Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Murderers' Row owner replacement

It only took about 20 minutes to find a replacement for Anthony Citerella, who dropped out of the league due to work obligations. We welcome BWB new comer Kevin Connors to the league, and are still anticipating the draft submission deadline to be Monday February 15th evening.

Kevin joined the Hall of Fame league this year by picking up an orphan team, and had engaged me in trade talks early on, so Kev seems like he will be an active addition to the league.

Best of luck to everyone!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Murderers' Row league -- now with more Cowbell

The Murderers' Row league manager roster is now complete with BWB and Robot baseball veteran Chris "Cowbell" Bellina capping the field of 16 for 2010.

I have asked Jon to randomize the teams into the four divisions.

Please expect a list draft (regular-way BWB draft) deadline of December 15th.

Any suggestions on any aspects of the league are welcome.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Murderers' Row Manager Update

We have 2 more managers on board since the last update:

1. Don Kruse -- 2 time division winner this year
2. Joe Lano -- Experts League champion

That makes 15 slots filled with one left open. Please let me know if you want to participate.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

New BWB Payout League for 2010: Murderers' Row League

Starting in 2010 there will be another "money" league in the BWB fold (much like the Beer League) called the Murderers' Row league. All the managers pay their usual team fee (although it's discounted in this case) plus pay some additional prize-money cash which is aggregated into the payout pool. Payouts are distributed according to finishing results at the end of the season. The all-in payment for each manager will be $75. With 16 teams, that would make $1,200 in pay-ins, and subtracting out the $550 league fee, $650 remains for year-end cash payouts.

The payouts will be as follows:

Division winners: $50 each ($200 total)
League Runner-up: $150 more
League Champion : $300 more


This league has been constructed to include the most experienced, active, and dominant BWB managers from all the existing leagues: a Murderers' Row. Of the 16 slots available, 13 are already spoken for:

1 Andy Marquis
2 Dave Regan
3 Jacob Vass
4 Jerry King
5 Leif Jonson/Scott Campbell
6 Mike Prohaska
7 Phil Dang
8 Sherman Wan
9 Tom Twomey
10 Adam Wilson
11 Jesse Roche
12 Anthony Citarella
13 Matt Strawbridge

I am now opening up the last 3 slots for anyone else who may be interested in joining. The selection process will not be strictly first-come, first-served, as I will additionally be considering number of years played in BWB and past performances, but being amongst the first to respond certainly won't hurt. I would like to finalize the manager lineup by Halloween.

If you are interested, please leave a comment or even better, e-mail me here.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Free Benchwarmer Baseball team for 2010

If you have been thinking about joining Benchwarmer Baseball for 2010 as a first-time owner, here is a great reason to join up before October 31st: you get your team for free.

From the Benchwarmer Baseball blog:

New Owner Specials - For brand new people who have never played Benchwarmer before, we're currently running a special through the end of October. They can sign up and get their first team in new leagues for free (normal prices apply for teams beyond the first). This is being advertised currently in USA Today Sports Weekly. Tell your friends - this is a great opportunity for them to try out Benchwarmer for a year at no risk!

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Lenny Dykstra: Master of the Universe

A chronological walk through Lenny Dykstra's days as a financial guru.

Video: The World According to Lenny

Link: The Street.com "Lenny Dykstra will explain his deep-in-the-money call options (now 76-0 for the year) at TheStreet.com Investment Conference on Saturday, Oct. 25. Limited seating. Act now."

Video: Cramer praises Dykstra -- Stock Picking Genius "One of the great ones."

Video: Mike Francesa dismisses Bryant Gumbel's skepticism

GQ Article: Working for the devil ... one man's tale of working for Lenny Dykstra

ESPN Article: Dykstra's business: a bed of 'Nails'
Excerpt:
Even members of Dykstra's family are lined up on the list of those to whom he owes money. His older brother, Brian, has yet to collect a $12,000 judgment awarded by the California Labor Relations Board. His younger brother, Kevin, alleges Dykstra cheated him out of $4 million on the sale of the family-run car washes, though Kevin hasn't filed suit.


On April 16, Terri, Dykstra's wife of more than 20 years and the mother of their three boys, filed for divorce. Through her attorney, she declined to comment for this story.

The family rift runs so deep that until recently, Dykstra had spoken to his mother only once in the past three years, according to his brothers, and wasn't allowing her any contact with his sons, her grand children.

Last month, though, on March 23, Dykstra picked up the phone and woke up his mother with a call at around 6 in the morning, according to Kevin Dykstra, his younger brother. Lenny was stranded in Cleveland. He wanted to charter a jet so he could get to a business meeting on the West Coast, and his credit cards were maxed out. He needed nearly $23,000 and asked his mother for it, Kevin says.

His mother agreed to let him use her credit card.


Video: HBO Real Sports revisits the Dykstra story in 2009

Video: CNBC after-math interview His story about dealings with someone with a speech impediment (and his bankruptcy, of course).

What I would like to know is: was the Player's Club annuity a planned Ponzi scheme? It's seems like it.

UPDATE:

August 2009 update on Dykstra saga -- Lenny living in his car

Friday, July 24, 2009

Baseball's Best TV Broadcast Team?

Although I am a Yankee fan, I wind up watching these guys at least 80 times a year.