SIMULATED/VIDEO FANTASY SPORTS LEAGUE
A method and system for conducting a fantasy sports league. A video game provided with all of the teams and their active rosters for a particular sport and season would be used to simulate the play of the game for an actual or projected season for that sport. Team owners, coaches or managers would draft players off the active roster for that sport and matchups between the teams in the fantasy league would utilize statistics generated during the simulated play of a schedule of games to determine comprehensive performance points for each team which would be utilized to determine the winner of matchups between fantasy league teams.
The present invention claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 61/430,698 filed on Jan. 7, 2011 and incorporates all of the material therein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a system and method for a fantasy sports league utilizing simulated played games in generating data for the sports league.
2. Description of the Related Art
Playing sports, such as, baseball, football, basketball and hockey, as well as other sports, is enjoyed by an ever growing number of boys, girls, men and women. Additionally, spectator sporting events have increased in popularity based partly upon the effect of cable television and various sports packages that can be purchased to view your favorite team or teams during a particular professional or collegiate season. The outcome of these games is debated and, invariably, many individuals discuss the attributes of different players or participants. These debates often include comments about the players of an individual team and the manner in which the owners and general managers make use of the players under their control.
These debates gave rise to Rotisserie League Baseball in 1980, which many consider to be the initial baseball fantasy league. The members, or owners of the various teams, making up Rotisserie League Baseball draft baseball players to form fantasy baseball teams which they then manage throughout an entire baseball season by trading, playing, benching and otherwise controlling players on a daily basis. Based upon a point system relating to the statistics of the pitchers and non-pitchers on a particular fantasy team over the entire baseball season, a winning team is determined. Subsequently, the original rules of Rotisserie League Baseball were modified so that individual members of the league would be involved in weekly competitions with other members of the league using statistics generated by that member's team with respect to another member's team based upon the actual play of the players during the major league season. This type of league allows individuals to include a roster of players that would not participate in a particular week, but could be elevated to the roster and participate in a subsequent week's game, at the same time demoting a player from the active to the non-active roster.
The idea for a fantasy football league is generally agreed to antedate the Rotisserie Baseball League. For example, it is believed modern fantasy football can be traced to Wilfred Winkenbach in 1962. Winkenbach organized a league which consisted of people who, in his opinion, were experts in football. Each team was able to draft 20 players in various offensive and defensive positions. Weekly lineups were then submitted to a secretary of the league and the teams would compete on a weekly basis. At the end of the season, teams would hold a championship to crown the league champion.
As can be appreciated, the Internet has facilitated the ability for an increased number of individuals to participate in fantasy leagues in various sports on a weekly basis. Drafts are held online and each team owner, manager or coach submits a roster to the website administrator. Changes in the roster result by each team's owner, manager or coach elevating or demoting players between their active and non-active rosters. Additionally, trades are conducted between the managers and coaches. Players not initially drafted may also be added to each of the team rosters.
Based upon the actual play of the professional teams of each league, such as, but not limited to baseball, football, basketball and hockey, points are awarded to each team reflecting the statistics of the players on the team roster as determined by the actual playing of the professional games for that particular week. For example, and with respect to football, points are awarded to the running backs based upon the yards gained and touchdowns scored. Points are awarded to a quarterback based upon passing yards, completion accuracy and touchdowns scored. Points are also awarded to running backs and offensive ends based upon touchdowns scored and reception yardage. Furthermore, points are awarded to kickers based upon points after touchdowns and field goals. Additionally, some leagues award points to a punter based upon the average yards per kick during a game as well as the net return yards. Finally, some leagues allow team owners to draft a particular team's defense to which points are awarded for various defensive achievements, for example, sacks, interceptions, points allowed and both passing and rushing yardages allowed.
