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128's AF2 Thread

jetsrule128

By jetsrule128
in Other Sports

Who Should Be The Starting QB For The Albany Firebirds  

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  1. 1. Who Should Be The Starting QB For The Albany Firebirds

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jetsrule128

jetsrule128

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The NEW YORK DRAGONS clinch a National Conference playoff spot with the following scenarios:

1) New York Dragons win

2) Cleveland Gladiators loss

3) New Orleans VooDoo loss

Cleveland and New orleans play Saturday and we play Sunday

so we might know where in before our game

BUT IT GETS BETTER

The NEW YORK DRAGONS clinch a first-round home game with the following scenario:

1) New York Dragons win + New Orleans VooDoo loss

Go DRAGONS i am so happy this weekend is a home game

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jetsrule128

jetsrule128

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While the Albany Conquest are out of arenafootball2 playoff contention, their final two home games on July 18 and July 25 could be more important than people realize.

Saddled with another losing season and with attendance at an all-time low, Conquest owner Walter Robb said the crowd turnout for those two contests at Times Union Center will help determine whether he brings the team back next season.

Robb, who has owned the team since 2005, maintains he's "70 percent optimistic" the Conquest will return for an eighth season.

Asked what would make it a certainty, Robb said a turnout of at least 5,000 people for each of the final two home games.

"I'd like to let (the fans) know that a team next year will to some extent depend on how we end up the season," Robb said.

That would take a major bump from Albany's season average of 3,217 through six home games, although that figure is skewed by the April 26 game against Mahoning Valley in which no attendance was recorded because of a computer glitch.

Still, the Conquest have averaged fewer than 4,000 fans in their past four games at Times Union Center after having only one crowd that small in the franchise's first six years.

The Conquest have two years remaining on their lease with Times Union Center; Robb said he would have to pay a buyout if the team doesn't play after this season.

Robb added he's willing to entertain offers from local or out-of-town investors to purchase at least a share of the team. Robb had three partners when he bought the team three years ago; now he's the sole owner.

Certainly, at 4-9 the Conquest haven't performed well enough on the field to attract fans. They're on their way to their fifth consecutive year without a winning record or playoff appearance.

But Robb said he's not certain that wins and losses have any correlation to attendance in arenafootball2, where people are just as likely to come for the pregame block parties, in-game music and contests between quarters.

"I think that people come out to have a good time," he said. "The people don't seem to leave the games that disappointed when we lose or that excited and exuberant when we win."

Robb said that reaction differs from his other team, the American Hockey League's Albany River Rats, whose fans seem to care more about results.

Robb said he believes the Conquest are the victims of the current economic downturn, like many forms of entertainment when consumers don't have as much money to spend.

"It's entertainment and sports all over," Robb said. "In fact, our reduction (in attendance) is probably on the modest side."

That he could shut down the Conquest isn't really about money, according to Robb, who hasn't turned a profit since he bought the team. He said that running the team costs "a fraction" of what he spends to run the River Rats, mainly because af2 players make only $200 per week with a $50 bonus for each win.

But when Robb bought the Conquest, thus saving them from the possibility of moving or folding, he said he did so to enhance the quality of life in the Capital Region. But Robb said he's wondering if it's worth the investment if people are not coming to see it.

Conquest president and general manager Garen Szablewski said he's concerned about the attendance dropoff because of the strong effort his sales and marketing staff has made.

He acknowledged that some fans might just not accept the Conquest because they play at a lower level than the Albany Firebirds, who spent 11 years here in the Arena Football League before moving to Indianapolis for financial reasons in 2000.

"That's a hard battle to win," Sazblewski said. "The reality is we are af2 and (the Firebirds) were af1. If you look at some of the individual players, they probably would be every bit as good as many of the Firebirds players back in the day."

This is the 18th season that arena football in some form has been in the Capital Region. Could it be the sport has simply run its course in this market?

"That's what we have to figure out," Szablewski said. "It's entirely possible that's the case, but we have not come to that conclusion."

If they do, the Conquest could become the Capital Region's eighth pro sports franchise to fold or relocate since 1991.

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jetsrule128

jetsrule128

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Long Island's franchise in the Arena Football League, the Dragons, is awaiting league approval this month to transfer ownership from Charles Wang to an .investment group headed by Long Beach-based pharmaceutical executive Steven Silva.

The team will continue to be based at Nassau Coliseum and is expected to retain its coaching staff and the bulk of its roster. But it will become an operation separate from the Islanders, with whom the Dragons had shared marketing, ticket sales and public relations personnel -- and a mascot, Sparky the Dragon.

Wang, the Islanders owner, purchased the Iowa Barnstormers, renamed them the Dragons and moved them from Des Moines to the Coliseum in 2000. Because the AFL season, running from March to July, overlapped with the Islanders season, Wang began to separate the teams' off-the-field staffs last year.

Approached by Silva, the 42-year-old .president and chief operating officer of Chem Rx -- the third largest long-term care pharmacy in the country -- Wang decided to sell the Dragons to concentrate on the Islanders and on next .summer's anticipated groundbreaking for a Coliseum complex.

Silva will head a group of private .investors intent on "implementing many .creative ideas for the team's future .success," according to a statement released Wednesday. "Our goal is to build a successful franchise and to win championships."

The purchasing group, according to a release from Silva's representatives, "plans to invest in the franchise and to enhance the experience for fans and to broaden the franchise's appeal across the New York metropolitan area."

The Dragons were 8-8 in their just-completed season with an average home attendance of 9,072, below the AFL average of 12,958.

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jetsrule128

jetsrule128

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First Round Playoff Schedule:

Friday, August 1

No. 6 Lexington (9-7) at No. 3 Green Bay (11-5) 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, August 2

No. 8 Quad City (8-8) at No. 1 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (14-2) 7:00 p.m.

No. 7 Manchester (9-7) at No. 2 South Georgia (12-4) 7:30 p.m.

No. 5 Florida (10-6) at No. 4 Tennessee Valley (10-6) 8:30 p.m.

First Round Playoff Schedule:

Saturday, August 2

No. 7 Amarillo (8-8) at No. 2 Tulsa (12-4) 8:00 p.m.

No. 6 Lubbock (9-7) at No. 3 Bossier-Shreveport (9-7) 8:00 p.m.

No. 8 Austin (8-8) at No. 1 Spokane (15-1) 10:00 p.m.

Sunday, August 3

No. 5 Central Valley (10-6) at No. 4 Arkansas (11-5) 6:00 p.m.

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jetsrule128

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No. 7 Manchester (9-7) beat No. 2 South Georgia (12-4) 46-42

No. 7 Amarillo (8-Cool beat No. 2 Tulsa (12-4) 65-62

the other 4 games the better record won

No. 8 Quad City (8-Cool lost to No. 1 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (14-2) 57-29

No. 5 Florida (10-6) lost to No. 4 Tennessee Valley (10-6) 48-33

No. 6 Lubbock (9-7) lost to No. 3 Bossier-Shreveport (9-7) 77-61

No. 8 Austin (8-Cool lost to No. 1 Spokane (15-1) 42-14

No. 6 Lexington (9-7) lost to No. 3 Green Bay(11-5) 65-37

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