Hold the champagne for Colorado Crush coach Mike Dailey, but he will take Suzy Q’s and a glass of milk.
There wasn’t any of the bubbly Sunday in Dailey’s celebration plans as the Crush clinched the Central Division and the home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs May 29.
“We’re just very happy that it worked out this way and that we get to play in front of our fans in the first round of the playoffs,” said Dailey, who added he would prefer the Hostess treat to champagne. “We’re 13-3 over a two-year period in the Pepsi Center, and one of those losses was in overtime.”
After a weekend of waiting and watching, Dailey was business as usual after Sunday’s results gave the Crush its first division title and first home playoff game.
The key was a 51-40 victory Sunday by Grand Rapids over the Chicago Rush. The Crush has a two-game lead over the Rush and finishes the regular season Saturday at New York.
“I haven’t had much conversation with other people in the organization, but we met as a coaching staff (Sunday) to begin preparations for our game in New York,” Dailey said, “but I’m sure everyone in the organization is excited.”
The Crush’s playoff picture improved through the weekend. First, there was Clay Rush’s 31-yard field goal on the last play Friday night to boost Colorado over Nashville 52-49.
Then Los Angeles beat Las Vegas 63-60 and Arizona beat San Jose 54-44. Those results clinched the Crush’s playoff spot. But it was Grand Rapids’ victory that put the filling in the Suzy Q’s.
“I didn’t know how all of this was going to work out because it has been such a strange year,” Dailey said. “The victory over Nashville allowed us to watch the rest of the games at least knowing we had the upper hand.”
The Crush’s first-round playoff opponent will be Chicago, Las Vegas or San Jose.
If the Crush wins Saturday at New York and the first-round playoff game, it would have home-field advantage for the American Conference championship game June 5. The Arena- Bowl is June 12 in Las Vegas.
It started with Rush’s kick that wasn’t perfect, but got the job done. Quarterback John Dutton, who was the holder on the field-goal try, thought it was going wide left.
“It wasn’t the greatest of kicks, and he’ll tell you that, but something pushed it back into the net,” Dutton said. “When it came off his foot, I thought, ‘We’re going to have to win in overtime.’ But for some reason, it took a right turn and went into the net.”
Kevin McKenzie, a Crush receiver/linebacker, said it was like waiting an eternity. Nashville called a timeout in hopes of freezing Rush.
“It seemed like we said 100,000 prayers,” McKenzie said. “The way that ball tipped off the pole was huge.”
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
