NPL Seen Column

A certain Defending Champion of the North Park League was Seen this past Saturday afternoon shopping at the Camp Horne Road Giant Eagle. When asked if he was ready to defend his title, he replied that he was going to "take it easy" this coming season and "let Al win some money."

Just thought I'd mention it.

Yo, my black brothers. The Harv is representing

You know that the NPL Draft is set for Friday night, March 30th. And the following morning, March 31st, Harv will be flying out of town. As the brothers like to say, he will "represent."

Represent what??? Well, Major League Baseball has set March 31st as the date for the 1st Annual "Civil Rights Game", as baseball will celebrate the nations civil rights movement with a nationally televised game (espn) at 5:30 PM from Auto Zone Park in Memphis, the home of the Civil Rights Museum and the city in which The Reverend Martin Luther King was assassinated.

This first annual will be played by the Cardinals and Indians.

So, who best to represent the NPL for this event, but The Harv... The NPL with their large travel budget, will ...... in the words of songwriter Marc Cohn, send Harv.... "Walking in Memphis."

So, I guess Harv can say he.....

Put on my blue suede shoes

And I boarded the plane

Touched down in the land of the Delta Blues

In the middle of the pouring rain.

Although we really don't want a rain-out.

Hopefully Harv can take part in some of the pre-game ceremonies. And as luck would have it, we'll also have a photographer on hand and we will have a report on how it went, after the big guy returns to Pittsburgh.

And if Harv is lucky, while he is there, maybe he will have.....

Saw the ghost of Elvis

On Union Avenue

Followed him up to the gates of Graceland

Then I watched him walk right through

Now security they did not see him

They just hovered 'round his tomb

But there's a pretty little thing

Waiting for the King

Down in the Jungle Room...

Have a blast Harv!!!!

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PS - If you were a fan of the "X-Files", there was an episode in which the plot of the story was about a town being haunted by Cher songs (yeah, weird, but remember it's the X-Files). Anyway, the show ended with that song being played (sung by Cher, of course) while Mulder grabs Scully for a slow dance in some honky-tonk bar. That brief description probably doesn't do it justice, but it was actually one of the coolest X-Files episodes they ever made. Just an opinion!!

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OTHER - N.P.L. NEWS ITEMS:

STICKER GUY:

The thought was brought up that the draft would move much quicker if we had someone - a "volunteer" person (not one of us) who may want to come to the draft and just put the players name stickers on the board for us. Maybe they would work for free beer? Not sure who might want to do that, but if anyone may have someone in mind, let me know.....

Harv - any of the Windsor residents qualified for that duty???????

And speaking of "Windsor Place", yes that is the location for this years draft, since the Legion Hall is out of business.... I may not have been clear with that in a previous blog posting. Sorry, My Bad. But I listed the windsorplace.com site by the use of a "hyperlink". So if you ever notice that any of the text is in blue and underlined, you can put your cursor on those word(s) to click on them to shoot you to the website hidden within. A shortcut if you will. In that particular instance (under the Michael Corleone picture) the blue underlined words were "this location."

We're getting closer to looking at player positions for those changing in 2007 or just to clarify on those versatile guys who move around along with the DH's.

But in the meantime, news from around spring camps this week........

HA-HA........ JINX !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And........

Dude, please move 90 feet clockwise.

Who is the real Al Cotton?

If you're a fan of Science like me (huh?), then you probably seen a big story in all the publications and on-line sites this week,including the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. If you're not, well don't worry, I got your back on this one my friends....

And have you ever noticed Al wearing a Texas A&M jersey?? Ah, just wondering...

Has OUR Al Cotton been leading a double life?? My curiosity was peeked... When I read these words in the Trib about one "AL COTTON." Our boy??

"Al Cotton is a legendary figure at Texas A&M," Defense Secretary and former Texas A&M President Robert M. Gates said.

Cotton has written five text and reference books. More than 500,000 copies were sold, including editions in 40 foreign languages. His work earned him numerous honors, including the Priestley Medal from the American Chemical Society and the national Medal of Science.

Cotton earned his doctorate from Harvard before joining the Texas A&M faculty as professor chemistry. He also taught at MIT. The praises for Al go on and on, including being described as "the preeminent inorganic chemist in the world."

This Cotton quote had me thinking it was our Al....... "I enjoy the thrill of discovery and the challenge of finding out something that perhaps no one has yet."

