MockSports Fantasy Hockey League (MSFHL) OFFICIAL RULES AND PROCEDURES =================================================== Last Amended July 12, 2004 Version 12.00 Table of Contents: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEC HEADER === ====== 1. Objective 2. Teams and Rosters 3. First Year Draft for New Leagues 4. Established League Draft 5. Player and Position Eligibility 6. Game Schedule 7. Game Lineups 8. NHL Schedule Changes/Postponements/Cancellations 9. Autopilots and Team Abandonment 10. Scoring and Standings 11. Transactions 12. Playoffs 13. MSFHL Messages and Files 14. Governance 15. Overtime 1. OBJECTIVE The objective of MSFHL Fantasy Hockey is to assemble a team of National Hockey League players, whose performance in head-to-head competition with other such teams, as measured by the methods illustrated below, demonstrates superior hockey knowledge, strategy, acumen and luck, resulting in the Championship of the League. 2. TEAMS AND ROSTERS There are 8 teams in each MSFHL Fantasy Hockey league. Each team is comprised of 23 players, as follows: 9 forwards (F) 5 defensemen (D) 3 goalies (G) 2 NHL teams (T) 4 "wildcards" (catch-all for any F, D or G) 3. FIRST YEAR DRAFT FOR NEW LEAGUES (a) An open player draft is conducted in the MockSports conference area. Draft dates will be posted in open forum messages. An owner or his/her proxy must attend the draft conference in order to participate in the season. (b) Draft order for a first year draft conference will be determined at at random prior to the draft by the League Administrator or MockSports staff. The order of selection at the draft "wraps around"; that is, is 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 in odd-numbered rounds and 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 in even-numbered rounds. A first year draft proceeds for 23 rounds, until all teams have a complete roster as per these rules. All roster spots must be filled with eligible players, at the draft. (c) For information on a team's ability to freeze (retain) a player in subsequent years based on the round a player is selected in the first year's draft, see section 4(d). 4. ESTABLISHED LEAGUE DRAFT (a) The Hockey Coodinator will announce a Roster Freeze Date in the MockSports message area, applicable to all established leagues. (b) On or before the Roster Freeze Date, each Fantasy Hockey team is required to submit a Frozen Roster List to their respective League Administrators in a message on the message area. The Frozen Roster List is to be comprised of a total of eight skaters, goalies and/or teams. You can freeze any combination eight players, including teams. (c) Within the month prior to the Roster Freeze Date, MockSports shall provide owners with official rosters reflecting players' eligibility to be frozen in the current year and in subsequent consecutive years. (1) Players designated on the official league roster with a "0" are ineligible to be frozen. (2) Players designated with a "1" are eligible to be frozen, but if frozen, the following year such players will be designated with a "0" and will be subject to section 4(c)(1) above. (3) Players designated with a "2" are eligible to be frozen, but if frozen, the following year such players will be designated with a "1" and will be subject to section 4(c)(2) above. (4) Players without any of the designations described above are eligible to be frozen, but if frozen, the following year such players will be designated with a "2" and will be subject to section 4(c)(3) above. To make it easier for owners to appreciate a player's eligibility to be frozen at the next Roster Freeze Date, in the official league rosters provided by MockSports beginning immediately after the Roster Freeze Date each player will be designated according to his status the following year. EXAMPLE: In the rosters provided prior to the Roster Freeze Date, Jeremy Roenick is designated with a 1. Roenick is frozen. In the post-freeze rosters provided and updated in-season by MockSports, Roenick will be designated with a "0" to indicate he cannot be frozen the following season. (d) A player receives a designation described in section 4(c) above either by being frozen or may receive one according to the round in which he is selected in the league's first year draft. (1) Every player selected in the FIRST TWO rounds of a FIRST YEAR draft carries a designation of "0" and cannot be frozen the following year. (2) Every player selected in rounds THREE or FOUR of a FIRST YEAR draft carries a designation of "1" and is subject to section 4(c2) above. (3) Every player selected in rounds FIVE or SIX of a FIRST YEAR draft carries a designation of "2" and is subject to section 4(c3) above. (4) Players drafted later than the rounds herein provided, and undrafted, unfrozen free agents claimed in midseason (in first year as well as established leagues), carry no designation