Jamar Ransom wants San Antonio to keep the Talons name

Tulsa Talons' Jack LB Jamar Ransom wants San Antonio to keep the Talons moniker, but not for reasons you may be thinking. As he said on facebook:

Jamar Ransom Keep the name so players who have dedicated everything to the team can have their records upheld and hopefully have a case for the AFL HOF! My opinion

This is something I hadn't thought about, but is important for the Tulsa fanbase. The Talons have had a lot of great talent grace the field in the BOK and Convention Center. It would be sad not to see people like Jamar, Gabe Nyenhuis, Jeff Hughley, Donovan Morgan possibly enter the AFL Hall of Fame without a reference to their time in Tulsa.

Talons gone: What next?

Well it came across the wire over the past 24 hours that the Talons are leaving for San Antonio... Here is the letter I got as a season ticket holder:

It is with great anguish I write this letter to you today to inform you the Tulsa Talons franchise will be relocating and will begin play in March of 2012 in San Antonio as the Talons. It was an extremely tough decision, but the owners of the Talons felt it was the best decision from a business perspective.

Off the field, the Talons’ players have been a big part of the Tulsa community for 12 years with many former and current players now calling Tulsa home. On the field, these same players entertained all of us for years. It was the tremendous support they received from the Tulsa community that kept them coming back and in some cases, keeping them here. That support starts with the “life blood” of all sports franchises, the season ticket holders.

Without our season ticket holders, the Tulsa Talons and our 141 regular season victories (most all-time), 9 division championships, 2 conference championships,10 straight playoff appearances and 2 arena cup championships would not have been.

On behalf of the Talons ownership, staff and the players from the last 12 years, I want to thank each of you for your unwavering dedication and support.

So with that, a storied franchise is left to another city. But now the question for me, and the blog, is "what next?"

The way I see it, I have a few options:

1. Try to find a fan in San Antonio that wishes to continue the blog.
2. Just go dormant until, or if, Tulsa gets a new team and rename accordingly.
3. Rename the blog to "Man without a Team" and continue to post about the AFL in a general manner.

Everyone let me know what you think I should do now!

San Antonio to obtain an AFL franchise... but it's not the Talons?

The newswires were all a buzz on Tuesday after reports surfaced that San Antonio will be home to an AFL franchise next year. It's expected than an official announcement of San Antonio's status will be announced today. For weeks (maybe even months) rumors had it that the Tulsa Talons would be sold and moved to San Antonio, so it stunned the AFL nation when Talons owners came out and the Tulsa World today reported:

It is unclear whether the new franchise would be an expansion or relocated team, but rumors have swirled for months that the Talons would be sold and moved to San Antonio.

"More power to San Antonio, but that's not us," Talons co-owner and managing partner Paul Ross told the Tulsa World on Tuesday.

Ross insisted the team has not been sold.

He admitted the team is "looking at (two) opportunities outside of Tulsa," but he insisted there are no definite plans.

He said he and the other owners - Henry Primeaux, Michael Johnson, Bill Cameron and David Box - are still expected to meet next week to decide the team's fate.

However, there was more bad news when it came out that a group headed by former Drillers owner Chuck Lamson pulled out of negotiations to purchase a share of the Talons.

The good news today is that, for the time being, the Talons remain in Tulsa.

The af2 effect and why it needs to return

Throughout the season longterm AFL fan/media site ArenaFan has complained about the talent level in the AFL. This culminated in Adam Markowitz's ArenaBowl preview where he said:

After all, it's pretty clear that both of these teams would have been smoked by basically any other ArenaBowl team from the 2000s before the league went on hiatus in 2009. The talent level just isn't there anymore for various reasons.

The bulk of the argument has been that the pay grade in the league no longer attracts top talent. But I see a different answer.

One major thing that the league had in the past decade, when the league saw the talent level raise, was the af2. The af2 served as a developmental league for arena football. No longer did teams have to train rookies on the fly throughout the season. The af2, centered in mid-market cities that would probably never house an AFL franchise, took mostly regional players and taught them the game.

