 Arena Football Talk (AFT) is proud to announce a partnership with Professional Arena Football (PAF).
“We at Arena Football Talk are very happy to be working with Commissioner Gregg Fornario, Marketing Operations Director Jesse Heninger along with the rest of the PAF staff,” said AFT Founder and President Derek Harper. “We are very thankful for this opportunity that Gregg has presented us with.” Arena Football Talk will cover the league along with Champions Indoor Football, Indoor Football League, National Arena League and Arena Football League. Not only will the PAF continue on their plans for creating opportunities for fans and players, but this partnership celebrates AFT’s dedication to promoting the indoor game in a positive manner. Now, with more teams to cover Arena Football Talk will need more writers, so email us at theaftnetwork@gmail.com if you would like to submit a sample article. We look forward to covering the PAF and we will continue to provide you with the best product we can can offer.
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 The Cedar Rapids IFL franchise has announced their new name. Welcome the Cedar Rapids River Kings! Cedar Rapids officials said this was the first of many changes, as they're also changing their logo as well. Expect an announcement with their new logo in the near future. The River Kings were formerly known as the Cedar Rapids Titans, but the new ownership and front office announced they were rebranding for the upcoming season. This'll be the eighth season of indoor football for Cedar Rapids and could be the most exciting yet!
 Kevin Guy, head coach of the Arizona Rattlers and co-owner of the Tuscon Sugar Skulls, comes onto AFT Buzz to discuss the new Tuscon team. Guy is the biggest guest to date on the show and he explains why Tuscon was the place to go to put the newest IFL franchise.
Anthony Reynolds, a lecturer at Ohio University also joins to talk about the impacts of successful marketing for indoor football teams before AFT Head of Management talks to Lehigh Valley Steelhawks beat writer RJ Ciancio about rumors involving the Steelhawks, the Baltimore Brigade and more. AFT Buzz airs Fridays at 7 p.m. Eastern on the internet radio station 920 WON: The Apple. Fans can listen around the world live at www.live365.com/station/a09178 or through the Live365 app. Shows are available after release at https://www.mixcloud.com/AFTBuzz/  Tuscon Indoor Football has decided to name their team the Sugar Skulls. "If you are native to Tuscon, it is the center of the culture here. We celebrate tradition, we celebrate honor, we celebrate festivity and that's what Tuscon Sugar Skulls is all about," the emcee said at the reveal party. A sugar skull is used in Mexican culture to honor the departed loved ones of the living. Tuscon has one of the largest All Souls Processions in the United States, a parade celebrated in accordance with dia de los muertos. A red, yellow and black sombrero sits on top of an ornate skull, nestled in between the necks of two similarly colored guitars. Sugar Skulls is written side by side in the logo. In addition to the name and logo, the full team website is now available at tucsonsugarskulls.com. On social media, the team Twitter handle will be @sugarskullsfb and Instagram is @sugarskullsfootball. The video of the announcement can be watched in its entirety on the team Facebook page. Tuscon Indoor Football has announced the release date for their moniker, logo and colors. It will be Thursday, September 20 at the MSA Annex in Tuscon.
In accordance with the announcement, Tuscon will have a whole party to integrate the name into the community, complete with live music and performances, facepainters and more. Food, drinks and some team merchandise will be available for sale, but the event is free to attend. Will the team go with a temperature or desert theme? Will they take a blue color, since Cedar Rapids is rebranding the only blue-dominant logo in the IFL? All will be revealed Thursday as the party starts at 6:30 p.m. local time, 9:30 p.m. Eastern.  Offseasons are known for their instability in indoor football and 2018 is no different. Quad Cities move to a different league and the rebranding of the Cedar Rapids franchise highlight the newest episode of AFT Buzz available through 920 WON: The Apple.
AFT’s Head of Management Brice Burge joins Texas Revolution beat writer Chris Mabry to discuss how the IFL can gain from the CIF’s loss and whether or not the Steamwheelers will be the only team to jump ship before the start of the new season. The pair also wonder what else will change as the Titans moniker is retired and what kind of rules would be fun to implement if they got to start a new league like Gregg Fornario did with Professional Arena Football. AFT Buzz airs Fridays at 7 p.m. Eastern on the internet radio station 920 WON: The Apple. Fans can listen around the world live at www.live365.com/station/a09178 or through the Live365 app. Shows are available after release at https://www.mixcloud.com/AFTBuzz/  Credit: Moline Dispatch By Chris Mabry
Today, in Illinois the Quad Cities Steamwheelers announced via Facebook Live that the franchise is moving to the IFL (Indoor Football League). Last season, the Steamwheelers announced that the team would return to play after ceasing operations for eight years. In Quad Cities first and only season in the CIF (Champions Indoor Football), they played 12 games and finished the 2018 regular season with a record of 8-4. In their first playoff game, the Steamwheelers faced the Sioux City Bandits. In that playoff game, the Bandits defeated Quad Cities 54-46 to advance to the conference championship game. Now, with the move to IFL, Quad Cities will have some intense competition and some familiar foes. In 2019 Quad Cities will face teams like the Iowa Barnstormers who were in the AF2 the last time this team was playing. As for new opponents they will face the Arizona Rattlers who were IFL champions in 2016 and 5-time champions in the AFL. Congratulations on the move Quad Cities! Good luck in 2019.  By RJ Ciancio
With the New York Streets on their way to join the National Arena League (NAL) for the 2019 Season, Arena Football Talk has decided to review the history of arena football in New York City. The Arena Football League (AFL) first arrived in the Big Apple in 1988 with the New York Knights. The Knights were owned by Russell Berry and were coached by Jim Valek. New York played their home games in the iconic Madison Square Garden. Although the team went 2-10 before folding after the 1988 season, the Knights had planted the seed of arena football in America’s largest media market. In 1997 the AFL had New York City’s second arena team take the field as the CityHawks. The CityHawks were owned by Rogers Communications and were coached by Lary Kuharich. Once again, the New York City team played in Madison Square Garden. In their first season, the CityHawks went 2-12. In the offseason the CityHawks fired Kuharich and hired veteran NCAA head coach Chuck Shelton. Sadly, Shelton’s unfamiliarity with the arena game showed as th CityHawks went 3-11 in the 1998 season. Prior to the 1999 AFL season, the CityHawks moved to New England to become the Sea-Wolves. In the 2000 offseason the Iowa Barnstormers relocated to New York City and became the Dragons. The Dragons were owned by Steven and Shanna Silvia. The Dragons became the first team in AFL history to call New York City home and not play in Madison Square Garden, instead opting to play in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The team’s first coach in New York was John Gregory, who was at the helm from 2001-2002 making the playoffs in 2000 and 2001. Todd Shell was brought in to replace John Gregory as head coach. With the help of star quarterback Aaron Garcia, Shell led the team to the playoffs in 2003, and after missing the 2004 playoffs Weylan Harding became the Dragons new head coach. New York made the playoffs in 2005, 2006 and 2008 before folding after the AFL canceled their 2009 campaign. With eleven seasons of arena football history under New York City’s belt, the Big Apple is at long last getting an arena football team back with the New York Streets in the NAL. |
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