Soul linebacker Beau Bell sidelined with ankle injury
Linebacker is likely to miss at least two games after getting hurt last Sunday.
A RIGHT ANKLE injury will keep Soul linebacker Beau Bell out of today's game against visiting Portland.
Bell sprained his ankle during Sunday's win at New Orleans, and coach Clint Dolezel said Bell will miss at least two games.
The Soul got a spell of good news, as leading receiver Marco Thomas was back to full practice on Thursday. Thomas, the league's receiver of the year last season with Iowa, missed last week's game with a hamstring injury.
Tonight's game
Who: Portland (2-3) at Soul (5-0)
When: 6 p.m.
Where: Wells Fargo Center (19,500)
TV/Radio: None
On the web: ESPN3.com, www.Soul.ArenaFootball.com/AllAccess
About the Thunder: Portland has dropped its last two, losing on the road to Arizona and San Jose, two of the league's best teams . . . Quarterback Kyle Rowley led Spokane to an AFL championship in 2010. One of his top receivers is V'keon Lacey, who played for the Soul last year . . . Signed kicker Kevin Goessling after Michael Braunstein bricked four extra points last week. Goessling already is Portland's fourth kicker of the year . . . This is the Thunder's second season and first game against the Soul.
About the Soul: Off to the best start since the 2008 title team opened 9-0 . . . Last year's club, which went 9-9, didn't win its sixth game until Week 12 . . . Quarterback Dan Raudabaugh continues to lead the AFL in touchdown passes. He's up to 34. Rowley, Raudabaugh's counterpart this week, has 22 . . . Wide receiver Xavier Boyce has eight receptions this season, five for touchdowns. He scored another TD on a fumble recovery . . . Soul kicker Tommy Frevert leads the league with a 93.9 PAT percentage (31-for-33).
Fun fact: The Thunder is coached by Mike Hohensee, who threw the first touchdown pass in AFL history while playing for Pittsburgh in 1987. Hohensee coached the Soul in 2010, going 6-12 in the team's first season after a two-year hiatus.
Daily News AFL Top 5:
1. San Jose. . . 5-0
2. Soul. . . 5-0
3. Arizona. . . 4-1
4. Orlando. . . 3-2
5. Cleveland. . . 3-2
3. Arizona. . . 4-1
Note: San Jose plays at Arizona tomorrow night.
Up next: The Soul host South-Division-leading Orlando next Friday, May 8, at 7:30 p.m.
- Ed Barkowitz