Franchise League
Draft Instructions
   
The following information is the draft instructions for each draft by Fantasy Sportzgames. If you are having a draft in the near future, please read this page in its entirety as you will need to be aware of all topics listed in here. You also have the option of printing this page also. New info may have been added to this page, so veteran team owners of these leagues or to CBS drafting need to review this page also

 Everyone should read all sections in white. If you do not, DON"T blame the commish if things don't go according to plan for your draft.

If you are new to the league or would like more info on the how to navigate the draft room, the bottom of this page provides complete instructions on how to navigate the draft room and how to use the tools available to you during the draft. .

The draft is the most important time for your fantasy team. Fantasy Sportzgames asks all team owners involved to make an honest effort to be prepared on draft day.
 

IMPORTANT INFO TO REMEMBER DURING THE DRAFT

Before I get into the draft itself there are 8 very important things you will need to do during the draft to ensure that none of your picks get skipped and you get the players you want:

 1.) ALWAYS HAVE A PLAYER LEFT IN QUEUE: The gray shaded area will explain how to do this. Even if you show up for the draft, its important to do this because you could get locked out at any time during the draft and it may even be during your time to pick. If you have a player in queue and you get locked out, you will still get your player.

 2.) REFRESH THE SCREEN OFTEN:  The screen should refresh after every pick, but it is not a guarantee. Refresh the screen often to ensure you are current. Click on the refresh button or push the <F5> button on your keyboard

  3.) MAKE SURE YOU CAN MAKE A PICK ON YOUR OWN: All team owners should know how to make a pick on their own before the draft starts. If you are unsure, get in touch with a team owner or the commish to help you out, especially if you are new to the league. DON’T WAIT FOR THE DRAFT TO ADDRESS THIS. IT WILL BE TOO LATE (Its better to get clarification before the draft starts, then holding up the draft.) Scroll to the bottom for more info on how to make picks in the draft room

 4.) BE AWARE OF WHEN YOUR NEXT PICK IS: Don't miss a pick from being unaware it is your turn. You never know how fast the person before you will be. Remember, someone on autopilot will have their pick made immediately for them, which gives you less time, so be prepared for that possibility.
 5.) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO PICK WHEN IT IS YOUR TURN. If your time runs out, you may receive a player you don't want. Also, like in #4 above, you never know how fast the person in front of you will be.

 6.) TRY TO DRAFT ON A NEWER COMPUTER: This will prevent problems with a computer being too slow to keep up with the draft. (If you are using a slow computer, arrange something with the commish where you can communicate your pick to him and he can make the pick for you.)

  7.) GO TO THE DRAFT ROOM AND GET A FEEL FOR IT BEFORE THE DRAFT BEGINS: Especially if you are a new team owner, be familiar with the draft room and how to use it before the draft begins. This prevents missed picks or making errors picking players.

 8.) HAVE A BACKUP PLAN IN PLACE TO MAKE YOUR PICK IN CASE SOMETHING GOES WRONG:  Never rely 100% on CBS. Their software is not always perfect. If you wish to discuss with the commish a backup plan prior to the draft, you are welcome to do that, just don't wait until draft day to do this. It may be too late

 *******The league commish is available to help with anyone who asks for it. PLEASE MAKE SURE IF YOU ARE HAVING ISSUES TO GET THEM RESOLVED BEFORE THE DRAFT. Once the draft starts, unless it’s a CBS Sportsline issue and/or affects everyone in the league, the commissioner cannot hold up the draft. Make sure you read the draft room information and instructions at the bottom of this page.
 

 

DRAFT DAY


The draft will be announced to your respective league by the league commissioner and conducted all in one day using the following format:

1st ROUND ONLY: Each team will have 3 minutes to make their pick. This is longer than normal, but will be for the first round only, and it is to ensure that all team owners can make a pick on their own. If there happens to be a minor issue during this round, it can be resolved in a timely manner. (This is for minor issues only. Read “Important Info To Remember During The Draft” section above for clarification)

2nd ROUND UNTIL THE END OF THE DRAFT: Each team with have 90 seconds to make their pick. This will continue until the draft is complete

After Round 1, the draft will be temporarily stopped for a short period of time to reset the picks clock to 90 seconds.

