Thunder Live | A 100 percent chance of rugburn

We're almost at the end of the game and, aside from a lot of penalties and a brief scare, this was a big success. And it makes you wonder, "Why didn't they have arena football the first year of the Chevy Centre."

And then you remember, "Oh, that's right. Because certain professional hockey higher-ups decided they wanted the place for themselves, allowing it to stay empty on several nights a year." And I don't blame them. I mean, aside from taxpayers building this place and keeping it alive, why shouldn't we put one team ahead of every other one?

But hey, we're going to stay positive. The Thunder is winning (48-27 with four minutes left), the opener was a success and the wave finally caught on. We'll do it all again in two weeks. We can only hope the frisbee-catching dogs come back, too.

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End of the third quarter and, well, things are not going well for the Thunder. Also, two guys have been rolled up in tape and trying to pick up money in a Farmer's National Bank promotion. I don't know what this means for the Thunder, but it can't be good for America.

I'm pretty sure the fact that Mahoning Valley has only scored 7 points in the second half isn't good for America. Or maybe just Youngstown.

There was a flag on the first play of the third quarter, which is roughly the 566th penalty of the game, which is the sort of thing you expect with two expansion teams. Strangely, teams get called for illegal defense a lot, which means an outside rusher came off the edge, which apparently you cannot do.

The fans are getting restless. They just tried to start a wave. It didn't work. Bring back the frisbee-catching dogs.

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Much has been made about the high price of the Thunder's tickets. (And some of it was by us. And I'm not apologizing. The tickets are too high.) That said, they do a good job with promotions. Like the Scrappers (and the Cavs, I suppose), there's stuff going on whenever there's a break in the action. It makes it fun and it improves the chances of going home with something free, which everyone likes.

Speaking of free, a Tri-City player just caught a touchdown pass and gave a fan his football. And if you're wondering whether he threw it back (like they do at Cubs games when the opposing team hits a homer), well, he didn't.

Tri-Cities, by the way, came from Washington. Washington STATE. Washington is, of course, a very environmentally-conscious state. Youngstown, meanwhile, had a stream of 39 Hummers that came from Greenwood Market Motors to this game. They stopped traffic, then parked in the back of the Chevy Centre.

There's not supposed to be cheering in the press box, but there's a guy from Tri-City who is violating that rule. And I'm thinking, "Dude, it's af2. Lighten up."

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Today's halftime entertainment is "Jenna, the frisbee-catching dog." Jenna is touted as one of the best frisbee catching dogs in the world and no one is disputing this claim. I would also like to add that you never see a frisbee-catching cat. If I threw a frisbee near my fiance's cat, Sylvia, it would look at me like I was an idiot, which would probably make me throw the frisbee AT Sylvia, which would get my fiance' mad at me, which would make everyone unhappy.

ANYWAY, having a dog for the halftime show is a good idea. Especially since these are formerly homeless dogs. (Wait, breaking news: An 8 1/2-pound dog named Dixie is trying to catch frisbees now.) Everyone likes dogs. Not everyone likes cats. (Me, for instance.) But I digress. Dogs are fun to watch. Frisbees are fun to watch. Dogs catching frisbee? Man, I almost want to pee my pants.

This just in: Dixie is a very capable frisbee-catcher. Maybe not in Jenna's class, but, then, who is?

Our next competitor is blitz, another homeless-to-high flying dog. Blitz's scouting report: good vertical, good closing speed, good motor, can really go up and get the frisbee. (By the way, the halftime music is "Play that funky music, white boy.") (Just so you know.)

As for the game, geez. The Thunder are kicking some serious butt. Twenty to nothing in af2?

People are now throwing miniature nerf footballs onto the field, trying to get it into a Lighthouse inflatable football field. This promotion is called "Fling a football." (Did I not tell you these updates would be useless?)

I just got a nomination form asking me to help vote on four player of the game categories. Considering I've spent very little time actually watching the game (I was writing an A1 feature story on the game's atmosphere, in addition to this blogging), I'm not sure I'm qualified. But, unless I see something different in the second half, I know who's getting my vote.

Blitz.

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About midway through the second quarter and this much is clear so far: This place is pretty loud. The consensus is that the SteelHounds have never had a crowd this big. I'd say the place is about 95 percent filled and, considering the Thunder is up by 13 right now, there's a good chance it'll stay 95 percent filled. And not just tonight.

This just in, Ohio State is going to the championship game. Or, at least, they will be in 35 seconds. And if you think I'm skimping on my journalistic obligation to keep everyone up to date on the Thunder, well, you're right.

Breaking news update: Former Fitch High football coach Neal Kopp is filming the game tonight. He used to give his own film guy a lot of grief and, now that he has to do it, he suddenly realized it's not as easy as it looks. The team has to send the league game tapes (they upload them on a computer) by midnight or else it gets fined $1,000. Kopp was in a loge with former pro wrestler Joe "Animal" Laurinaitis, whose son is a linebacker for the Buckeyes. (If you're wondering whether Joe drove all the way from Minneapolis out of the goodness of his own heart, well, I hate to break the news ...)

The Thunder dance team is currently dancing to the song "Fergalicious," which is by Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas. I hate this song. I don't know why anyone likes this song. And I actually own a Black Eyed Peas album.

And you know what? I'm not that fond of "Thunderstruck" either.

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We're 25 minutes away and here's the info you won't get anywhere else:

- The scouting report on the Cortland Banks Field is springy, but coarse with a 75 percent chance of rugburn. It's softer than I expected, but considering there's ice, not dirt, below the surface, it's gotta be pretty painful to get hit.

- There are 40 footballs available. If they fly into the stands, you can keep them. (Not in practice, though. A kicker just booted one above the goalposts and the fan had to throw it back.)

- The first song was AC/DC's Thunderstruck. Anyone who is surprised by this has never been to a sporting event.

- A Chick-Fil-A blimp is about to be released. The announcer just said, "Ladies and gentlemen it's time for our inaugural launch of the Chick-Fil-A blimp." The crowd response could only be described as subdued, with a slight sense of awe.

For more useless information like this, stay tuned to this blog all night.