The playoff teams are all set. Chicago and Cleveland won their respective divisions, while Georgia, Orlando and Spokane clinched playoff berths. Jacksonville has dropped three straight and San Jose failed to reach the postseason for the first time since 1999. The defending champion Shock pulled off a miracle last-second play to sneak into the playoffs after starting the season 4-7. There's a lot to cover in the first Week 19 in AFL history so buckle up.
Prior to Saturday night's game between the Cleveland Gladiators and Tampa Bay Storm, Gladiators coach Steve Thonn was sent to the hospital with an irregular heartbeat. Sources have confirmed to ArenaFan that Thonn is out of the hospital and has recovered.
Weird week of AFL football. The road team won seven of nine games. The last winless team beat a previously unbeaten. Chicago, Orlando and San Jose all overcame 14-0 deficits against former af2 teams to win. Four winners failed to reach 50 points. The last two ArenaBowl champs are both 1-4. And Rod Windsor's back!
Going into the last week of play in the 2012 Arena Football League season, the common complaint is that the Spokane Shock and the Chicago Rush should both be in the playoffs. After all, they are both likely to finish with better records than all but one team in the American Conference playoffs. In the end this year though, those aren't the ones that really have the rights to complain. The ones that should be complaining are the fans of the Cleveland Gladiators and the Pittsburgh Power.