Post by rkb on Jul 10, 2008 9:30:45 GMT -5
www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=275938&pub=1&div=Sports
Working 'Majic' with the Cavalry
7/10/2008 6:14:35 AM
Daily Journal
BY JOHN L. PITTS
Daily Journal
Where's the magic in the current success of the Wyoming Cavalry, the next opponent for the Mississippi MudCats?
In the head coach's office.
Don Maciejczak -friends and foes alike call him "Coach Majic," for convenience - is a sparkling 51-12 in his last four seasons as a head coach, including a 12-3 record this season in Wyoming.
"Along the way, I guess you might say I have evolved some ideas about how the game should be played," Maciejczak said earlier this week, taking a break from his video work for the July 18 playoff game with the MudCats.
And there's magic in the stands at the Casper Event Center, where a crowd of 5,000 saw the Cavalry whip Arizona 51-26 last week in a first-round AIFA game.
There are high hopes the team can pack in 7,000 for the MudCats.
"Casper is a small town of 40,000-50,000 in the middle of nowhere," Maciejczak said with a laugh. "There's just not that much to do out here, so our players get treated like NFL stars out here."
Maciejczak is exaggerating at least a little. This is a huge week in Casper, with the Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo running through Saturday. The coach and his team were among the featured guests in the annual fair parade on Tuesday.
And while the MudCats were itching to play this week if they could, the Calvary welcomed the week off.
"For us it's great because we haven't had a break in 15 weeks," Maciejczak said. "It'll be good for us to get rested and healed up and also to get in some prep work against a great team we haven't seen before.
"I'm hoping the extra time can give us an edge."
Maciejczak said he recently took time to "download a little film and watch" the MudCats, even as the team was preparing for its first-round game with Arizona.
His first impressions?
"They're totally different from anything we've seen before this season," he said. "It's a very talented football team with great team speed -which doesn't surprise me, given the way football is played in the southeast. They appear well-coached and really fly to the football on defense.
"We're going to have our work cut out for us."
MudCats memos
- The MudCats worked out Wednesday evening at BancorpSouth Arena and will hit the turf again tonight before taking Friday off. William McCarthy, the Cats interim head coach, said Tuesday's workout "wasn't that good ... I think everybody is getting a little grumpy at this point." ... The team leaves Tupelo by bus Tuesday night for Nashville and a flight to Denver. From there, it's another four-hour bus trip to Casper. The MudCats have workouts set in Casper for next Wednesday and Thursday. ... The Augusta Colts, 7-7 in their first AIFA season, announced plans to expand their ownership group on Tuesday, adding at least two new minority partners for 2009.
Appeared originally in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 7/10/2008, section D , page 1
Working 'Majic' with the Cavalry
7/10/2008 6:14:35 AM
Daily Journal
BY JOHN L. PITTS
Daily Journal
Where's the magic in the current success of the Wyoming Cavalry, the next opponent for the Mississippi MudCats?
In the head coach's office.
Don Maciejczak -friends and foes alike call him "Coach Majic," for convenience - is a sparkling 51-12 in his last four seasons as a head coach, including a 12-3 record this season in Wyoming.
"Along the way, I guess you might say I have evolved some ideas about how the game should be played," Maciejczak said earlier this week, taking a break from his video work for the July 18 playoff game with the MudCats.
And there's magic in the stands at the Casper Event Center, where a crowd of 5,000 saw the Cavalry whip Arizona 51-26 last week in a first-round AIFA game.
There are high hopes the team can pack in 7,000 for the MudCats.
"Casper is a small town of 40,000-50,000 in the middle of nowhere," Maciejczak said with a laugh. "There's just not that much to do out here, so our players get treated like NFL stars out here."
Maciejczak is exaggerating at least a little. This is a huge week in Casper, with the Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo running through Saturday. The coach and his team were among the featured guests in the annual fair parade on Tuesday.
And while the MudCats were itching to play this week if they could, the Calvary welcomed the week off.
"For us it's great because we haven't had a break in 15 weeks," Maciejczak said. "It'll be good for us to get rested and healed up and also to get in some prep work against a great team we haven't seen before.
"I'm hoping the extra time can give us an edge."
Maciejczak said he recently took time to "download a little film and watch" the MudCats, even as the team was preparing for its first-round game with Arizona.
His first impressions?
"They're totally different from anything we've seen before this season," he said. "It's a very talented football team with great team speed -which doesn't surprise me, given the way football is played in the southeast. They appear well-coached and really fly to the football on defense.
"We're going to have our work cut out for us."
MudCats memos
- The MudCats worked out Wednesday evening at BancorpSouth Arena and will hit the turf again tonight before taking Friday off. William McCarthy, the Cats interim head coach, said Tuesday's workout "wasn't that good ... I think everybody is getting a little grumpy at this point." ... The team leaves Tupelo by bus Tuesday night for Nashville and a flight to Denver. From there, it's another four-hour bus trip to Casper. The MudCats have workouts set in Casper for next Wednesday and Thursday. ... The Augusta Colts, 7-7 in their first AIFA season, announced plans to expand their ownership group on Tuesday, adding at least two new minority partners for 2009.
Appeared originally in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 7/10/2008, section D , page 1