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TRAINING CAMP PART III - NEW AND FAMILIAR FACES!!! |
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We already told you the first scrimmages were at Ray Jay - but we didn't get to mention the crazy security who obviously thought they were hosting the Super Bowl. No drinks allowed to be brought in! No video cameras! No pictures in front of the pirate ship! It put a downer on what should have been a fun day for NFLE playing in an NFL stadium ... |
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Brad Johnson was an interested onlooker at Ray Jay. Perhaps Jon Gruden had decided to call back Joe Hamilton and send him instead! Does it really seem like 7 years since he was playing for the Monarchs? |
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Also spying on events were everybody's favourite non-cop TV duo - Halling and Carlson. Mike thought it fit to drink water from the Admirals sidelines and make the Dutch suffer - nice one! And Nick - you do owe me a beer as Adam Vinatieri kicked for the Admirals in 96 not 97. Cheers! |
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Maybe it was the sunstroke. Maybe it was the American Beer. But we swear by the end of the day at Ray Jay we saw a Berlin player holding for a Galaxy kicker! |
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The following week we were scrimmaging at the University of Tampa, without the Nazi security. If they had been there, they might have confiscated the ball from the Galaxy-Fire scrimmage as the Keystone Kops fumblerama that took place shamed the name of football! |
| Here's a very brief summary of what we saw of the other teams ... | |
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AMSTERDAM ADMIRALS
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Introducing your Amsterdam Claymores! At QB Kevin Daft (#13)! Kevin looked himself in training camp (solid and unspectacular). It looks like he has some weapons around him, so his experience could give the Admirals an early edge. Speaking to Kevin, he seemed anxious to get back to Europe and make his mark again. I promised him that the Claymores fans would be on their best behaviour when he returned to Scotland. Yeah right! |
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On the offensive line Jim Stull (#71)! Damon Nivens (#75) will also line up for the Admirals this year too. Jim in fact couldn't crack the strong offensive line-up that the Admirals have. Watch out for RB Rafael Cooper (#20), who will enjoy the benefits of this offensive line. |
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And in the secondary this year, Kory Blackwell (#25) will be joined by S Blaine McElmurry (#45)! While we are in favour of a Claymores re-union, we would prefer it out of season! Once again the Admirals put on a great camp showing - but will it ever translate to regular season success? |
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One Admirals guy to watch is WR Marcus Knight (#7) who torched the Claymores secondary in the Ray Jay scrimmages. Knight played with Scott Dreisbach at Michigan. Kenyon Hambrick (#2) and Reggie Allen (#83) also made some big grabs during camp for a good looking receiving corps. Also watch for back-up QB David Dinkins (#1) who lines up just about everywhere! |
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BARCELONA DRAGONS
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The Dragons are led by Joe Germaine (#7) at QB. Here he just gets this pass away, but the Fire DE manages to lose his head in the process! Germaine didn't seem to pack his "happy feet" or his "deer in the headlights look" from St. Louis and has the Dragons looking one of the stronger teams coming out of camp. |
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Backing up Germaine is league legend Ted White (#10). A favourite in Dusseldorf (for his part in derailing the 2000 Galaxy season - while playing for the Galaxy), White again struggled at times during camp. If he sees the field this year - look out. If he sees the field in Frankfurt - really look out! |
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Once again Marco "Speedy" Martos (#1) shows he's a lousy retired player! It seems every year he threatens to quit but keeps coming back! |
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Dragons WR Richmond Flowers (#9) get loose for a moderate gain vs. the Claymores. He made some great catches in the scrimmages and will be a featured player. Also watch for Dave Klemic (#5) too. |
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Dragons RB Derek Homer (#33) had his moments during camp too. He'll share the running duties with Carl Fair (#22). |
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RHEIN FIRE
