The Freedom managed to hold off the Slaughter in the first quarter and also managed to do something very few have done in the CIFL, have an opportunity to possibly win the game in the fourth quarter. After the game, the field and locker room were the usual championship chaos, but unlike so many championship teams, this team can say they achieved a perfect season.

Many of the Slaughter players have been cut by NFL teams and told they weren’t good enough. For one night, no for 13 weeks, they could say they were perfect as they steamrolled through the CIFL. Russ Michna’s stats were so ridiculous that his league MVP award was more of a confirmation then a competition. Donovan Morgan missed almost four complete game but was still the offensive player of the year and named best player of the championship game.

Apparently, some of the Fort Wayne players informed Morgan and Sippio before the game that the receiving corps were overrated and Sippio was a has been. Having been to some ten games previous to this, this team conducted themselves very differently then games previous. They were focused, angry, and ready to play.

Fort Wayne played the most gallantly I’ve seen a CIFL team play the Slaughter. They were aggressive, were not intimidated, and came ready with an excellent offensive game plan. Unfortunately, they ran into a team that makes better halftime adjustments than any team I’ve ever seen in indoor football. Oh, and the Slaughter had a guy named Chris Nendick too.

Kickers take far too much abuse in football. They’re not real football players. They can’t tackle. They’re too small. But ask anyone on the Slaughter and I’m sure they’ll tell you what Chris Nendick has meant to this team. It’s not just the fact that he was 80-88 in extra points. It was also the fact that he was 7/9 in onside kicks. Onside kicks are barely successful ten percent of the time, yet Nendick was able to execute them with great execution.

Tonight was Nendick’s showcase, especially in the first half. On a broken extra point, DeJuan Alfonzo found Nendick for an incredible two point play. With the game seemingly about to go to the half tied, Nendick broke a CIFL record by kicking a 52 yard field goal. It changed the game and gave the Slaughter a great deal of momentum going into the half.

Reggie Gray also set a new CIFL record by returning a kickoff 46 yards. The Slaughter also set a new record for scoring in a half by getting 31 points. Even more interesting that for the second time all season… the Slaughter didn’t score in the first quarter.

I have no idea where any of these guys will be next year or if they’ll even be playing football next year. The Rush might as well be dead, and who knows how many of these guys would want to come back for CIFL competition. This could be the end of a terrific era for indoor football in the Chicagoland. If this was the last indoor football game I ever cover and if this was even the last indoor football game in this area ever, there is no better way for it to end then with 14-0.

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My colleague Adam Rosen called what could potentially happen a graduation with last Saturday being the prom. I could not think of a more appropriate metaphor

I did ask the players after the game if they considered this a last chance to win a championship or play together. Russ Michna made a comment about being lucky to just play football. I really hope these guys walk in to the Sears Centre and see that this could be it for them. The Rush will most likely never come back unless money falls from the heavens into the hands of AFL owners. Will these guys come back for another CIFL season? Maybe, but I don’t see it.

Amazingly, the alleged real media decided to show up this past Saturday as the Tribune, Daily Herald and Sun-Times each had stories throughout the week and sent reporters to the game. Without mentioning any names, I can safely say that one of the papers has lost even more of my respect then before after reading their alleged game story. I realize that the CIFL isn’t an ivory tower, but all I ask for is to give these players the respect they deserve.

When there are seven players in the press room, I don’t think it’s too hard for questions to be asked. It’s a 63-19 game. Clearly, something went right. Clearly, this team knows what they’re doing. Why oh why was not a single question asked by someone other then Adam and myself? I can understand certain unmitigating circumstances for one of the people who wasn’t able to attend the conference, but there is a story to be written. And it’s not about the players eating cookies and soda. It’s not about touchdown celebrations or “a lineman burst in wearing a bow tie above his division championship T-shirt.” It’s about a bunch of guys coming together for the love of the game and trying to win a championship.

I understand that Steve McMichael is a name and celebrity in this town because of the Bears back in ‘85. However, he himself has made the point numerous times about the quality of the guys on his team and why people should be attending the games. How many times in your life could you potentially see an undefeated championship team? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity with guys who’ve been cut, guys who’ve been told they weren’t good enough, and guys who’ve had the door shut on them many times.

There are so many interesting stories on this team, this blog doesn’t have enough room to fit them all in. And really, I could go on the Fort Wayne sideline and talk about their 2009 season as well.

Fort Wayne is a team that’s had a great deal of financial strife. They went weeks without practices or getting paid. Yet, they stuck together and upset the Marion Mayhem on the road. There’s love of the game right there.

