Arena Football League on ESPN - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Russell Athletic
Russell Corporation
Russell Brands, LLC, headquartered in Bowling Green, KY, is a manufacturer of sports equipment, which markets its products under many brands and subsidiaries, including Russell Athletic , Spalding, Huffy, and Brooks, amongst others....

ESPN Arena Football was a presentation of the Arena Football League on ESPN

ESPN

Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

, ESPN2

ESPN2

ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...

, ESPN Radio

ESPN Radio

ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...

and ESPN on ABC

ESPN on ABC

ESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...

. The telecasts were simulcast on ESPNHD, ESPN2HD and ABC HD

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

. The agreement ran from the 2007

2007 Arena Football League season

The 2007 Arena Football League season was the 21st season of the Arena Football League. The regular season began play on March 1, 2007 and concluded on June 25...

season opener until the league had a year long stoppage due to finacial problems in 2009.

The official name for the ESPN2

ESPN2

Monday night games was called ESPN Arena Football Monday presented by Russell Athletic.

History

ESPN

was the original broadcaster for Arena Football games, showing games live in the league's first two seasons, 1987

1987 Arena Football League season

The 1987 Arena Football League season was the 1st season, also known as the "demonstration season", of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the Denver Dynamite, who defeated the Pittsburgh Gladiators in ArenaBowl I.- Events :...

and 1988

1988 Arena Football League season

The 1988 Arena Football League season was the 2nd season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the Detroit Drive, who defeated the Chicago Bruisers in ArenaBowl II.-Standings:* Green indicates clinched playoff berth...

. Partially because of turmoil within the league itself, ESPN did not broadcast Arena Football again until 1992

1992 Arena Football League season

The 1992 Arena Football League season was the 6th season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the Detroit Drive, who defeated the Orlando Predators in ArenaBowl VI....

, when they broadcast six games and the ArenaBowl on an overnight, tape delay

Broadcast delay

In radio and television, broadcast delay refers to the practice of intentionally delaying broadcast of live material. A short delay is often used to prevent profanity, bloopers, violence, or other undesirable material from making it to air, including more mundane problems such as technical...

basis. Starting in 1993

1993 Arena Football League season

The 1993 Arena Football League season was the 7th season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the Tampa Bay Storm, who defeated the Detroit Drive in ArenaBowl VII...

, ESPN started showing games live or at least not during overnight hours. When ESPN2

ESPN2

was formed, the telecasts began to air more frequently on the new network.

ESPN2 began televising a more standard schedule of Arena Football League regular season and playoff games from 1995

1995 Arena Football League season

The 1995 Arena Football League season was the 9th season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the Tampa Bay Storm, who defeated the Orlando Predators in ArenaBowl IX. The AFL re-aligned its divisions for the 3rd straight year. It re-aligned to two divisions per conference...

-1999

1999 Arena Football League season

The 1999 Arena Football League season was the 13th season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the Albany Firebirds, who defeated the Orlando Predators in ArenaBowl XIII.-Standings:* Green indicates clinched playoff berth...

.

ESPN subsequently began televising AFL playoff games from 2000

2000 Arena Football League season

The 2000 Arena Football League season was the 14th season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the Orlando Predators, who defeated the Nashville Kats in ArenaBowl XIV.-Standings:* Green indicates clinched playoff berth...

-02

2002 Arena Football League season

The 2002 Arena Football League season was the 16th season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the San Jose SaberCats, who defeated the Arizona Rattlers in ArenaBowl XVI...

.

It originally had aired the inaugural ArenaBowl

ArenaBowl

The ArenaBowl is the Arena Football League's championship game. From 1987 to 2004, the ArenaBowl was hosted by either the team with the better regular-season record or the higher seeding in the playoffs. From ArenaBowl XIX in 2005 until ArenaBowl XXII in 2008, the game was played at a neutral site...

live in 1987

1987 Arena Football League season

, while ABC

American Broadcasting Company

(under the Wide World of Sports umbrella) aired the ArenaBowl five consecutive years from 1998

1998 Arena Football League season

The 1998 Arena Football League season was the 12th season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the Orlando Predators, who defeated the Tampa Bay Storm in ArenaBowl XII.-Standings:* Green indicates clinched playoff berth...