in the current year and are subject to section 4(c4) above. (e) The designators and eligibility to be frozen described above attach to a player for the entire season and are not altered or removed by waiver, trade to another team, or any other change in the player's real or fantasy status. The ONLY WAY a player can change or lose his designation is for him not to be frozen when otherwise eligibile. (f) Non-receipt of a team's Frozen Roster List by the deadline, either due to neglect or error on the part of the owner, abandonment, or inability on the part of league officials to secure ownership, will result in it being created by MockSports staff. (g) The League Administrator will upload a list of all frozen players as soon as possible after the Roster Freeze Date. (h) The draft shall therefore consist of 15 rounds, designed to result in a complete roster as per these rules. (i) The draft order is based on the prior season's regular-season order of finish. In odd numbered rounds, the draft order shall be from last to first (8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1); in even numbered rounds, the draft order will be reversed and be from first to last (1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8). 5. PLAYER AND POSITION ELIGIBILITY (a) The 2004-2005 Hockey News Yearbook is the official authority on the playing positions of players throughout the entire MSFHL Fantasy Hockey season. Where a player was not listed in the Hockey News Yearbook, his position shall be determined by MockSports staff, and such determination of a player's positional eligiblity shall apply to the player for the entire season. Acceptable resources for the determination by MockSports staff of a player's positional eligibility include, but are not limited to, The Hockey News weekly, legitimate Internet sources, The Sporting News Complete Hockey Book, and other resources and publications available to or verifiable by all owners. (a1) To aid in the determination of positional eligibility, a file will be uploaded designating selected players' positions as per the Hockey News Yearbook. A message will be posted in the open Hockey message area informing owners when this file is complete and available for downloading. (b) A player is eligible to be drafted and/or claimed as a free agent in-season by an MSFHL Fantasy Hockey team if that player is a professional hockey player who has at one time in his career been drafted or signed by a National Hockey League team. 6. GAME SCHEDULE (a) The regular season schedule shall consist of 42 games. Each team plays 3 home games and 3 away games against every other team in their own league. A Fantasy Hockey "game" covers between 1 and 6 nights of NHL hockey, as per the 2004-2005 Fantasy Hockey Universal Schedule. (b) Teams will meet head-to-head on the NHL night combinations, the objective being to score more points than your opponent by the methods illustrated in section 10 and thus win the game. (c) The schedule is posted in the MockSports Directory Area and includes dates and nights of each Fantasy Hockey game, home and away opponents, NHL teams who are idle during the MSFHL game, and the deadline date and time for submission of lineups. Each owner is responsible for downloading the schedule file and keeping close track of the schedule. 7. GAME LINEUPS (a) Lineups are to be sent by an open message in the MockSports Fantasy Hockey Message area to the League Administrator no later than the deadline indicated on the schedule. No exceptions are made to the lineup submission deadlines. Lineups consist of the following positional configurations: . 6 forwards . 3 defensemen . 1 "extra" skater at any position (F or D) . 4 goalies, in order of preference (see (f)) . 1 overtime skater . 1 NHL team (home team only) The visiting team does not schedule an NHL team, thus providing for a home team advantage. (b) Lineups should be sent as follows: (1) The header should be as follows: -LIN- ie ORR-LIN-21. (2) The lineup must be addressed to the League Administrator and be posted as a public message of the MockSports Fantasy Hockey Message Area. (3) The lineup must be posted in the following format (HINT: You can clip and paste from the roster file). Please observe that there are at least two(2) spaces between each field as required by the scoring software. Game 22 lineup for the Bullhitters: Player Team Pos Day ------------------------------------------ Gretzky,Wayne NYR F SAT Messier,Mark NYR F SAT Garpenlov,Johan FLA F SUN Granato,Tony SAN F SAT Kariya,Paul ANA F FRI Kurri,Jari ANA F FRI Mellanby,Scott FLA SK SUN Blake,Rob LOS D SAT Bourque,Ray BOS D SAT Coffey,Paul PHI D SAT Zhitnik,Alexei BUF OT SAT Barrasso,Tom PIT G SAT Hebert,Guy ANA G FRI Roy,Patrick COL G SAT Shtalenkov,Mikhail ANA G FRI Bruins,BOS BOS T SAT (4) Individual League Scorers are authorized to require a certain format for lineups that allows