Page 36 - Fl Stats News Today

The historically dominant Orlando Predators found their way back on top last season, as they won their first division title since 2006 in a year where everything looked like it was going to go wrong.

Props to you, AFL schedule makers. Not only did you manage to have the Tampa Bay Storm play two games in a span of five days, with a flight to and from Philadelphia squeezed in there, but you also chose Friday the 13th to feature the 60th edition of the War on I-4. The undefeated Orlando Predators hosting the 30-point underdog, and winless Storm. What could possibly go wrong?

Normally speaking, when Arena Football League officials huddle together under the hood for an instant replay, it's anyone's guess what type of buffoonery they're going to come up with. However, this time around, when the AFL called for an instant replay of the tape delayed game between the Jacksonville Sharks and the Orlando Predators on Friday night, the league officials got everything just right.

The Chicago Rush improved their perfect record at home this season to 6-0 as they soundly defeated the Spokane Shock 73-62 on Sunday at Allstate Arena.

It took over 6,000 pass attempts, 50,000 passing yards, and over 1,000 TD passes, but here Aaron Garcia is, leading the Jacksonville Sharks into ArenaBowl XXIV against the Arizona Rattlers.

To say the Arena Football world has been stagnant since the Philadelphia Soul won the ArenaBowl back in July is an understatement. Right around and after the ArenaBowl, there was a flurry of news. But since then, apparently not much has been newsworthy.

When I received the announcement last week that the Tampa Bay Storm would be changing their logo and uniform, I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive. As someone who has been a fan of the Storm and the Arena Football League since they first moved to the area in 1991 from Pittsburgh, I had no idea what to expect.

Over the course of the first several years of his AFL career, Tommy Grady developed a few stigmas. He's really tall. He throws a ton of touchdowns. And he never wins the big game. But now that he has gotten the Jacksonville Sharks to the ArenaBowl behind two incredibly good efforts on his part, he can evolve into the really tall quarterback who throws a lot of touchdowns and has won the big one.

Prior to the hiatus in 2009, it used to be commonplace for bettors to be able to wager on anything from who is going to win a game to a total in a game to the odds to win the ArenaBowl each and every week. Largely, most of those options have been severely limited. This season though, William Hill in Las Vegas has posted ArenaBowl futures bets, where you can wager on your favorite team to hoist the Foster Trophy this year.

The Chicago Rush is taking a bit of a different approach for their next tryout that is taking place on November 7th. The tryout, which is taking place at its practice facility in Hoffman Estates, will obviously include all of the regular football drills, but how often do players receive instruction to learn the nuances of arena football?