Chicago Rush National Anthem Contest Returns

June 5, 2008 -Oh Say Can You Sing? All Chicagoland singers are invited to show "off" their vocal abilities during the Chicago Rush's annual National Anthem Contest, which will be held at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, June 24 at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, the Rush announced today.

This year's winner will be chosen by Rush fans and have the honor of performing the anthem prior to the Arena Football team's upcoming AFL Divisional Playoff game - slated for the weekend of July 5-6. (The exact date and time will be determined later this month).

"The annual National Anthem Contest always draws some of Chicagoland's most-talented singers," said Rush vice president of communications Mike Alzamora. "With the winner singing at the playoff game on Independence Day weekend, it should make this year's contest even more special."

A panel of judges will select three finalists whose versions of the Star Spangled Banner will then be available on the Rush Web site, www.chicagorush.com. Beginning on Wednesday, June 25, Rush fans will have the opportunity to listen to the three versions and vote for their choice. Voting will continue through Wednesday, July 2, with the winner announced Thursday, July 3.

All contestants must register in advance by calling Laura Visin, Rush community relations manager, at (773) 243-3439. The deadline for registration is 5 p.m., Monday, June 23.

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Interactive Digital Billboard featuring the Soul debuts in Suburban Station

PHILADELPHIA (Thursday, June 5) - The Philadelphia Soul are now visible to fans not only down on the playing field but also in one of the busiest locations in Philadelphia.

Motomedia, an innovative out-of-home media company that transforms vacant storefronts in to digital billboards, has launched a street-level billboard for the Philadelphia Soul in one of the city's most heavily trafficked transit stations, Suburban Station.

Using digital rear-projection technology, remote content management, and through window audio, the Streetlevel Billboard features diverse aspects of the Philadelphia Soul. The digital billboard features Soul players and team highlights while also focusing on the organization's connection to the community through the Soul Charitable Foundation. Motomedia pioneers an innovative platform that transforms windows into digital screens. Having launched its platform in the United Kingdom, Motomedia has since expanded its operation in to the United States.

Some of the various unique aspects that Motomedia has delivered for the Soul's billboard are graphic window murals, with images in the foreground and background of each section, to provide people with a new experience every time they walk past the billboard, video content that features the team's community service initiatives with Habitat for Humanity and Project H.O.M.E, as well as mini-episodes from the "Last Man Standing" ESPN web series that provides an inside look at the Soul organization and its players.

"We designed the streetlevel billboard and its video content to tell the complete story of the Philadelphia Soul. Leveraging specialized audio visual technology, we were able to capture the various attributes of the Soul organization and connect people to the Soul experience" said Metromedia's David Weinfeld.

The Philadelphia Soul (10-3), YOUR Team...YOUnited, take on the Dallas Desperados this Saturday, June 7 at 8:00 p.m. The game can be heard live on 950 ESPN and www.950ESPN.com and can be seen on-line at AFLnet.com.

The Soul are celebrating their fifth anniversary this season. The team has drawn an AFL-best 514,226 fans combined during the past four years. Following last season, the Soul were recognized with the Commissioner's Award as the Organization of the Year and were an honorable mention for the PRISM Award in the category of fan appreciation. For more information call (888) PHIL-AFL or log on to www.philadelphiasoul.com.

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Georgia's Greisen, San Jose's Floyd, Dallas' Pettis, Georgia's Jones and San Jose's Haglund Earn Pla

NEW YORK - Georgia Force QB CHRIS GREISEN, San Jose DB MARQUIS FLOYD, Dallas Desperados WR/DB WILL PETTIS, Georgia Force WR TIGER JONES and San Jose SaberCats K A.J. HAGLUND have been named Offensive Player, ADT Defensive Player, Ironman, Rookie, and Kicker of the Month, respectively, for the month of May.

