2010 rules

Team owners
Mike Banks, Phil Gardner, Geoffrey Graybeal, Matt Memrick, Derick Moss, Bernie Petit, Paul Schenkel, Justin Smith, Richard Walker, Gabe Whisnant

League setup
The league will consist of two five-team divisions, as determined by a draw.
Atlantic Division: Bernie, Derick, Gabe, Geoffrey, Richard
Coastal Division: Justin, Matt, Mike, Paul, Phil

Draft
The draft will take place 4:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 8, at the Gazette. Anyone who can’t attend can draft via the league’s blog site, http://gazetteacc.blogspot.com/
Draft order, as determined by a random draw, is as follows:
1. Paul
2. Matt
3. Derick
4. Geoffrey
5. Bernie
6. Richard
7. Justin
8. Phil
9. Gabe
10. Mike

Order will be reversed for even-numbered rounds. Owners will be allowed no more than 60 seconds to make each pick. Each team will draft seven players for a total of eight players including keepers.

Keepers
Each team will protect one player from last year.

Schedule and playoffs
The league will follow a head-to-head format. The regular season will consist of 13 games in which each team plays its four divisional opponents twice each and the other five teams once each.

The top four teams in each division based on overall record will earn berths in the postseason tournament.

Teams will be seeded 1-4 from each division. For example, we will have an Atlantic #1, Atlantic #2, etc.

Playoff schedule will be as follows:
First round
Game 1: Coastal #4 vs. Atlantic #1
Game 2: Atlantic #3 vs. Coastal #2
Game 3: Atlantic #4 vs. Coastal #1
Game 4: Coastal #3 vs. Atlantic #2
Second round (semifinals)
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner
Championship
Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner

Rosters and scoring
A roster will consist of five starters and three bench players. A fantasy team’s score will be the sum of its five starters’ points. The team with the highest score wins. Bench total will be the first tiebreaker. Second tiebreaker is leading fantasy scorer for each team. Third tiebreaker is second-leading fantasy scorer, etc. No game will end in a tie.

A player will be awarded one fantasy point for each actual point, rebound and assist. If he leads his ACC team (or ties for the lead) in any of those three categories, he will earn three bonus points for each category he leads.

Our stats will reflect those of the official box scores posted on the home team’s Web site or http://www.theacc.com. If an ACC team has a bye during one of our playoff periods, their players’ fantasy averages to that point will be used. (NOTE: This rule does not come into play in 2010.)

The commissioner will e-mail game results and standings as soon as possible upon the conclusion of the final ACC game of the period. Team owners are encouraged to carefully check their own scores for errors. Protests should be directed to the commissioner ASAP.

Lineups
The start/bench status of any player can be adjusted until game time for that player. For example, if you have Brandon Okpalobi playing at 9 p.m. Tuesday and Robert Krabbendam at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Okpalobi’s status must be set by 9 p.m. Tuesday, but Krabbendam’s status can be adjusted until 7 p.m. Wednesday as long as you have another player who can switch with him. The status of a player is locked as soon his ACC game begins.

In some cases, players will have already accrued stats for the scoring period before that period begins. For such players, the starting status can be set at any point during that particular scoring period as long as you bench or start him for a player who has yet to play.

Set lineups by e-mailing tarheelphil@hotmail.com or commenting on the league’s blog. Owners are not required to set their lineups each scoring period. If an owner fails to adjust his lineup, the previous lineup will be used. For Game 1, each team’s first five players drafted will constitute the starting lineup unless commissioner is otherwise notified.

Transactions
Owners may claim free agents on a first-come, first-serve basis from midnight to midnight each Friday and Monday. Requests must be sent via e-mail to tarheelphil@hotmail.com or posted on the league’s blog site. Verbal requests and those made outside the specified time window (according to Hotmail’s time/date stamp) will be ignored. The commissioner must e-mail his transaction requests to at least one other league member. A waivers process will not be in effect.

Adds/drops are allowed throughout the postseason tournament for any team alive. Once a team is eliminated, its roster is locked.

Trades during the season are encouraged but must be approved by the commissioner. Submit all requests to tarheelphil@hotmail.com. Deadline is Week 10. Trades are not allowed in the offseason or during the draft.

Finances
Entry fee is $25 per team, payable at the end of the season. Transactions are free. The fee is waived for the commissioner/statistician.
Payout is as follows:
Tournament champion $149
Regular-season champion* $50
Regular-season weekly points leaders: $2 each
*Determined by final overall regular-season record. Ties will be broken with the following criteria, in order: 1) best head-to-head record, 2) most points scored for the season, 3) fewest points allowed for the season.