Trading The Gator - Draft Day

Today, for the 31st time in history, the owners of the CFCL gather for what they collectively acknowledge is the Greatest Day of The Year:  Draft Day.

I'm sure Rich will be recapping the events of the day, as well as the celebrations that took place to recognized the CFCL's 30th Anniversary.

For now, though, let's take a look back for an in-depth examination of Draft Day and what it means, courtesy of Trading the Gator.  This clip from the film documents the draft of 2002.

Trading the Gator: Draft Prep

Spring Training has begun, and soon teams in Arizona and Florida will begin playing preseason games.  Elsewhere, all around the world, fantasy baseball owners are shaking off the cobwebs of winter and starting their research and preparation for the Greatest Day of the Year - Draft Day.

Draft Day prep can involve many facets - from reading every bit of news you can get your hands on and watching spring games - live or on television, to arts and crafts and ensuring you have the right foodstuffs with you at the Draft Table.

See all that and more in this latest clip from "Trading the Gator," the fantasy baseball documentary that featured the CFCL (read that story in this earlier post).  You'll see CFCL owners Kelly Barone, Eric Lamb, David Mahlan, and Jason Grey, Paul Zeledon, plus Walter Shapiro of the American Dreams League discussing their pre-Draft routines and strategies.

Memory of a Banquet IV

This last walk down memory lane could quite possibly be the greatest one.  Yesterday's entry is very strong - the one at the Bald Eagle's house (trying to off the Rebels, mocking the Rebels at Gibson's homerun and unsuccessfully trying to get the rest of the league to join him in giving the champion Copperfields a Yoo-Hoo shower).  Very strong indeed.

But this one (I'm thinking it took place in the mid '90's) I feel takes the cake because it involves something so counter to the CFCL culture.  Yes, the police were called.

The police? Yep.  You heard me.  We bad.  And this wasn't involving my brother-in-law who is a cop (and former CFCL owner of the Flatfeet).  This is the establishment where the banquet was held . . . called the cops on the CFCL!

This particular banquet I don't think we had a massive turnout.  So we tried to find a middle ground for those owners who could attend.  I know for a fact that the Lambchops, Rebels and Copperfields attended.  I'm thinking - based on the location of the banquet - that the Meisters also showed up.  But that may have been it.

So since Paul and Eric lived in the Schaumburg-ish area and I lived in Aurora and David lived in Downers Grove, we selected Batavia/Geneva as the middle ground.  Not geographically perfect, but it makes for a great story.

One of us was charged with finding an establishment in that area.  Well what screams out Baseball Celebration better than Chinese food?  Nothing, it turns out, so we held our banquet at a Chinese restaurant.

The evening started out well enough.  We had a nice dinner, talked about the newly finished season, handed out the awards . . . and then things got crazy.  We kept talking, about CFCL matters, about how to fix the Cubs, about life.  Eventually any other attendees filtered out and all that was left were the Lambchops, Copperfields and Rebels.  And I don't mean all that was left from the banquet.  I mean all that was left IN THE RESTAURANT!  Yes, we closed that mother down!  (That is the first and only establishment I have ever closed.) 

But we are a bunch of baseball nerds and didn't realize what we were doing.  It took the waiter to come over and say "If you don't want anything else, we're trying to close."  Sheepish looks on our face as we settled the bill.  We kept chatting as we walked out of the restaurant.  And then like the baseball magpies we are, we just couldn't say "good-bye".  We kept talking and talking and talking in the middle of the parking lot.  Nothing seemed strange to us except perhaps that it was a little chilly to be standing outside talking baseball.

All of a sudden a squad car pulls in to the parking lot.  Again, we're clueless geeks.  We just keep on talking.  The officer pulls up to us, ** rolls his window down and says "What's going on guys?"

**  I don't know much about police procedure but usually officers will take tactical positions and keep their distance from potential perps.  This guy must have, as he was turning the corner into the parking lot, assessed the three of us and said to himself "Are you kidding?  What the hell am I doing here?"

"Oh nothing.  Just talking about baseball, officer."  Man were we cool.  The officer then points out that the workers in the restaurant want to go home ** and they're afraid to leave the place because they think you're waiting in the parking lot to jump them.