I love how Peter Warrick, a failed NFL prospect, gets a big profile written about him in one of the two big papers in this town. This is someone who was a criminal in college, stunk as a reciever with the Bengals and Seahawks, and was cut by the Las Vegas Gladiators of the AFL for refusing to report to the team.

There are so many great stories that could be written about guys on the Chicago Slaughter. Just as I’m sure there are some great stories that could be written about guys on the Fort Wayne Freedom. All I would ask from certain individuals in the local media is that they understand that just because the food isn’t catered doesn’t mean great pieces of journalism or great stories can’t be found.

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“These are some of the of the most talented guys I’ve ever played with, it’s great to be around them,” Michna said, “We’ve planned to be in the championship game from day one, it’s been the goal since day one, we’re right where we expected to be with one more game to go.”

The Slaughter’s 63-19 demolishing of the Wisconsin Wolfpack left the team 13-0 with one more game to go. Wisconsin managed to score first to before the Slaughter went on a 35 point binge to end thefirst half.

Highlights of the half included defensive end Khreem Smith getting a sack on the first play of the game and also blocking a field goal. Wide receiver Donovan Morgan, back after missing three games with an injury, caught two touchdown passes. The second featured Morgan struggling and even being interfered with by the defender before coming up with the ball. Brandon Fields sent the teams to the locker room with an interception that returned for a touchdown, followed by a second one to end the half.

It was an impressive half and an impressive game for a defensive unit that struggled early in the season to stop teams. The Slaughter allowed just nine first downs and 93 total yards of offense. Defensive back DeJuan Alfonzo talked about how well the defense played against the Wolfpack

“We actually had a great plan,” Alfonzo said, “We’ve seen some stuff that they’ve done the whole season. A lot of it is seeing the right formation and just making the plays. We wanted to set an example as a defense to send a message to the team we’re playing out there.”

Overall, Michna was his usual brilliant self as he went 16-24 for 264 yards and six touchdown passes. Bobby Sippio led the team in receptions with 8 and in yards with 121.

This was the fourth meeting between the two teams. Surprisingly, the Wolfpack showed no willingness to change their game plan or play a more aggressive style of football.

“ I thought we’d see more trick plays and to catch us off guard,” Alfonzo said, “We had all their plays written down and I just expected them to change something but they didn’t.”

While the Slaughter avoided the upset bug, the Marion Mayhem could not. The Fort Wayne Freedom, a team that has had its’ share of financial troubles the past few weeks, upset the Mayhem 49-40. It was not known whether the Freedom would even be able to get to Marion and play the game at the beginning of the week. Now the Freedom are the heavy underdogs against a Slaughter team trying to complete an undefeated championship season.

Now the Freedom are the heavy underdogs against a Slaughter team trying to complete an undefeated championship season.

Fort Wayne is pretty good offensively. They do some things defensively where they had a little  bit of success against us. But again, with these two guys (Sippio and Morgan) out here now, there’s nobody we gotta worry about. We just gotta make the right play.”

The Slaughter defeated the Freedom on the road 56-41, and Alfonzo said he believes he and  his team will be better prepared this time around with a title on the line.

“I think the first time we played Fort Wayne, I don’t think as a defense we were as physical as we are now,” Alfonzo said, “They had some big receivers that got some jump balls on us, but I feel like now we got some physical guys out there that’s ready to hit some people.”

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The Rush will be back next year, and one’s still not enough.

These are the words Adam Rosen and I used to describe the end of the Chicago Rush season. It was almost one year ago that the Grand Rapids Rampage stormed into the Allstate Arena and shocked the arena football world by defeating the Chicago Rush 58-41. I will always remember talking to Russ Michna after that game and his reaction. It was like talking to a zombie. But there was no doubt in my mind. The Rush would be back “next year.”

Next year is here. Where are the Rush? Nowhere to be found. The Arena Football League shut the door on the 2009 season over six months ago. There wasn’t going to be a chance to avenge the Rampage loss, no chance to see James McPherson again. No opportunity to extend this rivalry even further.

Little did I know back in December that the team I’d be covering would be wearing the same colors as the Rampage, and that the arena would look awfully familiar to the one in Grand Rapids. I honestly didn’t believe I would cover indoor football in 2009. To think of watching any other team besides the Rush was inconceivable to me.

