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That is the question everyone is asking as we complete 8 weeks of a 14-week season and we still have two unbeaten teams in the league. Memphis has been tested the past few weeks, as they were this week by a Jacksonville squad that took them to the limit. Ohio has had it a bit easier, but they have a few tough games on the horizon. Can one, or even both of these teams reach 14-0? The pressure will mount each week, and all it takes is one bad day to end the dream for either club. Meanwhile, 22 other clubs are just struggling for relevance, and maybe a shot at a playoff spot. Week 8 did not shake up the standings very much, but it did kick off the 2nd half of the season with some really solid games. For the second straight Week Jacksonville hosted a killer game, our Game of the Week, and for the second consecutive week they fall as again they cannot hold on at the end. This time it was unbeaten Memphis, who have had their own share of close calls, who once again find a way to win. The Bulls have been winning with defense, but Memphis is a tough team to defend, as Jacksonville learned in the final minutes of a great back and forth game. The Bulls got off to a quick start, much as they did the week before, scoring 10 points in the first quarter before Memphis got on the board. Heath Shuler recovered from a shaky start (throwing a pick-6 to John Solomon of Jacksonville) and late in the 1st he connected with Adrian Cooper for the big TE’s 5th touchdown of the season. He would get his sixth just minutes later. Up 10-7 after one quarter, Jacksonville added 3 more early in the 2nd, but then Cooper struck again, this time from 46 yards as the big man just would not go down. Jacksonville finished out the half with two consecutive field goal drives, and led 19-14 after two, but settling for field goals was not going to get it done against the Showboats. The key to Jacksonville’s success was the ability to eat up clock with their run game. The Bulls would outrun Memphis 144-50, with Kenny Bynum having a strong day with 23 carries for 106 yards. But, what hurt Jacksonville all day was the quick strike capacity of the Showboats. In addition to Cooper’s two scores, they would hit on several big plays, including a 3rd down 38-yarder to Joe Horn, a 33-yarder to Tydus Wynans, and a 20 yarder on 3rd and 17 to FB Larry Centers. The inability of Jacksonville to close out third downs was a huge reason for the loss, as were these quick strike plays from Memphis. Down 22-14 after yet another Jacksonville kick, Memphis opened the 4th quarter with a field goal of their own, but then quickly got the ball back and scored again as Shuler found Justin McCaerins from 16 yards out to go up 25-22 at the halfway point of the final quarter. Jacksonville responded as they had all game, using the run to slowly march down the field. But, to their dismay, once again they got bogged down, this time stuck with a 4th and goal on the 5 after a 3rd down pass to Terrell Owens was swatted away. They settled for 3, tying the game at 25 with 1:27 left on the clock. That was, as we have learned, way too much time to give Heath Shuler. He did what he has done all year, connected on big plays for chunks of yardage, and with all 3 timeouts at his disposal, it was not long before he had the Showboats in the Red Zone. 1st and 10 at the 17 with 33 seconds left to play. Memphis could have settled for a field goal, but when a Garrison Hearst run on 1st down got them all the way to the 4-yard line, the temptation to go for 7 was too great. Shuler faked to Hearst and found Centers open in the flat. Centers strolled into the endzone and with 23 seconds to play, Memphis had a 7-point lead. Jacksonville had once again fallen in the final minute, and once again at home. Memphis remained unbeaten, though again certainly tested. HOU 20 OHI 23 The league’s other unbeaten team handed Houston their 3rd consecutive loss (after a 4-0-1 start) to remain unblemished for the season. It was a close one as Houston found some answers to the Ohio offense, but could not fully contain Chad Johnson, who finished with 121 yards receiving. Collins had to look to others to break through the Houston offense, taking 5 sacks along the way. With TD passes to Robert Ferguson and Eddie George, Ohio got the job done, winning on a late Don Silvestri field goal. NSH 12 ORL 7 The Knights showed a bit of that old-school defense once again, and with Joey Harrington dealing with back spasms after a tough hit early in the game, it fell on Gus Frerotte to lead the Renegades. It did not go well. He completed only 11 of 26 and threw two picks as Nashville shut down the Orlando offense. They got their own offense from the defense, scoring on a safety and a pick-six of Frerotte, as the offense without Ahman Green could not do much. So the defense came to the rescue for the Knights, as they have so often in the past. NOR 23 TBY 19 The Breakers managed to control the line of scrimmage against Tampa Bay, playing field position and using the right foot of kicker Lin Elliott to do just enough to outlast the Bandits in Tampa. Errict Rhett had a good game, rushing for 120 yards and a score, but it was not enough as New Orleans held the Bandits to a 4 of 11 third down conversion rate. ARZ 45 CHI 31 Chicago limited the damage Jake Plummer could do on the ground, but he still burnt them, throwing for 312 yards and 2 scores as Arizona put up 45 points on the #1 defense in the league . Jeff George helped them a bit, throwing 2 bad picks that both led to Arizona sores (one on a pick-six from Broderick Thomas). Add in a fumble on the goal line from Adrian Murell and you have a solid road win for the Wranglers. DEN 3 MGN 14 Despite completing 71% of his passes, Mark Brunell could not connect when it mattered most and Denver was held to their lowest offensive output in years. Michigan held the ball for almost 37 minutes, using T.J. Duckett and Winslow Oliver to control the clock. In a game that saw no points in the second half, both clubs seemed punchy, unable to string together plays to get into scoring range. TEX 10 PIT 31 The Maulers shocked Texas, playing some true smashmouth football as they sacked Ryan Leaf 5 times and held the run game of the Outlaws to only 51 yards. Terrell Davis had a solid day, rushing for 77 yards and 2 scores, but it was Charlie Batch’s accuracy, connecting on 18 of 22 passes, that helped the Maulers overcome the favored Outlaws. LA 35 BAL 14 It may be a bit late, but the Express seem to have rediscovered their offensive personality. Cade McNown threw for 231 and 3 scores in only 3 quarters of action (he was pulled with LA up 35-7 late.) Jeff Garcia did not look good for Baltimore, throwing 3 picks and throwing for only 143 on the day for Baltimore. The Express looked solid on both sides of the ball, a potential threat for the rest of their division even at 3-5. OAK 19 NJ 17 Perhaps the biggest surprise of the week as the Oakland defense seems to be coming around late in the year. They limited New Jersey to only 291 total yards, including only 51 for Curtis Enis. And while the Oakland defense was holding their own, the offense did just enough to earn the W. A touchdown from Freddie Solomon and 4 Joe Nedney field goals proved to be enough as fans in the Meadowlands left for home grumbling and visibly disappointed in their club’s effort. POR 15 PHI 23 The Stars get their second win as they outlasted the Portland Thunder in a sloppy game at the Vet. The two teams combined for 17 penalties, but in the end the Stars got the better of the deal, scoring on a Stephen Davis run and a Steve Smith TD catch to overtake the Thunder. Davis would finish with 114 yards and a 6.7 YPC average in one of his better games this season. SEA 5 WSH 27 With Brian Griese nursing a sore hamstring, Coach Tiller opted to go with Craig Erickson, and the Federals feasted on the longtime backup. Erickson was sacked 5 times, and threw a costly pick-six right into the hands of Charles Woodson. Kordell Stewart struggled through the air for Washington, but scored on a 59-yard touchdown run late in the 2nd quarter. Yes, the Feds did give up a safety, but it was an intentional one late in the game as they hoped to avoid a blocked punt from their own 1 yard line. All in all a solid win for the home team against a depleted Dragon squad. Eight weeks into the USFL’s new 14-week season, and one thing is for sure, our preseason picks are once again proving useless. To say this is par for the course is accurate, but that still does not let us off the hook. So, as always, we demand a 2nd chance to get it right. Here is our look at the preseason standings we predicted, and our revisions, with commentary, of course. NORTHEAST Predicted: 1-NJ, 2-Washington, 3-Philadelphia, 4-Baltimore Revised: 1-Washington, 2-New Jersey, 3-Baltimore, 4-Philadelphia Thoughts: The Feds and Generals seem the two best teams in the division, as we predicted, and neither is clearly superior to the other or supremely consistent in their play. We just like the greater use of Kordell Stewart as a rusher, so we go with the Feds. What we clearly missed is the rapid collapse of the Stars without Bobby Hebert. Probably should have seen that coming. SOUTHEAST Predicted: 1-Tampa Bay, 2-Orlando, 3-Jacksonville, 4-Atlanta Revised: 1-Jacksonville, 2-Orlando, 3-Atlanta, 4-Tampa Bay Thoughts: We still feel blindsided by the utter chaos in Tampa Bay. We still see a lot of talent on this team, so the fact that they are sitting at 2-6 right now is just a real mystery to us. The kind of mystery that could well cost Coach Seifert his job. We also did not see Jacksonville’s defense improving as much as it has in one year. Good work there from that group to be sure. And for what may be the first time ever, we don’t see Atlanta finishing in last place. Coach Fox has gotten the most out of a shorthanded roster. CENTRAL Predicted: 1-Ohio, 2-Chicago, 3-Michigan, 4-Pittsburgh Revised: 1-Ohio, 2-Chicago, 3-Michigan, 4-Pittsburgh Thoughts: Hey, look, we got one right! Sure, we would never have predicted Ohio to be unbeaten after 8 games, but at least we recognized that they and Chicago have the stronger squads this year. Pittsburgh and Michigan will likely finish close to the same record, but the question is whether either is actually headed in a good direction as the season winds down for them. SOUTHERN Predicted: 1-Memphis, 2-Nashville, 3-Birmingham, 4-New Orleans Revised: 1-Memphis, 2-New Orleans, 3-Birmingham, 4-Nashville Thoughts: We got 1 out of 4, acknowledging Memphis as the strongest club in the division. What we did not see coming was the stress the move to Nashville has put on the Knights. Not sure why, but the Knights are just not the same club. They did not have huge losses this offseason, but the defense is just not what it has been under Coach Jim Johnson this year. The other surprise is the quality of the Breaker defense, which has really gelled this season and is helping a mediocre offense get a lot of short fields to work with. SOUTHWEST Predicted: 1-Denver, 2-Arizona, 3-Houston, 4 Texas Revised: 1-Houston, 2-Arizona, 3-Texas, 4-Denver Thoughts: This one is still so hard to pick. Denver has been up and down all year, losing 3, winning 3, losing 2, hard to make sense of the Gold. We like Houston only because they have the best defense, but honestly any one of the 4 could make a late run, so this is the division we are least confident about even after 8 weeks of play. PACIFIC Predicted: 1-LA, 2-Seattle, 3-Portland, 4-Oakland Revised: 1-Seattle, 2-LA, 3-Oakland, 4-Portland Thoughts: We are not giving up on LA just yet. They have had some really strong games but not nearly enough to trust them fully. Seattle are a bit more boring, but you know what the formula is and it is one that can win games. We did not think Portland would regress as much as they did after a 7-win season, but they are playing better under interim HC Joe Vitt. Oakland have also showed some signs of life after a really bad start to the year. SUMMER BOWL PICK We went with Denver v. Ohio, so maybe half right. At this point in the season, with two unbeatens still in play, you would have to be nuts not to go with Memphis v. Ohio. We also think that the over-under on the number of punts in a Glory-Showboat Summer Bowl should be 1. This could easily be a 49-48 thriller, with both clubs still unbeaten. That would be wild. Or we could have just now jinxed both teams and they will lose in Week 9. MVP We originally said a battle between Kerry Collins (Ohio) and Cade McNown (LA), and again we were about half right. Collins is indeed the frontrunner, but it is Heath Shuler of Memphis in second place. We are leaning to Collins just because he has the lead in TD passes. Shuler has more yards, but scoring always impresses the voters. With only 6 weeks left, the reality is that even a short-term injury can have major impact on a franchise making a playoff run. We have a lot of 2-4 weeks knocks this week, and that could be enough to derail a team. Of all the teams impacted this week, Chicago should be the most nervous. Not only do they lose their starting center, Greg Huntington, for the year with an ACL injury, but DE Simeon Rice, a big part of their pass rush will miss at least another 2 weeks with his groin injury (always hurts us to think about a groin injury, doesn’t it?). Jacksonville also loses a key player in DE Kenny Mixon, would could be back just in time for the playoffs if all works out as planned. Other injuries that could impact late runs around the league include a knee injury that will keep Denver guard Evan Pilgrim sidelined 2-4 weeks, an issue with meniscus tissue for Houston DT Mua Tunavasa. The big man may be out 1-3 weeks, depending on rehab. Baltimore HB Ron Dayne got his hand stepped on this week, and that has proven problematic as he could miss 1-2 weeks before his dominant hand is fully able to grip the ball as it should. LA has listed veteran wideout Mike Pritchard as doubtful after suffering a high ankle sprain, while another Houston player, captain Pat Swilling, was diagnosed with a fracture to his jaw. It won’t be wired shut, and he may be able to play in Week 10, but he is doubtful this week. USFL in Boston Gaining Momentum Good news out of Boston, where fans seem to be embracing the return of USFL football. Not only has the Boston Globe reported nearly 38,000 votes for their team name in just one week of action, but the team’s management has also reported early demand for season tickets has been higher than expected. The team’s mailing list is already over 20,000. Officially tickets will go on sale for the 2003 season in October, but the mailing list offers fans a chance to get priority position for the 7-game season passes and having 20k already on board is a great sign that the as-of-now-nameless Boston club will exceed their goal of 25,000 season ticket holders. Not So Fast Things not as peachy in Portland where stadium negotiations seem to have hit a snag. No official word on what led to the cessation of talks, but rumors out of the Rose City seem to indicate that there are concerns about Bernard Ebbers’ financials. This is somewhat surprising since the USFL has already reviewed both Ebbers and co-owner Phil Ruffin as part of the agreement to the sale of the Thunder. We are hearing that there are concerns related to both the funding of the Thunder and the finances of Worldcom, the nation’s second largest long-distance carrier, led by Mr. Ebbers. Just what these concerns are is as of yet unknown, but what is known is that while the site for a new Portland football stadium has been decided, and it appears that Portland State is ready to get on board as well, possibly considering a move from Division 1-AA to Division 1-A as an option, the contracts are not in place and city funding has not been cleared. Without the city’s funding and appropriate permits in place, the stadium is not moving forward just yet, putting a 2005 goal for completion in doubt. Atlanta Organizes In Atlanta, where the die is cast and the Fire are soon to be just a memory, some fans are fighting back. A group dubbing themselves the “Firebrands” has begun organizing an effort to retain the Fire identity for the city of Atlanta, something not really needed since we know that the soon-to-be-Boston club will have a new name, but also apparently this is an effort to bring together the community to push for a return of the club to Atlanta in the future, not as a new team or a relocated team with its own identity intact, but as a new Atlanta Fire. Honestly, the enthusiasm behind this grassroots effort is quite surprising, considering that the Fire never truly seemed to grab the full attention of the city. Attendance was not horrible, but it was never at the levels of other Southern clubs like the Bulls, Bandit, Stallions, or Showboats. The Braves routinely outdrew the Fire, and yet for some reason losing the club to Boston seems to have captured the attention of Atlantans, particularly in the city’s prominent African-American community. In addition to pushing for league recognition of the Fire as Atlanta’s USFL legacy, the leaders of the Firebrands are also calling for the city to assist in enticing a team back through tax incentives, and is actively reaching out to the city’s elite to try to find the core of a new, locally based, ownership group, particularly an African-American led ownership group. It is an interesting strategy, one that feels a bit late in the game, but if the USFL is considering possible expansion after 2005, this could be the beginning of a serious effort to include Atlanta in the mix for consideration. We already know that St. Louis has a similar effort in place and that the league is partial to the idea of “restoration” as opposed to prioritizing new markets. We shall have to see where this leads, if it leads anywhere, and if this grassroots group can maintain the passion once the club is gone and many fans move on. LA Going Back to the Future? On a quirky note, it appears that the LA Express have heard it from the fans that their new “Mercury” logo is just not what LA fans want to see. The new look which replaced the LA monogram on the side of the helmet with a stylized image of the Greek messenger god, has simply not been selling. Since its introduction in 2000, merchandise with the new logo has lagged in sales, with shirts, hats, and other items featuring the monogram continuing to outpace the sale of the other gear. Apparently the ownership in LA has heard the message as this week they petitioned the league for a minor uniform adjustment, allowing them to replace their current helmet sticker (the Mercury figure) with the new LA monogram that was released as a secondary logo at the same time as the introduction of the new logo. The change would not require a new uniform design from Reebok, as the only adjustment would be to replace the sticker on team helmets. The league is expected to approve the change, but not to go in effect until the 2023 season. Seems like fans voted with their wallets and the team got the message. LA is in and Greek mythology is out. Week 9 features the Western Conference engaged in divisional play, while the East has 6 inter-division matchups. We are all waiting to see in New Orleans, where the 6-2 Breakers may be the most likely opponent to prevent Memphis from running the table. This game will be huge. In Houston, the Gamblers have lost 3 in a row, and now face a 4-4 Arizona team that looked really dynamic in blowing past Chicago this week. Birmingham is hoping they have turned the corner, but have a tough matchup against a 3-5 Nashville club that cannot afford more losses. The same is true for Denver, who travel to Texas hoping to regain their winning ways after dropping their last 2. Oakland, surprisingly alive in the playoff hunt is at 4-4 Seattle, while LA, making a late push themselves, is at 2-6 Portland, hoping it is not too late to make a push for a Pacific Division that could have a 7-7 champion. In the East, the best game is likely the Ohio Glory traveling to Washington, where pride in their defense is a way of life for a 4-4 Federals team. Jacksonville is hoping to shake off two straight home losses with a road game to Baltimore. At 4-4, New Jersey is hoping to avoid a letdown against an Atlanta squad that has been coming on since the shift to Drew Bledsoe at QB. Orlando, also at 4-4, hopes that a trip to Michigan keeps them on pace to compete in the Southeast. Tampa Bay is at Chicago in a tough matchup for a Bandit squad that is slipping further behind their division rivals. Finally, both Pittsburgh and Philly scored upset wins in Week 8, and hope that Week 9 gives them another chance to improve their standing as they face off in a Keystone Clash in Philadelphia.

