Two soap operas end with teams moving to AF2

Fort Wayne and now Tri-Cities will join the AF2 for the 2007 season, bringing the AF2 to 30 teams. After months of speculation, newspaper articles, internet rumors, and the like, the drama has finally ended.

An AF2 schedule is expected to be released on Friday.

Massive NIFL Expansion; EIFL Showcase a Disaster

The first round of NIFL expansion has been announced. It looks like the league wants to compete in some AFL/AF2 markets now. The new teams are:

Alameda Action
Atlanta Thoroughbreds
Fort Meyers Tarpons
Fresno Fury
Jacksonville Pelicans
Los Angeles Lynx
Miami Vice
Palm Beach Waves
Port St. Lucie Mustangs
Sacramento Wildfire
San Diego Shockwave
San Fransisco Quakes
Sarasota Knights
Tampa Tide
Winston-Salem Wildcats

More announcements are expected on 11/1 and/or 11/15.

The EIFL showcase was held tonight. Sort of. According to mooheadradio.com, there were several problems. The showcase was delayed over 2 hours, as several teams had travel problems/issues. The team from Baltimore apparently showed up at 8:00. There is no confirmation if the Buzzards showed up. The River Rats did not attend, as they were never a real team.

Interestingly enough, the Bayshore Brawlers showed up on time. They went to eat at the Golden Corral and then left for home! That's right. They did not attend the showcase after checking out the Thunder Dome. All indications are that they will join the AIFA with the Charleston Sandsharks, to round out the AIFA's expansion.

The AFL is reportedly in talks with ABC/ESPN for a TV contract for the upcoming season. Until a deal is reached, a schedule will not be released. We could be waiting a while.

AF2 adds five; two more to be voted on next week!

af2 expansion continues; five new teams added for 2007
Courtesy: arenafootball2
Release: 10/18/2006

Courtesy: arenafootball2

The arenafootball2 Board of Directors approved applications for five new expansion af2 teams for 2007, the League office announced today, including four in Texas and one in Cincinnati. The teams are scheduled to begin play in April.

The five newcomers, coupled with the previously announced additions of the Boise Burn and Mahoning Valley Thunder, bring the total expansion class for 2007 to seven teams. The af2’s current membership is now 28 teams.

““We (af2) are excited to announce the addition of five new teams to the af2 family for 2007,” said af2 President Jerry Kurz. “I have the utmost confidence in each operating group’s commitment to run top-notch organizations both on and off the field for many years. I know the fans in each market will thoroughly enjoy the total entertainment experience of Arena Football.”

A multiple-member limited liability corporation called Texas af2 Holdings, LLC, submitted the four applications for the Texas teams. Spearheading the Texas efforts was Doug MacGregor, President of the AFL’s Austin Wranglers and member of the Texas af2 Holdings group. This group will take the lead in the formation of new teams in Corpus Christi, Katy, Laredo and Lubbock. Two of the four teams have names and infrastructure already in place. The Katy team will be called the Texas Copperheads and the team in Laredo will be known as the Laredo Lobos.

“In the 49 other states, it’s just football, but this is Texas,” said MacGregor. “These are great football towns who we think are an ideal fit for Arena Football. Each market also boasts fantastic facilities and strong communities, communities that will quickly fall in love with this unique brand of football.”

The Cincinnati application was submitted by a limited liability corporation called CAF Holdings, LLC.

Further details on each of these new teams will be announced locally as they become available.

There is also the possibility for a final round of league expansion. Two more candidates still under consideration for 2007 will be voted on early next week.

About af2

With its seventh season just completed, af2 serves as a vehicle to bring Arena Football to small to midsize cities and as a developmental league with an unmatched history of sending players, coaches and officials to major professional football leagues each year. af2 operates under the same Mission Statement and Fans’ Bill of Rights as the Arena Football League, which concluded its 20th season in June. Log on to www.af2.com for more information.

The news continues: Milwaukee and Fayetteville in NIFL, Battle Creek disappears, and more

The Fayetteville Guard will remain in the NIFL for the 2007 season. Also, as part of Carolyn Shiver's plan for having 50 teams next year, Milwaukee will be the first expansion team.

While looking at the CIFL site this morning, I noticed there was another team missing. However, I didn't immediately notice who it was, as I was in a hurry. The Battle Creek Crunch have disappeared from the league.

It also appears things are breaking down in the EIFL. The Brawlers did contact the GLIFL about joining, but the GLIFL declined the team. It is unknown if they will still play in the EIFL.

