I ended the first year by opening 1 one-year football league. At the time, I thought the one-year league was a safe choice to better entice players to play on the new site. In retrospect, that was a mistake as I should have opened a keeper league.

In year one I established a distinct commissioner style in FSRU leagues. To explain it, I have to explain fantasy sports leagues and the problems that exist in many of them:

In lower level leagues sponsored by the major sports sites on the internet, you know the ones, the $19.99 to $39.99 per team leagues. In those leagues, trades are not human reviewed by the sponsor site. Trades are simply initiated by the software. Collusion through team owners owning more than one team in a league, or friends in a league, is built into the game. In many leagues, he who controls/influences the most teams: wins.

Private leagues have an entirely different set of problems. Private leagues have a commissioner just like internet sites. Problem number one concerns free agents, because the commissioner plays in the league he either has access to view free agents before they are issued, or even worse, he is actually issuing them. This is a potentially BIG advantage.

 The second problem concerns the trade process. A vast majority of private leagues play with either of two league trade controls: Either the playing commissioner has the power to void, or the league has a trade void vote. i.e. If 6 team owners vote to void the trade, it is not processed. In a hobby so ripe with competitiveness, and with money on the line, and with personal relationships almost always built into the leagues- this rarely works. Although not in all private leagues, influences and outright cheating plays out in many during the free agency and trading process.

 Joe Blow site has made his own problem in this regard, he plays teams for sale and trades with teams for sale. That is a no-no in this industry and that has never been done at FSRU. It is difficult for him to void a bad trade, when he makes them himself. The integrity of his leagues is always in question when you do that. He overprices teams for sale just so he can play them, right now, he has 23 teams for sale-FSRU has zero. In essence, Joe Blow has incorporated the same problems outlined for private leagues in his online leagues.

And now we come to the potential landmines in the fairness provided at upper level sites such as FSRU (oh yea, and Joe Blows website too). We have a different problem- Sales. Like in most other businesses, fantasy sports league businesses have a variety of different duties, including: One, Sales, which is tied into advertising; and two, League Operations, which is tied into commissioner services. To be successful, you must separate the two duties. Once teams are paid for, once the season and the game begins, you cannot let the next year sales impact this years decisions.

If you void a trade and a team owner threatens to leave the league if the trade is not put through- you cannot budge. Keep in mind that when you put through a trade, sometimes it will upset owners that thought it should be voided. If you void a trade, you know the traders will certainly not be happy. The nature of the job simply does not allow you to make everyone happy.

As the commissioner, you should always fully explain your reason for each decision, and do what you think is right for the league. I have found upset team owners will respect you and the integrity of your leagues- and they will stay regardless of what was said in the heat of the moment, as long as they know your decisions are impersonal and objective. A team owner cares about what is right for their team while the commissioner has a different agenda. He has to care about what is the fairest decision for all the teams in the league. That decision begins with respecting the balance of power, and not allowing a lower level team to unjustly effect end of year payouts.

What FSRU has done best over the last 5 years has been listed above in this part of the article. The site has retained team owners, high quality and experienced team owners. I believe the primary reason is because of the fair playing field it has provided. New team owners who think their league fees deserve special consideration, soon realize they will not be offered any- and some do leave. But the remaining team owners get a unique and wonderful opportunity to compete against some of the best, on a level playing field, in a hobby they love.

I hope each of you will join us in the future of this wonderful website.