Fort Wayne Freedom

The CIFL is just silly

I know I'm just dropping by with interim coverage of the Continental Indoor Football League, but this entity is just, well, indescribable.

The Fort Wayne Freedom's problems this season have been well documented: Bad ownership ... change in ownership ... quarterback quitting hours before game ... change in coach ... unpaid players ... no practices ... an incomprehensible playoff format.

The Freedom's season came to an end over the weekend -- though the CIFL still hasn't announced who made the postseason -- and at least we don't have to deal with the following stuff anymore.

According to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, the defending champion and undefeated Rochester Raiders (12-0) have quit the league just before the playoffs begin. Why? On Sunday, hours before a scheduled game, the Flint Phantoms didn't show up and the Raiders weren't compensated the way they had been told they would be in such an event by the league.

Now, Rochester will join the American Indoor Football Association -- this season!! -- and play the winner of that league's playoffs in some sort of wacky Super Bowl.

The amazing thing is, according to the newspaper, this is the second pro sports team from Rochester to quit on the verge of the playoffs in two years.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Freedom lose heartbreaker, miss playoffs

The Fort Wayne Freedom lost 39-32 to the regular season-champion Kalamazoo Xplosion on Saturday night and head coach Matt Land was taking the blame.

Why? The Freedom had a chance to tie it with first-and-goal from the 1-yard line in the waning seconds. He called a Rocky Harvey run, a quarterback sneak, a pitch to Harvey and a pass. All failed. Land was peeved at his own playcalling in that situation.

So the Freedom finished at 5-7. The Xplosion went 11-1.

And you heard it here first: The Freedom missed the playoffs, even though it's tied with Muskegon record-wise. This gets down to the third tiebreaker, which is victory strength. Fort Wayne has a percentage of .407. Muskegon's percentage will be affected by a game elsewhere, but the worst the Thunder could do would be .417.

Even though fans in several cities are awaiting playoff information, the Continental Indoor Football League is either unwilling or incapable of announcing it at this time.

Regardless, it seems the Freedom played with a lot of heart in this game, against the league's best team. Now we must determine what the future will hold -- this was the sixth season of Fort Wayne indoor football, with four different leagues and three different ownership groups.

That doesn't look good for anyone.

Speaking of which: Click here to read a good column out of the Kalamazoo Gazette, critiquing the CIFL's problems to date. Of particular note to local readers will be the writer's chastising of the league for allowing former Freedom owner Todd Ellis into the league.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Bragging rights, redemption on the line

When Fort Wayne Freedom coach Matt Land got to his office this week -- the one at his paying day job as head football coach at Tri-State University -- he found it redecorated.

And not exactly to his liking.

There were some signs with words like, "You're going down," and other words that aren't really fit for print. Land promptly destroyed the verbiage and began plotting his revenge in the form of Xs and Os.

He knew exactly where the graffiti came from -- two of his Thunder assistant coaches, Dan Musielewicz and David Gater, who happen to double as players with the Continental Indoor Football League's Kalamazoo Xplosion.

The Freedom (5-6) take on the Xplosion (10-1) on Saturday night at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Musielewicz is a wide receiver. Gater, who hails from Kendallville, is a defensive back.

It's possible the teams will meet in the first round of the playoffs, too, though the Freedom is far from having a postseason berth secured.

The best hope for the Freedom would be to win its game Saturday and get a loss from Muskegon tonight against Saginaw.

Anything else and there will likely be a tie between Fort Wayne and either Muskegon or Rock River, the teams vying for two playoff spots, and it'll come down to victory strength or strength of schedule. Those numbers will drastically change over the weekend and the CIFL sadly can't promise the playoff teams will even be available for public consumption after the games Saturday.

Click here to see the playoff scenarios, diluted as they are.

Meanwhile, the Freedom were actually able to practice this week, something it didn't do before last week's victory over the Chesapeake Tide. The theme was the team's chance for redemption, in a tumultuous season that has seen changes in ownership and coaches, players not getting paid, and plenty of roster changes.

