The 2008 AFL Conference Championship previews have been released over at ProFootball-fans.com and the pick for the much-anticipated match-up of the #4 Cleveland Gladiators @ the #1 Philadelphia Soul is in. Expert AFL writer Chad Fukoka is picking the Gladiators to upset Philadelphia and represent Ohio football in the Arena Bowl for the second consecutive year.

Don’t miss the Gladiators @ the Soul at 1 pm ET on ESPN today and don’t miss out on the great Cleveland Gladiators merchandise available through Pro Football Fans.

A season ago, it was an improbable AFL playoff run by another Ohio Arean Football team, the Columbus Destroyers, that made headlines. The Destroyers shocked the entire AFL by advancing all the way to Arena Bowl XXI before finally falling in the championship game to San Jose. A year later the newest Arena Football team in Ohio, the Cleveland Gladiators, are just one win away from advancing to Arena Bowl XXII in New Orleans. The Gladiators entered the AFL’s National Conference Playoffs as the #4 seed with a 10-6 record on the season. In two playoff games they have knocked off #5 Orlando 69-66 in Cleveland before last week’s upset @ #2 Georgia where the Gladiators again won by a FG, this time 73-70. A match-up with the #1 seed in the National Conference, the Philadelphia Soul, is slated for Saturday @ 1 pm on ESPN as both Gladiators apparel and Philadelphia Soul merchandise have been hot sellers due to the success of both teams. The Soul recently topped Cleveland 62-61 in Week #16 answering Cleveland’s surprising upset of the Soul by a 67-55 score back in Week #10.

After a disastrous year in Las Vegas, a move to Cleveland was planned for a struggling AFL franchise during the offseason. Led by former Cleveland Browns QB Bernie Kosar, the Cleveland Gladiators were formed and coming off a 2-14 season in 2007, the Gladiators were not expected to make much noise in the Arena Football League’s Eastern Division of the National Conferece. But after a 3-0 start the Gladiators went on to a 10-6 record and the #4 seed in the National Conference playoffs, and they hosted the Orlando Predators on Monday night. Orlando came in making the AFL Playoffs for the 17th straight season, and while they kept things interesting in the end, the home town Cleveland Gladiators pulled out a 69-66 win. With the win Cleveland was the only home team to win in the Wild Card Round the the 2008 AFL Playoffs and will face #2 Georgia on Monday night on ESPN2. Pro Football Fans, a AFL fan site, is providing coverage of the Arena Football League throughout the season and postseason for more.

Attention Cleveland football and AFL fans! Fans can now buy Cleveland Gladiators clothing & hats & Arena Football merchandise online through Pro Football Fans!

There’s no doubt that the Cleveland Gladiators’ 3-0 start to the 2008 Arena Football League season made co-owner and Cleveland legend Bernie Kosar smile. But there’s also no doubt that Bernie is disappointed with the 0-3 record since that fast start. The Gladiators, a franchise that went just 2-14 while in Las Vegas in 2007, are 3-3 heading into their game @ Los Angeles on Satrday night and are looking to pickup a win over the Avengers (3-4). Afte scoring more than 60 points per game in the 3 win to start the season, Cleveland has averaged just 47 in the 3 losses while allowing over 63 ppg.

Fans can find the 2008 AFL scores & Arena Football standings online at Pro Football Fans where they also preview and recap all of the great Arena Football action each week, and now AFL fans can also find AFL hats & gear including Cleveland Gladiators merchandise.