One Week Down...

 ...And Thirteen To Go!

I say it every single year... your team isn't as good or as bad as it looks at this moment. There's a long way to go in the season and there are plenty of twists and turns to come. You only need look back at last season and the Blizzard. They started 7-0, finished at 8-6 and were lucky to get that. Ya never f'ing know. But just for grins let's take a look around the landscape today, shall we? 

The R'backs scored 131+ points...and lost. I went back to see how many time that's happened and was surprised by the number. Its actually the 10th occurrence. The last time was Week 8 in 2022 when the Flyers fell to the Smenn, 153+ to 130+. Our highest ever losing score was posted by the Holes in Week 8 of 2015. They scored 151 points but fell 4 points short of the Blizzards' 155... 

...at this moment in time, the Andrews and Scofield families are 4-0. That's only happened once before, in 2019... Hogan swapped out Caleb Williams for Jaxon Dart on Sunday morning. Williams would have won his game for him...been there, done that more times than I care to count... I have no damn idea why the scoreboard showed all zeros after the Monday Night game ended. It's a weird glitch I've seen in the past and it disappears within a half hour. I need to check with the template developer...

The average score for this week of 109.5 is the second highest opening week average in our history (we went to 8 player lineups in 2018) . The highest Week 1 average was 110 in 2020... this week's average score was NINETEEN points higher than last year's Week 1 average of 90.09...

Last season the only Heroes (102+) and the Rbacks (100) hit 100 points in Week One. This year EIGHT teams broke 100... Here's my Week One Public Service Announcement: Get the idea that post-draft evaluations by any of the numerous websites around that do that sort of thing mean anything. They are all full of shit. 

Techie Things...

You probably saw the emails on Monday night when Rick hit the wrong switch and dropped AJB instead of moving him to IR. That's very easy to do these days as the new template has multiple options on both the IR and Taxi Squad pages. Do yourself a favor and double-check your work before hitting the Perform IR/TS Move button. I've always happy to fix an error but I may be out-of-pocket or away from the computer and unable to jump in right away. Plus, doing commish stuff on my phone has proved to be problematical.

It's too late now but while checking into another question about the Taxi Squad I found the solution to my issue of last week. Turns out there is a setting that I could have turned on at the original Thursday deadline that would have allowed TS players to remain in place and also kept them from being replaced once they were promoted. I only needed to change the eligibility requirement switch from 'Rookie' to 'None'. I'm going to leave the system in place and if we use the TS again in the future I can use that setting if that's what we want to do. 

And be aware... you cannot claim a rookie directly to the Taxi Squad. He must be picked up on waivers (bidding or Open) and then moved to the TS from your regular 15-man roster. 

And finally... I'll take a look at the modules I have on the front page of the league site and add some that may be useful in-season. There is a lot of useful stuff contained in the tabs just above the helmet bar. Check out the Reports tab for sure. The submenu of tabs under that one has a lot to offer. Suggestions on the layout of the site are always welcome. 

Just for grins I'm going to list my favorite songs, in a very loose order, over the next ten weeks. I'll try to use a video from the original artist or a cover that I love. I did NOT spend any time refining my rankings. Like I said, it's a very loose order, especially 20 thru 50. 

Here are 50 down to 46: 

Today was Grandparents' Day at Ellis' preschool. It simply doesn't get much better than this.

Mobile Apps for MFL

Its been awhile since I looked into mobile device apps for Myfantasyleague. A couple apps that have been around forever are still out there, seemingly unchanged. A couple of new ones have popped up in the past year or two and they look pretty slick with much more modern interfaces. All of them seem to do the job.

First things first... I have the league set to be 'mobile friendly' with a customized look when viewing the site on your phone with any browser. I do any 'commish duties' that way since I see the regular pages and I can find things easily. But on game days I use an app to check scores. 

Three of the apps listed below are available for both Apple and Android devices. the fourth one, I dunno because a cursory Google search turns up info on a similarly named app tied to Brothers printers. I'll go through the apps and a desktop program along with links and screenshots, etc.

First up, the oldies. These have been around for ages and they don't seem to have changed since the Carter administration. But they both work fine.

MFL Platinum is my go-to. Probably because I've used it for so long. It is free and available for Apple and Android devices. You can edit the panes so the ones you use most often are at the top and you can hide ones you don't want. It works for multiple MFL leagues and its easy to switch back-and-forth.