Remember the 2005 Freedom team, which won the United Indoor Football regular-season championship then lost in the first round? Several players from that team, and Land, are back with this year's Freedom and hoping they can make up for that disappointment.

Meanwhile, quarterback Eric Hooks is already feeling redeemed, after he was benched five games into the season. He has been at the helm during the Freedom's recent 2-1 surge, which coincided with Land's return to the team.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Time warp into Freedom Land

As a matter of forewarning, I hadn't been out to a Freedom practice in a few years. (Stacy is out of town tending to a personal matter, so I'm in from Komet land to blog.) And it felt like some sort of time warp out at The Dome.

There was Matt Land, coaching the team again. There was Mike Quick, working with the secondary. Luther Stroder? Rocky Harvey? Alf Fertil?

Whoa, it was like walking into 2005 again, only I had less hair. It was weird to seem them all there again and from what I've read and heard, weird for them to speak positively about things.

"I'm excited," said Land, who took over after Willie Davis was fired on game day last Saturday. "I really enjoy this game and Fort Wayne football and the fans."

Land, who guided the Freedom to a 14-2 record in 2005, pledged to break the bad habits, to give the Memorial Coliseum fans a show Saturday against Muskegon. They certainly deserve one, having stomached a season that's seen a change in ownership, a change in coaches, players quitting and a 3-6 record.

Land has been working the phones, talking with players interested in the new regime.

"You've got some decisions to make," I overheard him tell one on the phone. "I'm not going to make you any promises; I haven't seen you play yet."

Yeah, nothing like a swift kick in the bluetooth.

Land, who is back only on an interim basis, spent a lot of practice trying to improve the techniques of quarterback Eric Hooks and the receivers.

OK, it wasn't the most structured workout I've ever seen -- Land is still going off the one-sheet or handwritten plays he scribbled together before Saturday's 38-26 loss to Chicago -- but it's baby-steps right now and you can't expect much more than that.

"The plays worked out pretty well," Land said. "Hooks was a little off in the first half, for obvious reasons. We put (the system) into place on the bus and practiced it for 15 minutes during pre-game (warm-ups). It was to be expected. In the second half, he settled down, got more comfortable and played pretty well."

The Freedom has some confidence believing they gave Chicago fits last week. There's also a light-hearted feel, Land being good at joking around with a crew whose names he still doesn't fully know, while delivering solid fundamental wisdom, too.

Is it too late for this team? Maybe. They have to win at least two of their last three games to have a legitimate chance at the playoffs and two of those games are against top-notch teams Muskegon and Kalamazoo.

But the Freedom's going to have some fun trying. It'd be a lot more fun if they could win a couple.

-- By Justin A. Cohn, The Journal Gazette

Fort Wayne loses at Chicago

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Matt Land's first game back as the Freedom's head coach: in-game adjustments.
The Freedom may have lost, 41-33, Saturday, but there's reason for optimism for the final three games with Land back at offensive coordinator.
Despite getting essentially only 15 minutes of prep time to install an offense, the team had a chance to tie the game late.
"See what the defense does and adjusting to it was much more prevalent (Saturday)," quarterback Eric Hooks said. "Really just feeling like during the game instead of just getting encouragement, we got coaching. Instead of 'C'mon guys, let's go, pick it up,' we got, 'This is what you need to do when this happens. See this, do this.' "
With the quick turnaround, it wasn't surprising to see the offense struggle a bit, especially early.
Hooks admitted there were points where he wasn't sure where his teammates were going to be, and the timing was off. He also hadn't played since Game 4 of the season, so that could have factored in.
"I think it will be (OK) because most of our starting skill guys have played under coach Land, so they know the system," Hooks said. "It's a similar system that I played at Saint Francis because Land learned it from coach (Kevin) Donley. I think it's going to be a smooth adjustment, and I think you saw a little bit of that (Saturday). It's just really getting used to the timing, especially me getting back used to game speed."