A week of upsets as some of the league’s supposed weaker sisters rose up and took a bite out of some playoff contenders. Oakland stifled Houston just a week after their first loss of the year, Portland stunned New Orleans in the Super Dome, Atlanta upended Tampa Bay, and Los Angeles exploded for 40 against a Texas team that had lived off its defense. A week to show that on any given Sunday any team can find the right formula to knock off an opponent, and yet, despite this, we are looking at two clubs who have made it 7 weeks without a blemish on their records and wondering if either Memphis or Ohio have what it takes to go 14-0 and complete the league’s first ever unbeaten regular season. All this plus Boston reveals the three candidates for their new team name and lets fans vote on which will be the newest entry into the USFL. But we start with a mild upset, and a big game in the Southeastern Division as Orlando went into Jacksonville and earned a win against the division leader. Orlando’s three wins this year had all come on even-numbered weeks, with losses each odd week, so a Week 7 matchup against division-leading Jacksonville did not bode well for the rebuilding league champions. And yet, they relished the chance to go up against a Bulls team who had racked up 5 wins, but only 1 against a team at or above .500. An earlier loss to the Oakland Invaders had raised eyebrows across the league, and the Bulls were still fielding questions about their 19th ranked offense. This was a chance for the Renegades to break their win-loss alternating schedule and make a statement that the defending league champions, for as much as they look like a different team this year, are still a team to merit attention. But the game did not start off the way the Renegades would have liked. The much-criticized Jacksonville offense started strong with a gameplan that alternated Kenny Bynum runs with Jake Delhomme’s short passing game. The Bulls scored on their opening, first a 2 yard pass from Delhomme to rookie TE Jeb Putzier. Just 21 seconds later the Bulls defense also answered the critics, picking off Joey Harrington on an ill-conceived pass play from the Orlando 7 yard line. Mike Echols, last week’s Rookie of the Week, made a play on 2 in a row by snagging Harrington’s throw away from Keenan McKardell and sprinting the short 7 yards to paydirt to put Jacksonville up 14-0 as the 1st quarter wound down. To his credit, Harrington recovered well after that shocking play, and Orlando would fight their way back into the game over the next quarter. On their first drive after the pick, Harrington would lead the Renegades down the field, eventually hitting his favorite target, John Henry Mills, with a 9-yard score. After an Owen Pochman kick made the score 14-10 Bulls, Orlando got payback on Jacksonville with a pick six of their own. Delhomme had the ball tipped at the line and Ryan McNeill was in the right spot at the right time to return it 27 yards for a score and Orlando’s first lead of the game. Jacksonville would also rebound, and a late Kris Brown field goal meant that the two Florida rivals would enter the half knotted up at 17 apiece. This score would remain intact throughout the third quarter as both teams made effective halftime adjustments to the defense. Neither team had much success with their run games as each defense played conservatively to protect against the run. Jacksonville’s Bynum would lead all rushers with 78 yards, while Sedrick Irvin, the former Bull, logged only 57 yards on 23 carries for Orlando. It would b up to the quarterbacks to determine this one. Jacksonville retook the lead 6 minutes into the final period, when a short drive allowed Jacksonville to get into field goal range and Kris Brown connected on a 51-yarder to go up 20-17. After Orlando went 3-and-out on their next possession, Jacksonville had a shot at putting the game away, and it looked like they were headed that direction as they moved the ball into the red zone on an effective drive against the Orlando defense, but just as they looked like at least another 3 was coming their way, the Renegade D stepped up. LB Dexter Coakley was sent on a blitz, and as he burst past Irvin, he was able to clip Jake Delhomme’s arm, causing his pass to flutter just enough for CB Fernando Bryant to not only catch up to Donnell Bennett, but to step in front of the Bulls’ receiver, picking Delhomme off and keeping Orlando within 3. Joey Harrington would do the rest, connecting with 4 different receivers on a 9 play drive that ended when he found Donald Driver in the back of the endzone for a touchdown with 2:32 left to play. Bulls defenders pleaded with the ref to see what appeared in replay to be a clear pick by TE Rickey Dudley, freeing Driver, but no call came. Orlando kicked the ball off to Jacksonville with 2:32 left to play and now it would be up to Delhomme to earn the Bulls’ 6th win. Jacksonville started the drive with a 6-yard swing pass to Bynum. Delhomme then hit Javon Walker for 14 yards on 2nd down and it seemed Jacksonville was in business. But, after failing to connect with Dez White on first down, Delhomme saw a pass to Terrell Owens fall to the ground when safety Todd Franz clipped Owens’s arms just as the ball arrived. Third and ten and Chris Doleman pressured Delhomme into an errant throw that sailed well over Owens and out of bounds. It was 4th and 10 on their own 37. Orlando showed blitz, but dropped 7 into coverage, rushing only 4. Despite this both Chris Doleman and DT Pat Williams were quickly pressuring Delhomme, and the immobile QB was forced into an early throw, tryin to find Donnell Bennett on an out route. The ball was off target and Bennett dove unsuccessfully to reach it. A turnover on downs with only 1:03 left to play led to 2 straight kneeldowns for Harrington and a much deserved win over the Bulls. Orlando was now 4-3 and above .500 for the first time all year. Jacksonville falls to 5-2, only 1 game up on the Renegades and Birmingham in a tightening Southeastern Division. HOU 7 OAK 14 Perhaps the most surprising of the Week 7 upsets, not because Oakland won at home, but because their usually sieve-like defense played like worldbeaters against a Houston team that struggled to get anything going. Houston was held to only 218 total yards, including a sad 40-yard rushing day as Oakland played in the nickel formation for most of the game. Rodney Thomas was all the offense Oakland needed as he rushed for 141 yards against the Gamblers, keeping the 1-2 punch of edge rushers out of their element. POR 24 NOR 7 The Thunder are 2-0 under interim head coach Joe Vitt, a surprise to be sure, but not as much of a surprise as the way they handled the Breakers in New Orleans. New Orleans converted only 2 of 13 third downs and Ricky Williams was limited to 60 yards rushing as Portland won in all 3 phases of the game. Akili Smith helped his own cause with a 54-yard scramble turned TD run, while Correll Buckhalter and Napoleon Kaufmann combined for 117 yards rushing for a revived Portland club. TBY 10 ATL 16 Tampa Bay’s offensive resurgence came to a crashing halt in Atlanta as the Fire held them scoreless for nearly 40 minutes. Tiki Barber rushed for 107 and the game’s deciding score as Atlanta contained Trent Green and the Bandit passing game through a well-designed 2-deep zone scheme. Coach Fox limited Randy Moss to 2 catches on 4 targets by shading a safety over to help CB Tyrone Poole with Moss. TEX 13 LA 40 The Express found their offense against one of the better defenses in the league as Tory Holt had a monster game with 6 catches for 174 yards and 2 scores. Add in a combined 28 carries for 116 yards and 2 scores by the combo of rookie DeShaun Foster and veteran Antowain Smith and you have the makings of an upset at Farmers Insurance Field. It did not help that Ryan Leaf completed only 14 of 32 passes, including 2 picks, or that Carl Pickens had a game high 3 drops for Texas. An ugly loss for the 4-2-1 Outlaws. SEA 29 NSH 18 The Dragons are making their case as a potential dark horse, knocking off the Knights despite the return of Todd Collins at QB. Brian Griese was efficient, going 20 of 29 with a lone TD to David Boston, but the key was Corey Dillon’s 105 yards despite frequent 8 or 9 man boxes on early downs. The Dragon D also did its part, forcing, and we are not kidding here, 6 turnovers in the game. Todd Collins threw 3 picks, but there were also fumbles, one each from Bert Emmanuel, Todd Collins, and TE Reggie Kelly. All things considered, it is amazing this game was as close as it was. DEN 14 BIR 20 Denver’s win streak ends at 3 as Birmingham edge closer to Jacksonville thanks to a big day for the defense on a rainy summer afternoon at Legion Field. The game had to be stopped for almost 40 minutes as a lightning storm rolled through Central Alabama, but the delay only seemed to help Birmingham, who came back from a 14-7 deficit after the delay, scoring the game’s final 13 points to take the home win to move to 4-3 at the season’s midway point. ARZ 28 MEM 31 A really good game at the Liberty Bowl on Saturday night as Arizona challenged the unbeaten Showboats all evening. Jake Plummer got loose several times, rushing for 2 scores and throwing for a third. But, in the end, the Showboats proved their quality, scoring the final 21 points of the night as they fought back form a 28-17 deficit to take the 31-28 win. Two late Adrian Cooper TD’s including the game winner at 1:33 left were what it took, but Memphis moved to 7-0. OHI 49 MGN 27 Ohio joined the Showboats as they notched their 7th win of the season, though theirs was hardly as close as the Memphis game. Kerry Collins went 21 of 26 for 430 yards and 5 scores against a Michigan secondary that had no answers. Joey Galloway scored 3 times and racked up 101 yards, but it was Chad Johnson, with 126 yards on 5 receptions who broke the back of the Panthers. PIT 14 CHI 16 Chicago kept pace one game behind Ohio with another defensive gem as they limited Pittsburgh to only 45 yards rushing and 259 total yards. Chicago got one Duce Staley TD run and then relied on the foot of Tim Seder to build up a 16-7 lead before a late Batch to Davis TD toss made the game close at the end. WSH 17 BAL 20 A modest upset as Baltimore got the win at home against their rivals thanks to 99 yards and 2 TDs from Ron Dayne. Kordell Stewart ended up as the leading rusher for Washington as neither Deuce McCallister nor Reuben Droughns could find much room against a re-energized Baltimore defense. PHI 9 NJ 34 New Jersey was all over backup Chuck Hartlieb in his first start in 3 years, sacking the former Gambler 4 times and snagging a pick-six as well. Philly’s onlyTD was a pick six as well as a tipped ball fell to DB Corey Fuller. The offense was 0 for 12 on third down and mustered only 70 yards passing as New Jersey dominated throughout the day. PHILADELPHIA QB CONCERNS While starter Will Fuller could return to action next week after a 1-game hiatus, that does not solve the issue at the QB position for the 1-6 Stars. Philly did not expect to be in this position even with the retirement of Bobby Hebert, but it seems clear that they have weaknesses that Hebert’s arm helped to hide. A power run game with Stephen Davis and Ladell Betts relies on a solid passing game to keep defenses honest. With teams crowding the box, neither back is able to make much hay. The defense too is dealing with too many 3-and-outs and too much time on the field as Philadelphia cannot sustain drives and provide respite for the defense. So, what options does Philadelphia have? If they continue to flounder, we would not be shocked to see Coach Mora test out what he has in mid-round signee David Garrard of ECU. If Garrard shows potential, the Stars could look in free agency for a solid backup, as it seems neither Furrer or Hartlieb is an answer. There are several potential candidates among the QB’s whose conract is up this year, including A.J. Feely in Arizona, Mark Bulger in Atlanta, Kris Kershaw in Houston, Jim Miller in Pittsburgh, and Kent Graham in Tampa Bay. But, assuming Garrard plays as we would expect a mid-round rookie QB to play, Philadelphia may need to search elsewhere. There are a couple of starters unsigned across the league, but we don’t expect Trent Green, Kerry Collins, or Heath Shuler to remain unsigned until Free Agency. All three are too vital to their teams to let them test the waters. Over in the NFL, there is one QB who is currently unsigned and who may be attractive to the Stars. Jeff Blake, the one-time starter for both the Cincinnati Bengals and New Orleans Saints became a free agent this past spring. He has been holding out for a possible starting job but is only receiving NFL offers as a backup. Could the Stars swoop in during the next NFL-USFL transfer window? And if they can, do they want to? Blake is not exactly the type of star-caliber starting QB that teams often shoot for in the NFL transfer window. He is serviceable, but has a lifetime QB Rating of only 83.3, not exactly an immediate winner. The other option is to go for a solid backup, keep Garrard in development, but sign a top level rookie QB. What does the 2003 crop of potential rookie QB’s offer? Actually quite a bit. There are 4 QB’s who are getting 1st or 2nd round evaluations at this point, though we will have to see how their 2002 seasons go before any true evaluation is possible. The best of the bunch, and a player that the NFL certainly covets, is USC signal caller Carson Palmer. Palmer is the picture of a classic pocket passer, poised and accurate. He seems the early frontrunner to be a top pick in both leagues. With his rights held by the LA Express, Philly might have to consider trading what will almost certainly be a Top 3 position in the open draft to acquire LA’s first T-Draft selection spot. The second option will be available in the open draft as no one holds Marshall University as a protected school. Marshall’s Byron Leftwich is a bit more of a physical talent, more athletic than Palmer but also less polished. In many ways he is similar to Garrard as a QB with physical tools and a strong arm but less experience against top flight opponents. The other two potential QB picks are slightly lower on the ratings list, with Florida’s Rex Grossman and Cal’s Kyle Boller both showing potential but also showing some issues that might have them drop into the 2nd round in either the NFL or USFL Draft. Both are also protected players in the T-Draft, with Oakland holding the rights to Cal-Berkely and Tampa Bay having first crack at Florida players. UNSIGNED, BUT FOR HOW LONG Our midseason look at players who in their contract year may be a bit premature, as surely a good number of these players will resign before Free Agency kicks in after Week 14, but there are certainly some intriguing names, and not just the two starting QB’s of our 2 unbeaten clubs (Collins of Ohio and Shuler of Memphis). Among the names to watch over the next two months, these potential free agents are the ones GM’s across the league are hoping to see available for the taking: Washington DT Jerome Brown has to be a priority signing for the Feds. But does that mean that CB Charles Woodson will be on the market? Texas has both starting wideouts on their final year, Lake Dawson and 31-year old Carl Pickens. Tampa Bay needs to resign both Errict Rhett and Randy Moss, but do they have the cap room to do it, especially with Trent Green also at the end of his contract? Seattle signed Godfrey Miles last offseason, but does that leave enough under the cap to resign his LB mate Levon Kirkland? Pittsburgh has one job this offseason, resign Terrell Davis. We cannot imagine him leaving since the Maulers have a ton of cap room. Orlando DE Chris Doleman is another must-sign player, which means that others on the roster may have to be allowed to leave, others like DE Israel Ifeanyi or SS Tyrone Carter. Ohio will resign Kerry Collins, we know that, but when they do will they have room to resign others like DE Vonnie Holliday or G Chuck Johnson? New Orleans got Clyde Simmons from Portland in a contract year, so it is a great chance for the DE to prove himself and either get a good deal from the Breakers or test the waters. With Hines Ward in the fold, will Michigan pay out the big money to retain Muhsin Muhammad? Heath Shuler is the one guy Memphis must resign, which means WR Joe Horn, CB Darrien Gordon, and DT Barron Tanner may slip through into the market. LT Jonathan Ogden says he wants to remain on the Express, but he could easily become the highest paid lineman ever if he goes into the market. Houston went right up to the cap limit to secure their defense, which may mean they cannot compete to retain Antonio Freeman this offseason. LB Brian Urlacher is the top priority for the Chicago Machine. Expect them to spend the money to keep him happy. Birmingham has never developed the run game they hoped for, and that may mean that FB Mike Alstott could be looking elsewhere this offseason. Atlanta’s Bruce Smith sees his contract run out this year, and many speculate he will retire, so will Atlanta take the risk to resign him or look for youth? MIDSEASON PLAYOFF PICTURE It is too early to seriously rank teams for the postseason. We will start that in Week 10 as always, but just looking at the standings, here is our quick evaluation: ALMOST CERTAIN Ohio & Memphis: They are both undefeated and when we look ahead, the question isn’t whether or not they can qualify for the playoffs. The question is if they can go unbeaten. Chicago: The Machine have only 1 loss this year, and a killer defense. We don’t see them missing out, but unless they can catch Ohio, they may just be the best team ever to get stuck playing a Wild Card game. LOOKING GOOD Jacksonville, New Orleans, Texas, Houston: All 3 have only 2 losses, though Houston’s last 2 games are troubling, and the blowout Texas suffered this week makes us a bit nervous as well. Still, going into the halfway point with only 2 losses is a strong sign that they are solidly in play. ON THE CUSP New Jersey, Seattle, Birmingham, Orlando, Baltimore, Washington, Arizona, and Denver: All of these clubs are either 4-3 or 3-4, so squarely in the middle of the pack. So, what do we think about them? Seattle may have the easiest path, since the rest of the Pacific is so down this year. Arizona and Denver are not both likely to get in as both are chasing the 2 Texas teams, and we think that at most the Southwest Division will be able to produce 3 playoff teams. New Jersey has a shot at the Northeast Title, as do both Baltimore and Washington, but we could easily see only the division winner get a playoff nod, so this will be a battle to watch. SLIM CHANCES The entire cluster of 2-5 teams. Are there any who could emerge? Well, LA is in a weak division and their explosion this week showed they still have some offensive talent to deal with. Tampa Bay has also had some strong offensive games, but is that enough? And we are still trying to figure out what has caused the Knights to decline from a Summer Bowl contender to a 2-5 club in just one year. NO SHOT We hate the idea of putting 1-6 Philadelphia here by themselves, so we are also going to categorize a few of the 2-5 clubs here too. Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Michigan, and Portland have just not shown enough to make us believe that a 5-2 second half and a total of 7-7 is really realistic, much less the 8-wins that it likely would take to make the playoffs. We knew these 4 teams were rebuilding, and that is what we see this season. No season enders this week, which is a good thing, but still several issues to deal with across the league. Nashville will likely be without Ahman Green this week (deep thigh bruise) which is tough for the Knights, but he could be back by Week 9. In Chicago the big concern is the right leg of DE Simeon Rice, a big part of their defensive success. He could be back in as few as 2 weeks, but 3-4 seems more likely. Similarly, New Orleans’s Clyde Simmons is looking at 1-2 weeks with a hyperextended knee, but Breaker faithful are hoping it is just 1. A third DE is also out this upcoming week as Atlanta will be without Greg Ellis, possibly for as long as a month, with a wrist injury that makes it hard for him to grasp with his right hand. In Arizona, the concern is for DT Kenard Lang, whose knee was evaluated and there is strong indication of an ACL injury which could be 4-6 weeks if not longer. Finally, Texas will also be without DT Mark Campbell for at least a month after a fracture in his right arm was detected. BOSTON GIVES THREE OPTIONS FOR A “BC” IDENTITY The Boston Football Group (recently renamed to remove the prevalence of Colonials as a name option), has released the three choices for fans to vote on for their new team’s identity. Under pressure from USFL leadership to develop options should the NFL and NE Patriot owner Robert Kraft not sign a proposed agreement to allow “Colonials” as an untested infringement on the Patriots identity, Boston has complied, and gone a step further. The club has announced a deal with the Boston Globe to host a name the team contest on the Globe’s online platform, and supported by their sports section in the print edition. They are offering fans three choices, complete with logos and helmet mockups. One of these three will be the new identity for USFL football in Boston, and ownership of the recently-purchased and soon-to-relocate Atlanta Fire, are stating that they will abide by the will of the fans in Boston regardless of the NFL negotiations. The first option made available is the obvious one, the Colonials identity the Boston Football Group has held since its inception. The only change from the original group design is a color shift, with gunmetal grey replacing sky blue as one of the team’s colors. Paired with navy blue and metallic gold, the logo features a stylized eagle as part of a “medallion” format which resembles early Continental Army medals worn by generals such as George Washington or Massachusett’s own William Heath (of Lexington & Concord fame). The theme will be revolutionary Massachusetts, a winner in the region, but a clear concern when it comes to the identity clash with the New England Patriots of the NFL. The second option is also a military reference, but far less specific in nature. Ownership released images of a logo and helmet for the Boston Cannons as a possible identity. Cannons, of course, is a nice double meaning, as the reference not only to military artillery, but to the strong arm of a winning QB, much like that of future Boston starter Drew Bledsoe. The logo for the cannons also resembles a military emblem, two cannons crossed with a cannonball at the base. It also feature two “explosion” indicators with flashes of athletic gold behind the grey and navy cannons. It seems clear that Boston ownership is set on navy, grey and gold as the team colors despite the name, but the difference is that this logo, and the logo for the 3rd name option, use a bright athletic gold (yellow) and not the more metallic and less-saturated gold of the Colonials option. The Cannon’s helmet is also navy, not gold, as the Colonials present. It would feature the logo on either side, and have a grey stripe that finishes at the back bumper with a repeat of the gold and white flash of the cannon. Finally, Boston completes their trio of “BC” names again with a military theme, but this one paying tribute to the rich naval history of the city. Home to the famous Charlestown/Bston Naval Shipyard. The Boston Commanders celebrate naval leadership with a logo depicting the bow of a destroyer, cannons at the ready. The sea is depicted not with curved waves but as a series of chevrons, while the sky behind the ship is cast in bright yellow, as if at dawn, to form a shield-shaped logo. The helmet for the Commanders features a single thick yellow stripe, with chevrons in grey and white at the front bumper, all on another navy helmet. All three designs will share a secondary logo as Boston revealed a “BC” monogram that will accompany whichever name is chosen. Ownership has stated that they are happy with all three options, all of which celebrate local history, as well as support for the military (past and present). They will abide with the fan vote (assuming the USFL leadership agrees, which early indications seem to indicate. So how do fans vote? Well, we have made it easy. We have added a webpage to our site which directly links to the Boston Globe vote. You can see all three primary logos and helmet mockups there, cast your vote for which identity you would like to see Boston adopt, and participate in the final decision for USFL in Boston. The link to our Boston Poll is above in our main menu. The vote will take place between now and Week 14, with results being posted during the Wild Card Weekend recap. One last note, due to concerns related to disgruntled Atlanta Fire fans, no write in option or comments section will be provided with the vote, simply 3 options to select from. That seems smart considering the significant pushback the sale of the Fire has generated among a fanbase that seems to have gained more energy from losing their club than from having them for the past 7 seasons. The season’s second half kicks off much as the season began, with all 24 USFL clubs in inter-conference play. That does not diminish the stakes as we have several really intriguing clashes between teams battling for potential playoff position, as well as some potential spoilers hoping to make news with a surprise win. The best game of the week may well be the matchup of 7-0 Memphis at 5-2 Jacksonville. The Bulls are hot after letting their game with Orlando slip away, and Memphis has been tested lately. This one should be a good one on Sunday night. The other unbeaten team, the Ohio Glory, hope to get win #8 as they host the Houston Gamblers. Can the Gamblers’ D hold up against the furious attack of the Glory? Another intruging cross-country battle will take place at RFK, where the Federals (3-4) will host the Seattle Dragons (4-3), with both clubs in hot pursuit of a playoff spot. Chicago has a tough defensive challenge as they try to contain Jake Plummer and the Wranglers at Soldier Field. In Atlanta, it is a regional rivalry that never really took off as the Fire host the Birmingham Stallions. Other games to check out include 4-3 Orlando hoping to get a 5th W as they host the Nashville Knights. The Breakers are in Tampa Bay to face the Bandits, while Denver heads to Ford Field to take on the Michigan Panthers. Texas takes their division-leading 4-2-1 record to Pittsburgh, where the Maulers are hoping they can edge back to respectability with a win. Oakland will travel to New Jersey, Baltimore hosts LA, and Portland flies cross country to Philadelphia in a game that may impact draft order more than any playoff hunt.

