You're Killin' Me, Smalls! (Special Edition)

 

I'm hoping that the recent changes I made to the site have mitigated most, if not all, of the issues that some of you have had over the last couple of weeks. Let me go over what I know and what I've done to this point and suggest solutions to anyone with recurring issues. 

---Apple users have had no problems (and are probably sick of the never-ending emails and texts about this stuff). I apologize to them and anyone else who doesn't need any workarounds. 

---There are no problems reported using the 3rd party apps, MFL Platinum and MFL Mobile.

---The problems have been mainly with the lineup submission page and scoreboard. By 'scoreboard,' I'm referring to the main one, which you reach via the icon along the top of the site to the right of our shield and league name. See here:

---The problems seem to affect the site when using Edge and Chrome on Windows machines, but many of us use those browsers and have NOT had problems. My Chrome is Version 140.0.7339.186 (Official Build) (64-bit). Runs our site like a charm for me. Checking Edge, I have Version 141.0.3537.25 (Official build) beta (64-bit). 

---As noted, I use Chrome currently, although I have many different browsers on my computers, as I try to test things using them. My computers run Win11 without issues; all I do with the browsers is allow for automatic updates. 

---One owner has recently reported that the Marquee (the ticker with headlines directly below the logo) and the mini-scoreboard (the MFL/NFL board below the Marquee) have not worked/disappeared. The developer has told me he's never had that reported to him before. If you have the same issue, please let me know. 

---I've set the scoreboard page to the plain version. I hope that eliminates problems. 

---I thought I had done the same for the lineup page, but this a.m. I'm seeing the enhanced version (with player photos) again. I'm at a loss as to why. The only reason I can think of is that the developer sometimes updates his 'scripts', which trickle down to the sites that use them. 

---This has kind of taken over my life for the past week and a half. There is no way I'm going back to the old site style with my crude coding additions. This template is much quicker and better functioning. 

Sooooo:

Here is what I'm suggesting to anyone who continues to have problems...

---Make sure your OS (your version of Windows) is up to date. Support for Windows 10 is expiring. If you have a Windows machine capable of moving to 11, do so. 

---Same with your browser. You can use Google to find instructions. "How do I update ____ browser?" will get you what you need. On both Chrome and Edge, go to Settings and hit the About Chrome or About Edge link, and the browser version is there. If it is out of date, it will update for you!

---Make sure you have JavaScript turned on. Again, Google is your friend for finding out how to check this. I was able to replicate the issues on my computer using Brave with JavaScript turned 'off,' which told me the problems are related to your browser's use of that plugin. 

---Clear your browser's cache. It will force you to sign in on most sites that have your credentials stored, but it will also fix many issues. Again, use Google to find out how this is done.

---Experiment with a different browser. Edge and Chrome are fine, but there are alternatives out there that have features you may like. And most of them are quicker. 

---I highly recommend Vivaldi and Brave browsers. I used Vivaldi for years until it developed an 'allergy' to a page I use as my start page. When they fix that, I'm going back to using it. I continue to use it as my mobile browser. Opera is another good one, but I haven't used it in a while. Firefox works fine, but it used to load our site a bit slowly, so I moved on a few years ago. Unlike most of the others, it isn't built on the Chrome platform, so it may work better for you. Worth a shot. 

---The link below will get you to our league without ANY customization. It looks like dogshit (IMO), but everything is there. You can save it and use it as your regular link if you choose to.

https://www47.myfantasyleague.com/2025/logout?L=44355&HIDE_CUST=1

This next one will get you back to the customized site:

https://www47.myfantasyleague.com/2025/logout?L=44355&HIDE_CUST=0

EDIT: These two links are now available on the site under League Links down the right side of the home page.

---Use one of the mobile apps mentioned above, at least for lineups and checking scores. I'm rarely home on Sunday and in front of my computer (or watching the NFL, for that matter). MFL Platinum does a great job of keeping up with scores. 

---I have a way to turn off the 'invalid lineup' message that was being returned on the submission page, but I don't want to risk someone actually turning in an incorrect lineup by mistake. 

---I'm not going to say I'm done with trying to fix these issues, but with some solutions posted for the last of our 'problem children,' I'm going to take a break. 

---But PLEASE continue to alert me if something crops up! The more details you include, the better. You can text, email, or use the Chat box on the site. 

