Art Carmody Blog #6

As a football player you know that the season will end at some point.  For the 2009 BattleWings, the season ended two weeks earlier than planned.  We fell to the Tulsa Talons 59-34.  Football is a game of capitalizing on opportunities, and it is something the BattleWings did not do on Saturday night.  It was a huge disappointment for a team that has played great football since the spring turned to summer.  We did not reach our goal of being ArenaCup champions, and that sting will take a while to heal.  However, I am not here to pour salt on the wound.  I will use this forum to celebrate the 2009 BattleWings.

It was a long bus ride back from Tulsa in which nobody really slept.  There was a lot of talk about what this past season meant to us, and all of the great memories that were made.  Phillip Geiggar and I talked about what a great season it had been and how much we were going to miss it. Phillip played on a BCS winning team at Texas, as well as I at Louisville.  Looking back on 2009 we could honestly say that it was the most fun we had playing football.  This is a testament to the coaches for bringing in quality players and us as players coming together to win football games.

It was not a pretty season.  At one point in May we sat at the bottom of the Southwest division with a 2-4 record and a long trip to Lexington, KY to take on the Horsemen.   Of those losses all four of them were winnable games.  At the end of the first quarter in Lexington it was 21-7 in favor of the Horsemen.   There was no panic and we scored thirty-seven unanswered points to take over the game and set the table for the rest of the season.  We won ten of our last eleven games to end the season as Southwest Division Champions.  Along the way we figured out not only how to win games in the fourth quarter but to win games as a team.

We didn’t win the trophy that we set out to win in March, which is disappointing.  The trophies that we did win are the relationships and friendships that were developed over the last six months.  Yea, I know it sounds pretty sappy, but it’s the truth.   I would love for every last one of the players to come back to Bossier-Shreveport next March to make another run at the ArenaCup.  I know guys will move on to bigger and better things and I look forward to keeping up with them in the future.  Thanks to head coach Jon Norris, offensive coordinator Jon Lyles, defensive coordinator Derek Stingley, and special teams coach John Lewis.  We had the best coaching staff in AF2 and every week we suited up we had a great game plan to follow.  Thanks to you guys for putting up with us for five months.

Thoughts from the Box:

-         Congrats to those that made the 2009 All-AF2 team.  RB Jason Schule, OL Moqut Ruffins, and DB Roland Cola on the First Team.  Second Team selections included WR Butchie Ibeh, DL Joe Woolridge, DL Marvin Byrdsong, ST P.J. Berry, and K Art Carmody.

-         On Monday night the BattleWings had a great time at Superior Bar & Grill in Shreveport. From 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm the team ate some good food and shared stories, took pictures, and listened to Butchie Ibeh.  Manny Talbert had the last laugh by embarrassing Andrico Hines and Butchie Ibeh by faking their birthdays.  Thanks to everyone at Superior for putting up with us.

-         During pre-game meal in Tulsa, riveting discussion between Coach John Lewis, Melvin Paris, Adam Huebner, P.J. Berry, Butchie Ibeh, Lou Vega, and Adam Hodges.  Coach Lewis talked about his experiences as a Bossier City Police Officer.  Many questions were asked from topics of the DEA, judicial system, CIA, etc.  A lot of fun stuff.

-         Thanks to all of the fans that made the trip to Tulsa on Saturday night.  It was great seeing everyone in the stands and was a big boost to us as players.

-         Speaking of boost, thanks to the booster club for going above and beyond the entire season.  From cookouts on Sundays, snacks for road games, cheering us on at practice, to meeting us when we got back to the CTC at all hours of the night and morning.  You guys truly are the 9^th member of the team and we couldn’t do it without yall.  I don’t have the entire list of booster club members so I don’t want to leave anyone out.  However, thanks to Theresa and Phyllis for making things run smoothly.  It means a lot to guys for yall to be waiting at 4:45 am for us to get back from Tulsa.