them more ease of lineup processing and scoring. Owners are required to follow any format requirements of their individual League Scorer. Lineups posted by email, in a private message or in the incorrect section WILL BE CONSIDERED INVALID. If practical, the owner will be notified and be given a chance to re-post his lineup, prior to the posting deadline. (d) For each member of the lineup, the owner must specify the night that players'/teams' stats are to be counted. With the exception of goalies, each member of the lineup may only be selected for one night. (e) The overtime skater: (1) To assist in breaking ties, each team selects an additional skater called the overtime skater. (2) The overtime skater may be any non-goalie, non-team on the roster, WHO DOES NOT ALREADY APPEAR IN THE LINEUP. (3) The overtime skater must be scheduled on an MSFHL night, just like all other players in the lineup. (4) Should the game end in a tie, the overtime skaters' stats for the game will be consulted. If one OT skater scores more than the other, then ONE POINT is added to that team's score and that team would win the game "in overtime". If both OT skaters score the same, then the game ends in an overtime tie. (5) If the game does not end in a tie, overtime skaters' stats are disregarded entirely. (f) Goalies: (1) To ensure a team is not penalized for NHL coaching decisions, a special rule exists for goalie lineup submission. (2) Although stats for only one goalie will count towards a team's game score, four (4) goalies and a corresponding night for each shall be listed, in order of preference. (3) A goalie may be listed any number of times in the 4 lineup spots. (4) For the purposes of scoring, the first goalie on the list who STARTS is counted. If none of the goalies starts, then the first goalie on the list who APPEARS is counted. If none of the four goalies appears, then the position scores 0. (5) The order of preference for goalies must be stated clearly, and/or the goalies must be submitted in order of preference. When no order of preference is stated, the Scorer will assume that the order in which the goalies are posted is the order of preference. (g) Lineups may be submitted in advance, but for no more than six Fantasy Hockey games. Where vacation or other circumstances require it, the League Scorer has the authority to waive this rule upon application by the owner PRIOR TO HIS ABSENCE. (h) Lineup mistakes will be handled as follows: (1) If players/teams are omitted, their positions score 0 for the game. (2) If more players/teams are submitted than are allowed for a position, players are counted only until the position requirement is met. For instance, if 4 defensemen are submitted, only the first two are accepted. (3) If a player/team does not have a day attached, then that player/team scores 0 for the game. NOTE: This is true even if the player's NHL team only plays once during the MSFHL game! League Administrators and Scorers are NOT responsible for determining whether a player's stats should or should not count in the face of an omission! (3a) If a player/team has an INCORRECT day attached, that is, a day on which the player's NHL team does not actually play, then that player/team scores 0 for the game. NOTE: see above! The intent of these rules is not to "punish" an owner for an honest mistake or typographical error, but to ensure uniformity and that League Administrators and Scorers are not put "on the spot" or forced to determine the degree of diligence an owner used in submitting his or her lineup. (4) If the same player is listed twice, the first listing will be considered valid; or if the player does not play on the day listed first, then the second day will be considered valid. (5) Incomplete lineups may be completed if the owner forwards a correcting message prior to the line-up deadline. (6) The League Scorer or Administrator has no responsibility as defined by the rules and guidelines of MSFHL Fantasy Hockey to correct, judge, or otherwise influence any lineup posted. It is the sole responsibility of the owner to check each lineup prior to posting to ensure its accuracy. The Scorer may choose to warn the owner of any mistakes prior to the deadline but is not obliged to do so. Once the deadline is passed, no changes are possible. 