Some of these panes are just links to our site but I don't use tham much anyway.

MFL Mobile is the first one I used way back in the day and I'm not sure why I switched. It is listed as the 'official' app for MFL leagues but that doesn't give it any advantage that I can see. It has all the same options as Platinum plus you can by-gawd change the color scheme to match your favorite NFL team, LOL. It is also free and works with multiple MFL leagues. There is a premium (paid) version apparently which does away with an ad at the bottom but whatever. It is available on both platforms.

Now for the newbies.

MFL Pro looks pretty slick. I've only had it for a day on my phone but I can see myself using it as my primary app. There is no webpage for it that I can find but it is available in the Apple Appstore. Maybe one of you Android guys could search Google Play and see if it's there. As far as I can tell it's free to use and I was able to view both MFL leagues I'm involved in. EDIT: The 'free' version is 'read only' which makes it fine to use to keep up with scores on a Sunday but in order to manage your team you would need to upgrade at a cost of $7. 

There is some sort of AI component that I have not had a chance to mess with but it might be something worthwhile. 

And finally we have MFL Modern. It's another one that I just discovered. In the small time I've had to play with it I can see that I likely will be deleting it from my phone before long. It has a nice looking, modern (duh) interface but I see no reason to recommend it over the other three. The interface is dark with no setting to change it. The 'commish tools' button simply links to the page on our website. It is restricted to one league in the free version. and worst of all, the scores were running waaaay behind. 

The paid plans add various features like multiple league support, a league chat (LOL, I can't get you guys to read emails, nevermind a league chat!), The highest paid plan gives you league and team advice apparently. There is a help and support page and I may send the guys some observations but I can't see paying for (or even using the free version) when there are better options. Its new so I'll wager they will fix the lag in the updates so I will keep tabs on it to see how it evolves.

In this screenshot note the game score hadn't changed from the Wednesday & Thursday night totals even 2 and a half hours into Sunday's games!

I cut off the bottom of this screenshot but the 'Edge Premium level is $25 and the league chat costs the same. Hard pass for me. 

And now for something completely different (and older then my Keds Hi-tops)

MFL Gameday Program has been around since MFL started and I first used it when we joined up in 2003. I've used it sporadically ever since. It's a desktop program that will track the same stuff and app tracks plus more. You can have it open on your computer and it updates constantly, both fantasy and NFL games. The interface hasn't changed...ever. I don't spend a lot of time on Sundays in front of the computer (or TV for that matter) but I used to use this all the time to download the Hughes boxscores that I would mail publish in Excel and mail or email out. that should give you a hint of how old it is. It seems like ages ago that the MFL folks said they were abandoning this program and yet here it is with a 2026 version. 

If you want to play around with it the link is here. I found that the link said '2026 version' but I got the 2025 version on install. You'll also probably get a few warning about the site/page being unsafe but you can ignore those. They stem from it being created on a Sinclair 1000 in 1982 I believe. ;-) 

I was able to update it in the options tab. Same thing goes for the player database. It gets an update every week. Click the screenshot here to get the full experience, such as it is.

I messed this up, I'm gonna fix it.

My intention with the Taxi Squad, as I've noted many times, was for it to be a one-time deal with each team optionally adding a rookie to the TS slot before the September 10 deadline and then being able to promote/activate that player at any time during the season. Once the rookie was activated the team's TS slot was supposed to close.

Turns out I didn't read the 'fine print', or at least not closely enough. As a result I've discovered that I can't put an option in place that would allow Taxi Squad 'promotions' that would automatically close the Taxi Squad option for that team. I either have to leave that window open until I can intervene, or turn TS actions off for everyone and be the TS 'gatekeeper' and have an owner contact me to make the promotion on their behalf. Both of those options suck for a variety of reasons.

I've talked to a couple of owners for opinions. Rick had a suggestion... just opening up the Taxi Squad for everyone again and leaving it open. In other words allow more than one Taxi Squad player during the year. The limit would still be rookies only, one-at-a-time, and the promoted player could not be sent back to the same team's Taxi Squad again (there is definately a way to prevent that automatically). But, once cleared via a promotion or drop, the slot could be filled with some other rookie. 

