“COFFEE WITH THE COMMISH”; A Q&A TACKLING THE LATEST ISSUES OF THE RMFL

Story Issued: May 4, 2007

Written by: Mort Snodgrass

RMFL – Once again, but for the first time in 2007, the well-funded RMFL sports writing staff had an opportunity to corner RMFL Commissioner, Jared Neumeier, on some of the latest issues facing the RMFL. Other topics addressed are expansion issues, rules, suspensions, team predictions and the future of the RMFL.

M.S.: Thank you again, Jared, for sitting down and doing this Q&A again with us this season. I understand that you have been criticized by certain other league members over doing these Q&A’s, even though I think many seem to find them a good forum to get at issues and find out information. Do you have any advice for any critics that might be out there reading this?

J.N. Stop reading…. NOW.

M.S. Do you think they stopped?

J.N. No. They’re still reading.

M.S. What about reverse psychology?

J.N. You mean, I should say something like… I COMMAND YOU TO READ THIS ENTIRE FRIGGIN ARTICLE!!!?

M.S. Yeah

J.N. Wouldn’t work.

M.S. Why not?

J.N. Critics will be critics. Some people have little better to do than to lay in wait and hope to get some decent material with which to actualize their personal primary directive. If they stopped reading, they’d be lost…without purpose. Anyway… we digress.

M.S. You’re right. Next question. Generally, how are things going so far this season… 3 games in?

J.N. I think it is one of the smoothest starts to a season we have ever had.

M.S. Why do you think that is?

J.N. Well, first of all, we didn’t have any major re-structural issues to wade through. Like last season we had the first of the AAA/AA split to contend with. The year before that, we had like 7 new teams that needed to be “brought to speed” on what we do. I’d just say that this is really the first season in a long time, we’ve had a chance to just settle into the day to day operations of running football teams… and playing football.

M.S. What would you say then, has been the biggest controversy so far?

J.N. Well, there was the minor hubbub between the Mustangs and Lionz over transferring players, but that all cleared up before the first snap of the season. Honestly, I think it might just be the fumbling of the stats the first week by the Seminoles… which is pretty small potatoes as far as controversies go. It’s a pretty good fine, but in the scheme of the league, it’s not a “controversial” issue.

M.S. What about suspensions or questionable hits? Anything of note?

J.N. Not really. We’ve had one guy have to miss a game for that kind of contact, but it wasn’t anyone with a history of anything other than solid play. Some guys have had to sit quarters for late ejections… nothing serious. We are looking at a situation where two players decided to have a verbal exchange with officials after a game, and when I’ve completed that investigation, someone is likely to miss a few games for it… but, relative to past seasons, its been pretty smooth.

M.S. What exactly happened on the “verbal exchange” after the game you are talking about?

J.N. Well, a couple of players who were not enamored with a number of officiating calls during a game, or how the officials conducted themselves making them, decided to forgo the post-game sportsmanship and have a “conversation” with the officials as they exited the playing field. These are two guys with no past history, however, we have no tolerance for that sort of apparently ridiculous behavior. I don’t know how long they’ll be suspended for it yet; one game is for certain.

M.S. It seems like every season, you do something different or add something new to improve the RMFL, this year it has been the “real time scoreboard” on Saturday. So far, I’ve only heard good things about it, what is your take on that so far?

J.N. Well, first of all, it has been a lot more work than I envisioned… and it sometimes gets pretty crazy when I have 3 calls at once. But yes, I think it is a great addition. I don’t know of any other league in the country that does it. There have been some situations when the person assigned to report on a game either didn’t know what they were supposed to report OR simply botched the details, however, week by week, everyone is getting better. It’s a lot of work for me, but it is also exciting for me. Its almost like being able to be at ALL of the games… I really hope everyone else out there appreciates it too. If so, let us know.

M.S. So with that new system, though, the games aren’t posted until starting on Monday evening, right? Have there been any problems with that?

J.N. Actually, no and no. No problems and as far as I can tell, no complaints. Everyone gets immediate information to chew on until Monday evening with the scoring summaries… which do tell 75% of the story. Before, all you got was the score… which often only told about 50% of the story. There’s a trade-off, but for the best. A lot of teams use the extra time on the stat reporting deadline to go through film and make sure they have them right the first time. I think it has also saved on some later changes. I think its all good.

M.S. Have you noticed any blatant problems with stat reporting yet… you know, fluffed up stats?

J.N. Actually, I think this has been the best season for that as well. I think having so many returning teams that have a good system in place really helps. Plus, all of these teams have seen what happens to teams that “over-record” their submitted stats… its not pretty. I’ve had to do a couple of what I call “administrative adjustments”, but nothing serious.

M.S. Switching streams a bit. What about expansion? Are there any new teams you are aware of for ’08 and are you concerned that there weren’t a number of new teams to add this season.

J.N. First of all, I am not concerned at all that we didn’t add a bunch this year. This league needed a year for everyone already in to start getting used to each other and the program we run here. All of our returning teams have improved their organization and they are one year smarter on how to get things done. Then when we do bring new teams in, everyone is in a better position to sort of mentor them along.

