Re-Pete

Home-Field Advantage

This would have been great last year, well if the Dorados would have actually made it that far. The af2 is going back to an old playoff format. The team with the best record in the championship game is the host.

Best Name Ever?

This is a pretty cool name. One of the QBs vying for the starting position is named Tiger Lyon.

Three new faces

The Dorados were assingned the following players:

WR/DB Eddie Jackson 6′4 222 3/2/81 R West Virginia

FB/LB Rob May 6′1 255 11/4/81 2 Florida St

OL/DL Raushan Rowser 6′4 300 2/24/85 R Tennessee St

Reunited

Former Dorados coach Kevin Guy, who is now the coach of arena football’s Arizona team, signed Eric Houle, a fomer kicker for the Guy-coached Dorados.

This story on ESPN.com gave me a little laugh. The Web site’s senior columnist, Pat Forde, wrote about being the Stanford Tree, the school’s mascot, for half of one game.

As someone who grew up on the West Coast and attended a rival school of Stanford, I always thought the tree, the band and the school nackname (Cradinal) were always a little silly. 

The story got me thinking about some of the mascots of the pro teams in the Valley.

>>Sir Sting-A-lot, the Bees mascot, he has to be the coolest of all the mascots.

>>Cody the Coyote, the Coyotes mascot(duh), needs some personality.

>>Fang, the Vipers mascot, ….. hmmmm I can I say this without being mean, ummmm there wasn’t a lot of thought into his look.

>>Dirk the Dorado, the Dorados Mascot, he’s mean looking and intimidating. Im sure he is a nice mascot, I don’t really want to get on his bad side since I’m covering the Dorados this year.

REMINDER

Training camp begins Sunday at 3 p.m. at Cats Stadium in Edinburg. Training camp is open to the public.

Sunday Marh 9 is daylight savings time. Mack sure to set your clocks one hour ahead before you go to bed Sunday night. I’am sure all you Dorados fans have been waiting for that day, or they have been waiting patiently for training camp, which so happens to begin on the same day as daylight savings time.

Dorados begin training camp Sunday at Cats Stadium in Edinburg. It starts at 3 p.m. and is open to the public. Dorados always give Valley football fans a good dose of gridiron action when the NFL and high schools are in their offseasons.

There was an announcement about training camp and a few assignees in today’s Monitor.

Seventeen former af2 players played in Monday night’s AFL game between Chicago and San Jose, including 2005 Dorados players Marquis Floyd and Julius Gant. You really can get to the next level. Check out the story here. The game was broadcasted Monday on ESPN2.

Check out this story on fromer Dorados coach Kevin Guy.

The AFL really does a good job of rectuiting players and coaches from the af2.

I’ve been a little busy working on my high school blog that I have ignored my Dorados blog.  I’ll start to frequently update the blog now that the season is about a month away.

The Dorados are holding a local tryout from 1p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at Edinburg’s Cats Stadium. You can pre-resgisiterfor $30 or register the day of the tryout for $50.

For more information, call (956) 843-5658.

DORADOS DANCERS

I had a hand in choosing the dancers this year. Tough work, but someone had to do it.

The Austin Business Journal is reporting that the Austin Warnglers have filed for bankruptcy. According to the article, the team owes $6 million dollars but is worth only $500,000.

The Wranglers are not expected to fold.

Here is the link for the story: http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2008/01/28/daily8.html

If the Dorados do take a chance on Quincy Carter,  they will not be the only team giving a troubled star another opportunity.

Former Oklahoma State Cowboys running back Prentiss Elliott has been assigned to the Tulsa Talons. He hasn’t played football since being kicked off OSU in 2005.

Last year he pleaded no contest to transporting a firearm and was sentenced to 15 days in jail.

Elliott was found guilty of a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery in 2006 after a physical confrontation with an off-duty police officer in 2003.

The Dorados blog is trickling along. I’m trying to find tidbits for those that can’t wait for the Dorados.

Today there is some news, and I’ll get to it, but since Sports Editor Wade Baker (check out his blog Baker’s Dish: http://bakersdish2.freedomblogging.com/) called me out about my future wedding I feel inclined to answer some lingering questions he left behind.

I know the date of my wedding, more or less. Its in June 2009 sometime. As much as I would have enjoyed to have a mid-valley event, my fiance and I have settled on a place in California, unless she changes her mind. But expect a mid-valley celebration around that time.

Now onto the more important news. Former McAllen High player Garrett Mason, who attended Duke University, will play for the RGV squad this year.

 The af2 struck an internet braodcasting deal with Nifty Television. Its free and we all know we like some freebies from time to time.

 From the press release:CHICAGO - The arenafootball2 league (af2) and Network Foundation Technologies (NFT) are pleased to announce a partnership that will create a new, FREE online network to provide the league’s passionate fan base an opportunity to view the af2’s 2008 season live over the Internet. Thanks to the power of NFT’s patented online broadcasting technology, fans across the globe will now be able to bring all the action of af2 football right to their home computer or laptop on a “Free-for-View” basis.

Broadcasts are planned to begin with the league’s opening night on March 28, 2008 and continue through the ArenaCup Championship. A complete broadcast schedule will be posted on www.af2.com as soon as it becomes available.

 Ticket prices staying the same

More good news, Dorados tickets will stay the same as last year.

Tickets start as low as $112 for the full season and $14 for single games. Group tickets remain as low as $12 per game.

I’m anxious for the Dorados to get started. The Super Bowl still needs to be played but I already miss football. I know there is the Pro Bowl, but really who watches that.

Football is my favorite sport, especially college football. But instead of waiting seven long months to watch another game that matters, I get to have a taste with the Dorados.

It is a different kind of football, but it is still football.

I found this story from Fox Sports on how to prepare for football-less football:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7712604/What-are-you-doing-on-Sunday-without-football

Here is the Dorados Web site for team info: http://www.doradosfootball.com/

This is my first Dorados blog. It will be slow the next couple of months until the season gets underway in late March. 

I thought writing a Dorados blog during the offseason would be tough. It should still be but a troubled star has given me plenty to write about for my first time out.

I woke up to the strangest news Wednesday. Sports Editor Wade Baker gave me a call about the possibility of former Cowboys quarterback Quincy Carter coming to the Valley to play for the Dordaos.

For a football fan, its exciting. For all his faults, Carter is talented on the field and fun to watch.

I know the Doraods are a minor league arena team, but I wondered if all his off and on the field drama would be too much trouble to invest in.

As I was coming up with a timeline for his career, I noticed at every turn of his professional career whether it be the NFL, the CFL or the af2, he has burned a bridge. He is trying to correct his life with a six-month stint in rehab, which means he would likely miss the first two months of season. He started rehab in late November.

Carter has been in rehab in the past but managed to get himself in trouble. I am sure if he ends up in the Valley, he would provide a lot of excitment. Jason McDaniel, who covered, the Dorados last year said when Carter was down here playing against RGV, the quarterback was mobbed by fans.

If Carter does come to the Dorados he would replace veteran QB Josh Kellet, who apparently has tried out for arena football.

Here was what Jason was able to gather yesterday:

RGV coach Marty Hammond said he hasn’t ruled out Josh Kellett returning at QB, either. Kellett’s worked out with AFL teams and is waiting to see if that leads to anything. In the meantime, Hammond said he should know whether or not Carter will be joining the Dorados by the end of the month.

“It’s a possibility,” Hammond said.

I just wonder if the reward out weighs the risk?

Here is the link to the story:

http://www.themonitor.com/news/carter_8135___article.html/cowboys_coach.html