I'm very reluctant to make what sort of feels like an in-season rule change. OTOH, I hate (even more) having to do hands-on shit like making the promotion for someone... I might not be free to do it in time, etc. 

Therefore, the open it up option looks to be by far the easiest for me. 

So, here is the deal:

• I'm opening the Taxi Squad back up for everyone, even the teams that skipped the initial window.

• The TS window will remain open all season for all teams whether or not they want to use it. 

• Still only one slot, and still only rookies are eligible.

• You can promote or drop that Taxi Squad rookie at any time during the year. 

• Once a rookie is promoted or dropped he can't go back to that same team's Taxi Squad. But he can be used as a Taxi Squad rookie by a second team if acquired thru a claim or trade. Waiver fees still apply as usual.

• Once empty, the Taxi Squad slot can be filled with a different rookie if desired.

• There is no limit to how many times you can change your TS player but remember that you can't 'demote' the same rookie to your TS twice.

Note: I have a question about the issue of the ban from demoting the same player back to the Taxi Squad. The setting clearly disallows that but what is NOT clear to me is whether or not a different team could demote that player if he was picked up as a free agent or in a trade. I have a question on this currently uploaded to the MFL folks and will edit here once they respond with the clarification. The question has been answered by MFL, see underlined text above. 

Pro Tip: You can drop a player from your 15-man roster and promote a Taxi Squad rookie in one action from the Taxi Squad page. Just doule-check your work before finalizing the move because there are a lot of checkboxes on that page. 

That's it. I hope the change doesn't piss off anyone but it's the best option for all concerned. I don't want to have to apologize for not seeing a "Promote Mty Rookie!" text too late and cause someone to lose out on a win. 

As I also mentioned before the season, we can re-evaluate the Taxi Squad after the season to see if we should continue with it.

Your thoughts are always welcome.

Dammit, Let's Goooo!

 

First things first... big ups to Bobby hosting our 47th draft! Plenty of space, plenty of eats, plenty of bullshit. Just what a draft needs, yes? And I appreciate Jim and Rick chiming in via Zoom. 

I had tech issues but they didn't cause problems for anyone else. I'm just too dumb to realize that doing a dry run with my setup would be a good idea. Honestly, I'm ready to move on from PrimeTime Draft. It works as advertised as far as making picks is concerned but the commish tools are not readily accessible during the draft and there enough minor annoyances that I'll be looking at some of the alternatives for next year. There are quite a few out there with more popping up all the time. Using MFL's native draftroom is an option but I want to see what it is with this template before I commit to it. 

More evidence that I'm a nitwit...somehow I left the roster limit at 16 instead of 15 so one or two owners went over the limit during open waivers before I caught the error. It is fixed now and all waiver costs refunded. 

Random shit I've been thinking about... one issue I had was not being able to get to my cheatsheet/research because my second screen wasn't working. So I was winging it from memory and a printed NFL depth chart list. Serves me right.... juggling the site, drafting and Zoom isn't ideal. Maybe I recruit some help next year... we really need to get some out-of-town guys in for a live draft. Jack wasn't too far from us on Monday night in picturesque Fourchon, Louisiana, but he was onboard a ship.... this one:

... we for sure need to do this all together in person in 2029 for the 50th... we ran through the draft in really good time, in under three hours... I'm liking the Taxi Squad idea so far, there's a strategy to plotting it out I think... 

If you haven't already, check the previous few Hughes Blog entries for info on this week's timeline and the Taxi Squad.

Answers! Answers!

The draft is tomorrow today! I emailed everyone with the needed links to the PrimeTime Draft room and the Zoom link as well. Read the email through and note the issues I am having today with some websites including the PT Draft. I think we'll be fine but there are instructions at the bottom of that email you show look at. Issues have been resolved as far as I can tell. All systems 'GO!!'

And now your regularly scheduled BS......

But first...

Memorial Edition

There is no reason for this being here other than I killed a good half hour making it. Click it to enlarge it.

Here are the correct answers to the Hughes Trivia Quiz. I will email the participants and let them know the results. 

