Storm to host Madden ’09 Tournament

The Storm and Blockbuster (7699 49th St. N, #A, Pinellas Park) will host an EA Sports Madden ’09 Tournament on Aug. 11 prior to the midnight release of the game. Storm players and Storm Dancers will be on hand. Registration for the event starts at 5:30 p.m. and tournament play will begin at 7.

The tournament will be run on the PS3 game system. Televisions and game consoles are will be provided by Rent-A-Center. Free food and drinks are available for all participants.

For more information, contact Carrie Inman (813-301-6562) or Alison Namour (813-301-6683), or visit www.tampabaystorm.com.

Storm’s O’Hara headed to L.A.

Pat O’Hara is going home.

On Friday, the Storm offensive coordinator was named head coach of the Los Angeles Avengers, the Arena Football League team located just a few miles from where he went to high school and not far from where he later played college football.

“I’m real excited,” O’Hara told the Times.

O’Hara will replace Ed Hodgkiss, who was fired after going 5-11 this season (the Avengers lost to the Storm in their season finale). Hodgkiss spent the past seven seasons with the Avengers and was 57-53 during the regular season.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for Pat,” said Storm coach/general manager Tim Marcum. “Pat is well-deserving of this opportunity and we are proud of him. He has been with us for some time and we will miss him.”

O’Hara, who turns 40 in September, spent six seasons with the Storm --three as quarterback (2003-04, 2006) and three as offensive coordinator (2005, 2007-08). The Storm ranked seventh in scoring in 2008, with 903 points in 16 games. Under O’Hara’s guidance, Tampa Bay quarterback Brett Dietz has become a star.

O’Hara is a 1986 graduate of California’s Santa Monica High School. He then was a quarterback for Southern California.

O’Hara played 16 seasons of professional football, 14 in the Arena Football League. In 2003, he filled in for an injured John Kaleo to help lead the Storm to a victory over Arizona in ArenaBowl XVII.

O’Hara is particularly close with Marcum, whom he considers a friend and mentor.

“He has been like a father,” O’Hara said. “He said he’s happy for me, and proud of me, but that he’s going to miss me. I’m going to miss him, too. We won a lot of games together.”

O’Hara interviewed for the Avengers position in person the week after the regular season ended. He then had a handful of phone conversations with the organization before finding out last week he was the man for the job.

O’Hara, who is married and has two boys, ages 8 and 6, still has family in the greater-Los Angeles area -- and plenty of friends.

“A lot of my groomsmen are there,” O’Hara said. “It’s going to be nice to have a support system. It’s not like having to go to some strange place.”

Ex-Storm player to coach Columbus

According to a story in today's Columbus Dispatch, former Storm player Pat Sperduto will be named head coach of the Columbus Destroyers. Sperduto was a Storm offensive lineman from 1991-93. He played with one championship team while with the Storm.

As a head coach in the AFL, he is 48-41-1.

Report: AFL expansion possible

According to a report in today's Chicago Tribune (and Orlando Sentinel), the AFL is considering expansion and has an eye on Boston, Pittsburgh and South Florida. Apparently, Berlin and London also are being looked at.

Why is this being discussed?

Because AFL attendance was up by 6 percent this year, which is even more impressive when one factors in the fact we're in a down economic environment.

An announcement about expansion could be made at the ArenaBowl, which is in three weeks.

As many Storm fans know, Pittsburgh has had a team before. The Pittsburgh Gladiators were one of the AFL's inaugural teams before relocating to Tampa Bay, where they became the Storm after the 1990 season.

Marcum: Team would welcome Samuels' return

The Mobile (Ala.) Press-Register was correct: Storm WR/LB Lawrence Samuels did tell the team during the organization's year-end "exit interviews" he would like to return next year, coach Tim Marcum confirmed Monday. However, nothing is official ... yet.

"He said he'd like to come back, but that he wanted to talk to his wife," Marcum said. "So I said, 'We've got plenty of time for you to decide.'"

Samuels, 38, is the AFL's all-time leading receiver with 1,022 receptions. This past season, he had 121 catches for 1,191 yards and 16 touchdowns. On defense, he intercepted four passes.

"Certainly, if he wants to play, we're going to come to terms with where we feel like he is," Marcum said. "There are some restraints with the salary cap. Things are a little tight. But if he wants to play, I'm sure we'll find a way to sign him."

Samuels to return? Looks that way

Will Lawrence Samuels (AKA Mr. Storm) return next year for a 16th AFL season?

It's starting to look like he will.

According to a report in the Mobile (Ala.) Press-Register, Samuels, a record-setting WR/LB, has told the Storm coaching staff he will return in 2009.

"I feel if I had left after this year, it would have left a bad taste in my mouth," Samuels told the paper. "I told the coaches I'm coming back to give it one more chance to try and win another championship. That's the way I want to end my career, with a championship."

The AFL's all-time leading receiver with 1,022 receptions, the 38-year-old Samuels has played all but one of his AFL seasons with the Storm (He played for New Jersey in 2001). This past season, he had 121 catches for 1,191 yards and 16 touchdowns. On defense, he intercepted four passes, giving him 32 for his career.