Fantasy sports system and method thereof

• US 7,699,707 B2
• Filed: 05/08/2006
• Issued: 04/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: VHRD LLC
• Original Assignee: Hotbox Sports LLC
• Inventors: Bahou, Tarek
• Primary Examiner(s): Suhol; Dmitry
• Assistant Examiner(s): Li; Wei
• Application Number:
  US11/429,349
• Publication Number:
  US 20060252476A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,443 Days
• Field of Search: 463/1, 463/40, 463/41, 463/42, 463/4, 463/9, 700/91, 700/92
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/65 automatically by game devices or servers from real world data, e.g. measurement in live racing competition
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/798 for assessing skills or for ranking players, e.g. for generating a hall of fame computing the game score A63F13/46
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/803 Driving vehicles or craft, e.g. cars, airplanes, ships, robots or tanks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/812 Ball games, e.g. soccer or baseball
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/828 Managing virtual sport teams
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/406 Transmission via wireless network, e.g. pager or GSM
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/407 Data transfer via internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/50 characterized by details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A method of playing a fantasy sport that relates to forming at least two fantasy teams, in which each team is associated with at least one actual player from an actual sport that is played over a multiple-game schedule, selecting a plurality of scoring statistics based on actual scoring statistics associated with the actual sport to measure the performance of the fantasy team, selecting a series corresponding to a portion of an actual schedule of the sport, and determining and evaluating the scoring statistics accrued by the fantasy team during the course of the selected series. The series includes a number of games that is less than the total games in the schedule of the actual sport over a season. A system and an article of manufacture for playing the fantasy sport are also provided.

Claims

1. A method of playing a fantasy sport comprising:

implementing a fantasy sports league using software stored on a computer readable medium of one or more computers, the fantasy sports league having a plurality of fantasy owners, each owning a fantasy team with one or more fantasy players corresponding to one or more real-life players;

wherein an actual, statistical performance of the real-life player corresponds to fantasy points of the fantasy player;

wherein the fantasy season is divided into a plurality of scoring periods, each period covering at least two scheduled real-life games, in which points of an owner'"'"'s fantasy player in a starting line-up accrue toward a total score of the fantasy team;

on or before the commencement of the chronologically earliest scheduled game in each scoring period, providing the fantasy owner using the software with functionality to activate the one or more fantasy players having a starting opportunity in at least two games in an individual scoring period;

allowing the fantasy owner to select a particular one of the fantasy players for placement in the starting line up to start for the fantasy owner within the individual scoring period in a first game, but not in a second game, from among plural games of that fantasy player within the individual scoring period;

whereby the software limits the owner from selectively activating and accruing points from that particular fantasy player in every game in the scoring period in which that particular fantasy player has starting opportunities;

whereby the software prevents the owner from activating the player for the second game in the individual scoring period in response to the owner activating the player for the first game; and

adding and displaying each fantasy owner'"'"'s points accrued in past scoring periods to track competitive rankings within the league.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of games in each individual scoring period ranges from 2 to 14.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the number of games in each individual scoring period ranges from 3 to 8.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first game and the second game in the period do not relate to a sequential, chronological order of the games during the scoring period.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

providing the functionality to activate the fantasy player for at least a third game within the scoring period at the same time as the opportunity to activate the fantasy player for the first game.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of scoring periods is at least 2.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the number of scoring periods is greater than or equal to 10.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the number of scoring periods is greater than or equal to 20.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein each fantasy owner'"'"'s points accrued in past scoring periods to track competitive rankings within the league are displayed electronically.

10. The method of claim 1, the number of games in each scoring period is not uniform.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the fantasy sports league comprises one or more fantasy sports:

basketball, baseball, auto-racing, soccer, football, hockey, ice hockey, volleyball, golf, racing, tennis, ice hockey, motor racing, cricket, rugby or bowling.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the fantasy sport is selected from one or more professional, collegiate or amateur sports leagues or a combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the fantasy sport is selected from American professional basketball.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the sport is selected from one or more professional or national associations in the geographic areas comprising England, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Scotland, Turkey, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Ireland, Brazil, China, Mexico, Argentina, Norway, Chile, Paraguay, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Poland, Japan, India, Korea, Malaysia, Australia, Canada, North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and South America.

15. A system for playing a fantasy sport, comprising:

a fantasy sports league implemented using software stored on a computer readable medium of one or more computers, the fantasy sports league having a plurality of fantasy owners, each owning a fantasy team with one or more fantasy players, corresponding to one or more real-life players;

wherein an actual, statistical performance of the real-life player corresponds to the fantasy points of the fantasy player;

wherein the fantasy season is divided into a plurality of scoring periods, each period covering at least two scheduled real-life games, in which points of an owner'"'"'s fantasy player in a starting line up accrue toward a total score of the fantasy team;

wherein the fantasy sports league is further configured to provide, on or before the commencement of the chronologically earliest scheduled game of each scoring period, a fantasy owner with functionality to activate the one or more fantasy players having a starting opportunity in at least two games in an individual scoring period for placement in the starting line up in a first game but not in a second game from among plural games of that fantasy player within the individual scoring period;

whereby the software limits the owner from selectively activating and accruing points from starting that particular fantasy player in every game in the scoring period in which that particular fantasy player has starting opportunities;

whereby the software prevents the owner from activating the player for the second game in the individual scoring period once the owner activates the player for the first game; and

wherein the fantasy sports league is further configured to add and display each fantasy owner'"'"'s points accrued in past scoring periods to track competitive rankings within the league.

16. A tangible memory medium, wherein the tangible memory medium stores program instructions which are executable to perform a method for playing fantasy sports, the method comprising:

implementing a fantasy sports league using software stored on a computer readable medium of one or more computers, the fantasy sports league having a plurality of fantasy owners, each owning a fantasy team with one or more fantasy players, corresponding to one or more real-life players, wherein an actual, statistical performance of the real-life player corresponds to a fantasy performance of the fantasy player;

wherein the fantasy season is divided into a plurality of scoring periods, each period covering at least two scheduled real-life games over at least two days, in which points of an owner'"'"'s fantasy player in a starting line-up accrue toward a total score of the fantasy team;

providing a fantasy owner using the software, on or before the commencement of the chronologically earliest schedule game in each scoring period, with functionality to activate the one or more fantasy players having a starting opportunity in at least two games in an individual scoring period for selection into the starting line up for the fantasy owner within an individual scoring period for a first game, but not for a second game, from among plural games of that fantasy player within the individual scoring period;

whereby the software limits the owner from selectively activating and accruing points from starting that particular fantasy player in every game in the scoring period in which that particular fantasy player has starting opportunities;

whereby the software prevents the owner from activating the player for the second game in the individual scoring period once the owner activates the player for the first game; and

adding and displaying each fantasy owner'"'"'s points accrued in past scoring periods to track competitive rankings within the league.