Denver wins their third in a row as they seek to reenter the playoff hunt with a huge win over Houston. Seattle also makes a statement, possibly ending any hopes LA had to salvage the season. Portland gets their first win of the year as interim coach Joe Vitt gets the defensive performance his club has lacked all season. Nashville and Memphis start off their new rivalry with an overtime thriller, and both New Orleans and Chicago make sure that everyone knows they are in their divisional battles with undefeated Memphis and Ohio. A big week around the league, let’s get to it. After their 0-3 start to the year there were voices, some quite loud, saying that Denver was done, that their window had shut. The loss of Rashaan Salaam, for at least a year if not longer, the weight of two straight Summer Bowl runs, and the defeat at the hands of Orlando were all reasons why Denver was being exposed, was failing to deliver this year. Well, if this game is any indication, the Gold are not ready to hear that just yet. In defeating the Houston Gamblers, and in winning the way they did, this Denver squad not only returned to .500 at 3-3, but also sent a message to the league that reports of their demise were premature. The Gold had knocked off New Jersey and Oakland in the two weeks prior, but that was not exactly considered a demonstration that they were back in form. Defeating the 4-0-1 Houston Gamblers, and breaking through the Gambler’s rock solid defense, would show us something entirely different. So just how did Denver pull it off? Well, first off we have to note that the game was in Denver, where the Gold are always tough, but more importantly the Gold dominated the ground game on both sides of the ball. The D-line was impressive, proving almost impossible against the inside run (Mike Anderson, Houston’s big back, had 14 carries for a measly 21 yards). The linebackers cleaned up the outside game too, with Kevin Faulk only averaging 2.2 yards per carry. On offense, Denver found ways to work their own inside-outside game, with Robert Holcombe averaging 5.1 yards per carry on his way to a 61-yard performance, while Rod Smart handled the outside runs, and did so to the tune of 103 yards on 13 carries, a 7.9 YPC average. Denver also limited the success of the Gambler passing game, though Matt Hasselbeck did finish with a respectable 227 yards on an 18/25 day. While Hasselbeck found receivers, what he did not find were big plays, with the Gamblers’ two top receivers, Antonio Freeman and Koren Robinson combining for only 5 receptions and 75 total yards. And yet, despite the success of the Gold defense, when Kevin Faulk plunged in from the 1 yard line with 7:03 left in the game, Houston still held a solid 24-13 lead. It would come down to Mark Brunell standing in against the vaunted Gambler pass rush to make plays during the final half of the 4th quarter. Brunell did just that. He led Denver on a 5-minute drive and found little-used wideout Danny Farmer for a score with just over 1:50 left to play to draw within 3. After converting 2, Denver did the unexpected and kidcked the ball deep. Pinning Houston on their own 10-yard line. The decision to skip the onside kick and depend on their defense (and their 3 time outs) to get them the ball back proved to be a really judicious call from Coach Jauron. Houston rushed the ball 3 times, but gained only 6 yards, and with only 18 seconds run off the clock, the Gamblers found themselves punting the ball back to Denver from their 16 yard line with 1:36 left, up only 3. Denver could have played for the tie, but opted instead to take a shot, and that decision also proved quite providential. After a poor punt from the Gamblers, a 6-yard return got Denver the ball on the Houston 42. Their first play from scrimmage would be the game-winner, as Brunell faked the ball to Smart, bootlegged to the left, and found TE Greg Clark wide open. The play had been designed to get the Gold between 10-12 yards, but Clark did much better than that, executing a perfect stiff arm against the Gambler safety and racing to the corner of the endzone. Houston’s Jamar Fletcher tried to bump the big TE out of bounds at the 3, but Clark maintained his balance and found the endzone to give Denver the lead, and eventually the win as Houston could do nothing in response. Denver not only knocked Houston from the ranks of the unbeaten, but pulled within 1.5 games, just 1 game down in the win column at 3-3 to Houston’s 4-1-1. They silenced a lot of the critics as well, looking very much like the ball control team that has made two straight title games, but also showing a flare for the big play. Look out world, the window for this Gold squad may not be quite so closed as you had thought. TEX 16 ARZ 13 OVERTIME Texas rejoined Houston atop the division thanks to a late Jeff Query TD from Ryan Leaf and an overtime fieldgoal as they knock Arizona back to .500 at 3-3. Leaf completed less than 50% of his passes but got the late TD to pull Texas even in a game marred by penalties and unforced errors for both clubs. Jake Plummer was under constant pressure, leading to a stunning 20 rush attempts (of these only 6 were planned runs), but Texas spied him all game and that meant that the 20 attempts led to only 19 total yards as Arizona just could not get consistent offense going. SEA 34 LA 31 Another great game that came down to the final minute as Seattle got a late Jay Feely field goal to take over the Pacific Division and send the Express to a desperate 1-5. Corey Dillon and Brian Mitchell combined for 145 yards rushing and Brian Griese went 22 of 28 on his way to a 3 TD day for Seattle. David Boston was his primary target, hauling in 7 passes for 93 yards and 2 of the 3 Griese touchdown throws. POR 17 OAK 7 Interim HC Joe Vitt gets a win in his first game at the helm, thanks largely to the schedule pitting the Thunder against the equally downtrodden Invaders. Akili Smith threw for only 168 yards, but his 2 TD passes were enough to get the Thunder their firs twin. Neither team could run the ball despite both playing against poor run defenses. Portland finished with 35 yards rushing while Oakland totalled 34 in a game neither coach should be proud of. NSH 24 MEM 27 OVERTIME Memphis’s unbeaten run was put under serious pressure by their new in-state rival, who scored 17 points in the final period to even the score at 24 as time ran out. The effort, which included 2 late TDs from backup QB Craig Whelihan (playing for a concussed Todd Collins) was all Nashville had to give and in the extra period Jeff Hall’s field goal held up for the Showboat win. NOR 22 BIR 15 The Breakers stay one game back of first place as they get a tough road win in Legion Field. Two Troy Davis TD runs and a 2-point conversion gave New Orleans the 7 point win over a Birmingham squad that is just not moving the ball the way they would hope, despite 116 yards from NFL import James Thrash. CHI 20 ATL 17 The Fire proved a more formidable foe for Chicago than most anticipated, but in the end the Machine got what they needed, a late George to Conway connection to take the lead in the fourth quarter. Drew Bledsoe went 20 of 31 for Atlanta and Tiki Barber rushed for 2 scores, but as time ran down, the Fire could not mount a final drive to tie or win the game and Chicago moved to 5-1 on the year. BAL 13 OHI 38 Jeff Garcia played, despite some concerns about his ankle, but was clearly hampered by the injury, throwing 3 picks as he avoided his usual late-play scrambles. Ohio’s offense did as it usually does, with Collins throwing for 391 yards and 4 scores, 157 of them to Joey Galloway as both he and Chad Johnson found their way to the endzone for Ohio. The Glory remain unbeaten with Chicago hot on their heels. MGN 17 JAX 23 The Bulls improve to a surprising 5-1 thanks to their defense, which limited Drew Brees, despite the Panther QB throwing the pall 51 times in the game. The Bulls were aided by Michigan penalties, nine of them for nearly 100 yards, more than the Panther run game produced despite T.J. Duckett averaging 5.7 yards per carry on limited opportunities. PHI 21 ORL 28 The Renegades improved to .500 with a home win as Philly remains shockingly out of synch at 1-5. They started off well with an Anthony Jordan pick-six of Will Furrer on the 3rd play of the game. Furrer would be pulled later in the half as former Gambler Chuck Hartlieb was given the reins of the Stars offense. He would connect with 3 different receivers for scores, but Orlando also found success with John Henry Mills adding 2 more TDs to his season total and the Renegades’ other TE, Rickey Dudley scoring as well as Joey Harrington continues to dink and dunk his way to Orlando victories. WSH 35 TBY 34 Both Federal and Bandit offenses looked unstoppable on a sunny day by the bay. Trent Green threw for 308 and 3 scores, but was outdone by Kordell Stewart who threw 4 TD passes and amassed 347 through the air. Bubba Franks came up big for Washington with 2 scoring catches, while J.J. Stokes caught 6 passes for 122, the same yardage as Randy Moss on his 7 receptions. The difference in the game turned out to be two drives where the Federal D tightened up in the redzone, forcing Tampa Bay to go for 3 instead of 7. That allowed Washington the narrow 1-point margin of victory. NJ 45 PIT 24 Talk about an offense on fire, the Generals torched the Maulers thanks to a 4 TD day from Tom Brady. It did not always look that way as Brady’s first TD pass was actually a pick-six for the Maulers, but after that, the young QB found his stride, connecting with Terry Glenn for 109 yards and 2 scores and with Donald Hayes 4 times for 106 and a score as New Jersey romped. Five sacks of Charlie Batch certainly helped as Phil Hansen nabbed him twice to get back in the hunt for the sack lead with 7. MIDSEASON RANKINGS SHOW HAVE AND HAVE NOTS We thought that as we approach midseason it would be a good time to use the statistics available on U.com to try to explain some of the success stories and unexpected flops this year. As usual, stats cannot tell the full story, but they can point us in the right direction. What we see in the team numbers typically aligns with what we see in the standings and that is certainly the case this year. OFFENSES (scoring) 1. Ohio 33.3 PPG 2. New Orleans 26.8 PPG 3. Seattle 26.7 PPG 23. Portland 15.3 PPG 24. Michigan 15.0 PPG OFFENSES (yards) 1. New Orleans 388.5 YPG 2. Memphis 388.5 YPG 3. Ohio 384.3 YPG 23. Michigan 282.7 YPG 24. Portland 270.7 YPG No shock that Ohio is doing it with offense. I think we all expected that to be the case this year. But when we ask how New Orleans has made such a strong start, we have to give praise to Coach Nolan and how he has balanced the offense with solid leadership from Trent Dilfer and a good 1-2 punch at the halfback position with big Ricky Williams and scatback Troy Davis (a new addition to the squad.). Wonder why the Thunder went 0-5 to start the year, well, look no further. They just don’t score enough points. Add Michigan to that list as the Panthers are still trying to build an offense around the talents of 2nd year QB Drew Brees. DEFENSES (scoring) 1. Chicago 14.7 PPG 2. Jacksonville 15.7 PPG 3. Houston 16.8 PPG 23. Pittsburgh 27.5 PPG 24. Philadelphia 29.5 PPG DEFENSES (yards) 1. Washington 287.8 YPG 2. Denver 298.5 YPG 3. Texas 299.0 YPG 23. Tampa Bay 360.2 YPG 24. Baltimore 369.7 YPG Chicago is not blowing out teams, but what they are doing is holding them down. The Machine are better than all other USFL clubs in limiting scoring chances and keeping teams out of the red zone and it shows in these numbers. Want to understand Denver’s comeback after an 0-3 start, just look at how effective they are in controlling the ball and limiting opponent drives. If you just looked at the last 3 weeks, they would shoot to the top for certain. Now, if you cannot figure out why Philly is struggling this year, it is right here for you. They are allowing nearly 28 points a game. You will not win many games with that average. As much as fans in the City of Brotherly Love want to yell at management about the lackluster QB play this year, they probably should be paying more attention to the issues on the defensive side of the ball. TURNOVER MARGIN 1. Orlando +11 2. New Orleans +10 3. Arizona +10 23. Atlanta -4 24. Portland -5 Orlando’s defense is solid, though not as dominant as it was last season. But where they are excelling is in takeaways, a huge reason why they have the best turnover margin in the league. We can also see here another solid reason for New Orleans’s success this year as well as the just horrible results Portland and Atlanta are showing. You cannot win if you are weak on one entire side of the ball and if you cannot limit turnovers. Both the Fire and the Thunder are having trouble scoring and both are committing way too many unforced errors. TEXAS TWO STEP? So, can we now say the QB battle is over in San Antonio? After 6 games the breakdown is Ryan Leaf 4 starts, Jeff Lewis 1 start, and a Week 1 game where both got about equal snaps. Leaf has started consistently since Week 4, three starts in a row, and with pretty good results as the Outlaws have regained a share of 1st place at 4-1-1. Leaf has not been playing All-League football, but his 86.5 QBR and 6-4 TD-INT ratio are certainly good enough with that tough Texas defense to get W’s on the board. The question is just how long or short the leash is on the fiery QB. Jeff Lewis in basically 1.5 games has a higher completion percentage (62.7 vs. 60.3 for Leaf) and a higher QBR (87.8 vs. 86.5), but Leaf is getting the job done. So for now it appears that Leaf has the starts if he continues to produce wins, and that also has the added effect of limiting his tantrums to those against the refs or his OC, but will there come a game where his play suffers and Lewis gets another shot? That is one of the key questions Texas fans have as the Outlaws make a case for a divisional title. UNSUNG HERO? Jacksonville’s defense has been one of the revelations of this year and a big piece of their success has been the unheralded play of an unsung rookie, cornerback Mike Echols. The rookie out of Wisconsin finally got some recognition this week, earning the Rookie of the Week award for his 11 tackle performance with the exclamation point of a pick-six on it. But this is not the first big game for the former Badger turned Bull. Echols had a big 7-tackle game against New Jersey, earned his first pick of the year against Tampa Bay, and forced and recovered a key fumble in the surprising Bulls loss to Oakland. He is averaging nearly 85 snaps per game, and coaches cannot praise him enough in Jacksonville. He may not have been a big name on draft day, not selected until the 4th round with a pick the Bulls got from Orlando, but he is getting his day in the sun on the field with the Bulls, and is a big part of a defense that has helped Jacksonville start strong at 5-1. Midseason means rosters start to look a bit frayed as injuries start to mount. This week a few more names were added to the injury lists and roster depth charts around the league. Perhaps most troubling is the loss of LT Bernard Williams of Chicago, likely to be out the rest of the regular season, but targeting a playoff return after x-rays revealed a fracture in the tibia of his left leg. Arizona got hit twice in the defensive backfield in their game as both FS Tyrone Drakeford and CB Jimmy Williams are likely out several weeks, Drakeford with a neck injury and Williams with a torn meniscus in his right knee. Oakland loses a defensive leader as Roosevelt Colvin will be out at least 2-4 weeks with a sprained knee, while Memphis could be without LT Anthony Clement due to a sprained wrist that could cost him at least 2 weeks. Atlanta DT Anthony McFarland will miss 2 weeks thanks to a dislocated knee that looked nasty on the replay, but does not appear to have any ligament damage. Hosuton DT Richard Seymour is also potentially out 2 weeks after suffering a stress fracture in his foot against Denver. The decision whether to bench Will Furrer in Philadelphia seems to have been made by the injury report, as the Stars’ starting QB is expected to miss at least 1 game, perhaps more, with a pulled hamstring. Philly will also be without their best D-lineman, as Regan Upshaw is out at least this week with a dislocated finger. Bobby Engram is also added to a long injury list in Philadelphia with his own hamstring injury, listed as Doubtful for this week. Expected back in action this week we have Portland LT Kenyatta Walker, Michigan TE Roland Williams, Oakland DT Tim Johnson, Houston G Todd Kalis, and Nashville QB Todd Collins, who will not appear to miss any games after being in concussion protocols this week. NEW LOOK DRAGONS The Seattle Dragons are the first of the three clubs getting Reebok redesigns to reveal their look for 2003 as they unveiled a new look dragon on Wednesday at an event at the exclusive Rainier Club. The Club was open for a press conference as the team revealed their new look, which includes a brand new dragon logo as well as more futuristic uniforms utilizing side panels, thin piping, and blocks of color. The team’s colors remain the same—forest green, flame red, and a deep yellow—but the look is quite different. The gold dragon head is now replaced by a curving dragon body, forming a subtle “S” shape while also focusing on the writhing body of an Asian-inspired dragon. In their primary logo the dragon is now depicted in green and red, with a yellow outline, rather than the gold dragon with black outlines of the former. However, when shown against the forest green helmet, the upper body of the dragon returns to yellow and the black outline returns. The red lower body and the flame emerging from the dragon’s mouth remain the same on all backgrounds. The helmet remains stripeless, with the new dragon taking up more of the vertical space on each side. The new jerseys feature green side panels, piped in yellow, with red shoulder stripes and red color blocks at the waist. These color blocks align with the red pant stripe which is cut off about mid-hip. The yellow piping also extends to the pants, where it outlines the pant stripe, moving from front to back when the color shifts from red to green. On the white jersey and pants these stripes are quite prominent, while on the green jersey and pants the green stripe is absorbed into the background color, producing more emphasis on the red and yellow elements. Seattle is expected to primarily pair the white pants with the green jersey and vice versa, though fully white uniforms or a fully green look is not impossible. The final touch to the new look is a new wordmark, moving away from the thin, almost Times New Roman look of their original font, the new Dragons wordmark features a thicker but more vertically oriented font with accent points at the vertical midpoint, creating a more angular and “spikey” look, just as the dragon’s back and neck ridges create an almost sawblade look. Dragons officials have stated that they are in negotiations with the league office to allow the club to wear the new uniforms this season should Seattle appear in the post-season, and since the league allowed such a concession to the new Nashville Knights for their first post-St. Louis look, it seems likely that Seattle will also be allowed this concession. Week seven is the new half-way point of the season, and what we have at the half-way point is a lot of tight races at the top of each division and a lot of teams in desperate shape trying to stay relevant or turn around a horrible start to the year. We wrap up the first half of the league’s 14-game season with divisional matchups for the entire Eastern Conference, including a fascinating clash between Orlando and Jacksonville as the Bulls try to put more space between themselves and a very new-look Renegades squad. A win by the Bulls would give them a 3-game lead in the division at the midway point, ensuring that they remain the only club in the division with a winning record. Tampa Bay has disappointed this year, but a game against a lame duck Fire squad could be just what they need to jumpstart the second half oftheir year. In the Northeast, Washington and New Jersey share the division lead and both are facing division foes who have disappointed their fans this year. The 1-5 Stars come to the Meadowlands hoping that a win over their arch rival can help save their season, but they may be without Will Furrer, which puts the target on Chuck Hartlieb’s back. Washington faces their arch rival as well, and with Baltimore sitting at 2-4, only 1 game back of the Federals, the pressure will be on for the Blitz to take advantage of what should be a very loud Baltimore crowd. In the Central, Ohio and Chicago are dueling atop the division, but both face 2-4 clubs this week as Ohio travels to Ford Field to face the Panthers while Chicago enjoys some home cooking as the Maulers come to Soldier Field to face the league’s top scoring defense. The Western Conference has some interesting inter-divisional matchups as clubs try to put the right foot forward as we head into the league’s second half. Arizona sits at 3-3 and would love to get well above .500, but have a herculean task as they travel to Memphis to face the unbeaten Showboats. They also must deal with the fact that both of the 4-1-1 teams that lead their division are facing much easier competition as Houston travels to Oakland and Texas is in LA. We are still trying to figure out just what is wrong with the Express, but the Outlaws hope that whatever the issue is, the Express don’t choose this week to remedy it. An intriguing battle of 3-3 clubs will take place in Birmingham, where the Stallions host a Denver Gold club that lost their first 3 games but seems to have found their way, winning the next 3. Another 3-3 club, Seattle, hopes to get a bump this week, but has a tough road game in Nashville to contend with. Meanwhile, Portland, fresh after their first win of the year, has a much tougher task as they head to 5-1 New Orleans, with the Breakers hoping to stay within 1 game of Memphis with another win.

