Win $80,000 In The 2015 NFBC Primetime

[Greg Ambrosius]

For the last several years, the NFBC has tried to create a 12-Team Main Event with live and online draft components. We've done everything from tying it into the Online Championship as a Double Play to making it a stand-alone product with a $100,000 grand prize. We've also tinkered with the entry fee, going from $500 to $1,000 to $1,500. Last year we had 252 teams at $1,500 with a $6,000 league prize and a $100,000 grand prize.

Last year's prizes were based on 324 teams, so obviously we fell short of our goals, but we continue to be bullish on the 12-team national contest and we believe the odds for winning this grand prize is better than in any other contest we are currently running. So here's what we're doing in 2015 with the NFBC Primetime:

** We are basing all guaranteed prizes on just 252 teams. That's only 21 leagues and anyone who can win their league title has a very good shot at additional prize money.

** We will create an Early-Bird Special for owners who take a Primetime team and a Main Event team, giving them $100 off if they sign up for that combination by Jan. 15th.

** We will add another $75,000 insurance policy involving the NFBC Primetime. In 2015, you can win an additional $75,000 if you win the Main Event and Primetime, but now we'll also offer a $75,000 cash bonus if you win overall titles in the Primetime and Online Championship. We didn't have that last year. So now you can win two $75,000 grand prizes through the NFBC Primetime. The Main Event will also have that with the Primetime, and then again with the Online Championship (the Lindy, as we call it since Lindy Hinkelman won the Main and the Online in 2009 to win the $75,000 cash bonus).

** The overall grand prize remains strong at $80,000, but based on fewer teams there were four spots in the overall prizes that have lower prizes than last season. But the league prizes remain the same ($6,000 and $3,000) and we are projecting only 252 teams for 2015.

Our goal is to sell out all 252 spots in the NFBC Primetime and steadily grow this format and the overall prizes in future years. We know this is a good format for our veterans and we believe it will bring in new customers to our live events, but at the end of the day the consumer determines what our prize structure will be. For 2015, it's based on 252 teams with an $80,000 grand prize. If demand exceeds expectations, we'll gladly push the prize pool up in future years. That's the goal.

Okay, here are the Rules and Prizes for the 2015 NFBC Primetime. There are no major rules changes:

OFFICIAL RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE NATIONAL FANTASY BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP (NFBC) PRIMETIME
1. Overview
The National Fantasy Baseball Championship Primetime will consist of multiple leagues each comprised of 12 teams/managers. The NFBC regular season will extend from the first game of the MLB regular season through the final game of the regular season (including one or more season-ending MLB tie-breaker games if needed).

Teams will compete for accumulative stats in five offensive and five pitching categories, with each category weighted equally. Categories include:

For Hitters
• Batting Average
• Home Runs
• RBIs
• Stolen Bases
• Runs

For Pitchers
• Wins
• Saves
• Earned Run Average
• Strikeouts
• WHIP Ratio (Walks plus Hits divided by Innings Pitched)

The team at the end of the year with the most Rotisserie-ranking points based on cumulative statistics for the season in each league wins the league title. Teams also will have their cumulative stats positioned in an overall Rotisserie-style ranking (5x5 with each category weighted equally among all teams in the NFBC Primetime) with the top finisher overall winning the grand prize.

2. Event Location and Fees
NFBC Primetime Leagues will be held at various live events and online throughout March and April. The cost per entry is $1,500 per team. There is a $75 events fee to draft at all locations including online and a $50 co-manager fee at each location.

3. Prizes
Prizes are awarded for league and overall standings.
Overall Prizes
1. First Place = $80,000
2. Second Place = $15,000
3. Third Place = $7,500
4. Fourth Place = $4,000
5. Fifth Place = $2,500
6. Sixth Place = $2,000
7. Seventh Place = $1,750
8. Eighth Place = $1,500
9. Ninth Place = $1,500

League Prizes
1. League Champion = $6,000
2. 2nd place finisher = $3,000

Cash prizes are awarded in U.S. dollars and are awarded to the principal owner of the team. Teams can split prizes among multiple owners by filling out the proper paperwork with STATS' accounting department before season's end. In the event of a tie, cash prizes are divided evenly among those who have tied.

