Yard Dawgz Announce Team President

OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz of arenafootball2 and owner Phil Miller announced the hire of Dan Kilgras as the new Team President. Kilgras was the General Manager for the Austin Wranglers of af2 during the 2008 season where he was heavily involved in sales, media negotiations, and team and game day operations.

"I'm excited to have Dan Kilgras join the Yard Dawgz family," commented Yard Dawgz Owner Phil Miller. "Dan brings with him 15 years of professional sports experience. He is a very dynamic individual who has some great ideas regarding fan experience and entertainment."

Prior to joining the af2, Kilgras worked in Minor League Baseball for 14 years with the National Sports Organization. In 2000, the franchise relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia, where Kilgras helped to build brand loyalty and awareness to the corporate clients and fans.

His management philosophy will be beneficial to the Yard Dawgz organization. Kilgras believes in a team concept, in which everyone works together for the good of the company and places strong emphasis on honesty and hard work. He strives to create an employee friendly environment and encourages all employees to serve their customers and clients with a high level of service.

"I'm very lucky to enter into a situation and a company with such a strong group of employees and an owner that cares about his people, the sponsors and the fans," said Kilgras. "I truly believe we have the right mix of personnel to put out a product that the people of Oklahoma City can be proud of."

Kilgras is a graduate of Whittier College where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration. He also played football and started for three seasons, was a team captain, and was voted Offensive MVP.

"I look forward to working with Dan this year and into the future," added Miller. "Dan, along with Head Coach Sparky McEwen, is a major cog in leading the Yard Dawgz in the quest for ArenaCup 2009!"

Yard Dawgz season tickets are now available and start at only $56! For more information, please visit www.okcyarddawgz.com or call 405-228-3294.

CFL sets new player safety standards

Toronto, ON - (October 2, 2008) - To protect player safety, the Canadian Football League is setting a tough new standard that includes mandatory suspensions.

"We have a profound responsibility to safeguard the safety of the young men who play our wonderful but tough game, and this action is all about fulfilling that responsibility," said CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon.

From now on, any illegal act that creates a substantial and unnecessary risk of injury to an opposing player will be subject to a mandatory suspension.

Examples of illegal acts that will be deemed to create a substantial and unnecessary risk of injury to an opposing player include the following:

spearing to the helmet or facemask of an opposing player outside of the acceptable standards of play

throwing a helmet in a reckless and dangerous manner

violently kicking, punching, kneeing, or stomping an opponent who is in a defenseless position.

"By setting this new standard, we are striving to give players clear, advance and fair warning of the penalties that they will face for acts that have no place in our game," Cohon said.

Under the current disciplinary system, this will provide an arbitrator with a new and important standard to consider.

"It's time we reset the bar for the benefit of the players, the fans and those who administer our disciplinary system," said Michael Copeland, the CFL's Chief Operating Officer.

"We are always open to working with the players association on all issues of importance to our league. And we have been working with them on this issue," Cohon said.

"Unfortunately, we have not been able to achieve a joint resolution. So we are acting unilaterally today because we feel that it's in the best interests of our players, and our league, to do so."

The new standard is in effect immediately and will apply to this weekend's games.

Stamps Close To Thanksgiving Sell-Out

The Calgary Stampeders would like to remind fans that less than 1,000 tickets remain for the Thanksgiving Classic, which will be played Oct. 13 at McMahon Stadium.

The Stamps will host the Saskatchewan Roughriders in a game that will have major playoff implications for both sides.

Tickets to the Thanksgiving Classic are available through Ticketmaster at 403.777.0000, online to Ticketmaster.ca, at all Safeway and Sport Chek locations and at the Stamps Ticket Office.

The Stamps and Riders also meet this Friday in Regina. The Stamps will clinch a playoff spot with a win, or if the Toronto Argonauts lose at home against the BC Lions earlier on Friday night.

Maniacs Name Head Coach

Laurel, MD (October 1, 2008) - Matt Steeple, a nine-year Arena Football League (AFL) veteran and seasoned coach at the professional level has been named the first Head Coach of the Maryland Maniacs, who will make their debut in the Indoor Football League (IFL) in the spring of 2009.