Ah-ha..... Al could be referring to finding that sleeper at Catcher that will be a difference maker in fantasy baseball, right? Who is this Al Cotton they write about? I had to find out for myself... Hmmmm..... Yes, I'll Google him...... Al Cotton - Texas A&M - Science. Is this actually HOCKEY AL??

Ok, lets search for a picture, let's show Disco we're on to his smarty-artie 2nd life style.....

Gotcha, huh Al.....

Oops......

Guess this isn't our Disco Al.....

As for why this Al Cotton was in the news.....

Well, R.I.P. Mr. Science! Don't worry, the other Al Cotton will continue with the "challenge of finding out something that perhaps no one has yet."

Like that hard to find sleeper at the Catcher position!!

Bagwell's history with the North Park League

Jeff Bagwell's career has paralleled the NPL's existence. His MLB career started with Houston in 1991. Our league started in 1992. He played through 1995, and he was on NPL rosters throughout that period.

Some miscellaneous Bagwell/NPL facts, and then his year-by-year NPL line.....

• 14 years total played with the NPL


• 3 years owned by Al Cotton's organ-i-zation and 3 by John Stasko. Then, 2 with Dave and 2 by Bob Sproule. One of those in the Bob & Chris years, the other was Bob solo (Big Train)


• 4 different years he was on a NPL 1st place team


• 3 different years he was a NPL 1st round draft pick


• The 780 points scored in 1999 while a member of the 1st place Shoeless Joe's still stands as the 8th best hitting season in NPL history.

Year-by Year, with Bagwell's NPL team, it's finish in the league - Bagwell's NPL points and how that ranked among HITTERS, and the round he was drafted in to start the season.

1992 - Slamms (finished 6th). 443 pts. - ranked 24. Drafted in (No record of)

1993 - Mario's (finished 7th). 502 pts. - ranked 38. Drafted in (No record of)

1994 - John S. (finished 1st).. 585 pts. - ranked.#2. Drafted in 4th round * STRIKE YEAR

1995 - Tom V. (finished 1st).. 476 pts. - ranked 41. Drafted in 1st round ** STRIKE YEAR

1996 - B Harv. (finished 7th). 690 pts. - ranked #7. Drafted in 5th round

1997 - Slamms (finished 3rd). 706 pts - ranked #3. Drafted in 3rd round

1998 - John S.. (finished 8th). 655 pts. - ranked 18. Drafted in 2nd round

1999 - B & C .... (finished 1st). 780 pts. - ranked #1. Drafted in 3rd round

2000 - Dave ... (finished 1st). 763 pts. - ranked #2. Drafted in 1st round

2001 - Dave ... (finished 4th). 714 pts. - ranked #6. Drafted in 1st round

2002 - Slamms (finished 4th). 606 pts. - ranked 21. Drafted in 2nd round

2003 - John S. (finished 3rd). 631 pts. - ranked 15. Drafted in 5th round

2004 - Larry O (finished 9th). 569 pts. - not ranked - Drafted in 7th round

2005 - B Train. (finished 9th).. 78 pts. - not ranked - Drafted in 17th round

BAGWELL TRIVIA:

** He was the first MLB 1st baseman to have a "30-30" season. In 1997 he had 43 HR and 31 SB

** He shares the exact same birthday -- "05-27-68" with Frank Thomas, and in 1994 Bagwell was MVP of the N.L. and the Big Hurt was the A.L.'s MVP.

And his entire MLB stat line can be found here at his Baseball Almanac Stat Page

I guess I've done this since Bagwell is a Hall-of-Fame caliber player, and as mentioned, his career and the NPL's were in unison. But I don't foresee myself doing a Balco Barry Bonds tribute!!

Who Will Be the first to See the '07 Buccos?

I am excited to report that I will get my first look at the 2007 Pirates in just 18 days when I visit Hammond Stadium in Fort Meyers, FL, Grapefruit home of the Minnesota Twins. Tickets have been purchased via the internet, and my bride and I will be seated down the first base line, seven rows behind the Pirates dugout. Will be anxious to report back to you all on how Neil Walker looks at the hot corner, how Andrew McCutcheon patrols centerfield, and how Brad Lincoln ices down his elbow.

Play Ball!!!!

NPL owners - Fantasy Football Results in 2006

With this being a slow time of the baseball pre-season, I'll use it to take a look back to see how everyone fared in fantasy football this past year, as I've surveyed people regarding leagues I know are out there, in addition to the one's I'm part of. You know your own results, and now you can know the others too.

(With thanks to Ed Dubis for supplying all the results from the BMC post-office leagues).

