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Post by Loki on May 31, 2006 2:15:02 GMT -5
hardy har har har
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Post by MjolnirH on Jun 1, 2006 0:57:13 GMT -5
you might want a throat lozenge for that
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Post by Loki on Jun 1, 2006 1:12:48 GMT -5
say what u want. but we went farther this year in the playoff. na na na na na
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Post by Loki on Jun 4, 2006 23:11:25 GMT -5
Conference Finals Weekend:
Orlando Predators: 45 Dallas Desperados: 28
Chicago Rush: 59 San Jose Sabercats: 56
That now sets up the two teams to play in Arena Bowl: Orlando vs. Chicago.
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Post by Loki on Jun 11, 2006 19:41:09 GMT -5
Rush 69, Predators 61 By JOHN NADEL, AP Sports Writer June 11, 2006
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Mike Hohensee waited a long time for the ultimate success in his profession -- an Arena Football League championship.
Once he accomplished the feat, he said it felt the way he thought it would.
"It feels great. And these are the type of men I thought I would be surrounded by. And that's what makes it special," the Chicago Rush coach said Sunday after his team completed an unlikely run to the championship by beating the Orlando Predators 69-61 in the 20th ArenaBowl.
"It means somebody believed in me and gave me a chance," Hohensee said. "I've got a saying on my weight room wall in ink: 'Being the best still means something.' That's how we lived our lives this year."
The 45-year-old Hohensee has played or coached in the AFL in each of its 20 years. He has been a head coach for 13 seasons, including six with the Rush.
Hohensee threw the league's first touchdown pass for the Pittsburgh Gladiators in 1987, and played in the first ArenaBowl. He hadn't been back since.
The Rush took a page out of the Pittsburgh Steelers' book, winning three straight road playoff games to reach the ArenaBowl -- just as the Steelers did last winter before beating Seattle to win the Super Bowl.
After losing six of seven games, it appeared the Rush would miss the playoffs. But they won three of their final four to finish at 7-9 and qualify before their triumphant postseason run.
The Rush celebrated their first championship in six years of existence in a sea of confetti at midfield of the Thomas & Mack Center, where a crowd of 13,476 watched the second-highest scoring ArenaBowl.
Mike Ditka, who coached the Bears to a Super Bowl victory following the 1985 season, is a member of the Rush's ownership group.
Matt D'Orazio completed an exceptional playoff run, completing 26 of 36 passes for 250 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions and running for two more scores.
The 29-year-old quarterback, in his first season with the Rush, was 88-of-135 for 992 yards and 21 touchdowns with one interception in four postseason games.
"When you think of a quarterback who you want in the huddle, that type of personality, he's it," Hohensee said of D'Orazio.
"This team believed all year -- that was the one constant," D'Orazio said. "We lost five games on the last play of the game. We put so much effort into this. All the times we could have gotten down, we didn't."
Orlando coach Jay Gruden failed in his quest to win a seventh ArenaBowl championship. He entered having won four as a player and two as a coach.
"We fell behind three touchdowns and we just couldn't catch them," Gruden said. "If you watch Matt D'Orazio, he's just an unbelievable magician out there. He makes throws you never teach quarterbacks to make while being hit.
"My hat's off to D'Orazio and coach Hohensee -- he called great plays to keep us off-balance."
Bobby Sippio had 10 receptions for 110 yards and three touchdowns, and DeJuan Alfonzo caught eight for 61 yards and one TD.
Orlando's Joe Hamilton completed 23-of-35 for 291 yards and six touchdowns. Javarus Dudley had 10 receptions for 117 yards and four TDs and Jimmy Fryzel caught 10 for 98 yards and one score.
The Rush went ahead for good by outscoring the Predators 31-6 from late in the second quarter to early in the fourth. A 31-yard touchdown pass from D'Orazio to Sippio made it 55-34 with a little over 13 minutes left.
Jake Eaton relieved Hamilton after the Orlando starter was shaken up, and threw an 11-yard TD pass to Fryzel. Hamilton returned to the game and scored on a 5-yard run with 4 minutes to play, but that was as close as the Predators would get.
Each team scored twice in the last two minutes.
D'Orazio scored on a 5-yard quarterback draw on the first scrimmage play of the second half -- after Russell Shaw recovered Chicago's kickoff deep in Orlando territory.
The Predators moved to the Chicago 8 before Dennison Robinson picked off a pass by Hamilton in the right flat and, doing his best Deion Sanders impression, returned it 44 yards for a touchdown to make it 48-28.
It was Robinson's second interception return for a TD in the playoffs.
Hamilton threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Dudley before Jay Taylor missed the conversion. He would miss again after Hamilton's TD run.
D'Orazio scored on a 1-yard sneak and Dan Frantz added a 23-yard field goal to give the Rush an early 10-0 lead.
Orlando, playing in a record seventh ArenaBowl, was blanked in the opening quarter for the first time, but scored four touchdowns in the second period. However, they trailed by six points at halftime because the Rush put up 24 points in the quarter.
Hamilton threw touchdown passes of 4 and 7 yards to Dudley and a 30-yarder to a wide-open DeAndrew Rubin, and Khalil Carter matched an ArenaBowl record by running 36 yards for another score.
D'Orazio teamed up with Etu Molden on a 24-yard scoring play, and threw scoring passes of 3 and 8 yards to Sippio -- the latter with 6 seconds left before halftime.
Taylor missed a 38-yard field goal before Frantz connected from 51 yards away for the second-longest field goal in ArenaBowl history on the last play of the half. He also kicked field goals on the final play of the half in Chicago's previous three playoff games.
The Predators, who reached the playoffs a record-tying 15th straight time, beat Chicago 55-27 at Orlando in their regular-season meeting April 2, holding the Rush to one touchdown in the second half.
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