APFL news in Wichita paper

[Bill]

According to Ralph Adams Wichita will "very likely" field a team in the APFL this 2005 season. This in the Wichita Eagle newspaper today.

The article also mentioned players were paid $200 a game..

The Koyotes, Missouri, and Iowa (Council Bluffs) were all listed as returning ..

Other new cities "expected" to field teams were Overland Park, Kansas (Kansas City metro), Omaha, Springfield, MO, and Pueblo, CO.

The best news in the article was that Mike McCoy, former GM of the Wichita Stealth would be the GM of the new Wichita team... With McCoy at the helm and a pay scale similar to that of the AF2.. Then it won't be the Koyotes and a bunch of punching bags...

My initial feeling was.. Oh crud.. the APFL.. But hopefully this will be the beginning of a real minor league indoor footbal league.. With Missouri and Iowa upgrading their talent and the other new teams being competetive .

I will go to games regardless...

Take Care All

[Football Chick]

Thanks for letting us know what you found!!!

[spider]

Okay, where's is the APFL website? You would think that a league that is going into year three would have a website.

Where is the team in Springfield going to play? I haven't heard anything about a indoor football team. Is the Rifles going to have anything to do with it?

[Bill]

Well Spider...
I have talked to the writer of the article in the past about some of his other articles about various subjects...

All I have ever gotten was "I just wrote what they told me in the interview"...

So to try to get a "feel" for how far the APFL is along in their quest for more teams, I would have to go to a different source...

I will say this.. From the looks on the Koyote website that you have of the Missouri arena.. It wouldn't take much of a venue to make it.. "work?"..

[XFL]

"Okay, where's is the APFL website?"

This might be their website:

http://www.pmfb.net/apfl/

[Geoff]

That would be a negatory.

[Bill]

Well an update...

Sort of..

In today's Wichita Eagle, Tuesday, February 22 they have stated that the APFL will field a team in Wichita this coming season and will start games either April 17 or 23rd... Only an OK from the Kansas Coliseum and were supposedly in business...

In this article Topeka, KCMO, and Council Bluffs are still coming back..
And of the new teams Overland Park, Kansas and Omaha are the new franchises along with Wichita...

No mention this time of Pueblo, Colorado or Springfield, Missouri..

Nor any mention of nicknames, uniforms or the such...

Also, This article claimed a $200 per player, per game maximum.. Based on game attendance.. Not the same of course as just plain $200...

[nksports]

The league web site is apflonline.tripod.com, but it hasn't been updated in a long time. Concerning the league's payscale — according to the Kansas Storm's website, they are charging their players $250 a season to play plus a $100 equipment rental fee.

The Wichita team is supposedly going to be named the Aviators.

There is a lot of good small-college talent in the area, especially of the NCAA Division II and NAIA variety that helped make the Warlords and Stealth competitive, but I can't see things being put together from scratch in a couple of months.

If things don't fall apart again, I see Wichita being an attractive market for AF2, NIFL or UIF by 2006.

[Football Chick]

The league doesn't officially have a website, otherwise there would be more links out there to it especially off the Koyote site........Nothing irritates me more than people trying to pass that as the "official" site!!

[Bill]

First off... There is no Kansas Storm in the APFL...

In previous seasons...
As far as I know.... (So.. the real info may be different)

But.. The Kansas Koyotes were paying their players to play..
And one of the reasons the APFL was not on OSC was because Missouri, Iowa, and the others did not pay their players...

Which of course seems believable if for no other reason than Kansas obliterating Missouri and Iowa on a never ending basis...

[Football Chick]

According to the Koyote website, the Storm WILL be part of the APFL this season.

The American Professional Football League (APFL) announced its lineup for the 2005 season. Returning for their third seasons are the Kansas Koyotes and the Missouri Minutemen. The Iowa Blackhawks will be in their second season. New teams for the third year of APFL play are the Wichita Aviators, the Nebraska Bears (Omaha), and the Kansas Storm (Overland Park). Schedules will be released in the next few days with first games expected to be on April 16 or 23. The playoffs will start after the July 4 holiday with the championship game likely to be July 23 in the league’s number one ranked team’s home venue.

[Bill]

You know Football Chick...

I have no idea why it didn't click in my pee-brain that Overland Park might be known as the Kansas Storm... lol

I don't know what I thought.. lol

I guess.. If asked before hand..
What they would be called... I would have assumed the Johnson County somethings...

Now decisions... decisions...
I am Johnson County raised... 7 months till I was 40...
Only 5 years here in Wichita...

Go Koyotes.. well... not anymore.. sorry guys.. Unless of course you're playing Missouri, Iowa, or Nebraska...
Aviators...... Well.. ya...
Gotta go with my real home..
Go Storm.. :)

I did see where Mike McCoy is indeed Wichita's GM.. The Stealth's old line coach is the Head Coach.. And Beasley out of K-State who played with the Stealth has been signed at QB.. And hopefully some more old Stealth players will be on board... Maybe now the Koyotes will actually have some competition..

[Football Chick]

Adding Wichita this year is exciting for the APFL. I hope the 6 teams that start the year will also be there at the end. This is the 3rd year for the APFL and I truely believe this is the make/break year for it. We need to get attendance up - My ideas were sent to Mr Adams months ago. I am looking forward to the season and can't wait for it to begin!

I'll be excited to see Beasley play for Wichita. I always liked him at K-State - much better than Bishop. Mom and I ran into Beasley when we were in San Diego for the Holiday Bowl a couple of years ago. We were at Hard Rock Cafe and he and a friend came in for some dinner. He let us do pictures and chatted for a few. Cool guy all around.

[nksports]

The APFL website http://apflonline.tripod.com/ has recently been updated (first time in a couple of years it looks like). To the person who doubted it was the league's offical website, it does carry a copywrite to the league (at least in 2003) and the following statement: "copyright 2003 APFL.* The American Professional Football League is not affiliated, sponsored or associated with the Arena Football League, National Indoor Football League or Intense Football League or any it member teams."
There still isn't a whole lot on it. It does have all the team links on the front page except Wichita (which doesn't have a website yet that I know of.)

[Bill]

Thanks NK...

I hadn't checked out the website for quite a while...

And I see that indeed the Kansas Storm is charging players $250 plus $100 equipment rental..... Thats still cheaper than a season of my over 35 ice hockey... BUT... Unless the owner is waiving fees for quality players... It looks like the Storm may just be another punching bag like the Minutemen and the Blackhawks for the Koyotes.....

Geez...
I hope Wichita isn't going the pay TO play route...

[Football Chick]

The APFL website http://apflonline.tripod.com/ has recently been updated (first time in a couple of years it looks like). To the person who doubted it was the league's offical website, it does carry a copywrite to the league (at least in 2003) and the following statement: "copyright 2003 APFL.* The American Professional Football League is not affiliated, sponsored or associated with the Arena Football League, National Indoor Football League or Intense Football League or any it member teams."
There still isn't a whole lot on it. It does have all the team links on the front page except Wichita (which doesn't have a website yet that I know of.)

That person would be me, and until I hear differently from Ralph or Ted Adams, I will swear that this website was never the "official" website of the APFL. I don't care what it says blah blah, you can put whatever you want on it. Just stop passing it off as something it never has been!!!!