FANBALL shutting down? (1 Viewer)

[Jason Wood]

Google is not like Yahoo! They have no interest in owning and creating their own content. They're not getting into the fantasy business.

It's probably not their highest priority, but I wouldn't dismiss them completely. They don't create any of the articles or data in Google Finance/News, but they're still significant products for them. Obviously fantasy is only growing on the web each year, so if it's big enough they may get involved but with a different approach - content aggregation, a Google Finance-style research system, or an alerting service perhaps.

But the OP was referring to Google entering the business as competition. The creation of aggregation or alerting would only help the industry participants (ourselves included) as it would give us a more focused, global reach. HUGE difference.

 

[Hakan B.]

Google is not like Yahoo! They have no interest in owning and creating their own content. They're not getting into the fantasy business.

It's probably not their highest priority, but I wouldn't dismiss them completely. They don't create any of the articles or data in Google Finance/News, but they're still significant products for them. Obviously fantasy is only growing on the web each year, so if it's big enough they may get involved but with a different approach - content aggregation, a Google Finance-style research system, or an alerting service perhaps.

But the OP was referring to Google entering the business as competition. The creation of aggregation or alerting would only help the industry participants (ourselves included) as it would give us a more focused, global reach. HUGE difference.

Make sense. I totally agree that if Google were to get in the game, it'd be a big bump for the industry and a sure sign that it's going to the 'next level'.

 

[Saint]

Dear Kay Adams, If you need employment, I'm sure we can work something out. BTW, wonder what will happen to the Sirius/XM Fantasy show with Kay, Ray Flowers and Kyle Elfrink. I assume that's finished too?

Good question. I've listened to them a few times, unfortunately when I dropped XM for Sirius... can't pick up that channel on the a la carte. %$%@ &%

 

[ThePassion]

What are the reviews like for rtsports? Fan ball league for ten years now so looking for a new home. The data pull to the new site sounds awesome.

 

[Maroney=Speed]

so what does this all mean to nffc and nfbc?does everyone think they will be shut down or sold and stay open?i would be worried if i was owed money by the nffc right now.

My partner and I are owed $50,000 via NFFC. Yes, I am worried right now. It is easy to say not to be, but until a check is in hand and it clears, well.....

Why are you worried? I don't know of any Contest that hasn't paid out, do you?

 

[Andrew Garda]

I have a feeling google enters the FF realm full force next year. Too much money not to be a player.

Google isn't in the content game. They aggregate, sure, but they don't produce original IP.

If they can create something good or better and give it away for free (ie GMAIL, Google Maps ecetera) and drive ads and ad traffic, they'll do that though.I concur they won't dip their toes in here but I don't think it'd surprise me if they did, if they thought they could drive ad content.

 

[Sweet Love]

so what does this all mean to nffc and nfbc?does everyone think they will be shut down or sold and stay open?i would be worried if i was owed money by the nffc right now.

My partner and I are owed $50,000 via NFFC. Yes, I am worried right now. It is easy to say not to be, but until a check is in hand and it clears, well.....

Why are you worried? I don't know of any Contest that hasn't paid out, do you?

Is this schtick?

 

[buck naked]

so what does this all mean to nffc and nfbc?does everyone think they will be shut down or sold and stay open?i would be worried if i was owed money by the nffc right now.

My partner and I are owed $50,000 via NFFC. Yes, I am worried right now. It is easy to say not to be, but until a check is in hand and it clears, well.....

Why are you worried? I don't know of any Contest that hasn't paid out, do you?

Is this schtick?

Yes. Maroney is a poster in the AFFL thread.

 

[Maroney=Speed]

so what does this all mean to nffc and nfbc?does everyone think they will be shut down or sold and stay open?i would be worried if i was owed money by the nffc right now.

My partner and I are owed $50,000 via NFFC. Yes, I am worried right now. It is easy to say not to be, but until a check is in hand and it clears, well.....

Why are you worried? I don't know of any Contest that hasn't paid out, do you?

Is this schtick?

Yes. Maroney is a poster in the AFFL thread.

Is your partner the same guy owned money from AFFL?

 

[Maelstrom]

I have a feeling google enters the FF realm full force next year. Too much money not to be a player.

Google isn't in the content game. They aggregate, sure, but they don't produce original IP.

If they can create something good or better and give it away for free (ie GMAIL, Google Maps ecetera) and drive ads and ad traffic, they'll do that though.I concur they won't dip their toes in here but I don't think it'd surprise me if they did, if they thought they could drive ad content.

