Post by Banana Cat on Jun 1, 2012 9:17:18 GMT -5
Haines' uses the excuse of never receiving phone messages or E-mails all the time. When he was in school his dog always ate his homework as well.
It's nice to see that locals in Florida are starting to catch on to the scams though.
www.thepigskinreport.com/2012/06/questions-surround-the-florida-tarpons-uifl-league/
It's nice to see that locals in Florida are starting to catch on to the scams though.
www.thepigskinreport.com/2012/06/questions-surround-the-florida-tarpons-uifl-league/
Questions surround the Florida Tarpons, UIFL league
June 1, 2012
By Eric Schmidt
The Florida Tarpons, a team which plays in the confines of Germain Arena and hoping to capitalize on the recent championship success of the Florida Everblades hockey team, is heading into post season play but the team comes with some serious questions which need to be addressed. The Everblades, a member of the East Coast Hockey League and affiliated with the NHL, captured the Kelly Cup Championship this season after 14 years in the Southwest Florida region. The Tarpons, playing in the same venue, appear headed to a possible championship as well, but will that championship carry the same weight?
The Tarpons have defeated their two recent opponents, the Rome Rampage and the Mississippi Hound Dogs by a combined score of 142-15. But exactly what was the quality of their opponents?
Mr. Andrew Haines is the current owner of the undefeated Florida Tarpons as well as being the owner of the league which the Tarpons play in, the United Indoor Football League. This scenario smells of putting Jerry Jones or Daniel Snyder in charge of the NFL while continuing to own an NFL franchise.
In the past week, I have spoken with several football players in the Southwest Florida area which shared their experiences with the Florida Tarpons with me. I have also followed several websites and Facebook pages which follow the semi-pro/amateur football scene in Florida. There are several questions surrounding the integrity of the UIFL and the quality of play produced on the field. One player which I spoke with told me that he was practicing with the Florida Tarpons and just a day before the team was getting ready to play their opponent, he was told that he’d be playing for the team the Florida Tarpons would be playing.
I spoke with two other players which were called by members of the Tarpons coaching staff just hours before kickoff in order to play for the opposing team. One player I spoke with told me that after they lost 68-2, officials from the Florida Tarpons came into the locker room in order to collect the Rome Rampage jerseys they were wearing in order to launder them. Do the Tampa Bay Buccaneers launder uniforms from opposing teams at Tampa Stadium? I don’t think so.
I have been following this situation involving the Florida Tarpons for approximately a month now. I sent five emails and left four voicemail messages for Mr Haines, which were never returned. I reached out one last time last evening and received a prompt reply, within three minutes, to some of the questions I raised. I was told that there are phone issues at the UIFL headquarters and he had never received any of my previous emails sent to the same address.
Mr. Haines wished to engage in an email banter with me sending him my questions so that he could respond. His league office is 15 minutes from my house and I expressed my interest to meet face to face in order to have some answers to the questions surrounding his league on the internet upon his return to the Southwest Florida area rather than endure the tone and inflection issues which surround email responses. I have issued an open opportunity to Mr. Haines, and I hope he takes the opportunity to respond.
The further I dig into this story surrounding the Florida Tarpons and the UIFL, the deeper it gets.
My last message to Mr Haines-
This is just the first in a series of articles regarding the Florida Tarpons and the UIFL. Mr. Haines, I am certain that you will eventually read this article, you have my phone number, my email address, I’m available to speak anytime you would like. You are enjoying the luxury of a lapdog media in the Ft. Myers market, but some people are watching what you are doing.
June 1, 2012
By Eric Schmidt
The Florida Tarpons, a team which plays in the confines of Germain Arena and hoping to capitalize on the recent championship success of the Florida Everblades hockey team, is heading into post season play but the team comes with some serious questions which need to be addressed. The Everblades, a member of the East Coast Hockey League and affiliated with the NHL, captured the Kelly Cup Championship this season after 14 years in the Southwest Florida region. The Tarpons, playing in the same venue, appear headed to a possible championship as well, but will that championship carry the same weight?
The Tarpons have defeated their two recent opponents, the Rome Rampage and the Mississippi Hound Dogs by a combined score of 142-15. But exactly what was the quality of their opponents?
