I check this once or twice a day for any signs of progress.

Something in a long crate has been delivered and a big crane just unloaded it.

Looks like another delivery is coming into the picture.

http://www.gobearcats.com/sports/m-footb...n-Cam.html

Did the gold plated Tony Pike and Mardy Gilyard statues finally arrive?

(02-10-2014 11:26 AM)cinbinsportsfan Wrote:  Did the gold plated Tony Pike and Mardy Gilyard statues finally arrive?

No but I hear Mardy will be deliverying the pizza for lunch today (he is apparently working at the Clifton Domino's Pizza).

In all seriousness, why those two have not been been formally recognized either through induction into the Ring OF Honor or in some other capcity yet is a mystery to me.

(02-10-2014 11:31 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  (he is apparently working at the Clifton Domino's Pizza).

Really? Say it ain't so.

I am not sure if it was just a one time thing but per his twitter:

Sarah Hulsman ‏@scchulsman ·Feb 5
Former Bearcat football star Mardy Gilyard definitely just delivered a Dominoes order to the Gamma Phi house. Just another night in Clifton.

and

Just found this on twitter as well. Sounds like Mardy has bigger plans. Thank goodness because it was pretty shocking at first:

CincyDomino's ‏@CincyDominos ·Feb 5
@scchulsman @MardyGilyard is learning the business so that when the playing days are done, he can buy one!! http://www.cincydominos.com/join-our-team/

(02-10-2014 11:39 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  Just found this on twitter as well. Sounds like Mardy has bigger plans. Thank goodness because it was pretty shocking at first:

CincyDomino's ‏@CincyDominos ·Feb 5
@scchulsman @MardyGilyard is learning the business so that when the playing days are done, he can buy one!! http://www.cincydominos.com/join-our-team/

He can buy the one in Springboro....its pretty bad. I know a few families in the area that would buy every week just cause #1 was selling.

(02-10-2014 11:39 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  Just found this on twitter as well. Sounds like Mardy has bigger plans. Thank goodness because it was pretty shocking at first:

CincyDomino's ‏@CincyDominos ·Feb 5
@scchulsman @MardyGilyard is learning the business so that when the playing days are done, he can buy one!! http://www.cincydominos.com/join-our-team/

Aren't his playing days already over?

Where is he playing?

I think he's playing Arena league.

Didn't he deliver pizzas for awhile when he was kicked off the team? Good for him to be proactive and plan for his non-football career.

(02-10-2014 02:19 PM)Dannyboy Wrote:  I think he's playing Arena league.

Yep, he's with the Jacksonville Sharks of the AFL

http://www.arenafootball.com/sports/a-fo...13aaa.html

Here is a column from 2011:




For Sharks players, the pay isn't great, but it's football
At $341 a week, Sharks players make sacrifices to chase a dream
Posted: July 18, 2011 - 7:54pm | Updated: July 18, 2011 - 8:11pm

By Don Coble

As soon as Marco Capozzoli finished his last bite of a brisket sandwich at Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Whiskey River, Capozzoli fumbled for a tip and headed to the parking lot. Without saying a word, three other players for the Jacksonville Sharks knew that was their cue to gobble down the rest of their lunch before Capozzoli left them behind.

Like everyone in the Arena Football League, Sharks players have learned to cut corners. A league-mandated base salary of $400 a week — about $341 after taxes — doesn't leave much for extras.

"My car fits four people," said Capozzoli, a placekicker. "And usually it's full. We all have to make a lot of sacrifices to play in this league."

The rebirth of the AFL came before the 2010 season with new financial restraints. Every player works for the league and is free to sign with any team during the offseason. Jacksonville has become a very popular franchise for players who not only want to win, but enjoy a lot of freebees.

Players live free at Bella Terraza condominiums, Kendall Lakes apartments and Lantern Square condominiums. Their furniture comes from Aaron's. Their meals are provided by a host of local restaurants, including Whiskey River, Moe's, Carrabba's Italian Grille, IHOP, Hooter's, Chili's, Sweet Tomatoes and Latitude 30.

In return, the Sharks have made all the companies that contribute to the team's success corporate partners, complete with signage and commercial time at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.

"It's the barter system on steroids," Sharks managing partner Jeff Bouchy said. "I guarantee you we treat our players better than anyone else in the league."

Players also get free medical care and prescriptions.

"We appreciate everything we get," linebacker Justin Parrish said. "None of us are complaining."

Regardless, $341-a-week take-home pay still isn't a lot of money.

"You hear guys from the NFL say they'd play for free," quarterback Aaron Garcia said. "That's easy to say when you've already got millions in the bank. Here, we do play for free."

