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SCORES JAX 23 PHI 20 In a game they had to win, Philly stumbles, unable to contain Gary Clark. MEM 30 WSH 35 James & Walters shine as Washington edges into playoff position. TBY 17 BIR 31 Birmingham makes a statement as they prepare for the playoffs. ARZ 34 CHI 16 Down to their 3rd QB, Chicago is unable to keep pace vs. the Wranglers. OAK 10 PIT 34 The Maulers still have a thin hope for the playoffs after this win. BYES: Boston, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Denver GAME OF THE WEEK Houston Gamblers 29 Michigan Panthers 35 The Gamblers came into the game desperate, their playoff hopes in the balance. For Michigan it was a tune up game as they had already locked up the #1 seed. But, as so often happens, pride and talent outperform desperation. In a close game with quite a few twists, the Panthers again found a way to win, thus knocking Houston out of contention. In a battle of gunslinging quarterbacks, Jim Kelly outgained but did not outscore Bobby Hebert. Kelly went 30 of 45 for 39 yards and found 3 different receivers for scores. Hebert countered this, throwing for 276 yards and 4 scores to 4 different receivers. The combination of John Williams and Ken Lacy added another 89 yards of offense on the ground to power Michigan to the win. In a game with few miscues, Houston had two big ones that turned the final tide. The first was a missed Toni Fritsch 47 yard FG as time ran out in the 2nd quarter, the second was a brutally-timed holding call on what would have been a Kelly to Verdin 38 yard TD pass in the 4th quarter. The 10 yard penalty not only wiped out the score, but also pushed the Gamblers out of field goal range. With the win, Michigan moves to 14-1 and will almost certainly rest some key starters in week 17. Houston drops to 6-9, and with tie breaker issues vs. both Pittsburgh and Arizona, they are eliminated from playoff contention and will play for pride in Week 17. NEWS & NOTES As expected, the USFL this week announced that both the LA Express and Oakland Invaders had found additional investors to join their ownership groups. Both California teams have had difficulty with poor attendance, though at least LA has had a solid product on the field. In Los Angeles, current lead owner, Alan Hanson, introduced Frederick Woodruff “Ted” Field as a new majority owner. Hanson will stay on as team president, but Mr. Field will be the principal financial power behind the franchise. Mr. Field, who came into a sizeable inheritance, is most noted as the founder of Interscope Communications (the film production company which had a huge hit this year with “Revenge of the Nerds”). With Steve Young as the face of the franchise, Mr. Field spoke primarily about building a brand in the LA market. With 2 more years on their lease with Angel Stadium, it will be his task to try to develop what has been a somewhat unenthusiastic LA fanbase for the Express, who find themselves competing with the Dodgers, Angels, Lakers, Clippers, and Kings for Spring sports fans. In Oakland, the problem may be deeper. There is some talent on the Invaders squad, but the frugal ways of current ownership, including lead owner Ted Taube, means that there are few “big name” players on the squad. Oakland-Alameda Stadium is also not an ideal venue. The new investor, Mr. William Millard, comes from a technology background, as owner of a computer development company as well as the lead computer retail chain, ComputerLand. Mr. Millard will take on day-to-day operations, so we may expect to see the Invaders make changes to the front office, which is not surprising after 2 initial sub-par seasons. Mr. Millard, a Bay Area resident, has committed to keeping the Invaders in Oakland, and hinted that he is already looking at making a splash with some offseason signings to bolster the Invaders’ roster. INJURIES There were several injuries this week which may impact playoff-bound teams. Birmingham will have to shuffle their offensive line after losing center Michal Morgan to a back injury which will end his season. Washington, who are looking for one more win to make the post-season, will need to go with Mike Hohensee at QB after their breakout star Reggie Collier dislocated his shoulder. If the Federals do make the show, it is hoped that Collier will return for the first round of playoffs in 2 weeks. Denver will make some adjustments to their game plan as