** as he's saying this, I'm thinking "why are you telling us that?  We left the restaurant, we don't need them anymore."

If you could call Hollywood and ask them to cast three guys who would never be confused with attempting to jump anyone you could not find three more appropriate guys than David, Eric and me.  Yet there the cop was saying "Maybe it's time to head home, right?"

The minute we heard we were keeping the workers in the restaurant and why, we all embarrassingly apologized and moved directly to our cars.  That was the night the CFCL took it to the streets and rumbled with the cops.

More pictures from this year's banquet.

The CFCL's local owners.  Why does it look like everyone's laughing at the Commissioner?
Going around the table to the left, starting in front: Matt Grage, Matt Bentel, Tim Morkert, Pat Chesnut, Matthew Barriball, Mike Coulter and Rich Bentel.

Mike Coulter enjoying sweet victory as he takes home the certificate for Best Free Agent Acquisition (Francisco Liriano).  In the background is Matthew Barriball (co-owner of The Swing) smiling contentedly knowing next year's certificate will be his.

CFCL Owners of 1990

Not pictured from left:  Kelly Barone (Six Packs), Eric Lamb (Lambchops), David Mahlan (and eventual CFCL Champion David's Copperfields), Rich Bentel (Dem Rebels), Pat McGuire (McGuire's Picks), Paul Skupien (Mr. Paul's Swordfish), Bob Monroe (Bald Eagles), Dave Holian (David's Ruffins).

1990 saw the Copperfields capture their fourth title in seven years.  It was also (sniff) the last draft at Mount Olympus (Rich and David's apartment in Forest Park) as girls had FINALLY entered our lives.

This was also the year that Paul Skupien (I think he came from the bank I worked at at the time) took over the Headless Horseman franchise.  While we were thankful that we could keep the league at eight owners, we had to deal with the fact that Paul came up with one of, if not THE, worst names in CFCL history - Mr. Paul's Swordfish.  1990 was also the final, but not quite final, year of the Picks franchise.  Pat would take a sabbatical from the CFCL for a year before returning for two more years beginning in 1992.

CFCL Owners of 1991

Prior to 1992 (other than the recently posted 1989 season) we didn't take pictures of the draft.  So we have to use our imagination to picture: [not pictured from left] Kelly Barone (Six Packs), Eric Lamb (Lambchops), David Mahlan (David's Copperfields), Rich Bentel (Dem Rebels), Paul Skupien (Mr. Paul's Swordfish), Bob Monroe (Bald Eagles and eventual 1991 CFCL Champion), Dave Holian (David's Ruffins).

1991 saw a return of seven owners.  Pat McGuire left after three years (following 1991 he would return for two more seasons).  This would also prove to be the final season of the Bald Eagle franchise.  Bob was continually promoted up the Hancock Fabric chain of command and landed in Colorado.  The pre-Internet distance combined with work and family time requirements proved to be too much for Bob to consider running a team long distance.  However, in his final year, Bob would finally break through the ceiling of his three previous second place finishes and take home the cherished CFCL title.

Perhaps the biggest change the CFCL saw that year was on the draft table.  Kelly Barone introduced the Big Cards for owners to flip over if they were out of the bidding.  Despite all the technological advancements our country has seen in the following 23 years, the flip cards are a staple of the CFCL Draft Table.

David and Michelle opened their doors to the CFCL on Sunday, April 14 at 10am in Oak Park.

CFCL Owners of 1989

1989 was the first year the CFCL thought to chronicle its draft via pictures and it was by chance.  Below are three photos that captured all the owners.  We have Mrs. Mahlan (David's mom) to thank for stopping by our apartment with a camera and snapping a few pics.