4. Draft
Each league will be comprised of 12 teams, and each draft will consist of 30 rounds, with each team selecting a player from the AL or NL in each round in a serpentine fashion (team 1 through team 12 in odd-numbered rounds, team 12 through team 1 in even-numbered rounds). In all NFBC draft leagues, you do not need to fill your 23 required starting positions with your first 23 picks; your No. 2 catcher could be selected with your 30th overall pick if you choose. Players will be selected from all 30 Major League Baseball teams and minor-league prospects are eligible to be selected on Draft Day.

Each team must start a weekly lineup of 23 players with required positions and maintain a reserve roster (which includes DL players) of seven players. There is no position requirement necessary for your reserve roster and you can change your starting lineup at the start of each week. Free agent pickups during the season will include players who are on major-league rosters at the time or players who were selected on Draft Day and later dropped. Even players who were originally selected on Draft Day, cut and then sent to the minors are eligible during the regular season FAAB bidding period as once they are a part of that league they continue to be part of the free agent listing. If the players were good enough to be selected on Draft Day, they are then good enough to remain in that league's free agent pool.

If an NFBC participant does not show up at the draft in time, a surrogate owner will be installed and that owner will use the latest Cheat Sheets from STATS's online rankings to draft players, going in order of the Top 300 regardless of position. Should that owner not show up at all, the surrogate owner would be able to pick players at required positions when those needs are obvious.

If an NFBC participant inadvertently leaves the draft with an illegal lineup (for instance, was without a middle infielder or second catcher), then the NFBC will drop the last pick made by that team (or more picks if needed) and add the last player at that position on the NFBC's final Cheat Sheet on Draft Day to make that lineup legal. The NFBC participant could replace the player who was assigned after the error was discovered during the first FAAB period. All lineups must be legal before the season starts and the NFBC will correct all roster errors that may have been missed at the draft. All decisions by the NFBC commissioner involving final rosters are official.

Time Limit for Draft: There will be a 1-minute time limit for each owner to make his/her pick during each round of the NFBC Main Event draft. If a participant does not make a selection in the allotted time, he is passed over until the next participant makes a player selection. The passed-over participant follows after the next person's pick and again has one minute to make his/her pick. Picks are official once the league facilitator announces the selection and all decisions by the league facilitator are final. In the event that a participant selects a player who no longer is available, the participant will get an additional 15 seconds by the draft facilitator to select a new player. If the participant then again selects someone who is off the board, his/her turn will be skipped and the participant will be allotted a full minute to make another selection after the next team's selection has been made.

Commissioner Decisions: All decisions made by the NFBC commissioner are final. Tough decisions sometimes must be made about eligibility rules, lineups, etc., and NFBC participants must accept the unbiased ruling of the NFBC commissioner.
Seating: Every team will have two draft spots available at the table and each team will be seated in their draft order. If you do not have a co-manager, we will remove the second chair and you will have more room to spread out.

Electronic Equipment: Participants can use electronic equipment during the draft as long as it fits in the allotted draft spot at the table. There will be NO Internet connections or electrical outlets, so participants bringing laptops will have to supply their own power. Cell phones are allowed at the draft table, but we encourage participants to use them sparingly and not in a way that interrupts the draft process. We request that participants limit their usage to outgoing calls during the draft, not incoming calls, and anyone planning to remain on the phone for the entire draft needs to inform the NFBC about that ahead of time.

Smoking/Drinking: Smoking will not be allowed in the Draft Room. There will be a cash bar available in the Draft Room, but we ask that each participant drink responsibly.

Breaks: There will be a 15-minute break after Round 10 and another 15-minute break after Round 20, and we will finish the draft after the final break.

5. Setting Kentucky Derby Style (KDS) Preferences
The NFBC will use Kentucky Derby Style (KDS) preferences for draft preferences in NFBC Satellite leagues. Once an owner has officially signed up for the contest, this feature is available at the game website under their team link. Click on the team link and you will see the Draft Order ranked 1 through 12 and the option to change those preferences next to them. If you decide not to rank your preferences, your preferred order will remain 1 through 12. Owners can change their Draft Preferences right up until the announced deadline is set.

