Minor Struggles

I attended a minor league hockey game with my son this week and the good news is that he enjoyed it. The bad news is that I didn't. We watched the home game between "our" Phoenix Roadrunners and the visiting Victoria Salmon Kings of the ECHL at USAirlines Arena (or as I still call it, "America West"). The game was not well-played and though our Roadrunners had plenty of shots, they didn't seem particularly powerful or well placed (many went right off the middle of the goalies chest pads). Worse was the crowd. We're talking tiny. Like maybe 1000 people. I have no idea how the Roadrunners are making this work financially but I wish them well. With Coyotes tickets so expensive, its nice to have a lower cost alternative. But if quality of play is your priority, then the Coyotes are a must. I do like the Roadrunners logo so they have that going for them. I hope I just came on a bad night. Go Roadrunners!

The Arena Football Arizona Rattlers have also been struggling the past few years. They used to sell out and the atmosphere at "America West" was outstanding. But since the Dbacks came to town, season ticket numbers have dwindled. The team has also struggled on the field the last few years as well. The good news is that team owner Brett Bouchy took over last year and has already started turning the franchise around under coach Kevin Guy. Last year was a largely new roster and the team showed potential amidst the growing pains. The crowds have increased just a bit as well (though they'll probably never get back to the pre-DBacks days).

This off-season the Rattlers signed former Rattler QB Joe Germaine (yes, the same guy who led Ohio State to a victory over ASU in the Rose Bowl back in '97) of Glendale and they just announced they've hired former coach Danny White as the offensive coordinator. Read the story HERE. This is great news for Rattlers fans, but I wonder what Coach Guy thinks about having White looking over his shoulder?

Perhaps more interesting is what the Arena Football League itself is doing to stay competitive. After 22 years of surprising success, the league is now moving to a "single entity ownership" structure in order to combine marketing and sales strategies. Read more about that move HERE in the Sports Business Journal. $100 million should provide some much-needed cashflow in these tough economic times.

Phoenix is full of professional sports options, and perhaps too many. I mean TWO hockey teams in the desert?! We've also had pro indoor soccer, pro indoor lacrosse, USFL football, minor league basketball (and all signs are we'll have it again with the Phoenix Fury at the Fairgrounds Arena) and all kinds of minor league baseball. Hopefully our "good" minor league franchises (the Roadrunners and the Rattlers) will find away to get the attention of the ticket buying public and keep their franchises moving forward.

Great Game!

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Soul --the Jon Bon Jovi owned 2008 Arenabowl 22 (!) Champion. A great, close 59-56 victory over San Jose wrapped up a nice season.

Here are my final 2008 Arenafootball Rankings:

1. Philadelphia Soul. The Champs
2. San Jose Sabercats. Nice comeback.
3. Cleveland Gladiators. Great Playoff Run.
4. Dallas Desperados. Window of opportunity is closing.
5. Chicago Rush. Disappointing fade at end of season.
6. Georgia Force.
7. New York Dragons. Nice 2nd half of season.
8. Grand Rapids Rampage. Moving to Minnesota rumors?
9. Arizona Rattlers. Need to build on this rebuilding year.
10. Orlando Predators. Has Gruden lost his edge?
11. Tampa Bay Storm.
12. New Orleans Voo Doo.
13. Utah Blaze. Why did Danny White quit?
14. Columbus Destroyers. Already signing players for 2009.
15. Los Angeles Avengers
16. Colorado Crush. Time for Elway to clean house.
17. Kansas City Brigade. Need to find a QB solution.

Arena Football Rankings Week 13

The Rattlers are playing well with Jeff Smoker at QB and have improved to 6-6.

Arena Week 11

A tough week in Arenaball. The Rattlers played SJ even for 3 quarters and then laid a big fat egg in the 4th Quarter (though the halftime ceremony to retire Randy Gatewood's jersey was worthwhile). Philly choked against Georgia and gave up 3 unanswered TDs to lose by 1.

For the first time this year, both Utah and KC won on the same week. Suddenly that playoff guarantee by the Rattlers is in some jeopardy. Utah and KC have 2 wins each and AZ has 4 wins. If either Utah or KC passes AZ, then we might get refunds!

