New number 1: Shock top week 11 coaches poll

Wednesday June 4, 2008

CHICAGO – The Spokane Shock have taken over the top ranking of the Weekly Coaches Poll, the arenafootball2 (af2) league office announced today. The Shock collected 447 of a possible 448 points and 27-of-29 first place votes in securing the top position. Spokane stayed perfect in 2008 at 9-0 after holding off Stockton this past Saturday at Spokane Arena, 52-42. The Shock are the only remaining unbeaten team in the af2.

The defending ArenaCup Champion Tulsa Talons, who owned the pole position for the past 10 weeks, dropped into a tie at No. 2 after losing their first game of the season last Saturday at Bossier-Shreveport, 52-45. The loss also snapped the Talons’ 16-game win streak, which included eight in a row from last season. Tulsa’s run of 16 straight wins ranks as the third longest in league history. The Talons (8-1, 389 points, 1 first place vote) host No. 5 Lubbock this Saturday at the Tulsa Convention Center. The Florida Firecats (8-1, 389 points) improved two places from No. 4 to No. 2 (tie with Tulsa) on the strength of the squad’s 41-15 home win against new in-state and South Division rival Daytona Beach. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (7-2, 369 points, 1 first place vote) dropped one spot to No. 4 after the Pioneers’ 70-63 road loss at East Division foe Manchester. The Renegades (7-2, 331 points) round out the Top-5 this week after earning a 48-20 home win against Rio Grande Valley.

The complete Top 16 is listed below. The number in parentheses indicates the number of first place votes the team received.

WEEK 11 TOP 16
RANK	TEAM	PTS
1	Spokane	447 (27)
2	Tulsa	389 (1)
2	Florida	389
4	W-B/Scranton	369 (1)
5	Lubbock	331
6	Tennessee Valley	304
7	Green Bay	273
8	Louisville	262
9	Lexington	224
10	Boise	177
11	South Georgia	176
12	Arkansas	157
13	Central Valley	96
14	Bossier-Shreveport	89
15	Austin	68
16	Corpus Christi	59

Each week during the season af2 coaches will vote for the Top 16 teams in the league by ranking them one through 16 on a ballot. Teams ranked first receive 16 points with the point value decreasing by one for each place below first, meaning a team ranked 16th would receive one point. Total points will determine the Top 16 list. In the event of a tie in total points, the team with the greater number of first-place votes will be ranked higher. The af2 Coaches Poll will be announced every Wednesday during the regular season. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team and the poll results have no bearing on postseason qualification.

About af2
In Week 11 of its ninth season with a 29-team membership, af2 serves as a vehicle to bring Arena Football to small-to-midsize cities and as a developmental league with an unmatched history of sending players, coaches and officials to major professional football leagues each year. af2 operates under the same Mission Statement and Fans’ Bill of Rights as the Arena Football League, which is the midst of its 22nd season. Log on to www.af2.com for more information.