Friday, Jul. 11, 2008

Team returns to practice field

By Ben Reynolds, Herald staff writer

The Tri-Cities Fever returned to the practice field in good spirits Thursday after more than a week off to recuperate for its final three games of the season.

That was even after a little extra conditioning.

"It feels good to get out here and the kinks out," said Fever defensive end Johnny Jackson. "We just have few guys that need to lose a few pounds now."

During the two-hour practice, there was not much mention of the playoffs for a 4-9 team that has struggled with consistency all season. All the focus was on the final home game of the season against Amarillo (6-7) on Monday night.

"That's all we can do right now," said Fever coach Cedric Walker. "We want to put out a good product for our fans."

Tri-Cities has lost its last four games and has slipped to 13th in the National Conference standings. Yes, making the playoffs is still mathematically possible, but no one's betting on the team's chances.

It is the first time since the organization started in 2005 that it has been in a situation where it is playing for pride and not a postseason berth late in the season.

Walker dealt with the same situation last season in Everett, where the Hawks were 4-9 with three games left in the regular season.

He managed to lead the Hawks to two wins in their final three games to finish with a 6-10 mark, including a win over the Fever.

"These guys should have no problem getting motivated (for these final three games)," Walker said. "If they can't, they'll get hurt."

The emphasis for the Fever this week is consistency -- the team's kryptonite all season.

After opening the season with four straight losses, the Fever won four out of five games and that loss was to top-ranked Spokane (12-1) by just three points on the road. Since then, Tri-Cities has lost four straight, three of which were not even close after halftime.

"Our quarterbacks need to be consistent, our offensive line needs to be consistent, our defensive line needs to be consistent," Walker said.

Walker, who said he was looking at bringing in new quarterbacks for the final three games, will stick with Tali Ena and John Pierce -- who have both struggled of late -- for Mon-day's game, but did not say who would start.

Tri-Cities has averaged a little more than 39 points per game during its last four games. The Fever averaged 35 points per game during its first four-game losing streak.

"I think we'll be good," Walker said. "The practice was much better and we had guys step up."

Notes

Quarterback Josh Kellett, who joined the Fever after its 0-4 start and led the team to two straight wins, returned home to Texas during the bye week. Kellett had been on the injured reserve list with a broken bone in his left foot and it was unlikely that he would have played again this season.

-- Fever lineman Andy Endemann is out for the season with an injured knee. Endemann has been on the injured reserve list since the Fever's loss at Central Valley on June 7.

-- The Daytona Beach Thunderbirds will disband at the end of the season, according to the Daytona Beach (Fla.) News-Journal's website. The team, 2-12 in its first season in the af2, is citing unfavorable playing dates for home games (Thursdays, Sundays and Mondays) and unknown costs.