Need Help With Player Database

[Clay Dreslough]

In creating the database for the 2002-2003 season, we have some manual work that needs to be done. Basically, we have a list of everyone who played last year, but don't know what team they are on this year (or if they are free agents, or perhaps retired).

I'd like to collect a group of volunteers to go through the player list and type in team numbers, from 0 for Arizona to 31 for Washington (and 32 for Free Agents, and 33 for Retired players).
For example, one person might do players with last names ending in A-C, another D-G, and so on (A-C / D-G / H-L / M-Q / R-T / U-Z).

I'm going to be away until Thursday morning, so if there's a group of eager folks go ahead and divvy this up. It's easy enough for me to combine 6 .xls files into one to chug into the game.

I have attached a zip file with two Microsoft Excel files: the player list (over 1800 players) and the team list (showing which numbers to use). The final goal is to have the correct team number typed in the 'Team' column for each player's name.

Assuming we don't get too many volunteers, we should be able to show our gratitude with a free copy of Football Mogul 2003.

Thanks!

Clay

[Maz]

Clay,
Here is the Dallas Cowboys team roster for this year:

No Name Pos Height Weight Birthdate Exp College
Abram, DaShawn DB 0 05/28/1979 0 Wyoming
76 Adams, Flozell T 6'07" 335 05/18/1975 5 Michigan State
51 Adams, Keith LB 5'10" 225 11/22/1979 2 Clemson
73 Allen, Larry G 6'03" 326 11/27/1971 9 Sonoma State
28 Barnes, Rashidi FS 5'11" 205 06/26/1978 2 Colorado
33 Bell, Jason CB 6'00" 182 04/1/1978 2 UCLA
99 Blade, Willie DT 6'02" 320 02/7/1979 1 Mississippi State
50 Brooks, Jamal MLB 6'02" 240 11/9/1976 2 Hampton
14 Bryant, Antonio WR 6'01" 192 03/9/1981 0 Pittsburgh
91 Bryant, Darius DT 6'01" 316 01/21/1979 0 North Carolina State
54 Campbell, Khary LB 6'01" 237 04/4/1979 0 Bowling Green
17 Carter, Quincy QB 6'02" 231 10/13/1977 2 Georgia
52 Coakley, Dexter OLB 5'10" 230 10/20/1972 6 Appalachian State
74 Collins, Dan G 6'04" 300 07/27/1976 1 Boston College
70 Collins, Javiar T 6'06" 314 04/13/1978 1 Northwestern
11 Copeland, Jeremaine WR 6'02" 194 02/19/1977 1 Tennessee
24 Criss, Shad CB 0 01/11/1976 2 Missouri
3 Cundiff, Billy K 6'01" 201 03/30/1980 0 Drake
35 Dantzler, Woodrow RB 5'10" 209 10/4/1979 0 Clemson
40 Davis, Keith DB 5'10" 201 12/30/1978 0 Sam Houston State
DeRonde, Kevin DE 0 08/15/1978 0 Iowa State
41 Dennis, Pat CB 6'00" 213 06/3/1978 3 Louisiana-Monroe
24 Dixon, Tony SS 6'01" 213 06/18/1979 2 Alabama
79 Dorsey, Char-ron T 6'06" 347 11/5/1978 2 Florida State
27 Edwards, Mario CB 6'00" 191 12/1/1975 3 Florida State
96 Ekuban, Ebenezer DE 6'03" 282 05/29/1976 3 North Carolina
98 Ellis, Greg DE 6'06" 275 08/14/1975 5 North Carolina
92 Evans, Demetric DE 6'03" 286 09/3/1979 2 Georgia
10 Filipovic, Filip P 6'02" 216 11/5/1977 0 South Dakota
85 Flowers, Richmond WR 6'00" 205 05/4/1978 1 Tenn.-Chattanooga
90 Frisch, Byron DE 6'05" 267 12/17/1976 2 Brigham Young
84 Galloway, Joey WR 5'11" 188 11/20/1971 7 Ohio State
78 Gamble, Jason C 6'03" 307 09/12/1975 1 Clemson
