Posted: July 28th, 2009 | Author: Zim | Filed under: Arena Football League | 1 Comment »
Florida Firecats QB Justin Midgett had the season sacked as well as losing yardage on this play in a recent game.
AFL2 Florida Firecats yanked from the post-season because deadbeat owner owes the league over $200K…
Team qualifies for the post-season for 8th straight season but isn’t allowed to compete due the gaff…
Deadbeat owner and his brother GM are cheap and treat people and players badly…sound like he wants to be the next Mikey boy Brown.
by Mike Zimmer, Indoor football fan…but it’s dying an agonizing death
According to the Fort Myers News Press, the Florida Firecats are not headed to the post-season despite having qualified for a play-off spot. ( http://www.news-press.com/article/20090728/SPORTS/907280361/1010/sports&referrer=NEWSFRONTCAROUSEL )
The team just completed an upset in the final week and therefore qualified for the play-offs despite a (7-9) record. It was their 8th straight time qualifying for the post-season, every year since coming into the AFL2 back in 2001.
The story is though, that their deadbeat owners are in hock to the league for $200K and therefore have been removed from the post-season after much consideration and warning from the league.
However, things have been bad all season for the Firecats and even the players have been up in arms and out-spoken about the lack of care or attention that deadbeat owner Chris Vallozzi had been paying to his team. Things such as being without athletic tape, not having enough footballs for games and questions over health care and the threat that paychecks wouldn’t come all had the team in a tizzy.
The club finished (7-9) despite not being able to sign free-agents and replace injured players. More, it’s amazing to the pride of a few players that continued to play hard despite the worry that if they got hurt, who would pay for the medical attention. Some players said they pulled up in fear after rumors were rampant about the team not willing to pay.
In fact, one of the Vallozzi’s apparently accosted the teams all-time leading receiver and yelled at him for getting an MRI earlier this year because they hadn’t approved it or approved to pay for it.
Worse yet, it seems the front office staff haven’t exactly been around much and it seems they treated people pretty badly when they were there. Sounds like a bunch of $30K millionaire douche bags to me. Probably some East Coast Guido’s that moved down to Southwest Florida and threw around cash and promises that they couldn’t back up in the end.
These guys would do Mike Brown proud of course. Afterall, even into the early 1990’s, the Bengals routinely charged players for extravagances like towels, jock straps and hot water in old Riverfront stadium. Players apparently had personal accounts with Brooks Sporting Goods downtown to take care of needs as necessary as shoes which the Browns weren’t willing to part with their money for.
One thing that the Browns don’t do though and I have to defend them on. They don’t owe anyone anything. Nope, they’re all a cash business. They may be skin-flints but the Brown family is full of the sharpest lawyer minds on a curmudgeons budget. They long ago knew that if you swindle people out of the necessary things, goods and services (not to mention sweet ass deals with leases, stadia build with public funds and screw your fans) you usually pay pennies on the dollar and can still make bundles of money. Therefore, not owe anyone and can pay what bills you do have early or on time.
Posted: July 20th, 2009 | Author: Zim | Filed under: Arena Football League | No Comments »
The Arena Football League took a hiadus during a harsh economic year in 2009 with intentions to return in 2010 stronger.
Report on PFT.com says AFL may go bankrupt before league has a chance at resurrection…
The “Big Leagues” of indoor football needs a new direction and needs to go back to basics in it’s grass roots efforts to come back…
Jon Fucking Bon Jovi and others ruined league need to die.
by Mike Zimmer, Former Destroyers Season Ticket Holder
According to a report on profootballtalk.com, in a business article posted else-where and re-hashed and re-warmed here for you at Kegeratornation, is that the Arena Football League may go belly up altogether before their hope of re-launching next season.
In the article http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2009/07/20/afl-heading-for-bankruptcy/ it seems that the league is still short on cash and hasn’t yet gotten solid backing from the owners of the league to cough up more cash.
