Week 20 - KC loses to Tulsa, Chicago loses to Milwaukee, and Iowa loses to Georgia

Kansas City falls to Tulsa 55-71.  In a game that is being reported as the highest attended game of the season, posting an attendance of 5575, the Kansas City Command drop one to the Tulsa Talons to close 2011.  Coach Barto stated that Command Quarterback Wasil just didn't seem comfortable, and attributed it to his rookie status.  Wasil tossed three interceptions, and went 14 of 26 for 259 yards and six touchdowns.  Coach Barto also stated that the team was hurt when their leading tackle came out of the game with stomach issues.  So Kansas City wraps up 2011 with a record of 6-12, going 4-9 within their conference.  So, now we get to sit back and wonder what Kansas City is going to put together for 2012, and if the people at the Sprint Center will come up with a better Season Ticket package to try and get more fans into the seats.  They were predicting sell out crowds in three years, but if the Command don't start winning, they won't be able to get a packed house even if they gave a majority of the tickets away.  In fact, I would be willing to bet that the increased crowd for this game was due to a high number of give-away tickets or major package deals they made with someone.  KC will end their first season back with an average attendance of 4318, with their final game at home being the highest attendance of the season.

Iowa Loses to Georgia 59-63.  This really isn't a surprise to me.  I believe that I predicted that Iowa was going to have their hands full with this one, that they would lose this game despite having home field advantage.  Iowa put up a good fight, pulling themselves up after falling behind by 20 points in the first quarter.  But Iowa would not be able to over falling behind and will end their 2011 Season with a record of 5-13, going 5-7 within their conference.  Iowa should be pleased, even with the loss.  They clearly have fan support, the attendance for their final game of the season, at home, was 10,871, giving them a season average of 8867 per home game.

Chicago Loses to Milwaukee 41-54.  I was really hoping that Raterick wasn't going to repeat 2010, when he lost to Milwaukee in the playoffs.  This isn't the playoffs, and the loss yesterday to the Mustangs didn't end their playoff run, but this is not the time to be self-destructing.  “We just beat ourselves tonight,” said Rush head coach Bob McMillen. “We didn’t give our team the opportunity to win.”

Raterick was pulled from the game before the end of the first half, and backup QB Dominic Randolph put forth a valiant effort against the Mustang's defense to bring the Rush back into the game, but it just didn't work out for them.  So, Chicago goes into the first round of playoffs against Dallas, whom they beat in Dallas last week.  Can the Rush pull it together.  Will Raterink repeat 2010 and take the Rush out of the playoffs in the first round?  Or will the Rush give backup QB Randolph the chance to prove himself?  As much as I would love to see the Rush take it all the way to the Arenabowl, I don't think Raterink can take them there.  In fact, I would be surprised to see them get past Dallas ... would love to see it, but I'm going to be my normal, skeptical self.

Week 19 - KC beats Jacksonville, Iowa Loses Big, Chicago beats Dallas

KC Wins in Overtime

Jacksonville comes into KC on a two game losing streak, and critics are calling the play by Jacksonville of late, ridiculous.  Kansas City, on the other hand, is starting to impress people, even getting pointed out as a team to make a major turnaround in 2012.  Wasil is really starting to show some promise, the only problem is that the change came too late.  The other problem is in the question of how the previous Quarterback managed to go from bum to winning by transferring from KC to Chicago?

All we can do is start looking at 2012.  We can hope that the team will find themselves.  We can hope that all of the things that past Brigade fans dislike about the Sprint Center Arena will be taken care of, (yeah, right), and 2012 will not only show us a better team, but an increase in fan and media support.

So, what about next week?  Tulsa could be another win for KC.  The team is just one slot ahead of them in the standings, and they have a weaker record within the conference and while being on the road.  So, if Wasil is the hope of a KC turnaround in 2012, he needs to stand up and get another Win to end the teams 2011 season.

Mustangs Destroy Barnstormers

Iowa maintains full possession of last place in the National Conference of the AFL, and their win to the Milwaukee Mustangs only ads to this season's disappointments.  The only thing that can be said about Iowa at this point is that they at least have Fan Support.  The game was actually close for three quarters.  The Barnstormers led the first quarter 14-13, then again at the half, 35-29.  Milwaukee stepped up and tied the game in the third quarter, but exploded ahead of the Barnstormers with a 41 point fourth quarter, versus 7 by Iowa, to give them a commanding 83 - 49 win.

So, what about next week?  The Barnstormers are home against the Georgia Force, and frankly, I'm afraid that Iowa is going to end their season with a loss at home.  The only thing that could save Iowa is if Georgia decides to rest their key people in week 20, looking to be fresh for the first round of the playoffs.  Georgia can afford a loss, as they have clinched their playoff birth.

Chicago Beats Dallas

After a slow start, Chicago came back in the second half and clinched the division title in their win over Dallas.  J.J. Raterink had an excellent game, no interceptions, and the fans in Kansas City may be, (should be) wondering why he couldn't pull it together in KC.

