Close games abound in the second week of USFL play as several games come down to the wire. Philly and Birmingham start the year poorly, while Michigan and Memphis seem ready to roll. Major QB concerns in Washington and a testament to the ground game in the Stars-Federals battle. All this and the search for new leadership in the league office reaches a milestone.
SCORES
NJ 10 PIT 17
Alan Risher finds Raynard Brown for two scores and the Maulers force two turnovers to keep New Jersey at bay and move their record to 1-1.
PHI 27 WSH 30 OVERTIME
Craig James rumbles for 153 to help power the Federals to a home win. New Jersey had the 27-20 lead until a late Majkowski to Gunn TD tied the game up and sent it to overtime, where Ray Wersching kicked the game winner for the Feds.
JAX 23 ORL 20
Jacksonville kicks a late field goal to send Orlando to 0-2 as the combo of George Adams and Tommy Agie combine for 144 yards rushing.
CHI 19 NOR 7
The Machine stun the Breakers as John Carney kicks 4 fieldgoals and Chicago gets an Albert Bentley touchdown to outpace the stunningly silent Breaker offense. Despite 113 yards from Dalton Hilliard, the Breakers simply cannot put up points and Chicago gets their first win of the year.
HOU 17 MGN 31
Michigan moves to 2-0 with an impressive home win over the defending champs. John Williams gains 128 in the win and veteran LB John Corker cashes in on a pick-six for the Panthers as they outpace Houston 17-3 in the second half to take the win.
ARZ 28 OAK 23
A big day from Robbie Bosco, with 4 TD passes, powers the Wranglers over the homestanding Invaders. The Wrangler D also plays big, holding Oakland to 3 of 12 on 3rd down and forcing 3 turnovers.
DEN 13 LA 38
Denver struggles to find their offensive groove in LA as the Express get two scores from Christian Okoye and Steve Young throws for 3. Denver LB John Roper is the Gold’s star for the day, racking up 2 sacks on Young along with 7 tackles.
BAL 41 POR 10
Baltimore gets 2 defensive touchdowns to easily down the Portland Thunder as both LB Ben Apuna and CB Tim Smiley return errant Craig Penrose passes for scores. Penrose, subbing for the injured Kerwin Bell, is sacked 4 times, completes only 43% of his passes, and throws 14 points for the other team.
BIR 9 TEX 13
Neither team finds much offensive rhythm in the game, but Texas gets just enough to hold on for the win. The two teams combine to go 7 for 29 on third down and no back in the game earns more than Joe Cribbs’s 50 yards as defense is the name of the game in Bobcat Stadium.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Memphis Showboats 24 Tampa Bay Bandits 21
In a nip & tuck game, Memphis scores the final 10 points of the game to steal a win from the Bandits in Tampa Stadium. Both Kelley and Troy Aikman throw 2 interceptions apiece, as penalties and unforced errors keep Memphis from taking the game sooner.
The very first score of the game was a defensive touchdown, when an errant Aikman pass was picked off by James Bowers ad returned 52 yards for the score. Aikman would recover, and get some help from Gary Anderson, who sprinted for a 22-yard touchdown on the Bandits’ next possession. It was this way for the entire first half, as Memphis again went ahead on a Greg Boone scoring run, followed by a Chris Kelley TD catch for Tampa. In the 4th, Tampa would again take the lead as Aikman found HB Lars Tate for a score, but Boone would once again frustrate his former team, diving in from the 1 on the first Memphis possession of the final quarter. Tampa would try to take the lead again on a questionable attempt for a 51-yard field goal late in the game. When Benny Ricardo’s kick fell short, Memphis had the ball with time and strong field position. They would drive to the Tampa 7 yard line before settling on a chipshot from Ali Haji-Sheikh to take the lead and the win.
The good news for Tampa is that Aikman recovered from his early pick and played well for the rest of the game, a good sign in a young quarterback. Fellow rookie Keith DeLong also played well for a second straight week, garnering 7 tackles and a sack on Mike Kelley. For Memphis it was the combo of Greg Boone (89 yards rushing and 2 scores) and Buford Jordan (10 carries for 45 yards) that helped propel the Showboats to victory. Memphis moves to 2-0 and an early lead in the division, while Tampa settles in at 1-1 and preps for interdivisional play next week.
PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK
We are going to give a rare double POTW to the opposing backs in the Stars-Federals game. The USFL has made a name for itself with its more open, vertical passing and strong QB play, but let’s not forget how important running the ball is in this game. This is apparently especially true for teams in the Atlantic Division as all 5 of the top 5 rushing leaders in the league after 2 weeks are from the Atlantic: Walker (NJ), Bryant (PHI), Spencer (BLT), James (WSH), and Rozier (PIT) have all shown up big in the early going of the season, when weather is often foul and late winter winds make passing the ball in the Atlantic Northeast a bit of a challenge. In this game, James won the game MVP by rushing for 153 yards on 24 carries and scoring a key Federals TD, but let’s not forget that Kelvin Bryant also had a very strong day, rushing for 145 on 28 carries with 2 scores of his own. While the Atlantic has some strong QB’s in Risher, Fusina, Majkowski, Flutie and Evans, it seems clear that it is a division where smashmouth, in your face, ground attacks are still a big part of the USFL game.