Arena Rankings Week 11

I'm still pig-biting mad over the LA-AZ game. AZ should have, could have, would have won that game. They came close despite some of the most bone-headed calls in Arena history. I can't talk about it. But AZ is home vs. SJ this Friday, so I'm looking for a sweet, sweet win over those Sabercats (why don't they spell it "SabREcats"?)
After Philadelphia's dominating win over Dallas in "The Battle of the Undefeated" the Soul failed to show up against Cleveland and were quickly knocked from the ranks of the undefeated. That will teach the Soul to be prepared no doubt.
This weeks rankings:

Arena Football Rankings Week 10

The Rattlers are a Jeckyl and Hyde team this year. Luckily this week, the good team showed up and put a whoopin' on Georgia. An excellent game all around. The big game, though, was the Monday Night Football game (on ESPN2) between undefeated Dallas and undefeated Philadelphia. In the 21 year history of the league this is the first time two undefeated teams have met this late in the season. But the game itself was a letdown as the Phily Soul crushed Dallas and its gimpy QB, Clint Dolezel. As usual the rankings reflect that all the teams below #5 or #6 are pretty much interchangible.

RANK Last Week Team W/L Comments
1. (1) Philadelphia Soul 9-0 Thumped Dallas
2. (2) Dallas Desperados 7-1 Dolezel is not 100%
3. (3) New Orleans Voodoo 7-2 Playoff dark horse
4. (4) Chicago Rush 7-2 QB Michna is playing better
5. (5) Orlando Predators 6-3 Lost to Tampa
6. (7) San Jose Sabercats 5-4 SJ is not going to repeat as champ.
7. (11) New York Dragons 5-3 Garcia is back, so NY is back!
8. (9) Arizona Rattlers 4-4 Campbell was better this week
9. (6) Cleveland Gladiators 4-4 Can’t beat the good teams
10. (8) Georgia Force 3-5 Lost to AZ
11. (10) Colorado Crush 3-5 Sinking Fast
12. (12) Tampa Bay Storm 3-5 Big win against top rival
13. (13) Grand Rapids Rampage 3-5 Blew out KC
14. (14) Columbus Destroyers 2-6 Must start winning
15. (16) Los Angeles Avengers 3-6 Very disappointing Season
16. (15) Kansas City Brigade 1-7 Gave up 83pts to GR
17. (17) Utah Blaze 0-9 Plays KC this week -could win.

Arena Football Rankings Week 8

All it takes is LANG --Lang Campbell that is. The Rattlers got back in the win column with a nice 69-68 win over the Tampa Bay Storm behind returning QB Lang Campbell. The rankings (below) show a real divide between the haves and have-nots, as the teams below #5 are pretty interchangable. Well, except for Utah. Utah is awful. Just awful.
RANK Last Week Team W/L Comment
1. (1) Philadelphia Soul 6-0 Seven weeks at #1
2. (2) Dallas Desperados 7-0 Dolezel is back
3. (3) New Orleans Voodoo 5-2 N.O. not yet elite
4. (4) Chicago Rush 5-2 Backup QB did okay
5. (5) Orlando Predators 5-2 Predators are for real
6. (6) Cleveland Gladiators 3-3 Three losses in a row
7. (10) Georgia Force 3-3 Bye Week
8. (8) San Jose Sabercats 3-4 Blew big lead over Philly
9. (12) Arizona Rattlers 3-3 QB Campbell leads to nice win
10. (11) Colorado Crush 3-3 Scratching back into contention
11. (14) New York Dragons 3-3 Garcia is back, so NY is back!
12. (7) Tampa Bay Storm 2-4 Three Losses in a row
13. (9) Grand Rapids Rampage 2-4 What team will show up?
14. (13) Columbus Destroyers 2-5 Not their year
15. (15) Los Angeles Avengers 3-4 QB Cumbie overrated –on bench
16. (17) Kansas City Brigade 0-6 Need a better QB
17. (16) Utah Blaze 0-7 Blaze need to find some Defense.

Rattlers Refund Standings!

