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The BSFL Constitution

"Living Our Lives Through Other People"

The BSFL Mission

The BSFL was the vision of some brave men many years ago.  Their insight has brought us together each year through fierce gridiron competition.  We are proud to say that the BSFL has been in existence for eight years, assembled in 1990.  The intent has and always will be to have fun, keep in touch with each other, and to rag on fellow Owners - regardless of cost and time.  The continuing mission of the league will always be:

ˆto justify sitting on the couch all day, every Sunday during the NFL season;

ˆto have an excuse to get together and drink ourselves silly a few times a year;

ˆto breakaway from our spouses/significant others and children whenever possible, so we may properly engage in debauchery.

If our mission cannot be preserved, there is little point in continuing the BSFL.

BSFL Rules and Guidelines

A-1.) Team Ownership and Regulations:

1.The BSFL will consist of eight friends (one of whom is elected commissioner) currently: Boo Andreas, Kevin Calvert, Rob Cummings, Mark DiGiorgio, Matt DiGiorgio, John Dodson, Matt Gutierrez, and Brian Shortall.

2.Each of the friends and their spouses may only have an interest in one team, and is considered the General Manager or Owner.

3.Any collusion, real or perceived, among Owners will bring immediate disciplinary action and possible banishment from the BSFL.

4.Each Owner will do what is in his team's best interest.

5.All Owners enlist to engage in weekly communiqué during the football season - exchanging line-ups and numerous insults.

6.If an Owner is lax in observing the BSFL Mission or the above 5 Edicts, that Owner may be asked to surrender his team - refer to "Involuntary Resignation".

A-2.) Involuntary Resignation:

An Owner may be asked to leave the BSFL for failure to meet any Mission and/or Rules.  There needs to be majority approval of the other Owners for banishment.  If there are an appropriate number of Owners that approve exile, a letter will be sent to the exiled Owner requesting his resignation or sale of his team in a timely manner.  If after 30 days there is no reply or sale, then the Commissioner will notify the forgotten Owner that she has forfeited rights to her team (and not entitled to any remuneration).  She may appeal, but what's the use?

A-3.) New Owners:

New Owners need majority approval of the league.  A new Owner is the result of a sold/involuntary resigned team.  The incoming Owner(s) will have to pay a fee to the league of $25.00 which will go into that year's Payout Pot, regardless if a payment was made for the team or not.

B-1.) Team Constraints:

1.A BSFL team consists of a 14 Active Player (AP) roster (except in extra draft pick situations detailed below in the Draft section).

2.There are 9 Starting Players (SP) and 5 Reserve Players (RP), on weekly line-up.

3.An Active Player is considered an individual playing a particular position or a team for Defense/Special Teams.

4.An AP is considered any NFL roster player and may include CFL, World League, and collegiate players that enter the NFL draft.  Yet, players scored in the BSFL will only come from NFL contests.

5.The position for an Active Player will be as listed in the USA Today NFL Football Section; or if the AP has played a specific position once in a given year and has been voted by the league on Draft Day.

6.Reserve Players may be of any position and placed in any order, and will be used to determine tie-breaking situations.

7.All players not drafted or picked-up to be on a team are in the Free Agent Player Pool (FAP) and are available to all Owners.

8.The players on a team’s roster may be modified during the season, refer to "Trades & Drop/Adds".

9.The following positions are scored for a team as the Starting Players:                

1 Quarterback (QB)                                                                                  2 Running Backs  (RB)                                                                            2 Wide Receivers (WR)                                                                          1 Utility Guy  (UG)  (a WR or a RB)                                                               1 Tight End  (TE)                                                                                     1 Kicker  (PK)                                                                                          1 Defense  (DF)

10.There will be no substituting/swapping of player positions.  If you do not have a SP for a position in your line-up, you must leave the position vacant and receive zero (0) points.

C-1.) General Manager/Game Responsibilities:

Each Owner must:

{provide his line-up, both SP and RP (by rank order), to the commissioner and his opponent;

{make such notification prior to 1:00 PM on Sundays or in the case of Thursday/Saturday games, they must declare any players on their roster prior to the 1st NFL game in which they have a player playing for the week.  If they do not declare a player, that player is automatically put into position RP-5 and continue to RP-4 and so on for any additional players not declared; and

{ensure team/players have been properly scored.

