IF YOUR TEAM HAS ALREADY BEEN KNOCKED OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS, thank you for playing this season and our next season will pickup right after the last championship of this season, which would probably be around end of June or the week after July 4th. Good news: next season we will probably have a San Jose location, however please bear in mind that if/when SF or Oakland teams play against SJ teams, we still have to go to RWC as a "meet me halfway" site.

IF YOUR TEAM HAS NOT RECEIVED ITS DUE T-SHIRTS, please note that I'm still working on this and will have more t-shirts to pass out this Sunday 6/1. After that, I will either try each Sunday after that, or spend one or two Thursdays driving around the Bay Area to drop them off where you work, to get all that off my plate. Also, I made a miscalculation on t-shirts and will have to order more. I don't know how much I'm off, but I know I'm off. And then it will take some time to order. That's why I'll need to schedule a Thursday appt with some folks. We'll play it by ear.

FOR SCHEDULING PURPOSES, please check the online spreadsheet and click on your division tab. There are sometimes quirks in the schedule, even if it is playoffs, esp. due to geographies. I already had one team discover that I messed up their schedule and accidentally omitted them. I am only human, only getting older, and prone to mistakes. Sorry in advance, but KEEP A VIGILANT EYE ON YOUR TEAM'S SCHEDULING.

Also, bear in mind that HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE IS DETERMINED BY HOME/AWAY BALANCING. I made this change last season. It is to be fair to all teams in terms of how much they travel over the course of their season. Therefore, even if you are a high seed, you might not be playing at home.

The good news is, hopefully by next season or at least by 2009, we will have a better website up, so some of these mistakes and issues can be minimized or at least displayed much easier.

THE PLAYOFF BRACKETS WILL BE POSTED SHORTLY, depending on your division. Some of them I have already finished, but just haven't found the time to post them yet.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend

MAY 22, 2008 (8:30AM) -- Yes, it's been awhile between posts and no, I'm not still upset by the "bad apple" incident this past Sunday, although I've not heard from The Team at all, so that's kind of disappointing. I've simply been swamped, so if you contacted me over the last couple days, I'll get back to you in due time. Meantime, aside from the AAA-P Hiba/Warr makeup tonight and the AAA-6 BBOF/IITW makeup at SQHM on Sat 5/24, we are taking the weekend off.

T-shirt distribution began this past Sunday in Oakland, but not in SF or RWC yet. Obviously the process will have to wait until 6/1. Looks like I may just take a Thursday in the near future to drive around the Bay Area and finish off the t-shirt deliveries, if we're not lucky enough to cross paths at the gym on any given Sunday.

Have a happy Memorial Day. Scores and Cheep Thoughts from 5/18, as well as next matchups for 6/1 will slowly be posted in the next few days. Take a look at this upbeat piece on NBA China in the meantime... More info

Don't waste my time and I won't waste yours

Team expelled due to one bad apple

MAY 20, 2008 (9:00AM) -- In the AAA-P, The Team has been expelled from the league, meaning they forfeit this past Sunday's game, plus they forfeit the next game (they had double-elim status) and are effectively done. This is because one of their players couldn't hold back on a double-technical and, despite trying to be held back by his teammates, kept allegedly "assaulting" our referee. Unfortunately for all parties involved, the referee was also the gym director. And this particular gym director drove in from the remote town of Newman, CA, where he owns a home (he normally commutes in from his boat docked at the Berkeley Marina). Now if you drove in 100 miles to open up a gym for dreamleague on a nice sunny weekend, and a player you ejected wouldn't leave you alone, wouldn't you want to close the doors and go home, too?

I'm not so much concerned about correctable player conduct, because that's clearly spelled out in our rules as it is in the NBA (i.e., suspension is imminent), but now we cannot use that gym anymore -- obviously the gym director/ref has no intention of ever dealing with dreamleague again. The operational cost here is huge, just like why we banned smoking. And that's why I'm gonna cut my losses and expel this guy's entire team. I'm also imposing our $50 forfeit fee, which won't even begin to cover our operational costs of rescheduling and never having that gym available to us again. All players on B-Team are banned from dreamleague until the forfeit fee is paid. In essence, one bad apple has spoiled the whole bunch.

There's a theme here: "If it's not worth my time..." It's literally the 4th paragraph on our RULES AND REGULATIONS page. But guess what, it transcends even beyond "bad apple" teams. Get this. Another team -- an otherwise no-drama team -- that was a victim of the doors being closed by the gym director, their captain reported a player or two was "disgusted" by dreamleague due to the cancellation of their game, apparently due to the waste of the commute from San Jose. To the point where he wanted to quit the team.