8. NHL SCHEDULE CHANGES/POSTPONEMENTS/CANCELLATIONS (a) The official NHL game schedule used for MSFHL Fantasy Hockey will be the one published in The Hockey News Yearbook. A game will be deemed to be changed; postponed; or cancelled when its playing night differs from the one stated in the THN Yearbook. If this happens and a team owner did not change his lineup accordingly, the following will apply: (1) In the cases of players: If the changed/postponed game is played within the MSFHL Fantasy Hockey game it was originallty scheduled for, the player will gain the stats for the new night. (2) If the game is played outside of the MSFHL Fantasy Hockey game it was originally scheduled for, and the player has another game within the MSFHL Fantasy Hockey game the original game was scheduled in, the player will gain the stats for that other game. If there is more than one game to chose from, the earlier game in question will be used. (3) If the player has no other games in that MSFHL game schedule, the overtime player will be used in his spot. If the overtime player's game is postponed/changed, the same rules will apply. If an overtime player's game is used for this reason, his stats cannot be used to count for overtime, thus, the team will have no overtime player. (b) In the case of goalies: Due to the fact that 4 goalies are named, nothing will happen if a goalie's game is rescheduled/postponed or cancelled. (c) In the event of teams: If the MSFHL Fantasy Hockey home team's NHL Team position is postponed/changed/canceled, the method for handling players will be the same. The only difference is that the overtime player cannot be used in it's place if the originally stated team does not have another game within the MSFHL Fantasy Hockey game in question. 9. AUTOPILOTS AND TEAM ABANDONMENT (a) If a team fails to submit a lineup by the deadline, the prior game's lineup will be used, and all players will be automatically scheduled to play on the night when the most NHL games are to be played. If two nights have the most games played during a Fantasy Hockey game, then the first night will be selected. All four goalies will also be selected to the same night. (b) The second and third incidences of missing a deadline will result in the same treatment as in the first instance: playing the previous game's lineup on the NHL night with the most games. (c) The fourth incidence of missing a deadline will result in the same treatment as the first three. At this point, however, a preliminary search for new ownership will be conducted by the League Administrator. (d) The fifth incidence of missing a deadline again results in the same lineup treatment as the first four incidences. At this point, however, the owner will be relieved of his position and replaced. (e) Where (d) is implemented, and a delay is experienced in securing ownership, subsequent lineups shall be submitted by the league's League Administrator. This ensures that the team is not so severely disadvantaged by absentee performance that it becomes unattractive for ownership. (f) The above autopilot instances are cumulative, and need not be consecutive. (g) If an owner is aware of the fact that he may be forced to give up his Fantasy Hockey team, he should make every effort to contact a league official in a timely manner of this fact, in order that the officials may commence the search for another owner as soon as possible. 10. SCORING AND STANDINGS (a) A team's score shall be computed on the basis of his lineup's performance, as follows: Skaters: 2 points per goal, 1 point per assist Goalie : 2 points for win, 1 point for tie, .20 points per save, LESS .50 points per goal against, with the TOTAL rounded off. Teams : 1 point for a win plus .50 points for each goal comprising the margin of victory, 1 point for tie, 0 points for a loss (home team only), with the TOTAL rounded off. (b) Special provisions for goaltenders: (1) No goalie shall incur a score of less than 0 for his team. (2) Empty-net goals are not charged against a goaltender. (c) The points calculated for goalies and teams are SEPARATELY rounded off to the nearest whole point. That is, scores ending in .5 or higher are rounded up, and scores ending in .4 or lower are rounded down. (d) The team having the most points wins the game, and receives 2 points in the standings. In the event of a tie game, each team receives 1 point in the standings. (e) The League Scorer is responsible for publishing game results complete with player by player boxscores. (f) A scoring challenge may be issued within 72 hours of the posting of the detailed scoring statistics. Such a challenge will then be resolved by consulting the Hockey News scoring summary. Any scoring changes thus determined will be retroactively reflected in the standings. (g) Teams are ranked in the league standings according to most points. A team earns two points for a win, and one for a tie. (h) Standings will be posted in MockSports Fantasy Hockey Message Areas periodically, as well as uploaded into MockSports Fantasy Hockey Directory along with game boxscores. 