Andrae Thurman News Today

Not far from the plot of land that the American Airlines Center sits on used to be a barn called the Sportatorium. This was the venue that many of us who grew up in the Dallas area remember as the home to Saturday Night Wrestling. A wrestling match is more what I saw Saturday night than an Arena League Football game.

They didn't quite get this last year, but they are going to have a chance to do it this season. The Philadelphia Soul are on their way to ArenaBowl XXVI after knocking off the Jacksonville Sharks 75-59 in the American Conference Championship Game on Saturday night.

Mistakes and missed opportunities are the best way to describe the play of the Milwaukee Mustangs (3-5) as they were defeated by the Cleveland Gladiators (5-3) 69-48.

Frustrating is a word that describes the feeling of losing yet another game in the final seconds. Aggravating is knowing that your mistakes cost you the win.

The Portland Thunder held thier first live scrimmage in team history on Saturday, May 1st at their Tualatin practice facility in front of crowd of media and hundreds of season-ticket holders. The Rose City's newest professional sports franchise did not fail to put on a show.

Jason Jones has never played a glorified position at the professional level. He's always been a tight end or an offensive guard. He's never spent more than a year with a professional sports team and has his best shot to do so these next two years in Cleveland. He's never played in the CFL or the NFL, but every day he shows up to work with a smile.

Training camp. Those halcyon days when all the pass routes are fearless and crisp, and the running backs burst through every hole for a twenty yard gain. Defensive linemen get to the quarterback with fearsome regularity, and passers stand tall in the pocket reading coverages and picking out receivers flawlessly with no notice of the rush whatsoever.

The Orlando Predators might have only gone 7-11 this year, and there might be a question as to whether or not they deserved to get into the playoffs. They didn't end up beating the Philadelphia Soul on Saturday night, but they did prove that they belong in a game that easily could have gone either way. Philly escaped with a 59-55 victory, but it was never an easy game.

2014 read like a fairy tale for the Cleveland Gladiators. A previously moribund franchise went on the run of a lifetime, finishing 17-1 and hosting the ArenaBowl in front of a near-sellout crowd.