Breaking News: Rome and Raleigh cease operations

No third season for Renegades; indoor football team disbands

(Renegades' PR) Harry Pierce and partners regret to announce the dissolution of their two indoor football teams, the Rome Renegades and the Carolina Bombers (formerly the Raleigh Rebels). Both teams were members of the newly formed World Indoor Football League (WIFL).

With regards to the Carolina Bombers, Pierce states that “it was always our goal to have local ownership of that team. We plan to leave the field and other assets of the Carolina team in place in the hopes that WIFL will be able to use those resources with an expansion team if a new owner comes forward.”

The decision about the Rome Renegades, however, was more than just about assets.

“This is the hardest business decision I have had to make in a long time. Everyone who knows me or who has attended a game knows how passionate I am about the sport, and how much I have enjoyed it. We made a difference in a lot of young men’s lives. I only wish it could have been more,” says Pierce.

Pierce goes on to state that “with limited seating and parking at The Forum, the venue will never be a financially viable venue for professional sports. If the leaders of this community believe that the stadium for the Rome Braves was a success, then they must believe that a quality arena for multiple professional sports with year-round use would also be a success.

"With the proposed SPLOST set for 39 months, it would be another 5 years before we could propose and build a new arena built in this community. That’s too much of a financial burden to continue playing at The Forum.”

“I’d like to personally thank all of our fans and sponsors for two great seasons,” says Pierce.

Season ticket holders and sponsors for the 2007 season should contact Doug Walker after Oct. 23 for a refund. The Rome Renegades staff will remain in place to close operations. Their future plans will be announced at a later date.

The World Indoor Football League will continue to grow as an indoor football league. Pierce has committed to helping the league grow into the most professionally organized league in the industry, but is no longer affiliated with the league as a team owner.


http://www.hometownheadlines.com/New_Site/e06out.html

The GLIFL is no longer...

That's right. The GLIFL is no longer...the GLIFL. The latest in a string of announcements is that the GLIFL will now be called the Continental Indoor Football League. A new team has also been approved for play in 2007: the Kalamazoo Xplosion.

GLIFL's "one more in the works"

Well it seems the "one more in the works" I referred to yesterday could be more accurately called "one stopped working." Or something like that... Whatever. In any case, the Motor City Reapers have bagged it and will not compete in the 2007 season. This drops the GLIFL to twelve teams. Pending Springfield and Chicago, the GLIFL will play with 14.

Who's going where?

As we near the time for schedules, expansion announcements, and more tryout dates, a lot of things are still up in the air. Let's review what's been going on recently.

The AIFL became the AIFA, as Mink and Morris take the reins from Haines. Haines will be in charge of getting sponsorships for the league. He's still also responsible for that $435,000 judgement that Mr. Boyd has against him.

The Springfield Stallions are out of the AIFA, which wouldn't be so bad if some teams hadn't have released their schedules already. Pending this situation, we should see a master schedule sometime next week.

So where is Springfield going? The GLIFL, along with Chicago. This will bring the GLIFL to fifteen teams. One more is in the works. Expect announcements before the next owners meeting.

It also appears that the AF2 has inherited the Lexington Horsemen from the UIF. The AF2 expansion deadline is this Sunday, so expect official announcements over the next week or two.

The NIFL is lookng to Florida, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Texas for their next round of expansion teams. However, Cleveland Gary and the gang are going out of their way to be deceptive about the state of the league. How many people will they fool?

The Arkansas based Ultimate Indoor Football League plans to announce at least seven teams on October 31. Besides the Stars, there have not been many guesses on who the other teams could be.

Last, and certainly least, the EIFL currently claims it has four teams ready to play in an October 28th "showcase." The site of the game will be the ThunderDome, where the field is about 30 yards long, with 2-3 yard enzones. The seating capacity is an estimated 250 people. The league has yet to disclose any insurance information or basically anything else, such as arena leases. Any media going to the showcase will have their driver's license photocopied. The showcase is closed to the public.

Has Carolyn Shiver lost her mind for good?

www.niflfootball.com has an update for the first time since the conclusion of the Indoor Bowl. All I can say is WOW. A big party in Florida to celebrate so many dead NIFL franchises, it appears to be. See all those team logos on the left side of the flier? I'd say a solid three quarters of them are dead teams from years past. We also have a "Florida division," which consists of the following:

Palm Beach Waves
Port St. Lucie Mustangs
Sarasota Knights
Miami Vice Squad
Jacksonville Pelicans
Fort Myers Tarpons
Tampa Bay Red Tide
Fort Lauderdale Frenzy

Fort Meyers is an af2 territory and Tampa Bay is, of course, an AFL city. It's a real shame to see that Shiver just can't admit that her little charade is over. I'm not going to delve into all of the factual inaccuracies currently on the NIFL website; you can figure those all out on your own. But I would like to draw one bit of sad, yet positive news. Jim Terry just got steamrolled. He tries to be the best liar he can be, but my friends, he just can't compare with Carolyn Shiver. Jim Terry will just have to settle with the title of Best (worst?) Failure.