Mr. Andrew Haines is the current owner of the undefeated Florida Tarpons as well as being the owner of the league which the Tarpons play in, the United Indoor Football League. This scenario smells of putting Jerry Jones or Daniel Snyder in charge of the NFL while continuing to own an NFL franchise.
In the past week, I have spoken with several football players in the Southwest Florida area which shared their experiences with the Florida Tarpons with me. I have also followed several websites and Facebook pages which follow the semi-pro/amateur football scene in Florida. There are several questions surrounding the integrity of the UIFL and the quality of play produced on the field. One player which I spoke with told me that he was practicing with the Florida Tarpons and just a day before the team was getting ready to play their opponent, he was told that he’d be playing for the team the Florida Tarpons would be playing.
I spoke with two other players which were called by members of the Tarpons coaching staff just hours before kickoff in order to play for the opposing team. One player I spoke with told me that after they lost 68-2, officials from the Florida Tarpons came into the locker room in order to collect the Rome Rampage jerseys they were wearing in order to launder them. Do the Tampa Bay Buccaneers launder uniforms from opposing teams at Tampa Stadium? I don’t think so.
I have been following this situation involving the Florida Tarpons for approximately a month now. I sent five emails and left four voicemail messages for Mr Haines, which were never returned. I reached out one last time last evening and received a prompt reply, within three minutes, to some of the questions I raised. I was told that there are phone issues at the UIFL headquarters and he had never received any of my previous emails sent to the same address.
Mr. Haines wished to engage in an email banter with me sending him my questions so that he could respond. His league office is 15 minutes from my house and I expressed my interest to meet face to face in order to have some answers to the questions surrounding his league on the internet upon his return to the Southwest Florida area rather than endure the tone and inflection issues which surround email responses. I have issued an open opportunity to Mr. Haines, and I hope he takes the opportunity to respond.
The further I dig into this story surrounding the Florida Tarpons and the UIFL, the deeper it gets.
My last message to Mr Haines-
Mr. Haines,I will not re-print Mr. Haines response to this message, but long story short, he has the best team and it’s because of the perks he offers and he responded that the recent monster wins by the Florida Tarpons as a result of playing traveling teams. That is really interesting because when I go to the UIFL league team page, I never see anything about traveling teams, and I’m sure that the fans which pay up to $45 dollars for a seat at Germain Arena have no idea that the Tarpons are going to be playing a “traveling” team which hasn’t practiced together.
I have attempted to reach out to you and your organization several times in the past few weeks. I will attempt one last time. I have emailed and left several messages on the telephone number associated with your team from the Tarpons website, only to receive no response. I will reiterate that I own an online sports network and I have been reaching out to local semi-pro football teams this summer, trying to provide some exposure through our network which has national exposure. In the currently depressed economy, I am trying to generate local interest for local teams as a lifelong resident of SW Florida. As your bio on the Tarpons website suggests, you are a job creator, so you might understand my desire to try to help the local economy in these troubled times, while covering the national sports scene.
However Mr. Haines, in recent weeks, there have been some serious questions raised regarding the integrity of your league as well as the level of quality of your opponents in recent weeks, even going so far as to whether or not the teams you faced were the actual teams as advertised. I was at Germain Arena last evening and I see that the Everblades are advertising luxury suite packages next season which include indoor football games, likely the Florida Tarpons for the 2012-2013 season. These packages, which I am certain you are well aware of, run from $12,000 to $40,000 dollars. That is significant money, and as the social media semi-pro environment seems to suggest, the Florida Tarpons are not playing legitimate opponents.
A championship by the Tarpons would couple nicely with the Everblades Kelly Cup title this season heading into next season on a season ticket and luxury suite drive. Social media has a way of spiraling out of control regarding discussions online, but the discussions have been growing louder about the opponents facing the Tarpons in recent weeks. I am giving you a platform to respond to the allegations on the internet.
Mr. Haines, I’ve tried several times to contact you, hopefully you can respond to me and address some of these serious concerns regarding your team as well as issues surrounding your league.
This is just the first in a series of articles regarding the Florida Tarpons and the UIFL. Mr. Haines, I am certain that you will eventually read this article, you have my phone number, my email address, I’m available to speak anytime you would like. You are enjoying the luxury of a lapdog media in the Ft. Myers market, but some people are watching what you are doing.