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Thursday, Mar. 27, 2008
Fever ready for opener in new-look af2
By Ben Reynolds, Herald staff writer
Tri-Cities Fever coach Cedric Walker has no problem opening the season Friday against West Division foe Stockton.
He says his team is ready and the game (7:05 p.m. at Toyota Center) will give him a chance to see where it stands early in the season.
Because of the additions and subtractions of teams in the arenafootball2 league, the Fever is set to play each division foe three times, and quite possibly a fourth in the playoffs.
"I'm not big on that," Walker said. "But it is what it is."
One of the big reasons for the changes in the schedule out West is the disbandment of Everett and Bakersfield for the 2008 season.
In order to keep a 12-game schedule against division foes and minimize travel, the Fever will play Spokane, Boise, Stockton and Central Valley three times. Of those four teams, Spokane is the only team that will visit the Tri-Cities more than once. The first game against the Shock is in three weeks at Toyota Center.
The Fever, in its second season in the af2, has a more-than-friendly travel schedule. Other than a pair of trips to Stockton and Central Valley in Fresno, Calif., the team's only other road trip is to Peoria for a nonconference game. Tri-Cities' other three nonconference games are at home against Amarillo, Arkansas and Bossier-Shreveport.
"You want to go out and play the best teams you can, whether it's home or away," Walker said.
Compared to the Shock or Burn schedule, the Fever have it made. Spokane opens the season at Green Bay and then has trips scheduled to Lubbock and Austin. The Burn open at Tulsa and then travel to Daytona Beach later in the season.
Despite the revamped schedules, Walker, Spokane Shock owner Brady Nelson and others agree that the league is continuing to get stronger.
The league opens its ninth season Friday night with 29 teams, down from 30 last season.
Cincinnati folded after just one year, while Everett, Bakersfield, Fort Wayne, Laredo and Alabama are also gone.
In return, the league added teams in Iowa, Peoria, Lexington, Daytona Beach and Austin. The team in Austin is making the move from the Arena Football League to the af2.
"I think the league continues to grow and made changes for the better," Nelson said.
The af2 preseason poll was released Wednesday, and the Fever was nowhere to be found. Defending champion Tulsa earned the top spot, followed by last year's ArenaCup runner-up Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Spokane is the top-rated team in the West, ranked sixth. Central Valley is ranked ninth.
The Fever Believers Booster Club is holding a welcome dinner and silent auction at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Shilo Inn in Richland. For more information call, 554-1335. Tickets are $18.
* Ben Reynolds: 582-1509; breynolds@tricityherald.com