In fact the last Rookie of the Year before the demise of the old AFL was former af2 Tulsa Talon Donovan Morgan. That same year, ArenaBowl champion Jeff Hughley almost made the leap to the AFL as a part of the Colorado Crush. And these were not the only players to do so. They were able to jump right into the AFL without much of a learning curve.

It was just this past week when I realized how important this development in the af2 was. I was reminiscing about the Talons' season and how great it would have been if the team that ended the season started the season. But it wasn't the actual players I was referring to; it was the experience the players had gained.

At the start of the season the Talons' defensive backfield, which had two rookie players, was horrible. The team gave up touchdowns on a multitude of busted coverages. These guys just did not understand the game. But what happened about five games into the season? It finally clicked. The biggest example was J.C. Neal's record setting game against the Blaze where J.C. demolished the AFL record for INT return yards in a single game.

In the old AFL this would not have happened. Players like J.C. would spend a season (or less) in the af2 before moving on to the AFL. But now, you have a decent amount of teams carrying a number of these rookie players who still have to learn the game. As a result, the first half of the season is going to be a little ugly until the players finally "get it".

As such, I don't think simply increasing pay will improve the talent of the AFL. What the league needs is experience. The only place that will come from is playing time. Accordingly, that will either come in the form of a developmental league, or at the cost of games early in the season.

ArenaBowl XXIV Features Matchup of Former Talons Stars

Two former Talons stars make big noise elsewhere in the league this year. Odie Armstrong showed the league he more than a blocker for Justin Allgood. Jeff Hughley made a name for himself on a team that was already stacked with WRs. Now each of them are Conference Champions about to face off in the ArenaBowl. In light of this, I wanted to do a little comparison as we prepare for the game here in an hour.

Odie Armstrong

In 2010 Odie rushed for 349 yards on 74 carries for 13 touchdowns. This year with the Rattlers his yards dipped to 295 on 77 carries, but his touchdowns rose to 17.

Jeff Hughley

In 2010 Jeff had 1258 yards on 113 receptions for 28 touchdowns. In addition, Jeff had 91 returns for 1642 yards and two touchdowns. With Jacksonville this year he had 1171 yards on only 89 receptions for 22 touchdowns. On kick returns he had 1447 yards on 69 returns and one touchdown.

Overall, Hughley made the better improvement. However, Odie seems to be on the better team as the Rattlers are heavily favored tonight. It will the first time Hughley and Armstrong have faced off against each other, as Hughley was injured in week one when the teams played.

Kickoff on NFL Network at 7:30 tonight.

Talons to pick up new local owner?

After this weeks impressive win over the Kansas City Command many fans have begun to speculate that they had just watched the last Tulsa Talons game ever. However, the franchise sparked with some life this morning as the Tulsa world reported on rumors that a former Drillers owner may be interested in purchasing a share of the Talons to keep the franchise in Tulsa. From the Tulsa World:

The team's five-man ownership group will determine over the next several weeks whether the Talons will play a third AFL season in Tulsa, be sold to other investors and possibly moved to another city or die a quiet death.

Reports surfaced over the weekend that a local group headed by former Tulsa Drillers owner Chuck Lamson was interested in buying the team. Lamson would neither confirm nor deny the report.

Paul Ross and Henry Primeaux, who partnered in buying the team from Tulsa Oilers hockey owner Jeff Lund in 2004, each own 25 percent of the team. An additional one-fourth is owned by Michael Johnson, former chief administrative officer for Williams Cos. Inc. Another one-fourth is shared by Tulsa Shock owners Bill Cameron and David Box.

The Talons have a Sept. 15 deadline for notifying the AFL of their intention to participate in the 2012 season.

Ross, chairman of the AFL's finance committee, said it is too early to predict what will happen.

"It's no different than last year or the year before. It's a business decision and we don't have all our information together yet," he said.

Primeaux said he was working hard to keep the team in Tulsa.

"It belongs to the city and it should be here, but the city needs to support it," Primeaux said.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/article.aspx?subjectid=407&articleid=20110725_223_B1_CUTLIN554418

Week 1 Picks

Tampa Bay at New Orleans: NEW ORLEANS. The Storm have lost a lot from last season. Quarterback. Coach. Everything else. They are basically a shell of the team they once were. This could be a very tough season for them. The VooDoo has quietly put together a solid team that could surprise some people. Of course, I could just be hoping for my old Talons to do well!