Context Clues

NOTE: Thanks to all of you who responded to my recent request for input on our site problems. As I suspected, the issues are browser-related and not universal, even across the same browser on different machines. See 'Site Issues' below for more on this.

I remember reading teachers talking about 'context clues' back when I was at Carver, but I never knew what they were yammering about. An automated league email that came last Wednesday morning kind of 'clued me in' (pun intended). 

Here is the email:

Two things came to mind...

1. I have a bid in on TEs
2. Does everyone know about league emails?

Let's talk about both. I try to be the first guy to turn in waiver requests every week. I do this for obvious reasons. But sometimes I go back and adjust my bid(s), rearrange priority, delete players, whatever. Those changes are sometimes based on gut feelings, but usually they're based on more research once newsletters arrive and online pundits update their stuff.

This time, though, I looked at that email and figured, 'Dan is going to be looking at TEs; I'm bidding on TEs; if I want my guy, I'd better bump my bid.' And I did. It turns out I got my guy, probably overpaid by bumping my bid, and Dan got his TE the next day for $5. 

That leads me to the second thought. MFL can automatically send you all sorts of emails. Here are my settings for the Flyers. 

I clicked the dropdown arrow in the 'To' section of the IR email and saw that it went only to the Nats, Strawmenn, and me. You can check and adjust which emails you receive by going to the top menu and clicking My Franchise --> Franchise Setup--> Contact Info and checking or unchecking the boxes as you wish. 

Site Stuff... As a few all of you are well aware, we had some issues last Thursday morning with the Lineup Submission page. Error messages were coming back for legit lineups. I'm not sure if it was a temporary glitch at the system level, a problem with the template, a browser issue, or a combo of all of the above. I switched the Submission Page to show the old, plain form as the default. And it seems the problem went away. 

The issues with the scoreboard remain. I thought I had thrown the switches to revert the scoreboard to the less fancy version, which should bypass your browser issues, but apparently, I either haven't done it correctly or I haven't found the right 'switch'. I am in contact with the site designer, and I should have a solution this week. He does all this work for free and troubleshoots issues for a lot of folks, so I don't like to press him. He'll get back to me when he can. Thanks for your patience. 

Week Two, how do you do? Well, personally, not so good. LOL Looks like the two teams from last season's Hughes Bowl will struggle to be at .500 this year. Hey, you take a big swing, and sometimes you miss... Sticks, Bliz, and the Holes remain unbeaten through two games. Each looks capable of extending that streak...another division week coming up, and Week Three is usually pivotal, coming back from 0-3 is not easy... is trading dead? Looks that way. C'mon, guys, it's not that hard... James is headed to MSP this weekend and has tickets for the Bengals-Vikes. Gonna be a fun matchup of Burrows and McCart...oops!...

Those of you who say I don't like any music from this century are incorrect...

Steven Sanchez has a great voice, and I love this song...

Billie Eilish is terrific; change my mind.

Love The National

Belleville, New Jersey's Sharon Van Etten...

That's Week One and Done!

 

46 seasons! And I never fail to be despondent when my team lays a first-week egg. LOL Even though I've suffered four Week 1 losses in the years I've won the championship. 

How was your Sunday night? I had a thirty-something-point lead at 7 pm, then...

This is where I give my annual advice...don't panic or get too cocky after one week! Your team is NOT where it will be in a month or so. I did some research and found that across our 44 head-to-head seasons (beginning in 1981) the eventual champ has gone 24-20 in Week One. As noted, in my six title seasons I am 2-4. Never give up! Never surrender!

Sure, I'd rather have won, but, TBH, I'm fine with my team, and you should be as well. Scoring was relatively balanced across the league, and the two bottom scorers had either an early-game injury to a top receiver (Worthy/Bombers) or a freak off-week for a star (AJ Brown/Joliet). The league averaged just a tick over 90 points per team. That's down a couple from 2024 but up six-ish from 2023. 

More thoughts on our draft.... and I'm talking in a technical sense, since how we get together works fine. No, I'm talking about PrimeTime Draft, allowing rankings/ADP to be displayed, installing a timer, and related issues.

First of all, I (mostly) like the PTD application. It's pretty cool visually; its nice to see positions coded by color, and other than a bit of an issue this year with a few owners getting started, I can't say there have been any problems making player selections. It's a piece of cake to upload the results to our league site. 