During the Bye week, the Arizona Rattlers fell further behind in the race for last! Because 6 out of the 8 Western Conference Teams make the playoffs, Utah and KC have a solid lock on the two non-playoff spots and it will take a total freefall by the Rattlers --combined with some semblance of football by skill by either Utah or KC for the Rattlers to move into a non-playoff spot in the standings.

Arena Football Rankings Week 7

The AZ Rattlers didn't lose this week --they had a bye week. But QB Lang Campbell is finally back from injury and so optimism runs high in Rattler land. I hope he does something because right now it looks like the Rattlers could lose all of their remaining games and STILL make the playoffs. How? The top 6 (of 8) teams in the West make the playoffs. The bottom two spots are occupied by two teams (Utah and KC) that are a combined 0-11 and show no signs of life at all. Here's hoping AZ finishes with a winning record or finishes 7th or 8th so that we can get our sweet refunds!


RANK Last Wk Team W/L Comment
1. (1) Philadelphia Soul 6-0 Six weeks at #1
2. (2) Dallas Desperados 6-0 Dolezel is back
3. (4) New Orleans Voodoo 5-1 New QB Wimprine is crazy good.
4. (3) Chicago Rush 4-2 Too many INTs by Bonner
5. (9) Orlando Predators 4-2 Huge OT win over Chicago.
6. (6) Cleveland Gladiators 3-2 Loss to Dallas
7. (5) Tampa Bay Storm 2-3 Two Losses in a row
8. (7) San Jose Sabercats 3-3 SJ is not going to repeat as champ.
9. (8) Grand Rapids Rampage 2-3 Shut out in 1st half after scoring binge.
10. (10) Georgia Force 3-3 Wins over lowly Utah and KC
11. (9) Colorado Crush 2-3 Nice win over LA
12. (8) Arizona Rattlers 2-3 QB Campbell is (finally) back
13. (13) Columbus Destroyers 2-4 Still in the running
14. (15) New York Dragons 2-3 Garcia is back, so NY is back.
15. (14) Los Angeles Avengers 2-4 Dreadful.
16. (16) Utah Blaze 0-6 Blaze need to find some Defense.
17. (17) Kansas City Brigade 0-5 Changes must be made.

Arena Football Rankings Week 6

Wow, Sed Bonner certainly had his revenge this week as he led his new team, the Chicago Rush, to a dominating victory over his old team, the Arizona Rattlers. Sadly the Rattlers are not good. Yet they are not bad enough to miss the playoffs and earn a refund for season ticketholders.


RANK Last Week Team W/L Comment
1. (1) Philadelphia Soul 5-0 -Five weeks at #1
2. (2) Dallas Desperados 5-0 -Beat a bad NY team by 2
3. (3) Chicago Rush 4-1 -Bonner’s Revenge against AZ
4. (5) New Orleans Voodoo 4-1 -Beat Crush on road
5. (4) Tampa Bay Storm 2-2 -Narrow loss to Philly
6. (6) Cleveland Gladiators 3-1 -How Good is Cleveland???
7. (7) San Jose Sabercats 3-2 -So-so vs. winless KC
8. (14) Grand Rapids Rampage 2-2 -176 pts scored in 2 weeks!
9. (11) Orlando Predators 3-2 -Three narrow wins in a row.
10. (10) Georgia Force 2-3 -Disappointing Season
11. (9) Colorado Crush 1-3 -No longer an elite team.
12. (8) Arizona Rattlers 2-3 -Smoker is not the answer
13. (13) Columbus Destroyers 1-4 -A lost season?
14. (12) Los Angeles Avengers 2-3 -Gave up 84 to Grand Rapids
15. (15) New York Dragons 1-3 -Decent effort this week.
16. (16) Utah Blaze 0-5 -Blaze need to find some Defense.
17. (17) Kansas City Brigade 0-4 -Changes must be made.

Arena Football Rankings Week 5

The Rattlers were awesome this week --they destroyed a woeful New York Dragons team. Jeff Smoker turns out to be decent when given time to throw. Whether he has time in the future will determine how the Rattlers do.