M.S. You mentioned the Salt Lake Seminoles, there seemed to be a lot of controversy about them getting in, how would you rate their progress as a new team?

J.N. First of all, there really wasn’t any controversy about them “getting in” to the RMFL. The controversy was about them going AAA or AA. There were concerns not only for their team organization, but for their ability to compete. Well, they have obviously proven they can compete with a big first week road win at Boise. After their first week hiccup with stats, they seem to be getting the rest of it together as well. They did, after all, work out a deal for another Granite School District field, which is an organizational coupe all of itself. So, I’d say they look like they will be a real positive force in this league for years to come. I even expect they will be back in the AAA next season.

M.S. What about ’08? You didn’t mention what you expect for next season… as far as new teams.

J.N. Well, the good news is that it REALLY looks like we will get at least one other Montana team. I have been contacted by two completely separate, and legitimate guys that are looking to start a team up in Billings, Montana in ’08. As a minimum, they work together, as a maximum, two teams could emerge from that area… which is the most densely populated area in the state. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Grand Junction back… and possibly another Idaho team. I don’t see anything new happening in Utah, but I’ve been surprised by that before. Mostly, its still far too early to tell. Some of our better expansion teams didn’t even get started up until November or December before the next season.

M.S. What would you say has been the biggest surprise in ’07, so far?

J.N. That’s gotta be the Blaze. I figured they’d be a little better, but I also had concerns about their depth. So far they’ve rolled everybody, including the Gladiators who beat them twice last season. The second biggest surprise has been the Seminoles who have played well enough to win all 3 of their games so far.

M.S. What about the Wolverines and what they have done?

J.N. Well, first of all, the Wolverines are a well-run, established organization for a number of years and we all knew they had a great pre-season camp, so them “putting it together” was not going to be a great surprise. There are some other factors going in to their blow out victories that would make me temper, at least initially, my excitement for the Wolverines. If they beat Cache Valley on Saturday, then I’d go ahead and leap frog them to the top of this list… and that is certainly quite possible.

M.S. As the season has gone along, which will be your last as the RMFL’s “Do it all” commissioner, do you see anything that would make the transition to the new commissioners (Dave Sire and Ed Cerise) a potential problem in any way? Do you see yourself missing anything?

J.N. Absolutely not… and absolutely …yeah, maybe a little

M.S. Ahem…

J.N. Oh, you want a little more to the answer?

M.S. What do you think!?

J.N. I think that Dave Sire and Ed Cerise will not only do great, probably better than me, but I think they will really enjoy running their section of the RMFL. They will only have to worry about their set of teams and they won’t have to worry about the web site. I think that the way the responsibilities will play out, we will all very much enjoy our jobs a lot more than I ever could “doing it all”. In fact, I expect to bring in a new Web Master no later than for the 2009 season and get rid of that role.

M.S. Will there be any reason for me to interview you at all then… after everyone else is doing all the work?

J.N. Sure… for my rapier wit.

M.S. Just a couple of more questions and I’m done. What do you think of the new all-star game format this season, the AAA vs. AA challenge?

J.N. For the most part I like it. At least we won’t have the controversy as to why a AA player got a spot over a AAA player who many might have deemed better. Guys will be making the team under a more fair “apples and apples” and “oranges and oranges” comparison. Plus I like that for the first time… ever… I will see Rhino-Raiders playing on the same team as Lionz and Mustangs… almost as juicy as seeing the Bears and Rhinos on the same team last season, but this situation is rarer still. Additionally, it will be good to see the Montana players playing along side the Vipers and Rockets players. I think everyone will get a real better understanding and appreciation as to the skill of the teams they rarely see… and build some great friendships.

M.S. What about the competition level, though? Won’t it be a little one-sided for the AAA guys?

J.N. Of course that is the real concern, if there really is one. But, no, I think it will be a good game. The real difference between AAA and AA teams is the size of linemen, quality quarterbacking, and depth. I think in the all-star scenario, the teams should work out to be pretty equal. And, as someone said at the Kickoff meeting, “it’s not like it could get any worse than the last two games.” (the South routed the North in both contests).

M.S. Finally, any crazy predictions you care to mention?

J.N. Sure… I’ll bite. Put this one down. When the regular season is over, there will be NO undefeated teams in the RMFL.

M.S. Wow… okay, we’ll watch that one, although I’m sure no one expects this weekend to change anything. Although, both the Wolverines (Bears) and the Lionz (Predators) should have their hands full staying unbeaten.

M.S. Thank you Mr. Commish. In closing, I’ll toss out my own predictions for this next weekend (May 5^th). Rhinos over Muddogs by 45, Helena over Glacier by 6, Idaho Falls over Boise by 20, Magic Valley over Idaho by 11, Bear River Valley over Morgan by 28, Heat over Seminoles by 4, Vipers over Sabercats by 25, Cache Valley over Wolverines by 7, Bitterroot over Great Falls by 27 and… the upset special, Pocatello over Eastern Idaho by 3.