A) Which of these was never an actual EHFL franchise:

1. Oakland Bay Queens
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Miami Blizzard
4. Denver Avalanche
5. Chile Connection
6. Newark Bears
7. Manila Folders

Sam's first team was the St Louis Cardinals. No imagination whatsoever. ;-)

B) The first draft pick in EHFL history was:

1. Earl Campbell
2. Dan Fouts
3. David Overstreet
4. Wendell Tyler
5. Tommy Kramer

C) Which frannchise was the first to win two Hughes Bowl games?

1. Giants
2. Heroes
3. Strawmenn
4. Holes
5. Sticks
6. Flyers

D) Which franchise was the first to win three titles?

1. Giants
2. Holes
3. Strawmenn
4. Heroes
5. Flyers
6. Sticks

E) Which owner was not in the league for our first draft (be careful here)?

1. Sam Kelner
2. Jim Nichols
3. Gary Hamman
4. Steve Heinan
5. Mike Andrich

I warned you. Gary was a first year owner but he wasn't in the league the night we drafted that first season. He got involved the next day and picked his team from the leftovers. He did well, too. Won a couple of weeks.

F) Dan Marino won six Hughes Bowls as a starter, who is second with five (be careful here as well)?

1. Mark Duper
2. Mark Clayton
3. Drew Brees
4. Mark Duper AND Mark Clayton (tie)
5. Tony Gonzalez

Again I tipped you that this one had a twist. Gonzalez was a 'starter' in four HB lineups and was the winning tie-break player in a fifth. I'd have let this one slip if it was the lone wrong answer by someone.

G) Which of these combinations have TWELVE Hughes Bowls losses between them?

1. Heroes and Nationals
2. Heroes and Blizzard
3. Flyers and Strawmenn
4. Nationals and Flyers
5. Giants and Nationals
6. Flyers and Heroes

Nats are 7-6, Flyers are 6-6. The Holes, Bliz and S'menn have five losses. 

H) Two of these players were involved in the first player-for-player EHFL trade. You must get both correctly for credit:

1. Dan Fouts
2. Rich Caster
3. Earl Campbell
4. Earl Cooper
5. Charles White
6. Danny White
7. Bert Jones

This was the first player-for-player EHFL trade, with Nic dealing White to the Bustouts for Caster. The actual first transaction of any kind occured during the draft. Kuhlmann promised me a 6-pack in exchange for us swapping 6th round draft slots. I never got the beer. Mark, I forgive you.

I) Which franchise has won four 'Triple Crowns' (Most wins, Best PPG, Hughes Bowl win)?

1. Holes
2. Flyers
3. Nationals
4. Blizzard
5. Bombers

Here's something that occured to me as I was re-reading this answer. Jim has four titles. He's won the Triple Crown with every f'ing one of them. That is, well, amazing. 

J) Which franchise has never won the 'Triple Crown'?

1. Giants
2. Flyers
3. Heroes
4. Blizzard
5. Holes

Yup, I was surprised, too.

K) The Giants won three HBs in a row from 2019 thru 2021. Which two franchises have back-to-back titles?

1. Nats and Blizzard
2. Sticks and Attica
3. Nats and Heroes
4. Nats and Flyers
5. Blizzard and Bombers

L) Which of these players has been in a starting lineup for FIVE Hughes Bowl games:

1. Peyton Manning
2. Stephone Paige
3. Mark Clayton
4. Mark Duper
5. Randall Cunningham

I mean Paige was good, but not THAT good. Maybe popular is better than good? He won three of the five HBs he played in. To his credit he played ten seasons, all with the Chiefs. He was a part of two NFL playoff games. He did squat in an '86 first round loss to the Jets. He hauled in 8 of 12 targets for 142 yards and a score in a 1991 first round loss to the Dolphins.

M) Our first season on Myfantasyleague.com was

1. 1999
2. 2001
3. 2003
4. 2005
5. None of the above

N) Our last season of TD/Kicker scoring was:

1. 1999
2. 2001
3. 2003
4. 2005
5. None of the above

O) Whose suggestion was it to draft/claim NFL franchises to use as an EHFL team's waiver pool?

1. McCallum
2. Bobby
3. Kuhlmann
4. The Commish
5. Keith

Yes, it sounds like one of Rick's fever dreams but it was Bobby who conceived it. It was unique and worked fairly well but I remember a team or two getting caught short because their 'reserve teams' didn't have much to offer in a pinch.

