posted March 3, 2008 at 17:58 in Other Free Picks

San Jose Sabercats vs. Chicago Rush

The defending ArenaBowl Champion San Jose Sabercats kick their 2008 campaign off with a trip to the “Windy City” to take on the Chicago Rush. These clubs despise one another, as both have been responsible for ending each teams respective seasons on a number of occasions. The battles that have taken place between these two franchises have turned this rivalry into one of the most heated feuds in the league.

In this new rivalry, the Sabercats and Rush have battled in the postseason three out of the last four years with the winner advancing to the ArenaBowl and winning it. They renew this feud in the culmination of the first week of 2008 AFL action. It will mark the first time in league history that the previous two ArenaBowl champions will play each other to kickoff a season.

With so much history between these two teams, these two coaches and two quarterbacks; this game is poised to be another historic one for all you sports betting fans.

The Sabercats have brought the bulk of last years title team back as they look to repeat as ArenaBowl Champs for the first time since Tampa bay achieved the feat back in 1995 and 1996.

This game will pit two of the league’s all-time great passers when SJ’s Mark Grieb and Chicago’s Sherdrick Bonner go head-to-head for the 18th time, but the first time for Bonner in Rush silver and blue – he signed with Chicago in the off season. In the previous 17 match-ups, Grieb and the Sabercats are 11-6. Grieb has tossed 98 TDs to just five interceptions, while Bonner has thrown 95 scores with eight picks. Both quarterbacks currently rank in the top six in every passing category.

This will be the tenth overall game between these two indoor titans. The Sabercats won the first four games, while the Rush won the next four before San Jose topped Chicago 61-49 last season in the American Conference championship game. This has been an incredibly tight played series as the Sabercats hold a slight 55-51 advantage throughout their nine meetings. Both Darren Arbet and Mike Hohensee have been each club’s respective coaches for both teams throughout this series.

Chicago originally opened a short 1-point favorite for this contest with the ‘Total’ set at 105’. However, San Jose now sits as 1-point road chalks and the ‘Total’ nose-dived all the way down to 97. Both the side and ‘Total’ can be wagered upon at BetUS.com right now, so be sure to do so before tuning in to ESPN2 at 9:00 ET for what’s sure to be a highly competitive slugfest.

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