Philadelphia at Pittsburgh: PHILADELPHIA. This matchup offers something interesting. Terrance Carter v. Justin Allgood. Teammates for years finally face off. Philadelphia has put together a championship caliber team, but still have to prove it on the field. Pittsburgh has a strong defense (which should make the town proud) but offense is still questionable.

Spokane at San Jose: SAN JOSE. The Sabercats make their return to the AFL to take on the defending champs. This should be great motivation going into the game. The Sabercats are well balanced on both sides of the ball and should impress people. The Shock, while retaining a lot of talent from last season, have lost some stars.

Kansas City at Dallas: DALLAS. Dallas was one of the biggest disappointments of last season (partially due to their opening loss to the Talons). Coming back with Dallas hero Clint Dolezel as head coach should help inspire them to an opening victory over the Command.

Jacksonville at Arizona: JACKSONVILLE. Jacksonville was last season's darling franchise. They should continue that this week against a strong Arizona team. Jacksonville has one of the league's best defenses and has added offensive threat Jeff Hughley. However, Arizona does have one of the best fullbacks in the league, Odie Armstrong.

Tulsa at Georgia: TULSA. Georgia seems somewhat in disarray at this point. There are big questions as to who will be at quarterback. Tulsa on the other hand had a great showing at a scrimmage against Dallas last week. This should be a great learning game for the Talons along the way to a victory.

Chicago at Milwaukee: CHICAGO. Really nothing much to say here. Chicago is still in recovery mode after Coach Ho left. However, Milwaukee, while being more successful in promoting the team, has had a less than stellar offseason.

Power Rankings - Week 1

It's been quite an offseason for the league! A lot of rosters shakeups. As such, really any rankings out there are probably nothing more than speculation at this point. Here are this weeks Fanpoll rankings (the AFLWA has yet to release rankings):

AFL Fanpoll Rankings

1. Spokane Shock
2. Philadelphia Soul
3. San Jose Sabercats
4. Orlando Predators
5. Jacksonville Sharks
6. Arizona Rattlers
7. Cleveland Gladiators
8. Chicago Rush
9. Kansas City Command
9. Utah Blaze


As for my own rankings, not much discussion to be had here. Until we start to see teams on the field its really hard to judge where teams really are. But none the less here we go:

1. Jacksonville Sharks
2. Orlando Predators
3. San Jose Sabercats
4. Philadelphia Soul
5. Spokane Shock
6. Arizona Rattlers
7. Chicago Rush
8. Tulsa Talons
9. New Orleans VooDoo
10. Cleveland Gladiators
11. Georgia Force
12. Pittsburgh Power
13. Kansas City Command
14. Utah Blaze
15. Iowa Barnstormers
16. Tampa Bay Storm
17. Dallas Vigilantes
18. Milwaukee Mustangs

YouTube Tuesday - March 8, 2011

Arena Football returns this week!!!! Be sure to check out the kickoff on NFLNetwork this Friday!

YouTube Tuesday - March 1, 2011 - Kickoff Month!

So the season starts this month! Who's excited? I know I am!

Official Divisional Alignment, Goodbye OKC

Today the AFL announced Divisional Alignments for next year. Absent from the teams is Oklahoma City. Rumors had been spreading that after the deal to move OKC to Seattle fell through the team planned to drop from the AFL and either go dormant or join one of the IFL leagues.

Travel for the Talons seems to be greater next year as they will have to visit Dallas, Kansas City, Iowa, and Chicago once, and maybe visit Spokane, Arizona, Utah, or San Jose. At least now I can start to write my series of "Road Tripping" blog posts.

Here is the full text of the Release:

The Arena Football League has announced new division alignments for the 2011 season. New franchises will highlight natural rivalries in all four divisions. The eighteen teams are split into the National and American Conference. The National Conference houses the West Division and Central Division. The American Conference divides into the South Division and East Division.

