Once again, I've had a few great experiences over the past few days.
On Friday, I had the privilege of going to Arizona State's Pro Day. If you are unfamiliar with a Pro Day, it is very similar to the combine, held in Indianapolis, which tests a football players measures- such as height, weight, speed, agility, and jumping ability. The combine hosts the nations top prospects and each big college will have a specific pro day for their respective players and other local players from smaller schools. The NFL will usually send somebody to the pro day to look at the players. Depending on the quality of the players will determine who the teams send, such as a regional scout, director of college scouting, assistant coach, head coach and/or the general manager himself. Most NFL teams sent scouts to ASU's Pro Day; however, I did get to see the Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator and Marvin Lewis, who is the Cincinnati Bengals head coach. I really wanted and planned to introduce myself to Lewis, but when he wasn't on his phone (approximately 85% of the time), he had somebody standing at his side talking nonstop to him. Although I didn't get to talk to Marvin Lewis, I did get to meet some very interesting people and got to see a really cool process. Most scouts don't get the opportunity to go to a pro day until around their 3rd or 4th year, so I am very fortunate.
We had our first home game Saturday night. I had the privilege of sitting in a press box to watch the game. However, I wasn't able to just sit back and enjoy the game. I had to evaluate and take notes on the opposing linemen, because we will play the Milwaukee Mustangs later on in the season for a second time. The game turned out to be another barn burner. The game was going back and forth the entire game, with Milwaukee having the lead at halftime. We scored to take the lead by 6 with a few minutes left in the game. The opposing kicker was struggling, so I felt very comfortable with giving them the ball back. They marched down the field and scored a TD to tie the game with the point after touchdown to still be attempted. A Milwaukee receiver caught a batted ball giving them a two point lead with 27 seconds to go. Our offense received the ball and didn't waste anytime, as they scored a touchdown and 2-point conversion with 4 seconds to go giving us a 6 point lead. Milwaukee was not able to score with 4 seconds to go giving us the 71-65 victory. Dating back to the ArenaBowl last year, we have scored at least 70 points in 3 straight games. Unfortunately, we are 1-2 in those three games. I think we will build off of this win into a great season.
Sunday, I had to go into work for a few hours, and I was given Monday through Thursday off due to having a bye week this week. So, yesterday I drove 10 hours to visit my brother and sister-in-law, Patrick and Rachel in Montrose, CO. I've seen them a total of 3 times in the past year, so it was definitely worth the drive. Unfortunately, the drive could've been a lot better for me if I (and my GPS) knew better. Not only did I experience just about every possible weather change (sunshine, pouring down rain, mist, flurries, heavy snowfall, sleet), but I ended up climbing and descending two mountains about an hour before Montrose. Both of these mountains roads were covered in snow, going alongside cliffs, didn't usually have guardrails, and had constant blind turns. Thankfully, Patrick told me a better way to get home. Not thankfully, he waited til AFTER I experienced the mountains to tell me the alternative.
Well, I am off for now to go play with Patrick's and Rachel's dog, Dug. So, have a great week and Go Bucks!
Adam Conrad
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
When i first moved into my apartment, Jerry was allowing me to use his internet. Now, I never had the privilege of meeting Jerry; however, I'm sure he is a great man. About a week ago, I couldn't get on the internet because I could not find his connection. Unfortunately, I think Jerry moved. So, instead of buying internet, I have been using McDonald's free WiFi, which is where I'm at now.
Last weekend was our first game. We played at San Jose, and because I don't travel with the team, I got a few days off. Friday and Saturday were my first consecutive days off in approximately a month. Some interesting things had been happening up til the first game in Arena Football. The players were threatening to strike, and I was not allowed to talk about it. Since it has been in the news and is now over with, I feel comfortable talking about the news made public. Friday night, the Pittsburgh Power were playing in Florida against the Orlando Predators for the first game of the year. The rumor that was going around was that the players would strike right after the National Anthem. Since the owners did not want this, they decided to walk into each respective team meal and read a letter stating every player had been released from the team. Some of the players still wanted to play and didn't really care for the tactics of the players union, so they decided to re-sign with their team and play. Five players for one team and nine players for the other were all that chose to take that route. You are probably thinking that five isn't enough to play football. Well, you are correct. Since the teams weren't sure what would happen, they had been trying out "replacement players". Well, those "replacement players" played with the real players so the game could be played. The union realized that their tactics didn't work out too well, so they lifted the strike the next morning, on Saturday. Thankfully, our game was on Saturday night, and all of our players that were supposed to play- did. Unfortunately, however, the game did not go as I would have wanted. We were ranked #1 in the pre-season coaches poll, and the San Jose SaberCats were ranked #2. And if you think it would have been a great game, you thought right. We had been winning the whole night until midway through the fourth quarter when San Jose took the lead. In the final minute, we kicked a field goal to tie the game. As time was running out, San Jose missed a field goal for the win, sending the game into overtime. San Jose received the ball first and marched down the field for a touchdown and kicked the extra point. The Rattlers got a chance next. They drove down and scored a touchdown as well. Instead of kicking an extra point, we chose to go for the win with a two point conversion. San Jose played great defense on the attempt, and we failed to score, giving us the 71-70 loss. It is a sad way to start out a season; however, it just gives us motivation to finish the season 17-0.
I will definitely have more for you early next week, as I am going to Arizona State's Pro Day tomorrow and we have our first home game on Saturday. I hope you all have a great weekend.
Adam Conrad
Last weekend was our first game. We played at San Jose, and because I don't travel with the team, I got a few days off. Friday and Saturday were my first consecutive days off in approximately a month. Some interesting things had been happening up til the first game in Arena Football. The players were threatening to strike, and I was not allowed to talk about it. Since it has been in the news and is now over with, I feel comfortable talking about the news made public. Friday night, the Pittsburgh Power were playing in Florida against the Orlando Predators for the first game of the year. The rumor that was going around was that the players would strike right after the National Anthem. Since the owners did not want this, they decided to walk into each respective team meal and read a letter stating every player had been released from the team. Some of the players still wanted to play and didn't really care for the tactics of the players union, so they decided to re-sign with their team and play. Five players for one team and nine players for the other were all that chose to take that route. You are probably thinking that five isn't enough to play football. Well, you are correct. Since the teams weren't sure what would happen, they had been trying out "replacement players". Well, those "replacement players" played with the real players so the game could be played. The union realized that their tactics didn't work out too well, so they lifted the strike the next morning, on Saturday. Thankfully, our game was on Saturday night, and all of our players that were supposed to play- did. Unfortunately, however, the game did not go as I would have wanted. We were ranked #1 in the pre-season coaches poll, and the San Jose SaberCats were ranked #2. And if you think it would have been a great game, you thought right. We had been winning the whole night until midway through the fourth quarter when San Jose took the lead. In the final minute, we kicked a field goal to tie the game. As time was running out, San Jose missed a field goal for the win, sending the game into overtime. San Jose received the ball first and marched down the field for a touchdown and kicked the extra point. The Rattlers got a chance next. They drove down and scored a touchdown as well. Instead of kicking an extra point, we chose to go for the win with a two point conversion. San Jose played great defense on the attempt, and we failed to score, giving us the 71-70 loss. It is a sad way to start out a season; however, it just gives us motivation to finish the season 17-0.
I will definitely have more for you early next week, as I am going to Arizona State's Pro Day tomorrow and we have our first home game on Saturday. I hope you all have a great weekend.
Adam Conrad
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