Chicago Rush

Chicago Rush vs. Cleveland Gladiators
Click here for expert arena football picks from Mike Rose

NFL Network continues its coverage of the 2010 Arena Football League betting season on Friday night with a showdown between the Cleveland Gladiators (0-1, 0-1 ATS) and the Chicago Rush (1-0, 1-0 ATS) from Allstate Arena.

The boys from the Windy City got the job done at Iowa last week, forcing the Barnstormers into six turnovers and capitalizing for the biggest win of the weekend, a 61-43 decision. QB Russ Michna had an adequate game, but HC Mike Hohensee will tell you that he expects better out of his veteran leader. He went 18/28 passing for 261 yards and six scores, but he also threw an interception and fumbled the ball three times, losing all three.

The story was the defense for Chicago, which stood tall, forcing those six turnovers and stopping the Barnstormers on downs once as well. The Rush also only allowed 21 of their 46 passes faced to be complete. DB DeJuan Alfonso had an interception returned for a touchdown, while DBs Nygel Rogers and Josh Ferguson hauled in two picks apiece.

The Gladiators looked as though they were ready to roll to a huge win at halftime against the Arizona Rattlers last week, as they took a 35-14 lead into the locker room. However, it wasn’t meant to be. The second half started with WR Trandon Harvey returning a kickoff for a touchdown, which started a 21-0 run for Arizona to make the lead disappear in a span of about 12 minutes. Kick coverage was a problem once again in the fourth quarter, when DB Terrance Sanders literally went untouched into the end zone after fielding the ball off of the slack net. Special teams and QB John Dutton both had major problems for the hosts. Dutton may have thrown for 287 yards and seven touchdowns, but his four picks were just too much to overcome. WR Ben Nelson looked great in his first game as a Gladiator, picking up 154 yards and four TDs through the air. DL Anthony Hoke recorded an interception and picked up a sack in his first ever AFL game.

As of the time of this publication, the Rush have dropped from 10.5 point favorites on the opening AFL lines down to eight point choices. Courtesy of Mike Rose at Handicapperspicks.com

Related posts:

1. Miami Heat vs. Chicago Bulls Betting Prediction: March 25th 2010
2. Memphis Grizzlies vs. Chicago Bulls: NBA Basketball Prediction: March 4th 2010
3. Free College Basketball Pick: Butler vs. Loyola-Chicago: January 21st 2010

Need Expert Betting Picks for Week 2 Arena Football? Buy Mike Rose’ winning AFL picks below. Mike Rose is an expert sports handicapper featured on Touthouse.com and has never had a losing season betting arena football. Purchase Mike Rose’ expert arena football betting picks below:

Click here to purchase premium Week 2 arena football picks - $49
Click here to purchase 1 month of premium arena football picks - $149
Click here to purchase Mike Rose’ entire AFL football season - $499

Cleveland Gladiators vs. Chicago Rush (Week 2 Preview from Mike Rose)
Bet: Click here to bet on this game | Odds: Click here for current odds

NFL Network continues its coverage of the 2010 Arena Football League betting season on Friday night with a showdown between the Cleveland Gladiators (0-1, 0-1 ATS) and the Chicago Rush (1-0, 1-0 ATS) from Allstate Arena.

The boys from the Windy City got the job done at Iowa last week, forcing the Barnstormers into six turnovers and capitalizing for the biggest win of the weekend, a 61-43 decision. QB Russ Michna had an adequate game, but HC Mike Hohensee will tell you that he expects better out of his veteran leader. He went 18/28 passing for 261 yards and six scores, but he also threw an interception and fumbled the ball three times, losing all three.

The story was the defense for Chicago, which stood tall, forcing those six turnovers and stopping the Barnstormers on downs once as well. The Rush also only allowed 21 of their 46 passes faced to be complete.

DB DeJuan Alfonso had an interception returned for a touchdown, while DBs Nygel Rogers and Josh Ferguson hauled in two picks apiece.