In addition, the new franchise that was supposed to go to Pittsburgh (once upon a time an original city for Arena Football in their second season and now the team that was the Tampa Bay Storm), the deal with prospective owner Lynn Swann and other Steel town native sons haven’t yet come forward with their $10-million for the new franchise.
Bernie Kosar who helped get Cleveland a team (the Gladiators moved from Las Vegas) has also recently gone bankrupt. There is nothing I have found that he owes the AFL any money at this point, though in his bankruptcy there were all sorts of claim of debt and I’ll be willing to bet he owes them too.
The Arena League peaked too fast and tried to do something that it wasn’t able to deliver which was be a marquee second tier sport in the likeness of perhaps the NBA or NHL. It quickly attracted ass holes like John Elway and Jon Fucking Bon Jovi and then just as fast started heading down a path of self destruction and economic woe.
The league really needs to get back to basics and deliver a product that is much more home-spun and built on minor-league, grass roots ways. Instead, the owners that do remain are divided with the likes of Mike Ditka on a richer team with the Chicago franchise saying what is holding the league back are “a few weak sisters”. While that may be true (we’re talking to you Grand Rapids), the league like any upstart is not ruled strongly from the top and has the same old problems any league like this has when it gets in bed with those with big money and grand plans.
Instead of being all big-time and making it too expensive to do business, the league needs to find a way to get back to their roots in cost effective business plans that include minimal amounts of money paid to the athletes and trying to be a little more realistic about being “big time”. They also need to boot the ones that can’t conform to the smaller expectations not the other way around. The big money killed the league just like big money killed the USFL. Former commissioner David Baker jumped before the ship sank mostly because he was powerless to over rule the Elways, Ditkas, and Fucking Bon Jovis.
The remaining in-door leagues are decidedly small time. The AF2 is still around and is doing a decent job in their regional approach to the game. Big B says the Florida Fire Cats of the Fort Myers area are a fun watch and affordable. In other leagues they still have the per-player win bonus that is decidedly meager. Something like $100 a game and $150 if the team wins the game.
As a former Columbus Destroyers season ticket holder, I was more than willing to plunk down $99 for season tickets. However, those were in the bleeders while the empty seats down below were going for what you’d pay at MLB games ($25-$50) which is retarded for the AFL. The league needs to find a way to convince what’s left of their owners that, that is what customers want, cheap entertainment. Mostly because we’re bored in the spring with no football, we like gladiator like mentality towards the game and we don’t want to shell out baseball like money to see it.
That woman Bon Fucking Jovi though, man I’d like to kick his pansy ass one of these days. Seriously what the hell is a 56-year old bird like her doing fucking up my niche sports anyways? Doesn’t he have some sort of liberal candidate to go play music for or event to be seen on while playing the same old tired, horrible music he always delivered with agonizing repetition? Seriously, can’t this guy get the anal cancer or contract the AIDS or something? Die already Bon Jovi, you’re waaaaay overdue.
Posted: December 15th, 2008 | Author: Zim | Filed under: Arena Football League | No Comments »
DOA: The AFL another casualty of the economic down turn.
Cash strapped and losing a major credit source amongst the poor economic times, AFL decides to cancel 2009 Season…
Once again big money men including NFL-types seem to have ruined a good thing…am I wrong about this???
Is getting the AFL back in 2010 yet another item for Obama-Jesus to help us with???
by Mike Zimmer, Former Columbus Destroyers Season Ticket Holder
Today, after some capitulation, the Arena Football League announced it was canceling the 2009 season. In a rather craptastic article on the front page of their website, they quoted numerous NFL Ass Clown-types, their hopeful saving graces in saying how disappointed they were in doing so.
In what looks like a rather ugly, poorly disguised plan to help ease the pain for those that follow the league, the AFL tried to paint the big money men in the sport in a grand light in calling out the death of the 2009 season. Now that those big money names like Jerry Jones, Arthur Blank, John Elway and that absolutely awful middle aged woman of an ass clown Jon Bon Jovi are the league’s identity, they made it clear that they didn’t want to be identified as being the ones that killed the season. In other words, they kissed their own ass in telling the public that the season was dead, they were sorry for it and they would try very hard to make a new economic model for the league in the coming years.