Five weeks in, just around 1/3 of a season, and some patterns are emerging. Ohio and Memphis remain unbeaten, though it took the Showboats a frenzied final minute to get it done. Houston looks legit as they outmuscle the Knights in a good defensive game, and don’t count out Tampa Bay, New Jersey, or Denver just yet as all three looked like they may have found their groove on the way to wins this week. All this plus stadium news from around the league. It’s U.com’s weekly recap of all the news that you need. A truly wild game and a see-it-to-believe-it finish in Seattle as Memphis gets a miracle to outlast the very game Seattle Dragons. In a game that saw the Showboats outgain the Dragons 501-214 it should not have come as close as it did, and yet it took final second heroics for the Showboats to pull this one out. Six field goals from Jeff Hall are testament to Memphis’s ability to move the ball but not to put it in the endzone, something they did only twice, while Seattle got 4 TDs, including 3 Brian Griese TD passes in what has to be a heartbreaking loss. The game started slowly, with the only score in the first quarter being the first of what would be 6 Jeff Hall field goals. Seattle countered to open the 2nd, when Griese hit David Boston, for a quick score to go up 7-3. Memphis again moved the ball well and again stalled just outside the red zone. Another Hall kick was the result. Seattle then rode Corey Dillon’s run game down to the 5 before Griese found Boston again, and the lead is now 14-6 Dragons. Add yet one more Hall field goal and we go into the half at 14-9. Seattle opened the second half by extending their lead. This time Dillon got the call and he plunged into the endzone from 1 yard out to extend the Dragon lead to 21-9. But, the score seemed to spark Memphis to action as they would get touchdowns on their next two possessions, first thanks to a nicely-thrown ball from Shuler to Joe Horn and then with a Tony Carter TD run. Memphis went for 2 after the Carter TD, and that gave them a 24-21 lead as the third quarter wound down. In the fourth the Showboats reverted to their earlier form, moving the ball easily between the 20’s but bogging down when Seattle got their redzone defense out. Hall would hit from 42 and 45 to extend the Memphis lead to 30-21. Seattle now felt the pressure to act, and they did, with Griese leading a quick fire 8-play drive that ended with an O.J. McDuffie TD catch. 30-28 was the score and Seattle, with just over 1:30 left to play, would use the onside kick to try to get the ball back. It worked as CB Ray Mickens fell o the oddly-bouncing ball for the Dragons. 61 seconds later it was Jay Feely’s turn for a kick, his first field goal attempt of the day, and he drilled the 49-yarder to retake the lead for Seattle with only 29 seconds left to play. 30-31 Dragons. And here is where the game went from exciting to just plain chaos. Memphis’s Tony Jones tried to return the ball out of the endzone, but only reached the 19 yard line before being corralled and bumped out of bounds. Memphis was at their own 19 with only 23 seconds left to play, but the Seattle defense had been ineffective against Shuler all game, as the QB had already thrown the ball for nearly 380 yards on the day. On their first play from scrimmage he would burn the Dragon secondary again, finding Tydus Wynans, the slot receiver, over the middle for 13 yards, but Seattle’s Chris Hayes whiffed on the tackle, and Wynans was off to the races. He would gain a total of 42 yards before John Lynch finally dragged him down by the ankle. Memphis tried to rush up to the line, but seconds were ticking away. With the ball at the 37 yard line, they wanted another play, but finally had to call their last timeout when the clock got to 4 seconds and they had not yet been able to spike the ball. There was clear frustration on the face of Coach Mora, who clearly was hoping to get the spike then connect on a quick pass on 2nd down to get the ball closer for Hall, but that was not an option any longer, so Hall lined up for what would be a 55-yard attempt. The man who had already connected 5 times made good on his 6th kick as well, sending the ball just above the crossbar and through to give Memphis a 33-31 victory as time clicked down. Fans in Seattle were stunned, while the bars in Memphis exploded with jubilation. The Showboats remain unbeaten after 5 weeks, but it does not get much closer than this one. BAL 17 NJ 20 A huge game in the Northeast as the Generals contained Ron Dayne (31 yards rushing) and got contributions from Curtis Enis (76 yards), Olandis Gary (55) and newly acquired Amos Zeroue (23) to outlast the Blitz and move up to 2-3 on the year, good enough for a tie atop the division. PHI 8 WSH 34 Washington also moved to 2-3 with a win at home against a listless Stars offense. Coach Jim Mora Jr. cannot be happy with his offense as Will Furrer was picked off 3 times and Stephen Davis had an embarrassingly bad 8 yards on 14 carries. The final insult was when Louis Oliver of the Feds picked off Furrer late in the 4th and ran it back for 6 to end the very one-sided Philly defeat. ATL 14 JAX 30 Terrell Owens caught 6 balls for 117 and a score, while Kenny Bynum rushed for a respectable 85 yards on the day as Jacksonville took advantage of Atlanta’s misfortune. Bledsoe, the hero of Week 4, got clocked by a passing elbow on a near-sack and had to leave the game midway through the 2nd. Mark Bulger came in and looked ill-prepared to play, completing only 11 of 28 passes against the Bulls’ defense. ORL 14 TBY 31 The Bandits look ready to make a run as they manhandled the Renegades in front of 49,000 at Tampa Stadium. Trent Green went 25 of 36 for 329 yards and 3 TDs as the Bandits’ vertical passing game was finding openings throughout the day. Yes, Orlando got pressure on Green (5 sacks) but he was still able to make big plays when needed. Meanwhile, Sedrick Irvin only touched the ball 7 times, which feels like a bad gameplan for Orlando. CHI 17 MGN 7 Michigan continues to struggle on offense as T.J. Duckett can only gain 32 yards on 13 carries and Drew Brees suffers through 4 sacks and a pick against the tough Chicago defense. Jeff George had an easier day, sacked only once, and completing 66.7% of his passes on his way to a 2 TD game. Chicago got the ball in Duce Staley’s hands often, with 17 carries and 3 receptions for a combined 102 yards, while Curtis Conway made the most of his 2 receptions, with both going for scores. OHI 42 PIT 28 It was close early, but Ohio slowly pulled away as the game wore on in this one. Kerry Collins would throw for 299 yards and 3 scores, while Eddie George added 2 touchdowns of his own to the mix. Joey Galloway was the player of the game with 176 yards receiving and 2 scores on only 7 receptions. For Pittsburgh, Charlie Batch had 3 TD passes, but also threw 3 to the other team, including a pick-six to Glory CB Mike Riley as the Glory stay unbeaten at 5-0. LA 24 ARZ 28 A huge game from Jake Plummer helps Arizona fend off the LA Express and move to 3-2. Plummer would throw for 289 and run for another 101 as he did it all for Arizona. Add in 2 passing touchdowns and 2 more rushing scores and you can see how he won the Offensive Player of the Week. LA got 91 yards from Antowain Smith and Cade McNown had a solid 288 yards passing with 3 TDs but it was not enough to topple Arizona in Tempe. OAK 21 DEN 28 Denver jumped out to a 14-0 lead early but the Invaders would not go away, keeping the pressure on Brunell and the Gold all game. Brunell would prove up to the challenged, throwing for 273 and 3 scores, but it was not the easy home win that the Gold were hoping to get from the 1-win Invaders. NSH 21 HOU 24 Houston stays unbeaten at 4-0-1 thanks to a solid defensive game against Todd Collins and the Knights. It was the defense, particularly a pick-six from Houston’s Robert Lombard, that gave them the edge, as both QB’s had similar games and both run games struggled. The game was within 3 points when Houston got a huge 4th down stop to stymie the Knights’ late comeback attempt and secure the win. NOR 34 TEX 21 The Outlaws could not keep pace with Houston, as they struggled against the 3-1 Breakers. New Orleans QB Trent Dilfer had a banner day, completing 21 of 27 passes for 333 yards and 4 touchdowns against a Texas defense that clearly did not have answers on this day. Add in 112 yards from Ricky Williams and you get a decisive win for the road team. BIR 28 POR 7 A big win for the Stallions, a job-costing loss for Portland, as ownership simply lost faith in Ray Rhodes after another embarrassing loss, letting the 3rd year coach go on Monday. Portland had 5 turnovers in a sloppy game that saw Correll Buckhalter fumble twice and Akili Smith throw two bad picks. Rhodes was let go on Monday and DC Joe Vitt was appointed interim head coach for a franchise in search of any signs of life. RHODES SHOWN THE DOOR Being a coach on a losing team is never a good long term security plan, and when the team has recently changed ownership the plank you walk gets even shorter. That was the situation for Ray Rhodes in Portland. After a 1-15 opening season, Rhodes was given a chance to build up the Portland roster under their prior ownership. Portland improved to 7-9 thanks mostly to a late season run of luck, but now, with a new ownership group for the Thunder, Rhodes opens the year with a 5-game losing streak and that was apparently all the owners needed to see. He was relieved of duty after 5 games, and now Portland again is looking to rebuild. There are certainly lots of fingers to point in the Rose City. Portland currently ranks 23rd of 24 clubs in both yards allowed and points allowed, and with Rhodes seen as a defensive coach, that is not a good place to be. The offense is no better, also ranked 23rd in scoring and in yards. Akili Smith seems to have regressed after a promising second half of 2001. The run game is two-headed but neither Kaufmann nor Buckhalter is putting up strong numbers consistently. The receiving corps, headed up by Matthew Hatchette and Patrick Rowe is simply not scaring anyone. Portland seems destined for a high draft pick. The question is whether they go after an offensive talent like USC QB Carson Palmer or Michigan State wideout Charles Rogers, or do they go for a big defensive force like Georgia DT Jonathan Sullivan or ASU edge rusher Terrell Suggs. Perhaps the best option for the Thunder at this point is to lay low, and wait for trade value to rise for what will certainly be a top pick in next year’s draft. COACHES ON THE HOTSEAT With Ray Rhodes now out in Portland the hot seat turns elsewhere. The two most prominent options for a potential coaching change are also in the suddenly problematic Pacific Division. Seattle sits atop the division at 2-3, but even with that Joe Tiller is certainly not safe. Plenty of folks blame him for blowing the lead against Memphis, and 2-3 is hardly a world-beating record. But, if there is one more seat that is feeling the heat this season it has to be the Oakland Invaders. Coach Gunther Cunningham was brought in to build a culture of defensive toughness, and the Invaders have just never shown any movement in that direction. They are in the bottom half of the league in pretty much every defensive category, and what is worse is that the offense seems to be equally as bad. Were it not for a truly shocking win against Jacksonville last week, we might also be talking about Coach Cunningham on the chopping block. Oakland plays Portland this week, and if Cunningham’s Invaders lose to the winless Thunder and their new interim head coach, you can bet the drumbeat of complaints and calls for Cunningham to be let go will get very loud in the East Bay. EARLY AWARD TALK Turning to more positive thoughts, we are at the 5th week of the year, about 1/3rd of the way through the 14-week season, and it seems a good time to look at the year’s big individual awards and who has made an early case for them. MVP could be a race between QB’s this year with Jake Plummer, Heath Shuler, and Trent Dilfer all making strong early season cases, but we are going to go in another direction. Eddie George of Ohio is on an unbeaten team, is on pace for 1,400 yards or more, and is proving that the halfback position is still vital for a truly unstoppable offense. We like his chances to challenge the usual QB suspects for the potential MVP. Among defenders looking at the Defensive POTY, there are three who stand out right now. The first is Houston’s Kavika Pitmann, who already has 7 sacks, but we should not only look at one category. Another strong contender is Denver’s Leslie O’Neill, who not only has a competitive 5 sacks, but has also recorded a safety, 2 forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. Strong numbers, indeed. Finally, Mike Vrabel in Jacksonville is making a good case for himself, with 38 tackles, 2 sacks, and real ballhawking with 4 forced fumbles and 3 recoveries through 5 games. For rookie of the year, all roads lead through Joey Harrington in Orlando. If the Renegades can reach .500 and stay in the playoff race, Harrington may be a shoe-in, but if not, the next best candidates appear to be New Jersey LB James Harrison and Washington WR Deion Branch, both of whom have put up strong numbers so far. A strong dark horse is New Orleans receiver Josh Reed, who is only 3 catches and 12 yards behind Branch right now among rookie receivers. Coach of the Year is so hard to figure this early in a season. We still have 3 undefeated teams, but if we had to throw a name in, we think the bigger surprise of the 3 is Houston, and the success of Wade Phillips in his first year in Space City is not going to go unnoticed. He has the Houston defense playing top caliber ball and the fact that Matt Hasselbeck is maturing into a solid starter certainly is helping as well. A much lighter week on the injury front, good news for all, but not a week without injuries. The biggest blow is to Washington and the depth on their D-line as rotational player Dan Footman is lost for the year with an ACL tear. It came on a play in which he was rolled up on by another lineman while trying to recover a fumble, and it will mean that the veteran lineman will likely not be available until training camp next January. Others who will miss significant time include Tampa halfback Tony Vinson, Seattle corner Al Harris, and Pittsburgh safety Sam Shade, all of whom are looking at 4-6 weeks before they can return to action. LB Roosevelt Colvin in Okalnad could miss 2-4 weeks with a sprained knee, while Pittsburgh is still looking at up to a month before Andre Rison can return to action. The good news for Atlanta is that Drew Bledsoe avoided major injury this week and is listed only as questionable for week 6. Orlando QB Gus Frerotte was also upgraded from out to doubtful, which is a good sign. Potentially back on the field this week we have Ohio TE Stephen Alexander, Portland tackle Kenyatta Walker, LA corner Irv Smith, Denver guard Evan Pilgrim, and Michigan WR Laverneus Coles. Lots of news this week on the stadium front. We start with a review of the new stadia in play this season. NEW STADIUMS IMPRESS USFL FANS The USFL has seen a flurry of stadium activity over the past few years, and the reviews are in on some of the new stadiums around the league. 2001 saw new homes for the Pittsburgh Maulers (Heinz Field) and Denver (New Mile High), while this season the Michigan Panthers, Houston Gamblers, and Seattle Dragons all moved to joint NFL/USFL stadiums this season. Pretty much in every case, fans are excited about the technology and sight lines in the new stadiums. Also important is that in all five cases the new stadia are located in the heart of the city, either downtown or near downtown, making for a truly energized experience. Parking has been cited as an issue in some locations, less of an issue in others, while fans still express some nostalgia and sense of loss with the destruction or decommission of such landmarks as Three Rivers, Mile High, and the AstroDome. Plans for the Silverdome are yet to be revealed, while Husky Stadium in Seattle now reverts back to being purely the home of UW football. Some interesting quirks we have seen so far this year, the first open-air game in Houston in quite a while as the Gamblers played with the roof open at Reliant Stadium for their game against Texas in Week 3. They closed the roof due to rain in Week 4 but hope to have it open again for a sunny day game against the Wranglers in Week 9. Seattle has been able to add about 2,000 season tickets to their fanbase thanks to the capacity of the new stadium just south of downtown, but has also created a program with Soundtransit, the Seattle mass transit organization, to provide gameday shuttles from the campus area north of the city to the stadium for all the fans who were comfortable traveling to the UW campus but may not want to deal with downtown pre and post game traffic. Finally, the Panthers are still using the Silverdome, but only as a practice facility for simulating gameday scenarios, pumping in sound and music at loud volume to prepare for road games. It is an expensive perk of having the Silverdome available, so we are not sure if this can continue as the facilty will be seeking new tenants or uses. But, when it comes to the new facilities, the word right now is that fans are very happy with the new home of USFL football in their towns. Next up will be Philadelphia, who hope to move into a new shared facility with the Eagles in spring 2023. PORTLAND STADIUM IN NEGOTIATIONS With the sale of the Portland Thunder, one of the biggest draws for the current ownership over other groups was not only the option to keep the Thunder in Portland, but the plans to develop a stadium facilty on the eastern side of town. That work has begun with Thunder personnel, particularly minority owner and real estate developer Phil Ruffin, opening talks with the city and the county to determine a potential site as well as lock in both for their share of the cost for the new facility. Early word is that the ownership group headed by Worldcom CEO Bernard Ebbers is hoping for a stadium with a capacity between 45,000 and 50,000, with a partial roof (similar to those seen in many soccer stadia) that would allow fans to stay largely dry during Portland’s rainy season (most of the USFL season, honestly). Adding roofing could increase the cost, of course, but at this stage the main concern is locating a spot that does not require massive relocation of businesses or residents, and which has a minimal negative environmental impact, this is green Portland after all. The hope is to have a new stadium ready as soon as the 2006 season. MEMPHIS TO TRY AGAIN FOR MAJOR LIBERTY BOWL RENOVATIONS Memphis Showboats ownership have all but abandoned the hope of getting a new stadium for their franchise, but now are again working with local organizations, the University of Memphis, and the city government in hopes of acquiring a deal to renovate Liberty Bowl Stadium to expand capacity and increase the potential revenue from suites and luxury boxes. Prior efforts to get either major renovation funds or a new stadium have failed both within committees of the city government and as a ballot initiative, but one thing working in Memphis’s favor right now is the growing fear that the city could actually lose the Showboats if no movement is made. This is a fear that Showboat officials are, if not promoting, are at least acknowledging. The recent relocations of both St. Louis and Atlanta franchises prove that franchises can be lost, and the revenue of a team with them for cities and local businesses. With both St. Louis and Atlanta now feeling the sting of the loss, there is concern that both cities will move from “poachees” to “poachers” very quickly. Both cities have stadiums ready and waiting for a new team, and if ownership groups can be developed, a faster path to a franchise may well be to make inroads with teams like the Showboats, who are struggling to get stadium improvements in a tough market. It appears that the potential concern of a future move to St. Louis or Atlanta could be just the motivator for the city of Memphis to appreciate the Showboats in a new way, at least that is what the team’s ownership hopes to be the