NEWS & NOTES
News from the USFL League Headquarters in New York as the league announced the 5 finalists to replace Chet Simmons as Commissioner of the league. Not surprisingly the top candidates all come from outside of the league, as there were concerns about moving a current owner into a leaguewide position. The candidates include an interesting mix of those with prior sports management experience, television sports programming experience, or on the field experience. The league is expected to name one of these five men to be the next Commissioner within the next few weeks, with the transition to begin at the Spring Owners’ Meeting in May and final transition to be completed by August. Here are your candidates:
Wayne Duke
The former commissioner of both the Big 8 and later the Big 10 would bring a lot of experience dealing with both football matters and larger business concerns. Duke may help smooth over some of the concerns the NCAA and its member schools have had about the timing of the USFL Draft (between the college regular season and bowl season) and the selection of underclassmen. His experience negotiating television contracts for the two college conferences will also be useful to the league as they hope to expand their media platforms.
Jack Kemp
The former Buffalo Bill quarterback and longtime Republican representative from the state of New York is an intriguing choice. As a former player he certainly would be seen as a “player’s commissioner” and would likely push for better relations between the USFL and the USFLPA. As a fiscal conservative, something he is well-known for in Congress, he may seek to reinstate a stricter salary cap, revenue sharing, and overall financial model, and as a highly regarded NFL contact, he could help align the USFL’s and NFL’s interests to avoid what many see as an ongoing cold war. The only concern here is that Kemp has established himself deeply into the political machinations of Washington and may soon be tabbed by President Bush for a position within the President’s cabinet.
Gary Davidson
The founder of both the ABA and WHA, and once commissioner of the failed World Football League, Mr. Davidson certainly knows a thing or two about start-up sports leagues, but at this point in the USFL’s history, when it has outlasted all of Davidson’s prior endeavors and appears to be solidly on its way to a financial and practical success that none of those former leagues ever achieved, the selection of Davidson would seem an odd choice. One wonders if this selection is to appease those who are still upset about the league’s rejection of a move to the Fall and an attempt to merge some franchises with the NFL. Davidson has successfully led to mergers between his fledgling ABA with the NBA and the WHA with the NHL. If he were selected it may well signal an intent to do the same between the USFL and NFL.
Willie Davis
The former Packer great would be the first African-American Commissioner of any major sports league, and would bring an interesting combination of on-field expertise, labor expertise, and business acumen to the table. The former Defensive End is well-regarded in NFL circles, and has proven an effective businessman since his retirement from football. While still a player, Davis obtained his MBA from the prestigious University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Davis also has ties to the world of television, having worked as a color commentator for NBC in the 1970’s.
Roone Arledge
Currently the President of the ABC News Division, Arledge made his name as head of ABC Sports, where he developed ABC’s college football programming, modernizing the coverage of the college game, then created the highly successful “Wide World of Sports”, and the now-iconic concept of Monday Night Football. Certainly, an Arledge selection would indicate that the USFL sees television as its future, and, with strong ties already between ABC/ESPN and the USFL, this could consolidate a long-term relationship between the league, a major network, and the rising role of cable broadcasting within the television market.
Others who had been early contenders, but who did not make the final cut for the league, include ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen, Neal Pilson (former head of CBS Sports), and Larry O’Brien (former commissioner of the NBA). The vote on these five candidates is expected to be conducted within the month.
INJURY REPORT
There are several significant injuries on this week’s report, including possible season-ending concerns for Washington DE Dexter Manley (back), New Orleans wideout Herman Fontenot (wrist) and Chicago center Doug Gamboa (neck), but no situation seems to have set a dark cloud over a franchise more than the concerns over Neil Lomax in Washington. After suffering what appeared to be a relatively mild hip injury last season, it was expected that Lomax would be back in playing shape and fit to go well before the start of camp this winter. Not only has that not happened, but Lomax has been unable to clear a physical to date and has missed the first weeks of the regular season. Doctors are becoming increasingly concerned that they may be dealing with a degenerative condition which could keep Lomax from returning to the game and could lead to a hip replacement in the future. Lomax is still listed on the Federals roster, but he is expected to go in for further testing this week and the results of those tests could determine if the former NFL quarterback and 2 year starter for the Federals can return to action this year, or may be forced into retirement.
With that situation still in our minds, let’s look at other players who may be out of action for several weeks due to injuries in the early part of the season. New Jersey safety Gary Barbaro could miss as much as a month with a back injury, while New Orleans DE Daryl Wilkerson is looking at a minimum of 2 weeks out with a fractured jaw. Tampa’s dynamic wideout Eric Truvillion is expected to miss this week’s game with a knee strain, while Houston’s Clarence Verdin is listed as “doubtful” with a slight fracture in his right arm.
Jacksonville played without Gary Clark this week, after the veteran wideout suffered a strained quad in practice, and may miss another week before coming back. Arizona listed Louis LIpps as questionable for next week after he went out with a back contusion in this week’s game. Kerwin Bell may also miss a second week, as will LA CB Ron Pitts. Expected back after a week out are Chicago HB Jamie Morris, Phlly tackle Will Wolford, and Arizona DT Eddie Weaver.
LOOKING AHEAD
It’s South @ Atlantic and Pacific @ Central in inter-divisional play for Week 3. Two teams no one expected to be 0-2 face off in Philly as the Stars host the Stallions. Baltimore hosts the 0-2 Renegades,New Jersey tangles with Tampa Bay, Jacksonville visits Pittsburgh, and the Showboats are at RFK to face the Feds. Oakland will be in Chicago, 0-2 Portland is in Houston, Denver visits New Orleans, Texas hosts the LA Express, and in a battle of 2-0 squads Arizona faces off against Michigan in the Silver Dome.
Like Duke as well
Wayne Duke is my vote with Jack Kemp a close second.