Don Eisenbarth News Today

The Utah Blaze are a wreck, and something needs to be done and done soon or the 2010 season will be the first Blaze will miss the postseason in franchise history.

The Blaze are returning to form in many ways this season. After a one year hiatus, the Arena Football League came back in 2010, and while there was a team that represented Utah, they never truly felt like the Utah Blaze I had come to know. However this year, things look different.

The Utah Blaze have, historically speaking, always been mediocre. Their best winning percentage has been 0.500, which they've achieved twice. Last year, they won the most victories in a season (9) but that could be attributed to the fact that they played more games then they have other seasons (18).

The Battle Wings take flight on a long trip to Salt Lake City. Its a winnable game for the win-less Blaze, but only if they play a perfect game on all sides of the ball. The Wings are a great team that has already won games against the Alabama Vipers (who have defeated the Blaze in Utah already this year) and the also win-less Orlando Predators.

Shortly before Fan Fest, media members were given the opportunity to talk to new Blaze majority owner Kim Brown before the start of the new season. Brown recently bought a majority share of the team previously owned by Kristen Murdock.

Two years ago, Ron James came to a podium in an upper conference room at the Maverick Center and made some spectacular comments on the future of the team. Having just taken a two year contract extension after taking over as the Utah Blaze Head Coach, James illustrated his vision of the team and the type of players it would take to reach that goal.

One of the more interesting features of this years AFL experience is how every team is like an expansion team. Each has a handful of AFL veterans sprinkled in with rookies and players from other leagues. Each team has a new start and new faces, and each team will have to prove their worth to their fans, because what fans were accustomed to may not be what they get.

After losses to the Tampa Bay Storm (8-3) and the Iowa Barnstormers (5-6), the Utah Blaze have now lost 8 of their 11 games this season by over 20 points.

Talking to the coaches and players of the Utah Blaze, you could tell that they were as confused by the home record as much as the fans. They knew they were a better team, but the scoreboard wasn't showing it.

The Blaze were knocked out early in an over-matched effort in their first game against Spokane. In this weeks game against the Alabama Vipers, the Blaze showed life, energy, skill and even some heart, but still found themselves on the losing end of a 63-54 bout at the E Center.