Look, I don't need this crap. I don't make enough money and work way too hard to get dreamleague to this point to deserve this. Dream League isn't perfect, okay? If you can't deal with the fact that certain things out of our control can happen at any given moment, esp. with forfeits, gyms, refs, your competition, even your flakey players, stats that don't get up on time, then you shouldn't be playing in dreamleague let alone any other rec league. Sure, lots of people were upset when that water pipe broke at the Indiana Pacers game many years ago, but what can they do about it but try their best to fix the problem and move on? You can't really be mad at the NBA for that, right? Geez.

If you can't appreciate all that goes on with dreamleague, then I'd rather not waste your time, because you'd be wasting mine. We try our best at everything we do and if our best is not good enough for you, then let me be. There are plenty of other guys in the league who know me, appreciate me, reciprocate the effort, and cooperate with the variables. That's what makes it fun. All the complaining about this or that, thinking that I can fix every little basketball problem every Sunday, that's not fun. Plain and simple.

Playoff roster eligibility issues

MAY 16, 2008 (4:30PM) -- Tipoffs for 5/18 have been posted and all captains with outstanding payments left before playoffs start have been warned by email. As we enter playoffs, please be reminded that if you have paid for 8 roster slots, then you cannot have more than 8 of the same players play in the playoffs. You cannot substitute for someone in the middle of playoffs, then bring the original player back. If you want 9 or 10 or more players eligible at any one time during the playoffs, then those roster slots must be paid for. ALL PLAYERS MUST HAVE PLAYED AT LEAST 3 REGULAR OF YOUR TEAM'S SEASON GAMES TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE PLAYOFFS. This is the "anti-ringer" rule and there are certain exceptions involving injuries or depleted rosters, but all such exceptions must be checked through the league office first.

Here's last Sunday's Cheep Thoughts... More info

Teams at risk of auto-forfeiting 5/11

MAY 11, 2008 (1:00AM) -- Payment registry has been updated. If the registry is wrong, you should still bring your checkbook and we'll settle it next week. Please realize that refunding you is a much, much easier process than collecting from you or your teammates, therefore we will err on the side of caution. Here are the teams at risk of auto-forfeiting, according to our records...

• Flint Tropics: 8th game on 5/11, 6 slots paid, $184 due before tipoff
  
• Highlife: 8th game on 5/11, 7 slots paid, $92 due before tipoff
  
• MSG: 8th game on 5/11, 7 slots paid, $92 due before tipoff
  
• Still Balling: 8th game on 5/11, 7 slots paid, $92 due before tipoff

Remember, you must ENSURE YOUR CASH PAYMENT IS RECORDED ON YOUR SCORESHEET NEXT TO YOUR NAME, otherwise you run the risk of leaving us with a difficult choice to make, and 9 times out of 10, the decision I will make is that you did not pay and owe the league money.

Tipoffs for 5/11 determined

MAY 9, 2008 (2:30PM) -- Check the Schedule/Payments link above for 5/11 tipoffs -- note that the Kidz-Fnst game will be rescheduled for a later date. I will update the Payment Registry in the next 24 hours and post teams on the brink of an auto-forfeit. Also, I probably won't have t-shirts available this Sunday because Saturday will be my Mother's Day since I'm working all day on Sunday, so I don't have time to sort the t-shirts out for distribution -- wil have to wait until next week. Meanwhile, catch the latest dreamblogue post about Erik Spoelstra and Cheep Thoughts from 5/4... More info

Facebook, Swishes & Bricks, website

MAY 6, 2008 (12:00PM) -- Just a quickie thanks to Vince Morales who has been friending all of you through Facebook. I haven't the slightest clue what's going on with that, to tell you the truth, but we both agreed we better not miss the boat on Facebook. Don't know if Vince's Swishes & Bricks will return, but we'll try. Meanwhile, Cheep Thoughts will have to do. Thanks also to Yang Zhou of Mad Cow and Mo-Haye, who is busy hammering away at the online stats for this season. And believe it or not, we still have Christine, wife of Anthony Santos (Team Dynasty) and Laura, wife of Mark Scates (Kurruption AL), punching in stats from last season!

That's a good segway into our new website, which is sort of just around the corner, but then again not. You know, it's hard to get things done on an off-hours basis, even if your web guy is a bonafide guru/genius. I'm still possibly looking for someone to help code our website in Ruby on Rails, basically managed by the guru. It's a paid position and I'm willing to shell out what's necessary, so if you know of anyone reliable, trustworthy, who has the spare time, and who likes bball and coding, email me.

