Storm

QB Dietz wanders way back to team

New quarterback has his own Web site.

By DAVID MURPHY
Published April 26, 2007

Brett Dietz has played football in so many outposts, you almost need a Web site to keep track of him.

Which is good. Dietz has a Web site.

And at QBDietz.com, you can follow the Storm's newest acquisition as he continues his improbable football journey.

"I haven't updated it in a while," Dietz said last week after the Storm signed him off the Kansas City Brigade's practice squad.

For the foreseeable future, those updates might be a little bland his first post after arriving in Tampa: "It is nice and sunny down here!!". Dietz was signed to back up veteran John Kaleo, who took over after Stoney Case separated his shoulder two weeks ago.

But if there comes a day when Dietz lines up as a starter - and with a 1-6 record and a 36-year-old starting quarterback, the scenario is feasible - it will provide yet another mile marker in a career that would make Rand McNally proud.

Since graduating high school in 2000, Dietz's career has taken him everywhere from Hanover, Ind., where he was a Division III star, lettering in four sports and finishing third in school history with 67 touchdown passes, to Turku, Finland, where he was one of two Americans competing in a Finnish professional league.

Obviously, he has a few stories to tell - so many, in fact, that he started his Web site so he didn't have to constantly e-mail friends and family.

For example, there's the story about the longest day of the year in Finland, when the sun stays out for nearly 24 hours, and the Finns celebrate by attending an all-night rock concert. Everyone camps outside and parties.

"People over there are really nice," Dietz said. "They are really courteous."

Dietz has also spent time in Cincinnati (trying out for a National Indoor Football League team), Louisville (where he won last year's af2 rookie of the year award) and Tampa Bay, where he spent the first six weeks of last season on the practice squad.

Now he is back in Tampa, practicing with the Storm, and waiting for the day when his Web site again becomes required reading.

NO JOE: Why didn't the Storm make a run at signing an established Arena League veteran such as Joe Hamilton?

Coach Tim Marcum said it would have been impossible to sign the former Georgia Tech and Predators quarterback without exceeding the salary cap.

BATTLE AT TACKLE: The return of Tom Kaleita from injured reserve means Lincoln Kennedy will have to battle to keep his starting position. If Kaleita knocks off enough rust before Sunday's game against Columbus, he could supplant the former NFL star.

In a loss to the Predators that preceded the bye week, Kennedy allowed two crucial sacks. One resulted in Case's injury and a fumble recovery for a touchdown, the other in a safety.

STORM DEBRIS: Expect Tim McGill, who has spent time at linebacker the last two games, to return to defensive tackle. ... Marcum spent part of his bye week attending a surprise birthday party in Texas for Storm owner Woody Kern.

David Murphy can be reached at dmurphy@sptimes.com or (352) 848-1407.

[Last modified April 26, 2007, 02:41:06]