One of the notable reasons for the cancelation was that a major financial backer had fallen on hard times and backed out from offering up much needed cash for the teams to operate. The economic times are hard and trying to squeeze blood from this turnip apparently wasn’t going to be possible this year. That meant that the owners weren’t interested in losing millions on an operation that wasn’t generating the hoped for cash they had bet on year before.
I remember the first time I saw the Arena Football League. I watched on ESPN as the spring/summer schedule helped ease my football blues in what was then the “off-season” in the NFL and for College. Back then it was a simpler game, a more novel idea perhaps and to me, something really enjoyable. The nice thing about it was that it was different, the players played for the love of the game and you had a sense that it was distinctly small time and second market oriented. In other words, it was the niche market hitting the big time and that’s the way it started and was successful.
Those late spring and summer weekends even before ESPN2, let alone all of the World Wide Bore Leader’s multi-layered behemoth network, brought us things like the Albany Firebirds versus the Providence Steam Rollers. Or perhaps in the years that followed when the deuce had arrived and this kind of programing was a perfect fit for the experimental new second ESPN channel, they offered us up the Orlando Predators and one of my all-time favorite teams, the Iowa Barnstormers.
Notice some of the names of those teams and cities. Not exactly ready for prime time, not exactly major league cities in some cases. That was when the league truly was something interesting and had some charm about it.
Many of those small time teams still have teams in the AF2 or other indoor leagues and do well in drawing around 5,000-8,000-fans and offering up a rather affordable evening out to watch a unique game. However, that was the life blood of the league back then. But something happened in the coming years afterwards, more and more money got involved and suddenly the league hit the big time.
Then we had the unfortunate addition of all the same people that screw everything up in all the other sports: ego-maniacal NFL types, former NFL players and washed up “rockers” who resemble dried out middle aged New Jersey house wives.
Yes, I am blaming, perhaps wrongly, that the AFL died because of the very people that were supposed to bring it some appeal and marquee value. The game was still enjoyable, but the charm was gone and the product was suddenly not exactly minor league in price. Even if we got a team in Columbus, there were still teams in such pioneering ground as Orlando and San Jose, it was no longer trying to be an operation that catered to it being niche.
Though their mission statement said up front that they were going to try and offer great entertainment for the dollar and promise the fans great bang for their buck, it was soon evident that that wasn’t what was being offered at all.
As a Columbus Destroyer’s season ticket holder, we did get a bargain considering. My buddy Jason and I got two seats, two footballs and two hats for $198 for a 10-games season. However, we were in the bleeders and if we wanted to sit in a good seat it was gonna cost us an arm and a leg. Nearly NHL-scale prices in most cases. Sideline seats at Nationwide Arena were going for around $30/per. That’s too much for a niche sport. And in some arena’s these once affordable seats were gobbled up, throw in with NHL season tickets and un-used, causing another undesirable effect: empty seats on TV. Consider that when the Cincinnati Rockers spent their one season in the Queen City, I paid $10 for a seat in the corner of the end zone.
I just think that since those big names got involved and the league tried to grow too big, too fast and tried to hit the big time when it was truly a niche sport, in the end are the reasons that it’s been killed off for 2009 and perhaps even forever.
I just hope that Obama-Jesus will want to save his hometown Chicago Rush and thus bail out the AFL. I mean, how is this any different than bailing anyone else out? By giving millionaires like Jerry Jones more money to ruin something that was once good, seems like a great idea to me.
Posted: March 20th, 2007 | Author: Zim | Filed under: Arena Football League | No Comments »
The New Orleans VooDoo score against the Las Vegas Gladiators in their 59-31 win.
Cheating on the round-up this week
The Destroyers have a bye week and debut at home this weekend.
by Mike Zimmer, Destroyers Honk
This week I cheat because I’m tired and quite frankly I have this feeling that this IS NOT the most popular posting each Monday evening. So, just go over to the Arena Football League’s official web site to check out the round up on your own. Go on! Scoot! Go read in rather short order what happened this past weekend HERE.
