LV needs wins, a little help to playoffs

Adam Candee

Thursday, May 20, 2004 | 9:16 a.m.

The Gladiators are far from a lock to make the Arena Football League playoffs, even if they do complete their improbable run to end the regular season.

Winners of four straight to even their record at 7-7, the Gladiators play in Los Angeles on Saturday night knowing that they must win both of their final two games to remain in the playoff hunt. Las Vegas sits in a tie for 11th place in a league with eight playoff spots -- four of which are already spoken for by Chicago, New Orleans, San Jose and Arizona.

Colorado is all but assured of getting in at 9-5, with a pack of four teams at 8-6 (Orlando, New York, Los Angeles and Austin) in the best shape to battle for three berths. Indiana sits at 8-7 and Tampa Bay is tied with the Gladiators.

Those facts alone show that Las Vegas needs some help from other teams to get into the postseason. The tiebreakers, likely to come into play with so many teams in contention, do not look good for Las Vegas.

Head-to-head games are the first criterion, followed by point differential in those contests. The Gladiators would win a head-to-head tiebreaker with Indiana, but would lose to both Colorado and Orlando. To beat out the Avengers, Las Vegas needs to win Saturday by more than seven points.

After that comes win-loss percentage in games against common opponents and that's an area where the Gladiators are in trouble. Tampa Bay already wins that one against Las Vegas, while New York and Los Angeles (should the teams tie in point differential) are in good position with two games left. The tiebreaker with Austin is too close to call.

After common win-loss percentage, the next tiebreaker is strength of schedule, followed by net touchdowns in all games. Potential three-way tiebreakers among teams are still complicated with three games remaining.

Shaw, a receiver, signed a two-year contract Wednesday with Philadelphia, reuniting him with coach Mike Trigg. The two worked together -- along with Gladiators quarterback Clint Dolezel -- in Grand Rapids, where Shaw earned ArenaBowl MVP honors in 2001.

The Gladiators released Shaw to avoid paying him a sizable roster bonus on June 1. One of their most high-profile signings in the offseason, Shaw missed two months with hip and gluteus injuries and never lived up to Haege's expectations.

Shaw will be in uniform Saturday for the Soul, when he will face the San Jose Sabercats for the second consecutive week. Shaw caught four passes for 17 yards in the Gladiators' 44-35 win against the Sabercats.

The Las Vegas Sting moved after playing here in 1994 and 1995, but the 2005 season would mark the Gladiators' third year in town.

Tickets went on sale Wednesday, with the cheapest season seat beginning at $103 for nine games (eight regular season, one playoff). Sitting right up against the boards will cost $490 per seat, a $52 per game average including the potential playoff contest.