Hello,

I paid a few days ago and I'm ready to join a Hardball Dynasty League...however...there are NONE available.  I would prefer to join a newly created league (for new members like myself) but there are none available.  I tried creating a NEW league but I wasn't allowed to do so.  Can I start a new league and if so, how do I go about doing that?  If I'm too "new" to start a league, can someone at What If Sports start a new league for rookies like myself? Or can someone let me know when a new league will be forming?   

I have also been trying to find an existing team with little luck.  I have left several posts, and no one seems to be looking for NEW members at this time.  Please let me know if you can help me...I really want to play...but the lack of openings is starting to get a little  frustrating.  

Sincerely,
Terry B. Swayne

This the really the wrong place in the forums for this, needs to go in the classified's area.  However, as long as you asked:

New leagues were stopped a while back due to an over abundance of openings in existing leagues.  Leagues were taking to long to fill, so they stopped letting people form new leagues and even combined some leagues.  Since then they have started letting new leagues be formed in certain cases.  Not sure but I think you have to have a certain number of "new" owners, like yourself, wanting to form one.   If you really want to form a new league, you will need to post your desire in the classified's section, gather enough other new owners to join you, and send a request (via support ticket) to WIS asking that one be formed.  Assuming you don't want to do all this, you have two options, ask to be let into a private league by looking through the classified's section and sitemailing the poster, or wait for a public league to roll over.  On the join league page you can see how many days are left for each league and whether they are private or public.  Also, I guess a third option would be to just put an ad in the classified stating you would like to be invited into a league and wait...probably not real effective.

My recommendation would be to wait for a public league to roll over and play a few season there in order to learn the game.  By then you will have enough experience to get into a private league.  I know it frustrating and feels very exclusionary, but it is what it is.

I have in the past allowed new owners into the private league I commish, but I'm more choosy with them since you can't be entirely sure they're not an alias. But I've taken chances (with very good results) on new guys who can join in the chatter in recruitment threads and show some personality.

Check out the available leagues and look for a group of guys whose banter fits your style, and ask questions about the available teams. Commissioners like that because your comments help keep their threads at the top of the page, and it'll help you make yourself a known quantity. (Of course, this could work against you if your personality sucks.)