well this week to cover for the loss of TE Bob Niziolek, expected to miss 2 weeks or more with a hamstring injury. PLAYOFF SCENARIOS One week left and so much to play for. Only 5 of 16 teams have been eliminated, though there are several who need help to get into the show. Here is what it looks like going into week 17. IN THE PLAYOFFS Tampa Bay: Has locked up the Division and #1 seed in the East Birmingham: Has locked up #3 seed in East Michigan: Has locked up the Division and the #1 seed in the West. Denver: Guaranteed a playoff spot. Win or LA loss and they win the Pacific Crown for a second year. LA: Guaranteed a playoff spot. Win + DEN loss and they win the Pacific Division. STILL ON THE BUBBLE Philadelphia: Win and they are the #2 seed and Atlantic Champ. Boston: Win and in as #4 seed. Win + PHI loss and Boston is Atlantic Champ and #2 seed. Washington: Win + either PHI or BOS loss and they are in. Both lose = Division title. New Jersey: Win + loses by WSH and BOS and they snag a playoff spot. Arizona: Win and they wrap up a wildcard slot, regardless of other scores. Pittsburgh: Beat Chicago + ARZ Loss and they can snag the final wildcard spot. ELIMINATED Jacksonville, Memphis, Houston, Chicago, Oakland. LOOKING AHEAD With playoff spots on the line, there are several inter-divisional games to watch along with a key game in the Pacific. Birmingham will likely rest some starters, which is good news for Boston, who needs the win to possibly take the Atlantic title. Their key rival, Philadelphia also will face a weakened roster in Tampa Bay, so it is possible both will win, giving Philly the title and Boston the Wild Card. Washington is hoping that won’t happen as they face off against the Bulls. Denver will travel to Houston looking to win the division by beating the Gamblers. Out West, both Arizona and Los Angeles will be doing their best to win, as both need to do so, LA for a possible division title, and Arizona to lock up the last playoff spot in the conference. By this time next week we will know who is in and who fell short.

Birmingham is in, Memphis and Jacksonville are out, and everything else up for grabs after a surprising Week 15. The Atlantic could go to pretty much any of its 4 teams, while out west it looks like we have to wait until Week 17 to determine who wins the Pacific, LA or Denver. SCORES NJ 27 PHI 20 Bryant outduels Walker, but the Generals get the last laugh. TBY 28 JAX 21 Doug Williams 3 TD day keeps Bulls in the game, but cannot get the W. BOS 27 MEM 17 Memphis comeback from 24-0 falls short in 4th quarter. CHI 3 PIT 31 Without Evans or Kiel, the Blitz cannot mount an offense in Pittsburgh. MGN 28 ARZ 9 Hebert preps for playoffs while Greg Landry looks very rusty. OAK 20 DEN 34 Strong game from Penrose propels the Gold to 1st in Pacific Division. HOU 30 LA 10 Gamblers playoff hopes remain alive with big win in LA. GAME OF THE WEEK Birmingham Stallions 27 Washington Federals 20 In a game that both coaches claimed were “must wins” only one could emerge victorious, and that team was Birmingham. It was a well-matched game, as the two teams traded the lead for 3 quarters before the Stallions took control on a turnover-aided drive. The Federals looked good coming out of the gate, as they scored on a Collier to Walters fade route at the end of a 7-play opening drive. Memphis responded on their first drive, a 6-play trek aided by a defensive pass interference call, but ended with a perfectly executed sweep left that had Joe Cribbs run 27 yards for the score. The 1st quarter ended with a Nick Mike-Myer field goal to put Washington up 10-7. In the second quarter the two teams would trade TDs (Cribbs’ second and a 5 yard rumble by Craig James). Birmingham opened the 3rd quarter with a short field goal to even the score at 17. The Federals began the next drive backed up due to a holding call on the kickoff, and on their 2nd play, a botched handoff between Collier and James was recovered by the Stallions at the Federals’ 13 yard line. It took only 2 plays for the Stallions to score as Stoudt hit WR Jim Smith with a 9 yard out pattern, followed by a bruising TD run from backup HB Earl Gant. Birmingham would take the lead, and they would not relinquish it for the remainder of the game. Washington could only muster a late field goal to draw within 7 but were unable to complete an onside kick and Birmingham came out of the game not only with a much-needed win, but