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Sports
May. 14, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Ninth straight loss is last straw; Gladiators begin overhaul, fire Barto, staff

By MARK ANDERSON
REVIEW-JOURNAL


Danton Barto

In the midst of one of the worst seasons for any franchise in the 21-year history of the Arena Football League, the Gladiators fired coach Danton Barto and the entire staff.

General manager Sam Jankovich will make the announcement this morning. Barto, who could not be reached for comment Sunday, also is expected to attend today's news conference.

Jankovich told the Review-Journal that Barto and his staff will finish the season. The Gladiators, 1-10 after nine straight losses, have five games remaining, starting Friday at Utah.

They loss 61-34 at San Jose on Saturday night.

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    • "I sat and spoke with Danton at the airport (following the loss) to inform him of my decision," Jankovich said. "I then spoke to the staff and players. I think in fairness to Danton and his wife and family, it's best we get this out in the open now so he doesn't hear things about me searching (for a new coach).

    "He has assured me he will continue to work hard. It's best we do this now. After all, things can't be any worse than they are, can they?"

    Probably not. This futility obviously wasn't expected from the team after it hired Barto last year out of af2, in which he led the Memphis Xplorers to the 2005 title and was named Coach of the Year.

    But now the organization will be looking for its fourth coach since moving to Las Vegas before the 2003 season. It's a search Jankovich said starts now.

    "That way, we can get out in front of anyone else looking for a (coach) and really begin narrowing down the number of (potential names) in regards to who we want coaching," Jankovich said. "We can begin making all the calls we want now and get the process started."

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    Warren Willis Jr. wrote on May 16, 2007 09:07 PM: If Arena Football isn't a "real sport," then why are you bothering to read these articles, let alone take the time to post such a ridiculous comment?

    I just hope the new coaching staff can take the time to reinforce the basic fundamentals of football...otherwise, the future results will be the same as what we're suffering through now.


    Sean Hayes wrote on May 15, 2007 04:15 PM: I think the 2003 Carolina Cobras (0-16) and 1996 Memphis Pharoahs (0-14) had worse season than the 2007 Gladiators.


    Paul Shindelus wrote on May 14, 2007 12:02 PM: So what if it's "not a real sport?" If something's entertaining, I'll watch. Only problem is that this year it hasn't been entertaining.

    I feel kinda bad. I was just going through some archived articles from the pre-season. There was so much excitement in those articles: new coach, new QB, new stadium, etc. And look how it all turned out? There was a picture of Dan Barto and Shaun King holding up a jersey at a press conference, and was thinking, if only they had any idea how bad this was going to turn out? That one would be released by mid-season and one would be fired with five games to go. So sad.


    Michael Paoli wrote on May 14, 2007 10:41 AM: Why don't they fire the players and begin an immediate search for better ones? Forfeit the last 5 games. They end up the same 1-15 record. But, forfeits go in the book as a loss by a score of 1-0. So, they can say they lost the last 5 games by a total of only 5 points which bodes well for next season. Playoffs for sure!

    Why does anyone care or pay to see this stuff? Arena Football isn't even a real sport. Same category as Indoor Beach Volleyball. Fans, you're doing great service to P.T. Barnum's memory. LOL.