Having said that, there are some things I dislike about using it, both as a concept and in the execution. In no particular order...

1) I dislike the lag between when a pick is made and when it is announced (pops up) on all the screens. The app is intended for use as an in-person draft tool with no more than an owner or two drafting remotely. The idea is a podium-style draft where owners use a shared device that is hooked to a big screen. Having 12 guys on remote slows the system, or so I am led to believe.

2) The app can't be tied to draft eval sites. When I was in a serious baseball league, I drafted using the FantasyPros site alongside the ESPN (or maybe it was Yahoo) draft page. As picks were made, it showed my 'best' options for my upcoming turn. Now this is going to conflict with something I'll say below, but it is a consideration. Those third-party draft advice sites can work directly with MFL's native draft room if that's your thing.

3) PTD may be an 'orphan' app/site soon. While this year's download was branded and the 2025 version, I wonder how long they will stick around. I say that because they don't maintain or respond to their FB page anymore, and they didn't announce a winner in their annual random drawing for a free season of PTD.*  There is an alternative app, Fan Draft, which also works with MFL and looks like it may be more user-friendly for remote users. 

*=I no sooner typed that than a winner's name popped up in my FB notifications. LOL My skepticism stands. They used to award four or five free licenses; lately, it has been one. 

4) Speaking of the issues a few owners had to start the draft, my view as commish isn't quite the same as everyone else's. That made it tough to know what the issue was when an owner couldn't see a part of the screen, etc. I figured out later, when testing things, that I can more easily troubleshoot issues like that by using a second screen, one where I am strictly an owner. That is a real hassle, especially since I already have multiple screens in front of me to administer Zoom, etc. 

5) Other things I bitch about are directly related to the fact that this is supposed to be used with an in-person draft:

• No chat function
• No  easily accessible 'Pause Draft' function

The native MFL draft room shows me who is online and 'in' the room, ready to draft. With PTD I was guessing (hoping!) we were all good to go. Unless you contacted me, I couldn't be sure until your first pick came around and you responded. I should have asked everyone not present or on Zoom to text me, and I will try to remember to do that in the future. (Thanks for the text, Dave!)

If everyone is present in a room, the commish can halt proceedings easily. In the MFL room, there is a pause button. In PTD, no such function exists. At least none that I can find that alerts the room that we have stopped. 

Without a chat window, there is no way for us to kibitz while drafting. For me, that's a lot of the fun. I know there are ways to set up a web-based chat room to use, but I have enough trouble getting some of us to read a simple email (:::cough::: "Do we use a tight end?" :::cough:::) 🤷

I was doing some digging over the weekend, and I saw that Fan Draft has a chat function. I may have to look closer at it next year.

ADP... i.e. Average Draft Position, gets a lot of run. PTD has the option to display ADP, and I turned it on this year at the last minute. Lots of outside draft advice rankings will give you ADP data. The issue is that ADP in PrimeTime Draft, and most other places, can be misleading. Unless you can filter the results to take into account only leagues with the same parameters as the one you are drafting for, you are getting bad intel. A 'two-flex spot' league like ours is far different than a standard league. Or a 'super flex' league. Scrambling things further is the fact that there are ten-, fourteen-, and sixteen-team leagues out there. PPR, Half PPR, No PPR, TE-heavy...all these have different values for nearly every position. 

I'm bringing that up because I saw some really weird rankings while we were drafting last Monday. Maybe "weird" is the wrong word, but I for sure saw players ranked in conflict with every rankings list I was familiar with, and that is quite a few lists. This is an issue I'd need to take feedback about. A poll next summer may be in order. 

I sometimes think we could go to a draft pick timer, but with another draft that came in at around three hours, I think we are ok using peer pressure to keep things moving. LOL

ChatGPT to the rescue... I'd been playing around with creating graphics using it in recent days. Then a saw a discussion somewhere about using it to clean up HTML coding. I thought I'd give it a shot with the mess that had become of the Ed Hughes Tribute page. Damn, in about 10 seconds it returned my code with pics centered properly, text cleaned up and rendered in a more readable font, etc. Check it out by clicking the link over on the right. 