From left:  Rich Bentel (Dem Rebels and eventual 1989 CFCL Champion); Eric Lamb (Lambchops - obscured head); Pat McGuire (McGuire's Picks); David Mahlan (David's Copperfields); Bob Monroe (Bald Eagles); Kelly Barone (Six Packs); Dave Holian (David's Ruffins - or at least his right hand); Empty Chair - was being saved for Scott something who never showed up so his team was renamed Headless Horsemen;

From left:  Rich Bentel (Dem Rebels and eventual CFCL Champion [can that be typed enough?]; Eric Lamb (Lambchops); Pat McGuire (McGuire's Picks); David Mahlan (David's Copperfields); Bob Monroe (Bald Eagles); Kelly Barone (Six Packs - or at least Kelly's right arm);

From left:  Bob Monroe (Bald Eagles); Kelly Barone (Six Packs); Dave Holian (David's Ruffins);

A few things, first of all this was 1989 so David and I hosted the draft at our apartment in Forest Park [Mount Olympus].  In all three pictures I see beer bottles (looks to be Coors).  I don't remember that at all.  I was under the impression that we had outlawed alcohol from the beginning.  That may explain why we ended up with the The Mitch Williams Incident.  I'm of two minds.  One, I really got burned by the Mitch Williams thing, but two, I WON THE PENNANT!  Maybe we should rethink alcohol at the draft.

You will also notice that, being the last of the decade of the '80's, the Lambchops were sporting a really nice porn star 'stache, the Picks had the 'fro going and Dem Rebels were getting it done with a full head of hair and glasses that covered half his face.

One other note, in pictures one and two you see plastered across our window a big sheet of paper.  Part of the pre-draft ritual was for David to measure out on this big sheet all the CFCL teams drafting that year and the slots for their players.  After each player was selected, David would write the name and salary of the player under the draft team's name which allowed for everyone to have an instant visual of who needed what.

CFCL Owners of 1992

 

Pictured from the left:  Rich Bentel (Dem Rebels), Pat McGuire (Twin Picks), Paul Zeledon (Da Paul Meisters), Eric Lamb (Eric's Lambchops), David Mahlan (eventual 1992 CFCL Champion David's Copperfields), Tom Clark (Clark Kents), David Holian (David's Ruffins), and Kelly Barone (Six Packs).

1992 saw the CFCL returning to full stable of 8 owners, which matched the number of franchises we'd had from 1986 through 1990.  We played 1991 with only 7 teams because Pat McGuire, owner of McGuire's Picks, withdrew from the league shortly before Draft Day 1991, leaving us no time to find a replacement.

As you can see, though, we held no ill will, as we welcomed Pat back with open arms (and a new team name - Twin Picks) following his one year hiatus.  In addition to the Return of the Pickster, two new teams joined us in 1992 - Da Paul Meisters and Clark's Kents, replacing Mr. Paul's Swordfish and the CFCL stalwart Bald Eagles.

We knew we'd miss Bob's presence at the Draft, so Rich brought a helium-filled balloon inscribed with Bob's face in Sharpie as a stand-in.  You can barely see the yellow balloon behind Eric's head, but the shot below, of Kelly posing with Airhead Bob, gives a good view.  In retrospect, you have to wonder if it was this interaction with "Bob" prior to the Draft, which caused Kelly to have one of the most disastrous Drafts in CFCL history (more on this below).

We knew Bob would miss Draft Day as well, which is why we decided to video tape the proceedings to send to him later.  It turned out to be one of most fortuitous decisions we've made, as the 1992 Draft was incredibly entertaining and featured a number of "incidents" which would be remembered as classics of CFCL lore.  I'm sure that the fun Rich and I had re-watching the video tape later had a lot to do with us deciding to record the 1993 Draft ... and the 15 or so to follow ... as well.  I have no doubt that if 1992 had been a routine Draft the video taping would have stopped after that first year.

A number of highlights from 1992 have already been posted on the blog:

The Origin of the Ruffin Privilege (which gives the honor of nominating the first player for bidding to Ruffins' owner, Dave Holian

The Ramon Martinez Incident (in which things begin to go awry for Six Packs owner Kelly Barone)

The Bret Barberie Incident (in which things go from bad to worse for Kelly)

The Rebel Puberty Incident (in which an interaction with Airhead Bob causes Dem Rebel owner Rich Bentel to emit some odd sounds)

The Darryl Strawberry Incident (a classic moment in CFCL history, in which two owners simultaneously react in the same way when an owner more than doubles the current bid on Strawberry ... if it wasn't so spontaneous, you'd swear it was choreographed)

All this took place at the Oak Park apartment of Copperfields owner, David Mahlan.

