KC, Iowa, Chicago all Lose

What can I say?  I tuned into the Chicago Rush game on Ustream just before half-time, and as soon as I looked at the score, I knew it was going to be a bad evening for Chicago.  And it was.  Utah obliterated Chicago.  Kansas City was an easier game to watch, it was actually broadcast on local television.  And, when I tuned in, the Command was up 28 to 21 in the second quarter.  Unfortunately for KC, Spokane tied it up just before the half, and KC never saw the lead again.  And then there was Iowa, who took on the Arizona Rattlers in Arizona.  Of the three games, I figured that this one would have the greatest spread in points.  Instead, it was the closest game of the evening.

So, of the three games I kept track of ... I got two out of three.  I just wish that Chicago could have pulled off a win as I would really like to see Chicago make a run at the Arenabowl this year.  Kansas City is clearly out of the hunt ... unless the league falls apart, and Iowa's chances are very slim.

So, next week.  (week 15)

9-4 San Jose, come to Kansas City to take on the 2-10 Command.  Again, this is going to be a double loser for the Command.  I can't see them pulling out a miracle win against San Jose, and I would be willing to bet that attendance will be in the four thousand seats range again ... unless they give away a lot of free tickets and people actually use them.

5-8 Iowa takes on Division leader 9-3 San Antonio in Texas.  Iowa has a better chance of pulling off an upset than Kansas City does, but I'm not going to venture out to say that they will be able to do it against the Talons. Iowa put on a good showing against Arizona, but I can't put my money on them doing any better against San Antonio.

7-6 Georgia will take on the Rush in Chicago.  Chicago is undefeated at home (6-0), and with Georgia 3-3 on the road, I am going to put my money on Chicago.  Chicago is going to be trying to make up for the whipping they took at the hands of the Blaze, so this should be a good game.


San Jose over Kansas City, San Antonio over Iowa, Chicago over Georgia

KC Winning Streak Ends ... Surprised?

I actually missed out on last week's games.  My Scouting obligations had me making last minute preparations for the opening of Cub Scout Day Camp this week.  Now that I've had a chance to recuperate, I started looking at last week's results and while I predicted a KC win, I'm not surprised that they lost.  And speaking of losing ... attendance at the Sprint Center was down to 4,618 people.  This brings the average attendance of a Kansas City Command Game down to 4,806 in an Arena of which has a capacity of 18,500.  How long is Sprint going to reserve dates for the Command when they average only 25.9% capacity, and the best they have been able to do is only 34.2% of capacity.

On the other hand Iowa won its match against Cleveland, which was a nice surprise.  Chicago also beat the Shock, which I had predicted as well.

I'm not going to talk about last week's performance, nor really get into who is going to win what games this week.  Looking at the line up its  pretty simple just to say ... Spokane over KC, Chicago over Utah, and Arizona over Iowa.

Kansas City Wins #2, Iowa and Chicago Lose

I don't know what has changed in Kansas City, but the Command looked good against Georgia on Saturday night.  I managed to catch the game on Ustream, and while Arenafan is reporting that there were 5,079 fans in attendance, the arena looked empty.  Kansas City either played a second good game or Georgia shot itself in the foot.  Watching the game, I would be inclined to say that both teams played well, just that Kansas City made fewer mistakes and managed to come out on top at the end of the game.  So, now the question is, can Kansas City keep the momentum going, can they make it three games as they take on the Utah Blaze (three game losing streak) next weekend at home at the Sprint Center?  I'm still having a hard time imagining the Command making that strong of a turn around, and with the better record overall, I would be inclined to go with Utah.

There was a moment that I thought that Chicago was going to beat San Jose.  Leading the game at half-time, it looked like Chicago had things going well.  However, San Jose came out on top at the final buzzer.  As for Iowa, I guess I should have gone with the stats and not my desires.  I had Iowa taking the match against Spokane, but Spokane managed to get ahead before the half, and Iowa simply couldn't catch up to take the game.