As previously mentioned, the results of these fantasy sports leagues are based upon the actual play of the professional teams associated with each sport during a particular week. If these games are not played, such as during a strike or lockout, fantasy leagues would not be able to operate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe deficiencies of the prior art are addressed by the present invention which utilizes a video game associated with a particular sport. This video game is, for example, EA Sports Madden 2011 or EA Sports NBA Live 2011. For example, EA Sports Madden 2011 would allow two individuals to play a football game between any of the teams in the National Football League based upon the roster of players for a particular season. Each of the players has the ability to manipulate the play of the game as well as to choose the participants in the game based upon the players on each game's respective rosters. However, EA Sports Madden 2011, as well as other video games, can also simulate the play of that game without any external influence by the video game players, once the play of the game commences. Whether actual people play the video game or the video game is simulated using only the video game itself, statistics are generated relating to the teams and players deemed to be participating in the video football game. Consequently, computer generated games between various fantasy sports teams can be played and the statistics calculated regardless of whether actual games are played.
Therefore, a fantasy league can be established, the games played, and statistics and standings can be generated based solely upon a video game simulation of a game played by the actual teams in a sport, such as the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers in football. This is to be differentiated from teams in the fantasy league generally consisting of players culled from several of teams in the National Football League. For example, and utilizing the sport of professional football, a fantasy football league is established between a number of teams, such as, but not limited to 10-12, in a “closed” manner in which all of the team coaches know each other or in an “open” manner in which an online website would be utilized to organize the league with coaches not necessarily acquainted with one another. Both “closed” and “open” leagues would operate online.
Once the league and teams are established, a draft among the league coaches is held, preferably online. The draft requires that the coaches draft players for particular offensive positions such as quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end and kicker. Each team includes a defined number of players at each position and initially designates a “starting” lineup as well as a number of bench personnel. Additionally, if desired, the draft includes drafting a particular professional team's defense, such as the Green Bay Packers or the New York Giants. Players not initially drafted by any of the coaches are added in various manners to a team roster by releasing a player of a similar position from the active roster at the appropriate time prior to a simulated fantasy football game. Additionally, each coach has the ability of elevating and demoting players from the active roster to the bench roster on a weekly basis.
During each week's play, the website administrator administers and runs the fantasy league. The website administrator also plays the weekly simulated games. Prior to league play, the website administrator is instrumental in organizing the participating leagues whether opened or closed. Although the number of fantasy teams is not crucial, it is believed that an optimal number of fantasy teams in the league would be between 10 and 12. Each open or closed fantasy league has its own schedule, pitting the specific teams in the league against one another. Statistics for each individual player as well as the team defenses are determined and performance points are awarded to each of the players as well as the team defenses based upon a schedule of points as will be subsequently described. The points for each of the active players as well as the designated defense for a particular fantasy football team are added together to result in total number of points for each of the teams for a particular week. The cumulative points for each particular team are then compared to the fantasy football team that a particular team was scheduled to play that week. These points are then used to determine the winner of a particular matchup between the scheduled fantasy football league games, resulting in weekly as well as cumulative standings. The website administrator operates a website which includes, but is not limited to including, the standings of each of the teams of the league as well as the weekly cumulative points awarded to each of the players. The website includes a home page which displays general information, such as the directions for joining the league as well as rules for participation, a point scale for earning simulated player performance points and important dates and times. The website also includes a league page through which team coaches can review other team records and schedules throughout the season, a team page on which the team coaches can review the statistics of his or her own team and select starting lineups each week, a matchup page on which the coaches view weekly simulated matchups of teams within the league throughout the season, an available simulated player page which coaches can utilize to add and drop simulated professional players from their own roster, and an updated statistics page posting the cumulative statistics for each simulated professional player as well as the overall team standings. Other types of pages could also be included on the website.
At the end of regular league play, if desired, a playoff can be conducted between the top teams in the standings, or for that matter, all of the teams in the league. If a playoff system is utilized, the entire league schedule would not be utilized to determine the final champion. Rather, for example, the last week of the season, or additional prior weeks would be utilized to provide the simulated games during the playoffs.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when viewed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which set forth certain embodiments of the invention.
The detailed embodiment of the present invention is disclosed herein. It should be understood, however, that the disclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, the details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for teaching one skilled in the art how to make and/or use the invention.
