Champion of Champions (Indoor Football): Indoor Football Weekly #5

Well everyone we have yet another championship game down and just one to go. The playoff race in the Indoor Football League has been determined for sure (finally!). We also have some big news coming out of the AIF that for once is not a team folding (shocker right!). So now let's get started with your newest indoor football weekly!

The biggest news coming out of the AIF is that the defending champion Columbus Lions have announced that they will NOT be returning to American Indoor Football. Widely speculated from early on in the season they made the announcement official (http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/sports/other-sports/article86343167.html) saying they will not return to the AIF, at the same time saying they are contractually bound to the league until Mid-July. I would expect not just the Columbus Lions but also the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks and Florida Tarpons to leave the league. We will keep you updated as the situation progresses.

In Champions Indoor Football news the league successfully capped off their second season with CIF Champions Bowl II. The contest was played at Wichita, KS Intrust Bank Arena. The crowd on hand of 4,772 would witness a battle and a classic contest. The only score in the first quarter was a 16 yard pass from Olson to Kelley to make it 7-0 Force. Amarillo would get on the board in the second but Wichita wasn't going to give and went into half time with a lead of 20-10. The low scoring would continue in the 3rd quarter as each team would only manage one touchdown. With the score 27-17 after 3 the scoring finally ramped up as Amarillo knew they needed to push as much as possible to win the title. Amarillo did put 28 points on the board compared to Wichita's 21, the 5 yard touchdown pass from Davis to Brandley wouldn't be enough and the Force walked out with a tight 48-45 victory to win CIF Champions Bowl II. The title is the first for the Force and 3rd in 4 seasons for the city (the Wichita Wild won the CPIFL in 2013 and 2014). As of right now all 12 clubs will be returning to the CIF next season with no expansion announced yet, we will keep you updated throughout the offseason.

The premier league of the sport, the Indoor Football League, is one week away from their playoffs. Last week in the final week of the regular season everything was determined as to the playoff races still going on. Both Cedar Rapids and Wichita Falls won their final games last weekend, which the Nighthawks needed the Titans to lose it. Cedar Rapids will host Wichita Falls at the US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids on Saturday July 9th at 7:05PM in the United Conference semi-final. The winner of that game will travel to the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center to take on the Storm on Saturday July 16th for the United Conference Championship. In the Intense Conference it's a different story as the second year Billings Wolves are hosting the Nebraska Danger in the semi-final. Nebraska has lost the United Bowl championship every year since 2013 to the Sioux Falls Storm but this season barely scraped themselves in to the playoffs at 6-10. The winner of the the semi-final will travel to the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena to take on the expansion Spokane Empire to play for the Intense Conference Championship.

Well everyone that's it for Indoor Football Weekly again I thank everyone from the Indoor Football Forum for some of this information. We will be off next week due to the holiday and lack of games this weekend, so we will see you in 2 weeks!

One Down, Two to Go: Indoor Football Weekly #4

Well one championship has gone by and there is just two more to go in this crazy sport we all love. The AIF Championship game was played in Columbus as well as the CIF Division Championships, the Indoor Football League is down to just one week left as well. So everyone let's get started!

As usual we'll start out with the train wreck known as American Indoor Football, the good news is that it was the AIF Championship Game between the 2 most deserving teams. The Columbus Lions (2015 PIFL Champions) would play host to the expansion (but yet good) West Michigan Ironmen. It should have been a mostly uneventful football game, but that's just not how the AIF rolls. The Lions started out with a huge 23-6 lead after the first quarter, it wouldn't get any better as they took at 45-26 lead into half time. The 3rd quarter would again see Columbus dominate putting the lead up to 61-32. The 4th quarter is where it would get interesting, with Columbus now up 74-32 a scuffle in the late 4th would see West Michigan walk off the field with about 4 minutes to play. Accounts vary from source to source so I'll let you determine it, the game is available for viewing at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS8xWbirsWk. Columbus would win their first (and for god sakes hopefully only) AIF Championship, and an unbeaten season. We'll have more (hopefully very little) coverage as the AIF (sadly) expands (even though it needs to fold).



In the CIF (a much better more legit league) the North and South Division Championships were held this past weekend. As 4 clubs came in 2 would continue on their ways to CIF Champions Bowl II. The North Division final would be held at the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, KS with the hosting Wichita Force taking on the Bloomington Edge. The Force had gained the bye after a 10-2 season while the Edge had finished 7-5 on the season and beat Sioux City at home the previous week. A crowd of 3,144 would see the Force take out the Edge with a razor thin win of 52-51. It would be all up to the Southern teams now with the Texas Revolution (10-2) hosting the Amarillo Venom. The Venom finished the season at 8-4 and beat Dodge City at home the previous week to move on to Allen. In yet another nail biter of a football game the Venom brought down the Revolution 57-53. CIF Champions Bowl II will take place on Monday (yes Monday for some reason) June 27th at 7PM inside the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, KS. The game will also be viewable live on eversport.tv/indoor-football/cif and on archive (if they ever get one up).

