Talons Top Coaches Poll for Ninth Straight Week
May 21, 2008 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release
CHICAGO - The defending ArenaCup Champion Tulsa Talons have maintained the No. 1 ranking in the Week 9 Coaches Poll, the arenafootball2 (af2) league office announced today. Tulsa collected 437 of a possible 448 points and 21-of-29 first place votes in securing the top spot for the ninth consecutive week. The Talons (8-0) continued their perfect start to the 2008 season after holding off Manchester, 59-56, Friday night in Manchester, N.H. The victory over the Wolves was Tulsa's 16th straight, counting eight in a row from last season. The Talons recent run of 16 consecutive victories is the longest active win steak and the third longest win streak in af2 history.
The Spokane Shock (7-0, 412 points, 2 first place votes) maintained their grip on the No. 2 spot for the eighth straight week after earning a 59-56 home win over West Division and in-state rival Tri-Cities. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton held firm at the No. 3 position on the strength of a convincing 69-27 home victory against Albany. Since their season-opening defeat, the Pioneers (7-1, 406 points, 6 first place votes) have won seven straight games by an average of 37.6 points. The No. 4-ranked Firecats (6-1, 340 points) maintained their position despite falling for the first time in 2008 at South Division rival Tennessee Valley. The Vipers have climbed to No. 8 overall thanks to five straight wins. Lubbock (5-2, 302 points) returns to the Top-5 this week after a 64-57 home win against Central Division foe Arkansas.
The complete Top 16 is listed below. The number in parentheses indicates the number of first place votes the team received.
WEEK 9 TOP 16
RANK
TEAM
PTS
1
Tulsa
437 (21)
2
Spokane
412 (2)
3
W-B/Scranton
406 (6)
4
Florida
340
5
Lubbock
302
6
Boise
292
7
Lexington
268
8
Tennessee Valley
258
9
South Georgia
219
9
Green Bay
219
11
Louisville
207
12
Amarillo
139
13
Bossier-Shreveport
84
14
Austin
59
15
Rio Grande Valley
58
15
Corpus Christi
58
Each week during the season af2 coaches will vote for the Top 16 teams in the league by ranking them one through 16 on a ballot. Teams ranked first receive 16 points with the point value decreasing by one for each place below first, meaning a team ranked 16th would receive one point. Total points will determine the Top 16 list. In the event of a tie in total points, the team with the greater number of first-place votes will be ranked higher. The af2 Coaches Poll will be announced every Wednesday during the regular season. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team and the poll results have no bearing on postseason qualification.
About af2
In Week 9 of its ninth season with a 29-team membership, af2 serves as a vehicle to bring Arena Football to small-to-midsize cities and as a developmental league with an unmatched history of sending players, coaches and officials to major professional football leagues each year. af2 operates under the same Mission Statement and Fans' Bill of Rights as the Arena Football League, which is the midst of its 22nd season. Log on to www.af2.com for more information.
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