Metrics catalog — ALOFT history

Every metric named in the ALOFT historical metrics spec and backlog, with its dimensions, description, gather status, and the seasons it spans or still needs.

102 metrics defined
51 gathered
7 partial
11 specced, needs mining/backfill
32 proposed (backlog)

The message board

From the metrics backlog — proposed, not yet specced. Spans cbs-std, cbs-dec, slp-std and slp-half where data exists.

Board vs email.

aloft_board_board_vs_email specced per post / per season 2004-2021

The same posts arrived by email 2013-2021 (from:*.aloft@football.cbssports.com); the email copies carry replies people sent from their inboxes that the board may not.

Commissioner cadence.

aloft_board_commissioner_cadence specced per post / per season 2004-2021

Posts per season by the commissioner; when the playoff-picture series started and stopped; the weeks it covered.

Playoff-picture corpus.

aloft_board_playoff_picture_corpus gathered per post / per season 2004-2021 · 24 playoff-picture posts from 2395 board posts /history/playoff-picture.html

The owner's weekly playoff previews (2018-2020 at least: Week 8/12/13, Trade Deadline, PLAYOFFS, Semi-Finals, Championship, Bowl writeups) as the training set for the bullpen to take the task over - see docs/aloft/playoff-picture.md once written.

Poll outcomes.

aloft_board_poll_outcomes specced per post / per season 2004-2021

Every poll, its options, percentages and vote counts; which passed; which changed a rule the following season.

Post volume per coach per season.

aloft_board_post_volume_per_coach_per_season specced per post / per season 2004-2021

Who talked, who went quiet, the trash-talk era vs the transactional era ("On the Block Update" share).

Reply threads.

aloft_board_reply_threads specced per post / per season 2004-2021

"RE:" chains: the longest arguments, and who they were between.

Rules timeline by year.

aloft_board_rules_timeline_by_year gathered per post / per season 2004-2021 · 120 timeline entries from 2395 board posts /history/rules-timeline.html

Every commissioner post and poll touching keepers, waivers/FAAB, scoring (decimal scoring 2020), playoff format, draft order/lottery, dues and payouts - dated, quoted, and attributed. The 2004 board already carries a post announcing the move to two keepers the following season (board post 2, 2004-08-27) and a poll on drop-add timing. (Cited, not quoted: this paragraph is rendered on the public metrics catalog, and post 2 is a member's post, which build-history's privacy guard refuses on a public page.) Cross-check against the constitution text (cbs/constitution.txt) and the Sleeper ruleset changes 2021-2026.

Message-board metrics

From the historical metrics spec. Spans cbs-std, cbs-dec, slp-std and slp-half where data exists.

Playoff-picture series

aloft_board_playoff_picture_series gathered per post / per season 2004-2021 · 24 playoff-picture posts from 2395 board posts /history/playoff-picture.html

Seasons and weeks covered by the commissioner's weekly playoff-picture posts.

Polls

aloft_board_polls gathered per post / per season 2004-2021 · 47 polls from 2395 board posts /history/rules-timeline.html, /history/board/

Poll count, options, percentages and vote counts from the message board.

Posts per season, per coach (departed authors as "departed"), by kind (commissioner, poll, trade-block update, journalist recap, chatter)

aloft_board_posts_per_season_per_coach_departed_authors_as_departed_by_kind_commissioner_poll_trade_block_update_journalist_recap_chatter specced per post / per season 2004-2021

kind by rule: subject starts "Commissioner:" / author is the commissioner and subject matches the playoff-picture set; poll != null; subject matches "On the Block Update"; author "Fantasy Journalist"; else chatter.

Coaches and careers (CBS + Sleeper, joined through the registry)

From the metrics backlog — proposed, not yet specced. Spans cbs-std, cbs-dec, slp-std and slp-half where data exists.

Career table, corrected.

aloft_career_career_table_corrected gathered per coach 2002-2026 /history/coaches/<slug>.html

W/L/T, PF/PA, titles, finals, playoff appearances, seasons, slots held, names used — per human. CBS's own all-time table is wrong for 11 of 27 slots; this replaces it.

Close-game record.

aloft_career_close_game_record proposed per coach

Record in games decided by less than 5 points (era-scaled threshold).

Dynasty windows.

aloft_career_dynasty_windows proposed per coach

Rolling 3- and 5-season win% per coach; the peak window of each career.

