Regular Season:

37 catches, 365 yards, 5 TDs

6 Rushes, 2 yards, 3 TDs

24.5 Tackles, 3 PBU, 4 FR

Playoffs:

5 catches, 71 yards, 2 TDs

3 rushes, 18 yards, 1 TD

3.0 tackles, 1 PBU, 1 INT, 1 TD

Geathers was in the 2nd tier of jack linebackers during the regular season, behind Lawerence Samuels, DeJuan Alfonzo, and Sakeen Wright. He filled in at wide receiver early in the season when injuries hit James Roe and Rodney Wright, and returned to the offensive side of the ball when James Roe got hurt in the 3rd quarter of the playoff game against the Colorado Crush. He figures to be a large part of the offensive scheme against a Philadelphia Soul secondary that, while aggressive and athletic, is undersized and vulnerable to larger receivers like Geathers running comeback routes and going over the jack. He will also continue to play jack linebacker while occasionally being spelled by Garrett McIntyre on the defensive side, and perhaps newcomer Samora Goodson on the offensive side. And as the only SaberCat in recent memory to make any sort of contribution to the run game, he will probably play a key role when the SaberCats get inside the Soul 5 yard line.

His biggest game of the year was an 18 catch effort against the VooDoo, where he mainly served as Grieb's safety valve, playing alongside the very green Cleannord Saintil (who incidentally is now the leader of the receiving core) and Josh Richey, now of the Dragons. Against a similar secondary in the Soul, he will probably draw Mike Brown or Brian Mance in most formations, except as the motion man, where he will meet Eddie Moten. If Geathers and Grieb take advantage of his size on the underneath routes, the 15+ yard passing game will open up for Rodney Wright, as will the screen passes for Cleannord Saintil. On defense he needs to have a nose for the ball, as Chris Jackson and Larry Brackins have a nose for turning 5 yard out routes into long touchdowns when just one defender tries to bring them down. Geathers and Watson have proven adept during the SaberCat 8 game win streak in helping out their DBs by keeping 7 yard passes from turning into 40 yard passes.

Here's an ArenaBowl XXII preview, broken down by position. Philadelphia opened at 3.5 point favorite. Admittedly, I'll probably be a bit biased, being a 12-year fan of the SaberCats.

Quarterback: Even

Matt D'Orazio has kept turnovers low and taken advantage of his two big receivers all season long, and may be the top free agent pick up in AFL history, stepping in for Tony Graziani after an MCL injury. Mark Grieb started out the season with 14 INT's in his first 10 games, but finished the season with 50 TD's against 4 picks in the last 6 games. Both come in with championship experience, D'Orazio winning one ring with Chicago and Grieb winning three, and playing in the '04 and '07 games. D'Orazio had the better season but struggled against New York, which utilizes a physical secondary similar to that of the SaberCats.

Offensive Line: Even

The Soul allowed 19 sacks to San Jose's 16, but had far more continuity throughout the year. San Jose C Dan Loney has struggled with snapping the ball recently and has seen those struggles continue into the playoffs. Phil Bogle of the Soul and Gene Frederic/Julius Gant of the SaberCats have proven themselves able as tight ends and pass blockers.

Wide Receivers: Edge to Philly

San Jose will be hurt immensely by the loss of all-time receiving leader James Roe, but was only mildly fazed by the loss in defeating Grand Rapids in the Conference Championships. Cleannord Saintil and Rodney Wright have taken the lead and have kept the WR core afloat. Jason Geathers has stepped in for Roe while continuing to play the Jack Linebacker spot on defense. Chris Jackson and Larry Brackins of Philly are the best 1-2 punch in the league and will be difficult to stop for the relatively small San Jose secondary. However, these two did struggle in the week 7 meeting in San Jose. However, Jackson is the league's best receiver and it will take a fantastic mix of coverages to stop him.

Fullback: Edge to Philly

Brian Johnson of the SaberCats won 2nd team All Arena honors but struggled all year to run the ball especially in late game situations, and has since lost the carrying duties to Rodney Wright and Jason Geathers. He is still a superb pass blocker, and pretty much the only one on the San Jose roster. Wes Ours and Clifton Smith have been incredibly difficult to stop, Ours out of the standard formations and Smith out of a QB-less shotgun formation. Ours is also surprisingly adept at catching swing passes. The combination of Ours and Smith give the Soul a distinct advantage in the backfield.

