What is a commish to do? (1 Viewer)

[PsychoMan]

Yes, this thread is about Colston's status on yahoo as a WR/TE. I know everyone is sick of hearing about it, but a problem has arose that I don't know how to fairly manage. I need input from YOU.

I am the commish in this league. It is a very small time money league with 12 friends. Have had the league for about 3 years.

Here's what's happening:

1) A team in my redraft league drafted Todd Heap for the mandatory tight end slot.

2) After week 3, they picked up Colston (no one really knew who he was at the time).

3) He decided he had two good tight ends, and traded away Todd Heap.

4) A couple weeks ago, some people in the league began questioning why Colston could be played at the TE slot, when we all now know that he is not a TE.

The owner is obviously in a bind because all the decent TEs have been picked up off the waiver wire, and he feels like he is in a position where he must trade for one (and likely be taken advantage of).

It isn't stated outright in the league rules how to deal with this situation. In the past, we have always gone with whatever yahoo gives us (in terms of stats/scoring/positions).

What do I do about this problem? I have listed three solutions in the poll above - check "other" and describe why if you have a different one.

 

[Disco Stu]

This should be a blowout. Owner did nothing wrong. Punishing him now by making up a rule in week 10 would be asinine.

 

[thatguy]

There is nothing you can do. Let him play Colston at TE and leave it at that. Everyone in the league had equal opportunity to acquire him early in the season. Seems to me they're all jealous. I'm not suggesting it's not idiotic that Yahoo gives Colston TE eligibility, but it is what it is. It's a lot like Soriano having 2B eligibility in fantasy baseball.

 

[fornov]

I think you probably know the answer to this already. It makes most people sick to see him played at TE, but you have to leave it alone. It is completely unfair to his owner to change his position now, especially after he traded away Heap. Everyone else had a chance to draft him, and everyone else had a chance to pick him up after weeks 1 and 2. I thought he was gone in most leagues after the first week. The fact that he's listed as TE is BS, granted, but you simply cannot change that now.

 

[kensat30]

Is OP the owner of Colston? Sure sounds like it.

"Traded Todd Heap in week 3 because he had 2 TEs"

Of course you let him play Colston at TE all season. He has the eligibility at TE, you can play him at TE. Ask your leaguemates who are making the stink if they want some cheese with that. Colston was a legit week 1 waiver wire pickup, everyone had their shot and they didn't capitalize.

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

Is OP the owner of Colston? Sure sounds like it."Traded Todd Heap in week 3 because he had 2 TEs"Of course you let him play Colston at TE all season. He has the eligibility at TE, you can play him at TE. Ask your leaguemates who are making the stink if they want some cheese with that. Colston was a legit week 1 waiver wire pickup, everyone had their shot and they didn't capitalize.

This is the correct answer. Everyone had their fair opportunity (and then some) to see this and use it to their team's advantage. This owner did, so more power to him.

 

[22613]

I'd quit the league before I played Colsten at anything other than TE.

Over the years I've found it's best to remove the human element whenever possible. If Yahoo has him eligible to play TE then that's that. If Yahoo removes his TE eligibility then that owner will have to make other arrangements.

 

[dparker713]

You've already said that you let yahoo decide all scoring disputes and whatnot. This is no different. It completely moronic as it stands, but thats just something you need to deal with. That said, you should bring this up in the offseason to make sure you have a procedure to handle this in the future.

 

[fridayfrenzy]

While I can see the league being more and more upset about it, there is nothing that can be done. Playing Colston at the TE position may make him one of the, if not, the most valuable player in the league cause he is like the #2 WR overall. The owners may not have cared so much at the beginning of the season when he was some late round rookie, but now that he is playing very well, and making it a HUGE advantage to start at TE, it could be frustrating for other owners. With that being said, each owner had the same opportunity to pick him up and unless your league stipulates that the position eligibility comes from somehwere other than the service provider, then there is nothing that should be done about it.

 

[slayer666]

In the past, we have always gone with whatever yahoo gives us (in terms of stats/scoring/positions).

You answered your own question. It sets a very bad precedent to change rules mid-stream in a Fantasy football league.

 

[Ozymandias]

No choice. You let it stand.

 

[PatsWillWin]

 

[Fear & Loathing]

The commissioner should have nipped this in the bud early in the season. It's on him, not the Colston owner.