–02

2002 Arena Football League season

The 2002 Arena Football League season was the 16th season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the San Jose SaberCats, who defeated the Arizona Rattlers in ArenaBowl XVI...

Agreement

On December 19, 2006, ESPN

ESPN

and the Arena Football League agreed to a five-year agreement that includes extensive multimedia rights and a minimum of 26 televised games per season, beginning in 2007 and lasting until 2011. As part of the deal, ESPN

ESPN

purchased a minority stake, reportedly ten percent, in the AFL. The network will gain privileged financial information, but insists that it will not give the AFL more favorable coverage on shows like SportsCenter

SportsCenter

SportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...

as a result.
ESPN

ESPN

televised a minimum of 17 regular-season games and nine playoff games—including a minimum of three Wild Card games, three Divisional Playoff games, both Conference Championships and the ArenaBowl

ArenaBowl

on ESPN

ESPN

, ESPN2

ESPN2

and ABC

American Broadcasting Company

. ESPN

ESPN

had an exclusive window for weekly Monday night primetime games on ESPN2

ESPN2

. Both the season opener and ArenaBowl

ArenaBowl

were on ABC, where three wild card games, two divisional games and one conference championship were on ESPN and the seventeen regular season Monday night games, one wild card game, two divisional games and one conference championship game was all on ESPN2.

2007 schedule

(All times Eastern)