-         In the next coming months players will decide on whether they want to play next year or retire.  One guy that is leaning towards retirement is Greg Hodges.  “The Berenstein Bear” has been a solid three-year veteran for the BattleWings.  Personally I am sad to see him move on, but he is going to make a heck of a coach whether it is in high school, college, or even the arena game.  He was the consummate leader, a hell of a teammate, and a guy that came to practice, did his work, and did it well.  You could always count on him on Saturday.  Wishing you the best big guy.  Thanks for everything.

-         Two guys that are instrumental parts to the team are equipment manager Billy Welker and our trainer Joe Farley.  Billy does a great job as not only the Mudbugs equipment manger but the BattleWings as well.  He makes sure all of the laundry is done, that we have everything needed for practice, and that the Gatorade is made (and by Gatorade I mean some of the best tasting Gatorade ever concocted, that stuff is addicting)  Even though we give Joe Farley a tough time sometimes he is a great guy and has a thankless job.  Thanks for bandaging our wounds and for cranking up the sound system at practice.

-         A season ending blog wouldn’t be fitting without some end of the season awards.  It was a tough voting process but somebody had to do it.  That somebody was me.  Without any further discussion here are the award winners.

Offensive MVPs:     P.J. Berry and Jason Schule

Every game P.J. Berry showed why he was Superman by making highlight play after highlight play.  Jason Schule the Mule ran through every defense we played on his way to re-writing almost every AF2 rushing record.

Defensive MVPs:     Pierre Lee and Roland Cola

Pierre and Roland were first and third in interceptions and each scored two touchdowns on the season.  Roland led the team in tackles.  The DBs and the entire defensive line could have gotten the award but that really wouldn’t be fun.

Special Teams MVPs:  Heath Decker and P.J. Berry

For all those that thought I was going to choose myself shame on you.  Heath Decker was a special teams terror on kickoffs and every time the opposing team kicked off you just knew you had the chance to see P.J. Berry do something electric.

Hit of the Year:    Phillip Geiggar vs. Lexington Horsemen

Here is the situation.  Lexington is trying an onside kick late in the game.  The ball is kicked and goes up in the air. Phillip takes off and I don’t know who he hit, but that guy has still not totally recovered from the shellacking that was put on him.  The thing that made it so cool was that Phillip just walked off the field like nothing had happened.

Ironmen of the Year:  Dustin Johnson and Butchie Ibeh

Dustin played every position possible this year including holding for me on extra points and field goals, which was much appreciated.  If anyone thinks that it helped him win this award you are absolutely correct. Seriously though, Dustin did a lot of different things on the field this year that contributed to our team success.

In the last game of the year Butchie came into the game to play defensive back and made some great plays to help us clinch the Southwest Division Championship.   In the game he had three touchdowns on offense and a big pass break up in the endzone to help stop the Twisters.

Rookies of the Year:     Tommy Taggart and Adam Huebner

These two guys represent the offense and defensive line.  Tommy was an enforcer for the o-line while Adam was always causing havoc in the backfield.

Reality Show of the Year Award:   Dan “Snipes” Snyder

Seriously, everything he does his funny.  I am kicking myself for not filming him during the course of the season.   If I did I would probably have sold it to VH1 for a lot of money.  It would blow the Terrell Owens show out of the water.

Best Looking Guy on the Team Award:  Art Carmody

Was there ever any doubt?

I would also like to thank everyone involved with the BattleWings organization starting at the top.

Mr. and Mrs. Dan Newman, thanks for making this organization possible with your ownership.

Thanks to all those that work in the “bat house” behind the scenes.  Butch Bellah, Chris Boyd, Sam Newman, Beth Colvin, Lauren Mills, Rachel Cobb, Kimbi Johnson, and Ken Bailey.  All of you make our lives as players much easier and makes playing for Bossier-Shreveport a privilege.

With the season ending this will not be the last installment of the blog.  As the off-season moves on I will do my best to keep everyone updated on what the guys are up to this fall and winter, any transactions that take place, and for all things Battlewings football.  As the great Phillip Geiggar says “much love and world peace.”

