Arena Football League Writers Association May 20, 2008
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jim Derry
504-232-9944
Rush takes over top spot after crushing Los Angeles
CHICAGO TOPS SCHUTT
SPORTS AFL TOP 12 POLL

LAS VEGAS (AFLWA) – The top three teams in the Schutt Sports Top 12 Poll have not changed since Week 5, and now all have taken a turn at being in the top spot the past three weeks.

Schutt SportsThe latest No. 1 is Chicago, which mauled Los Angeles 72-28 in a nationally televised game Monday night. The Rush grabbed the top position for the first time this season, garnering eight first-place votes.

Philadelphia, which bounced back after two consecutive losses by defeating Columbus on Saturday, had the other five first-place votes and moved up one notch to No. 2. Dallas, which lost to Arizona 55-54 on Saturday, dropped from first to third.

The next three positions remained the same, as No. 4 Orlando won by seven against Kansas City, and No. 5 Cleveland defeated Colorado by four. No. 6 New Orleans barely clung to its spot after a bye week.

No. 7 San Jose, which leads the Western Division by 1 ½ games over No. 11 Arizona, moved up from eighth. Georgia also moved up one spot to ninth with a five-point win over No. 9 New York, which fell two spots.

Tampa Bay remained at 10th by defeating Grand Rapids, and Colorado dropped to 12th.

Rk. Team [1st Place] W-L Pts. Pvs. This week
1. Chicago Rush [8] 9-2 150 2 at Utah
2. Philadelphia Soul [5] 10-2 147 3 vs. Kansas City
3. Dallas Desperados 9-2 130 1 at No. 4 Orlando
4. Orlando Predators 8-4 109 4 vs. No. 3 Dallas
5. Cleveland Gladiators 7-4 103 5 at No. 10 Tampa Bay
6. New Orleans VooDoo 7-5 88 6 vs. No. 8 Georgia
7. San Jose SaberCats 7-5 85 8 vs. No. 12 Colorado
8. Georgia Force 6-5 67 9 at No. 6 New Orleans
9. New York Dragons 6-5 47 7 at Columbus
10. Tampa Bay Storm 5-6 38 10 vs. No. 5 Cleveland
11. Arizona Rattlers 5-6 35 12 vs. Grand Rapids
12. Colorado Crush 4-7 12 11 at No. 7 San Jose
Others receiving votes: Los Angeles Avengers 1, Kansas City Brigade 1, Grand Rapids Rampage 1.
Dropped out: None.

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.

2008 AFLWA Rankings (No 1. team):
Preseason (Dallas)
March 5 (Dallas)
March 12 (Dallas)
March 19 (Dallas)
March 25 (Dallas)
April 1 (Philadelphia)
April 8 (Philadelphia)
April 15 (Philadelphia)
April 22 (Philadelphia)
April 29 (Philadelphia)
May 6 (Philadelphia)
May 13 (Dallas)
May 20 (Chicago)
May 27 (Dallas)
June 3 (Dallas)
June 10 (Philadelphia)
June 17 (Philadelphia)
June 24 (Philadelphia)
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