Developments that teased the Sioux Falls Storm with an unexpected trip to the playoffs yanked that chance away Monday.
 
Earlier this season, the Indoor Football League took away five of the Storm's victories for violating worker's compensation coverage, effectively keeping them out of post-season contention.  But an investigation into two more IFL teams could have changed that.

The two teams in question are the Omaha Beef and the River City Rage.  Jeff Sprowls owns both teams and confirmed to KELOLAND Sports that his teams were the ones under investigation.

Sprowls says the IFL informed him last week that his league dues were late. He contends that's because he was appealing some fines that had been levied earlier in the season, and there was some additional confusion over bank paperwork concerning both of his teams' line of credit. Sprowls says the issue has been taken care of and the league's owners decided on a punishment during a conference call Monday morning.

"They talked about putting us out of the playoffs, which basically, everybody said probably wasn't feasible to do," Sprowls said.  "Then they decided to fine us $10,000 per team and that was voted down. Then somebody said $2,500 per team and that's what they voted in. There's no jeopardy of us being out of the playoffs, we are both in the playoffs."

So what does this mean for Storm fans? Omaha was ahead of Sioux Falls in the Central Division standings and had the league's owners decided to bar the Beef from the postseason, the Storm would have been in.

Stay tuned to KELOLAND News for more on this story as it develops.