Kickin’ It With Art #5

The weather on Saturday wasn’t pretty and neither was the game, but the BattleWings did whatever it took to get the win (56-46) Saturday night against Rio Grande to advance to the next round of the playoffs.   One of our mottos this year has been “whatever it takes.”  Basically it just sums up what we have to do on Saturday nights.  The defense played an outstanding game once again, with Pierre Lee leading the way with two interceptions.  The defensive line put a lot of pressure on Rio’s QB which forced some bad throws which Coach Stingley’s DB’s gobbled up.  Great job by Roland Cola, Pierre Lee, Dustin Johnson, and Phillip Geiggar.  At halftime we were tied 20-20.  The focus of halftime was not what had happened in the first half, but how we would react to it in the second half.  The offense came out and executed Coach Lyles game plan, we played BattleWings football, and took care of business.

We face a very talented Tulsa team this week.  In order to get to the final game of the season you have to face some great teams.  We know that we have a big challenge ahead of us and must keep our eyes focused on where we want to go.  This is an exciting part of the season and we are glad to be in the mix of it.

Thoughts from the Box:

I am just glad that all of the players made it to the CenturyTel Center safely on Saturday.  There was torrential rain and a flash flood warning which caused some of them to be stranded at the Reserve Apartment Complex. I took a meteorology class at Louisville my senior year (unlike Matt Leinart, ballroom dancing was not available) so I am pretty confident in my analysis.  Roland Cola reported that he saw some turtles floating by, and Melvin Paris wins the good guy player of the week award for driving back to pick up some of the guys.

Unsung play of the game:  Marvin Byrdsong with the block of an extra point, picking the ball up, and running it into the endzone for a huge two point play.  It really sucked the air out of Rio Grande.  Marvin Byrdsong and Dan “Snipes” Snyder looked “sweet” running down the field with their sweet rags.

The Jumbo Elliot Plays of the Week:  Lou Vega and Tommy Taggarrt getting into the endzone Saturday night.  Lou scored first after getting a sweet shovel pass from Andrico Hines.  I don’t know what was better, the pass and catch from Andrico to Lou, or watching Lou throw the ball to nobody down the field after the score.  I am still not sure whether Lou was trying to celebrate or if he just completely missed his intended target.

The second touchdown was when Tommy ran untouched downfield for the score in the 4^th quarter.  For those not in attendance the same scene was similarly played out in the 1994 movie Little Giants when the Giants successfully pulled off “The Annexation of Puerto Rico”  Fans in the endzone seating could hear Tommy running down the field saying “I am gonna score a touchdown, I am gonna score a touchdown!!!” The smile on Tommy’s face was priceless. Both of these plays should have been on Sportscenter’s Top 10.

Speaking of Little Giants, Jason Schule did his Spike impression with a great touchdown run in the first quarter darting and weaving his way into the endzone. He then moved the refrigerator in the training room by simply strapping it on his back.

As a kicker I am not sure kicking the ball and letting P.J. Berry catch it cleanly is a good idea.

Thanks to my good buddies Matt McHugh, Ashley McHugh, Cayman Clevenger, Luke White, Randall White, Elizabeth Burford, Connor Hennessey, and Drake Carmody and his entourage for all of their support this year.  They are good people and had a great time at the game Saturday night.  Also thanks to Wilkinson, Carmody, & Gilliam for the banner that they made.  Good stuff.

Great job by Pierre Lee and Dustin Johnson with the snapping and holding.  They allowed me to get some good kicks off, and the snap and hold on my 52 yard field goal were things of beauty.  I don’t know who was more excited after the field goal, me or Pierre.  It is something that only I see sometimes but it doesn’t go unappreciated.

Andrico played a great second half and showed why he is a leader and one of the best QB’s in the league by taking the offense down and scoring touchdowns when we needed them.  Andrico did whatever it took to get his first playoff win with many more to come.

