[MannyTrillo]

I think "invite only" can be a very bad idea. Most of leagues that I'm in benefit a lot from a few very active and enthusiastic owners. By and large, these owners do not tend to be the guys who are very well established and in tons of different leagues and whatnot. In fact, I would say just the opposite.

For my own part, one of the first leagues I joined (So'49) is the one I enjoy the most and remain the most loyal to. If I were to tragically lose the use of my arms or something, I think I'd drop my other leagues- but I'd peck out my lineups & articles for this one using my nose, and with a smile on my face. The rebuilder team I got is finally ready to contend, and I'm so excited about it I actually went shopping on-line for a 1953 White Sox cap the other day.

Part of the reason I enjoy this league so much is that the sense of excitement when you first find yourself in a really good league tends to sustain itself. Now that I've been playing on-line for going on a year, I really don't think I could get as absorbed in any league as much as I've gotten into this one (though of course that's not the only reason I like it).

So, sure there's a risk to taking on newcomers, and there's nothing wrong with screening your owners a bit or recruiting a few people you already know. But I think Portlander has a very good point... to which I would add that there's a sense of enthusiasm that is very important to any league, that you don't tend to find from the jaded-but-reliable OOTP veterans.