Post by 50yardfan on Feb 24, 2012 22:54:11 GMT -5
www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/02/23/1837614/changes-abound-around-reduced.html
KENNEWICK -- Another Indoor Football League season is about to begin.
Actually, it's right on top of us, since Chicago defeated Bloomington 50-34 on Sunday in the league's Kickoff Classic.
The Tri-Cities Fever opens its season at 7:05 p.m. Saturday in the Toyota Center, where it will take on the Everett Raptors.
Like any new season, there are some changes. Here are some of the biggest:
1. The number of teams in the league dropped from 22 to 16.
2. Because of that, there are just two divisions this season.
The United Conference consists of the Chicago Slaughter, Cedar Rapids Titans, Green Bay Blizzard, Lehigh Valley Steelhawks, Omaha Beef, Reading Express, Sioux Falls Storm, and Bloomington Edge.
The Intense Conference will have the Allen Wranglers, Colorado Ice, Everett Raptors, Nebraska Danger, New Mexico Stars, Wichita Wild, Wyoming Cavalry and the defending Intense Conference champion Tri-Cities Fever.
3. You should know the schedule will be unbalanced for the regular season. For instance, while the Fever has 14 games, it does not play Allen or Wichita during the season. It does, however, play Everett four times and Wyoming three.
4. The playoffs are straight forward. The top four in each conference qualify and play each other in the first round around June 23 (No. 4 at No. 1; No. 3 at No. 2).
Winners meet in the conference championship, with the winners of the conference championships meeting for the title in the United Bowl Championship. Unlike last season, there will be no break around the July 4th holiday -- it'll be three straight weeks of playoffs.
Here's a short primer on the rest of the league for 2012:
Intense Conference
Allen Wranglers
Made biggest offseason splash by signing former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens, who now is also co-owner of the team. ... Former Fever DB Muhammad Shamsid-Deen is on team's roster. ... DB Travonti Johnson was a first-team all-league player last season for Omaha, where he had 12 interceptions. ... QB Bryan Randall was the league's offensive MVP in 2010 while with Richmond. Fever: Does not play Allen.
Colorado Ice
Biggest change is Collins Sanders has moved from head coach into the front office as team president. That enables Heron O'Neal, the former head coach at Billings who won a couple of IFL titles in 2009 and 2010, to assume head coaching duties after being the Ice's defensive coordinator last season. ... Ex-Fever WR Phil Goodman is on the team's roster. ... QB David Knighton returns, as does former CWU LB Prince Hall. ... DB Idly Etienne was an all-leaguer last season. Fever: Plays Colorado at Toyota Center on March 10; at Colorado on June 2.
Everett Raptors
Last year, this squad started the season as the Kent Predators, then was renamed the Seattle Timberwolves at mid-season. Now it's left the Showare Center in Kent and moved to Comcast Arena in Everett. ... Sean Ponder, who finished the season as the team's head coach, starts this season as the team's leader. ... Former Kent Predators head coach from two years ago, William McCarthy, is the team's defensive coordinator. ... The team has its starting QB from the last few seasons, Charles McCullum, back. ... So is WR Andre Piper-Jordan, who was all-league last season. ... DB Jeremiah Captain and DE John Fields return to lead the defense. Fever: plays host to Everett at Toyota Center on Saturday; at Everett on March 22; at Toyota Center on April 13; and at Everett on May 4.
Nebraska Danger
Team re-signed LB Walner Leandre, who was a second-team All-IFL choice with 125 tackles and five QB sacks. ... Head coach Mike Davis never got a chance to run the show last year when the league suspended him for recruiting violations. That left an assistant to run the show. Davis is clear to coach this season. .. Team averaged more than 5,000 fans a game last season. Not bad for a town of 48,000. Fever: Plays at Nebraska on March 4.
New Mexico Stars
Head coach Chris Williams heads this expansion franchise. Williams was head coach at West Texas for years, and he's brought many of his players over from that team. ... Among those are Arkelon Hall, the team's quarterback last season. ... K Zeke Arevalo also is back. Fever: Plays at New Mexico on April 6; at Toyota Center on April 27.
