Merchantmen Stick With Current Starters Against Syracuse
The rumors were there, as were the names, but no trades have been done so far. The Maassluis Merchantmen have two days left to trade, but it's unlikely to happen. The team seems to need fresh blood to fix almost facet of football except defending the run. Owner/general manager M.IJ.B said: "If we get a trade done, good for us, if not, it ain't the end of the world..."

Headcoach Leroy Van Der Woude looked down recently and doesn't seem to be able to righten the ship. Van Der Woude has the reputation of a genius in play calling, but lacks the ability to give motivational speeches in the locker room. Van Der Woude: "I haven't learned for being a pshycic, I'm a coach, I make the calls, that's what I do."

Chemistry and cohesion are said to be sky high, but the players are not coping with it either. Offensive coordinator Antonio Francis said: "It seems leik we've been seperated for five years and dropped together the last second before gametime. The passing game is bad, the offensive line is making unusual mistakes and all we can do is hope for things to get better." The team hasn't scored a touchdown in 18 quarters of official games and some are starting to point to Josh Webb as the new quarterback. Francis: "That can't be the case, right now Flannery is still our best option. Webb played will in pre-season, he fits the system, but is still raw and a third stringer at best."

On the defensive side the team was looking for a new cornerback. "Yes, we tried to find a second shutdown corner recently," M.IJ.B. said: "but the other team has been unlucky in their timing to give feedback. We still hope to get a deal done, but it will be a game day deal and would mean the new player would be a fourth stringer against Syracuse, at best." Cornerback Tai Wayne was critisized recently, but was defended by Charles Gomez: "Give him some slack. Wayne has been playing his butt of since his first game in Maassluis, he works hard, just like everybody else. He can't help it he was a first round pick, which makes the expectations high on him. We've got a lot of talented corners, but Wayne is our shutdown guy. He can still play ball, we just had some bad luck so far."

With an influenza epidemic haunting the Merchantmen lockerroom, things look even worse. Thanks to the bye week, half of the sick players will be back to normal next game. But the team still has some players sick. As it looks now, defensive tackle Charles Gomez, linebacker Bernie Surry and tackle Cornelius Rice are the most prominent names. But they're not alone. Cornerback Xavier Clyburn, kicker Cary Coles, linebacker Ellsworth Thelen, defensive end Wally Mattingly and left tackle Louis Bell have prominent roles on the team too. Tackle Harold Hurtado said: "We'll have to live with it, getting sick is part of life."

Defensive end Omar Gougeon and left guard Butch White are ruled out for the next game. Gougeon has an elbow injury and will sit out until week eight. For now Erwin Baranowski is promoted back to starter, while Albert Bernardo gets more playing time as the change of pace end. With rookie Mattingly sick, Bernardo might even start. Butch White's knee is hurting again. He'll be replaced by Harold Hurtado at left guard. Hurtado is a left tackle, but has the experience and skills to take White's role as a premier run blocker. Hurtado said: "We'll get the job done."

Center Heath Ferebee is complaining about playing time, but won't be starting for a while. Owner/general manager M.IJ.B. said: "'Bee' ain't getting younger and the staff told me he's not as good as he used to be anymore. With Brant Heinrich we have a hardworking center and 'Bee' should know he's here to step in when injuries strike. Besides, he didn't play will in limited time in 2008, he'll have to show he can get things done in a backup role before we'll increase his playing time."

The road game at the Syracuse Mohawks is going to be a tough game nevertheless. The management is working on a new game plan, but that might not be worked out to the fullest until mid-season. Manager M.IJ.B. said: "Last season we waited until mid-season to implement the new defensive schemes and then it worked for a while. We bounced back into the division title, we hope to do it again this season. But this time with some offensive changes."

The biggest questionmark lies in the short passing game the team has been showing. All quarterbacks on team are said to be capable of displaying a short passing game, but Flannery has been struggling with it recently. M.IJ.B. said: "Flan' loves to throw deep and we know that. We know he can do it well, but right now we just don't have the receivers for it. We're stuck with a short passing game and opponents might see that. I mean, they expect Flan' to throw an interception when he looks deep. But we'll get something worked out to surprise the Mohawks in two days." Let's hope so, the Merchantmen 0-4 would be a huge disappointment to the huge fanbase...

Futility Bowl VI looms... :)

Merchantmen Notch First Win At Syracuse
The Maassluis Merchantmen look back. Or at least the defense does. With a 16-13 victory at the Syracuse Mohawks, the Merchantmen recorded their first win of the season. The Merchantmen defense allowed 180 total yards to record their second best defensive performance ever. The offense still failed to impress, but with Louie Flannery passing for the first touchdown of he season against a stout defense as the Mohawks', the fans should be hoping for more wins soon.

"It's all about defense," Mike Kershner was quoted saying, "we give the offense a good field position and they'll get su on the scoreboard." Kershner anchored the Merchantmen defense with 8 tackles, 3 assists and 1 sack in the victory. The defense held big name running back Kurt Basso to 41 yards, just enough to reach a 1.5 yard per carry average.

But the defense did more. With 7 hurried passes and 7 defended passes, the passing game of the Mohawks was disoriented from the start. Headcoach Leroy Van Der Woude explained: "We tried something new on defense and apperantly it worked. We didn't give Peterman the room to pick a receiver and our front seven managed to pressure him on more than a third of the passing plays"

Quarterback Louie Flannery got the player of the game honors. With 174 yards, a completion percentage of 66 percent and passing for the first touchdown of the season, Flannery looked better than the previous weeks. Flannery did fumble twice, but that was easily to be credited to the offensive line, that allowed 5 sacks.

Flannery was the center of attention after having thrown 8 interceptions in the first three games combined. Flannery looked happy: "The defense and spec ial teams units cam up big today, giving our unit the opportunity to score point. The touchdown felt like freedom. Had we played for another quarter, I'm sure we would have scored more touchdowns."

The touchdown was there, but it required a big play from two second-year pro's playing punter and linebacker. Sean Smalley had an amazing punt that landed out of bounds at the Mohawks' one-yard line. On the second play, Bernie Surry tackle running back Kurt Basson at the line of scrimmage and after batting the ball loose, he also recovered it. Fullback Jamel Rosenberry was the easy target in the endzone form Flannery.

The biggest stat of the day were the receptions of the top two receivers in Syracuse. Nick Jennings and Virgil Branum were both held to one reception each for a total of 23 yards. Tai Wayne bounced back with 2 defended passes and no catches allowed after having allowed 6 catches per game in the first three games. Wayne only said: "We're back at it."

The offensive line is still the center of all worries. Right guard Timothy Lacy injured his knee and is expected to sit out the next game. Headcoach Leroy Van Der Woude said: "We're opting to move both Harold Hurtado and Louis Bell inside from tackle to guard. We should be okay." But that doesn't fix the problems, the Merchantmen line ranks last with 3.5 sacks and 71 rushing yards per game.

Next up is the second home game of the season. The Rochester Lake Monsters are coming to Oranje Haven for Futility Bowl VI. The fans still remember Futility Bowl V, in which the Lake Monsters cakewalked to a 27-3 victory. The head-to-head series is 3-2 in Rochester favor in what has become one of the traditional interdivisional rivalries in the IHOF.

You're going down!

Yeah, like 30 times we'll get a first down. Okay, 25, we'll score 5 touchdowns as well... :cool:

Merchantmen Trash Rochester In Futility Bowl VI
The Maassluis Merchantmen are back in the race. With a tremendous 44-17 victory over the Rochester Lake Monsters, the Dutch IHOF team is back in the race for the European division title. With losses by all three rivals, the Merchantmen took back more terrain than expected. Louie Flannery was the architect of the victory with a league record six touchdown passes.

Louie Flannery had something to set right after the first three games. With zero touchdown and eight interceptions, the critics had their aim on him. The 1-yard touchdown pass in the win at the Syracuse Mohawks was hopeful, but the performance against Rochester was outstanding. Flannery completed 27 of 36 passes for 335 yards and 6 touchdowns.

"It was a blast!" Flannery said. "I enjoyed every minute of this game. We were afraid the fans would take it against us on how bad we've played recently, but they screamed, yelled, sang and supported us in the best way possible. Tying the touchdown record is just a dream come true. I mean, who would have placed me on the same page as Joey Allen?"

The Merchantmen struggled a bit in the first quarter of the game, but the defense kept coming up with big plays and the offense kept rolling. The 21-10 lead at half time was well deserved, but the game was far from over. Charles Gomez said: "At hat point, we expected them to crash out of the locker rooms with a super drive. But Cody (Cluff) made the play and the game was ours."

The Lake Monsters came close to a score when they were 10-27 down. A 26-yard field goal attempt from Dwayne Calfee was blocked by Merchantmen cornerback Winford Endicott, but the Lake Monsters scored on their nexy drive. Down by ten, they had the fourth quarter to comeback. But Louie Flannery didn't feel like spoiling the fans' fun and racked up the score to 44-17.

Head Coach Leroy Van Der Woude prasied the team: "A good game. Flannery was great, we new the defense was clicking again and now the offense is back on track too. Maybe we're going to see a fun season afterall."

Linebacker Cody Cluff forced three turnovers and recorded 9 tackles, but felt he wasn't the star of the game. Cluff: "Of course not! Flannery was amazing. He kept shredding that secondary apart. It was fun to watch from the sidelines."

Coming up is another tough game against a Northeast division team. The Boston Rhinos are 4-2, but haven't won a game on the road yet. Oranje Haven will be expected to be close to sold out. The Rhinos are tough and just come of a 30-27 win in overtime after scoring the game tying field goal with 2 seconds left. General manager M.IJ.B. said: "We have to win this game, because in just a couple of weeks, we will get our asses kicked by the mighty Musketeers... Yeah, in the Parisians dreams!"

Player Of The Year Race
Editor's Note: With my time more limited to write, I've been failing to write all the stuff I used to. But no worries, the Merchantmen Player of the Year race is back. Here's a quick update on who excelled in our wins and who were least embarrissing in our humiliating losses.

In the week one loss to the Bordeaux Vineyards (6-15), there was little good news from the offense. Exceptions on that day were wide receiver Bryce Ewald, who had 3 catches for 62 yards. On defense, free safety Broderick was part of the reason we didn't allow 30 points. Schultz had 1 interception and 1 defended pass, with 3 tackles and 2 assists to look good. Shaun Shiroma did his share of doing well with 1 blocked pass, 2 hurries, 1 tackle and 1 assist. Receiver Gregory Monti (4 catches, 67 yards) and left tackle Ivan Jacques (3 key run blocks) completed the top five players.
Points: 3 to Schultz, 2 to Ewald, 1 to Shiroma.

The embarresment of the loss at home to the Frederick Red Menace (3-30) was huge. It made the selection of players who didn't look bad very tough. Running back Joseph Schoen racked up 57 total yards to form the biggest offensive threat of the day. On Defense, Charles Gomez got lots of opportunity to make plays, and he did. With 7 tackles, 2 assists, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 1 hurried pass, he excelled. Rookie defensive end Wally Mattingly paid back the confidence in him with 2 blocked passes, 1 hurried pass and 3 tackles. Linebacker Cody Cluff (11 tackles, 1 assist) and safety Broderick Schultz (1 defended pass, 3 tackles, 3 assists) filled out the quitet of decentness.
Points: 3 to Gomez, 2 to Cluff, 1 to Mattingly.

By tradition, the game against the Conyers Condors (9-34 loss) saw a fumble recovery touchdown. But since the score was on the Condors' end, it wasn't part of the Merchantmen's good plays. Kicker Cary Coles scored all points with his three field goals, including a 47-yard kick. Wide recevier Bryce Ewald was once again the top offensive player with 3 catches for 65 yards. On defense, Erwin Baranowski looked good with 1.5 sacks, 1 hurried pass, 5 tackles and 3 assists. Linebacker Cody Cluff forced 1 fumble to make his 7 tackles and 3 assists look good. The fifth decent player was punter Sean Smalley, who punted 6 times for an average of 45.3, with one inside the 20-yard line.
Points: 3 to Baranowski, 2 to Coles, 1 to Smalley.

The defensive showdown against the Syracuse Mohawks (16-13 win) obviously brought out the best in our defensive players. Quarterback Louie Flannery can't go by unmentioned though, as he completed 19 of 29 passes for 174 yard and the first touchdown of the season. Punter Sean Smalley had a crucial role for the team too, with 45.8 yards per punt and 3 of 7 landing inside the 20-yard line. Linebacker Bernie Surry had a crucial forced and recovered fumble at the Mohawks goal line, the 3 tackles and 1 assist were less important. Linebacker Mike Kershner had 8 tackles and 3 assists. Cornerback Tai Wayne recorded 1 assist, but also had 2 defended passes, while shutting his receivers out. Charles Gomez, Cody Cluff and Winford Endicott were other top performers, but missed the shortlist.
Points: 5 to Kershner, 4 to Smalley, 3 to Flannery, 2 to Surry, 1 to Wayne.

The star of Futility Bowl VI was clearly Louie Flannery. In the 44-17 win over the Rochester Lake Monsters he completed 27 of 36 passes for 335 yards and a league record 6 touchdowns. His top target was tight end Jim Reiser, who had 4 catches for 93 yards and 1 touchdown. Linebacker Cody Cluff played a big role on defense, with 1 interception, 2 forced fumbles, 9 tackles and 1 assist. The offensive line looked good again too, with no sacks allowed. Center Brant Heinrich (4 key run blocks) and Cornelius Rice (3 key run blocks) also supported the running game.
Points: 5 to Flannery, 4 to Cluff, 3 to Reiser, 2 to Heinrich, 1 to Rice.