Colston isn't a TE. He's a WR no matter what yahoo says. It's up to the commissioner to take care of that at the beginning of the season.

 

[Yitbos69]

you can not change something like this mid-season.....If you did you would have to go back and reverse the trade with Heap becasue that was based on your league allowing Colston to be played as a TE.

 

[Wu-banger]

the commish allowed this too happen..... this is a poor refelction of his ability to run a league. If I was an owner in the league I would look into changing the Commish or finding another league.

 

[Whizzinator]

Colston isn't a TE. He's a WR no matter what yahoo says. It's up to the commissioner to take care of that at the beginning of the season.

I get this approach, but frankly if you spend any amount of time playing fantasy sports you quickly realize that you cannot be changing positions midstream. And the irony here is that people get upset about the guy who picked up the player when, in fact, the blame is on the OTHER owners.An owner who thinks Colston shouldn't be TE eligible should have taken the time to alert the commissioner before Colston was picked up/drafted. At that point in time, the change can be made and no one is prejudiced. But once someone claims the player and relies on TE eligbility, it's too late. If you, as an owner, didn't care enough about the way Yahoo categorized players to point the issue out earlier, that's 100% on you. It's not the fault of the guy who picked him up, it's the fault of the guys who didn't note the issue until after someone had picked him up.These things are all pretty simple---once an owner relies on a position categorization that has not been challenged within the league, he has a right to keep the position.

 

[PsychoMan]

Is OP the owner of Colston? Sure sounds like it.

ding ding ding! hey there smarty pants!no i wasn't trying to trick anyone, but i wanted to state the problem in the most objective way possible, and get objective responses.everything i said above was true, i did pick up colston thinking he was a tight end at the beginning of the year. yes i learned as the year went on that he does not play that position. i'm a nice guy and have made several trade offers for tight ends because i don't feel all that right playing him at TE, but people are ignoring my offers or counter offering something ridiculous (steve smith for jason witten).i agree with the consesus here, but am going to have a harder time relaying the message to the league because it is my team. i hate situations like this.anyway, thanks to all for the input. i blame yahoo and myself. oh well, i suppose i have learned something from this.

 

[Cenobite]

2) After week 3, they picked up Colston (no one really knew who he was at the time).

Your league lost credibility right there. After week 1 someone should have jumped and grabbed him off the WW. However, the commish should have stepped in after week 1 and changed his status to a WR. Way too late now.

 

[PsychoMan]

the commish allowed this too happen..... this is a poor refelction of his ability to run a league. If I was an owner in the league I would look into changing the Commish or finding another league.

i somewhat agree and take some of the blame ... but it's hard for me to double check all the decisions yahoo makes. if anything i've learned to use a service that changes position eligibility in accordance with changes made during the season.

 

[Jayrok]

This should be a blowout. Owner did nothing wrong. Punishing him now by making up a rule in week 10 would be asinine.

The league agreed to use Yahoo and use Yahoo rules. If Colston put up similar TE points as the other TEs, this would not even be an issue.

The guy made a good move picking up Colston and taking advantage of his TE status. You can't punish him for that just because everyone else is sick and whinning because they missed that same opportunity.

If your league is made up of 12 friends, this issue isn't worth straining friendships over. Just clarify the rule for next year or don't use Yahoo.

 

[Warhogs]

It isn't stated outright in the league rules how to deal with this situation. In the past, we have always gone with whatever yahoo gives us (in terms of stats/scoring/positions).

What do I do about this problem? I have listed three solutions in the poll above - check "other" and describe why if you have a different one.

There is your answer. With no rule you apply what you have done in the past and let him play at TE.

 

[The Noid]

2) After week 3, they picked up Colston (no one really knew who he was at the time).

Your league lost credibility right there. After week 1 someone should have jumped and grabbed him off the WW. However, the commish should have stepped in after week 1 and changed his status to a WR. Way too late now.

Exactly my thoughts when reading the original post. If it took owners in your league 3 weeks to realize his value, this isn't the type of league where strictly following on the field positions versus FFB designations should be integral to the league.

 

[Rogi]

There's a way to prevent this problem in the future.

