whatever you do, don't use cbs. years ago, i joined a few diamond leagues in cbs. the way it was set up, a manager chooses their own league and waits for it to fill up. being that it was a more expensive league, it took many days to fill up with teams. that means that multiple managers who know each other can easily join the same league. sure enough, one league had managers who were friends. it was fine until the end when one friend is down 50 pts and decides to collude with another friend who has a chance to win. of course, cbs staff will basically say, 'sucks to be you'.
yahoo's better anyway. better interface, better payouts (place 3rd in a pro league and you get your money back), and better staff. if you don't agree with that, then read all the messages in this post and you'll change your mind:
J35J wrote:I think this thread just shows you that it's all personal preference.
This is really it. If one particular service has a 'deal breaker' for you, cross it off the list. After that, pick the one that suits your needs and whose interface you like, since you'll be using it potentially daily for six months.
I like yahoo. -simple interface -free to play -standard 5x5 defualt settings -Most of the must-have stuff is free -free mock drafts (auction & standard snake draft)
Issues -Public leagues are plagued with inactivity and/or BS trades. -You MUST Draft well. VETO ALL. Do not even bother to look at the trade -Standard defualt settings, while classic, are prone to exploits like SP clycling, etc -The occasional stud/all-star dropping/entire team dropping dillhole.
Ive played the other services like ESPN and CBS back when they were free and I ran into the same issues though. The main issue for me is the trading. Frustrations will include: -My garbage for your good player(s) (*) -Pressing for an even more favorable deal when the trade is already lopsided in their favor -Other trading nonsense
* if by a miracle of god "my garbage" becomes even remotely useful, the offer is rescinded. * if said offer is accepted before it's cancelled, expect requests for the league to veto.
Because I don't use anything too out of the ordinary (minor leagues, for example), I like Yahoo. I think it has the best interface and continues to add new features every year that accommodate various league setups. I use it for hockey too.
CBS is good for highly customized leagues needing large minor league player pools, but the interface is very busy and takes some getting used to. I hated it the first year we used it (once for baseball, and I've done several football and hockey leagues there), but got used to it and its decent.
ESPN is actually OK too... never did baseball there, but we do our football league there because Yahoo doesn't allow you to customize the home page enough (or at least hasn't in the past), which was necessary for us since we had a two conference league. ESPN actually seems to have even more limitations than Yahoo in some cases and the interface seems a bit too cartoonish for my liking.
Bottom line: Yahoo.
Garry26 wrote:I like yahoo. -simple interface -free to play -standard 5x5 defualt settings -Most of the must-have stuff is free -free mock drafts (auction & standard snake draft)
Issues -Public leagues are plagued with inactivity and/or BS trades. -You MUST Draft well. VETO ALL. Do not even bother to look at the trade -Standard defualt settings, while classic, are prone to exploits like SP clycling, etc -The occasional stud/all-star dropping/entire team dropping dillhole.
Ive played the other services like ESPN and CBS back when they were free and I ran into the same issues though. The main issue for me is the trading. Frustrations will include: -My garbage for your good player(s) (*) -Pressing for an even more favorable deal when the trade is already lopsided in their favor -Other trading nonsense
* if by a miracle of god "my garbage" becomes even remotely useful, the offer is rescinded. * if said offer is accepted before it's cancelled, expect requests for the league to veto.
Almost none of your "issues" have anything to do with the site you select.
"The government cannot give to anyone anything that it does not first take from someone else"
These are all great thoughtful responses. Thanks all. I think you have convinced me I am not really missing out on anything by sticking with Yahoo. I thought maybe I was missing out on something since a good portion of the leagues advertised in the classifieds are CBS & ESPN.
I think the biggest thing for me is the interface and Yahoo just has a nice and clean interface without any "fluff" getting in the way.
Garry26 wrote:I like yahoo. -simple interface -free to play -standard 5x5 defualt settings -Most of the must-have stuff is free -free mock drafts (auction & standard snake draft)
Issues -Public leagues are plagued with inactivity and/or BS trades. -You MUST Draft well. VETO ALL. Do not even bother to look at the trade -Standard defualt settings, while classic, are prone to exploits like SP clycling, etc -The occasional stud/all-star dropping/entire team dropping dillhole.
Ive played the other services like ESPN and CBS back when they were free and I ran into the same issues though. The main issue for me is the trading. Frustrations will include: -My garbage for your good player(s) (*) -Pressing for an even more favorable deal when the trade is already lopsided in their favor -Other trading nonsense
* if by a miracle of god "my garbage" becomes even remotely useful, the offer is rescinded. * if said offer is accepted before it's cancelled, expect requests for the league to veto.
These are not issues with the providers, but with the clientele. Stop playing Public Leagues and you'll see it dissipate.
Yahoo is next in line, and CBS rates a distant third for me.
One caveat: I only play in free leagues (although all are private, so the competition issues aren't a problem). I can't speak for any of the "for cost" services from these providers or others.
Is all about preference. I happen to like Yahoo. I play in a relatively young 12 team keeper, we are a very simple league, so the settings that Yahoo offers are just fine. I would agree that if you are looking to do some complex league rules and setup, Yahoo might not be the answer right now. However, Yahoo is free, the interface is simple, clean and crisp and they seem to be trying to evolve and devlop the quality and ability of their setup every year.
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by J35J » Wed Jan 16, 2013 11:09 am 
