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Over a Cup of Coffee

by Jerry Hewitt
April 14, 2010 - American Indoor Football Association (AIFA)


Up until yesterday, I thought the previous week was pretty quiet and uneventful. There were some good games, but then it all happened at once.

First I get the email I posted yesterday from Alaska Airlines contradicting the AIFA on why Wyoming's travel plans to Wasilla were changed. Then another trusted source brought another area of concern to my attention. Since I can't get more confirmation I'm going to leave it as maybe some in one league contacting teams in other leagues to jump ship. If I get more information I will go into more detail, but for now I'm just going to say that if this is going on and happening from the league level or with the league's knowledge, it's very unethical.

A scenario to ponder

First let's look at the players out west. In the IFL, we have Tri-Cities, Alaska, Fairbanks, Kent, and Billings. In the AIFA, it's Yakima, Wenatchee, and San Jose. On the outside watching, ex-af2 teams Fresno and Stockton. Those who think Fresno and Stockton aren't watching and considering their options for 2011 are naive.

In the AIFA I don't see the tribe who runs things in Yakima as putting up with too much turmoil before taking matters into their own hands. San Jose has openly stated they want to move into the AFL. Once they are rejected again, they will be forced to look at other options, especially if their closest rivals pull out. Wenatchee has little choice but to follow Yakima. I am not forgetting Ogden and Wasilla, but I just don't see them around in 2011. The wild card here of course is Wyoming. They have made it pretty clear the IFL is of no interest to them, but that might change if they find themselves once again on an island with no competition close. In the past, the AIFA has manufactured teams to keep Wyoming in the circuit, but I'm not sure that will happen again. I think AIFA resources are now stretched beyond the max.

In the IFL we have Billings, Tri Cities, Kent, Alaska and Fairbanks. Outside of the Wild, all appear very stable

Looking in from the outside are Fresno and Stockton. Neither will be joining the AFL. I'm not sure about a future for Fresno, but I feel Stockton wants back into the game. I don't see either jumping in to save the AIFA.

The beneficiary of all this could be the IFL. They don't have to do a thing except take care of business and improve. The loser of course is the AIFA and in reality I don't see anything they can do at this point to keep western teams from jumping ship. The major problems for the AIFA extend beyond Ogden and Wasilla. Those two areas are only what most see now. They don't see behind the scenes where there are more teams in trouble, especially those owned by the league. League resources are drying up too quickly to stop a collapse, maybe not a full demise of the AIFA, but enough of one to force downsizing. The problem is I'm not sure the solid teams in the AIFA East are going to put up with things as they are. The biggest issue the AIFA has is when you start letting in teams like Wasilla and New Jersey and teams like San Jose who have no long-term commitment to the league, you are setting yourself up for failure. I don't want to spend a lot of time on the AIFA East as it is more complex than the West. The IFL may not be the big winner in this area, as the CIFL and/or SIFL could pick up teams. If the SIFLcan pull their act together and show interested teams they've learned from their mistakes, they could make some gains.

So what do we have upcoming this week? I'm kind of hoping just some great games and nothing more.

Looking through the schedules in the IFL, we have Green Bay 5-1 at West Michigan 3-1. This is a rare out of division match up between two playoff hopefuls. Until last weekend, the Thunderhawks were undefeated so coming into this game their priority is to right the ship and get things back on track. Green Bay on the other hand has been just cruising along leading their division. A division match up has Arkansas at San Angelo. These two 4-1 teams are tied for the lead in the Lonestar East. A big match up in the Central West as Sioux Falls 5-1 heading down to Wichita 5-1 for some revenge after being upset by the Wild two weeks ago in the Storm Shelter. These are three of the biggest games in the IFL to date and any of the three easily qualify for game of the week.

The biggest game over in the AIFA this weekend is 4-0 San Jose at 3-0 Wyoming. This is the first match up of the AIFA West powers this season and the winner here is clearly the odds on favorite to win the West.

In the SIFL every game has playoff implications except the ones that feature replacements for the defunct Houston team. This week Lafayette 0-1 is at Albany 1-0 and Greenville 2-0 is down in Louisiana to take on the Swashbucklers 1-2. Another Swashbuckler loss and their season may be done.

Two 1-1 teams highlight the CIFL this week, Wisconsin at Fort Wayne. Winner of this one moves into a tie with Marion for second place behind undefeated Cincinnati.

This article and more archived at The Indoor Football Report located at www.IndoorFootballNetwork.com Comments about this article or suggestions can be made to indoorbowl@yahoo.com.



American Indoor Football Association Stories from April 14, 2010


The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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