The Frenzy Five: Volume VI
This week’s 5 most discussed ALT Football topics (Week ending 12/3/2021)
ONE
The Spring League is once again under heavy scrutiny. The league is being sued a reported 1.4 Million dollars. According to a report published in the Indianapolis Business Journal by Mickey Shuey, the league hasn’t picked up it’s tab after hosting a bubble season in Indy in 2021. A litany of lawsuits were filed with the Marion County Commercial Court against the Spring League, LLC. The TSL’s owner and CEO Brian Woods, who is currently the USFL’s President of Football Operations, is also on the hook for these accrued expenses. Below is an excerpt from the report on the lawsuits:
“According to the Crowne Plaza suit, The Spring League booked about 4,740 room nights over a two-month, one-week period. The bill also includes food purchased from the Hotel’s convenience kiosk, parking, banquet room use, breakfasts, and other meals.”
Woods had let the hotel know he’d pay back the balance owed in due time. It appears that never happened. If this sounds familiar at all, this is not the first time the TSL has been under fire for less than ideal business practices. To read up on the full report, please click here:
TWO
The XFL kickoff countdown is officially underway. As posted by Owner Dany Garcia on her Instagram, the league now appears to have some structure as they ramp up to 2023. The league plans to hold player combines in June of 2022, training camp in January of 2023, and kickoff is slated for February of 2023. More specifically regarding Week 1 games, the league has etched out a date of February 18th, 2023. Fans have been waiting for some sort of timeline of events to occur, and they finally have one!
In other XFL news, former Dallas Renegades Head Coach Bob Stoops will serve as interim HC for the University of Oklahoma. Former Oklahoma HC Lincoln Riley accepted the USC head coaching vacancy, thus the need for an interim coach. It has been reported that Stoops is set to make $325,000 to coach the bowl game for Oklahoma. Stoops was the HC at Oklahoma from 1999 to 2016, winning 190 games during his tenure. Stoops won a National Championship with the Sooners in 2000, and won 9 Bowl Games overall. No word on Stoops’ future with the program as it pertained to next season.
THREE
The European League of Football had a busy week packed with announcements, rule changes, and news. First, the league has tweaked it’s kickoff rules ahead of the 2022 season. The new rules seem to Mimic the kickoff rule used by the XFL in 2020. The rule limits the high speed collisions often seen in college, NFL and other 11-on-11 professional leagues. Here’s an excerpt from Commissioner Patrick Esume on the rule change:
“There has always been and emphasis on creating a ‘players league’ and it is our responsibility to minimize the risk of injury”
Below is a diagram to illustrate how the kickoff will look with both sets of players:
Secondly, the league announced that a formal players committee will be put in place for 2022. Two players from each team will be chosen for a total of twenty-four members. Of those above mentioned players, two will be selected as the spokespeople of the committee. League officials plan to meet with the committee both before and after the season. Commissioner Esume had this to say in regards to the players committee:
“Itis very important for us to have a board that represents the interests of the players towards the European League of Football, represents them and makes them heard.”
To go along with the above league announcements, the ELF has retained it’s Head of Officiating Kurt Paulus. Additionally, Damian Jurzyk and Malte Scholz have been named Deputy Heads in the Department of Officiating for the league.
As we get into more team-specific news, the Hamburg Sea Devils were busy setting coaching pieces in place this week. 2021 Head Coach / Offensive Coordinator Andres Nommensen will not return for the 2022 season. A New Offensive Coordinator was announced on shortly thereafter on Thursday. Former Head Coach of the Cologne Centurions Kirk Heidelberg will take over the Sea Devils offense for 2022. The team has also extended the contract of Defensive Coordinator and Assistant Coach of the Year Kendral Ellison. The Sea Devils have also signed former QB/WR Lamar Jordan II.
Wrapping up the ELF news, the Wroclaw Panthers have added a new Defensive Coordinator for it’s 2022 season. Dave Likins will step in and call the shots defensively for the Panthers in 2022. For full details on the insanely busy ELF off-season, please click here:
FOUR
Fan Controlled Football will hold it’s first combine / open tryout in Arlington, Texas today. The tryouts will be located at Maverick Stadium in Arlington. All prospects who wish to attend the tryout, or any of the other upcoming FCF tryouts must be fully COVID-19 vaccinated. Proof of vaccination is required in order to participate. For prospects looking for additional information, full details can be found by clicking here:
In other FCF related news, The People’s Championship MVP & Wild Aces Quarterback Ed Crouch announced via social media that he will not return to the league for season 2.0. Crouch will instead be resigning with the CIF’s Wichita Force for 2022.
Lastly, we get to players signings that have been confirming from this past week. Defensive End Jonathan McKinney, Jr. has resigned with the league for season 2.0. Free agent Linebacker Keith Wainwright, Jr. has signed with the FCF for next year.
FIVE
Rounding out the Frenzy Five is some news regarding the Alliance of American Football. It appears that lost wages checks will finally be sent out to former players. According the a tweet by OL Logan Tuley-Tillman, emails have been sent out to players regarding bankruptcy notices. For players who were on a team during the folding of the league, claims will need to be filed before 01/31/2022. The AAF folded after ten weeks back in 20-9 due to financial issues.