I'd be surprised to see Google develop their own game, but not so surprised if they bought a company that is already setup, spruced it up and then gave it away for free with Google Ads alongside it. That being said, I doubt Fanball is the business they would consider buying, as they usually go for one of the leaders in the industry, not the one about to fail (if the stories are true.)BUT, I don't Google gets into the Fantasy INFORMATION business - they start getting into content creation and the gov't will be sniffing around even more than they already do searching for anti-trust issues and anti-competitive practices (Google has already been investigated for having it's own services ranked higher in some cases in the search engines than competitors, and they don't produce any of the content, just the tools for others to produce it and find it.)

 

[jabarony]

What are the reviews like for rtsports? Fan ball league for ten years now so looking for a new home. The data pull to the new site sounds awesome.

Agreed. Can anyone give a review and/or how-to on this? And is rtsports a good site in general?I'll check back later after doing a bunch of screen-dumps from fanball league history...

 

[RnR]

That being said, I doubt Fanball is the business they would consider buying, as they usually go for one of the leaders in the industry, not the one about to fail (if the stories are true.)

To be clear, Fanball/Liberty Media purchsed two very successful fantasy sports outfits in the past five years (CDM Fantasy Sports and the NFBC/NFFC). Those are certainly not failing business models, they just fell into the incapable hands of Fanball because of Liberty's purchasing power. Fanball was ill-equipped to handle even one of these outfits successfully, and it is a shame they are even involved in this meltdown. This is what happens when big businesses gobble up smaller fantasy outfits and think they'll just seamlessly fit together under the same umbrella.

 

[Hipple Long Ware & Peete]

I got my "Internet start" in FF in 1998 from Fanball...only been playing for a year or so at the time, but to have info available like this was revolutionary at the time. They had some very good writers and were just excited about the whole thing. I came across FBG/Cheatsheets and chose to never leave, but also thought they had a lot to offer. I think part of the downfall was moving away from the "info" model towards a "hosting" model. Anytime you choose to change your business model, it can be a recipe for greatness or disaster (with little inbetween), which is my guess as to why Joe and David appear to be "conservative" in how they manage the site/services.

One thing I thought was great about those days, is that they used to throw a staff member to the dogs in an IM setting, where people could just ask WDIS, WW, league set up, etc. questions for an hour a couple of days a week. While the FF and general board mentality was lacking in 1998, would be very cool thing to have as a subscriber.

Just an FYI, but Rotoworld does this once a week on Tuesday's with Evan Silva.I agree that FBG has the better staff, knowledge, and capability to do that. Would be a cool feature.

They do. It's called the Audible (the huddle)

 

[buck naked]

Is your partner the same guy owned money from AFFL?

No.

 

[LongDuckDong]

RTSports is great, never had any issues with them. Went there years ago once CBS went pay and we've never considered otherwise.

 

[Zegras11]

That being said, I doubt Fanball is the business they would consider buying, as they usually go for one of the leaders in the industry, not the one about to fail (if the stories are true.)

To be clear, Fanball/Liberty Media purchsed two very successful fantasy sports outfits in the past five years (CDM Fantasy Sports and the NFBC/NFFC). Those are certainly not failing business models, they just fell into the incapable hands of Fanball because of Liberty's purchasing power. Fanball was ill-equipped to handle even one of these outfits successfully, and it is a shame they are even involved in this meltdown. This is what happens when big businesses gobble up smaller fantasy outfits and think they'll just seamlessly fit together under the same umbrella.

One of them you posted lost money most years and little profit in the years they made some.

 

[Maroney=Speed]

Is your partner the same guy owned money from AFFL?

No.

I hope you receive your money. What steps are you taking or will take if FANBALL like AFFL does not payout?

 

[FootballGuy22]

RTSports is great, never had any issues with them. Went there years ago once CBS went pay and we've never considered otherwise.

Does rtsports allow your league to do dynasty functions such as teams submitting their keepers online etc?

 

[Zegras11]

Is your partner the same guy owned money from AFFL?

No.

I hope you receive your money. What steps are you taking or will take if FANBALL like AFFL does not payout?

The cost of bad press for Liberty is 1000x greater than not paying all the prizes to fanball customers. Everyone will get paid. They are sorting things out now and announcements should be made next week.

 

[Maroney=Speed]

Is your partner the same guy owned money from AFFL?

No.

I hope you receive your money. What steps are you taking or will take if FANBALL like AFFL does not payout?