Week 13:  First up is the Cleveland Gladiators (6-4) at Iowa on Friday, June 1.  I hate to say this, but Cleveland has the stronger record in this confrontation, so I'm gonna go with the Gladiators.  Iowa has not been a superpower at home.

Next up is Utah Blaze at Kansas City.  Utah has the stronger record, but Kansas City seems to have found what was missing from their game, and they could prove to be the stronger team here.  They managed to take out Georgia in a low scoring game, I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt against Utah, who comes to KC on a three game losing streak, but having scored a lot higher than Kansas City's last two wins.

Wrapping it up will be the Spokane Shock (6-4) against the Rush (6-4) in Chicago.  Chicago comes into this home game on a two game losing streak.  Spokane is riding a three game winning streak, but that momentum may not be enough to break Chicago's perfect season at home.  All of Chicago's losses have been on the road, they are 5-0 at home, and Spokane is only 3-2 on the road.  Two of the three wins that Spokane is bringing into this match up were at home, one against Philadelphia, but the other against 4-6 New Orleans.  The third in the series was against 4-7 Iowa, and after looking at everything, I will go with Chicago to win this one.

So, here are my predictions:  Cleveland over Iowa, Kansas City over Utah, and Chicago over Spokane.

Kansas City Wins, Iowa Loses ... badly.

Ouch!  The Iowa Barnstormers not only got beat, they got spanked.  I had looked at the stats and figured that the game would be close.  I was hoping that Iowa would pull out another victory, but when I got home from camping with the Boy Scouts, I looked at the scores and just hung and shook my head.  One report stated that Jacksonville was up 31-0 heading into the end of the first half when Iowa finally got themselves on the board.  So, Iowa drops to 4-6 and at this rate is pretty much taking themselves out of the play-offs picture with 8 games to go.

Well, I said that if Kansas City had a chance of winning a game this season, this was the game.  However, I figured that Kansas City was going for a perfect record of 0-18, so they would toss this one.  Really?  Honestly, I don't see Kansas City winning another game this season unless someone manages to scare the hell of of them.  As for building for the future, that doesn't wash in a league with a player turnover rate of 85%.

So, what am I looking at for Week 12?  Kansas City will drop a second one to the Georgia Force, this time at home in front of a minimal crowd of die-hard Arena Football Fans, some of which will actually be Command Fans.  It will also depend on  how many promo tickets they give away and what kind of game packages they can talk people into buying.

Iowa will be taking on the Spokane Shock, which are just ahead of them in the Conference, and this time they will be at home.  So, there is a chance, especially after getting spanked this week, that they could take the second game.

Chicago could have it's hands full this coming weekend as they take on the San Jose Sabercats in San Jose.  The Sabercats are undefeated at home this season, and are slightly ahead of the Rush in the stats.  But Chicago is coming into the game from a bye week so they've had plenty of time to prepare.  So, what do I think?  I'm need to go with the SaberCats on this one, as much as I would love to see Chicago win.

So, week 12 ... San Jose over Chicago, Iowa over Spokane, Georgia over Kansas City.

Week Eleven in the AFL

Okay, I didn't watch the games again this weekend.  You know, there is a lot going on right now and watching the lack luster Arena Football League is not high on my list of things to do.  But I'm keeping track of my team, and two others that are local favorites.

Week Ten, Chicago took on the Arizona Rattlers, and as much as I would have loved to see Chicago win, I was realistic and called the game for  Arizona.  Next week Chicago has a bye, so maybe they can figure out how NOT to shoot themselves in the foot the rest of the season and focus on making it to the playoffs and beyond.

Iowa handled Kansas City putting KC at 0-8 and taking Iowa to 4-5.  In week Eleven, KC is going to be taking on the Pittsburgh Power who are now 2-7.  This is KC's best chance of winning a game this season.  Once they get past this game, then they are looking at round two of the same teams that have beaten them so far, and home field advantage isn't going to help.  But I have faith in KC, and they are going to drop the game and enter week twelve at 0-9.