Week	Date	Time	Game	Score	Network
Week 1	Sunday, March 4, 2007	12:30pm	Chicago Rush Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush is an arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. It is a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League. The team was founded in 2001 and is co-owned by Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and coach.The Rush have qualified for the... at Kansas City Brigade Kansas City Brigade The Kansas City Command is a professional arena football team in the Arena Football League. The team was founded before the 2006 season. Former Kansas City Chiefs Strong safety Kevin Porter served as head coach...	KC 54, CHI 41	ABC ESPN on ABC ESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...
Week 1	Sunday, March 4, 2007	12:30pm	Dallas Desperados Dallas Desperados The Dallas Desperados were a professional Arena Football team. The Desperados played in the Southern Division of the now-defunct Arena Football League from 2002 to 2008.... at New York Dragons New York Dragons The New York Dragons were an Arena Football League team based in the New York metropolitan area. The team was founded in as the original incarnation of the Iowa Barnstormers, and relocated to New York in . They played in New York until 2008, when the league folded...	DAL 60, NY 7	ABC ESPN on ABC ESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...
Week 2	Monday, March 12, 2007	7pm	Los Angeles Avengers Los Angeles Avengers The Los Angeles Avengers was an Arena Football League team based in Los Angeles, California from 2000 through 2008. They folded on April 19, 2009.-History:... at Orlando Predators Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators are an Arena Football League team based in Orlando, Florida that was founded in 1991. Their playoff streak is currently 19 seasons in a row, as of the season, becoming the ArenaBowl champions in 1998 and 2000...	LA 44, ORL 37	ESPN2 ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
Week 4	Thursday, March 22, 2007	7pm	Colorado Crush Colorado Crush Colorado Crush were an Arena Football League team that began play as a 2003 expansion team. The Crush played in the Central Division of the American Conference until the Arena Football League suspended operations in 2009... at Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia Soul The Philadelphia Soul are an Arena Football League team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They began play in as an expansion team. The team plays in the Eastern Division of the American Conference. They won their first ArenaBowl in 2008, defeating the San Jose SaberCats 59–56 in ArenaBowl XXII...	PHI 71, COL 47	ESPN2 ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
Week 4	Monday, March 26, 2007	7pm	Dallas Desperados Dallas Desperados The Dallas Desperados were a professional Arena Football team. The Desperados played in the Southern Division of the now-defunct Arena Football League from 2002 to 2008.... at Orlando Predators Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators are an Arena Football League team based in Orlando, Florida that was founded in 1991. Their playoff streak is currently 19 seasons in a row, as of the season, becoming the ArenaBowl champions in 1998 and 2000...	DAL 70, ORL 42	ESPN2 ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
Week 5	Sunday, April 1, 2007	1:30pm	Los Angeles Avengers Los Angeles Avengers The Los Angeles Avengers was an Arena Football League team based in Los Angeles, California from 2000 through 2008. They folded on April 19, 2009.-History:... at Chicago Rush Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush is an arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. It is a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League. The team was founded in 2001 and is co-owned by Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and coach.The Rush have qualified for the...	CHI 66, LA 31	ESPN2 ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
Week 6	Monday, April 9, 2007	7:30pm	Georgia Force Georgia Force The Georgia Force are an Arena Football League team based in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States that plays in the South Division of the American Conference. The team is owned by Doug MacGregor and Donn Jennings... at Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia Soul The Philadelphia Soul are an Arena Football League team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They began play in as an expansion team. The team plays in the Eastern Division of the American Conference. They won their first ArenaBowl in 2008, defeating the San Jose SaberCats 59–56 in ArenaBowl XXII...	GA 57, PHI 49	ESPN2 ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
Week 7	Monday, April 16, 2007	8pm	Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia Soul The Philadelphia Soul are an Arena Football League team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They began play in as an expansion team. The team plays in the Eastern Division of the American Conference. They won their first ArenaBowl in 2008, defeating the San Jose SaberCats 59–56 in ArenaBowl XXII... at Dallas Desperados Dallas Desperados The Dallas Desperados were a professional Arena Football team. The Desperados played in the Southern Division of the now-defunct Arena Football League from 2002 to 2008....	PHI 41, DAL 51	ESPN2 ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
Week 8	Monday, April 23, 2007	7:30pm	Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia Soul The Philadelphia Soul are an Arena Football League team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They began play in as an expansion team. The team plays in the Eastern Division of the American Conference. They won their first ArenaBowl in 2008, defeating the San Jose SaberCats 59–56 in ArenaBowl XXII... at Columbus Destroyers Columbus Destroyers The Columbus Destroyers were an Arena Football League team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team was founded in as the Buffalo Destroyers, based in Buffalo, New York, and relocated to Columbus in . They folded along with the original incarnation of the AFL following the 2008 season, after a total of...	PHI 21, CLB 44	ESPN2 ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
Week 9	Monday, April 30, 2007	8pm	Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia Soul The Philadelphia Soul are an Arena Football League team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They began play in as an expansion team. The team plays in the Eastern Division of the American Conference. They won their first ArenaBowl in 2008, defeating the San Jose SaberCats 59–56 in ArenaBowl XXII... at Chicago Rush Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush is an arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. It is a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League. The team was founded in 2001 and is co-owned by Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and coach.The Rush have qualified for the...	PHI 43, CHI 54	ESPN2 ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
