2014 preseason info: A new team, a party and more

I write for a living, so I usually have no interest in writing when I come home at night. But I'm not going to lie to you: I've missed this blog. Firing it up at 10:10 p.m. with my trusty tumbler of Four Roses felt good. Really good.

I've got a lot to get to in this post, so let's not waste any time. Please read all the way through!

Welcoming Off Constantly

Off Constantly (Ben)

First, I'd like to welcome the newest member of the Royale with Cheese league: Off Constantly. I'd like to thank him for his enthusiasm, his treasure-trove of ridiculous photos and his ready-made joke of a team name. It's going to be a good year for the blog posts.

I'd also like to use this space to give a shout-out to the players who have been here with me from the beginning and will be entering their fourth year in the league: Sergio, Dad, Eve, Jeremy, Matt, Darin and Katie. Your loyalty warms my heart.

On a semi-related note, if you don't plan on playing this year for some (crazy) reason, please let me know now. We would need to fill your spot before the draft.

Draft party

Speaking of the draft, we had a blast at last year's draft party and want to do it again. This year's will be in Charlotte, at a location to be determined. Out-of-town folks will be welcome to crash with Courtney and I. We have a guest bedroom and an inflatable mattress. And a floor.

The NFL season starts the first weekend of September, so the draft needs to happen in August. How would Saturday, August 16 work for everyone? Please let me know ASAP via email, Twitter, or comment if you can make that. If a majority of the league can't, we'll look for another date.

If you don't come to the draft party, you can still draft your team live online (more information to come on that later). If you don't draft your own team, it will be autopicked based on your player rankings. For what it's worth, last year's champion was an autodraft team.

It's all about the money

Y'all don't even know how much Pitch Perfect is going to be on the blog this season.

The Barden Bellas are right: It's not about the money, money, money in this league. But I think a little bit of cha-ching cha-ching would make things more interesting. If nothing else, you might be more motivated to get that lineup set if you have a few bucks in the game.

So I propose that we all pay $10 toward a prize fund this season, with the majority of the purse going to the league champion.

Like everything else in the league, I'm going to put it up to a vote. There is a poll on the right side of this page. Please vote yes or no to having prize money this year by next Friday (Aug. 8).

We can talk more about payout details once the vote is in. If you have questions, hit me up in any of the usual ways and we can talk about it.

Final thoughts

This league has been a blast to run the past three seasons and I'm looking forward to an even better fourth season. Like last year, I plan on doing the weekly blog post, having the Twitter account for trash talk and doing some more ridiculous videos. Thank you guys for helping to make it fun.

Look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the draft party.

Here's to a great 2014, Royale with Cheesers,

Corey