Philadelphia Soul announce 2013 Arena Football League schedule

THE SOUL'S 2013 schedule isn't particularly friendly, but it is sprinkled with some early intrigue.

Philadelphia opens the season on the road with a rematch against Arizona, the team that rolled the Soul in the most recent AFL Championship Game.

The March 23 game in Phoenix is followed by a bye and then games in 17 consecutive weeks as the AFL again will play an 18-game schedule.

"The task of making a return to the ArenaBowl is always a difficult one, but one that we will be prepared to tackle," Soul coach Clint Dolezel said in a release.

The Soul's second game is April 6 in Orlando against former head coach Doug Plank, who surprisingly took the Predators job almost immediately after the Soul's championship game loss to Arizona.

Dolezel, the coordinator of the Soul's record-setting offense, was then promoted to head coach.

The home opener is Saturday, April 20 against Cleveland, a team that has emerged as the Soul's most bitter rival. Plank and the Predators visit the Wells Fargo Center on May 18.

Seventeen of the Soul's 18 games will be played on Saturdays. The exception is when Utah visits on Friday, July 12.

In other AFL news, the league switched to the CBS Sports Network as its national broadcast partner. CBSSN will air a regular-season game of the week on Saturday nights, two playoff games and the ArenaBowl Championship on Aug. 17, 2013.

The Soul's visit to Arizona will kick off CBSSN's weekly coverage. On Comcast in Center City, CBS Sports Network's high-def channel is 854.

The AFL had been partnered with the NFL Network. Last summer, while the AFL was muddled by in-season labor uncertainty, the NFL Network forced the league to move the start of the championship game to 10:30 p.m. even though Philadelphia was one of the participants.

SCHEDULE

Saturday, March 23: at Arizona, 9

Week 2: Bye

Saturday, April 6: at Orlando, 7:30

Saturday, April 13: at Iowa, 8:05

Saturday, April 20: CLEVELAND, 7:05

Saturday, April 27: JACKSONVILLE, 7:05

Saturday, May 4: at Chicago, 8

Saturday, May 11: PITTSBURGH, 7:05

Saturday, May 18: ORLANDO, 7:05

Saturday, May 25: at Tampa Bay, 7:30

Saturday, June 1: ARIZONA, 7:05

Saturday, June 8: NEW ORLEANS, 7:05

Saturday, June 15: at Pittsburgh, 7

Saturday, June 22: IOWA, 7:05

Saturday, June 29: at Cleveland, 7

Saturday, July 6: CHICAGO, 7:05

Friday, July 12: UTAH, 7:35

Saturday, July 20: at San Jose, 10:30

Saturday, July 27: at San Antonio, 8:30

AFL Postseason

Aug. 2-4: First round

Aug. 9-11: Conference championships

Aug. 17: ArenaBowl 26, 1 p.m.