Teams in jeopardy of auto-forfeiting

MAY 2, 2008 (11:00PM) -- The Payment Registry has been updated and can be accessed from the "registry" tab on the online spreadsheet (Schedule/Payments link above). John Miguel, Kenneth Chan, and Yvonne Nguyen are still unaccounted for due to lack of a team name on your online payment or check. The following teams are in jeopardy of forfeiting...

• Bay Function: 7th game on 5/4, 5 slots paid, $182 due before tipoff
  
• Spartans: 8th game on 5/4, 7 slots paid, $91 due before tipoff
  
• Technics: 7th game on 5/4, 6 slots paid, $91 due before tipoff
  
• Flint Tropics: 7th game on 5/4, 6 slots paid, $91 due before tipoff
  
• Highlife: 7th game on 5/4, 6 slots paid, $91 due before tipoff
  
• Still Balling: 7th game on 5/4, 5 slots paid, $182 due before tipoff

Roster slots are now at $91 for SF/Oak and $96 for RWC teams.

Smoking too risky, banned at dreamleague

MAY 1, 2008 (6:30PM) -- Did you know that smoking on the premises of a school is against California law? So if you're at ISAH, OCHS, or SQHM/SQHX and you smoke, and especially if you leave a cigarette butt on the premises (i.e., not in a garbage can), you are not only breaking the law, but you are PUTTING THE FUTURE OF DREAMLEAGUE IN JEOPARDY... More info

Tipoffs (5/4) and Cheep Thoughts (4/27)

MAY 1, 2008 (8:00AM) -- Tipoffs for 5/4 have been posted (click Schedule/Payments link above), but the Payment Registry will not be updated until late tonight. A list of teams in jeopardy of an auto-forfeit on 5/4 will be posted tomorrow. Meanwhile, please enjoy Cheep Thoughts from last weekend... More info

Better bring your checkbooks tomorrow

APRIL 26, 2008 (5:30PM) -- The payment registry on the online spreadsheet has been updated and there will be teams needing to pay in 95% of the games scheduled tomorrow. No excuses, please.

Games on Mother's Day 5/11

Overview Page PAY FOR ROSTER SLOT
Frequently Asked Questions
Payments	Roster
Scheduling	Gameday
Rumor Mill / List of Teams

APRIL 25, 2008 (8:30AM) -- While writing about the t-shirts below, I realized that we have to talk about upcoming 5/11, which is Mother's Day. Since we are running well into June for playoffs and perhaps even going into July, I'm strongly encouraging everybody to make Mother's Day arrangements ahead of time. IN SHORT, WE WILL PLAY ON 5/11. Any really big problems with this, have your captain email me.

Binders, paper, and t-shirts

APRIL 25, 2008 (8:30AM) -- First off, we had a couple minor changes to the 4/27 tipoffs. Check out the Schedule/Payments page. The Payment Registry won't be updated until late afternoon today at the earliest.

Also, I just realized that I'll be out of town attending a Sacto tourney next week, therefore I won't be able to deliver t-shirts next week, so the dropoff of t-shirts will probably start 5/11. THEREFORE, THERE IS STILL TIME TO ORDER A "JAX" T-SHIRT IF YOU WANT.

Finally, we still need small white binders and any-color big big big binders (to hold all the old statsheets).

AND WE NEED PAPER LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW!!! Please email me about the binders and paper, if you can raid your supply cabinet.

Spalding dreamleague basketballs available

APRIL 24, 2008 (9:30AM) -- Due to an inventory "snafu", we have a limited number of dreamleague-emblazoned Spalding TF-1000s available for $40 each. Normally they would cost you at least $45-50 if you include tax. Email me if you want to purchase one. Btw, I have found that the TF-1000s are actually better than the TF-1000 ZK Pros because the ZK Pros tend to get lopsided more easily.

Tipoffs (4/27) and Cheep Thoughts (4/20)

APRIL 24, 2008 (9:30AM) -- Tipoffs for 4/27 have been posted (click Schedule/Payments link above), but the Payment Registry will not be updated until tomorrow. A list of teams in jeopardy of an auto-forfeit on 4/27 will be posted tomorrow. Meanwhile, please enjoy Cheep Thoughts from last weekend... More info

REC teams in jeopardy of auto-forfeits

APRIL 18, 2008 (8:00AM) -- Not to put a damper on the Jax t-shirt announcement below, but here are the teams in jeopardy of auto-forfeiting this weekend...

