Jess Brown

It's pretty much expected at this point when talking about Greater Spokane League volleyball. The team to beat this season, once again, is the Mead Panthers.

The plot was good enough. Former Louisville offensive coordinator and defending ArenaCup champion Spokane Shock head coach Adam Shackleford faces his old boss, Fire coach Tommy Johnson, in an arenafootball2 showdown.

The ArenaCup champs begin their title defense tonight, and it couldn't be a more fitting first matchup for Spokane Shock coach Adam Shackleford. Head to head with a good friend, former boss, and tonight – a friendly foe.

It's a small world, especially in the world of arena football. Kelvin Morris received a phone call on a Saturday in mid-March that left him a little confused. His cousin, Nygel Rogers, and "some other guy" were trying to convince him to come to Washington for an arenafootball2 tryout with the Spokane Shock. Rogers and the "other guy" – who turned out to be starting quarterback Andrico Hines – talked him into making the trip. A few days later, Morris found himself "on the opposite end of the earth."

By day, Lisa Bliss is a physician, helping people non-surgically rehabilitate from musculoskeletal injuries. In simpler terms, she helps people get rid of their pain, which is ironic because in her spare time, she enjoys the opposite for herself. Bliss – an ultra runner in addition to being a doctor and medical director – puts herself through the ringer. The 39-year-old enjoys running distances so much, she'd prefer to do five marathons at once.

When you first spot Katon Bethay, who has a burly Paul Bunyan-like frame with just as much hair growing on his face as his head, he greets you with what could be interpreted as a smile. By no means a big smile, no teeth involved. It's more of an acknowledgment, with a hint of a tough-guy vibe – and in that sense, you figure he's the quintessential lineman.

Fox Hole ticket: $40. Cold beer in plastic cup: $5. Likely home-field advantage in the playoffs: thousands in ticket sales. Revenge: priceless.

It's all about protection. Protect your quarterback, protect your division-leading record. If the Spokane Shock learned anything when they met the Tri-Cities Fever in mid-June, it was to take no game for granted.

Tucked away in Spokane Valley, a long, tree-lined driveway leads to four brick cottages that are the heart of the Hutton Settlement. On the 319-acre campus, children aged 5-18 come to live for reasons ranging from failed adoptions to poor living situations with parents or grandparents, and it is at Hutton that Jerome Stevens has helped make two houses a home. The Spokane Shock and former Arena Football League lineman is just one of a handful of players on the defending ArenaCup champions roster that is playing professional football in the AFL's developmental league (arenafootball2) while holding another job.