Head-to-head all-time, coach vs coach.

aloft_career_head_to_head_all_time_coach_vs_coach gathered per coach 2002-2026 /history/all-time.html

Rebuilt from weekly results through the registry (CBS's h2h is slot-based and inherits the misattribution).

Points-for rank vs finish.

aloft_career_points_for_rank_vs_finish proposed per coach

Luck proxy: coaches whose finish beats or trails their PF rank, per season and career.

Regular-season rank vs playoff result.

aloft_career_regular_season_rank_vs_playoff_result proposed per coach

How often the #1 seed wins; how often a sub-.500 team wins (the 2020 champion was 9-7). From brackets + standings.

Rivalry index.

aloft_career_rivalry_index partial per coach 2002-2026 /history/all-time.html

Pairs ranked by games played and cumulative margin closeness; playoff meetings as a tiebreaker.

Streaks.

aloft_career_streaks proposed per coach

Longest win/loss streaks per coach across seasons, and longest playoff-appearance streaks.

Team-name churn.

aloft_career_team_name_churn proposed per coach

Renames per slot and per coach; the coaches who never renamed vs the one with seven names on one slot (Kevin Herndon, slot 8).

Tenure and churn.

aloft_career_tenure_and_churn proposed per coach

Seasons per coach, arrivals/departures per season, share of the league that is "original" (2002) each year. Co-managed seasons flagged (shared).

Title odds per season vs realised.

aloft_career_title_odds_per_season_vs_realised proposed per coach

With N teams a coach's naive title rate is 1/N; compare each coach's realised rate over their tenure.

Career metrics (per coach)

From the historical metrics spec. Spans cbs-std, cbs-dec, slp-std and slp-half where data exists.

Consolation record

aloft_career_consolation_record gathered per coach per coach (2002-2026) /history/coaches/<slug>.html

Record in consolation/post-season games that are not bracket games.

Finals

aloft_career_finals gathered per coach per coach (2002-2026) /history/coaches/<slug>.html

titles + runner-ups. Source: champion | runnerUp. Ben Byler 3

pct

aloft_career_pct gathered per coach per coach (2002-2026) /history/coaches/<slug>.html

Winning percentage, computed as (W + T/2) / (W + L + T).

PF, PA

aloft_career_pf_pa gathered per coach per coach (2002-2026) /history/coaches/<slug>.html

season totals (CBS-reconciled). Source: Σ C.seasons[].pf/pa | includes unopposed-week points. Terry 20964.2 / 19760.5

PF per game (regular)

aloft_career_pf_per_game_regular gathered per coach per coach (2002-2026) /history/coaches/<slug>.html

Regular-season points-for per game, era-labelled and never pooled across eras.

Playoff appearances

aloft_career_playoff_appearances gathered per coach per coach (2002-2026) /history/coaches/<slug>.html

Number of seasons in which a coach appeared in at least one bracket game; first-round byes count.

Playoff record

aloft_career_playoff_record gathered per coach per coach (2002-2026) /history/coaches/<slug>.html

Record from bracket/playoff games only.

Record (season totals)

aloft_career_record_season_totals gathered per coach per coach (2002-2026) /history/coaches/<slug>.html

CBS-style W-L-T summed. Source: Σ C.seasons[].w/l/t | includes playoff games in early eras — label "season totals (CBS)". Terry 160-116-0

Regular-season #1

aloft_career_regular_season_1 gathered per coach per coach (2002-2026) /history/coaches/<slug>.html

Count of regular-season #1 finishes from the year-by-year standings.

Regular-season record

aloft_career_regular_season_record gathered per coach per coach (2002-2026) /history/coaches/<slug>.html

Record from regular-season games only, with ties as T.

Seasons

aloft_career_seasons gathered per coach per coach (2002-2026) /history/coaches/<slug>.html

seasons with a (slot, season) row. Source: C.seasons.length | shared seasons count once for each coach. Terry Herndon = 19 (CBS)

Slots held / names used

aloft_career_slots_held_names_used gathered per coach per coach (2002-2026) /history/coaches/<slug>.html

Number of distinct CBS slot IDs held and team names used in a career.