The Gladiators looked as though they were ready to roll to a huge win at halftime against the Arizona Rattlers last week, as they took a 35-14 lead into the locker room. However, it wasn’t meant to be. The second half started with WR Trandon Harvey returning a kickoff for a touchdown, which started a 21-0 run for Arizona to make the lead disappear in a span of about 12 minutes. Kick coverage was a problem once again in the fourth quarter, when DB Terrance Sanders literally went untouched into the end zone after fielding the ball off of the slack net. Special teams and QB John Dutton both had major problems for the hosts. Dutton may have thrown for 287 yards and seven touchdowns, but his four picks were just too much to overcome. WR Ben Nelson looked great in his first game as a Gladiator, picking up 154 yards and four TDs through the air. DL Anthony Hoke recorded an interception and picked up a sack in his first ever AFL game.

As of the time of this publication, the Rush have dropped from 10.5 point favorites on the opening AFL lines down to eight point choices.

Visit Touthouse.com for more arena football picks from our professional sports handicappers. Be sure to sign-up for our free sports predictions newsletter for exclusive arena football betting information from our experts. Preview Courtesy of North Shore Sports Inc.

The Arena Football League is back after a one-year layoff. Back in December 2008 the old AFL league suspended operations and eventually folded. The league is back with a new business plan and direction, but has the same goal to put the best product on the field for it's fans.

The NFL Network has signed on to televise a Game Of The Week on Friday Nights starting with the Chicago Rush at Iowa Barnstormers on Friday, April 2nd at 8pm EST/ 7pm CST. This a great start for the return of the AFL to be able to get the games on a network that is dedicated to show football year-round. It gives the fans from before a chance see their favorite teams again and hopefully it can draw interest to new fans that might have never watched the AFL before.

The new AFL is now a single entity. The league is now controlled by all the owners of the league to make it a well balanced league. There are 15 teams that will play in 2010 that composed of the original Arena Football League teams and AF2 teams.

2010 Pre-Season Rankings

1-Dallas Vigilantes  Head Coach-Rich Ingold  WEEK 1- BYE

2-Chicago Rush  Head Coach-Mike Hohensee  WEEK 1- @Iowa 4/2 (NFLN)

3-Tampa Bay Storm  Head Coach-Tim Marcum WEEK 1- @Tulsa 4/3

4-Cleveland Gladiators  Head Coach-Steve Thonn WEEK 1- vs Arizona 4/3

5-Orlando Predators  Head Coach-Pat O'Hara  WEEK 1- BYE

6-Milwaukee Iron Head Coach-Bob Landsee  WEEK 1- @Spokane 4/2

7-Spokane Shock Head Coach-Rob Keefe WEEK 1- vs Milwaukee 4/2

8-Jacksonville Sharks  Head Coach-Les Moss WEEK 1- @Oklahoma City 4/3

9-Iowa Barnstormers  Head Coach-John Gregory WEEK 1- vs Chicago 4/2(NFLN)

10-Arizona Rattlers Head Coach-Kevin Guy  WEEK 1- @Cleveland 4/3

11-Tulsa Talons Head Coach-Mitch Allner  WEEK 1- vs Tampa Bay 4/3

12-OKC Yard Dawgz Head Coach-Sparky McEwen WEEK 1- vs Jacksonville  4/3

13-Utah Blaze Head Coach-Ernesto Purnsley  WEEK 1- BYE

14-Alabama Vipers Head Coach-Dean Cokinos WEEK 1- @Bossier-Shreveport 4/3

15-B/S Battle Wings  Head Coach-Jon Norris WEEK 1- vs Alabama 4/3

NFLN- NFL Network Game Of The Week

On Wednesday Feb. 27, during the ESPN show Around the Horn, a show where sports columnists from the nation’s largest sports cities debate on specific subjects. A regular guest on the show and Los Angeles Times sports writer Bill Plaschke said to Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti that Chicago was an "Irrelevant sports town."