Defensive Line: Slight Edge to San Jose

San Jose led the league in sacks with 30 to the Soul's 24. Both have a combination of depth and strength at the lines, with seemingly the only edge at this position going to San Jose for having 4 defensive linemen, McIntyre, Williams, Jones, and Harper capable of providing the rush. With all healthy, San Jose will be capable of generating heat on D'Orazio all game. Bryan Save and Gabe Nyenhuis man the ends for Philadelphia, but match up against San Jose's guards who have played very well of late.

Linebackers: Slight Edge San Jose

Steve Watson had an unheard of 9.0 sacks from the Mack position and Jason Geathers did not lose a step playing both ways, WR/JLB, pick-sixing a pass against Grand Rapids in addition to his 3 offensive TD's. While Philadelphia has a number of above average performers playing the two Linebacker spots, San Jose has two players who can take over the game from spots that don't usually get much attention.

Defensive Backs: Slight Edge San Jose

Philadelphia doesn't have as many problems to deal with as James Roe is out, and they get back Brian Mance. Both teams utilize shorter, more physical DB's, but as of late, San Jose's DB's have all been playing well. After a subpar season, Omarr Smith tallied 3 INT's, as well as a pick on a 2 point conversion against Grand Rapids, while Marquis Floyd and Clevan Thomas were All Arena performers this year. Eddie Moten and Mike Brown are great players in their own right, but San Jose's DB's have the championship experience and the strength advantages here.

Kicker: Edge to San Jose

There isn't a better kicker in the league than San Jose's A.J. Haglund. He kicks, recovers fumbles, and makes tackles. Connor Hughes is an above average kicker.

Kick Return: Slight edge to Philadelphia

Mike Brown has the big play capability, but over the season, Rodney Wright had the better average, and has more consistency. San Jose's kick coverage gave up a TD to Chris Martin and the Rampage last week, but the closed rectangle endzones in New Orleans play to San Jose's strengths.

So overall, San Jose has a defensive edge, Philly has an offensive edge, and the special teams game is pretty much even. In theory, this should be an instant classic a la ArenaBowl 18. I'm gonna be a homer here and err on the side of Grieb:

SaberCats 59

Soul 56

And hopefully I'm right and San Jose grabs its 4th title in 7 years. Sunday 7/27 at noon PST on ABC. Go to ArenaFan.com for some more great info on the game.

Boston Red Sox: In about one week they went from 5 down to the Rays to .5 up.

Philadelphia Soul: The Soul cruised to become Arena Football champions with a whoppin' 70-35 win over Cleveland.

Tiffany "Hot Chips" Michelle: The last woman standing in the World Series of Poker in on a roll into the later rounds.

Rick Rhoden: Winner for the 7th time of the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship. I guess some people are good at whatever they do.

Sell:

Tampa Bay Rays: Last week's big buy dove quickly. Losers of seven straight going into the all star break, can they come back and keep this up for the second half of the year?

Green Bay Packers: Should they let Favre back? Should they release him? Should they keep him as backup? No matter how you look at it, this can only bring bad PR to a well-run, well-respected fanchise.

Tony Romo: Placing third in the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship, can this guy do any better than almost winning something important?

The Home Run Derby: The derby is supposed to bring people to baseball. It should consist of household names. Big Stars. Great Players. Hello people! A-Rod is not competing in NY! Does that make any sense? Shame on the MLB for caring too much! We want to see stars, not guys who are having a career year!

The former Arena Football League Champions, the San Jose Sabercats, are in contention again for back to back championships after defeating the Rampage of Grand Rapids, Michigan 81-55 on Saturday. The Sabercats, 13-5, will appear in the Arena Football League title game for the fourth time in seven years -- including title wins in 2002, 2004 and 2007 on July 27th 2008 in New Orleans. The Sabercats will play a very good team in the Philadelphia Soul which is led by the MVP of the league in QB Matt D’Orazio who led his team to the Championship game by throwing eight touchdown passes to lead the team to its first appearance in the Arena Bowl with a 70-35 win over the Cleveland Gladiators on Saturday. But the Sabercats also have a great QB in Mark Grieb who was the MVP for the Champion Sabercats in both 2004 and 2007. The Cats hope that Griebs experience in the Arena Bowl will help the team secure yet another Championship.