Wichita Wild
Morris Lolar spent half the 2011 season as interim head coach before having the interim tagged removed. ... He returns starting QB Phil Staback and his entire offensive line. ... Key pickup is WR Timmothy Simmons, who led the league last season in pass receptions with 110 for the Wenatchee Valley Venom. Fever: Does not play Wichita.
Wyoming Cavalry
Head coach Dan Maciejczak is no stranger to long-time Fever fans. He coached Everett in 2005, and has been at Wyoming for six seasons. ... Veteran Matt Strand is back at quarterback. ... A number of former Fever players are in camp: WR/DB Emery Beckles, DL Michael Hodges, DB George Kelly and OL/DL Karl Kuhau-Liftee. Fever: Plays Wyoming at Toyota Center on March 30; at Wyoming on May 18; and at Toyota Center on June 9.
United Conference
Bloomington Edge
Team changed mascot name from Extreme to Edge in offseason. ... Former Fever LB Ameer Ismail was signed a few weeks ago. ... QB Charles Dowdell played last season for Wenatchee Valley. ... QB Dusty Burk was the team's offensive coordinator last season. ... DL Antonio Ficklin was the 2011 IFL defensive player of the year and an All-IFL first-teamer last season. Fever: Does not play Bloomington.
Cedar Rapids Titans
Team is considered an expansion franchise, although owner and many players moved operations from LaCrosse last season. ... Team returns all-league first-team DL Xzavie Jackson. ... Team acquired WR James Terry and DB Javon Jackson in offseason trade with Sioux Falls. Terry was a first-team All-IFL receiver. ... Kyle Moore-Brown, who was an assistant coach for Gilbert Brown - the former Green Bay Packer DL - last season at LaCrosse, is the new head coach for the Titans. He is Gilbert's brother. Fever: Does not play Cedar Rapids.
Chicago Slaughter
One of the team's owners is former NFL quarterback Jim McMahon. ... The team's coach is ex-Chicago Bear Steve McMichael. ... RB Romandre Gibbs was an all-leaguer last season for the Fairbanks Grizzlies. ... LB Lenny Radtke, an all-star last season, also returns. ... The Slaughter and Bloomington meet each other four times this season. Fever: Does not play Chicago.
Green Bay Blizzard
New head coach is Robert Fuller, who was IFL's coach of the year last season at Fairbanks. That franchise folded. .. Fuller brought with him a few players from Fairbanks, including QB Donovan Porterie, DB James Romain and WR Desmond Tardy - who for a short time this offseason was a member of the Fever until he was traded to the Blizzard. ... Romain was a first-team all-leaguer last year at DB. ... B.J. Hill, who was named the league's top kick return specialist last season, is also back. Fever: Does not play Green Bay.
Lehigh Valley Steelhawks
One of the IFL's top kick returners in Theo Hall is back. ... Team picked up WR John Halman, who played for Fairbanks last season. ... OL Chris Nunn was a second-team all-leaguer last season for Reading. ... LB Adrian McLeod had 110 tackles last season for the team. Fever: Does not play Lehigh Valley.
Omaha Beef
Team has a new head coach in Bruce Cowdrey. He replaces Andy Yost., whose team was the only squad in 2011 to beat Sioux Falls. . ... Beef has a number of defensive starters back, including DB Pig Brown, DB Diezeas Calbert, and DB Courtney Grixby, as well as DL Jervonte Jackson. ... Offensively, QB James McNear and RB RJ Rollins return. ... Former University of Nebraska star Marlon Lucky is a running back. Fever: Does not play Omaha.
Reading Express
Long-time assistant Mark Steinmeyer was named the team's head coach back in August. ... Ownership group has been looking to sell the team since last summer, but will continue to run it until a new buyer steps forward. ... QB A.J. McKenna had a cup of coffee with the NFL's Saints. ... LB Mike Dell returns as the team leader on defense. Fever: Does not play Reading.
Sioux Falls Storm
Defending league champion returns head coach Kurtiss Riggs. ... Team is loaded again with talent, starting with QB Chris Dixon, the league's top signal-caller last season. ... First-team All-IFL OL Charlie Sanders and Miniya Smith also return. ... All-leaguers RB James Jones and Ironman Tommy Franks are also back. DL Sean Kelly was an all-leaguer last season in Chicago. Fever: Plays at Sioux Falls on May 12; plays at Toyota Center on May 26.