Here's what KDS does: The KDS process allows owners to rank their order of preference for Draft Day, ranking their preferences 1 through 12 BEFORE the leagues are randomly selected. Some owners would rather draft in the middle, if they are selected early in their league; others like to stay near the top and others like to move down to the lower end. KDS allows that if you are fortunate enough. A sample KDS from an owner could look like this: 3, 2, 1, 7, 6, 8, 12, 11, 4, 5, 9, 10. If an owner wants the third pick and he is selected No. 1 overall in his league, he would choose 3 as his top option and he would then be moved to third in that league on Draft Day. NFBC officials will look at every owner's Draft Preferences after the leagues and orders are randomly selected and then announce the draft orders for each league.

6. Random League/Draft Spot Selections
The NFBC will randomly select the leagues and the draft orders of each league once all entries have been submitted by city. For instance, if the NFBC receives 24 entries for a given league, we will put all 24 names into a computer program and select in order: League 1, pick 1 is John Smith; League 1, pick 2 is John Doe, League 1, pick 3 is Jane Andrews, etc. until all 24 names have been selected. We also will implement the Kentucky Derby Style (KDS) process, as described in Section 5, to allow owners more draft preference. The KDS process allows owners to rank their order of preference for Draft Day, ranking their preferences 1 through 12 BEFORE the leagues are selected. If an owner wants the third pick and he is selected No. 1 overall in his league, he would choose that option and he would then be moved to third in that league on Draft Day. NFBC officials will look at every owner's Draft Preferences after the leagues and orders are randomly selected and then announce the draft orders for each league. Once an owner has officially signed up for the contest, this feature is available at the game website under their team link. Click on the team link and you will see the Draft Order ranked 1 through 12 and the option to Edit Preferences next to them. If you decide not to rank your preferences, your preferred order will remain 1 through 12. Owners can change their Draft Preferences right up until the announced deadline is set.

If an NFBC league in one of the cities does not fill exactly with 12 teams, the NFBC reserves the right to fill that league with owners from one or more other host cities or owners on a teleconference to make it full. In that scenario, the NFBC reserves the right to place some of the final signups in any of the cities in that teleconference league. Early-bird signups will not be placed in a teleconference draft league if it's full in that city.

7. Roster Requirements
Maximum of 30 players at all times

8. Starting Lineup Requirements
Starting lineups will consist of:
1. 2 Catchers
2. 1 First Baseman
3. 1 Second Baseman
4. 1 Shortstop
5. 1 Third Baseman
6. 1 Middle Infielder (2B/SS)
7. 1 Corner Infielder (1B/3B)
8. 1 Utility Player (any offensive position)
9. 5 Outfielders
10. 9 Pitchers

There is a 1000 innings pitched minimum requirement for all NFBC leagues, but no minimum requirement for the number of starting pitchers or relief pitchers on each roster. Should any team not reach the required limit of 1000 innings pitched by the end of the season, the rankings will be altered to show that team getting 1 point in both ERA and WHIP. No other teams will switch positions in the standings, but the team that didn't reach the minimum IP will automatically earn 1 point in ERA and WHIP. All players must have played 20 games in 2014 or 10 games during the 2015 season to qualify at a certain position. Minor-leaguers who did not play 20 games at any position in 2014 but who still played at least one game in the majors last year, will qualify at the position they played the most at in the majors in 2014. Additional eligibility guidelines can be found in Section 9. If a player returns from retirement or rehab after missing the previous year, his position eligibility will be based on his previous year's eligibility. If no Week One lineup is submitted, the NFBC will determine your starting lineup. After Week One, if no starting lineup is submitted, your starting lineup will be that of the previous week.