11. TRANSACTIONS (a) Transactions (trades, free agent acquisitions, releases) are to be posted in an open message to the League Administrator using the subject header -TXN ie ORR-TXN. (1) The message must be addressed to the League Administrator in the MockSports Fantsay Hockey Message Area as a public message. All transaction messages posted by email, private message or in other sections or forums of MockSports WILL BE CONSIDERED INVALID. (2) The message must be posted in the following format: The Buffalo Chicken Wings announce the following transactions: PLAYER ACTION TEAM POS MEMO ======================================================= Rheaume, Manon Trade TB G To New Jersey Turnpikes Damphousse,Vincent Trade SJ F From NJ Turnpikes Tugnutt, Ron Claim PIT G Turgeon,Sylvain Waive OTT F (3) Individual League Administrators are authorized to require a certain format for transactions that allows them more ease of transaction processing. Owners are required to follow any format requirements of their individual League Administrator. (4) Rosters MUST be balanced after each posted transaction message. (b) The League Administrator will issue a confirming message on the message area. At that point, the transaction is official. Teams may, at their own risk, include newly acquired players in game lineups prior to the League Administrator confirming the transaction. However, if for some reason the transaction is not approved, the team involved bears sole responsibility for what would be interpreted as an incorrectly posted lineup. (c) Teams may make a maximum of 15 free agent claims per season, regular and playoffs combined. Where an imbalanced trade takes place and additional players must be acquired to balance a roster, no charges will be levied against this claim limit. It is the responsibility of the League Administrator to record remaining claims and to inform owners on a regular basis. (d) Free agents claims before the trading deadline are granted on a first- come-first-served basis, according to the date and time of the transaction message posted by the claiming owner on MockSports. (e) A trading deadline is in effect, after the 34th game of the season. This deadline will be specifically articulated in the schedule. Once the trading deadline passes, trades are not permitted throughout the remainder of the regular season, the playoffs, and during the off-season. A special preseason trading window begins on October 3 and remains in effect until your league's draft is held. Trades are permitted at any time during this period, either before or after freeze lists are due. Free-agent claims are not allowed during this period, however, any trades made before freeze lists are due must leave the rosters balanced by position. Trades made after freeze lists are due need not take positions into account, so long as an equal number of players are traded from each team. All teams must have eight players on their roster prior to the draft. (f) Once the trading deadline has passed, all players who are released may not be re-claimed for a period of 72 hours, counted from the date and time the transaction is posted in the MockSports by the releasing owner. Once the 72 hour period has passed, that player is again a free agent. Reclamation after the 72 hour period is subject to rule 11(d). There's one exception to the rule: Players with a freeze status of "0" cannot be claimed after the trading deadline goes into effect, nor may an owner release "0" players after the conclusion of that team's MSFHL season. Teams may continue to claim eligible free agents throughout the regular season and into the playoffs, until the conclusion of the playoffs. Once a league champion is crowned, no more free-agent claims can be made until after the following year's draft. (g) The League Administrator will periodically upload complete rosters to MockSports Fantasy Hockey Directories. 12. PLAYOFFS (a) At the conclusion of the regular season, any ties in the standings will be broken by the following criteria, in order to determine final placement: 1. Most points scored 2. Most total wins 3. Head to head against the team(s) tied with 4. highest /roll in conference area (b) The first six teams in the standings will participate in postseason action. The seventh- and eight-place teams, meanwhile, will participate in a consolation series, with the winner getting the No. 1 pick in the following year's draft. The following playoff schedule applies: round 1, best of five: 3rd vs 6th preliminary round 4th vs 5th preliminary round 7th vs 8th Coulombe Cup consolation series round 2, best of five: 1st vs lower-ranked winner of preliminary round 2nd vs higher-ranked winner of preliminary round Finals, best of seven: winners of semifinals play for the individual league championship called the International Cup. (c) All games will be conducted in the same manner as the regular season games. (d) Playoff overtime: (1) For the playoffs only, each team submits a list of three (3) overtime skaters, subject to the same rules as the regular season OT skater (any non-goalie non-team, cannot pick a player already in the lineup). The overtime skaters are priorized (i.e. NUMBERED 1ST THROUGH 3RD). (2) If the game ends in a tie, the overtime skater list is consulted ONE PLAYER AT A TIME. If both teams' first OT