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Brigade Update: Week Seventeen At Chicago

June 22, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Kansas City Brigade News Release


KANSAS CITY - Here's a summary of Brigade news as the team prepares to battle for the Central Division crown against the Rush. Also attached are the Arena Football League weekly releases.

Playoff Tickets on Sale Now

Playoff tickets for the 2007 Mitsubishi Motors Drive to ArenaBowl XXI are on sale now. The Brigade could play a first-round game Saturday, June 30, possibly at 2 p.m. CT, or a second-round game Monday, July 9 at 7:30 p.m. CT. Ticket prices will remain at the regular season levels with no increase. They can be purchased at the Brigade Team Store (9423 Nall Ave in Prairie Village, Kan.) or at the Kemper Arena box office. They can also be purchased by contacting Ticketmaster at 816-931-3330 or visiting www.ticketmaster.com.

Game Preview

Kansas City (10-5) at Chicago (11-4)

Saturday, June 23, 7 p.m. CT at Allstate Arena

TV: The game will air on Fox Sports Net Midwest next day delay to Sunday, June 24 at 1 p.m. CT. It will also air live on Comcast Sports Net Chicago, which can be found on DISH Network (CSN 429 and CSN+ 445) and DIRECTV (CSN 640 and CSN+ 668) with the right package.

Radio: This week Chris Gervino (play-by-play), Stan Weber (analyst) and Dave Borchardt (sideline) will broadcast the game live with a half-hour pre-game show hosted by Borchardt and Nick McCabe at 6:30 p.m. CT

What's At Stake?

The Brigade, winners of four in a row and six of its last seven, can do something only five other teams in Arena Football League history have done: win its division as a second-year franchise. A Central Division crown would give the Brigade the no. 2 seed in the American Conference, guaranteeing a bye week and home-field advantage. A loss would leave the team as the no. 3 seed and allow the Brigade to host a wild card game against the no. 6 seed next week.

Team Turnarounds

If the Brigade beats Chicago to finish the season 11-5, it will be the only team in AFL history to have an eight game turnaround. If the Brigade finishes 10-6, four teams including the Brigade will have had a seven game turnaround:

- Chicago Bruisers 1987 to ‘88: 2-4 to 9-2

- New Jersey Gladiators 2001 to '02: 2-12 to 9-5

- Detroit Fury 2002 to ‘03: 1-13 to 8-8

There was one nine-game turnaround, which is the all-time best:

- Colorado Crush 2003-'04: 2-14 to 11-5

The only other team this season with a chance of a significant turnaround is the Georgia Force. They were 7-8 in 2006 and are currently 14-2.

Second-year Team Success

The 2007 season has been an unbelievable improvement for the Brigade after an inaugural 3-13 campaign. In the AFL's 21-year history, only 26 second-year franchises, including the Brigade, have made the playoffs. Keep in mind that there are 19 current and 43 former franchises in the league's colorful history.

Of the previous 25 second-year franchises, five won division titles: the 1998 Chicago Bruisers, 1989 Detroit Drive, 1992 Orlando Predators, 1996 Iowa Barnstormers, and 2002 Chicago Rush. Those 25 teams are 13-24 in 37 playoff games. Only three-the 1989 Drive, 1992 Predators and 1996 Barnstormers-advanced to ArenaBowl. The Drive is the only second-year franchise to claim the title, winning ArenaBowl III.

Good Catch Rook

Brigade WR Charles Frederick needs eight catches to set the single-season record for receptions by a rookie with 123. The current record of 122 was set in 2006 by teammate WR Jerel Myers. Frederick has averaged eight receptions per game this season.

ALL-TIME RECEPTIONS IN A SEASON (ROOKIE)

Player Team Year Receptions

Jerel Myers Kansas City Brigade 2006 122

Charles Frederick* Kansas City Brigade 2007 115

Derek Lee Georgia Force 2005 113

Derrick Lewis Austin Wranglers 2006 113

Freddie Solomon Tampa Bay Storm 2003 106

*Through 15 games

Roster Moves

The Brigade made a number of moves this week, most notably signing WR Kevin Beard off the Chicago Rush practice squad.

No. 13 Kevin Beard WR

Ht: 6-1 Wt: 192 Exp: 1

College: Miami, FL Acquired: Signed off CHI practice squad

DOB: 1/20/81 Hometown: Sunrise, Florida

2007(Chicago): Played in 3 games with the Rush and had 7 receptions for 47 yards.

Other Professional Experience: Spent two seasons with the South Georgia Wildcats and Spokane Shock of arenafootball2 and accumulated 980 yards receiving with 15 TD...In the 2006 ArenaCup with the Shock, Beard had 122 yards receiving and 2 TD...In 2004 he signed with the Buffalo Bills and attended training camp but was released before the start of the season.

College: Kevin was a four-year letter winner at Miami and had 922 yards and 7 touchdowns throughout his 4 years there...Helped the Hurricanes win the 2002 National Championship over Nebraska...Started all 23 games as a flanker his junior and senior year.

Beard will help fill in for WR Ira Gooch, who is out with injury. Additionally, WR Cecil Moore was signed to the Active Roster for the second time this season to add depth to the wide receiving corps.

LB Byron Douzart was placed on Recallable Waivers and is expected to be signed to the Practice Squad. The team also signed OL Jon Hall (6-5, 340 lbs., North Carolina A&T), who was with the team in training camp, to the Practice Squad.

Injury Report

As submitted to the league on Wednesday, June 20:

Kansas City PROBABLE-WR Charles Frederick; DOUBTFUL-DL Chris Demaree, WR Sam Simmons; OUT-OL Chris Cook, DL Neil Purvis, WR Boo Williams

Chicago DOUBTFUL-WR Woody Dantzler, DL Demetrios Walker

Lineup Changes

With the addition of Beard and Moore, head coach Kevin Porter has 23 players on the active roster, of which 20 will dress against the Rush. One of the five receivers will be inactive, as will one defensive back and one lineman.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from June 22, 2007


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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