With five games down, the overall standings show the balanced between the offensive showdown against Rochester and defensive supremacy against Syracuse. Louie Flannery was the center of attention for the lack of succes in weeks one to three, but the super game in week six hlped him into the early overall lead. Linebackers Cody Cluff and Mike Kershner are on his tail, while punter Sean Smalley is currently the biggest surprise on the leaderboard.
Point Totals: Louie Flannery 8, Cody Cluff 6, Mike Kershner 5, Sean Smalley 5, Erwin Baranowski 3, Charles Gomez 3, Jim Reiser 3, Broderick Schultz 3, Cary Coles 2, Bryce Ewald 2, Brant Heinrich 2, Bernie Surry 2, Wally Mattingly 1, Cornelius Rice 1, Shuan Shiroma 1, Tai Wayne 1.

Merchantmen Lose In Paris To Sink To 2-5
The 2009 season continues to be a drama for the Maassluis Merchantmen. A week after an almost comeback lose against the Boston Rhinos, the Paris Musketeers turned out to be better. In a game without touchdowns, the home playing Musketeers won 12-6. With that, the Merchantmen have scored only nine touchdowns for the season, of which six were in one game.

The 17-20 loss to the Rhinos was still doing it's damage to the Merchantmen players. The absence of cornerback Tai Wayne was a problem, but no disaster. The unlucky comeback of falling short after coming back from 20-0 down was. The mentality is gone, just two weeks after the amazing six-touchdown performance by Louie Flannery.

In the French capital the Merchantmen looked terrible. The offense managed to finish the game with 155 total yards. If it wasn't for the defense keeping the Musketeers to 364 yards in almost 38 minutes, the Merchantmen would have been slaughtered. Cody Cluff had a big role in it as the middle linebacker set a franchise record with 16 tackles to move up to first place in the league in tackles. Cluff is on pace for 153 tackles, which would be a league record, and also leads all players with 4 forced fumbles.

"I'd sell it all for wins," Cluff said, "we've got a mission and going 2-5 means we're far away from it." Cluff and his linebacker buddies Bernie Surry and Mike Kershner seem to be a great trio, but they can't do it alone. Cluff said: "We don't want to critisize the offense, but four games without a touchdown is just unacceptable. All 53 players want to work on it and we've proven against Rochester we can do it."

Louie Flannery looks revided, but couldn't pass for a touchdown. Flannery said: "It's good to be over the hump, we'll get into the winning mode soon enough." After a bad start, Flannery has completed 80 of 122 passes for 853 yards, 8 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in the four games after the bye week. But like most of the player, Flannery wants other things: "Wins would make this revival so much better."

The biggest struggle for the Merchantmen is still on the offensive line. Despite all the attempts to boost the line, the running game and pass protection are at an all-time worst. Tackle Harold Hurtado couldn't explain it: "Cohesion is at an all-time high, the team brought back everybody and Louis Bell joined the team, but it's not going well. I think we can play better, but right now it's best to work hard in the training session to get the chemistry back, protect Flan' and getting the running game back moving."

The faces are still looking in the same direction, but the schedule isn't getting easier. And next up is a game on the road at the North Plainfield Plague to warm up for two home games inside the division. General manager M.IJ.B. said: "At 2-5, we can't allow to lose any game the rest of the way if we want to defend our European title. Next up are the Plague and we're going to try a bit of a new game plan. We're missing a couple of important guys, like Tai Wayne, Butch White and Erwin Baranowski, but we've got the depth to replace them."

Looking at the standings, things don't look bright in Maassluis, with Paris at 5-2, Gothenburg 5-3 and Bordeaux at 4-3, even third place in the division is far away. With a top special teams unit and a decent defense, which still manages to stop the run and be effective in defending the pass, the offense should get the opportinity to get back into scoring ways. The teams is still 24-15 in the past one and a half seasons, with a 11-3 record in divisonal games.

But next up are the North Plainfield Plague. In four previous meetings, the Merchantmen combined for an averge score of 10-31. It only makes sense to sit at 2-6 after having visited the three-time defending AOC champions. But there's always hope that the tide will turn. The Plague are coming of an amazing 19-37 loss to the Boston Rhinos. Who knows, perhaps the Merchantmen can take advantage of the loss and hand the Plague their first losing streak since weeks 5 and 6 of the 2006 season? Yeah, in their dreams...

Player Of The Year Race
After two losing efforts, it was hard to find two sets of three players who played well. In the loss to the Boston Rhinos, Louie Flannery escaped te missery as he completed 19 of 34 passes for 211 yards and 1 touchdown. Defensive tackle Charles Gomez looked good with 9 tackles, 2 assists, 2 hurries and 1 forced fumble. Linebacker Mike Kersher also played well with 7 tackles, 1 assist, 1 defended pass and 1 forced fumble.
Points: 3 to Gomez, 2 to Flannery, 1 to Kershner.

In the loss to Paris, the secondary was the charm of the team. Cornerback Myron Stevens had 1 interception and 2 defended passes with 5 tackles and 2 assists. Safety Broderick Schultz defended 3 passes and added 3 assists. Linebacker Bernie Surry helped out with 2 defended passes, 1 interception, 3 tackles and 2 assists. Linebacker Cody Cluff's 16 tackles and 1 assist were not good enough to be in the top three.
Points: 3 to Surry, 2 to Schultz, 1 to Stevens.

So, what are the overall standings after seven games?
Point Totals: Louie Flannery 10, Cody Cluff 6, Charles Gomez 6, Mike Kershner 6, Broderick Schultz 5,Sean Smalley 5, Bernie Surry 5, Erwin Baranowski 3, Jim Reiser 3, Cary Coles 2, Bryce Ewald 2, Brant Heinrich 2, Wally Mattingly 1, Cornelius Rice 1, Shaun Shiroma 1, Myron Stevens 1, Tai Wayne 1.

Merchantmen On Pace For a Losing Season
The do or die moment is coming. The Maassluis Merchantmen are one loss away from seeing their hopes to defend their European title pop like a bubble. A 3-38 loss at the North Plainfield Plague put some perspective into what's yet to come. It marked the fifth game of the season the Merchantmen went without a touchdown. And the season won't get easier.

As said before, it's do or die time. The next two games are home games versus European rival Bordeaux and Gothenburg. Merchantmen general manager M.IJ.B. was clear in the mission: "It's pretty simple, we lose those two games and the season is over. Heck, we lose one game and we're only mathematically alive..."

At 2-6, the season is pretty much over and the word "experimenting" has been heard in the locker room. Defensive tackle Charles Gomez was heard calling out the offense for their lack of success and it's become clear that the offense and defense are no longer good buddies. it's up to head coach Leroy Van Der Woude to motivate his players again, to get this team back in the winning mood. Or he might be busy on his last season in Maassluis...

You should have told Flannery to spread those touchdowns out a bit!

Merchantmen Notch Win Number Threep
It was do-or-die and the Merchantmen are still alive, although still gasp for oxygene. After a 14-9 win over the Gotehnurg Giants, the Merchantmen improved to 3-7, following a dramatic 10-13 loss at home to the Bordeaux Vineyards. Randy Harris broke his curse and had his first 100-yard game since week 17 of the 2007 season.

A week after seeing a last second field goal being blocked, the Merchantmen took their revenge. Supported by a crowd of 74,300 fans, the Merchantmen rushed into a 14-0 lead and managed to defended the lead until the end.

Randy Harris was the happiest player on the field after the game. With his first 100-yard performance in a long while and his first rushing touchdown of the season, Harris looked like his former self. "It felt like being back indeed," Harris said, "the line played well and that 38-yard score was a nice confidence boost."

Next week Harris will have to carry a bigger load than usual. Joseph Schoen got hurt during the game and is ruled out for a couple of weeks. Second year pro Scott Bagley and fullback Jamel Rosenberry will step in. Head Coach Leroy Van Der Woude said: "They'll get it done, we know they can do it."

Jamel Rosenberry did look ready today. With 3 key run blocks and a receiving touchdown he accounted for a lot of good plays. Add in 59 total yards and he made a case for being the number two tail back against Brooklyn next week. Rosenberry said: "It doesn't matter who plays that role, I work hard and do what I can."

Myron Stevens was another player who helped out everywhere he could. With a forced fumble and a late interception to secure the win, Stevens was one of the heroes of the day. Stevens said: "We work hard and know what to do. When Endi (Winford Endicott) got hurt, I knew I had to step up and just did that."

Cody Cluff didn't lead the team in tackles, but with 6 he had just enough to move up to first place in the IHOF. Cluff said: "I don't count the plays, we just have to make them and make sure we make the quick turnaround. The playoffs are still our goal."

Louie Flannery took the player of the game honors. As Flan' completed 18 of 28 passes for 246 yards and 1 score, the Merchantmen offense looked like the old Merchantmen offense. FLannery wasn't sacked, although some claim it was due to the use of four offensive tackles. Flannery said: "The line played well and kept the Gothenburg defense busy, that's what I like."

As Flannery produced, it was mainly Gregory Monti who was his target. The veteran of the receivers grabbed 6 catches for 128 yards, meaning a nice average of 21.3 yards per catch. Monti said: "I was pleased to hear I was starting again. I figured the best way to pay back was with yardage. Well, I guess the management should be happy." Sadly, as Monti picked up a knee injury, he migt be sidelined for about a month.

Next up is a road game back in the United States. The New York state area brough the Merchantmen a win this season and they get there again next week as they face the Brooklyn Fightin' Bums. The Bums are struggling with a 4-6 record and are desperate to go 5-1 the rest of the way to mark their first winning record season. But with a quarterback controversy going on, things could be ugly for the home team against the back to winning football Merchantmen.

Player Of The Year Race
The humiliating 3-38 loss to the North Plainfield Plague didn't bring any heroes at all. Except maybe Randy Harris, who ran for 59 yards with a 4.9 yards per carry average. Mike Kershner record 7 tackles, 2 assists, 1 defended pass and 1 forced fumble. Charles Gomez record 1 sack, 6 tackles and 2 assists.
Points: 3 to Kershner, 2 to Gomez, 1 to Harris.

The dramatic loss to the Bordeaux Vineyards did go along with a couple of good performances. Louie Flannery completed 20 of 25 passes for 243 yards without interception. Randy Harris ran for 78 yards and added 4 catches for 11 yards as a safe receiver. Ivan Jacques had 4 key run blocks, while anchoring the offensive line to allow only 1 sack in total. Mike Kershner had 5 tackles, 6 assists and 1 defended pass. Charles Gomez had 4 tackles and broke up 4 passing plays.
Points: 3 to Flannery, 2 to Jacques, 1 to Kershner.

Randy Harris had a comeback game in te win over Gothenburg. With 117 yards rushing, a 6.8 yards per carry average, 1 touchdown and a 12-yard catch he was one of the better players. Gregory Monti had 6 catches for 128 yards to help out. Louie Flannery completed 18 of 28 passes for 246 yards and 1 score. Jamel Rosenberry had 59 total yard, 1 touchdown and 3 key run blocks. Myron Stevens had only 2 tackles, but also forced a fumble and made a crucial last minute interception.
Points: 5 to Flannery, 4 to Harris, 3 to Monti, 2 to Stevens, 1 to Rosenberry.

The overall standings after ten games:
Point Totals: Louie Flannery 18, Mike Kershner 10, Charles Gomez 8, Cody Cluff 6, Randy Harris 5, Broderick Schultz 5,Sean Smalley 5, Bernie Surry 5, Erwin Baranowski 3, Gregory Monti 3, Jim Reiser 3, Myron Stevens 3, Cary Coles 2, Bryce Ewald 2, Brant Heinrich 2, Ivan Jacques 2, Wally Mattingly 1, Cornelius Rice 1, Jamel Rosenberry 1, Shaun Shiroma 1, Tai Wayne 1.

Irregular Interviewing: Bruce Pritchett
The Mad Man. It's the new nickname for football player Bruce Pritchett. The guard from the Maassluis Merchantmen has reported at the training facilities this week after spending most of the off-season in his hometown Bozeman. Pritchett was signed by the Merchantmen as a free agent, but is not going to play a game for them this season. And yet he's the mad man, what's going on?

Questioner (Q): Bruce, thanks for joining us for this interview.
Bruce Pritchett (BP): You're welcome. I've got so little to do on my hands here in the Netherlands, an interview comes as something nice.

Q: Usually players are not interested in interviews, can you explain our readers why you are?
BP: Well, i'm injured and only recently moved to Europe for the second part of recovery from knee surgery.

Q: But isn't the medical help in the States better than overhere?
BP: Perhaps. But the team management said Justin McDavid recovered well with the same doctors and they wanted me around for team building. They told me I make a very good chance to be one of the guys battling for a starter role.

Q: Being a starter would be neat.
BP: Yes, but first I need to recover.

Q: The Merchantmen were not used to having a great offensive line. Over the past seasons, guys like Wilson Grimaldo, Butch White, Ivan Jacques and Harold Hurtado gave them a better reputation, but this season is a down year.
BP: Yeah, I noticed. Louie (Flannery) has been under heavy pressure during games...

Q: The Merchantmen allowed a league high 27 sacks. And that is with guys who are supposed to be able to play some ball.
BP: Yeah, I know, but things haven't clicked in a couple of games, it seems.