Listed By 2007 NPL Draft Order:

LARRY OTT: "The Big O"

O is in the prestigious "Spare Room League" which is Commissionered (is that a word?) by Al Cotton. During the last two seasons, O has been spending Steeler Sunday away games watching the NFL down at a pub called Shenanigans. Ever since, the Big O has dominated in the SRL. In 2005 he won it all, and this season a strong 2nd place finish. It's enough to gain the reputation of

of the Spare Room League.

DAVE JONES: "Kommish" (baseball only)

After a disastrous '06 baseball season, some bounce back with a 3rd in the "Sand Pit League" and a 1st in the "Spare Room League". (Thanks LT!) Also, somehow managed to get a co-championship in the 5 man "Tournament of Handicappers" (ToH).

AL COTTON: "Disco" or "Hockey Al"

When mentioning that Al is Commish of the Spare Room League, it should be noted that it is a long time league with I believe 20+ years, as are some others we will mention within this posting. Al could verify exactly how many, I know it's been 11 years now for me.

And although Al didn't hit pay dirt this season in the SRL or two BMC's, we know that Disco is a "Survivor." Yes, in a unique survivor league of individual NFL players, Al took home a Championship in 2006. What's especially impressive about this is that the non-traditional format allows for any number of participants, and Al beat out 24 others to claim the title of Ultimate Survivor.

Jeff Probst would be proud. By the way, this league is run by Eddie Dubis Jr. and our Eddie Sr. A fun thing, great strategy involved and if you didn't get in this year, check it out for 2007. All done on the web - easy to do.

JOHN STASKO: "Raven"

4th seemed to be the magic spot for John in 2006, but hey - it means cashing a check in both leagues. Those leagues are the previously mentioned SRL and the Sand Pit, which is run by Harv. More on this league as we go on.

BOB PIFKO: "Piffy" or "Piffster"

Piff battled into the money for a 5th place finish in Harv's Sand Pit League, while having a tougher time in his debut season with the Spare Room. Bob is also in a work league down at the Laborers Combined Funds of PA. In a different type of set-up, Piff was 4th of 10 in overall points, but it's based on Head-to-Head and he just missed out because of W-L record there. However, in some sort of side contest, the Piffster won money because he was successful in picking the "hot player" throughout the year. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!)

BOB SPROULE: "Badger" or "Badger Bob"

Bob's a true baseball guy. No fantasy football, but it should be mentioned that Bob is a 3 time champion in the "Tournament of Handicappers" including hitting games at an amazing 63.4% back in 2001. You could make a good living with that percentage out in Vegas. Since no football - fantasy style, we'll give Bob-O a baseball plug. Al may be surprised to
learn that Bob may be tight with one David K. Littlefield. At Bob's SABR Hot Stove gathering this past week, he extended an invitation to DL, and the Bucco GM left a charity basketball game a little early to accept Bob's invite.

"Hey Bob, watch me dunk!"

JOHN FRISSORA: a self-proclaimed... "Degenerate Gambler"

Where do I start? Well, John didn't hit the money in his league this year, but he is Commissioner and founder of the "Carnot Football League" (CFL), as they just completed their 24th season. Named for Carnot Beer Distributor in Moon Township.

In addition to the "CFL", the nickname "Degenerate Gambler" stems from the fact that John is in charge of the following contests /games...

"Madness" - March Madness bracket pool

"T-o-H" - Tournament of Handicappers 5 person NFL/NCAA betting contest

"B-a-R" - Bowl - a - Rama (college bowl games)

"Mother Of All Sports Pools"

this entails the 4 major sports, plus NASCAR and the PGA.

YIKES!!!

TONY LANG: "Antoooonio" or "Big T"

Tony is one guy who you won't hear boasting about his fantasy success. It was left to his partner Eddie to inform me that T was on a roll in the BMC leagues again in 2006. It was 2nd place in BMC-1 and 4th place in BMC-2. He's like the "Silent Assassin" of the BMC.

EDDIE DUBIS SR: "Fast Eddie"

Eddie pulled into 5th place in the 12 team BMC-2 league, and was busy adminstering the previously mentioned Survivor Pool - both regular season and playoff editions. And oh yeah, Ed also is charge of a Home Run Hitters Contest as well... (When does Eddie find time to get any work done?!?!)

BILL HARVEY: "Harvey Nuts" or "Harv"

Harv is a charter member of the SRL, and a long time member and current Commissioner of the "Sand Pit League". That league was established in 1980, with 6 guys drafting a league in my living room while the 1:00 PM game of NFL opening day was taking place on the TV nearby. After 20 years of being a football Commissioner I burned out on that job and turned over the reigns to Harv in 2000 and the big guy has run it the last 7 years.

