Rush returns home; Slaughter off to Alaska

Early next week, Chicago Rush coach Bob McMillen will be showing off his pipes when he sings during the seventh inning stretch at a Cubs game.

On April 30 he will be in the spotlight again when his uniform No. 44 is retired in a ceremony prior to the Rush hosting New Orleans.

But first things first.

The Rush (4-1) have some business to attend to Friday night when they host Kansas City (1-4) in a welcome return to the Allstate Arena after three weeks away.

And they can only hope it’s not as nerve-wracking an evening as last week’s game in Iowa produced.

In that contest, Chris Gould nailed an 18-yard field goal with 1.8 seconds remaining to give the Rush a 50-49 victory at Wells Fargo Arena.

In command of the KC Command this season is former Rush quarterback JJ Raterink, who started five games for the Rush in 2010, compiling 21 touchdowns, 1,062 passing yards and a quarterback rating of 117.9.

Following his worst performance of the season in Week 4, Rush QB Russ Michna regained momentum and threw for a season-best 243 yards in Week 6 against Iowa. He went 16 for 27 and also passed for 6 touchdowns.

Slaughter updateThe Chicago Slaughter will take its longest road trip of the season to Alaska on Friday to play the Fairbanks Grizzlies (4-3). The Slaughter (5-2) is just one game out of first in the Great Lakes Division after beating the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks 52-27 last week in Pennsylvania. James Robinson led the Slaughter with 6 receptions for 105 yards and 3 touchdowns against LeHigh. Slaughter quarterback Ben Sankey tossed 4 touchdown passes in the game. The Slaughter returns to the Sears Centre Arena on April 29 to host the Green Bay Blizzard.