During the Arkansas game two weeks ago they announced the whole team with their nicknames.  The rules on the nicknames were that you couldn’t choose your own, the team had to choose for you.  Here are the nicknames that were announced:

1 Roland “Ro” Cola

2 Pierre “Lenzelle” Lee

6 Art “Artie McFly” Carmody

7 Butchie “The Nigerian Nightmare” Ibeh

8 P.J. “Superman” Berry

10 Kinsmon “The Kid” Lancaster

13 Andrico “The Golden Boy” Hines

16 Dustin “The Versatile Child” Johnson

22 Phillip “The Silent Assassin” Geiggar

28 Heath “Thunder from Down Under” Decker

32 Jason “Schule the Mule” Schule

34 James “Taylor” Harris

54 Tommy “The Enforcer” Taggarrt

59 Joe “Crazy Joe” Woolridge

68 Greg “The Berestein Bear” Hodges

84 Manwell “The Airline Bully” Talbert

94 Marvin “Thugger” Byrdsong

95 Adam “The Original Sinner” Huebner

96 Dan “Larry the Bat” Snyder

98 Moqut “Alabama” Ruffins

Here are my thoughts on a few of the nicknames.

-         Pierre does have that Denzel Washington to him.  Just the way he walks and the way that he acts I can see why he has the “Lenzelle” nickname.

-         Kinsmon is called “The Kid” because he is one of the younger guys on the team and stepped in right away in his first game this season and led the Wings to a victory.  Also in my opinion he has a resemblance to the Ken Griffey Jr. 1989 Upper Deck rookie card, but without all of the hair.

-          Dustin’s fits as well because he plays every position on the field and could probably kick if I asked him to.

-          I am not sure if James Harris nickname has any correlation to James Taylor, but I am a big James Taylor fan, even seen him in concert at the CenturyTel Center, so I like it.

-         Phillip’s is good because he rarely says anything but when he does it is usually pretty good.  Also his is good because Phillip is real smooth with the ladies as well, second of course to Art Carmody.

-         I like Greg Hodges’ as well because the way he smiles he looks like he came straight out of the Berenstein Bears books, which were huge in my reading development as a child.

-         Manwell’s is fitting because he pretty much has Airline drive covered from Barksdale Blvd all the way down.  It is amazing to me because I have been a resident of Shreveport nearing twenty years, yet anytime I talk about the BattleWings with someone they almost always say they know or have met Manny Talbert.  Incredible.

-         In my opinion Dan Snyder doesn’t need a nickname, “Snipes” sums it all up.

Thanks to all of the comments that everyone has left on the blog, it is nice to know that people actually read this and that the BattleWings staff isn’t lying to me.  For those making the trip to Tulsa, OK, please be safe and we look forward to seeing you there.  As Phillip “The Silent Assassin” Geiggar says “much love and world peace.”

Kickin’ It With Art Blog #4

Southwest Division Champs!!!!  For the second year in a row we have won the division.  We achieved this feat by taking care of business against Arkansas Saturday night 64-50.  It was a great win for us in a great environment for football.  Thanks to everyone that made it out to the CenturyTel center.  Hopefully we see all of you this week against Rio Grande.   This was a goal that we had set at the beginning of the season, but it is not why we came together in March.  The goal is to win the whole thing and be champions.  In our Chapel service Saturday before the game we had a great speaker who talked to us about being winners or being champions.  When you win one game you are considered the winner of that one moment, but champions know how to not only win, but to keep winning over and over again.  We want to be champions, and we are fortunate to get that opportunity starting this week.

We got off to a fast start against the Twisters and were able to seal the victory when Marvin Byrdsong made a great interception late in the fourth quarter.  The interception was set up when Dan “Snipes” Snyder defied the laws of physics and jumped up to tip the pass from Kyle Rowley into the arms of Byrdsong.  A great touchdown pass and catch from Andrico Hines to Manny Talbert put the game out of reach and the BattleWings began to celebrate the back-to-back division titles.  There was a lot of celebration in the locker room after the game but there was also the realization that we still have a lot to accomplish as a team.  The only talk about the future consisted of who we have to play in the first round of the playoffs.  From the first practice of the season to Saturday night we have grown as a team and are excited about the real season starting now in the playoffs.

