2003 Lake Erie 12 Rulebook
12th Edition, Version 1.3
August, 2003

Go to:
1.      OBJECT
2.      LEAGUE ORGANIZATION
3.      DUES
4.      SEASON
5.      PLAYOFFS
6.      AWARDS
7.      COMMISSIONER
8-10.  DRAFT
11.     ROSTER
12.     STARTING LINEUPS
13.     DEADLINE
14.     THURS/SAT GAMES
15.     LINEUP CHANGES
16.     TRANSACTIONS
17. TRADES
18.     SCORING METHOD
19-20. TIES
 

1. OBJECT: This is a GAME in which you pit your skills against fellow football enthusiasts by drafting, trading, acquiring and starting players on the franchise you build from the ground up. The object is to have FUN while trying to create the best franchise within the rules to win the LE12 Championship.

2. LEAGUE ORGANIZATION: The league will consist of 12 franchises divided into 3 divisions of 4 teams each. The names of these divisions are as follows: LAKEFRONT, PENINSULA, and BAYFRONT. Co-owners are welcome. Each owner names his/her franchise for the current season.

3. DUES: Each franchise must pay the league dues to participate. The only exception is last year’s Champion is exempt from paying for the following year (i.e. The 2002 LE12 Champion does not have to pay dues for the 2003 season). League dues are set by determining the current expenses of the league and therefore may vary from year to year. Dues must be paid at time of the draft. Failure to do so will result in that team forfeiting its 1st round selection. 2003 dues are $25.00 with weekly reports available on the Internet at http://football.myfantasyleague.com/2003/home/52800

4. SEASON: The LE12 season will be 16 weeks long coinciding with the first 16 weeks of the NFL regular season. NFL Weeks 1-14 will be the LE12 regular season. NFL Weeks 15-16 will be the LE12 Semi-Final and Championship, respectively. The LE12 season begins with the first selection in the fall draft and concludes after the Week 16 LE12 Championship Game.

5. PLAYOFFS: There will be 4 franchises eligible for the LE12 Playoffs. The 3 division winners and 1 wildcard will compete for the LE12 Championship.

6. AWARDS: This is a league for the sport of Fantasy Football and no cash money will be awarded. The winner of the LE12 Championship receives a customized, engraved ring commemorating his/her winning season.

7. COMMISSIONER: The LE12 Commissioner has ultimate authority over any matter within the Lake Erie 12 Fantasy Football League, but must oversee, uphold and enforce the policies and procedures outlined within the Rules of the LE12. The Commissioner is responsible for weekly league business and arbitrating league disputes. The Commissioner may elect an assistant or executive committee to help with whatever else is deemed necessary. The Commissioner has no term limit, but is confirmed for another season by a majority vote at the end of each season.

8. LEAGUE RULES: Franchises may initiate rule changes or amendments before the start of the draft and during the end-of-year party. At least 3 franchises must make a motion for a rule change/amendment before it can be brought to a vote. Each franchise gets 1 vote regardless of the amount of its owners. The Commissioner may bring new ideas before the franchise owners for potential initiation anytime in the off-season as he/she see fit. As little as, but not less than 50% of the franchise membership may adopt rule changes/amendments with a majority vote. The Commissioner must be in attendance to oversee and ratify any and all rule changes/amendments. In the event of a tie vote, which may or may not include the Commissioner’s own vote, the Commissioner has the power to break the tie for the betterment of the league as he/she sees fit. The Commissioner may also table the potential rule change/amendment and come back with a decision after a reasonable amount of time. All rules adopted up to the first draft pick go into effect for the duration of the season.

9. DRAFT ORDER: Draft day is usually mid to late August generally occurring on a Saturday morning. On the draft day, each franchise must have a representative present or available online or via phone. Franchises without a representative will forfeit drafting positions and must make its selections from the remaining player pool after all other franchises have selected. No franchise is allowed to draft for another. Each franchise will be given 3 minutes to make their selection. If the time limit is exceeded, the next franchise in the draft order will be allowed to make its selection. Following that selection, the franchise that was skipped will be given 1 minute to make a selection or be skipped again.

10. DRAFT ORDER: The draft order is determined for the following year during the end-of-year party. The draft order is selected at random using cards - or a similar system - representing each position 1-12. Currently, the official LE12 draft system is a bubble-up / tractor format.

11. DRAFT POSITION TRADING: Franchise owners may elect to trade draft positions. Franchises can only trade draft positions for draft positions in the current season. All trades must have final approval from the Commissioner. Franchises wanting to trade draft positions must contact the Commissioner one week prior to set draft date. This year’s draft is August 16th, 2003, so, proposed trades must be into the Commissioner no later than August 9th, 2002. Trading on draft day is allowed for a limited time before the start of the draft and during the draft but franchises must finalize trades - with the Commissioner’s approval - within the 3-minute time limit.