Grand Rapids, usually woeful, plastered an amazing 92 points on KC. The Brigade are just terrible. Did they not realize that this isn't AF2 or touch football? After all the progress of last year, its like they returned to expansion team status. Changes must be made --starting with QB. But better for KC to suck than the Rattlers.

RANK Last Week Team W/L Comment
1. (1) Philadelphia Soul 4-0 Destroyed LA
2. (2) Dallas Desperados 4-0 Winning without QB Dolezel.
3. (3) Chicago Rush 3-1 Bonner looked great in blowout.
4. (5) Tampa Bay Storm 2-1 Big game v. Soul this week.
5. (10) New Orleans Voodoo 3-1 New QB Wimprine is playing great.
6. (4) Cleveland Gladiators 3-1 Blown out this week.
7. (7) San Jose Sabercats 2-2 SJ looked good in loss to Dallas
8. (11) Arizona Rattlers 2-2 Smoker decent if given time.
9. (8) Colorado Crush 1-2 No longer an elite team.
10. (9) Georgia Force 1-3 Disappointing Season
11. (13) Orlando Predators 2-2 Two wins in a row.
12. (6) Los Angeles Avengers 2-2 Blown out again
13. (15) Columbus Destroyers 1-3 BeLong way to go in tough division
14. (17) Grand Rapids Rampage 1-2 92pts v. KC
15. (12) New York Dragons 1-3 Awful loss to AZ
16. (16) Utah Blaze 0-4 Blaze need to find some Defense. Still.
17. (12) Kansas City Brigade 0-3 Changes must be made.

Arena Football Rankings Week 4

The Rattlers were awful again. I have nothing good to say, so I'll just post the rankings. Here's a nice picture of the Cleveland-Columbus showdown.

RANK Last Week Team W/L Comment
1. (1) Philadelphia Soul 3-0 Soul Roll.
2. (2) Dallas Desperados 3-0 Winning without QB Dolezel.
3. (4) Chicago Rush 2-1 Michna played well. QB controversy?
4. (6) Cleveland Gladiators 3-0 Beat Columbus! Three narrow wins.
5. (3) Tampa Bay Storm 2-1 Ugly loss to Voodoo raises questions.
6. (5) Los Angeles Avengers 2-1 Thumped by Georgia
7. (7) San Jose Sabercats 2-1 Nice win over Arizona.
8. (8) Colorado Crush 1-1 No longer an elite team.
9. (9) Georgia Force 1-2 A quality win over LA.
10. (11) New Orleans Voodoo 2-1 New QB Wimprine is playing great.
11. (10) Arizona Rattlers 1-2 QB J. Smoker remains awful.
12. (12) New York Dragons 1-2 Dominated by Philly from the start
13. (17) Orlando Predators 1-2 Off the schneid.
14. (15) Kansas City Brigade 0-2 Most disappointing team of 2008.
15. (13) Columbus Destroyers 0-3 0-3 is ugly.
16. (14) Utah Blaze 0-3 Blaze need to find some Defense.
17. (16) Grand Rapids Rampage 0-2 QB McPherson was awful.

Arena Football Rankings Week 3

The LA-AZ game was a disappointment to say the least. LA picked on tiny AZ DB Trufant all night. The guy had quickness and great technique, but as Dan put it: "At the end of the day, the guy is too short." The program lists Truffant at 5'8", but I'd guess he's closer to 5'5". Brutal night for a guy who busted his ass. Either the Rattlers need to get someone taller in that spot, or the line needs to improve the pressure on the QB so that Truffant isn't left out to dry.

Worse, starting QB Lang Campbell got injured, and in came backup QB Jeff Smoker of Michigan State (in)fame(ous). Too put it bluntly, Smoker sucked. He held the ball too long and missed too many open receivers. A full week of practice should help, as Smoker has played well in arenaball on occasion, but here's hoping that Campbell (ankle) returns soon.