Steeple, who played in the AFL from 1996 to 2004 for the Florida Bobcats, Iowa Barnstormers, New Jersey Red Dogs, and New York Dragons, will be entering his fifth season as a professional coach and his third as head coach. In 2007 and 2008, Steeple was the head coach of the Chesapeake Tide of the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL).  In 2007, Coach Steeple led the Tide to the playoffs in their inaugural season.  In 2006 he served as the Defensive Coordinator and Offensive Line/Defensive Line Coach for the Everett Hawks of AF2. In 2000 he served as a Player/Coach for the New Jersey Red Dogs of the AFL.

A Baltimore, Maryland native, Steeple attended Northern High School in Baltimore where he was All-State in football, wrestling and lacrosse. Following graduation, he moved on to a highly successful college career at Morgan State University, where he was named Freshman of the Year in 1990. In his junior and senior seasons, he led the team in tackles, was a First Team All-Conference defensive tackle, and was also the team's Defensive Player of the Year. Steeple finished his Morgan career as a first team Black College and Division 1-AA All-American. Steeple signed with the Chicago Bears as a free agent in 1994 after attending the NFL combine in Indianapolis.

Steeple began his coaching career as the Offensive Line/Defensive Line Coach and Assistant Defensive Coordinator at the Charles H. Hickey School for Boys. He coached at the school from 1999 to 2001.  In 2002 and 2003 he held the same positions at Reginald F. Lewis High School and was named the head coach in 2004.

"We are pleased and honored to name Matt Steeple as the first head coach in the history of the Maryland Maniacs," stated Maniacs General Manager John Wolfe, "Signing a coach with the experience and high caliber resume of Matt, shows the organization's commitment to success on the field."

The Maniacs, who will call Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Maryland home, are members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The IFL is a national league based in Omaha, Nebraska and has teams from Maryland to Alaska, Louisiana to Montana, and New York to Texas. For more information on the Maryland Maniacs please visit www.marylandmaniacs.com.

Impressive Crop Of Veterans Available In 2009 Free Agency

NEW YORK - 2008 Champs Sports Quarterback of the Year MATT D'ORAZIO (ArenaBowl XX, XXII) and 2008 Russell Athletic Team Leader of the Year QB MARK GRIEB (ArenaBowl XVIII, XXI), MVPs of four ArenaBowls, including the last three, and opponents in the most recent title game on July 27, headline a list of 172 free agents who are eligible to be contacted by teams today.

The list of notable free agents includes: FB MARLION JACKSON, who led the AFL in rushing yards (356) and attempts (108) and tied for the AFL lead in rushing touchdowns with 23; WR CHARLES FREDERICK, 2007 Co-Rookie of the Year; DB RASHAD FLOYD, three-time All-Arena Second Team honoree and DB DAMON MASON, the all-time leading tackler in professional football history.

The list also features 2008 All-Arena players FB/LB DUKE PETTIJOHN and DB EDDIE MOTEN and All-Ironman selections WR/LB LAWRENCE SAMUELS and FB/LB MARLON MOYE-MOORE.

Two notable "street" free agents, who are available to sign with any team, are QB SHERDRICK BONNER and WR DAMIAN HARRELL. Bonner, named one of the 20 Greatest Players in AFL history (No. 8) as voted by the AFL 20 Seasons Historical Committee, currently ranks third all-time in passing attempts (5,435), completions (3,361), yards (42,295) and touchdowns (855). Harrell, the former two-time AFL Offensive Player of the Year (2005-06), is currently the all-time leader in receiving touchdowns (320), ranks third in receiving yards (13,046) and fourth in receptions (987).

A complete list of 2009 AFL free agents and their 2008 teams:

ARIZONA RATTLERS: FB/LB Marvin Brown (5-11, 260, Alabama), DB Terrance Joseph (6-1, 201, Tulsa), DL Jeff Ruffin (6-4, 295, Illinois), QB Matt Sauk (6-1, 225, Utah St.), DL Demetrios Walker (6-3, 260, Middle Tennessee St).

