Mid-Season TL Standings

I have been a little confused and frustrated by the TL standings, as I'd like to better understand where our team, the WonderJammers, are relative to the other teams in our division. So, I took a look at them from a different perspective. Additionally, the soccer-like standings, dependent on completed team matches like souptree's TL standings last season, are simply not very meaningful until almost all team matches are completed. I solved that problem in previous Team Leagues with a simulation model, which was reasonalbly accurate at predicting the winning teams and order of finish, but time doesn't permit adapting that model to FLG TL this season, at least not today.
 
Here is a simple alternative look from a baseball perspective, i.e. simplY total wins and losses by team. GB below means Games Behind, Pct is simply winning percentage. GB is a reflection of the combined wins and losses needed for any team to catch the team ahead. Thus, GB equal 2 means the team behind must win 4 to catch the team ahead, or win 2 in combination with 2 loses by the team ahead.

Finally, I took a look at the Wild Card Race for the fourth team to make the playoffs. Then, after a good nap, I realized the thing I missed most was seeing who is on each team. So, I added player names to the right of each team.

Again, since this is just an approximation of relative standings based on total wins and losses of each team, it is entirely unofficial and offered as a just another way of seeing the race mid-season. Final standings will, of course, be based ONLY on the official FLG website. Until then, enjoy this new look at the race and the WonderJammers are in the thick of it!

[table=]
BEAVER Division           ,   W   ,   L   ,   Pct   ,   GB   , Team members
TheGammonators,, , , , jimgibbs, MJTAMV, vagrant
FullPrimeTime,, , , , jukins, TheDumbSmartGuy, _Z_
WonderJammers,, , , , jdg, sixty_something, Zorba
DGteam,, , , , JLee, KDP, magic_one
RuthlessWarriors,, , , , Mort, PersianLord, sunray
TrailofPips,, , , , fortuna, jackdaddy, Jack_Shit
TeamTruffles,, , , , johnwayne, onion, WildThing
NoName,, , , , babyjim, Derby, Gammonrider
[/table]

[table=]
JACOBY Division,   W   ,   L   ,   Pct   ,   GB   , Team members
ShouldIStayShouldIGo,, , , , butterfly, gnomysTwo, roadkillbooks
TheCubeSluts,, , , , Backwoods, diane, donzaemon
DieDreiMusketiere,, , , , Joyce, PHunter, RickrInSF
Libertad,, , , , chopos, juanz, _centasivo
SurpriseTeam,, , , , adrian, MarcoPolo, Tom
goooo,, , , , Im_not_gimmeluck, resh_lakish, spielberg
TheCubes,, , , , hunter, paulc, _loak
[/table]

[table=]
CRAWFORD Division        ,   W   ,   L   ,   Pct   ,   GB   , Team members
ShakeRattle&Roll,, , , , dorbel, gumpi, mradica
TheMisfits,, , , , BillyCraven, blitzxz, skater
OttomansEmpire,, , , , jimbok, otto, taylor
TheFrenchies,, , , , mano, Peyo, Tomawaky
WhupAssWorldwide,, , , , blotsalot, elmicho, Kari_Grandi
Racing-Snails,, , , , aakjaer, Pernot_Ricard, Samir
schigstogsedat,, , , , Schigolch, sedat, stog
[/table]

WILD CARD RACE
[table=]
Team, Division,   W   ,   L   ,   Pct   ,   GB   , Team members
FullPrimeTime, Beaver,, , , , jukins, TheDumbSmartGuy, _Z_
WonderJammers, Beaver,, , , , jdg, sixty_something, Zorba
TheCubeSluts, Jacoby,, , , , Backwoods, diane, donzaemon
DGteam, Beaver,, , , , JLee, KDP, magic_one
DieDreiMusketiere, Jacoby,, , , , Joyce, PHunter, RickrInSF
TheMisfits, Crawford,, , , , BillyCraven, blitzxz, skater
SurpriseTeam, Jacoby,, , , , adrian, MarcoPolo, Tom
Libertad, Jacoby,, , , , chopos, juanz, _centasivo
[/table]

Preliminary Final TL Standings -- March 4th


Disclaimer

These standings are simply an approximation of relative standings based on total wins and losses of each team, as currently posted at the FLG website. These standings are entirely unofficial and offered as a just another way of seeing the race. Please note, this is not a simulation, it is an accurate summary of the table labeled Résultats and derived solely from the current team-by-team W-L totals therein. Remember the actual final FLG TL Standings are not based on a teams total win loss record for individual matches, W and L below. The official standings are based on the outcome of TEAM MATCHES, not individual matches. Thus, the following caveat should always apply when viewing these standings.