Span

aloft_career_span gathered per coach per coach (2002-2026) /history/coaches/<slug>.html

first and last season. Source: min/max C.seasons[].season | gaps allowed (Ben Byler 2002-05, 2008, 2012, 2014-19). Byler span 2002-2019, seasons 12

Titles

aloft_career_titles gathered per coach per coach (2002-2026) /history/coaches/<slug>.html

League Champion. Source: C.seasons[].champion ← finals{y}.winner | 2015 tie-broken by the CBS champion table (flag). Terry 2002,2005,2009,2010

Cross-era joins (the hard ones)

From the metrics backlog — proposed, not yet specced. Spans cbs-std, cbs-dec, slp-std and slp-half where data exists.

A Coach's Full Career

aloft_cross_era_coach_full_career gathered per coach / per season 2002-2026 /history/coaches/<slug>.html, /history/all-time.html

CBS registry + Sleeper users.json display names; the join is by human, and the Sleeper display names need the same alias treatment (tmmercer = Todd Mercer, etc.).

Points across the scoring boundary.

aloft_cross_era_points_across_the_scoring_boundary proposed per coach / per era

Never compare raw PF across 2023/2024 or across platforms without labelling the era.

Team-slot lineage CBS → Sleeper.

aloft_cross_era_team_slot_lineage_cbs_sleeper proposed per coach / per era

Whether Sleeper roster ids map onto CBS slots at all, or only onto coaches. Probably the latter; test.

Drafts

From the metrics backlog — proposed, not yet specced. Spans cbs-std, cbs-dec, slp-std and slp-half where data exists.

Best and worst picks ever.

aloft_draft_best_and_worst_picks_ever partial per draft / per pick 2003-2020 (CBS) /history/drafts/<year>.html

Highest season points by round drafted; the late-round hits list (Puka-class) across both eras.

Coach draft skill.

aloft_draft_coach_draft_skill proposed per draft / per pick

Per-coach mean points-over-round-median across all boards; consistency year to year (a coach who is good at this should repeat).

Draft order by season, and what set it.

aloft_draft_draft_order_by_season_and_what_set_it partial per draft / per pick 2003-2020 (CBS), 2021-2026 (Sleeper) /history/drafts/

Pick 1's owner each year; test the "inverse finish" rule against CBS-era finishes.

Draft value by pick.

aloft_draft_draft_value_by_pick proposed per draft / per pick

CBS boards carry each player's season Total Fpts: points per pick number, per round, per slot, per coach — 18 seasons of it.

Elapsed time per pick.

aloft_draft_elapsed_time_per_pick proposed per draft / per pick

Sleeper and later CBS boards carry Elapsed Time: who drafts fastest, whether time-on-clock relates to pick quality.

Position share of boards over time.

aloft_draft_position_share_of_boards_over_time proposed per draft / per pick

RB/WR/QB/TE share of early rounds 2003-2026; when the league's QB obsession began.

Positional run detection.

aloft_draft_positional_run_detection proposed per draft / per pick

Longest same-position runs per draft; first QB/RB/WR/TE/K/DEF pick each year; K and DEF drafted before round 10 by season (the 2026 room reached +37.6 picks on K vs ADP).

Draft metrics

From the historical metrics spec. Spans cbs-std, cbs-dec, slp-std and slp-half where data exists.

Best/worst picks

aloft_draft_best_worst_picks gathered per draft / per pick 2003-2020 (CBS) /history/drafts/<year>.html

Best and worst Fpts-over-round-median picks per draft, with player, round, coach and season.

Coach draft value

aloft_draft_coach_draft_value specced per draft / per pick 2003-2020 (CBS), 2021-2026 (Sleeper)

Total Fpts over round median across a coach's picks, per season and career.

Keepers (Sleeper)

aloft_draft_keepers_sleeper gathered per draft / per pick 2021-2026 (Sleeper) /history/metrics.html

Sleeper keeper picks by season, flagged via `is_keeper` draft picks.

Points by pick / round

aloft_draft_points_by_pick_round specced per draft / per pick 2003-2020 (CBS), 2021-2026 (Sleeper)

Mean Total Fpts by pick number and round, per season.

Head-to-head and rivalry (per coach pair)

From the historical metrics spec. Spans cbs-std, cbs-dec, slp-std and slp-half where data exists.

H2H record

aloft_h2h_h2h_record gathered per coach pair 2002-2026 /history/all-time.html

Head-to-head record between a coach and an opponent, by coach identity.

