ArenaFan Playoff Picks – Conference Finals
Andy Lopusnak
Friday July 11, 2008
The divisional round was much better for the ArenaFan.com staff in choosing winners, especially for the Guru who was a perfect 4-0. Six went 3-1 and three were 2-2. One writer went winless and the mythical Magic 8-Ball was a pathetic 1-3, but still pretty good for a piece of plastic.
Last week, nearly everyone took San Jose and Philadelphia, which were smart moves with the SaberCats and Soul winning. However, many split down the middle for the remaining games. This week, twelve took part in the predicting this week’s Conference Championships and the predictionshad ever variation possible.
Seven of the 12 took Cleveland in the upset, while seven also took the SaberCats to go to the Big Easy for a second-straight season. Three of the four that took Grand Rapids also took Philadelphia. Only one took the double upset of Cleveland and Grand Rapids going to the ArenaBowl.
Through two playoff weeks, Adam “the Guru” Markowitz is earning his moniker by correctly predicting six of the eight contests, including going a perfect 4-0 last week. The Guru’s little buddy, the Magic 8-Ball, is the polar opposite of him with a 2-6 record. Jeff Sims is right on the Guru’s heels with a 5-3 record. Three others are .500 (Burge, Lopusnak and Snow). This week, the Guru is going for the two home teams, which only one other ArenaFan.com staff member also took (Jason Moyer).
ArenaFan Staff
|
LAST WEEK
|
OVERALL
|
CLE@PHI
|
GR@SJ
|
Adam Markowitz |
4-0 |
6-2 |
Philadelphia |
San Jose |
Jeff Sims |
3-1 |
5-3 |
Philadelphia |
Grand Rapids |
Will Burge |
2-2 |
4-4 |
Cleveland |
San Jose |
Andy Lopusnak |
3-1 |
4-4 |
Cleveland |
San Jose |
Randy Snow |
3-1 |
4-4 |
Cleveland |
Grand Rapids |
Jason Moyer |
3-1 |
3-1 |
Philadelphia |
San Jose |
John Hoh |
3-1 |
3-1 |
Cleveland |
San Jose |
Fran Stuchbury |
2-2 |
3-5 |
Cleveland |
San Jose |
Chip Burch |
2-2 |
2-6 |
Philadelphia |
Grand Rapids |
Matt Eichenblatt |
0-4 |
2-6 |
Cleveland |
San Jose |
Guru’s Magic 8-Ball |
1-3 |
2-6 |
Cleveland |
San Jose |
Scott Smithey |
N/A |
1-3 |
Philadelphia |
Grand Rapids |
CLEVELAND AT PHILADELPHIA
Burge: "Sugar" Ray Philyaw is just a winner. He is the difference in matchup number three between these teams.
Markowitz: Upon further review, the Soul is destined for New Orleans. Believe me, I'd LOVE to see Cleveland take out Philly, but it just won't happen.
Snow: The Gladiators fought their way into the Conference finals while the Soul needed a miracle comeback on the final (and controversial) play of the game just to advance to this game. I'm going with the underdog all the way.
Eichenblatt: Why? Why not.
Lopusnak: The Glads ended the Soul’s 11-game winning streak in the regular season and now they take down Philly’s current four-game ride. Philyaw’s hot right now.
Burch: Cinderella's slipper will only fit for so long, and the Gladiators have been the Cinderella story of the playoffs so far. But I'll take Matt D'Orazio and his big-game experience over Raymond Philyaw any time.
Sims: After just barely escaping last weekend, the Soul will not be sluggish two weeks in a row. They will put together a solid game and move on to New Orleans.
Stuchbury: Cleveland has been playing great during the postseason. They are getting hot at the right time. New York last week exposed some problems Philadelphia had and Cleveland should be able to capitalize on that.
GRAND RAPIDS AT SAN JOSE
Lopusnak: Time to make up for the AFL letting 71% of its teams (and three bad regular season teams – come on 6-10 is not good and unacceptable) in the postseason. Defense wins championships – San Jose has the best one in the league.
Snow: After picking against my Rampage last week, I am not about to make that same mistake again. Grand Rapids is playing like a team possessed. I think they can beat anyone at this point in the playoffs, and apparently, so do them.
Burch: Realize that the Rampage almost beat the SaberCats during the regular season, losing by an Adrian McPherson fumble on the last Rampage drive of the game. You've got to think that James MacPherson can beat this team.
Markowitz: These aren’t choke artists Grand Rapids is playing. The last two Cinderella imposters will have something in common. Both will get knocked out by the SaberKitties.
Stuchbury: San Jose clearly is the better team. Even if WR James Roe can't play they should be able to advance to ArenaBowl XXII.
Eichenblatt: This quiet AFL juggernaut has everything going for it as they look for their second consecutive trip to the Big Easy.
Sims: I'm drinking the Kool-Aid!! There always seems to be one team in the ArenaBowl that when the playoffs begin you think; "That team doesn't even belong in the playoffs." After defeating Arizona and Chicago with solid defensive efforts and not making mistakes on offense, they will do it again in San Jose and move on.
Burge: The will be way too much for Grand Rapids. San Jose is the real deal and wins it big.
Andy Lopusnak is an 11-year AFL front office veteran, spending time with the Tampa Bay Storm, San Diego Riptide and Grand Rapids Rampage. He works as a statistician for NFL and college sports for CBS Sports and is a freelance photographer. Lopusnak received two Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of South Florida and has been a fan of ArenaBall since its inception.