Q: Butch White is hurt more often than not, Brian Hammond is expected to walk away a free agent and Timothy Lacy has been the weak link on the line. Your chances to be a starter are big next season.
BP: Again, it's too early to talk about playing time. And besides the guards, the team has five tackles with plenty of experience, skills or potential. It's going to be tough to make the roster anyway.

Q: In your recovery, you are alone most of the time.
BP: Yep. It hasn't been all fun, but I try to stay focussed. I look forward to the moment I can get back to the field for some training.

Q: After a week, the Merchantmen head coach Leroy Van Der Woude was positive about your mentality, but also called you "A Mad Man."
BP: (laughs) Well, that needs some explanation. Van Der Woude is almost fluent in Dutch and as he asked me how things at home in Bozeman were, he told me Bozeman was Dutch for mad man.

Q: It isn't a great nickname to have, is it?
BP: Well, they give every player a nickname around here. Usually they pick your first name, but apparently my name has been reserved for Butch White. They'll be giving me a Mad Man training jersey. I have no complaints, but it fits better for a defensive player, I think.

Q: You witnessed the game against your old team, the Boston Rhinos as being part of the scouting staff.
BP: Yes. The management said they wanted me to sit with the scouts to provide additional info where possible. I'm not sure it's something to pick up after playing ball, but it is something to think about.

Q: The Rhinos are the surprise team of the league with a 8-2 record, yet Merchantmen owner M.IJ.B. was said to be sceptic about the Rhinos' chances to go all the way.
BP: When I played in Boston, things always were hazy. One week we could beat the Evil Empire (North Plainfield Plague), the next we would lose to Paris, or Fort Worth, or any other team with a losing record.

Q: But this season they keep winning.
BP: Correct. They've been doing well so far and I'll be rooting for them to go deep into the playoffs, if the Merchantmen don't make it of course.

Q: Isn't that basically sealed now? I mean, at 3-7, the playoffs are far away.
BP: Probably. I hear the Merchantmen made the playoffs last season at 9-7. So it might still be a posibility.

Q: But last season they held the tie-breakers...
BP: Oh, I know that, but the season isn't over yet. Everybody is talking about the usual breakdown in Gothenburg and Paris around here. Both lost last week and the positive thoughts are all around.

Q: Are there players you've been able to talk with so far?
BP: Well, Carl Meier has played for the Rhinos too, so he's been trying to cheer me up from time to time. Justin McDavid has been hanging around a lot too. He's still contacting the doctors from time to time. Apparently he's still having some mental issues with the knee injury, which is holding him back from reaching his old level of play.

Q: Does that scare you?
BP: Yes, it does. Justin tries to point out to me that I might be able to play ball again. But on the other nd of the spectre is Gene Simmons. Once the best guard in the IHOF. Today he's just lucky to have a team. I believe he's been without a team for two full seasons.

Q: And now he's sitting on the Williamsburg Colonials injured reserve list.
BP: Exactly. I know my career could be over, but the doctors just can't give me a guarantee on what will happen...

(silence)

Q: Bruce, let's talk a little bit about something else. The Merchantmen players have started a charity organization called the Mad Men. No coincidence with your nick name?
BP: (laughs) Not at all. In good fun we decided that the Merchantmen need to scout more for cheerleaders. We want to see 100 cheerleaders in every home game. Maassluis has an amazingly big crowd, but they don't get enough cheerleaders to motivate them.

Q: But won't the fans start looking at the cheerleaders even more?
BP: Well, that could happen, but if more cheerleaders means selling out ten home games and maybe a playoff game or two, it's probably worth it.

Q: Alright then. Last question for this interview, which two teams do you see make IHOF Bowl VI?
BP: The Plague and Red Menace looked impressive against the Merchantmen. The Conyers Condors could be the Plague's AOC game opponents once again, but I don't see any team beating the Plague. Except for the Rhinos, but for them making the playoffs would already be cool. The NAC champion could be the Menace, but they never won a playoff game before. I think I'll put my money on Chesapeake. We're going to play them later on this season, so maybe we can upset the eventual champions?

Q: Okay, Bruce, thanks for your time. Good luck in your recovery process!
BP: Thanks! God bless you.

Merchantmen On A Three-Game Winning Streak
The Maassluis Merchantmen are winning again. After a nail biting 27-26 win over the San Antonio Volunteers, the Merchentman took their third win in a row. The follow up after beating Brooklyn Fightin' Bums 28-24 on the road last week and Gothenburg Giants 14-9 two weeks ago. Louie Flannery smiled ear to ear after scoring his first touchdown ever on the ground.

The Merchantmen looked done for the game, as they were trailing 13-0 after the first quarter and 23-14 after the Volunteers first drive in the second half. With an amazing pass from Louie Flannery to Bryce Ewald for 59 yards, the Merchantmen returned into the game. With two short field goals, the home team took a four-point lead going into the final 10 minutes of the game.

The Volunteers moved upfield, but were held to a 49-yard field goal on their first try. As the Volunteers defense stepped up, John McMasters and his men got the ball back with two and a half minutes left. He looked ready to send his men upfield, but on a screen pass the ball was intercepted by linebacker Bernie Surry. The win was secured as Randy Harris converted a crucial third down run to set up the knee drop.

With a three out of three score, the Merchantmen are slowly climbing their way back into the divison and playoffs race, yet they are still requiring a miracle. The Gothenburg Giants reached 8-4 and can only lose on tie-breakers to Maassluis if they lose to Bordeaux in week 15. The Bordeaux Vineyards at 7-5 then already clinched tie-breakers over Maassluis, so they have to lose all their remaining games to help Maassluis. The Paris Musketeers are 5-7.

Head coach Leroy Van Der Woude is happy with the game plan change: "This new game plan gave us 5 wins and 4 losses. Given the tough schedule, we're doing not so bad." Beating the San Antonio Volunteers came as a bit of a surprise, but as Van Der Woude said: "Our defene knows McMasters through and through. Our D contained one the most reliable quarterbacks for the third game in a row."

Louie Flannery took the player of the game honors, but big kudos went to young defenders Bernie Surry and Myron Stevens. Surry made 7 tackles and a crucial interception and fumble recovery. Myron Stevens was praised for shutting down the receivers he faced. With 2 defended passes and no catches allowed, the fill-in starter for injured Winford Endicott once again shined for the Merchantmen.

Next up is a tough home game against the Chesapeake Chitterlings. The Chitterlings are 9-3 and have the second best record in the North American Conference. Their quarterback Ron Lyle is suffering from knee tendinitis, but is expected to play anyway. Even though it might be safer to give Lyle a bit of rest. The Merchantmen have won the only previous head-to-head game in Chesapeake during the wild 2005 season. The 17-7 win marked the only time the Chitterlings were held to one score in a home game. But this game is in Maassluis, so who knows what it's worth?

Player Of The Year Race
Wit two more wins in the pocket, the Merchantmen player of the year race saw a truck load of points gives away. Who were the top performers of the past two weeks?

In the narrow margin win over the Brooklyn Fightin' Bums, all sides of the ball did well. Devin Henson had a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. On defense, Tai Wayne had a big day, as he recorded 2 interceptions, 5 tackles and 1 assist. Mike Kershner earned the player of the game honors with 11 tackles, 2 assists and 1 sack. Lincoln Gilmore had 6 tackles and 1 interception. Jesse Vielma had 2 receptions, one for 33 yards, the other a 46-yard score. Louie Flannery completed 19 of 30 passes for 269 yards. But the 2 interceptions versus 1 touchdown severly hurt his image for he day.
Points: 5 to Wayne, 4 to Kershner, 3 to Gilmore, 2 to Henson, 1 to Vielma.

Louie Flannery was the big man in the win over the San Antonio Volunteers. With 245 yards passing and 24 yards rushing with a score in both the air and on the ground, he earned the player of the game honors. Bryce Ewald was his main target with 79 yards receiving and the receiving touchdown. Bernie Surry played well on defense as he had 7 tackles, 1 recovered fumble and a crucial interception late in the game. Charles Gomez was limited due to injury, yet he still racked up 7 tackles, half a sack and forced 2 fumbles. Myron Stevens defended 2 passes and didn't allow a reception. Lincoln Gilmore defended 2 passes and made 2 tackles. Ellsworth Thelen made 10 tackles, while Carl Meier had 7 tackles and 6 assists.
Points: 5 to Surry, 4 to Stevens, 3 to Gomez, 2 to Ewald, 1 to Flannery.

The overall standings after ten games:
Point Totals: Louie Flannery 19, Mike Kershner 14, Charles Gomez 11, Bernie Surry 10, Myron Stevens 7, Cody Cluff 6, Tai Wayne 6, Randy Harris 5, Broderick Schultz 5,Sean Smalley 5, Bryce Ewald 4, Erwin Baranowski 3, Linclon Gilmore 3, Gregory Monti 3, Jim Reiser 3, Cary Coles 2, Brant Heinrich 2, Devon Henson 2, Ivan Jacques 2, Wally Mattingly 1, Cornelius Rice 1, Jamel Rosenberry 1, Shaun Shiroma 1, Jesse Vielma 1.

Merchantmen Beat Paris, Gone From 2-7 To 7-7
The Maassluis Merchantmen are still alive. With a 20-10 victory over the Paris Musketeers, the Merchantmen gave their fans a nice gesture in their last home game of the regular season. The win follows on an amazing 24-17 win over the playoff bound Chesapeake Chitterlings. With a five-game winning streak, the Merchantmen are still alive for the playoffs, including the divison title. However, it's going to require some help from other teams.

Louie Flannery was a happy man. The fans called him the player of the game, as Flannery completed 22 of 33 passes for 222 yards and a score. As Flannery stayed away from turnovers, he was the perfect leader of the offense. Flannery said: "It was a good game. We got the ball going and took advantage of what the defense set us up to."

As well as Flannery played, head coach Leroy Van Der Woude praised the defense: "This was one of our better defensive showings. There was a pass rush, there was a pass defense, there was a run defense. We could even get away with a below average day for the special teams unit."

The season is only two weeks away from te end and the Merchantmen are still alive for the division title and the second wild card. General manager M.IJ.B. tempers the expectations, but deep inside he's still having good hopes on a miracle. M.IJ.B.: "The wild card is out of the question, there's so much that needs to happen, it requires a mathgenius to figure it out. Good thing I'm one myself..."

The division title is easier to reach, of course providing the Merchantmen can finish the season at 9-7. It will require a Gothenburg loss next week against Brooklyn, on top of Bordeaux not winning one of their two remaining games. Bordeaux at 7-7 looks alive as well, but there is no scenario where Bordeaux can win tie-breakers against Gothenburg. The standings in Europe after 15 weeks are:
9-5 Gothenburg
7-7 Bordeaux
7-7 Maassluis
6-8 Paris

Next up are two games on the road. The Merchantmen will first visit the Williamsburg Colonials. It will mark the first head-to-head game between Louie Flannery and Seth Dwight, the two winningest quarterbacsk who joined the IHOF in an amateur draft. Flannery has 37 wins versus Dwight's 36. The two were both selected in the 2006 draft and so far Dwight has had the better stats, but Flannery had the division crowns. It should be an interesting first head-to-head game between the two.

Player Of The Year Race 2009
Another set of victories, another reason to reward the players for their performances on the field. Who played well enough to get the points in weeks 14 and 15?

The 24-17 victory over the Chesapeake Chitterlings was a welcome surprise. Beating the second best team in the NAC isn't something our team does every week. Randy Harris was the offensive bright light with 100 yars and 2 touchdown on the ground. Wide receiver Bryce Ewald had 7 catches for 124 yards, but didn't score, so he was only the second best star. Guard Timothy Lacy looked back to his best days with 4 key run blocks and 10 opportunities. Cornerback Tai Wayne defended 6 passes and added a team high 7 tackles. Mike Kerhsner had 4 tackles, 3 assists, 1 sack and 1 forced fumble. Charles Gomez had 5 tackles, 3 assists, 1 sack and 2 quarterback hurries.
Points: 5 to Wayne, 4 to Harris, 3 to Ewald, 2 to Gomez, 1 to Kershner.

The 20-10 victory over Paris was a defensive masterpiece. Well, maybe it doesn't look that way when we allowed 297 total yards. But that's what we have Louie Flannery for (222 yards passing, 22/33 completed, 1 touchdown). Randy Harris ran for 68 yards and had 9 catches for 61 yards with a score to lead the team in yards from scrimmage. Charles Gomez was once again the leader of the defense, as he made 5 tackles, 3 assists, 2 sacks, 4 hurries and 1 forced fumble. Bernie Surry was the pass defense hero with 3 defended passes, on top of his 2 tackles and 3 assists. Myron Stevens played like a top cornerback, with 1 interception, 1 defended pass, 3 tackles and 1 assist. And Carl Meier was a nice middle linebacker with 4 tackles, 1 defended pass and 1 interception returned for a touchdown. And then we haven't even mentioned rookie Wally Mattingly and his 2.5 sacks.
Points: 5 to Gomez, 4 to Stevens, 3 to Harris, 2 to Meier, 1 to Flannery.

The overall standings after ten games:
Point Totals: Louie Flannery 20, Charles Gomez 18, Mike Kershner 15, Randy Harris 12, Myron Stevens 11, Tai Wayne 11, Bernie Surry 10, Bryce Ewald 7, Cody Cluff 6, Broderick Schultz 5, Sean Smalley 5, Erwin Baranowski 3, Linclon Gilmore 3, Gregory Monti 3, Jim Reiser 3, Cary Coles 2, Brant Heinrich 2, Devon Henson 2, Ivan Jacques 2, Carl Meier 2, Wally Mattingly 1, Cornelius Rice 1, Jamel Rosenberry 1, Shaun Shiroma 1, Jesse Vielma 1.