The CFCL Awards Banquet

One of the (many) things that makes the CFCL special is the end-of-season Awards Banquet. Since our very first year, the CFCL has traditionally gathered in October or November (and once or twice, December or January as schedules required) to celebrate the accomplishments – and failures – of the recently completed season.

We seldom got full attendance at the banquet – especially in recent years, with a number of owners living out of town – but whether we have three owners present or ten, a good time is had by all.

In the CFCL’s early years, the big attraction at the banquet was the revealing of the final standings. Until 1997, when the CFCL finally modernized and hired a stat service, I compiled the standings by hand and until the final rankings were announced at the banquet, no one knew for certain who the league champion was.

To get a real feel for what goes on at the CFCL Awards Banquet, check out this clip from Trading the Gator, with highlights from the 2002 banquet. Some things to watch for:

• Pizza – the official banquet food of the CFCL. In the early years, we usually held the banquet at an owner’s house and ordered pizza in. After a few years, though, we decided to actually go out for the banquet. Although there were a couple years in the 90s when we met at a Chinese restaurant, most of the time we stuck to pizza. The pizzeria in the video is Giordano’s in Oak Park. 
• Awards – In addition to awarding certificates for the final standings, we also recognize a number of other award winners at the banquet. Some of the awards, such as the Dallas Green Award (which was described in an earlier post), are based on the point totals accumulated by CFCL teams, while others are voted on by the owners. We’ll be looking at some of those awards in future posts.
• Championship Trophy – Of course the big prize of the night is the CFCL Championship Trophy. This has evolved over the years, from a photocopied certificate to a customized trophy. Rich described this evolution in an earlier post.
• Baseball Cards – For a number of years beginning in the late 1990s, I started handing out unopened packs of baseball cards from the mid-80s to add some more fun and nostalgia to the proceedings. Each owner would get 3-4 packs to open, and we’d rip through them with the enthusiasm of 12-year-olds. The fact that the cards were from 8-10 years prior allowed some of the old-timers to reminisce about owning some of the players in the past, and it also meant many of the packs included the cardboardy plank of pink gum. Usually the gum was discarded untouched, though in 2002 – the banquet captured in the video below - the owner of Da Paul Meisters accepted the challenge to chew a couple sticks – you’ll see him putting his hand over his mouth in the video in an effort to keep from gagging it up.

Of course, the real attraction of the awards banquet is to spend an evening visiting with the rest of the owners in the league, outside of the usual Draft Day pressure cooker.

Here’s what the CFCL awards banquet looked like back in 2002:

CFCL Owners of 1993

Picture from left:  Rich Bentel (Dem Rebels), Tom Clark (Clark Kents), Dave Holian (David's Ruffins), Eric Lamb (Lambchops), Kelly Barone (Six Packs), Paul Zeledon (Da Paul Meisters), Pat McGuire (Twin Picks), David Mahlan (and eventual 1993 CFCL Champion David's Copperfields).

1993 saw all 1992 owners returning.  We were supposed to be nine owners, but a vile, despicable scum changed his mind at the last minute and didn't have the courtesy to let us know.  As a result, a draft that was supposed to begin around 7pm didn't start until almost 9pm and as a further result, didn't end until the wee hours of Saturday morning. 

Dave Holian of the Ruffins graciously provided the location for our draft and, when the hours became later and later, led us in our first International Incident in CFCL history, The Orestes Destrade Incident.

The Copperfields would end up winning their second title in a row and sixth overall.  At the end of the season, the Picks resign, but the remaining seven owners would continue as a core for the next two years.

Oh, almost forgot.  Also pictured in the back on the left, ominously hovering over Eric Lamb was a balloon representation of Bob Monroe (former owner of the Bald Eagles).  As has been chronicled, the Bald Eagles were part of the CFCL from 1986-1991.  For a few years after Bob left, we blew up a balloon, drew a beard and glasses on it in an effort to make it feel like Bob was still around.  At this particular draft, I believe the balloon took its fair share of punishment as the hours dragged on into early Saturday morning.  There is no empirical evidence as to the negative influence of Bob the Balloon, but Eric and Kelly (seated closest to Bob) finished 7th and 8th respectively.

