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Rush, Slaughter home this weekend

When the Chicago Rush (4-2) hosts the New Orleans Voodoo (1-5) Saturday at the Allstate Arena (7 p.m.), the man in the spotlight will be head coach Bob McMillen, who will have his No. 44 jersey retired.

It’s a well-deserved honor for the Naperville resident. Among McMillen’s many highlights in the Arena Football League:

Ÿ He played fullback/linebacker for 13 seasons after earning All-American distinctions in football three of his four collegiate years.

Ÿ He was selected as one of the 20 Greatest Players in AFL history.

Ÿ He helped lead Chicago to the 2006 ArenaBowl XX title.

Ÿ He rewrote the Rush record book, setting single-game, season and career records for rushing attempts, yards and touchdowns.

Ÿ And he finished his playing career second on the AFL’s all-time leading rushing list with 1,508 yards and fifth all-time in rushing TDs (85).

But despite the honor, don’t blame McMillen if he’s not in the best of moods after coming off a 59-51 loss to Kansas City last week.

It was the turnover bugaboo that caused the Rush to suffer their first divisional loss of the season.

“With 5 turnovers, 3 fumbled snaps and 2 fumbled kicks on special teams you cannot win games,” McMillen said. “I love our team and their passion, but you cannot win with that level of inconsistency.”

Add in a struggling offense, headed by quarterback Russ Michna (season-low 163 yards against the Command) and it’s not a winning equation.

“We have too many talented guys on that side of the ball to perform that way,” said McMillen. “We need to have everyone on the same page in order to perform.”

Slaughter finally back home:After crisscrossing the country the past two weeks #8212; from Pennsylvania to Alaska #8212; the Chicago Slaughter (5-3) returns to the Sears Centre to take on powerhouse rival Green Bay Blizzard (6-1) Friday at 7:30 p.m.Last weekend the Fairbanks Grizzlies outlasted the Slaughter 40-35 for their fifth win in a row. Slaughter quarterback Ben Sankey completed 23 of 44 passes for 224 yards with 4 TD passes and 1 interception and receiver Shatone Powers had 5 receptions for 101 yards with 1 TD in loss.Meanwhile, Green Bay is coming off a 60-6 thumping of Washington on the road.The Slaughter leads the all-time series with the Blizzard 3-1. The team also is filming a reality TV pilot show and encouraging fans to wear costumes to celebrate #147;Halfway to Halloween#148; and compete for prizes for best costumes. No weapons or masks allowed, however. For tickets, call (847) 310-3190.