Now that you know how to set up the structure of your league (see Part I), it’s time to impress your fellow owners by running a first-rate league.

There is far more involved in being the league commissioner than making sure the Web site runs as promised. You’ll have to be a good communicator to keep everyone involved while also being a voice of reason. Below are 5 tips to help you keep the season running smooth all the way to the league championship game.

1. Decide what’s at stake: The simplest way to run a league is to find a free site to host the league and then just compete against your friends for bragging rights. If you want to kick it up a notch, then you can have everyone ante in an agreed to amount at the beginning of the season, and then decide on the payouts. It could be a winner-take-all format, or the top three teams could finish in the money, with the league champ taking home a proportionately higher amount.

2. Encourage trash talk: It’s a great way to keep everyone involved throughout the entire season. Even teams that have one win, might not lose interest if they can exchange in some friendly banter. And fantasy leagues are a great way to stay in touch with friends you may not see regularly due to schedules or geography, so keep the lines of communication open.

3. Communicate regularly: As commissioner, it’s not necessary, but it’s a good idea to send out a weekly e-mail to the entire league updating them on trades, key showdowns or on the latest free agent pick ups. And at the start of the season, it’s recommended that you introduce everyone with a quick e-mail. And if not everyone knows each other, then this works as a nice icebreaker to explain how each owner is connected to the league with perhaps a little tidbit or fact about each person.

4. Stay on top of transactions: Most sites are pretty much hands-off once the season gets underway. But sometimes trades and transactions can get held up because the site has a grace period or sometimes the site can get bogged down with heavy traffic. If there are technical difficulties, everyone is going to be looking at you to fix the problem. So if you can monitor transactions, as commissioner you are usually able to override the site and push through a move that might otherwise not take place before the start of games for the week.

5. Put on your zebra uniform: As commissioner, you’re going to be called on to settle disputes as a referee. For example, if a computer error prevents a team from fielding a full roster, then that team’s owner will be upset, as it will affect wins and losses. Stripping one team of a win and rewarding another team with a win will only upset the other owner, computer error or not. There could be a scoring discrepancy between the official NFL stats and the league scoring. Whatever you decide, trying to be fair and consistent in your rulings will help you keep tempers in check. The last thing you want to do is lose friends over a fantasy sports league.