Return Of Shuttered Arena Football League In '10 Looks Unlikely

It appears "more and more unlikely" that the AFL will return next season with each passing week, according to Bill Rabinowitz of the COLUMBUS DISPATCH. Destroyers QB Matt Nagy said there is "probably about" a 5% chance the league will play in '10. There have been several "ominous signs" regarding the league's return recently, including Storm coach Tim Marcum last week being told that his job "was eliminated" and players losing medical benefits as of June 1. Rabinowitz notes the problem for the league is that it is "difficult to forge a consensus without a commissioner." Former AFL Commissioner David Baker resigned two days before the ArenaBowl last July, and while he "offered to stay on as commissioner until the end of 2008 to help ease the transition ... he was told to leave immediately." If owners "thought they could run the league without a commissioner, the decision backfired." Rabinowitz: "One source described it as a 'Lord of the Flies' situation as owners had a difficult time acting for the greater good." The AFL's Mark Lewis, who was identified as the league's interim CEO, declined to comment on the situation and said that only AFL Exec Committee Chair and Destroyers Owner Jim Renacci was "authorized to speak for the league." Lewis then said that he was "not the interim CEO, but had been hired as a consultant." Rabinowitz writes the "lack of communication from the league has players frustrated." Nagy said that he "called Destroyers players in late May to make sure the league had informed them that benefits would be eliminated." Nagy: "I got return text messages and phone calls saying they didn't have a clue." Rabinowitz reports with just a "few employees remaining leaguewide, it's difficult to foresee a way for the AFL to put a product back on the field in 2010" ( COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 7/7 ).

Nagy Says AFL Has About 5% Chance Of Returning From Its Hiatus Next Season