And last but certainly not least is the IFL. With one week left in the regular season (the longest in Indoor Football) have all been decided and this week will finish the season for 4 (Green Bay, Iowa, Colorado, and Tri-Cities) of the leagues 10 clubs. The playoff setup is set up as so. In the Intense Conference the Billings Wolves (7-8) will host the Nebraska Danger (5-10) in the first round with the winner going on to play at the Spokane Empire (12-3) the following week in Spokane, WA. In the United Conference the Sioux Falls Storm (yet again) have secured the hosting rights to the United Conference Championship and if they win it the 2016 IFL United Bowl. In the United Conference Semi-Finals it will be the Cedar Rapids Titans against the Wichita Falls Nighthawks at a TBD location, which brings us to our only games that matter this weekend. Cedar Rapids (11-4) play on the road in Des Moines against the Iowa Barnstormers (4-11), the Titans have already beat them twice and won the Iowa Bowl while the Barnstormers are looking to avoid their worst finish in franchise history, Wichita Falls (10-5) will be playing on the road against the Green Bay Blizzard (5-10). Wichita Falls does hold the tiebreaker over Cedar Rapids, for the Titans to host the first round game they will either have to beat Iowa OR have the Nighthawks lose to Green Bay, while in order for the Nighthawks to win they have to beat Green Bay AND have Iowa beat the Titans.

Well everyone that's it for now, we'll be back next week recapping the CIF Champions Bowl II, as well as the IFL's final week and a preview of the IFL United Bowl playoffs. Again thanks to everyone over at Indoor Football Forum, and we'll see you next week.

It's Time for the Hunt: Indoor Football Weekly #3

Well everyone it's time for the hunt in indoor football and it's playoffs. The AIF is in its Championship Game weekend, the CIF is playing the division finals and the IFL has 2 weeks left in the season.

First let's start off in American Indoor Football (AIF), where they are in Championship weekend this week and will end the season. Last week in the division championships we had the best 4 (legitimately unlike the previous week) play. The South Division Championship consisted of the Columbus Lions (2015 PIFL Champions, 9-0 in 2015) hosting the Florida Tarpons (2015 X-League Champion/8-1). This game would not end pretty in another meeting between these teams. The Lions who had to fight the Stars hard the previous week would tear apart the Tarpons with a final score of 79-66 to send the Lions to host the championship game. The North Division Championship would be a battle of steel and iron as the West Michigan Ironmen (8-1) hosted the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (7-2) in Muskegon. Coming into the game the Steelhawks were the clear favorite to win the game and play Columbus but in a stunning upset fashion the Ironmen took the Steelhawks out of flight and won 42-35. West Michigan will travel to Columbus to take on the Lions in the AIF Championship on Saturday June 18th. This will be the final game in yet another nightmare of an AIF season

Out west in Champions Indoor Football the road to CIF Champions Bowl II will continue this week. The two game in the Division Semi-Finals were not pretty by any means. In the North Division Semi-Final the Bloomington Edge hosted the defending champion Sioux City Bandits, the Bandits however did not look like the championship caliber team they were the year before. The Edge cut the Bandits by a final score of 65-45. Down in the South Division Semi-Final Amarillo would play Dodge City for the second consecutive week on the season. The Venom had some sharp play as they aimed for 100 points which they fell just short of. The Law fell dead in their tracks as the Venom took a massive 98-56 route over Dodge City. The division finals are now set as it will be the Wichita Force hosting the Bloomington Edge to play for the North Division title and a berth to CIF Champions Bowl II. In the South the Allen Event Center in Allen, TX will host an all Lone Star State affair for the division title. The Texas Revolution (10-2) will host the Amarillo Venom (9-4) in what is sure to be an all out Texas Style Slobberknocker. Both games will take place on Saturday June 18th at 7PM CT.

In the Indoor Football League we have just 2 weeks to go in the regular season now. The playoffs have been for the most part decided, in the United Conference Sioux Falls has guaranteed home field advantage throughout the playoffs and it will be Cedar Rapids playing Wichita Falls in the United Semi-Final. The Intense conference is not quite as clear cut, Spokane does have the bye and will host the Intense Conference Championship and Billings has gained the 2nd of 3 playoff berths, Nebraska (5-9) and Tri Cities (3-11) are both still alive for that final spot. Important games in the IFL Playoff race this week are Wichita Falls at Iowa, if Iowa wins Cedar Rapids will host the Nighthawks if Wichita Falls wins then the home team in the first round will be determined next week in the final game of the season. The other playoff implicating games are Nebraska at Colorado and Tri-Cities at Billings, if Nebraska wins or Tri-Cities loses there in the playoffs, Tri-Cities has to win twice and have Nebraska lose twice to make. Billings on the other hand can clinch the home semi-final game with a win (which will knock out Tri-Cities) and a Nebraska loss.