If an Owner does not contact the commissioner and/or his opponent, the Default Team will be used (see "Default Team'" below).  No exceptions!  Call the BSFL at: (908) xxx-xxxx.  For those outside NJ, call 1(800)GET-BSFL(NOW).  You may also utilize the web site:

http://www.oocities.org/~booandreas/   

There is a section that will allow you to input your lineup here.  You may also utilize e-mail to send to the commissioner and the other owner.  The commissioner’s e-mail address is: booandreas@oocities.com.

Please remember that e-mail is not totally reliable.  Keep all copies of your e-mail with the time/date stamp in case of problems.  The best way to leave your lineup is to call the BSFL Hotline or to send e-mail to the commissioner and your opponent at the same time.  You may wish to copy another owner, just in case.

If there is an error in your team/player scoring, contact the Commissioner.  He will act as the arbitor of all questions.

The advantage of the "home" team is in the event of a tie (after Reserves), the home team wins.

Default Team:  A Default Team is defined as the previous weeks' line-up.  If there was no previous line-up (i.e. Week 1), the first 9 players from the contracts/draft will be used to complete a line-up.  No reserve players will be allowed.  If an owner utilizes the default team during a week with Thursday/Saturday games, the owner obviously cannot change any of the other players in the starting lineup.  These situations will be monitored by the commissioner closely since an owner may attempt to circumvent the line-up rules during these weeks.  If action needs to be taken by the commissioner, he will do so.

Injury Substitute Clause:  This optional rule is discussed between the two Owners prior to each week's games.  This would allow either Owner to substitute a SP up until game time should one of his players become injured (especially in the case of weeks with  Thursday/Saturday games and late games on Sunday).  An Owner making a substitution must contact the other Owner prior to game time AND leave a message on the BSFL Hotline to ensure proper scoring.  This change must be verified by the opposing owner.  A player in the starting lineup cannot be replaced if they have already played.

Easy Access Edict:  Owners are to provide the league and their weekly competitor with updates to Home and Work phone numbers.  If an Owner is away on business/ travel/substance abuse rehab, leave a forwarding number OR designate your weekly line-ups; as the Commissioner would prefer to do as little work as possible throughout the season.  Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

D-1.) Players:

Players currently active in the NFL or drafted by an NFL team are available to be selected by an Owner.  Additionally, CFL, World League and collegiate athletes who enter the NFL draft are also available - yet less likely to play in the NFL.  This pool of athletes make up an elite group of high performing individuals known as the Active Player Pool (FAP).

Inactive players are those players dropped after Week 12 and placed into the Inactive Player Pool (IPP) and not available to be picked-up until the next year’s draft - see "Transactions - Trades&Drop/Adds" for more information.  This is to avoid collusion prior to and during the playoff period.

D-2.) Draft

The final overall standings will be used to create the draft order for the next season's draft.  Draft picks are allowed to be traded.  Each owner is awarded 11 draft picks in the following year’s draft at the conculusion of every season. 

An owner may acquire more than the 11 draft picks that are awarded after the previous season.  If an owner has more draft picks than needed for the 14 man roster, the owner will draft all of his draft picks and must cut down to the 14 roster limit by Tuesday at noon following the week 2 games.   If an owner does not give his list of cut players to the commissioner, the commissioner will cut the final players drafted in order to enforce the 14 man roster limit.  

If an owner has fewer draft picks than needed for the 14 man roster, the owner will draft during the supplemental draft which continues right after the regular draft.  Owners will have as many supplemental picks as necessary to fill out their 14 man roster.  Supplemental picks will be continue in the traditional “S” format of the regular draft and will be awarded by the commissioner immediately prior to the draft and after all contracts are submitted.  Supplemental picks are not allowed to be traded. 

The team that has the first overall selection in the draft will host the draft - date and time determined at the Awards Dinner.  The team with the second overall selection will prepare the draft boards, used to record Owners draft picks.

D-3.) Transactions - Trades & Drop/Adds:

1.Any player in the Free Agent Player (FAP) pool is eligible to be picked up by any team.