We had a good week of preparation for Arkansas. Coach Norris kept the practices light, which the players appreciated.  Due to a scheduling conflict we were not able to practice in the CenturyTel Center Thursday evening.  The people at the Bellaire Church Fitness Center came through in letting us use their facilities to work out and run through some plays.  It seems like a small thing but to keep us out of the summer heat and to allow us to get some good work in was huge.

Thoughs from the Box:

1. First off thanks to everyone at First Baptist Church in Bossier City for the dinner on Sunday night.  It was first class all the way and was nice to be together as a team family.  The food was great and the hospitality even greater.

1. Andirco Hines was on top of his game Saturday night.  Even though Dan Snyder refers to him as the worst dressed QB in the league, Andrico showed why he is one of the best signal-callers in the league by throwing six touchdowns and no interceptions.

1. Unsung play of the game.  Dustin Johnson made a great play by keeping Arkansas from scoring a touchdown after a blocked field goal by diving on the ball in the endzone and securing it for a safety.  It could have been a much bigger play for the Twisters.

1. “Sweet Rag” Bandwagon.  I am officially on the “sweet rag” bandwagon.  I am not sure where it originated but the purpose is to make you look “sweet” or a little faster and athletic while out on the field.  You do this by cutting a towel, tying it into a loop in your belt, and letting it hang down the side of your pants.  I tried it for the first time this season Saturday night and I did feel a little more “sweet” on the turf.

1. Movie review of the week: Orphan.  A majority of the team watched it this Friday night and many were scared to go to sleep.  They said it was a pretty scary movie with an interesting ending.  Dan “Snipes” Snyder summed it up best by saying “It was way off the chain, that little girl is downright evil.”

1. Thanks to O’Brien’s and Encore for all of the post-game parties this season.  If you haven’t been you are missing out on a good time.  It is a chance to hang with the BattleWings, coaches, Flygirls, etc. in a fun environment.  This week had a more festive feel to it after winning the division and we look forward to another great time after this week’s home game against Rio Grande.   It was also Beth Colvin’s 26^th birthday and Lauren Mills surprised her with a cookie cake in which once the team found the cake it was gone in 27 seconds.

1. Watching Tommy Taggart try to work his new cell phone is absolutely hilarious.  Tommy is a very intelligent individual but has absolutely no clue how to handle his latest upgrade in technology.  He is always looking at it with a very confused face and will then mutter words to himself.

1. If you missed KTBS news on Sunday night you missed a great story about a young boy named Jarvis.  You can see the video on ktbs.com.  Jarvis is an orphan and looking for a family.  He loves football and got to come out last Wednesday and hang with some of the players. Props to Greg Hodges, Butchie Ibeh, P.J. Berry, Andrico Hines, and Dustin Johnson. He had a great time and I had the pleasure of meeting him.  Talking to Jarvis made me think about what I take for granted and so did a lot of the other guys on the team.  Some people would say it was great that we let him come spend time with the BattleWings but in all honestly it was nice that Jarvis let us come and spend some time with him.

1. We have a lot of interesting children around our team this year and they were all on top of their game Saturday night.  Derek “Trey” Stingley (son of Coach Stingley) must have been hopped up on Mountain Dew because he was running around before the game making spectacular play after spectacular play and never got tired (I am being dead serious when I say he might be the best player on our team).  Even during the game, he was sitting near the bench unmercifully hitting Lou Vega with those little clappers that are given to fans and was getting into the game by yelling and screaming at the Arkansas players. The second set of fans are Duncan Welker and Annie Welker, son and daughter of equipment manager Billy T. Welker.  Duncan is only six years old but is a blast to hang with, especially when he hits on the Flygirls and claims to be dating two of them.  Annie is soon to be in the 6^th grade but is one of the biggest cheerleaders for the Wings, even telling me that at some parts of the game she gets so mad or excited that she can’t watch.  All three are excellent kids and we are proud to have them in our BattleWing family.

