AFLWA > News > Schutt Sports Top 12 Poll

May 16, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jim Derry
504-232-9944

Dallas grabs 10 first-place votes, but stays at No. 2

GEORGIA TOPS SCHUTT SPORTS AFL TOP 12 POLL

LAS VEGAS (AFLWA) – The Georgia Force remained No. 1, but the real news is that the No. 2 Dallas Desperados received 10 first-place votes in the Schutt Sports Top 12 Poll, as voted on by members of the Arena Football League Writers Association (AFLWA).

Georgia (9-1) received 14 first-place votes and 277 points to beat out Dallas (10-1), which totaled 274 points. What makes the 10 first-place votes for Dallas so surprising was that Georgia won their earlier meeting by 15 points and they each have one loss.

Perhaps the Force paid for having the week off while Dallas defeated the No. 3 Chicago Rush 52-48 on national television. The Desperados get this week off, so maybe they will pay for it in next week's voting. Georgia is at the No. 9 Los Angeles Avengers (5-5), who slid down a spot after losing 40-37 to the Tampa Bay Storm.

Chicago (8-2), which remained No. 3, hosts the Nashville Kats (4-7).

The San Jose SaberCats (7-3) stayed at No. 4 thanks to a 61-34 victory over the Las Vegas Gladiators. San Jose is home against the Grand Rapids Rampage (3-7).

The Colorado Crush (7-4), which held its position at No. 5 after downing Nashville 57-35, hosts the Columbus Destroyers (6-4), who are tied at No. 7 with the Kansas City Brigade (6-4). Columbus fell a spot after edging Grand Rapids 59-56, and Kansas City kept its place following a 60-41 victory over the Utah Blaze. Kansas City is at the New York Dragons (3-7).

The Orlando Predators (6-4) jumped three places to No. 6 after defeating the New Orleans VooDoo 42-33. Orlando plays at the Austin Wranglers (3-7).

Utah (5-6), which stayed at No. 10, hosts Las Vegas (1-10). Tampa Bay (4-6), which moved into the rankings at No. 11, is home against the Arizona Rattlers (3-8). New Orleans (4-6), which dropped a spot to No. 12, travels to the Philadelphia Soul (4-6), which fell out of the poll following a 69-49 loss to New York.

SCHUTT SPORTS TOP 12 POLL (MAY 16)
Rk.	Team [1st Place]	W-L	Pts.	Pvs.	This week
1.	Georgia Force [14]	9-1	277	1	at No. 9 Los Angeles
2.	Dallas Desperados [10]	10-1	274	2	Idle
3.	Chicago Rush	8-2	240	3	vs. Nashville
4.	San Jose SaberCats	7-3	205	4	vs. Grand Rapids
5.	Colorado Crush	7-4	186	5	vs. No. 7 Columbus
6.	Orlando Predators	6-4	144	9	at Austin
t7.	Columbus Destroyers	6-4	143	6	vs. No. 5 Colorado
t7.	Kansas City Brigade	6-4	143	7	at New York
9.	Los Angeles Avengers	5-5	85	8	vs. No. 1 Georgia
10.	Utah Blaze	5-6	72	10	vs. Las Vegas
11.	Tampa Bay Storm	4-6	53	-	vs. Arizona
12.	New Orleans VooDoo	4-6	28	11	at Philadelphia
Others receiving votes: Nashville Kats 8, Philadelphia Soul 6, New York Dragons 5, Arizona Rattlers 3.
Dropped out: Philadelphia Soul (12).

Schutt Sports, the sports gear company with a reputation for innovation, is sponsoring this season's Top 12 Poll. Its website is schuttsports.com.

The AFLWA, founded at the start of the 2004 season, is a national organization made up of media members who cover the Arena Football League. Mark Anderson of the Las Vegas Review-Journal is the AFLWA's founder and executive director.

2007 AFLWA Rankings (No 1. team):
• Preseason (Dallas) • March 6 (Dallas) • March 14 (Dallas) • March 20 (Dallas) • March 27 (Dallas) • April 2 (Dallas)	• April 12 (Dallas) • April 18 (Dallas) • April 25 (Georgia) • May 2 (Georgia) • May 9 (Georgia) • May 16 (Georgia)	• May 23 (Dallas) • May 30 (Dallas) • June 6 (Dallas) • June 13 (Dallas) • June 20 (Dallas) • June 27 (Dallas)