THE Rivalry

Some in the FAA have speculated that their geographic rivalry is the biggest in our fair league. Some have said that their division is THE division and united behind cheesy slogans.

Truth be told, there is only one true FAA RIVALRY, and another chapter will be written this weekend:

Maulers - Shipmen

No other so-called rivalry has as much rich history, no other rivalry can match the intensity, no other rivalry means so much to the post-season and championship implications than Maulers-Shipmen. This year is no different. The Maulers can take a stranglehold on the division with a win Sunday, the Shipmen can climb back into the race with a win.

The eyes of the FAA world will be in Imperial this weekend.

Battle of 2-0 teams takes FAA center stage

FAA NEWS CHANNEL-
Enough of this NY/NJ we run this town crap- the real action resides in Aliquippa this weekend as Imperial visits in a battle of 2-0 teams. Imperial, a mere 6 miles to the south, matches against a Zuccaro team that we've never seen before- they actually score points!

Maulers Owner Steve Wagner feels confident-" I don't think his team can do it consistently, and I got V-Jack going for me, his QB's favorite target... so we feel good. "

Also, late word in that rookie RB LeSean McCoy may see his first action as a Mauler with Brian Westbrook suffering his annual leg/ankle related injury. "With L.T. back, we have options, but it will all be about matchups" said Wagner.

Owner Wagner did want to let us know he is seriously concerned about his fellow owner Orlando Hampton, who is sitting with a MUST win game this weekend vs. Jersey. Mauler personnel spotted him after the games this weekend at a "gentlemen's club" dressed in a Tom Brady cut off shirt looking distressed- guess 0-2 doesn't suit him:

Maulers Owner speaks about "Ivan trade debacle"

Let me clear the air about the controversy surrounding the trade with Ivan.

I approached Ivan a few weeks ago about trading up to get his second overall selection in this years draft. The original offer came from me, and it involved:

-A swap of our first round picks (Ivan goes down to sixth pick overall , I move up to two overall)
- I would give Ivan my third round pick for his sixth round selection.

A few days went by, and I texted Ivan and asked him if he saw my offer. On Thursday night 9/3 I received a call from Ivan where we discussed which players would be selected at each of the 5 draft positions ahead of the sixth overall pick. It is my firm belief that Knowshon(?) Moreno would have NOT been selected anywhere near that pick- I even believe Ivan could have received Moreno with his second round pick.

Ivan asked if I saw his counter offer, which I had not, because he sent the reply to my work address. His counter offer was the swap of first round picks, and Ivan wanting my 5th round pick in exchange for a last round pick (10th), because in his own words- 'I won't be around anyway because of another draft I am attending'.

I accepted the offer on the phone and indicated I would send a message out to the league the next morning(Friday 9/4). I did, and although Ivan claims to read every FAA email- he says he missed this one.

It is clear that Ivan did not have a 10th round pick, but that was HIS counter offer to me, so it was his responsiblity to make sure he had a pick that he was countering with. It is still very confusing to me that he reneged on the trade because of not having a 10th round pick, or not "seeing the value of the trade" as he described to me before the draft started- as it WAS HIS COUNTER OFFER. Also for him to say that he promised not to take my intended pick, WR Marques Colston, is bogus because he never intended to draft a WR in the first place.

In the end, I just wanted to clear the air with the league. I am not mad at Ivan, but still confused as to why he backed out. It's disappointment, but not anger. I drafted very well and am positioned to again make the playoffs and make a run at the Fabio Cup.

Game on.