2006 - Houstonians Wreak Havoc

Desperate to get 12 managers that would commit to remaining active for the entire season, Jorge raised his standards for who could be in the league. After welcoming Dinger back into the fray, he needed only three active managers to yield a truly competitive 12-team league. So he invited Joseph Harper, with whom he had watched the entire first day of the NFL draft while attending Houston Baptist University. Surely someone else who was enough of a fan to watch the draft all day would be an active fantasy player. Then Dinger suggested Aaron Diehl, another HBUer who he swore would be committed to the league. Finally, Jorge invited Jaydan Gumm to fill the last spot.

It worked. For the first time in its four years of existence, the LOTC had twelve managers who competed from start to finish. But those Houstonians.........Dinger had been enough by himself. But he was empowered by having two more of his cohorts in the league, and the trash-talking reached levels never-before seen. The competitive element of the league combined with the exponential growth in entertainment value transformed the LOTC into something to truly look forward to being a part of. To make matters worse, the new guys were dominant in their first year as members.

Final regular season standings:

Team *Drew Brees (I Have a Bush)				W 10	L 3	T 0		Points 3104.5
*Vince Young				9	4	0		3148.5
*Deion Got Saved (Deion Found Jesus)				8	5	0		3187
*BeatUBad				7	5	1		2972.5
*Im Just Better (I'm a Texan)				7	6	0		3037
*The Undisputed				7	6	0		2998
The Hybrids				7	6	0		2994
Djiboutti Crust				6	6	1		2884.5
XCon4Christ (Jaydan Gumm - NLIL)				5	7	1		2669.5
Texas Thundermonkeys				5	7	1		2439
Dueling Brothers (Wrong Answer)				3	10	0		2686.5
Tenacious D				2	11	0		2548

The constant bickering and controversial smack-talk would prove to be too much for Jaydan, who asked not to be invited the following season. Drew Brees, who had lost their first three games of the season, took the top seed into the playoffs, therefore earning a bye along with fellow expansion team Vince Young. In the quarters, Deion Got Saved and Beatubad moved on, marking the first time (other than 2003, when only four teams made the playoffs) that the top four seeds where in the semifinals. Drew Brees proved to be too much for Beatubad, but Deion Got Saved managed to upset Vince Young to reach the title game. Despite the support from 75% of the league to pull of the upset win, Deion Got Saved couldn't outscore the overwhelming numbers from Drew Brees, as Joe received the [imaginary] trophy in his first season as a member of the LOTC.

Interesting Facts:

Drew Brees represented a variety of firsts in the league. They were the first team (and now officially, only) to win the title in their first year in the LOTC. The were also the first to make the playoffs (as well as win a championship) after losing their first three regular season games. And finally, they were the first to win 10 consecutive regular season games. This stands as the longest regular-season win streak in history. Drew Brees (now, I Have a Bush) also holds the record for most consecutive games won at 12, which he accomplished in 2006 as well.

The Undisputed became the first defending champion to make the playoffs the following season. Ironically, it was also with the closest margin in history that they made the playoffs, earning entry by scoring merely four points more than Hybrids.

2005 - Dinger Gets The Boot

The League of the Crust was apparently not ready to handle the overconfidence and relentless smack-talk of Stephen Dinger. So when 2005 came along, Jorge snubbed him. The pool of teams was also brought down to a total of 12, which would become the permanent setting for the LOTC.

While the 2005 fantasy season was certainly very fun, Jorge (and I'm sure several other managers) realized that it just wasn't quite as entertaining without the mouth of Dinger. He resolved right then that this would be the only season without the Texan fan.

