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AFL I Arena Football League (1987-2008)

Rush and Predators to meet in ArenaBowlXX Las Vegas

June 7, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release


LAS VEGAS - The ArenaBowl XX champion will be crowned on Sunday, June 11 at Thomas and Mack Center at Noon PT/3 p.m. ET on NBC. The National Conference Champion Orlando Predators (10-6, 2-0) will take on the American Conference Champion Chicago Rush (7-9, 3-0) for the Jim Foster ArenaBowl Trophy.

Orlando, the Southern Division Champions, defeated the Dallas Desperados, 45-28, last Sunday. Chicago won its third playoff road game in a row last Saturday with a 59-56 win over the San Jose SaberCats following wins at Nashville and Colorado.

The two road wins by Orlando and Chicago last week marked the first time in League history that the two road teams posted victories in the AFL Conference Championship (Semifinal) round to advance to the ArenaBowl.

Orlando has reached the playoffs for 15 straight years to tie a League record and is making its seventh ArenaBowl appearance, the most of any AFL franchise breaking a tie with the Tampa Bay Storm and Detroit Drive. Following is a list of the previous Orlando ArenaBowl appearances:

GAME OPPONENT W/L SCORE ArenaBowl VI Detroit Drive L 56-38 ArenaBowl VIII Arizona Rattlers L 36-31 ArenaBowl IX Tampa Bay Storm L 48-35 ArenaBowl XII Tampa Bay Storm W 62-31 ArenaBowl XIII Albany Fire L 59-48 ArenaBowl XIV Nashville Kats W 41-38

Predators DS KENNY MCENTYRE, a three-time AFL ADT Defensive Player of the Year Award winner (2000-01, 2004), and OL/DL REGGIE LEE are the lone remaining players from the last Orlando championship team that captured the ArenaBowl XIV title in 2000.

Predators Head Coach JAY GRUDEN is making his eighth ArenaBowl appearance, four as a player, four as a coach. He owns six championship rings and has a combined winning percentage of 70.2 percent as an AFL player and coach. Gruden won his first championship ring in ArenaBowl V when he completed a 35-yard touchdown pass to STEVIE THOMAS with 39 seconds remaining in the game to give Tampa Bay its first-ever ArenaBowl title.

Chicago OS BOBBY SIPPIO, who was signed by Chicago on March 29 after being released by Tampa Bay, is the AFL's postseason leader in receptions (23), yards (342) and touchdowns (7).

Rush QB MATT D'ORAZIO is tops in the AFL postseason with 62 completions, 742 passing yards, 15 passing touchdowns, 63 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Predators QB JOE HAMILTON is right behind him with 50 yards on the ground in two games played this postseason.

Following is a playoff comparison between D'Orazio and Hamilton

NAME G COMP ATT PCT YDS TD INT RATING RUSHES YDS TDs D'Orazio 3 62 99 62.6 742 15 1 119.2 18 63 3 Hamilton 2 32 49 65.3 387 8 2 112.0 6 50 0

Chicago Rush Head Coach MIKE HOHENSEE is making his first appearance in an ArenaBowl as a head coach. He has been a part of the AFL since its inception and is coaching in his 18th season. Hohensee quarterbacked the Pittsburgh Gladiators (1987-88) in the first ever AFL game and threw the first touchdown pass in Arena Football League history. He also played in the first ArenaBowl on August 1, 1987.

Following are the 2006 AFL Postseason Seeds, Wild Card Round and Divisional Round results:

National Conference American Conference #1 Dallas* (13-3) #1 Colorado* (11-5) #2 Orlando* (10-6) #2 San Jose* (10-6) #3 New York (10-6) #3 Arizona (8-8) #4 Austin (10-6) #4 Nashville (8-8) #5 Philadelphia (9-7) #5 Chicago (7-9) #6 Georgia (8-8) #6 Utah (7-9) *Division Winner *Division Winner

WILD CARD RESULTS #6 Georgia 72 at #3 New York 69 #6 Utah 34 at #3 Arizona 57 Sunday, May 21, 3 p.m. ET, NBC Saturday, May 20, 5 p.m. ET, OLN

#5 Philadelphia 52 at #4 Austin 35 #5 Chicago 55 at #4 Nashville 47 Sunday, May 21, 3 p.m. ET, NBC Sunday, May 21, 3 p.m. ET, NBC

DIVISIONAL ROUND RESULTS #6 Georgia 27 at #1 Dallas 62 #3 Arizona 48 at #2 San Jose 62 Saturday, May 27, 3:30 p.m., NBC Saturday, May 27, 3:30 p.m., NBC

#5 Philadelphia 27 at #2 Orlando 31 #5 Chicago 63 at #1 Colorado 46 Sunday, May 28, 3:30 p.m., NBC Sunday, May 28, 3:30 p.m., NBC

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS #2 Orlando 45 at #1 Dallas 28 #5 Chicago 59 at #2 San Jose 56 Sunday, June 4, 3 p.m. ET, NBC Saturday, June 3, 3 p.m. ET, NBC

This Week in ArenaBowl History June 12, 2005: The Colorado Crush capture the ArenaBowl XIX title with a last-second win over the Georgia Force in the first neutral site ArenaBowl in AFL history.

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from June 7, 2006


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