Site Tips... If you have more than one team in the MFL system, you can check their scores under the My Team tab. On the right side, you will see all your matchups listed under the All My Leagues module. One tip: You can click the little gear icon at the top of the module and change the view for the matchup to 'text' by clicking the little arrow to the right. Using 'text' rather than 'logo' or 'icon' is a much cleaner look. 

Disregard this. It's closed.

The first guy to post "I heard the news today—oh, boy!" on the league chat (post to 'everybody') wins $5 waiver cash!

Post Draft & Post Malone

First things first. I want to extend a big thanks to Bobby for hosting Monday evening's draft. I very much appreciate him and Carla allowing us to invade their space for a few hours. The Torchy's Tacos tradition continues! Having a Zoom room available really added to the atmosphere, and it was good to have Keith, Jim, and Rick involved. Even with a smaller crowd of locals, it was a fun night. 

Technically, we were able to overcome a few early bumps in the road, and from that point, it went smoothly. 

I'm okay with the PrimeTime Draft site for the most part. I was surprised that a few players' new teams were not updated. Whenever I open the site, it tells me it is checking for a new, updated database so having Adam Thielen still with the Panthers and Amari Cooper listed as a FA shouldn't happen. I always send an email to the PTD folks about our experience, and I will point out that issue to them. 

The board from the draft is clickable to enlarge.

As I mentioned a few weeks back, my uncle and the league's 'godfather', Ralph Straley, passed away at the age of 90 a month ago today. One of my cousins recently forwarded me his obituary from the Baltimore Sun. I thought I'd post it here. BTW, I've decided his name will be recognized on our Champions Trophy. 

Random Things.....

In another league history-related matter...I only recently saw that Coach Hughes' granddaughter, Meaghan, had left a very nice comment on our Coach Hughes Tribute page. Unfortunately, Blogger never notifies me of comments, so I missed seeing it for almost a year. I replied, hoping her Google account would inform her and that she might send some scans of her grandfather's football memorabilia and such. The link to the Tribute page is in the right-hand column on this blog. 

And, yes, that page is a mess. I'm going to have to take some time and rework the coding to align the photos and such. 

The unfamiliar league logo at the top of the page is a product of my ChatGPT experiments. 

The league calendar is your friend and as you read this it's likely that waivers are open so you can add your 17th player. Check prior posts (scroll down) for more details on how this first waiver window works. 

A 'Go' for Monday!

Note: After I published some of my favorite memories in blog posts this summer, Rick suggested I do an entry about some of the more entertaining Hughes Bowls over our long history. I liked the idea, and I'm working on it as time permits.

 

Another Note: If you have not read the last few News entries you need to scroll for important draft info.

Draft Things:

We are good to go for Monday night's shindig. As always, I'm hoping to get things rolling on time (6:30 Central, 7:30 Eastern, 5:30 PazTime). I'm going to be sending out an email with the PrimeTime Draft link, the Zoom link, Bobby's address, and some phone numbers. I'll sent it out more than once between now and Monday evening. 

There is no timer set for drafting, but I encourage everyone to be quick with their picks. Bobby has an early bedtime, and we don't want to keep him up too late. 

As I mentioned previously, the MFL league page is the backup plan should something go sideways with PrimeTime Draft. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Site Things..

I think I've settled on the homepage's 'Blue on Blue' theme. But don't be surprised if you pop in one morning and the thing is teal or purple!

I've experienced a slow load of the league website a time or two over the last couple of weeks. I don't believe it has anything to do with the new layout/template. More likely, it is simply MFL's servers reacting to a lot of preseason traffic. The issue doesn't last for long. 

You may or may not have found the 'Enlarge' and 'Shrink' buttons under the 'Help' tab in the top menu. You can use those to set the page so that it is easier to read in your browser. The setting 'sticks' from session to session, at least for me. The 'Reset' button (below those two buttons) returns the page to the default view. 

If you can't 'see' a module you know was there the last time you visited the site, check to see if the header is still visible with a plus (+) sign on the right side. You may have accidentally collapsed the module the last time you visited and hadn't noticed. Ask me how I know this. 🙄

The 'Quick Links' module in the right column is handy as it contains not only the chat, but also 'Activity', which allows you to see if another owner is online using the site, 'Options', an easy place to find links some of the more common modules, such as Submit Lineup, etc. and 'Notes', an editable scratchpad viewable only by you. 

