I'm in a similar boat to you. I used to play a lot in previous versions (always fictional) and am now testing out a new fictional universe in OOTP9. I'm currently simmed through 30 years and am examining the results, to see what I need to tinker with.
To answer you:
1. Modifiers - Do you want the Canadian league to be talent-equivalent to MLB? Or is it a notch below? What I have created is a uni in which MLB has imploded after a strike, and now there are three rival leagues. I have one at MLB level, one with Traditional PCMs at .960, and another at .920. What I've noticed is that quite a few players can move from the .960 league to the 1.000 league, with only a little dropoff - perfect! A smaller amount of players move from the .920 league to the 1.000 league - ofen they struggle - again, perfect! Another thing - since this is fictional, why not play a shorter season so as to lessen the simming burden on your computer? Maybe 120 or 144 games or? And you should lessen your Foreign Player Limit to 0 if you want an all-Canadian league. Do you want it to be as rich as MLB? If not lessen the financials. I don't use feeders but there are plenty of threads here discussing how to best set them up - use Search. I am using one level of minors - from reading here it doesn't seem to hurt development, while also lessening the amount of info your computer has to save.
2. I am planning on using the wonderful logos found in the following two links - these guys are lifesavers. (their threads are in the Mods forum) And if you need even more specific logos, go to the Mods forum and request help - some guys here LOVE to make stuff, so you might get lucky!
Pictures by silvam14 - Photobucket
Pictures by cephasjames - Photobucket
3. Here's the advantage of playing fictional. In a real league, when you draft a young Mantle, Cobb or Brett, you already have expectations of what that player will do. If Mantle ends up flaming out and "only" hitting 250 homers in his career, you feel like the game failed you. In a fictional world, you are entering the world of the unknown. You draft young Joe Jones and watch his struggles as he moves through the minors - you become attached to him - he really does become "real" to you after a while. And you're disappointed if he stinks, and elated if he becomes a star. Your Montreal Bobcats team becomes "real" too, when they blow a five game lead late in the year, or when they upset the Ottawa Grizzlies to win their first championship. Trust me, after playing a full year of fictional, you will LOVE it. You might want to build up a 20 or 30 year history of your fictional world before you become active in it, so that your team has a backstory for you to enjoy.
I tend to imagine myself as a young hotshot GM like Theo Epstein. I take over a club, build it into a champion, then leave it after 5-6 years to go to the worst team in the league,imagining that I "need a new challenge" or got offered a lot more money. Then I repeat that...
Have fun - I'm sure others will have good advice too.