Final regular season standings:

Team *Djiboutti Crust				W 11	L 2	T 0		Points 2623
*Urine Trouble (Tenacious D)				10	3	0		2458
*The Undisputed				9	4	0		2447
*Deion Got Saved (Deion Found Jesus)				8	5	0		2360.5
*Texas Thundermonkeys				8	5	0		2236
*Da Bombers (Wrong Answer)				7	6	0		1896.5
Another Win This Year (Beatubad)				6	7	0		2319
The Hybrids				6	7	0		1996
The Greatest (John Jemison - NLIL)				4	9	0		1908.5
TDTDwewantaTD (Heather Sartain - NLIL)				3	10	0		1691.5
JazzFluteFairyBoys (Greg Liles - NLIL)				3	10	0		1635.5
Teamcutusobad (Some guy - NLIL)				3	10	0		1478

Once again, the title-holder from the previous year missed out on a playoff berth, so we were certain to see a new champion. The 2005 season was also the first to see the new settings, with the top two seeds earning a bye through the first round of playoffs. In the quarterfinals, the Texas Thundermonkeys pulled off an upset to move on to face Djiboutti Crust, while The Undisputed moved on to face Urine Trouble in the semifinals. Djiboutti Crust advanced to their second championship game in three years, but would lose once again, this time to The Undisputed.

Interesting Facts:

Djiboutti Crust's 11 regular season wins was the most in a single-season by any team in league history. The Texas Thundermonkeys would match that number in 2007, but like the Crust, would not win the title. In fact, teams with 10 or more wins in a single season have only won the championship 33% of the time. Before Drew Brees won in 2006 and Wrong Answer did the same in 2008, that number was a mere 16%.

Johnmichael Barajas (Texas Thundermonkeys) achieved a record that will never be broken by failing to set his lineup on time in Week 1. Consequently, he scored 0 points. He still would have lost that week, but it doesn't take away the humiliation of getting a bad record that can never be broken.

2004 - Ridonculous Growth

An overwhelming number of changes took place for the 2004 season, as several people approached the commissioner of the league to express their interest in being a part. Wanting to experience growth (and also having just competed in a 20-team league in the previous season), Jorge welcomed far too many new players and the league grew to 16 teams; seven would not last very long in the LOTC.

The name was changed in order to make it slightly more official. Because the majority of the league was a part of Jorge's church, it was named Trinity Fantasy League.

Final standings:

Team *Alrighty Then (Beatubad)				W 10	L 3	T 1		Points 2083.5
*In Carr We Trust (I'm a Texan)				10	4	0		2007
*The Supreme Beings (Tenacious D)				10	4	0		1756
*Texas Thundermonkeys				9	5	0		1875
*The Hybrids				8	4	2		1845
*Djiboutti Crust				9	5	0		1742
*Da Boyz (Wrong Answer)				8	6	0		1893
*Mustangs (Some guy - NLIL)				8	6	0		1619.5
TDTDwewantaTD (Heather Sartain - NLIL)				8	6	0		1557.5
Garden Gnomes (Phil Massine - NLIL)				6	8	0		1530
Da Bulls (Greg Liles - NLIL)				5	9	0		1543.5
Gad Em Coach (Steve Fiedler - NLIL)				5	9	0		1389.5
Brent Miller (Robert Esparza - NLIL)				4	9	1		1367
The Tigers (The Undisputed)				4	10	0		1357.5
The Wrath of Korea (John Jemison - NLIL)				3	11	0		1325.5
Team Without a RB (Deion Found Jesus)				3	11	0		1261.5

With the defending champion out of the playoffs, eight teams went into week 14 ready to produce a new champion. The top two seeds (Alrighty Then, In Carr We Trust) moved on with ease, but The Hybrids and Djiboutti Crust managed to pull off upsets to move into the semifinals. Alrighty Then and In Carr We Trust would prove be too dominant for an upset, as they moved on to the championship. Likely still bitter from being snubbed from the 2003 playoffs after having the highest-scoring team, Ben Weiss found vindication as Alrighty Then won the title.

Interesting fact:

Even though only nine of the 16 managers would go on to remain part of the LOTC, seven of them earned one of the eight playoff slots in 2004. This is a clear indicator of why some were invited back and others weren't. Jorge wanted only the most competitive and most active so that he could ensure the league remained highly competitive.

2003 - A New League is Born

Initial posts will be longer than the norm, since I will first publish a history of the league to try to catch up to where we are right now.