It is true that a few of the Chicago sports teams are in desperate pseudo rebuilding phases. The Bulls fell down right out of the gate this past season. But with the acquisitions of Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes, and brand new, number one overall pick Derrick Rose. The Bears and their lack of anything resembling an offense. The White Sox, two years after winning the World Series missed the playoffs by 20+ games in 2006 and are struggling to hold on to their lead in the AL Central. The Cubs have hit the 100 year mark for not winning a World Series and are "celebrating" the 63rd anniversary of the last time they were even in the Series. Finally the NHL residents of Chicago barely missed the playoffs this past season with the dynamic-rookie-duo of Jonathan Toews and rookie of the year Patrick Kane the future looks extremely bright for one of the Blackhawks.

What Mr. Plaschke might not remember is that about four or five years ago the Denver Nuggets were one of the worst teams in the NBA. The Broncos were still trying to find a replacement for John Elway. And not too many people cared about how well the Colorado Avalanche were playing well, and were a couple years removed form winning the Stanley Cup.

But let's take a look at the bright side of Chicago sports for a moment. The Bears are a little over a year removed from being in the Super Bowl. The White Sox brought a World Series title to Chicago for the first time in 88 years, in 2005. The Cubs are giving fans an actual sports related reason to attend Wrigley Field again this year.

There are also the not so major sports: the Chicago Wolves of the AHL/IHL have won 4 championships in the last 10 years, between the two leagues. They have also never had a losing season. The newest addition to the Chicago sports family, the Rush of the Arena Football League, won the AFL championship in Arena Bowl XX and have made the playoffs in every season of their existence, including clinching home-field advantage for the AFL playoffs for the first time this season.

Though Chicago's sports are in a state of limbo and the teams are not as feared as they used to be. But professional athletes still want to be come to Chicago.

Japanese baseball player Kosuke Fukudome (Cos-kay Fook-u-domay) was quoted as saying his two main choices to play Major League Baseball came down to Chicago's north and south side ball clubs and eventually landed with the Cubs.

The White Sox have been no strangers to welcoming foreign players into the clubhouse having 2e Cuban players on th current roster. Picking up a couple Japanese players in Shingo Takatsu and Tadahito Iguchi a few years ago. Plus several players from Manager Ozzie Guillen's homeland of Venezuela.

Calling Chicago an irrelevant sports town is like saying that the sky is green. Bill Plaschke needs to check his history and make sure he wasn't talking about Cincinnati.

Here is my Week 5 Power Poll and Preview of games

This week there are some key games to watch out for in Week 5.

You have the final two undefeated teams playing this weekend and looking to stay perfect on the year.

The Philadelphia Soul (4-0), #1 in the Power Poll, hosts #5 Tampa Bay Storm (2-1), on Saturday, March 29 at 2p.m. ET (ESPN2 HD, ESPN360.com).

The Soul's offense did not look like it missed injured QB Tony Graziani at all last week against Los Angeles. Backup QB Matt D'Orazio stepped in and was 28 of 42 for 338 yards and eight touchdowns. 

The Dallas Desperados (4-0), #2, travels to the Nassau Coliseum to take on #15 New York Dragons (1-3) on Sunday, March 30 at 3 p.m. ET in a Eastern Division matchup.

Desperdos QB Chris Sanders was 20-of-28 for 276 yards and six touchdowns last week as the Desperados ended the SaberCats 15-game home winning streak 

The Desperados are looking to go 5-0 for the second consecutive season with a win. Dallas is 32-4 in their last 36 regular-season contests, including 12 in a row and six straight on the road. 

The Chicago Rush (3-1), #3, welcomes the Arizona Rattlers (2-2), #9, to the Allstate Arena on Friday, March 28 at 8:30 p.m. ET (AFL NET, FSN Arizona - Delay, at 9:30 p.m. PT, CSN Chicago - Delay, 3/29 at 4 p.m. CT, SIRIUS Radio - Channel 130).