2.Trades & Drop/Adds (T&D/A) may occur between one or more Owner and/or the Free Agent Player (FAP) pool.

3.The first Owner to contact the Commissioner and verify that he is making the move, will get that player.

4.A player must be dropped for every T&D/A.  The roster limit of 14 may never be exceeded - with a maximum of 3 player's in the Injured Reserve List.

5.Each transaction will cost $5.00.

6.All T&D/A's may occur at anytime, but must be prior to the beginning of the Sunday games for the player to be used in a BSFL game of that week (except for players that play on Saturday or Thursday - you cannot add a player who already played and play them that week).

7.All T&D/A's must be reported to the Commissioner.

8.The last NFL week for Trades is Week 12.

9.After Week 12, the FAP is frozen.  There will be no trades, but D/A's are allowed at the inflated price of $10.00 a transaction.  Any player dropped after Week 12 are placed in IPP - only those players in the Free Agent Player (FAP) pool are eligible for Drop/Adds.

D-4.) Injured Reserve List:

1.  A player on a team's active roster may be placed on that team's Injured Reserve List (IR) if the following conditions are met:

 a.) the player has officially been placed on his NFL team's IR list.  (This player cannot return to his NFL team during the regular season and therefore cannot return to his BSFL team's active roster.)

 b.) the Owner chooses not to drop that player.

 c.) the injury occurs at anytime.

2. A BSFL team may not have more than 3 players on their IR list at anytime.

3. The cost of placing a player on IR and picking up a replacement player is $10.00.

4. These players may be among the number of players kept for the following year.

5. IR players may be traded for Active Players, other IR players or any other type that is designated.  This is contingent that the limits for all rosters are met by all teams involved in the trade.

D-5.) Player Contracts:

1.Each owner is designated three (3) protections spots for the following year’s draft which will allow them to keep these 3 players that are contracted per the rules below.

2.Players drafted onto a team are considered the property of that team until they are dropped prior to the following year's draft, signed to a contract, or traded.

3.A player not signed to a contract for the following year must be made a free agent, thus dropping into the Free Agent Player pool.

4.Once a player's 1st contract runs out, he becomes a restricted free agent and the Owner must either drop that player, trade him, or re-sign him.

5.Once a player's contract runs out for the 2nd time, he becomes an unrestricted free agent and will be placed in the Free Agent Player (FAP) pool or the team can trade that player. 

6.Contract players, restricted and unrestricted free agents may be traded at any time.  There will then be two types of players involved in trades: a.) those that have never been signed to a contract (drafted the previous year), and b.) those that have been signed at least once by the trading team.  Trades will be handled one of two ways:                                                                                                       a.) For unsigned 1st year drafted players, the receiving team in the trade will be able to sign that player to their 1st contract and may resign them when that contract runs out.                                                                                     b.) For signed players, the receiving team in the trade will be able to sign that player as a restricted free agent, even if this is their 2nd contract and that player is supposed to become an unrestricted free agent.

7.No contract extensions may be signed.

8.Contracts:a.) may be for any length of time;                                                       b.) 1st time contracts will cost $5.00 times the number of years of                            the contract. ($ value will rise as it is pegged to LIBOR).                              c.) Contracts for restricted free agents (2nd contracts or the                                      receiving team in a trade) will cost $7.50 times the number of                                years of the contract.                                                                             d.) Contract fees will be paid yearly in conjunction with yearly dues.                          The Commissioner will monitor all contracts and yearly fees.          e.) If a player is injured or retires while under contract, the Owner       is still responsible to pay out the contract for its entire life. 

9.Any player under contract that is traded will live out the length of that contract and then become a restricted free agent for the receiving team in the trade.

10.The 3 protections spots that each owner is designated are allowed to be traded similar to draft picks.  If an owner cannot meet the 14 player roster size after the regular draft due to trading draft picks or protections spots, they will draft according to the supplemental draft as outlined below.

E-1.) Game Rules:

1.Each Owner will create a weekly line-up consisting of 9 SP's and 5 RP's.

2.Each Owner must forward his line-up to the BSFL and his opponent.

3.Each team's starting line-up will score points in accordance with the BSFL Point Scoring Chart.  The team with the most points wins.