RANK (Last wk) Team Name W/L
1. (1) Philadelphia Soul (2-0)--Many thought Chicago was top dog. Oops.
2. (3) Dallas Desperados 2-0 --Winning without QB Dolezel.
3. (4) Tampa Bay Storm 2-0 --Storm is for real.
4. (2) Chicago Rush 1-1 --Bonner made too many mistakes.
5. (9) Los Angeles Avengers 2-0 --Nice win over Rattlers on Monday.
6. (10) Cleveland Gladiators 2-0 --Two narrow wins to start in new City.
7. (7) San Jose Sabercats 1-1 --Unimpressive win over Grand Rapids.
8. (9) Colorado Crush 1-0 (bye) --Dallas game next week will show a lot.
9. (5) Georgia Force 0-2 --By far the worst drop off from 2008.
10. (8) Arizona Rattlers 1-1 --Backup QB J. Smoker was horrible against L.A.
11. (15) New Orleans Voodoo 1-1 --Nice win for home opener.
12. (17) New York Dragons 1-1 -- Backup QB Davey playing well.
13. (11) Columbus Destroyers 0-2 -- Tough schedule is no excuse.
14. (13) Utah Blaze 0-2 -- Blaze need to find some Defense.
15. (12) Kansas City Brigade 0-2 --2nd most disappointing team of 2008.
16. (16) Grand Rapids Rampage 0-1 --QB McPherson played well in loss to SJ.
17. (14) Orlando Predators 0-2 --Loss to Voodoo means Predators suck.

Arena Football Rankings Week 2

A lot of great, close games this weekend. I'll be attending the Rattlers home opener this week against Los Angeles. It should be fun. Long-Time Rattlers QB Sherdrick Bonner looked great in his first game for the Chicago Rush. Congrats!

Ranking (Last week's Ranking)

1. (2) Philadelphia Soul- (1-0) Statement win over Orlando.
2. (5) Chicago Rush (1-0) Bonner is back in a dominating win over the defending champs.
3. (1) Dallas Desperados (1-0) Quality win in week 1, but Dolezel's injury drops them to #3.
4. (6) Tampa Bay Storm (1-0). Nice win over KC.
5. (4) Georgia Force (0-1). No shame in losing to Dallas.
6. (3) San Jose Sabercats (0-1) Grieb looked so-so in a bad loss to tough Chicago.
7. (9) Arizona Rattlers (1-0) Beat Utah without Burley.
8. (10) Los Angeles Avengers (1-0) Nice game by QB Cumbie.
9. (11) Colorado Crush (1-0) Nelson is a solid replacement for Harrell.
10. (12) Cleveland Gladiators --(1-0) QB Raymond Philyaw delivered as promised.
11. (7) Columbus Destroyers (0-1). No alarm bells yet.
12. (8) Kansas City Brigade (0-1) Played well in Loss to Storm.
13. (14) Utah Blaze (0-1) Still no defense in 2008.
14. (13) Orlando Predators (0-1) Offense struggled against the Soul
15. (15) New Orleans Voodoo. (0-1) Horn didn't make enough difference.
16. (17) Grand Rapids Rampage (0-0. Bye week.)
17. (16) New York Dragons. (0-1) Garcia was bad and then got hurt. But backup Rohan Davey should be an okay fill-in.

Arena Football Time!

Yes, you can smell it in the air. Arena football time! My Rattlers open vs. Arch-Rival Utah Blaze and I predict a narrow victory for Arizona. No doubt Danny White and Joe Jermaine have some tricks up their sleeve, but we have... uh... NEW UNIFORMS!

Anyway, here's my take on the relative strength of this year's teams. For a more enjoyable preview, check out the Its Still Football blog.