• All Land expected out of the players Saturday night was for them to play hard, and he thought they did that. "Really (Saturday) was us getting to know each other, seeing if I could get the effort out of them and letting them know it's going to be OK," he said. "I think we crossed a lot of bridges (Saturday) on a positive note. While losing is never good, it could have been a lot worse."
• Here's hoping Land runs his practices more structured than Davis. It's clear some individuals need work, and there's always the issue of practicing at game speed, which didn't happen often under Davis.
• Land said the team will practice twice next week. The first order of business: shoring up special teams. Chicago's Robert Height had three returns for 86 yards Saturday, and the Slaughter often had good field position.
• Fort Wayne's defense was good again. Shonn Bell and Maurice Terrell really wreck havoc from the end spots, getting consistent pressure on the quarterback.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

"Prioritize the mess"

Co-owner Mark Chappuis, coach Willie Davis and some Freedom players spoke candidly this week about how the management transition has been a bit tougher than expected -- mostly due to what Chappuis called the "mess" that former owner Todd Ellis left behind.
I think Chappuis and Bill Fahlsing did the right thing taking over the franchise. But the fact they never intended to do so means they've been struggling a bit financially. They need more investors. Chappuis said he's had meetings, will have more meetings and is close to getting help. We'll see if that comes via members of the group who were initially interested in getting a franchise together pre-Todd (some of whom I know read this blog). 
Be sure to check out Saturday's paper for a story with more on that. But in case you don't get your fill there, here are some other quotes that didn't make the story:

• Chappuis: "When we get through this year, we have a budget that works in this town. That's all I know. The big nut is that everybody has taken a wait-and-see attitude. We just feel like we're focused on getting through the year and then I think next year, I think we start moving toward becoming one of the premier teams in the league."
• Receiver Luther Stroder: "I'm not going to tell any of these (young) guys they should play. They have something that they feel they're owed, and they have every right to do that. Me, I look at it totally different. I've been here for awhile. We've kind of been through it. Nobody wants to go through it. But at the end of the day, we're not playing to get rich. We're playing for the love of the city. That's where we stand on it. If (getting paid) was the case, a lot of us would try to go off and venture to other places."
• Defensive lineman Alf Fertil: "When it comes down to it, you signed on to play football. There's a lot of off-the-field stuff that's going on. But we talk about it. We have meetings about it. After each meeting, we come to the consensus that, hey, we want to play football. With the younger guys and the guys who don't have jobs, it's just trying to get them to focus and (tell them) everything is going to be all right. ... It's getting better. But there's still some stuff there. I'm not going to say there's not. There's still stuff there and some stuff that guys are upset about. I can't speak for them, but in my regard, it's trying to forget all that stuff when the ball is kicked off and it's time to play."
• Davis: "If I was a betting man, I'd say yes (the team gets through the season). But I don't just want to finish just to get through it. I still want to win. We could easily say, 'Let's just finish' and put random guys out there. But that's not Freedom ball. That's not what people pay to see. They want to see Rocky, Luther, those guys out there. Plus, we want to win. We don't want to be the laughingstock either and get beat up every week."

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Practice "update"

Not much to report from practice Tuesday and Wednesday.
Numbers were minimal. I counted 13 guys Wednesday who were practicing. That meant for 7-on-7 drills, defensive coordinator Lamar Martin had to play linebacker. Without enough skill position guys on offense, backup quarterback Eric Hooks got some time at running back and receiver (and actually looked pretty good).