9. Position Eligibility
The NFBC will use the following position eligibility rules in 2015:

a) Players who played at least 20 games at any position in 2014 will qualify at that position for the entire 2015 NFBC season. Players who play 10 games at a new position in 2015 will be eligible at that position after they have played there for the 10th time during the 2015 MLB regular season. Any player who missed all of the previous season to injury or retirement will qualify at the position he last was eligible for in the majors.

b) If a player did not appear in 20 games at any position, he qualifies at the one position he played most frequently the prior season in the majors. Designated Hitter is considered a position for these purposes (pinch-hitting is not). A player who only qualifies as a DH may only be assigned to the UT position. If a player's most games played at a position is less than 20 and tied among more than one position, the NFBC commissioner will assign eligibility at one position only.

c) Those players who only pinch-hit in the majors in 2014 will be position eligible according to their minor-league games played status in 2014. They would qualify at the position they played the most games in the minors.

d) Players who played all of 2014 in the minor leagues will be awarded position eligibility for the 2015 NFBC season based on the most games played at all levels in the minors. STATS will determine that one eligible position before Draft Day and that will determine that player's status for 2015 once he is called up to the majors. Those players who only pinch-hit or DH in the minors will only be UT-eligible.

e) The NFBC commissioner will rule on player eligibility prior to the draft as he deems necessary. Those eligibility lists are final and will be available to all owners prior to Draft Day.

10. League Management Web Address
You can access your team and league via the Internet by going to nfbc.stats.com. You will need a username and a password to access the game site. [email protected] if you are signed up for the contest and do not have a username and password.

11. Lineup submission
The weekly deadline for setting your NFBC starting lineup is on Mondays. In the NFBC, you don’t have to lock in your entire starting lineup on Mondays if you have players who don’t play their first game of the week until Tuesday. You now are allowed to lock in your starters on Monday 5 minutes before their scheduled games that day and also 5 minutes before their games on Tuesdays if that is their first game of the week. If you have East Coast teams starting at 7:05 pm ET on Monday, you have to lock them into your starting lineup by 7 pm ET. If you also have West Coast players who don't play until 10:05 pm ET, you then have until 10 pm ET to lock those starters in. And now if you have two outfielders playing their first games on Tuesday and you have one OF spot open in your starting lineup, you now have until Tuesday night to finalize who you want in your starting lineup. On Fridays, the same flexible Set Lineup procedure is in place for hitters where you can lock in your starters 5 minutes before their scheduled starting time for that day. Those players lock 5 minutes before their SCHEDULED STARTING TIME and do not change based on weather or any other matters.

NFBC team owners are also allowed to switch out any hitter (or hitters) from their starting lineup and replace him with a hitter from their reserve roster on Fridays. The deadline for doing that is 5 minutes before the start of that player's game on Friday. Pitchers will not be allowed to be moved out of your starting lineup at any time during the season; what is set on Monday remains for the remainder of the week for all pitchers. If there is an MLB tie-breaker game or games at the start of a new week, NFBC owners are allowed to reset their starting lineups for that game or games.

First Lineup Deadlines for Week 1: The MLB season starts on Sunday, April 5 with one game. Owners can then reset their starting lineups for Week 2 on Monday, April 6. Lineups for Week 1 will lock as described above.

All lineups must be submitted on the league website.

12. Free Agents
Any player who is not on a team roster within your league and is on a major league roster or once was on an NFBC team in your league is considered a free agent for that league. Even players on the MLB disabled list are eligible to be picked up during the FAAB bidding process. The player pool is deemed closed of new free agents each Sunday at 7 AM ET before the FAAB bidding deadline and a player must have played at least 1 MLB game to be added to the pool at that time. Once a minor-leaguer plays his first game in the majors, he remains in every NFBC FAAB pool whether he returns to the minors or not. Once in the majors, he remains in all FAAB pools. Participants should also note that MLB unsigned veteran free agents at the time of Draft Day are eligible to be picked up or bid on in all NFBC leagues.

