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Green Bay Blizzard kicker named International Player of the Year

August 17, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


CHICAGO -Green Bay Blizzard kicker HENRIK JUUL-NIELSEN has been named the International Player of the Year, sponsored by the Arena Football League. Juul-Nielsen was selected by a vote of af2 head coaches and beat writers.

Nielsen, 26, finished the 2005 season as Blizzard's leading scorer and the league leader in scoring among kickers with 128 points. He was 11-of-31 on field goal tries and converted 95-of-111 extra points. His 11 field goals was the fourth best total in the league, and his 95 extra points led the league.

The Denmark native was especially accurate on field goals from 20-to-29 yards out, making 8-of-11 kicks in this range. His 85.6 completion percentage on extra points was the highest for any kicker with 85 or more attempts this season. Nielsen also excelled on kickoffs, leading the American Conference with 32 touchbacks.

In his second season in af2, Nielsen played college football at Te university of Nebraska at Kearney. He spent last season with the Peoria Pirates and kicked in the 2004 ArenaCup, becoming the first International player to participate in an ArenaCup.

Nielsen was one of 24 International players on af2 rosters this season. As the league continues its efforts to develop Arena Football around the world, the number of International players on af2 rosters has steadily increased. This year's group was the largest on record and represented 14 countries. To put that in perspective, in 2004 the league had 15 International players from three countries and in 2003 af2 had 11 International players from two countries.

International players participated in 151 of the league's 160 regular season games in 2005 and were selected as Offensive Player, Ironman or Defensive Player of the Game 12 times. Memphis' KHREEM SMITH (Jamaica) earned two weekly awards for defense during the season.

The 2005 ArenaCup playoffs continue this weekend with the Conference Championship games. On Friday, the Memphis Xplorers host the Rio Grande Valley Dorados in the National Conference Championship at 8:30 p.m. ET. On Saturday, the defending ArenaCup Champion Florida Firecats host the Louisville Fire in the American Conference Championship at 7:30 p.m. ET. The winner of each Conference Championship will meet at the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City, LA for the 2005 ArenaCup on Saturday, August 27. Pre-game festivities begin at 1:30 p.m. ET. Tickets are available by logging on to www.arenacup.com or by calling (888) 277-5526.



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