Very first Review and Preview Show to come out tomorrow night!

Well, the first Review and Preview Show is almost ready to go. This was suppose to be released tonight (for viewers to see tomorrow), but major technical difficulties inhibited our ability to get this out. Therefore, although all of the show is filmed and most is edited, this will still come out tomorrow at night (possibly late).

This IS NOT how it will normally occur, the show is intended to first be viewed on Wednesdays and will often be posted late Tuesday night. 

Stay tuned, your safest bet is to check back tomorrow night and if it isn't there yet, it will 100% be up Thursday morning.

-Ben

Firebirds to Host Charity Bowl-a-Thon

ALBANY, NY– The Albany Firebirds of arenafootball2 announced today that the club will be hosting a Bowl-A-Thon to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital Region. The event will be held on April 5, 2009 at 12:00 p.m. at Spare Time East Greenbush...
 
View the rest of the article at press.firebirdsnest.com

Firebirds Suffer Opening Week Loss

21-Point Fourth Quarter Lifts Mahoning Valley Over Albany
 
YOUNGSTOWN, OH– The Albany Firebirds squandered an 11-point fourth quarter lead as they dropped their 2009 season opener 44-34 to the Mahoning Valley Thunder Friday night at the Chevrolet Centre.
 
The first half was a sloppy affair as the two teams combined for eight turnovers, including five fumbles, two turnovers on downs and one interception. Mahoning Valley opening the scoring on the first possession of the game as they capped off a eight-play drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass from QB Davon Vinson to WR Quorey Payne. Albany answered right back with a six-play drive that ended with a ten-yard TD pass from QB Stephen Wasil to WR Christian Wise; after K Brian Umstead’s extra point the Firebirds had their first lead 7-6.
 
After recovering a Vinson fumble in the final minute of the first quarter the Firebirds extended their lead to 13-6 when back up QB Adam Bednarik hit WR Mike Wall with a deep pass for a 38-yard strike just 40 seconds into the second quarter. Following back-to-back defensive stops, the Firebirds quickly got the ball down to the Thunder one yard line, but then fumbled on the next play and Mahoning Valley made them pay with a five-yard pass from Vinson to Payne for a 20-13 lead. Three fumbles and in interception later, Albany answered when Bednarik punched in his first career af2 rushing touchdown from one yard out to tie the game at 20-20. Mahoning Valley kicker Derek Schorejs drilled a 26-yard field goal on the final play of the first half to give the Thunder a 23-20 lead after thirty minutes.
 
The Firebirds dominated the third quarter; Bednarik led the team on a nine-play, 45-yard drive that ate up almost six minutes of the clock that ended with a nine-yard TD pass to WR Anthony Rodriguez on a crucial fourth down and five play to give Albany it’s first lead of the second half 27-23. The Thunder slowly march down the field on a long possession, and had a first and goal situations at the Albany one-yard line, but the Firebirds defense mounted a heroic goal-line stand to force a turnover on downs.
 
Albany’s next possession carried them into the fourth quarter as Bednarik again led a nine-play drive, this time for 49 yards, which took 6:41 off the clock. On second and goal from the Mahoning Valley seven-yard line, Bednarik connected with WR Alvin Ray Jackson with his third TD pass of the night and with twelve minutes remaining in the game the Firebirds led 34-23. The Thunder then rallied for 21-straight points to deny Albany their first season-opening victory in three years. Vinson fired a strike to WR Chris Schubert from four-yards out to cut the Firebirds’ lead to four points and then with four minutes left the Thunder sacked Bednarik, forcing a fumble that was recovered by former Albany DB Brandon Taylor at the Firebirds four-yard line. Vinson took the next snap and ran it into the end zone to put the Thunder ahead 37-34. Mahoning Valley took a ten-point lead with another sack-fumble of Bednarik, recovered again by Taylor, who returned the ball ten-yards for the first defensive touchdown of the game and a 44-34 victory.
 
PASSING LEADERS: (Comp-Att-Yds-TDs)
ALB: BEDNARIK, Adam - 19-35-217-3, 2 INTs
MVT: VINSON, Davon - 18-26-190-4, 0 INTs
 
RECEIVING LEADERS: (Rec-Yds-TD)
ALB: WISE, Christian 8-128-1;
MVT: PAYNE, Quorey 8-99-2
 
Russell Offensive Player of the Game: Davon Vinson (MVT)
Aaron’s Defensive Player of the Game: Taz Wallace (MVT)
JLS Ironman of the Game: Rob Wright (ALB)
Cutters Catch of the Game: Quorey Payne (MVT)
Attendance: 3,713
 
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Final
Albany Firebirds (0-1) 7 13 7 7 34
Mahoning Valley Thunder (1-0) 6 17 0 21 44
 
Next up for the Firebirds is a Week 2 trip to face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers, the defending East Division Champs, on Friday, April 3rd, a 7:30 pm kick off at Wachovia Arena. Albany will play their 2009 Home Opener on Friday, April 10th at 7:00 pm against the Florida Firecats at the Times Union Center.
 
