[Mikey]

I have hit a little conundrum when drawing up the schedule for this year. Looking for some input on the best way to fix it.

I've made the executive decision to radically realign the league. Three divisions, four teams - placed in divisions by snaking the draft order. (I figure realigning divisions could be done every year to keep things fresh.) This makes for a really nifty semi-balanced schedule: two games against your 3 division opponents, 1 against the other 8 teams for a nice number of 14.

The problem with 14 is that it leaves only weeks 15-17 for playoffs. If you don't mind playing the finals on the last weekend of the year when many guys are riding the pine resting for the playoffs, that's great. Otherwise, running the final in Week 16 means we can only have 4 playoff teams. (Three division winners and one wild card.) I like that format theoretically, but I seem to remember playing in a 4 team playoff league a few years back (this one, maybe?) and it kinda sucked.

Basically, this leaves three options:

1) Play the championship in Week 17, rested starters be damned
2) Have a 4 team, best of the best playoff culminating in Week 16
3) Whack one game off the schedule and play it unbalanced, and run a 6 team playoff ending in Week 16

If we do option 3, should I cut a divisional game or one of the one shot deals?

[BTR]

Is there any way to kind of make it like each NFL conference and have 6 team playoffs with the top two getting byes?

That's what I'd vote for, running playoffs in week 14-16. And then having an unbalanced schedule knocking off a non-divisional game.

[Mikey]

Oh yeah, 6 teams with the two division winners getting byes would be the deal.

[BTR]

I didn't even stop to think that's the only way you could do it. Duhrhrhrhr.

[Mikey]

I thought you just meant as opposed to 8 teams.

And I typed wrong before. With three divisions, it would be the TOP two division winners getting the byes.

[Eric O'Mac]

I'm in favor of unbalancing the schedule and knocking off a non-division game.

[DevSop]

Is there anyway to do the championship in Week 16 AND 17?

[Mikey]

There's no way to run it thru ESPN without doing two weeks for each matchup, though I'd really have no problem manually logging the stats and combining the two together for a two week championship.

And it looks as if knocking off a non-divisional game will be the way we'll go. I'll get the schedules fixed up later today.

[BTR]

I vote against a two-week championship.

[DevSop]

Any reason why?

[BTR]

I don't like playing in Week 17 at all.

Then if we do the championship in weeks 15 and 16 that means the playoffs start in week 13, giving fewer games against other people in the league. Plus that means half the league only plays 3/4 of the weeks which kind of sucks.

I'll admit strategizing for a two-game final is kind of interesting but it'd be shitty to shorten the season for half the league.

[Mikey]

13 weeks - 6 team, 3 week playoff it is, I put everybody into a random schedule generator I found online and out popped the schedule. The team you don't face was completely random.

[Fire-Babe]

I won't be in the playoffs so I don't care.