Then Russ Michna signed. Then I found out about Bob McMillen moving on to coach the Slaugher. Then DeJuan Alfonzo signed. Then Khreem Smith signed. Then Dennison Robinson signed. When I arrived for the first game, who should I see but Donovan Morgan. The Slush nickname was born.

It’s been a long, wild, and crazy ride. The CIFL is not the AFL, not even close. I’ve witnessed games with 800 people in the stands. There were no New York Dragons to be found, but instead some team called the Miami Valley Silverbacks. And after all the preseason chatter about the AFL guys being on par with the CIFL guys and questions about how they could adapt, the Slaughter have put together staggering numbers.

The Slaughter won by double digits in every game except one. They set a league scoring record in their first game. Russ Michna threw 78 touchdown passes in 12 games. They’ve seen players go down, but other former Rush players have joined the party. Robert Boss clearly enjoys parties since he signed with the team just in time for the last game of the season. Bobby Sippio, someone who once played for the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, joined the team after an unfortunate injury to Donovan Morgan.

It is with all this in mind that the Slaughter take on the Wisconsin Wolfpack for the fourth time. The last two games were won by the Slaughter by double digits. On paper, this should be another easy win.

Yet games are not won on paper. Just ask the Slush players about Grand Rapids. Yes, the Rampage went on an unbelievable hot streak, but I assure you no one in their right mind thought the Rampage could go into Allstate on a short week and win. Not Coach Ho.  Not toothpick guy. Not Adam. Not even yours truly.

For all the Slaughter players, there can be no doubt that a loss here would be one of the biggest choke jobs in Chicago sports history. There is no excuse for a loss after the kind of season they’ve had. Worst of all, there may not be a next year based on the numerous factors I’ve already mentioned.

The 1985 Chicago Bears, a team that is talked about to death in Chicago still, never got to see 13-0. For the Slaughter to win championship, 13-0 must be in their rearview mirror.

With the financial troubles of the Milwaukee Bonecrushers and Fort Wayne Freedom, who knows if the CIFL will be around next year? Based off this year’s success and past history, will the Slaughter even remain in the CIFL? Will the former AFL guys be willing to stick around another year? Bobby Sippio and Donovan Morgan tried out for UFL teams over the bye weeks. Russ Michna has an M.A. and DeJuan Alfonxo is no spring chicken. For this group and the city, this could be the last chance for an indoor football championship.

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As far as the Chicago Slaughter go, they’re resting up for the playoff game against the Wisconsin Wolfpack on June 20 at the Sears Centre. This will be the fourth time these two teams have played, and the Slaughter have dominated two of the three meetings. The Slaughter will be having a Playoff Tailgate party before the game from 4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. There will be food and games, including a chance to knock people in a dunktank. Boy, I could think of quite a few people associated with the CIFL that I’d like to dunk.

For example, there’s this wonderful human being. I know Peyton Manning referred to Mike Vanderjagt as a “liquored up kicker,” but I guess he didn’t yet know about Jim Terry. I realize that television stations like to put over their hometown teams, but to even let this sort of thing to air (or to put the story in print) is just completely ridiculous.

“The Raptors won’t be in the CIFL playoffs, but in their minds they’re the second best team in the league behind the Chicago Slaughter.”

I can think I’m the greatest journalist in the world, but that doesn’t make it true. If Rock River was the second best team in the CIFL, they’d be playing them on June 20. Are they? No. Why? Wisconsin owns the tiebreaker. That’s not to mention the fact that Fort Wayne and Marion are in the postseason as well. Yes, I understand that Rock River beat Marion on Saturday. But when you consider Marion had zilch to pay for  and Rock River had everything to play for, it’s easy to see why Marion didn’t necessarily take the game as seriously.

“Raptors’ kicker James Terry says the Slaughter have unquestionably gone over the dsalary cap to sign off of those players.  He wants to prove it.  He says he’s willing to put up a big chunk of his own money to have the Slaughter’s general manager take a lie-detector test.

“I will personally put up ten thousand dollars of my own money and cash if their GM will take a ten question lie-detector test in Chicago.  It will be simple.  Does Bobby Sippio (Slaughter receiver) play for any more (money) than the league does (allow), and I would go right down the list of athletes they have with those questions,” said Terry.

The Slaughter went 12-0 during the regular season.  They handed the Raptors two of their five losses.”

What I’ve done is print the rest of the story. Notice there’s no response from the Slaughter. Notice that Mr. Terry doesn’t have any tangible evidence to prove that the Slaughter actually pay people under the table. Yet this goof is allowed to publicly call out the team on a local television station.