case. OAKLAND’S STADIUM A CONCERN Another franchise with significant stadium concerns is Oakland, where Oakland-Alameda Stadium has two primary issues that do not sit at all well with ownership. The first is the shared venue with Major League Baseball’s A’s, forcing the team to play most of the season with a dirt diamond on the field, and with limited scheduling options. The second is the state of the stadium in general. It is one of the fields within the league that has the most immediate repair and maintenance needs. On top of that, and particularly when compared with new facilities like those in Houston or Seattle, the amenities of the Invaders’ home field are woefully lacking. Yes, there is ample parking, always a big issue for fans, but once you are inside the stadium what you encounter is an older, more bare-bones, and less engaging gameday experience. But, as we consider options Oakland may have, the question is asked, what options do the Invaders have? Any deal to renovate the stadium in Oakland will require cooperation with the Oakland A’s franchise, which means the issue of sharing the stadium with a baseball club, and the field alterations that requires, would not be going away. The two franchises have not exactly been collaborators in the past, so it also seems doubtful that they will form a strong united front when trying to pry resources out of a somewhat depleted city budget. The other option is to play the relocation card. We still have not heard from the Dallas-Ft. Worth group when it comes to relocation bids, which could be a card the Invaders might play. The other potential option is to reach out to the NFL 49ers, who also have made waves about the state of Candlestick Park (We know the official name is 3Com Park @ Candlestick Point, but no one calls it that.) If the Invaders and 49ers could work together, we may see Oakland become more of a Bay Area franchise, perhaps even changing their name depending on where they find themselves playing. We know that the new money in the region is south of both Oakland and San Francisco, in Silicon Valley, and that one or both of the region’s pro football teams could be swayed to make the move to the South Bay if a stadium is being offered. We have already seen the NHL move to the South Bay, with the San Jose Sharks doing quite well for themselves. Could one or both football clubs find happiness in Silicon Valley as well? ST. LOUIS NOT SITTING STILL Finally, we want to check back in with St. Louis. The Knights are now gone, playing to enthusiastic crowds in Nashville, but what about the city they used to call home? While the city government has been somewhat slow to react to the loss of a major sports franchise, doubling down on their support for the NFL Rams and MLB Cardinals, fans in the Gateway City have been more vocal, calling on the league, the city, the state, and the stadium authority to bring USFL football back to their city. It will take time to put together either a grassroots movement or a strong ownership coalition to truly enter the competition for USFL franchises, and with the sales of both Atlanta and Portland finalized, there is not a clear target franchise for a purchase-and-move bid on the market right now. We mentioned that Memphis might use St. Louis as a means to an end, but ownership in Memphis is both well-entrenched and local, so the realistic odds of the Showboats moving up river does not seem very promising. Other teams with stadium issues, like Oakland and Birmingham, also have longstanding local ownership that has expressed no interest in selling their franchises. So, even if St. Louis can build a viable ownership group that could contend with Dallas, Miami and Kansas City groups, their best option may be to lobby enough USFL owners towards a mid-decade expansion, in hopes that cities like theirs (and Atlanta) that have recently lost teams would have a viable shot at acquiring a new team. It seems a longshot, but crazier things have happened. Week six has us looking at divisional play in the West and interdivisional matchups in the East. Houston will take their unbeaten record to a tough place, Mile High, to face the Gold on Sunday. On Saturday, Texas will be in Arizona in a battle of 3-win clubs hoping to catch the Gamblers. In the Pacific Division we have the already-highlighted matchup of teams in trouble as 0-5 Portland visits 1-4 Oakland. Seattle at 2-3 leads the division but heads to LA (1-4), who are hoping a win gets them right back into play for the division. In the Southern Division the 5-0 Memphis Showboats are at home for their first matchup against their new in-state rivals, Nashville. Expect bad blood and chippiness in this one, and that is just among the fans who attend. In the other game 4-1 New Orleans heads to 3-2 Birmingham in a game that could be vital within the division. The best matchup among the Eastern Conference teams is likely one of the matchups of 2-3 teams, as all 4 teams in these 2 games are fighting to get back to .500. Washington is at Tampa Bay, who certainly showed some firepower this week, while New Jersey visits former divisional foe Pittsburgh. In other games, we have 2-3 Baltimore headed for a tough matchup at unbeaten Ohio. We also see the 2-3 Panthers hoping to steal a win and get to .500 in Jacksonville against the 4-1 Bulls. Chicago takes their 4-1 record to Atlanta, where Drew Bledsoe is expected back under center. In Orlando, the Renegades can get to .500 with a win against a Philadelphia team that looks like they have lost their edge.

A rough week for Atlanta Fans as they get the news that their team is indeed a lame duck franchise, just as the club debuts their new QB and gets their first win of the year. It is official, the club is moving to Boston in 1993, name still to be decided, but it means that this season is it for fans in Atlanta, at least for the next few seasons. On the field, the big news was a huge win for Joey Harrington as the new QB of the league champion Renegades, and the first wins of the year for not only Atlanta, but Oakland, Tampa Bay, and Denver as well. While it certainly was not in Coach George O’Leary’s original plans to have his rookie QB as his starter as early as Week 2 this season, if this week’s performance on the road in Portland is any indication, Joey Harrington being forced into playing may not be that bad an option after all. Harrington put together a performance against the Portland Thunder that feels like the start of something special. In a game in which Orlando trailed throughout the game, Harrington again and again led the Renegades to scores when they were essential, including the game winner as time ran out. For Portland the story is one of continued disappointment, as a team that fought their way to 7-9 and the cusp of the playoffs last season dropped to 0-4 despite putting together a strong offensive performance (436 total yards, including 178 on the ground). The Thunder found success in the run game for the first time this year, with Napoleon Kaufmann gaining 102 yards on 13 carries, with 2 touchdown runs, while Correll Buckhalter also fared well, gaining 60 yards on his 13 carries. But in the end, it was not enough as the Portland defense could not get the stop when it was needed most. On a rare clear and sunny Portland day in April the Thunder started the game on the right foot, scoring on their first possession, a Kaufmann 5-yard sprint to the corner pylon. They would add a field goal as the 2nd quarter began to go up 10, having forced 3-and-outs on the first three Orlando drives. On their fourth drive, the Renegades began to find a rhythm, with Sedrick Irvin gaining 20 yards on 3 carries and Joey Harrington connecting with 3 different receivers, the final connection being a 34-yard seam route for a score to his favorite target, TE John Henry Mills. Up 10-7, Portland again moved the ball well, relying mostly on the run game, but with intermittent throws from Akili Smith mixed in. They would add another 3 points at the 2:36 point of the 2nd quarter, but their lead would quickly be wiped out as Harrington led the Renegades on a no-huddle, quick-paced 2-minute drill. Harrington connected with Keenan McCardell, Donald Driver, Rickey Dudley and then John Henry Mills again (his 2nd TD of the day) on the drive, giving the ‘Gades their first lead of the day at 14-13 with 1:02 left in the half. Portland caught a break after the Orlando score when David Gibson got a 44-yard return on the kickoff, putting the Thunder at their 48 yard line with just under a minute to play. A short drive and a Carlos Huerta FG allowed Portland to go into the half with the lead. When the 2nd half opened, that lead would again be wiped out. Harrington hit Mills for a third time as Portland simply did not gameplan effectively to stop the big TE. The Mills TD gave Orlando a 21-16 lead, but Portland would respond. On their next possession, Portland held the ball for just under 8 minutes, and after 13 plays Kaufmann had his second TD on the day and the Thunder had the lead back at 24-21 (thanks to a 2 point conversion). They increased that lead to 27-21 in the 4th with another Huerta field goal. After a failed drive forced Orlando to punt with 5:20 left in the game, the defense came up big, with Chris Doleman sacking Smith on 2nd down to create what would be an unmakeable 3rd and 15. Portland punted and Orlando got the ball back with 3:33 left to play. Once again Harrington was asked to lead a no huddle drive, and once again he came through. Consecutive passes to Reidel Anthony, Donald Driver, and a swing pass to R.J. Redmond got the ball into Portland territory. Following an ill-conceived draw play that forced Orlando to use their last time out, Harrington had just over 1 minute left and 44 yards to go to get in the endzone. He found Jabar Gaffney for 7, then Keenan McCardell for 13, missed on a pass to Dudley, but then hit McCardell again to get the ball all the way to the 3 yard line. Racing up to the line, Harrington spiked the ball with 17 seconds to play. The Renegades would have 2, maybe 3 chances to get the ball in the endzone. Would they dare run it? The answer was no. On 2nd and 10 after the spike Harrington faked the ball to Sedrick Irvin and found his fullback, Chris Fuamau-Ma’afala out to the right, uncovered. The big Samoan fullback hauled in the Harrington pass and plunged across the goal line for his first TD catch in 3 years. It was a heartbreaking loss for the winless Portland Thunder, but for Harrington it was a triumphant drive that Orlando hopes is a sign of things to come. Their rookie QB finished the day with 364 yards passing, 4 touchdowns, and a rating of 122.0, all his best to date in 3 starts. Orlando may still be considered a longshot to repeat as champions after a tumultuous offseason, but the future does look bright for the Renegades. CHI 23 BIR 14 To look at the stat line, where Birmingham controlled the clock for 33 minutes and outgained Chicago 369-263, you would think this a Stallion victory, but the Machine held the Stallions to only two Marcus Robinson TD receptions, while Chicago would score on 5 possessions (3 FG and 2 TD) to take the win. Deuce Staley had a huge game, rushing for 126 to pace the Machine to the victory. MGN 12 MEM 19 Michigan played conservatively and held Memphis to only 291 total yards, but could not muster enough offense late in the game when they needed it and Memphis held on to win by 7. Joe Horn and Garrison Hearst scored for the Showboats, who struggled to make big plays against a protective zone Michigan employed. OHI 24 NSH 22 Ohio raced out to a 24-9 halftime lead but sputtered in the second half as the Knights slowly clawed back into the game. Eddie George was held to only 33 rushing yards by the Nashville defense, while Ahman Green rushed for 104 in the loss. Red Zone defense proved the key for Ohio as they forced Nashville to kick field goals in the 4th quarter instead of getting touchdowns. That difference helped Ohio cling to the 2-point victory. PIT 16 NOR 28 The Breakers racked up nearly 500 yards of offense against a well-regarded Mauler defense. Ricky Williams had his best game of the year, rushing for 132, while Trent Dilfer threw for 327 and 3 scores. Dilfer’s main target was tight end Steve Johnson, who caught 6 passes for 126 and 2 scores, one of them a 61-yard backbreaker when the game was within 1 score. BAL 24 ARZ 19 The Blitz find themselves atop the Northeastern Division at 2-2 thanks to a solid win on the road in Tempe. Jake Plummer threw two picks, and despite 86 yards rushing, could not outpace the Blitz, despite Jeff Garcia being out. Billy Joe Tolliver relied heavily on Ron Dayne’s rushing (101 yards on 23 carries) to set up play action, but found both Kyle Brady and Bill Schroeder for touchdowns in the Blitz victory. NJ 13 DEN 33 Denver’s offense finally came alive in this strong home performance against the Generals. Robert Holcombe rushed for 90 yards and 2 scores and Rod Smart added another 53 on the ground as Denver rediscovered their power run game. The defense also came up big, picking off Tom Brady 3 times on their way to a convincing win, their first of the year. PHI 21 HOU 38 Houston remained unbeaten by surprising the Stars with an inside-outside run game. Mike Anderson handled the inside game, rushing for 41 yards on 10 carries, but the bigger success came from Kevin Faulk, who had an impressive 162 yards on only 13 carries to pace the Gamblers. His 61-yard TD scamper in the opening quarter set the tone for the game. WSH 3 TEX 20 The Outlaws also stayed unbeaten as they knocked off a listless Washington club, keeping the Federals out of the endzone and scoring on defense as CB Jimmy Hitchcock returned a Kordell Stewart pick for a touchdown. The Federals only averaged 3.6 yards per carry on the ground, against the Outlaws. Sticking to their QB rotation, Ryan Leaf won the start in practice and performed well, going 17 of 30 for 152 with no picks. ATL 23 LA 7 Maybe all the Fire did need was a new QB, as they played inspired football in Drew Bledsoe’s first start. Bledsoe would go 18 of 31 for only 168, but his presence forced the LA defense to respect the passing game, which allowed Tiki Barber to rack up 161 on the ground. Meanwhile, the usually soft Atlanta defense showed up in force, limiting LA to only 54 yards on the ground in a surprisingly complete game for the visitors. JAX 6 OAK 26 Another big upset on the West Coast as the undefeated Bulls were shocked by the Invaders. Jackonville converted only 1 third down all game, as Oakland’s D gave up some big plays but kept from allowing drives to develop. On offense, it was Rodney Thomas, in his best game so far as an Invader, who stole the show, rushing 28 times for 133 yards, including a 42-yard TD to pace the Invader offense. Plaxico Burress aided the cause with 2 touchdown receptions as Oakland shocked the bookmakers, winning by 20 when they had been a 2 touchdown underdog. TBY 24 SEA 19 The Bandits get their first win of the season thanks to a 67-yard pick-six from Greg Jeffries, and a mistake free game from Trent Green (11 of 20 for 204 and no picks). Seattle got 122 on the ground from Corey Dillon, but it was not enough in the end to catch up to the Bandits. THE MIDSEASON TRADE WINDOW OPENS EARLY Maybe it’s the new 14-game season, or perhaps just that desperation has started early for some clubs, but this week, following Sunday’ games, we saw an early start to the mid-year trading block. Normally we would expect to see some action in Week 6 or 7, but to see teams make significant moves after Week 4 is unusual, and yet, we got 5 teams on the block, making deals to either get some much needed help, or in one team’s case, to try to turn a good start to the year into a potential playoff run. New Orleans was the big mover and shaker, making two trades to shore up areas of concern. First, following the news that Bobby Hoying’s foot injury was significantly worse than first diagnosed (moving from turf toe to a fracture with possible staff infection in his toe), the Breakers felt the need to add a QB who could actually step in if something happened to Trent Dilfer. They found a willing partner in Atlanta, who was sitting on three pretty hefty QB salaries with Drew Bledsoe now added to a QB room that had Mark Bulger and Aaron Brooks in it. Atlanta was more than willing to send Brooks (a healthy inactive this past week) to New Orleans and get some value for the move. New Orleans got their solid backup, and Atlanta picked up a quality cornerback from the Breakers in Allen Rossum as well as a 6th round pick in the 2003 draft. But, the Breakers were not done yet. Viewing pass rush as the main weak area for a defense that has had some issues this year, the Breakers were on the lookout for a potential upgrade on the edge. They again found a willing partner in Portland, who, after taking their 4th loss of the year, were hoping to shore up the run defense by adding a space-occupying DT. So, the Thunder and Breakers made a deal to swap outside D-line for inside D-line in hopes that both could solve what they saw as their primary defensive concern. Portland would add big-bodied Leon Bender (as well as a 4th round pick in the draft) to help them against the run, while veteran DE Clyde Simmons would get a new opportunity to harass QB’s as a member of the Breakers. Trading away 2 draft picks and 2 solid defensive contributors (Rossum and Bender) to land Simmons and Brooks sure seems to indicate that the Breakers see this year as an opportunity to redefine expectations, with their eyes squarely set on competing with Memphis for the division title. The third move this week saw the New Jersey Generals add a needed weapon on offense, while the Oakland Invaders tried to deal with one of their defense’s many weak spots. Oakland has been atrocious in the secondary, an area where New Jersey had depth to offer, so they made a case to acquire backup strong safety Pearson Prioleau from the Generals. The deal, offer New Jersey a solid 3rd down back, one with receiving skills that neither Curtis Enis nor Olandis Gary really possess. The deal sounded good to New Jersey, who have struggled getting their backs involved in the passing game. So, Prioleau goes to Oakland, while the Generals pick up elusive HB Amos Zeroue and a 5th rounder to boot. A good move for New Jersey, but very likely a stronger move for Oakland, who simply needed more skill in the DB room. Will these three moves profoundly impact the teams involved? Hard to say, though certainly if Trent Dilfer were to miss any time the Breakers would feel more comfortable with Aaron Brooks as the backup than their third stringer, Jesse Palmer. And we expect that Coach Parcells will find a way to make use of Amos Zeroue’s skills. The real question is whether Atlanta, Portland, or Oakland will see much benefit from these moves, or if more holistic change is needed. LEAF HAPPY FOR A CHANGE Challenged to step up during practice, Ryan Leaf earned the start for the Outlaws and was not replaced during his game against Washington. And while his 17 of 30, 152 yard day was hardly anything to write home about, the simple fact that Coach Gailey did not pull him for Jeff Lewis seemed to have the tantrum-prone former top draft pick in a better mood after the game. In his post-game interview he managed to both commend his teammates for stepping up, admit that he has areas for improvement, and declare that his goal each week is to prove to the coaches that he is the best option at QB. Awfully mature for a player often criticized as being a man-child. Of course, those of us who have dealt with his prior outbursts still wonder what will happen should Coach Gailey opt for Lewis in future weeks. Will the mature new Leaf disposition hold or will we see more of what we saw when he was in Oakland? ROOKIE MAKING WAVES It is unusual for a rookie to come from nowhere to lead his team. You see it occasionally with a high round draft pick, perhaps at positions like HB or CB, where individual talent can often trump knowledge of the pro game, but what we are seeing in New Jersey is certainly unexpected. James Harrison, a bit of a wild card pick in the mid rounds of the draft, has defied the odds. Not only did he win a starting position as the weak side LB in New Jersey’s 4-3, but he currently