Pete Unleashed: Firebirds Camp
Pete Porcelli
Tuesday March 28, 2000
I just got back from Albany Firebirds’ practice. What a pleasure it is to talk with Coach Mike Dailey. He is by far the nicest and most straightforward guy to talk to. One thing about Coach Dailey is that he will never pull any punches with you. He shoots from the hip and from the heart. The team as a whole looks good. Even with [Jeff] Loot at the helm as QB, I see a bright future for the team. One tough guy I saw at camp was OL/DL Mark Valvo. Here is a guy who came to the Birds in my final year with the team, 1993. He was practicing with the team for 11 weeks, getting paid absolutely nothing. He slept on a couch night after night. He got his break at the end of the season and has been the most durable lineman the Birds have ever had. Looks like he should get his jersey retired also.
Heartfelt prayers go to Coach Dennis Fitzgerald, defensive coordinator for the Firebirds. He is sitting out this season fighting cancer. Let`s all think of him and his family in this time of crisis.
Oh, I got a chance to see Jeff Foley. He is the guy who is writing a book on this great sport and articles for Arenafan while he practices with the team. He seems like he is enjoying himself. Good luck Jeff!!
This Thursday is the first time ever that the Birds will be hosting a pre-season Arena Football game. Hopefully they’ll get a good crowd. Fourteen bucks a seat is not bad. It will be interesting to see how many people show up knowing it`s just a pre-season game.
It looks as though another coach that I have played for is back in the Arena League. Ron James, a former assistant coach with the Firebirds in the early 90`s, is the new defensive coordinator for the Houston Thunderbears. Wish Ron all the luck in the world.
Looks as though Mike Hold is the starting quarterback for the Houston Thunderbears for the time being. Mike has been around this league the longest of any player. I had the privilege of snapping to him during the 1995 season in Connecticut where we ended up a whopping 1-11. Mike is a craft veteran and let`s hope he does not get hurt playing with those pups.
I was talking to Mike earlier this week and I told him that some of these guys might have been in Kindergarten when he was playing in College. He got a chuckle out of that. But I think that ESPN really missed the boat by not hiring Mike back as the color guy for the games. He did the best job of anyone. He has played the game and is very knowledgeable. But I think ESPN wants a high profile guy like Merril Hoge. Did I say high profile? NOT!!!!! Mike really got the shaft on this one. Gone are the days of Todd "I think I`m still a player" Christensen. Or better yet, let`s bring back Russ Francis. Let`s face it, I want a former AFL guy announcing my games just like I would want a former NFL player announcing the NFL games I watch. Dave Jennings was the worst announcer for Arena Football ever, bar none. If you think Boomer Esiason took a few playful jabs at Kurt Warner, you had to hear Jennings do the City Hawks games. Dave talked like he could have done a better job than half of the receivers in the league. I mean c’mon. Dave Jennings was a punter. A PUNTER???? They are only athletes from their knees down. Hopefully ESPN will be smart enough to hire a Ben Bennett or a Rodney Smith. Rodney does the radio for the Firebirds now and is a 7-year veteran of the league. Well, that’s it for now. ‘Till next week, I`m Pete Porcelli.
Pete Porcelli was a writer for ArenaFan Online during the 2000 season.