with a playoff berth as well. For Washington, there is some consolation in that New Jersey edged a Chuck-Fusina-less Stars team to keep Washington in the hunt for the Atlantic Division. With that division and a wild card berth still in the mix, the Federals still have a chance to punch a ticket to the postseason over the final 2 weeks of the year. NEWS & NOTES It seems appropriate at this time to talk about two things which seem to make the USFL stand out, offense and close games. We have briefly touched on how the tendency of USFL teams to invest in skills players rather than trying to poach NFL linemen has led to high scoring games, but I think we have to acknowledge that the combo of offensive fireworks has not led to a plethora of blowouts. Sure, there are the odd cases here and there but the USFL week in and week out has produced some great back-and-forth games, with final minute heroics. This is good football, with apologies to the defensive purists out there. It looks like we may well have at least 6 QB’s with over 4,000 yards passing (Williams, Reaves, Walton, Hebert and Kelly), 9 likely 1,000 yard rushers, and we could also very well have 2 different receivers score 20+ TD’s this year (Truvillion and Holloway), all impressive numbers. But what is more impressive is that, with the possible exception of the Michigan Panthers on one end and the Oakland Invaders on the other, there is an “any given Sunday” feel to the USFL. Some of this is due to key injuries on the top teams in the league, but it is also do to a strong player allocation system, the innovative salary cap & exemption system, and good coaching throughout the league. All in all the league owners and executives have a lot to be proud of when it comes to the product on the field this season. INJURIES Oakland continues to be the poster child for bad injuries, as they lose two more key players this week, DT Monte Bennett is done for the year with a torn quad muscle, while DE Samuel Baker broke his foot and will almost certainly miss the final 2 games of the season. Tampa also lost a key defensive player as CB Warren Hannah had a gruesome leg break and will need several months to rehab. In Houston, the Gamblers will have to get by as they make a playoff push without speedy Ricky Sanders, who injured his knee and will miss at least 2-3 weeks. And as Philly tries to win out and snag the Atlantic title, they will be challenged on offense. Just as Chuck Fusina is expected to return to action, the Stars lose LT Irv Eatman to a hamstring strain and star RB Kelvin Bryant may miss the next game with some swelling in his left knee. PLAYOFF PICTURE Birmingham punched their ticket with a big win over Washington this week, but other than that it is very murky. We know Michigan and Tampa are both in, easily winning their divisions, but the other two divisions are still to be won. In the Atlantic, Philly has a ½ game lead over Boston, with both Washington and New Jersey still in the mix. Out west it looks like a final battle between LA and Denver. Both have a good chance of making the playoffs with 2 more wins each than the next wildcard contenders (Houston and Arizona at 6-8). Our predictions with 2 weeks left: We still like Philly for the Atlantic Title, with Boston snagging the final Eastern wild card. Out West we see LA coming on to win the division, with Denver and Houston snagging the two wild cards. But please don’t hold us to this. If anything, we have proven that this year anything can happen. LOOKING AHEAD The final (and ridiculously late) byes happen in Week 16, with 4 teams (BOS, NJ, DEN, LA) getting their long-awaited week of rest. Almost seems unfair, particularly with the playoff drive in full swing. Of the games to be played, there are few without some playoff impact. Philly hopes for a win as they visit the eliminated Jacksonville Bulls. Washington, facing Memphis at home, can eliminate the Showboats and help themselves catch up in the Atlantic. Arizona takes on the Blitz in a must win for both, while Houston has to hope for a resting Michigan if they want to get the W and stay in the wild card hunt. The final two games have no playoff implications. Tampa plays Birmingham in a grudge match, but both will likely play very vanilla so as not to tip off playoff plans. Finally, Oakland rolls into Pittsburgh, whose slim mathematical hopes for a playoff spot are not very realistic, so we consider this a pride game.