Playoff H2H

aloft_h2h_playoff_h2h gathered per coach pair 2002-2026 /history/coaches/<slug>.html#playoff-h2h

Head-to-head record in bracket/playoff games only.

Rivalry index

aloft_h2h_rivalry_index partial per coach pair 2002-2026 /history/all-time.html

Pairs ranked by games played and cumulative margin closeness; playoff meetings as a tiebreaker.

Symmetry test

aloft_h2h_symmetry_test gathered per coach pair 2002-2026 /history/all-time.html

pairs[a,b].w == pairs[b,a].l and PF/PA mirror. must hold for every pair

Keepers (owner's list, expanded)

From the metrics backlog — proposed, not yet specced. Spans cbs-std, cbs-dec, slp-std and slp-half where data exists.

Does draft position matter at all?

aloft_keepers_does_draft_position_matter_at_all proposed per keeper / per season

Season W/L and PF by draft slot 1-14, linear draft, 2021-2026; and CBS-era 2003-2020 if the draft order can be recovered from the draft page (pick 1's team). *Trap:* slot is assigned by finish (lottery + inverse finish), so it is confounded with prior strength — condition on prior-season finish.

Draft-slot effect on keeper value.

aloft_keepers_draft_slot_effect_on_keeper_value proposed per keeper / per season

Because the draft is linear (no snake) and keeper cost is "round k at your own slot", a slot-1 keeper costs pick 1 while a slot-14 keeper costs pick 14. Measure realised keeper value by draft slot, and whether early-slot coaches keep fewer or better players.

How long a player is kept by the SAME coach.

aloft_keepers_how_long_a_player_is_kept_by_the_same_coach gathered per keeper / per season 2021-2026 (Sleeper) /history/metrics.html

Consecutive-season keeper streaks per (player, coach). *Trap:* coach, not slot — join through the registry; a slot changing hands ends the streak even if the name stays.

How many seasons a player is kept by ANY coach.

aloft_keepers_how_many_seasons_a_player_is_kept_by_any_coach partial per keeper / per season 2021-2026 (Sleeper) /history/metrics.html

Total keeper-seasons per player league-wide; the "franchise player" list.

Keeper cost vs return.

aloft_keepers_keeper_cost_vs_return proposed per keeper / per season

A keeper costs round k; compare his season points to the median points of players actually drafted in round k that year (from the same board). Measures whether keeping beat drafting at that price.

Keeper declaration timing.

aloft_keepers_keeper_declaration_timing proposed per keeper / per season

Keepers lock 48 hours before the draft. When news lands inside that window (Jacobs 2026), who was holding whom — a case-by-case log rather than a rate.

Keeper ROI by draft round of origin.

aloft_keepers_keeper_roi_by_draft_round_of_origin proposed per keeper / per season

Where each keeper was originally drafted (the late-pick-value work already does this for round 10+): rate at which each origin round produces a keeper, and how long those keepers last.

Keeper survival curve.

aloft_keepers_keeper_survival_curve proposed per keeper / per season

Of players kept in year N, what share are kept in N+1, N+2… by anyone; by the same coach.

Keepers by position per season.

aloft_keepers_keepers_by_position_per_season gathered per keeper / per season 2021-2026 (Sleeper) /history/metrics.html

RB/WR/QB/TE share of keepers; how it drifts. Already partly measured 2026 (19 RB / 16 WR / 4 TE / 4 QB) — extend to all seasons.

Keepers per season, total and per coach.

aloft_keepers_keepers_per_season_total_and_per_coach gathered per keeper / per season 2021-2026 (Sleeper) /history/metrics.html

Count of is_keeper picks by season; distribution 0-4 per coach. *Trap:* 2021 official but a different scoring era (rec 0 → 0.5 at 2024).

Performance by keeper count.

aloft_keepers_performance_by_keeper_count proposed per keeper / per season

Regular-season W/L, PF, playoff rate, and title rate for coaches who kept 0/1/2/3/4, per season and pooled. *Trap:* keeper count correlates with roster strength from the prior year — report prior-season finish alongside it, or the number reads as a cause.

Luck and quality proxies

From the historical metrics spec. Spans cbs-std, cbs-dec, slp-std and slp-half where data exists.