In accordance with the present invention, the virtual fantasy sports league 10 operates by simulating the playing of sporting events using a video game of the sport. The video game maintains active rosters for professional sports teams. The video game to be used in the operation of the virtual fantasy sports league 10 is first selected and a plurality of fantasy teams are formed for a particular sport based upon the players available in the video game selected. Players for each of the fantasy teams are drafted from the active rosters of the professional sports teams supported by the video game providing fantasy team owners with a lineup of players for the respective fantasy teams. A schedule of matchups between the plurality of fantasy team owners is established. Simulated games of virtual professional teams are then played using the video game for each of the projected weekly schedules. These simulated games are played without any interference from any of the fantasy team owners making up the present virtual fantasy sports league 10.
It is important to clarify that the simulated games will be played between the complete rosters of the actual sport teams included on the video game. The video game includes the actual or projected schedule for each week of the season. A schedule between the fantasy team owners of the fantasy league would be prepared by the website administrator. The roster of each fantasy team would generally include players from a number of the actual sport teams included on the video game. After all of the simulated games are played between the rosters of the actual sport teams, points are awarded to the players based upon their performance in the simulated games. A cumulative score is calculated for each of the fantasy teams by adding the performance points awarded to each fantasy team owner of each fantasy team. Based upon the schedule between the teams in the fantasy league for a particular week, a winner for a particular matchup between scheduled fantasy teams will be compiled using the performance points awarded to each player on the fantasy team owner's roster.
As will be discussed below in greater detail, the video game under which the present virtual fantasy sports league 10 operates is preselected. Video games such as EA Sports Madden 2011 or EA Sports NBA Live 2011 may be employed. For the purpose of describing the present virtual fantasy sports league 10, the following description will focus upon the implementation of a fantasy football league. It is, however, appreciated the concepts underlying the present virtual fantasy sports league 10 may be applied to a variety of sports.
EA Sports Madden 2011 allows two individuals to play a video football game between any of the teams in the National Football League based upon the active roster of players for a particular season. Each of the individuals playing the video football game has the ability of manipulating the play of the video football game as well as choosing the player participants in the video football game based upon the players on each of the actual teams respective active rosters. EA Sports Madden 2011, as well as other video games, can also computer generate the play of that football game without any external influence by the video game players, once an individual commences the game play by selecting the appropriate options on the video football game. Whether actual people play the video football game or the video football game is computer generated using only the video game software itself, statistics are generated relating to the real world teams and players deemed to be participating in the virtual football game. Consequently, a schedule of weekly simulated games can be played, and match-ups between various fantasy football teams can result, and the statistics calculated regardless of whether actual football games are played.
Therefore, and in accordance with the present virtual fantasy sports league 10, a fantasy football league is established, a schedule of games are played, and statistics and standings are generated based solely upon simulated football games. For example, a fantasy football league is established between a number of teams, such as, but not limited to 10-12, in a “closed” manner in which all of the fantasy team owners know each other or in an “open” manner in which an online website is utilized to organize the league with fantasy team owners not necessarily acquainted with one another. Both “closed” and “open” leagues would operate online.
Once the virtual fantasy sports league 10 and the associated fantasy teams are established, a draft among the fantasy team owners is held, preferably online. The draft requires that the fantasy team owners draft actual roster players of teams installed in the video game, for example, National Football League team players in Madden, who then become fantasy players on the designated fantasy team. The players are drafted for particular offensive positions such as quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end and kicker. Each fantasy team includes a defined number of fantasy players at each position and initially designates a “starting” lineup as well as a number of bench personnel. Additionally, if desired, the draft includes drafting a particular professional team's defense, such as the Green Bay Packers or the New York Giants, as the fantasy defense for the fantasy team.
Players not initially drafted by any of the fantasy team owners may be added in various manners to a fantasy team roster by releasing a player of a similar position from the active fantasy team roster at the appropriate time prior to a simulated fantasy football game. Additionally, each fantasy team owner has the ability of elevating and demoting fantasy players from the active fantasy roster to the bench fantasy roster on a weekly basis.