CFCL Owners of 1994

Picture from left:  Dave Holian (David's Ruffins), Rich Bentel (Dem Rebels), Matt Bentel (DoorMatts), Paul Zeledon (and eventual CFCL Champion Da Paul Meisters), Eric Lamb (Lambchops), Kelly Barone (Six Packs), Dave Goetz (ForGoetzMeNots), Tom Clark (Clark Kents).  Not pictured on the right: David Mahlan (David's Copperfields).

1994 was supposed to be the first time ever the CFCL had ten owners.  In 1993 (as you will see next week) we had eight owners.  Those eight had all committed to returning.  In addition FINALLY we were able to convince Rebels cousin Matt (DoorMatts) to join the league.  We had also been able to entice one of the Original 6 owners (and first ever CFCL Champion) back - Dave Goetz (ForGoetzMeNots).  Then on Roster Freeze Day, Pat McGuire showed his true colors.  Rather than turn in his keepers for the draft he sent a note saying, effectively, "I'm out".  The CFCL rolled on, probably the better for it, with nine owners.

Da Paul Meisters captured their first (and only) CFCL crown in just their third year of existence.

Dave Holian (David's Ruffins) opened his home to the CFCL, allowing us to draft in his spacious and comfortable basement.

The Copperfield Gets Married

Twenty-two years ago today, the love of my life, Michelle, stood up before friends, family, and God and became my wife.

Nearly the entire membership of the CFCL was on hand to help us celebrate (only Mr P’s Swordfish were missing). Pictured below are: Kelly Barone (Six Packs),groomsman Eric Lamb (Lambchops), groom David Mahlan (David’s Copperfields), best man Rich Bentel (Dem Rebels), groomsman Bob Monroe (Bald Eagles), and David Holian (David’s Ruffins).

Of course we also had to take part in that “dudes at a wedding” staple, the Thumbs Up:

The untold story behind all the smiles is the intense pennant race that three of the guests were engaged in. Kelly, Eric, and Bob were running neck-and-neck heading into the final week of the season. The standings report published prior to the wedding had the Six Packs and Eagles were tied for first with 67 points, the Lambchops sat just behind them at 66 points. I’m sure it made for some interesting conversation at the reception.

The thing to remember about the CFCL in 1991 is that I was still manually compiling the stats and standings at the time and we didn’t have a back-up in place. So I took off for my honeymoon with the tightest pennant race in CFCL history hanging in the balance with a week’s worth of games still to play (the season ended on October 6).

The CFCL had to wait until I returned from my honeymoon in mid-October to find out that the Eagles finished on top, while the Six Packs and Lambhops were tied just a point behind. In the end, it may have been a transaction involving Chico Walker that cost the Six Packs the pennant (see the post on The Chico Incident).

I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring this post back around to Michelle. She was always incredibly understanding about my roto addiction and never played the role of the neglected “Roto Widow.” She never complained about the late nights pounding stats into the computer and compiling roster change reports, and never made me feel guilty about leaving her alone with a houseful of kids for a 12 hour day when we drafted each spring.

On the contrary, she actually was quite supportive on Draft Day, often sneaking a card like the one below into my draft prep materials for me to discover mid-Draft. In fact, she even played a key role in a Draft Day Incident (stay tuned for a later post about The Snookie Incident). Even now – a couple years after I retired from active participation in the CFCL, she’s willing to let me spend half an hour on our wedding anniversary to write this post. What a woman!

CFCL Owners of 1995

Pictured from left:  David Mahlan (and eventual CFCL Champion David's Copperfields), Ken Welsch (proxy for ForGoetzMeNots), Tom Clark (Clark Kents), Kelly Barone (Six Packs), Dave Goetz (ForGoetzMeNots), Dave Holian (David's Ruffins), Eric Lamb (Lambchops), Paul Zeledon (Da Paul Meisters), Matt Bentel (DoorMatts), not pictured but hand [with pen] is visible just about Dave Holian combining drinks, Rich Bentel (Dem Rebels).

 

David and Michelle opened their Oak Park apartment to the CFCL yet again, although since we are travelling backward in time with pictures, this was the first of three straight years at this location. 