“This divisional alignment allows teams to revive some of their old rivalries while creating some natural new ones,” Commissioner Jerry B. Kurz said. “We are very excited about the 2011 Arena Football season.”

During the 18 game schedule, each team will play every opponent in their respective division twice. Teams will also play the opponents in their conference once.

National Conference

West Division
Arizona
San Jose
Spokane
Utah

Central Division
Chicago
Dallas
Iowa
Kansas City
Tulsa

American Conference

South Division
Georgia
Jacksonville
New Orleans
Orlando
Tampa Bay

East Division
Cleveland
Milwaukee
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh

Restricted Free Agency Begins

From a facebook post from Talons Jack Linebacker Jamar Ransom we got some info on free agency:

"Restricted free agency starts today. This is where the player can only sign with the team that he played for the previous season. On the 16th you are an unrestricted free agent and can sign anywhere. Fans make sure you make some noise for your favorite players if you want to see them play for your team next season. Should be interesting. Let's see what happens."

So for the next two weeks we have to be pushing for our favorite Talons to stay with the team! Send some shout outs to people! And encourage players from other teams (*cough* Fred Shaw *cough*) not to return to theirs, in hopes they will come to Talons camp!

AFL Expands to 18 game season!

Press release from today:

TULSA- The 2011 Arena Football League regular season has been extended from 16 games to 18, Commissioner Jerry Kurz announced today. The league will consist of 19 teams and each will play 18 regular season games, with the option of two preseason games (one home and one away). The change was passed in an ownership vote last week during the league’s Board of Directors meeting in Phoenix, AZ.

“There has never been a better time for the Arena Football League,” said Commissioner Jerry Kurz. “The product is exciting, our economic model is sound and fans are demanding affordable family entertainment. Extending our season is a great decision, both from a business and fan perspective,”

The AFL has officially grown from 15 teams in 2010 to 19 by adding teams in Philadelphia, Pittsburg, San Jose and Kansas City. The Philadelphia Soul were the league champions in 2008 just prior to a dark year where the AFL made strong adjustments to its economic model. The league bounced back in 2010 with a very successful season in which the Spokane Shock beat the Tampa Bay Storm in Arena Bowl XXIII on August 20th.

“The new 2011 franchises are in key markets with dynamic ownership,” added Kurz.

The 2011 season will be the longest in league history. In its 23 years of existence, teams have played as many as 16 games in a season. The league had observed a 16 game schedule since 2003.

About AFL

Since its inception in 1987, the AFL has afforded the fast-paced and exciting game of Arena Football to millions of fans in a myriad of markets across the country. A recent deal with the NFL Network will broadcast an AFL National Game of the Week for the entire regular and post season on Friday nights at 8:00 pm EST, culminating with the ArenaBowl Championship Game in August.

Looking Back: Top 5 In-Season Acquisitions

Well we are about a week removed from the AFL season and withdrawal has set in. I started to think about the season and how certain teams suddenly got better at certain points in the season. It lead be to take a look at the acquisitions the teams made and what the top 5 in-season acquisitions! I only looked at players that were signed or traded during the season. Now to the list:

#5: Delenall Reid - DB - Dallas Vigilantes - June 10th

Delenall Reid had been a star for the Tulsa Talons during their time in the af2. Regrettably, Reid did not survive training camp with the Talons this year. Reid remained unsigned until the week of the Vigilantes home game against the Talons in week 11. Reid did not play that week but started to work his way into the rotation starting the next week. Reid makes the list for his week 16 performance against the Chicago Rush. The Vigilantes were on a 10 game loosing streak going into the game and heavily in need of a win. The defining play in that game was Reid's interception returned for a touchdown in overtime to end the Rush's chance at pulling out a victory.

#4: Eric Ortiz - FB - Tampa Bay Storm - May 5th

Eric Ortiz joined the storm in week 6, but didn't make a big splash until the very end of the season. What was most impressive was his playoff performance. In the Storm's 3 playoff games, including the Arenabowl, Ortiz scored 5 rushing TDs. In the ArenaBowl alone Ortiz scored 3 TDs, as the only real highlight for the Storm.

