Rush takes on Arizona with playoff berth at hand

The Chicago Rush returns home to begin a two-game homestand by hosting the Arizona Rattlers Saturday night at Allstate Arena.

Both teams enter the game looking to bounce back after having winning streaks snapped last weekend. The Rush saw its three-game winning streak snapped on the road at Tampa Bay, 68-60, while the Rattlers had their six-game streak snapped with a 37-36 loss at Spokane.

Saturday's game, the second meeting of the season between the Rush (9-4) and Rattlers (8-4) begins at 7 p.m. at Allstate Arena. There is no TV or radio broadcast, but a Webcast at arenarush.com.

Chicago defeated Arizona 70-56 when the teams met in Phoenix on April 17.

Final home game: After playing Arizona, the Rush will host the Dallas Vigilantes in the team's last home game of the regular season. The Vigilantes, predicted by many to compete for the ArenaBowl title, enter this week's action with a 1-11 record.

Playoff countdown: Due to Chicago's loss in Tampa and Iowa's win over Dallas last week, the Rush must wait at least one more week to clinch a spot in the 2010 postseason.

With four weeks left in the regular season, Chicago's magic number to clinch its ninth-consecutive playoff berth is down to one. Any Rush win or Iowa loss the rest of the way will give the Rush a spot in the 2010 postseason.

Chicago's magic number to clinch the Midwest Division title is three. Any combination of Rush wins and Milwaukee losses totaling three gives Chicago the division title and home field advantage for the opening round of the playoffs on the weekend of Aug. 6.

Stretch run: Two of Chicago's final three games to close the regular season will come against the other top teams in the National Conference - Arizona and Spokane. The Rattlers and Shock are currently ranked third and first in the conference, respectively, and have combined for an 18-6 record.