Week 10	Monday, May 7, 2007	8pm	Colorado Crush Colorado Crush Colorado Crush were an Arena Football League team that began play as a 2003 expansion team. The Crush played in the Central Division of the American Conference until the Arena Football League suspended operations in 2009... at Chicago Rush Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush is an arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. It is a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League. The team was founded in 2001 and is co-owned by Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and coach.The Rush have qualified for the...	COL 48, CHI 59	ESPN2 ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
Week 11	Monday, May 14, 2007	8:30pm	Chicago Rush Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush is an arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. It is a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League. The team was founded in 2001 and is co-owned by Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and coach.The Rush have qualified for the... at Dallas Desperados Dallas Desperados The Dallas Desperados were a professional Arena Football team. The Desperados played in the Southern Division of the now-defunct Arena Football League from 2002 to 2008.... *	CHI 48, DAL 52	ESPN2 ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
Week 12	Monday, May 21, 2007	7:30pm	New Orleans VooDoo New Orleans VooDoo The New Orleans VooDoo are an Arena Football League team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They play their home games in New Orleans Arena.... at Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia Soul The Philadelphia Soul are an Arena Football League team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They began play in as an expansion team. The team plays in the Eastern Division of the American Conference. They won their first ArenaBowl in 2008, defeating the San Jose SaberCats 59–56 in ArenaBowl XXII...	NO 34, PHI 78	ESPN2 ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
Week 13	Monday, May 28, 2007	8pm	New York Dragons New York Dragons The New York Dragons were an Arena Football League team based in the New York metropolitan area. The team was founded in as the original incarnation of the Iowa Barnstormers, and relocated to New York in . They played in New York until 2008, when the league folded... at New Orleans VooDoo New Orleans VooDoo The New Orleans VooDoo are an Arena Football League team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They play their home games in New Orleans Arena....	NY 69, NO 63	ESPN2 ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
Week 14	Monday, June 4, 2007	10:30pm	Colorado Crush Colorado Crush Colorado Crush were an Arena Football League team that began play as a 2003 expansion team. The Crush played in the Central Division of the American Conference until the Arena Football League suspended operations in 2009... at Utah Blaze Utah Blaze The Utah Blaze is a professional arena football team based in Salt Lake City, Utah and competes in the West division of the Arena Football League. Home games are played at the EnergySolutions Arena.-The original Utah Blaze :...	COL 14, UTA 51	ESPN2 ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
Week 15	Monday, June 11, 2007	10pm	Los Angeles Avengers Los Angeles Avengers The Los Angeles Avengers was an Arena Football League team based in Los Angeles, California from 2000 through 2008. They folded on April 19, 2009.-History:... at Arizona Rattlers Arizona Rattlers The Arizona Rattlers are a professional arena football team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Conference in the Arena Football League . The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team. They play their home games at US Airways Center...	LA 55, ARI 52	ESPN2 ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
Week 16	Monday, June 18, 2007	10pm	Chicago Rush Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush is an arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. It is a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League. The team was founded in 2001 and is co-owned by Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and coach.The Rush have qualified for the... at Colorado Crush Colorado Crush Colorado Crush were an Arena Football League team that began play as a 2003 expansion team. The Crush played in the Central Division of the American Conference until the Arena Football League suspended operations in 2009...	CHI 66, COL 57	ESPN2 ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
Week 17	Monday, June 25, 2007	10pm	Dallas Desperados Dallas Desperados The Dallas Desperados were a professional Arena Football team. The Desperados played in the Southern Division of the now-defunct Arena Football League from 2002 to 2008.... at Colorado Crush Colorado Crush Colorado Crush were an Arena Football League team that began play as a 2003 expansion team. The Crush played in the Central Division of the American Conference until the Arena Football League suspended operations in 2009...	DAL 77 COL 58	ESPN2 ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
Wildcard	Friday, June 29, 2007	7pm	Orlando Predators Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators are an Arena Football League team based in Orlando, Florida that was founded in 1991. Their playoff streak is currently 19 seasons in a row, as of the season, becoming the ArenaBowl champions in 1998 and 2000... at Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia Soul The Philadelphia Soul are an Arena Football League team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They began play in as an expansion team. The team plays in the Eastern Division of the American Conference. They won their first ArenaBowl in 2008, defeating the San Jose SaberCats 59–56 in ArenaBowl XXII...	ORL 26, PHI 41	ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
	Saturday, June 30, 2007	12pm	Columbus Destroyers Columbus Destroyers The Columbus Destroyers were an Arena Football League team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team was founded in as the Buffalo Destroyers, based in Buffalo, New York, and relocated to Columbus in . They folded along with the original incarnation of the AFL following the 2008 season, after a total of... at Tampa Bay Storm Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm are an Arena Football League team based in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida. They play their home games in the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa....	CLB 56 TB 55	ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