In our league we merge TEs and WRs into one position. We start three WRs (or TEs). Basically, most people have only WRs, but some of the top TEs make it on teams (Gonzo, Heap, Gates, etc). I'm not sure if Yahoo allows you to set up this up in your league, but it works on CBS Sportsline.

 

[PatsFan23]

2) After week 3, they picked up Colston (no one really knew who he was at the time).

Can't penalize a guy for being on top of things. Everyone in the league plays by the same rules with regard to positions (determined by Yahoo) so it's not his fault everyone else was asleep at the wheel.

Play the hand your dealt and move on with it.....

 

[j3r3m3y]

This should be a blowout. Owner did nothing wrong. Punishing him now by making up a rule in week 10 would be asinine.

 

[jim k]

As a commissioner, since there is no rule in place you can send the team owner an email letting him know that the other owners think he is taking unfair advantage of a Yahoo player mistake. If he does not change his roster, you will follow up with another email letting him know that the other owners are displeased. Then solicit the other teams in the league to create a trade with this owner including a TE of equal value who will be played as TE to replace Colston. Then the trading team has to vow to not use Colston as a TE.

 

[j3r3m3y]

As a commissioner, since there is no rule in place you can send the team owner an email letting him know that the other owners think he is taking unfair advantage of a Yahoo player mistake. If he does not change his roster, you will follow up with another email letting him know that the other owners are displeased. Then solicit the other teams in the league to create a trade with this owner including a TE of equal value who will be played as TE to replace Colston. Then the trading team has to vow to not use Colston as a TE.

If he does not comply, threaten to tell his mommy. Then go watch Barney.Question, where are ya going to find a TE of equal value?

Maybe your post was sarcastic and my sarcas-o-meter is just on the fritz?

 

[MelvinTScupper]

you all chose Yahoo.

Live with it.

 

[[scooter]]

You should have addressed the Colston issue at the beginning of the season. (i.e., leaguewide vote, etc.)

But because you failed to do that, you MUST stay the course.

Those who are complaining should be told: "You had your chance to change it and you blew it."

 

[The Hank]

I am a commissioner in a CBS.sportsline league and a yahoo league. Being the shark, I picked up Colston before the season started whenever Payton confessed his "manlove" for Colston in both leagues. Whenever i first picked him up, he was a TE in both leagues, however, after the first week of regulation, CBS quickly changed him solely to a WR, where as Yahoo, being the fools that they are, added him TE eligibility like it was baseball and he played 2B and SS. Penalizing a guy for something the dudes at Yahoo! did i think is illegitmate and unprofessional as a commish, I think that you need to let it go, and then after the season, create a rule or something that elaborates what the majority of the league would want to happen if it were to occur again.

As for the guy who made the move, , good move!

 

[RRaptors]

The owner has to keep Colston as TE. He made that decision following the Yahoo rules. If other owners didn't like it they could have said something a long time ago.

If they are really making a stink, the guy that got Heap because of it should give the Colston owner Heap and work out a trade. Somehow getting back to how the TE's were before Colston owner got him, except the colston owner can choose to keep colston as a wr.

 

[meanjoegreen]

2) After week 3, they picked up Colston (no one really knew who he was at the time).

How can people not know who Colston was? During the preseason Stallworth was traded to Philly which was big news, and at that time the Saints said they would be playing their rookie WR Colston in Stallworths place. In the first game of the season Colston had 49 yards and a TD. In the second game Colston had 58 yards and a TD. In the third game Colston had 97 yards. After week 3 nobody really knew who he was? Come on.

 

[PsychoMan]

2) After week 3, they picked up Colston (no one really knew who he was at the time).

How can people not know who Colston was? During the preseason Stallworth was traded to Philly which was big news, and at that time the Saints said they would be playing their rookie WR Colston in Stallworths place. In the first game of the season Colston had 49 yards and a TD. In the second game Colston had 58 yards and a TD. In the third game Colston had 97 yards. After week 3 nobody really knew who he was? Come on.

i'll be more specific ... no one in my league lives near new orleans and no one watches NO games ... obviously his name was being passed around a little more after a couple weeks of play, but even to this day, the media talk is mostly all about bush. while his numbers were impressive for a rookie, it was still quite possible for people to not know a whole lot about the guy ...as for the week 3 deal ... i was guesstimating - i knew it was at the beginning of the season. i just double checked and it was on the sunday of week 2.

