Typhoon to hit Saipan shores

While the CNMI has been relatively free from Mother Nature’s fiery wrath this rainy season, the Saipan coastline may never be the same as the Tinian Typhoon is raring to go for the 2005 season of the Commonwealth Football League.

After watching their island-mates join forces with an offensive unit from Saipan and earn their first win in the previous four years to advance to the 2004 CFL championship game, the Tinian players have come out of the woodwork to form a complete team.

Last year head coach Andre Winston and on field motivator Keith Nabors willed their team into the league’s ultimate contest by preaching hard work and solid team play, but this time around they will have a team loaded with young talent itching for a shot across the channel after watching their brothers do so well.

“We’ve wanted to have this for a couple of years. The first year I played for Verizon when I first came back, we wanted to have the team then it was just no sponsorship. [Last year’s success] showed the guys that we could do it. It was the defense that carried us all the way through to the playoffs, and all the way to the championship game. There were eight to 11 guys who were playing from Tinian on every play on defense, and it showed that all we need are another 11 guys to do it on the offensive side,” said Nabors.

Coach Winston is back and will be directing the offense from the sideline during their second run at the title while Nabors will don the gear to guide the stingy defense from the field.

Every game on last season’s schedule was played upon the hallowed grounds of the CPA Airport Field, but this season the gridiron gladiators seem to have a new home at the center of the state of the art track and field complex in Oleai. While most of the teams will hang their hat by the beachside complex, the Typhoon plans to take a home field advantage a ferry’s journey away.

“Hopefully it’ll be three. It’s supposed to be half of the games home and half of the games in Saipan. I don’t see why not—that’s what they said last year. We got a regular field. What they said in the paper is that it’s not regulation, but it’s a regulation field. That’s what everybody says, but we shot it with a police laser and it’s 125 x 50 yards,” said Nabors.

According to the menacing middle linebacker, the field isn’t the only thing that has been called into question, as the offense will have something to prove for the 2005 campaign. He seems a little excited about what secrets his team will offer, but laughingly refused to divulge the identity of his team quarterbacks.

“Oh, we got a couple guys, you’ll see. Shaping up at this point is pretty weak right now. We’ve got young and inexperienced guys on the offensive side, the defense is still coming with that same bite—it’s just that offense. It’s just like last year, we’ll see. These guys are working hard everyday trying to get better,” he said.

Some of those new guys are learning the hard way, as Nabors said that the Typhoon are running themselves into a frenzy upon the fields of Tinian. If you look closely, you might notice the swirl above Tinian on the weather channel right now.