Summer Update #2

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Before anything else...I'm looking for a quality photo of Steve Barenholtz. I'd like to replace the one I'm using in the memorials graphic. Click the 'About Us' tab on the league site to see what I'm referring to. Thanks. And now for the regular blog nonsense.....

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It's funny how life is. Two weeks ago I was, well, ambivalent at best about moving forward with the league, and now I'm in 'Let's F'ing Go!' mode. And when I'm feeling that way, I tend to post crap, even if I know it is generally for my own benefit. 😼

League/Site Stuff:

We are at 75% paid as I type this, with 9 of 12 teams in the bank. Teams that have paid have received their waiver cash bonus. That window closes on Thursday at Midnight.

A few owners took it upon themselves to 'overpay', which is appreciated. But rather than pocket that extra money, I'm going to put it to use in one or two of the following ways:

➤Swag Handouts...You can never have enough Hughes-branded crap, right?

➤Trophy Upgrade... I had to rent a forklift and do some remodeling to get my 2024 trophy from the flatbed to my home office. I may not get something quite that big for the '25 champ, but a one-tier upgrade from the Crown Awards catalog might be in play.

➤A 'tip' for our tech guru... 'TOS' (short for THE Ohio State) has been a fixture in the MFL commish forum for a very long time. He is responsible for most of the customizations and mods I've used through the years. And when I get in trouble (which is often), he's always ready to answer my dumb questions. And he does this for many other leagues and does it all without any compensation. If you take a look under the hood of the new template, for example, there is a huge amount of coding involved. It's time for me to toss him a bone, even if it is just a virtual Starbucks card or something. 

Speaking of the site... I'm mostly done with it. I'm going to add some of the in-season modules when the time comes, and I do like playing around with the graphics, but for the most part, what you see now is what we will use.

I moved several things over here to the News blog. The Ed Hughes Tribute page, Banners page, Championship Hughes News editions page, and the Rules page, to be specific. You can find links to them over on the right-hand side of this page. The box that had been on the front of the site with info on our league, Coach Hughes, and three of our former owners is now found under the About Us tab. 

I've swapped out all the non-division weeks on the schedule. I just randomly matched up weeks and swapped 'em since with empty rosters it doesn't matter who is squaring off in any week just yet. I also swapped some division weeks (3 for 5 and 12 for 13). I left weeks 1 and 14 as is because the Flyers versus the Heroes to open and close the season is kind of a tradition. tradition. 

Draft Info... I haven't talked to Mike to see if he and Lynne are up to hosting again this year. They may still be in Colorado. Other options include a place like Cactus Cove (site of our last two postseason meetups), one of several breweries with good web access, or just doing it all remotely. I'll update as needed. We will draft on September 1, which is Labor Day.

Coming Soon: (or at least eventually) to a league near you: As of late I've been giving a lot of thought to some of the more memorable moments in our 45 years of doing this. Gary Hamman's David Overstreet pick is always the first thing that comes to mind, but that's far from the only highlight (or lowlight). Some time before the season starts I want to post an entry with some of the memorable moments that have made the Hughes League what it is.

An in-season get-together was mentioned in my first email. I think it might be fun if we can find the right date, game, and venue. I don't want to spoil our post-season gathering so maybe mid-season for a fun Monday Night game would work. I'll give it some more thought. We could even have a FaceTime session going so the OOT guys could check in. 

And I've also been thinking that we are not that far off (knock on wood) from our 50th season. I've always said jokingly that we will go to Vegas for that year's draft and have showgirls, etc. The problem is I hate Vegas. Like I really hate Vegas! My one visit was one too many. Therefore, I've been mulling over some alternative plans. I'd love to have every owner in one room for that 50th draft. That's probably a pipe dream, but I still want to try. So a location that is easily reachable to everyone would be helpful. Atlanta sort of 'splits the difference' travel distance-wise and it's an airline hub with flights arriving from everywhere. The fact that there is a lot to do there is gravy. I could see us having our draft and visiting the College Football Hall of Fame. We visited there for the 2015 UH Peach Bowl Game, and it was a highlight for sure. 2029 is a long way off. But I like thinking about it.

Jim Kerr is another guy who still brings it.