AAFLSource.com WAR ROOM

[FootballJabber]

From my email inbox...

This is the first in a series of e-newsletters that I will send each week to keep you up-to-date on what's going on with Team Arkansas. And there are many exciting things to tell you so let's get started.

Team Arkansas completed its pre-season roster Saturday during the All American Football League's supplemental draft. It was a ten-round affair in which we took linemen Brandon Newton, Kevin Carberry, Jermaine Brooks, Harry Dunn and David Lose; fullbacks Jesse Allen and Fredrick Cook; wide receivers Larry Hamilton and Jonathan Schoonover; tight-end Jonas Crafts; defensive back Tony Tiller and kicker Mark Mariscal.

You may be asking how Team Arkansas took 12 players out of a ten-round draft. Well, AAFL rules stipulate each team must enter training camp with 60 men. We lost two men drafted January 26; Tom Crowder and Erryn Cobb to retirement. Therefore, the League allowed us, and the other teams in the same circumstance, compensatory selections to fill those roster spots.

We got nearly every player we wanted and I can hardly wait for training camp to assemble the championship machine that will be Team Arkansas!

Let me say one more thing about the draft. I am incredibly proud of my coaches. It is a privilege for me to have them on board and a joy to watch them work, merrily applying centuries of combined experience to the task of extracting the highest caliber talent from the pool of extremely talented players. It was an amazing sight!

Our players check-in on March 12 for training camp. It pleases me greatly to tell you that we'll hold it at our home field, War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock! Good ol' War Memorial Stadium. Among my fondest memories are the ones I have from my days as an Arkansas Razorback being warmly greeted and cheered on by the loving fans who filled War Memorial. Now, I get to re-enter that tradition-filled arena as the Head Coach of Team Arkansas!

You'll be invited on certain dates to come watch our practices. I want you to be there so I'll tell you in a coming e-newsletter what practices will be open to the public.

You have probably heard of the Team Arkansas Road Show. The brainchild of President Alicia Cooper, this is a statewide tour being staged to introduce the AAFL and Team Arkansas for the purpose of maximizing fan support. From the outset of our quest, I was surprised, very pleasantly so, at the level of knowledge about and excitement over this League and our Team.

In the beginning, the Road Show consisted of a few occasional stops. Now, each week brings a number of appearances, each as fun and memorable as the first ones we made. Perhaps, even more so, because the increasing number of fans reflects growing anticipation for the coming season.

We visited Little Rock, White Hall, Newport and Trumann this week. Next week, we'll be in Little Rock, Fordyce, Sheridan, Maumelle and Smackover. We want very much to meet you, too, if we haven't already. You can send an email to Marketing and Events Coordinator Jana Carpenter at jana.carpenter@aafl.com to book us for your group or organization. Hurry, though, training camp starts mid-March, and we'll work hard from that point on to build our Championship team!

That brings me to ticket sales. It is gratifying to see them rapidly on the rise. I can hardly wait to open our home season against Team Tennessee April 19 and welcome them into a War Memorial Stadium filled with rabid, screaming, football-savvy Arkansas fans! Talk about a 12th man!

To buy tickets, visit http://www.AAFL.com or call 1-888-398-AAFL (2235). Get ‘em now before the best seats are taken!

Well, that's it for now. I look forward to telling you next week about the latest from Team Arkansas.