Page 24 - Fl Stats News Today

December 5th is a sad day for me every year, and this morning, Facebook once again reminded me of the passing of the great Tim Marcum. Today marks five years since the demise of the best coach in AFL history, and it only felt appropriate for me to come out of my retirement to heap some praise on what has inevitably become one of the forgotten heroes of the Arena Football League.

If the War on I-4 between the Tampa Bay Storm and the Orlando Predators was the rivalry of the AFL prior to 2008, the rivalry between the Preds and the Jacksonville Sharks has become the new hottest thing in the league. One of these two teams has represented the Southern Division and the state of Florida in the American Conference Championship Game since 2010, and that will hold true once again this season.

Last week, we saw seven of the eight playoff teams in the Arena Football team be revealed. One spot remains up for grabs on the final week while playoff seedings are still up in the air.

The bells rings. The clock is rested at 3 P.M. I run out from class to catch the bus. The year is 2005. Nine years young, excited to leave school on a Friday. Everyone is making plans for the weekend, except me. My weekend is booked.

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.

Any football team worth its salt is constantly reaching for the next level. The question for the expansion Portland Thunder is exactly what, or who is the next hurdle to climb? The answer here is, at least for the foreseeable future, actually pretty clear, and just up the road.

Barnstomers ticket holders now have a code of conduct. Thanks to this political politeness, the Iowa Barnstormers are losing their super fan base. The code of conduct calls for orderly behavior (that's a given), no swearing (another given), and to sit in your seat during the game. Really????

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).

For the last four weeks the Orlando Predators have been on a collision course with their Southern division rival Jacksonville Sharks. In the last meeting on April 30, the Sharks prevailed with a 76-55 win powered by a dominant second half that saw them score 25 unanswered points...

Every team says they have the best fans, but it is quite another thing to prove it. Demonstrating the true passion of Arena Football League fans, more than 100 Arizona Rattlers diehards made the trip west to California last weekend to watch their team dominate the Los Angeles KISS 70-25.