The Storm and AS-I-B will hold an open tryout for the 2009 AFL season Oct. 18 at the 31st Street South Sports Complex in St. Petersburg. The one-day tryout is open to all interested players.

Players will receive the opportunity to sign a professional contract with the Storm. Former open tryout players to play for the Storm include current standout wide receiver Hank Edwards and four-time ArenaBowl Champion Stevie Thomas.

The camp will be directed by Storm coach Tim Marcum.

Several af2 coaching staffs will also be on hand to evaluate talent along with Storm stars Brett Dietz, Tyrone Timmons and Tim McGill -- and former Buccaneer/AS-I-B owner Ian Beckles. Coaching staffs will evaluate players in combine exercises such as the 40-yard dash, broad jump, shuttle runs and position drills.

Interested players are encouraged to pre-register at www.tampabaystorm.com. Pre-registration ends Oct. 17 at noon. Players can also register at the 31st Street South Sports Complex the morning of the tryouts. Registration will begin at 9 a.m.. The cost is $50 for players who pre-register online and $60 for those registering the day of the event. Payment must be by cash or certified check.

Registrants need to bring grass cleats and work out clothes with the day of the tryout. Current college players are not eligible.

For More information, contact Storm assistant Dave Ewart via phone (813-307-5908) or online (dave@tampabaystorm.com).

The Storm has re-signed veteran linemen Ernest Certain and Kelvin Kinney to one-year deals, coach/general manager Tim Marcum announced.

“Ernest is a versatile, experienced player and Kelvin adds a strong presence on line,” Marcum said in a release. “These signings provide us with depth and versatility. They can both get after the quarterback.”

Certain (6-foot-4, 285-pounds) just completed his seventh season with the Storm. He appeared in six games at four different positions in 2008. Certain is the franchise’s all-time career leader in tackles for loss (22). He also has 91.5 career tackles, 8.5 sacks, seven fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles.

Kinney, (6-8, 285) will return to the Storm for his fifth season. Tampa Bay re-acquired him in Week 2 of 2008. He played in -- and started -- 14 games while leading the team in sacks (4.5) and tackles for loss (7.5). Kinney has 122 career tackles, 27 tackles for loss, 23 sacks and seven forced fumbles.

Anyone who knows Storm coach Tim Marcum, knows he loves his 1957 Thunderbird. Now, you can get a look at it by clicking HERE. Pretty sharp, huh?

On the same day the New Orleans Saints signed Storm defensive tackle Tim McGill, the same team expressed interest in another Storm player -- wide receiver Hank Edwards. Storm spokesperson Jim Robinson said the Saints plan to bring Edwards in for a tryout, possibly as early as tomorrow.

Edwards, 25, just completed his second season with the Storm.

He ranked first on the team in receiving yardage (1,341) and touchdown receptions (30) and second in receptions (85). The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Edwards, a native of South Florida, played at Texas Southern.

You can read more about him HERE.

How good was noseguard Tim McGill this spring for the Storm? Well, he has just been signed by the NFL's New Orleans Saints. Right now, I don't have any other details, but the word is the team has seven defensive tackles in camp. In other words, it's no lock McGill will make the squad. Still, it says a lot about his ability and the way he played that the team would bring him in. I'll post more information as it becomes available.

McGill, 29, is no stranger to the NFL.

After finishing his college career at Illinois in 1999, he spent time in one form or another with the Packers, Dolphins and Jets (read feature on McGill HERE).

In 2008, McGill had 13 tackles, five assists and five sacks for the Storm. But those numbers don't really tell the story. From start to finish, McGill was a disruptive force up front and arguably was the team's most valuable player.

In May, the Storm signed him to an extension through 2010.

Here's more on McGill's signing from the official site of the Saints.

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.

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.”

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.