Merchantmen 2009 Season Ends With 8-8 Record
The Maassluis Merchantmen ended the 2009 season in style. With a defensive dominant win at the Gothenburg Giants, they notched win eight in what was the toughest schedule any IHOF team faced in league history. It followed up a tough 14-27 loss a week earlier at the Williamsburg Colonials. The win came a week after the Giants had clinched their first European championship.

The 2009 season is over for the Maassluis Merchantmen. Despite a strong 6-1 finish, they Merchantmen came at least two wins short for a playoff ticket. Their European dominance ended after just two seasons. In a season of two faces, the Merchantmen fell behind too early and never recovered from an 0-3 start and 2-7 mid-season record.

In the Palace of Ice and Frost, the Merchantmen decided to show for once and all why they are the best team in Europe. With a defensive dominant performance, they beat the Giants, despite the absence of the star players Charles Gomez and Cody Cluff. The Giants were shutout until just over two minutes left in the game.

The Merchantmen kept the Giants score less with their first two drives stopped by interceptions. Safety Lincoln Gilmore and Merchantmen comeback player of the year Mike Kershner accounted for the big plays. Followed up by seven three-and-outs, the Giants had no chance. Their ten points in the final minutes were hardly by the Merchantmen defense, as they allowed only nine first downs all game.

In return, the Merchantmen played their old fashioned balanced offense. Louie Flannery completed 25 of 35 passes for 236 yards and remained mistake free. he didn't pass for a touchdown, but instead let running back Joseph Schoen score twice on the ground. Schoen and Randy Harris shared the time well, with Schoen running for 66 yards and Harris for 67 yards.

Head Coach Leroy Van Der Woude praised the offense, but knew the defense came up big: "With our two best guys inactive with knee injuries, you think we'll have a tough game. But the guys told me to me faithful. Everybody on defense played well and did their best to beat the Giants in their house."

The 2010 season looks promising as the Merchantmen management is expected to be able to keep this team together. General manager M.IJ.B. said: "The core of the team is still young. Sure, guys like Hurtado, Harris and Gomez get older, but only five guys won't be 33 or older at the start of training camp. And two of them will likely leave us. The schedule will be easier, with no North Plainfield, Frederick or Coyners next season."

Final 2009 European standings:
1. Gothenburg Giants (10-6 record)
2. Bordeaux Vineyards (8-8 record)
3. Maassluis Anglers (8-8 record)
4. Paris Musketeers (8-8 record)

The Vineyards took second place based on a superiour head-to-head-to-head record (3-1), while the Merchantmen took third place over the Musketeers on divisional record (3-3 versus 2-4). It marked the third instance in IHOF history of all four teams in the same division have no losing record. In contrast, the NAC Atlantic Coast division teams all had a losing record.

Player Of The Year Race 2009, Final
The last two games were a mix of a come-short catch up game and a defensive dominating win. Who took the points and made a late season run for the top spots in the player of the year race?

The 27-14 loss to the Williamsburg Colonials looked bigger than it was. The game was pretty even until Louie Flannery had to go for it late in the game and got intercepted. The Colonials wrapped up the game and stayed alive to mark a crucial win in their eventual wild card taking effort. The three top players on Merchantmen side were identifiable though. Tight end Jim Reiser had 6 receptions for 69 yards to show why he's been the #1 target for Louie Flannery so far in his career. Cornerback Tai Wayne defended 2 passes, wile allowing 2 catches and making 3 tackles and 1 assist. Linebacker Mike Kershner had 7 tackles, 3 assists and 1 defended pass.
Points: 3 to Kershner, 2 to Reiser, 1 to Wayne.

The 20-10 victory over the Gothenburg Giants was mainly based on defensive supremacy in the first 57 minutes of the game. Louie Flannery completed 25 of 35 passes for 236 yards, and deserves recognition. But despite several good candidates, the rest are defensive stars. Like Myron Stevens, who made 2 tackles and defended 2 passes. Like Erwin Baranowski, who had 2 tackles and 2 sacks. Like Lincoln Gilmore, who had 4 tackles, 1 assist, 1 interception and 1 defended pass. And a guy like Mike Kershner, who made 2 tackles, 2 assists and 1 interception.
Points: 5 to Gilmore, 4 to Flannery, 3 to Stevens, 2 to Kershner, 1 to Baranowski.

The final overall standings:
Point Totals: Louie Flannery 24, Mike Kershner 20, Charles Gomez 18, Myron Stevens 14, Randy Harris 12, Tai Wayne 12, Bernie Surry 10, Lincoln Gilmore 8, Bryce Ewald 7, Cody Cluff 6, Jim Reiser 5, Broderick Schultz 5, Sean Smalley 5, Erwin Baranowski 4, Gregory Monti 3, Cary Coles 2, Brant Heinrich 2, Devon Henson 2, Ivan Jacques 2, Carl Meier 2, Wally Mattingly 1, Cornelius Rice 1, Jamel Rosenberry 1, Shaun Shiroma 1, Jesse Vielma 1.

Sub-Categories:
Best Rookie: 1. Wally Mattingly and Jesse Vielma
Best Newcomer: 1. Wally Mattingly and Jesse Vielma
Best Defensive Player: 1. Mike Kershner, 2. Charles Gomez, 3. Myron Stevens
Best Offensive Player: 1. Louie Flannery, 2. Randy Harris, 3. Bryce Ewald
Best Special Teams Player: 1. Sean Smalley, 2. Cary Coles and Devin Henson

Merchantmen Preview To 2010
Quarterbacks
It shouldn't be a surprise who the 2010 projected starter is. Louie Flannery may have looked bad in multiple games (five without touchdown drives), but made up with some good efforts in the second half of the season and a six-touchdown showing. Flannery is screaming for better receivers and that may just be the thing for him to break into the elite. Josh Webb is our future #2 project. He made some progress in his rookie season, but he's going to need some more progress to convince me. Thad Pilkington will once again be shopped around, because I'm afraid he's going to lose a bit of his tricks soon. But if Webb proves to be no future #2, Thad is still very welcome in Oranje Haven. Justin McDavid is going to stay around to mentor Webb, in case Thad moves along.
Needs: holding onto having a decent #2 quarterback.

Running Backs
A tough situation. I'm starting to think that we have three decent backs, but none good enough to be the untouchable #1. Randy Harris is getting older and older. Joseph Schoen ain't so much younger. Last season he was a good #2, but the 2009 season wasn't his best. Scott Bagley looked good in limited playing time and I've got some great expectations from our backup kickoff returner. Jamel Rosenberry is a perfect workhorse fullback and won't be going anywhere, while Henry Poston's future looks bright in potential, but I'm far from convinced that he'll ever be good enough to start for us, aside from being a third down back.
Needs: Upgrade at backup fullback, a young running back who can be a good enough #2.

Receivers
I'll start with our tight ends as that's where our passing game starts. Jim Reiser once again leads the team in receptions, which is a bad sign. With Arnold Ramirez as his backup and Winston Van Pelt as the #3, we're in great shape. The situation at the flanks is troublesome. Our passing game needs a
guy who can make 5 catches per game, and we don't have one. Bryce Ewald is the closest thing, but he just ain't getting open enough, he's a perfect #3 guy. gregory Monti is hurt too often and is no real #1 at all. Youngsters Jerry Beyer and Jesse Vielma have been tried out, but unless they make good
progress, neither will be the long term solution. And Devin Henson is still mainly here to return kickoffs.
Needs: A wide receiver who can make 75 catches.

Offensive Line
Oh boy, where to start after a first half of the season where this line totally sucked? The line recovered a bit, but it isn't all so great yet. Ivan Jacques has once again proven to be irreplacable. But the rest is just average. Our run blocking guards Butch White and Timothy Lacy are decent guys, but not consistenly good. Right tackle Cornelius Rice was close to losing his starting role to Louis Bell, had not there been so many injuries. Brant Heinrich has secured his role as starting center, for now. Leader Harold Hurtado is still our best run blocker, which is sad, especially since 2010 might be his last season, and a season in a 7th stringer role. The unhappy backups Brian Hammond and Heath Ferebee are expected to leaves as free agents, while injured Bruce Pritchett will join the ranks, providing he'll be good to go. And Norman Holliday is still making slow progress as a potential pass blocking expert backup.
Needs: Backup center, backup guard.

Defensive Line
Finally a line where I can't be happier. Charles Gomez is the best defensive tackle in the league and proves that week after week. Andy Weliczka and Shaun Shiroma have been effective as his time-sharing side kicks, while Andrew Rasmussen was unlucky to get hurt, or else he would have ended the season as Gomez' side kick. At defensive end, we'll have five startable guys, providing Aaron Sherrill will be back at his pre-injury form. Omar Gougeon worked his way up to being a top10 end in my book, while Erwin Baranowski and Albert Bernardo have proven to be top10 quality ends in the past. And rookie Wally Mattingly has shown enough that he deserves to be in the mix.
needs: none.

Linebackers
Another solid group. Bernie Surry, Cody Cluff and Mike Kershner are one of the best linebacking trio's in the IHOF. With Ellsworth Thelen as the often playing backup, we can rotate an keep the guys fresh. Factor in Carl Meier and we also have depth in case of injuries. Mentor Josh Weisberg is unhappy and might be leaving us in 2010. if that happens, we'll need a new sixth linebacker.
Needs: replacement for Josh Weisberg.

Secondary
Good but not great. I love this group of players, but they're still not owning opposing receivers as I'd like them too. At cornerback we're in great shape with Tai Wayne and future star Sammie Kennedy. With guys like Myron Stevens and Winford Endicott playing as top10 cornerbacks, we should be happy. As should we be with Xavier Clyburn and injured mentor/leader Melvin Shelton. At safety, Lincoln Gilmore is quietly turning into a top5 guy at his position. With Borderick Schultz and Emile William sharing time as his side kick, Gilmore plays very well. And in John Cole we have a perfect number four for the safety position.
Needs: none.

Special Teams Unit
I have nothing to complain here either. Sure, we could use more productivity from punt returner Joseph Schoen and could use a better backup for him, but that's all. Cary Coles is doing great kicking work with Josh Webb or Louie Flannery as his holder and Winston Van Pelt as his long snapper. Al Bettis still does the kickoff duties and he's showing time after time he's arguably the best in the league at that. Punter Sean Smalley is still young and picked high in the draft, but the kid made good progress and we can only be unhappy about his lack of accuracy. And I don't need to talk about kickoff returners as Devin Henson and Scott Bagley are arguably the best duo in the league at it.
Needs: upgrade at punt returner.

Merchantmen Player of the Year Poll 2009 Opened
Opened for the coming 21 days is the Merchantmen Player of the Year Poll 2009! I'd recommend all the readers and fans of the Maassluis Merchantmen dynasty thread to put in their votes. The nine selected candidates are in alphabetical order: Cody Cluff, Louie Flannery, Lincoln Gilmore, Charles Gomez, Ivan Jacques, Mike Kershner, Wally Mattingly, Jim Reiser and Myron Stevens. As usual there is room for a write-in candidate for those who like someone else as their choice.

Press Release: Merchantmen Go For Five Trades Max
The Maassluis Merchantmen have a history of trades. Take a look at the current roster and half of the stars have been acquired through trade, or have been drafted by traded draft picks. Louie Flannery, Tai Wayne and Ivan Jacques jump out as the most prominent names. But the time of trading sprees is coming to an end. As the New Year has come, the Merchantmen's thing to do in 2010 is trading less.

General Manager M.IJ.B. has looked silly in the past by making "Put the over/under at ten trades" comments. But in 2010 things really will be quiet in Maassluis. M.IJ.B.: "We have the roster we want. We could arguably use some upgrades, but I really don't see us trade a dozen times. Five trades would likely be a lot."

As the 2009 playoffs are going on, the Merchantmen are looking forward to 2010. With offensive linemen Brian Hammond and Heath Ferebee becoming free agents, the team has 54 players signed for the new season and is projected to be about four million dollars over the salary cap.

"We are in good shape for a playoff run," M.IJ.B. said optimistically, "2009 was a tough season, but we keep faith and hope that this team can relive their 2007 form." Copying the 2007 performance seems to be an illusion, but regaining the European title should be a viable option.

The 2010 off-season will be a silent one, just like the 2009 off-season. With a lot of players signed and little retirements looming, the management expects to see only few new faces. The team already spent most of their 2010 draft picks and has to settle with three fifth round picks. "But those can be valuable, we've gotten starters out of fourth round picks and below."

All in all, the Merchantmen are unlikely to go on a trading spree and thus will stay away from the century mark. The Merchantmen have made around 85 trades to date. Followers of the IHOF like the easy link between the nickname and the management's roster building strategy to trade for players and picks and expect the team to trade a lot again. And looking at the past, they could be right after all...

General Manager Notes: 2009 Season Recap
Welcome back to .500 land.

The story of the 2009 campaign can be told, our season has been over for a while now. As four remaining contenders try to slash their paths through the jungle of the playoffs, we are preparing for the upcoming season. The 2010 season, when things ought to click again.