 

We had ten attendees despite having nine owners.  Ken Welsch sat in because Dave Goetz knew he would have to leave early.  We had Ken on the short list for new ownership and as we have done many times in the CFCL, we had Ken get some experience by helping a current owner with the draft.

 

1995 would be the end of the road for the Clark Kents, who finished a four year run.  Ken would take over the Kents next year and rename the franchise the Flatfeet.  The eight other owners all were returning from 1994 and would continue on to 1996 (and 1997, 1998,1999 and 2000) - an amazingly consistent run.

 

The Copperfields used the home draft advantage to capture their 7th CFCL title, winning the title by 11 points over the 2nd place Rebels.

 







CFCL Owners of 1996

Starting in front and working our way left around the table:  Eric Lamb [back to picture] (Lambchops), Ken Welsch (Welsch's Flatfeet), Kelly Barone (Six Packs), David Mahlan (David's Copperfields), Dave Holian (David's Ruffins), Rich Bentel (and eventual CFCL Champion Dem Rebels), Matt Bentel (DoorMatts), Paul Zeledon (Da Paul Meisters) [not pictured because he's behind a wall - honestly this is his best side] Dave Goetz (ForGoetzMeNots).

Wait . . .do I hear Kool and the Gang?  "Cel-e-brate Good Times C'Mon!!"  Woo Hoo.  Dem Rebels capture their second CFCL title, finishing ahead of the 2nd place Copperfields by 17 points.  Like Haley's Comet, you had to pay attention because it doesn't come around very often.

In 1996 David and Michelle graciously opened the doors of their Oak Park home to the CFCL.  Nine teams competed - eight returning owners and newbie, Ken Welsch.  Ken replaced the Clark Kents.  I'm pretty sure this is the year that Ken broke out the Bad Boy Dance (video to come soon) and very well may have been the year that Paul almost committed "suicide by cop" when he yelled at Ken to "Wait your turn, boy!" when Ken kept bidding before it was his turn.

Even with this grainy video, you can see differences in the owners in 1996 compared to 2013.  Most noticeably the DoorMatts are sporting a mullet and Dem Rebels actually have hair.

Trading the Gator: The Home Stretch

As we've seen the past couple days, the 2013 race has turned out to be another nail-biter.  It's that time of year when the team in the lead spend gut-wrenching nights hitting refresh on the Live Scoring, desperately trying to stave off charging competitors, while those lower in the standings - if they're paying attention at all - wonder at what could have been, while others have already checked out for the year.

We see all of that in this clip from Trading the Gator.  We get to hear the anxious thoughts of Lambchop owner, Eric Lamb, as he tries to hang onto a lead for the last few weeks of the season, we get to experience the softball prowess of Da Paul Meister's owner Paul Zeledon, and hear David Mahlan (David's Copperfields) and Kelly Barone (Six Packs) dissect the Six Packs all-out collapse in 2002.

CFCL Owners of 1997



 



You need to use your imagination on this one since the camera angle doesn't provide a great shot of all the owners.  Starting with the gentleman with his back to the camera and working left:  Ken Welsch (Welch's Flatfeet); Dave Goetz (ForGoetzMeNots), Darrin Bowser (Darrin's Big Dogs), Dave Holian (David's Ruffins), David Mahlan (and eventual CFCL Champion David's Copperfields), Rich Bentel (Dem Rebels), Matt Bentel (DoorMatts), Paul Zeledon (Da Paul Meisters), Eric Lamb (Lambchops).  Not pictured because he was just off camera to the right, Kelly Barone (Six Packs).

1997 saw the CFCL on video, but not prescient enough to take a league photo.  David and Michelle opened their home to the league for drafting.  If I'm not mistaken, this was the year when we drafted at David and Michelle's when Michelle left the house early in the draft to go for a walk.  She came back an hour or so later, looked at us and said "I can't believe you're spending a beautiful spring day inside sitting around a table."  She had a point.  Up until that day, the weather in Chicago had been pretty dreary and cold.  This day was sunny and in the 60's and, well we had work to do.  So one of the only beautiful spring days that year flitted by as we watched the Copperfields build a team that ran to their 8th CFCL Championship.