Iowa is going up against Jacksonville.  This is the only time that they are meeting this season, and looking at the records, away and home, I am going to take a chance and give this game to Iowa.

We shall see...

Rush take the Barnstormers

The Chicago Rush extend their season to 6-2 after a 61 to 50 home victory against the Iowa Barnstormers.  Yeah, I know that being a resident of Kansas City I should be cheering for the Command to pull off a handful of miracles, or for the nearby Iowa Barnstormers to start winning games, but as I have said in the past ... I was a Chicago Rush fan before there was an Arena team in KC the first time around, when the Barnstormers were an AF2 team.

So now its time to look at Week 10.  The 3-5 Iowa Barnstormers will be hosting the 0-7 Kansas City Command, and barring a meltdown at home, which the Barnstormers are capable, the perfect losing season for Kansas City should continue.  I am going to go with Iowa not losing to the likes of Kansas City and say that Iowa will make a good showing here.

Week Ten has the Chicago Rush away against the Arizona Rattlers.  Arizona hasn't been the powerhouse that some would have expected this year, and they come into this game with a record of 5-3.  This is to be the only meeting of the two teams this year, and Arizona has the potential to hand Chicago their third loss.  Arizona has a winning record at home while Chicago hasn't done as well on the road ... as of yet.  Point-wise, Arizona has the numbers in their favor.  More points scored per game and the less points allow of their opponents.  Its hard to be faithful to the Rush on this one.  The chance that Arizona could take this game is pretty good, and I am going to go with my gut feeling that Chicago is going to drop this one.

So, week Ten, I am going with Iowa over Kansas City, Arizona over Chicago.

Week Eight: Chicago, Iowa, and Kansas City losses

Once again, I didn't get a chance to catch the Chicago or Iowa games.  Another heavy Scouting event kept me away from home and by the time I got home, the games were over.  All I could do is check the scores and head to bed.

I didn't figure that Iowa would win, but I didn't figure that they would lose as badly as they did.  I would have save that score difference for the Kansas City game, taking the Command to 0-6.  But the Sabercats handled the Barnstormers, beating them 76-33.  Iowa was never really in the game, scoring wise.  They were out scored in the first two quarters, then failed to score at all in the final two.

Chicago managed to lead the game until the final two minutes, only to lose the game by one point.  I was looking at Chicago winning by a narrow margin, not losing by a narrow margin, and it leaves me wondering if the Chicago Rush may have gotten a little over confident after their great start.

What surprised me, when I got home on Monday evening ... Scouts again ... was that Kansas City was actually in the game.  But it didn't last long.  A muffed kick-off reception gave Tampa Bay an instant touchdown, and then an on-side kick attempt failed and Tampa Bay took a commanding lead and kept it.  So, Kansas City goes 0-6.

Week Nine:

The San Antonio Talons take on the Command in Kansas City.  This will only be the third home game that the Command have played this season, and I would hold my breath for a big turn out of what fans the team has left.  San Antonio comes into the game second in the conference with a record of 4-3.  Kansas City is last in the same conference, and there is no reason, especially after watching their Tampa Bay game, to think that they will break their losing street.

The Iowa Barnstormers will take on the Rush in Chicago.  If Chicago walks into this game too confident in their record, Iowa will hand them another loss.  Iowa has proven themselves quite the opponent on the road.  However, if Chicago can fix their problems, then Chicago should win this game.  Where do I stand?  I am going to go with Chicago.  I think that two loses will be enough to wake Chicago up and they will resume their quest for the Arenabowl.

So, my predictions?  Chicago over Iowa, San Antonio over KC.

A final note:  At the end of the Kansas City game on the NFL network, one of the Tampa Bay players was given a 'player of the game' award of a Net10 cell phone with three months of free service.  Has it gotten that bad that this would be a prize that an Arena Football Player would hang onto?