61 Garmon, Kelvin G 6'02" 329 10/26/1976 2 Baylor
63 Gibson, Aaron T 6'04" 380 09/27/1977 3 Wisconsin
97 Glover, La'Roi DT 6'02" 285 07/4/1974 7 San Diego State
23 Goodrich, Dwayne CB 5'11" 198 05/29/1978 2 Tennessee
56 Grant, Orantes OLB 6'00" 225 03/18/1978 3 Georgia
65 Gurode, Andre G 6'04" 326 03/5/1978 0 Colorado
42 Hambrick, Troy RB 6'01" 220 11/6/1978 3 Savannah State
51 Hardy, Kevin OLB 6'04" 249 07/24/1973 7 Illinois
38 Hawthorne, Duane CB 5'10" 175 08/26/1976 4 Northern Illinois
46 Haywood, Ennis RB 5'10" 229 12/5/1979 0 Iowa State
Hunter, Ralph DB 0 05/25/1980 0 Virginia Union
7 Hutchinson, Chad QB 6'05" 230 02/21/1977 1 Stanford
81 Ismail, Raghib WR 5'11" 193 11/18/1969 10 Notre Dame
71 Jackson, Al G 6'03" 311 05/18/1977 2 Louisiana State
13 Johnson, Deveren WR 6'04" 211 09/21/1978 0 Sacred Heart
53 Johnson, Paris S 6'03" 223 01/18/1976 1 Miami, O.
4 Knorr, Micah P 6'02" 199 01/9/1975 3 Utah State
68 Lehr, Matt G 6'02" 292 04/25/1979 2 Virginia Tech
86 Lucky, Mike TE 6'06" 273 11/23/1975 3 Arizona
58 Mackey, Louis LB 6'01" 225 01/1/1900 1 Akron
34 Martin, Jamar RB 5'11" 256 04/12/1980 0 Ohio State
82 McGee, Tony TE 6'04" 248 04/21/1971 10 Michigan
72 Missouri, Dwayne DE 6'05" 260 12/23/1978 2 Northwestern
94 Myers, Michael DT 6'02" 288 01/20/1976 5 Alabama
59 Nguyen, Dat MLB 5'11" 243 09/25/1975 4 Texas A&M
74 Nivens, Damon T 6'06" 320 06/19/1975 1 Southern U.
60 Nix, John NT 6'01" 313 11/24/1976 2 Southern Mississippi
75 Noble, Brandon NT 6'02" 304 04/10/1974 4 Penn State
25 Ortega, Travis DB 6'02" 218 05/11/1977 1 Rice
77 Page, Solomon T 6'04" 321 02/27/1976 4 West Virginia
87 Rambo, Ken-Yon WR 6'01" 195 10/4/1978 2 Ohio State
45 Robinson, Jeff TE 6'04" 275 02/20/1970 10 Idaho
39 Robinson, Ray RB 5'10" 206 06/11/1978 0 North Carolina State
20 Ross, Derek DB 5'10" 197 01/5/1980 0 Ohio State
21 Scott, Lynn FS 6'00" 191 06/23/1977 2 N.W. Oklahoma
6 Seder, Tim K 5'09" 197 09/17/1974 3 Ashland
78 Slaten, Joey T 6'06" 321 04/17/1979 0 Southern Methodist
22 Smith, Emmitt RB 5'09" 209 05/15/1969 13 Florida
55 Steele, Markus OLB 6'03" 240 07/24/1979 2 Southern California
64 Stewart, Daleroy DT 6'03" 310 11/1/1978 1 Southern Mississippi
5 Stoerner, Clint QB 6'02" 210 12/29/1977 3 Arkansas
80 Swinton, Reginald WR 6'00" 175 07/24/1975 2 Murray State
36 Taylor, Tony RB 5'09" 191 03/9/1978 1 N.W. Louisiana
44 Thomas, Robert FB 6'01" 252 12/1/1974 5 Henderson State
74 Walter, Tyson T 6'04" 310 03/17/1978 0 Ohio State
67 Weatherington, Colston DE 6'05" 275 10/29/1977 1 Central Missouri
32 Westbrook, Bryant CB 6'00" 198 12/19/1974 6 Texas
82 Whalen, James TE 6'02" 228 12/11/1977 2 Kentucky
32 Wiley, Michael RB 5'11" 189 01/5/1978 3 Ohio State
89 Williams, Randal WR 6'03" 214 05/21/1978 2 New Hampshire
31 Williams, Roy DB 6'00" 235 08/14/1980 0 Oklahoma
28 Woodson, Darren SS 6'01" 219 04/25/1969 11 Arizona State
2 Wright, Anthony QB 6'01" 207 02/14/1976 3 South Carolina
18 Yamini, Bashir WR 6'03" 194 09/10/1977 2 Iowa
93 Zellner, Peppi DE 6'05" 262 03/14/1975 4 Fort Valley State
53 Zimmerman, Scott LB 6'05" 240 04/29/1971 1 Northern Colorado