1. Dallas Desperados -An amazing regular season record over the last
two years, but choke in the playoffs. I hate 'em, but I don't see why they can't make a run.
2. Philadelphia Soul- Acquisition of Jackson makes the talented Soul
the team to beat.
3. San Jose Sabercats- Defending champs could easily repeat, but QB
Grieb isn't getting any younger and they lost WR Ben Nelson to Denver.
4. Georgia Force -Outstanding offensive team will miss Chris Jackson,
but still have other weapons and outstanding QB Chris Griesen (former
AZ Cardinal).
5. Chicago Rush -The Rush are back with a new QB/WR combination, after
losing stud WR Bobby Sippio to the NFL. Bonner to Harrell looks good
on paper, but as much as I love Bonner, he is certainly not the QB he
once was.
6. Tampa Bay Storm -QB Brett Dietz proved he could get the job done as
he took the Storm on a roll to the playoffs. Tampa is the team to beat
in the South.
7. Columbus Destroyers Outstanding at QB with Matt Nagy, but the
Destroyers need more offensive firepower if they plan to catch
lightning in a bottle again during the playoffs.
8. Kansas City Brigade -KC finally has a QB in Raymond Philyaw and they
are slowly building a solid team. They have a good shot at the
playoffs.
9. Arizona Rattlers- New Owners, new coach, new QB and almost all new
players. The Rattlers have promised full refunds if they don't make
the playoffs. With Burley back, they have a shot so long as they get
decent play from their new QB.
10. Los Angeles Avengers --Very solid, well-run team that will make a
playoff run, but doesn't have enough firepower to win it all.
11. Colorado Crush --The former champs lost their best receiver but
locked up QB Dutton to a long term (for AFL) contract. I think we'll
be seeing lots of camera shots of an unhappy owner (John Elway) this
year.
12. Cleveland Gladiators --Led by GM Bernie Kosar, the Gladiators
have completely retooled the team for their new home city (formerly Las
Vegas and New Jersey). They could be good out of the gate.
13. Orlando Predators- QB Shane Stafford is solid, but Orlando has
completely rebuilt the predators and it may take a year for them to
fully adjust.
14. Utah Blaze- Best offense in the league has lost their best WR. But
they still have little defense and will struggle to make it to .500
this year.
15. New Orleans Voodoo. I love Steve Bellisari --as he has worked his
way up from the bottom of the indoor football leagues. But New Orleans
doesn't have enough speed or skill unless they are able to bring in new WR (former Rattler) Chris Horn. In that case they will be much improved.
16. New York Dragons. If QB Garcia stays healthy, the Dragons could
challenge for the playoffs. If not, they're the worst team in the
league.
17. Grand Rapids Rampage -The Rampage have brought in new leadership
and new players but it won't be enough.

I wish I could quit you!

I've been an Arena Football fan since the very beginning. Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but I love the game. Lots of action and I like watching guys playing for the love of the game and trying to make it to the next level. Any way, I've had season tickets for the Arizona Rattlers since I moved here. The tickets got really expensive for my close-to-the-action seats. So much so that I cut them loose. It didn't hurt that the Rattlers absolutely sucked last year.

But just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in! The Rattlers have made some solid off-season moves (including signing league leading receiver Siaha Burley), but more importantly they lowered prices and made a great, unheard of, guarantee. If the Rattlers don't make the playoffs, we get ALL of our money back. The Rattlers used to sell out, but the Dbacks changed all that. They need more fannys in the seats to create a fun atmosphere. This guarantee is a great way to do that. I got much cheaper seats (in the end zone of the lower bowl) so that it could be affordable and it should be fun. The view from my seats: click here.

Mourning the Sting & Bonner

Sting:
So the pro indoor lacrosse league the NLL avoided losing the season by resolving its labor dispute with players. Good. But unfortunately, expansion team Boston and Arizona Sting will not play the year. I've been to a couple of Sting games and they're actually really fun. So they'll be missed (though I only go when I get tickets for free-- so that is probably part of why they lost $5M last year). This isn't necessarily
a bad thing in my view, as it opens the door just a bit for pro indoor soccer in PHX.

Rattlers:
*The AZ Rattlers (arena football) let long time starter Shederick Bonner go (to Chicago). Read the Republic Story here.
This is a blow to Rattlers faithful as Bonner has been the QB here for well over a decade. But new ownership is spending serious money on player upgrades (they have to --they've offered FULL REFUNDS to season ticket holders if they don't make the playoffs) and they don't have room to overpay an aging QB. I cancelled my season tickets (due to my mgmt demanding I slash personal spending) but it looks like this may be a good season for the Rattlers. They are pursuing former star Chris Horn (who has been in the NFL the last three years) and if they get him they would have the best WR corps in Arenaball.