T-Bears Fall Apart -- End Season

In case anyone was curious. Man, this has been a rough year for sports in Houston!
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/609267

July 20, 2000, 8:25PM -- T-Bears mark end of tough year
By RICHARD DEAN -- Copyright 2000 Houston Chronicle

It was a season that started like all others. With promise. But as the ThunderBears conclude their season tonight at Milwaukee, players and coaches can't pinpoint an exact reason for a 3-10 record and seven-game losing streak.

"It's hard to say what it is," said offensive specialist Terence Davis, who had a franchise-record 14 receptions for 210 yards in last week's 62-56 loss at Grand Rapids. "Just one of those seasons. "For some teams it has to go that way. Unfortunately, it was us this season." Entering the contest at the Bradley Center, the ThunderBears haven't won since May 26 when they edged Grand Rapids 58-57.

"Record-wise I thought it would be a better season," said first-year ThunderBears lineman Joe Burch, a veteran of the Arena Football League with Arizona and a member of the Rattlers' 1997 ArenaBowl championship team. "This season was supposed to be our year. But it wasn't. "It's not like we're not competing. The cards aren't falling for us. We're always in the game. Until the last minute."

In their seven-game losing streak, the ThunderBears have lost by less than seven points six times and in those seven games have lost by a combined 46 points. Twice the T-Bears lost on the final play. "Every game is the exact same thing," said ThunderBears coach Steve Thonn. "For some reason or another, we're not getting the break to win it. Everybody wins a game at the end or gets that big interception or fumble to save the game."

Milwaukee (6-7) will be in the playoffs. Not the ThunderBears, whose five-game win streak over the Mustangs is the ThunderBears' longest over any AFL opponent. While the ThunderBears are struggling, the Mustangs are moving with three straight wins. Milwaukee has something riding on tonight's game as a win, coupled with a Tampa Bay loss, secures a home-field, first-round playoff spot for the Mustangs.

For the ThunderBears, a win would signify much more than a one-game improvement in the standings. It would mean they would not head into the offseason with an eight-game losing streak, their longest since losing 11 consecutive in their initial 1996 season.

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