Burn Control Their Own Destiny

The Boise Burn have one last chance to make the 2008 arenafootball2 playoffs. To make it, they have to win Saturday?s game, against the first place Shock, before an expected sell out crowd in Spokane. The Spokane Shock improved to 14-1 with a 78-51 home victory last week against the Quad City Steamwheelers. Boise, 8-7, dropped their contest in Fresno, 50-55, against the Central Valley Coyotes. If Spokane wins their final regular season game against Boise, it?ll ensure their best regular season finish in team history. It will also ensure the end of the Burn?s second campaign.Boise is currently tied with four teams in the National Conference at 8-7. However, all four teams, Austin, Amarillo, Bossier, and Lubbock beat Boise in a tie-breaker. Austin and Bossier play each other this week with the Southwest Division title on the line, meaning one team will end the year at 8-8. If Boise wins, no matter what else happens, they?ll be in with a 9-7 record.Of Note: • The Burn will practice at Qwest Arena tonight and Thursday, from 7-9 p.m. Practice is open to the media.? The Spokane Shock maintained the No. 1 ranking in the final Weekly Coaches Poll of the 2008 season, the arenafootball2 (af2) league office announced today, while Boise finished up with a 15th place vote.? Boise?s Levi Madarietta-LB won the af2 championship with Spokane in 2006.Catch the July 26 game live on KGEM 1140 AM with Scott Conklin calling the play-by-play. Air time is 6:00 pm in the Treasure Valley. You can also watch the game on your computer live on af2TV. Follow the link on the Burn's website www.boiseburn.com.NATIONAL CONFERENCE STANDINGS 1. Spokane (14-1) ? xy ? West Division Champion2. Tulsa (11-4) ? y ? Current Central Division Leader 3. Austin (8-7) ? Current Southwest Division Leader (Owns HTH over BSB)4. Arkansas (10-5) ? y 5. Central Valley (9-6) ? y6. Amarillo (8-7) ? Owns HTH advantage over BSB; AMA and BSB own better win % in common opponents over LUB and BOI (OKC)7. Bossier-Shreveport (8-7) ? Owns better win % in common opponents over LUB and BOI (TEX, OKC, TUL)8. Lubbock (8-7) ? Owns better win % in common opponents over BOI (OKC, SPK, TEX, TUL)-------------------------------------------------9. Boise (8-7)10. Rio Grande Valley (7-8) ? Owns HTH advantage over CCS11. Corpus Christi (7-8) 12. Oklahoma City (5-10) 13. Stockton (5-11) 14. Tri-Cities (4-11)15. Texas (2-13) x ? clinched division; y ? clinched playoff spot*Teams in bold currently lead their respective division; HTH = Head-to-head; SOS = Strength of schedule 2008 af2 Playoff Format: Sixteen teams qualify for the playoffs, eight from each conference (American and National). The eight qualifying teams in each conference consist of the three division champions and five Wild Cards, determined by best overall record. Seeding in each conference is based on overall record, with the top three seeds in each conference reserved for the division champions, regardless of record. In the First Round (August 1-3), the first three seeds in each conference are the three division winners. The next five teams are seeded by next best five overall records. Teams ranked 1-4 earn home playoff games with 1 hosting 8, 2 hosting 7, 3 hosting 6 and 4 hosting 5. In the Second Round (August 8-10), the winner of the 1-8 game plays the winner of the 4-5 game. The winner of the 2-7 game plays the winner of the 3-6 game. The home team is decided by the team with the higher seed. The winners of the Second Round will meet for the Conference Championships on the weekend of August 15-17. The team with the better overall record hosts the Conference Championship game. The winners of the Conference Championships face off in the 2008 ArenaCup on the weekend of August 22-24 at the venue of the participating team with the best overall record.- www.boiseburn.com -