I could care less what you say, because seeing & hearing is believing. I don't appreciate being called a liar here. None of this happened over 8 years ago. I'm well aware of the computer system.
If anyone here is being dishonest, it appears you'd be the candidate. You conveniently left out the fact the LO's can override handicaps in that computer system. They have to have that ability, to be able to add new players that request to come in at a higher handicap. If not, then the APA would have no problem with new players slaughtering everyone on their way from an SL4 to an SL7. Players can also be lowered.
I think you misread what I posted. The LO cannot lower a player who is calculating at a higher level. I didn't say anything about raising a player because it isn't relevant to what you're claiming.
Of course the LO can raise skill levels, or lock a player into a level that's higher than what they're calculating. They can also release that lock, but the player won't go down if they are calculating at the higher level.
A player who is "a very strong 7, a mostly unbeatable 7" will not be calculating at anything other than 7, and cannot be lowered by the LO. Our software DOES NOT PERMIT the LO to do that.
LO has ultimate authority over the handicaps of his franchise because only he/she is in tune and in direct interaction with his/her players. The corporate APA doesn't care as they expect the LO to police his own leagues. As far as they are concerned, they will DQ teams that have handicaps go up in their tournaments.
And you know they don't care *how*? You sat down and had a face-to-face with them? Perhaps you know them personally? I do. I told you what they do with areas that have perceived sandbagging issues, and what they do when they discover a corrupt LO. Do you think I made that up? It certainly doesn't sound like a group that doesn't care.
Everything I have said in my posts is 100% accurate and true. SL4's being made into SL2's, SL7 being made into SL6 in exchange for coming back with a team etcetera. There are more of these situations. I just touched on a few. I actually have been holding back on talking about the really, really sleazy deals being done since I don't want to get too specific on a public forum. Even more egregious acts.
Did you contact the national office about any of this? What was their response?
Paksat talked about people who can make a call and have a handicap changed. This is FACT. I have seen this many, many times. Seen meaning witnessed it directly. Not hearsay, not pool room rumors. I was there.
You were where? You were in the LO's office when the skill level was changed? That's the only way you would know whether the phone call had ANYTHING to do with the skill level change.
I have players in my own area who believe they can get a skill level raised by making a phone call or filling out a form. Other players believe these people have that power too. Why? Because they made a phone call and the player was a skill level higher the following week. 99.9% of the time when that happens, it is the case of a player who played a great match and went up on his own. Someone on the other team complained and thought they got me to raise a player. But guess what? When they called and said the player should be higher, they were right, even though I didn't have to do a thing to make it so.
I don't know why you feel the need to come here and defend the APA and play the apologist. No one called you a sleazy LO. Unfortunately, many of your colleagues are complete sleazebags. You've stated your ideas on fairness and integrity at least a dozen times here and I and everyone else has no reason to doubt you. Kudos to you for running a fair and legit APA franchise. But you seem to be the exception, not the rule. I'm sure I can speak for others when I say this, it's unfortunate other LO's aren't more like you. It would be a better league, despite it's handicap system flaws and inane rules.
I appreciate the compliment, but I must disagree when you say I seem to be the exception. There are over 250 APA franchises, and how many of them do you think the posters in this forum are talking about? My guess is fewer than 20. I'm sure there is corruption in some areas, since I hear about it from the national office staff. But you got it backwards - the corrupt areas are the exception.
As for why I defend APA, it's because some of my existing and potential customers read these forums. I don't want them believing APA is nothing but a bunch of money-grubbing slimeballs who care nothing about the sport. Most APA operators do it because they love the sport and an APA franchise gives them the opportunity to be involved and grow the sport, while making an income at the same time. I gave up a 20-year career and a six-figure income to do this, not because it makes me more money (it doesn't), but because it gives me a bigger sense of accomplishment than anything I ever did in my previous career. After all these years, I still choke up a little when I see the 3 sink the 8-Ball to send her team to Vegas. I get a sense of pride when I watch a higher skill level player shoot and remember just a few years ago when that player's friends talked him into joining their team, even though he couldn't hold a cue. I feel that I've made a difference in the lives of the married couple who thank me for introducing them through the league. These are intangible things, they're priceless, and they're part of the package that comes with a business offering a half-decent living and a chance to build something. And I'll be damned if I'm gonna let a small group of internet posters rob me of even one existing or potential new member.
Yes, there are LO's that collaborate with teams and essentially facilitate and sanction rampant cheating and unfairness. Their goal is not fair competition, or a league of integrity, it's keeping warm bodies in the league as fair, unfair, sportsman or sandbagger is irrelevant - they all pay $8 a week all the same. He's got to put food on the table, so he really doesn't give a damn about anything else.
I don't think there's any dispute that these people exist. They exist in every for-profit league there is, and in some of the not-for-profit leagues, too. I just don't think there are as many of them as you would like people to believe, and I think you're way off mark in your statements about the national office not caring.
