SABERCAT’S JESSICA KING NAMED RMFL’S FIRST

“GM OF THE YEAR”

RMFL – In the first season for the Snake River Sabercats, not a lot of things went right… on the football field. Mired in a winless season as a team, the General Managing duties of the team ranked the highest of all teams in 2005. The Sabercats scored almost perfectly on Game Presentation which was the most heavily weighted category from the Commissioner’s office, and did receive a perfect score for Statistics and team sportsmanship, a category weighted most heavily on team penalty yardage, an accepted yardstick for team discipline. King, and the Sabercats received a near perfect 43 out of a possible 45 to win the league’s first ever “GM of the Year” award.

The Madison Lionz finished right behind the Snake River with a high only being ranked in the high-middle in penalty yards being the primary albatross preventing the Lionz from picking up yet another post-season award. The Lionz were perfect in game presentation (along with Wasatch) and league communications, however, lost a critical point in stat reporting from a few incidences of late stat corrections. According to RMFL Commissioner, Jared Neumeier, “a perfect score in ANY category is, by definition, difficult to achieve. Perfect in stats would be reporting always on time, always complete and always accurate. That principle was applied in all categories. Getting a perfect score is really an achievement.”

Close behind Madison were the Boise Roughriders and Wasatch Wildcats. The Wildcats received a perfect 20 on game presentation and near perfect scores on Statistic reporting and participation. They were graded down a point for being late once with statistics and down one on participation for missing the February meeting. However, it was being the top penalized team in the league that may have cost Paul Rooker and the Wildcats the most. A perfect score in that category would have tied the Wildcats with the Sabercats. Also right behind were the Boise Roughriders. The Roughriders received strong marks for home game presentation and were perfect on stats and sportsmanship. Missing the February meeting also cost them a participation point on a near perfect season for Doug O’Brian and the GM function.

The League Champion, Rhino-Raiders and Kamas Valley also had high marks but were cost too many points in a category or two.

The lowest ranked team, the Utah Blitz were penalized heavily for home game presentation, particularly for never securing a true home field. The Colorado Scorpions rebounded after a shaky start from the GM position as Mike Christensen took the team over and made sure league business was taken care of the last part of the season.

According to Commissioner, Jared Neumeier, “I think this is a healthy award for our GM’s to go for. I hope it helps motivate some to do a little better… and maybe even care more about penalties. I have tried to make this system as objective as possible, of course there will always be an element of subjectivity, but at least this system will force the commissioner, whoever it is through the years, be prepared to justify the results somehow. I think that some may argue against using the “sportsmanship” rating, especially with penalties, but the way I look at it is that in any corporation, business or team, the example and commitment needs to start at the top. You don’t get a lot of penalty yards with a bunch of ticky tack 5-yarders, your team has to become a little out of control at time, picking up 15-yarders to go very high. For next season, however, I would be open for suggestions.”.

Team	HomeGames (2-20)	Stats (1-10)	Participation (1-10)	Sportsmanship (1-5)	Total
Snake River	19	10	9	10--5	43
Madison	20	9	10	6-3	42
Boise	17	10	9	10--5	41
Wasatch	20	9	9	4--2	40
Kamas Valley	16	9	8	8--4	37
Rhino-Raiders	16	10	9	4--2	37
Great Falls	14	9	9	8-4	36
Morgan	17	8	8	6--3	36
Helena	16	9	6	8--4	35
Brigham City	14	9	8	8--4	35
Magic Valley	16	9	7	6--3	35
Idaho Falls	17	9	6	4--2	34
Pocatello	12	9	8	10-5	34
Wolverines	16	9	7	4--2	34
Missoula	18	5	5	10--5	33
Salt Lake	16	8	5	8--4	33
Glacier	12	10	8	6--3	33
Vipers	12	9	7	4--2	30
Idaho	8	10	8	6--3	29
Colorado	10	6	5	10--5	26
Utah Blitz	4	7	5	4--2	18