Meanwhile, go ahead and hit the direct link to the standings and schedule while you’re at it.
The Columbus Destroyers (1-1) had their Bye week this past weekend and will finally, in week 4 of the season have their home opener this Saturday against the Chicago Rush. Your’s truly will be in attendance via the season tickets foolishly purchased some weeks ago. Had I known things in the old beer and wine trade were going to be this re-god-damned-diculously slow, I would have had serious trepidation in purchasing such a silly item. Ok, Ok, so it only cost me $104 for the entire season which amounts to about $13 per game. I just hope that free ball and free hat they also threw into the deal will be taken as bartering materials with those that hold my truck loan, to pay credit cards and perhaps even at Subway where I am pretending to be the next coming of Jarred sans size 60 pants and stupid grin. Fine, I have a stupid grin. But I don’t have glasses. Or Michael Strahan having a crush on me.
Posted: March 13th, 2007 | Author: Zim | Filed under: Arena Football League | No Comments »
Los Angeles Avengers QB Sonny Cumbie delivers a strike in L.A.’s road win at Orlando Monday night.
Season Debut of MNF Arena Style on ESPN delivers Over-time battle won by L.A. on the road at Orlando.
Destroyers fall on the road at New Orleans head into BYE week
And all the other scores with links so that you can read all about it.
by Mike Zimmer, Destroyers Honk Cut’N'Pastin’
While working out tonight and running on the treadmill, I was able to watch the first half of the L.A. Avengers win over Orlando. I was impressed by both teams and disappointed too. I though Orlando was supposed to be an offensive juggernought and L.A. was supposed to be more athletic. Hmmmm. It wasn’t a thing of beauty but it did go to OT. And during the commercials to a whirlwind and rather ho-hum episode of 24, I flipped over to ESPN2 to see L.A. blow the lead and then win in OT 44-37. Read All about it HERE.
Columbus meanwhile fell to New Orleans on the road this past Friday 52-45 when the Voo Doo scored with a minute plus left to take the lead for good. It was the first time the Voo Doo were home since Hurricane Katrina wiped them and the city out and had them disappear from the league. 17,000-people re-ignited their fire however and the home team didn’t disappoint. The report listed HERE incorrectly says the Destroyers are now (0-2). They are 1 up and 1 down headed into their bye week. They return home on March 24th for their season opener. Speaking of which, my season tickets arrived TODAY! Woo-Hoo!
Joe Germaine
Utah Blaze 75, Arizona Rattlers 71
Former Ohio State QB Joe Germaine is now the Utah Blaze QB. He threw 10 TD passes on Friday including 2 in the final seconds of the game to beat the Rattlers on the road in Glendale.
Philadelphia Soul 63, Nashville Kats 30
Philly improved to (2-0) while Nashville is off to a winless start.
Dallas Desperados 59, Tampa Bay Storm 40
Dallas is by far the best team in the league and Tampa who is usually a strong team is off to an (0-2) start to their season.
Chicago Rush 48, San Jose Sabre Cats 45
Chicago hung their Championship banner this weekend and then beat visiting San Jose to move both teams to (1-1).
Colorado Crush 44, Kansas City Brigade 40
Georgia Force 60, Austin Wranglers 51
Las Vegas Gladiators 79, Grand Rapids Rampage 69
Posted: March 5th, 2007 | Author: Zim | Filed under: Arena Football League | No Comments »
Columbus Destroyers QB Matt Nagy completes a pass in a win over Nashville on Thursday night. Columbus may have the worst uniforms in all of the AFL by the way.
