The Storm started out the season 2-3. After their third loss, they went on to win 11 out of their last 13 games, to finish with a 13-5 record, and the American Conference title. The Storm’s QB, Brett Dietz, threw for 5,054 yards and 106 touchdowns in the regular season, both of which were franchise records. The last time the Storm won a championship was in 2003 and they are looking to break that winless streak and win their 6th championship. Out of their 5 championships, 3 of them came in the same year they won the division title.

The Shock, not only have the home field advantage, but they also are coming off of their ArenaCup X championship, which came from the last season of the arenafootball2 league. The Shock finished the season 13-3 and have made it to the franchise’s first Arena Bowl. Including their championships and division titles in AFL’s developmental league, af2, the Shock have won 5 straight division titles dating back to 2006, and have also won 2 championships. One came in 2006, and the other title came just last year.

The Arena Bowl will be televised on the NFL network in the U.S, Canada and Mexico, and on Eurosport 2 in various countries.

Arizona is playing for the opportunity to host a first round playoff game if they beat Iowa, which makes this a spoiler game for the Iowa Barnstormers. There isn’t much for Iowa to play for with the exception of making Arizona and their fans travel for the first playoff game. Iowa will be playing for a seven win season, so they will be playing for pride alone when they travel to Arizona.

The combination of football betting stars, Nick Davila and rookie wide receiver, Ron Windsor has been unstoppable in the 2010 Arena Football league season. Davila is ranked fourth among AFL quarterbacks and Windsor as a rookie is tearing up the turf, leading all AFL receivers with 2,138 yards.

Iowa hopes to get production out of their top ten wide receiver Jesse Schmidt and top ten quarterback Ryan Vena. Vena has been solid for Iowa and next season they have to be optimistic of their chances to build and improve.

Iowa doesn’t stand much of a chance against an Arizona team that still has something to play for on their home field. Look for the high powered offense of the Arizona Rattlers to over power the undermanned Iowa Barnstormers.

Considering both have already clinched their spots in the playoffs, this week’s game will not have a big impact on the rest of either team’s season, but that will not stop either team from doing all they can to win.

Tampa Bay managed to come out with a 62-50 win over Orlando, the last time these two teams faced off in late May, and in the process tied the overall record for the War on I-4 at 22-22. Come game time, the Predators will surely be looking for revenge, and their quarterback Nick Hill will need to continue his hot streak from last week, to come away with a victory.

For 217 yards and 6 touchdowns, Hill completed 15 of 22 passes with no interceptions as the Predators clinched their playoff against Oklahoma City. The Predators will be hard to beat, if he continues to play at that same level, but he will have a tough test against the Storm’s stingy defense this week, which has allowed a league low 49.1 points per game. After this long season, it will be a test of wills for both teams, with the victor securing the lead in the War on I-4.

On Friday, the Sharks host the Spokane Shock (13-2), and Tampa Bay is home Saturday against the Orlando Predators (7-8). The No. 1 seed securing team will host Orlando, the No. 4 seed, in a first-round playoff game. To No. 3, the loser drops and goes on the road to face the Tulsa Talons (9-6), who are No. 2 for winning the Southwest Division.

That means, the underdogs could be the higher-seeded and host Talons. In the National Conference, the playoff picture is pretty clear.

In the conference, Spokane not only has clinched the No. 1 seed but it also would own it all the way through the Arena Bowl. Thanks to clinching the Midwest Division, the Milwaukee Iron (10-5) is the No. 2 seed.

That means for the third and fourth seeds only suspense exists. On Friday, the Rattlers can claim the third seed with a victory over the visiting Iowa Barnstormers (6-9), although Chicago (10-6) swept Arizona (10-5). An Iowa win hands the Rush the No. 3 seed and an opening-round trip to Milwaukee.

Although in this matchup, bet on football favorite, Dallas will hold the home-field advantage, it may be the only matchup they’ll ultimately hold in this scenario. The Dallas Vigilantes have struggled mightily thus far in the Arena Football League. Leaving them with a 1-4 record in 2010, these struggles have produced them just one win out of five tries this season.

For the Chicago Rush, the story has been very different. The Chicago Rush has posted a solid record and has managed to dominate games. To this point in the season, the Rush has managed to win four games out of their first six attempts. This has produced an overall record of 4-2 on the season.

On both sides of the football, the Dallas Vigilantes have struggled. they have managed to score just 52 points per game, so far on the season. This poor offense, coupled with their defense surrendering 58 points per game spells “trouble” for the Vigilantes in their matchup against Chicago.

This year, Chicago has displayed a “bend but don’t break” defense. per game, they have given up more than 320 yards, but have managed to intercept 13 passes on the year. This has allowed them to have overall success, giving up only 51 points a game so far on the season. This team is in position to win every time they pl, with their defense forcing turnovers and their offense averaging 55 points per game.

Jacksonville is currently the top team in the arena football league. Through six games Jacksonville has managed to lose just one, posting an overall record of 5 wins and just one loss. This puts them at first in the American Conference, their division and atop the entire Area Football League.