KENNEWICK -- Another Indoor Football League season is about to begin.
Actually, it's right on top of us, since Chicago defeated Bloomington 50-34 on Sunday in the league's Kickoff Classic.
The Tri-Cities Fever opens its season at 7:05 p.m. Saturday in the Toyota Center, where it will take on the Everett Raptors.
Like any new season, there are some changes. Here are some of the biggest:
1. The number of teams in the league dropped from 22 to 16.
2. Because of that, there are just two divisions this season.
The United Conference consists of the Chicago Slaughter, Cedar Rapids Titans, Green Bay Blizzard, Lehigh Valley Steelhawks, Omaha Beef, Reading Express, Sioux Falls Storm, and Bloomington Edge.
The Intense Conference will have the Allen Wranglers, Colorado Ice, Everett Raptors, Nebraska Danger, New Mexico Stars, Wichita Wild, Wyoming Cavalry and the defending Intense Conference champion Tri-Cities Fever.
3. You should know the schedule will be unbalanced for the regular season. For instance, while the Fever has 14 games, it does not play Allen or Wichita during the season. It does, however, play Everett four times and Wyoming three.
4. The playoffs are straight forward. The top four in each conference qualify and play each other in the first round around June 23 (No. 4 at No. 1; No. 3 at No. 2).
Winners meet in the conference championship, with the winners of the conference championships meeting for the title in the United Bowl Championship. Unlike last season, there will be no break around the July 4th holiday -- it'll be three straight weeks of playoffs.
Here's a short primer on the rest of the league for 2012:
Intense Conference
Allen Wranglers
Made biggest offseason splash by signing former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens, who now is also co-owner of the team. ... Former Fever DB Muhammad Shamsid-Deen is on team's roster. ... DB Travonti Johnson was a first-team all-league player last season for Omaha, where he had 12 interceptions. ... QB Bryan Randall was the league's offensive MVP in 2010 while with Richmond. Fever: Does not play Allen.
Colorado Ice
Biggest change is Collins Sanders has moved from head coach into the front office as team president. That enables Heron O'Neal, the former head coach at Billings who won a couple of IFL titles in 2009 and 2010, to assume head coaching duties after being the Ice's defensive coordinator last season. ... Ex-Fever WR Phil Goodman is on the team's roster. ... QB David Knighton returns, as does former CWU LB Prince Hall. ... DB Idly Etienne was an all-leaguer last season. Fever: Plays Colorado at Toyota Center on March 10; at Colorado on June 2.
Everett Raptors
Last year, this squad started the season as the Kent Predators, then was renamed the Seattle Timberwolves at mid-season. Now it's left the Showare Center in Kent and moved to Comcast Arena in Everett. ... Sean Ponder, who finished the season as the team's head coach, starts this season as the team's leader. ... Former Kent Predators head coach from two years ago, William McCarthy, is the team's defensive coordinator. ... The team has its starting QB from the last few seasons, Charles McCullum, back. ... So is WR Andre Piper-Jordan, who was all-league last season. ... DB Jeremiah Captain and DE John Fields return to lead the defense. Fever: plays host to Everett at Toyota Center on Saturday; at Everett on March 22; at Toyota Center on April 13; and at Everett on May 4.
Nebraska Danger
Team re-signed LB Walner Leandre, who was a second-team All-IFL choice with 125 tackles and five QB sacks. ... Head coach Mike Davis never got a chance to run the show last year when the league suspended him for recruiting violations. That left an assistant to run the show. Davis is clear to coach this season. .. Team averaged more than 5,000 fans a game last season. Not bad for a town of 48,000. Fever: Plays at Nebraska on March 4.
New Mexico Stars
Head coach Chris Williams heads this expansion franchise. Williams was head coach at West Texas for years, and he's brought many of his players over from that team. ... Among those are Arkelon Hall, the team's quarterback last season. ... K Zeke Arevalo also is back. Fever: Plays at New Mexico on April 6; at Toyota Center on April 27.
Wichita Wild
Morris Lolar spent half the 2011 season as interim head coach before having the interim tagged removed. ... He returns starting QB Phil Staback and his entire offensive line. ... Key pickup is WR Timmothy Simmons, who led the league last season in pass receptions with 110 for the Wenatchee Valley Venom. Fever: Does not play Wichita.