And although Harv had a rare off year in those two leagues in '06, he did reap some success in the "Theme Lounge League". This league is also affectionetly known as "The Big League" due to the large sum of money needed to participate. Harv and his partner Kevin Kearney cleared a profit due mostly to some weekly winnings based on high score for the week. Harv also won cash for the one week high score for the season in the Survivor League.

JOHN SCHOMING: "Big Daddy" or "Knuckles"
Ya know, when the 2006 NPL fantasy baseball season ended, John experienced a true sense of relief. Remember the scene in "Shawshank" when Andy Dufresne was escaping the prison and

he finally emerged from the mile long crawl

through the muck of the sewer drain? Well, on October 1, 2006, Big Daddy had a feeling of joy just like Andy did when he came out of that sewer drain. B.D.'s got a championship in baseball. Life is good!

However, the competitive fires still burned, and B.D. cashed in at 5th in the Spare Room and an impressive 2nd place in BMC-2.

And pitchers and catchers report in less than a week. In about 7 weeks, Big D will step to the board to defend his NPL baseball title. But somehow I think the pressure is off. And I don't think Big Daddy is even reading this. He's probably on a beach in Mexico right now sanding his boat, just like Andy, without a care in the world...

Party People at Fox Sports-Net Pittsburgh

When Potash isn't doing the same old stale interviews with Sidney Crosby, he's hanging out at the hotel bar, interviewing young ladies. You go Dan!!

And Trenni, if you're going to latch onto a pitcher, you can do better than soft-tossin junk ball stiffs with high ERA's... Ms. Kusnierek and JOSH FOGG?????????

Say it ain't so, Trenni, say it ain't so.

Where's Savran?

What is this??

Greetings NPL people!!

If you're not familiar with this type of website, it's commonly referred to as a blog. It's a free website (administered by Google) that anyone can create for any purpose. My purpose is to try it instead of e-mailed newsletters, reports or random messages. You just click onto the site at any time to check on what's happening with league news or anything in general that is going on. Unlike our CBS statistical website in which only league members can access, this is available to anyone on the www, although I'm not sure why anyone else would care?

At the end of each message, you can also click on "comments" and leave one if you choose and I can reply in that area too. The right panel has various links to other websites, web pages, or Windows Media Player audio files. The four links at the top (transaction sites) can be helpful to you (especially on Wednesdays) to follow MLB roster moves directly from this page, and then your "back" button can return you here.

I'll still have headlines posted on our CBS NPL page and pertinent info listed on the Commissioner Message Board area. So, just something new to try out and maybe have some fun with. And of course you can always e-mail or call me at any time with questions, comments or anything in general.

With that said, to kick this thing off for 2007, there are three additional postings as you scroll down. The last two would come under the part of the heading that says.... "miscellaneous crap."

2007 NPL Start-Up Information

DRAFT DATE:
Friday, March 30, 2007. Arrive after 6:00 PM, as we figure to be set for Big O to call out the first name at about 6:30 PM (unless he defers on that first pick).

DRAFT LOCATION:
Here's where we have some breaking news!! John Frissora has informed me that unfortunately the Sewickley American Legion had to close its doors for financial reasons. There is talk about a future merger with the Sewickley VFW, but this meant for 2007 we needed to find a new draft home. Hey Harv!!! We're baaaaaccccckkkkk!!! Yes, you may know that for a period of time, the Harvey's were undergoing a family legal battle for control of the company. I'm happy to report that Harv took matters into his own hands and settled all family business.

And as the bad guys have been dispatched and our boy Harv is back in control, the draft returns to this location.

2007 DRAFT SELECTION ORDER:
1. Big O
2. Dave
3. Al
4. John S.
5. Piffy
6. Bob
7. John F.
8. Tony & Ed
9. Harv
10. Big Daddy

POSITION ELIGIBILITY CHANGES & VERIFICATIONS FOR 2007:
We'll get into that about the 2nd week of March.

RULES CHANGES:
I only have one thing in mind. With the situations we ran into last season (Cole Hamels / Roger Clemens), I would like to avoid that same kind of problem for myself or anyone filling in for me in 2007. The question was...... When is a player eligible to be added to our active NPL roster? I would like to remove the current rule that a player must be on a MLB team's active roster before he can be added to the NPL. Open it so you can add any player at any time, even if he isn't yet on a MLB team. The annual example seems to be Roger Clemens. It would be wide open, and on any given Wednesday you can choose to pull the trigger on Clemens or a hot shot minor leaguer expected to be called up. First come, first serve. But of course, the player then has to be placed on your active NPL roster and if he's not playing yet you have to suffer with zero points and you cannot reserve him, although you can give up on him and drop him.