That's all we have for you here at Indoor Football Weekly, next week we will have a more detailed recap of the AIF Championship. Again thanks to everyone over at Indoor Football Forum and we will see you next week.

Howlin' at the Moon: Week 1

Well everyone the first week of action is done in the 2016 edition of the Northwoods League and that means the first 6 games have been played. Let's go over some highlights from this weeks Mankato MoonDogs action.

Opening Day of the 2016 schedule was set for Tuesday May 31st at Port Arthur Stadium in Thunder Bay against the Border Cats, rain however would postpone the opener until the following day. Wednesday came and north of the border the Dogs would fight the Cats in back to back games. Game One would be a high scoring 15-6 affair with no runs scoring in the just the 1st, 6th, and 9th innings, starter Nate Jones would go 3 innings and earn his first ever NWL win. Game Two would be scheduled for just 7 innings and would be the exact opposite of game 1 with the MoonDogs winning it 4-0 with starting pitcher Jordan Harms go 5 innings for the MoonDogs striking out 5.

The next series would bring them to Mayo Field in Rochester on Thursday to take on the Honkers. Mankato would start super hot against there Southern Minnesota and North Division rivals by scoring 7 runs on them in the first 2 innings. Those runs were highlighted by a 2 runs shot in the first by Jake Shepski, but those weren't the only runs Mankato would score. The MoonDogs would tack on 5 more while only allowing 2 runs to win it in another blowout game 12-2 with Ricky Digrugilliers going 6 innings striking out 5 and walking none taking the win. Home Opening night was scheduled for Friday against Rochester to cap off the series at Frank Rogers Park but after moving the start times 3 times the game was postponed until June 8th when the Honkers come back to town.

Duluth's historic Wade Stadium was the final stop this week for the MoonDogs as they would take on the Duluth Huskies. Saturday night the series opened with a tight matchup between the ball clubs as they went back and forth like a couple of gladiators. After Mankato went down 1-0 in the first they would tie it in the 5th and go up 2-1 in the 6th, the Huskies would lead 3-1 in the 7th but Mankato would prevail with 2 runs in the 8th inning. Sunday again would see a much different game as Mankato came roaring out to a 4-0 lead in the first 2 innings and scoring another 2 runs in the 6th to pull it 6-0, it would be in the bottom of the 9th when Duluth would score a single run on a sac fly to finish it 6-1 Mankato.

After the first week of the season the MoonDogs are sitting on top of the North Division and are the only undefeated team in the Northwoods League at 5-0. Mankato is 1.5 Games ahead of Waterloo, Duluth, and Eau Claire who are all tied for 2nd at 4-2 after one week. Don't be worried it's only the start of the season in the next week Mankato will have there home opener on Monday at 7:05 against the Willmar Stingers at Frank Rogers Park before traveling to Bill Taunton Stadium in Willmar on Tuesday. Wednesday will see back to back 7 inning games at 6:05 and 8:05 in a doubleheader against the Rochester Honkers and then head back to Mayo Field in Rochester on Thursday. Friday and Saturday will see the Eau Claire Express visit The Frank for the first time this season at 7:05 on Friday and 6:05 on Saturday. To cap off the next 7 days it'll be a home game on Sunday at 6:05 against the Stingers before heading to Willmar to play them on Monday night. We'll be back next week for another recap of MoonDogs Baseball and remember to cheer on your hometown Mankato MoonDogs!

Road to Champions Bowl II (IV Maybe): Indoor Football Weekly #2

Well everyone we've had another eventful week in the world of Indoor Football. The train wreck of the AIF is um "chugging" along with yet another season (God willing the pain will end someday) while the CIF played it's final week of the regular season and will start it's playoffs this week while the IFL has only a few weeks left before there playoffs start.

Again let's start off with the AIF as they opening weekend of the playoffs provided us with two tight matchups and two blowouts (where as I was expecting all four to be blowouts. It started on Thursday when the burning ship of the Savannah Steam traveled to Estero, FL to take on the Tarpons, the game would end with a blowout 71-20 victory for the Tarpons and hopefully that burning ship in Savannah has sunk. The round would continue on Saturday when the New Mexico Stars traveled to Georgia to take on the Columbus Lions. New Mexico who only played 1 real game all season did put up a very good fight against the Lions but the final would be 49-37 in favor of the 8-0 Lions. Also on Saturday we say the Myrtle Beach Freedom travel all the way from South Carolina to Muskegon, MI to take on the expansion West Michigan Ironmen, it would be a long 2 way trip and game as the Ironmen struck hot metal against the Freedom winning 78-37. The final game would be played at the Family Arena in St. Charles, MO between the host River City Raiders and visiting Lehigh Valley Steelhawks, in another tight ballgame the Steelhawks would come out and win it late 54-52. The South Division final is set for this Saturday with the Columbus Lions hosting the Florida Tarpons, in the North Division the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks will travel to Muskegon to take on the West Michigan Ironmen, hopefully none of these teams fold before the games have been played.