The Sabercats has been a positive spark for the Bay Area who has not seen a franchise be this successful since the great 1980's 49ers franchise. Although arena football is not the most popular sport out there, the game is pretty entertaining with very high scores and exciting plays. If you ever get a chance, you should really attend a game. The tickets are very cheap and they usually get the crowd into the game by giving out gifts as well as allowing people in the stands to keep the footballs that go into the crowd. Its great way to get your kids out of the house and have some fun.

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/something_called_the

Why did you buy the team?

It's an excellent team. The players are great. They've made the playoffs three of the last four years. The sport is heavily involved with ESPN. Plus, it's a lot of fun.

Plus, the team was unappreciated and undermarketed. We want to build the fan base.

How did this deal come about?

Charles (Wang) had been speaking to various groups for some time. He wanted to find someone who wanted to keep the team on Long Island. We jumped at it.

What's Charles Wang like? Nice guy?

He's a nice, caring man. He's enthusiastic about the game ... nothing but good things from me.

So what's going to change for the Dragons?

The focus from the business side has been on everything but the players. We have some all-AFL, great players. Now, parents bringing children to a game can't buy apparel marketed for an individual player, not even a knapsack, anything. We're going to change what the game looks like for the fan, get the fan involved with the players.

We're launching a rebranding mission, asking fans to help us pick new colors, a new logo.

But the name will stay the Dragons?

Yes, absolutely.

What attracted you to arena football?

The scoring is amazing. You go to a game and you see 15 touchdowns scored. It's very exciting and fast-paced.

Sure, but why are the scores so high. No defense?

We have great defense. Our two all-AFL players are defensive guys. But remember, the game is almost entirely passing, the field is only 50 yards and there's no punting. There are many key defensive plays, like interceptions.

Why should someone go to a Dragons game?

The entertainment value is very high for the dollar. You can go to a game and interact with the the players and cheerleaders, the players give autographs after the games. Fans can also go on the field after the game and kick field goals.

How much are season tickets?

We're working on that now. We're going to have seven different pricing levels.

What are the perks of owning an arena football team?

Everybody always dreams of owning a sports team, but the entry point is impossible in other sports, when it comes to cost.

How much did you pay?

We'll release that as soon as we get the Arena Football League's approval.

Will arena football ever get the same amount of attention major sports like baseball, football, basketball or hockey do?

It's more exciting than hockey. We've got to build awareness for it. Once people are in the building they'll enjoy it. Also, the media should cover it regularly, which it doesn't.

Are you also a football fan?

A big one.

Jets or Giants?

I grew up a major Oakland Raiders fan, and still am.

Finally, the Dragons just lost their division playoff game to Philadelphia on a last second touchdown where the ball popped out of the receiver’s hand right at the end-zone line. The refs said the receiver was in? Was he. Did they blow the call?

Yeah!!! Absolutely. The league reviewed it and it proved to be inconclusive. But his knee was down.

Here's the last 10 minutes of the game, including the contested call:

BUY:

Tampa Bay Rays--Winners of seven in a row, and leader of the AL east by 5 games over the Red Sox, this team just keeps on rolling.

Rafael Nadal--Finally getting over the hump and beating Roger Federer in the match of the century, doesn't get much better than that.

The Williams Sisters--Venus and Serena both made it to the finals of woman's singles at Wimbledon, and the champions of woman's doubles.

Spain--First the Euro and now Wimbledon, Spain is the winner of both large international major championships this week.

SELL

Seattle Mariners--Now 18 games under .500, and 18 back in their division, this team is a mess.

Chicago Rush--The regular season arena football champs lose at home in the divisional playoffs to the Grand Rapids (who finished the regular season 7-9) 58-41.

MLB Allstar Rosters--If this game now means something, stop letting the fans vote and send the actual best players from each league. The winners of a popularity contest play for something important, not the ones who deserve it most based on performance.

Roger Federer--Winner of five straight Wimbledon titles couldn't defend his terf agains the young gun. 1-13 on break points didn't help him. Neither did 52 unforced errors.

GYA out.

For those of you who need a little history lesson, Marcus Nash was the Broncos first round pick out of Tennessee in 1998. He played side by side with a guy whose name you might have heard of. What was it again? Oh yeah, Peyton Manning. 