	Saturday, June 30, 2007	3pm	Colorado Crush Colorado Crush Colorado Crush were an Arena Football League team that began play as a 2003 expansion team. The Crush played in the Central Division of the American Conference until the Arena Football League suspended operations in 2009... at Kansas City Brigade Kansas City Brigade The Kansas City Command is a professional arena football team in the Arena Football League. The team was founded before the 2006 season. Former Kansas City Chiefs Strong safety Kevin Porter served as head coach...	COL 49, KC 42	ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
	Monday, July 2, 2007	10pm	Utah Blaze Utah Blaze The Utah Blaze is a professional arena football team based in Salt Lake City, Utah and competes in the West division of the Arena Football League. Home games are played at the EnergySolutions Arena.-The original Utah Blaze :... at Los Angeles Avengers Los Angeles Avengers The Los Angeles Avengers was an Arena Football League team based in Los Angeles, California from 2000 through 2008. They folded on April 19, 2009.-History:...	UTA 42, LA 64	ESPN2 ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
Divisional	Saturday, July 7, 2007	3pm	Colorado Crush Colorado Crush Colorado Crush were an Arena Football League team that began play as a 2003 expansion team. The Crush played in the Central Division of the American Conference until the Arena Football League suspended operations in 2009... at San Jose Sabercats San Jose SaberCats The San Jose SaberCats are a professional arena football team in the Arena Football League. They began play as a 1995 expansion team. They played in the Western Division of the American Conference. Their final coach in the original Arena Football League was Darren Arbet, who will be a part of the...	COL 67 SJ 76	ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
	Saturday, July 7, 2007	8pm	Columbus Destroyers Columbus Destroyers The Columbus Destroyers were an Arena Football League team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team was founded in as the Buffalo Destroyers, based in Buffalo, New York, and relocated to Columbus in . They folded along with the original incarnation of the AFL following the 2008 season, after a total of... at Dallas Desperados Dallas Desperados The Dallas Desperados were a professional Arena Football team. The Desperados played in the Southern Division of the now-defunct Arena Football League from 2002 to 2008....	CLB 66 DAL 59	ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
	Sunday, July 8, 2007	7pm	Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia Soul The Philadelphia Soul are an Arena Football League team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They began play in as an expansion team. The team plays in the Eastern Division of the American Conference. They won their first ArenaBowl in 2008, defeating the San Jose SaberCats 59–56 in ArenaBowl XXII... at Georgia Force Georgia Force The Georgia Force are an Arena Football League team based in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States that plays in the South Division of the American Conference. The team is owned by Doug MacGregor and Donn Jennings...	PHI 39 GEO 65	ESPN2 ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
	Monday, July 9, 2007	8:30pm	Los Angeles Avengers Los Angeles Avengers The Los Angeles Avengers was an Arena Football League team based in Los Angeles, California from 2000 through 2008. They folded on April 19, 2009.-History:... at Chicago Rush Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush is an arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. It is a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League. The team was founded in 2001 and is co-owned by Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and coach.The Rush have qualified for the...	LA 20 CHI 52	ESPN2 ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
Conference Championship	Saturday, July 14, 2007	1pm	Columbus Destroyers Columbus Destroyers The Columbus Destroyers were an Arena Football League team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team was founded in as the Buffalo Destroyers, based in Buffalo, New York, and relocated to Columbus in . They folded along with the original incarnation of the AFL following the 2008 season, after a total of... at Georgia Force Georgia Force The Georgia Force are an Arena Football League team based in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States that plays in the South Division of the American Conference. The team is owned by Doug MacGregor and Donn Jennings...	CLB 66 GEO 56	ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming.... *
Conference Championship	Saturday, July 14, 2007	4pm	Chicago Rush Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush is an arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. It is a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League. The team was founded in 2001 and is co-owned by Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and coach.The Rush have qualified for the... at San Jose SaberCats San Jose SaberCats The San Jose SaberCats are a professional arena football team in the Arena Football League. They began play as a 1995 expansion team. They played in the Western Division of the American Conference. Their final coach in the original Arena Football League was Darren Arbet, who will be a part of the...	CHI 49 SJ 61	ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming.... *
ArenaBowl XXI ArenaBowl XXI ArenaBowl XXI was the 2007 championship game of the Arena Football League and was played at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana on Sunday, July 29, 2007. It was the third-ever neutral site title game in league's history and the first held in the state of Louisiana...	Sunday, July 29, 2007	3pm	Columbus Destroyers Columbus Destroyers The Columbus Destroyers were an Arena Football League team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team was founded in as the Buffalo Destroyers, based in Buffalo, New York, and relocated to Columbus in . They folded along with the original incarnation of the AFL following the 2008 season, after a total of... at San Jose SaberCats San Jose SaberCats The San Jose SaberCats are a professional arena football team in the Arena Football League. They began play as a 1995 expansion team. They played in the Western Division of the American Conference. Their final coach in the original Arena Football League was Darren Arbet, who will be a part of the...	CLB 33 SJ 55	ABC ESPN on ABC ESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...

