NEW YORK – The Arena Football League and Spalding will honor all mothers this weekend with a ceremonial pink game ball. AFL games begin tomorrow and culminate with Russell Athletic ESPN Arena Football Monday when the Dallas Desperados (9-1) host the Chicago Rush (8-1) on ESPN2 and ESPN360.com at 8:30 p.m. ET on Monday, May 14.

Spalding’s innovative design for AFL game balls will be altered slightly. The light brown Horween leather ball usually features a blue ‘S’ stripe. This weekend, AFL teams will use a ball that features a pink ‘S’ stripe, pink laces and pink crosshairs. The commemorative balls will be used for either the first and second half kickoffs or during a special coin toss presentation.

Each participating team will present pink balls to unsuspecting mothers in attendance while also auctioning off autographed balls on http://www.arenafootball.com/. Non-autographed game balls and micro footballs will also be on sale online. A percentage of proceeds from the auctions and sales will benefit The V Foundation for Cancer Research.