CHICAGO RUSH: WR/DB BJ Barre (6-0, 200, Ohio St.), WR Ryan Dennard, (6-3, 227, Arizona St.), LB Liam Ezekiel (6-0, 240, Northeastern), K Todd France (6-3, 200, Toledo), FB John Peaua (6-2, 280, Nevada), OL John Sikora (6-4, 280, Slippery Rock), DB Jeremy Unertl (6-1, 210, WI-La Crosse), DB Talib Wise (5-10, 200, Nevada).

CLEVELAND GLADIATORS: QB Rohan Davey (6-3, 245, LSU), FB/LB Marlion Jackson (6-1, 255, Saginaw Valley St.), WR/LB Ron Johnson (6-3, 222, Minnesota), OL Kimani Jones (6-4, 310, Arkansas St.), WR/DB Willis Marshall (5-9, 193, Youngstown St.), OL/DL Ramon Richardson (6-2, 295, Oklahoma), DL Bryant Shaw (6-3, 287, Mississippi College).

COLORADO CRUSH: QB Jon Beutjer (6-5, 220, Illinois), DB Michael Bragg (6-1, 195, Texas A&M-Kingsville), DB Dion Byrum (5-11, 180, Ohio), DB Rashad Floyd (6-0, 180, Portland St.), OL Joey Hollenbeck (6-4, 320, Washington St.), QB Brandon Kirsch (6-2, 213, Purdue), WR Anthony Merritt (5-11, 195, North Alabama), WR Brad Pyatt (5-11, 187, Northern Colorado), WR Willie Quinnie (6-2, 176, UAB), DL Nick Rogers (6-2, 270, Georgia Tech), DL Lauvale Sape (6-1, 207, Utah), OL/DL Chris Watton (6-3, 291, Baylor), WR Wendall Williams (6-0, 190, Rhode Island).

COLUMBUS DESTROYERS: DB Nate Coggins (6-1, 210, West Georgia), DB Kevin Gaines (6-1, 205, Louisville), DL Michael Landry (6-3, 305, Southern), WR Rasheed Marshall (6-1, 190, West Virginia), WR/LB Tremaine Neal (6-3, 225, Valdosta St.), DL Saul Patu (6-3, 260, Oregon), DL Prentice Purnell (6-3, 320, West Georgia), WR Jerome Riley (6-2, 200, Washington St.), WR Calvin Russell (6-0, 190, Tuskegee), DL Derrick Strong (6-3, 275, Illinois) DL Mike Sutton (6-4, 275, LSU), LB Leroy Thompson (6-2, 270, Delaware St.).

DALLAS DESPERADOS: DB Chris Brown (6-2, 200, Grambling), QB Jason Fife (6-4, 225, Oregon), DB Donvetis Franklin (5-11, 210, Michigan St.), DL Winfield Garnett (6-6, 320, Ohio St.), DB Michael Hawkins (6-2, 190, Oklahoma), WR Marcus Nash (6-4, 220, Tennessee), WR/LB Bobby Perry (6-3, 210, Prairie View A&M), FB/LB Duke Pettijohn (6-2, 255, Syracuse), OL/DL Rickie Simpkins (6-3, 295, Syracuse), DL Daleroy Stewart (6-4, 327, Southern Mississippi).

GEORGIA FORCE: OL/DL Ernest Allen (6-4, 300, Cincinnati), WR/DB Cornelius Bonner (6-0, 200, Cincinnati), OL Corey Davis (6-3, 325, James Madison), DB Willie Gary (5-10, 185, Kentucky), LB Donny Green (6-3, 260, Virginia), WR Damien Groce (5-10, 180, Iowa St.), LB Eric Johnson (6-0, 241, Nebraska), QB Andy Kelly (6-3, 220, Tennessee), FB Bruce McClure (6-5, 305, Oklahoma), DB Hamin Milligan (6-2, 195, Houston), DB JoJo Polk (6-0, 193, Northeastern St.), OL/DL Jermaine Smith (6-3, 290, Georgia), DL Will Thompson (6-2, 261, Georgia), DB James Whitley (5-11, 185, Michigan).