The CIFL can’t get television coverage in Chicago to save their lives. And even when they get a mention here or there, it’s Steve McMichael getting the attention. But yet the KICKER of a non-playoff team is allowed to shoot his mouth off in a public forum and is getting lots of attention for it.

Of course there’s a chance that General Manager Alan Perkins paid these guys under the table. Of course there’s also a chance that these guys, many of whom are friends, wanted to continue playing some indoor football this year despite the fact that the AFL robbed them of an opportunity to play this year. If you were to give Russ Michna, Bobby Sippio, or DeJuan Alfonzo a lie detector test, I guarantee you the machine would buzz or go haywire if they said they would want to have played for the Slaughter. It’s just not true, but they’ve made the best fo a bad situation.

Regardless of what happens this season, I have a great deal of respect for the guys who’ve come to play every single week for a team and league that are clearly not at the level of the AFL. If there are better examples of guys who are truly playing “for the love of the game,” then please point them out to me.

I’ll be back on June 20 with a recap of the Chicago Slaughter’s playoff game against the Wisconsin Wolfpack.

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For those who might not get the chance to come on Saturday, the Slaughter are holding an event on June 6 at Biggers Chevrolet in Elgin. The address is 1385 E. Chicago St. You’ll get a chance to meet Slaughter players and see why Bobby Sippio in this league just isn’t fair. The HIP Salon Dancers will also be there. The event is free, but food is six bucks.

The Slaughter are also running a deal for their first playoff game, which is to take place on June 20. If you give the Slaughter office, they’re running special ticket deals that look like this:

4 - Upper Level Seats = $16
4 - End Zone Seats = $20
4 - Sideline Seats = $30

In addition to the tickets, they’re also including little goodies like coupons, Gameworks Game cards, and free ice cream from Dairy Queen.

Basically, there’s no reason not to see this team play. And if you don’t believe me, I think the players will be able to tell you in ten seconds or less why you should come out and support the team. Stay tuned next week for that.

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Russ Michna managed to throw seven more touchdown passes, including one to the latest former Rush player who’s decided to join the bandwagon. This time it’s former tight end Robert Boss, and it brings the former Rush count to nine. At this point, it seems Dan Frantz is the only 2008 Rush player not with the Slaughter now. 

For the Rush, they don’t have anything to play for in the final regular season game except the undefeated season. The Wisconsin Wolfpack may not either if they defeat the Miami Valley Silverbacks tonight. For the Pack, it’s very simple. Win two of their final three and they’re in. The Rock River Raptors must defeat the Wheeling Wildcats on the road and have the Wolfpack twice in the remainder of the regular season. Judging by Miami Valley’s record and scores, I fully expect the Wolfpack to clinch their spot in a postseason game against the Slaughter.

For the Slaughter, it all comes down to Madison. To go into another team’s building and complete the deal is very difficult. The Illinois Fighting Illini basketball team proved this in 2005 when they suffered a loss in Columbus on the very last day of the regular season. The New England Patriots did go into the Meadowlands and defeat the New York Giants, but the extraordinary effort given by the Giants in that game served as a catalyst for a Super Bowl victory. 

Obviously, this scenario involving the CIFL isn’t anywhere close to the importance or talent level of the previous scenarios, but it’s important to understand just how hard having that zero in the second column truly is. Even with a playoff spot clinched and the two teams meeting on June 20, the Wolfpack will be at home against an undefeated team, so there is an extra incentive. 

Extra juice is also added considering Jason Baksas was injured in the Wolfpack game, and much has been made on the official CIFL messageboard about the circumstances surrounding the injury. Both games have featured a lot of chippiness and flags after plays. One can only hope that with so much line the next two times they play, both teams keep their composure and actually live up to the mantra of being a “better brand of football.”

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The new guy was Bobby Sippio. The newest Chicago Slaughter wide receiver played his first indoor football game in two years. He was the 9th former Rush player to play with the Slaughter and he sounded happy to back with his AFL teammates.

“I mean, it feels like home,” Sippio said, “We always wanted to be able to play together and always had that anticipation to get together and be unstoppable. It feels great. Obviously, we were having a good time out there, and we look forward to having even better times.

Sippio helped propel the still undefeated Slaughter to a 67-22 victory over the Wisconsin Wolfpack. He ended up with 10 catches for 144 yards and six touchdowns. The same quarterback who threw the last touchdown pass to him in the AFL threw all six touchdowns in this game. Russ Michna was not exactly impressed with his effort.

