Countdown to CFL has begun

It’s only the first few days of June, but the monsters of the gridiron are already meeting to discuss ways to improve upon the successful 2004 campaign of the Commonwealth Football League.

There have been a few changes since the Shell Chiefs won the championship some seven months ago, and coaches, organizers and officials put their heads together to discuss dates, times, rule changes, equipment issues, practice schedules and the basic requirements needed by each player prior to the start of the fifth season

Organizers are shooting for an opening day of Saturday, Sept. 10, but the schedule is yet to be created because it is still unclear which teams will suit up in 2005.

Last year’s champion Shell Chiefs will be back to defend their title, but several of their players and their sponsor have left to follow last year’s chairman of the board of directors John Blanco to the Shell Lightning. Whoever the Chiefs get as a sponsor, they will still be a force to be reckoned with under the organization of Danny Punimata and the coaching of Pete Le’au.

The Miller Barbarians suffered a major loss in the off-season as well, as their coach Clyde Lemons moved from the sidelines to the press box by replacing Blanco as the chairman. The Barbarians will now look to John Tagabuel and Chon Won to right the ship, as they find a way to regain their championship form from 2002.

Early reports have a team checking in from Tinian, leaving the Verizon Nitro without half of a squad, but it will be interesting to see how developments shape up in the weeks to come, as even the venue is in question.

All of last season’s games took place on the hallowed grounds of the CPA Airport Football Field, but the uprights standing at either end of the oval at the Oleai Sports Complex Track have over 100 yards of newly grown grass between them. Though the CFL would still have to secure the rights to use the facility, the players would have a more central location for the games, and if the lights are installed as scheduled, they could also escape the heat with the first season of night games on Saipan.

As with last season, all teams are to have no fewer than 11 and no more than 50 players on their roster. In order for a player to participate in practice, they must submit their waivers and insurance forms.

Organizers will return to the planning stages in two weeks for the next meeting of the CFL board members on Tuesday, June 14, at the VFW Post along Beach Road.