During each week's play, the website administrator administers and runs the virtual fantasy sports league 10. The website administrator also “plays” the weekly simulated games. Prior to league play, the website administrator is instrumental in organizing the participating leagues whether open or closed. The virtual fantasy sports league 10 has its own schedule, pitting the specific fantasy teams in the fantasy football league against one another. This is to be differentiated between the actual or projected schedule for the teams in the underlying sports league, such as the New York Giants versus the Green Bay Packers for professional football. Statistics for each individual fantasy player as well as the fantasy team defenses are determined and points are awarded to each of the fantasy players as well as the fantasy team defenses based upon a schedule of points as will be subsequently described.
The points for each of the active fantasy players as well as the designated fantasy team defense for a particular fantasy football team are added together to result in total number of points for each of the fantasy teams for a particular week. The cumulative points for each particular fantasy team are then compared to the fantasy team that particular team was scheduled to play that week. These points are then be used to determine the winner of a particular matchup between the fantasy team owners, resulting in weekly as well as cumulative standings.
The fantasy football league operates a website which includes, but is not limited to including, the standings of each of the fantasy teams of the virtual fantasy sports league 10 as well as the weekly cumulative points awarded to each of the fantasy players. The website includes a home page which displays general information, such as the directions for joining the virtual fantasy sports league 10 as well as rules for participation, a point scale for earning fantasy player performance points and important dates and times. The website also includes a league page through which fantasy team owners can review other fantasy team records and schedules throughout the season, a team page on which the fantasy team owners can review the statistics of his or her own fantasy team and select starting lineups each week, a matchup page on which the fantasy team owners view weekly simulated matchups of fantasy teams within the fantasy league throughout the season, an available fantasy player page which fantasy team owners can utilize to add and drop fantasy players from their own fantasy roster, and an updated statistics page posting the cumulative statistics for each fantasy player as well as the overall team standings. Other types of pages could also be included on the website.
At the end of regular fantasy league play, if desired, a playoff can be conducted between the top fantasy teams in the standings, or for that matter, all of the fantasy teams in the virtual fantasy sports league 10. If a playoff system is utilized, the entire actual or projected league schedule of the underlying teams, such as the actual or projected schedule of the National Football League would not be utilized to determine the final champion. Rather, for example, the actual schedule for the last week of the season, or the actual schedule for additional prior weeks would be utilized to provide the simulated games during the playoffs.
The operation of the entire virtual fantasy sports league 10 is controlled through the use of a central server 14 as well as a computer processing unit (CPU) 18 and a memory (or database) 16 which preferably includes both volatile memories such as a DRAM and SRAM as well as non-volatile memories such as ROM, EPROM, EEPROM and FLASH. The memory 16 permits the program or programs to operate the virtual fantasy sports league 10 and stores all of the statistics, performance points and standards of the league.
The computers of the fantasy team owners are also connected to the network, and ultimately to the server. Since the present invention is described with respect to a fantasy football league, the term “team owner” is utilized herein to designate the individual or individuals in charge of a particular fantasy football team. However, it is appreciated that depending upon the fantasy sport being operated in accordance with the present invention, the terms used to describe the participants may be varied.
Each computer 20 is provided with a standard keyboard 22, a standard printer 24, a standard monitor 26 and a standard mouse 28, all of which are used to interface with the network 12. However, it is appreciated technology advances and the exact construction of the computer by which fantasy team owners access the server will certainly change over time. The virtual fantasy sports league 10 is designed to operate by playing simulated football games utilizing a video football game including all of the National Football League teams and their active rosters, each fantasy team being provided with a fantasy roster of fantasy players (based upon actual players from active National Football League rosters as maintained by the video football game chosen for use in accordance with implementation of the present virtual fantasy sports league 10) for a particular season. Simulated games, and associated statistics, are generated through either functionality in the video football game allowing for generation of game statistics with no human intervention other than starting the game.
Once the video football game is selected, a draft of active players from actual National Football League teams is completed and fantasy teams are established, each actual or projected game for a particular week of the football season (for example, the National Football League season) will be simulated by the website administrator. Consequently, a game console 29 under the control of the website administrator would also be connected to the network 12.
