CFL releases schedule for new season

While the CNMI’s fan faithful have been wiling away the days pondering the potential powerhouses for the upcoming season, the board of directors of the Commonwealth Football League have been busy ensuring the return of pigskin pugilism in 2005.

All speculation about the number of teams and their names was finally released on Tuesday night as the schedule makers unveiled the list of legionnaires that will play on the leas of Saipan and Tinian.

The fifth season of CFL action will include the Shell Lightning, Miller Barbarians, Tinian Typhoon, and the Eagles—named in support of the troops overseas. The troops won’t be the only ones overseas this year, as Saipan teams will cross the channel to play Tinian on their home turf in a return of the night games.

While the islands are inline, the venue is still up in the air. To the disappointment of players and league officials, the field at the Oleai Sports Complex is bordering on unsafe due to the lack of a level playing surface.

Site administrators blame the contractor who installed the state-of-the-art track and field facility for the current situation, but so far there has been no attempt to prepare the uneven sea of green to pristine.

In the meantime, organizers will make plans to return to the CPA Airport field that has served the CFL well in previous years.

One thing that is for sure is that the official start of the season is Saturday, Sept. 24, when the Lightning and Eagles kick-off the doubleheader at 10am, followed by the afternoon assault by the Typhoon on the Barbarians at 1pm.

The action continues the following week on Saturday, Oct. 1, when the Eagles and Typhoon play the early game followed by the Lightning and Barbarians at 1pm.

On Saturday, Oct. 8, the Typhoon play the Lightning in the morning contest, while the Eagles and Barbarians lock horns in the afternoon.

The ides of October get underway on Saturday, Oct. 15, when the Typhoon continue their string of games with a wake-up call in a rematch of their first week contest with the Barbarians, while the Lightning strike the Eagles at 1pm.

The return of the second week matches rock the field on Saturday, Oct. 22, as the Barbarians and the Lightning stroll from the sidelines at 10am, while the Eagles brave the Typhoon in the afternoon, and the teams head into the final week of the season on Saturday, Oct. 29, with everything on the line.

The Barbarians and the Eagles are set for a 10am showdown followed by a stormy afternoon when the Lightning and the Typhoon rage at 1pm.

After a week of rest and recovery, the second and third place teams will play at 10am on Saturday, Nov. 12, for a chance to play the first place team in the championship a week later, Saturday, Nov. 19, at 10am.

The team representatives and league officials will return to the meeting table on Thursday, Aug. 18, at the VFW Post on Beach Road in Garapan, when the registration payment of $1,500 per team is due. Procrastination will not payoff, as the CFL will impose a penalty of $100 for every week that a team fails to tender its registration fee.