What a game! We had great seats in the upper part of the lower section, right on the 25 yard line.

The Soul had pushed a lead out to 22 points, but a late rush by the Force in the 4th quarter left the home team with the win. They managed a successful onside kick, followed soon thereafter by a TD and 2-pt conversion with only seconds to go. The Soul missed a midrange FG at the buzzer to seal the comeback win for the Force.

Georgia knocked off the first-place Soul, handing Philly only the second loss on the season. We really enjoyed the game, and can't wait to go back for another!

A brief post-by on a friday night to hit a couple of news items:

• * AF2's Austin Wranglers have filed for bankruptcy. According to the team, this will not affect season operations and the team will play as normal during the 2008 arenafootball2 season.
• * The Philadelphia Soul signed WR Chris Horn on Thursday. Horn previously played in the AFL with Arizona, and has NFL and NFL Europe experience as well.

Doing my daily check for posts and stories about Arena Football, I came across a blog that had recently returned from blog limbo: the BM Publishing blog. After an 18 month haitus, they returned with a couple of interesting posts, including one added today with a picture of Jim Foster's original Arena Football League sketches on the back of a manilla envelope. Foster's notes, now housed in the Arena Football wing of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, include a very rough drawing of the field and some technical notes about game play. Visit the BM Publishing site for a full resolution / full size image of this HOF artefact from Arena Football history.

Georgia Force fans have a bit of preseason fun in store next week with the Season Ticket Select-A-Seat event on January 23, 2008. The new home of the Force is the Gwinnet Center, and from 6-9pm on the 23rd, fans can select their choice season ticket seat location. The 2008 Georgia Force cheerleaders will also be there in force with their first appearance of the 2008 season. Help welcome the Force to their new arena and get yourself a prime spot for all the home games.

Here is a quick roundup of Arena Football news from the middle of January in anticipation of the season kickoff at the end of February:

• The Tampa Bay Storm signed AF2 Alabama Steeldogs quarterback Mitch Tanner to a contract after his strong play last season. Tanner was also an assistant coach with Monmouth, but will be resigning to play for the Storm in 2008.
• Elex Reed has signed with the Cleveland Gladiators for the 2008 season. Reed was the AF2 lineman of the year in 2007 for the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings and a former start of the Mexia Black Cats.
• Brett Elliott, quarterback, was signed this week by the San Jose SaberCats.
• Defensive End Ryan Riddle will be part of the 2008 Los Angeles Avengers squad. Riddle played for the NFL Raiders and Jets a couple years ago, and is known as an aggressive pass rusher.
• The Columbus Destroyers have announced their 2008 coaching lineup. Visit the link to oursportscentral.com for the complete rundown.

WR/DB Willis Marshall of the Dallas Desperados was arrested January 3rd by the Oakland Police Department according to the Detroit Free Press. He is free on $5,000 bond and is not yet scheduled to appear. Marshall's status for the 2008 AFL season is still up in the air. He is accused of failing to pay child support.

According to the sheriff’s office, a warrant was issued for Marshall, 32, because he owes more than $100,000 in child support.

Marshall was arrested at his parents' home in Southfield after investigators received a tip that he was visiting from his home in Colorado. According to the sheriff’s office, investigators went to the home and were told Marshall was not there, even though he had been seen in the house. Investigators spoke with Marshall, who denied who he was, slammed the door and ran out of house through another door, dashing through the snow wearing only light clothing and socks, police said.

ArenaFootball.com has combiled a handy Free Agent Tracker to help fans keep up with all the offseason player movement. Some of the big names they chose to highlight:

The Central Division Champion Chicago Rush introduced their newest additions in 14-year veteran QB SHERDRICK BONNER, formerly of the Arizona Rattlers, and two-time Offensive Player of the Year (2005, 2006) WR DAMIAN HARRELL, who spent the past five seasons with Central Division rival Colorado.

If Bonner can stay healthy, having Harrell to sling to can only make the Rush stronger in 2008 than they were in the championship 2007 season.

Rising rookie star Derrick lewis was another great free agent signing:

The New Orleans VooDoo have signed WR DERRICK LEWIS, who in 2006 amassed the second-most rookie receiving yards in a single-season with 1,411 while leading the Austin Wranglers to a 10-6 record and the teams only playoff appearance.

I'm expecting the VooDoo to be much improved this season, and will be well positioned for a playoff berth.

Three articles caught my eye today, all focusing on positive developments for the business side of Arena Football. The first confirmed that Mitsubishi has extended advertising programs targeted to Arena Football:

"We are focusing on brand awareness and familiarity and we've had great success with the sports programs that we do," said Mendez. "We have re-upped with the Arena Football League, we are doing NCAA, NBA, and we like the exclusivity we get when we do ESPN."

The next story is an annoucement of strong agreement between ESPN and MobiTV to broadcast AFL games:

ESPN Mobile TV will offer full-length live events including college football and basketball, NBA, NASCAR, Major League Soccer, Arena Football League, Major League Lacrosse and more. It will also present Mike & Mike in the Morning, First Take, Pardon the Interruption, Rome is Burning and Around the Horn, plus new mobile-specific shows such as ESPN ReSet, ScoreCenter and Fantasy Football Now.

It is great to see this support for broadcasting AFL games through this new medium.

Three teams in the Arena Football League will hold open tryouts during the month of January.

Arizona Rattlers
Date: January 19
Location: Alamo Stadium 760 Stadium Drive San Antonio, TX 78216
Fee: $60 Pre-registered $80 Walk-up
Phone: 956-843-5658

Chicago Rush
Date: January 26
Location: Gus Purcell Stadium 2400 Colony Road Charlotte, NC
Fee: $75 Pre-registered $85 Walk-up
Phone: 319-621-5075
Registration: 12:00 p.m.

Colorado Crush
Date: January 20
No additional info, see link below for more

For a complete and current list of Arena Football League tryouts, visit the Official AFL website.