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Ex Tennessee Vols great Tee Martin (#17) will QB for the Fire this season. Tee didn't light it up in the scrimmages. In fact his most exciting play seemed to be the wondrous adventure of the center snap. |
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Early word was that the Fire had a much better receiving corps this year, but they didn't show that in the scrimmages. Corey Alston (#81) will be one of the main contributors with Onome Ojo (#86) out injured. RB Tony Taylor (#36) showed good burst but he'll need to hang onto the ball if he's going to be a big factor. |
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New offensive line coach for the Fire is ex 49ers great Guy McIntyre. The Fire coaches had to deal with a rash of injuries during camp, as they lost a few key guys in a short space of time. Apparently the coaches ran the players pretty hard at camp according to ex Claymore TE David Newman (#83). |
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Fire GM Alex Leibkind was on hand at Ray Jay. Alex has a lot on plate at the moment, with not only the stadium issue for the Fire (the Rheinstadion will be unavailable in 2003), but also setting up Dusseldorf's bid for the 2012 Olympic Games. We suggest "Schlosser Alt drinking" as a demonstration sport. |
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BERLIN THUNDER
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The Thunder aim to be the first team to repeat as champions this year - but it will take some doing. They are led by Todd Husak (#8) at QB, who just beat out Tim Hasselback in a spirited battle. The offense slowly came together in camp, and WR's Dame Looker (#81) and Phil McGeoghan (#85) look like being top targets for Hussk. |
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One familiar face for Claymores fans on the coaching staff is Richard Kent who is now coaching defensive backs in Berlin after doing the same job the last few seasons in Scotland. Dwayne Stukes (#27) returns at CB, but the Redskins have kept Billy Gustin from returning for a 3rd season in the Berlin secondary. |
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Mukala Sikyala (#2) is another guy to watch in 2002, and looks like being the best RB the Thunder have had in their short history. |
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Bill Duff (#90) a defensive lineman for the Thunder, told us in 2000, that if we ever wanted 'dirty skirts' to go to Mons Venus in Tampa. Pity he never mentioned the police raids that got Preston into a wee tangle last training camp! |
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Coach Vaas has been known to set a pretty firm curfew but this is ridiculous! Poor Axel Kruse (#9) is tied to a fence during the St. Pete workouts. The German kicker was later released and he's back for another season, which means we'll be back in his great sports bar in Berlin! |
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Thunder GM Michael Lang anxiously paces the sideline at Ray Jay awaiting the news on his potential election for the Cheddar Hall of Fame. The lucky Class of 2002 will be announced this Friday 12th April! |
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FRANKFURT GALAXY
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Joe Hamilton (#1) settles under center, in the forgettable scrimmage versus the Fire. Joe is a special player who loves to improvise - but the scrimmages don't allow for this, with quick whistles registering sacks. We'll sure Joe will improve on his camp form and give the Galaxy what they could have had with Michael Bishop, had injuries not intervened last year. |
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Another ex Claymore - OL Kendall Mack (#66). The Galaxy O-line struggled in this scrimmage as the Fire D ran rampage on them. |
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The Galaxy's featured runners will be Marlion Jackson (#24) and Curtis Alexander (#22). At wideout Damon Hodge (#81) was probably the best of the bunch, but this group didn't shine. In fact French national Marc Soumah (#19) may get an extended look this year after a great camp. |
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Joe had many Bucs fans cheering him on in Tampa! The Galaxy QB situation was pretty dire, as back-up Chris Sanders had a disappointing camp and was released. They got re-re-allocated Bart Hendricks (#15) from Frankfurt re-allocated Billy Cockerham (#8) from Amsterdam to help out. How generous of the league! |
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AFTERMATH
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At the end of a hard day's scrimmage Galaxy coach Dick Curl shakes hand with Admirals coach Al Luginbill. Wait a minute - did we go back in time??!! Dick was here scouting for the Chiefs, and Al now runs a scouting consultancy service. He was more than happy to flash us his XFL championship ring as he's still getting paid by the defunct league! |