The cost of bad press for Liberty is 1000x greater than not paying all the prizes to fanball customers. Everyone will get paid. They are sorting things out now and announcements should be made next week.

Interesting, I hear there closing the Fanball doors because there being sued by someone who was not paid off from last year.

 

[Balco]

Too bad, I really enjoyed their challenge games, especially in the non traditional fantasy sports (Nascar, Golf). With fanball and sandbox gone, I have no idea where to get my challenge game/salary cap fix.

Any suggestions for sites that offer those types of games, including Nascar and pga?

 

[Zegras11]

Is your partner the same guy owned money from AFFL?

No.

I hope you receive your money. What steps are you taking or will take if FANBALL like AFFL does not payout?

The cost of bad press for Liberty is 1000x greater than not paying all the prizes to fanball customers. Everyone will get paid. They are sorting things out now and announcements should be made next week.

Interesting, I hear there closing the Fanball doors because there being sued by someone who was not paid off from last year.

no.

 

[Maroney=Speed]

Interesting, I hear there closing the Fanball doors because there being sued by someone who was not paid off from last year.

no.

How would you know the answer to that question?

 

[Zegras11]

Interesting, I hear there closing the Fanball doors because there being sued by someone who was not paid off from last year.no.How would you know the answer to that question?

1)Liberty is an $8b company from what I read somewhere a few days ago. Why would they shut down because "someone who was not paid"?Fanball runs many different types of fantasy contests for FB. They all will get paid. 2) FWIW, I rec'd my baseball check on time a few months ago.I know some of the details on this. This is not the place or time to post them. Like I said, they are working on all the final details and it takes some time to do that.

 

[Maroney=Speed]

Interesting, I hear there closing the Fanball doors because there being sued by someone who was not paid off from last year.no.How would you know the answer to that question?

1)Liberty is an $8b company from what I read somewhere a few days ago. Why would they shut down because "someone who was not paid"?Fanball runs many different types of fantasy contests for FB. They all will get paid. 2) FWIW, I rec'd my baseball check on time a few months ago.I know some of the details on this. This is not the place or time to post them. Like I said, they are working on all the final details and it takes some time to do that.

1) Just because a Company is an 8B company, does not mean they aren't being sued. 2) So again, like me you do not know if everyone will be paid. I hope everyone gets paid including the person that is owned money from last year.

 

[Maroney=Speed]

Interesting, I hear there closing the Fanball doors because there being sued by someone who was not paid off from last year.no.How would you know the answer to that question?

1)Liberty is an $8b company from what I read somewhere a few days ago. Why would they shut down because "someone who was not paid"?Fanball runs many different types of fantasy contests for FB. They all will get paid. 2) FWIW, I rec'd my baseball check on time a few months ago.I know some of the details on this. This is not the place or time to post them. Like I said, they are working on all the final details and it takes some time to do that.

Thanks Getzlaf15 on the PM.

 

[LongDuckDong]

Our league had/has no issues with its keepers. We are not a dynasty but I suspect there's no issue there. The customer service is good - I'd email them with questions if the FAQ isn't complete.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I posted a link to the original article and a short summary on Rotojunkie.com (owned by Fanball) and the thread was deleted without comment . . . I'm assuming I'm not alone as there has been nary a peep about this over there.

There's a thread about it in the Sports Bar forum. No real news, other than that Rotojunkie will continue in some form regardless of what happens to Fanball.

 

[cobalt_27]

Interesting, I hear there closing the Fanball doors because there being sued by someone who was not paid off from last year.no.How would you know the answer to that question?

1)Liberty is an $8b company from what I read somewhere a few days ago. Why would they shut down because "someone who was not paid"?Fanball runs many different types of fantasy contests for FB. They all will get paid. 2) FWIW, I rec'd my baseball check on time a few months ago.I know some of the details on this. This is not the place or time to post them. Like I said, they are working on all the final details and it takes some time to do that.

Thanks Getzlaf15 on the PM.

Care to share, or you just publicly thanking him for something you don't want to share in public?

 

[pinequick]

I had a different username on the message boards over there, but I'm guessing that cobalt didn't. Man, I remember cobalt (and me, and a thousand others) just absolutely SCORCHING those guys on the message boards about their multiple service failures. Draft room, live scoring, total site failures on game day... they had it all. Their message boards were absolutely hilarious to read some weeks.

Not surprised that that finally caught up with them. Actually, a little surprised it didn't happen sooner...