#3: Dallas Baker and Sale' Key - WR - Jacksonville Sharks - April 6th

A Daily Double! The first two weeks of the Sharks' season did not look that outstanding offensively. The offense just was missing something. That something ended up being these two receivers. They were the perfect counterpart to Jomo Wilson, opening up a lot more options for Aaron Garcia. Baker, a rookie of the year candidate, finished the season with 88 receptions for 1120 yards and 23 TDs. Key, who spent training camp with the Talons, ended the season with 56 receptions for 640 yards and 8 TDs. Key also had 2 rushing TDs.

#2: Mervin Brookins - DB/KR - Spokane Shock - June 10th

Mervin Brookins started the season with the OKC Yard Dawgz. Brookins had some outstanding plays during his time with OKC before being released. In fact, one of his fumble returns made NFL Network's top plays of the season. Brookings was signed to the stacked Spokane Shock in week 11. Brookins became a great returnman for the Shock, getting his only return TD against the Chicago Rush in week 17. In the ArenaBowl Brookins had an outstanding return performance, averaging 24.5 yards on 2 returns, as well as 1 interception on Defense.

#1: Bobby Sippio - WR - Orlando Predators - May 19th

Was there any question about this? The Predators were an awful team until their week 8 signing of Bobby Sippio. That week Sippio started and helped lead the Predators to a stunning upset of the Milwaukee Iron, the then top-ranked team in the league. Sippio went on to win multitudes of weekly awards and show the league that the Predators would compete. Sippio ended the season with 51 receptions for 747 yards and 18 TDs. Sippio also had 1 rushing TD.

Well thats it! I hope to write a few more "Looking Back" articles through out the coming months so be sure to check back!

Feel free to post your own "Top 5" in the comments sections below.

What will the AFL look like next year?

Well the ArenaBowl is over, and congratulations to the Spokane Shock; even if I did pick against you. Now comes the offseason, a horrible 7-8 month wait till the next kickoff. At least in the mean time I have NFL, NCAA, and NBA to keep my busy. But also, we have AFL speculation to keep us busy as well. As of this morning there are a lot of rumors for shakeups for AFL franchises.

First off, we know the announced expansion teams will be around:

Philadelphia Soul
San Jose Sabercats
Kansas City Brigade
and as of last night, the Pittsburgh Power

But where does that leave the other 15 franchises? For some it may mean relocation.

The Alabama Vipers:
Late last night it was announced that the Georgia Force may be returning. But they may not be an expansion team. Instead it has been rumored that the Alabama Vipers will be relocating and rebranding as the Force. This season Alabama played in the smallest arena in the AFL. They could only max out at around 7,000 fans. That heavily limited the amount of income the team could bring in, both is tickets and in sponsorship. That combined with higher costs could be too much for the owners to handle.

The Bossier-Shreveport BattleWings:
It has been rumored for weeks, since their owner registered aflvoodoo.com, that the BattleWings could be relocating to New Orleans and rebranding as the VooDoo. The BattleWings never pulled a large crowd, even in their time in the af2. The difference was that in the af2 the loss on the owners was acceptable, in the AFL its much larger. This could spell doom for the BattleWings.

The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz:
The Yard Dawgz were a decent team this year. They pulled decent crowds as well. However, they still were loosing money, and have been since at least the time the Thunder came to town. That combined with the new AHL Hockey Team (Barons), could mean the owners aren't willing to try to compete with other sports in town. Instead they could take their team elsewhere and try to turn a profit. The rumored location? Seattle. Yeah, another Seattle/OKC team swap. Very Ironic, but could happen.

As for the rest of the league nothing seems likely to change. The only team with light rumors is the Milwaukee Iron. The Iron have had issues with an ownership group and attendance. However, for the foreseeable future they will probably remain in the league.