Free Agent Bidding Process: The free agent system will be a "blind bidding" process for each individual league. Each team will start with 1,000 free agent "dollars" for the season, and will be permitted to bid for free agents on a weekly basis with a minimum bid of $1 per player. Teams will not be able to see other teams' free agent bids. The team with the highest bid on any given player will be awarded that player. The amount of the winning bid will be deducted from the winning team's free agent dollars. For each winning bid, the winning team must drop a player to make roster room for the free agent acquisition. If a team's free agent dollars go to zero, that team will no longer be allowed to bid for the rest of the season. No bid will be accepted that is larger than a team's available free agent dollars. All bids must be in increments of dollars (no cents). Only winning bids and the runner-up bids on each player will be shown after the FAAB bidding period for each NFBC league.

Bidding Time Frame: The NFBC bidding process will start the week before Opening Day and run for the first time on Sunday, April 5. FAAB will run every week from Week 1 through Week 26 (there is no new FAAB period if there are one or more regular-season MLB tie-breaker games). Bids will be accepted on the league website from Monday at 3 PM ET until Sunday at 10 PM ET in each of these weeks. Rosters will be updated shortly after 10 PM ET on Sunday with the results of all successful bids.

First and Last Free Agent Bidding Deadlines: The first free agent bidding deadline is Sunday, April 5, at 10 PM ET. The last free agent bidding deadline is Sunday, September 27, at 10 PM ET.

Conditional Bids: Conditional bids can also be offered. In the event you may lose out on a player, you can place conditional bid(s) for other players during the bidding time frame. Subsequent conditional bids will become relevant only if the previous conditional bid fails. Bids do not require conditional bids. Bids may have several sequential conditional bids. Participants should note that the computer takes the HIGHEST BIDS and processes each bid in that order if you have multiple FAAB acquisition bids. ALL BIDS WILL BE PROCESSED IN THE ORDER OF DOLLAR VALUE ASSIGNED TO THOSE FREE AGENTS, highest to lowest.

Example:
1. Kyle Gibson, $19, cut Trevor Bauer
2. Acquire Tommy Milone, $16, cut Trevor Bauer
3. Acquire Jake Peavy, $2, cut Trevor Bauer

Number of Bids Limit: There is no limit to the number of bids that may be submitted each week in which bids are permitted.

Tied Bids: If there is a tie bid during the season, the team that receives the player will be determined in order by
1. Worst league standing at the time FAAB was run (Sunday night using Saturday's standings).
2. Lowest standing the previous week.
3. Lowest draft position from Draft Day.

Any tied bids during the first FAAB period will be given to the team with the lowest draft order from Draft Day, whether there were a few games played before then or not.

Commissioner Review of Player Drops: All player drops for free agents are subject to review by the NFBC commissioner and can be revoked if the dropped player is deemed too valuable to be offered to that league's free agent pool, thus damaging the credibility of the overall contest. In the case of a "star" player being dropped in a league for a valid reason, the NFBC commissioner reserves the right to allow the cut but keep the player out of that league's free agent pool for any length of time, possibly the entire season. All decisions by the NFBC commissioner will be final.

13. Trades Between Managers
To minimize the possibility of collusion, there will be no trading allowed.

14. Scoring
All NFBC leagues will use a 5x5 Rotisserie scoring system. Cumulative totals will be used for the following categories:
1. Batting Average
2. Home Runs
3. RBIs
4. Stolen Bases
5. Runs
6. Wins
7. Saves
8. Earned Run Average
9. Strikeouts
10. WHIP Ratio (walks plus hits divided by innings pitched)

Teams are ranked by comparing their team totals to the other teams in their league. The team with the best total in each category receives 15 points and the team with the worst total receives 1 point. Overall points are calculated by ranking your team's statistics totals versus all other teams in the NFBC contest.

15. Taxes
If the principal team owner's prize winnings are $600.00 or greater (or any other threshold subsequently established by the IRS), the National Fantasy Baseball Championship (“NFBC”) must file a Form 1099 with the IRS at the end of this calendar year. We will request your social security number and signature on this form. The form contains the amount paid to you and you will receive a copy of the form for tax purposes. STATS pays the principal team owner of each NFBC team that was submitted on the entry form and you are responsible for paying any taxes that result from your cash prize; please consult your income tax advisor for filing advice. In the event that the awarding of any prizes to winners of the Contest is challenged by any legal authority, STATS reserves the right in its sole discretion to determine whether or not to award such prizes. After 12 months, any unclaimed prize will be forfeited.

