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by Spark Wonup
Lawrence Sun Times
Newsbreak: I'm sitting here with Phantoms owner/GM Jester Blaze who's just released this little tidbit of information: The team has opted not to tag Tobias Stanfield this off-season despite the sure HOFer's wish to return.
Jester, what brought on this decision?
JB: "Well me not doing my job is the obvious start of it all. A GM should never leave half as many guys unsigned as I did to end last season.
Now having said that - ("Curb" fans out there?
) - we were in a tough position and there was no way we were using our sole franchise tag on Stanfield, a player who's repeatedly demonstrated no loyalty during the past 3+ seasons. The real decision was whether or not we were going to tag Myron (Green, C) or (Travis, RG) Atkins. Travis has been a leader of our OLine at RG for quite some time and was surely deserving, however Green is absolutely perfect for our scheme and is only in his 6th year and ready to take over the starting spot when needed. We felt in the end that tagging Green gave us the best odds at securing long term production, which is the mindframe that we've always adhered to here in Lawrence."
What do you say to fans who will no doubt be heartbroken by the loss of what some consider the face of the organization?
JB: "The face of the organization?!?! (laughs) Phather Phantom, a fictitious but powerful symbol of strength and integrity untied to individual identity, is the face of this organization! Humans, including Stanfield, will come and go having worn the Phantom colors but none will ever hold favor on par with the group.
We've enjoyed much success - 2 Rings even - with Tobias at the helm and there's no taking back what he's done. However, he didn't do it alone and there's been 2 seasons and 2 holdouts since the last of those rings. Obviously there's more to it than putting familiar names on the roster and our focus is on somehow getting 2 more rings in the next decade and our actions today move us toward that goal.
Thank you for your concerns. I've got some myself, such as how I'm going to pay for Green's new contract. Go buy some tickets, Phantom Phans!"
Lawrence Sun Times
Newsbreak: I'm sitting here with Phantoms owner/GM Jester Blaze who's just released this little tidbit of information: The team has opted not to tag Tobias Stanfield this off-season despite the sure HOFer's wish to return.
Jester, what brought on this decision?
JB: "Well me not doing my job is the obvious start of it all. A GM should never leave half as many guys unsigned as I did to end last season.
Now having said that - ("Curb" fans out there?
) - we were in a tough position and there was no way we were using our sole franchise tag on Stanfield, a player who's repeatedly demonstrated no loyalty during the past 3+ seasons. The real decision was whether or not we were going to tag Myron (Green, C) or (Travis, RG) Atkins. Travis has been a leader of our OLine at RG for quite some time and was surely deserving, however Green is absolutely perfect for our scheme and is only in his 6th year and ready to take over the starting spot when needed. We felt in the end that tagging Green gave us the best odds at securing long term production, which is the mindframe that we've always adhered to here in Lawrence."What do you say to fans who will no doubt be heartbroken by the loss of what some consider the face of the organization?
JB: "The face of the organization?!?! (laughs) Phather Phantom, a fictitious but powerful symbol of strength and integrity untied to individual identity, is the face of this organization! Humans, including Stanfield, will come and go having worn the Phantom colors but none will ever hold favor on par with the group.
We've enjoyed much success - 2 Rings even - with Tobias at the helm and there's no taking back what he's done. However, he didn't do it alone and there's been 2 seasons and 2 holdouts since the last of those rings. Obviously there's more to it than putting familiar names on the roster and our focus is on somehow getting 2 more rings in the next decade and our actions today move us toward that goal.
Thank you for your concerns. I've got some myself, such as how I'm going to pay for Green's new contract. Go buy some tickets, Phantom Phans!"
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