All-Arena Teams Contain 5 Talons Players

Today the AFL Announced the All-Arena first and second teams. Here are where Talons Players fell:

First Team:
Donovan Morgan (WR)
Gabe Nyenhuis (DL)
Steve Watson (MAC)

Second Team:
Odie Armstrong (FB)
Jamar Ransom (JACK)

Gabe Nyenhuis also named Defensive Player of the Year

Another Talons award for the season announced last night:

TULSA- Tulsa Talon’s defensive lineman Gabe Nyenhuis has been awarded the 2010 Defensive Player of the Year. Nyenhuis pressured quarterbacks all season long, threatening the offensive linemen who couldn’t hold back the 270 pound, 6-foot-3 player.

In the Talons’ first season in the AFL, Nyenhuis’ experience proved vital for the new team. The Colorado graduate spent two years with the Philadelphia Soul (2007-8) before moving to Tulsa in the revamped AFL. This season Nyenhuis led the AFL in sacks (15.5) and tackles for loss (13). The lineman won Defensive Player of the Week in mid-season for an outstanding game against Oklahoma City. His statistics would only get better.

Nyenhuis ended the season with 21 unassisted and 11 assisted tackles, four pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and nine forced fumbles. Thanks to Nyenhuis’ leadership on defense, the Talons ended their season as the Southwest Division Champions and a host in the playoffs.

Nyenhuis was also awarded the league’s Lineman of the Year honor earlier this week.

Gabe Nyenhuis Named 2010 AFL Lineman of the Year

Press Release from the Arena Football League today:

TULSA- Tulsa defensive end Gabe Nyenhuis has been named the Arena Football League's Lineman of the Year, the league office announced today. A constant threat to offenses, Nyenhuis tallied up impressive numbers while aiding the Talons in reaching the postseason in their inaugural season with the AFL.

While Nyenhuis (6-4, 260, Colorado) tallied 21 unassisted and 11 assisted tackles on the season, it was the quarterback that was his favorite target. He nabbed a spectacular 15.5 sacks on the season, breaking the previous sack record of 15 set by Greg White (Orlando) in 2007.

Additionally, Nyenhuis made 13 tackle-for-losses, a league high. He was also credited with four pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and nine forced fumbles in his standout year.

Nyenhuis is no stranger to the indoor game. He has played arena football for three seasons, including a season with the 2008 ArenaBowl Champion Philadelphia Soul, where he recorded 9.5 sacks on the year and was named to the Second Team All-Arena team.

In the past, Nyenhuis has signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Soul and Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Hughley named to All-Ironman Team

Today Jeff Hughley was named to the 2010 AFL All-Ironman Team:

WR/KR Jeff Hughley, Tulsa Talons

Finished the season with 113 receptions for 1,258 yards and 28 touchdowns…Had the second most All Purpose yards in the league (2,808), third most Kick Return yards (1,551) and fourth most All Purpose yards per game (175.5)

Looks like Tulsa is boycotting the AFL's stats system

Most hardcore fans of the AFL will tell you that the new program that the AFL went with this year is crap. Well to be honest, it's kind of the truth. For weeks we have all known the fans were displeased with it. Then recently there were rumblings that the teams' staffs were unhappy with it as well.

About two weeks ago a rumor came out that caught my attention. That rumor was that Tulsa's crew were going to boycott the AFL's stat system. Oh course I blew it off as normal rumor rumblings. However, today I saw the following tweet from Jason Dixon of the Tampa Bay Storm Radio:

@Arenafan Did the stats crew in Tulsa not show up, or did the do the stats on the old program?

This caused me to take a look at the arenafootball.com stats page.

There was no game report. There was no drive summary. There was a link to the box score however. So I clicked the link. The box scores page was empty of stats. It looks like there is a good possibility that the Talons did decide to boycott the system. However, that doesn't mean they didn't keep stats. The Tulsa World had some stats this morning, including the touchdown summaries. What is looks like is the Talons are using another system to keep track of stats.

What does this mean for the average Tulsa fan. Probably not since you will be at the game or get the stats from the Tulsa World. Since every other team (at the moment) is still using the system, you will still be able to get live stats from arenafootball.com for away games. What could be scary is the precedent that this sets. With one team boycotting, it won't be long till another team jumps on board. And then another team. The AFL will need to remedy this quick, and that remedy seems to have to be getting a new system as soon as possible.