Arena Football Week Seven

Well, I didn't get to watch the Arena Football games this weekend, I had to settle for checking the final scores on the three teams that I'm following.  Interesting enough, all three games went as I called them for this week, with Chicago beat Milwaukee, but the Barnstormers and the Command both lost their games this week.  So Chicago is now 5-1 (as is the Philadelphia Soul).  Kansas City is now 0-5, and Iowa is now 3-3.

So, what of the changes that Kansas City has made?  They apparently aren't making a difference yet, and there is none of this "building for the future" since the Arena Football League has a very high turn over rate from year to year, thanks to the League breaking the Union in 2011 and driving the money player get into the basement.  So, to be honest, don't expect things to get better until the turnover hits the true weaknesses in the team, the ownership and coaching staff, and that's not going happen until the team goes financially under.  To be frank, I don't expect to see an AFL team in Kansas City much longer.

So, let's talk Week 8.  

Kansas City (0-5) at Tampa Bay Storm (3-3):  I'll make this short and sweet.  Kansas City is going to come out of week eight 0-6.  I don't see them beating anyone on their schedule this year, not unless there are some serious changes in the team's performance.  It makes no difference if the team is home or away, the team isn't going to play any better, and attendance at the Sprint Center is going to continue to go downhill.

Chicago Rush (5-1) at San Antonio Talons (3-2):  Chicago is 1-1 on the road, while San Antonio is 2-1 at home.  I will give the Talons a slim chance of taking the game, but the Rush have the overall better record when it comes to points scored and in the teams that they have faced to get their record.  Its going to be close, especially with the Rush being on the road, but I think that Chicago will manage to pull this one out and go 6-1.

San Jose Sabercats (4-2) at Iowa Barnstormers (3-3):  You really can't count the Barnstormers out, especially with the fan support that they get.  Unfortunately, they have a better record on the road than they do at home.  The Sabercats are 1-2 on the road, the same stat that Chicago has at home, but they are 4-2 overall.  I really find myself wanting to go with Iowa, especially when they can pull off victories over opponents such as Arizona, but with their record at home, the Sabercats will likely take it.

So, my predictions for Week 8.  Tampa Bay over KC, Chicago over San Antonio, and San Jose over Iowa.

Easter Bunny at Chicago Rush vs KC Command

"You call that a Flip?"  The words caused me to smile as someone dressed up in a really ... well ... lame Easter Bunny costume palm flipped the coin at the beginning of the Chicago Rush, Kansas City Command game on April 7th.  The comment was made by one of the members of the Kansas City Command, and I would have to agree with him.  That wasn't much of a flip.  Of course, Kansas City lost the flip and Chicago deferred for Kansas City to receive the opening kick off.  Most people like to receive the kick off to open the second half, not the first.

Now, I'm not the only one who had comments to make about the Easter Bunny.  Watching the game on Ustream, the chat comments during the half-time show Easter Egg hunt said it all.  If I was Chicago, I would seriously reconsider using that costume again ... and Kansas City ... don't even think about it.

Rush Go 4-0, KC Goes 0-4

Let me start off by pointing out the obvious.  The plan of replacing both Quarterbacks on Monday and bringing in not one, but two Rookie Quarterbacks to take on Chicago may not have been the smartest idea.  But it may actually rank above keeping the kicker.  The first half for Kansas City was absolutely dismal.  A touchdown early, missed PAT, not once, but twice.  That's right, twice.  KC got a second chance for a PAT and the kicker missed it a second time.  Then the team could not get down the field, so two attempts for field goals in the first quarter were ... wide right ... wide left.  Add two interceptions and coming out of the first half, the story was being told.  Kansas City is not to win this game.

And it didn't get any better.  KC managed to get a little pressure on the Rush QB in the second half, but they were unable to get their game together and Kansas City dropped their fourth game in a row, this time to Chicago.