GRAND RAPIDS RAMPAGE: QB Tom Arth (6-4, 220, John Carroll), DB Ryan Bowers (6-1, 210, Presbyterian College), K Brian Gowins (5-10, 180, Northwestern), C/OL Juan Porter (6-3, 310, Ohio St.), FB Chris Ryan (6-0, 305, Clark GA), OL Josh Sewell (6-2, 315, Nebraska), WR/LB Jason Shelley (6-2, 195, Central St.), OL Nick Steitz (6-4, 320, Oregon), OL Fitu Tuua (6-5, 335, Fresno St.).

KANSAS CITY BRIGADE: DL Chris Demaree (6-3, 265, Kentucky), DL Arrion Dixon (6-4, 308, Arkansas), WR Charles Frederick (5-11, 195, Washington), DB Will Holder (6-0, 192, Monmouth), OL Ed Ta'amu (6-2, 335, Utah).

LOS ANGELES AVENGERS: OL Branden Hall (6-4, 330, Troy), OL Clay Harrell (6-2, 300, Northern St.), DL Justin Hickman (6-1, 265, UCLA), QB Tim Hicks (6-4, 240, West Liberty St.), DB Clarence Lawson (5-6, 195, Utah), OL Matt McGhghy (6-3, 320, Northern Illinois), DB Arnold Parker (6-2, 215, Utah), LB Brandon Perkins (6-1, 235, Kansas), WR Terrence Stubbs (5-11, 195, Temple), WR/DB LaShaun Ward (6-0, 200, California).

NEW ORLEANS VOODOO: QB Steve Bellisari (6-3, 225, Ohio St.), DB Chris Brown (6-2, 195, UAB), WR Javarus Dudley (6-0, 190, Fordham), WR Ira Gooch (6-0, 195, Central Michigan), WR Tyronne Jones (5-9, 178, Grambling), WR James Jordan (6-2, 230, Louisiana Tech), OL Adam Metts (6-1, 280, North Carolina), FB Umar Muhammad (5-11, 270, North Texas), OL Brian Rimpf (6-5, 315, East Carolina), K Jonathan Ruffin (5-11, 174, Cincinnati), DB Calvin Spears (6-0, 195, Grambling), DB Nick Ward (5-11, 190, Miami FL), QB Danny Wimprine (6-3, 236, Memphis).

NEW YORK DRAGONS: WR Chris Anthony (6-3, 200, Iowa St.), FB/LB Ricky Hall (6-3, 290, Marshall), C/OL Joe Laudano (6-2, 290, Temple), DB Delmonico Montgomery (6-0, 203, Houston), OL/DL Greg Randall (6-6, 335, Michigan St.), WR Kevin Swayne (6-2, 185, Wayne St. NE), QB Juston Wood (6-2, 220, Portland St.).

ORLANDO PREDATORS: FB/LB Johnnie Balous (6-3, 265, Oklahoma), DL Darrell Campbell (6-4, 290, Notre Dame), DB Ahmad Carroll (5-10, 180, Arkansas), OL Jonathan Clinkscale (6-3, 320, Wisconsin), QB Jake Eaton (6-2, 220, Maine), K Dan Frantz (6-1, 200, Portland St.), WR Chas Gessner (6-5, 218, Brown), OL Jasper Harvey (6-3, 315, San Diego St.), OL Chris Jahnke (6-5, 315, Indiana), QB Matt Kohn (6-2, 205, Indianapolis), OL/DL Greg Krause (6-4, 320, New Hampshire), OL/DL Doug Miller (6-2, 300, Howard), LB John Mohring (6-1, 217, Georgia Southern), FB/LB Marlon Moye-Moore (6-3, 250, Maryland), DB Khalid Naziruddin (5-9, 185, Texas Tech), WR/DB Kevin Nickerson (5-8, 165, Central Missouri), DL Elton Patterson (6-2, 270, Central Florida), DL Cleveland Pinkney (6-0, 300, South Carolina), OL Jim Sodano (6-3, 315, East Stroudsburg), QB Shane Stafford (6-2, 215, Connecticut), K John Vaughn (6-0, 190, Auburn).