Tampa Bay locks up their division while Philadelphia completes a stunning comeback to sweep the Stallions. Boston rolls over Arizona and Oakland gets back in the win column with a squeaker over the Federals. Sipe returns to action, and 2 more QB's get knocked out as the rough and tumble USFL heads down the home stretch. SCORES JAX 28 NJ 31 Sipe returns and leads the Generals to a last minute score for the W. MEM 13 TBY 45 Memphis has no answers for John Reaves and the red-hot Bandits. LA 27 CHI 20 Rookie Kevin Mack scores the decisive TD to give LA the win in Chicago. MGN 34 HOU 27 Houston loses their 5th in a row despite Kelly’s return to action. DEN 11 PIT 9 A defensive slugfest in which Denver wins on 3 FG and a safety. WSH 21 OAK 24 Oakland contains Craig James and snaps their losing streak at home. BOS 43 ARZ 27 Crump & Jordan combine for 150 yards rushing to trample Arizona. GAME OF THE WEEK Birmingham Stallions 24 Philadelphia Stars 25 Philadelphia gets a taste of revenge as they surprise the Stallions by starting rookie QB Jeff Hostetler. In a stunning comeback victory, Philadelphia erased a 24-3 deficit as former West Virginia Mountaineer Jeff Hostetler survived a rocky first half and came out guns blazing in the second half. Birmingham had built up a solid lead on 3 Cliff Stoudt TD passes and at the half seemed to have the game well in hand. Philadelphia, having lost their leader, Chuck Fusina, in last week’s game, seemed to be spiraling as the rookie QB had a rough first half, completing only 36% of his pass attempts. But, in the second half the Stars found their rhythm. Kelvin Bryant broke out some big runs and Hostetler started to find open receivers. At the same time the Stars defense came out as if possessed. They sacked Stoudt twice in the 3rd quarter and got a vital interception in the 4th to preserve provide Hostetler with a short field. The young signal caller found Tom Donovan for a sore, and then, at 5:02 in the 4th, hit Willie Collier with the go ahead score. The Stars missed out on two attempts to get the 2-point PAT, but the Collier TD gave them a 25-24 lead, which they would hold for the remainder of the game. Philadelphia fans were certainly glad that the management had invested in the rookie QB, despite Chuck Fusina not having missed a game in his first 26. You never know when your leader will succumb to injury, and having Hostetler on the bench proved to be pivotal as the Stars swept the Stallions in the bizarre back-to-back matchup, sending Philadelphia to the top of the Atlantic, while all but guaranteeing the Stallions will once again miss out on a division title with a late season losing streak. NEWS & NOTES The playoff picture is beginning to shape up (see below) and there is a good chance that with the expanded playoff format of 8 teams, 4 for each conference, a team with an 8-8 or even a losing record may make the playoffs. Only Oakland is mathematically eliminated from contention in a league where many of the 16 squads are hovering only 1 game away from the 500 mark. Parity or Parody one must ask. INJURIES Two more quarterbacks fell victim to the injury bug this week, leading both fans and USFL officials to wonder if their “star-focused” economic model puts their stars at risk by not signing higher level linemen to protect them. Chicago looks like they will finish the year without Blair Kiel, who suffered a back injury vs. LA. This certainly complicates any attempt to snag a wild card. The same is true in Memphis, where Walter Lewis suffered what looks to be a hip pointer and may miss next week’s game. Memphis as well is in the hunt for a wild card, but recent losses put that in question. PLAYOFF PICTURE Three weeks left and a lot still to be decided. Here is where we stand at present. EAST: 1)Tampa Bay (Division Clinched), 2) Philadelphia, 3) Birmingham, 4) Boston. Outside looking in: 5) Washington, 6) New Jersey, 7) Memphis, and 8) Jacksonville. Washington is only ½ game behind Boston, who have their very late bye in Week 16. The Federals could catch them and currently hold the tiebreaker in a better division record. In the West we see the following: 1) Michigan (Division & #1 Seed clinched), 2) Los Angeles, 3) Denver, 4) Arizona. Outside looking in: 5) Chicago, 6) Houston, and 7) Pittsburgh. The final wildcard slot could come down to the Wranglers-Blitz matchup in week 16. Arizona won the first matchup and a sweep would all but lock it up for them. LOOKING AHEAD Week 15 has the capacity to shed some light on the wild card picture as well as the Pacific Division title. LA hosts Houston while Denver hosts Oakland. An LA win plus Denver loss would give the division to the Express. Arizona has a tough game, hosting Michigan, if they wish to keep pace. Chicago and Boston both have matchups against teams hurting, Pittsburgh and Memphis respectively, while New Jersey can try to get back in it by stealing a win at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Birmingham will try to rebound this week, but the Washington Federals have been tough at home. Tampa can remove Jacksonville from any wild card hope with a win at the Gator Bowl.