Now, let's talk about next week.  Chicago is going to Georgia, who just suffered a massive loss to Philadelphia.  The Soul came within 7 points of the AFL single game record (99 points) and laid down a 92-42 win over the Force.  But I wouldn't discount the Force.  When you look at their stats, the Force is scoring 49.75 points per game and they are 1-1 at home.  Chicago is 1-0 away, and average over 60 points per game, and scored 62 points against the Barnstormers on the road.  If go on the stats, Chicago should win this game, but how long can Chicago keep it going, and how pissed off is Georgia?  I am going to stick my neck out and give Chicago the benefit of the doubt and stick with them this week.  Chicago, barely over Georgia.

Kansas City?  Right now, I doubt they could beat the bye.  And going up against the San Jose Sabercats, who have beaten the Arizona Rattlers, does not leave much hope of not going 0-5.  But KC has a bye week to try and get their team together for week seven.

Now, let's look at the Command's season so far.  They have played the Gladiators, first in their division, the Rattlers, first in their division, and the Rush who are first in our division.  The only chance they've really had so far is the Jacksonville Sharks, and its not going to get any better.  Kansas City is the lowest scoring team in the AFL, and the game against Chicago didn't improve their per game points scored average.

KC Command Worst In League Honors

The Kansas City Command are sitting with a dismal record of 0-3 after Week Four.  They would likely be 0-4 if it wasn't for their early bye week, especially when you look at the league stats after the first four weeks.  The Kansas City Command rank last in Scoring Offense, Pass Offense, Total Offense, Pass Efficiency, First Down, Third Down Conversions, and Field Goals.  They ranked next to worst in allowing their opponents to convert on fourth down, and the dismal stats go on and on and on and on.

Those stats are about to get worse, and they are going to allow the Chicago Rush to break the "curse" of being picked the number one team when they go to Chicago this weekend, and instead of fulfilling their destiny and winning the game, they are going to stack more pitiful numbers on their already horrible stats.

But let's face facts.  When you look at the attendance across the league.  When you look at the points scored, and you take the time to watch some of the other games around the league, its easy to see that we're getting exactly what the owners are willing to pay for ... and that's far from the cream of the crop.  I heard one person state that the player turnover across the league is approaching 80-85%.  Players are not willing to put their bodies through the rigors of Football for pennies on the dollar.  It's gotten to the point where Players cannot afford to take time away from what have become their 'real jobs' in order to pursue what is not basically a hobby of playing football.  The team owners, and the owners of the new AFL have put this league back ... well one person said ten years, I would say its is far more than that.  Remember the base pay for an AFL player is now only around $400 per game, versus almost $6,000 per game before the league collapsed a few years ago and this new ... pseudo AFL ... arose.

The Kansas City Command need to do something fast.  They can use the excuse of competing against a KU Final Four match to explain away their last home game attendance of 2,833.  But what about the fact that they had less than 6,000 the home game before, and with all the promotions they are running, they will unlikely do any better the next home game.  The league needs to do something fast.  They are losing AFL fans at a high rate of speed.

Yes, I am spending a lot of time pointing out how bad things are in the AFL.  Suggestions?  How about we get back to what made the league great?  Cater to the Fans once again, going to an AFL game use to be a lot of fun.  Pay more money so you can get some better players.  We used to see some incredible football in the final minutes of a game, not any more.

league stats:  http://www.arenafootball.com/statsdrilldown/CONFLDRS.HTM

Command Drop Game Three

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the Kansas City Command dropped their third game to the Arizona Rattlers.  And it shouldn't be a surprise that the Rattler's won the game by twice the score.  Kansas City isn't going to be much to talk about this year.  Simply put, if the AFL fans in Kansas City want to get behind a team, they  might want to consider someone like the Barnstormers who seem to be able to surprise people with their performances.

