AFL Conference Championship Preview

Today it's Arena Bowl or Bust for four Arena Football teams. The conference championship games kickoff at 1 PM ET with the Cleveland Gladiators looking to upset the Philadelphia Soul, and then at 3:30 PM ET with the Grand Rapids clashing with the San Jose Sabercats.

American Conference

The defending champion Sabercats will be upset, it's as simple as that. The 6-10 Grand Rapids Rampage, led by QB James MacPherson, are on a scoring Rampage. Grand Rapids will be going to their first Arena Bowl since they won it all in '01. Who says a team with a losing record can't win the Conference Championship?! Grand Rapids 52, San Jose 48

National Conference

Matt D'Orazio leads a powerful Soul offense, and I really think he's taking this team all the way. The 9-7 Cleveland Gladiators barely survived in their two playoff victories. I just don't think Raymond Philyaw has what it takes to lead the Glads over this Soul offense. That's all I have to say about this one, Soul wins 58-44.

Enjoy the games!

Arena Football: Divisional Playoff Matchups/Predictions

The first round of the AFL playoffs proved to be a great one last weekend. The 8-8 New York Dragons kicked off the 2008 playoffs last Friday night by upsetting Clint Dolezel and his Dallas Desperados, 77-63. The NY upset ended up being the only Wild Card game I predicted wrong. If you don't believe me, just look for yourself...

Well, this week should get even better. The top two seeds of each conference join the action, which includes the Arena Bowl favorite, Philadelphia Soul. The Soul will try to crush the NY Dragons Arena Bowl run tomorrow night at 7 PM ET. Here is a closer look at all four of this weekend's games, along with the Conference Championship matchups (according to my Divisional round predictions, of course).

Saturday July 5th

5 Colorado @ 2 San Jose

I am calling another upset. The John Dutton-led Crush will upset the heavy favorite, and defending Champion SaberCats. It will be a close duel between Dutton, and SJ's QB Mark Grieb, who threw 100 TD's, and just 18 INT's during the regular season, but Colorado will prevail in the end. COL 48, SJ 42

6 New York @ 1 Philadelphia

I'm sorry New York (well, not really), but the Soul are going to demolish the Dragons. No one expects the Soul to even lose the Arena Bowl, much less a lousy ol' second round game. Aaron Garcia will most certainly not have another field day against this Philadelphia defense. Soul 66, NY 51

Sunday July 6th

6 Grand Rapids @ 1 Chicago Rush

The Rampage another number six seed looking to do the unexpected; knock off the number one seed in the second round. It's a daunting task, and Grand Rapids just aren't the kind of team that could pull off such a feat. Chicago is looking for their second Arena Bowl Championship in three years, and they look like they have a good shot at winning their conference championship. The 6-10 Grand Rapids Rampage aren't going to be the one's to stop them from doing so. CHI 58, GR 42

Monday July 7th

4 Cleveland Gladiators @ 2 Georiga

I am really going out on a limb this week. I am going for 50/50 in upsets. The Cleveland Gladiators seem to have alot of fight in them, and I believe in Raymond Philyaw as their QB. Philyaw has thrown just 10 interceptions in 514 pass attempts during the regular season as Cleveland's QB, and he has the leadership skills to get them by the 10-6 Georgia Force, who, by the way, won just one more regular season game than the Glads. CLE 55, GE 52

Conference Championship Matchups:

American Conference

5 Colorado Crush @ 1 Chicago Rush: Nothing like the classic battle of the Crush/Rush...Elway v.s. Ditka.....

National Conference

4 Cleveland Gladiators @ 1 Philadelphia Soul: Don't plan a nation-wide tour for next weekend, Bon Jovi. There's a good chance your team could be playing for a spot in the 2008 Arena Bowl.

Arena Football: Wild Card Playoff Matchups/Predictions

Later tonight is the first game of the 2008 Arena Football League Playoffs. The sixth ranked New York Dragons will attempt to knock off the 12-4 Dallas Desperados. The game will kick-off at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN. Be sure to tune in.

Here is a look at all four of the Wild Card matchups this weekend, along with the Divisional Round matchups (according to my Wild Card picks).

Friday June 27th
6 New York Dragons @ 3 Dallas Desperados

Can the Dragons follow Eli Manning's road in New York, and upset the favorites in Dolezel, and the Desperados? I think the answer is a plain and simple, NO. Dolezel knows how this league works, and doesn't make many mistakes. He knows how to get the job done, unlike NY's Aaron Garcia, who failed to lead New York to the playoffs the past two years. New York's offense was 15th in total offense throughout the regular season, and remember that the AFL had just 17 teams this season. Dolezel leads Dallas to big win, 64-48.

Saturday June 29th
5 Colorado Crush @ 4 Utah Blaze

Ah, yes...the first upset of the postseason. Colorado QB John Dutton has had a solid season under center, and I think he will lead Colorado to a first-round win over the Blaze despite great QB play during the regular season. Utah's offense, which is led by Joe Germaine, was the second-highest scoring offense in the entire Arena-League this year, behind only the number two team in the Western Conference, the Georgia Force. But, I'm feeling an upset. Dutton passed for 4,548 yards this season, which was fifth best in the League. Dutton has the leadership skills, and the ring (2005) to back up my prediction. Colorado over Utah, 62-55.

Monday June 30th
5 Orlando Predators @ 4 Cleveland Gladiators

In their first season in Cleveland, the Gladiators went 9-7, good enough for third place in the Eastern Division of the National Conference. Cleveland's QB Raymond Philyaw, former Chicago Rush, and Kansas City Brigade QB, threw for 83 TD's, and 10 INT's this season, and has done a nice job leading this team, ranked seventh in total offense. Cleveland was also second in the league in rushing with 497 yards on the ground, and a 3.2 YPC. No upset here, I believe the Gladiators will finally win a postseason game, which will be the first since 1998, when they were known as the New Jersey Red Dogs (they went 8-6, and second place in the Eastern Division). Cleveland over Orlando, 52-48.

6 Grand Rapids Rampage @ 3 Arizona Rattlers

For a second straight season, the Rattlers finish in second place, going 8-8. But, this year was different, Arizona earned the third seed in the Western Conference. But, I'm not too sure Arizona will have much success, despite the Grand Rapids 6-10 regular season record. The Rampage are on a three-game win streak, and QB James McPherson is on a hot streak. McPherson threw for 80 TD passes, and just 16 INT's with a 118.7 QB Rating in 14 games this season. McPherson's hot streak, and the fact that Arizona has a situation at the QB position leads me to believe that the Rampage will pull off the upset. GR 51, ARI 42.

Divisional Matchups:

American Conference
6 Grand Rapids Rampage @ 1 Chicago Rush
5 Colorado Crush @ 2 San Jose Sabercats

National Conference
4 Cleveland Gladiators @ 1 Philadelphia Soul
3 Dallas Desperados @ 2 Georgia Force