 

[Mungo Burrows]

How much do you want to bet the guy who gladly traded for heap, leaving the OP with no other "TE" than Colston, is now one of the ones #####ing, or at least is one of the folks trying to make lopsided deals back for a 'real' tight end..

It's way too late to make a change now.

 

[billyjoe]

206-9?

Didn't think we could get everyone on FBGs to agree on something.

 

[faulkfan]

2) After week 3, they picked up Colston (no one really knew who he was at the time).

How can people not know who Colston was? During the preseason Stallworth was traded to Philly which was big news, and at that time the Saints said they would be playing their rookie WR Colston in Stallworths place. In the first game of the season Colston had 49 yards and a TD. In the second game Colston had 58 yards and a TD. In the third game Colston had 97 yards. After week 3 nobody really knew who he was? Come on.

i'll be more specific ... no one in my league lives near new orleans and no one watches NO games ... obviously his name was being passed around a little more after a couple weeks of play, but even to this day, the media talk is mostly all about bush. while his numbers were impressive for a rookie, it was still quite possible for people to not know a whole lot about the guy ...as for the week 3 deal ... i was guesstimating - i knew it was at the beginning of the season. i just double checked and it was on the sunday of week 2.

I live halfway across the country from New Orleans and knew who Colston was at our draft and we use TEs as WRs. I didn't have any clue that he was going to be good, but I knew his name and picked him up as soon as he scored in week 1. To tell me that no one knows who he was until week 3 because they don't live in Louisiana doesn't make sense. Regardless, the other owners had 3 weeks to make a move for Colston and they chose to sit on their hands. Now, after the fact, they don't like the way things are playing out and want changes. It is WAY to freakin late for that. This ship has sailed.For those claiming that the commish is to blame for this debacle because he didn't make the necessary changes prior to the season, I just don't get that. You all knew that Colston was going to be this good AND more importantly that there was no way he was going to be doing it from the TE position? You can't anticipate every single issue that will come up in fantasy football and the commish shouldn't be castigated for Yahoo's mistake. All said, Yahoo is to blame, and those commissioners who want to rule with an iron fist and make unilateral decisions with dictatorial malice are a bigger problem to me than a guy who is mistakenly starting in the wrong position. That kind of authoritarianism will ruin a fantasy football league quicker than anything

 

[SickThing]

2) After week 3, they picked up Colston (no one really knew who he was at the time).

How can people not know who Colston was? During the preseason Stallworth was traded to Philly which was big news, and at that time the Saints said they would be playing their rookie WR Colston in Stallworths place. In the first game of the season Colston had 49 yards and a TD. In the second game Colston had 58 yards and a TD. In the third game Colston had 97 yards. After week 3 nobody really knew who he was? Come on.

i'll be more specific ... no one in my league lives near new orleans and no one watches NO games ... obviously his name was being passed around a little more after a couple weeks of play, but even to this day, the media talk is mostly all about bush. while his numbers were impressive for a rookie, it was still quite possible for people to not know a whole lot about the guy ...as for the week 3 deal ... i was guesstimating - i knew it was at the beginning of the season. i just double checked and it was on the sunday of week 2.

Did you say this was a money league? Can I join?

 

[PsychoMan]

Did you say this was a money league? Can I join?

It is a very small time money league with 12 friends.

uhhh sure you can if we have an open spot next season. it was like $10 to join.

 

[King of the Wolfies]

Colston's eligibility should have been corrected no more than 2 weeks after he was picked up. Now everyone has to live with it.

 

[SlaX]

I'm just surprised that it took until week 3 before he was picked up off waivers. Other than that, I have nothing to add. Fair play here.

 

[jerseys finest]

i think the numbers speak for themselves.

251 - 10 - 6 - 6

you cant stop the owner from starting colston this late in the year. its yahoo's mistake to have him as a TE, not the owners. He took advantage of it and snagged up colston (albeit it being a bit late, but regardless). everyone had the chance to pick him up off waivers and didn't do it. Their complaints at this point seem to be more about jealousy then anything else.

 

[LordHusker]

I had this happen to me in my money league. I picked up Colston after week one, went out of my way to e-mail the commish and let him know that I intended to play Colston at TE, and he said no prob.

