The man is a beast! Yes, when it comes between being a beauty or a beast, Mr. Chum continually chooses beast. Chum says chicks dig the long ball and the beast. And who are we to argue?

Let's have a history lesson, shall we? The Chum Beast has had the following finishes in our league.
2009 1st
2010 3rd
2011 4th
2012 2nd
2013 1st

"Now hold on thar pardner!" you say? Can this be true? Are there not 14 teams in this league? What are we? A bunch of stool pigeons? Is this man so far above us in the fantasy baseball world that we must look up to him year after year?

Gentlemen, I must say it: The answer is yes. We exist simply to fulfill the self-actualization purposes of the Chum Beast. He uses us, toys with us, and casts us aside like twice-chewed bubble gum thrice stepped upon.

It is an honor to have Sir Steve Smith in the league. We now accord him his rightfully earned 5th Annual Couch Managers league championship with all the right, privileges and responsibilities thereof. Great job, Steve --- our first repeat champion!

Gentlemen, good first half by everyone. Excellent activity by all managers. Let's have a great second half!

Gentlemen, it's time to handle the money for the league. Based upon the survey at our Couch Managers blogspot (http://couch-managers.blogspot.com/), we will be going with a $50 fee this year for those who would like to put money up.

Here's the list of managers with carry-over from last year's winnings:
Rich Justmann (Milwaukee Braves) $50
Steve Smith (the Chum) $50
Andy Horovitz (Beerguts) $30
Mike Smith (slammin Sammies) $20

So Rich and Steve are paid up for this year. Andy & Mike would owe $20 & $30 respectively.

The money this year will be distributed in a similar manner as last year.
1st Place 50%
2nd Place 25%
3rd Place 15%
Most Improvement in the 2nd half 10%

Please note: Even if you off to a rough start, you still have a chance to win money. Mike Smith had a great second half last year. Apparently he had some leftover Slammin' Sammy Sosa prescriptions which he implemented in the second half.

Payments can be handled two ways:
1. Via PayPal: Send to dick.justmann@lawson.com. Be sure to specify gift so you don't incur the administrative fee.
2. Via Snail Mail:
Rich Justmann
315 Antler Way
Alpharetta, GA 30005

Please E-Mail me back with your intentions or post on the league home page. Thanks.

Gentlemen, I have put a survey question out at our Couch Managers blogspot. We haven't done much with the site lately but I figured it would be a good spot for us to decide what we want this year's fee to be.

To review, the fee is optional. But if you don't put up money, you are not eligible for prizes. Money will be allocated roughly as follows: 50% for 1st place, 25% for 2nd place, 15% for third place, 10% for most improved team after the all-start break.

We played for $20 last year. I have had comments from some of you guys about upping it to $50 this year. I'm fine either way. We'll go with the majority vote.

You can provide your answer at: http://couch-managers.blogspot.com/

Thanks.

Gentlemen, I posted all the keepers last night. I was thinking Yahoo did it automatically based upon your keeper selections but no such luck.

So please have a look at the Draft Results under the Draft Central tab. I believe everything is correct but, if not, please let me know ASAP.

Thanks.

Gentlemen, please note that the keeper deadline is this coming Tuesday, March 12th. Please select 10 players. Any position is fine.

Each manager is responsible for selecting keepers by 1) clicking on your team name, 2) clicking on 'choose your keeper players' and 3) putting a checkmark next to your 10 keepers.

Thanks, guys. Only 22 days until the season starts.

Gentlemen, welcome back to our FIFTH year of the Couch Managers All-Stars league. We've had four different winners so far so it'll be interesting to see who takes the trophy this year.

I am pleased to say that ALL managers have returned. That is a stout indication of the strength of our league.

I'll be posting various information over the next week or so regarding off-season trades and money and such. Looking forward to a great year.