P) Steve was our first 'long distance' draft participant. We communicated with him during the draft using which of these?

1. A string and two tin cans
2. A speaker phone and Ma Bell long distance
3. A Ouija board
4. A cellphone the size of a shoebox
5. A speaker phone and a WATS line
6. The Amazing Kreskin

We did use a phone and a WATS line (Wide Area Telephone Service) several times with out-of-towner drafters when we were in the UH Intramural offices. That made it nice since there was no having to 'catch up' the remote guys on who'd been drafted between calls.

Q) Who is the only owner to win the 2nd Season contest in back-to-back years?

1. Dan
2. James
3. Keith
4. Rick
5. Jack

R) Which of these was never a franchise nickname?

1. Doves
2. Rebels
3. Raiders
4. Sling
5. Ironmen
6. Islanders

S) Same question...Which of these was never a franchise nickname?

1. Knights
2. Knightriders
3. Who
4. Twins
5. Organs
6. Knives

T) In the season Keith won his first title, he set a record that held up through the end of the TD/Kicker scoring Era. What was that record?

1. Most trades in one season.
2. Highest season PPG.
3. Highest playoff game score.
4. Fewest regular season wins by a championship team. 
5. Most lunches lost waiting for the Hughes Bowl results. 

The Sticks put up 82 points in their semifinal win over Moose (82-26 was the score). Moose, ironically, came closest to topping that mark when he put beat the Holes 81-27 in 2003's Wildcard round.

Bonus Question #1....

In the year we had our only undefeated team, we also had our only non-winning team (1980 not included). What is the year, who was the non-winning owner and what was unique about that season? 1982, Pogge, Strike Season #1

Pogge went 0-8 to become the only owner to never win a Hughes League game in his career. (see Bonus Question #3 below)

Bonus Question #2....

Which franchise was among the first two to score 100+ points in a game and was also involved in the first game in which both teams scored 100+ points? The Blizzard

The Bliz scored 140 points in Week 1 of 2004 (Bombers also broke 100) and in Week 1 the Flyers beat the Bliz 112-103 (our first NBA-sounding final score). That 140 total wasn't broken until Week 6, 2009 season by the Strawmenn with a 156 point total. 

Bonus Question #3....

What non-owner was on-hand the year we drafted at Barry's Pizza and immediately took over Pogge's franchise when someone (not me) told Joe's girlfriend to GTFO? (edited for clarity) Paz

Paz was at the draft helping Steve (Barry's was Steve's place so he needed backup) and jumped in to draft his own squad when Joe's girlfriend :::ahem::: left. Joe, BTW, didn't speak to me for almost 20 years. We reconnected eventually when Brooks, James and I bumped into him downtown at the Texans' uniform unveiling in 2001. But we were never really friends again. The whole deal is something I'm not too proud of. 

Win a Hughes Mini Helmet!

 

Someone with too much time on their hands had an idea. Put together a Hughes League Trivia Contest and give away an EHFL mini helmet for the top prize. Seems like a fun way to get ready for the season. So here we are!

The details... below you will find 20 Hughes League-related multiple choice questions. Some appear to be easy, others not so much. Below those are three bonus questions. Your challange is as follows:

Answer all the 20 questions correctly and win the helmet shown above and the everlasting respect of your fellow degenerates owners. 

Answer all 20 questions correctly PLUS the bonus questions and win the helmet and a refund of your league fees for 2026 plus the respect blah, blah, blah.

👉If nobody answers all 20 correctly, the person with the most correct answers will win a rather dubious consolation prize, a package of peanut butter-cheese crackers and $10 in waiver cash. 

If nobody f'ing enters the contest, which I suspect is the most likely outcome 😒, I'm taking the waiver cash (and the damn crackers) for myself. 

The answers to all the questions can be found either in the Yearbook or among the websites I built/fixed over the summer which can be reached by clicking the Yearly Bests and Websites link over to the right. 

Please submit your answers via email (commishbob@gmail.com) with the question number and your letter choice for your answer. Let's make the deadline the day prior to the draft, September 6th. In the event of a tie, earliest email wins. 

Good luck and here we go!