leads the team with 32 tackles, good enough for 5th in the entire league. Harrison is a big hitter, that is for sure, and he seems to relish taking on running backs, as he showed this week with a huge hit against Robert Holcombe of Denver, knocking the back right off his feet. It is early, but this little-heralded LB out of Kent State could be a serious candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Run & Shoot Yourself In the Foot Concern in Michigan where Coach Martz seems to be leaning very heavily into the Shoot part of Run & Shoot. His offense after 4 games is not exactly what you would call balanced, with 78% of all plays being pass plays. The fact that the leading number of rush attempts by far is from Drew Brees scrambling (and he is not a scrambler by nature) is not a good sign. Brees has officially rushed the ball 60 times in 4 games, while the big acquisition at HB, Michigan State rookie T.J. Duckett, has only 39 rushing attempts on the year. Folks in Detroit are beginning to question the logic of asking Brees to throw the ball as much as he has. The success throwing nearly every down has not been there. Brees has 4 TDs but also 3 picks and is only at a 64.5% completion rate. For a QB known for his accuracy, that is not good. Yes, a lot of the blame could go to an offensive line that has simply not gelled yet, but the playcalling is also a big question. You signed Duckett, a top-rated draft pick, with the intention to run him and make life easier for Brees, but so far Martz is not calling a game that takes advantage of the big back. It seems time is right for the 2-2 Panthers to reevaluate whether their wide open offense makes sense with the personnel they have. The big story this week was that of Bobby Hoying’s new diagnosis. Not only was his turf toe not turf toe, but when doctors discovered the radial fracture in the toe, they also realized that infection had set in, so what was expected to be a 1-2 week minor issue became a pretty serious season-ending concerns. Hoying is expected to recover fully but will be unable to contribute to the Breakers’ 3-1 season, one of the big reasons the Breakers traded for Aaron Brooks. Hoying was not the only player who got bad news this week as Washington DE Dan Footman is also out for the year with an ACL tear. Seattle CB Al Harris is likely out for the season as well after injuring his back this week. In Pittsburgh the concern is for SS Sam Shade, whose torn MCL likely means 6-8 weeks on the bench. Pittsburgh got hit with a double whammy as their top receiver, Andre Rison, will also be out at least 2 weeks after fracturing his lower arm. It is not a displaced fracture, so he is expected to return quickly, but 2 weeks without Rison could be an issue for the Maulers. Another important receiver, Michigan’s Laverneus Coles, is likely out at least this week with a sprained ankle. Ohio will be without their star TE Stephen Alexander who sprained his knee this week, while in Texas, rookie TE Matt Schobel is also questionable with a foot injury. Jeff Garcia, the starter for Baltimore may miss another game as his hamstring continues to be a problem. Expected back in action this week are Denver WR Germaine Crowell, Tampa WR Chris Doering, Pittsburgh TE Jay Riemersma, Nashville tackle Jason Fabini, Portland LB Joey Porter, Philly backer Sam Rogers, and Washington DE Bobby Hamilton. IT IS OFFICIAL, ATLANTA IS OUT, BOSTON IS IN. Following several leaks that pointed to a relocation for the Atlanta Fire franchise, the USFL this week officially announced that an agreement had been reached with the Fire and the Boston Colonials Football Group to sell the club, an agreement that allows the club to relocate to Boston for the 2003 season. The league had certainly hoped to get further into the season before breaking this news, knowing full well that this will likely cause a backlash in Atlanta and would very likely negatively impact the rest of the season for the Fire, both on field and in the ticket office. The details of the sale have not been disclosed, though our sources tell us that the asking price for the Fire was not as high as that obtained for either the Portland Thunder or St. Louis Knights. Quite simply put, the Fire had just not built up enough value in Atlanta to ask for more than the other two older franchises. Among the details that were released during the USFL league office’s announcement were that the club will play their games at Boston College’s Alumni Stadium starting with preseason 2003, that the ownership group would be headed by current Boston Bruins owner and CEO Jeremy Jacobs, though the group is truly a consortium of several significant figures and not a part of the holdings of Jabobs’s Delaware North consortium, owners of the Bruins. Finally, the league announced that as part of the agreement to sell the Fire to the Boston-based group, the league would pursue an agreement with the NFL and New England Patriots to allow for the potential use of the Colonials name, but that in the intermim the Boston ownership group must develop alternative options for a team identity should the NFL or Patriots refuse to relinquish their rights to a trademark infringement case against the club or the USFL. This was apparently one of very few contingencies built into the sale and it appears that the Boston group has agreed to explore alternative team identities over the upcoming months. In Atlanta the news was met with some degree of frustration, but also an overwhelming sense of resignation. The Fire have not been able to develop a strong and vehement fan presence like those seen with several other Southern franchises such as Birmingham, Memphis, New Orleans, or Jacksonville. While there is certainly a sense of loss with the franchise being sold and relocated, the general sense is that this was seen from a mile away, there is no shock, no disbelief, and while football fans in Georgia are certainly not happy to lose their USFL franchise, we are simply not seeing a reaction similar to the ones witnessed in St. Louis after the announced move to Nashville was made, or in Portland when the franchise was looking at multiple bids, including one by the very same Boston group. In Boston the move was met with enthusiasm, fans gathering downtown to celebrate the arrival of a new football team, the first to play in the city since the Boston Breakers departed for New Orleans (since the Patriots have been well outside the city in Foxboro for years). While the fans cannot be sure that their club will be the Colonials, or have some other identity, enthusiasm seems high for the city to rejoin the spring football world next season. It certainly does not hurt that among those coming to Boston will be Drew Bledsoe, longtime Patriot QB and the first QB to lead the Patriots to an NFL title. So now the big questions remaining, with all 3 franchises on the market now claimed, are different. First, just what will this new Boston club be named? And second, will the USFL’s Southeastern Division truly be three Florida teams and a Boston franchise, or will 2003 see another realignment, and just who moves out of their current division? We shall have to wait and see, though we know already that neither Washington nor Baltimore has any desire to split up their rivalry between two divisions, which does not leave a lot of options. If Boston goes to their logical place in the Northeast, one of the 4 current teams will have to move out. An intriguing issue to follow as we move ahead with the relocation process. Week five brings us divisional play in the East once again, with some big matchups as teams try to move their way to the top of some tight divisional races. Baltimore leads the Northeast at 2-2 and heads to New Jersey hoping to put more space between themselves and the competition. Philly and Washington are both mired at 1-3 but face off at RFK, with both hoping to get win #2. In the Southeast, Atlanta, fresh off their surprise win in LA, must now face Jacksonville, who just suffered their first defeat. Tampa Bay will be in Orlando as well, with both hoping they are now headed in the right direction after Week 4 wins. In the Central we have two good rivalry games, with Chicago visiting Michigan and Ohio headed to Pittsburgh. Out West it is interdivisional play this week, with the big game being 3-1 New Orleans headed to 3-0-1 Texas in what used to be a divisional rivalry. Houston shares the top spot in the Southwest at 3-0-1 and prepare to host the Nashville Knights. Denver and Oakland just scored their first wins of the year and now face off at Mile High. LA, surprisingly at 1-3, heads to Arizona, where the Wranglers hope to build up a divisional lead with a win. Birmigham travels to winless Portland hoping to avoid an upset, while Memphis, at 4-0, hopes to stay unbeaten as they visit 2-2 Seattle.

It’s a week that saw three teams reach a perfect 3-0, and two more stay unbeaten by settling for a tie in one of the weirder Texas Showdowns we have seen. We also watched as both Denver and Tampa Bay sank to 0-3 as their rough starts to the year continue. We will make some very early overreactions to where teams stand right now in just a bit, but let’s start with our slate of games, opening with a classic Stallion-Showboat slugfest in Memphis. We talk a lot about a college atmosphere as being the best thing a pro football game can achieve, but when it is Birmingham vs. Memphis it feels more like a college rivalry atmosphere, an SEC showdown between heavy hitters. That was definitely the scene in Memphis this week, where more than 55,000 were on hand to cheer their team on. There was a distinct Stallion rooting section but for the most part it was Memphis fans making noise. And what better to rile up both sets of fans than a game that got taken down to the final 2 minutes and then into overtime. Talk about a college atmosphere, this had it all. The game started off with both clubs testing each other out, probing to see where the weak spots would be. Memphis struck first when on their second drive a pass interference penalty against Birmingham gave the Showboats the ball on the 7 yard line. Heath Shuler connected with Joe Horn and it was a quick 7-0 lead for the home team. Birmingham is still testing out their new run game, and they kept feeding the ball to Shaun Alexander, who would finish the game with 67 yards on 17 carries. Using Alexander, Birmingham worked their way down the field before Brett Favre found Marcus Robinson in the endzone to even the score just as the 2nd quarter began. Memphis would retake the lead 6 minutes later with a Jeff Hall field goal, but Birmingham would jump back out on top just before the half with Favre hitting Tyree Davis for a go-ahead TD. But lest you think this was a pure offensive showcase, it was not. Both defenses had their moments, with Birmingham holding Memphis to only 89 yards rushing and sacking Shuler 5 times on the day , including twice by Renaldo Turnbull. Memphis for their part kept Brett Favre under 50% completions (15 of 34) and took him to the ground 6 times as the Stallion line struggled to deal with stunts and blitzes from the Jim Mora defense. Memphis received the 2nd half kick, and despite some solid defense along the way, the Stallions gave up points as Shuler found FB Larry Centers from 12 yards out to pull ahead 17-14. Birmingham would punt on their next possession, but following a Shuler pick they got close enough for Olindo Mare to even the score at 17. As we entered the 4th quarter Memphis again went ahead. Joe Horn, who finished the game with 9 receptions for 131 yards, snagged his second TD catch from Shuler, this time a quick bubble screen that went to the house with 6:55 left to play. Birmingham would get the ball back and mix the run and the pass to both even the score and leave too little time for Memphis to respond. They got their final score, another Tyree Davis TD catch, with only seconds left to play, forcing Memphis to play for overtime with the few plays left available to them. Despite the late score, it never felt like Birmingham had stolen the momentum from the Showboats. It was a see saw game all day, and when the Stallions were forced to punt on the first possession of overtime, Memphis had enough in the tank to get the ball lined up for Jeff Hall to try a 50-yard attempt. Hall hit his kick and the Memphis faithful went home happy. It was a good game played between two evenly matched teams, but the Showboats got the home field bump and the points in overtime to take the W and move to 3-0. Birmingham suffers their first loss and drops to 2-1, but with plenty to take away from this one. TEX 15 HOU 15 OVERTIME If Birmingham-Memphis was close, this one was razor sharp as both undefeated Texas squads fought to a tie, neither able to get the win in overtime. It was a game that saw both offenses struggle to get in the endzone, with Houston getting the lone touchdown on a Hasselbeck to Robinson toss in the first quarter. Texas’s only points would be 5 field goals from Rian Lindell, while Houston would add 2 field goals and a safety. Houston went up 15-12 with only 1:37 left to play, but Texas was able to get Lindell into range and he equalized at the whistle. Neither club could move the ball in overtime and the game ended with the always unsatisfying tie score, but at least both can still say they are undefeated. JAX 28 NJ 23 Another good tight match up in the Meadowlands, where Jacksonville seemed to be running away with the game, up 28-7 at one point, before New Jersey mounted a ferocious comeback attempt. In the end it was too little too late for New Jersey, but they made it interesting. Kenny Bynum was the hero for the Bulls, scoring twice and racking up 97 yards against a defense designed to stop him. PIT 17 WSH 13 The Maulers got a huge win on the road as they knocked off the Federals thanks in part to two Terrell Davis scoring runs. Davis struggled to reach 100 yards, ending at 99 on 25 carries, but that was a lot better than the Federal backs who combined for only 30 total rushing yards against Pittsburgh’s revamped D-line. Rookie Mauler LB Akin Ayodele and veteran Demetrius Dubose were on top of things, combining for 15 tackles, while Kyle Vanden Bosch added another sack to join the group trailing Kavika Pittman by only 1 (5 to 4). ARZ 24 DEN 20 The Wranglers dealt Denver another tough blow, knocking them to 0-3 with a road win at Mile High. They did it, as they so often seem to, without a workable run game, relying on Jake Plummer. Their QB responded with 3 TD passes and 297 yards, and the Wrangler defense contained Denver when it mattered most, shutting them out in the 4th quarter. SEA 22 POR 14 Seattle won the Cascade Clash in Portland by picking off Akili Smith twice and holding the Thunder to only 20 total rushing yards in a truly poor display by Buckhalter and Kaufmann (23 carries for a combined 14 yards. Corey Dillon and NFL import Brian Mitchell blew past that for a combined 145 yards and 2 scores as Seattle got the divisional road win. NOR 33 NSH 20 The Breakers figured out the weak spots in Nashville’s defense and exploited them, with Trent Dilfer throwing for 3 scores and the combo of Ricky Williams and Troy Davis gaining 108 yards. As the 4th quarter began it was 26-3 and despite some late let down by New Orleans’s defense, the game was never really in doubt. LA 41 OAK 13 It has been a while since Oakland has gotten the better of their downstate rivals, and it certainly did not happen on this day. LA scored the first 34 points of the game, aided by 2 Invader turnovers, and Cade McNown was done as the 4th quarter began. Antowain Smith had a solid day with 82 yards on 14 carries, but gave way in the second half as LA let DeShaun Foster get some work. The rookie responded with 22 carries for 110 yards and 2 scores as Oakland’s defense was simply manhandled up front all day. OHI 34 PHI 23 Ohio got 183 yards on the ground from Eddie George and that left Philly vulnerable to the play action pass as well, as pretty much every plan Ohio had seemed to work. Joey Galloway scored twice and the Ohio defense, looking more formidable than last year, limited the Stars to only 89 rushing yards on the day. No longer a divisional game, this one still has to feel good for the Glory, who move to 3-0 on the year. TBY 17 MGN 28 Real worries in Tampa Bay that the offense has just not found a rhythm this year. Trent Green threw three picks to the Panther secondary and Errict Rhett was limited to only 43 yards rushing as Michigan pulled away in this one thanks to 2 TD passes from Drew Brees and TD runs from both rookie T.J. Duckett and 3rd down back Winslow Oliver. ORL 13 CHI 23 The Machine got to rookie Joey Harrington often, with 5 sacks and numerous hits, and that led to several stalled drives for Orlando. Meanwhile Curtis Conway had a good game for the Machine, catching 6 for 110 and a score, one of two thrown by Jeff George on the day. Brian Urlacher had 10 tackles to lead all Machine players, as Orlando tried to play a short game and kept sending players into his zone. ATL 21 BAL 31 The battle of 0-2 teams had to produce a winner, and that winner was the home team, Baltimore. They got big days from two unexpected contributors as Billy Joe Tolliver was called on after a concussion was suffered by starter Jeff Garcia. He would throw for two TD passes, and little used scatback Travis Minor proved his worth, rushing 7 times for 117 yards, including a 56 yard TD run that left Atlanta players pointing fingers. OVERREACTIONS OR JUST OBSERVATIONS? We are starting our review of the stories of the week with a Week 3 Overreaction Session. We look at the 5 winless clubs and the 5 unbeatens and try to figure out if fans are overreacting to what they have seen so far. We start with a particularly panicked fanbase up in the Pacific Northwest. Portland needs to prioritize the HB position Fans in Portland are ecstatic that the club was sold to an ownership group that has designs on keeping the club in their city, especially after what happened in St. Louis and what appears to be happening in Atlanta. That said, they are not exactly feeling the Thunder when it comes to what they see on the field. This is a fanbase that got spoiled over several years when Robert Drummond was winning rushing titles and single handedly powering the Portland offense. The past few years the Thunder brought Napoleon Kaufmann over from the NFL and drafted Correll Buckhalter, and both have had moments, but the Thunder have been unable to consistently maintain a run game, so should Portland do something about this? Our bullpen is split on this. Some believe a trade for a top level HB may be enough to get Portland on track for major improvement, others think the roster as a whole needs improvement and that means keeping their draft picks. Our take: Panic over the run gam is overreaction right now. Trent Green needs better security Tampa Bay is a surprising 0-3, and Trent Green is being harassed, chased, and flustered on nearly every drop back. Is Tampa Bay in need of an O-line overhaul? Our crew was pretty unanimous on this one. Yes. They need to make moves and make them quick. This is a team that has talent outside, a solid HB, and Trent Green has proven he can win if they can protect him, but this O-line is doing him no favors. If they can make some moves to acquire better talent, especially on the outside at tackle, they have the talent to be much better than what we have seen so far. Denver does not have the answer at HB We all knew it would not be easy to replace Rashaan Salaam’s contributions to the team, but we are just not seeing the combo of Rod Smart and Robert Holcombe are just not providing the push needed to force teams to respect the run, which, of course means life is harder for Mark Brunell. Our take: Give it time. Smart and Holcombe are very different backs than Salaam. It will take time for the coaches to cater to their strengths in the run game, and time for both to feel like the run game is theirs. Honestly, we are more concerned about the defense and it’s issues giving up big plays than we are the offense. Oakland needs defensive playmakers If you see the same issue year after year, is it really overreaction to point it out? Oakland’s defense is one of the worst in the league. They are last in scoring defense and