The Broad Street Brawl Headlines Week Nine
April 23, 2008 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release
NEW YORK - A historic matchup for League supremacy, key division matchups and one of the oldest rivalries in AFL history is renewed as the second half of the 2008 season begins.
Week 9 has been branded as 'AFL V Week', a new week-long initiative by the Arena Football League, ESPN and The V Foundation for Cancer Research that will permeate the AFL and ESPN communities to help raise awareness and donations for cancer research from Tuesday, April 22 to Monday, April 28. Donations can be made at www.jimmyv.org or call 800-4JIMMYV (454-6698).
The Philadelphia Soul (8-0), No. 1 in this week's Schutt Sports Poll, welcomes the Dallas Desperados (7-0), No. 2, to the Wachovia Spectrum for "The Broad Street Brawl," a matchup featuring the final two unbeaten teams in the AFL on Russell Athletic ESPN Arena Football Monday, April 28 at 8 p.m. ET (ESPN2 HD, ESPN360.com).
The game is the first matchup between teams with records of 7-0 or better in AFL history, with Dallas and Philadelphia both riding franchise-best regular-season winning streaks.
The Desperados have won 15-consecutive regular-season contests and can set the AFL record for most consecutive wins with the victory. The Soul have won 10-consecutive regular-season games and can equal the team's highest single-season win total with a victory.
Dallas leads the all-time series 5-3 and swept Philadelphia in 2007 for the second time in team history (2005). The Soul swept the Desperados in 2006.
An individual record can also be broken Monday night as Desperados QB CLINT DOLEZEL stands 233 yards from becoming the AFL's all-time leading passer.
The winner of this contest will claim first place in the Mitsubishi Motors Eastern Division, and the top seed in the National Conference.
The "War on I-4" is renewed for its first of two installments as the Tampa Bay Storm (2-5) make the trip to Amway Arena to face the Orlando Predators (6-2), No. 4, on Saturday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m. ET (Catch 47 Local - Live, Bright House 21 Local - Live, CSS - Delay, 4/27 at 12 p.m. ET, SIRIUS Radio - Channel 130).
Orlando has won six consecutive games and is tied with New Orleans for the best record in the Mitsubishi Motors Southern Division and the second-best record in the AFL.
The Predators are on their longest winning streak since 2003 and look to notch their seventh consecutive victory for the first time since 2000, when Orlando won its last ArenaBowl championship.
This will be the 35th regular-season meeting between the two Florida rivals, with Orlando leading the all-time series 18-16. The Predators have swept the Storm the past two seasons and defeated Tampa Bay by an average of 23 points per contest.
The Colorado Crush (3-4), No. 10, welcomes the Chicago Rush (6-2), No. 5, to Pepsi Center on Friday, April 25 at 9 p.m. ET in a Mitsubishi Motors Central Division matchup.
Chicago leads the all-time series against Colorado 7-3 and can sweep the Crush for the second consecutive season with a win.
The Rush have won seven consecutive games against Central Division opponents and can become the first team in AFL history to win at least seven games in each of their first eight seasons of existence.
Colorado is 2-1 at home and can reduce Chicago's lead in the division to a game and a half by recording its first home victory against the Rush since Week 1 of 2006.
The Cleveland Gladiators (4-3), No. 7, travel to Nassau Coliseum to face the New York Dragons (4-4), No. 8, on Saturday, April 26 at 7 p.m. ET (FSN Ohio - Live, MSG Plus - Live) in a Mitsubishi Motors Eastern Division matchup.
New York is currently on its first three-game winning streak since 2006, and can record its first four-game winning streak since 2005 with a victory.
The all-time series is tied 5-5 and Cleveland can sweep the Dragons in 2008, taking sole possession of third place in the division in the process.
The San Jose SaberCats (4-4), No. 6, welcome the Los Angeles Avengers (3-5), No. 12, to HP Pavilion on Saturday, April 26 at 10:30 p.m. ET (FSN Prime Ticket - Live, CSN Bay Area - Delay, 4/27 at 1 a.m. PT) in a Mitsubishi Motors Western Division matchup.
The SaberCats look to continue their streak of having a better second half than first half. San Jose holds the best second-half record at 29-11 over the past five years, and can secure a one-game lead in the division with a victory.
With a win, Los Angeles can notch its first victory in San Jose since 2006.
This week's other games include: Kansas City at Grand Rapids (AFL NET, ESPN360.com, KSMO -TV Local - Live) on Friday, Utah at New Orleans (AFL NET, Cox Sports TV Local - Live) on Friday and Georgia at Arizona (FSN South - Live, FSN Arizona - Live) on Saturday. BYE: Columbus
SCHUTT SPORTS POLL
RANKING TEAM POINTS 1 Philadelphia Soul (13) 222
2 Dallas Desperados (6) 215
3 New Orleans VooDoo 178
4 Orlando Predators 170
5 Chicago Rush 166
6 San Jose SaberCats 125
7 Cleveland Gladiators 103
8 New York Dragons 98
9 Georgia Force 75
10 Colorado Crush 69
11 Arizona Rattlers 37
12 Los Angeles Avengers 18
Also receiving votes: Tampa Bay (3), Grand Rapids (2), Columbus (2), Kansas City (1).
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 23, 2008
- Geathers Named Ironman, Glover Traded - San Jose SaberCats
- Blaze Make Roster Moves In Preparation For Next Game - Utah Blaze
- Dallas' Dolezel Can Become All-Time Leading Passer On Monday - AFL I
- U.S. Army Passing Clinic, U.S. Army Night Announced - Grand Rapids Rampage
- The Broad Street Brawl Headlines Week Nine - AFL I
- Soul Are At The Spectrum - Philadelphia Soul
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