12. ROSTER: Each franchise’s roster will consist of 17 offensive players and 2 defensive/special teams as outlined below. A balanced roster must be maintained throughout the year.
Position                  No.
Quarterbacks……...  3
Running backs…….  5
Wide receivers…….  5
Tight ends………….  2
Kickers……………..  2
Def/Special Teams… 2

13. STARTING LINEUPS: A starting lineup will consist of 7 offensive players and 1 defensive/special teams from the franchise’s roster as outlined below:
Position                  No.
Quarterbacks……...  1
Running backs…….  2
Wide receivers…….  2
Tight End...............  1
Kickers……………..  1
Def/Special Teams… 1

14. DEADLINE: All starting line-ups are due Sunday by 1:00 PM. If for whatever reason, no lineup is submitted, last week’s lineup will be used. A franchise may elect to submit a starting lineup before the deadline, but, once the deadline of Sunday 1PM is reached, no changes can be made until all games of that NFL/FFL Week are completed.

15. THURSDAY & SATURDAY GAMES: In the event of a Thursday and/or Saturday game, franchises may start players playing in those/that contest(s), but those players must be submitted to the website (http://football.myfantasyleague.com/2003/home/52800) before the start of that game. No Thursday or Saturday player(s) may be substituted for (in or out) on Sunday. Players in early games are locked at kickoff time for first game of the week; other players are locked Sunday at 1PM EST.

16. TRANSACTIONS / WAIVER WIRE: Franchises may elect to change its roster by replacing its players/teams with players/teams available from the player pool anytime from Tuesday 6AM-Thursday 7PM. A franchise roster may not exceed or have less than 17 offensive players and 1 defensive/special teams as outlined in Article #12. Each franchise will be allowed a total of 3 transactions per week. The franchise with the worst overall record & fewest starting points scored will be allowed to select first. Once a player is released from a franchise's team, there is a 1-week waiting period for all released players to be picked up by another franchise. After this period, the player is then eligible to be picked up any other franchise. Transactions/waivers are allowed from Week 1 through the end of the FFL regular season (Week 14). All transactions/waivers end with the LE12 regular season (Week 14).

17. TRADES: Trades between teams can happen at any time, but are only considered official after the Commissioner’s approval on Thursday Night. A trade is considered a transaction for both franchises involved. If a franchise trades with another for an unequal number of players (i.e. 1 QB for 2 RBs) and that franchise becomes unbalanced, the remaining transactions will be needed to adjust the roster accordingly. After the FFL/NFL Week 10 LINEUP NIGHT is completed, no trades between teams will be allowed.

18. SCORING METHOD: Points are awarded based on actual scoring plays and yardage accrued by NFL players/teams. Points are scored based on the franchise’s 8 starters (the 7 offensive players and the 1 defensive/special teams) submitted in the Weekly Lineup. Yardage points are awarded using decimal scoring to 1 decimal place. Player scores are valid for the NFL/FFL week in which they originally occurred. No "carrying over" points from a previous week's performance to cover bye weeks.

The following Scoring System applies to all offensive players at all positions except where noted:
 

· Scoring Plays:
· 3 points for every TD pass
· 6 points for every TD reception
· 6 points for every TD run
· 3 points for every Field Goal kicked
· 1 point for every Extra Point kick

Yardage Points:
· .1 (1/10th) point for every 1 rushing/receiving yard
· .1 (1/10th) point for every 2 passing yards.

2-Point Conversions:
· 2 points for running
· 2 points for receiving
· 1 point for passing.

The following Scoring System applies to all defensive/special teams except where noted:

Defensive/Special Team Scoring Plays:
· 6 points for a kickoff return for a TD
· 6 points for a fumble return for a TD
· 6 points for a blocked field goal return for a TD
· 6 points for a blocked punt return for a TD
· 2 points for a safety

Defensive/Special Team Turnover Points:
· .5 points for a fumble recovery
· .5 points for an interception

Defensive/Special Team Yardage Points:
· No yardage points of any kind are awarded to defensive/special teams. This includes fumble returns, interception returns, punt returns and kickoff returns.

Further Clarification and Explanation of Scoring:
· A player who scores a TD as the result of punt or kickoff return is awarded 6 points as well as the special teams. 
· No points are taken away for offensive players that complete a game with negative yardage. 

The Defensive/Special Team score points when:
· The defense is on the field 
· The punt return team is on the field 2
· The kickoff return team is on the field

1 In a situation where the offense is on the field and they turn the ball over, the offensive team then becomes the defensive/special team. Therefore, a play subsequently involving the (former) offensive player tackling the (former) defensive player in the endzone for a safety would result in 2 points awarded to the (former) offensive player and the (now) defensive/special teams.

2 Fake FGs and Fake Punts are not considered special teams plays and will be scored as offensive plays. Therefore, only offensive players will receive the appropriate points.

19. DIVISIONAL TIEBREAKERS: Divisional record ties will be broken by the following format:
· Overall Winning Percentage
· Divisional Winning Percentage
· Total Points Scored
· Head to Head Record 
· Reverse Order Of Opponent Total Points Scored

20. WEEKLY GAME TIES: Games during the regular season that end with a tie score are equal to one 1/2 win and one 1/2 loss. Playoff games may not end in a tie, and such, franchises will be required to submit 3 reserve players in addition to the starting roster. Should the playoff game end in a tie, the points from these reserve players will then be used until the tie is broken in the following manner:
 
· Total combined points
· Total scoring plays