Dec 27, 2011 (07:23 PM) Fifteen years and three Championships later, Thunderstorms Owner, Tony Dodson, is as happy as he can be about his latest win.  “You know, the year I won my first one in 1998 was very special.  Hell, it was my first and since it was only my second year to play, I pretty much thought I would win 5 or 6 in the next 10 years.  Well, it didn’t quite happen that way.”  Tony goes on to say; “Then my second in 2002 was also special.  We were shaping who we were as a League.  It was a time for history to me made.  To be one of the first to win it all was big.”  Now with only one goal left, to win in a 16 team League, it would take nine seasons to accomplish that goal.  “Yes, to win now in a 16 team League is so great.  I kind of feel like I have now shown I can win at every level.  Kind of like the Quarterback that wins a State Championship in High School, then a National Championship in College, and then a World Championship in the Pro’s.  It’s a Fantasy Football dream come true.” 

The Thunderstorms have had Manning every week as their starter since 1999.  He was drafted by the Thunderstorms in 1998, but rode the bench that year when Brett Favre won a Championship for the Thunderstorms.  In 1999, Manning became the starter, won a Championship in 2002, and then this season was not on the field even once.  “It’s kind of funny.  If I told you that I had won 3 Championships and that Manning was on my team for 14 years, you would think he had all 3 of them.  But no, 3 Championships and 3 different QB’s.  Favre, Manning, and Newton.  I will say this for Manning, he started for one, but was on the roster for all 3.  Maybe he really does make everyone around him better.”  Tony has taken a lot of criticism for Manning over the years, so you know he is going to hold him high in times like these.  “I will also say in Manning Defense, if I wouldn’t have had him on my roster, I could not have taken the chance on Cam Newton this season in the Rookie Draft and that means I probably would not have won it all this season.” 

Now with the long offseason ahead, Tony will get to enjoy his Championship and relax knowing he is on top of the League.  Not so fast he says.  “What will I do now?  Well, it’s time to start updating everything and preparing for the End Of The Season Party.  And soon after that, it is time for the Owners Meeting and time to start this whole thing over again.  Never time to rest.  Fifteen season under my belt.  That is 40% of my entire life that I have been doing this.  Kind of funny, if I do this for 8 more years, I will be 46 and I will have played for 23 years.  That’s half my life.”  Some have heard Tony himself say that if he ever wins it all again, that he would have to consider riding off into the sunset as a Champion.  When asked about that he said; “I guess you never know.  My first thought is let’s start getting things ready for next season.  But, that is probably programmed in my head at this point.  I guess if a good number of guys wanted to hang it up at season’s end, I would really have to contemplate it.  I still love playing this game and Commissioning this League.  I just don’t think I have it in me anymore to find a bunch of new owners.  I hope the majority of owners in the League right now love it, and plan to play for many years.  In 15 years, this is our best group we have ever had.  I feel like these are the guys I will retire with.  I guess you never know what situation could come up, but I feel pretty good after this season.  A Championship helps.  I feel like I can probably still do this at a high level.” 

What would the future of this league be without Tony?  Could it last?  We asked him.  “Of course it could last.  I will say one thing, I will probably always play Fantasy Football in one form or the other, but if I stepped down from Commissioning this league, it probably wouldn’t be fair to the next guy if I stayed in the League.  I would probably just get in the way.  I would definitely help get him ready though.  It’s kind of like if your buddy married your ex-wife I guess.   

"My vision for this League would be for it to have a 100 year birthday and beyond.  A league passed from generation to generation.  Just like the NFL has had many years under a different people.  I think we are starting to see it now with some of the younger owners coming into the League.  We just have to make sure when we do hand it off, that we have done our job, and we have laid the foundation, and that we make sure it is in the right hands.” 

P.F.F. To Change Software Provider?
Dec 01, 2011 (1:41 PM) It was brought to the League’s attention recently that our software lacks some luster in some areas.  I have different opinions on it, good and bad.  First, I have grown to like our software more than I did last season.  They have added a few features over last offseason that I like and the overall look is pretty good.  For those that date back to 2009 and beyond, remember that our old software had a very plain look to it, but from what I hear and agree with, it was pretty awesome.  I will be the first to admit that if we had a choice today to go back to it, I would.  Unfortunately, that is no option for it was sold to our current Software Provider.

So, the question is, can we switch if we find something better?  Well, there are some problems with that question.  One being, who gets to make that decision?  Commissioner?  Committee?  League Vote?   I have looked already and will look further into it once the offseason comes about and I will spend some time researching other software options.  When we chose our first software, I did an extensive search and I hope you all agree, we found a really good one.  I will try to compile some data by the Owners Meeting so we can vote and get it out of the way early.  I think a few of us agree that Yahoo and ESPN are out.  They are generic in nature and would not fill our needs.  What we need, if there ever is a change, is Software that would be as great as we are.  Something that just stands out and screams’s greatness.

What we need to keep in mind is that if we were to switch, it would not be on a whim by 1 or 2 owners.  It would have to be a pretty overwhelming software and pretty much the entire League would have to agree that we need to make the change.  As Commissioner, I say it cannot be a sideway’s move, or even close.  It is a royal pain on my part to change software and even the move to our current software, where they did most of the work, was a pain getting everything right under our rules and regulation.  I just wanted to bring this to everyone’s attention and let you all know that it has been discussed and will be looked at early in the offseason.  Stay tuned for more details.

Dec 01, 2011 (8:01 PM) I remember when I was growing up in the early 80’s and we’d be at school on the playground talking about the year 2000.  There was no doubt in my mind back then that we would have flying cars and we would be taking space walks by the turn of the century.  And you know what, even though I was only 10, my parents probably thought the same way.  The reason was probably because they saw what technology had done the last 20 years and if it copied its self, we would be picking out a Honda G-S Mock 2 with a true moon roof by the big 2-0-0-0.  As all of you now know, it has been over 11 years since the 2k and we are still driving cars that seem to be made cheaper and more expensive to buy.