OFFENSIVE: Greisen (6-3, 220, NW Missouri St.) led all AFL quarterbacks in passing yards (1,544) and completions (140) to lead the Georgia Force (8-5) to a perfect 5-0 record during the month of May. Greisen ranked second in touchdowns (28) and posted the third-highest passer rating (134.7) while leading the Force to three wins after overcoming fourth-quarter deficits in Weeks 11, 12 and 14. Griesen's best overall performance came in Week 12 as he completed 32-of-39 passes for 403 yards and nine touchdowns as Georgia defeated the New York Dragons, 72-67, at Nassau Coliseum. The Force (8-5) travel to Nationwide Arena to face the Columbus Destroyers (3-10) on Saturday, June 7 at 7 p.m. ET (AFL NET, CSS - Live, Columbus Sports Net Local - Live).

ADT DEFENSIVE: Floyd (6-2, 192, West Georgia) tied for the League lead in interceptions (5) and tied for fifth in tackles as the San Jose SaberCats (9-5) posted a 4-1 record for the month of May. Floyd ended May having notched 33.0 tackles, five passes defensed and one tackle for a loss. His best performance came in Week 10 as he recorded five solo tackles, two interceptions and two passes defensed in a 61-35 loss to the Orlando Predators. Floyd also took home ADT Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance in Week 13 when his six solo tackles and an interception returned 48 yards helped seal a 59-42 victory over the Colorado Crush. San Jose returns from its bye in Week 16 to welcome the Tampa Bay Storm (6-7) to HP Pavilion on Saturday, June 14 at 10:30 p.m. ET (Catch 47 - Live, CSS - NDD at 12 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area - NDD at 9 a.m. PT).

IRONMAN: Pettis (6-0, 200, Midwestern St.) accounted for 12 touchdowns (7 - receiving, 2 - rushing, 2 - passing, 1 - interception return), registered 15.0 tackles, one pass defensed and one interception in five games for the Dallas Desperados (11-2). Pettis' best performance came in Week 14 when he accounted for four touchdowns and became the first player in AFL history to throw a passing touchdown, register rushing and receiving touchdowns, and return an interception for a touchdown in a single game as Dallas defeated the Orlando Predators 67-41. The Desperados welcome the Philadelphia Soul (10-3) to American Airlines Center on Saturday, June 7 at 8 p.m. ET (AFL NET, ESPN360.com, CSN Philadelphia - Live, Metro Sports Local - Live).

ROOKIE: Jones (5-11, 193, Louisville) led all rookies in receptions (50), receiving yards (580), touchdowns (11) and scoring (66 pts) over the course of five games during the month of May. Jones' best performance of the month came in Week 12 as he recorded a week-high 15 receptions for a League season-best 224 yards and tied a League-high six touchdowns in a 72-67 victory over the New York Dragons.

KICKER: Haglund (5-8, 175, Central Oklahoma) connected on 40-of-41 PATs and converted 3-of-5 field goal attempts for a League leading 49 points during the month of May as the San Jose SaberCats posted a 4-1 record. Haglund's best performance came in Week 13 as he converted one field goal (1-of-1) and eight PATs (8-of-8) during San Jose's 59-42 victory over the Colorado Crush. Haglund currently has an active streak of 20 consecutive PATs.

Offensive Player of the Month candidates included: Arizona WR Siaha Burley and WR Trandon Harvey, Cleveland QB Raymond Philyaw and WR Otis Amey, Dallas QB Clint Dolezel, Georgia WR Troy Bergeron, Kansas City FB Dawan Moss, Orlando WR T.T. Toliver, Philadelphia QB Matt D'Orazio, San Jose QB Mark Grieb, WR/DB Rodney Wright and WR/DB James Roe, Utah QB Joe Germaine

ADT Defensive Player of the Month candidates included: Arizona DB Isaiah Trufant, Chicago DB Dennison Robinson, Cleveland DB Brandon Hefflin and DL Joe Minucci, Colorado DL Aaron McConnell, Dallas DL Colston Weatherington, Grand Rapids DB William Haith and DB Ahmad Hawkins, Orlando DB Kenny McEntyre, San Jose DB Omarr Smith and DL Garrett McIntyre, Tampa Bay DB Traco Rachal and Utah DB Eddie Canonico