The players, however, aren't complaining. They're content with carpooling and free meals, as long as they get to play football. Every one of them knows the story of how Kurt Warner went from working at a grocery, to the AFL and eventually to a Super Bowl championship with the St. Louis Rams for the 1999 season.

Every player harbors the hope it can happen to them.

"I love to compete. The NFL is a business. I realize it's a crazy business. Some guys don't get in that really deserve to be there," offensive lineman Vladimir Richard said. "We come out every day and play hard and put on a great show every week. We all believe if we keep working hard, somebody will come out and notice.

"No one's in arena football for the money. You do this because you love the game, love your teammates. The money, right now, isn't as important. If we keep doing the little things that nobody notices we'll get called up to the next league."

Two players — defensive lineman Ventrell Jenkins and wide receiver Jamarko Simmons — have taken the next step. Jenkins was signed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League, and Simmons was signed this week by the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League.

"There's nothing we like more than to see one of our players move on to the next step," Bouchy said. "That's a reflection of our organization. We tell our players if they play hard, we'll do everything we can to make sure people see them."

"It's great to see those guys get the bump up," Capozzoli said.

The league allows three players to be marketing representatives for the team and the league. In Jacksonville, Garcia, center Randy Degg and defensive back Micheaux Robinson make an extra $600 a week.

"I'm raising three kids off that. It's not going to do it," Garcia said. "I'm doing it because I still love it."

Garcia is the AFL's all-time leader in passing yards, touchdowns, completions and games played. Now in his 16th season, another one of his local benefits is the use of a car from Nimnicht Chevrolet during the season. When he goes home to California, he drives a nine-year-old Chevrolet Tahoe.

"I'm lucky because my family understands and supports me," he said. "But it's not easy."

And it's still better than working a "real" job, fullback Kirby Griffin said.

Like so many of his teammates, Richard doesn't have a car. He counts on Capozzoli to get to his meals, practices sessions and games.

"You don't see a lot of new Cadillacs in his league," wide receiver Jeff Hughley said. "The major sacrifice is the pay. You can get a regular job and make more than we get here."

But you can't put a price on living a dream.

http://jacksonville.com/sports/football/...s-football

We have a much larger crane in place now. It looks like all of the previous work this week was to build a track/road/foundation for the crane.

Looks like the 'much larger crane' is there to build an even bigger crane.

(02-12-2014 08:44 AM)bearcatfan Wrote:  We have a much larger crane in place now. It looks like all of the previous work this week was to build a track/road/foundation for the crane.

Looks like the 'much larger crane' is there to build an even bigger crane.

Maxim Crane Works, a nationwide outfit with location in Dayton. They placed a monster red crane today. Each crane tread came in on it's own semi-trailer. It was assembled on the north end and motored on down to the south end by dusk. Should have links added to it in the future.

All of the staging being done on the field makes me really wonder why they replaced the turf this year. Luckily most of the turf affected by that is off of the actual playing surface, but it still feels like unnecessary wear and tear.

(02-12-2014 10:50 PM)BearcatMan Wrote:  All of the staging being done on the field makes me really wonder why they replaced the turf this year. Luckily most of the turf affected by that is off of the actual playing surface, but it still feels like unnecessary wear and tear.

The old turf was unsafe for play. That was one of the big reasons why the spring game last year was played at the Sheakley Athletic Complex.

(02-12-2014 08:44 AM)bearcatfan Wrote:  We have a much larger crane in place now. It looks like all of the previous work this week was to build a track/road/foundation for the crane.

Looks like the 'much larger crane' is there to build an even bigger crane.

AFL's payment of players has changed since then but still nothing like old AFL salaries.



Under the AFL's collective bargaining agreement, players make $830 per game, meaning members of the Power earn $14,940, before taxes, in an 18-game regular season that spans four months. They also have the option to rent a subsidized apartment for $150 a month, an amenity that used to be free.

"It's nice to get it every week, to not be broke," Butler said of the money. "It's not luxury, but it's a choice you make. You've got to be grateful."

The pay is a significant upgrade from the previous $400-per-game rate, which led to a contentious strike that resulted in the entire Power team getting fired at an Orlando-area Olive Garden hours before its 2012 season opener. Replacement players faced the Orlando Predators.



Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/other...z2tAwwySzz

Not bad. If only they could keep that up for a whole year... 45k a year with a $150 a month apartment would be pretty solid.

Wow, that red crane they have out there now is huge. Can't even fit it in on the image.

(02-14-2014 11:35 AM)JackieTreehorn Wrote:  Wow, that red crane they have out there now is huge. Can't even fit it in on the image.

Yes - and since the crane is already here you would think we should start seeing some steel supports going up soon. It's got to cost a fortune to rent that crane.