4.In case of a tie, the teams would compare Reserve Player #1 as designated prior to the games, and whoever's RP scores more than their counterparts' RP  is the Winner.  If there is a tie for RP#1, than RP#2 are compared ...thru RP#5.  If a tie still exists after the last RP, the "home" team is declared the victor.

5.Only the starting line-up's points will be counted in the statistics.

6.Any controversies should immediately be brought to the attention of the Commissioner.

7.The official source of game statistics will be the USA Today newspaper, though the commissioner may use another source for their reports.  So check your results each week.

E-2.) Season, Schedule & Standings:

1.The regular season endures 14 weeks, coinciding with the NFL schedule.  Weeks 15-17 are reserved for BSFL Playoffs and Championship Game.

2.All teams make the playoffs.

3.Only the regular season results are used for stats, except for Wins and Losses.

4.There will be two divisions: The Steer and the Heffer. 

5.Every year the 1st and 3rd place teams from each division will swap places with the other division.  Below are the teams that comprise the two divisions:

        The Steer:                                                              The Heffer:

       The Boozers                                                       The Fighting Wedge

The Chicken Hawks                                                     The Flying Circus

        The Mares                                                               The MADDogs

The Hoboken X-Men                                                  The Brown Marlins

Each team will play each other 2 times.  A detailed schedule will be furnished to all Owners prior to/on draft day by the Commissioner.

E-3.) Playoffs and Championship Game Format:

The divisional playoff format will have the #1 team playing the #4 team; and the #2 team playing the #3 team.  The winners will play each other.  There will be a Championship Game and a Consolation Game.  Below is the format for the playoffs:

Steer #1                                                                                               Heffer #1

    vs.       Winner                                                                        Winner    vs.

Steer #4                                                                                               Heffer #4

                                           Championship Game

                                    Winner           vs.             Winner

Steer #2                                                                                               Heffer #2

    vs.         Winner                                                                        Winner    vs.

Steer #3                                                                                               Heffer #3

                                               Consolation Game

                                                 Loser    vs.   Loser

3rd Place

F-1.) Commissioner's Duties:

1.Conduct the draft.

2.Create the BSFL Schedule.

3.Execute the Constitution and foster an environment that recognizes new ideas/proposals.

4.Handle appropriate transactions associated with the league.

5.Maintain rosters and communicate updates with the BSFL.

6.Act as treasurer - handle the dough and Payout Pool.

7.Manage the year-end dinner and awards.

8.Resolve all disputes. 

9.The Commissioner has the right to "null and void" any trade that appears not to be in the best interests of the BSFL.

10.The Commissioner has the power and authority to hail "greatness" upon who is fit.  A majority vote of the league may overturn the decisions.

11.Manage the T&D/A's and Contracts.

12.Issue penalty fines.

13.Handle all statistics and reports.

14.The commissioner receives 50% off his yearly fee for providing his services.

In addition, the commissioner is responsible for the following and may contract with an outside agency to do the work.

1.Handle all transactions associated with the league.

2.Record statistics, trades & drop/adds and make them available to all Owners; "stats" are available by Wednesday 10:00 AM (mail/e-mail/web).

3.Publish rosters and reports.

4.Distribute Owner addresses and phone numbers.

G-1.) Late Payments, Payouts, Fines & Other Fees

All yearly fees and contract costs must be paid at Draft Day.  There will be a $10.00 charge per the schedule below for failure to ante up.

G-2.) Penalty Fines:

The Commissioner has the authority to fine any Owner for behavior countrary to the BSFL Mission, or any other satisfying reason.  These penalties may range from $0.25 to $1.00.  An Owner can be levied these fines countless times in a day/week/year.  An owner also has the opportunity to appeal any fine.

G-3.) Cost Involvement/Payment Schedule:

1.The yearly fee is $100.00 plus the cost of Contracts (see Player Contracts below), both due at Draft Day.

2.Each loss is $5.00.

3.All transactions (trades, drop/add's) cost $5.00.  IR transactions are $10.00.  Trades not involving those from the Free Agent Player (FAP) pool will be free after The BSFL Championship Game through the end of the subsequent BSFL draft.

