It's normal for folks to be a bit sluggish in their first day back to work after a two-week break.

The Billings Outlaws are no different.

Coach Heron O'Neal's team returned to practice at the Outlaws SportsPlex on Monday - after a bizarre glitch in the Indoor Football League schedule left them with back-to-back bye weeks in advance of Saturday's regular-season finale at Omaha, Neb.

As expected, Monday's practice was not a thing of beauty.

"Probably one of the worst practices we've ever had," O'Neal said. "Guys weren't focused on what they were doing, guys weren't hustling … it was just ugly.

"But I kind of expected that, coming off a two-week break. It's tough to get right back into the rhythm we were in before the break."

O'Neal said the focus and intensity got better at Tuesday's and Wednesday's practices. The Outlaws will need another good effort today, which will be the final practice before they board the bus this evening for the 13-hour trip to Omaha.

"We need to make every one of these practices count," he said. "Our leaders really need to lead this week, and our other guys need to follow.

"Omaha is obviously a good team - they gave us our only loss of the season (a 48-33 setback at Omaha on April 18), and they're 10-3. It's a big game for both teams. We need the win to clinch home field throughout the playoffs, and Omaha needs the win to get a first-round bye."

Back from Buffalo

Outlaws kicker Nate Parseghian spent part of his two-week break in Orchard Park, N.Y., where he took part in a tryout for the NFL's Buffalo Bills.

Parseghian was one of 16 players - eight kickers, four punters and four long snappers - invited to the one-day tryout on June 23. Though he was not signed to a contract, Parseghian was pleased with his performance and enjoyed the experience.

"It went well," said Parseghian, a former Miami of Ohio standout. "There was some great competition there, and I thought I kicked pretty well. They said they were impressed with my tryout and that I kicked better than what they expected from my scouting report.

"There were guys there that have some NFL experience and guys that I recognized from college. … There was a guy from Penn State who set the Big 10 scoring record and a guy from LSU who was the all-SEC kicker.

"The whole experience was fun. They gave us a tour of all of their facilities, and we did the tryout on their game field. It was a great experience to step on an NFL field and compete with guys like that."

Parseghian said he hopes the tryout will lead to other NFL opportunities. But for now, he's focused on helping the Outlaws make a run at the IFL title.

"I'm excited to be back in Billings," he said. "These guys are really focused on winning a championship, and I definitely want to be part of that.

"If I get another call for a tryout, I'll be ready. But right now my focus is on being here until August 15."

End of an era

The Sioux Falls Storm's playoff hopes officially ended last Thursday when the Wichita Wild crushed the Alaska Wild 76-9.

With the win, Wichita (8-6) clinched third place in the Central Division. The last hope for four-time defending league champion Sioux Falls (6-7) was to have Alaska (0-13) pull off a stunning upset.

The bitter pill for Sioux Falls, of course, is that the Storm is 10-3 on the field but saw five victories nullified at midseason due to violation of the IFL's player insurance rules. All three of Sioux Falls' losses on the field came to the Outlaws, and under normal circumstances the Storm would be preparing for a run toward yet another championship game - quite possibly in Billings.

"It's definitely weird to not have Sioux Falls in the playoffs, but it is what it is," O'Neal said. "They're a great team … I'm proud of our guys for being able to beat them three times.

Sioux Falls coach Kurtiss Riggs "congratulated me on the field after our win in Sioux Falls, and he wished me luck on finishing the season off with a championship. I know how competitive that guy is. … It's got to be killing him that they're not going to the playoffs."