have given up 344 yards rushing in only 3 games. So when fans say they need to overhaul the defense, are they overreacting? Our take: No, of course not. This is a defense that simply cannot make the stop when it is needed. We feel for Chris Spielman and Kailee Wong, who are solid players, but what are they surrounded by? Eric Curry has only 2 sacks this year and has never lived up to his reputation. The secondary is simply not good enough. But what is Oakland to do? Trade away what little offensive talent they have to get defensive improvements or mortgage their future by trading draft picks? They are in a bad spot, and that does not bode well for their supposed defensive guru Dom Capers. Atlanta cannot focus right now & Bledsoe is not the answer. Fans in Atlanta are apoplectic right now. It appears that they are about to lose their team, and yet they seem to be equally frustrated by the team’s inability to put together a winning roster. That may be Boston’s issue next year, but it is still a problem this year. Atlanta has some offensive talent, particularly HB Tiki Barber, but even with Drew Bledsoe expected to start next week, there is not a lot of hope that he is the answer. We think fans are right to worry about this offense. Yes, Barber is a good back. He would be a better back if he could count on the passing game to take the pressure off, but even with Bledsoe, a receiving corps of Terrance Mathis, Wayne Chrebet, Chris Calloway and Joe Jurevicious is not exactly causing the Fire’s opponent to shake with fear. If Atlanta could trade for a true #1 wideout (a rare find, honestly) they could be more formidable, but that seems unlikely right now. OK, We have seen the panic in the eyes of the fans of the five winless teams, so what are the fans of the undefeated teams thinking? We scoured the sports radio dial and we heard what fans have to say. Are they overreacting? Houston Fans seem to think that the Gamblers have finally put enough talent around their killer DE combo of Sinclair and Pittman to truly shut the opposition down. We say: They are right. Houston has allowed only 31 points in 3 games (that is just about 10 per game for our math-impaired fans). The run defense has been stout, and that means teams have to pass, which leads them right into the trap of the Dynamic Duo. This is a defense that can win games, and if Matt Hasselbeck and the offense can average perhaps 20 points a game, they will win a lot of contests. Texas Fans say that the weekly QB rotation, based on who has the hot hand in practice and each game’s first couple of series can work for the year. We say: Have you met Ryan Leaf? What are the odds that if he keeps losing out to Jeff Lewis, as he did this week, that he will sit quietly and accept this. Rotating QB’s makes sense in preseason, and maybe for a week or two, but it also breeds resentment and animosity in the QB group, and that is not the path to sustainable success. Pick one and stick with him. Jacksonville fans are saying that the Bulls defense and Kenny Bynum can lead them to wins despite Jake Delhomme at QB. We say: Not so fast. First off, way to diss your starting QB. Give the guy a shot. Delhomme has not been a disaster, in fact, he has been pretty good, with 6 TDs to only 2 picks. That is decent quarterbacking even if he is not the most dynamic passer in the game. Secondly, no, we don’t think any team can win consistently unless they have a QB who can manage the game, and who responds when the team needs a spark. We don’t know if Delhomme can do this, but we at least want him to have a shot to try. Fans in Memphis are confident that their Showboats can win without a strong run game. We say: Traditional wisdom says no, but that wisdom is based on the NFL, where late season games are often held in rough weather and a run game is essential. This is the USFL, and as the season goes on the weather makes a passing game more and more viable as the entire focus of an offense. We have seen plenty of teams pass their way to the playoffs. Would it help if Garrison Hearst could return to his 2000 form, when he topped 1,000 yards. He has fewer than 200 in 3 games this year, so that seems unlikely, but even just an 800-yard rusher could be enough for Memphis to keep defenses honest. The craziest fans we heard were those in Columbus, who, we think, are too used to college football. The talk this week was about going undefeated, as if Ohio could count on upcoming games against Kent State or Indiana on the schedule. We say: This is pro football. Undefeated is a nearly impossible task. Yes, the Ohio defense seems to be much better than last year, and yes, the offense is a juggernaut that came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, but this is the USFL, not the Big 10. No one is going undefeated. All it takes is one game where the breaks go the other way and Ohio will learn this. We think the coaches and players understand this, but the fans in Columbus are being a bit delusional. The other big stories this week are both injury related, and since they are both pretty significant upheavals, we will cover them here and leave the Injury Report to fill in the rest of the injury news this week. Memphis loses potential ROTY candidate for the season Heartbreak in the Mid-South as Julius Peppers is lost for the year. Memphis, who traded away several picks to land the UNC edge rusher, got the news on Monday. The injury to Peppers’ left foot is in fact quite severe, with at least two significant fractures. He will be off the foot and using a scooter for his left leg for at least 6 weeks, this will be followed by a period in a soft boot, and finally some rehab to bring the foot back to standard flexibility. All told we are looking at 12 weeks at the minimum. Expect Memphis to put Peppers on IR, which means the pass rush now falls to Dameaion Jeffries and Sedrick Clark, a major downgrade. Expect to see Coach Mora forced to add blitzes to their repertoire to try to maintain pressure, and that means more receivers will be locked in single coverage. Michigan loses their best corner. Another big blow on the defensive side, this time in Michigan, where the Panthers’ #1 corner, Deltha O’Neal is out for the year after breaking his hip on a painful play in which he was pushed out of bounds, and clipped a team bench with his hip. The collision with the metal bench caused a dislocation, and x-rays on Monday showed that it also caused damage to the joint, with a fracture that will require that O’Neal be placed in traction for at least a month. Surgery is also not out of the question to stabilize the hip. The loss of O’Neal means that Chris Canty moves up to the #1 position, Donovan Greer moves to a starting position, while Dereck Combs now takes over in the slot. That s all the corners Michigan has on the roster, so they will certainly be on the market to find a 4th corner this week. In addition to the two big injuries cited above, there were plenty of knocks, bumps, and bruises to go around all over the league. LB Al Harris of Seattle could be out 8-12 weeks with a ruptured disk, a major blow for the Seattle defense. In LA it is DT Cletidus Hunt who could also be looking at 8 weeks with a torn biceps, testing the depth of the LA D-line. Tampa Bay’s defensive leader, LB Kevin Mitchell is expected to be out 4-6 weeks due to a knee injury, though fortunately the early fears of an ACL tear turned out to be avoided. Denver RT Chris Terry is likely out 2-4 weeks with a fracture in his arm, while Seattle is down on the offensive line, with swing guard Russ Hochstein expected to be out 1-3 weeks. Arizona CB Fred Smoot hurt his foot and could miss up to a month. Memphis TE Erron Kinney will be out that long as well, and Nashville backup tackle Joaquin Gonzalez is out at least 2 weeks due to broken ribs. Bobby Hoying did not see much action this week for New Orleans, but he saw enough to put him on the injured list, out 1-2 weeks with a sprained wrist. Texas LB Stephen Boyd could miss up to 2 weeks with turf toe, while LA CB Ray Crockett is out this week due to a pinched nerve. Baltimore may just sit Jeff Garcia this week after he has complained of blurred vision after a hit in this week’s game, and Pittsburgh’s Jay Riemersma is still recovering from a hernia, and will miss at least one more game. It’s football season, and the ability to deal with injuries is clearly a part of the game. HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2002 FINALISTS NAMED It is always an exciting time with the Pro Football Hall of Fame and USFL Nomination Committee release their list of the upcoming class of nominees for induction into the Hall. We start with 15 nominees for the Class of 2002, knowing that only 5 will have a shot at being inducted this October. This year could be one of the toughest classes yet. Last year we saw Kelvin Bryant lead a great group into the Hall and this year we have such a strong group of 1997 retirees that it could be a really tough year for anyone in their second or third year of eligibility to make the grade. And this year’s pool is not without controversy it appears the selection committee is hoping to rectify what many see as an injustice in the first 6 years of the USFL Hall of Legends inside the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The HOF has yet to induct a single USFL offensive lineman, and that seems a travesty. Well, this year the nominating committee seems to be jumping on that reality as it has proposed 5 linemen for the Hall. Perhaps this is the year that we see our first big slobberknocker get the honor of joining his teammates in the Hall. Here is our list of 12 nominees, beginning with the class of 2002, our 1997 retirees in their first year of eligibility. HB Mike Rozier: Pittsburgh Maulers (1984-1997) If there is a first ballot lock in this year’s class it has to be Rozier. The Nebraska product was among the elite halfbacks in all of football during his USFL career, rushing for a pro football record 19,088 yards in his career. He also holds the USFL record with 134 rushing touchdowns and 4,180 attempts. His 1986 total of 1,743 yards rushing is third all time (behind only Joe Cribb’s 1984 mark and Herschel Walker’s league record of 1,767 in 1983). Rozier was the 1984 USFL Rookie of the Year just months after winning the 1983 Heisman Trophy. He is a 10 time All-USFL player, the 1992 League MVP and 1995 Playoff MVP in the year he helped lead the Maulers to their lone league title to date. HB Thurman Thomas: Houston Gamblers (1988-1997). With a career four years shorter than that of Rozier, Thomas still accomplished amazing feats. He retired with 2,827 carries for 11,503 yards rushing, and 86 career rushing touchdowns. Thomas is also seen as the first in a series of halfbacks who became almost as prolific as pass catchers than as rushers. As a part of Houston’s Run & Shoot offense, led by Hall of Famer Jim Kelly, Thomas finished his career with 386 receptions for 5,653 yards and another 41 touchdowns. He too was a Rookie of the Year, in 1988, and a league MVP (1993). He was voted to 9 All-USFL teams and has three Championship rings with the Gamblers (88, 92, and 96). Can both dynamic halfbacks make it into the hall in their first year of eligibility? QB Chuck Long: Chicago Machine (1987-1992), Philadelphia Stars (1993-1997) A prolific QB with more than 37,000 yards passing and 207 touchdowns, Long was a 10-year starter with the Machine and Stars. He was voted to 4 All-USFL teams, twice with each club he led. He was named the 1994 Playoff MVP in the year he won his only title, leading the Stars to their third title as a franchise. The University of Iowa product was known as a smart player with a good arm, and limited mobility. He retired with a 67.4% career completion rate, which places him 8th all time. The one possible knock on Long is that his overall QB rating is not among the elite at 88.4. That could make him a tough sell for some voters. T Howard Ballard: Houston Gamblers (1987-1997) The “House” was a stalwart of the championship Houston Gamblers squads from 1988-1996, winning three titles as Jim Kelly’s premiere bodyguard. Ballard was one of the toughest left tackles to beat, protecting Kelly and helping make holes for Thurman Thomas to run through. He was nominated All-USSL 8 times, and seems this year’s best shot to become the first offensive lineman to make the Hall. T Bruce Armstrong: San Antonio Gunslingers (1987) Portland Thunder (1988-1997) It is never easy coming into the league with an expansion team, but that is what Bruce Armstrong did, starting his career with the short-lived San Antonio Gunslingers. When the league forced a merger with the Oklahoma Outlaws and the formation of the expansion Portland Thunder, Armstrong found himself in the Pacific Northwest. He would play the remaining 10 seasons with Portland. He was named All-USFL twice, despite the Thunder often having a sub-par record. He did make one Summer Bowl appearance, when Portland rode a hot streak all the way to the title game in his final season on the gridiron. Known as a physical presence who could get a little nasty, Armstrong started 162 career games and in that span is noted as having given up only 18 sacks, an incredible rate of success in protecting his QB. G Gary Zimmerman: Los Angeles Express/St. Louis Knights (1984-1997) Our third offensive lineman is generally considered the best guard of the league’s first decade. Big Zimm played 14 seasons, all of them with the LA Express (later St. Louis Knights) franchise. It was a long career that brought plenty of accolades (2 All-USFL nominations) but no titles as neither the Express nor the Knights would get a ring during his long career. DE Dexter Manley: Washington Federals (1986-1997) An absolute terror for opposing QB’s, Manley was one of the most feared defensive players during his 12 seasons in Washington. Manley retired with 164 QB Sacks, including 9 years in which he reached double digit sacks. When paired with Charles Haley, Washington’s defense was simply soulcrushing for opponents. Manley was one of the main players in both of Washington’s Championship seasons, 1990 and 1997, his final year in the league. He was named to 7 All-USFL teams and currently ranks behind only Reggie White, Phil Hansen, Chris Doleman, an Jerry Reese for career sacks. LB Brian Bosworth: Oklahoma Outlaws (1987), Texas Outlaws (1988-1997) Another expansion class of 1987 veteran, “The Boz” was the star signing of the then Oklahoma Outlaws. An in-state hero from OU, Bozworth was expected to be a top NFL draft pick, but signed with the USFL to play in Tulsa. The next year he was in San Antonio playing for the relocated and reimagined Outlaws. His career lived up to the hype he received out of college, leading the league in tackles three of his first four seasons before injuries (and better teammates, honestly) reduced his totals. He recorded over 100 tackles in 9 of his 11 seasons, and added 29 sacks and 11 picks as well. His 155-tackle season in 1990 remains the league record, and he also holds the 3rd place ranking with his 1987 rookie total of 147. Big, fast, and camera-ready, Boz was a star in Texas and helped bring the Outlaws a statewide following. He was voted All-USFL 7 times, was the 1990 Defensive Player of the Year, and Rookie of the Year (Defense) in 1987. Honorable Mention, just missing the cut from the 1997 retirement cohort we find LB Eddie Simmons, DE Charles Haley, QB Cliff Stoudt, and WR Louis Lipps. In addition to the 8 first-year eligible players, 4 returning candidates were given semi-finalist status, though up against this first-year class is a tough place to find yourself, to be sure. QB Alan Risher: Arizona Wranglers (1983-1985), Pittsburgh Maulers (1986-1996). Risher began his career in Arizona, the 170th draft pick in the open pool. He had an on-again, off-again relationship with Coach Allen in Arizona before being traded to the Pittsburgh Maulers for the 1986 season. Risher would see action in 10 games in 1986 before becoming the full-time starter for the 1987 season. A year later he had his best season as a pro, throwing for 3,926 yards and 33 touchdowns. He would finish his career in Pittsburgh, with a total of 34,523 yards and 239 passing touchdowns. In 1995, his last full season as a starter in Pittsburgh, Risher would help Pittsburgh attain its only league title, a 44-37 shootout win over the heavily-favored Houston Gamblers and Jim Kelly. Only a 2 time All-USFL nominee, and having spent most of his career working with Mike Rozier, there may not be a lot of groundswell of support for Risher as a HOF finalist. HB Marcus Dupree: Memphis Showboats (1984-1985), New Orleans Breakers (1986-1994) Following a tumultuous singles season of college football at Oklahoma, special approval was given to the Showboats to bring DuPree to the USFL. He would have two injury-plagues seasons in Memphis, rushing for just under 1,400 yards combined in the two years. He would find his way to New Orleans in 1986, and that is where the magic returned. In his first year as a Breaker, DuPree would rush for 1,347yards and 10 touchdowns. Over the next 8 seasons he would hi the 1,200 yard mark another 4 times, retiring with over 10,000 yards rushing and 74 rushing touchdowns. He would be voted All-USFL twice in his career but would be denied a league championship ring (as so many in those years with the Breakers can say). SS Dave Dumars: Denver Gold (1983-1985), Baltimore Blitz (1987-1995) Something of a surprise selection of the committee, Dumars appears for the first time in 2 years on the nominee list. The hard-hitting safety played 9 years in the USFL, with one weird year when he departed for the NFL in 1986. In that time he amassed 750 tackles, 22 sacks and 19 picks, but was known primarily for his coverage skills and the force of his tackles against receivers. Dumars was named to 3 All-USFL Teams, all with Baltimore. HC Ted Marchibroda: Pittsburgh Maulers, (1988-1996) An offensive innovator both in the USFL and the NFL, Coach Marchibroda led Pittsburgh from obscurity into the limelight as a 7-time playoff club, 2 time title contender, and the victors in the 1995 Summer Bowl. Coach Marchibroda’s career may not be as lengthy as some other HOF coaches from the spring league, but his record of 83-61 (.576) is one of the league’s best and certainly the best in Mauler history. Week Four of the USFL’s new 14 game season is now officially past the ¼ mark, so it is time for teams to get their game fully humming. With several unbeaten teams already in midseason form, this fourth week provides us with some outstanding games among teams that look ready for prime time. Perhaps the best pits the 3-0 Ohio Glory against the stingy defense of the 2-1 Nashville Knights. Nashville was shocked by the Breakers in their home opener, so look for them to play angry in this one. Another great matchup sees the 3-0 Memphis Showboats hosting the 2-1 Michigan Panthers. Can Michigan keep pace with that high-flying Showboat passing game? In a battle of 2-1 teams, Chicago heads down to Legion Field to face the Stallions, while another battle of 2-1 clubs sees New Orleans, fresh off their upset win in Nashville, welcoming the Pittsburgh Maulers to the Super Dome. Both Texas clubs are unbeaten, having tied this week, and both are at home in Week 4. Houston hosts the 1-2 Philadelphia Stars, who are hoping this road game can get them to .500. The Outlaws see a very similar situation with 1-2 Washington in town. The league’s only other unbeaten team, the Jacksonville Bulls, are all the way out west, taking on the winless Oakland Invaders by the Bay. Speaking of winless teams, we still have a few, with 0-3 Tampa Bay headed to Seattle to slay the Dragons, 0-3 Atlanta is also on the left coast, facing the 2-1 LA Express in sunny California. Portland, still looking for their first win, get the defending champion Renegades, who have started at 1-2 with rookie Joey Harrington at the helm. The league’s other surprisingly winless club, the Denver Gold, are back in the friendly confines of Mile High (well, new Mile High) to face the 1-2 Generals, not an easy game for a first win. Other games this week. The final game on the slate is in Tempe, where the two teams who swapped entire franchises back in 1984, the Blitz and the Wranglers, will face off.