• Bay Function: 4 slots paid, 5th game on 4/20, $89 due before tipoff
  
• Spartans: 5 slots paid, 6th game on 4/20, $89 due before tipoff
  
• Technics: 4 slots paid, 5th game on 4/20, $89 due before tipoff
  
• Still Balling: 4 slots paid, 5th game on 4/20, $89 due before tipoff
  
• SF Free Agents: 4 slots paid, 5th game on 4/20, $75 due before tipoff

Any issues with the above, have your captain call me (and not email since it's already Friday).

click here for more info

New "Jax" t-shirts available to all for limited time

APRIL 17, 2007 (8:00PM) -- I am pleased to announce this season's new "Jax" aka "Oaktown" t-shirts, inspired by Tony.psd, aka Anthony Robles. Anthony blogs for GSoM and is the brother of dreamleaguer Seth Robles

For a limited time (up until next Thu 4/24 at midnight to be exact), you can get your own Jax dreamleague tee, even if you did not pay your roster slot online and on time. Send me an email to find out how. Please note: The suggested retail price of the t-shirt will range from $10-20, so if you don't have even ten bucks, don't bother emailing me... More info

REC Cheep Thoughts from 4/13

APRIL 16, 2008 (8:00AM) -- Yo, I *definitely* spent way too much time on Cheep Thoughts this week. So next time you see the DLNY commish or some buddy who plays in NYC, you tell him that Poor Man's Commish here in the Bay *does* love to talk about the league (when he has the time) and this is living proof.

You'll need to goto each division homepage to read each division's Cheep Thoughts. Here's the REC version: For like the third straight week, we had a team score only 2 points in the opening quarter and win. Wow. This time it was ACGT, but they only trailed 8-2 after one, so maybe it doesn't really count as a "wow". Jimmy Tran had the opening field goal for ACGT... More info

The blessing and curse of byes

APRIL 15, 2008 (3:30PM) -- This is a good time to kill two birds with one stone. For some strange reason, we got a slew -- and by "slew", I mean an unprecedented 7 or 8 or 9! -- of last-minute bye requests for this Sunday. Meanwhile, I'm sure there are teams out there wondering why they have this bye or that bye that seems like a pothole in their season schedule... More info

Rex Walters returns home, Asians in D-1

APRIL 15, 2008 (8:00AM) -- Guess what, perhaps Asian American basketball's greatest player ever has returned home. Rex Walters was named the head coach of USF yesterday (Rex is 50% Japanese, 50% Caucasian)... More info

The long, arduous path of your stats

APRIL 9, 2008 (5:30PM) -- Now would be a good time to remind everyone about the long, arduous path of your stats. But before I give you the link for that, I wanted to say that for the first time ever, I feel really good about our stats process. About 80% of all stats since 2/24 have been compiled, which means they are ready to be inputted on the website.

We are getting better because Billy Luu of the Elephants has stepped up and agreed to be the point person or webstatcrew manager on a volunteer basis. Then we've got enthusiastic people like Yang Zhou of Mad Cow and Mo-Haye, Peter Su of Wrecking Squad, and Frank Song of SF City and the Charlotte Richcats. Thanks also to Christine Cayetano, wife of Team Dynasty's Anthony Santos and Laura Parschak, wife of Kurruption's Mark Scates. These are all very trustworthy people and I know there are more of you who want to help, but I don't think I could even give another webstatcrew password out to the Pope at this point.

So here's the long, arduous path of stats explained... More info

Cheep Thoughts from 4/6

APRIL 8, 2008 (12:00PM) -- The matchups for 4/13 have been posted on the Schedule/Payments page (link above). I have not updated the Payment Registry since last week, but roster slots are now up to $93 and $88. Meanwhile, check out this past Sunday's Cheep Thoughts:

Faded squeaked by the Spartans, 44-43. Robby Kwok with 17 points. Faded came out of the gate down 2-11 heading into the 2nd, marking the 2nd straight week where I've seen a team only score 0 or 2 points in the 1st quarter (or any quarter, really) and still win... More info

... and note that I have not retrieved scoresheets from SQHM yet, so I'll update with more from SQHM if SQHM affects you.

Teams in jeopardy of forfeiting on 4/6

APRIL 3, 2008 (6:00PM) -- The payment registry has been updated (click on registry tab of online spreadsheet using the Schedule/Payments link above). The following teams are at risk of auto-forfeiting on 4/6 and marked in red on the online spreadsheet schedule...