16. Eligibility; Registration
The National Fantasy Baseball Championship is open to individuals who are at least 18 years of age (or the age of majority in your state of residence) and are a resident of the United States of America or Canada. Notwithstanding the foregoing, residents of Washington State, Louisiana, Montana, Arizona, Iowa, and Vermont are not eligible to register or play in the NFBC. All registrations must be in the full legal name of the primary team owner, though owners will have the option to add a co-manager(s).

17. Official Rules
Registration for, and continued participation in, the National Fantasy Baseball Championship constitutes your full and unconditional agreement to these official rules (“Official Rules”) and to STATS’ decisions relating thereto. STATS’ decisions in regards to these Official Rules and all matters pertaining to the National Fantasy Baseball Championship are final and binding.

18. Refunds
Once a participant submits valid payment, no money will be refunded unless the NFBC event for which such participant has registered has been canceled. A team spot is considered filled when the entire entry fee is paid. STATS reserves the right to cancel any entries which are not part of a full league. In addition, STATS retains the right to deny, at its sole discretion, eligibility of any individual to register for any NFBC game or event and/or participate in any NFBC game or event, even after the registration fee has been paid, but in such case, the entry fee will be refunded. Under no condition shall STATS be held responsible for any loss or liability related to any expenses incurred by a denied entrant or any person affiliated with that denied entrant. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, in the event that any participant or co-manager is banned from the NFBC as the result of any violation of the Official Rules, then no refund will be given.

19. Cancellation
At its sole discretion, STATS reserves the right to terminate any NFBC game, event or league at any time prior to the completion of the season due to any acts of God, natural disasters, terrorism, change in applicable law, interruption of the season (including strikes, lockouts and/or use of replacement players), or any other situation beyond the control of STATS. In the event of any such termination by STATS, all entry fees will be refunded, with the exception of any live event fees (if such live event has already occurred).

At its sole discretion, STATS reserves the right to terminate any NFBC game, event or league (including the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Main Event) if there are an insufficient number of teams prior to the scheduled start of the league. In this unlikely event, STATS will refund all entry fees within 48 hours of cancellation notice and/or provide a new application form with the newly stated prize figures. In this situation, all pre-registered applicants have the right to a full refund or to agree to play for the newly announced prize structure. STATS is not responsible for any loss or liability incurred by any participant or co-managers due to cancellation of any NFBC game, event or league, including but not limited to travel or hotel expenses, time taken off from employment, etc.

20. Code of Conduct
All participants and co-managers are expected to behave in lawful, respectful and sportsman-like fashion at all live draft events, throughout the NFBC season, and during use of any NFBC website, including, but not limited to comments posted on any NFBC message board. Additionally the NFBC events, games and/or leagues may not be used for any form of gambling. Any conduct or message board post by a participant, co-manager or other person which is deemed by STATS, in its sole discretion, to be unlawful, or to have the effect of intimidating, harassing, offending or otherwise harming any other participant, co-manager, guest, or NFBC/STATS representative, is strictly prohibited. STATS reserves the right, in its sole discretion to ban any person from current and/or future participation in the NFBC and/or from use of the message boards if such person engages in any such prohibited conduct or is otherwise in violation of any of these Rules. In addition, any person engaging in such conduct forfeits any rights to a refund, as well as any potential rights to a prize award. STATS shall not be responsible or held liable to any person for damage to property or personal injury or death arising from the acts or omissions of any third parties. Any participants or co-managers who collude, or attempt to collude, or who attempts to blackmail, bribe or otherwise influence any representative of STATS/NFBC, or who otherwise attempts to sabotage the league, in an effort to alter the results or outcome of any NFBC game will be disqualified and will be prohibited from winning any prize award. If a participant is banned from participation in a current NFBC game, then STATS reserves the right, to take those actions which it sees fit, in its sole discretion with respect to such banned participant’s team. Any criminal behavior may be referred to the appropriate authorities.