The 2009 campaign was painful. After a bad start (0-3) and a terrible mid-season report 2-7, we managed to bounce back with a five-game winning streak and ending up at 8-8. At least I know what we should and shouldn't do in the future. Let's take a look at what our schedule looked like:

wk01 L 6-15 @Bordeaux (8-8)
wk02 L 3-30 Frederick (12-4)
wk03 L 9-34 @Conyers (11-5)
wk04 open
wk05 W 16-13 @Syracuse (6-10)
wk06 W 44-17 Rochester (10-6)
wk07 L 17-20 Boston (13-3)
wk08 L 6-12 @Paris (8-8)
wk09 L 3-38 @North Plainfield (14-2)
wk10 L 10-13 Bordeaux (8-8)
wk11 W 14- 9 Gothenburg (10-6)
wk12 W 28-24 @Brooklyn (5-11)
wk13 W 27-26 San Antonio (12-4)
wk14 W 24-17 Chesapeake (10-6)
wk15 W 20-10 Paris (8-8)
wk16 L 14-27 @Williamsburg (9-7)
wk17 W 20-10 @Gothenburg (10-6)

Looking at our scores, the first thing jumping out are the three big losses. To tell you the truth, I expected to lose those three games as I wrote those three teams (North Plainfield, Frederick and Conyers) as the top3 teams in the league. As it showed, I was right there. But what caught my eye is how we lost those games. Those games we gambled by letting them run and relying on the pass defense, which clearly backfired. I tell you what, the game plan we used will be in the garbage soon.

What also jumps out is the Rochester win. The Six-touchdown show from Louie Flannery has left a huge scar on the Lake Monsters and our fans tease the Monsters' about it. It lives up the Futility Bowl rivalry, which will be continued with a regular season game in 2010. What does our schedule roughly look like next season?

home & road Gothenburg (10-6)
home & road Bordeaux (8-8)
home & road Paris (8-8)
road San Antonio (12-4)
road Vicksburg (8-8)
home Telluride (5½-10½)
home Fort Worth (4½-11½)
home Boulder (9-7)
home San Luis Obispo (8½-7½)
road Fairbanks (8-8)
road Anaheim (3-13)
home/road Rochester (10-6)
home/road Georgia (9½-6½)

Yeah, it isn't as tough a schedule as the past season's (none of the thirty-nothing threesome), but it won't be easy enough to go 16-0 without effort. Especially as long as the offense won't be potent enough to score more touchdowns than we have done the past season. The offense will be the point of focuss in the off-season. Five games without a touchdown scored is just unacceptable.

The off-season plan will be pretty small, concerning player moves. I'm confident this roster is capable of regaining the European title and making a run for the playoffs. It's more a question of making the offense score. The moves to be expected are the departure of three veteran backups in center Heath Ferebee, mentor/guard Brian Hammond and mentor/linebacker Josh Weisberg. Wizz is still signed through 2010, but it makes sense to shop him around as Mike Kershner and Bernie Surry are done developing.

Other things to do are making sure we can get under the cap and make sure we have a competitive roster in 2011. The core of the team is signed long-term, but tight end Jim Reiser and left tackle Ivan Jacques are on their last year of contract in 2010. We'll look to a couple of long time veterans to restructure their deals, like the 10-million dollar man Charles Gomez, Reiser himself and backup quarterback Thad Pilkington. An early indication is that we try to free up just enough room to sign rookies.

Draft day will be quite quiet in Maassluis, actually, we only have three fifth round picks. I'd like to look forward by saying we'll do this or that, but I need to see the class first before making clear statememts. Over the years we drafted a lot of contributing players, most have become starters, but the 2007 draft proved to be a lost draft, with zero full time starters out of ten players. If an interesting prospect comes around, I mght try to trade up into the third round, but that'll probably be it.

The free agency market could be interesting, but will not be a big issue. Our needs are a new sixth linebacker, offensive line depth and grabbing seven pre-season roster fillers who could fit on the team if injuries take out one of the top 53 players. Worst case, we'll be heading into the 2010 season with 53 players who all spent the 2009 season on our roster, either active, inactive or injured reserve.

That's it for now, I'll try to keep y'all up to date, but other stuff keeps me occupied most of the time.

League News: IHOF Bowl VI: San Antonio versus Frederick
The 2009 conference champions have been crowned. In the Atlantic Ocean Conference, the San Antonio Volunteers upset the North Plainfield Plague on a last minute field goal with a 19-17 score.The Frederick Red Menace defended their house from the Ann Arbor Anachronism with a 23-17 victory, to claim the North Amercian Conference. Both teams are first time conference champions, meaning IHOF Bowl VI will be played between two first time entrees.

The Volunteers were the surprise of the day. Boosted by two interceptions from Jared Delassio, the Vol's defense kept it close all game and gave All IHOF first team quarterback David Conti brain cramps. The Volunteers gambled late in the game, by going for he field goal when down by four points, but in the end it paid off. With a well placed 42-yard kick, Steve Waters converted his fourth field goal of the game to win his team the game.

The Red Menace had less difficulties. The Menace held all IHOF first team running back Ray 'Ray Ray' Lyle to 101 yards, which is concidered to be good. Anachronism quarterback Zach Downing replaced future Hall of Famer Donald Woods and looked good at the start, but later on choked. Downing completed only 13 of 33 passes and saw a late attempt to win the game fall six yards short. Harold Worsham was the Menace's big man with two interceptions to keep Downing worried all game long.

For the Merchantmen fans, the IHOF Bowl VI matchup will see two teams who visited Oranje Haven this season. They might remember the heroic 27-26 win over the Volunteers after having been down 16-0 after the first quarter. The game against the Menace might be the one the fans wanted to forget, but couldn't. The Menace won 30-3 and accounted for the Merchantmen's biggest home loss in franchise history.

The Red Menace are the favorites to win, but the Volunteers have beaten the Plague and the Conyers Condors on their way to the big game. Vegas puts two points on the NAC champions Frederick, but you never know when the mean machine will implode. Four defensive starters are hurt for the Menace. On the other end, the Volunteers have nine players listed as out, with six already on injured reserve. They'll need some magic to get a 46-men roster healthy for their biggest game in franchise history.

Merchantmen Memories: The Return Specialist From Utah
In Merchantmen Memories we'll go back in time and relive one of the highlights in Merchantmen history, or other interesting events. In today's episode, we'll take a look at the short careers of two 26-year old men, born in Utah. The only two men who share a record with the biggest return specialist in IHOF history. Their names are Lonnie O'Reilley and Matt Offord. And their careers as football player have been over for a while. Where are they now?

"Lonnie, Lonnie, Lonnie!" We go back to the 2005 season. The Maassluis Merchantmen were coming of a dramatic 9-10 loss at home to the Tucker Tigers. First round pick Leonard Lyon was returning to the starting line up in the road game at the Georgia Gridlock. Big names like All IHOF first team tight end Jerry Aubrey, like Randy Harris, Bryce Ewald and Gregory Monti were playing. But an undrafted rookie was the leading receiver that day.

Lonnie O'Reilley parks his red Honda on the drive lane of a small home in Highland, southern Utah. As he helps the two-year old Melissa out of her special little people's seat, he welcomes us. "Hi! I'm sorry I'm a bit late, we had to pick up a bag on doggy snacks on the route home." After Lonnie unlocks the door, two tiny little cats jump into his legs. Little Melissa picks up the one with the white spot over the left eye in his brown face. "Leo been bad?"

As we enter the living room, a white football jersey hangs over the small television. The number 85 is printed on it. As we try to think of who's number it was, we can't think of anyone who wore the number. The name "Lonnie" is printed over the number. "Everybody called me Lonnie, I don't think anyone ever knew my last name. I didn't mind having it that way. I hear my number hasn't ever been used in an official game before or after I played in Maassluis. Ain't that something?"

We hear a car honking outside. Lonnie stands up, opens the front door and walks outside. As he returns about a minute later, a 6'2" man wearing a recognizable Merchantmen jersey follows him. A big blue number two sits on the front of the jersey. Again, we can't put a name with the number. As the man turns around to pick up Melissa, we see the name. Offord.

Matt Offord joined the Maassluis Merchantmen as an undrafted rookie. "I still remember sitting in a press conference, together with 'Ronny'." We stare blank at Offord. "Myron Stevens," he says, "that guy who's been starting for most of the season. Man, did Ronny do well this season." Offord was one of a handful of undrafted rookies signed by the Merchantmen prior to the 2006 training camp. "I still remember the day the final 53-men were made public. I jumped in the air and called my mom. She was so proud."

Lonnie O'Reilley remembers that day too. "Yeah, I was watching the press conference over Merchantmen TV. I was pulling for Matt to make the roster and he did." As we ask Lonnie why he wasn't on the 53-men list,we quickly remember how Lonnie was released a day before pre-season 2006 started. "It was painful, but the management told me it was either Matt or me."

Lonnie O'Reilley was released after having played in every game of the 2005 season. His statistics tell us he started in four games. With 30 receptions for 357 yards, he was the #3 receiver that season. Matt Offord won the role as second returner specialist in training camp and O'Reilley's role was over. "I was devastated, I went from #3 guy to not even 60-men roster worthy." Offord nods as he went through something similar.

Going up to the eventual very succesful 2007 campaign, Matt Offord was battling for his roster spot. Offord went through pre-season just fine, until the Merchantmen decided to trade in running back Rodger Mowery. Lonnie says he was shocked: "I heard that news and immediately thought Matt's days in Maassluis were over. Mowery is a legend, argualbly the best punt returner in league history."

Offord never came over the devastation and wasn't signed by any team during the season. Offord decided to step away from football in spring 2008. Lonnie by that time already had built his new home in Highland and told Offord to move back to Utah like he did. "I was sick of the pro league, one day you're a hero, the next you're unwanted." And Offord was a hero one day, he's still credited for having a key role in the first overtime win in Merchantmen history.

Offord tells the story of the game. "It was a weird day. I think the defense allowed almost 600 yards to the San Luis Obispo Burn, but we kept hoping for good things. The special teams unit played great and midway the fourth quarter, it was my time." Offord caught the punted ball and returned it 88 yards for a score. "A bummer how the Burn tied the score in the following minutes, but a brilliant fumble return tocuhdown from Charles Gomez won us the game."

Offord that day had 88 yards punt returning and 58 yards kickoff returning. 50 or more in both categories seems to be pretty unique. Only three men ever managed that in a regular season game. Lonnie tells us who they are: "Two of them are sitting in this room, Matt and I were second and third to do that. The first guy was Domingo Luevano, but you have to see, he's doing both duties for six seasons now and has about 60 more returns than anyone else."

O'Reilley's 50-50 day came in another monumental victory. "Yeah, it marked the first time the Merchantmen had a winning record." The Merchantmen overcame trailing 14-0 and beat the Fort Worth Fury on the road 20-14. O'Reilley had to return 7 punts and did fairly well. With 79 yards punt returning and 50 yards kickoff returning he barely made the cut of the elite. "I still remember head coach calling me the better receiver. it was in the days when Mouse Tail Perry was te hype of the league."

As we leave the house of the O'Reilley family, we wonder about the jersey hanging over the television. Standing in the opening of the door, Lonnie brings us back to the game at Georgia in week five of the 2005 season. "Leonard Lyon thought I was the new real thing and passed me the ball 5 times. I racked up 72 yards, but he gave the touchdowns to other guys, but I did lead the team in receiving yards that day. Being a rookie, that was huge. Sadly I retired without a touchdown.." Matt Offord only smiles, knowing he did score.

As IHOF Bowl VI is on te horizon, both 26-year olds live in Utah and have been living there for over two years now. They still visit each other a lot and cherrish their short stints as pro football players. In a way, they did their share in the steps forward the Merchantmen made the past seasons. Deep inside, they wish they had been part of the succes. As Lonnie describes: "We're Merchantmen forever."

No Retirements For Merchantmen
With the start of a new season, teams await the list of retirements. Players are free to fill retirement forms the day after the season final. The San Antonio Volunteers were hit hard after the 14-28 loss to the Frederick Red Menace in IHOF Bowl VI. In return, the Menace saw people's MVP running back James Cull retire after arguably the biggest game in his career.

For the Maassluis Merchantmen, the official start of the 2010 season didn't bring any retirements. Although around the league some ex-Merchantmen did end their careers. Former All IHOF offensive linemen Wilson Grimaldo (Maassluis 2005-2006) and Jasper Call (Maassluis 2007-2008) decided to quit the game. No other ex-Merchantmen players on a 2009 roster retired.

The list of free agent retirements was long as usual. There were some relative big names for the Merchantmen there too. Quarterback Shane Bower remained unsigned throughout the 2009 season and called it quits.

Three players who were released in the 2009 pre-season period also quit the game. Tight end Charlie Martins was an undrafted rookie in 2005 and spent four season with the Merchantmen as the long snapper. Safety Lamar Singleton was a fifth round pick in 2006 and spent three seasons on the Merchantmen roster.

Running back Kyle Montoya spent the 2005, 2006 and 2008 season on the Merchantmen roster, but never played a single down. His last active game was ironically against the Merchantmen. Other retiring ex-Merchantmen (seasons on roster in brackets) are quarterback Antoine Shepard (third string in 2004-2005), center Ernie Taylor (2006) and guard Lane Stedman (2006).

Gossip News: All Too Quiet In Maassluis
Zero trades. That's the score so far for the Maassluis Merchantmen. Once called the masters of trading, basically named by themselves, but the 2010 off-season is quite un-Merchantmen like so far. But Gossip News wouldn't be gossip news without some rumors going on. What's going on?