• Bay Function: 2 slots paid, 3rd game on 4/6, $87 due
  
• Flint Tropics: 4th game on 4/6, $87 plus Salil's signature due
  
• Highlife: 2 slots paid, 3rd game on 4/6, $87 due
  
• Still Balling: no game 4/6, but will owe 1 slot by 4/13
  
• Spartans: 2 slots paid, 4th game on 4/6, $174 due
  
• Technics: no game 4/6, but will owe 1 slot by 4/13

Again, you must pay your scorekeeper and he/she must write it down on the front of the scoresheet. You must provide exact cash as any less will still result in a forfeit and any more will not have change provided.

Cheep Thoughts from 3/30

APRIL 1, 2008 (8:00AM) -- HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY, although with the gun violence mentioned below, it's going to be a little more difficult to be happy and joking today. Anyways, remember Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey from Saturday Night Live? Well, here's the Bay Area dreamleague's weekly version: Cheep Thoughts. A collection of my thoughts on each game as I go thru the scoresheets and post scores on the website. One-plus minute per game multipled by about 45-50 games and I can knock this beast out in an hour -- yeah right, it always ends up being double. The idea here is that I do not spend hours upon hours of time coming up with game articles, like that crazy commish in NYC who will certainly kill himself if he ever expanded that league to 125 teams... More info

Gun violence overlaps into our community (again)

MARCH 31, 2008 (8:00PM) -- I'm almost too depressed to type this. I think I'll just do a little stream of consciouness -- I can't really think about organizing paragraphs and coming up with a good way to express this. When someone you know dies and you know you will never see that person again, let alone say hello to him/her, that's a bitter pill to swallow. When that someone dies by gun violence, simply put it just feels worse. And I can hardly imagine how it feels when that someone is someone close to you, as in, an immediate family member.

Jason DelaCruz was shot and killed at around 2am outside a pizza and bar area of San Francisco. Jason is the little brother of former Vegas tourney MVP Jeremy DelaCruz. Jeremy's been my teammate before in dreamleague and a long-time member of renowned Filipino tourney team the Bay Area Wizards, as well as the Bay Area Heads. Dozens more here in the Bay's Asian American basketball community probably know Jeremy and Jason better than I do. I never really met Jason, but I did see him make a couple cameo appearances on the court with his brother's strong NL-caliber teams. The thing I most remember about him: he's the spittin' image of Jeremy... Read the rest of the story

Need stat helpers, binders, paper, grantmatches

MARCH 25, 2008 (1:30PM) -- I just made an update to the Bird's Eye spreadsheet. With all the struggles we have getting stats up, I've decided to make the following rule going forward, which should be a fair thing to request (I'll pat your back and you pat mine)...

If your team makes a special tipoff request that is not a "painless" modification to the ongoing season scheduling, then I will require 2 people from your team to show up before or after your game for that week and at least help us compile stats.

MARCH 25, 2008 (8:00AM) -- Yep, this league homepage is still under construction, but if I had to say one thing about the NL this season thus far, it's this: the East Bay Cardinals look good. Cat's out of the bag now: Alex Stempel is the breakout player of the season, the Monta Ellis of our NL!

A few quick items of note:

• We need stat helpers. I'm still trying to juggle the issue of having too many people with access to our website database of stats, but for now, let's see who's interested. We pay minimum wage but, hey, it's the easiest basketball-related wage you'll ever make. Either paper stat compiling or web keypad input. In a scant 10-11 hours of work -- and it tends to go by fast -- your entire season is already paid for! Email me.
  
  
• We need binders and paper. Keeping on the subject of stats, we need paper for the scoresheets and we need binders. For binders, we need a handful more of the ones at each gym that hold the scoresheets and schedule (white, skinny). But we also need HUGE binders that can hold a boatload of paper because we have 50 games every week now.
  
  
• We need grantmatches. Any grantmatches we get is put right back into the business and, right now, the business involves a lot of stat compiling and inputting. So anyways, if you work at a big company like Genentech, or Bank of America, or The Gap, or any company that comes up on http://matchinggifts.com/tdec/, please help us out by having your corporation "match" your contribution to Dream League (e.g., the $85 you just gave us and/or the one before that and the one before that!).

More to follow later. I'm gonna be out all day with a well-deserved mini-vacation at Marine World with the baby daughter! Meanwhile, you can see on the Season Schedule Bird's Eye page that I'm almost done with this Sunday's schedule, so I been working hard since Easter Sunday...