Cape Fear Heroes sign ECU Pirate QB Patrick Pinkney and 2 other QB’s.

hnunn — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:51:49 +0000

Heroes sign 3 quarterbacks
The Heroes are exciting about their most recent signing of three quality quarterbacks for the 2012 season. All three quarterbacks have strong throwing arms and adapt well to the indoor game. In order to run the high scoring offense of the Heroes coaching staff the Heroes had to heavily recruit for the position and have selected the following players including a seasoned indoor veteran and two quality rookies. Two of the players Aries and Patrick throw for a combined total of over 14,000 yards and 80 touchdowns in their college careers. Coach Gunnings states “Having this type of talent coming in is key to our program especially at the quarterback position. Aires is well known in the indoor/arena game and has tremendous experience. His ability to take control of the game is a coach’s dream it is like having an extra coach on the field. Patrick is a versatile player that can beat you with his arm as well as his feet. He is a rookie to the indoor game but I feel he is going to be a true Hero to the Cape Fear region and a talented professional player for many years to come. Garrett really impressed me with both his ability and performance at our last tryout. Coming from UNC-Pembroke Garrett was coached by one of my former teammates and players Jamie Deese who’s opinion I greatly respect when it comes to talent”.
Aries Nelson- Aries gives the Heroes a veteran leader as well as a proven winner having led two indoor teams to the playoffs in his professional career. His knowledge of the indoor game is like having an extra coach on the field and will be beneficial to helping the younger Heroes players improve upon their game.
In 2010 Aries led the Harrisburg Stampede to an 11-3 regular season record in the AIFA. He also led them to a first round playoff win against the Erie Storm before losing to the eventual 2010 undefeated AIFA Champion Baltimore Mariners. During the season Aries passed for over 300 yards in six different games.
Aries also played for the Mississippi Mudcats of the AIFA in 2008. The Mudcats where one of the strongest professional arena/indoor football teams in the country at the time and finished the 2008 regular season with a 13-0 record and an overall record of 15-1. Aries lead his team to an exciting come from behind victory in the first round of the AIFA playoffs against the Columbus Lions before losing to the Wyoming Cavalry in the AIFA Western Conference Finals. (click here for full bio).
Patrick Pinkney- Is a former East Carolina quarterback and is new to the game of indoor football but has exceptional skills. During his college career at ECU Patrick completed 563 passes for 6981 yards and 39 touchdowns through the air while rushing for another 437 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. He lead his Pirates to back to back Conference USA Championship Games (2008, 2009) and three consecutive bowl games the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl (2007) and the Liberty Bowl (2008, 2009).
Patrick went to Pine Forest High School in Fayetteville North Carolina where he threw for 1,680 yards and 12 TDs completing 122-of-137 passes as a senior team captain while also rushing for 1,172 yards and 17 scores on 202 carries for coach Dean Saffos. He was a four-year starter at Pine Forrest and led his squad to the third round of the state playoffs during his senior season. In addition he earned all-conference honors as a sophomore, junior and senior and was chosen to the all-state squad and selected to play in the East-West All-Star game after his senior campaign. Patrick played a key role for a Trojan program that produced a four-year record of 30-14, he was named freshman-of-the-year after an outstanding rookie year (led team to 8-3 mark) and was rated as the 31st-best prospect in North Carolina by SuperPrep Magazine. Patrick also earned four varsity letters each in basketball and baseball and in the classroom he earned selection to Honor Roll and was chosen as Pine Forest’s “Most Outstanding Senior.” (click here for full bio).
Garrett Sutphen- is a young strong armed quarterback from University of North Carolina-Pembroke who impressed the Heroes coaching staff in their last open tryout. Although seeing limited action in college he has all the tools to be a great indoor quarterback (click here for full bio)