First of all, the Merchantmen seem to have lost on one player already. They spread the word of wanting cornerback Antoine Hall. They even pursued Hall behind the backs of the Rochester Lake Monsters owner Kodos. The Lake Monsters management immediately traded Hall to the Brooklyn Fightin' Bums when they found out about the interest. Gossip News found out Hall wasn't interested anyway, as he was told to be playing a nickelback role. being called Anthony didn't help either it seems.

The second rumor is about Fredric Vargas. The North Plainfield Plague wide receiver started his IHOF career in Maassluis, but the Plague showed interested and picked Vargas up in a trade. After five seasons, Vargas became too expensive and the Plague are trying to sell Freddy to the Merchantmen. Chances are still slim that the Merchantmen will have the cap room to bring him back.

Despite the lack of cap room, the Merchantmen are about four million dollars over the cap, they are looking for a wide receiver. Rumors are that they are trying to weaken one of their European rivals, but we are not sure which one. All are suspect: Gothenburg has listed all their wide receivers available for trade, Paris is in serious cap hell and Bordeaux still has the mind boggling Martin Mathias in their receivers corps.

The name of Josh Weisberg has been linked with the Anaheim Visigoths. Weisberg is on the block and the Merchantmen are trying to sell him as a defensive coordinator's right hand inthe locker room. Weisberg's resume includes the names of Bernie Surry and Mike Kershner, who grew into the perfect sidekicks of Cody Cluff in Maassluis. other potential new homes could be rebuilding Rochester, mentors loving Conyers and Weisberg's old home on the west coast, San Luis Obispo.

The last, but not least, rumor is the continuing story of Justin McDavid. Fumblin' Justin is once again linked with the Williamsburg Colonials to join the team of the former president of Justin's fan club. The Merchantmen are likely to part ways with either Justin or Thad Pilkington. Both are league wide regarded as mentor type passer, where Thad has the advantage of having the repuation of a decent backup quarterback. Josh Webb should feel safe about his job, unless the Merchantmen try to trade him to the Gothenburg Giants, who are in search of a new quarterback after Duane Davis dramatic loss of skills following injury.

Gossip News will keep you updated as much as possible on what goes on around Oranje Haven. Including the rumors about the continued search for a new offensive coordinator. Antonio Francis should be worried about his job!

Short News Snippets Around the League
* Quarterback Duane Davis' future with the Gothenburg Giants looks dim. Following a torn lateral knee ligament, Davis fought back to the playing field, but couldn't avoid seeing his knee destroyed and limiting his ability to play football. ironically, Davis picked up the knee injury in the Giants' own stadium, the Palace of Ice and Forst, the same arena where Maassluis Merchantmen quarterback Justin McDavid picked up a knee injury that turned him from starter into fourth stringer. The Giants have already announced their willingness to sell the franchise for a new quarterback.

* Paris Musketeers two-time All IHOF second team cornerback Steven Randall returned to France out of shape. Randall suffered a torn quadriceps muscle in the game against the North Plainfield Plague last season. The medical staff of the Musketeers reported that Randall will still be a fine football player, but no longer should be regarded as one of the elite players at his position. The Musketeers have started their pursuit for a new shutdown cornerback.

* The Bordeaux Vineyards have hired Lonnie Chopper as their new headcoach. Chopper was head coach of the Astoria Heroes and later on of the Williamsburg Colonials after name change. Chopper coached the franchise to four playoff appearances in five season, with the worst regular season record being 8-8. Chopper signed for five years. Chopper will be asked to bring back Bordeaux to the top of the European divison after having missed the playoffs three times following three consecutive European Championships.

* David Conti has been named IHOF's 2009 League MVP. As the quarterback of the North Plainfield Plague, Conti has grown into a league of his own. Conti completed 62.9 percent of his passes for 4,770 yards, 41 touchdowns and 7 interceptions, with a passer rating of 105.8. To show how big and important Conti is, the Plague have won 45 of their last 49 regular season games with Conti starting. Conti is the all-time IHOF leader in passing yards (22,241) and touchdowns (158).

* Cris Richardson is once again the free agent with the biggest demands. The Conyers Condors defensive end has been an All IHOF first team selection in the last two seasons. Richardson is likely to be franchise by the Condors. But if the team decided not to, Richardson's agents will demand for a 65 million dollar deal over five years. Second biggest free agent is Vicksburg Vipers' two time League MVP running back Ronnie Kemp.

Gossip News: Merchantmen About To Dump Jim Reiser
It's over. The long lasting love between the Maassluis Merchantmen and tight end Jim Reiser is finished. The Merchantmen management and Reiser's agent have yet to start talks about a contract extension, but the hopes on getting together are slim. Reiser is on the last year on a lucrative three-year deal he signed prior to the 2008 season.

Reiser has been an important player to the Merchantmen. In his first and a half season, Reiser backed up 2004 All IHOF First Team tight end Jerry Aubrey. In the past four seasons, Reiser took over from Aubrey after Aubrey was traded in the 2006 off-season. Reiser quickly became quarterback Louie Flannery's #1 target. And as Reiser missed only 3 games due to injury in six seasons, he's been a reliable player.

Reiser wasn't a top player at first, but in 2006 he broke out with 79 catches. He ranked in the IHOF's top ten in just his first season as a full-time starter. But as his role kept growing, his demands got bigger. Prior to the 2007 season, Reiser clearly told people about how he was the best tight end in the league and was robbed from All IHOF honors in 2006.

At first, the Merchantmen management was able to tone down Reiser and his agent's demands. The team told Reiser that a cap figure greater than 2.5 million would be over the top and unfitting for a player of his position. Reiser didn't complain, but the backloaded deals he signed are now backfiring. Reiser is due a four million salary in the 2010 season, while he's also accounting for 1.7 million of bonus money towards the cap figure.

Our reliable sources report that Reiser is still wanting the moon. It is reported that Reiser is asking for a new four-year contract with an eight million dollar bonus and salaries averaging around four million. The Merchantmen front office finds these figures unacceptable, especially given what they pay their wide receivers, who gain more catches, more yards, but get half the money. But following the retirement of the IHOF's #1 tight end Brendon Drumm, Reiser feels he's the clear #1 now.

It's ask and demand these days. Reiser wants six million a season and the Merchantmen have only three options left. The easy option seems to be giving what he wants. But the problem there, in a salary cap time, is the overall cap situation. The team is currently four million over the cap. Reports are the team will be about three million under the cap after renegotiations and completing a trade for a big name offensive lineman.

The second option is the Merchantmen's option: trade. As of now, the team is better with Reiser on the field. But if the struggles continue, riots in the locker room are around the corner. And then, what team could use him, one with a green quarterback perhaps? The asking price could be big, but it's doubtful the Merchantmen can get a first round pick for him.

Option number three is the franchise tag. Reiser's cap figure will be huge this season, but if they tag him next season, they are expected to save about four million in cap space. That cap space could be used to extend the contracts of left tackle Ivan Jacques, who is in the last year of his contract, and Mike Kershner, who the team would like to lock up through the 2013 season.

As of now, the team seems to lean to option number one, although the success will rely on their luck in asking others to take a paycut. It won't be good for the locker room, but Reiser is a great football player and has been good. And Louie Flannery really loves Reiser. The team has Arnold Ramirez and Winston Van Pelt in the wings, but neither looks like the new Reiser. Ramirez had 5 catches for 42 yards when Reiser was injured in 2007, Van Pelt's resume add up to 3 catches.

Gossip News' take is that Reiser will be traded soon. The Merchantmen management has made fun of Reiser's demands in the past. They seem him as a top ten tight end, who overrates himself. They know he's one of the league's best players in getting open, but his yards per catch of 9.9 in 2009 tells the rest of the story. As do the lowsy two touchdowns he scored. Not to mention his run block percentage of 7.7 last season. He's not on the block yet, but it can't take much longer...

Merchantmen Acquire Center Ned Cozart In First 2010 Trade
The Maassluis Merchantmen are back at it. In a trade with the Outer Banks Ospreys, the Merchantmen acquired center Ned Cozart. The Merchantmen give up their 2012 second round pick and a 2011 sixth round pick, but also trade up from mid fifth to mid fourth round. Cozart fills the void at center as the Merchantmen only have Brant Heinrich left with the expected departure of Heath Ferebee as a free agent.

Cozart had been a reliable starter for the Ospreys. In his first four seasons, Cozart missed only 4 regular season games. The last two seasons, Cozart started in only 18 games as injuries started to haunt him. Cozart has been franchised four times by the Ospreys. In six years, Cozart made 182 key run blocks and allowed just 18 sacks in 2430 passing plays.

Merchantmen Overpay For Receiver Jewell Simpson
Trade number two is in the books. The Maassluis Merchantmen today announced the addition of a new wide receiver in Jewell Simpson. Simpson had been a regular starter for the Springfield Isotopes the past four seasons. The Merchantmen give up their 2012 first round pick and two 2010 fifth round picks, but get also two fourth round picks. Still, league wide eyebrowses were raised and the Merchantmen were told they overpaid.

Jewell Simpson had been on the wishlist for quite some time in Maassluis. General manager M.IJ.B. said: "Back in 2006, we opened our eyes in search for a wide receiver with big-play ability. David Henkel didn't work out well, but we see good things in Simpson. Louie Flannery has a strong arm and needed a receiver who can get open downfield. Plus, Simpson gives us a a second punt returner after Joseph Schoen."

Simpson doesn't have the numbers to defend the value in the trade, but the Merchantmen feel safe. Simpson had 106 catches for 1588 yards in Springfield, with 7 touchdowns. Most of his yardage came in 2008, when he had 708 yards receiving. Biggest day in his career was ironically in Oranje Haven. Simpson caught 6 passes for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Springfield Isotopes beat the Merchantmen by the guidance of former Merchantmen first round pick Leonard Lyon.

Despite having played most of his time with the Isotopes, Simpson already has receptions in two different playoff games on his resume. Simpson was part of the North Plainfield Plague's 2004 Northeast championship team. In the 2005 off-season he was traded to the Outer Banks Ospreys. With the Ospreys he reached the playoffs for a second time. The Ospreys let Simpson walk as a free agent the next off-season. The Isotopes picked him up during the regular season and gave him a lot of playing time.

Simpson will now join a crowded Merchantmen receivers corps. The past seasons the Merchantmen spent draft picks on Jesse Vielma (third round 2009) and Jerry Beyer (second round 2008), but neither pleased the management enough. Gregory Monti and Bryce Ewald are sure-handed, but lack the agility to get open and rack up the yardage after catch. Devin Henson is mainly a return specialist.

General Manager Notes: 2010 Begins!
yep, we overpaid.

The pain of missing the playoffs was there. Looking at our needs, one thing glanced at me. Okay, maybe two. One: we need a wide receiver who can get open downfield. Two: we need a better center. And to address them, we surely overpaid.

Let's get to number, because that's what we fixed first. Center Ned Cozart is his name, he's been a stud, consistently a top five center, yet he missed the All IHOF honors season after season. Cozart will become our best run blocker and is also a better pass blocker than Heinrich. Not to mention that Cozart is a natural born leader. So far so good, no?

Number two then. It's a bit more complicated. At first I approached the Springfield Isotopes for receiver John Foster. The Isotopes management advertised Jewell Simpson and immediately I realized he was the missing piece to our puzzle. Big play receiver with the ability to get open. Perfect.

Of course, I paid a lot to get the two. In the end I gave up the 2011 first round pick, 2012 second round pick, a 2011 sixth round pick and three 2010 fifth round picks (19, 22 and 30 overall). In return I get two starters and three fourth rounds picks that could into two useful players. Yes, I'm already counting on an additional trade.

THe rest of the plans for the off-season are simple: consolidate. We have cap room after renegotiations (14 million with 54 players signed), but need to extend and upgrade some contracts. Left tackle Ivan Jacques, tight end Jim Reiser and linebacker Mike Kershner, just to new a few.

Okay, maybe we'll acquire a couple of startable players with te remaining cap room, but hey, I think we're a couple of good moves away from being back in the conference championship race. Okay, okay, back in the division title race. It's not like we'll be able to beat the North Plainfield Plague or Conyers Condors...

Breaking News: Merchantmen Acquire Tommie Canon
The Maassluis Merchantmen just announced the acquisition of cornerback Tommie Canon. Despite having enough cornerbacks on roster, the team couldn't turn down the Rochester Lake Monsters' trade offer. Canon will join the Merchantmen in return for fourth and fifth round picks in 2011. The Merchantmen also trade up from the #120 to #94 overall draft pick in the upcoming draft. Canon played for Rochester the past two seasons, following his first four seasons with the Fairbanks NorthStars. Canon won a championship ring in 2004 and only missed the playoffs last season, despite the Lake Monsters' 10-6 record.

Charles Gomez fans' choice as player of 2009
Charles Gomez was once again selected the people's choice. Merchantmen fans en mass voted for Gomez to be the 2009 player of the year. With 57 percent of the votes, Gomez held of cornerback Myron Stevens and left tackle Ivan Jacques, who finished second and third respectively.

"A nice gesture," Gomez called it, "the fans are loyal and it's an honor to be their choice of player of the year again." Gomez was honored All IHOF first teamer for the third time in his career, following a season with 82 tackles, 28 assists, 7.5 sacks and 24 hurries. Most impressive was his league leader figure of 6 forced fumbles.

Josh "The Wizard" Weisberg Leaves Merchantmen
"The Wizard"'s magic is over. After three seasons of mentor young linebackers Mike Kershner and Bernie Surry, Josh Weisberg left the Maassluis Merchantmen. Today he was traded to the Springfield Isotopes for a future fourth round pick.