A) Which of these was never an actual EHFL franchise:

1. Oakland Bay Queens
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Miami Blizzard
4. Denver Avalanche
5. Chile Connection
6. Newark Bears
7. Manila Folders

B) The first draft pick in EHFL history was:

1. Earl Campbell
2. Dan Fouts
3. David Overstreet
4. Wendell Tyler
5. Tommy Kramer

C) Which frannchise was the first to win two Hughes Bowl games?

1. Giants
2. Heroes
3. Strawmenn
4. Holes
5. Sticks
6. Flyers

D) Which franchise was the first to win three titles?

1. Giants
2. Holes
3. Strawmenn
4. Heroes
5. Flyers
6. Sticks

E) Which owner was not in the league for our first draft (be careful here)?

1. Sam Kelner
2. Jim Nichols
3. Gary Hamman
4. Steve Heinan
5. Mike Andrich

F) Dan Marino won six Hughes Bowls as a starter, who is second with five (be careful here as well)?

1. Mark Duper
2. Mark Clayton
3. Drew Brees
4. Mark Duper AND Mark Clayton (tie)
5. Tony Gonzalez

G) Which of these combinations have TWELVE Hughes Bowls losses between them?

1. Heroes and Nationals
2. Heroes and Blizzard
3. Flyers and Strawmenn
4. Nationals and Flyers
5. Giants and Nationals
6. Flyers and Heroes

H) Two of these players were involved in the first player-for-player EHFL trade. You must get both correctly for credit:

1. Dan Fouts
2. Rich Caster
3. Earl Campbell
4. Earl Cooper
5. Charles White
6. Danny White
7. Bert Jones

I) Which franchise has won four 'Triple Crowns' (Most wins, Best PPG, Hughes Bowl win)?

1. Holes
2. Flyers
3. Nationals
4. Blizzard
5. Bombers

J) Which franchise has never won the 'Triple Crown'?

1. Giants
2. Flyers
3. Heroes
4. Blizzard
5. Holes

K) The Giants won three HBs in a row from 2019 thru 2021. Which two franchises have back-to-back titles?

1. Nats and Blizzard
2. Sticks and Attica
3. Nats and Heroes
4. Nats and Flyers
5. Blizzard and Bombers

L) Which of these players has been in a starting lineup for FIVE Hughes Bowl games:

1. Peyton Manning
2. Stephone Paige
3. Mark Clayton
4. Mark Duper
5. Randall Cunningham

M) Our first season on Myfantasyleague.com was

1. 1999
2. 2001
3. 2003
4. 2005
5. None of the above

N) Our last season of TD/Kicker scoring was:

1. 1999
2. 2001
3. 2003
4. 2005
5. None of the above

O) Whose suggestion was it to draft/claim NFL franchises to use as an EHFL team's waiver pool?

1. McCallum
2. Bobby
3. Kuhlmann
4. The Commish
5. Keith

P) Steve was our first 'long distance' draft participant. We communicated with him during the draft using which of these?

1. A string and two tin cans
2. A speaker phone and Ma Bell long distance
3. A Ouija board
4. A cellphone the size of a shoebox
5. A speaker phone and a WATS line
6. The Amazing Kreskin

Q) Who is the only owner to win the 2nd Season contest in back-to-back years?

1. Dan
2. James
3. Keith
4. Rick
5. Jack

R) Which of these was never a franchise nickname?

1. Doves
2. Rebels
3. Raiders
4. Sling
5. Ironmen
6. Islanders

S) Same question...Which of these was never a franchise nickname?

1. Knights
2. Knightriders
3. Who
4. Twins
5. Organs
6. Knives

T) In the season Keith won his first title, he set a record that held up through the end of the TD/Kicker scoring Era. What was that record?

1. Most trades in one season.
2. Highest season PPG.
3. Highest playoff game score.
4. Fewest regular season wins by a championship team. 
5. Most lunches lost waiting for the Hughes Bowl results. 

Bonus Question #1....

In the year we had our only undefeated team, we also had our only non-winning team (1980 not included). What is the year, who was the non-winning owner and what was unique about that season? 

Bonus Question #2....

Which franchise was among the first two to score 100+ points in a game and was also involved in the first game in which both teams scored 100+ ponts?

Bonus Question #3....

What non-owner was on-hand the year we drafted at Barry's Pizza and immediately took over Pogge's franchise when someone (not me) told Joe's girlfriend to GTFO? (edited for clarity)