually. If you decide to have your players pay independently, please note that players who do not pay in a timely manner will be charged a $1.00 per week late fee. Teams that are not fully paid by the 5th week run the risk of automatic forfeits. Your team either must be paid up via paypal, check, or arranging with the Commissioner another method for payment. To encourage someone on your team to pay the entire team in advance instead of putting the team at such risks, INDIVIDUALS WHO PAY THE ENTIRE TEAM FEES IN ADVANCE WILL BE PUT IN A RAFFLE FOR A FREE SPALDING TF-1000 OFFICIAL DREAM LEAGUE GAME BALL. Click here to pay (top of page, right-hand column), then proceed to Step #5. ALL PAYMENTS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE. (5) All teams captains must REGISTER with the following in mind: (i) Specify any non-holiday byes that your team absolutely must have, (ii) specify your team's window of time to play on weekends and weeknights, (iii) any other outstanding questions. (6) Online waivers. All new players must sign the online waiver. For legal reasons, returning players that have changed addresses or phone numbers must also submit a new online waiver. PLAYERS WHO HAVE NOT SIGNED AN ONLINE WAIVER WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO STEP FOOT ONTO THE COURT. If you or your player is unable to get online access, please have another player on the team enter the information for that player. (7) Check schedule online. By the second week of the season, we should have the entire season's schedule set. ADDITIONAL FEES: Late fees. Player fees go up by $1.00 per week if left unpaid. Please try to avoid this. Forfeit fees. Teams that forfeit will be given a warning after the first forfeit. If the team forfeits a second time, it will pay a total of $50: $25 to the first opposing team victimized by the first forfeit and $25 to the second opposing team victimized by the second forfeit. BONU$E$, DI$COUNT$, DEDUCTION$, AND FREEBIE$: Corporation grant/gift matching. If you or one of your players works at a large company listed here, chances are the company has a corporate grant matching program, where an amount you donate to a 501c(3) nonprofit such as Dream League will be matched by your employer. Captains or team representatives that get their entire team's fee matched will be considered Platinum Level Sponsors. Our Platinum Level Sponsors typically receive tokens of appreciation such as comped player fees and/or promotional items such as leather basketballs, t-shirts, and/or game tickets (please contact us for details). Be a scorekeeper and get a discount. Help continue and reinforce our strong tradition of game stats. Your team/player fees can be offset if you are able to help us scorekeep. Usually scorekeepers arrive before and/or stay after their regularly scheduled game. Another perk of scorekeeping is that you get to see other teams and players. Be a beat writer and get a discount. We're looking for guys to write about games in their divisions. If you're into this, why not defray team/player costs along the way? The league reserves the right to edit all submitted stories and recaps in the best interests of the league. Be a mentor for a disadvantaged teenager Our teenage statcrew needs guidance, not only with Dream League operations but also, quite simply, with life issues. Growing up in the fast-paced city can leave a youth in need of direction and guidance. Do not underestimate how role models and mentors can help heal any inherent holes in their lives. Donate goods and services, get a discount. We've received other goods and services from generous Dream Leaguers such as food for BBQs and brochures, t-shirts, and trophy-making. Other stuff we need could include office supplies, more food, and tickets to sporting events for the kids, among others. Help us, and we'll help you. And don't forget, any donations are completely tax-deductible! Tax deduction. Dream League is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization, registered with the IRS, that not only runs basketball leagues but also educates, trains, and mentors underprivileged youth from disadvantaged neighborhoods. Your contribution minus $40 per player is tax deductible. MISCELLANEOUS: Team jerseys are required. Unique dark/white numbered t-shirts or jerseys on *both* the front and back are required for each team. The only exception to this rule is if the numbers "00" and "0" are not already taken, up to 2 team members may wear a like-colored t-shirt without any number on the front or back and be considered "00" and/or "0". Your team has the option of purchasing our Dream League reversible mesh jerseys as part of your entry fee. We also have contacts with overseas vendors who can produce custom-made professional-looking team uniforms, tops and bottoms, at very affordable prices. However, the lead time is usually 1-2 months for these special requests. Please email us for reduced cost estimates and other details. Last season we had three teams do this so if you need to see the quality up close and personal, please ask us! These uniforms are tiiiight! We require strict adherance to the jersey rule because it is extremely difficult to keep stats when we can't see jersey numbers. Taping numbers does not work, as the tape *always* falls off. Failure to adhere by this rule has and will result in a technical foul per illegal jersey, to be enforced before tipoff. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO OMIT TEAM STATS FOR ANY PLAYERS ON THE TEAM THAT DO NOT ABIDE BY THE JERSEY RULE. Please understand the rules. (See RULES & REGULATIONS page) This goes not only for your teammates, of course, but also for your fans. When players or fans yell at the scorekeepers about why the clock does not stop or what have you, this distracts the scorekeeper and can only lead to undesirable results. Aside from fouls, timeouts remaining, or other information that referees do not have on-hand, it is also extremely important to direct all game-time questions to the refs, not the scorekeepers for the same reason of not distracting the scorekeepers. Stats disclaimer. Stats are for your enjoyment only and are not guaranteed to be 100% accurate. We have a teenage statcrew dedicated to this endeavor, but please understand how difficult and time-consuming collecting, compiling, and posting stats can be. Stats will be posted to the website in as timely a manner as possible. How to field complaints. During the game, please direct all complaints or issues to your team captain, who should then direct them only to referees, not scorekeepers. Referees have been given absolute power at all games. If you have an issue with a particular ref, then you have no choice but to address these issues after the game in writing to the league office, preferably by email. Outside of game-time situations, please note that all major issues are resolved democratically by vote of the league along with its constituent team captains. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOR REGISTRATION Can I get a refund if certain players never show up? Too many people have been taking advantage of the commissioner's empathy for teams' various plights. For business reasons, Dream League has instituted a no-refund policy. Do not join Dream League unless you and your teammates can come thru 100% on your financial responsibilities for the services being offered in a reasonable timeframe. 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. Team fees will be pro-rated according to the number of free agents needed. 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. On average, free agent teams have finished in the middle of the pack. I have guys who have not called me back or my roster is in flux. When is the last day to finalize our roster? We are pretty generous in allowing roster changes up until tipoff of the 4th regular season game -- this will probably be Feb 26 -- out of 8 total regular season games. However, a minimum of 8 roster slots must be paid for by that time. Up until then, captains may shuffle players in and out to fill the number of roster slots that have been paid for. Therefore, you have until about a month after the league starts, depending on bye requests, to perfect your roster for the remainder of the season and playoffs. You can even further delay finalization of your roster by requesting your bye within the first several weeks of the season. By the way, we would 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. I usually run with 7 guys in tournaments. Why would I ever want and pay for 10 guys on the roster? Don't forget our season lasts about 4 months. Dream League is a marathon compared to a quick-hit tournament. Your team will inevitably have players undergo injuries, conflicting tournaments, vacations, hangovers, and fill-in-the-blank excuses for being AWOL -- guaranteed. Like in the pros, injuries are part of the game -- 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 about our championship teams have consisted of large rosters to endure the marathon. And to be eligible for the playoffs, players need to have played in at least 3 regular season games. This is designed for us to avoid forfeits and precarious situations where a team suddenly asks to pickup an unknown player which will lead to complaints and threaten the integrity of our competition. Please plan accordingly and ask your teammates for vacation, work, and tournament schedules. What is the format of the games? In the interests of most Dream Leaguers in promoting parity and the best competitive experience available, divisions may be split into two or more locations. We generally have 8-team divisions, therefore you can expect two conferences with 4 teams each. For the playoffs, the Winners Bracket team and higher-seeded team plays lower seeded team as in the pros. This format not only promotes parity by including teams in New York most similar to your competitive level, but also is yet another feature of Dream League that makes your experience as close to the pros as possible. What happens if you are trying to schedule two teams that have totally different tipoff time requests, or when you have gym constraints that cannot avoid a conflict? Location and time parameters can change based on gym constraints out of the control of the league. If and when parameters change, teams will be notified of updated parameters, give notice as to availability of adhering to updated parameters, and bear responsibility of adhering to agreed upon new parameters. The league will act as arbitrator if and when two teams with different parameters cannot mutually come up with a solution. The league will then schedule the game according to the best interests of the league, not necessarily the teams involved. Teams that cannot abide by this scheduling agreement bear the responsibility of forfeiting their game. The above ensures two important things: (1) continued parity in our various divisions, and (2) continued savings on costs for purchasing gym time in bulk. What if there's a big tournament happening? Will we have to forfeit our game? If a significant amount of teams will be absent due to a conflicting tourney, we may utilize that particular weekend as another bye week. On the other hand, most tournaments end by Sunday afternoon, therefore we reserve the right to schedule you for late Sunday afternoon or evening. RUMOR MILL (TEAM LISTS, LEVELS, AND FREE AGENTS) DL Philly: -- The latest word on free agents: 1. DARYL DE LOS REYES - Ex-NYC Champ Da Bien member, brother to MVP Shawn De Los Reyes - Center looking for a team after relocating to the Philly area 2. BRIAN KWAK - Transplant from NYC just moved to the hood 3. ANDREW HAN - Ex-Oh Holla, Gummi Bear member looking to complete his own team |