“Four of the touchdowns he had were terrible throws,” Michna said, “He just decided to go catch the ball.”

Even with what the quarterback categorized as terrible throws, Michna broke four CIFL single season records. The records included most touchdown passes with 63, most passing yards with 2453, and most completions with 188. His 342 yards broke his own record set back on April 11 against the Marion Mayhem.

In the first game against the Wolfpack, the Slaughter won by four points, their smallest virgin of victory during the 2009 season.

“That was a long time ago,” Michna said, “We didn’t play well. We’ve said this over and over. The only thing that stops us is ourselves. We’ve just gotta keep getting better. You know, we play those guys again and hopefully can put up a few more.”

On the defensive side, the Slaughter allowed their least number of points this season with just 22. Brandon Fields led the team with six tackles. Wisconsin was without their starting quarterback, Tom Stetzer, and the Slaughter knew they could take advantage of the situation.

“We kinda knew going in they had been shuffling quarterbacks the past few weeks,” linebacker DeJuan Alfonzo said, “We just wanted to get after him and start off fast.”

Wide receiver Keith Herron got into the act on special teams as he broke a fifth CIFL record. His 57-yard run for a touchdown on a missed field goal eclipsed the record for longest return.

With this victory, the Slaughter clinched home field for both a playoff game and a potential championship game. Their final two regular season games are on the road. The first will be against the Milwaukee Bonecrushers on May 22. Their final game will be in Madison against the Wolfpack.

Other Notes: Kicker Chris Nendick missed the game due to a wedding. Ben Aguilar handled the kicking duties. The attendance of 5,518 came 20 short of the largest crowd of the season, which the Slaughter drew for the April 25 game against the Milwaukee Bonecrushers. Reggie Gray was in the line-up and played a few snaps after injuring his ankle last week against Rock River. Donovan Morgan and Dennison Robinson remained out with injuries but are expected to be back for the playoffs.

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In a move that only makes this CIFL season unfair, the Chicago Slaughter signed AFL stand-out wide receiver Bobby Sippio to a contract for the remainder of the season. This increases the amount of former Rush players to eight and only increases the odds of a championship.

Sippio joined the Chicago Rush at the tail of the 2006 season that saw them go on to win the 20th Arena Bowl. Sippio joins an undefeated Slaughter team that has already clinched a playoff spot but has undergone a series of injury problems in recent weeks. Donovan Morgan and Reggie Gray have each been injured the last two weeks, and the signing of Sippio gives an embattled receiving core a whole new weapon.

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The 77-41 victory came against a Raptors team that won four in a row. The 36 point differential indicates a blowout, but the Slaughter only began pulling away in the fourth quarter thanks to 27 unanswered points.

“We came here to establish our dominance,” Russ Michna said, “We had been really impressed, but give credit to our guys.”

Michna set a new CIFL record with nine touchdown passes. He ended up 21-28 for 211 yards. The previous record has been eight, held by Damon Dowdell and Matt Cottengim.

Rock River actually took a 7-0 lead to start the game, but Michna used his wide receivers very efficiently to grab the lead in the first quarter. Dontrell Jackson ended up as the leading receiver with 10 catches for 145 yards.

After a controversial rushing touchdown by Jermar Ayer cut the lead to 34-27, Reggie Gray took a kickoff all the way to the one yard line. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury to his MCL and ankle. He would be out for the rest of the game, and his status for the rest of the season is unknown.

DeJuan Alfonzo took over receiving duties as he went back to his iron man days. Playing regularly at receiver for the first time since Arena Bowl XX, Alfonzo caught four passes, all for touchdowns, and ended up with 45 yards.

“Anything I can do to help the team,” Alfonzo said.

The Slaughter’s next opponent is the Wisconsin Wolfpack, a team that seemed to have a chance of challenging the Slaughter before an injury to their star quarterback, Tom Stetzer. The Wolfpack were dismantled by the Marion Mayhem at home 59-19. Marion is the only other team to have clinched a playoff spot up to this point.

Other Notes: No official word on attendance but 1,200 looked and sounded about right. The Metro Centre in Rockford was a great facility for a minor league football team with a nice set-up and a perfect amount of seats. If they actually drew people, that place could get awfully loud.

The Slaughter have to sign another receiver, if for no other reason then they can’t afford to have DeJuan Alfonzo playing both sides of the ball. There’s also no reason to have Alfonzo playing offense with this team having clinched a playoff spot and just one more game to win in order to clinch home field.

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