Ironman of the Month candidates included: Arizona WR/DB Todd Devoe, Cleveland WR/DB Willis Marshall and WR/DB Robert Redd, Colorado WR/DB Aaron Hosack, Columbus WR/DB Derek Lee and FB/LB Harold Wells, Georgia FB/LB Matt Huebner and WR/LB Carl Morris, Los Angeles FB/LB Josh Jeffries, Philadelphia FB/LB Clifton Smith, Tampa Bay WR/LB Lawrence Samuels and FB/LB Torrance Marshall

Rookie of the Month candidates included: Arizona DB Chris McKenzie and LB Kurt Kahui, Colorado WR Chad Owens, WR Aaron Hosack and DB Antonio Malone, Columbus WR Calvin Russell, Georgia DB Cam Newton and DB Stephen Cason, Kansas City QB D. Bryant and Utah LB Kelvin Morris

Kicker of the Month candidates included: Arizona's Eric Houle, Georgia's Carlos Martinez, Kansas City's Peter Martinez, New Orleans' Jonathan Ruffin and Tampa Bay's Seth Marler

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Roughrider Training Camp - Day #4

The following is the Day 4 report from the 2008 Saskatchewan Roughrider Training Camp.

ROSTER MOVES

None

INJURIES

WR Carl Berman (hamstring) day to day

WR Adarius Bowman (hamstring) day to day

RB Reggie Bradhsaw (quad) day to day

DB Dre Dokes (hamstring) day to day

LB Maurice Lloyd (groin) day to day

DE Kyle Mitchell (knee) day to day

LB Brock Stratton (hamstring) day to day

PLAYS OF THE DAY

Receiver Rob Bagg had another strong day with a couple of impressive catches while running back Quentin Griffin had his strongest day of training camp. A couple of rookies stole the show on defence with Denetay Heard and EJ Whitley picking up interceptions.

TONIGHT

Players will meet with their positional coaches and continue learning the playbook at Luther College.

TOMORROW

Players and coaches will once again hit the practice field at Mosaic Stadium for Day 4 of training camp. Practices will be held at 8:15 am and 10:45 am.

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Aeros Update

Training Camp Report - Day 3

WINNIPEG, MB - There was a special visitor at day three of Blue Bombers training camp. ESPN anchor Chris Berman appeared during the second practice Tuesday to meet with the local media and members of the team.

Blue Bombers president Lyle Bauer presented Berman with a personalized jersey on behalf of the entire football club (photo attached - please credit Courtesy of: "Winnipeg Blue Bombers"). The jersey had number 85 on it, along with Berman in lettering on the back.

Berman, in Winnipeg to honour CFL all-time touchdown leader Milt Stegall at a sports dinner Tuesday evening, is a fan of the CFL and the wide open game it's known for.

While standing by the south end zone, Berman took notice of the size of the field, including the large end zone.

"I like the game. I like that when the tell you to go long in the CFL - you have a 20 yard end zone - you can go long," Berman, making his first visit to Winnipeg, said. "In the early 80s, we had CFL games on twice a week and that was among our best programming. The CFL helped us (ESPN) be legitimate. I have fond memories of us in our beginning days watching Warren Moon winning Grey Cups. We had the games on, and people liked watching the CFL and I liked watching it, and we followed it."

Stegall spent some time talking to Berman about himself and his team. Berman is a fan of number 85, and spoke with him for a few minutes while photographers snapped picture after picture of the two superstars from different sides of the game of football.

"I certainly know about Milt Stegall and his record setting career," Berman said to reporters, "I wondered why we didn't see him in the NFL."

Known for his clever commentary of football highlights and his nicknames that he gives to players, someone is the scrum asked about a potential nickname for Milt.

"I haven't really thought of that. Milt Stegall. Fly like a Stegall? I didn't really work on it. I'll come up with something better."

Day four of camp starts Wednesday at 8 a.m. with the first of two practices. The second session begins at 10:40 a.m.

Thoughts from Tuesday's practices:

- Slotback Dan Sheldon (#84) was back on the field after missing the past couple of days with a bruised thigh.

- Arjei Franklin (#86) and Kerry Johnson (#12) made some eye-popping catches, grabbing the attention of all the fans watching.

- Linebacker Cam Hall (#40) grabbed himself an interception, jumping on a ball before it reached its intended target. Head coach Doug Berry was very pleased with the play of his linebackers Tuesday.