This game marks the first time Rush QB Sherdrick Bonner will face his former team of the past 14 seasons.

Bonner, left Arizona as the team's all-time leader in passing yards (40,979), attempts (5,268), completions (3,261) and touchdown passes (829).

Bonner also led the Rattlers to five ArenaBowl appearances and two championships in ArenaBowls VIII and XI.

This weeks other games include:

Saturday

#8 San Jose (2-2) at #16 Kansas City (0-3), 6:00 P.M. ET, (FSN Bay Area/NBC Local - Live, KSMO Local - Live)

#7 Orlando (2-2) at #13 Columbus (1-3), 7:00 P.M. ET, (AFL NET, WRDQ TV - Live, Columbus Sports Net - Live, CSS - Delay, 3/30 at 5:30 p.m. ET, SIRIUS Radio - Channel 130).

#14 Georgia (1-3) at #17 Utah (0-4), 9:00 P.M. ET, (CSS - Live, KJZZ - Live)

Sunday

#10 Los Angeles (2-2) at #12 Grand Rapids (1-2), 2:00 P.M. ET

#4 New Orleans VooDoo (3-1) at #11 Colorado (1-2), 4:00 P.M. ET (FSN Rocky Mountain Local - Live).

Bye Week: #6 Cleveland (3-1)

Power Poll Rankings:

 1) Philadelphia Soul (4-0, LW: 1) Beat Los Angeles 71-34 on 3/20

 2) Dallas Desperados (4-0, LW: 2) Beat San Jose 59-56 on 3/22

 3) Chicago Rush (3-1, LW: 4) Beat Colorado 70-35 on 3/22

 4) New Orleans VooDoo (3-1, LW: 6) Beat Cleveland 63-24 on 3/21

 5) Tampa Bay Storm (2-1, LW: 8) BYE WEEK

 6) Cleveland Gladiators (3-1, LW: 3) Lost to New Orleans 24-63 on 3/21

 7) Orlando Predators (2-2. LW: 11) Beat Georgia 50-45 on 3/22

 8) San Jose SaberCats (2-2, LW: 5) Lost to Dallas 59-56 on 3/22

 9) Arizona Rattlers (2-2, LW: 13) Beat New York 62-33 on 3/21

10) Los Angeles Avengers (2-2, LW: 7) Lost to Philadelphia 71-34 on 3/20

11) Colorado Crush (1-2, LW: 9) Lost to Chicago 35-70 on 3/22

12) Grand Rapids Rampage (1-2, LW: 15) Beat Kansas City 92-52 on 3/24

13) Columbus Destroyers (1-3, LW: 17) Beat Utah 52-49 on 3/21

14) Georgia Force (1-3, LW: 10) Lost to Orlando 50-45 on 3/22

15) New York Dragons (1-3, LW: 12) Lost to Arizona 33-62 on 3/21

16) Kansas City Brigade (0-3, LW: 14) Lost to Grand Rapids 52-92 on 3/24

17) Utah Blaze (0-4, LW: 16) Lost to Columbus 49-52 on 3/21

WEEK 4 HONORS

CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYERS: Grand Rapids Rampage QB James MacPherson and Philadelphia Soul WR Chris Jackson

ADT DEFENSIVE PLAYER: New Orleans VooDoo DB Calvin Spears

IRONMAN PLAYER: Chicago Rush WR/LB DeJuan Alfonzo

Rosemont, IL. - Receiver Damian Harrell made Arena Football League History on Saturday night against his former team the Colorado Crush, whom he had played for the last five seasons. Harrell, signed with the Rush as a free agent over the summer, caught two touchdown passes in the final five minutes of the half to raise his career total to 304 and break Eddie Brown's old record of 303.

"[The record-breaking catch] still hasn't registered yet because I'm not a big stat guy," Harrell said. "It probably won't until after I retire."

The Rush (3-1) won the game against Colorado (1-2) 70-35 before an Allstate Arena record crowd of 16,043 fans.