But let's face it, Peyton Manning could make a chimp in football pads look good. Marcus Nash became a complete bust. Maybe the worst in Broncos history.

Nash's NFL career ended shortly. But his career in football wasn't done, he moved into the AFL (Arena Football League) and became a star. He played for the Dallas Desperados. He had 5 consecutive 1,000 yard seasons as a WR. 

He was even the AFL's Offensive Player of the Year in 2004. But sadly his career has now pretty much come to a tragic end. 

In last weeks AFL Playoff game Marcus Nash suffered a broken neck and underwent surgery yesterday. Desperados coach Will McClay said the injury will most likely end Nash's career. 

I think that it is terrible now that Nash has found some real success and fame despite his past that it must end like this for him. He may have been a huge bust for the Broncos but either way we wish the best of luck for him down the road. 

• Tony Allen of the Boston Celtics proving he can dunk after the whistle and trashes his knee.
• Rockies IF Clint Barmes broke his collarbone lugging meat up the stairs. Todd Helton's fault since it was a gift from him.
• Arena Football League's Elton Patterson tears his quadriceps jumping up and down in celebration.

In more baseball news, umpire Brian Runge got a one-game suspension for being an asshole the other night. Runge went out of his way to egg Mets Carlos Beltran on after a disputed strike call and ejected him. Manager Jerry Manuel then came out to defend his player and was chest bumped by Runge and then ejected. This was some of the most overzealous umpiring I have ever seen. Another case of an ump thinking people paid to see him in action. A longer suspension would serve Runge right and he should pay Beltran and Manuel's fines of $400 and $500, respectively. Well, maybe just Manuel's. Beltran will make $18 million this season.

Pitcher Shawn Chacon probably ended his major league career when he threw Astros GM Ed Wade to the ground by his neck. The Astros cut him today after suspending him indefinitely. There are two sides to every story and Wade may have been at fault too, but you're an adult and a major leaguer; handle things differently. Chacon should have done this in 2005 when he had a 3.44 ERA over 151.2 IP with the Rockies and Yankees. His 2008 ERA of 5.04 and his violent tendencies however, should earn him a spot on every teams' blacklist. I wouldn't recommend showng your boss your best Latrell Sprewell impression under any circumstances.

On Tuesday, Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen announced that July 1, 2009 would be his final day at the helm of the conference. We said, and I quote, "What? Who? Whatever." Because we are Big Ten apologists above all else, and therefore harbor a deep-seated jealousy towards the Pac-10 for their weather, girls, ostensibly laid-back attitude, and bazillion NCAA championships. Also, we don't pay attention to "rumors," "news," or "facts." But when you suggest that perhaps our favorite motile mountain of a commissioner would be a good fit for the opening, why, our hackles get raised. He's ours, Pac-10, and we like him, because he can palm my head like ordinary people might a grapefruit. Also, he's made great strides towards make the Arena Football League notable, and quite nearly relevant. But most of all, he legitimately cares about the goofy league with the crazy rules, and genuinely seems to have fun with his job.

He's not an evil gnome, employed despite global revulsion and incompetence that nearly killed his sport (Gary Bettman). He's not a megalomaniac who, when confronted with bad news, essentially sticks his fingers in his ears and goes "Woo! Woo! Can't hear you! Train coming through!" (David Stern, who I am convinced is the guy who hisses into his phone to fake a bad connection, or drops syllables and claims that "there's someone on the other line.") He's not a combination of the two, with the exception that - by the grace of God and rampant drug use - his sport managed to not get hooked up to life support. (Buuuuuud Selig!) And he's not a power-mad autocrat who thinks he's Zeus. (Roger Goodell, who I actually kind of like.) He's our friend! So, take a hike, Pac-10.

The official start date for Season 4 has been announced. It begins 24th June for US players and the 25th June for EU players. "It's about time", don't you think? Many players have been eaglery waiting for Season 4' to arrive.. and then waited some more and even more. Finally we know approx when. Yay!

