CULVER CITY, Calif. – It's Friday afternoon on the set of NBC's "Las Vegas." With the exception of actress Marsha Thomason, none of the show's stars are in sight. Instead, you have the show's guest stars, two Arena Football League owners, engaging in a bit of psychological warfare in the casino.

Hall of Famer John Elway, one of the owners of the Colorado Crush, sits at the bar enjoying the atmosphere. Suddenly, Jon Bon Jovi, co-owner of the Philadelphia Soul, has emerged out of nowhere from the hundreds of extras on the set and ignites the sole of Elway's Ferragamo loafer.

When Elway realizes his foot is ablaze, he calls out the rival owner's name and stomps out the flames.  

Bon Jovi and Elway are acting as themselves in the season finale of the hit drama. They have come to Las Vegas, the site of ArenaBowl XIX on June 12, to help promote the league and play a few games off the field. The Soul lost to the Dallas Desperados on Sunday, 77-56, finishing the season at 6-10.  

During an exclusive interview with Page 3, Jersey-born Bon Jovi talked about his team woes, the rise of the AFL and his inability to comply with his wife's wishes.

Let's chat about your football team. How hands-on are you?

Jon Bon Jovi: Very, very. I'm very hands-on in every aspect of it. It's a full-time job. I don't think I anticipated that going in, but there's a great passion for it, you know? Guys like John [Elway] and myself are even doing acting to help promote the league. Any kind of thing that we can think of to get it more in the consciousness of the sports fans out there. We try not to leave any stone unturned.

Did you play football as a kid?

Not after Pop Warner. I was too little, and I had other desires.

Do you root for the other Philly team?

I'm a Giants fan. I'm from Jersey, so I'm a Giants fan. It's great that the Eagles are doing so much better. It's great for the city. They really are so loyal to that team. A big difference is that Philly's a city and New Jersey, New York and Connecticut are sort of all Giant fans but we don't have a city per se and we have two teams. So you feel something different in Philly than in Jersey.

Do you get the sense that Arena Football has really caught on?

Yes, absolutely. It's grown in leaps and bounds. Every week it seems that in small increments, there's some other good news that's coming to us. Just as I arrived here two days ago, three different people in three different places all started talking to me about football. I'm not necessarily used to that. When people talk to me it's usually about movies and music. So you sense it now. A couple of years ago, I would have to say that there's this thing called "Arena Football" and people would go, "Oh. really?" They didn't even know about it.

You had to fire your coach [Michael Trigg] earlier in the season. How difficult a decision was that?

You know what was the hardest was that you ask somebody to come and start this team up with you and relocate his family. I was more concerned with how we would have to uproot his family again in midseason. But what was best for the team had to prevail and we felt it really was time for a change. So, I spoke to my partner about it and we made a very difficult decision. You can't look back.

Has the league gotten more competitive?

Yes, that's growing, too. The quality of the player has increased. There used to be the story of, "Oh, this guy Kurt Warner, he's just one guy."

There are a lot of guys. I have guys on my team that have Super Bowl rings. Two others, off the top of my head, have played in Super Bowls. So, the caliber of playing is great. I think I'm going to lose a couple of guys to the NFL next year. I anticipate that. So, these guys are playing for the pure love of the game, but they're holding on to the dream. Some are on their way up, some are on their way down. Some of them know that this is it for them -- simply because of size or speed or the right circumstances. But this certainly isn't sandlot football. You're going to be hard-pressed to walk up off the street and make one of these clubs in 2006.

What have you learned now after having had this team for a couple of years that you didn't know initially?

Well, I don't think I knew how much time I'd have to put into it. Initially, it was all on a lark that I got involved. Somebody told me that the price was a tenth of what it was. Then they told me how much fun it was going to be … I really had a comic-strip attitude on what it was going to be like being a team owner. I thought I'd have a foot-long cigar and say things like, "Come here, kid, go away! Come here, boy!" That's really what I thought the amount of work was going to be. It was really sobering when you realize that you were running a multimillion dollar business that you know nothing about. Even John, his partner owns the Broncos and his other partner owns the arena. Craig Spencer and I didn't have a pair of shoulder pads, let alone an NFL affiliation or an Arena affiliation. So, we really went into this thing from the ground up.

When did you first meet Elway, and were you ever a Broncos fan?

I was a John Elway fan. I never had any ill feelings toward the Broncos. Anyone but the Cowboys, I always give a break to. But I certainly really admire John as an athlete and I was really happy for him as a football fan to see him win those consecutive Super Bowls. There was no reason not to be an Elway fan, that's for sure. So I happen to be on my last tour and going through Denver when I was considering buying the team. So I went out to the Crush's practice facility and befriended him and used his opinions to help me make this decision.

You two are playing yourselves on the show, but the relationship is rather adversarial. I mean, you're giving him a hot foot (setting his shoe on fire) in one scene. What's the real-life relationship like?

I think that we're friendly. Whenever we see each other we'll get together and catch up. It's usually all around football. If he comes to Philly or I go to Denver, we see each other, or doing things like this. But that's as far as our relationship has gone thus far.

What's your relationship like with your players?

I think it's very good. I get on really well with my guys. We've gotten to really know each other some in the last year and a half. Bringing (quarterback) Tony Graziani in was a big deal and showed our commitment to the team and to the city. There were some opportunities for trades, and I didn't do them because I said this is us, we're a team. And you feel it out there. They're watching each other's backs. They're staying out of trouble. They're representing themselves well in the community. And it's the character of the player that you have to question because you don't know these 24 guys, you know. But they have faith in each other and in me.

So, I have to ask you this after what you just said. Do you have a problem separating your heart from your head?

No. I just relinquish that I cannot separate the two. My wife begged me to get a George Steinbrenner face while sitting in the box and show no emotion. She goes: "Damn it, you're an actor. Do the Steinbrenner face!" I can't do it. It's win or lose, and I'm out there with them spiritually. I've got to yell, scream and pace around the box. That's what makes it so much fun.

Miki Turner covers the fusion of sports and entertainment for Page 3 in L.A. She can be reached at dmiki@aol.com.