Final FLG TL standings will, of course, be based ONLY on the official FLG website.

Possible Errata

The PF/PA totals at the website are not in balance with these W-L numbers. I am not sure why. It appears that Tomawaky attempted to backout forfeits he awarded earlier. As a result even the current Team Match point totals are somewhat suspect.

I do know that for my team the WonderJammers we have two more wins than appear in the list for Matches of a Team as jdg somehow managed to get matches against two players who disappeared toward season end, Jack_Shit and Derby. They were erroneously removed. Even if included, the wild card race below is not seriously effected as our line would read WonderJammers 31 26 .544 moving us up just one place in the order of finish.

Finally, while I have checked and double checked these totals, I cannot verify their complete accuracy. To develop these totals required an absurdly complicated process of importing data into an Excel spreadsheet from the official website. It was not as absurdly complex as running simulation models would have been, but there remains the possibility of error in these totals as well.

My Proposal

Given the confusion historically caused at the end of each TL season due to unplayed matches and possible forfeits and the relatively meaningless day-to-day standings as we wait for a Team Match win to be awarded, also a historical problem, I seriously propose we consider simply using a system based on total Wins and Losses to determine the TL championship each season, perhaps even including this season.

Additionally, another issue we haven't yet addressed is resolved by this approach. With 8 teams in the Beaver Divisoin and only 7 in the Jacoby and Crawford, using Team Match points to determine the winner of the Wild Card race is just not fair to the teams in the smaller divisions as teams in the Beaver Division play 7 matches each, not 6.

Traditionally we have used soccer like standings for TL, i.e. awarding two points for a team win and one point for a tie. Such an approach has its virtues, but given that it seems almost impossible to have a TL season end with all matches played, I think it needs to be seriously reconsidered. Most importantly, IMHO, standings based on total wins and losses like these below are relevant from day one of play. The GB number accurately reflects the relationship in the standings for any two teams within their division and in the Wild Card Race, regardless of how many games or individual matches have been played. GB is defined as the combined number of wins and losses required for a trailing team to catch a team in the lead. For those not familiar with GB, see the Wiki article on Games Behind.

So, my proposal is to consider simply using total wins and losses for determing the division winners and, more importantly, the results fo the wild card race. A quick comparison shows the only difference in the results is in the Beaver Division, by far the most competive division this season.

The Wild Card Race which was much closer than any of us were probably ever aware. It also ended with a unique situation described in the Wiki article on GB. The team with the second best winning percentage, TheMisfits is tied in GB with DGteam. In a situation like this, if I were the FLG TL TD, I would give the win in the Wild Card Race to TheMisfits since they have won more games than DGteam. Since they were both in divisions with 7 teams, it seems fitting to award the apparent tie to the team that played more games. Had one of the teams been in the 8 team division, it would be a harder call and perhaps would deserve a playoff.

But, hey, it's not my call. That's why we pay Tomawaky the big bucks to decide all things TL. But if I were the ruler of this little world, I'd be satisfied with the outcome below as a fair and accurate reflection of our final standings, even though I have knocked my WonderJammers out of the apparent lead in the Wild Card Race - c'est la vie.

While the issue of an incentive for completing all matches is not directly evident in this proposal, it is clear that the current and traditional TL approach of awarding 2 points for a completed team match isn't working for geting players to complete all their matches. I sincerely believe that if standings like these were available from day one, teams in contention, particularly in the very close Wild Card Race, would know they are in contention and know what impact completing more matches might have in the standings. If any of us were aware of how close the wild card race really was, I am sure we would have been very motivated to finsih any remaining matches. That is the best of all possible worlds, IMHO.

A final benefit of this proposal is that it potentially eliminates the always contentious issue of awarding forfeits. If we are aware of the exact standings from day one and still miss a match for whatever reason, I'd suggest that is just the breaks of the game and thus no forfeits need be considered.

Now, before reading further, go back and carefully re-read my Disclaimer.