Official announcement from Blizzard:

We’re currently planning to end the third Arena season and begin Arena Season 4 on June 24, 2008. This exciting Arena season will introduce the Brutal Gladiator set, and will also allow players to purchase Arena Season 2 items using the honor system. Please note that we will be resetting all Arena team and personal ratings. Players will still retain their Arena points and teams with this reset. The team and personal rating will simply be reset to the default 1500, allowing all teams to once again compete for top honors with a fresh start. Also, with the end of the third season, players on the top teams from each battlegroup will receive their end-of-season rewards. These include Arena-specific titles that they can display proudly until the end of the new season, and, for the best of the best, an Armored Nether Drake. Please also be aware that with the end of the current season, all previous end-of-season titles will be removed.

Another way for people like us to keep ruining our lives... Can't wait for season 5... See what the equipment looks like here.

The Federal Trade Commission has acted as a substantial roadblock for Electronic Arts in advancing with its hostile takeover of rival publisher Take-Two. As part of its second, third, and fourth deadline extension of the tender offer to Take-Two shareholders, EA cited the FTC's requirement for additional time to conclude its regulatory investigation into the merger. EA's fourth and most recent extension on account of the FTC appears to have been the last, however. As part of a deal reached on June 3, EA agreed not to proceed with its $25.74-per-share shareholder buyout proposal until the earlier of either the FTC concluding its investigation or the lapse of 45 days after EA provides "substantial compliance with [the FTC's request for additional information]." Now, it's Take-Two's turn to enter legal wrangling with the FTC. As revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing today, Take-Two said that the US District Court for the District of Columbia has ordered the publisher to explain why it has not complied with a subpoena and civil investigative demand issued by the FTC in relation to EA's buyout offer. The DC court has scheduled a hearing for June 24 to determine whether Take-Two is required to comply with the FTC's request, and Take-Two intends to defend its position in court if it cannot reach an agreement with the FTC prior to the hearing. In a statement, Take-Two explained its position, saying the FTC's request places an undue burden on the company because of the breadth of the information requested. Take-Two also said that it is willing to comply with the FTC, provided the regulatory body narrows the scope of its inquiry. "Prior to the issuance of the FTC's subpoena and [civil investigative demand], the company has been cooperating fully with the FTC with regard to their review of EA's offer to acquire the company," said Take-Two in the SEC filing. "The company has already provided enormous quantities of data and access to key executives, and has offered to provide the FTC staff with additional documents and information. Nevertheless, the company believes the FTC's subpoena and CID are unnecessarily broad and would entail unacceptable additional expense to the company." "To limit the inordinate expense and labor that the FTC's demand would entail, the company has sought to obtain reasonable limits on the scope of the information sought," Take-Two continued. "The company will continue to cooperate actively and produce documents in response to the FTC's previous requests, and will of course attempt to seek an acceptable resolution to this matter as quickly as possible."

Electronic Arts already has antitrust issues on its plate, given that the company is currently seeking federal approval to acquire Take-Two Interactive. Last week that plate got a little more crowded when a pair of gamers in Washington, DC and California filed suit against the publisher in the US District Court of Northern California, alleging "blatantly anticompetitive conduct" in the way that it has cornered the football-gaming genre. The class-action complaint focuses on Electronic Arts' actions since 2004, when Take-Two Interactive's NFL 2K5 was released at a $19.99 price point and sold more than 2.9 million copies in the US, according to NPD figures. Take-Two's previous football game, ESPN NFL Football, sold fewer than 450,000 copies in the US. Meanwhile, EA dropped the price of its Madden 2005 from $49.95 to $29.95 in response. "This vigorous competition benefited consumers," according to the suit. "Electronic Arts could have continued to compete by offering a lower price and/or a higher quality product. Instead, Electronic Arts quickly entered into a series of exclusive agreements with the only viable sports football associations in the United States: the National Football League, the Arena Football League, and NCAA Football." With no Take-Two competitor the following year, the suit notes that Electronic Arts raised the price of Madden 2006 back to $49.95, an increase of nearly 70 percent. The suit also brings up Electronic Arts' attempted acquisition of Take-Two, saying that it "would remove one of the few companies with the ability and expertise to compete in the market for interactive football software" if EA somehow lost its exclusive deals. The suit does not address Take-Two's bid to reenter the football market with former player licenses but no professional league attached. That game, All-Pro Football 2K8, sold a little more than 275,000 copies at US retailers, according to the NPD Group. The plaintiffs are asking for restitution and damages for those who purchased an Electronic Arts football game since August of 2005, disgorgement of all profits made as a result of anticompetitive actions, and that the infringing agreements be declared null and void.