From the album Rolling Stone lists as the Greatest of All Time:

Assorted Thoughts Going Into The Draft

One Week Away

We are set to draft a week from today. Houston owners (who are able) will gather at Bobby's home in Meyerland. Everyone else will be online, and we will use the PrimeTime Draft site.

If you are considering swapping draft positions with another owner, please do so today, as I will be entering the order into the PrimeTime site this evening. 

Draft Night Issues

Hopefully, nothing comes up as far as PrimeTime Draft is concerned. But if it does, we can fall back to using the draft room on the site itself, as we did for many years. I will email my phone number to everyone again before the draft, along with the PT Draft link. The link will return an error message if clicked before I start the draft, which is why I don't bother sending it now. I will send it next weekend and open the draft on Labor Day with plenty of time to get it running on your screen.

A Zoom link will also be sent, and the more owners we have 'live', the better.

Again, refer to the previous news entry below for draft night specifics and check your email as the draft gets closer. 

Apologies

I'm sure some of you get tired of my nagging re: 1) logging in and 2) paying for the league. MFL has changed the setup over the years, and it used to be much easier to fix login issues, reset passwords, etc. I'd rather not mess with trying to get someone access to the league at 6:10 on draft night. So knowing that everyone can get into the league is a load off my mind. 

Everyone has paid or at least committed, so I have unlocked all the teams. 

MFL Apps

I am aware of two apps, MFL Platinum and MFL Mobile, at least for iOS devices. They are also (I believe) on the Google Play Store for Android users. I've used both in the past, and they do what they are programmed to do. I prefer MFL Platinum only because I like its look more.

Our website is programmed to work on mobile devices in a way that you may not even need to bother with an app. The menu is mobile-friendly. I've found myself using the site itself instead of an app for most things. The only thing I have found that I prefer to do on an app is check scores during the Sunday games. 

YMMV, of course.

After The Draft

I'll upload the rosters once I get home from Bobby's place on draft night. Check the league calendar to see when waivers open. The previous entry (scroll down) has all those details as well. Nothing of significance has changed from last season. I did update the rules page with a few clarifications. 

The New Homepage

I've asked everyone to poke around our league site, as many things you will use during the season are not going to be where you've been accustomed to finding them. A few things, our Ed Hughes Tribute,  the Rules page, the Champs News archives, and the historical Banners page, etc., have been moved to the Hughes News site. But links to them are also available on the league homepage. Please let me know if you have an issue with the new site layout or if you have any suggestions. 

If you want to add links to football sites you visit frequently, you can do so by clicking  'My Links' under 'My Franchise' on the top menu. And don't ignore the 'Chat' function on the homepage. It's an easy way to reach me with questions and comments as I check the site frequently.

...and finally 

As you are doing your draft prep, keep in mind that kickers are essential to winning! Drafting a couple in the first four rounds is a recommended strategy. You'll thank me later!

Drafting Details Finalized

 

Draft #46 is set

Bobby has stepped up and graciously offered his home in Meyerland/Westbury as a place for the Houston crew to get together on draft night. Some of you live a fair distance away, but hopefully you can make it. Being a holiday, I'd expect an easier trip than on a normal weeknight in Houston.

The details:

• What: The 2025 EHFL Draft
• When: Monday, September 1, at 6:30 Central time (It's Labor Day night)
• Where: Bobby's home in Meyerland/Westbury

See the email from Thursday night for the address. A link to the draft on PrimeTime draft, the Zoom link, and important phone numbers will be provided as the draft gets closer. 

Other Stuff:

If you haven't yet checked into the 2025 site, please do so. Draft night emergencies are my biggest commish nightmare. I can't help you log in as easily as I could a few years ago. 

We will draft 16 rounds. The morning after the draft (Tuesday, the 2nd) will have a FCFS window that opens at 8 a.m. Central so you can add your 17th player and/or fix your draft night errors. 😔 You will be reimbursed for the cost of one pickup that you make during the window, which runs through 5 p.m. Central on Thursday. Additional claims in that window, and all FCFS claims during the season, will cost you the usual $5. This is the ONLY waiver window before Week One games! If you skip picking up a kicker during the draft, you will need to fill that slot by the close of FCFS. Check the calendar on the league site. 

Once that FCFS window closes, you can begin making blind bids on players, and those bids will process the following Wednesday, September 10th. 

These are probably repeats from past News entries, but they are favorites of mine.