In 2003, Jorge Parrales created a fantasy football league, primarily because he was discontent with what he considered an unnecessary imbalance in the value of different positions in fantasy football. Knowing that he would never be able to make them perfectly equal in value, his only goal was to lessen the gap between various positions. This was achievable by adding more statistical categories. Instead of scoring settings being strictly limited to yards gained and touchdowns scored, points could be earned for completions, carries and receptions. By giving points-per-completion, the quarterback would [usually] become the highest-scoring position in the league. By doubling the credit for a reception, quality receivers became as important to their fantasy teams as they were in real life, and it also increased the value of a running back who could contribute as a receiver as well as they did to the running game. Perfecting the system would take some time; it still might not even be complete. But there's no doubt that what has resulted has raised the competitive element of fantasy football. No longer is a championship practically guaranteed simply by getting the best RB in the draft. Strategy and good management decisions are more important than ever.

In 2003, Yahoo was also just getting started in the world of fantasy football. Commissioner powers were limited and league requirements were minimal. This is why the League of the Crust (LOTC) was able to have an odd number of teams.

Lazily named "Have Some Fun", the LOTC was filled with nine teams, five that continue to be a part of the league to this day. With an odd number, one team per week had to sit out on a 'bye' week. With 15 games in the regular season, this meant six teams would have two bye weeks, resulting in a different number of games played. This would prove to play a mildly controversial role in determining the four playoff teams.

Final regular season standings are as follows.

Team Name *The HD King (Hybrids)				W 10	L 3	T 0		Points 2731
*The Master Plan (Texas Thundermonkeys)				9	5	0		2558
*Carmen Sutera (Phil Massine - NLIL)				8	5	0		2889
*Djiboutti Crust				8	6	0		2685
Beatubad				7	6	0		2895
The Hatian Sensation (Tenacious D)				6	7	0		2614
Great to be Kings (John Jemison - NLIL)				4	9	0		2446
19-10 (I'm a Texan)				4	9	0		2326
Regulators (Steve Fiedler - NLIL)				4	10	0		2018

In the semifinals, both lower seeds won as Djiboutti Crust and Carmen Sutera moved on to the championship, where Carmen Sutera emerged as the league champion.

Carmen Sutera's owner, Phil Massine, is the only league champion that is no longer a member of the league. Additionally, the 2003 season stands as the only year where the league's highest-scoring team did not make the playoffs.

Welcome All

Welcome to the blog specifically centered around League of the Crust (LOTC). Since it began six years ago, this league has evolved into something so much better than some standard, run-of-the-mill fantasy football league. As founder and commissioner of the LOTC, I am constantly looking for ways to advance our league. I am confidant that something like this is the next progression for all competitive fantasy sports.

Please understand, I wouldn't have taken the time to create this blog if I didn't believe this thing would last for the next 25 years (if you old people can last that long). Don't mistake this for taking the league too seriously. It took all of about 15 minutes to create the site, and further development will be a process that takes place over time. This is meant to be nothing more than something else to make the league more enjoyable.

I AM, however, a freak when it comes to things like historical records and statistics. In only a few days, you will see posts containing a wealth of relevant history on our league.

In addition, you will be able to refer to this site to easily refresh yourself on your keeper designations, as well as your redshirt designations. My hope is that we will eventually have individual team pages that have information specifically relevant to you, your rosters and your history. But something like that is probably a year or two away, unless someone with much more time AND programming knowledge suddenly volunteers their services on the matter.

Our blog posts will address NFL news that has a direct impact on our teams and will contain the author's opinions on the implications of said news on the season. This includes times like right now, in the offseason. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks; anything that affects our rosters. At this moment, I have extended invitations to Ryan and Aaron to be contributing authors on the blog. There are multiple reasons for this.

1) Aaron has been heavily involved in our league message boards and has also demonstrated an ability to write well, which I figure should be a prerequisite for a contributing writer.

2) Ryan also writes quite well and is undoubtedly my number one contact to discuss all things 'sports', so I know I can count on him to update the site should I ever find myself unable to immediately connect.

If any of you other managers wish to become contributing writers, please first get involved with our Yahoo message boards. If you are an active part of the boards, you can then become a writer on the blog.

In addition, I have added several widgets, including ESPN's RSS feeds to NFL breaking news and NCAA Football breaking news. Also, there is a Youtube feed at the bottom of the page that is pre-set to give us videos relevant to the National Football League.

Anyway, here we are: the next age of the League of the Crust. I hope you enjoy it.

leaguecrust.blogspot.com