10.  Speaking of the BattleWing family, we were sad to see Kobayashi head back home this week.  For those that do not know, Kobayashi is a native of Tokyo and has been a volunteer this summer with the Wings.  He has helped out with film, laundry, water, equipment, practice, and all with a smile on his face.  He has learned a lot about the arena football game and is a great football player back in Tokyo, where he has won his league’s rushing title two years in a row.  In the locker room after the game the team gave him a big sendoff.  The team loved having him around and we hope to see him back soon.  Sayonara Koba!!!

11.  This is beginning to become a weekly occurrence so congrats again to Jason Schule who set two more af2 records Saturday night.  He broke the af2 career rushing yards record and tied the af2 single-season record for rushing touchdowns.  There needs to be a Jason Schule Bobblehead doll night and it needs to be soon.  Congrats big guy!!!

Thanks to everyone for stopping by this week. We look forward to seeing everyone Saturday night to pack in the CTC.  The month of July went by quickly.  It started with a win on July 4^th and ended with a win on July 25^th.  The first playoff game starts August 1^st and I would like to continue this trend throughout the month.  I know Phillip Geiggar does as well and the man who intercepted two huge passes Saturday night will end this blog like he does every week.  “Much love and world peace.” – Phillip Geiggar.

Kickin’ It With Art #3

Nobody Took The Cheese

Thanks for checking out the blog this week.  We are coming off a big 60-35 win against Corpus Christi in a game that we could not overlook.  All week long Coach Norris made sure that we stay focused on the task at hand.  He pulled that off by actually setting mousetraps with cheese all over the CenturyTel Center.  Seriously, he put one right at midfield during practice.  It was hilarious watching guys try to avoid it. The metaphor was to not take the cheese and set off the trap the Sharks were setting for us.  We needed the game to keep the outcome of the season in our hands and the Sharks wanted nothing more than to knock us out of the division title race.  We got off to a quick start and even though we played sloppy BattleWings football we were still able to win going away.

The game against Arkansas this weekend is why we play sports, to play in the big game.  When you are a little boy playing in the backyard you imagine that you are playing a game with something on the line.  We get a chance to do that Saturday night, and we are excited for that opportunity.  We have been playing well lately and so has Arkansas.  They are a talented team.  We have to go out, play BattleWings football, and take it from them.  I hope all of you can make it out to the game on Saturday because it is going to be a good one.

Speaking of the game, there is going to be a lot of exciting things going on off the field as well.  Here is a rundown of the Brawl for It All:

1. The Official BattleWings Tailgate party from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.  The tailgate party will be held in the RentOne parking lot at 6363 Hearne Avenue.  There will be free food, prizes and free tickets given away, inflatables for the kids, and Winger will be there.  Fun for the whole family.
2. This is a “Blackout” Game so all fans are encouraged to wear black for the game this weekend.  It really gets the players excited to see all of the black in the stands and nobody wants to be that person that wears a white shirt.  Please tell all of your friends.
3. At halftime of the game there will be a wedding on the field with all of the bells and whistles.  Not only do you get to see a great football game but you get to crash a wedding as well.
4. The stars of the A&E show Exterminators will be at the game signing autographs and filming for their show as well.   They seem like cool people who I would want to meet and I have been assured that there is not an insect problem at CenturyTel.
5. The first 1000 people at the game will receive a free team photo courtesy of JaniKing.  Get there early to get this good collector’s item.
6. Also, tickets have been slashed for the game, and we can’t do this all season.  $5 for tickets in the blue and gold zone and 2 for $5 in the upper level of the CTC.  Take the whole family and even some strangers that like to party. This is a steal folks, and if you call in the next thirty minutes tell our ticket seller Beth Colvin that I sent you and we will throw in the shipping and handling. Now that’s service.

Thoughts from the Box:

1. I don’t know if anyone saw this but the af2 passed a new rule today saying that P.J. Berry has to play the rest of the season blindfolded and with one arm behind his back.  It’s only to give the other team a fair chance.