21. Errors
The deadline for submitting any dispute or claim regarding the operation of any league draft is one hour after the conclusion of the draft itself; further, leaving any live draft event without submitting any dispute or claim regarding the draft constitutes your waiver of any right to challenge any aspect of the draft. You are strongly urged to double-check your lineups, trades, and free agent moves throughout the season, as STATS/NFBC will not be held liable for any errors in entering lineups, trades or free agent moves, and STATS/NFBC will not intervene or alter a transaction after lineups, trades or free agent moves are due.

22. Prize Splitting
Prize splitting amongst the principal registrant and co-managers is available, provided that the principal registrant has authorized payment to his co-managers in writing and in advance of the completion of the season. In order to authorize prize-splitting, the principal registrant must completely fill out and sign the authorization form designated by STATS (including the name and address of the co-manager(s) and the applicable prize percentage to be paid to each co-manager(s)). Both the principal registrant and each co-manager designated on a prize-splitting form will be required to fill out a W-9. No prize money will be distributed until all necessary forms have been received by STATS. Both the principal registrant and the co-manager(s) will receive IRS Form 1099 reflecting the prize money paid to each. If STATS deems, in its sole discretion, that the appropriate documentation and/or authorization has not been received, or has not been received in a timely fashion, then STATS will pay prize payments only to the principal registrant.

23. Communication and Access
All NFBC team owners must have internet access and a valid e-mail address for communication. STATS is not responsible for any issues which impede or interfere with the transmission or receipt of any transaction, including but not limited to, draft selections, trades, free agent moves and lineups. STATS is also not responsible for the failure of any telephone networks/lines, internet connections, software/hardware, or internet congestion/transmission rates.

24. Hold Harmless
Each participant and co-owner hereby releases and holds harmless STATS and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries, and their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and representatives from and against any and all liability for any injuries, losses or damages of any kind to person (including death) and property, arising in whole or in part, directly or indirectly from participation in any NFBC event, game or league, as well as acceptance or use of any prize award.

25. Disputes; Limitation of Liability; Disclaimer
Each participant and co-owner agrees that (i) all issues and questions regarding the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or your rights and obligations in connection with the NFBC shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the state of Illinois, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules; and (ii) any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with the NFBC or any prize awarded will be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, or the appropriate state court located in Cook County, Illinois; and (iii) in no event shall STATS liability to you for any and all damages, losses or causes of action exceed $250; and (iv) in no event shall STATS, its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries, and their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and representatives, be liable for any punitive, incidental and consequential damages. If your jurisdiction does not allow limitations or exclusions of liability for incidental or consequential damages, the above may not apply to you. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, EACH NFBC GAME, EVENT, LEAGUE,WEBSITE, AND BULLETIN BOARD/FORUM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. IF YOUR JURISDICTION DOES NOT ALLOW FOR THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

26. STATS PASS
In the event that you have purchased a STATSPASS® subscription, then the following additional Terms and Conditions shall apply throughout your subscription period:
1. Your username/password are personal to you, and shall not be shared with, or used by, any third party.
2. During your subscription period, STATS hereby grants to you a non-exclusive license to utilize STATSPASS® and the data contained therein, solely for your personal use. This grant of license is expressly limited to the use described herein, and no additional rights or licenses are included. Any other use, including any commercial or non-personal use of STATSPASS® or use by any person other than you, is strictly prohibited, and shall be considered an Unauthorized Use.
3. In the event of any Unauthorized Use, in addition to any other remedies to which STATS shall be entitled, STATS shall have the right to immediately terminate your STATSPASS® subscription, without notice.
4. Subscription fees are non-refundable.
5. STATSPASS® IS LICENSED TO YOU "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OR GUARANTEE OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT WILL STATS BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS, LEGAL PENALTIES, OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE STATSPASS® AND/OR THE DATA ACCESSED THROUGH STATSPASS®. STATS’ LIABILITY HEREUNDER SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE SUMS RECEIVED BY STATS IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR STATSPASS® SUBSCRIPTION.
6. You shall not copy, database, archive, save, or otherwise store any data accessed through STATSPASS®.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Here's a look at the tentative Schedule of Events for the NFFC Primetime:

2015 NFBC PRIMETIME
LAS VEGAS, BELLAGIO
Thursday, March 26
NFBC Primetime, 6 pm PT

Friday, March 27
Primetime, 10 am PT
Primetime, 1 pm PT
Primetime, 5 pm PT
Primetime, 8 pm PT

Saturday, March 28
Primetime, 4 pm PT

Sunday, March 29
Primetime, 10 am PT

Thursday, April 2
Primetime, 6 pm PT

Friday, April 3
Primetime, 10 am PT
Primetime, 4 pm PT

Saturday, April 4
Primetime, 4 pm PT

Sunday, April 5
Primetime, 10 am PT

NEW YORK CITY
Friday, April 3
Primetime, 8 pm ET

Saturday, April 4
Primetime, 7 pm ET

CHICAGO
Saturday, April 4
Primetime, 6 pm CT

ONLINE
Primetime, 1 pm ET, Friday, March 27
Primetime, 7 pm ET, Friday, March 27
Primetime, 7 pm ET, Saturday, March 28
Primetime, 1 pm ET, Sunday, March 29
Primetime, 8 pm ET, Sunday, March 29
Primetime, 8 pm ET, Tuesday, March 31
Primetime, 7 pm ET, Wednesday, April 1
Primetime, 9 pm ET, Thursday, April 2
Primetime, 1 pm ET, Friday, April 3
Primetime, 7 pm ET, Friday, April 3
Primetime, 9 pm ET, Friday, April 3
Primetime, 7 pm ET, Saturday, April 4
Primetime, 1 pm ET, Sunday April 5

[blibros]

The rules above, presumably for Primetiem, contain the following:

"Time Limit for Draft: There will be a 1-minute time limit for each owner to make his/her pick during each round of the NFBC Main Event draft. If a participant does not make a selection in the allotted time, he is passed over until the next participant makes a player selection. The passed-over participant follows after the next person's pick and again has one minute to make his/her pick."

There is a specific reference to Main Event in this clause and I don't believe PT worked that way last year - thought pick was made for u by rankings. Is PT changing to work like ME in this regard for 2015?

[KJ Duke]

I thought it was 15 seconds in live drafts once it comes back to you.

[JohnP]

I thought it was 15 seconds in live drafts once it comes back to you.

I always thought it was a minute. If I ever had an end spot, I knew I had 3 minutes to make two picks if I needed it. I could let time expire on pick 1, use a minute on pick 2 and then use a minute on pick 1. I don't believe I ever did that but that was my understanding of how the rules worked in regards to timing out on an end spot.

[Greg Ambrosius]

The rules above, presumably for Primetiem, contain the following:

"Time Limit for Draft: There will be a 1-minute time limit for each owner to make his/her pick during each round of the NFBC Main Event draft. If a participant does not make a selection in the allotted time, he is passed over until the next participant makes a player selection. The passed-over participant follows after the next person's pick and again has one minute to make his/her pick."

There is a specific reference to Main Event in this clause and I don't believe PT worked that way last year - thought pick was made for u by rankings. Is PT changing to work like ME in this regard for 2015?

For live drafts, this is how it works. If you're talking about online drafts then yes if you run out of time the computer will pick the highest player in your Que or if no players are in your Que then it will take the top player in the default list. Nothing has changed there.

And at the live drafts, it is one minute if they pass and it comes back to them. Hope that helps.

[Greg Ambrosius]

I thought it was 15 seconds in live drafts once it comes back to you.

I always thought it was a minute. If I ever had an end spot, I knew I had 3 minutes to make two picks if I needed it. I could let time expire on pick 1, use a minute on pick 2 and then use a minute on pick 1. I don't believe I ever did that but that was my understanding of how the rules worked in regards to timing out on an end spot.

Nope, that's not how we enforce it. If Pick 12 in the Primetime passes on his first pick, he must make his two picks in one minute. Nobody gets an extra minute to decide on their picks.