Wyoming Cavalry
Head coach Dan Maciejczak is no stranger to long-time Fever fans. He coached Everett in 2005, and has been at Wyoming for six seasons. ... Veteran Matt Strand is back at quarterback. ... A number of former Fever players are in camp: WR/DB Emery Beckles, DL Michael Hodges, DB George Kelly and OL/DL Karl Kuhau-Liftee. Fever: Plays Wyoming at Toyota Center on March 30; at Wyoming on May 18; and at Toyota Center on June 9.
United Conference
Bloomington Edge
Team changed mascot name from Extreme to Edge in offseason. ... Former Fever LB Ameer Ismail was signed a few weeks ago. ... QB Charles Dowdell played last season for Wenatchee Valley. ... QB Dusty Burk was the team's offensive coordinator last season. ... DL Antonio Ficklin was the 2011 IFL defensive player of the year and an All-IFL first-teamer last season. Fever: Does not play Bloomington.
Cedar Rapids Titans
Team is considered an expansion franchise, although owner and many players moved operations from LaCrosse last season. ... Team returns all-league first-team DL Xzavie Jackson. ... Team acquired WR James Terry and DB Javon Jackson in offseason trade with Sioux Falls. Terry was a first-team All-IFL receiver. ... Kyle Moore-Brown, who was an assistant coach for Gilbert Brown - the former Green Bay Packer DL - last season at LaCrosse, is the new head coach for the Titans. He is Gilbert's brother. Fever: Does not play Cedar Rapids.
Chicago Slaughter
One of the team's owners is former NFL quarterback Jim McMahon. ... The team's coach is ex-Chicago Bear Steve McMichael. ... RB Romandre Gibbs was an all-leaguer last season for the Fairbanks Grizzlies. ... LB Lenny Radtke, an all-star last season, also returns. ... The Slaughter and Bloomington meet each other four times this season. Fever: Does not play Chicago.
Green Bay Blizzard
New head coach is Robert Fuller, who was IFL's coach of the year last season at Fairbanks. That franchise folded. .. Fuller brought with him a few players from Fairbanks, including QB Donovan Porterie, DB James Romain and WR Desmond Tardy - who for a short time this offseason was a member of the Fever until he was traded to the Blizzard. ... Romain was a first-team all-leaguer last year at DB. ... B.J. Hill, who was named the league's top kick return specialist last season, is also back. Fever: Does not play Green Bay.
Lehigh Valley Steelhawks
One of the IFL's top kick returners in Theo Hall is back. ... Team picked up WR John Halman, who played for Fairbanks last season. ... OL Chris Nunn was a second-team all-leaguer last season for Reading. ... LB Adrian McLeod had 110 tackles last season for the team. Fever: Does not play Lehigh Valley.
Omaha Beef
Team has a new head coach in Bruce Cowdrey. He replaces Andy Yost., whose team was the only squad in 2011 to beat Sioux Falls. . ... Beef has a number of defensive starters back, including DB Pig Brown, DB Diezeas Calbert, and DB Courtney Grixby, as well as DL Jervonte Jackson. ... Offensively, QB James McNear and RB RJ Rollins return. ... Former University of Nebraska star Marlon Lucky is a running back. Fever: Does not play Omaha.
Reading Express
Long-time assistant Mark Steinmeyer was named the team's head coach back in August. ... Ownership group has been looking to sell the team since last summer, but will continue to run it until a new buyer steps forward. ... QB A.J. McKenna had a cup of coffee with the NFL's Saints. ... LB Mike Dell returns as the team leader on defense. Fever: Does not play Reading.
Sioux Falls Storm
Defending league champion returns head coach Kurtiss Riggs. ... Team is loaded again with talent, starting with QB Chris Dixon, the league's top signal-caller last season. ... First-team All-IFL OL Charlie Sanders and Miniya Smith also return. ... All-leaguers RB James Jones and Ironman Tommy Franks are also back. DL Sean Kelly was an all-leaguer last season in Chicago. Fever: Plays at Sioux Falls on May 12; plays at Toyota Center on May 26.