4.Drop/Add's after Week 12 are $10.00.

5.Late payment fees for yearly dues start after Week 5 at $10.00, and for every 4 weeks thereafter is an additional $10.00.  (Weeks 6, 10, 14 assessed)

6.All Owners are required to pay any additional fees to the Commissioner prior to the dinner.

G-4.) Payout Pool:

The Payout Pool comprises all moneys collected from Yearly Fees, Contracts, Trades & Drop/Add's, I.R., Losses, Name Change Fees and Late Payment Fees; less all expenditures by the Commissioner for such functions as: Year End Dinner, Playoff Party.  If any moneys are remaining in the Payout Pool, it shall be distributed to the owners based on the "BSFL Payout" schedule - as prescribed below.

BSFL/Money Payout:

The Commissioner will pay the Owners at the year end dinner based on the B.S.F.L. Payout.  The breakdown will be as follows:

Super Bowl Champion - 25%

Super Bowl Runner-up - 12.5%

Consolation Winner - 5%

Category* Champion - 4% each

Division Champion  - 7.5% both

Best Record (non Div) - 4%

Total Points 1st place - 7.5%

Total Points 2nd place - 3%

Total Points 3rd place - 2.5%

* The following Categories are awarded moneys for Total Team Points:  QB, RB, WR, UG, TE, PK, and DF.  UG only receives 2%.

G-5.) Name Change Fees:

Hey, pick a damn name and stick to it.  If your team sucks, it probably has nothing to do with your team name.  Yet, if you feel the need to change your name, a charge of $10.00 will be incurred.  So choose wisely.

H-1.) The Blue Sky Fantasy Leagues, Inc.

The BSFL and its' Commissioner has contracted with the Blue Sky Fantasy Leagues, Inc. to provide us with weekly team scoring and reporting.  The BSFL has licensed Fantasy Football League Manager at a cost of $60.00 to do the scoring.  They have also paid $60.00 to Geocities for the web site.  The cost of their superlative service is $100.00 for our League.

To facilitate proper scoring, the Blue Sky Fantasy Leagues needs to be advised of your line-up each week.  Refer to "General Owner/Game Responsibilities" for notification procedures.  The BSFL Hotline is (908) xxx-xxxx.

The BSFL has developed Web capability (on-line reports, schedules, Owner info ...).  Check for frequent updates at "www.oocities.org/~booandreas/index.html".

I-1.) Constitution Modifications (Proposals):

Over the course of time, it may be deemed that certain rules, bylaws, and/or constitution wording become outdated or in need of alteration.  If at such time an Owner feels ambitious to advocate change, he may do so if in accordance with the following process:

1.) The Owner makes known any change with the Commissioner. 

2.) The Owner then sends all Owners a written notice of the proposal, including why such a change is necessary. 

3.) There is a vote on the proposals which is handled by the sponsoring owner with verification being done by the commissioner.  The Owner should leave about 2 weeks between the notice and the voting of the proposal in order to let the Owners discuss the aftermath of such a change.  Generally, voting on proposals are held prior to Draft Day or at the Awards Dinner.  If the proposal is urgent in nature, a quorum may be held for immediate discussion and confirmation - the Commissioner would need to be closely held to such a meeting.

I-2.) Elections

Elections may take place to ratify a new Commissioner.  The process generally follows the Proposal process, and requires majority vote.  The nomination process will generally be one week in length and limited to only two people.  Winner by majority; in event of a tie, coin toss decides winner.  (1998 Commissioner vote: Boo 6 - 0; John, Kevin Abstain).

I-3.) Important Dates:

Your allegiance is to the BSFL, and your attendance to the following social events are nearly mandatory.  Should you choose not to attend, you forfeit any and all moneys or privileges associated with the event.

The first important event of the year is the Draft Day.  The date is set at the Awards Dinner which is always the Saturday before the NFL Super Bowl.  The Playoff Party is optional, but usually the better owners show up.  It's the best time to "stick it" in the face of others Owners as you advance through the playoffs while sharing a little eggnog and good holiday cheer - generally held on Saturday of Week 15, the first week of BSFL Playoffs.

Amended:

June 18 , 1998