This could be posted under in case you missed it too, but in the absence of anyone having anything remotely interesting to post, or you commenting on anything else I post, I’m just going with whatever the hell I want to post.
by Mike Zimmer, Destroyers Honk Cuttin’ and-a pastin’
Week One Finals:
San Jose Sabre Cats 66, Los Angeles Avengers 58 WRAP UP from www.arenafootball.com
Austin Wranglers 57, Las Vegas Gladiators 38 WRAP UP
Grand Rapids Rampage 44, Colorado Crush 42 WRAP UP
Utah Blaze 63, New Orleans Voo Doo 61 WRAP UP
And the rest which will be found at the link provided HERE:
Georgia Force 69, Arizona Rattlers 65
Kansas City Brigade 54, Chicago Rush 41
Orlando Predators 52, Tampa Bay Storm 27
Dallas Desperados 60, New York Dragons 7
Columbus Destroyers 58, Nashville Kats 56
You just can’t wait until the NFL draft can you?
Posted: March 2nd, 2007 | Author: Zim | Filed under: Arena Football League | No Comments »
The Columbus Destroyers kicked off the AFL Season with a win on the road at Nashville 58-56.
Yours Truly is now an official Season Ticket Holder for the Columbus Destroyers, so, now you must look at posts about the AFL.
Columbus starts out the season with a road win
And a look at the Destroyers National Conference Eastern Division foes.
by Mike Zimmer, Destroyers Honk
Let’s see here, what does a football fan do until the NFL Draft in April? Oh, I know! Get season tickets to the Columbus Destroyers and enjoy indoor football which, after all is football right? Right?
I have long been a fan of the Arena Football League. Sure, it’s a niche sport and I’m not going to fool anyone into thinking that it’s anything other than a casual interest. Ever since it invaded my TV in 1987 and I had no more USFL to watch in the springs, I liked it though. Hell, I remember ESPN’s maiden voyage with the AFL and all 4-teams they had that first season. Personally, I was a Pittsburgh Gladiators fan. Oh, halcion days! The AFL came to Columbus a few season ago via Buffalo, and the Destroyers have been less than good since then. However, after a slow start that included employing semi-retarded local sports hero (and don’t get me wrong, one of my favorite former Buckeyes players ever) Chris Speilman as head coach who lead the team to 1 total win in his only season as head coach, they are looking to compete for a play-off spot. I have been down to Nationwide Arena a few times to see the Destroyers and recently my buddy Jason and I kicked around the idea of snatching up some tickets. Well, a deal came our way in the form of 2 season tickets, two official AFL footballs and 2 hats for $198. How can you go wrong for what is basically $13 a game for each of us? And we get a free ball and hat! So, I ordered them up the other day and notification came my way that the tickets would be sent out ASAP. Woo-Hoo! Jason and I will be screaming from section 207 if you are interested.
As stated, the Destroyers season started tonight and it kicked off the 20th season of the AFL. They beat the Nashville Kats 58-56 and you can check out the report from www.Arenafootball.com HERE.
I will not claim to be an expert on the AFL heading into the season, but I have watched it and followed it rather casually over the last few seasons since the Destroyers came to town. And once upon a time was witness to a few Cincinnati Rockers games. As for this season, I have no real idea who is gonna be good, bad or what. So, for the uninitiated, check out a preview of the National Conference Eastern Division which was up over at www.arenafootball.com HERE.
Who are the teams in the Destroyers division you ask? Well check out each team and their rosters (I’ll have more on the rest of the league some time muuuuuuuch later when I am officially bored out of my gord.)…
Columbus Destroyers
Last season: (8-8) last in division
Check out the Roster: HERE
Dallas Desperados
Last Season: (13-3) Won Division, lost in Conference Final
Check out the Roster: HERE.
New York Dragons
Last Year: (10-6) Lost in first round of play-offs
Check out the Roster: HERE.
Philadelphia Soul
Last Season: (9-7) Lost in first round of play-offs
Check out the Roster: HERE.
My thoughts are, that Columbus has a shot this season to crack the play-offs based on their improvement last season. I think Dallas is probably going to be good again while New York and Philly take a step backwards. I know one thing, I HATE Philadelphia. The reason? I HATE JON BON FUCKING JOVI and he is part owner of that team.
For all other info on the league, go check out the official site of the AFL, which while not exaclty my favorite site to navigate, it is the best place for info at www.arenafootball.com
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