Weisberg played 46 games for the Merchantmen in four season. Wizz recorded 18 tackles, 8 assists and 1 assist. Weisberg joined the Merchantmen in 2006 through trade from the San Luis Obispo. Weisberg had been unhappy with his role recently and was unwilling to sign a contract extention. The Merchantmen wish The Wizard good luck back in the USA.

Merchantmen Bring Back Linebacker Omar Carpenter
A familiar face to the Maassluis Merchantmen organization will return. Middle linebacker Omar Carpenter today signed a one-year contract. Carpenter was in Maassluis during the 2009 training camp and played well in pre-season (14 tackles, 8 assists), but failed to make the 53-men regualr season roster. With the trade of Josh Weisberg, Carpenter hopes to be the sixth linebacker in 2010. "It's nice to be back," Carpenter said, "but I have no guarantee to make the roster. I'll have to focus in training camp and pre-season to show what I'm made of."

Carpenter's chances to make the roster are still slim. General manager M.IJ.B. earlier on hinted the team will likely draft an inside linebacker. And that comes on top of the ongoing attempts to sign free agent Albert Boggess. M.IJ.B. said "Boggess fits our kind of linebackers. We'll definately try to get him to become our number four linebacker. With Kershner and Surry lacking stamina, we need a third outside linebacker. Yes, we have Thelen, but we all know he fits better in a bump and run defense."

General Manager Notes: 57 signed and 11M of cap room: Huh?
Wow.

Yeah, I know, that's what I thought too. Apparently we've got some cap room this season and how. Despite having 57 players signed, we have 11.3 million dollars of cap room. So, what are we going to do with all that money? The answer is simple: Nothing.

Nothing? Well, not really, I've got two outstanding bids for free agents. Defensive tackle Frank Bernard and linebacker Albert Boggess would be nice additions to our team. They should account for about seven million. That leaves us with four million. And that money we will need to extend the contract of left tackle Ivan Jacques.

Jacques has been a key player and frankly, I don't want him to run off a free agent next off-season. With center Ned Cozart, we have a second highly paid lineman on our team. Cozart has demands in the area of six million dollars for 2011 and 2012, something we won't pay him. I'll likely offer him a cheaper one or two year deal and keep the franchise tag in my mind. Afterall, Cozart is used to the tag, he's been given it multiple times with the Outer Banks Ospreys.

What about our draft plans, don't we need cap room there? Well, not really. Rigt now we have the #94 and #99 overall picks. Once signed, these guys won't even count to the top 53 cap figures until the regular season kicks off. What do we want? Well, right now I'm leaning to five options: A new quarterback project, a new backup fullback, a new inside linebacker project, a new kicker and another defensive end.

Josh Webb, our third string quarterback ain't looking so hot anymore. We picked him in the second round last season, but he's not looking much better than good old Justin McDavid. With Thad Pilkington still as the decent backup to Louie Flannery, I see no reason to defend Webb at all cost. If we can get a better project player, we won't hesistate to trade Webb. A release would be a shame, but not impossible either.

How about fullback? Well, Henry Poston looks nice and all, but he's still got a long way to go. Poston is mostly a receiver type and I'd rather have a run blocker who can pave the way for Randy Harris, Joseph Schoen and Scott Bagley.

Inside lienbacker isn't a big need, but I figure we could use Carl Meier's mentorship. Meier won't be around forever and we'd better start developing a backup caliber player in case Cody Cluff is hurt again. And we all know he's a bit fragile at times, despite never being below 90 tackles for the season.

Defensive end isn't a serious option, but I toss it out there anyway. Guys like Aaron Sherrill and Albert Bernardo are either going to be backups or too expensive to sit on inactive. On the other hand, we're full at the defensive line. If we need to, we can always put defensive tackle Shaun Shiroma or linebacker Ellsworth Thelen at the end of the line.

Kicker is the fifth option. Yes, Cary Coles has been good, but not much better than good. Sure, he converted over 80 percent of his kicks the past four seasons, which is pretty good for IHOF standards. But his annual missed extra point bothers me. There are a couple of good looking kicker prospects and it might be interesting to grab one of them. At worst, we can always trade the guy away, like we did with Alvin Ladner back in 2007.

That's all for now, I'll try to keep y'all updated on how things go in Maassluis. The free agency period is hot going and the league is preparing for the draft, which starts in three days. And I'll also try to update with the 2009 All MIJB selection. The traditional list of 53 stand out players of the IHOF season has been delayed a bit, but don't worry, it will be here at some point. I'm bascially halfway done doing that list...

Merchantmen Sign Defensive Tackle Frank Bernard
The Maassluis Merchantmen have a new player and didn't have to trade for him. Defensive tackle Frank Bernard is the 2010 off-season's biggest addition both in size and in name. Bernard signed a two-year contract, turing down longer offers from several other teams, most notably the Bordeaux Vineyards. The Merchantmen defense is shaping up to be even stronger than it already was the past seasons.

Frank Bernard isn't the most prominent of names, but he's had his share of good play. Bernard had been with the Columbus Architects since the 2004 season. His best seasons were the last two. In 2008 Bernard broke out with 65 tackles and 6.5 sacks, last season he was on the same pace with 61 tackles and 6.5 sacks. Bernard is physically strong and is regarded as one of the top twenty defensive tackles in the IHOF.

With Bernard, the Merchantmen have now added five players to their team this off-season, four of them are expected to be starters. general manager M.IJ.B. smiled when he said: "We're almost there." The Merchantmen found unexpected cap room this season after renegotiations and decided to cash it with second tier players. M.IJ.B. said: "We don't need more super stars, we've got our Gomez and Flannery. The likes of Ned Cozart, Tommie Canon, Jewell Simpson and Frank Bernard will help us step to the next level."

With Bernard on board, the Merchantmen now have deep depth on the defensive line. At defensive end, the team has five pass rushers hired. At defensive tackle, Frank Bernard will compete with run stopper Andy Weliczka and pass rusher Shaun Shiroma for playing time. Andrew Rasmussen will likely ride the bench all season again. And then we haven't even mentioned big man Charles Gomez himself yet.

General manager M.IJ.B. not only was pleased to report the news, but still wanted to comment on the pressing needs of the team: "We're still looking out foa sixth linebacker. And on top of that, we still hope to find a rookie worth of the 53rd regular season roster spot in the draft. Or two" Four new starters. The Merchantmen fans should be happy and expected to be the biggest crowd in the league for another season.

Merchantmen Quietly Celebrate Trade #100
The century mark has been reached by the Maassluis Merchantmen. Today they traded up both of their draft picks, moving into #74 and #81 overall. The Merchantmen give picks #94 and #101 to the Syracuse Mohawks. The trade marks the Merchantmen's trade number one hundred. To make this trade, they also gave up a fifth round pick in 2011.

Merchantmen Draft Picks About To Be Made
The tension is rising in the draft room of the Maassluis Merchantmen. With two picks in the mid third round, there was little reason to scout for all star players, but more need to look out for middle round potential. With the 10th and 17th overall picks in the third round, it's almost the Merchantmen's turn as the third round just started.

"Our guy is still here" general manager M.IJ.B. said, "no, we can't tell who it is yet, but the true Merchantmen fans should know what our biggest needs are." The plan is to pick the desired player and then wait and see what happens at 3.17. "If our 3.10 target is gone, we have some other players to look at, but I think they will still be available at 3.17."

Rumors have it the Merchantmen have fallen in love with cornerback Jon Givens. M.IJ.B. said: "I can't deny that. Some other GM and I talked about Jon. It's simple: had we not traded for Tommie Canon, Jon would be a given to be our top target. But cornerback is one of our smallest needs. Right we could use depth at other positions, like guard."

All in all, the Merchantmen didn't make a big list of names. The team revealed that only six players are on the list. There were seven at first, but linebacker Adrian Conley was taken of the list. M.IJ.B. said: "Adrian could be a fit in our system, but he's not the best run stopper and that's the main need for a linebacker. Besides, his combine scores weren't so great, Conley wasted his chances there."

Six names remain and the rumors link to the revealed needs. A linebacker would make sense, but the addition of Omar Carpenter nullified the planned departure of Josh Weisberg. Still, a new linebacker seems like a possibility. Other options are said to be a new third quarterback, a backup fullback, a fourth running back, a guard and another defensive end project. "Defensive end Harvey Levine looks like an awesome fit to our team. But we're just so loaded at that position, we don't need an eleventh defensive lineman. The same can be said about defensive tackle George Pierce."

More to come later.

Merchantmen Get Top Prospect Fullback Quentin Malicki
Happy faces in the Maassluis Merchantmen's draft room. With the 74th selection overall, the Merchantmen selected fullback Quentin Malicki. Malicki had been the top prospect on the Merchantmen's draft board. Malicki played his college football at Maryland and was regarded as on of the top fullbacks of this year's draft class. He had the highest Solecismic Test score amongst fullbacks and is expected to become a very good run blocker.

With Malicki, the Merchantmen drafted a fullback for the third team in team history, but the previous selections haven't been succesful. Doug Nelson played only half a season in Maassluis, spending all that time on the inactive list, before being released and retiring two off-seasons later. Henry Poston has been on roster since the 2007 draft, but never became a long-term active roster member. Poston played in 21 regular season games, of which only 6 were in the past two seasons. Malicki will challenge Poston for the backup role in pre-season.

Merchantmen Grab Linebacker Terrance White
More happy faces in the Maassluis Merchantmen's front office. With the 71st overall pick in the 2010 IHOF draft, the Merchantmen selected Clemson's Terrance White. The 6'4" 258 lbs linebacker will be expected to become the sixth linebacker on the regular season roster. The management already revealed that White will be asked to move from trhe outside to the inside. The scouting report on White was generous about his run stopping skills and knowlegde of the zone defense.

Merchantmen Trade To Pick Kicker Myron George
Cary Coles and Al Bettis, watch out, the Merchantmen drafted a new kicker! With the 103rd overall pick, the Merchantmen took Myron George. The selection came shortly after the Merchantmen and Telluride Outlaws announced their trade. The Outlaws receive a fourth and sith round pick in 2011 and 2012 respectively. The 6'1" 217 lbs kicker from Virginia is selected to challenge top10 all-time scorer Cary Coles for field goal and extra point duties.

George was taken third in a surprising run on kickers. As the Merchantmen traded up, they found out the North Plainfield Plague did the same thing to get the 99th overall pick and expected the San Luis Obispo Burn to take kicker Richard Joon in between at 102 overall. Merchantmen general manager M.IJ.B. said: "We knew the Plague wanted Part Wells and we were almost 50-50 between Wells and George. They offered us to trade us Wells for an additional pick if we could get Joon. That obviously blew off and we took Myron George, who should have a bit more accuracy that Wells anyway."

Whether George will make the final 53-men roster is still a questionmark. In 2007, the Merchantmen took kicker Alvin Ladner in the fifth round, but Ladner didn't work out well in pre-season and got traded to the Chesapeake Chitterlings. Ladner broke the rookie scoring record, but as of today is retired after just one season of football with Chesapeake. A solution could be the Sean Smalley trick. Punter Smalley spent the 2008 season unsigned until very late in the season. The Merchantmen management already revealed it will be an option if they can't find the willingness to sign George in time for training camp.

Albert Boggess Latest Merchantmen Acquisition
While the 2010 draft goes on without them, the Maassluis Merchantmen keep working the phones. Today they announced the signing of linebacker Albert Boggess. Boggess signed a two-year contract worth seven million dollars. His last team was the Fort Worth Fury, where Boggess played since the start of the 2004 seasons. In 82 games, he made 379 tackles and 155 assists. With 93 tackles and 38 assists in 12 games, Boggess played exceptionally well last season. Boggess is expected to become the premier backup at the outside linebacker positions.

General Manager Notes: Another Quiet Draft
Bo-oring.

The Maassluis Merchantmen went through the 2010 IHOF draft without acquiring a chique hold-the-presses player. In fact, the positions we drafted at are the dullest in the league: a fullback, an outside linebacker and, shiver, a kicker!

Well, the draft wasn't all that hot, but if the players hold up pretty well, I think we acquired three interesting players who really have a shot at making our 2010 regular season roster. Factor in how active we were in free agency (we signed defensive tackle Frank Bernard and linebacker Albert Boggess) and trades (center Ned Cozart and cornerback Tommie Canon) and we had an exceptional off-season, without losing any important team member!

Okay, seven new faces, what do I expect from them?

Ned Cozart should be ourt new starting center. He's said to be fragile, so we still have Brant Heinrich to jump in when we need to. Heinrich has proven to be decent enough. With Cozart, we upgrade our pass protection a bit and inject our run blocking with some much wanted additional weight.

Tommie Canon will be our new starting cornerback opposite Tai Wayne. I hear you think: "But what about Winford Endicott, Myron Stevens and Sammie Kennedy?" It's simple: Canon will be here for one or two seasons, Stevens will be around much longer and Kennedy will be playing a lot anyway. Only Endicott's future is still uncertain, as we had trade talks with another team for him and he might be traded before the season starts.

And then there was Frank Bernard. Say hello to our two in one tackle. Well, not really, he does what Andy Welizcka does best (stop the run) and what Shaun Shiroma does (rush the passer), but he's no all downs player. Bernard will be an upgrade, but how much is yet to be seen. With Weliczka, Shiroma and Andrew Rasmussen, we have great depth here and could actually afford (and might even need to!) trade one of the three youngsters away.

