Sunday, February 26, 2012

Kansas City Tease (sigh)

Selling the players as Serious?
Looks more like Sex Sells
(taken from KC Tease on Facebook)
Okay, I'm starting to get a headache trying to figure this team out.  First they were going to be a part of the Leather and Lace Football League (LLFL), then I found something about the Sugar and Spice Football League a couple of months ago (SSFL), and now I find that they are a part of a new league allegedly formed by the female athletes called the Ladies Arena Football League (LAFL).  It seems like there has been a lot of confusion about where they are going to land especially with the talk being that their season was coming up soon.  Now they are in a league with only five total teams, according to LAFL website, and there is no schedule posted for the alleged 2012 Season.  Here is the information provided on the site:
Lady Arena Football League is formed by Female Athletes. We understand being female Athletes and not being appeciated for our talents. LAFL Staffs works hard at setting a platform for ladies to be beautiful on and off the feild. 
We are a 8 on 8 Full Contact Football League which play in Lingerie Style Uniforms. LAFL are of the same By Laws and Rules of the National Arena Football League. Ladies of the LAFL are not just Football Players, there are other opportunities under our unbrella.
Ladies of the LAFL will not just be Football Players but  Role Models to young women. Letting them know you  can compete in a "MAN Sport" and  embrace being a lady at the same time.
The Lady Arena Football League is in its active first season. The League consist of 5 Active teams: Lady Houston Panthers, New Orleans Lady Dollz, Los Angeles Riders, Kansas City Tease and St. Louis Sting.  (LAFL Web Site)
This is a football team?  I see two that I would be willing
to take seriously, the rest ... well ... I'm struggling
(taken from KC Tease on Facebook)
Interesting little tidbit that I picked up on Twitter about one of the teams in this league, the LA Riders is owned by Snoop Dog.  The Kansas City Tease is owned by Steve Hooks, a local entrepreneur in the local entertainment industry for the past 10 years.  The team is coached by Leonard Bulock who brings to the table a lengthy resume of High School Football Coaching positions, and apparently some experience in ladies Semi-Pro ball.

But it all still comes down to the fact that when you look at their Facebook page, you still see the promos that the team is going to be showing up at a club named Luna.  In all fairness, the sex sells attitude is exploited with the Lingerie Football League, and I really gave them a hard time until I started catching the games on MTV2, so I guess we will have to see what comes of this, especially after one reader has stated in a previous article that the ladies are actually running some real plays at practice.

So, let's find a home already.  Don't tell me to take you seriously when all I have to go by are pictures like the two shown here.  Someone needs to tell those who would like to see if this can be taken seriously or not, when and where are they going to be playing here in Kansas City, and how much is this ... game ... going to cost me to check the team out?

I'd like to be a fan, but I'm having a hard time taking this all seriously.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Chicago Rush 43 - Iowa Barnstormers 22

Rush vs Barnstormers at iWireless Arena in Moline Illinois
While it doesn't really count, it should be taken as a sign of things to come.  The exhibition game between the Chicago Rush and the Iowa Barnstormers is in the books and Chicago walks away with it.

Like a lot of people who didn't make the game, I had to watch Twitter and the Chicago Rush Facebook page for updates for the game, and from what was being shared, it was a good game.  To get things started, the Defense sacked the Barnstormer's quarterback, then scored on a Barnstormer's fumble.  The Barnstormers came back with a TD, but missed the extra point.  They would not score again in the first half of the game and at half-time the Rush had a commanding 26 to 6 lead.

The second half of the game show a little life from the Barnstormers.  The Barnstormers managed to block a field goal attempt and return it for a TD.  The Barnstormers would score another nine points in the second half, but it would not come close to being enough to take the game.  The final score was Chicago 43, Iowa 22.

But as I said, this was only an exhibition game.

Friday, February 24, 2012

AFL: Week One Preview - Chicago over Tampa, Iowa loses to Spokane?

Its almost Arena Football Season once again, and once again I am going to be tracking three teams.  Once again I am going to be tracking the local underdogs, the Kansas City Command and the Iowa Barnstormers.  But my team for 2012 will once again be the Chicago Rush, if you haven't figured that out from the new header on my Blog.

Tomorrow (February 25th) is actually the first game of the AFL Season for me ... an exhibition game between the Chicago Rush and the Iowa Barnstormers, which does not show up on any schedule, and is reported to be taking place at the I Wireless arena in Moline Illinois.  Unfortunately, I have yet to find any hint that the game will be televised for those who would like to see it, but can't really make the trip to Moline.  I stand by my prediction that as long as Chicago takes the game seriously, they will win.

I know its early, but let's take an early look at Week One:

Let's start off with the Chicago Rush.  Week One they will be taking on the Tampa Bay Storm in Chicago.  These two teams did not meet in Inter-Conference play in 2011, but they will meet on March 10th.  

Tampa Bay finished the 2011 Season with a record of 7 wins 11 loses.  They were 4-7 in Conference play, but they were in a strong conference, which included the AFL Champs Jacksonville Sharks.  But they only averaged 44 points per game during 2011 while allowing their opponents to average 56 points per game..

Chicago finished 2011 with a record of 13-5, and finished in Second Place in their conference, losing to the Arizona Rattlers in their final playoff bid to return to the Arenabowl.  They came out of the 2011 season with an average of 53 points per game and only allowed their opponents to average 46 points per game.  So, I'm going to go with history, and Chicago has a strong AFL history, I am going to call this one for the Chicago Rush.

The Iowa Barnstormers will be taking on the Spokane Shock in Spokane.  These two teams only met once in 2011 with Iowa hosting.  The result of the game was a one point win by Iowa as the home team.