skater scored the same number of points, the second skater is consulted. If the second skaters score the same, then the third skater is consulted. In the first instance where one team's OT skater scores more than the other team's OT skater, the comparisons stop and the winning team is awarded 1 additional scoring point, winning the game in sudden death overtime. (3) In the unlikely event that each of the two teams' three overtime skaters score identically, then the game ends in a tie and the following playoff specific rule is invoked: The series will proceed as a "best of" format. If, at the conclusion of the series, the teams are still tied, then the team with the most total points will be the winner. (4) If the game does not end in a tie, then the scoring points of the overtime skaters are disregarded. (e) In best-of-five series, the team that placed highest in the standings has home team advantage in the series, and plays at home in games 1, 3, and 5. The other team is home in games 2 and 4. In the best-of-seven final series, the team that placed highest in the standings plays at home in games 1, 3, 5 and 7. The other team is home in games 2, 4, and 6. 13. FANTASY HOCKEY MESSAGES AND FILES (a) All messages pertaining to fantasy hockey transactions, lineup postings, trade talk, etc. concerned solely with the MSFHL should be posted in the respective MockSports Fantsay Hockey Message Areas. (b) All files pertaining to fantasy hockey must be posted in the respective MockSports Directory Areas. (c) Files will be named by the league officials in the following manner: (i) Rosters: .ROS e.g. ORR.ROS Free agents: .AVL e.g. ORR.AVL Game stats: .S e.g. ORR.S15 (ii) Any other league-specific files that league officials may choose to upload, i.e. cumulative statistics files, etc. should contain the league name in the filename. (iii) Universal files concerning the entire MSFHL will contain MSFHL in the filename. 14. GOVERNANCE (a) MockSports MSFHL Fantasy Hockey is governed by the MockSports Manager. (b) MSFHL Coordinator (1) The MSFHL Coordinator, appointed by the Forum Manager, is responsible for: - the content and ultimately the enforcement of these rules - reassigning ownerless teams - acting as a liaison with Forum management (2) The MSFHL Coordinator may occupy a league position as Administrator. (3) In the case of disputes within one of the leagues, the MSFHL Coordinator may be called upon, on the sole discretion of the League Administrator, to make an impartial ruling, in which case the decision of the Coordinator will be final. In the event that the League Administrator is also the MSFHL Coordinator as well as a participant in the league, the administrator of another league may be called on to settle the dispute. (c) League Administrator ("LA") (1) Each league will be assigned a League Administrator. (2) The League Administrator will be responsible for: - running the League Draft - maintaining and uploading league rosters - receiving and processing transactions - interpreting the rules and procedures of Fantasy Hockey for all members of the LA's league - making all attempts to resolve disputes within his league - where required, arbitrating disputes in other leagues - receiving game line-ups - compiling scoring stats - maintaining and posting standings and other statistics as deemed appropriate In such cases where the LA feels the need to call upon an impartial arbitrator, he/she may call upon the MSFHL Coordinator for assistance. (e) The positions described above may be occupied by the same person. (f) The MockSports Manager may take such disciplinary actions as deemed necessary to correct participant actions found be detrimental to MSFHL Fantasy Hockey. The success of fantasy sports depend both upon a spirit of competition and a modicum of good faith. Actions which may be subject to disciplinary action include improper trades, abusive behavior, unauthorized proxy assertions, and frivolous transactions. 15. OVERTIME (a) MockSports Fantasy Hockey is a contest based on skill for the customers of the MockSports Sports Forum. (b) Federal, state and local laws prohibit playing MockSports Fantasy Hockey for money. (c) Thus, there are no money awards, fees or any other form of monetary issue involved in the administration or playing of MockSports Fantasy Hockey. (d) MockSports does not condone private betting on its network, and participants in MockSports Fantasy Hockey Leagues are not permitted to use the network to do so. (e) Edited, written and uploaded by the many individuals dedicated to the success of the MockSports Fantasy Hockey League (formerly known as the International Fantasy Hockey League and the CompuServe Fantasy Hockey League. Particular thanks goes to Maki Itoh and Francois Coulombe for their dedication in establishing the essence of these rules in the 1991-92 hockey year. Joe Weber jtweber@tulane.edu MSFHL Coordinator