SCORES BOS 17 WSH 27 Craig James (25-146, 3 TDs) has his best game of the year vs. the Breakers TBY 44 MEM 7 Reaves to Truvillion for 3 scores is more than enough to down Memphis. DEN 14 CHI 33 Penrose struggles as Chicago’s C. Murphy pounds out a win. OAK 7 ARZ 22 Wranglers hold Oakland under 200 total yards as Greg Landry returns. PIT 16 LA 34 Young, Boddie & Townsell lay waste to the Mauler defense. NJ 48 HOU 23 Sipe returns with 4 TD day, as Garcia cannot lead the Gamblers. Byes: Michigan & Jacksonville GAME OF THE WEEK Philadelphia Stars 17 Birmingham Stallions 14 If you never believed in momentum before, this game would prove it. Birmingham builds up a 14-0 lead by 10:29 in the 3rd, only to have a costly fumble turn the tide as Philadelphia takes over and scores 17 unanswered to stun the crowd of 58,500 in Legion Field. What made this turnaround all the more surprising was that early in the game, Philadelphia’s unquestioned leader, Chuck Fusina, was knocked out of the game with what appears to be a significant knee injury. Rarely used backup Wyatt Walker was pushed into action, and while he relied heavily on the running of Kelvin Bryant, he made enough plays to provide Philly with three scoring drives in the final quarter and a half, enough to knock off the Stallions. After a Byrant TD run opened the scoring for Philly, Walker led a 78 yard, 9 minute drive to open the 4th quarter, and found TE Steve Folsom for the tying score with 5:33 to go. When Birmingham went 3 and out on their next drive, Walker again led the Stars into scoring range, providing reliable kicker David Trout the chance to give the Stars their first lead of the day. He connected on a 29 yard field goal and the Stars held off a late Birmingham charge to take the victory. The win gave Philadelphia sole possession of first place in the contentious Atlantic Division, while another loss pushed Birmingham 2 games below Tampa. The late season fade for the Stallions parallels what happened last year, and cannot make Stallion fans feel comfortable, even with a significant lead in the Wild Card chase. NEWS & NOTES If the 1984 season is proving anything it is that teams need to invest in backup quarterbacks. We have seen most of the top names in the league miss action, including Vince Evans (CHI), Bob Gagliano (DEN), Greg Landry (ARZ), Brian Sipe (NJ), and in recent weeks Bobby Hebert (MGN), Jim Kelly (HOU) and now Chuck Fusina (PHI), who is expected to miss at least 1 more week with a knee injury. In nearly every case, teams have struggled to produce without their star signal caller. Arizona was perhaps in the best position, already in the process of grooming former UCLA star Rick Neuheisel for the starting role, while teams like Houston and Denver seem to have no answer at QB without their starter. As we near the playoffs, healthy starting QB play seems to be a key factor in who will be able to make a push and a playoff run and who may fall to the wayside. We saw this last season when the loss of Bobby Hebert led to an early exit from the playoffs for the Panthers. It appears that the same fate could befall several teams if they are unable to get their starters back sooner rather than later. INJURIES In addition to the loss of Philadelphia’s field general, Chuck Fusina for at least the next week or two, this week we saw several other players felled by injuries. This includes Houston LB Kiki DeAyala, expected to be out 1-2 weeks with a shoulder injury, Oakland wideout Gordon Banks, and LA center Gerald Bradley. Those potentially returning to play next week include Philadelphia ALL-USFL safety Scott Woerner, Houston FS Donald Dykes, Birmingham DE Ronnie Paggett, and, the Gamblers hope, QB Jim Kelly. PLAYOFF SCENARIOS With 4 weeks of play left, there is little that is certain. We can report that with a 5 game lead, the Michigan Panthers have clinched the Central Division despite a loss last week and a bye this week. And while Tampa Bay has not yet clinched the division, they are guaranteed a playoff spot with their 10 wins in place. On the other side of the spectrum, Oakland is officially eliminated from contention, which shocks no one as they have only 2 wins on the season and have lost their last 7. LA holds a tenuous ½ game lead over Arizona, and 1 game over Denver in what looks like a nip & tuck battle for the division. Philadelphia now is 1 game up on Washington and 1.5 games up over Boston. LOOKING AHEAD No byes in Week 14 as all 16 teams will battle this week. The big matchup this week will be a rematch of the Philadelphia-Birmingham game (This year’s schedule really is poorly designed), but there are several games which have the potential of putting some distance between some of the Wild Card contenders, including Denver @ Pittsburgh, Boston @ Arizona, and LA @ Chicago. Houston hopes to have Jim Kelly back as they face the division winners, Michigan. Tampa will try to lock up the division with a win at home vs. Memphis and a Stallions loss to Philly.

