Pro Football weekly

The Dallas Vigilantes appeared to have as talented a roster as any team when the Arena Football League returned to play this year. They never came close to playing up to their potential, going 2-13 entering the final weekend of the regular season. So now they've turned to the greatest Dallas player in AFL history — former QB Clint Dolezel. He will take over next season, replacing interim coach James Fuller. That means the Vigilantes ...

The playoff teams are set. Now it's a matter of finalizing the seeds in the final weekend of the regular season. Not only is the top seed in the Southern Division undetermined, it's still open in the American Conference between the Jacksonville Sharks and Tampa Bay Storm, who each are 11-4. Jacksonville owns the tiebreaker after sweeping the Storm. The Sharks host the Spokane Shock (13-2) on Friday, and Tampa Bay is home ...

The temptation is to read too much in the Jacksonville Sharks' 64-49 victory over the visiting Spokane Shock on Friday. Spokane, after all, was the Arena Football League's hottest team, having won 11 consecutive games. Jacksonville was arguably the American Conference's best team. In a potential ArenaBowl preview, the Sharks sent a message. But avoid the temptation to place too much emphasis on what the message really means. Spokane (13-3) still owns home-field ...

Tampa Bay went into Saturday's home game against the visiting Orlando Predators knowing it wouldn't win the American Conference and Southern Division titles. That's because the Jacksonville Sharks had wrapped up both the night before. So the Storm apparently went through the motions, putting together such a disappointing performance, their play in the 75-60 loss was overshadowed by an incident in the stands. "We got our butt kicked," Storm coach Tim Marcum ...

Even with a regular-season-ending loss at Jacksonville, the Spokane Shock have been the Arena Football League's dominant team. Now they have the chance to be that team in the postseason. "Guys understand this is it," Spokane coach Rob Keefe said. "Anything less than a championship would be a wasted season. We've talked about a championship since we got here, and we're going to settle for nothing less. "I'm proud of the ...

The Arena Football League will soon unveil its season-ending awards, but why wait? Pro Football Weekly has its own honors it wants to dole out. OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Milwaukee Iron QB Chris Greisen — In leading the Iron to an 11-5 record and Midwest Division title, Greisen was the league's top offensive weapon. His 5,146 yards passing led the AFL, but perhaps just as impressive was his 107-to-11 touchdown-to-interception ratio. The TD ...

The Orlando Predators remain alive in the playoffs because WR Bobby Sippio made sure of it. But he shouldn't have been given the opportunity. The Arena Football League, after all, suspended him for a game for going into the stands a week earlier at Tampa Bay. But Sippio was allowed to play because of the appeals process. No problem there. It's in the rules. The problem is the rule. Why should it take ...

The Arizona Rattlers were all prepared for revenge after two tight regular-season meetings that went the other way, with star WR Rod Windsor even referring to the Spokane Shock as "lucky."This time, playing at the Arena Football League's No. 1 overall seed, they figured they would more than get even at Spokane.But there was nothing lucky about this victory for the Shock. They handled Arizona fairly easily in winning 57-49 on Friday ...

Only three teams beat the Spokane Shock this season, and one was the Milwaukee Iron.The teams split the regular-season series, but now both seasons are on the line.They meet each other in the National Conference title game tonight in Spokane for the right to play in the ArenaBowl. The American Conference champion will be settled Saturday between Florida rivals Tampa Bay and Orlando.Spokane is 14-3, so the fact the Iron (12-5) were ...

The Spokane Shock making the title game in arenafootball2 was almost expected. Whether they could make the leap to the Arena Football League, which underwent a reconfiguration, and experience the same kind of success was another question. The Shock answered that question by becoming the league's most dominant team, and on Thursday advanced to the championship game with a 60-57 home victory over the Milwaukee Iron. Spokane (15-3) is playing in a championship game ...

The travesty that is the Bobby Sippio situation continues. He remains eligible to play in the postseason while appealing a one-game suspension that should've taken him out of last week's playoff opener at Jacksonville. The Orlando Predators won that game, upsetting the No. 1 seed in the American Conference to advance to tonight's conference title game at the Tampa Bay Storm. The winner moves on to the ArenaBowl to play at Spokane ...

There was plenty to celebrate Saturday night for the Tampa Bay Storm. They had knocked off their archrival, Orlando, to reach the ArenaBowl, avenging a blowout loss to the Predators to end the regular season. But Tim Marcum didn't become the dean of Arena Football League coaches by becoming satisfied with such victories. His seasons are judged by whether his team finishes the job and wins the championship. So after surviving for a 63-62 ...

The Arena Football League championship figured to go through Spokane, and it's up to the Tampa Bay Storm to make the cross-country trip to capture the title. Tampa Bay's quest won't be easy, of course. The Shock (15-3) earned home-field advantage for Friday's ArenaBowl by being the league's best team. "This team doesn't make mistakes," Storm coach Tim Marcum said of Spokane. "They don't fumble. They don't ...

In its return to play after a year-long hiatus, the Arena Football League couldn't ask for a better matchup in Friday night's ArenaBowl. It pits the league's best team, the Spokane Shock, against the AFL's top franchise, the Tampa Bay Storm. Spokane (15-3) would seem to be the favorite since it owns home-field advantage over Tampa Bay (13-5), but let's break it down and see. Quarterback Think this position is ...