Page 53 - Fl Stats News Today

The Portland Thunder were always going to have a tough 2016 season under league ownership. Now, they're going to head into the campaign with a brand new coaching staff according to sources close to the situation.

Its been over a year since the Guru put on his thinking cap for the AFL, but after watching the Orlando Predators and Tampa Bay Storm kick it off in a scrimmage last Friday night, the juices are flowing again, and the Guru is back!

Training camp. Those halcyon days when all the pass routes are fearless and crisp, and the running backs burst through every hole for a twenty yard gain. Defensive linemen get to the quarterback with fearsome regularity, and passers stand tall in the pocket reading coverages and picking out receivers flawlessly with no notice of the rush whatsoever.

It takes a lot to build a franchise. With the stress it takes to find the right players to pleasing the fans in all aspects, as a fan you always would like to stay happy. In order to stay entirely happy though, one must win, and you would hope to see everyone be involved.

ArenaBowl XXV will be held at New Orleans Arena, home for the New Orleans VooDoo. As the No. 4 seed in the American Conference playoffs, the VooDoo know that they have no chance of hosting either of their first two playoff games. That being said, home field will be theirs for the ArenaBowl if they can get that far, and that first step comes on Saturday night in the City of Brotherly Love against the top seeded Philadelphia Soul.

The Tampa Bay Storm were delivered horrible news on Thursday when Adrian McPherson was put on injured reserve, ending his season. The Storm are now going to turn the ball over to Randy Hippeard for the rest of the season.

JACKSONVILLE -- There's no sense in legitimately recapping Saturday night's slaughter at the Shark Tank. The Jacksonville Sharks pummeled the Tampa Bay Storm in every aspect of the game and handed their instate rivals their worst loss in franchise history, winning 63-16 to improve to 9-7.

Question: What do the 2007 Las Vegas Gladiators, 2006 Kansas City Brigade, 2005 Columbus Destroyers, 2004 Grand Rapids Rampage, 2003 Carolina Cobras, 2002 Detroit Fury, 2001 New Jersey Gladiators, 1999 Buffalo Destroyers, 1997 Portland Forest Dragons, 1997 Anaheim Piranhas, 1997 New York CityHawks, 1996 Connecticut Coyotes, 1996 Texas Terror, 1993 and 1994 Cleveland Thunderbolts, and 1988 New York Knights all have in common?

CLEVELAND - Let the disappointment sink in. Cleveland's golden night was anything but. A sellout crowd? Not quite. The free shirts cleverly masked empty seats, but make no mistake about it, the place wasn't full. A no-fly zone? Not even close. No big hits. In its place, plenty of broken coverages. A backup quarterback turned ArenaBowl winner? Shane Austin forced throws he never had.

ArenaFan's Adam Markowitz had the opportunity to sit down and speak with Arena Football League Commissioner Scott Butera. The following interview took place on 11/18/15.