The story has been different for Cleveland. Cleveland currently sits at the bottom of their division within the National Conference. Though this sounds like a poor standing, they have actually posted a solid record thus far on the year. They have three wins and three losses. Unfortunately, they are in the strongest division in the Arena Football league. In nearly every other division they would sit in the first or second place positions in the division with a record of three wins and three losses.

Cleveland, football betting odds favorite, has shown a high powered offense up to this point in the season. Their offense has put up a high number of 62 points per game. This includes over 335 yards passing per game, which makes up for 98 percent of their total yards per game.

The struggle for Cleveland has been defense. On defense they have surrendered just over 60 points per game. This poor defense will make it hard for them to stay at or above .500.

Jacksonville has shown more consistency in their defensive game. Despite scoring less points (56 per game) the Sharks have managed their superior record by limiting opponents to 47 points per game.

The Alabama Vipers are led by Quarterback Kevin Eakin. He has competed 84 out of 136 passes for a total of 1,128 yards. The Vipers are ranked number 1 in total scoring offense in the Arena Football League right now.

One weapon that the Vipers possess is Larry Ship. He is averaging 15.3 yards per catch and has 8 touchdowns. If Eakin can find Ship, the Talons are going to be in for a long night.

You can’t count the Tulsa Talons out though, they have Justin Allgood as their Quarterback. He has completed 88 out of 135 passes for a total of 1,059 yards and 30 touchdowns. He is ranked 4th in the Arena Football League in pass efficiency.

Allgood will be looking for Wide Receiver Donovan Morgan, who has 31 total receptions this season for 491 yards. Morgan is averaging 15.8 yards with every catch. He has scored 15 touchdowns.

Can the Talons go 3-0 at home or will the Vipers strike, giving Tulsa their first loss at home. We will find out on Saturday May 8, 2010.

The Alabama Vipers are led by Quarterback Kevin Eakin. He has competed 84 out of 136 passes for a total of 1,128 yards. The Vipers are ranked number 1 in total scoring offense in the Arena Football League right now.

One weapon that the Vipers possess is Larry Ship. He is averaging 15.3 yards per catch and has 8 touchdowns. If Eakin can find Ship, the Talons are going to be in for a long night.

You can’t count the Tulsa Talons out though, they have Justin Allgood as their Quarterback. He has completed 88 out of 135 passes for a total of 1,059 yards and 30 touchdowns. He is ranked 4th in the Arena Football League in pass efficiency.

Allgood will be looking for Wide Receiver Donovan Morgan, who has 31 total receptions this season for 491 yards. Morgan is averaging 15.8 yards with every catch. He has scored 15 touchdowns.

Can the Talons go 3-0 at home or will the Vipers strike, giving Tulsa their first loss at home. We will find out on Saturday May 8, 2010.

Jacksonville Quarterback, Aaron Garcia has played in all four games this season, completing 74 out of 107 passes for a total of 840 yards. Garcia joined the Arena Football League straight out of college in 1995.

The man on the receiving end of Garcia is, Jomo Wilson. He has caught 29 passes and averages 9.3 yards each time he touches the football. This season Jomo Wilson has 6 touchdowns.

On the other side of the field, Brett Dietz, the Quarterback for Tampa Bay, has thrown for 1,270 yards. He has completed 95 out of 155 passes. Dietz has also thrown three interceptions this season.

Dietz top receiver, Tyrone Timmons has 34 total receptions and 450 yards. He is averaging 13.2 yards a catch. This season he has 13 touchdowns for the Tampa Bay Storm.

The Tampa Bay Storm are undefeated at home this season and would like to add another check mark in the win column this Friday night, by defeating the Jacksonville Sharks. The Sharks were able to squeak by the Tulsa Talons on May 1st with a 62-60 win, can they pull off another one in Tampa Bay.

Already there have been some leaders and some losers although the season is only about three weeks. The Chicago Rush, the Tulsa Talons, and the Milwaukee Iron who all remain undefeated are some of the breakout teams to start the season and remains hot picks for sports betting professionals.

The Chicago Rush is still undefeated and is the only team to have played four games in the season so far. They are looking to continue their streak and just came off of a win over the Utah Blaze last night. With Russ Michna at quarterback and Wide Receivers Allen Turner and Nichiren Flowers always looking for the pass, they look to be a real offensive threat throughout the league.

Both the Tulsa Talons and the Milwaukee Iron have shown signs of dominance although they have won their first two games in close battles. Completing 25 of 36 passes for 382 yards in their last game against the Iowa Barnstormers, the Iron are led by QB Chris Griesen and he has dominated as of late.

The Utah Blaze and the Cleveland Gladiators both with 3 losses and no victories, the losers in the league right now and are followed closely behind by the Iowa Barnstormers and Dallas Vigilantes who both have two losses a piece. To secure a win in the coming week’s games, all four of these teams have hope and potential.