Injuries at the QB position highlight a wild week. Hebert's exit in Michigan costs the Panthers an undefeated season, while Kelly goes down in Arizona. Even after the week's action, news of a practice field injury to Bob Gagliano in Denver adds even more pain to a rough week for USFL field marshals. SCORES NJ 14 BOS 17 Boston overcomes 4 turnovers to win at home against New Jersey. WSH 21 PHI 27 The Stars take over the Atlantic lead behind 160 yards from Kelvin Bryant. BIR 21 MEM 16 Cribbs’ big day (163 yards) powers Birmingham to a win. JAX 23 TBY 44 A 4 TD day from Reaves overwhelms the Bulls in Florida rivalry game. MGN 17 CHI 20 Without Hebert the Panthers struggle and lose their first in Chicago. PIT 6 DEN 27 Syndey & Stamper combine for 220 yards and run over the Maulers. LA 24 OAK 16 Late Young to Townsell connection sends Invaders to 6th straight defeat. BYES: None GAME OF THE WEEK: Houston Gamblers 20 Arizona Wranglers 21 It was a tale of two backups in Tempe, as the Wranglers knocked Jim Kelly out of the game and found just enough behind third stringer Tim Koegel to knock off the reeling Gamblers. The game started out much as many expected, with Kelly leading an opening drive that ended with a TD. On their second possession, the Gamblers again marched down the field, this time settling for a Toni Fritsch FG. Tim Koegel rebounded for the Wranglers, hitting Trumaine Johnson on a 18 TD pass to bring the game back to within 3. Houston would go up 13-7 before Kelly was knocked out, but after a sack by Arizona’s Kit Lathrop, Kelly hobbled over to the sideline with an apparent ankle injury. That changed the game. On their next possession, Arizona again found space in the Houston secondary and Koegel hit rookie sensation Louis LIpps for a 9 yard score to take the lead 14-13. Houston backup Danny Hale was unable to play due to a hip injury during practice, so it was the third QB, Sam Garcia, an undrafted free agent out of Southern Miss, who would have to lead the Gamblers. Jack Pardee and Mouse Davis ran a simiplified offense for the rest of the game, and Garcia did find Gerald McNeil for a score to put Houston up 20-14 late in the second quarter, but for most of the game the Run & Shoot was grounded and Houston had difficulty moving the ball. Arizona too found it difficult to gain much traction as Tim Koegel was only able to complete 54% of his passes, and RB Tim Spencer only averaged 2.1 yards against the Gamblers defense. The gamebreaking score came off of a fluke play, as Sam Garcia, trying to hit Ricky Sanders on a slant route, threw the ball behind Sanders. The young wideout reached for the ball, but was only able to tip it skywards, where it was snagged by Wrangler’s CB Frank Minnifield. Minnifield weaved his way past an initial rush of Gamblers players and then sped into the endzone to tie the game. Frank Corral’s PAT put the Wranglers up for good as neither team would move into the opposition’s redzone for the rest of the game. The win moves Arizona to 5-6 and now in contention with LA and Denver for the Pacific Division title. Houston, now also at 5-6 is part of the logjam of 5-win teams trying to secure a possible wild card spot in the Western Conference. Fortunately for the Gamblers, X-rays reveal that Kelly’s injury is not a fracture, and he may miss a week at most. For Arizona, hopes rest on the potential return of veteran QB Greg Landry next week. NEWS & NOTES: Can we talk about the resurgence of the Denver Gold for a minute? They were written off as dead when they hit 0-4, but their defense has gelled, their young signal caller Bob Gagliano has started to catch fire, and the return of Harry Sydney from injury has awakened the Gold’s offense. The team has won 6 of 8 and is right back in the thick of the Pacific Division title chase as well as the conference Wild Card pool. Gagliano cracked the Top 5 in QBR this week and his 3,174 passing yards, on a team without big name receivers, is proving that Denver made the right choice to replace Ken Johnson. They have three very winnable games against Chicago, Pittsburgh and Oakland before their very late Week 16 bye. This is a team that could easily finish at 9-7 or 10-6 and take the division despite having the lowest salary budget in the league. **LATE NEWS**-- Bob Gagliano sustained an injury in practice and may miss several weeks. See below for details. INJURIES: A lot of dings and sprains on the injury list this week. In addition to Bobby Hebert’s neck strain and Jim Kelly’s ankle tweak, others who will likely miss a week or two include Oakland WR Gordon Banks and LA’s Anthony Allen, Houston safety Donald Dykes, and Michigan DE Ronnie Paggett. In late week news, Denver may be in trouble as QB Bob Gagliano appears to have dislocated his knee during 7 on 7 drills and may miss up to a month. That is huge. It was a non-contact injury as Gagliano executed a called rollout his knee simply seemed to give way when his left foot caught in the practice field turf. More details to come next week. LOOKING AHEAD: Craig Penrose will have to lead the Gold into their game vs. a resurgent Chicago Blitz squad at Soldier Field this week. Houston and New Jersey will also likely suit up backups at QB as they face each other this week. Arizona hosts Oakland and hopes Greg Landry will return. Meanwhile, the Stars must head to Birmingham to face the Stallions, and there is a key matchup in the Atlantic as Boston will play at RFK against the Federals. Jacksonville and Michigan have a bye this week, with the Panthers hoping that Bobby Hebert can return to action in two weeks to lead the Panthers down the home stretch.