I believe this was needed, it's bad when something has no competition enabling them not to worry about their market share.

Ten seconds from steam shooting from his ear canals.

[phone rings]

[phone rings]

[phone rings]

CLICK BEEEEP

Hello, you've reached the office of Jerry Jones, Football Mastermind of the Dallas Cowboys and Desperados. I'm sorry I can't take your call right now, but if you leave a message after the tone I'll get back to you as soon as I can. If you're one of my players looking for bail money, please dial 0 for the operator.

BEEP

Hey, Jerry, it's Jon again. Just wanted to check in on you, see how you're doing. I know how seriously you take these things, and I don't want you to get too down in the dumps. Think about your blood pressure.

So, yeah... I'm on tour in Europe right now, but I'll be playing Madison Square Garden next month. You want some tickets? The All American Rejects are playing too, maybe that'll make you feel better?

Come on, Jerry, pick up the phone.

It's no fun kicking your ass twice a year in this rivalry if you're going to be a little bitch about it. Get over it, man. Call me.

CLICK BEEP

[Jerry stares vacantly at phone as dried Cherry Garcia flakes off two-day stubble]

Photo by Mike Stobe

Caption by me

Yeah it's the same truck I've been racing for a few years, but it brings good luck!

By the way, if you're not watching Monday Night Arena Football, you should be. The football just got stuck in the upright during an extra point attempt - yes, IN the upright. Haha, this is great stuff. *Edit* - Oh man, a QB just TRUCKED a linebacker. Seriously, that QB looked like Mike Sellers on that run.

November 29th, 2004, the city of Youngstown, Ohio invested 41 million dollars in a convocation center (Chevy Centre) deemed to breathe new life into the city by luring new business, sports teams, concerts, trade shows and special events to the downtown area.

Global Entertainment was the original management team of the convocation center and created a new hockey team, the Steelhounds, that played in the Central Hockey League. (What a coincidence that Global also managed the CHL) This sounded all good until the Grassy Knoll Institute exposed what the deal really was. The Central Hockey League is based in Texas and has teams in Texas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and now Youngstown, Ohio. Anyone else see anything wrong with that alignment? Youngstown was the only team East of the Mississippi. The travel expense was very high for Youngstown.

For the original update, go to.... Youngstown Convocation Center 2004

Just a few days ago, the Vindicator (Youngstown's local newspaper) announced that the Steelhounds, owned by Herb Washington, will not play the 2009 season. Apparently, there are a few issues concerning travel expenses and fee's not paid. Who didn't know this was coming? (Apparently the people pushing the hockey league)

Today, the city of Youngstown has a convocation center with a huge slab of ice melting at it's center core. Temperatures are rising, as are fuel prices as the center realizes declining revenue.

All hope is not lost however. The Arena Football League "Thunder" plays at the center but the schedule only calls for 4-5 home games per season. That leaves an abundance of open dates.
Concerts and trade shows fill some of the void with American Idol winner and country music star Carrie Underwood performing next week to a sold out audience. That still leaves hundreds of days left open on the calendar.

Alas, the center was counting on the hockey team as their revenue maker, hoping for 4500-5000 paying customers for 28-30 home games. That revenue stream has dried up. In fact, the Steelhounds never achieved that type of attendance. Estimates have been as high as 2500 per game and as low as 800 per game. Not nearly what the team needed to break even. (4500 hundred paying customers)

The Chevrolet Centre sits mostly dormant, patiently waiting for city council to sort out the hockey debacle and plan the next spectacular venue (Sarcasm) for the city.

If you build it, they will come. (But only in the movies)

Back To Random Shots Archives

LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL

Here's yet another reason why I love the Arena Football League:

It's just before kickoff at tonight's huge showdown between the Dallas Desperados and Philadelphia Soul and the guy about to be doing the kicking is talking to me about Beckett Grading Services.

Turns out Dallas kicker Remy Hamilton, the only All-America at the position in University of Michigan history, is a huge collector. He favors the older stuff, has some 1909 tobacco cards and three Fleer Jordan Rookies. We talked a little grading (he prefers BGS because of its reputation) and a little about his AFL cards. Literally two minutes later, he kicked off to start the game.