http://www.arenafootball.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=20823&SPID=1563&DB_OEM_ID=3500&ATCLID=727002
*Schedule change

Personalities

Former broadcasters of the AFL on ESPN

ESPN

and ABC

American Broadcasting Company

included Mike Gleason

Mike Gleason

Mike Gleason is an ESPN anchor, who appears primarily on ESPNU and ESPN Classic. Before joining ESPN, Gleason worked for WBNS-AM in Columbus, Ohio, from 1994-96 as a show host and doing play-by-play. He also worked at WBNS-TV in Columbus from 1987-98 as an anchor and handling a variety of...

, Gary Danielson

Gary Danielson

Gary Danielson is a former professional football player, a quarterback in the National Football League . He played for the Detroit Lions from 1976 to 1984 and for the Cleveland Browns in 1985, 1987, and 1988...

, Brent Musburger

Brent Musburger

Brent Woody Musburger is an American sportscaster for the ESPN and ABC television networks. Formerly with CBS Sports and one of the original members of their legendary program The NFL Today, Musburger has covered NASCAR, NBA, MLB, NCAA football and basketball games. Musburger has also served as a...

, Merril Hoge

Merril Hoge

Merril DuAine Hoge is a former professional American football player. He played eight seasons at running back for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears, retiring after the 1994 season. Since 1997 he has been a football analyst for ESPN television....

, and Holly Rowe

Holly Rowe

Holly Rowe is a sports telecaster currently working for the sports television network, ESPN. Rowe is best known as a sideline reporter for college football games which are telecast on ESPN.- History with ESPN :...

2007

Early on, ESPN

ESPN

said they would use "some prominent faces in the broadcast booth" and ended up going with the duo of Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic

Mike Golic

Michael Louis "Mike" Golic is a co-host of ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning and a former defensive lineman at Notre Dame and in the NFL. The NFL website lists him as and ....

from ESPN Radio

ESPN Radio

and ESPN2

ESPN2

's Mike and Mike in the Morning

Mike and Mike in the Morning

Mike and Mike in the Morning is an American sports-talk radio show hosted by Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg on ESPN Radio and simulcast on television, normally on ESPN2. If ESPN is broadcasting a live sporting event during the show's timeslot, Sportscenter will air on ESPN2, and the show's...

for their number one team. The second team will consist of NFL Live

NFL Live

NFL Live is a National Football League studio show, currently airing Monday through Friday at 4:00 p.m and 12:30 a.m ET on the ESPN cable network. Formerly known as NFL 2Night, the program is the only NFL-related studio program to air during the week...

s Trey Wingo

Trey Wingo

Hal Chapman Wingo III or Trey Wingo is the co-host of ESPN's SportsCenter from time to time but is best known as host of NFL Live alongside football analysts Mark Schlereth, Merrill Hoge, Mike Golic, and Tom Jackson, among others...

and Mark Schlereth

Mark Schlereth

Mark Frederick Schlereth is a former professional football player and current television sportscaster. Schlereth played guard in the NFL for 12 seasons with the Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos. He is currently a football analyst for ESPN on NFL Live, Sportscenter, and other programs...

with the third being Ron Jaworski

Ron Jaworski

Ronald Vincent "Ron" Jaworski is a former American football quarterback and currently an NFL analyst on ESPN. He is also CEO of Ron Jaworski Golf Management, Inc., based out of Blackwood, New Jersey, and manages golf courses in southern New Jersey, northeast Pennsylvania, and West Virginia...

and Merril Hoge

Merril Hoge

. On May 2007, Mark Jones replaced Jaworski, who focuses on his new Monday Night Football

Monday Night Football

Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...

role. Jay Rothman, producer of Monday Night Football

Monday Night Football

, and Bryan Ryder will also produce the Monday night Arena Football games on ESPN2. The announcements were made on January 16, 2007.

Team	Play-by-play	Analyst(s)	Field reporter	Producer(s)
1	Mike Greenberg	Mike Golic Mike Golic Michael Louis "Mike" Golic is a co-host of ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning and a former defensive lineman at Notre Dame and in the NFL. The NFL website lists him as and ....		Jay Rothman Bryan Ryder
2	Trey Wingo Trey Wingo Hal Chapman Wingo III or Trey Wingo is the co-host of ESPN's SportsCenter from time to time but is best known as host of NFL Live alongside football analysts Mark Schlereth, Merrill Hoge, Mike Golic, and Tom Jackson, among others...	Mark Schlereth Mark Schlereth Mark Frederick Schlereth is a former professional football player and current television sportscaster. Schlereth played guard in the NFL for 12 seasons with the Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos. He is currently a football analyst for ESPN on NFL Live, Sportscenter, and other programs...
3	Mark Jones	Merril Hoge Merril Hoge Merril DuAine Hoge is a former professional American football player. He played eight seasons at running back for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears, retiring after the 1994 season. Since 1997 he has been a football analyst for ESPN television....
4	Dave Pasch Dave Pasch Dave Pasch is an American sportscaster. Pasch works for ESPN, for which he calls play-by-play of college football, college basketball, NBA, WNBA, and Arena football games. He has also been the radio voice for the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL since 2002, teaming with Ron Wolfley. In 2007, Pasch...	Ray Bentley Ray Bentley Ray Russell Bentley is a former professional American football linebacker.-Playing career:...