Sports Blast hits the road January 9, 2012

hnunn — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 04:14:42 +0000

The Sports Blast radio show now entering the 11th year on the air in Fayetteville will be hitting the road in 2012 twice a month at Miami Sub on N. McPherson Church Rd. JOIN US January 9th from 6-9 at Jimmy’s newly renovated restaurant which has a new room with wide screen TV’s, pool table, games, couches and lots of fun. Come out this first night and meet all the sports folks in town including, The FireAntz, Swampdogs, Cape Fear Heroes and Fayetteville Flight. Also, if you are a high school coach, send us a message through the CONTACT US page on this web site. We would like to feature each school throughout the year on the Sports Blast at Miami Subs. JOIN US on Facebook by searching Sports Blast. Listen AM640 Fayetteville or ONLINE www.wfnc640am.com

Indoor Football is Back in Fayetteville

hnunn — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:28:16 +0000

Indoor Football is returning to Fayetteville this spring. The team will be holding its first press conference on Thursday November 17 at 3:00 p.m. at the Crown Coliseum-Main Entrance and will be unveiling their team name, logo and uniform styles as well as introducing their team ownership group and first player signing.

Bayonet At Puppy Creek

hnunn — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:40:47 +0000

The Bayonet at Puppy Creek golf course is the Fayetteville Area premier PUBLIC golf facility. Located just across the county line in Hoke County, GOLF DIGEST rates the Bayonet at Puppy Creek a 4.5 star facility with the best practice tee’s for golfers of all skill levels. With Monday through Thursday rates of $30, you too can enjoy the best golfing experience by playing the superbly conditioned, quality layout, designed by Willard Byrd. Give them a call today and TEE IT UP at Bayonet at Puppy Creek. 904-1500.

Sports Blast preempted

hnunn — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:35:36 +0000

Last Monday night Sports Blast show was preempted by Wolfpack Sports Marketing to broadcast the N.C. State vs Flagler scrimmage game on the Wolfpack Sports Network. The guys will be back next week November 12 with 3 more hours of Local Sports Talk !! Listen AM640 Fayetteville and Online www.wfnc640am.com

Live Remote Broadcast

hnunn — Wed, 25 May 2011 02:01:58 +0000

SPORTS BLAST is hitting the road. Monday May 30 from 6-9 p.m. at the Miami Subs on N. McPherson Church Rd. Come out and meet the guys, check out the newly remodeled Miami Subs restaurant, meet the Swampdogs, FireAntz and some race car drivers from Fayetteville and Dublin Motor Speedway. WIN PRIZES !!!!

Where do you want the show to go to?

Bill Priestley — Mon, 02 May 2011 19:17:32 +0000

Now that the show is going 3 hours strong, we want to give you the opportunity to become more interactive with the show. All you have to do is click the “Connect to the Show” link at the top of the page and submit an idea or a question you’d like us to cover. If we can’t answer it, we’ll get a guest to come on and talk about it.

It’s our way of being Fanteractive with you as the Sports Blast rolls on to another 10 years in the Cape Fear region!

Andrew Bondarowicz Official Statement Regarding Fayetteville Force

hnunn — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:01:41 +0000

April 27, 2011-11:59 a.m. Fayetteville, NC
While this statement is intended to clear up the confusion, mis-information and other “noise” created around the Fayetteville Force football team.

This team was launched in late November 2010 with the intention of preserving indoor football in the Fayetteville community. A great deal of time, energy and resources have been invested into the organization to be a community-focused team and restore a winning tradition in the Cape Fear region. Fanteractive, LLC, the owner of the team, had chosen to come to Fayetteville to pioneer numerous innovations to the game that would provide greater fan-engagement with the team and provide the basis for new paradigm in minor league sports.

It has always been the intention of Fanteractive to incorporate local ownership into its teams at some point. In Fayetteville , that has been in discussions for several weeks with the expectation that we would be able to introduce our “new” team in time for our home game this past weekend. In order to freeze our financial information as of last week, it has created some internal issues for our organization when the transaction did not close in the expected timeframe. This otherwise benign misstep would have been addressed internally had it not been for the pending nature of the transaction. This “pending” status is being addressed as expediently as possible to restore order and ensure the long term success of this franchise.

