Utah Blaze @ Cleveland Gladiators u109.0 (-110)
Sun March 9 ‘08 12:30p
The AFL kicked off in fine fashion last week in Cleveland when the franchise won its first game of the season over the NY Dragons in a game that saw 17,000+ pack the Quicken Loans Center to get a glimpse of Cleveland icon Bernie Kosar’s new team. The Gladiators franchise came over from Las Vegas where they turned into one of the worst franchises in the league the last couple seasons. Kosar wanted experienced vets to lead his team in its first year of existence in Cleveland, and that’s exactly what he got. He couldn’t have made a better choice at the QB position when he decided to bring in Raymond Philyaw who had a monster season in KC last year to help lead the Brigade to the post-season in just the franchises second year of existence. He also stacked the D-Line with AFL vets Silas Demary and Joe Minucci who made names for themselves while playing for Los Angeles and Nashville.

The Gladiators proved to be more of a smashmouth team last week when they gained 308 yards overall, but gained 68 of them on the ground. FB/LB Marlion Jackson set the pace on the ground, while QB Philyaw kept the Dragons defense honest by completing 18-of-23 passes for 248 yards and 5 TDs with 1 INT. They won the turnover battle 3:2 and outscored NY 21-14 to pull away for the 61-49 home win and cover.

Head coach Danny White’s Utah Blaze were one of the more entertaining teams to watch in the league last season. Their offense was simply sensational led by QB Joe Germaine who passed for a league record 5,005 yards last season. He picked right back where he left off last week against Arizona when he completed 19-of-31 passes for 236 yards and 5 TDs with 1 INT. The Blaze lost however by a 63-62 final count when K Steve Videtich’s last second FG attempt sailed wide left.

Oddsmakers installed the Gladiators as short 1-point home favorites, but the betting public has bought into Kosar’s team and the line now sits at (-3.5) with the ‘total’ set at 109. Utah failed to cover the spread in both of their meetings with the Gladiators last season. They won by a 57-47 final tally in “Sin City” as 10.5-point road chalks, and shockingly lost SU to the Glads at home in the rematch as 17-point favorites. The Under has cashed in 4 of Utah’s L/5 road games, and it’s also cashed in 6 of the Gladiators L/9 home games. Look for Cleveland to look to the control the clock with its ground attack while keeping the potent Blaze offense on the sideline in the process. The ‘Under’ looks to be an awfully tasty proposition.

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