By Laurence Miedema, Mercury News
Posted: 06/28/2009 08:08:06 PM PDT
Updated: 06/28/2009 10:13:03 PM PDT

This is usually the best time of the year for everyone associated with the
SaberCats.

The Arena Football League's model franchise typically is in the playoffs, fans
begin making ArenaBowl travel plans and eateries surrounding HP Pavilion are
filled with green-and-black-clad patrons before and after home games.

But there won't be a 10th consecutive appearance this summer.

It has been nearly seven months since the AFL owners pulled the plug on the 2009
season for what they called a restructuring of their economic model. Despite
intermittent announcements from the league office that a relaunch is imminent,
there are no guarantees the 22-year-old league will be around in 2010 — and no
idea what it might look like even if it is.

"We're hopeful that if things can be worked out we're back playing at HP
Pavilion in the spring 2010," said SaberCats vice president Hank Stern, the only
front-office official or staffer retained during the hiatus. "They are working
hard to make that a reality. That's why our ownership has kept myself and a
couple of the coaches around."

With Coach Darren Arbet and three assistants being among a handful of coaching
staffs that remain mostly intact, the SaberCats appear to be a pocket of
stability in the midst of league-wide chaos.

Since last summer, two of the league's most successful franchises, New Orleans
and Los Angeles, folded. The AFL has employed three commissioners since July,
and a plan to resume play in 2010 that had the backing of the players apparently
was scuttled in April because of infighting among owners.

So where does that leave everyone now? No one is sure.

"The thing that becomes clear is there's a lack of leadership, or they would
have pulled it together and had a season," said quarterback Mark Grieb, the
SaberCats' two-time ArenaBowl MVP and one of the league's biggest stars. "You've
got owners with different agendas and aren't used to going with the flow. These
are millionaires that are used to being the one in charge, and no one really to
pull them together.

"It was sad when the league folded, because all the momentum we had is gone.
Anything they do is starting from ground zero."

The SaberCats hope to have a leg up no matter what happens. Arbet and his staff
are producing scouting reports on players from virtually every level of
football.

"None of us know what to expect," Arbet said. "Our ownership is prepared for it
to come back, and we have to be ready when it does."

Owners issued a self-imposed gag order this spring, although that was broken
recently when two members of the Chicago ownership group suggested that the AFL
not only won't play in 2010, but also shouldn't.

"I would love to see the AFL come back. But if you ain't heard anything by now
saying they will, I don't see them coming back because there were too many weak
sisters," Chicago Rush part-owner Mike Ditka told the Chicago Sun-Times news
group. "If the league does (return), it will probably have to scale itself down
and make sure it has more solid ownership and much better team management."

Rush owner Alan Levin told the Sun-Times news group that because most teams laid
off their coaching staffs and no team, including the SaberCats, has any players,
"it's too late to commit to a 2010 season because we don't have enough time to
properly prepare."

He added, "Our problems have started with bad leadership from the commissioner
on down. Now we're just a bunch of owners still working to develop a strong
economic plan to attract investors and partners.

"I'd rather see us commit to resuming operations for the 2011 season. But to do
that, we'd have to start now."

Several times this spring, league officials posted messages on the AFL's Web
site suggesting a new plan was about to be ratified, but they have been
surprisingly silent for two months.

Messages left for interim CEO Mark Lewis were not returned. Interestingly, there
has been no acknowledgment of the recent hiring of Lewis — and departure of
former interim commissioner Ed Policy, who replaced longtime commissioner David
Baker last summer — on the AFL's Web site.

The league did issue a release in response to the Chicago group's comments in
which Jim Renacci, chairman of the AFL executive committee, said: "We are still
working diligently to ensure the future viability of the AFL so the league can
return to play next season. A plan has been shared with our owners about
revitalizing the league, and now the focus is developing a course of action to
execute that plan."

The players aren't sure who or what to believe. According to several sources,
the owners have had little or no contact with the players' bargaining group in
weeks.

"Everybody is out of the loop, which is the frustrating part," said James Baron,
a 12-year veteran and AFL Players Association president. "As players, we're
angry because we did everything we could to rectify the situation."

The players agreed early in the process to several concessions, including
allowing teams to slash their salary cap nearly in half to about $1.1 million.
Since then, the league has discontinued medical benefits to the players.

"Player salaries were not the problem," Baron said. "San Jose functioned just
fine under the old system, and that was under a $2 million cap. Why can't the
rest of the owners follow (San Jose owner) John Fry's model?

"We're looking for leadership and integrity from the owners, and there's not a
lot of that coming out of there right now. I'd like to be as optimistic as
possible that we'll play next year. But there is nothing to this point that
would indicate that's going to happen."

That's not good news for anyone associated with the AFL. Many players have moved
on, taking any job they can to support their families.

"It's been a tough transition for everybody," said Clevan Thomas, a SaberCat
since 2002 who is an aide for the parks and recreation department in his
hometown of Miami. "This time of the year, yeah, getting ready for the playoffs
and all those sorts of things runs through your mind. Then you are back to
reality."