Albert Boggess is our new backup outside linebacker. Yeah, we pay him $3.5M a year, so what? We have the spare cap room and could really use a backup who can defend the pass too. Ellsworth Thelen has been awesome, but always was fulnerable against the pass. We hope Boggess will resolve that problem.

Quentin Malicki is our third fullback project in five years time. Doug Nelson got busted. We kicked him out midway the 2006 campaign, his rookie season. Henry Poston survived so far ever since the 2007 draft, but he's hanging on thin wires. Malicki has the potential of a very good run blocker, which is what I'm gonna ask from a fullback more often in the coming season or seasons. I hope he'll be that, because there's not much else our scout thinks Malicki can do.

Terrance White will be our new backup inside linebacker. I know, he's originally an outside linebacker, but we could really use an inside 'backer soon, just in case Carl Meier decided to retire. Meier became a mentor this off-season and I'd like to take advantage of it. Don't point out Josh Weisberg was a mentor. We got good value for him and he was too angry to even talk with my anymore.

Myron George is our new kicker project. Bummer for Cary Coles, who ranks tenth all-time with 581 points. I guess you all think I have a special place for players named Myron, but you're wrong. Whether Myron sucks, or blows it, he'll be turned in for Gatorade tanks in an instant second.


Other plans this off-season? I'm having some plans for a sightly changed game plan, on offense. And maybe on defense too, but I can't disclose the details, can I? What I will disclose is my strategy of signing some players long-term. Left tackle Ivan Jacques, center Ned Cozart and some others with only this season remaining on their contract, they will be offered a new deal at the end of the season. And with mister I want 5 million for being hurt, Ned Cozart, I'll probably rerseve something he's familiar with: the franchise tag. For Omar Carpenter the restricted free agent status awaits, provided we keep him. And for Harold Hurtado and Bruce Pritchett it'll be a battle for a roster spot first. I'd love to keep Hurtado, while mister I-was-hurt-but-still-want-more-money Pritchett has yet to prove himself. They stay if I find the money for them.

Merchantmen Sign Eight Free Agents
The Maassluis Merchantmen had a busy couple of days. Today they announced the signing of eight free agents. All are expected to survive through training camp an then be released before pre-season kicks off. All signed a two-year contract at the veteran minimum salaries. The eight players are running back Shane Neufeld, running back Ernie Johnstone, wide receiver Junior Lee, guard Jorge Hutton, guard Vernon Meier, punter Antonio Rasnic, defensive end Daryl Webster and linebacker Blaine Toppe.

Neufeld has been hanging around the free agent market ever since the 2009 draft was complete. Neufeld isn't a real receiver type, but has the elusiveness to break through the defense. With decent speed to the outside and hole recognition he could be an interesting play for the Merchantmen. His direct competition will be Ernie Johnstone. Johnstone spent the 2008 training camp and pre-season with the Tucker Tigers. After that he was released and didn't get a look until this off-season. Johnstone is more of an all-round runner that Neufeld.

Junior Lee joins the Merchantmen in two potential roles. Lee seems to be a punt return specialist and also a potential playable wide receiver. Lee was drafted 131st overall in the 2008 drft by the Orlando Knights. This off-season, Lee was released and hoped to find a new home. He'll have a shot at making the pre-season roster.

Guard Jorge Hutton has one IHOF game on his resume. After being drafted by the Vicksburg Vipers 208th overall, Hutton played in the last ame of the 2009 season. This off-season the Vipers released the all-round guard. Vernon Meier is more of a run blocking specialist. Meier wasn't signed ever before, despite being out of college since 2008. As far as known, Vernon is not related to Carl Meier, the Merchantmen's linebacker.

Punter Antonio Rasnic has been a familiar face around the IHOF already. Rasnic was drafted 213th overall in the 2006 draft. The San Antonio Volunteers liked him and gave him a season to show his skills. Rasnic missed the 2007 season and then got released prior to the 2008 season. The Anaheim Visigoths gave him a second chance for the 2008 season. But as Rasnic' contract ended after that season, he became a free agent and didn't receive a new contract offer until now.

Defensive end Daryl Webster is given a second chance around the league. Webster signed a two-year deal after the 2009 draft with the Springfield Isotopes. But despite getting some playing time, Webster recorded only half a sack and 3 tackles and 4 assists. It wasn't enough to win a 53-men roster spot. Now Webster hopes to make the Merchantmen's pre-season roster and win a 53-men spot.

Linebacker Blaine Toppe was drafted 176th overall by the North Plainfield Plague in 2008. Toppe played in two regular season games in each of the 2008 and 2009 season. This off-season he was released and had to wait for a phone call for a new opportunity. The Merchantmen give Toppe that chance as they already dared to reveal he will have a better chance than Omar Carpenter to make the pre-season roster.

Merchantmen Players Report For Camp
Training camp is coming up and IHOF players around the United States and Europe report for camp. In the Netherlands, fans crowded together as the Maassluis Merchantmen players returned from their homeland to report for training camp. All players reported for an early examination by the medical staff and the scouting department made reports on the players. Here's a position by position breakdown from the front office. Scouted overall ratings are rounded to the 5's for all 70 players signed. In brackets are overall rankings compared to all players in the league, (r) denoted unsigned rookies.

65/65 QB Louie Flannery (19th QB)
45/45 QB Thad Pilkington
20/25 QB Justin McDavid
15/40 QB Josh Webb

55/55 RB Joseph Schoen (19th RB)
45/50 RB Randy Harris
30/35 RB Scott Bagley
25/30 RB Ernie Johnstone
15/20 RB Shane Neufeld

65/65 FB Jamel Rosenberry (12th FB)
30/45 FB Henry Poston
25/50 FB Quentin Malicki (r)

75/80 TE Jim Reiser (1st-2nd TE)
50/50 TE Arnold Ramirez
20/45 TE Winston Van Pelt

55/55 SE Bryce Ewald
40/50 FL Gregory Monti
40/40 FL Jewell Simpson
30/40 FL Jerry Beyer
30/35 SE Devin Henson
30/35 FL Jesse Vielma
20/30 FL Junior Lee

75/75 C_ Ned Cozart (6th-7th C)
55/60 C_ Brant Heinrich
50/55 RG Timothy Lacy
50/50 LG Bruce White
35/40 RG Bruce Pritchett
10/30 LG Jorge Hutton
05/30 RG Vernon Meier
70/75 LT Ivan Jacques (9th-10th OT)
45/55 LT Louis Bell
45/50 RT Cornelius Rice
30/30 LT Harold Hurtado
25/50 RT Norman Holliday

70/70 P_ Sean Smalley (11th-12th P)
40/40 P_ Antonio Rasnic

50/55 K_ Cary Coles
40/45 K_ Al Bettis
30/65 K_ Myron George (r)

85/85 LT Charles Gomez (6th DT)
65/65 NT Frank Bernard
40/45 NT Andy Weliczka
35/40 RE Omar Gougeon
35/35 LE Erwin Baranowski
30/50 LT Andrew Rasmussen
30/35 LE Albert Bernardo
30/35 RT Shaun Shiroma
25/40 LE Wally Mattingly
20/30 LE Aaron Sherrill
15/35 LE Daryl Webster

75/75 MI Cody Cluff (7th-8th ILB)
50/55 WI Carl Meier
20/30 MI Omar Carpenter
70/70 WO Mike Kershner (17th OLB)
55/55 SO Ellsworth Thelen
55/55 WO Bernie Surry
50/50 SO Albert Boggess
15/40 SO Terrance White (r)
15/40 SO Blaine Toppe

65/70 LC Tai Wayne
65/65 SS Lincoln Gilmore
55/60 RC Tommie Canon
45/50 SS Emile William
40/40 FS John Cole
35/50 RC Sammie Kennedy
35/40 LC Xavier Clyburn
35/40 FS Broderick Schultz
35/35 RC Winford Endicott
30/30 LC Melvin Shelton
20/20 RC Myron Stevens

Merchantmen Sign Guard Wesley Howard
The Maassluis Merchantmen signed a new player. Despite the training camp roster being pretty much set, the management decided to sign guard Wesley Howard as a free agent. Howard started his career with the Gothenburg Giants. After stints with the Giants (2004-2005), Orlando Knights (2006-2007), Syracuse Mohawks (2008) and North Plainfield Plague (2009), Howard is expected to make the regular season roster for the Merchantmen. To make room for Howard, recently signed guard Vernon Meier and punter Antonio Rasnic were released.


Merchantmen Sign One Of Three Rookies
The Maassluis Merchantmen today signed one of their three rookies. Kicker Myron George agreed to a four-year contract and will join a crowded kicker corps. The team is still trying to persuade veteran kicker Dwayne Calfee to join the crowded special teams unit for training camp and pre-season to mentor George. But where George joined the team, third round picks fullback Quentin Malicki and linebacker Terrance White turned down the four-year contracts they were offered. The Merchantmen are taking their chances and will likely give them another contract offer just before training camp.

Training Camp Done, Rookies Hold Out, Melvin Shelton Traded
The Maassluis Merchantmen concluded training camp with 67 players. Cornerback Melvin Shelton was traded after camp to the Miami Sharks for a 2012 sixth round pick. Rookies fullback Quentin Malicki and linebacker Terrance White are holding out for a three-year contract and missed camp. The Merchantmen carry on, but are altering their pre-season and regular season plans.

Melvin Shelton was traded to the Miami Sharks. The cornerback had become a prominent player on roster. But as he got hurt in pre-season, the Merchantmen decided to put Shelton on injured reserve, as he had little promise to be on the active roster during the season. Shelton had played in every game for the San Luis Obispo Burn from 2004 to 2008. In Miami, he'll be asked to play a backup role and mentor rookie Antoine Frisch and ballhwaker Amos Moore.

The rookie situation got a bit more troublesome. Fullback Malicki decided to turn down a four-year contract, which was an increased deal compared to the earlier offer he turned down. Malicki wants a three-year deal and as the Merchantmen offered him a four-year deal, a dead lock situation is arising. General manager M.IJ.B. said: "Today I got a warning from the Boston Rhinos management. Malicki held out for the 2009 season there and re-entered the draft. Malicki seems to be stubborn and it he's putting his IHOF future in serious jeopardy."

Linebacker Terrance White got even more bad words from the management. M.IJ.B. said: "White showed up for another medical examination and looked out of shape, more so than before camp, even far worse than at the draft combine. We still like White's potential, but he's put his potential role as Cody Cluff's execor in trouble." White, like Malicki, decided to turn down a better contract offer, but unlike Malicki hasn't been working out much. White decided not to comment on the situation and said he hopes to see the problems resolved in the near future.

The Merchantmen management is putting weight to their options now. M.IJ.B. said: "Malicki was drafted to battle with Henry Poston, but right now I'm not sure whether we'll let Poston go. Poston had a good training camp and is quietly becoming a respectable backup to Jamel Rosenberry. For White, things look even dimmer. Albert Boggess had an amazing training camp, while the trade talks on Ellsworth Thelen haven't lead to where we hope it would get. Four teams showed interest, but we haven't been able to strike a deal we like yet."

The kicker situation is also getting out of hand. With four kickers signed, the Merchantmen have a tough decission to make. 39-year old Dwayne Calfee proved to be the best field goal kicker with his strong leg. But his recent history in the league gives all-time Merchantmen top scorer Cary Coles the edge. Rookie Myron George, drafted to replace Coles, looked bad in training camp and the scouting department toned down George's potential to be just as good as Coles'. Al Bettis made good progress and is a lock to make the 53-men roster as the IHOF's best kickoff kicker.

Wide receiver Jesse Vielma received accolades from the coaches. Vielma was said to have made good progress is was said to be pushing long time Merchantmen player Gregory Monti for the #3 role behind expected starters Bryce Ewald and Jewell Simpson. Ewald was once again the best receiver, while Simspon was acquired in a big trade for a 2011 first round pick. That means Vielma and Monti are the challengers for the #3 role. Kickoff returner Devin Henson is making the final roster, while Jerry Beyer is listed as the #6 option right now.

The crowded defensive line situation got a bit clearer. Especially at defensive end, the situation is blurry with six players signed. Newby Daryl Webster is unlikely to even make the pre-season roster now, after the other youngsters made soom progress. Especially Wally Mattingly was praised for his progress. At defensive tackle, Shaun Shiroma and Andrew Rasmussen are heating up their rivalry for the #4 role. Shiroma's future looks dimmer today after the signing of Frank Bernard and Rasmussen's more all round potential.

At cornerback Sammie Kennedy moved up to #3 on the depth chart following training camp. The former first round pick by the San Luis Obispo Burn had a good camp and gained terrain on Winford Endicott, Myron Stevens and Xavier Clyburn. Tai Wayne is the clearcut #1, while Tommie Canon is expected to be the #2 cornerback for the 2010 season. With at least one team having showed interest in Winford Endicott, it could mean the Merchantmen will go into 2010 with five cornerbacks.

With 67 players signed, the Merchantmen will have to release or trade at least seven players before the first pre-season game. Right now, the most likely departures are from running back Ernie Johnstone, running back Shane Neufeld, guard Brian Pritchett, tackle Norman Holliday, linebacker Omar Carpenter, defensive end Daryl Webster and linebacker Blaine Toppe. Other potential departures in the near future are for Ellsworth Thelen (trade), Justin McDavid or Josh Webb, fullback Henry Poston or Quentin Malicki, two of the four kickers, one of the ten remaining defensive linemen and wide receiver Jerry Beyer.