In 2011 the Spokane Shock made it to the first round of the playoffs where their season was ended by the Arizona Rattlers.  Spokane finished 2011 with a regular season record of 9 wins and 9 loses, averaging almost 58 points per game while allowing their opponents to average 57 points.  They were 6-5 in their own Conference, but the interesting little piece of information here is that they were only 2-7 when playing away.

Iowa finished 2011 with a record of 5-13 with a home record of 4-5.  They averaged 51 points per game, but allowed their opponents to average 62 points.  Looking at the two teams stats, I find it hard to believe that Iowa is going to beat Spokane in Spokane.  If it was the other way around, if Iowa was at home, then I could see giving them the benefit of the doubt, but I have to call this one for Spokane.

So, Week One:  Chicago over Tampa Bay - Spokane over Iowa.

Oh, Kansas City has a bye Week One.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Pre-Season: Chicago Rush vs Iowa Barnstormers

The Arena Football League will hold an exhibition game between the Chicago Rush and the Iowa Barnstormers at the I-Wireless Center in Moline Illinois, on February 25, 2012.  With the end of the NFL season, Arena fans are biting at the bit for Arena season to kick off, and its just around the corner.

I've said it time and time again, I was a Chicago Rush fan before there was an Arena team in Kansas City.  When the Kansas City Brigade were the team here in Kansas City, I supported them as a Season Ticket holder, but always found my loyalties divided when the Brigade and the Rush faced off.  Now its the Kansas City Command, and I find it incredibly hard to be a Command fan after the final Brigade Season, and the fact that everything that people loved about the Brigade died when the team left its original home in Kemper Arena.  So, my team for 2012 will be as it was in 2011 ... the Chicago Rush.

How do I think the Barnstormers are going to fare against Chicago?  While there is always the off chance of an upset, the Chicago Rush completed the 2011 Season with a superior team.  There is no reason to believe that that's going to change.  Chicago has the fan support to bring in the money it takes to tap into the better players.  Then again, we need to remember that Pre-Season does not count, so there is a good chance that Chicago is not going to field their top players.

But neither team is at home here.  This is neutral ground, even with it taking place in Illinois, its right on the Mississippi with Iowa on the other bank.  Looking at the records these two teams met twice in 2011, with Chicago winning both.  With Iowa at home, the game was decided by only one point, while in Chicago the game was decided by 10 points.  So, in my opinion, if Chicago takes the game seriously, and barring one of Iowa's uncanny lucky games, Chicago should win this one.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Kansas City Tease? Apparently just that, a tease.

I guess we're saying goodbye to the Leather and Lace Football League and hello to the Sugar and Spice Football League?  Don't ask me what happened, all I know is that neither league, the LLFL or the SSFL seem to have much than a cheap, thin web presence and a facebook page that says little to nothing about the league, the teams, or their schedule.

The Kansas City Tease is no better.  I've been to their Facebook page and what I'm seeing is a threat that the League is going to kick off in May, but its surrounded by a lot of "come see the girls at a club call Luna.  I also took a moment and researched the Sugar and Spice Football League, which the KC Tease is now supposed to be a member of, and there is absolutely NOTHING about the league other than a page that shows the league logo, and several teams, none of which are the KC Tease.

Let's be real.  Its going to take a lot of work for the ladies to prove that this isn't some prick-tease in regards to Arena Football.  We've been watching for sometime, waiting for some real information about the team, about where they are going to play, about when their season begins.  When we find information about the league that the KC Tease is looking to be a part of, you find yourself sitting back shaking your head thinking that this is the Junior Varsity High School Team if the Lingerie Football League was the Pros.  At least the girls in the LFL can play football, and until the KC Tease actually do something other than show up at some club as eye-candy, I am not going to take them seriously.  So, no more about this ... tease.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Aaron Garcia Greater Than Tom Brady - BC Slasher claims on Facebook

BC Slasher - AFL Super Fan
Arena Football League QB Aaron Garcia took the Jacksonville Sharks Afl down the field for a game winning TD in ArenaBowl XXIV. Tom Brady could not do the same with 57 seconds. Therefore.... Aaron Garcia > Tom Brady

I've seen some interesting claims on Facebook, but now and then one comes out that makes me sit back and say ... come on, get a grip.  Even tongue in cheek, this is stupid.  Such was the case when I read the above post on Facebook by BC Slasher.  This is not the first ludacris statement that has made in the past in his rabid support of Arena Football.  If you look back into the early articles of this blog, you will find an article called "Iowa Barnstormers Sit Fans ..." where the wife of the man who made the above statement wrote an article for ArenaFan Online.

Now, I understand being a devote Arena Football Fan, and Scott is a good guy for the most part.  Hell, I drove from Kansas City to Chicago one weekend to see the Kansas City Brigade (now Command) play against the Chicago Rush, a battle that would determine if Kansas City would have home field advantage going into the playoffs.  I was once a Season Ticket holder, but I maintained a level of reality about my support of the team.

My response to BC Slasher (or whatever he is calling himself now) was simple.
Let's take into consideration twice the defensive talent, twice the length of field. I like Arena Football, but I'm not going to be stupid about it.
You can count the AFL stars that have left the AFL and made it big in the NFL on one hand.  In fact, the only name that comes to mind is Kurt Warner, who left Arena Football for the Canadian Football League, and then went into the NFL to win a Superbowl.  Star receiver Sippio made the jump into the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs, but found himself out-talented.  If Aaron Garcia was greater than Tom Brady, he wouldn't be playing in the Arena Football league, he would be making millions of dollars playing in the NFL, that plain and simple.