TO ACCESS THE DRAFT ROOM: Go to your league homepage. Under the "Draft Prep" section, click on "Draft Room". On the next page, in the yellow section, click on "here". This will take you to the draft room

 

CHAT AREA IN DRAFT ROOM


On draft day, please be in the Draft Room at least 15-30 minutes before the draft. The commish will get a head count at this time of who is present for the draft. The chat area in the draft room will be used to do this. If you will not be using the chat area, please send a quick email to the commish to let him know that you are in the draft room and ready to draft.

DRAFT ROOM BEHAVIOR: Due to incidents in the past, there has been put in place a zero tolerance policy with regards to  behavior in the chat area of the draft room. Please be respectful of one another during the draft so that a good time is had by all. 
 



 

NOT ABLE TO MAKE THE DRAFT?


If you are unable to make the draft, select one of the following options and let the commish know:

 1.) Set the queue on your draft page:  Instructions on how to do this are in the "Accessing the Draft Room and How It Works" section below

2.) Set the player rankings according to your draft preference in the draft room: Instructions on how to do this are in the “Draft Room Instructions” page

3.) Email a list of players ranked from highest to lowest and give them to the league commish: This list should have enough players to cover the number of picks for the entire draft. If its shorter than that, the remaining picks will be made automatically according to the player rankings list regardless if injury or position.
 



 

ACCESSING THE DRAFT ROOM AND HOW IT WORKS

Look to the top-left area of the draft room for the status of your draft at any time. Before your draft gets underway, you'll see a timer counting down the minutes until your draft begins. Once the draft starts, this area will list the following information:
  • Draft Status—Shows your draft's current round, pick number in the round and overall pick number.
  • On the Clock—Lists the name of the team whose turn it is to pick.
  • On Deck—Lists the name of the team whose turn is coming up next.
  • Autopilot—Check this box if you have to step away from the draft and think you may miss your next turn. If you are on Autopilot when your turn comes up, the system will automatically select the first player you added to your Draft Queue (explained below). If there are no players in your queue, the top-ranked available player on your rank list will be chosen for you.

The top-right area of the page displays the time remaining for the team on the clock to make its pick (if your league has a time limit between picks). Each team's logo is also displayed in this area, with a highlight around the team that is on the clock.

The table on the left side of the draft room lists all of the players available to be picked. To make it easier to find the player you want, choose a position in the Player List listbox to display only players at that position. Use the Stats listbox to display 2006, 3-year average or projected statistics for each player in the list. Click the link at the top of any column to sort the player list by the information in that column, for instance by team or by the top performers in any stat category listed.

To draft a player, click his name in the player list. His name and photo will be listed below the player list, with three buttons:

  • Draft—Click here to add this player to your team.
  • Queue—Click here to add this player to your Draft Queue. The queue is an area where you can list the players you are interested in drafting. When it's your turn to pick, it will be easier to choose from the list of players in your queue than to search through the entire player list, especially if your league uses a time limit between picks. Your draft queue is listed below the player list, with links next to each player to draft that player or delete that player from the queue list. Note that if the time limit expires before you make your pick, our system will automatically pick the first player you added to the queue. In Commissioner leagues, the commissioner can prevent this from happening by electing not to use the Draft Robot in the Draft & Rosters portion of League Setup.
  • Stats—Click here to view this player's projected stats, and stats for the past three seasons in a new window. To compare two or more players, leave the new window open, select a new player and click Stats. Arrange the Stats windows side-by-side to compare the players.

While the player you selected is displayed at the bottom of the page, your draft queue will be temporarily hidden. Click Return to Draft Queue to display the queue again.

If your draft uses the Draft Robot, and AutoPilot is used to pick for any owner during the draft, the owner with the next pick will be given additional time to make his/her next pick. If AutoPilot picks for more than one owner consecutively, additional time will be allotted to the next owner for each pick made using AutoDraft. For instance, if the owner with the pick before you is on AutoPilot, the Draft Robot will make his or her pick and then you will have an additional 10 seconds to make your pick. If the three owners before you all are on AutoPilot, you will have an additional 30 seconds to make your pick.

Ongoing results of your draft can be seen on the right side of the draft room. Use the Draft Results listbox to show either the entire draft so far ("show all rounds") or just the results of the current round. If you click View by Team, you'll be able to select any team in the listbox to view only that team's draft picks.

The lower-right portion of the draft room is used for chatting with your fellow owners. Simply enter your message in the text area and click OK. You can send a private message to one specific owner by selecting that owner's name in the listbox before you click OK to send the message. Private messages will appear in green text.