The other play-by-play announcer used on playoff games is Bob Wischusen

Bob Wischusen

Bob Wischusen is an American sports commentator who is currently a college football and basketball voice for ESPN and the radio voice for the New York Jets on WABC and WEPN.-Early life and career:...

2008

Pasch, Wischusen, and Bentley returned to their respective roles while Marcellus Wiley

Marcellus Wiley

Marcellus Vernon Wiley, is a retired American football defensive end who played 10 seasons in the National Football League for four different teams. He was selected with the 22nd pick of the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft out of Columbia University by the Buffalo Bills...

and Shaun King

Shaun King

Shaun Earl King is a former Tulane University and National Football League quarterback.-High School:King is a 1995 graduate of Gibbs High School .-College:...

joined as color commentators. The tandems of Greenberg-Golic and Wingo-Schlereth would not reprise their roles as play-by-play men in 2008.

The replays of classic Arena Football games that had aired on ESPN Classic

ESPN Classic

ESPN Classic is a sports channel that features reruns of famous sporting events, sports documentaries, and sports themed movies. Such programs includes biographies of famous sports figures or a rerun of a famous World Series or Super Bowl, often with added commentary on the event...

in 2007 would also be dropped in 2008.

Controversy

Some AFL fans are complaining that the TV schedule “inequitably favors teams” such as the Philadelphia Soul

Philadelphia Soul

The Philadelphia Soul are an Arena Football League team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They began play in as an expansion team. The team plays in the Eastern Division of the American Conference. They won their first ArenaBowl in 2008, defeating the San Jose SaberCats 59–56 in ArenaBowl XXII...

, Chicago Rush

Chicago Rush

The Chicago Rush is an arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. It is a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League. The team was founded in 2001 and is co-owned by Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and coach.The Rush have qualified for the...

, and Colorado Crush

Colorado Crush

Colorado Crush were an Arena Football League team that began play as a 2003 expansion team. The Crush played in the Central Division of the American Conference until the Arena Football League suspended operations in 2009...

, teams whose ownerships include, respectively, Jon Bon Jovi

Jon Bon Jovi

Jon Bon Jovi is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him...

, Mike Ditka

Mike Ditka

Michael Keller Ditka, Jr. is a former American football NFL player, television commentator, and coach. Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years and New Orleans Saints for three years. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only two people to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach, and a head...

and John Elway

John Elway

John Albert Elway, Jr. is a former American football quarterback and currently is the executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League . He played college football at Stanford and his entire professional career with the Denver Broncos...

. 14 of the 17 ESPN games had at least Chicago, Philadelphia or Colorado playing. The Soul (whose part-owner and team president is former AFL on ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski) have appeared in seven of the 17 regular season games on ESPN

ESPN

platforms, more than any other team in the league. This criticism was also present when NBC went out of their way to not let some teams appear on their schedule. In 2008, the Chicago Rush have nine regular season games on ESPN and ABC, while the 2007 Arena Bowl Champion San Jose SaberCats

San Jose SaberCats

The San Jose SaberCats are a professional arena football team in the Arena Football League. They began play as a 1995 expansion team. They played in the Western Division of the American Conference. Their final coach in the original Arena Football League was Darren Arbet, who will be a part of the...

have just one, week one against the Chicago Rush, and the New York Dragons

New York Dragons

The New York Dragons were an Arena Football League team based in the New York metropolitan area. The team was founded in as the original incarnation of the Iowa Barnstormers, and relocated to New York in . They played in New York until 2008, when the league folded...

had 1, a 10:30 game versus the Colorado Crush

Colorado Crush

. Other criticism includes the scheduling of games on various days and times, as opposed to a weekly AFL gameday.

External links

AFL Official Website

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