Six weeks into the season, he suddenly over-rode our Web site, where Colston is eligible as TE-WR, and made him a WR only. Why? Because a few owners were whining. I complained LOUDLY. They all had a chance to grab him. They only got mad after Colston started performing. Needless to say, Colston is still my starting TE and will be all the way to the Big Dance.

 

[meanjoegreen]

I had this happen to me in my money league. I picked up Colston after week one, went out of my way to e-mail the commish and let him know that I intended to play Colston at TE, and he said no prob.Six weeks into the season, he suddenly over-rode our Web site, where Colston is eligible as TE-WR, and made him a WR only. Why? Because a few owners were whining. I complained LOUDLY. They all had a chance to grab him. They only got mad after Colston started performing. Needless to say, Colston is still my starting TE and will be all the way to the Big Dance.

I wouldn't be proud knowing I won games based on playing someone in a position they didn't really play in. You have the option to play him in his real position. I own Colston, and I would never play him as a TE. I want to win games playing my players in their real positions, just like my league mates.

 

[Tick]

In the past, we have always gone with whatever yahoo gives us (in terms of stats/scoring/positions).

 

[SickThing]

I don't think anyone predicted Colston would be putting up these kind of rookie numbers. This wasn't much of an issue until it became clear he's for real.

Now, not knowing that at draft time, it's highly unlikely many Y!leagues guys drafted him as their #1 TE. Since I believe in depth on my bench at every position except PK, I drafted Winslow and have kept him. In that league we start 3 WRs, so when it comes to deciding which position to play Colston (which I will do every week) I have to consider the matchups for Colston and Winslow as my TE. Then I have to also forecast out my #3 WR. Typically this ends up a choice of Winslow@TE and Colston@WR or Colston@TE and Driver@WR. Remove the common denominator of Colston and it's just a choice between Driver and Winslow as the better play. That's a close call. Any griping about Colston as a TE here (which hasn't happened in my league) may be actually only be getting themselves enraged over nitpicking something as small as the difference between two players that are about valued the same according to the Top 250 Forward.

Sure the option is nice to have for the owner that was savy enough to get Colston first, but if everyone drafted the TE position fairly to themselves in the first place, there might not be much of an advantage. Likely much less of a factor than if your top stud goes down with a season ending injury. Stuff happens. This Colston thing is only another of the many intangibles. Everyone had the same opportunity to use it. Just deal with it.

I'm surely not doing any griping about Colston in the other league where I didn't grab him.

 

[Sanboy]

you as COMISH should have been on top of this before WEEK # 1 even started

i personally changed his position 2 weeks before the season even started

 

[Das Boot]

It isn't stated outright in the league rules how to deal with this situation. In the past, we have always gone with whatever yahoo gives us (in terms of stats/scoring/positions).

HTHGood luck.

 

[Utter Chaos]

A similiar thing happened to my brother in law in 1991. Rod Bernstine was listed as a TE/RB in the publication we used to determine positions even though he was the Chargers starting running back. I mentioned it at the draft but the commish said if the publication lists him as a TE then he can play TE.

My brother in law drafted him and played him at TE all season. Right before the playoffs the commisioner said he's not really a TE and said he couldn't use him as a TE anymore because some of the other owners were whining.

Needless to say we quit that league and formed our own the next season.

 

[Sweeper]

I am a commissioner in a CBS.sportsline league and a yahoo league. Being the shark, I picked up Colston before the season started whenever Payton confessed his "manlove" for Colston in both leagues. Whenever i first picked him up, he was a TE in both leagues, however, after the first week of regulation, CBS quickly changed him solely to a WR, where as Yahoo, being the fools that they are, added him TE eligibility like it was baseball and he played 2B and SS. Penalizing a guy for something the dudes at Yahoo! did i think is illegitmate and unprofessional as a commish, I think that you need to let it go, and then after the season, create a rule or something that elaborates what the majority of the league would want to happen if it were to occur again.

As for the guy who made the move, , good move!

@ "Being a shark"ETA: why would you want to create a rule that would go to a "majority vote" of the other owners? You already know how "other owners" are going to vote and their motivation has little to do with what is the right thing to do.

 

[yellowdog]

Tell all the other owners to !