I would like to implement this change and not worry about a vote. Like we see in our other fantasy leagues, if something is going to make the Commissioners life easier for league administration purposes, then we just do it. And it is often problematic in trying to confirm the exact date/time of a MLB roster move while at the same time having more than one NPL team angling for a player. So, if there's no great outcry against this, I'll consider it as good to go.

2007 COST:
Once again $100.00 entry for the league. With ancillary costs that we share, it will probably be $115. to $120. total for draft night. But I'll have more on that later after the name stickers are ordered. The CBS Sportsline NPL site has already been purchased for 2007 at the early bird discount price and I obtained a 10% off promotional code as well. Total cost is $116.95 this season, or $11.00 per team. This breaks down to each team paying approximately 6 cents per day for 6 months worth of excitement!! Or maybe agony.

There will be more actual NPL related updates as we move forward towards the season, but for now, here comes the miscellaneous crap I previously mentioned.

One of Al Cotton's Favorite Announcers!

It's not exactly Rob Pratte, but this ESPN guy may be #2 on Al's list of favorites......

And while Mrs. Berman is holding down the fort back in snowy and bitter cold - Bristol Connecticut, Chris is down at South Beach with his boy (or pimp) Michael Irvin, just hanging out. And I bet he can't wait to get back, back, back, back, back to Bristol, huh?

Strange Sports Items During the Off-Season

From: MLB
When the city of Philadelphia had a ceremony to honor NL MVP Ryan Howard, the Philly Mayor inexplicably called him "Ron Howard" during his speech. (Opie lives on! Or is it Richie Cunningham?)

From: GOLF
It was surprising to learn that New Zealand's highest paid sports figure is none other than Steve Williams. He is Tiger Woods' friggen caddy!!

From: NBA
Cleveland rookie Shannon Brown (Michigan St.) hired his own TV documentary crew to follow him around during the day leading up to his NBA opening night tip-off. Then, an hour before game time, the Cavs coach decided to make him in-active.

From: SPORTS ON TV
The ESPN Monday Night Football gimmick of celebrity guests in the announcing booth was pretty God-awful. However, the Jimmy Kimmel appearance was an exception. Kimmel had a great one-liner. When greeting Theismann, he says ..... "Hi Joe, how's the leg?" That's some sick humor.

From: CASINO / PENGUINS / ARENA SITUATION
Three things......

1. Some talk show caller referring to the PA governor as ....... "Ed Rendelphia."

2. Stealing the tag line of "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" from the cool new show on NBC - "Heroes", a Penguins internet fan site started a "Save the Penguins, Save the World" campaign.








3. At the conclusion of his scathing letter to the editor in the Post-Gazette general news section, which was in reply to Rooney & McClatchy's unhappiness over Casino Gambling coming to the North Shore, our own Bob Sproule wrote.......... "As for Mr. McClatchy, let him prove some degree of competence in running his own business before he ventures his opinions on urban planning and development."

And I think this part of Bob's letter was deleted by the PG.... "In your face Kev, and tell it to the Nuttings too."

From: NFL
Former Florida State QB Adrian McPherson, who has never thrown a pass in an NFL regular-season game, is suing the Tennessee Titans for $20 Million because of a knee injury suffered before an August preseason game, when the team's Director of Mascot Operations, Pete Nelson, ran into McPherson's leg with a golf cart during a promotion.

Now..... From that statement, what is more crazy?

A. That Adrian McPherson could reap $20 million from the NFL?

or

B. Someone actually has a job title of "Director of Mascot Operations?"

From: NCAA Football
On a Saturday this past fall when Kent State was playing Army, the Akron Beacon-Journal ran this headline atop their sports section....

"KENT STATE TAKES ON ARMY TODAY, LOOKING FOR SOME PAYBACK"

Holy Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young!!!!! I guess they haven't forgotten 1972 in Ohio, have they?

And......

Upcoming posts to this site in the near future...

• Some of your favorite FSN-Pittsburgh announcers. Well... like you may not be used to seeing them!
• How the NPL members fared in 2006 fantasy football.
• The retired Jeff Bagwell and his association with the NPL.
• The NPL sends Harv to represent them on a baseball road trip.