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Tonight the Rush play game number 2 of the 2012 Arena Football League season. After winning their season opener against Tampa Bay two weeks ago, the Rush welcome Florida’s other AFL team to the Allstate Arena tonight. The Orlando Predators who are looking for their first victory of the season, are going through a big roster adjustment.
During week 1 of the AFL season, the Pred’s opened the season against the Pittsburgh Power. Both teams were said to be on “strike” as the league office was embattled with the AFL Players Union in regards to a pay increase. In response to that, Orlando had waived their roster from training camp and brought in replacement players at the last minute.
But the labor situation has been “resolved” according to the AFL brass and the Predators will have their regular roster tonight. I’m sure that the Rush had to adjust practices this week to prepare accordingly. And speaking of the Rush, their 70-48 blasting of the Tampa Bay Storm has given them a lot of confidence heading into this week.
Quarterback Russ Michna was named the AFL’s Offensive Player Of The Week last week after throwing 8 touchdown passes against Tampa Bay. And I know that he is hoping for a repeat performance. 4 of those touchdown passes were caught by Wide Receiver Reggie Gray, and I know that he will be ready. Reggie Gray is always full of energy, he likes to sing and dance during pre-game warmups.
As good as the Rush offense is, the defense is what really powered the Rush to victory back on March 10th. I spoke with Rush Linebacker Kelvin Morris on Tuesday night and he told me that the defense has been working hard in practice and that they will be ready for tonight’s game. Both teams {along with the Storm} have the distinction of being the only teams in AFL history to make the playoffs every season of the franchise’s existence.
So both teams will be playing hard. The Rush look to continue their winning ways, while Orlando will be looking to get back into the swing of things now that their original roster is back together. It should be a very competitive game in Rosemont tonight. Also I will be there and I will have plenty to post on Q101.com before and after the game.
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Of course as you saw in the video’s from Saturday night’s Rush game, there was a lot of talk about a possible players strike in the Arena Football League.
Here is an article from the story that first broke on Friday night:
http://sports.yahoo.com/arena/news?slug=ycn-11079140
Here is a statement released by the league late Saturday night:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Saturday, March 10, 2012
AFL STATEMENT ON MARCH 9 AFLPU WORK STOPAGE “On Friday, March 9, 2012 the AFLPU entered into a work stoppage at 6:35 pm ET. The AFLPU then retracted the claim and instructed players to go back to work at 1:03 am ET. The AFL’s 20-week regular season schedule and three-week playoff schedule will remain as slated culminating with ArenaBowl XXV in New Orleans on August 10.”
-#AFL25-
The 2012 Chicago Rush get a victory to start the season with a 70-48 victory over the Tampa Bay Storm. The Rush offense came out firing all missiles right from the start. Quarterback Russ Michna threw 8 touchdown passes, all of them caught by Rush Wide Receivers. 4 TD catches by Reggie Gray, 3 by Marquis Hamilton, and 1 by Jared Perry. Russ Michna didn’t look rusty at all despite the fact that the previous 2 seasons ended prematurely with major injuries.
But the real star of the show was the defense. Linebacker Kelvin Morris had 2 interceptions and both of them were returned for touchdowns. After the game K-Mo said that he credited Storm Quarterback Stephen Wasil for those picks. “I read his eyes, I read his hands, he basically gave the play away.” The Rush defense also got 2 sacks and a couple of turnovers.
Here is the stat sheet from Saturday night’s game:
The Rush get a bye week next week and then welcome the Orlando Preadators to the Allstate Arena on Thursday March 22nd.
Here are the videos from the post-game press conference:
And here is my post game interview with Reggie Gray:
Gabe Salgado reports from the sidelines at Allstate Arena:
Gabe Salgado reports from the press box at Allstate Arena:
But don’t get too excited just yet. Matt Forte has not signed a new contract with our beloved Bears just yet. New General Manager Phil Emery has decided to use the 2012 franchise tag on Matt Forte for the upcoming season. Should the Bears and Forte not agree on a new contract for the start of the season, he will make $12.7 million via the franchise label. Now what does franchise mean?
It’s not a contract. But what it does mean is that Forte can only leave the Bears if he is traded. Now there are two ways to look at this transaction: 1. The Bears are not committed to a long-term deal to keep Forte in a Bears uniform {Some Bears fans and maybe even Forte himself feels this way. I’m sure Forte’s agent does for sure}. And 2. The Bears are smart by using the franchise tag so other teams can’t sign him.
And I’d have to agree with option number 2. Remember, the Bears did the same thing with Lance Briggs just a few years ago. At first Briggs wasn’t happy about it. But he accepted it, played his ass off, and was eventually awarded with a new contract. Hopefully the same will happen to Matt Forte, or perhaps Phil Emery and President Ted Phllips are using the franchise tag as a smoke screen.
A smoke screen in which they keep Forte on the roster while still working out a contract. It seems like smart business to me, and I hope that one way or another Matt Forte will get a brand new contract to stay with the Bears. He is a major piece to the offensive puzzle, he can easily gain 1’000 yards both receiving and rushing, he is also a key in pass protection.
The Bears can’t afford to lose him. And knowing that, I trust the judgement of the Bears front office to do the right thing in the long run.
On a personal note… Don’t be surprised if you find me at the Chicago Rush’s home opener VS Tampa Bay at Allstate Arena on Saturday. I hope to see you there as well.
You can follow me on Twitter: @GabeSalgado Hashtag: #Q101Sports
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