As the present virtual fantasy sports league 10 is implemented using a communication network 12, the virtual fantasy sports league 10 is preferably accessed via a website. It is appreciated that each fantasy league, such as fantasy football league or fantasy baseball league, preferably includes a website provided with a home page and other displays which is accessed by the fantasy team owners within an open or closed league. This home page is also utilized to publicize the existence of a particular virtual fantasy sports league(s) 10 in accordance with the present invention and allows each of the fantasy team owners within a closed or open league to register their particular fantasy team, including fantasy team name with the website administrator.
As such, each fantasy team owner is required to choose a unique user name and password for the purpose of logging in to (or accessing) his or her own virtual fantasy team. Each of the user's names is visible to all of the fantasy team owners in a particular league. A secure and private password is selected by each fantasy team owner and known only to that fantasy team owner to ensure that the fantasy team owner is the only participant with access to the owner's team roster. The use of secure passwords ensures that each fantasy team owner is the only participant that can make changes to his or her fantasy roster in order to maintain fair play and the competitive integrity of the fantasy league.
Initially, a particular fantasy football league, whether open or closed, is organized by a league coordinator. The league coordinator registers his or her fantasy football league with the website administrator. Each of the team owners within a particular league registers their own team. The league coordinator is also a team owner and participant. Once all teams are registered within the league, the league coordinator determines the date and time of when a draft is held. The league coordinator determines the minimum number of fantasy teams as well as the maximum number of fantasy teams which are allowed to participate within their particular fantasy football league.
The league coordinator posts the time and date the draft will be held on the website. The draft selections are decided on a round robin basis with leagues deciding the order of picks among its fantasy teams. Each fantasy team owner within the league must draft a required number of fantasy players from the active player rosters of all of the National Football League teams for a particular year. A list of these active players would be provided on the website. The number of fantasy players on each fantasy roster is established by the league coordinator. For the purposes of the present invention, it is assumed that 12 fantasy players are chosen from the active rosters of the National Football League teams. Additionally, and as shown in
Furthermore, and as shown in
During each week of play, the fantasy team owners choose eight fantasy players from his or her active fantasy roster as well as one team defense. These active fantasy rosters are then be posted on the league's website.
Additionally, a league schedule of the fantasy teams is administered by the website administrator. These matchups are selected randomly and as equitably as possible so that each fantasy team owner has the opportunity to play all of the other fantasy team owners an equal number of times on a rotating basis.
Only the fantasy players selected on the team's active fantasy roster (or starting lineup) for a given week and placed in a specific field position by the fantasy team owner have the opportunity to earn performance points based upon their play during a particular week. As can be appreciated, the majority of fantasy players on a fantasy roster are from different National Football League teams. Therefore, each week, a full slate of the actual or projected games are simulated by the website administrator and performance points are awarded to each fantasy player, as well as team defense, based upon the simulated play.
The simulated game is videotaped at Step 40 in its entirety and streamed on the fantasy league website during the actual or projected game time as published by the National Football League. If the game time is not published by the National Football League, games would be video streamed at different times such as Sundays at 1:00 PM, 4:00 PM and 8:00 PM, and Mondays and Thursdays at 8:30 PM, all Eastern Standard Time. This would occur if no actual schedule was completed by the National Football League resulting from the actual season being partially or completely cancelled, due to, for example, a lockout or player strike. The schedule is determined by the website administrator and game times are posted on the website. Once a game has begun, benched fantasy players cannot be moved into the starting lineup or vice versa. However, once that particular simulated game has been concluded, fantasy roster changes can be made by moving benched fantasy players into the starting lineup, starting lineup players onto the bench as well as obtaining players not listed on any other players' roster or making trades.
Statistics for each of the fantasy players in the video football game are automatically compiled within the video football game and are readily available during and at the conclusion of the simulated game as shown in Step 42. During the simulated game, the fantasy website administrator posts each fantasy player's performance and updates each fantasy player's accumulated performance points at Step 44. Defensive team statistics are also recorded and accumulated as shown at Steps 42 and 44. The fantasy player statistics may include, but are not limited to, yards rushing, yards passing, fumble recoveries, field goals and points after touchdowns as shown in
After all of the simulated fantasy games have been completed each week and the scores are posted, a fantasy team owner has the option of adding and releasing fantasy players from their fantasy roster. However, the total number of fantasy players on a particular fantasy roster should never exceed the total number of fantasy players for a fantasy team, according to the fantasy football league.