The Rush used a deep rotation on offense in which seven different players scored touchdowns. Besides Harrell's two touchdowns, Backup quarterback Russ Michna and wide-receiver/defensive back DeJuan Alfonzo had two touchdown's each, and rookie wide-receiver Donovan Morgan, fullback Dan Alexander, lineman Joe Peters and receiver Travis LaTendresse had solo TDs for the Rush.

The Rush held the Crush to just one second-half touchdown and didn't allow the Crush to score any points in the final twenty-seven minutes of the game.

Peters also had a blocked field-goal in the game that led to a safety.

"That was one of the [reasons] I came here to play for coach [Mike] Hohensee," Harrell said. "This team's depth and versatility will help me extend my career and get better at the same time."

Colorado quaterback John Dutton told me before the game, "One of the reason's why he [Harrell] is going to break the record is because I have thrown alot of those[touchdown's] to him."

Rush quarterback Sherdrick Bonner made good on a promise to play better and it showed. Bonner was 24 of 29 for 211 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions and no sacks.

"He was seeing the field well, and he was very poised," Hohensee said. "Plus, he had a good understanding of where our guys were coming from and who's who in the offense - especially with three new receivers."

Dutton was 23 of 36 passing for 271 yards and four touchdowns. The Rush defense did intercept him once, blocked two field goals and recovered a fumble on a snap. The Rush defense stopped the Crush on downs three different times and converted all three of those for touchdowns.

"As a defensive line, we pride ourselves in putting presure on the quarterback to take the pressure off our defensive backs," Peters said. "But our offense also is greatly improved now and getting better every week." 

Harrell mentioned also that "He expects to get a call from Eddie Brown sometime in the near future, to congratulate him on breaking the record tonight."

Harell also went over by the stands after he caught the record-breaking touchdown and threw the ball into the stands to his son.

The 1-0 Philadelphia Soul head to the climate controlled tundra of Allstate Arena in Chicago to take on the similar 1-0 new look Chicago Rush.

For Chicago, gone are QB Matt D'Orazio (FA to the Soul) and WR Bobby Sippio (to the NFL), and in are QB Seddrick Bonner (FA from Arizona) and WR Damian Harrell (FA from Colorado).

The Rush man-handled their Week One  opponent and defending Arena Bowl champions San Jose Sabercats, with the team's defense holding them to just 47 points.

Meanwhile, their offense put up an equally impressive 70 point against the defending champs.

The Philadelphia Soul put on an offensive show last week against the Predators. They would have scored a touchdown every time they had the ball had they not been trying to kill the clock on their last drive.

The Soul's defense is nothing to laugh at either.

Their pass rush is fierce as they hurried Stafford in to countless bad throws last week, while putting him into the ground just about every time he dropped back to pass.

The Soul have played the Chicago Rush every year in their young existence.

They have played them twice in Philly and twice in Chicago. The home team has won every time.

The Soul have also beaten them each of the last two seasons.

Both teams are also owned by former NFL icons, Ron Jaworski in Philadelphia and Mike Ditka in Chicago.

This is going to be a tough game to predict, as both teams are so evenly matched (They both have left handed QBs, for crying out loud).

I am going to predict that the Soul will win (I have to, I said they are going 19-0) and I also think that this will be a preview of the Arena Bowl.

Here's a link to the official AFL preview.

Rosemont, IL—The Chicago Rush beat the defending champion San Jose SaberCats 70-47 in front of 15,409 fans at the Allstate Arena. The Rush had some unfinished business to take care of from last season. Head Coach Mike Hohansee's team wanted to start the 2008 season on a positive mark.

The Rush came into the game with some new faces on offense. They wanted to show everyone they could still be very explosive on offense. Veteran quarterback Sherdrick Bonner, playing in his first year with the Rush after 14 years as the starting quarterback for Arizona, wanted to prove that he can make the big plays on offense at 39. He did not disappoint fans at all, throwing six touchdown passes, going 14-of-24 passing for 261 yards with one interception.