1. 3:00 am on the bus coming back from Corpus Christi, Tommy Taggart starts a discussion on qualitative and quantitative statistics and analysis.  Greg Hodges, Pierre Lee, and Joe Farley (our trainer) join in on the conversation.  After a lengthy debate involving a lot of Googling via cell phone Pierre Lee goes into a discussion on the Government and his theories.  Very riveting stuff, especially in the wee hours of the morning.

1. The most underrated member of the BattleWings team is Tim, who drives us in his bus to away games.  He is a real cool guy and his bus is awesome.  I am also convinced he has the ability to bend the time-space continuum because he always gets us to where we are going an hour before we are supposed to get there.   He also is a great punter who can hit some nice spirals from endzone to endzone during warm-ups. Thanks Tim for driving us safely to all of the road games this season.

1. Sorry to Connie Cordaro, who was mistakenly left out of the blog last week.  I would like to thank her for all of her work with Papa John’s and for her support of the BattleWings.  Since I am not going to blame myself for this mistake I am going to have to blame Adam Huebner.  C’Mon Adam, we got to get better at this!!!

1. What the heck was Art Carmody doing in the 2^nd quarter of the game Saturday night?  He flat out sucked for those fifteen minutes.  Props go out to the rest of the team for picking him up that quarter.  He will be better on Saturday.

1. Dustin Johnson deserves some credit for all he has done this season, he is the jack player on defense and has truly been a jack of all trades.  He has played jack linebacker, quarterback, defensive back, some wide receiver, all special teams, holder on all kicks, he makes the Gatorade, sets up the playing field, writes narrative poems, and sells hot dogs in between the first and second quarter.  Keep up the good work D.J.

1. Getting to know your BattleWings:  Kinsmon Lancaster loves to watch the fans dress up in the sumo wrestler costumes during the games.  Kinsmon was laughing it up while jogging out for a kickoff in the third quarter.

1. After conducting a straw poll by handing out copies of the team roster the votes for coolest name on the team are in and it’s a tie between Butchie Ibeh and Roland Cola.   Others that received multiple votes were Tommy Taggart, Moqut Ruffins, and Kinsmon Lancaster. I was a disappointing dead last with zero votes.

Looking forward to seeing everyone out on Saturday night.  As Phillip Geiggar says, “much love and world peace.”

Art Carmody blog #2

Thanks for coming back for the second edition of the blog.  The reviews for the first edition are in and surprisingly it was a hit.  Thanks to those who read it, both of yall are much appreciated.

We are coming off a big win Saturday night against the Yard Dawgz.  The outcome of this game was important for two reasons.  The first reason is that it keeps our goal of a division championship in our hands.  Of course we have big plans for the remainder of the season, but it all starts by taking each game one at a time. The second reason was because it was a back and forth game and we were able to make the plays needed to come out with a victory.  It is not easy to win road games and we had our back against the wall at halftime.  Teams that are great find ways to win those ballgames.  That is something that we have learned to do as a team as the season has progressed.  Are we a great team?  I don’t think we are quite there yet.  Are we working to become a great team?  You damn well better believe it.

Some of the guys went out to dinner Friday night in the historic Bricktown area of downtown Oklahoma City.  For those that need a visual, it is an area of town that is pretty much made completely out of bricks. It has a lot of great restaurants and nightlife, but we have curfew at 11 pm so the nightlife will wait for the next trip to OKC. Some of the other players decide to stay at the hotel and order pizza.  Hopefully they pick up the phone and order Papa John’s, as they are a proud sponsor of the BattleWings. Better ingredients, better pizza, Papa John’s.  Thanks Jeremy and Rachel Cobb!!!

