A time for Pirates to add, and subtract

Dave Eminian
Sports
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
It's all coming back now, how those af2 rosters never are finished.
At the developmental level of the game, building a team is a nonstop work in progress. The Peoria Pirates, who return to the af2 in 2008, went 2-4 with their roster in January.
Two players gained. Four players lost.
Mitch Tanney, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound former Monmouth College quarterback Peoria planned to sign, won a contract with the AFL's Tampa Bay club.

Tanney's father, Don, is Pirates quarterbacks and receivers coach.
Pirates receiver Charlie Spiller has moved up, too. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed the former Alcorn State star. He'll be at mini-camp with the NFL club in the spring.

Defensive back Ahmaad Smith (Tennessee State) and receiver-linebacker Joe Sturdivant (Southern Methodist) went to teams in Saturday's start-up draft for something called the All American Football League.
The AAFL is a six-team outdoor league in Michigan, Florida, Tennessee, Texas, Arkansas and Alabama. It requires all players to have a four-year college degree, and it is promising to pay every guy on the roster $50,000 for a 10-game season.
Smith went to the Knoxville, Tenn., club. Sturdivant went to Little Rock, Ark. If they sign with those clubs, the af2 will suspend them and they won't be eligible to return in 2008.

Peoria, meanwhile, has inked a pair of defensive players from Missouri's 2006 team, DeMarcus Scott and Jamar Smith.
Scott, a 6-foot-1, 285-pound starter at defensive end, had 55 tackles (17 solo) and 1.5 sacks in 20 games over two seasons. He played in Missouri's 2006 Sun Bowl loss to Oregon State and its 2005 Independence Bowl victory over South Carolina.
Smith, nicknamed "Tank," is a 6-1, 280-pounder defensive lineman who had 78 tackles (41 solo) and 9.5 sacks in 25 games.
"Those two guys are the real thing, and we're fortunate to land them," Pirates coach Bruce Cowdrey said. "We lost some good players to higher-level opportunities, but we gained two that might just be the best defensive players I've ever had in Peoria."

TALKING TICKETS: Individual-game tickets have gone on sale for the Pirates' 2008 af2 season.
Upper-bowl end-zone seats are $11; upper-bowl sidelines are $16; lower-bowl end-zones mezzanine are $21; lower-bowl sideline mezzanine are $26; lower-bowl end zones (rows C through G) are $31; and lower-bowl sidelines (rows C through G) are $41.
They can be purchased on the team's Web site (www. peoriapiratesaf2.com), at ticketmaster.com or at the Civic Center box office. The home opener is April 19.

SUPER PARTY: The Pirates will play host to a Super Bowl party at 4 p.m. Sunday at two downtown-Peoria taverns, Club Jager and Nikki's Sports Bar.
Pirates starting quarterback Justin Rascati and key receiver Reggie Gray are expected to attend, with about 10 other 2008 Peoria signees.
The team will give away prizes, and its dance team will officially unveil its name. WZPN-FM (96.5) is co-host.
Tickets are $40 and include unlimited steaks, lobster and alcoholic beverages. Contact the Pirates office at (309) 673-1000.

WWWELL DONE: Former Virginia Tech kicker Jimmy Kibble, who played in the af2 for Wilkes-Barre, in the AFL for New York and in NFL Europe before he signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles, credits the af2 for paving the way to all those higher-level chances he earned.
So he's designed a Web site where prospective athletes from anywhere in the world can register, for free, create their own profiles, load demo tapes and contact information and connect with af2 coaches who will make the site a stop on their recruiting list.
The site drew heavy traffic when it went up in October, so the league has signed a longterm contract with Kibble to make it an official part of the team-building process. The address is www.af2network.com.