1997 was also the first time the CFCL expanded to the nice round number of ten owners.  Darrin Bowser (Bowser's Big Dogs) spent their one and only year in the league.  For the first time we had nine returning owners.

CFCL Owners of 1998

Pictured from left: Ken Welsch (Welsch's Flatfeet), Rich Bentel (Dem Rebels), Matt Bentel (DoorMatts), Eric Lamb (Lambchops), Dave Goetz (ForGoetzMeNots), Steve Donaldson (Steve's Slackers), Paul Zeledon (Da Paul Meisters), Kelly Barone (Six Packs), David Mahlan (David's Copperfields), Dave Holian (and eventual 2008 CFCL Champion David's Ruffins).

1998 saw nine returning owners and one new owner.  Steve Donaldson (Steve's Slackers) worked as an advisor at the same firm as myself so I was able to convince him to join the CFCL, replacing Bowser's Big Dogs.  The Copperfields narrowly missed repeating as CFCL champion (finishing in 2nd by 1.5 points).  Instead the crown went to David's Ruffins, winning their first title in their 13th season.  No doubt the Six Packs will want to take credit as a "lucky talisman" since they have their arm draped over Holian for this picture.

Again we stood in still in front of the video camera to capture our group shot and we drafted in somewhat corporate opulance in Lombard.  Happily there would be no owner changes after the 1998 season, all 10 owners would return for 2009.

The CFCL Owners of 1999

Pictured from left going back: Paul Zeledon (Da Paul Meisters), Steve Donalson (Steve's Slackers), Ken Welch (Welch's Flatfeet - hunched over), Matt Bentel (Door Matts), Rich Bentel (Dem Rebels).
Pictured right back coming to the front: David Mahlan (David's Copperfields), Dave Holian (David's Ruffins), Kelly Barone (Six Packs and eventual 1999 CFCL Champion), Dave Goetz (ForGoetzMeNots), Eric Lamb (Lambchops).

No "official" league photo in 1999.  David was able to capture this off the video he took.  The Six Packs won their first and only CFCL Championship in 1999.  This was also our last year at ten owners.  At the end of the 1999 season the Slackers and Flatfeet would resign.

The draft took place at the home of Dem Rebels in Aurora, IL.  At this draft we tried a "Kangaroo Court" wherein owners would be fined for things like forgetting who we were bidding on, what the bid amount was, etc.  Host Bentel was fined because there was no nearby food place that could deliver lunch.  Kelly Barone was in charge of the fining process.  The lack of a catered lunch must not have caused too much hardship on Kelly considering he won the damn league.

The most unique and egregious fine levied on this day was to the ForGoetzMeNots for ACTUALLY FALLING ASLEEP DURING THE DRAFT!

The CFCL Owners of 2000

Picture from left:  Eric Lamb (Lambchops), Rich Bentel (Dem Rebels), Matt Bentel (DoorMatts), Steve Olson (Steve's Stones), Dave Goetz (ForGoetzMeNots), Kelly Barone (Six Packs), David Mahlan (David's Copperfields and eventual 2000 CFCL Champion), Nick Hansen (Nick's Picts), Paul Zeledon (Da Paul Meisters - in white hat), Bruce Ellman (Bruce's Witzke a Go-Go - in yellow shirt), Dave Holian (David's Ruffins), Matt Grage (Hard Hats).  Not pictured - Harry Witzke (Bruce's Witzke a Go-Go).

 

There is a lot going on in this 2000 CFCL Owner Picture.  First of all, if you have been following this part of the blog as we work our way backward from 2013, you noticed that the quality of this picture is extremely poor compared to previous posts.  That's because this was the last year before we hit the digital photo age.  To get this picture we stood in front of the video camera David had set up, stood real still for a few seconds and then got down to business.  David anticipated needing/using an Owner Photo for 2000 and had us line up in front of the video camera.

 

If you are anal like me, you looked at the names listed (12) and counted the faces (13) and realized someone was not accounted for.  The gentleman on the far right is Tim Leen.  Last week we met Tim as the One Year Wonder owner of Tim's Maulers.  In 2000 he provided backup help as Matt Grage (Hard Hats) needed to step out of the draft for an hour or so due to a family commitment.  Tim sat in for Matt while he was gone, getting a flavor of what it was like to attend a draft and be an owner.

