Post by Tatonka on Jan 25, 2007 12:00:07 GMT -5
BALTIMORE - Hoping to cure the football hangover currently plaguing Baltimore, the newly formed American Indoor Football Association has started the Baltimore Blackbirds, a team that hopes to play at 11,000-seat 1st Mariner Arena.
“We’re hoping to tap into the fact that Baltimore is a huge football city,” said John Wolfe, the team’s general manager. “The bottom line is, Baltimore loves football.”
The team’s Web site lists the arena as the team’s home, but a deal has not been finalized, according to an arena spokesperson.
“We are in negotiations, and we can’t comment any further,” the spokesperson said Wednesday.
Currently, the Blackbirds’ schedule says the team will have a bye until the sixth week of the season, when it opens against the Reading (Pa.) Express on March 10. Wolfe indicated the schedule might change and the team could play 13 consecutive games.
Indoor football differs slightly from the popular Arena Football League, Wolfe said, in that there are more running plays. Fans are close to the action, and if a ball goes into the stands, a fan keeps it.
Blackbirds owner Alexander Austin, who said he is a Prince George’s County-based real estate developer, is hoping to attract former Baltimore high school and college stars as players. Austin, who said he attended Towson University, went through a rigorous interview process before being granted a team and plans on having the Blackbirds active in Baltimore, he said.
“We would love to get into the community and start reaching out to the youth of Baltimore,” Austin said. “We’re in a great market.”
The Blackbirds will hold a final tryout for the team Saturday morning at the Freestate Sports Arena in White Marsh. Wolfe said that once the team has finalized the roster, which already lists five players, it will make its first public appearance next week.
The team is still in negotiations for a training facility and headquarters.
“We should be signing a deal this week with a training facility,” Wolfe said.
The Blackbirds have already had two head coaches in their brief history, most recently hiring longtime indoor football coach Chris Simpson. The team’s Web site lists Simpson’s career coaching record at 68-35, including stints with indoor teams like the San Angelo (Texas) Stampede and Tucson (Ariz.) Thunder.
The Blackbirds announced Ted Coleman as its first head coach last month, but a statement on the team’s Web site said it ”failed to reach a contract agreement” with Coleman.
A Jan. 8 article attributed to Coleman on oursportscentral.com said Coleman planned on suing Austin.
The Examiner sent an e-mail Wednesday to the address listed for Coleman on oursportscentral.com and received a response from an unidentified sender saying he is planning to sue Austin for “the breach of a verbal contractual agreement and written contractual agreement.” Further attempts to reach this individual Wednesday were unsuccessful.
Asked about the potential suit, Austin declined to comment before adding, “We have heard some things about it and it’s unfortunate and we are definitely moving forward.”
www.examiner.com/a-527647~Blackbirds_struggling_to_take_flight_this_winter.html
“We’re hoping to tap into the fact that Baltimore is a huge football city,” said John Wolfe, the team’s general manager. “The bottom line is, Baltimore loves football.”
The team’s Web site lists the arena as the team’s home, but a deal has not been finalized, according to an arena spokesperson.
“We are in negotiations, and we can’t comment any further,” the spokesperson said Wednesday.
Currently, the Blackbirds’ schedule says the team will have a bye until the sixth week of the season, when it opens against the Reading (Pa.) Express on March 10. Wolfe indicated the schedule might change and the team could play 13 consecutive games.
Indoor football differs slightly from the popular Arena Football League, Wolfe said, in that there are more running plays. Fans are close to the action, and if a ball goes into the stands, a fan keeps it.
Blackbirds owner Alexander Austin, who said he is a Prince George’s County-based real estate developer, is hoping to attract former Baltimore high school and college stars as players. Austin, who said he attended Towson University, went through a rigorous interview process before being granted a team and plans on having the Blackbirds active in Baltimore, he said.
“We would love to get into the community and start reaching out to the youth of Baltimore,” Austin said. “We’re in a great market.”
The Blackbirds will hold a final tryout for the team Saturday morning at the Freestate Sports Arena in White Marsh. Wolfe said that once the team has finalized the roster, which already lists five players, it will make its first public appearance next week.
The team is still in negotiations for a training facility and headquarters.
“We should be signing a deal this week with a training facility,” Wolfe said.
The Blackbirds have already had two head coaches in their brief history, most recently hiring longtime indoor football coach Chris Simpson. The team’s Web site lists Simpson’s career coaching record at 68-35, including stints with indoor teams like the San Angelo (Texas) Stampede and Tucson (Ariz.) Thunder.
The Blackbirds announced Ted Coleman as its first head coach last month, but a statement on the team’s Web site said it ”failed to reach a contract agreement” with Coleman.
A Jan. 8 article attributed to Coleman on oursportscentral.com said Coleman planned on suing Austin.
The Examiner sent an e-mail Wednesday to the address listed for Coleman on oursportscentral.com and received a response from an unidentified sender saying he is planning to sue Austin for “the breach of a verbal contractual agreement and written contractual agreement.” Further attempts to reach this individual Wednesday were unsuccessful.
Asked about the potential suit, Austin declined to comment before adding, “We have heard some things about it and it’s unfortunate and we are definitely moving forward.”
www.examiner.com/a-527647~Blackbirds_struggling_to_take_flight_this_winter.html
