Bobby Sippio has scored seven TDs in three playoff games for the Chicago Rush. Chicago and the Orlando Predators meet in ArenaBowl XX on Sunday. Photo by John Locher.

Offensive specialist Bobby Sippio didn't want to stay in Tampa Bay, and he didn't want to go to Chicago.

Yet, what choice did he have? After asking for and receiving his release in midseason from the Tampa Bay Storm, the Rush claimed him off waivers.

When Rush coach Mike Hohensee called, Sippio said, "Coach, Chicago is not where I'm trying to get to."

Soon, though, Hohensee and the organization won over Sippio, giving him all the time he needed to arrange custodial care for his son, Robert, before moving north. That impressed Sippio, who became so committed to the Rush that he signed a one-year extension through 2007.

"Right then and there, they were already telling me how first class and how supportive they were of the players," Sippio said. "When they told me that and were willing to accommodate my situation, it just made me feel important."

Without him, the Rush probably would not even be in Las Vegas this week preparing for Sunday's noon ArenaBowl against the Orlando Predators at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Chicago is 6-2 with Sippio (6 feet 3 inches, 220 pounds) in the lineup.

"He's been a great guy in the locker room," Rush quarterback Matt D'Orazio said. ''He gives us the energy and the confidence that maybe we didn't have before. Obviously, his play on the field speaks for itself."

In five regular-season games with the Rush, Sippio had 38 catches for 654 yards and 17 touchdowns. Including his play with Tampa Bay, he has 93 receptions for 1,320 yards and 35 TDs.

He's continued to produce in the playoffs, catching 23 passes for 342 yards and seven touchdowns in three games.

"Oh, most definitely I've proven a point," Sippio said. "I didn't cause any problems (in Tampa). I came to work every day. I produced. I was leading down there in everything."

Sippio said he no longer was willing to put his body on the line for Storm coach Tim Marcum.

Though Sippio said they had a terrific off-field relationship and he was one of Marcum's "favorite players," they didn't agree on how the football operations should run.

Sippio said Marcum, the AFL's all-time winningest coach who owns seven championships, was too controlling.

"I felt sorry that those guys had to go through what they went through," Sippio said. "I was just one of the fortunate ones that could go in there and asked to be released and knowing I would have somewhere else to go and play. Tim Marcum is a piece of work, and I chose not to deal with it.

"There's no organization. It's just all him. Just the way he handles it, I'd rather not be a part of it. I'd rather do what I'm doing for the Chicago Rush."

Marcum, who will go on trial Sept. 12 on a charge of defrauding an insurance company, did not respond to Sippio's complaints.

"Bobby Sippio is a great athlete who has a great future in this league," Marcum said through a Storm spokesman. "I'm terribly disappointed that his time here in Tampa did not work out, and I wish Bobby the best of luck and happiness with the rest of his career."

Whether Sippio was in the right or not, it would be easy for a player who butted heads with his coach to receive a negative reputation.

So it would not have been difficult to blame Hohensee if he had any misgivings about bringing Sippio aboard.

"He's a tremendous individual," Hohensee said. "He's very bright. He's obviously very talented. He cares a great deal about his family, and the bottom line is he's a man. If he (believes something is wrong), like men should, he should speak out. I think that's exactly what happened, at least in his mind."