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Between the walls

by Josh Stein
July 23, 2004 - National Indoor Football League (NIFL)


Better late than never? I suppose any time is good to make an announcement that tells the world who will be hosting the championship game. I suppose it's also good the news was released before the conference finals. But wouldn't it have been better to tell the world which team is better than which other team, especially in a scenario where five teams came into the playoffs with identical 11-3 records to lead the league? In a season where everything has gone wrong, this little blip basically goes unnoticed, except to the Greyhounds, Storm and Billings fans, two of which are jumping for joy and the other looking for a place to store their anger and blame.

Why are Greyhounds fans so angry? Is it because the team's front office decided that they were the best and were going to host, so they'd go and sell tickets to everyone? Then, come to learn that they aren't hosting their third consecutive title game? Is it the league's fault for not announcing who is supposed to host who at the beginning? Is it Sioux Falls, Billings or Tri-City's fault (all of which apparently would have held the tiebreaker over the Greyhounds) for not snatching up any opportunity to host the title game (save Tri-City, because they decided to sell their playoff games and any chance of having fan support in the future)? Yes. It's everyone's fault, just like most problems in the NIFL. The owners have the final vote on every issue, from what I'm told. So, when things go wrong, it would be their fault.

Oops.

That brings me to another issue altogether. Quite possibly the league's most idiotic rule is two-parted. One, the home team gets stuck with everything to pay for during the playoffs. Why are the owners punishing themselves for obtaining what they strive to do? Win?! Granted, if you don't have the money to host a playoff game, you shouldn't be in the business, but this is nuts! On top of that, they decided to let owners have the opportunity to sell off their home game to make a few bucks! Yep, we're going to allow teams to screw the fans that supported their cause all year, because we want ‘em to have a few extra bucks. That's not exactly an intelligent way to keep viable franchises around, is it? Houma, Show Me and Tri-City had some of the best supporters of their teams that this league has, and if I were any of them, they'd have at least one fewer. Granted, Tri-City has very questionable ownership and a shaky ground with their arena, so they may not even be around next year. Nevertheless, moves like these aggravate fans and sacrifice the base that teams (should) have worked so hard to build in the first place. Is it worth it to (maybe) lose a few bucks to make the fans happy, and drive up ticket sales for next year? Darn right it is!

These issues and many more will probably be discussed at this year's owners' meetings. They may also want to discuss the standards they use in going about to find new owners. What with TIPS falling apart and killing three teams in one fell swoop, Myrtle Beach's owners skipping town and not paying anyone, then being replaced by a group that strove to draw 200 fans a game in Florence, and the new matter of Atlantic City reportedly not paying its players...the league has more black eyes than England after a soccer brawl. The owners better figure out something in order to fix these problems, because it is starting to cost their teams fans.

Okay, enough of my soapbox, it's time to look at the games.

PACIFIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP

Billings Outlaws @ Sioux Falls Storm

One other thing, why is it the "Pacific" and "Atlantic," when there's only TWO teams in the league on either coast (and one of them moved inland)?

Billings comes in with an always-good offense and a surprisingly good defense. Danny Ragsdale came back from injury last night to hobble his team to a good win over an upgraded Omaha Beef squad. Rags also has a few weapons to play with, including Quentin Cradle, Cory Grow, Jason Quinn, etc. etc. Sioux Falls comes in with the second best scoring defense in the business. As the Ohio Valley Greyhounds have proven with no doubt, defense wins championships. Sioux Falls gives up 34 points per game. Better yet, they give up 26 points per game at home. Sioux Falls' defense generated 30 sacks and 66 tackles for loss, which will help disrupt any team. The question here...can Billings overcome two big obstacles? One, Sioux Falls' defense. Two, Sioux Falls' home field. They haven't lost there in 17 home games. Even with a decent defense of their own, that is too much to overcome. The Storm will be hosting the title game, 42-29.

ATLANTIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP

Lexington Horsemen @ Ohio Valley Greyhounds

Dusty Bonner is a menace to defenses, throwing for 72 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Bonner is also on the NIFL leaderboards with 2659 passing yards and a 65.2% completion rate. Bonner might be the NIFL's best quarterback. But, he hates playing the Ohio Valley Greyhounds. He has called the Greyhounds fans white trash, and always finds a way to blame the referees or anything on his poor play against the Hounds. However, comparing the numbers, he doesn't stack up to the Hounds. He's 112/180 all time (60%) for 773 yards, 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. This year, he's 36/68 (53%) for 252 yards, 4 TD and 6 INT, far off of his regular pace. Couple that with the Greyhounds offense being able to score at will on Lexington (56, 70, 51, 48, 50 points scored on the Horsemen in each meeting), and this game's a whitewash. Lexington might play better on the road, but they have never done well in Wheeling. And that will continue. Greyhounds 64-38.

We're almost done with another exciting season in the NIFL. Unfortunately, a lot of the excitement has been off the field, with many different problems plaguing the NIFL. Like every year, the ball is in the owners' court to make changes, as they have the power. The only question now is will they? Until next time, this is the War Between the Walls.

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National Indoor Football League Stories from July 23, 2004


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