Hamilton, the AFL's all-time leader in field goals made (183 and counting), drilled a 36-yarder tonight and went 7-of-9 on extra points. Unfortunately, Dallas (11-3) lost to the Soul (11-3), 71-64.

By the way, Hamilton's heading up to Beckett in the next week or so for a tour of the office (and to pick up some cards he dropped off to BGS three weeks ago). Pretty cool.

“They said I was just a phone call away from the pros,” recalls ‘Wheeler Receiver Schmidt, referring to his tryout for the Green Bay Packers two years ago. The tryout had gone extremely well, with Jesse putting up better numbers and results than many of the Packers’ actual draft picks, including running the 40-yard dash in under 4.4 seconds.

Dashed Dreams
He’d hoped to close the deal by showing the Packers and the rest of professional football the kind of stuff he brings onto the field. Then, three weeks into the Quad City Steamwheelers’ 2007 season, Jesse was running during a kickoff play and felt something pop in his knee. “It was like no pain I’ve ever felt before,” Jesse says. Once he was taken off the field and onto the sidelines, the team trainer and physicians twisted and bent his leg this way and that to test for injury. “They didn’t make a diagnosis right there, but I saw the look in their eyes and knew that they didn’t have good news for me,” he recalls.

Jesse says the pain, as bad as it was, wasn’t the worst part. His family came down from the stands to where the trainer was working on his knee. Jesse recalls the scene: “I couldn’t talk to my family because I was too broken up.” Seeming a bit reluctant to remember that devastating moment, Jesse concedes that seeing his professional football dreams apparently disintegrate there on the sidelines was hard. “My heart dropped for a little bit… you know, I got a bit teary-eyed.”

New hope with a new tendon
Then he met Dr. Tuvi Mendel of Orthopaedic Specialists. “A torn ACL can be a career-ender,” says Dr. Mendel. “Any time you tear your ACL, your performance may not return to the same level,” he adds. But Dr. Mendel saw that Jesse was young and highly motivated to make at least a full recovery. After discussing the options for repairing his torn ACL (one of the knee’s four major ligaments), Jesse and Dr. Mendel chose to use a new technique that replaces the torn ligament with a bigger, stronger hamstring from a tendon bank. Another option was to remove tissue from Jesse’s left kneecap and use it in his right. But the recovery with donated tissue was not only faster; it didn’t require rehabbing two legs. “Even though I could tell he was terribly worried about his recovery, Jesse was a terrific patient,” recalls Dr. Mendel. “He was committed to putting in the rehab work, and motivation is the key to gaining results in the rehab program.”

The surgery itself was no problem. “Right when I met with Dr. Mendel, I knew he was a good guy,” says Jesse, and his experience bore out that impression. A friend who’d had a similar surgery wound up with a 6-7” scar. “But I just have three little dots on my knee with a two inch scar where he did the surgery.”

A better way to repair a torn ACL
Dr. Mendel employs a newer minimally invasive technique that uses hamstring tendons in ACL reconstruction that does not involve damaging the kneecap and its tendon, like the old technique does. It also involves a smaller incision, off to the side, so there are fewer complications. “In women especially, the old procedure causes knee and joint pain years later,” adds Dr. Mendel, who has performed more than 200 hamstring-ACL reconstructions.

Jesse credits the surgery as a career saver. After the procedure came the physical therapy. Jesse’s sister had torn her ACL in high school, and her comeback to athletic competition set a strong example for him. “For a while it was tough out there,” he recalls. “Dr. Mendel’s staff kept my head up, and that really helped a lot.” He worked so hard at his physical therapy that the therapist told him to stop coming so often, for fear he’d develop tendonitis.

But Jesse was committed to working out and coming back even better than before the injury. He joined the Acceleration program, and says he has never worked his legs so hard before. He’s so committed to the program and its results that he plans on staying with Acceleration through the season. Before the injury, Jesse ran the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds or just under. Because of all the hard work he has put in, he’s even faster today, he says.

So fast, in fact, that mid-way through the season, Schmidt is now a leading receiver in the af2 League. That is not the kind of production even the most ardent fan would expect from a player whose career looked to be over last season.

He continues to prove himself to reach the NFL. “That’s the goal,” he says. “That’s the final stop.” But to get there, he’ll have to keep putting up the big numbers. And with his restored knee and confidence, that may happen quickly – perhaps even under 4.4 seconds.