 

Interestingly, while Matt was out and about he had on the radio and heard that Sean Casey broke his thumb - either in a spring training game or an early regular season game.  When he came back he mentioned it to everyone which allowed the owner of Sean Casey (don't remember who that was) the opportunity to focus his efforts on a firstbaseman during the Rotation Pick part of the draft.

 

2000 was the first year the CFCL expanded to twelve teams as the Stones and Go-Go joined the league that  year.  We also had two other new owners.  The Hard Hats replaced the retired Steve's Slackers and Nick's Picts replaced the retired Welch's Flatfeet.  This would also be the last year for the ForGoetzMeNots - an Original 6 Owner who left the CFCL and then rejoined in 1994.

 

The Copperfields would win the first part of their fourth back-to-back CFCL titles.

 

We drafted in somewhat corporate oppulence in Naperville.



 





The CFCL Owners of 2001

Pictured from left [First Row] David Mahlan (David's Copperfields and eventual 2001 CFCL Champion), Kelly Barone (Six Packs), Rich Bentel (Dem Rebels), Matt Bentel (DoorMatts)

[Second Row] Harry Witzke (Bruce's Witzke A Go-Go), Eric Lamb (Lambchops), Steve Olson (Steve's Stones), Tim Leen (Tim's Maulers), Matt Grage (Hard Hats), Paul Zeledon (Da Paul Meisters), Nick Hansen (Nick's Picts).  [Not pictured] Dave Holian (David's Ruffins)

2001 saw the Copperfields capture their second consecutive CFCL title (actually this would be the fourth and last time they repeated as champions).  This was the first (and last) year for Tim Leen of Tim's Maulers as they replaced an original six member - Dave Goetz of the ForGoetzMeNots.  This would also be the last season that Harry Witzke (co)owned a CFCL team.  They joined in 2000 with Bruce Ellman as co-owner and after the 2001 season Witzke resigned, turning over the franchise solely to Ellman.  This season, while the Copperfields ran away with the title with a nine point lead, the Go-Go and DoorMatts stood tied point-wise for third.  The DoorMatts were able to show by taking the second tie breaker.

We drafted in corporate opulence in Oak Brook which allowed the Ruffins to draft long distance via phone and computer.







The CFCL Owners of 2002

[Picture from left]:  Steve Olson (Steve's Stones); Eric Lamb (Eventual 2002 CFCL Champion Lambchops); Paul Zeledon (Da Paul Meisters); David Mahlan (David's Copperfields); Matt Grage (Hard Hats); Jason Grey (Reservoir Dogs); Kelly Barone (Six Packs); Rich Bentel (Dem Rebels); Nick Hansen (Nick's Picts); Matt Bentel (DoorMatts); Bruce Ellman (Tenacious B).  [Not pictured but represented by the white speaker in Rich's had - Dave Holian (David's Ruffins)]

2002 was the year the world learned about the CFCL.  Or more accurately the 2002 season was when the wheels were set into motion.  To start, we had a completely new owner join us and a former co-owner branch out on his own.  Jason Grey and the Reservoir Dogs replaced the Maulers.  Jason not only brought his Mastersball fantasy baseball experience with him, he also brought a film crew.  Jason was approached by the producers of Trading the Gator to see if he knew of a local, dedicated, maniacal fantasy baseball league and he said "Funny you should ask.  I just joined a Chicago-based league."  The poles you see behind Matt Grage and Nick Hansen's head are part of the equipment used to film scenes of the draft for TTG.

Bruce Ellman was a new old owner.  For two years he co-managed the Witzke a Go-Go.  In 2002 his co-owner resigned and Bruce unveiled the Tenacious B.

After 13 years in the league, the Lambchops finally found the magic and captured what would be the first of consecutive CFCL Championships.

Once again drafting in the opulence of the Oak Brook conference room, we had the technology available to us for the Ruffins to draft remotely.  In years previous and post the Ruffins would communicate via computer screen or earpiece with Rich Bentel, but since we were going Hollywood and didn't want to miss the Ruffin wit, he was placed on speaker so the film producers could directly capture any Ruffin communication.