 

[Maelstrom]

I had a different username on the message boards over there, but I'm guessing that cobalt didn't. Man, I remember cobalt (and me, and a thousand others) just absolutely SCORCHING those guys on the message boards about their multiple service failures. Draft room, live scoring, total site failures on game day... they had it all. Their message boards were absolutely hilarious to read some weeks.Not surprised that that finally caught up with them. Actually, a little surprised it didn't happen sooner...

Assuming it is one and the same, I remember Cobalt well. I had a different username as well, but I will say this, try moderating those forums when Fanball's crap hit the fan week in and week out...

 

[grateful zed]

i got their email update today.

 

[Maroney=Speed]

Interesting, I hear there closing the Fanball doors because there being sued by someone who was not paid off from last year.no.How would you know the answer to that question?

1)Liberty is an $8b company from what I read somewhere a few days ago. Why would they shut down because "someone who was not paid"?Fanball runs many different types of fantasy contests for FB. They all will get paid. 2) FWIW, I rec'd my baseball check on time a few months ago.I know some of the details on this. This is not the place or time to post them. Like I said, they are working on all the final details and it takes some time to do that.

Thanks Getzlaf15 on the PM.

Care to share, or you just publicly thanking him for something you don't want to share in public?

Nothing that I already knew.

 

[TonyND]

I tried to asked Kay Adams on her face book page- she deleted my question and another person asking the same thing. She does not want any questions about the Fanball closing so she can have some dumb contest on monday. Later her replay was we be on the air monday for the drive. I did get to talk to OE person least he said he could not answer any question about it.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Is your partner the same guy owned money from AFFL?

No.

I hope you receive your money. What steps are you taking or will take if FANBALL like AFFL does not payout?

The cost of bad press for Liberty is 1000x greater than not paying all the prizes to fanball customers. Everyone will get paid. They are sorting things out now and announcements should be made next week.

I don't have any more information on this than you guys do but my gut feel is that I'd be shocked if all winners are not paid exactly as promised.Liberty is a major company. This is nothing like an AFFL situation in my opinion.J

 

[Joe Bryant]

Is your partner the same guy owned money from AFFL?

No.

I hope you receive your money. What steps are you taking or will take if FANBALL like AFFL does not payout?

The cost of bad press for Liberty is 1000x greater than not paying all the prizes to fanball customers. Everyone will get paid. They are sorting things out now and announcements should be made next week.

Interesting, I hear there closing the Fanball doors because there being sued by someone who was not paid off from last year.

Drop the sarcasm and the hurt feeling stuff. You can post here if you can drop that. If not, find another board. This is not the thread for anything other than real discussion.TIA.J

 

[JB Breakfast Club]

i got their email update today.

dangit, I never get their updates via email for some reason (strange considering I've spent thousands there). Can you post it?

 

[NattyDread]

back when fanball was having all sorts of issues back in 2009, my league switched to mfl, who had a tool that allowed our entire 3 year fanball league history to be loaded into their system. we used that and never looked back.i would highly suggest anyone who cares about their history do the same asap if the news is true.

Does anyone know if MFL still has such a tool? We've got 7 years worth of data that we'd sure hate to lose. That is the sole reason we've stuck around the last 4 years or so. The site is pretty bad, but workable so we've just sucked it up. The historical data is fun to look back on. H2H records, most points in a week, old drafts, playoff records, etc.If anyone know of another site (I think rtsports was mentioned) that can transfer historical data, that would be great information.

The league I commish moved to MFL last offseason after 6 or 7 years on Fanball. At the time, MFL indicated they had a tool to move league history from Fanball. But it turns out they stopped updating it last year due to repeated format changes by Fanball. So we lost all of our league history, but the stability, flexibility, and overall no drama with MFL made the move well worth it.

 

[austinke]

The league I commish moved to MFL last offseason after 6 or 7 years on Fanball. At the time, MFL indicated they had a tool to move league history from Fanball. But it turns out they stopped updating it last year due to repeated format changes by Fanball. So we lost all of our league history, but the stability, flexibility, and overall no drama with MFL made the move well worth it.

I've crossed out an outdated/incorrect sentence above. See this page for more up-to-date information on this topic.

 

[Oh the Humanity]

I just got this:

The management of Fanball.com has determined to cease operations, effective as of June 30, 2011. Commissioner, Draft & Play, and Challenge games already in progress for NBA, NHL and NFL will continue to their conclusion. Prize payouts for the NBA, NHL and NFL games already in progress will be honored according to Fanball game rules. Fanball.com will not initiate new games for the NBA playoffs, the NHL playoffs or any other sports, and will promptly send a refund to customers of entry fees for 2011 PGA Tour Trade 1 and PGA Tour Trade 2.