The Rush's new-look offense definitely showed some pop with a new trio of receivers in Damian Harrell, Donovan Morgan, and Travis LaTendresse. They were able to totally dominate the defensive backs of San Jose. All three of them each caught two touchdown passes.

The game was close in the first half with the Rush leading the SaberCats at halftime 28-27. The Rush started the game with the new combination of Bonner and Harrell connecting on a 29-yard touchdown. On the next series, when the SaberCats had the ball, quarterback Mark Grieb took the snap from the center, backpedaled, and lost the ball. Dejuan Alfonzo picked it up and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown to give the Rush a quick 14-0 lead.

The SaberCats came back to score three straight touchdowns to take a 21-14 lead.

Then Bonner came right back to throw a 28-yard touchdown pass to rookie Donovan Morgan to tie the game at 21.

The SaberCats got a 25-yard field goal from kicker A.J. Haglund to take a 24-21 lead, but Bonner hit Travis LaTendresse on an eight-yard TD to give the Rush a 28-24 lead.

With no time remaining in the first half the SaberCats got another field goal from Haglund to make the score 28-27.

In the second half the Rush defense made big play after big play. On the first possession of the third quarter Dennison Robinson got an interception and Bonner connected with Harrell on a beautiful 33-yard touchdown pass.

That gave the Rush a 35-27 lead, and they did not look back from there. Jeremy Unertl and Robinson forced a fumble from San Jose wide receiver James Roe after a short catch and Jonathan Ordway recovered it on the SaberCats 23. On the very next play Bonner connected with LaTendresse on a 23-yard TD pass to extend the Rush lead to 15.

The SaberCats came back to score a touchdown on a one-yard TD run by fullback Frank Carter to make the score 42-34 Chicago.

The SaberCats stopped the Rush to get the ball back, but Alfonzo forced Grieb into throwing an ill-advised pass across the field. Alfonzo intercepted the ball on the Rush five-yard line and then returned it 40 yards to the San Jose five. Fullback Dan Alexander then scored a touchdown to extend the Rush lead to 49-34.

The Rush forced San Jose into five turnovers with Robinson, Alfonzo, and Unertl causing most of the damage.

"The three of us have been playing together for a long time," Robinson said. "We know San Jose well and we know they are a smart veteran team. But we also know that receivers in this league are a little looser with the ball early in the season. We made a conscious effort to go for the turnover and try to strip the ball. It worked pretty well."

NOTES

FB Matt Kinsinger suffered a serious left knee injury in the second quarter and did not return. He is out for the season.

Bonner became the third quarterback in AFL history to go over the 41,000-yard mark on a first-quarter TD pass to Harrell.

Harrell went over the 12,000-yard receiving mark on a third quarter TD pass.

Harrell and Morgan both had five receptions; LaTendresse had four receptions.

Robinson led the Rush with 12 tackles; Unertl had 7.5.

Alfonzo had two fumble recoveries for touchdowns. He returned a first quarter Grieb fumble for 20 yards and then he fell on Alexander's fumble in the endzone in the fourth quarter.

Next Games

Chicago hosts Philadelphia on Sunday. San Jose travels to Grand Rapids on Monday.

 Rosemont, IL - The defending Arena Football Champion San Jose SaberCats open their season with hopes of defending their title against the Chicago Rush at the Allstate Arena.

The game is a rematch of the 2007 American Conference Championship game. The SaberCats won that game over the Rush and then went on the win ArenaBowl XXI in New Orleans.

The SaberCats are led by QB Mark Grieb and WR James Roe. San Jose return most of the core of the team that won the ArenaBowl last year. The only real key loss from that team is WR Ben Nelson, who signed with Colorado in the offseason.

