AFL Week 3

Week 3 action in Arena Football saw the Arizona Rattlers going up against defending Arena Bowl Champion San Jose Sabrecats as well as The Cleveland Gladiators facing off against the Columbus Destroyers for “The Battle of the Buckeye State Trophy”.

The Arizona Rattlers Still competing with themselves on the season ticket bet with their fans fell to 1-2 against the Sabrecats after tonight’s loss (63-43). The Sabrecats were in control for most of the game putting a 20 point hurting on the Rattlers. Turnovers were the story of this game as the Rattlers lost three fumbles as well as Smoker throwing 3 interceptions. With the win San Jose moves to 2-1 and the rattlers fall farther away from winning their playoff bet.

Next Week: March 21st vs. New York Dragons

In the Battle of the Buckeye State the surprise of the AFL continued to shock and awe as the Gladiators won a nail biter against the Columbus destroyers 59-57. It came down to the wire as Destroyer’s QB Nagy connected on a 33 yard pass with 20 seconds left to put the score at 59-57. They failed to convert the two point conversion, and after Cleveland recovered the onside kick it was all over. Philyaw behind the helm for Cleveland connected 19 of 28 passes for 209 yards and 5 touchdowns. On the receiving end Redd posted 7 catches for 74 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Amey had 6 catches for 71 yards and 3 touchdowns. With this big win over last year’s Arena Bowl Runner Ups Cleveland has moved to 3-0 and knocked Columbus down to 0-3.

Side Note For all of you Buckeye fans out there who are still wondering what happened to Justin Zwick: He is currently backing up Destroyers QB Matt Nagy. He didn’t exactly pan out the way we thought he would did he?

Next Week: Friday March 21st @ New Orleans VooDoo

4Real Out...
More after the jump...

Gladiators Impress In Inaugural Game

Last Night Kosar’s Gladiators opened the inaugural seasons against the New York Dragons in front of 17,391 at the Gund. Twenty-Five seconds into the game Gladiators QB Raymond Philyaw dropped back to deliver a 37 yard strike for a touchdown on the club’s first play from scrimmage. Philyaw would go on to complete 18 out of 23 passes for 240 yards, 5 touchdowns and 1 INT en route to a 61-49 victory. Defensively the Gladiators looked impressive including an exciting goal line stand on fourth and goal on the three. Leading in receiving was WR Otis Amey who chalked up 101 yards and two touchdowns not to mention one on the ground. All and all it was a great showing by a team that was certaintly an underdog not only in this game, but for the season. The W gives Kosar, head coach Wilpolt, and his team a huge confidence boost.

Next Game: March 9th vs, Utah Blaze

Oh and a side note for those of you who are Chicago Sports fans: If you are still looking for Steve Bartman, maybe you should start at Chicago Rush games. Here in the AFL what banned him for life from Wrigley is legal, and encouraged by the players as seen in this highlight of your victory over defending AFL Champion San Jose Sabre Cats. Good luck gumshoes.






4Real Out....
More after the jump...

Football In The U.S is a 365 Thing

With Spring Training in high gear and moving towards the upcoming season I realized that as un-American as it is, a lot of people don’t get as excited for Baseball as I do. So…in the spirit of making sure you all get your football fix I am here to remind you that this weekend (Mostly today) that the Arena Football season is kicking off.


For those here in Arizona, the Rattlers started off the season with a big win over the Utah Blaze. It was an exciting game for anyone who was able to catch it, with multiple touchdowns being exchanged down to the last second when the Blaze missed the winning field goal attempt. They would fall to Arizona 63-62. Depending on how you look at it that’s good news for the Rattlers and their big gamble with the fans. You can catch the Rattlers on ESPN 2 next Monday the 10th against the LA Avengers.

For those of you in my home state, tonight is the inaugural game for the Cleveland Gladiators. Bernie Kosar’s (CEO and President of the Club) new passion project takes on the New York Dragons. We can see if the Gladiators who relocated from last place in Vegas can fare better in Cleveland. Veteran AFL QB Raymond Philyaw will be behind the helm and will be carrying a lot of the load on his shoulders. I'll keep you updated periodically on both clubs as the season progresses if for no other reason than to see if Cleveland secures another losing franchise, and if the Rattlers refund will break the bank.





4Real Out....
More after the jump...