Only two weeks into the season and we already have some surprises. Jacksonville, Birmingham, Houston, and the Texas Outlaws are surprisingly 2-0 and looking like they have found midseason form. LA, Denver, and Tampa Bay are 0-2 and not at all happy about their start to the season. The Bulls in particular have to be overjoyed that their defense has allowed only 14 points combined in their first two games. The D was a big concern for them last year and they have started strong. On the other side of the spectrum, New Orleans is currently dead last in points allowed and 2nd to last in yards allowed, meaning their defense has a long way to go. Let’s turn to our Week 2 action and see how it panned out and then we can discuss Tuesday’s big press leak and its ramifications for the league. A wild finish in RFK as Tom Brady and Terry Glenn connect on a miracle play to upend the Federals and send the crowd home in utter disbelief. In what was a back and forth game all day, it was New Jersey that found the big play at the big moment to take the win on the road and even their record at 1-1. In a game that saw both teams try to use the run to control the clock, and one where the D-lines were a constant factor, in the end it was big stars acting like big stars that gave New Jersey the win. The game started out somewhat inauspiciously for the Feds. After both clubs had unproductive opening drives, Washington’s Yatil Green misread a punt and ended up falling on the ball on his own 2-yard line, putting the Federal offense in a dangerous position. When Reuben Droughns tried to make a backfield move on LB Kendrell Bell, he lost his footing and fell to the turf in the endzone. Bell got credit for the safety and New Jersey took a 2-0 lead into the 2nd quarter. Droughns redeemed himself with a 7-yard TD run to open the 2nd, and would finish the day as Washington’s lead rusher with 14 carries for 35 yards. Deuce McCallister, nursing a sprained ankle, would carry only 10 times for 30. New Jersey’s offense finally got on the board midway through the period, with Neil Rackers connecting from 46 yards out to pull within 7-5. When the Feds next drive ended with a Phil Hansen sack of Stewart on 3rd and 8, New Jersey got the ball back and hit on a big run play. Curtis Enis went off tackle, and when LB Michael Barrow glanced off Enis instead of getting a wrap up, it allowed the big back for the Generals to rumble 37 yards to paydirt. Both clubs would add field goals to end the half, and we went into the locker room with the Generals up 15-10. In the third quarter, Neil Rackers helped put New Jersey up 8 with another field goal, but Washington responded with a 12-play drive that ended with Kordell Stewart bootlegging to the left pylon and putting 6 on the board. He then found new TE Cam Cleeland for the 2-point conversion and we were tied at 18. In the fourth New Jersey again moved the ball well between the 20’s, with Enis adding to what would become a 98-yard day, and backup Olandis Gary also getting 11 carries as New Jersey kept pounding the ball into the Washington line. The drive stalled outside red zone but Rackers again gave New Jersey the lead, now up 21-18. Washington took over with 5:43 left to play, and Kordell Stewart led the Feds down the field for what appeared to be a game-winning drive. When he found Deuce McCallister on a swing pass for 12 yards and a score, only 1:16 remained on the board and the Feds were now up 4, 25-21, meaning New Jersey would need to go the length of the field with only 1 timeout left. The Generals did just that, but not in a conventional manner. On 1st and 10 from their own 25 after a touchback on the Washington kickoff, Brady was forced to scramble, not his forte to be sure, but he gained 3 yards before just barely getting out of bounds. On 2nd an 7, he connected with Anthony Becht for what looked like an 8-yard completion and a first down, but the refs marked the ball short of the 1st down. Coach Parcells opted to use his last remaining TO in an effort to give the replay booth time to review, but they opted not to. So, third and inches from the 29 ½ yard line. Parcells, knowing they would go for the QB sneak on 4th down, dialed up a play fake. Brady put the ball into the gut of Enis, and then pulled it out. Rolling to his right as he did. The fake worked and the entire Washington D crashed on the interior line to prevent Enis from gaining the 1 foot needed, but Enis did not have the ball. Brady, all alone by the numbers on the 25 had a wide open field and speedster Terry Glenn on a fly pattern. He lofted the ball for Glenn and his top receiver hauled it in without having to adjust his stride. The CB dove to try to snag Glenn’s ankle, but it was to no avail as the speedy wideout raced down the sideline and into the endzone to the full jaw-dropping shock of the Washington faithful in attendance. The Feds would get the ball back with 54 seconds left, now down 3, but the wind had been taken out of their sales, and when a Stewart pass towards rookie Deion Branch missed wide, the game was over. New Jersey had a hard-earned divisional win, Tom Brady a highlight reel game winner, and the Kelly green sea of Federal fans a day they would talk about for years to come. BAL 12 PHI 20 The other Northeast Clash was also a good game, locked at 10-9 at the half before Philly got 2 scores in the final period to pull away. Will Furrer improved over his Week 1 performance, throwing for 228 and a TD to Troy Brown and rookie Ladell Betts got his first USFL touchdown, a 1-yard plunge in the 4th to move Philadelphia up by 8. The Stars defense played well also, with Regan Upshaw nabbing 2 sacks while LB George Koonce forced a key fumble to preserve the Stars win on the game’s final drive. ATL 12 ORL 28 The 2nd home game for Orlando was just what rookie Joey Harrington needed for his first start in the pros, a friendly crowd and the underachieving Atlanta Fire in town. Harrington looked much more comfortable, with mostly short passes on the menu. He would complete 16 of 20 against the Fire defense, throwing a TD to TE John Henry Mills along the way. Sedrick Irvin, another offseason acquisition, also played a big role, rushing for 113 and a score for the Renegades. JAX 19 TBY 7 The year’s first Florida Derby went to the Jacksonville Bulls as their defense limited Tampa Bay to only 2 third down conversions all game. Jacksonville outgained Tampa Bay 404-251 as Kenny Bynum rushed for 137 and Jake Delhomme threw for 239, brushing off 3 picks that kept Tampa in this one for most of the game. Trent Green’s lack of mobility proved an issue as Jacksonville harassed him in the pocket all game, producing only a 13 of 32 passing day for the Bandits QB. The Bulls now sit at 2-0, atop the Southeastern Division. CHI 24 OHI 27 Billed as the game of the week, with two 2001 division winners now living in the same division, this one went to Ohio thanks to a late Don Silvestri field goal. Both QBs played well, with George throwing for 254 and Collins for 208, but the difference was Eddie George’s success on the ground. George would run for 95 yards on only 15 carries, scoring twice on the day. Chicago’s Duce Staley did not have the same success, though his 71 yards were hardly a bad day. A close game between two clubs expected to duke it out all season. MGN 13 PIT 26 The Maulers get their first win as they limit Michigan to only 146 total yards in the game. Kyle Vanden Bosch came up big for Pittsburgh with 9 tackles, 3 for a loss, and a sack. Add in two picks of Michigan’s Drew Brees and you have a comfortable 13-point win for Pittsburgh. A good day as well for rookie WR Antwaan Randle-El, who caught his first TD pass and found success returning both kicks and punts for Pittsburgh. ARZ 17 BIR 24 With the game tied at 17 midway through the 4th quarter, it was Shaun Alexander and not Brett Favre who gave Birmingham the push they needed to pull out a home win. Alexander carried the ball 5 times on the game-winning Stallion drive, including a 5-yard TD run in which he carried 2 Wrangler defenders into the endzone. Is this a sign that Birmingham may actually be serious about offensive balance after years of Favre, Favre and more Favre? DEN 27 MEM 30 OVERTIME A good matchup turned into a great game as Denver and Memphis went back and forth all game long. The game went into overtime thanks to a Joe Horn TD from Shuler with 1:28 left to play, and in the extra period the Showboats scored on the opening drive, forcing Denver to match it or go home. They could not connect on a desperation 61-yard field goal attempt and Memphis took the win. HOU 20 LA 13 Houston spoiled LA’s home opener in front of a solid 40,502 in Farmers Insurance Field. The Gamblers move to 2-0 thanks in large part to the outside runs of Kevin Faulk. Faulk carried the ball only 13 times, but they were big plays, leading to a 103-yard total on the day. The Houston D also got after Cade McNown, sacking the LA quarterback 5 times and forcing a costly late game pick. As usual it was Kavika Pittman and Michael Sinclair causing havok and combining for 3 sacks and 9 hurries. TEX 32 OAK 28 Texas kept pace with their in-state rivals, but it was not easy as Oakland got a very solid game from 2nd year QB Marques Tuiasosopo. Ryan Leaf got the start for Texas, and despite the success of Jeff Lewis last week, Coach Gailey opted to keep him in the whole game, not rotate him with Lewis as he had done in the first game. The gambit paid off as Leaf hit both Carl Pickens and Lake Dawson with 4th quarter scores to come back from a 28-18 deficit and take the win. POR 13 NSH 24 The Knights defense is still the Knights defense, regardless of what city they call home. Akili Smith was harassed all day and Correll Buckhalter was limited to only 2.4 yards per carry as Nashville limited the offensive potential of the Thunder the entire game. Ahman Green and George Layne combined for 136 yards and 3 scores to pace the Knights offense, keeping pressure away from Todd Collins, who had been roughed up the week before. SEA 30 NOR 34 The Breaker defense is a concern, having given up 30 points or more in both games this year, but this week their offense compensated against Seattle. Trent Dilfer had a career game with 4 TD passes, including 2 to TE Steve Johnson. Ricky Williams added 93 yards and a score as the Breakers just barely edged the visiting Dragons despite a strong 131 yards rushing from Corey Dillon. Harrington’s First Start a Lesson in Winning Football After unexpectedly coming in halfway through the team’s first game when starter Gus Frerotte went down to injury, Joey Harrington looked lost and overwhelmed last week, but with a week of practice and a pretty conservative run and play action gameplan he had much more success this week. Harrington went 16 of 20 against the (admittedly shaky) Fire defense, at one point completing 7 in a row. He threw to 6 different receivers, with his TE security blanket John Henry Mills being his primary target. But, he did hit a few bigger plays, including a 26-yard strike to Donald Driver. It is clear that Coach O’Leary does not want to throw too much at the rookie, and will likely lean more heavily on Sedrick Irvin after his solid 113-yard day against Atlanta, but for now Harrington has his first W and his confidence is building. Pickens finds new life in San Antonio Last year when the Arizona Wranglers traded Carl Pickens to Texas midseason it felt like a slap to the face, like they felt he was spent and they were putting him out to pasture. Pickens had moderate success at Texas in the second half of the 2001 season, but dedicated himself this offseason to proving the Wranglers wrong. If these first two games are any indication, Pickens is making his point. He leads the league after 2 weeks with 233 yards receiving and is 4th in the league with 14 receptions. He has become a top target for both Jeff Lewis (last week) and Ryan Leaf (this week) as he lines up opposite Lake Dawson in the Texas lineup. It is very early, but Pickens’s confidence in his own abilities and his willingness to put the work in over the offseason seem to be paying off for the 11 year vet. Rookie Receivers Seeing Plenty of Attention Carl Pickens is not the only receiver garnering attention across the league. Two rookie wideouts have impressed in the early weeks. While neither has yet to find the endzone, New Orleans’s Josh Reed (8 receptions for 113 yards) and Washington’s Deion Branch (10 receptions for 184 yards) are both quickly becoming reliable targets for their QBs. Washington needed that to be the case, having lost Herman Moore in free agency (Moore would then decide to retire during camp, much to the dismay of his new team, Memphis). In New Orleans, Reed is being taken under the tutelage of veteran Raynard Brown, and is now only 1 catch below Brown after 2 games. In both cases it seems like a case of the right player in the right fit for both to have success. We will continue to monitor their stories as we go through the season, checking in to see who scores first and who might have a shot at a ROTY award. Vrabel Leads Revived Bull Defense The bright spots across the league are not all redemption stories or rookie surprises. Mike Vrabel is playing the exact part that everyone has expected, a part he has grown into as a Jacksonville Bull. The MLB is leading his club with 17 tackles, has a sack, three forced fumbles and 2 tackles for loss in the young season. More importantly he has the Bulls LB corps playing together as a squad, and the Bulls defense playing their best football in several years. Vrabel leads a talented LB group that includes Jessie Armstead and Lavar Arrington in the Bulls’ 4-3 scheme. Known as a coverage backer (not prone to blitz), but also a smart player, Vrabel is calling the defensive plays and adjustments, aligning his fellow linebackers, and generally making life difficult in the middle of the field. Coach O’Leary has said of Vrabel that he is like having a coach on the field, but a coach who can take down a 220 pound halfback when the occasion arises. Another week, another set of injuries to report, the sad truth about the violent game of football. This week we got our first potential season-ender. LA has reported that DT Cletidus Hunt has torn his bicep on the right arm. They have not yet placed him on IR, as his recovery window is expected to be 8-12 weeks. They will continue to assess his rehab after the reattachment surgery planned for this week, and hope Hunt will be available for the final weeks of the year and any playoff run. Tampa Bay got bad news in the form of a torn ACL (partial tear) for LB Kevin Mitchell. The injury is expected to sideline the hard-hitting linebacker for 6-8 weeks. Other significant injuries this week include a fractured arm for Seattle guard Russ Hochstein (4-6 weeks), a torn bicep for Memphis TE Erron Kinney (4-6), a broken collarbone for Portland tackle Kenyatta Walker (2-4), and a case of appendicitis for new Michigan DE Leonard Little (1-2 weeks). Expected to miss only 1 week, perhaps two are Mauler TE Jay Riemersma, Memphis CB Terance Shaw, New Jersey DT Darwin Walker, Washington DE Bobby Hamilton, and Chicago DT George Little. Unofficial But Compelling News from Atlanta A story out of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week reports that the sale of the Atlanta Fire to the Boston Colonials Football Group is all but assured. The story, which quotes various unnamed sources within both the Fire organization and the league office, states that the sealed proposal received from the Fire was, in fact, from the Boston-based ownership group that had also been a serious contender to purchase the Portland Thunder. It asserts that the bid has cleared the financial and structural due diligence phases of the review and could be put to a league vote as early as the April owners meeting in New York. Citing sources within the league office, the proposal makes the case for Boston as a location of greater financial growth capacity than Atlanta (though this may be marginal as both cities are significant media markets) and has signed agreements with Boston College for use of Alumni Stadium, a 44,500 seast facility located in Chestnut Hill, MA, about 10 miles west of downtown Boston. The story reports that there are currently two obstacles being considered by league executives which are delaying the official announcement of the bid and the inclusion of an ownership vote on the agenda of April’s league meeting. The first is the question of Atlanta itself, a highly valued southern hub and media market. The loss of Atlanta as a league market is somewhat countered by the relatively low footprint the Fire have made in local media and sports culture in the city, due in large part to the failure of the current ownership to produce a winning franchise in 6 seasons of play. The relatively contiguous fanbases of more successful franchises such as Birmingham and Jacksonville seem to account for this issue as well, as both had already built significant regional fanbases before the arrival of the Fire franchise. The second concern within league offices is the potential for action from the NFL and particularly from New England Patriots ownership led by Robert Kraft. Kraft has been one of the more confrontational anti-USFL voices within the NFL, often standing as a minority vote against approval of joint USFL-NFL efforts such as the new stadia in Los Angeles, Houston, and Tampa Bay. His refusal to lease out first Foxboro Stadium and now potentially Gillette Stadium have been a significant hinderance to the city of Boston obtaining a USFL franchise. While there is no requirement that the NFL sign off on the placement of a USFL franchise within one of their markets, as was done with expansion to Atlanta, LA, and Seattle, there is a particular concern spurred by the Boston ownership bid’s designated name for the franchise, the Colonials, as a possible trademark infringement with the NFL Patriots. Fears that the NFL, and if not the NFL, the Kraft organization and Patriots as a business entity, might seek to block the franchise from using the moniker as it too closely resembles the theme and iconography of the current NFL Patriots franchise. Whether such a suit would have merit, the potential legal wrangling and the delays produced by protracted trademark lawsuits and cease and desist orders could produce significant delays in the ability of the franchise to begin play with that identity, something which the USFL simply sees as a potential obstacle to a smooth transition. While the article in the Journal-Constitution understandably focuses more attention on the confirmation that the sealed bid for sale does, in fact, represent a proposal to relocate the franchise, it also raises questions that fans of the USFL, and the Fire, as well as those in the New England region are hoping to see answered. Primary among them is the timeline for review and potential approval of the sale, the potential for a midseason announcement which could turn things ugly for the remaining Fire home schedule, and the potential for the league’s desire to see franchises in both Atlanta and St. Louis to push owners to reconsider their moratorium on league expansion from 24 franchises to 26 or 28. If the reporting of the Journal-Constitution is accurate, we may get answers on some of these questions within the month. If the sale is put to a vote, then the details must be made public at that time, allowing us to see what the details of the purchase are as well as a timeline for relocation. If concerns about trademark are significant, we could also see conditions placed upon the sale to address these concerns. And finally, there is the issue of alignment once again. As with the sale of the Knights and the Thunder, the creation of six smaller divisions makes a relocation more complex, unless the league is ready to accept that Boston would remain in the Southeastern Division despite its obvious geographical alignment with the Northeast. Adding a Boston franchise to the Northeast would almost certainly lead to either Washington or Baltimore being forced to shift to the Southeast Division, splitting up one of the league’s fiercest rivalries, a side effect of the sale that could actually pull some votes away from approval. So, a lot to digest, and a lot of pressure now on the league office to provide information on where the sealed proposal stands in the process of review. We expect news out of New York within weeks if not days, and if the Atlanta reporting is accurate, that news may well mean the end (at least for now) of USFL football in the Peach City. Week three flips the script from Week 2, with the Western Conference now engaged in divisional play while the Eastern Conference has its first inter-divisional games. In this West, we have some nice regional rivalry games to look forward to, including the California Derby as LA visits Oakland, the Cascade Clash between Seattle and Portland, and the Southwest Classic as Arizona heads to Denver. In Texas we have a clash of 2-0 squads as the Outlaws head to in-state rival Houston for the first of their 2 clashes this year. Finally, we have two southern showdowns as Birmingham is in Memphis for what is always a great battle of regional frenemies. New Orleans heads up to Nashville to face the Knights in what used to be a Central Division clash but now resides in the new Southern Division of the Western Conference. The inter-divisional games in the East also provide some intriguing matchups as Ohio heads to Philly for these two old Atlantic foes’ only game of the year. Pittsburgh is likewise returning to a familiar game as they head to RFK to take on the Federals. Jacksonville takes their 2-0 start up to New Jersey while the 0-2 Bandits hope they can steal a win in Michigan. Atlanta and Baltimore are both winless, with only one of the two able to get in the win column when they face off this week, and finally, we have Orlando at Chicago, a good matchup of 2001 playoff teams.