Sports Illustrated, May 15, 1984 It has been the top issue for the USFL all season, whether to continue to push to make football a year-round sport by maintaining a spring schedule or make the move to the fall and compete head to head with the NFL. Both sides of the debate have their advocates and their skeptics, so just what are the arguments in favor and opposed to a fall schedule? We will try to lay them out, and then give you, and the USFL, our recommendation. IN FAVOR OF A FALL SCHEDULE Football is a fall sport. The ethos of the sport aligns with the fall and fans expect football in the fall. This argument seeks to make cultural argument that spring is the home to other sports and that the USFL would garner greater fan attention if it aligned with NCAA and NFL football seasons. There is a great deal of competition in the spring for viewer and attendee attention, including, but not limited to the start of Major League Baseball, the NBA and NHL playoffs, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and one-off events such as the Kentucky Derby and Indianapolis 500. Add to this the spring fever and start of summer and it is hard, particularly in warmer climates to entice fans to either attend games or stay home and view them on television. The first two seasons of the USFL have shown very uneven attendance, particularly in the initial weeks of the season when snow, cold, or rain have impacted many games. Playing in the fall, the inclement weather arrives during the playoff run and postseason, when fans are most invested in their teams. Having inclement weather during the first few weeks of the season depress attendance for the entire season as fans do not build a connection to the teams in the early season. Potential merger with the NFL. None of the owners will reference this on the record, but off the record there does seem to be an undercurrent of belief that a fall schedule will push the NFL to consider a merger, as it did with the American Football League back in the 1960’s. IN FAVOR OF RETAINING A SPRING SCHEDULE The success of franchises in markets as diverse as New Jersey, Detroit, Denver, Tampa and Birmingham, along with strong attendance in expansion markets Houston, Jacksonville, Memphis and even Pittsburgh proves that a spring calendar can attract fans. Pair this with strong television ratings even when competing with other spring sports, shows that there is an appetite for football even in a part of the year traditionally viewed as belonging to baseball. The financial issues seen in the league appear to have more to do with some teams overspending and other teams having attendance issues, rather than a lack of sponsorship or potential for television revenue. With sponsorship deals already in the works, and more on the horizon, a move to direct competition with the NFL would likely create significant disruption with sponsors and partners. Stadium availability in the fall will be a larger issue than in the spring. NFL owned stadiums are not going to be open to a second team using the facilities even if games are scheduled around the NFL. Likewise, college stadiums will also be largely unavailable. Currently the USFL has been able to arrange to use a combination of NFL and NCAA stadiums because they are largely vacant during the spring. The early timeframe for the season has also meant an earlier draft process for the USFL, an advantage which the USFL has been able to use to sign significant talent before the NFL holds its draft. Were the USFL to move to fall, the prospect of signing talent such as Steve Young, Mike Rozier or Gary Clark become more daunting. While there are certainly both logistical and financial concerns within the USFL, these are unlikely to be improved with a fall schedule. In fact, several franchises, including strong performers such as Michigan, Tampa Bay, Houston, and Philadelphia, would likely seek relocation in order to avoid direct competition with NFL franchises in those cities. If these franchises believe it will be difficult to compete, how will weaker franchises in Chicago, Boston, Washington or LA fare? Were we to see a mass exodus from these larger markets to smaller ones, what would be the impact on sponsorship or television revenue? Looking at the big picture, while a move to the fall may benefit a few markets, and create potential for NFL merger for those markets, the larger vision of the USFL as an independent top tier league would almost certainly be damaged. The potential for mass relocation away from large markets would be a financial death knell for a league which already seems to overspend its revenue. And with sponsors and ABC/ESPN already in negotiations with the league, there seems ample opportunity for renewed financial resources if the league opts to retain a spring schedule, resources which may dry up if the league opts to go head to head for fans, viewers, and partners in the fall. We see the USFL future as one where the spring provides greater stability, greater opportunity and greater potential for success. The fall looks more like an attempt by some owners to garner NFL attention at the expense of the remaining members of the league. The question is whether enough owners see this reality, or if many have visions of NFL gold at the end of the rainbow.

