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Over a Cup of Coffee

by Jerry Hewitt
April 16, 2010 - Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL)


A little on the menu today as indoor football supplies me with ammunition.

The AIFA came clean yesterday on the Wyoming to Wasilla deal, or should I say threw out another story for us to chew on. According to an article in the Casper Tribune it's now a "clerical error" on the part of Wasilla. I like the part about the Deemers, the Wasilla owners, saying they are new to this when in fact that's not 100% true, having been with the Alaska Wild franchise. Granted all that was stated in the Tribune could be real, but I still would question it and the financial solidarity of the AIFA Alaska franchise.

So if La Crosse doesn't beat Sioux City this weekend, all tickets to their May 21st home game against the Extreme will be free. Although it didn't say in the article I read, I'm assuming you have to attend the Sioux City game this weekend to get your free ticket when the Spartans lose. This whole giveaway thing bothers me and I hope it doesn't become a trend.

Former Saginaw Sting CIFL/IFL, and Kalamazoo Xplosion CIFL, owner Michael Johnson was charged with embezzlement yesterday. Guess both leagues dodged the bullet on that one as neither team currently is in operation. Not that either league should get a black eye over this, just sometimes that's the way the press works.

Color is the word on AFL team websites for 2010. I was just looking through AFL team sites this morning. Some are really jazzing it up. I won't say content is any better or worse as a whole compared to indoor football team sites, but at least a real effort has been made to get a good face on things over there. One website development company sure made out as well as eight of the sites I visited were created by Infinity. No low website budgets in the AFL for sure.

It appears the United Football League will have a second season and yesterday it announced a franchise in Omaha. Good news for the great fans in that area.

In the middle

Every season in every league there seems to be a team or two that hides in the middle of the pack, but come playoff time cause problems for those at the top. Every time I think about this I'm reminded of how the 2005 Tri-Cities Fever of the old NIFL was having a so-so season, but made the playoffs. Their run to win the Indoor Bowl included defeating both Everett and Odessa who went into the playoffs undefeated. Fans should never count their team out until all the cards are played.

This season looks to be one of the most competitive on record for the big 4 although Cincinnati appears to be running away with it all in the CIFL. The Commandos may just run the table, but those close on their heels will only get better as the season goes on. Wisconsin sits at 1-1 and the CIFL season is still early, but I look for this team to just get better and give Cincinnati a run for it down the stretch. They don't sit atop any statistical categories in the CIFL, but my feeling is we'll watch them rise.

The SIFL is in the same boat as the CIFL, with their season just underway and too early to go picking who might jump up to challenge those at the top, but the league's biggest disappointment this season, the Louisiana Swashbucklers at 1-2, aren't done for the year. This team came in with a new coach and is struggling more than any other time in its history. Fans and the team are not used to seeing losses more than wins. I don't think Louisiana has seen competition quite as good as they have now in any of their previous two leagues, the NIFL and IFL. Most likely they went into the season feeling the trophy belonged to them and why not? That has been their history. Couple that with a big blow out win against a semi-pro replacement team in their only win and maybe their focus has not been on just playing each game. After two straight losses, one by their biggest margin of defeat ever, I'm thinking their heads might just be back where they should be and the rest of the season could be a different story. I see the Swashbucklers being in the SIFL championship again this season.

The IFL is hard to pick out the middle teams when the top is loaded from division to division in quality. In the Central North you have Chicago sitting at 2-3. I'm not at all sure if this team is now on the rise or going to remain near the bottom. After starting the season 0-3 they have reeled off two straight wins. Their biggest problem so far this season hasn't been defense, where they've been pretty good, but their offense has struggled to say the least. They have a bye this week and maybe in the time off they can make needed adjustments on the o side of things and give Green Bay a run for it.

Omaha and Sioux City have both been disappointments for their fans this season and in the case of Omaha at 2-3 I don't see much movement to turn it around. On the other hand, 2-3 Sioux City is out signing new players trying to get back on the winning track. It's been a while since the Bandits made the playoffs with the last time being 2008. They also have the problem of being in what may be the IFL's toughest division with Sioux Falls, Wichita, and Omaha. It's going to be tough to make the playoffs out of this division and in fact the Bandits may end up as the best team in the IFL not to make the post season.

As I looked through the Lonestar divisions I really didn't see any middle teams that look like they might be on the verge of a run. At 0-5 with a new coach it may be too late for Abilene to turn things around, but if any are going to make the playoffs from their current spot at the bottom, the Ruff Riders would be my bet. Austin is at 2-2, but I just can't get on the TurfCats bandwagon this season. I don't see them factoring in on the playoff picture with division rival Arkansas and San Angelo both at 4-1.

The Pacific division is a mess of decent teams all looking to knock each other off and most in that division could up with near .500 records. Kent at 2-3 might be making a run for it as well as Tri-Cities at 1-3 maybe ready to turn things around. Fairbanks, although good, will start falling, and both Tri-Cities and Kent will battle it out for number two behind Billings. Outlaw fans may not like it when I say both Kent and Tri-Cities have what it takes to knock the Outlaws off during the season.

Last is the AIFA, the one league I have a hard time figuring out anything about. In the West Yakima is at 2-2 while Wenatchee is at 1-2. Both of these teams are new to the game and still learning. Most likely Yakima won't cause much noise down the road, but Wenatchee very well could. I'm not sure either of these two will make the playoffs, but an upset win or two against San Jose or Wyoming could determine which is the division winner. In the East Reading, last year's AIFA Champion is sitting at 3-2 just behind Harrisburg and Baltimore. Richmond is just one game behind Reading, but I don't see them moving up. On the other hand Reading has the championship to protect and I believe will move up and take at least the number two spot before it's all said and done.

Fan attendance report

Occasionally fans will email me attendance of games, especially when the numbers are low. One fan said the last Harrisburg game had maybe 300 in attendance and another told me in the last Maryland game, maybe 100. If those reports are even close that's just sad and I see nothing from either the AIFA or IFL as a plan to get attendance up.

Tonight

The AIFA kicks off the weekend with Richmond 2-3, at Erie 1-3. Most likely aifafans.com will have the game live on video. In the CIFL Wisconsin 1-1 is at Fort Wayne 1-1. No games are scheduled tonight in the IFL and SIFL.

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

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Continental Indoor Football League Stories from April 16, 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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