IFL notebook: Fairbanks escapes disaster

KENNEWICK -- Talk about your turnarounds.

The Fairbanks Grizzlies were 0-2 to start the Indoor Football League season when team owner Ricky Bertz announced that after the team's game against the Tri-Cities Fever on March 12 the franchise would fold.

The reason was that a quoted workers compensation insurance package price increase of over $100,000 from the original quote of $43,000 in January -- too much for a minor league team to pay.

But the league, government officials and businesses stepped in and helped find a better insurance package, the Grizzlies fans held fundraisers, and the team hasn't missed a beat.

In fact, the Grizzlies haven't lost since the Tri-City game and are 3-3.

-- The Amarillo Venom signed quarterback Andrew Carcich last week. Carcich started last season for the Alaska Wild until the team folded, then was picked up by the Fever to serve as a backup.

-- Speaking of Amarillo (now 0-5), the Venom lost to the Allen Wranglers 52-51 last weekend in a heartbreaker. The Venom scored a touchdown with 27 seconds remaining to take a 51-50 lead. But on the point-after kick, holder X'Zavier Bloodsaw fumbled the snap. Allen DB Frankie Solomon picked up the loose ball and ran it back for a 2-point conversion, and Allen won the game.

Even more bizarre was after the game, Allen head coach Chris MacKeown was playing catch with his daughter on the Amarillo field when Venom assistants Jarrett Hicks and Sammy Walker got into a verbal confrontation with MacKeown about it. The Venom fired the two assistants the next day.

-- After two victories for his LaCrosse team, head coach Gilbert Brown took a personal leave of absence. A former Green Bay Packer, Brown left the team in charge to his brother, Kyle Moore-Brown. The brother led LaCrosse to a victory last weekend over Nebraska.

-- The Fever's next opponent, the Arizona Adrenaline, dropped to 0-5 by losing to the Wyoming Cavalry 70-31 last Friday. Cavs quarterback Joe McLain tossed eight TD passes, and former Fever defensive lineman Michael Hodges scored a touchdown when he fell on an errant snap in the end zone.

This story was originally published April 9, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "IFL notebook: Fairbanks escapes disaster ."