Daily News & Notes

Arena Football League
Hollis Thomas Joins Soul Coaching Staff
The 2012 American Conference Champion Philadelphia Soul, presented by Parx Casino, name former Philadelphia Eagle and 14-year NFL defensive tackle, Hollis Thomas, to the coaching staff as an assistant line coach for the 2013 season. Along with Thomas, Chris McKinney, Steve Criswell and Don Malloy join the coaching staff as assistant coaches to complete the Soul staff for the 2013 season.
"I am excited about this year's staff," said Soul head coach Clint Dolezel. "Each one of our coaches has a strong football background and will bring a wealth of knowledge that will get us closer to winning a championship."
Thomas, starting his first stint of coaching experience, played 10 seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles where he is third in Eagles History for games played as a defensive lineman (124). He played three seasons for the New Orleans Saints, and the 2009 season between the St. Louis Rams and Carolina Panthers during his tenure in the NFL. Thomas, who played football at Northern Illinois, finished his career with 512 combined tackles and 20 sacks.
McKinney, from Guilford College, begins the start to his first coaching experience at the AFL level. On his resume, McKinney spent the 2012-13 season as an offensive coordinator with the Georgia Rampage (UIFL). Prior to that, McKinney spent seven seasons as a wide receiver coach at the high school level.
As a player, McKinney played wide receiver and kick returner in the af2 and AFL leagues. McKinney finished No.7 for all-time career touchdowns (171) with the af2, and in college with four All-Conference awards and three All-American selections.
Criswell joins the Soul coaching staff with over 25 years of coaching experience at both the high school and indoor levels. As a member of the coaching staff with indoor leagues, Criswell's team's record stands at 109-35; qualifying eight out of nine seasons for the post season. In 2010, Criswell was named head coach for the Richmond Revolution (IFL) finishing 13-2. Criswell won the IFL Coach of the Year award.
Malloy will be entering his first year of coaching. Malloy played in the NFL as a defensive back for the Detroit Lions from 2001-03. He played in the AFL for the Chicago Rush (2003-04) and for the Las Vegas Gladiators (2004-05), where Dolezel was quarterback at the time. At New Mexico State, he was a candidate for the Jim Thorpe Award and was First Team All-Conference for two consecutive seasons.
The four coaches will join the coaching staff along with Phil Bogle, who was named assistant head coach last week. Bogle, a former NFL and AFL offensive lineman, is making his third stint with Philadelphia: twice as a member of the coaching staff and once as a player.
SaberCats, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area Announce 2013 Television Schedule
The San Jose SaberCats and Comcast SportsNet Bay Area announced that the network will be the television home for seven SaberCats football games during the 2013 season. The majority of telecasts will be broadcast by the voice of the SaberCats, Bob Fitzgerald and former SaberCats wide receiver Steve Papin.
"Comcast SportsNet is the premier home for all Bay Area sports on television and we look forward to our renewed partnership this season," said Owner/Head Coach Darren Arbet. "We are focused as an organization in providing our fans with the best broadcasts of our games possible as we continue our quest for our fourth ArenaBowl championship."
The SaberCats open the 2013 slate on the road on Saturday, March 23 against the defending Central Division champion San Antonio Talons at the AlamoDome at 5:30 p.m. PT. San Jose's home opener is in Week 2 against the Orlando Predators on Friday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m. PT at the HP Pavilion. Season ticket packages start as low as $85 and are on sale now. Contact (408) 673-3400 or info@thesanjosesabercats.com for more information.
The partnership also includes a wide range of SaberCats programming separate from the televised games, including a 30-minute show, SaberCats Weekly. The show will delve into the latest action in SaberCats football both on and off the field, including game recaps, previews, interviews with Owner/Head Coach Darren Arbet as well as a number of key players throughout the season.
Comcast SportsNet Bay Area President Ted Griggs added, "Comcast SportsNet is committed to providing the region's most comprehensive coverage of one of the Arena Football League's most illustrious franchises. As the SaberCats make a run at their fourth ArenaBowl Championship, we are pleased to provide our viewers a robust telecast schedule along with season-long news and analysis on SportsNet Central and Chronicle Live."
2013 San Jose SaberCats on Comcast SportsNet:
Date Opponent Time______ Network___________
Saturday, March 23 @ San Antonio Talons 5:30 p.m. PT CSN Plus
Friday, March 29 Orlando Predators 7:30 p.m. PT CSN Bay Area
Saturday, April 27 @ New Orleans VooDoo 5:00 p.m. PT CSN Plus
Saturday, May 18 @ Jacksonville Sharks 4:00 p.m. PT CSN Plus
Saturday, June 15 @ Iowa Barnstormers 5:05 p.m. PT CSN Bay Area
Saturday, June 29 @ Utah Blaze 6:00 p.m. PT CSN Bay Area
Saturday, July 27 @ Chicago Rush 5:00 p.m. PT CSN Bay Area
New Orleans VooDoo Training Camp to Begin Friday, March 1
The New Orleans VooDoo will start its 2013 training camp on Friday, March1.
The team will report for physicals on March 1, and then go through a three-day acclimation period before working out in full pads for the first time on Monday, March 4. After only 5 days together, the VooDoo will travel to San Antonio to face off against the Talons for their only preseason game of the 2013 season.
"I am looking forward to getting our guys into camp and getting them ready for our season," said VooDoo Head Coach Pat O'Hara. "There will be a lot of heated competition at every position, which will bring out the best in these guys we bring to camp."
The VooDoo has its 35 training camp roster spots filled. All training camp practices are set to be held at Tad Gormley Stadium in City Park, unless otherwise specified and are open to the public.

Lone Star Football League
Amarillo Venom to Open up Amarillo's First Ever Arena Flag Football League
The Amarillo Venom will be hosting an Arena Flag Football League that will be played parallel to Venom home games. The Amarillo Venom will have a registration form on our website in which participants can fill out at www.govenom.com.
Each team will be composed of maximum of 14 members (minimum 11 members), seven of which will be on the field at one time. The league will be broken up into age groups depending on the amount of participants. Flag rules will apply with some changes to account for the indoor football field. All games will be scheduled from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and be played at the Amarillo Civic Center. The schedule of the games will be as follows:
o Saturday, March 23rd
o Saturday, April 20th
o Saturday, May 4th
o Saturday, May 18th
o Saturday, June 1st
o Saturday, June 22nd
o Saturday, July 7th - PLAYOFF
The cost will be $400 per team, or $30 per person for individuals that will be assigned to a team. Teams will preferably need to provide their own flags.
For more information contact Coach Julian Reese and/or Andrew Sanders at the Venom office, located at 901 S. Buchanan, by phone at (806) 350-7277 or by fax (806) 242-0079. Coach Reese can also be reached by email at headcoach@govenom.com.
Those interested can visit our website at www.govenom.com . Also be sure to "Like" our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/amarillovenom.