Full and partial season ticket packages and single game tickets are now on sale; for more information please contact the Firebirds at (518) 487-2244 or online at www.albanyfirebirds.com.

Game Night!

Feel free to use the "comments" under this post as a game-thread type of deal. Unlike most weeks I won't be on here during the game so it might not catch on. Just conger up some talk if you want!

FBN Mobile Update: Coach Bowick names Wasil starter for season opener.

Firebirds Weekly (Press Release)

The Albany Firebirds made a press release today previewing the next game and some of the new/old players.

It was a very long release, but it is all here at press.firebirdsnest.com

Opening Day Quarterback Still Undecided

This is according to TimesUnion.com. Three days before the season opener, neither Stephen Wasil nor Adam Bednarik (left) are sure which will get the call to start Friday at Mahoning Valley.

"They haven't told us anything yet," Wasil said before Tuesday's practice. "Obviously we both want to start. But we're here to win, so it's just helping each other until they make that decision."

"Firebirds & Flames To Greet Fans Weekly at The Sports Grill In East Greenbush"

Team Kicks Off Weekly “Meet The Firebirds” This Monday

ALBANY, NY – The Al bany Firebirds of arenafootball2 announced today that the club will once again host a “Meet The Firebirds” event every Monday night at The Sports Grill in Rensselaer during the 2009 arena football season. The Firebirds players and Fabulous Flames will be available for pictures and autographs as fans join them at the Sports Grill from 7-9 pm .

The Firebirds will provide ticket giveaways and other great prizes at each appearance, while the Flames will also be on hand to mingle with alongside Capital Region Football Fans. The Firebirds return to the field as Al bany ’s team this Friday, March 27th when they visit the Mahoning Valley Thunder in a 7:05 pm kick off at the Chevrolet Centre. Firebirds fans can watch all of the action for free on af2TV via www.af2.com.

For the rest of the article, go to press.firebirdsnest.com.

Opening night 5 days away!

The Firebirds will be playing their first game of the season at Mahoning Valley on Friday. Within this week Christian Wise should have another video up, plus some preview content.

Stay tuned!!

Reaching out to New York Dragons fans

Without the AFL in 2009, what can Dragons fans do to get their football fix? Well, after talking with Vice President of Marketing for the Firebirds, Jonathan Scherzer, there may be some hope!

Basically what we need is a scale of interest from Dragons fans: is something like a bus trip for Firebirds games out of Long Island viable for you? Dragons fans would get discounted ticket prices and possibly other incentives for these trips, and it would be an official transportation source from the Firebirds, to stranded AFL fans. 

If you are interested or think this is a good idea, spread the word and e-mail either me (ben@firebirdsnest.com) or Jonathan Scherzer at: jonica@albanyriverrats.com.

Let us know!

Inside Training Camp: With WR/DB Christian Wise

Christian Wise to do a weekly VLOG on FBN

Christian Wise, a second year DB/WR of the Albany Firebirds will be posting a weekly or biweekly video here on the Firebirds Nest discussing training camp and the team's progression. Other contributors include kicker Brian Umstead and FB/LB Norman Bauer. At some point multiple players will be simultaneously contributing with videos.

Stay tuned for Wise's first entry coming this week!

New Press Release Page!

Now you can click on that little press pass on the left side of the page to access the "Press Release" page. The Firebirds are periodically releasing information about their team, transactions, etc. A lot of the time you may already know the info because you read it here and they do these releases fairly late, but sometimes there are some new tidbits worth reading. So, go to press.firebirdsnest.com for all of the releases!

Training Camp only two days away!

The off-season has been long, and with a totally revamped team and of course the classic look, the franchise is having their first ever training camp as the "Firebirds" starting Saturday. For two weeks, the team will prepare for their first game on March 27th. A majority of the players are already in the area, and most are anticipating seeing their new teammates for the first time.

Over this two week period I will have correspondence with multiple Firebirds players, and should have a few phone or video interviews. You will get updates every couple of days from the number one source, the players.

So get ready for some interviews, news, and all training camp action! 

Full NYD Workout Video Up/New Press Release

Since the Firebirds coaches did not attend, this loses its previous strong relevance to the Firebirds Nest, but the full open workout video is up on www.F4Blog.com. 

The Firebirds may be getting some of this talent this upcoming season, and there are a bunch of highlights in the video so it is worth a look.

--------------

The Firebirds made another player release in which they introduced six more Firebirds - all of whom who were already on the transaction tracker at the bottom right of the screen.

The players were: Kevin Marchant (OL/DL), Anton Lindsay (OL/DL), Peter Martocci (OL/DL) Lavon Ward (OL/DL), Christian Wise (WR/DB), and Johnnie Butler (WR/LB).

-Ben