All-play (breakdown) record

aloft_luck_all_play_breakdown_record specced per coach / per season 2002-2026

Record a team would have if it played every other team each week.

Close-game record

aloft_luck_close_game_record gathered per coach / per season 2002-2026 /history/all-time.html

Record in games decided by less than 5 points (era-scaled threshold).

Luck

aloft_luck_luck specced per coach / per season 2002-2026

actual W − all-play W scaled to games. Source: W_actual − W_allplay × (games / (teams−1)). positive = won more than the points earned

PF rank vs finish

aloft_luck_pf_rank_vs_finish specced per coach / per season 2002-2026

Difference between a team's regular-season PF rank and its final finish rank.

Narrative and awards (from CBS recaps and Gmail)

From the metrics backlog — proposed, not yet specced. Spans cbs-std, cbs-dec, slp-std and slp-half where data exists.

Awards.

aloft_narrative_awards proposed per post

CBS awards pages were captured but every checked season reads "Commissioner has not set awards" — verify all 19 before assuming.

Commissioner posts.

aloft_narrative_commissioner_posts proposed per post

The owner's own playoff pictures and championship writeups from Gmail 2013-2021 — human-written history the site never stored.

Recap corpus index.

aloft_narrative_recap_corpus_index proposed per post

401 CBS "fantasy journalist" articles 2015-2020: index by season, week, matchup, teams named; the "biggest blowout" and "closest game" claims those articles make can be verified against scores.

Players

From the metrics backlog — proposed, not yet specced. Spans cbs-std, cbs-dec, slp-std and slp-half where data exists.

Championship rosters.

aloft_players_championship_rosters proposed per player

Every title team's draft class and keeper set; players on the most title teams.

Most-drafted, most-kept, most-rostered players

aloft_players_most_drafted_most_kept_most_rostered_players partial per player 2021-2026 (Sleeper) /history/metrics.html

in league history.

Per-Player-Week Production (Sleeper Only)

aloft_players_per_player_week_production proposed per player-week

Weekly points under this league's own scoring, K and DEF included with return yardage.

Player loyalty.

aloft_players_player_loyalty proposed per player

Players who spent the most seasons on one coach's roster (keepers + redrafts).

Power rankings

From the historical metrics spec. Spans cbs-std, cbs-dec, slp-std and slp-half where data exists.

best season

aloft_power_best_season gathered per coach 2002-2020 (CBS) /history/coaches/<slug>.html#power-rankings

Best (lowest-numbered) CBS end-of-season power-ranking rank in a single season.

mean rank

aloft_power_mean_rank gathered per coach 2002-2020 (CBS) /history/coaches/<slug>.html#power-rankings

Mean CBS end-of-season power-ranking rank across all seasons with a ranking.

`power`

aloft_power_power gathered per coach 2002-2020 (CBS) /history/coaches/<slug>.html#power-rankings

null in Sleeper years - CBS's power number is its own formula and is never imitated; the cross-era series is RANK only

`powerBasis`

aloft_power_powerbasis gathered per coach 2002-2020 (CBS) /history/coaches/<slug>.html#power-rankings

'computed: all-play pct, PF, lineup efficiency' - printed beside every Sleeper-era row; CBS rows print 'CBS power ranking'

`powerRank`

aloft_power_powerrank gathered per coach 2002-2020 (CBS) /history/coaches/<slug>.html#power-rankings

rank of all-play (breakdown) pct over regular-season weeks (§5), ties by PF, then by ppts efficiency (fpts / ppts)

seasons ranked #1.

aloft_power_seasons_ranked_1 gathered per coach 2002-2020 (CBS) /history/coaches/<slug>.html#power-rankings

Count of seasons in which a coach held the #1 CBS end-of-season power ranking.

weekly series (optional)

aloft_power_weekly_series_optional gathered per coach 2002-2020 (CBS) /history/coaches/<slug>.html#power-rankings

the same rank after each regular-season week, from matchups/<w>, for a sparkline; time series yes

Records (league-wide)

From the historical metrics spec. Spans cbs-std, cbs-dec, slp-std and slp-half where data exists.

Biggest margin; closest game; most ties in a season.

aloft_records_biggest_margin_closest_game_most_ties_in_a_season gathered league-wide 2002-2026 /history/all-time.html

Biggest margin; closest game; most ties in a season.

