Post by Banana Cat on Oct 18, 2010 12:09:43 GMT -5
I love Carr's quote on Dixon below:
www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/10/17/1213233/ifl-whittles-down-to-21-teams.html
www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/10/17/1213233/ifl-whittles-down-to-21-teams.html
IFL whittles down to 21 teams in 2011
By Jeff Morrow, Herald sports editor
Oct. 17, 2010
What a difference a month makes.
Back in September, the Indoor Football League owners completed their league meetings, and it looked like there would be 27 teams for the 2011 season.
One month later, the number is actually 21.
"It's crazy," said Tri-Cities Fever owner Teri Carr. "West Michigan, when we came out of the meetings we had a feeling they'd be in. San Angelo is going dark for 2011. The owner of Amarillo purchased San Angelo and decided to shut the team down for a season."
Austin, Maryland and Rochester are also out.
Carr is stressing quality over quantity.
"But the two that I'm sad to see go are Billings and Sioux City," she said.
Come again? Billings, the two-time defending IFL champs?
Yes it's true.
Montana Professional Sports, which owns the Billings Outlaws, announced Oct. 8 that it was ceasing operations due to a spat with county commissioners.
The Outlaws owners wanted help with expenses to cover things such as a new field and dasherboards. Remember, everything was destroyed in June when a tornado ripped through the MetraPark Arena.
The owners met with the commissioners and everyone left that meeting thinking things had been worked out. But the Outlaws owners did an about-face and pulled the plug.
Carr wasn't totally surprised.
"Life goes on," she said. "I knew that with the events following the tornado, the insurance didn't cover the field."
Some people thought it might be a ploy by Mike Parnell, one of the team's owners, to get more help from the Billings community. This team had been part of the community for 10 years. It had its own hotel to house players. It had Chris Dixon, the MVP quarterback, and Heron O'Neal -- the head coach.
But Dixon was released last month. O'Neal was named the new head coach of the Kent Predators this week, and the Outlaws players were all given their releases soon after.
It changes the Fever's division lineup, too.
Without Billings, the Pacific North Division consists of the Fever, the Fairbanks Grizzlies, the Kent Predators and the Wenatchee Venom - which jumped over from the AIFL.
Carr had hoped to get a draft of the schedule this weekend. Not so.
"From what I hear, we should have six out-of-division games -- three at home and three away," Carr said.
That means the remaining eight games will be against the three other division opponents.
The final schedule, Carr said, should be released in the next few weeks.
Notes
Three Fever players are getting a chance with the Arena Football League - wide receiver Thyron Lewis, defensive lineman Blair Boynton, and defensive back Dwain Crawford.
Lewis was assigned to the Cleveland Gladiators, while the other two haven't been assigned yet.
Carr said that Fever coach Adam Shackleford is always trying to get his players a shot at a higher level.
"Coach's philosophy is we don't want to hold anyone back," Carr said. "If they've got a shot at a higher league he's going to release them. Players know that Adam will go out his way to help them move up. He works to get them tryouts. And they've already told us that if things don't work out, they want to come back here."
---
Dixon, the former Billings quarterback, is visiting Wenatchee this weekend to see if he likes it there.
Carr was asked if the Fever had any interest in signing Dixon.
"Absolutely not," she said. "How can I put this nicely? If Chris Dixon would be willing to come to the Tri-Cities for the salary that we legally pay our players, and willing to live in the same housing we have for our players, then yes, we'd welcome him."
---
Ray Little, who played defensive back for the Fever the last few years, is now with Wenatchee. He joins another ex-Fever player, wide receiver Phil Goodman. ... Shackleford continues to tweak the roster. In the past few weeks, the Fever has signed wide receivers Andre Jones (Akron) and E'lon Paige (Sacramento State), offensive lineman Carl Barnett (University of Houston), running backs Anthony Harding (Fresno State), Dennis Kennedy (Akron) and Shannon Wood (Texas Tech). Defensive back Lionell Singleton was also re-signed. The team also released wide receivers Johnny Walker and Jessie Hester, and offensive lineman Steve Brazzle. ... O'Neal made a number of signings Friday for Kent, including four former WSU players - defensive linemen Jesse Feagin and Fevaei Ahmu, offensive lineman Vaughn Lesuma and defensive back Xavier Hicks. Lesuma played for Fairbanks last season. ... Former Billings defensive back Travonti Johnson landed with Omaha. ... Sean Ponder left his job as head coach at Fairbanks to take over the same position for the expansion Nebraska Danger, located in Grand Island, Neb. The Grizzlies will name their new head coach Tuesday. ... Wenatchee is holding open tryouts today and Oct. 23. Shackleford said he likely will hold a tryout after the first of the year. ... Offensive lineman Juan Garcia, the Eisenhower grad who finished his career at the University of Washington, is with the Arizona Wranglers of the AFL.