As for the fans.  The attendance reports should be dismal.  The poor performance by the Command isn't going to be the main problem.  Kansas tipped off against Ohio State at eight o'clock, thirty minutes after the Command game was scheduled to start.  It would be a safe bet to say that Allen Field House has more people in attendance than the Sprint Center.

Update:  The attendance at the KC Command Game was beyond dismal.  Its is clear where the priorities lay for Arena Football Fans in Kansas City.  The attendance for this game, as reported to Arenafan.com?  2,833 in the seats.  Strangely enough, attendance across the league was up for this particular week.

Next Week?  The Command take on the Chicago Rush, and while Kansas City has been known to surprise the Rush - see last season - I doubt that Kansas City is going to win in Chicago.  So, Chicago over Kansas City.

Command Drop Game Two

While the Command seemed to be able to get the scores they needed to stay close in the game, but they couldn't pull it together enough to develop a win.  Again, I caught the game on Ustream, and I sat back and watched another AFL game that never came close to reminding me of the level of play that we were all accustom to back before the original AFL collapsed in 2008.

The Kansas City Command currently hold the lowest average for number of points scored per game in the entire league at 33.5, and have the second highest number of points allowed per game at 50.5.  They are failing to convert third downs and actually gave the ball up on downs in their game against Cleveland.  Kansas City is suffering the same disgrace that the rest of the league is suffering, and it's not showing any signs of getting better.  In fact, unless the Command start to show something to the fans, attendance is going to become even more dismal than it already is, and AEG is not going to allot the Command use of the Sprint Center if they cannot show a respectable profit.  And let's face facts, its far less about the sport and fans with the new AFL than it is about making a good solid profit for the owners and the league.

But let's look ahead now.

The Arizona Rattlers come to Kansas City in week four.  Arizona is currently in second place in their division and averaging 70 points per game in offense.  They lost against the Sabercats by one point in Week One, and in Week Two collected their first win against the Milwaukee Mustangs at home.

With the dismal showing that the Command has given over first three weeks of the season, I find no reason to believe that anything is going to change, and the Command will drop game two ... at home ... against a team that managed to make it to the Arenabowl last year and despite the fact that there is now a major turnover in players within the teams of the AFL.

Arizona over Kansas City

Command Lose Season Opener to Jacksonville at Home

The Kansas City Command open their 2012 Season at home with a loss to the Jacksonville Sharks, 28-52.  But the score wasn't the only loss.  The Command and the owners of the Sprint Center, AEG, have been battling a dwindling interest in the team since the team made the move from Kemper to the new Sprint Center.  The season opener is recorded as having a league low 5,161 in attendance, and to be honest, its hard to get your team inspired when the seats look mostly empty.

So, what's next?  The Command are going to play the Cleveland Gladiators who are coming off a loss to the Georgia Force.  Cleveland was clearly the superior team in 2011, finishing at the top of the division, and with the history of the Command, its a pretty safe statement to say that Kansas City fans need to be ready to look an 0-2 Command when they come back home to Kansas City to suffer another loss against the Arizona Rattlers.  Could this change?  Yes, it could.  Will it?  Unlikely, based on the history of the Command.

Predictions:
Week Three:  Cleveland over Command
Week Four:  Arizona over Command (but we'll re-examine it after the next game)

Command vs Sharks - Game One in Kansas City

Unless the Command have made some major changes to their team, unless they have put the problems of 2011 behind them, the Kansas City Command will open their 2012 Season with a loss at home against the Jacksonville Sharks.  Now, I know that there are going to be a lot of people who would want to disagree with me.  The Kansas City Command Fans really want this team to step up and have a winning season.  But history is working against them.  The Kansas City Command have not been able to put together a winning season since they moved from Kemper to the Sprint Center, and dwindling attendance makes it hard for the team to afford picking up the better players (as if the league was paying them much to begin with).

So, I am going to make two predictions:  Command will drop one to the Sharks, attendance will be its normal less than 9,500 in attendance, even with the specials they are running.

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.