SCORES MEM 20 PHI 19 Lewis hits Gault for a 4th Q game-winning 69 yard TD to stun the Stars NJ 27 JAX 13 24 unanswered 3rd Q points overwhelmes the Bulls. BOS 22 TBY 38 Tampa builds a 28-13 halftime lead and holds on for win #8. HOU 20 PIT 35 Ball control and 3 Rozier TD’s douse the Run & Shoot. DEN 27 LA 7 Denver sweeps the series as Gagliano continues to impress. ARZ 37 OAK 26 Neuheisel hurt again, Koegel steps up big for the Wranglers. MGN 34 WSH 12 The Panthers roll on as Hebert looks to lock up MVP honors. BYES: None GAME OF THE WEEK: Birmingham Stallions 16 Chicago Blitz 17 The Stallions came into this game a clear favorite against the 3-win Blitz, but no one apparently told Chicago. Birmingham seemed to have the upper hand most of the game, outgaining the Blitz 314-285 by the conclusion, but they could not punch it in, and that came back to haunt them. Chicago played a bend-but-do-not-break defense most of the day, allowing underneath passes to Cliff Stoudt, and playing the edges to keep league leading rusher Joe Cribbs inside. The strategy paid off as Cribbs was held to only 72 yards rushing and Birmingham only found the endzone once. On offense, Blair Kiel played conservatively, working on high percentage routes, and handing off to the combination of Steve Howell (6 for 20) and Calvin Murphy (18 for 45). It was not exciting ball to watch, but for those who love good ol’ slobberknockers, it was a callback to old time football. Chicago LB’s Sam Norris and Ben Apuna combined for 18 tackles, including 4 tackles for loss, and in the end it was unheralded Chicago kicker Stephen Paulson who gave Chicago a much-needed win, hitting from 49 yards out to put them on top for good. The loss knocks Birmingham a game behind Tampa Bay, and moves Chicago within range of the cluster of 5 and 4 win teams vying for a wildcard. NEWS & NOTES: The grind of the year is beginning to impact teams. Practically every team is missing important players from their starting lineups, while others have all but lost their core. We all know about Arizona’s QB woes or Jacksonville’s rotating RB spot (now finally getting healthy), but when you look at teams like Memphis (6 players out this week), Michigan (7 out, including all 3 TE’s), but the hardest hit has been New Jersey, who have been without Brian Sipe for 2 weeks now, have lost Gary Barbaro and Jim LeClair for the year, and have a total of 11 players on this week’s injury report. And, yes, we here to folks in Oakland moaning over the loss of Arthur Whittington and Gary Plummer, which certainly has hurt the team, but with only 1 additional player on the injury list after their bye week, they should perhaps point the finger elsewhere for their woeful record. INJURIES: The big injury this week was that of Arizona rookie QB Rick Neuheisel, now expected to miss 4-6 weeks. With Greg Landry expected to be another 1-2 weeks away from being cleared with his broken ribs, the Wranglers will need to rely on Tim Koegel. Koegel performed well this week against Oakland, but the Invaders are hardly the best the league has to offer. Michigan also suffered a blow as they are now looking at all 3 of their season-starting TE’s being out for at least a week, maybe longer. The most severe of the 3 is Roosevelt Dixon, who is out for the year. The other two, Cobb and Marchand, could be back as soon as this week if all goes well, but the Panthers will need to sign at least one TE as insurance. LOOKING AHEAD: Week 12 is chock full of divisional games with significant playoff impact. First we have the Atlantic division facing off, with New Jersey at Boston and the Federals headed to Philadelphia in a battle for first place. The Southern Division also faces off as Jacksonville heads down I-95 (and the 4) to Tampa while the Stallions visit Memphis in need of a win. The undefeated Panthers are in Chicago to take on the Blitz, while 2nd place Houston is out West to face the Wranglers. Pittsburgh takes the flight out to Denver, and in the final divisional match of the week Oakland will try to find answers this week as they host the LA Express.