Now comes the fun part.  Chicago has one more regular season game.  They will host the Milwaukee Mustangs, and then, if nothing changes on the Playoff line up, Chicago will face Dallas again in the first round of the AFL post season.  Can Chicago defeat Dallas a second time?  It could come down to who has the home field advantage.  Chicago managed to beat Dallas at home, but anyone who knows how that works would probably lay odds against it happening twice if Dallas had the home field advantage.  Right now, it appears that the game will be played in Chicago, and I am going to put my money on Chicago, as long as Raterink doesn't come unglued next week as he looked at entering the play offs for a second year in a row with Chicago.

Kansas City Tease - Leather and Lace Football League - 2012

When I heard the news ... I was excited for a moment.  My first thought was LFL, the Lingerie Football League.  I had mentioned it in a previous article, and I thought for a moment that it was coming to KC.  Then I noticed that its not the LFL (Lingerie Football League), but the LLFL (Leather and Lace Football League).  Okay, a spin off of the LFL ... it could be interesting.  Then I did a little homework, checked youtube and found this...

PLEASE TELL ME THAT ITS BETTER THAN THIS?

FIRST:  The only way that this is like the Lingerie Football League is that you have women out there in pads and sport bars playing AT football.  In the case of the LFL, the ladies are not doing too bad of a job playing football.  However, the video that I found on youtube (see above) shows that there is a major difference in talent ... no only in playing skills, but in looks as well.

FRANKLY, I'M DISAPPOINTED.  Yeah, I know, men go to these games to see if there is going to be a uniform malfunction.  But it would be nice if a football game broke out.  What we have here is a cheap excuse for football, and the name KC Tease fits.  I get the impression that its all going to be about TRYING to look sexy and little about actual talent at playing football.  Sorry ... GIVE ME THE LFL!

Week 18 - Chicago Wins, Command Lose

I gave the Command the benefit of the doubt against the Iowa Barnstormers in Week 18, saying that this could be one of two wins in their final three games.  I was wrong.  Now I'm skeptical that the Command will win another game the rest of the season.  Wasil came out strong against Cleveland, scoring an upset.  However, he has not been able to pull the team together since, and based on records, the Command should have put on a better performance against Iowa.  Despite rallying to come within 8 points at the end of the game, the Command never held the lead.

I was skeptical about Chicago's chances against Georgia with Raterink at Quarterback.  But with stats such as 20 for 30, 223, four touchdowns and only one interception, Raterink seems to be performing well back in the lineup for Chicago.  Week 19 puts Chicago against the Dallas Vigilantes in Dallas, and Raterink may surprise us all and pull another game out of the bag for Chicago.  Am I confident in the win?  No.  But stranger things have been known to happen in Arena Football.  All we can do is cross our fingers that Raterink will not fall victim to last season's finale.  All we can do is sit back and see if Chicago can take it all the way back to the Arenabowl.

Raterink Lead Rush to Victory of Utah to Clinch Playoff Position

Now, wait a minute.  Wasn't J.J. Raterink the Quarterback for the Command?  Did the team just bench him in favor of Wasil?  Yes.  But, Chicago had traded DeFoe to the Command for a future consideration, and when Michna suffered his season ending ankle injury two weeks ago, the Rush took advantage of that future consideration and Raterink and he's back in Chicago.  That's right ... back in Chicago.

J.J. Raterink was the backup Quarterback for Michna in 2010.  After Michna suffered a season ending rib injury in 2010, Raterink came in and took over for the  last three games of the season and their first round playoff loss. Raterink's record those four games?  1-3.

But Raterink came out this week and set some descent stats in his 59-35 victory at home against Utah.  He went 19-33 for 281 yards and four touchdowns.  More impressive, and probably more important, was the fact that Chicago didn't commit any turnovers in the game.  But people have to be worried that this could be a repeat of 2010 where Raterink and the Rush lost in the first round of the 2010 playoffs.

But Chicago has clinched a Playoff position ... again.  They are looking at the Georgia Force (away) in week 18, then the Dallas Vigilantes (away), then they return home for their final game of the regular season against the Milwaukee Mustangs.  Am I going to sit here and try and predict how Chicago is going to do?

Raterink's record is not good with the Kansas City Command.  The question is, was it him or the Command?  His 2010 record doesn't speak well of his success, but McMillen seems to have a lot of confidence in him, so one has to wonder.  The Georgia Force and the Dallas Vigilantes are both strong teams and both still very much in the hunt for a playoff position.  The Milwaukee Mustangs, who ended their pursuit of the Arena Bowl appearance last year, are sitting at4-11 will not be making a playoff appearance this year, and unless the Chicago Rush shoot themselves in the foot, and they have been known to do it, they should win.  But Dallas and Georgia are going to be touch games that could go either way.