It is unfortunate that this situation has spilled outside of the four walls of the organization. The mis-information and rumors have created a great deal of confusion which has further impacted our ability to return to a business as usual mode. With that said, the Fayetteville Force will be playing at the Crown Coliseum this Friday night. While this incident is unfortunate, we hope that it does not undermine our credibility within the community and we hope that a strong show of support on Friday will provide a boost to all of us who would like to see this team prospect in the Cape Fear region.

Fayetteville Force future in doubt after players walk out Tuesday

bfriedlander — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:55:31 +0000

The Fayetteville Force indoor football team got off to a quick start on the field by winning its first three games this season. But things quickly spiraled downward for the first-year operation.

First the team lost three straight games to fall to .500 for the season. That turned out to be the least of the Force’s worries.

According to a source who contacted Brett Friedlander of the SportsBlast radio show, members of the Southern Indoor Football League team worked out of practice and reported to play any longer in a dispute over pay.

The source said that players haven’t been paid in three weeks.

Force coach Marquette Smith, when contacted by the SportsBlast’s Hal Nunn, confirmed the player walkout and said that there is a possibility that the Force has played its final game.

Smith, a former NFL running back with the Carolina Panthers, said that as a former player he can’t blame his team for refusing to play. As a coach, he said that he couldn’t lead his players onto the field in good conscience if they’re not being paid.

“I haven’t been paid what I was promised since January and some players have not been paid in three weeks”, Smith said. “I can’t allow players to take the field with the possibility of getting hurt. How do I know that workman’s compensation has been paid for the team?”

Force owner Andrew Bondarowicz, in an exculsive phone interview with the SportsBlast from his home in New Jersey, disputed Smith’s claim.

Although he admitted that the team is experiencing some financial issues, he said he is confident that the season will continue, probably with someone other than Smith in charge.

“Coach Smith doesn’t know what he is talking about when it comes to workman’s compensation and players getting paid”, Bondarowicz said. “Players have been paid in the last three weeks and we are looking at bringing new local owners in to help move the team forward.”

The Force is scheduled to play the Trenton Steel on Friday night at the Crown.

Smith said that he has attempted to contact Force owner Bondarowicz several times during the past few days. “But I have not heard back from him,” the coach said.

He said that he knew the end might be near after his most recent conversation with Bondarowicz, during which he said the team owner told him that he was out of money. At that time, Bondarowicz indicated that he was trying to sell the team to a local group of owners in Fayetteville.

Force general manager Rob Rice had no comment about the situation Tuesday evening. Officials at the Crown are unavailable until normal business hours on Wednesday. Bondarowicz said he would be willing to come on the show Monday night and explain any issues with the team.

Stay tuned for updates.

Fayetteville Force, Force No More!

hnunn — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 23:51:34 +0000

Tuesday April 26, 2011 6:30 p.m.

Fayetteville, NC

News travels fast in the sports world and the news that the newly organized
Fayetteville Force indoor football team walked out on their coach and team
management today April 26, 2011 during practice at the Crown Coliseum came about
as quick as it could. A source contacted Brett Friedlander of the Sports Blast
radio show about 6 p.m. today and told him that the Fayetteville Force is
folding up shop and shutting it down for the season. When coach Marquette Smith
was conatcted, coach Smith verified that the rumor is true and that he could no
longer lead players to take the field if they were not getting paid. “I haven’t
been paid what I was promised since January and some players have not been paid
in three weeks”, Coach Marquette Smith said. “I can’t allow players to take the
field with the possibiloity of getting hurt, how do I know that workmans
compensation has been paid for the team?” Smith said. Due to the situation Coach
Smith said there will be no game Friday night at the Crown Coliseum and as far
as he knows, the season is over. I have called owner Andrew Bondarovich several
times and have not heard back from him,” Coach Smith said. Coach did say that
Andrew Bondarovich told him recetly that he had no more money for the team and
that he wanted to sell the team to a local group of owners in Fayetteville.
Contact was made with team manager Rob Rice and Rice said that he had no
official comment at this time.Contact with the Crown Coliseum management will be
made during normal business hours tomorrow April 27. The Sports Blast will also contact
the Souther Indoor Football League tomorrow.