In other news, Wyoming, Tri-Cities, and River City have announced their allegiance to the UIF. The UIF should make this official next week.

Expansion, lawsuits, and more

It appears the AIFL North is set for 2007. The division will consist of Erie, Johnstown, Reading, Pitsburgh, Danville, Springfield, Huntington, and Canton. This all looks fine except for Danville and Springfield. Travel costs to the likes of Erie and Reading can't be good. At least we don't have a last-minute franchise like Syracuse, though.

The AIFL South is a little more up in the air. Five locked in teams are Lakeland, Montgomery, Tupelo, Florence, and Tallahassee. A sixth franchise should be announced in Winston-Salem shortly. Macon is also a possibility, as the AF2 Knights have ceased operations.

There is little news in the world of AF2 expansion. However, we will know a lot more after September 15th. Alaska looks to be out of the league, as it has been claimed that the ownership group is lacking in funds. Tacoma is a new possiblity, as well. Also, don't look for Lubbock to be joining up in 2007. Things seem to have fallen through there.

The NIFL has an expansion team! Yes, the Palm Beach Waves will join Greensboro, Beaumont, as the current teams in the league. The big announcement on defections to the UIF should be coming sometime tomorrow.

On to the lawsuits part of this blog. The AIFL is close to filing suit against the Augusta Spartans, claiming a breach of contract and unpaid bills to the league. I'm guessing this, or another, lawsuit will extend to all of the WIFL and GLIFL defects. Remember that the NIFL was supposed to sue the IFL last year for violating noncompete agreements and such? Yeah, that never happened because the NIFL didn't want to open their books in court. With Haines not defending himself so far in the Boyd lawsuit, it makes you wonder if this latest big of legal paperwork should have the WIFL worried or just plain laughing. We'll see how it plays out.

On a quick positive note for the AIFL, the Huntington Heroes are moving into a new arena. This appears to be an honest move at improving the team's standing within the community.

Worst ArenaCup Ever; Expansion Deadline Pushed Back

If I could sum it up in one word, it would probably be "disgraceful."

Well i sat down for the ArenaCup. I was all pumped up to see how this San Juan thing would work. So I'm hearing the National Anthem being sung, but where's the video? Next thing I see is "Technical Difficulties." Then some colored bars. Then they finally got the video feed going at CSS. It was pretty blurry throughout. The coverage, overall, was unprofessional. In an obvious onside kick situation, the camera quickly zipped to the other end of the field after the kick, then slowly panned back to see who recovered the ball.

So even if the production quality was poor, it was still going to be a good showing from the league right? Wrong. The turf was borrowed from Macon, and each enzone had a big gold and black "MACON KNIGHTS" painted on. And you know how when guys hit the boards, there's usually very little give? Well this time, boards were coming out of place and even falling.

So what about the crowd? The league announced 5,658 fans, but it appears most of these fans were disguised as blue seats. There were no fans in the enzones and just before the game, when the announcers were talking about the matchups, you saw about 100 people behind them in half of the arena. Total attendance was no more than 3,000. And as far as excitement, the loudest person there was public address announcer Allyn Black. He had a miserable time trying to excite the fans, who obviously had no rooting interest. Newsflash: If you want to get these people interested in the game, have some preseason exhibitions where the rules are explained, etc.

All in all, the AF2 took several steps in the wrong direction with this showcase. For the second straight year, the term "national coverage" did not mean national coverage. Stop promising big things if you're not going to deliver.

The one thing that kept people tuned in at halftime, when the score was 41-14, was the promise of expansion announcements. This was also a broken promise, but was at least for a good reason. The deadline for expansion was pushed back until September 15. Latest additions look to be Laredo, Corpus Christi, and Lubbock.

Huntington leaves WIFL

In a not so shocking move, the Huntington Heroes have left the WIFL. I guess you can't blame them, seeing as how they would really disrupt travel expenses in the new league. However, this decision should not have been rushed and now the organization is looking pretty bad, crawling back to Andrew Haines and the AIFL.

Columbus, GA will now be the seventh team to join the new league. More announcements on teams will be coming out this week. Stay tuned.