The Unofficial Final Standings

[table=]
BEAVER Division,   W   ,   L   ,   Pct   ,   GB   , Team members
TheGammonators,, , , , jimgibbs, mjtamv, vagrant
DGteam,, , , , JLee, KDP, magic_one
FullPrimeTime,, , , , jukins, TheDumbSmartGuy, _Z_
WonderJammers,, , , , jdg, sixty_something, Zorba
RuthlessWarriors,, , , , Mort, PersianLord, sunray
NoName,, , , , babyjim, Derby, Gammonrider
TrailofPips,, , , , fortuna, jackdaddy, Jack_Shit
TeamTruffles,, , , , johnwayne, onion, WildThing
[/table]

[table=]
JACOBY Division,   W   ,   L   ,   Pct   ,   GB   , Team members
ShouldIStayShouldIGo,, , , , butterfly, gnomysTwo, roadkillbooks
TheCubeSluts,, , , , Backwoods, diane, donzaemon
DieDreiMusketiere,, , , , Joyce, PHunter, RickrInSF
SurpriseTeam,, , , , adrian, MarcoPolo, Tom
Libertad,, , , , chopos, juanz, _centasivo
goooo,, , , , Im_not_gimmeluck, resh_lakish, spielberg
TheCubes,, , , , hunter, paulc, _loak
[/table]

[table=]
CRAWFORD Division,   W   ,   L   ,   Pct   ,   GB   , Team members
ShakeRattle&Roll,, , , , dorbel, gumpi, mradica
TheMisfits,, , , , BillyCraven, blitzxz, skater
OttomansEmpire,, , , , jimbok, otto, taylor
TheFrenchies,, , , , mano, Peyo, Tomawaky
WhupAssWorldwide,, , , , blotsalot, elmicho, Kari_Grandi
schigstogsedat,, , , , Schigolch, sedat, stog
Racing-Snails,, , , , aakjaer, Pernot_Ricard, Samir
[/table]

WILD CARD RACE
[table=]
Team, Division,   W   ,   L   ,   Pct   ,   GB   , Team members
TheMisfits,Crawford,, , , , BillyCraven, blitzxz, skater
DGteam, Beaver,, , , , JLee, KDP, magic_one
FullPrimeTime, Beaver,, , , , jukins, TheDumbSmartGuy, _Z_
TheCubeSluts, Jacoby,, , , , Backwoods, diane, donzaemon
OttomansEmpire, Crawford,, , , , jimbok, otto, taylor
WonderJammers, Beaver,, , , , jdg, sixty_something, Zorba
RuthlessWarriors, Beaver,, , , , Mort, PersianLord, sunray
TheFrenchies, Crawford,, , , , mano, Peyo, Tomawaky
DieDreiMusketiere, Jacoby,, , , , Joyce, PHunter, RickrInSF
[/table]

Given the confusion historically caused at the end of each TL season due to unplayed matches and possible forfeits and the relatively meaningless day-to-day standings as we wait for a Team Match win to be awarded, also a historical problem, I seriously propose we consider simply using a system based on total Wins and Losses to determine the TL championship each season, perhaps even including this season.

Total Win or Losses is not in the spirit of a team contest in my mind

Additionally, another issue we haven't yet addressed is resolved by this approach. With 8 teams in the Beaver Divisoin and only 7 in the Jacoby and Crawford, using Team Match points to determine the winner of the Wild Card race is just not fair to the teams in the smaller divisions as teams in the Beaver Division play 7 matches each, not 6.

Right



Then, The point I decided to complete all the matches is because of the inital rules where I said that all matches need to be completed. Doing this I though I was the closer of what have been said on the rules.

Now I wait other point of view to decide what is best (personnaly I really don't know). With the good job you did Sixty, I will create a poll to see which standing do you prefer between mine and yours.

At the beginning of the season, Tomawaky thought that all of the teams would complete all of their matches and thus make the task of deciding the teams for the playoffs relatively simple. That turned out to be too optimistic, but let's face it, the reason that didn't happen lies with the players, not the TD!
How to sort it out now? I think that all the team captains should make it their business to say to Tomawaky, "This was the first attempt. Thanks for organising it. Choose four teams for the playoff by any means you consider fair and I will abide by your choice without complaint." That will make the whole business much easier.
In the individual league, it took many sessions before the rules to cover all the possible tie breaks were finally tightened up and now it runs well. The procedure for no shows is clearly laid down as well. TL rules need tightening and I am sure that that will happen. Let's finish up this season and get on with the next, to which I am sure we all look forward keenly. Thank you Franck!