Soul Playoff Daily
Published on July 11, 2008 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Philadelphia Soul News Release
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME SATURDAY
The Philadelphia Soul will participate in their first Conference Championship Game Saturday against the Cleveland Gladiators at 1 pm (ET) to decide which team will make the trip to New Orleans and Virgin Mobile ArenaBowl XXII. The Soul (13-3, 1-0) enter the game with a 3-2 all-time playoff record; going 2-0 at home. The Gladiators (9-7, 2-0) enter the game with a 3-4 all-time playoff record. The two teams split their regular season meetings; Cleveland winning 67-55 Week 10, Philadelphia winning 62-61 Week 16. Cleveland holds the all-time season series at 4-1, three of the wins coming when they called Las Vegas home. The Soul and Gladiators have never met in the playoffs. The game will feature the 2008 Offensive Player of the Year (WR Chris Jackson, PHI), AFL Writers' Association Player of the Year (QB Matt D'Orazio, PHI), Coach of the Year (Mike Wilpolt, CLE), the AFL's leading scorer (WR Otis Amey, CLE) and nine All-Arena First or Second Team players (seven for Philadelphia, two for Cleveland).
SEPTA BROAD STREET LINE SERVICE SET FOR SOUL GAME
On Saturday the convenient Broad Street Line "Sports Express" trains will operate from the Fern Rock Transportation Center. Fans using the Broad Street Line travel in air conditioned comfort while avoiding the expected traffic jams in the area as thousands of fans are expected to converge on the sports complex for the Soul and Phillies games.
SATURDAY'S COMMUNITY DRIVE: BRIDGETON FOOTBALL
Soul fans are asked to help Bridgeton Football during Saturday's National Conference Championship Game. The Bridgeton Midget Football League was established in 1955. The founding fathers of the organization wanted to provide the youth of the Bridgeton area a safe and organized environment in which to learn the fundamentals of good sportsmanship and competition. The youth in the City of Bridgeton face many challenges in their daily lives. Bridgeton is an economically depressed area and many of the children come from broken homes. During this weekend's game, the Bridgeton Midget League will be collecting spare change on the Wachovia Center concourse.
WHAT'S UP TODAY No practice today, but Philadelphia and Cleveland went through brief walkthroughs for game day. OL Phil Bogle and DB Mike Brown went to the Wachovia Center to film the ESPN starting lineups for the game on Saturday. Also, Soul QB Matt D'Orazio will be chatting on ESPN.com today at 4:30 p.m. Submit your questions for Matt to answer by clicking here: http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=21447
HE SAID IT Soul President Ron Jaworski on the Soul and Gladiators' attempt to end their cities long championship droughts: "We really have two cities that are starving for a championship. I can speak for Philly, and I know the Cleveland organization feels the same way. We're very proud to represent our cities."
Gladiators Minority Owner/President/CEO Bernie Kosar on still being alive this late in the playoffs: "Most people think that if you don't win it all, it's not a success, but basically you're playing the cream of the crop, the best-type teams [in conference championships]. It's not an accident that I believe us and Philadelphia are still playing. And when you're playing at the highest level, somebody has to lose."
AROUND THE LEAGUE
The following awards will be announced next week: Ironman of the Year will be announced Tuesday, Champs Quarterback of the Year will be announced Wednesday, and the Al Lucas Hero Award will be announced Thursday.
Utah Blaze owner John Garff announced Wednesday the promotion of assistant coach Ron James to head coach. James will replace former Blaze coach Danny White, who resigned last week after going 21-30 in three seasons with the Blaze. James, who just completed his second season with the Blaze as the Defensive Coordinator and Director of Player Personnel and 11th season in the Arena Football League, was the head coach of the Las Vegas Gladiators (now Cleveland Gladiators) for two seasons (2005, 2006). In 2005, his team led the AFL in total offense and team defense, and set 14 new offensive and defensive team records.
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP, ARENABOWL XXII TICKETS AVAILABLE
Fans can purchase tickets for this Saturday's Conference Championship game to cheer on the Soul as they continue their push towards the ArenaBowl. For more information on playoff tickets call 888-PHIL-AFL or email tix@philadelphiasoul.com. If the Soul win the Conference Championship game they will advance to Virgin Mobile ArenaBowl XXII which will be played at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, LA on July 27 at 3pm (ET). For information on ArenaBowl XXII tickets go to ticketmaster.com.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from July 11, 2008
- San Jose's Grieb Approaches Second Place All-Time - AFL I
- Rampage Face San Jose Saturday in Conference Championship - Grand Rapids Rampage
- Confrence Championship Injury Report - Philadelphia Soul
- Soul Playoff Daily - Philadelphia Soul
- Soul Set For Conference Championship Game - Philadelphia Soul
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