Draft Day is Nearing

Well here we are a short 25 days away from Draft Day 2014!  We are about to enter our 31st year (And We're Not Even Halfway There!) of competition.  There are a couple of things to share with you and a couple of reminders for the draft.

First of all, Draft Day is Saturday, March 31st at my office in Lisle.  The address is 4300 Commerce Court, on the third floor, in Lisle, IL.  We draft in the Daily Herald Building (blue letters visible from I-88).  In the world we currently live in, I am working on the assumption that everyone remembers how to get there from last year (aside from the Swing) and/or has GPS.  If you need specific directions/landmarks, etc. e-mail me and I will help you out.

I will be e-mailing the Roster Cut Sheets later this week or early next week.  Please use this spreadsheet to identify your keepers, your cuts and any long term contracts you are signing.  Any questions about that process can most likely be answered via the Constitution, but if you are unsure about ANYTHING, please e-mail me.  We can't undo something after the fact because you weren't sure how to address it and guessed.

Cuts are due back to me Sunday, March 23rd at 3pm.  I will verify all cuts, keepers and LTC submitted, and once reconciled will post an updated Roster Excel Spreadsheet (fully accurate) as well as a list of some of the more interesting cuts.

The Draft will begin with the Ruffin Privilege at 1pm.  I have encouraged all of you to arrive between 12pm and 12:30 like we normally do.  However, I want you to be prepared for a potentially later kick off than 1pm.  Why?  Well because we just completed our 30th year last year I thought we should celebrate.

So there are a few surprises I have on hand, one of which I will share with you now.  While schedules can change in everyone's lives, I have heard from the Six Packs, Stones, Copperfields, Red Hots and Da Paul Meisters that they are planning to stop by, say hello and reminisce a bit.

There are a couple of other surprises I have in store that will stay secret until Draft Day.  But in addition to this we have our normal business of handing out forms, taking the league photo, addressing any positional or player eligiblity questions, signing the Copperfield Trophy, electing the EC and collecting payment.  So it's going to be busy.  I can easily see where we will have a few delays before we kick off the draft.  Once the draft begins, I expect things to run as normal.

I asked earlier and heard from a couple of owners.  I will ask one last time.  If you would prefer your name not be listed on the ballot for the Executive Committee, please let me know.  If I don't hear from you I am assuming you are willing to be elected if your peers so choose.  If elected you will be expected to serve and address any ruling questions that come in to play during the season.  It's usually pretty low key and easy, but if there is an issue, well, things really start to take off.

One other thing, with the CFCL fees.  Everyone owes $120 to participate for 2014.  At the banquet (and in e-mail to out of town owners) we agreed as a league to keep the fees at $120 for the foreseeable future, rather than vote on the fees going up each year.  Please, please, PLEASE bring your fees to the draft.  You can either bring cash or check  (made payable to me).  For the last three years I have had to chase owners down to collect fees that were not turned in on Draft Day.  Fortunately there haven't been any repeat offender owners, just a repeat of the offense three years running.  I don't have time to chase people down for the fees.  It just adds another thing on my To-Do list that doesn't need to be there.  The DoorMatts have been kind enough to agree to help me out in the collection process.  They will be going around the room collecting your cash or checks while I'm busy handing out forms, etc.  Quick shout out to the DoorMatts - they have already provided me their 2014 fees!

Last thing for now.  Nutrition.  No, I don't care if you carb up or put yourself into a sugar coma (actually that would be preferred to allow me a somewhat level playing field).  As always feel free to bring anything you want to eat.  Couple of quick common sense rules.

1)  No alcohol.  Again, it most likely would help me (you guys getting drunk), but I need everyone to get home safely.
2)  We have access to a fridge and microwave.  But the space in the fridge is not endless.  So if you are planning on bringing four six-foot hoagies and not sharing, have a place in a portable cooler for a couple of them so you don't dominate the fridge.
3)  Crumbs.  In order to ensure we can use this room in 2015, we need to leave the room as clean or cleaner than we found it. 

Last, last thing.  Computers.  By all means, bring a computer.  There is enough space on the table for each of us to have a computer.  Problem is there aren't enough outlets.  We need powerstrips.  If you have one, please bring it.  Having too many is better than too few.

That's a lot for now, so we're done.  Later in the week I will be posting some thoughts about the use of the Internet (previously forbidden) at the draft.  I will need feedback so we can decide as a league the best course of action.  But for now, can't wait to see you all on the 29th!