Hope this will help. Sorry about doin

[Clay Dreslough]

Thanks for the Cowboys roster. To get the rosters right in the game we need to do one of two things:

1) Type the correct team number for each player next to his name in the list (attached above - players.xls).

2) Write some code that reads lists like the ones you posted and writes the numbers automatically to the list.

Since we're busy with other programming projects, #1 seems easier than #2, although I realize it means some tedious work as I have done this a few times before myself.

Clay

[Maz]

Clay,
Sorry about doing it that way. For some reason my version of excel is giving me an error when I try to open the players.xls and the nfl codes.xls files. That was why I was doing it that way. What I can do is type up the rosters using my version of Excel and send it to you if you would like.

Thanks,
Jay Conley

[bobm08054]

if u made a universe.dat file like in baseball it would be much easier. I'll volunteer to help with the database anyways though.

[oasage]

i'd definately be willing to help out with that. sadly tho, i don't have excel... is there any way i can work around this?

[bobm08054]

nm i just digested what u said above and ill do A-Cfor now and im guessing u got these players from NFL.com?? because they would be most accurate

[Clay Dreslough]

Attached are the same files in ".csv" (comma-delimited) format. Any version of Excel should be able to read these as they are essentially just text files, with one row per line.

These are the format we'll use to chug the rosters in any case.

Clay

[AceRothstein]

I am actually going to be doing a lot of roster viewing this weekend in preperation for fantasy football drafts so I can do a large chunk of this. I worked at a game company before doing sports titles so I have a pretty efficient system. I can take on a large chunk over the weekend (in fact I could probably do the whole thing). Please let me know how much you need done. Roster numbers through the preseason are a headache that will not be final until week 1, same with depth chart issues. I will tackle the Raiders/Packers and any other teams people don't volunteer for by Friday. I can't start until Friday but I will do as many teams as needed and have the files by Monday. Is there a preferred delivery method to you, or should I just post the files here?

Thanks I'm sorry I've been lagging on getting my bug reports to you but I'll get them to you this weekend as well.

Ace Rothstein Green
¥

[Clay Dreslough]

Yeah. Download players.xls (or players.csv) and type the correct number into the Team column (using the numbers in 'Team Codes'). Then post your file here and I'll cut and paste the completed sections of each file into one big file.

Please don't delete any rows as this may screw up my efforts to paste the file back together.

There's actually a slight advantage to doing rosters now before the cuts. Better, IMHO, to ship a database with a player on a team than just having a ton of cut players on the free agent list. Then whoever plays the game can decide if the player is worth cutting.

I'll assume that Phillies 4 Life is doing A-C, and Ace Rothstein is doing D-L for now. Please post here what sections you are working on so work doesn't get duplicated.

Thanks!

Clay

[Maz]

Clay,
Will be glad to do sections M-Q.



Thanks,
Jay Conley

P.S. has the new beta version been uploaded yet. I am running version 2.1

[oasage]

i'll be up for doing r-t... the .csv file should work fine for me

[rblackburn]

I guess that leaves me doing u-z. I'll try to have it to you by tomorrow.

[oasage]

nfl.com seems to be pretty **** handy. they have all the players listed in alphabetical order and right next to them, it has their team.

[bobm08054]

Clay, I tried to save the rosters after i did A-B last night and it wouldnt let me overwrite so i saved it as playersA-C. When i went to load it this morning it didnt work, and i tired loading it several times. So i dont know how i am going to send u the changes(I will obviously have to start over though)

[kmars00]

I have the Bears in a file. I will send them via email as I got an error when trying to attach to my reply. Hope it is useful.