The Rush are coming into the 2008 season with a new quarterback and wide receiver combo. Gone from the 13-3 team in 2007 are QB Matt D'Orazio, who was released by the team in fear that he had career-threating back surgery, and WR Bobby Sippio, who signed with the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs.

Also gone is FB Bob McMillen, who retired and now is the fullback/linebackers coach for the Rush. The team signed veteran quarterback Sherdrick Bonner, who played for Arizona last year and wide receiver Damian Harrell from division rival Colorado. The team also added fullback's Dan Alexander and Matt Kinsinger.

The combination of Bonner and Harrell could be a very explosive duo. Alexander set and AFL record last year with Nashville by rushing for 41 touchdowns.

The Rush defense retains its core with Jeremy Unertl, Dennison Robinson, Jonathan Ordway, John Moyer, Joe Peters, DeJuan Alfonso, James Sadler and Demetrios Walker.

"We had the best defense in the league," Unertl said. "We held teams to the lowest number of points(719) in league history. Even more important, we lead the league in turnover margin. That's how you get more possessions."

With the defense already strong and knowing the system of Head Coach Mike Hohensee, the big question is how long will it take for the offense to learn and jell as a unit.

Make sure to catch the game on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD on Monday night at 9pm ET/6pm PT

Here is the first in my series of team by team previews for the Arena Football League. First up is the Chicago Rush (Central Division, 2007 record 12-4, lost in conference finals to San Jose).

Key Additions: QB Sherdrick Bonner (2007 team Arizona), WR Damian Harrell (Colorado), FB/LB Dan Alexander (Nashville), OL/DL Vince Amey (Arizona), WR/DB Ryan Dennard (Utah)

Key Losses: QB Matt D'Orazio (2008 team Philadelphia), WR Bobby Sippio (NFL Kansas City), FB/LB Bob McMillen (Retired, Coach with Rush), DL E.J. Burt (Utah)   

The Chicago Rush look to return to the ArenaBowl for the second time in three years with a new quarterback and wide receiver combo of Sherdrick Bonner and Damian Harrell. Bonner is a veteran QB who is no stranger to playing in the ArenaBowl, leading the Arizona Rattlers to Championships in 1994 and 1997. He is only one of three QBs to throw for over 800 touchdowns in AFL history (Clint Dolezel and Andy Kelly are the other two).

WR Damian Harrell takes over as the number one WR for the Rush, replacing Bobby Sippio, who left for the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs. Harrell was the favorite target for Colorado's John Dutton while he was with the Crush. He was named the 2005 Offensive Player of the Year.

FB/LB Dan Alexander steps in to replace FB Bob McMillen as the Rush's fullback. Alexander lead the AFL in rushing last year with a league-leading 426 yards, shattering the AFL record with 41 rushing touchdowns.

The Rush do return a lot of key players from last year's team including OL/DL John Moyer, DB Jeremy Unertl, WR/DB DeJuan Alfonso, WR Rob Mager, K Dan Frantz, and OL/DL John Sikora.

Head Coach Mike Hohensee has lead the Chicago Rush to the playoffs in each of his seven years there, leading them to the 2006 ArenaBowl Championship.

With the additions the Rush have made this offseason, I wouldn't be surprised to see them back in the ArenaBowl this year.

Next up in team previews will be the Colorado Crush on Friday.

Dates of all the upcoming team previews for the 2008 Arena Football Season:

Today-Chicago Rush

Jan.25-Colorado Crush

Jan.28-Grand Rapids Rampage

Jan.30-Kansas City Brigade

Feb. 4-Arizona Rattlers

Feb. 5-Los Angeles Avengers

Feb. 6-San Jose Sabercats

Feb. 7-Utah Blaze

Feb.11-Cleveland Gladiators

Feb.12-Columbus Destroyers

Feb.13-Dallas Desperados

Feb.14-New York Dragons

Feb.15-Philadelphia Soul

Feb.18-Georgia Force

Feb.19-New Orleans VooDoo

Feb.20-Orlando Predators

Feb.21-Tampa Bay Storm