PHILADELPHIA SOUL: DL Kevin Carberry (6-2, 285, Ohio), OL Justin Cleveland (6-2, 320, Siena College), QB Matt D'Orazio (6-4, 230, Otterbein), OL/DL Anthony Dunn (6-3, 251, Northern Colorado), QB Tony Graziani (6-3, 215, Oregon), WR Brent Holmes (5-10, 175, Texas A&M-Kingsville), LB Craig Kobel (6-2, 250, South Florida), DB Brian Mance (5-10, 185, Clemson), DB Eddie Moten (5-10, 185, Texas A&M-Kingsville), LB Raheem Orr (6-3, 260, Rutgers), WR Sean Scott (6-2, 200, Millersville), WR Darius Watts (6-3, 205, Marshall), DB Dee Webb (6-0, 190, Florida).

SAN JOSE SABERCATS: WR Jamall Broussard (5-9, 175, San Jose St.), DB Trestin George (5-9, 180, San Jose St.), QB Mark Grieb (6-2, 215, CA-Davis), QB Scott Rislov (6-1, 222, San Jose St.), WR Cleannord Saintil (6-0, 190, Middle Tennessee St.), FB Daimon Shelton (6-0, 262, Sacramento St.).

TAMPA BAY STORM: DL Tom Briggs (6-4, 275, West Virginia), QB Stoney Case (6-3, 220, New Mexico), K Seth Marler (6-1, 190, Tulane), C/OL Marcus Owen (6-4, 330, Kansas), DB Traco Rachal (6-2, 200, Texas A&M-Commerce), WR Lawrence Samuels (6-3, 220, West Alabama), DL Nyle Wiren (6-4, 250, Kansas St.).

UTAH BLAZE: DB Eddie Canonico (6-1, 195, Sacramento St.), DL John Culp (6-5, 295, Kansas), FB/LB Rodney Filer (6-3, 260, Iowa), OL Rob Gatrell (6-5, 290, Fresno St.), QB Jason Gesser (6-1, 210, Washington St.), DL Vaka Manupuna (6-1, 305, Colorado), DB Damon Mason (5-9, 195, LA-Lafayette), WR/LB J.J. McKelvey (6-4, 225, Clemson), DL Dwayne Missouri (6-5, 285, Northwestern), FB/LB Kautai Olevao (6-2, 275, Utah), WR/DB Tom Pace (5-11, 200, Arizona St.), K Steve Videtich (6-2, 205, North Carolina St.).

Jason Armstead Named Special Teams Player Of The Week

WINNIPEG, MB - Winnipeg Blue Bombers kick/punt returner Jason Armstead was named the Canadian Football League's special teams player of the week following the Blue Bombers home victory over the Edmonton Eskimos last Friday.

Armstead, who was acquired mid-way through the season as a free agent acquisition, had the Blue Bombers first touchdown return of the year on an 84-yard runback. It was one of four punt returns for 150 yards. The University of Mississippi product also had two kickoff returns for 41 yards. Armstead is now in the top-10 in combined yardage in the CFL this season.

Blue Bombers defensive back Stanford Samuels was named a runner-up for defensive player of the week honours.

Stampeders In The Community

The following is a list of upcoming events for the week of Sept. 29, 2008:

Date: Sept. 29, 2008

Player: Sandro DeAngelis, Shannon James, Tim O'Neill, Lemarcus Rowell, Dimitri Tsoumpas

Event: Timbits football program

Location: McMahon Stadium - 1817 Crowchild Trail N.W.

Time: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Date: Sept. 30, 2008

Player: Charleston Hughes, Juwan Simpson, Neil Ternovatsky

Event: Pee Wee Football Program with the Foothills Falcons

Location: Foothills Composite High School football field - 229 Woodhaven Drive, Okotoks

Time: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.