If the fantasy football league is using the actual or projected schedule for the National Football League, each week of that season all of the match ups between the National Football League teams would be played.
The overall winner of a given simulated fantasy league can be determined through a playoff seeding and a tournament, if the rules permit. Immediately following the conclusion of the fantasy football league season, each fantasy team is seeded by the website administrator into a playoff bracket based upon the regular season standings of their fantasy league. For example, a fantasy team with a regular season record of 12-2 will receive a higher seed than a fantasy team with a regular season record of 9-5. The fantasy team with the best overall record will receive the number one seeding and the fantasy team with the worst record would receive the lowest seed available. It is noted that, based upon the league rules, all of the fantasy league teams can be included in a playoff, or a limited number of the fantasy teams with the best record would be involved in the playoffs. If a playoff is utilized, one or more of the last actual or projected scheduled games for a particular National Football League Season would be employed.
Winners of each playoff matchup will advance through the fantasy football league playoff tournament while losers will be eliminated from the playoff tournament. The playoff tournament will continue until there is a winner of the fantasy football league.
Additional features can be employed to make the game experience more interesting. For example, prior to the simulated video games being played by, for example, the New England Patriots and the New York Jets, the website administrator could consult with a weather site or the location of the home team for that game and could input weather information which would affect the play of the game. For example, if the game is to be played in New England in the middle of December, and the weather forecast is for heavy snow, that factor would affect the performance of both of the teams. Additionally, the website could include a “chat page” available to the team coaches within a specific league. The chat pages will be created to allow communication among the team coaches and will be provided access to the live chat only with other team managers based upon the user password assigned to each of the teams.
Additionally, each of the simulated games may contain commercial breaks during stoppage of play where deemed appropriate. Pre-recorded commercial videos provided by advertisers will be shown during these stoppages. There may be commercials between official simulated periods of play such as between innings in baseball, periods in hockey and quarters in football and basketball.
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of these teachings. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best illustrate the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
Claims
1. A method of operating a sports fantasy league utilizing a video game containing all of the sports teams active rosters, and projected weekly schedule for a particular sport, comprising the steps of:
- forming a plurality of fantasy team owners for a particular sport;
- drafting players for each of the fantasy teams from the active roster included in the video game to provide a lineup of players for each of the fantasy teams;
- providing a schedule of matchups between the plurality of fantasy teams;
- playing simulated games utilizing the video game for each of the projected weekly schedules, the simulated games being played without any interference from any of the fantasy team owners;
- assigning performance points based upon the play of each simulated game for each of the players on the active roster of a fantasy team owner's fantasy team; and
- calculating the performance points for each lineup of players of each of the fantasy teams to create a cumulative score for each of the fantasy teams for a projected week's schedule.
2. The method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising the steps of:
- comparing the cumulative score between the each of the matchups for a particular week to determine a winner between each of the matchups; and
- posting a weekly standing of the fantasy team based upon the winner of the matchups for each week during the course of a fantasy league season.
3. The method in accordance with claim 2, wherein the particular sport is football, and each of the fantasy teams drafting at least one team defense to be included in the lineup.
4. The method in accordance with claim 3, wherein the performance points include points assigned to the team defense.
5. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the drafting of players and the playing of the simulated games are done over the Internet.
6. The method in accordance with claim 5, wherein all plays of all of the simulated games are streamed over the Internet.
7. The method in accordance with claim 6, wherein advertisements are aired during the course of streaming the simulated games over the Internet.
8. The method in accordance with claim 1, further including the step of using the weather conditions at the site of a projected home team to affect the simulated game at that site.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 2, 2011
Publication Date: Jul 12, 2012
Inventor: Simon Harris DeVore (East Setauket, NY)
Application Number: 13/038,722
International Classification: A63F 9/24 (20060101);