Saturday morning consisted of getting ready for the Yard Dawgz as players watched some extra film and prepared themselves mentally for the game.  Most guys usually get some extra sleep before the pre-game meal but for the second time this season we were kicked out of the rooms by hotel management at noon for checkout. (first time was at South Georgia) The team gathered in the hotel conference room for the remainder of the afternoon.  One player that was not happy was offensive lineman Greg Hodges.  The Berenstain Bear said “I am not very happy when people mess with my hibernation.” We had a good pregame meal and guys played on their computers, watched film, and tried to relax before departing for the stadium.  Props go to Lou Vega, as he spent that time in an online class working towards his teaching degree.  At 3:15 we departed for the Cox Convention Center and the rest is in history books.

Monday was a “victory Monday” given to us by Coach Norris.  Just to let the fans know, those days are very, very rare. We had the day off to get our bodies ready for the upcoming game against Corpus Christi.  Monday night the team gathered at the Funnybone in Bossier City for an evening of bowling and entertainment.  There are some talented bowlers on the team including Manny Talbert, Thyron Lewis, Chavis “smooth” McCollister, and Kinsmon Lancaster just to name a few. The guys had a great time, the new menu is great, and if you are looking for a night of entertainment head down there.

Thoughs from the box:

1. This week the movie Over The Top was reviewed by Heath Decker, Tommy Taggart, Lou Vega, Rogut Ruffins, and Greg Hodges.  The majority did not recommend it but Lou Vega thought it was a compelling combination of child custody and arm wrestling.  Many of the guys contemplated the idea of winning an arm wrestling tournament and this included a re-enactment of the final scene in the movie by Heath Decker and Moqut Ruffins.
2. Back to the point about us being kicked out of our hotel rooms.  It is not like we showed up unannounced and asked for the whole hotel to ourselves.  The schedule is announced in like February and I am pretty sure they know we are coming ahead of time. Also, when we left the hotel to head to the arena I didn’t see a line of people waiting to check in.
3. Ball on the ten yard line, one play left, down by a touchdown:  the one play I want is the slant to Manny Talbert.  Second play I want is the fade to Butchie Ibeh, either way it’s a win-win situation.
4. The Steve Tasker Award goes to Heath Decker.  The Australian who hones his skills by chasing kangaroos and pretty girls is becoming a special teams demon.  He continually makes great tackles on the kickoff team including a few more Saturday night.
5. Stat that only interests me:  The BattleWings are now 2-0 in games played where Kevin Durant plays his home basketball games.  (win at Austin, TX in 2008 and the win at Oklahoma City 2009)
6. Shout out to Jason Schule, who became the af2 single season Rushing Leader Saturday night.  Schule fittingly broke the record with a spectacular 34 yard touchdown run in the second quarter.  Congrats to the big guy who rumbled his way into the record books.
7. The GQ MVP for best dressed this week went to Andrico Hines, aka Dos Equis – The most interesting man in the world, who did his Doogie Howser impression by wearing scrubs and sandals to the Funnybone Monday night.
8. Another great performance by the defensive line, which was out there for the majority of the game.  Their reward for the effort was having the offensive lineman carry their bags to the bus for them.  Greg Hodges was not very pleased with the assignment of possibly carrying Dan “Snipes” Snyder’s bag to the bus.
9. Speaking of Snipes, his conditioning has improved as the season has progressed, and has been a good leader for the defensive line. This coming from the guy who’s idea of conditioning is making sure the air conditioner is turned on full blast.
10. Pierre Lee had a big interception in the 2^nd quarter and continued to try and play near the end of the game after hyper extending his knee on an extra point.  For all of his athletic ability and toughness he was not able to withstand the butt kicking given to him by his girlfriend in putt-putt golf on Sunday at Party Central.   It was BattleWings Kids Club day on Sunday at Party Central and props to Beth Colvin and Lauren Mills for all of the work they put into the Kids Club.

Thanks to all those that made the trip to Okalahoma City for the game this past Saturday, especially Butch Bellah, who had heart surgery earlier this season.  Great to see him on the sidelines looking good. Check us out this week as we head down to Corpus Christi to take on the Sharks in an important division game.  Also, please keep checking out the blog as we hope to have more updates as the week goes on.  From Phillip Geiggar, “much love and world peace.”