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Big weekend looms for Storm

May 14, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Tampa Bay Storm News Release


TAMPA, FL -- Despite the Tampa Bay Storm having the weekend off, Week 15 in the AFL could be a big one for the defending ArenaBowl champions.

With a 7-7 overall record, the Storm enter the weekend tied for tenth place in the overall league standings. The Storm are just one-half game out of the eighth and final playoff spot.

Tampa Bay is one of the hottest teams in the AFL, having won its last four games. The Storm's win streak has put the team back in the playoff hunt, a scenario thought to be unimaginable to most just a month ago when Tampa Bay fell to 3-7 with a 51-36 loss at Chicago.

But, bolstered by four straight wins, Tampa Bay now has a chance to extend its league-record streak of consecutive playoff appearances to 14 seasons.

In order to do that, though, the Storm still must win their remaining games. After the bye week, the Storm host the New Orleans VooDoo on May 23 and then travel to Dallas to face the Desperados in the regular season finale on May 30.

Along with needing wins in the final two games of the regular season, the Storm also need some help in getting into the postseason. Tampa Bay needs both Orlando and Los Angeles to lose at least one more game. The Storm could also get a boost by Indiana and Las Vegas losing again.

If it were to come down to head-to-head tiebreakers to decide the final postseason spots, the Storm appear to be looking good against the teams currently projected to be battling for the last spots. The Storm hold tie-breaker against Orlando and Los Angeles because of head-to-head record, and a tie-breaker over Indiana because of the teams' records against common opponents. If it were to come down to a three-way tie-breaker between Tampa Bay, Orlando, and Los Angeles, the Storm would win that, too.

That being said, there are a number of games this weekend that could have major implications on the Storm's postseason hopes. Los Angeles travels to New York to face the Dragons in a game that will be televised in the Tampa Bay area. A loss by the Avengers would drop them into a tie with the Storm. Also, Orlando travels to Austin to take on the Wranglers. A loss by the Predators would drop Orlando into a tie with Tampa Bay in the overall league standings.

Other games that could have a determination in the Storm's postseason chances are San Jose at Las Vegas and Colorado at Indiana. Both Indiana and Las Vegas have seven losses, as does Tampa Bay.

All four of those contests will be played on Sunday afternoon.

While watching the New York-Los Angeles game on NBC, Storm fans can check out head coach Tim Marcum, who will be the NBC studio guest this weekend. He will give halftime and postgame analysis and further discuss the Storm playoff chances. Marcum will be joined in the studio by host Al Trautwig and analyst Glenn Parker.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 14, 2004


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