[AceRothstein]

I was working on a PC based game last year that had a very similar database. This is the 2001 database with team numbers assigned based off that. It should save a lot of time to update this. Basically all that is needed is to update where players have gone from July 2001 until now. It has none of the Texans added yet and none of the retirements since July 2001. It also doesn't have current rookies for this year or players that entered the NFL after July 2001. It has some different players than the other DB but is a good starting place for anyone that wants to help out. I will be working through this on the weekend, but if someone has more time this week they might be able to get it all done before then. If it's no help, oh well, thought I would at least post it to see if anyone wants to check it out. It also has positions and (then current) jersey numbers.

Happy roster hunting!!

Shawn "Ace Rothstein" Green

[bobm08054]

here is A-C. I put question marks next to ones i wasntsure about. Also, players were missing when i checked nfl.com but i didnt add them.

[oasage]

hey clay... found most of the players i had... the ones i couldn't find, i searched for at NFL.com. found some of them were on teams but their contracts were inactive. so i put their team number in anyways, and just put a 32 (free agent) in the next column so you can decide how you wanna deal with these guys. the rest of the guys i couldn't find, i just made 'em free agents...

[21C]

I've added a full database of players from another source. It shows all teams, players and positions from 8/2/02.

[Gads]

If someone gets bogged down and can't finish their list, let me know because I'd be happy to help. gads@charter.net

[Clay Dreslough]

A-C and R-T look great! Thanks for putting '?' or a note next to someone you were unsure about. I can make a decision later based on new info, roster sizes etc.

The full league databases may also prove useful. Thanks for posting those. I'm worried that spelling discrepancies will lead to some holes, so I'd rather have all team names typed in for the original list. But I may at least use these other DBs to double-check the first list, and/or check for any missing players.

Thanks, goodnight, and talk to you on Thursday...

:cool:

Clay

[rblackburn]

Here's U-Z. I did the same, inserting question marks next to those I couldn't find info on. You know what's strange? 17.4% of the players I did have the last name Williams. That's better than one in six. I got sick of seeing that name.

[MH4383]

I got the players from NFL.com/espn.com. Includes uniform number, position, height (inches), weight, college, years pro, and, of course, team number.

It does not have free agents, as I cannot find a comprehensive list, nor recently retired players.

[Clay Dreslough]

Looks like we have A-C and R-Z completed. Any volunteers for the middle letters? (D-Q)

Thanks!

Clay

[21C]

D-Q attached ( in required format ).

[AceRothstein]

Sorry for the delay I had a busy week. I also included a Notes column for some of the players I had trouble with. If the notes say "IR" then the player is ON the specified team but on the IR for the entire 2002 (upcoming real life NFL) season. If there is a team abbreivation with a ? then I couldn't find them anywhere but that is the last team they were associated with. 32 and 33 entries with no question mark are solid confirmed free agents or retired players.

Thanks for letting me help out.

Ace Rothstein

[AceRothstein]

But I'll put my free agents and retired players to the pepsi challenge taste test against those D-L players!!

[AceRothstein]

The free agents and retired players on my D-L are more accurate. The other sheet has only 1 retired player "James Jett" who is in camp with the Raiders this year. If you like the other stuff on the D-Q that's cool, but use my free agents and retired list.

[21C]

Sorry about jumping in ahead of you! I wasn't "supposed" to do these but I just did them in case anyone didn't/couldn't get theirs done.

[AceRothstein]

Actually I'm a big fan of people who take charge and show initiative! Sorry if my post seemed a bit rude I was pretty tired when I wrote it and a little mad that after all the work I did you beat me to the board (and that it was only 2 minutes earlier lol).

The 21C site looks great man. Any opening :)

[21C]

Ace,

No openings at the moment but I was going to suggest to put your name on the waiting list as we usually turn over a couple of owners every offseason.

The only problem with that is that, after our current season, we will be having an extended break for about 6 weeks. I'm in Australia and will be having a month-long vacation in the USA with my family.

I'm sure there'll be some vacancies after we resume . . . if you can wait. :)

[MogulGuy]

when will this player database be available? im guessing it'll be out when Mogul Football comes out?