[MIJB#19]

Merchantmen present new lead scout
As the bidding wars on staff members have began, the Maassluis Merchantmen are proud to announce the acquisition of Gabe Avila as the new lead scout. Avila was out of contract with the 2004 IHOF champions Fairbanks Northstars and signed a five-year contract giving the 59-year old 1.48 million dollars a year. General manager M.IJ.B. said: "This is a great day for the Merchantmen, we have a guy who worked with the champions, who can show us how it's done."

The addition of Avila means the departure of 62-year old Brad McGarity. As the lead scout for the Merchantmen the last two seasons, McGarity has been resonsible for scouting Leonard Lyon as the future quarterback and the choice to give Jim Reiser the starting job at tight end over 2004 All IHOF selection Jerry Aubrey. McGarity still had a contract, but could somewhat understand the decission. "Yeah, I'm out of my job. Being 62 means I have little to fall back on. Gabe [Avila] is one of the best in this profession, I'd probably made this choice too if I were in control."

The Merchantmen quit negotiations with Mark Wallace. The Brooklyn Fightin' Bums head coach was approached to replace Leroy Van der Woude, today Van der Woude was told his job is safe. Van der Woude: "Thanks god, I coached this 1-15 team to a 7-9 record, I figred I'd have some credit." The management assured it was just to make clear that even after a year of improvement, nobody's job is safe.

The position of offensive coordinator is still open. The Merchantmen were unwilling to give names of candidates, but they said they were going after an outsider, not the best guy on the market. Spencer Opitz was said to be concidered a candidate too, but that's not confirmed or denied by the management. Opitz was unavailable for comment, yet the fact that there are no offers out for him should be a clear signal.