Now in the CIF the playoffs have been set with the Texas Revolution getting the bye in the South Division and the Wichita Force getting the bye in the North. First round games will see the Amarillo Venom host the Dodge City Law on Saturday June 11th with the winner heading to Allen to play the Revs while the Bloomington Edge will host the defending champion Sioux City Bandits with the winner heading to Wichita to play the Force. With the CIF games this week I still have to pick Dodge City and Sioux City over the host clubs.

In the IFL with a few weeks left to go the playoff scenario in the United Conference has been determined with Sioux Falls securing the bye a few weeks ago and Cedar Rapids playing Wichita Falls with only the location of that game TBD. In the Intense Conference it looks a lot different as the Spokane Empire securing the bye but no oth places being determined yet it's still an Intense fight going on out West for those other spots. Games with playoff implications this week are all of them except for the Iowa @ Sioux Falls game because Iowa has been eliminated and Sioux Falls already has the bye guaranteed.

We'll be back next week with another recap of the week in this crazy sport we all love. Again I thank everyone over at Indoor Football Forum for a lot of this information!

It's Your Nighmare: Indoor Football Weekly #1

It's a nightmare alright and that isn't a joke, what's also not a joke is that it's playoff season. Yes it's that time a year again when the best teams that indoor football has to offer (or in the case of the AIF stumble through the year or the thousand other ways a team can make the playoffs while still being terrible). First lets get the AIF out of the way.

In the "league" (a term I use very loosely here) known as American Indoor Football the um "playoffs" are starting. So many teams folded, played travel only, or were non league I'm not even going to get into it. So we start out with an 8 team playoff system that was originally announced as 6. First up in the Quarter-Finals is the South #1 Columbus Lions (8-0) taking on the South/West#4 New Mexico Stars (6-1 according to the AIF site 4-1 really). Columbus was one of very few teams to actually play all there scheduled games and all against league opponents New Mexico on the other hand hobbled it's way through the season playing anyone they could because the entire AIF West would end up folding, expect Columbus to destroy New Mexico. Next up is South #2 Florida (7-1 w/ forfeit wins) against South #3 Myrtle Beach oh wait nope the AIF changed the game last minute now Florida will play the Savannah Steam (why!!???) whose owners are in bankruptcy court and being sued, expect the Tarpons to attack this burning ship and make it ugly. In the North we have #2 River City (7-1 AIF/ 5-2 Reality) playing #3 Lehigh Valley (6-2) this game could be a tough one but expect Lehigh Valley to win. In our final game it's #1 West Michigan (6-1 AIF/7-1 Reality) playing #4 Central Penn, wait nope back up the train I'm being told that CP has folded and that Myrtle Beach FROM THE SOUTH is replacing them, this game could be a challenge but I'm taking West Michigan.

Now that we're done with the joke of the sport lets move west to the CIF (Champions Indoor Football), where we have just a week left in the season. Texas, Dodge City, and Amarillo have all secured spots in the South Division playoffs with Texas already clinching the division title and the other 2 fighting for the home seed in the CIF South. With one week left the North is still a free for all with Wichita securing the division title and a playoff spot at 9-2 so far. Bloomington (6-5) is currently on the outside looking in but can still get in depending on how Sioux City and Omaha (both 7-4) do. Games this week with playoff implications are, Omaha @ Wichita, Dodge City @ Amarillo, and Sioux City @ Bloomington.

Next up is the IFL (Indoor Football League) where Sioux Falls (12-1) has clinched the United Conference (yet again, it's starting to get old now) and Cedar Rapids the 2nd of 3 playoff spots. The somewhat surging Green Bay Blizzard are out with a record of 4-9 and THE Iowa Barnstormers are sitting at 4-8 about to be eliminated (sadly) from playoff contention as Wichita Falls (who was moved from the Intense conference after the 2 MN teams folded before the season) is at 8-4 about to get in. The Intense Conference is a wholenother BEAST as the Spokane Empire (10-2) have clinched it and no one is out! How is that possible well because the rest of the division is a bit crap Billings is 6-6 in 2nd, Nebraska 5-8 in 3rd, Tri-Cities at 3-10 in 4th and in 5th is Colorado at 2-11. Games with playoff implications in the IFL is well all of them at least this week.

I know this one was short but it'll be longer, bigger, better, and badder next week. I thank Jim Roberts and everyone over at Indoor Football Forum for a lot of this info. See ya next week folks!