Greetings!

Welcome to the first edition of the Fourth and Short. First off, let me introduce myself. I'm Kevin McCarty, Webmaster and Director of Free Agents for the CFFL. I am also the coach and 1/2 the offensive line for the team Rapid Fire. And foremost, I'm a fan of flag football. What I hope to give you in this column is an insight into things happening within the league, as well as information from a national level as it pertains to us locally. I also hope to analyze interesting matchups from week to week, perhaps by picking a "Game of the Week" from a selected league.

Another feature will be a "Q & A" session with the readers. Once a month I will answer questions regarding the CFFL, USFTL, our local teams, or any other flag football related question you care to ask. If you have a question, simply send it to me via email (kmccarty@cincyflag.com).

To get things started this week, I'm going to take a look at the CFFL's newest offering, 8 on 8 indoors at Wall2Wall Soccer. There are 8 teams in this league, which kicks off Friday night, April 18th at 7:00 PM. Being indoors, there will obviously be some "ground rules" which will apply when obstructions in the building come into play, most notably, the 42 ft. high ceiling. Kickoffs and field goals/extra points should work without issue, but punts are another story. There will be special ground rules concerning punts that will be explained to each team before their first game. I hope to cover those rules in detail here next week. Despite the short ceiling, the only word I can think of to describe this facility is "Phenomenal". When I walked on the field for the first time, I said to myself, "Holy crap, this place is huge!" The artificial "Field Turf" is very nice. If you've ever played at UC's Nippert Stadium or Town & Country Sports in Wilder, KY, then you know what I'm talking about. Unlike normal Astroturf, this stuff has artificial blades of grass that are mounted to a soft bed of shredded rubber. It is possible to wear normal cleats on this turf. I can't wait to get this season started!

The 8 on 8 outdoor season is now in full swing. After 3 weeks of play, no team has separated itself from the pack as the odds-on favorite. In the North Conference, Rapid Fire is in first place at 1-0(2-0). The Patriots are a close second at 1-1(1-2), followed by the Warriors 0-0(0-2) in third and Run 'n Gun 0-1(0-3) in fourth. In the South Conference, there is a heated race f or first place. Three teams, Team Cincinnati / Vikings, Cincy Tigers, and the Cowboys are all undefeated in coference play. Since they have identical in-conference records, the standings go to point differential (points scored minus points allowed). With the point differential applied, Team Cincinnati / Vikings are in first place at 1-0(2-1). The Cincy Tigers 1-0(3-0) are in second place, with the Cowboys 1-0(3-0) in third place and the Bengals 0-3(0-3) in fourth. Even though it's early in the season, the Bengals have played all of their in-coference games. Due to their 0-3 record in conference, they have been mathematically eliminated from the championship hunt. From what I've seen, they're a young, scrappy team, and will continue to improve as the season progresses.

The 4 on 4 season has been rolling for a couple of weeks now. This league is interesting because the teams all play double-headers every week. This makes for some interesting shifts in the standings on a weekly basis...except for first place. Continuing their dominance displayed in route to a league championship last season, the Five Stars are once again atop the 4 on 4 standings. Five Stars is the team to beat in this league, but with several weeks left in the season, anything can happen. Teams like the Replacements and Cowboys(do these guys ever rest?) are ready to step up and take the defending champs down a couple of notches. There are some younger, less experienced teams in this league who will someday contend for a league title. The Destroyers are enjoying a good start, having won a couple of games, and are looking to add to that total. Wildout and the Spiders have yet to gain a victory, but I say that given time, these teams will all be able to make a go of it.

Ok, time for my matchup of the week. Actually, I think there are two potential barn-burners this week. First, in the 8 on 8 indoor league, Legion of Doom returns from their winter hiatus to take on the Cowboys. The Cowboys have been playing for weeks now, and are looking primed. Should be a very close game.

The second matchup of the week comes from the 8 on 8 outdoor league. The Patriots take on Team Cincinnati / Vikings in a non-conference battle. The Patriots are a hit-and-miss kind of team. When all their talent is available, they have a very balanced offense and defense. Take away a few key players, and they have a hard time performing consistently. Team Cincinnati / Vikings, on the other hand, are usually consistent, but sometimes have to depend on late scores to pull out a win.

That's it for this week. Check back next week for insight into the CFFL!