Not on the field:

- Josh Lay (#19), cornerback - Day-to-day with a leg injury.

- Jon Oosterhuis (#77), defensive end - Out 1-2 weeks with a leg injury.

- Aaron Fairooz (#87), receiver - Day-to-day with a thigh strain.

- Abraham Morlu (#80), receiver - dislocated finger.

- Doug Brown (#97) and Robert Bean (#25), both missed time Tuesday, but will return to practice later this week.

Player of the day:

Arjei Franklin (#86, WR)

Franklin was a ball magnet Tuesday morning, one day after signing his contract extension. Big play after big play, Franklin constantly impressed Bomber coaches and fans. Number 86 was a treat to watch, hooking up with Kevin Glenn on a pair of deep touchdown tosses.

"I felt like I was making the big play when it was coming my way. (Receivers) Coach (Bob) Dyce expects us to make the average catch. I guess my concentration was up," said Franklin. "Every day I'm out there trying to do the same thing. Sometimes you make it happen, other times you don't. Today was just a good one."

TRANSACTIONS:

None

Blue Bombers training camp continues daily at Canad Inns Stadium with the first practice of each day this week scheduled for 8 a.m. Media availability with players and coaches will be at approximately noon on Wednesday, June 4 inclusive. Practice begins at 8 a.m. Thursday, June 5 with media availability scheduled for 11 a.m. All training camp practices are open to the public.

Season tickets are still available through the Blue Bombers football club offices or by calling 204-784-7448 or going to http://www.bluebombers.com

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Blue Bombers release two from training camp roster

Desperados WR/DB Earns Honor for the Second Consecutive Week

DALLAS, Texas - For the second consecutive week, and fourth time this season, Dallas Desperados WR/DB Will Pettis earned AFL Ironman of the Week for Week 14 as announced today by AFL officials after helping the Desperados (11-2) become the first team in the National Conference to clinch a playoff birth and secure Dallas's third consecutive playoff appearance - and fifth overall - after the Desperados defeated the Cleveland Gladiators (7-6), 68-52, last Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

Pettis led the team in receiving with a career-high 13 receptions for 118 yards and four touchdowns while also scoring a rushing touchdown on a two-yard run and threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Armstrong for the second consecutive week, accounting for six total touchdowns overall. He also tied for the team-lead in tackles with six.

For the season, Pettis leads the team offensively with 91 receptions for 992 yards (10.9 avg.) and 24 touchdowns while he is second on the team with eight rushes for 34 yards (4.3 avg.) and five touchdowns and has completed two-of-two passes for six yards with two touchdowns. Pettis has also returned 43 kickoffs for 741 yards (17.2 avg.) and is fifth on the team with 22.5 tackles, two interceptions and four pass breakups on defense.

Pettis has won Ironman of the Week 10 times in his career and four times this season, including: Week Three against Colorado (3/17), Week Seven against New Orleans (4/12), Week 13 at Orlando (5/23) and Week 14 at Cleveland (5/31).

The Desperados return to action on Saturday, June 7 when they host the Philadelphia Soul (10-3) for an Eastern Divisional game at the American Airlines Center. The game will be available locally in Dallas on Metro Sports Time Warner Cable - Channel 185 as well as on ESPN360.com and AFL Net.

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Blue Bombers release two from training camp roster

WINNIPEG, MB - The Winnipeg Blue Bombers football club has released two non-import players from its training camp roster.

Running back Jacques Lumbala and linebacker David Lowry were released Friday by the club.

Veterans report to the Blue Bombers 2008 training camp Saturday for medicals.

Media availability with select players will be in the lobby of the Canad Inns Polo-Park Hotel at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 31 following medicals. Blue Bombers general manager Brendan Taman will meet with the media for interviews at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

The Blue Bombers main training camp opens Sunday, June 1 at Canad Inns Stadium with the first practice at 8 a.m. Media availability with players and coaches will be at approximately noon Sunday. All training camp practices are open to the public.

Season tickets are still available through the Blue Bombers football club offices or by calling 204-784-7448 or going to http://www.bluebombers.com

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