This year, with the growth of the Saturday Night Live Fantasy League, our single league format with two groups of five teams grew to a league of returning teams and a group of in-coming teams! Yes, the Fantasy League has changed, but the party remains the same!

In what we now call the Repertory League the returning teams are now all part of one group, the Pardo Group in honor of long-time SNL announcer Don Pardo who passed away over the summer. The in-coming team are in what we call the Featured League, and within that league the thirteen teams were split into a group of seven and a group of six. Due to the size of each group we were able to retain the same draft format across the board, for Cast, using a three-round system weighted for optimal fairness. Then both the Repertory League and the Featured League each separately drafted their perspective Hosts. Spoiler alert: Chris Pratt was the unanimous predication and went #1 in both Leagues (Silverman, however, was not selected in either). After that, things got a little more unpredictable.  But CONGRATS, so far, to The Team You Wish... and The Vondrukes!

Commentary on the precedings are welcome! Whether it be on the Facebook page, twitter, or on this very blog! And keep the conversation going through out the season.

• My how things have changed, not only did the smaller cast and uncertain position of the returning featured players, change the draft format to a three-round structure where-in like last years Featured Cast draft every cast member had the opportunity of being taken twice but speaking of a smaller cast our unanimous choices for the top of last years rookie class, Noel Wells and Mike O'Brien certainly took a tumble. Noel Wells is, of course, gone with the likes of Brooks Wheelan and John Mihiser, and Mike O'Brien is hanging on to the tune of being taken in that Tim Robinson spot (while also being voted most likely to be Tim Robinson Rule'd before the season starts).
• UPDATED 15/09/14: What a difference a weekend makes! Pete Davidson, the youngest Cast Member since Abby Elliot has joined the cast (seriously, he's so young he doesn't even have an 'r' in his first name), while Mike O'Brien proved the brackets above prophetic by returning to the writer's room. This means the Tim Robinson Rule from last year comes into effect and all those who cast O'Brien will be gifted with the first SNL cast member to be born in the 90's. Yes, that makes him younger then everyone involved in the SNL Fantasy League. Why yes, we DO have mixed feelings about this.
• After a strong showing last year as SNL's new-look lead male and female cast members, it was no surprise that Taran and Kate were snatched off the board immediately. Though Taran was taken first, it was Emmy-nominee McKinnon who was the first to be drafted twice.
• The POTUS himself, Jay Pharoah, was the third cast member to be drafted twice once Killam and McKinnon were off the boards. The concessus in the room being that his cold open points will continue, and his reoccuring characters outside of the President elect, will only continue to improve.
• Following that same thread, the newest cast member Sasheer Zamata and First Lady, was also the first (possibly former) Featured Cast member to be taken off the board. Whether she'll continue to produce the kind of points she had near the end of last season, or will instead cool down in the new year, is to be seen.
• An interesting line of thought was in the on-going Mooney vs. Bennett debate! Which of the two Good Neighbours be... gooder? Rep League says Beck!

• How do you make a live draft devolve into utter chaos, as fast as possible? Pick Chris Pratt as your first prospective Host in the SNL Host Draft. Pratt looks to be the only lock, as far as hosts go, this year due to his strong summer and his part in an NBC show (which is SNL related), that just so happens to be in its final season at The Peacock. (Ed. Note: as stated above, Pratt will host the premiere)
• For the 40th Season, knowing the glut of Former Cast cameos to come, we decided to sequester all ex-SNLers to the 10th round, after nine rounds of wide open host prospectus! 
• With the legacy of the 40th season in the air, FIVE TIMERS CLUB members Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Ben Affleck, Steve Martin, and Alec Baldwin were drafted. How six-time host Danny DeVito didn't get drafted, I'll never know!
• I would be remissed if I didn't mention the second year sans Jake Johnson, as well. Boo!
• The split between former hosts and first time hosts was 49 to 31! So a fair share of chances were taken on the first-timers! In case you were wondering, YES McConaughey did host and his musical guest were the Dixie Chicks. Michael Keaton has ALSO hosted once in 1992, with his musical guest Morrissey. Obviously.

• The Featured League held a classic style Host Draft, having free reign to pick whoever they think might host Saturday Night Live this season, to the tune of six picks over just as many rounds. For those curious on the math that means the Featured League picked 78 prospective hosts to the Repertory League's 80 hosts.
• Between the two host drafts, 22 picks did NOT cross over (so a little more then a quarter, respectively), with I think maybe the most inspired Dark Horse pick being for Joan Cusak.
• Popular picks in the early rounds of both host drafts include Justin Timberlake, Jon Hamm, Adam Driver, Peter Dinklage, Beyoncé, Reese Witherspoon, and Benadict Cumberbatch. As well as former SNL writer, and a potential sitcom star for FOX (that NBC let walk, might I add) John Mulaney.
• Without a round solely for former SNL cast members, the Featured League drafted 9 SNL alumni throughout their 78 picks. So there's that. They did not cast Jimmy Fallon (he of two of the last three Christmas episodes) or Bill Hader (he of, sadly, middling reviews for Skeleton Twins), but Joan Cusak WAS drafted. And none of these are the second and rumored POTENTIAL host of the season, Sarah Silverman and Bill Fuckin' Murray.
• If a team's roster was the cast of a film, I would be VERY interested in The Vondrukes, but my favourite film may come out of My Doll's Name Is Jenny. Skanky Little Postitutes would be a hell of a Netflix show.

Good luck to all our debuting and returning competitors! If YOU would like to be involved a NOT READY FOR PRIMETIME PLAYER, outside of our official groups, then let us know and we'll be glad to build a side group for our fan-built teams! See you again, the Sunday after Chris Pratt and Ariana Grande and the premiere of SNL Season 40 on September 27th!

@prattprattpratt it was NEVER in doubt!