 

[TonyND]

I guess the people at Fanball Fantasy Drive will not tell there listeners or mentioned it at all- guess i will not be ordering Owner Edge for Baseball or football this year.

 

[Addai's Adidas]

Hallelujah! I feel all my complaining on their message boards when I had issues they wouldn't/couldn't resolve was for some good.

 

[TonyND]

Hallelujah! I feel all my complaining on their message boards when I had issues they wouldn't/couldn't resolve was for some good.

I try to pose a question to Kay Adams about closing-she deleted my question and refuse to answer anything about it.I am thinking not even to listen to them anymore due knowing there closing and maybe giving bad advise out-lol

 

[vandyt]

I've started a mailing list for all former Fanball players for updates about new challenge games and to provide information about payouts once the company's message boards shut down.

Send a blank email to formerfanballplayers@gmail.com if you want to be added.

 

[Keith R]

I just got this:The management of Fanball.com has determined to cease operations, effective as of June 30, 2011. Commissioner, Draft & Play, and Challenge games already in progress for NBA, NHL and NFL will continue to their conclusion. Prize payouts for the NBA, NHL and NFL games already in progress will be honored according to Fanball game rules. Fanball.com will not initiate new games for the NBA playoffs, the NHL playoffs or any other sports, and will promptly send a refund to customers of entry fees for 2011 PGA Tour Trade 1 and PGA Tour Trade 2.

That message is on the front page of Fanball now.

 

[RTSportsDude]

Attention any Fanball users:

RealTime Fantasy Sports is offering to transfer your league to RTSports, plus give you the rest of this season and next season for free if you switch your league from Fanball to us. I know you were told that you have until the end of June, but it would we feel the sooner you can move your league(s) before they are lost, the better. We will help you move your league, its history, teams, rules, etc. to RTSports so that you can enjoy the rest of this season and next year without missing a thing. If you have any questions about this or our service in general feel free to contact us at 636-447-1170 or by e-mail at support@rtsports.com.

Thank you for your consideration and we hope to serve you in the future.

RealTime Fantasy Sports Inc.

 

[Cards06]

I just talked to rtSports and they'll transfer leagues over from Fanball right now (before the doors close and history is lost). All for free, including a free 2011 and 2012 season if we stay with them.

As did I, they were very helpful and insightful and seem to be doing all they can to make the transition as smooth and enticing as possible. I have friends that are on Fanball and I myself have been on RT for years; I called and got additional information on how they are handling this and it sounds like a very attractive offer.

 

[grateful zed]

Fanball went into the crapper when Charch sold it

x2. Was a Fanball loyalist until that day. Wasn't the same after Charch, Tuvey, Bo Mitchell, and Christian Peterson left.

I think this is what ultimately did it for anyone who used them.

Yep - they were one of my go to sites with those guys. Site became insignifcant in a hurry after they left. Their model sucked. Practically zero free content to even entice new users to join..

did you post your chili recipe there?

 

[grateful zed]

i got their email update today.

dangit, I never get their updates via email for some reason (strange considering I've spent thousands there). Can you post it?

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The Jets want to focus on re-signing their own players before tackling the free agent market, but Rex Ryan could convince the front office to hold contract talks with Asomugha.Woody's status vs. Pats in questionConor Orr of the Star-Ledger writes that Jets coach Rex Ryan is unsure if Damien Woody (knee) will play against the Patriots this weekend.Our View: The tackle played against the Colts on Wild Card weekend, but was clearly not 100 percent. If Woody can't go, Wayne Hunter stands to start on the offensive line.Hernandez expected to play vs. JetsAaron Hernandez (hip) should be active for Sunday's matchup with the Jets, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.Our View: Hernandez missed the final two games of the regular season. Rob Gronkowski has surpassed him on the depth chart, but Tom Brady will likely involve both tight ends in the passing game this weekend.Polamalu won't practice until end of weekTroy Polamalu (Achilles) will not practice until the end of this week, according to Scott Brown of the Tribune-Review.Our View: The Steelers do plan to have Polamalu available for their playoff matchup with the Ravens on Saturday, so there's no real cause for concern here.

 

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What are the reviews like for rtsports? Fan ball league for ten years now so looking for a new home. The data pull to the new site sounds awesome.

I've been using RTsports for about six years and I really like it. Good customer service, good interface, overall I'm very happy. I've heard good things about MFL, but I've never used it.