Cross-check

aloft_records_cross_check verification league-wide 2002-2020

the CBS record book (raw/cbs/<y>/year-by-year table 0) lists some of these; where they disagree, show both and say why (CBS's include unopposed weeks and its own tie resolution).

Longest playoff-appearance streak; most consecutive titles.

aloft_records_longest_playoff_appearance_streak_most_consecutive_titles gathered league-wide 2002-2026 /history/all-time.html

Longest playoff-appearance streak; most consecutive titles.

Longest win streak and loss streak (regular season, across seasons).

aloft_records_longest_win_streak_and_loss_streak_regular_season_across_seasons gathered league-wide 2002-2026 /history/all-time.html

Longest win streak and loss streak (regular season, across seasons).

Most titles, most finals, most seasons, best pct (min 5 seasons), most regular-season #1s.

aloft_records_most_titles_most_finals_most_seasons_best_pct_min_5_seasons_most_regular_season_1s gathered league-wide 2002-2026 /history/all-time.html, /history/metrics.html

All-time leaderboards: titles, finals, seasons, best winning percentage and regular-season #1 finishes.

Season PF high and low (regular season only, per era).

aloft_records_season_pf_high_and_low_regular_season_only_per_era gathered league-wide 2002-2026 /history/all-time.html

Season PF high and low (regular season only, per era).

Single-game high and low (team), with opponent, week, season.

aloft_records_single_game_high_and_low_team_with_opponent_week_season gathered league-wide 2002-2026 /history/all-time.html

Single-game high and low (team), with opponent, week, season.

Scoring and league structure

From the metrics backlog — proposed, not yet specced. Spans cbs-std, cbs-dec, slp-std and slp-half where data exists.

Bracket size and byes.

aloft_scoring_bracket_size_and_byes proposed per season / league-wide

Playoff format per season (2 games in 2002, 7 by 2006); how often the bye team wins.

Division era vs no-division era.

aloft_scoring_division_era_vs_no_division_era proposed per season / league-wide

2003-2005 had three divisions; compare playoff qualification patterns.

League scoring inflation.

aloft_scoring_league_scoring_inflation gathered per season / league-wide 2002-2025 /history/metrics.html

Median team PF per season 2002-2025 across both platforms; the 2024 half-PPR step is visible and must be labelled.

Median match effect (Sleeper only).

aloft_scoring_median_match_effect_sleeper_only partial per season / league-wide 2021-2026 (Sleeper) /history/seasons/<year>.html, /history/coaches/<slug>.html

For each coach-season, record vs opponent and vs median separately; who the second result helped or hurt.

Parity.

aloft_scoring_parity proposed per season / league-wide

Standard deviation of W and of PF across teams per season; Gini of PF.

Week-by-week scoring spread.

aloft_scoring_week_by_week_scoring_spread proposed per season / league-wide

Highest and lowest team score each week per season; the all-time single-game highs and lows (CBS record book carries some of these — cross-check).

Season metrics (per season)

From the historical metrics spec. Spans cbs-std, cbs-dec, slp-std and slp-half where data exists.

Bracket

aloft_season_bracket gathered per season 2002-2026 /history/seasons/<year>.html

rounds, games, scores, winners. Source: bracket form (in S.finals and G.kind=bracket). BYE rows are not games

Champion / runner-up

aloft_season_champion_runner_up gathered per season 2002-2026 /history/seasons/<year>.html

S.finals[y]. tieBreak flag shown when present

Rules in force

aloft_season_rules_in_force gathered per season 2002-2026 /history/seasons/<year>.html

rules timeline (roadmap). linked, never asserted

Standings

aloft_season_standings gathered per season 2002-2026 /history/seasons/<year>.html

W-L-T, PF, PA, division where present, finish order. Source: S.standings[y], S.rows. resolve team → coach via S.rows

Team count, playoff field

aloft_season_team_count_playoff_field gathered per season 2002-2026 /history/seasons/<year>.html

derived; constitution by era. denominators

Weekly high/low

aloft_season_weekly_high_low gathered per season 2002-2026 /history/seasons/<year>.html

Maximum and minimum team score in each regular week; unopposed weeks excluded.

Weekly results

aloft_season_weekly_results gathered per season 2002-2026 /history/seasons/<year>.html

every game. Source: G filtered by season. ties shown as ties