By Jeff Morrow, Herald sports editor
Oct. 17, 2010
What a difference a month makes.
Back in September, the Indoor Football League owners completed their league meetings, and it looked like there would be 27 teams for the 2011 season.
One month later, the number is actually 21.
"It's crazy," said Tri-Cities Fever owner Teri Carr. "West Michigan, when we came out of the meetings we had a feeling they'd be in. San Angelo is going dark for 2011. The owner of Amarillo purchased San Angelo and decided to shut the team down for a season."
Austin, Maryland and Rochester are also out.
Carr is stressing quality over quantity.
"But the two that I'm sad to see go are Billings and Sioux City," she said.
Come again? Billings, the two-time defending IFL champs?
Yes it's true.
Montana Professional Sports, which owns the Billings Outlaws, announced Oct. 8 that it was ceasing operations due to a spat with county commissioners.
The Outlaws owners wanted help with expenses to cover things such as a new field and dasherboards. Remember, everything was destroyed in June when a tornado ripped through the MetraPark Arena.
The owners met with the commissioners and everyone left that meeting thinking things had been worked out. But the Outlaws owners did an about-face and pulled the plug.
Carr wasn't totally surprised.
"Life goes on," she said. "I knew that with the events following the tornado, the insurance didn't cover the field."
Some people thought it might be a ploy by Mike Parnell, one of the team's owners, to get more help from the Billings community. This team had been part of the community for 10 years. It had its own hotel to house players. It had Chris Dixon, the MVP quarterback, and Heron O'Neal -- the head coach.
But Dixon was released last month. O'Neal was named the new head coach of the Kent Predators this week, and the Outlaws players were all given their releases soon after.
It changes the Fever's division lineup, too.
Without Billings, the Pacific North Division consists of the Fever, the Fairbanks Grizzlies, the Kent Predators and the Wenatchee Venom - which jumped over from the AIFL.
Carr had hoped to get a draft of the schedule this weekend. Not so.
"From what I hear, we should have six out-of-division games -- three at home and three away," Carr said.
That means the remaining eight games will be against the three other division opponents.
The final schedule, Carr said, should be released in the next few weeks.
Notes
Three Fever players are getting a chance with the Arena Football League - wide receiver Thyron Lewis, defensive lineman Blair Boynton, and defensive back Dwain Crawford.
Lewis was assigned to the Cleveland Gladiators, while the other two haven't been assigned yet.
Carr said that Fever coach Adam Shackleford is always trying to get his players a shot at a higher level.
"Coach's philosophy is we don't want to hold anyone back," Carr said. "If they've got a shot at a higher league he's going to release them. Players know that Adam will go out his way to help them move up. He works to get them tryouts. And they've already told us that if things don't work out, they want to come back here."
---
Dixon, the former Billings quarterback, is visiting Wenatchee this weekend to see if he likes it there.
Carr was asked if the Fever had any interest in signing Dixon.
"Absolutely not," she said. "How can I put this nicely? If Chris Dixon would be willing to come to the Tri-Cities for the salary that we legally pay our players, and willing to live in the same housing we have for our players, then yes, we'd welcome him."
---
Ray Little, who played defensive back for the Fever the last few years, is now with Wenatchee. He joins another ex-Fever player, wide receiver Phil Goodman. ... Shackleford continues to tweak the roster. In the past few weeks, the Fever has signed wide receivers Andre Jones (Akron) and E'lon Paige (Sacramento State), offensive lineman Carl Barnett (University of Houston), running backs Anthony Harding (Fresno State), Dennis Kennedy (Akron) and Shannon Wood (Texas Tech). Defensive back Lionell Singleton was also re-signed. The team also released wide receivers Johnny Walker and Jessie Hester, and offensive lineman Steve Brazzle. ... O'Neal made a number of signings Friday for Kent, including four former WSU players - defensive linemen Jesse Feagin and Fevaei Ahmu, offensive lineman Vaughn Lesuma and defensive back Xavier Hicks. Lesuma played for Fairbanks last season. ... Former Billings defensive back Travonti Johnson landed with Omaha. ... Sean Ponder left his job as head coach at Fairbanks to take over the same position for the expansion Nebraska Danger, located in Grand Island, Neb. The Grizzlies will name their new head coach Tuesday. ... Wenatchee is holding open tryouts today and Oct. 23. Shackleford said he likely will hold a tryout after the first of the year. ... Offensive lineman Juan Garcia, the Eisenhower grad who finished his career at the University of Washington, is with the Arizona Wranglers of the AFL.