• I didn't count snaps, but they seemed to be split between Antoine Taylor and Darnell Lovett, who is changing his name to Kota-Carone Colors, Wednesday. I'm not sure I understand that -- or why coach Willie Davis bothered to bring another quarterback in this late in the year. I thought Hooks was doing just fine, especially if Taylor is the full-time starter. Hooks knows the offense. With only five games left, why bring in a new guy and have to teach him everything? Besides -- and I'm no quarterback expert -- but Colors seems to have a hitch in his delivery. I can't really describe it, but something just doesn't seem smooth in his motion. Maybe that would work OK for outdoor. In indoor, though, you all know there's a premium on a quick release and making quick decisions.
• Shonn Bell was at practice Tuesday, and he appeared to be walking just fine. With his reaction during the game last weekend to the injury -- slamming his hand on the turf and writhing in pain -- I figured whatever happened was pretty serious. Apparently, not so much. We'll see if he'll be ready to play Saturday.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Deal done

Local businessmen Mark Chappuis and Bill Fahlsing now own 100 percent of the Freedom.
A deal was finalized Wednesday that severed ties with president/general manager Todd Ellis, who had named Chappuis and Fahlsing as "investors" at the start of the season.
CIFL co-founder Jeff Spitaleri wouldn't disclose details of the buyout.
For more on this story, check out Thursday's Journal Gazette.

-- Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

"Close" to a resolution

Continental Indoor Football League co-founder Jeff Spitaleri said Monday parties are "close" to resolving issues with the Freedom's front office.
Spitaleri wouldn't give specifics as to the nature of the negotiations or a time line for them to be completed. He did say "we're confident where everything is going."
Spitaleri was in town last week for meetings and met with the team at practice. Eric Spitaleri said last week his brother handling "ownership issues" with the franchise.
Two weeks ago, investor Mark Chappuis said there was a "change of management in progress" but wouldn't say whether that meant Todd Ellis would be out as general manager and president. Neither would Jeff Spitaleri.
Ellis introduced Chappuis and Bill Fahlsing as the team's local investors at the beginning of the season.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

The new regime

Todd Ellis named Willie Davis the Freedom's head coach Monday, and clearly, the glaring weakness on Davis' resume is lack of professional coaching experience.
Playing one season of indoor ball last year and then jumping into the head coach's shoes for the final handful of games does not make a head coach.
But Davis isn't saying otherwise. He admitted he doesn't have much experience, but he's relishing the chance and seemed genuinely excited about this opportunity.
Of course, excitement and ability aren't related.
We'll see the hiring shakes out. But, for me, there's a bit of a comfort knowing Luther Stroder, Rocky Harvey, Rachman Crable and Alf Fertil are on the roster -- and they're also hoping to convince Bam Carter to join. At this point, those guys could probably run a team themselves. I suppose it'll just be a matter of if the rest of the players brought in jell with that group. Davis seemed pretty intent on bringing in talent from all over, saying about 10 or 12 of the 41 players he's signed are "local."

• Todd Ellis said he was "elected" general manager. When I asked by whom, he said "everybody."
  "Everybody felt that I had the vision of where we wanted to be," Ellis said. "I have a good football background, so they felt I was the right person for the job." Ellis said he won't make a salary in the position.
• One responsibility Ellis won't have as GM is handling money, he said. Ellis said the team has an accounting firm that will write the checks, and he also anticipates hiring a business manager.
• I asked Bill Fahlsing, one of the two local investors introduced Monday, how much money he and Mark Chappuis are contributing. He wouldn't give me a figure. But he did say, "We were very instrumental in making sure the league had the dollars and cents as well as the league agreement letter of credit that got done last Friday afternoon." Those totals were $22,500 to the Continental Indoor Football League and $50,000 for the letter of credit for the Coliseum.
• Attorney Mike Loomis said the $20,000 figure he initially gave me a couple weeks ago that was due to the league Feb. 9 now could be as low as $12,500. Loomis said $10,000 of that is for league dues but the other portion that was initially $10,000 for a security deposit may be lowered to $2,500 or $5,000. Loomis also said the date was pushed back to Feb. 23. (As a side note, one of you posted something about Loomis possibly being involved with the team financially. He said he has not made an investment in the team.)

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette