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Wild Card Weekend provided us with a bit of everything, big performances, close contests, a blowout, an MVP performance, and an upset (though hardly a major one). Across the country we saw excitement for USFL Football in July, and in the 4 stadia we saw huge crowds, with the 4 games averaging 51,300 fans, including nearly over 60,000 in Birmingham on a muggy July afternoon and 55,000 who sat through a rain delay (lightning) in Denver). TV ratings were outstanding, and the games themselves were a lot of fun (well, 3 of 4, and it depends who you were rooting for). Let’s get to the action in the order of games this weekend, starting in B’Ham with a big win for the Stallions. In the eternal battle between unstoppable offense and unbreakable defense, this one went hands down to the offense. Brett Favre put in an MVP performance with 432 yards passing and 5 TDs as the Stallions manhandled the Federals and put this one away by the half. The Federal defense has not been as stout as in past years and this game showed just how much it has declined. Yes, the Feds did sack Brett Favre 4 times on the day, but he threw for 432 yards on only 18 completions, an average of nearly 16 yards per completion. Stephen Davis also had a good outing after returning from injury last week. He rushed for 86 yards and a score in limited action as the Stallions found it easier to stay in the air most of the game. The game started with Favre hitting Marcus Robinson, the 3rd receiver, on 2 consecutive drives, putting Birmingham up 14-0 and signaling that this could be a long day for the 8-8 Federals who only clinched a playoff spot on the last week of the season. The Feds would get on the board with an Andre Coleman TD catch, but that was followed by 21 unanswered Stallion points, including a 48-yard Stephen Davis run and Marcus Robinson’s third TD catch of the game. From that point on the result of the game was a given and Birmingham simply coasted to victory in front of a huge and very happy Birmingham crowd. CB Torey James ended the scoring at 49 points with a pick-six late in the 4th, sending the Federals back to DC on what had to be a very long, very dour flight. Birmingham will now face Baltimore in the second round, another offense v. defense showdown, and after this week’s performance, Baltimore’s defensive coordinator might want to put in a few extra hours in the office this week. An upset in San Antonio, but one that many of us expected, with even Las Vegas calling the game a push once it was confirmed that Kelly Stouffer was unable to play. Tommy Maddox got the start for the outlaws, and he had a solid, if unconvincing game, but Michigan came in expecting a close game and preaching mistake-free football, and they came very close to providing that for their small contingency of fans tucked away in the north end zone of the AlamoDome. For most of the fans in the stands, those sporting Outlaws colors, the game was an exercise in frustration. Michigan dominated the first half, with Tyrone Wheatley carrying the ball 13 times for 42 yards and the Panthers milking the clock on their way to 3 field goals. Texas was able to hold them out of the endzone, but their offense was proving difficult to kick start. Michigan keyed on Reggie Cobb, who managed only 21 yards in the first half. Texas did get a break when Michigan TE Desmond Clark stretched for a first down and lost the ball, giving Texas the ball in field goal territory. They ended up getting the 3 and went into the half down only 9-6 despite being outgained 188-103 in the half. Michigan opened the second half with yet another field goal drive, using up nearly 9 minutes slowly progressing the ball down the field. Texas had a shot to stop them, but a 3rd and 5 play that at first looked like a certain sack for Mark Mraz turned into one of the patented Flutie scrambles that saw him just pass the line before falling out of bounds. Down 12-3, Texas needed a big play. They got that big play from the league’s reception leader, possession specialist Shawn Collins, not known for blazing speed. Collins caught a simple hook route, one of dozens this year, but this time he managed to spin away from the initial tackle and 48 yards later he was in the endzone, the first 6-pointer of the game, and a score that brought Texas back into the game, down only 2. That is how the 3rd quarter would close, with Outlaw fans feeling that the game might just turn their way. The Outlaw faithful lost some hope when on their next possession Michigan managed to break through and score the TD after so many prior drives ended on the foot of Brett Conway. Texas helped Michigan get there with a huge offsides penalty called on 3rd and 3, and then a defensive pass interference call in the endzone to put the ball on the 1. Michigan pounded it in, with Wheatley diving off center left to increase the Michigan lead to 9 points. Texas would get the lead back down to 2, but it took them too long to do so. The Maddox to Eugene Baker TD toss came with only 37 seconds to play, and when the onside kick was safely recovered by Michigan’s Butch Rolle, the Panthers celebrated as Flutie used the victory formation to wind down the clock. Texas, who seemed to own the Central Division for much of the year, lost the division title last week, and bowed out of the playoffs this week. Fans will look at the injury to Kelly Stouffer as the reason, but in this game Maddox did enough to win, but the defense simply could not finish on 3rd down and get Michigan off the field, at least not before they got in field goal range, and that consistency on offense helped the Panthers advance to a huge game next week at Los Angeles. Another tooth and nail battle, this time with two aggressive defenses making their mark on the game. On a humid Sunday afternoon at Three Rivers, just under 50,000 fans showed up to watch their Maulers take on the Renegades in a matchup of the two hottest clubs in the league. The focus of both defenses was on the halfback position, with Pittsburgh trying to limit Terry Kirby’s role as a receiver and Orlando hoping to bottle up Terrell Davis’s power run game. Both teams had midling success in their missions. Kirby would be the leading receiver for Orlando with 6 catches, but only gained 32 yards in the air (along with a rough 19 on the ground). Orlando managed to hold Terrell Davis to only 63 yards rushing, but his 3rd quarter TD was a huge momentum shift in the game. Pittsburgh began strong, owning the first quarter by possessing the ball for 9 minutes in the period and putting up 2 Scott Blanton field goals to take a 6-0 lead. But, in the 2nd the tide turned after a Charlie Batch pick. The takeaway inspired the Renegades, who would go ahead 7-6 on an Amos Zeroue 9 yard run on that drive. After shutting down the Maulers in 3 plays on the next possession, Orlando expanded their lead to 14-6 on their next possession, moving the ball down the field with short passes to Reidel Anthony and Tamarick Vanover before Zeroue again plunged into the endzone. At the half, Orlando held the edge. Pittsburgh began the 2nd half with the ball and in two big plays they turned the momentum. The first was a screen to Davis that went for 47 yards, shattering the image of Davis as a power back without much of a receiving game. 2 plays later, Davis took a pitch on a sweep to the wide side and plowed his way 16 yards for a score. Pittsburgh went for 2 and Charlie Batch used a pass-run option on a bootleg to find the corner pylon and convert. The score was now knotted up at 14 and all the momentum was on the Mauler sideline. That momentum became destiny when Scott Mitchell fumbled after being hit by Godfrey Miles. The ball was recovered by Patrick Surtain, and Pittsburgh converted with a field goal to take the lead once again. The defense would continue to cause problems for Orlando throughout the second half, picking off Mitchell 2 drives later and causing the offensive line to get called for holding on 3 separate occasions. Orlando still had a chance after the 4th Mauler field goal put Pittsburgh up by 6 at 20-14, but on their final drive a miscue on a 3rd and 7 caused two Orlando receivers to compete for the ball and knock it away from each other. That forced a 4th and 7 and a pressured Mitchell could not get the ball to Donald Driver on a desperation toss, ending Orlando’s comeback hope and giving the win to the homestanding Maulers. Pittsburgh now heads to Memphis to face the top seeded Showboats. They will need a huge defensive performance and a big day from Davis to upend the 12-4 Showboats in what should be a packed Liberty Bowl. The weekend concluded with a Mile High matchup that took an unexpected turn when Denver QB Mark Brunell was knocked out of the game with a hit to the head that left him woozy and unbalanced after only 1 quarter. Eric Wilhelm and Jeff Lewis would have to split time for three full quarters if the Gold were to pull this one out. Brunell had been looking good prior to the injury, completing all but 3 pass attempts on his way to 111 yards but the Gold had been unable to turn this success into points. Houston’s defense was effective in shutting down 3rd downs and as the Gold tried to adapt to a new QB Houston took advantage, building a 10-0 lead at the half. Denver’s defense was also having a solid day, limiting Kevin Faulk to only 23 yards on the day, and Houston made the odd choice to mix Faulk in with Mario Greer rather than Dorsey Levins, perhaps believing that Denver was more susceptible to speedy outside runs than a power game. That strategy did not seem effective as the Gamblers were limited in their success on the ground, and Greer averaged only 1.6 yards per carry. Denver started the comeback as the 3rd quarter began, with Eric Wilhelm in charge the Gold mounted two fairly successful drives, both ending with field goals, to bring the game to a manageable 10-6 deficit after 3 quarters. Most of the 4th quarter was a war of attrition, with neither offense able to muster anything, but with just over 3 minutes left in the game, Denver got their big break. Chuck Hartlieb tried to squeeze a ball in to Antonio Freeman, but was picked off by Denver CB Bruce Pickens. That play sparked the Gold and 6 plays later Wilhelm found Odessa Turner on a fade route to give the Gold the lead at 13-10. Houston would need a 2-minute drill comeback to pull off the road win, what they got instead was a tipped ball at their own 22 yard line, a ball caught by veteran LB Kurt Gouveia, and that led to another Gold field goal with 48 seconds left to play, boosting the Denver lead to 6 and forcing desperation throws from Hartlieb as the game concluded. Denver comes out on top despite losing Brunell. Early signs point to him being out next week as the Gold face the St. Louis Knights and the big question will be whether the Gold will go with Wilhelm or the more athletic but also more raw talent of Jeff Lewis at QB when they face the Knights. A tough break but a good win for a plucky Gold squad in their only home game of the postseason. LEGACY IN THE FRONT OFFICE Just as we expected, the Philadelphia Stars this week held a press conference to celebrate both the coaching career of retiring head man Raymond Berry, and to announce his replacement, Chicago Machine DC Jim Mora Jr.. The Stars recognized Berry for his successes, including a 1994 league title, five playoff appearances and an overall win-loss record of 65-47. This past year, a 5-11 disappointment, was the only losing season in Berry’s tenure with the team. He will be succeeded by Mora, who has built up a reputation as an innovative coach with good motivational skills. His success with Chicago has been limited, but in prior stops in both the USFL and NFL he has impressed with his ability to maximize the talents of his defensive players. He now joins a team that finished 24th in points allowed and yardage allowed, a major defensive overhaul to be sure. He also will immediately have to work to see if Philly can convince QB Bobby Hebert to remain active, as it has been rumored that the “Cajun Cannon” was considering retirement. Mora is, of course, a legacy coach, son of current Memphis head man, and former 2-time USFL Champion coach with the Stars back in the 80s. That might come with some extra pressure, but it also comes with extra forgiveness if it takes Mora more than a year or two to turn around the Stars fortunes. ON THE MARKET It did not take long for the Wild Card losers to join the fray of the coaching carousel. By Tuesday, Texas DC Ray Rhodes was already lined up to meet with representatives of both the Portland Thunder and the Atlanta Fire. Rhodes has been a hot commodity for the past two years, as Texas’s defense has been among the league’s best. This may be the year he gets an offer and joins the ranks of the league’s head coaching staffs. He may also acquire some attention from NFL clubs, but this close to the start of the NFL season that would likely not come until later in the year, when NFL teams start dealing with failure at midseason and look to shake up their coaching staffs. That gap gives other USFL squads an advantage to sign the highly valued DC as their coach. We would honestly be surprised if he waits for an NFL offer as there are 4 open positions in the USFL and not a ton of available talent with Rhodes’s record of success. SUMMER BOWLS LOCATED As we build up for Summer Bowl 1999 in Los Angeles’s Farmers Insurance Field, an announcement from league officials about Summer Bowl 2001 and 2002. We already knew that next year the summer’s biggest game would be held in Tampa Bay in 2000, following the rotation of divisions to the South. That means that 2001 would be a Central Division host and 2002 an Atlantic Division host. It was announced this week that from the bids offered the game has been awarded to Chicago for 2001 and Pittsburgh for 2002. This will mark the first time each city has hosted the event. Chicago beat out Houston for the honors in 2001 due to the desire of the league to favor cities with more hospitable August weather, along with concerns over the aging structure and limited amenities of the Astro Dome. Pittsburgh, normally not a high prestige market for the league’s biggest game, got a boost over Baltimore and New Jersey thanks to the scheduled opening of the city’s new stadium in fall of 2001, meaning that 2002 will be the first season in which the Maulers play in the new, as of yet unnamed, stadium. The league wanted to highlight the partnership between the Maulers and NFL Steelers as a model to follow around the league, and placing their title game in the Steel City’s newfangled and high tech stadium seemed a perfect option. So, it is LA in just 3 weeks, then Tampa, Chicago, and Pittsburgh. Start planning your travel accordingly. Going into the Divisional round we have 8 clubs again to check in on. We all know the big injury story is Denver QB Mark Brunell, but what other issues might impact the league’s divisional games? BAL: TE C. Cleeland (IR), QB T. Green (OUT), FB Obafemi Ayanbadejo (Doubtful) Ayanbadejo’s is the only recent injury, but Baltimore often uses a 2 HB formation with Fenner and Cloud anyway, so this is likely not going to impact their offense much. BIR: LB Lorenzo Styles (IR), DT Mike Wells (Out) No new injuries to report from this week’s action, which leaves the Stallions in pretty good form. DEN: T Jason Odom (IR) M. Brunell (Out), L. O’Neil (Doubtful), FS Myron Guyton (Questionable) We still don’t know whether it will be Lewis or Wilhelm at QB for the Gold, and clearly the loss of Brunell is huge. But let’s not underestimate the other potential issue, the loss of edge rusher Leslie O’Neill, whose left ankle buckled under him and cost him the last drive of the game this week. He is listed as doubtful, which probably means he is actually not able to go at all. That too is a huge loss for the Gold. LA: HB M. Pittman (Out), CB Ray Crockett (Out), TE Tony McGee (Questionable) Losing Michael Pittman is a big concern for the Express. They have relied on a rotation between Pittman and Antowain Smith all season. The weight of the run game now falls entirely on Smith. The other injury which should concern Coach Galen Hall is the loss of Ray Crockett. The LA secondary is not very deep, and while moving up Wendell Davis into Crockett’s #2 position is not a big drop off, it leaves the nickel and dime slots in relatively untested hands. MEM: QB R. Johnson (Out), DT Montae Reager (Questionable), T Anthony Clement (Questionable) Memphis QB Rob Johnson is out after an injury to his hamstring in training, but let’s be honest, if the Showboats needed to put Johnson in the game instead of Shuler the situation was likely not good to begin with. They will go with Shuler, backed up by Gino Torretta, and, worst case scenario if they need a 3rd QB they can put wideout Bobby Olive in that position and run a wishbone. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. MGN: CB Billy Austin (Out) CB Chris Canty (D), T Jeff Wright (Q) Michigan came into the Wild Card round pretty healthy, they exited with a potential issue at corner with Chris Canty joining Billy Austin on the injured list. That is a concern to be sure, particularly as the Panthers will be facing a very dynamic passing offense in Los Angeles. PIT: G Erik Andolsek (Out) Pittsburgh is looking solid. They Get Rod Milstead back, which means the injury to Andolsek is actually not a big deal as Milstead will step right back to his starting position. A healthy squad overall. STL: TE Reggie Kelly (Out), QB Todd Collins (Out), T Greg Bishop (Q) The loss of Kelly is big, but it has been big for several weeks and the Knights have managed with Carlos Etheridge and Fred Baxter. While the Knights miss Todd Collins, Jim Miller has proven to be a solid game manager and occasional game winner when the pressure is on. Four playoff games down, four this week. Let’s get right to the scenarios and our picks. We went 2-2 with last week’s games. Let’s see if we can get them all right in the Divisional Round. #4 Pittsburgh Maulers (10-6) @ #1 Memphis Showboats (12-4) Saturday, July 17, 3pm ET on ABC Liberty Bowl Stadium Normally we would call this a David v. Goliath matchup between a plucky Wild Card team and the conference’s best club, but Pittsburgh has now won 7 games in a row, comes into this game with a nearly 100% healthy squad, and has exactly the combination of power running and solid defense that tends to play well in postseason games. That said, we are still going to pick Memphis in this one. Coach Mora knows playoff football, and he knows what he has in this squad. They have a legend at DE in Reggie White, an offense that can attack you in a myriad of ways, and a QB who is either going to be the league MVP or the Offensive Player of the Year. That is a lot for the Mauler defense to have to prepare for, while Memphis fully understands that if they can limit Terrell Davis it puts a ton of pressure on Charlie Batch, who simply is not ready for what Reggie White can bring to him. PREDICTION: We love Pittsburgh’s late season run, but it ends here. Memphis 31-16. #3 Denver Gold (10-6) @ #2 St. Louis Knights (10-6) Saturday, July 17, 7pm ET on FOX America’s Dome at St. Louis How great would this game be if Mark Brunell were at QB for Denver? That would have likely been a slugfest, but without him we just don’t see a good path for the Gold. Yes, rely on Rashaan Salaam on offense, hope your defense can get to Jim Miller and force some bad decisions. We know what Denver will try, but we don’t have much expectation it will work. We see St. Louis winning this one handily. PREDICTION: St. Louis 28 Denver 10. #5 Michigan Panthers (9-7) @ #1 Los Angeles Express (11-5) Sunday, July 18, 3pm ET on ESPN Farmers Insurance Field Michigan barely scraped by against Houston and their reward is to go up against the best team in the West. But, that said, this is a very untested LA club, for a team with 11 wins. They have a rookie QB, only one healthy HB, and won a lot of close games, not blowouts, all year. That said, Galen Hall knows what he is doing. This is not his first rodeo. But, we promised ourselves that we would not pick all 4 favorites, and this is a game where we could imagine Doug Flutie pulling off a surprise. So, we are going to take a risk and pick Michigan in the upset. PREDICTION: Flutie finds a way. Michigan 19 Los Angeles 17. #3 Birmingham Stallions (11-5) @ #2 Baltimore Blitz (12-4) Sunday, July 18, 7pm ET on ABC Aetna Stadium @ The Harbor Las Vegas has this game as Baltimore -1, which means that they don’t even trust home field advantage to favor the Blitz. It is a tough one to call. Baltimore has been consistent all year long, but Birmingham has also been a juggernaut for most of the season. Can Favre have another 5-TD day like he did this week or will the Blitz get to him and force some bad throws? Can Stephen Davis make a bigger impact? Will the combo of Fenner and Cloud allow Baltimore to control the clock and keep that Birmingham offense off the field? Our head says Baltimore can win this game, but our heart leans towards the Stallions, maybe because we just want to see them face off against Memphis a week later. Be honest, you want to see that too. PREDICTION: Birmingham edges Baltimore thanks to that passing game. Birmingham 33 Blitz 31

Win and you are in. Win and you get a bye week. Those tend to be pretty big incentivizers around pro football, and while those incentives certainly showed up for the Washington Federals and St. Louis Knights, they did not seem to be enough to make a difference in Texas, Houston, Seattle, Arizona, and most surprisingly, Tampa Bay. Now admittedly, Tampa also needed help to get in, but they did not get it from Division Champ Memphis, as the Showboats guaranteed that the Bandits would not be a factor in this year’s playoff race. It was the last week of the season, and that brings, as it always seems to, a mixed bag of teams desperate for a win, teams resting players before the postseason, and teams just slogging towards the offseason and the golf course. We start our review of the final week of this 1999 season with the one game that was Win & In for both clubs, which made it the Game of the Week. In the week’s only “Win and you are in” game, the Ohio Glory and Washington Federals both knew that a win got them a Wild Card and a loss ended their season. As many predicted the veteran and playoff savvy Federals had the edge when the pressure was on. They scored the game’s first 10 points and never trailed as 10-0 became 20-3 and eventually 20-15. Kordel Stewart avoided Ohio’s meager pass rush and threw for 254 yards and 2 scores to lead the Federals. Kerry Collins outgained Stewart, with 374 yards, but Washington totally shuttered the Glory rushing attack, focusing on Eddie George and limiting him to only 15 yards on the ground. Second year corner Charles Woodson was the player of the game with 9 tackles, 4 passes defended and a pick as the Federals edged their way into the playoffs at 8-8. Ohio also finished the season at 8-8, their highest win total in club history but still not enough as they are eliminated on tie-breakers. Joey Galloway remains the biggest star on the Glory roster, catching 10 balls for 124 yards in the loss, but a total that gives him 1,715 for the year, winning the league receiving yards race against Birmingham’s Lawrence Dawsey, who did not play this week, along with most Stallions starters. MEM 37 TBY 10 A deeply disappointing conclusion to a deeply disappointing season for Tampa Bay as they were utterly dominated by the Memphis Showboats. The offense which had led them to a title last year sputtered and self-destructed, with Troy Aikman throwing 2 costly picks and Errict Rhett limited to only 33 yards rushing. When Memphis’s Bobby Olive is the game’s leading receiver with 121 yards, you know Tampa Bay is not in rhythm. The home loss removed Tampa Bay from Wild Card consideration and gives them a losing record one year after taking home the title. ATL 6 ORL 27 The Renegades come into the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the league, easily defeating a tired and listless Fire squad. Donald Driver wrapped up an outstanding rookie campaign with 5 receptions for 74 yards and Terry Kirby once again showed he is one of the game’s most versatile backs, with 18 carries and 5 receptions in the game. He finished the year with 947 yards rushing and 445 receiving. JAX 27 BIR 34 Danny Kanell got the start for Birmingham and looked good under center, throwing for 297 yards and 3 scores as Brett Favre was rested before next week’s home Wild Card game. Stephen Davis also returned to action, but was limited to only 15 plays from scrimmage and 3 carries. For Jacksonville, soon-to-be free agent Terrell Owens made his case with 10 receptions for 110 yards. PIT 16 PHI 14 The Maulers continued their win streak, but it was not easy as Philadelphia played hard. Will Furrer got the start over a dinged up Bobby Hebert and another potential free agent, Darrell Thompson, rushed the ball 20 times as the Stars kept the game close. In the end Charlie Batch was able to lead Pittsburgh into range for Scott Blanton, who kicked home the winning field goal to boost Pittsburgh to the #4 seed and a home playoff game. NJ 6 BAL 19 A long year of offensive futility ended for the Generals as it has been all year, with an underwhelming showing. Baltimore played most of their starters in hopes that Memphis would lose and the Blitz could snag the #1 seed. They did not but Baltimore gave the home crowd another W to celebrate as a Malcolm Floyd TD and 4 Grammatica field goals were more than enough to put away the Generals. NOR 25 TEX 22 Is it another late season Texas swoon? The Outlaws could not muster enough to win at home against a game Breaker club, losing the division title and the bye week to the Knights. With Reggie Cobb sidelined by a nagging ankle injury, Rodney Thomas, set to be a free agent this offseason, ran the ball 20 times but for only 55 yards. New Orleans finished the year strong, ending at 7-9, but is it enough for ownership to keep Mike Ditka on? HOU 3 STL 36 The Knights looked primed for a playoff run, demolishing the Houston Gamblers behind 77 yards and 2 scores from Ahman Green. The defense sacked Chuck Hartlieb 7 times and picked him off twice as the Knights clearly set the tone for what they hope is a long playoff run. The win, paired with Texas’s lost, gives the Knights the division title and a bye next week. Houston, despite losing, manages to back their way into the playoffs at 8-8. CHI 20 MGN 17 Michigan came out flat, despite keeping their starters in, and a Machine club that has had a solid second half of the season, played as if this were their playoff game. The combo or Ricky Watters and Duce Staley looked good, combining for 151 yards and 2 scores on the ground. Michigan, having already clinched a playoff spot, kept the game close, but never seemed in control. ARZ 14 DEN 34 The Gold burst out with 21 points in the first quarter as they played to lock up a home Wild Card game. Arizona, with only a very slim chance of obtaining a playoff spot, could not respond. Rashaan Salaam finished the year with a 113 yard performance, while, for Arizona, Jake Plummer ended up as the leading rusher with 91 yard and 2 scores as he scrambled and bootlegged throughout the game. SEA 10 POR 17 Portland has little to celebrate this year, but knocking Seattle out of playoff contention with a Week 16 home win might be their highlight. Akili Smith continued to struggle at QB, but 115 yards and 2 scores from Robert Drummond was enough to knock off the Dragons despite a huge 184-yard day from rookie David Boston. LA 21 OAK 35 It was a battle of backups in Oakland as the Invaders took advantage of LA resting their big names and got a rare win to end the year. Brent Pease played solidly for the Express, but with the #1 seed well in hand the fire was no there against their in-state rivals. Oakland got 109 yards rushing and 2 scores from their running back duo of Stacy and Davis. Rookie Marty Booker had his best game, catching 4 balls for 146 yards, including a massive 73 yard catch & run. This week’s results have finalized the playoff standings and set up 4 Wild Card games for next week. At the top nothing changed, with Memphis and Los Angeles owning the #1 seed. St. Louis, after weeks trailing the Texas Outaws, got the results they wanted and moved into the #2 seed in the West by winning the Central Division. Baltimore has the #2 in the East. Hosting Wild Card games will be #3 seeds Birmingham and Denver along with #4 seeds Pittsburgh and Texas, all with 10 wins or more. Michigan and Houston back into the #5 and #6 seeds in the West, while Orlando and Washington get #5 and #6 in the East with wins this week. The big losers on Week 16 include Texas, missing out on a division title with a bad loss this week, Ohio and Seattle, who could not reach 9-7 and a playoff berth, and two teams picked for Summer Bowl 1999, as both Arizona and Tampa Bay finish the year a deeply disappointing 7-9. Atlanta finishes with the worst record in the league at 2-14, assuring them the #1 draft pick in the 2000 draft. They are followed by Oakland (4-12), Philadelphia (5-11), then Chicago, Portland, Jacksonville and New Jersey, all at 6-10. Kudos to the League’s Best Let’s start our stories with this year’s leaders in the major statistical categories. Only 1 new league record this year and so we begin by recognizing the now 2-time league sack leader, Chris Doleman of Orlando. Doleman dueled with Phil Hansen of New Jersey and the Dynamic Duo of Sinclair and Pittman in Houston all season long, but a huge 5-sack game and a late surge put him over the top. The new sack record for the USFL sits at a painful 29 sacks in a 16 game season. We feel for you QB’s, with edge rushers like the ones on display now in the league it is amazing any team gets through a year with their starting QB intact. Kudos as well to a player who left the frying pan and ended up not in the fire, but on fire. Terrell Davis wins his first league rushing title in a year when he left New Orleans and was unceremoniously dumped by Mike Ditka in favor of rookie Ricky Williams. Williams had a strong year with 1,078 yards rushing, but Davis had the last laugh, not only winning the rushing title with nearly 1,300 yards, but by helping Pittsburgh win 6 straight to enter the playoffs as the #4 seed, while New Orleans finished 7-9 and Coach Ditka was shown the door. Two more first-time winners in our league leaders as Heath Shuler had by far his best season as a pro, leading the league in QB Rating at 117.9. His 4937 yards and 41 TDs may be second to Brett Favre in those categories, but he won the bigger prize, leading Memphis to a division title over Birmingham. In Ohio. The 8-8 finish for the Glory was disappointing, but don’t lay that on Joey Galloway, who proved once again that he is a major deep threat and a solid all around receiver. Galloway finished the year with 1,715 yards on 112 receptions, good enough to edge out Lawrence Dawsey for the title, another Memphis win over Birmingham. Finally, in a very rough year in Atlanta, the play of LB Mo Lewis should be highlighted. The Fire defense was, let’s say, not good. That is a kind thing to say, but Lewis was a rock. His 129 tackles were as much about his talent as the inability of others on the team to make plays. We are sure he would rather make 80 tackles on a contender, but in Atlanta he and HB Tiki Barber may be the best players as the club again tries to build a winner. Black Monday Arrives We hinted at it first, then stated it in our discussion of Terrell Davis, but Black Monday did claim a victim in Breakers’ head coach Mike Ditka. The team invested heavily in Ditka and his scheme to sign Ricky Williams, and while Williams looked good, the team did not, finishing 7-9 and out of playoff contention all year. Only some late season wins when the playoffs had already been forgotten helped the club look like better than a cellar dweller. Ditka, who has had issues with talented players on his squad, particularly on offense, over the years, just could never reach the heights with New Orleans that he did when with the NFL Bears. His defense this year gave up 346 points, which put them solidly in the lower half of USFL clubs, not exactly what the team was hoping for in a make or break year for Big Mike. So, Ditka is done, and now the Breakers have to reassess and rebuild around LB Lamar Lathon and HB Ricky Williams. Will they stick with Jamie Martin at QB? Will they upgrade at receiver? And who will they add to put some aggression in that D? Lots of questions for a club that may not be as good as their 7 wins might indicate. The second Black Monday victim was very much expected, with Sherm Lewis being let go after three very sub-par seasons at Bobby Dowd. Lewis came to Atlanta with a reputation as an offensive guru, and while he has had some success with the run game of Tiki Barber, the offense as a whole has never worked. Barber had a major backslide this year, not finishing in the Top 10 running backs, and that may be in large part due to the chaos at QB which made the Atlanta passing game a bit of a joke. Atlanta had brought in Jeff George, but he proved both injury prone and ineffective at creating a deep ball attack. By midseason he had been traded to Chicago and Atlanta tried to win with former UGA Bulldog Eric Zeier under center. That too proved a failure and the last few games of the year they turned the ball over to rookie Aaron Brooks, and he played very much as a rookie does. So, with an offense that scored only 233 points, and a defense that gave up a whopping 442, there was not much to celebrate in the Peachtree City. So, Sherm Lewis is gone and now Atlanta will look for a 3rd coach in 6 years. Having failed with 2 NFL guys in Dan Reeves and Sherm Lewis, the Fire remain the sad sacks of the class of 1995 expansion clubs. Will they turn to a college coach? Or perhaps a USFL coordinator to right the ship and build something? They need to do something soon, the new car smell has left the franchise and the smell they have now is not one that will attact a lot of fans to Bobby Dowd on a hot & humid summer day. Those were the two releases on Black Monday, to go along with the firing of Dan Reeves in Oakland, and the seemingly voluntary departure of Vince Tobin in Portland. No news yet on those two positions, but it is early. We also know that Raymond Berry has announced he will retire after 7 pretty good years (1999 excluded) in Philadelphia. We are awaiting a farewell sendoff, and we fully expect that as soon as it is set, the Stars will announce that Jim Mora Jr. will be the new head coach of the Stars. That should get the Stars fanbase amped up again after a very disappointing 5-11 campaign. Looking at our 8 Wild Card teams, there are some situations here that could require some adjustments. Here is the injury forecast for all 8 clubs. BIR: LB Lorenzo Styles (IR), DT Mike Wells (Out) The Stallions are getting Stephen Davis back, and he should be the lead back this week after just a few snaps last week. Styles and Wells being out could mean the inside run might be available for Washington. PIT: LB Steve Tovar (Out), G Rod Milstead (Doubtful), SS Sam Shade (Doubtful) Pittsburgh has gotten used to paying without Milstead, who has missed the 2nd half of the season. Losing Shade impacts the secondary, which is not good if Orlando gets McCardell back to pair with Driver. ORL: FB Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala (Out), WR Keenan McCardell (Probable) Getting McCardell at full strength should help Scott Mitchell out, but losing Chris “F-M” will be an issue for the run game. Expect them to compensate with a lot of 1-back formation for Kirby. WSH: DE Bobby Hamilton (IR), T Grant Williams (Out), LB Winston Moss (Out), FS Bennie Thompson (Doubtful). Moss’s injury has certainly impacted the Federal D, and now likely missing on Bennie Thompson as well could be an issue for the secondary, especially against Birmingham. TEX: QB Kelly Stouffer (Out), CB Jerome Henderson (Out) Only 2 players definitely out this week, but when one is your starting QB, that is a concern. Stouffer’s absence puts a lot of pressure on Jack Pardee to prepare a game plan that Tommy Maddox can succeed in. DEN: T Jason Odom (IR), FS Myron Guyton (Questionable) The loss of Odom is a pretty big deal, especially for HB Rashaan Salaam. Expect Denver to shift a lot of their runs to the left side of the line, but expect Michigan to also prepare for that. MGN: CB Billy Austin The Panthers come into the Wild Card playoffs with a pretty healthy club, so no worries here. HOU: DE Kavika Pittman (IR), CB Ashley Ambrose (Questionable) With two of their top defenders out for this game, the pressure will be on Chuck Hartlieb and the offense to deliver, because the odds of Houston holding even a Tommy Maddox led Outlaws squad down without Pittman and Ambrose seem slim. Wildcard weekend! This should be good. We have a wide range of teams in this year’s pool, some who have been at or near the top of the league power poll all year long, some that seem to be backing into the playoffs, and some that just barely clawed their way into a low seed. That could make for some uneven games, or a wild upset. Let’s take a look at our 4 playoff games for this week and see what stands out. #6 Washington Federals (8-8) @ #3 Birmingham Stallions (11-5) Saturday, July 10 @ 3pm ET Legion Field About as diametrically opposed as two teams can get. Birmingham flirted with a division title and top seed in the East all season long only to fall 1 game short. They are all about offense, and particularly passing offense. Brett Favre leads a talented group of receivers that is back to full strength with the return of Ernest Givens in what may be his final year in the league. Givens, Dawsey, and Marcus Robinson are a nightmare for defenses. The goal for the Stallions, as always, is to get out to an early lead and then rush the passer to disrupt any comeback attempt. In rookie Mike Rucker (20 sacks) they have a perfect weapon for pressuring opposing QBs and preventing teams from coming back against an otherwise iffy defense. For Washington the story and the strategy are quite different. The Federals, who won the title 2 years ago on defense, rely heavily on ball control, clock management, and stuffing the run. That last item won’t help them this week, so they will need to regear their D-line to rush the passer. With Jerome Brown in the center of that line they can be very disruptive, but expect them to also blitz as needed to put pressure on Favre, who can throw some bad picks from time to time when under pressure. On offense Washington will try to control the ball with their run game, led by Barry Word, and move Kordell Stewart out of the pocket to avoid Rucker and the Stallion pass rush. The Feds cannot win a shootout, so they need to keep the game close throughout and hope for 1-2 big plays that turn the tide their way. PREDICTION: Washington needed a final week win against Ohio just to get here, and we are not feeling much confidence that their defense is well-suited to stop the Stallion passing attack. We see some potential for this to get out of hand early. Birmingham wins, 31-17. #5 Michigan Panthers (9-7) @ #4 Texas Outlaws (10-6) Saturday, July 10 @ 7pm ET AlamoDome Both Texas and Michigan are capable of playing lights out football, but both are also capable of laying an egg. With Kelly Stouffer out last week, Texas blew a chance to win the division and get a bye. That loss means they must now play this week and very likely without Stouffer once again. For Michigan, it has been an up and down season every week, and it is hard to predict who will show up for the Panthers this week. Michigan has talent on offense in the presence of Doug Flutie, Ricky Watters, and wideout Jeff Campbell. It is not an explosive offense, but it is one that can keep the chains moving and slowly accrue points. The defense is middling, but can disrupt an offense if they can avoid the big play. That would seem to be the key for Michigan, play ball control, move the chains, offense and avoid giving up big plays on defense. For Texas the big question mark has to be the QB position. Will we get a big day from Tommy Maddox, like the one we saw 2 weeks ago, or will we get the Tommy Maddox who did not impress as a starter in New Jersey? The defense is stout and has the tools to limit Michigan’s offensive options, but Texas needs to score points. Our key to the game is the play of the run game. If Reggie Cobb and Rodney Thomas can reach 100 yards or more combined, that bodes well for the Outlaws. PREDICTION: Yes, Texas has a long history of fading down the stretch, but Michigan has not exactly been on a tear either. We think that the combination of home field advantage and a solid run game may be enough for Texas to pull this one out. The one X factor is Flutie. When he is average, so is Michigan, but every once in a while the Flutie Magic shows up and then all bets are off. We pick Texas to win, but don’t hold us to it. Outlaws 24-22. #5 Orlando Renegades (9-7) @ #4 Pittsburgh Maulers (10-6) Sunday, July 11 @ 12pm ET Three Rivers Stadium This is the game no one wants to miss. Pittsburgh and Orlando have been without a doubt the two hottest clubs of the season’s second half, with the Maulers on a 6-game winning streak and the Renegades only 1 back with a 5-game streak. Neither team is flashy, neither one has huge media stars on the roster, but both teams are solid in every phase of the game and both have the capacity to wear down the opposition. The key for Pittsburgh is the play of Terrell Davis. After his issues with Mike Ditka in New Orleans, the bruising back was traded this offseason to the Maulers and he responded by winning the league rushing title with 1,234 yards. Davis can set the tone for the Maulers, and if he gets success on early downs it makes life that much easier for Charlie Batch to find receivers open on play action and convert on 3rd down. The defense is good, but not dominant. Patrick Surtain has been strong in the secondary, so that could help deal with rookie Donald Driver of Orlando, but they are going to need an answer for Terry Kirby if they want to win. Orlando relies a lot on Kirby’s versatility, used almost as often as a receiver than as a rusher. Scott Michtell had a very good year, finishing 4th in the QB Ratings at 98.9, with 23 TDs, but he also threw 12 picks. If he is careless with the ball, Orlando is sunk. Slow and steady will win this race for the ‘Gades. The other huge factor, and we mean huge, is DE Chris Doleman. Doleman won his second consecutive sack title this year, edging out Phil Hansen, and setting a new league record with 29 sacks in 16 games. He could give Pittsburgh fits all day. The Maulers will need to be successful with the run just to protect Batch from the big and fast DE of Orlando. PREDICTION: As much as we love the year that Terrell Davis has had, Orlando can stack the line on early downs and then let Doleman loose on 3rd down. That is a bad formula if you are Charlie Batch. If Orlando can play steady on offense, the combination of Mitchell and Kirby can break down Pittsburgh. We like Orlando 27-21. #6 Houston Gamblers (8-8) @ #3 Denver Gold (10-6) Sunday, July 11 @ 4pm ET Mile High Stadium Denver, as they so often do, seemed to sneak into a high seed and a home playoff game. We have all been so enamored with the rise of the Express in the Pacific that we pretty much ignored a pretty solid season for the Gold. But that is the thing, Denver always seems to have a solid, but forgettable, season that ends with a playoff defeat. Is this the week that defeat comes? Perhaps. Houston wins with defense, that much is clear. But since losing Kawika Pittman to injury, the dynamic duo up front has become just Michael Sinclair, and as good as he is, without Pittman opposite him teams can double up and greatly improve their chance of an upright QB. Add to this that Mark Brunell is a leftie, which means he is opposite Sinclair’s natural side and the chance of blind side sacks are greatly diminished. Houston may try moving Sinclair around to deal with this but any time you move a player out of their usual position you risk that player making mistakes. Houston’s best chance is to see if they can get some production out of the combo of Dorsey Levins and Kevin Faulk, even if that is through the screen game, where Faulk excels. Without a solid run game you put Chuck Hartlieb in a tough spot. Denver too has a strong pass rush, led by Leslie O’Neill, and they feast on one-dimensional teams. Houston needs to balance what they do and Hartlieb needs to stay clean and in the game mentally. If he starts throwing picks or missing on 3rd down, Houston could be in big trouble. PREDICTION: We think Denver gets through this round. Houston has lost 2 in a row and has been inconsistent all year. Denver has been the more consistent team and has that huge Mile High home field advantage, if only for this week. Next week could be tough for the Gold, but we think they have this game in hand. Denver 24-14.

PLAYOFF SEEDING EAST: 1-MEM 2-BAL 3-BIR 4-PIT 5-ORL 6-WSH WEST: 1-LA 2-STL 3-DEN 4-TEX 5-MGN 6-HOU

A lot of clinching, and a few clubs giving their fans angina from the stress. With only 1 week left in the regular season, we are down to only 3 playoff spots left, but in both the East and West Conferences there is tension as several clubs are on the fringe. This week’s games gave division titles to LA, Memphis and Baltimore, but Texas’s loss (both on the scoreboard and the training room) means that they are still needing one more win to avoid being surpassed by last year’s conference champs from St. Louis. We also got one of the most unlikely upsets in recent years as a 1-win club not only knocked off the defending champs, but may have cost them a chance to repeat, potentially knocking them from playoff contention. That is a huge upset, and it leads off our recap of Week 15 in the USFL. Is this the greatest football game ever played? No. Does it involve two title contenders? Also, no. But, when you get an upset of this nature, one which has the worst club in the league somehow upending the defending champion, and very likely costing them any chance at a playoff appearance, it must be highlighted. And so we are looking at Atlanta’s shocking upset of Tampa Bay as this week’s Game of the Week. The Fire entered the game as home underdogs, 13 point underdogs to a Tampa Bay Bandit squad that was fighting for their playoff life. All indications were that Atlanta would be flat, playing out the string for a head coach, Sherm Lewis, who was likely about to lose his job. Tampa Bay was expected to roll over the Fire to get their record up to 8-7 and in the mix for a Wild Card and perhaps a solid playoff run. So what happened? It appears that Tampa Bay believed the hype. They came out flat from the start, with no sense of urgency and no real fear of the Fire. Through three quarters, it seemed they were well in control of the game, leading 16-3 with only a quarter to play. They had not played well, but Atlanta did not seem to be posing much a a threat with rookie Aaron Brooks at the helm, so they did not need their best game. Sure, Tiki Barber was having a decent day (He would finish with 83 yards on 18 carries), but Tampa had gotten a TD from Randy Moss, and had tacked on 3 field goals for what felt like a pretty comfortable lead. Even when Atlanta had their first truly solid drive to start the 4th quarter, a drive ending with Blair Thomas plunging into the endzone to drop the lead to 6, there did not appear to be panic on the Tampa Bay sideline. That lack of urgency proved to be fatal for Tampa Bay. After the Atlanta score, the Bandits seemed content to play the clock, run the ball, and walk away with a win. What happened instead was that they ended up punting after only 1 first down and giving a team with nothing to lose a shot at winning for only the 2nd time all season. With 2:51 left to play, Atlanta took over at their own 27 and, for whatever reason, decided that was the moment to make a stand and play like their season depended on it. It began with a simple 5-yard dumpoff from Brooks to Frank Wycheck, but a missed tackle turned the short pass into a 13-yard gain. Tiki Barber then went off-tackle for 5, followed by a quick completion to Reggie Barlow for 6, and another Atlanta first down. At this point things started getting serious on the Tampa Bay sideline, as a visibly troubled George Seifert started urgently communicating back and forth with his DC in the booth. After a miss on a 1st down throw, Brooks again found a receiver open against the Tampa zones. Deems May for 7, followed by a draw play to Barber that netted 6 yards and another first down. Tampa tried a blitz on the next play, their first one of the series, but that left Frank Wycheck open for an 8 yard gainer. And then, on 2nd and 2, Atlanta made Tampa pay for their lackadaisical attitude. The Bandits played the run, expecting the ball to go to Barber. Brooks faked the handoff, pulled the ball back in and found Terrance Mathis in single coverage out to the left. He lofted the ball towards the endzone, Mathis ran under it, and rolled to the ground, touchdown in hand. The game was tied, the few Tampa Bay fans who made the trip were besides themselves, and the small crowd of Atlanta faithful finally had something to celebrate this season. When Jason Elam’s kick went through the uprights, the Fire were on top with only 17 seconds left to play. Tampa Bay had fallen from an almost assured playoff spot to 7-8 and very likely needing help in Week 16 to have a shot at defending their title. It was a brutal choke for the Bandits, and a moment that teaches all of us not to ever downplay an opponent or assume victory just for showing up. ORL 26 BIR 14 While Orlando’s road win in Birmingham was nowhere near as shocking as Atlanta’s win, it still has major repercussions. Not only is Orlando now well in the mix for a Wild Card, but the loss means that the Stallions are out of the chase for the Division title, losing the tiebreaker with Memphis even if they finish with the same record. Orlando did it thanks to yet another huge day for Orlando’s defensive monster, Chris Doleman. The big and fast DE was a nightmare for Brett Favre all day, sacking the veteran 5 times, a day that moved Doleman into the league lead, and into the defensive POTY conversation. Add in 108 yards rushing and 2 TDs for Terry Kirby and the Renegades look like they are hitting their stride just in time to get into the postseason dance. BAL 17 WSH 16 The Battle of I-95 came down to one play as neither defense gave an inch in this game. Washington outgained Baltimore 403 to 290 but was frustrated time and again in the red zone by the bend-but-don’t-break approach the Blitz took. Jeff Garcia was sacked 6 times by a tenacious Federals defense, but on one key play, he got the time he needed, finding Lamar Thomas for what would prove to be the winning TD. With the win Baltimore locked up their first division title since 1996 while Washington fell to 7-8 and potentially out of the playoffs unless they get some help next week. TEX 7 MGN 27 Kelly Stouffer suffered another injury, this time on the 5th play of the game, and this time one which could cost him 1-2 weeks of action and his club a possible first place finish and a bye. With Tommy Maddox under center the Outlaws looked flustered and unable to move the ball, while Michigan took advantage of every mistake to put points on the board. Doug Flutie went 30 for 38 and threw 2 TDs to lead the Panthers to a big win and a playoff spot. ARZ 27 LA 6 Another game impacted by a QB injury, though in this case Cade McNown’s concussion will likely not keep him out of any playoff games. Expect LA to rest him next week as the Express have clinched the division and a bye week, but his absence in this game meant that Arizona could keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Jake Plummer threw 7 balls for 104 yards to Carl Pickens, and found Rocket Ismail on another scoring throw that helped the Wranglers get a road win and stay alive. HOU 3 CHI 16 Chicago continues to be a thorn in the side of potential playoff teams as their win at home this week kept Houston from locking up a spot. The defense played its best game of the year for the Machine, limiting Chuck Hartlieb to only 160 yards passing while also shutting down the two-headed rush attack of Levins and Faulk. Chicago continues to play hard for Coach Mornhinweg, and the defense is definitely proving to be a strength for this club. Houston can still get in with a win next week as they control their own destiny. DEN 14 SEA 32 Seattle took advantage of Denver’s playoff clinch the week before, coming out firing on all cylinders as they scored 24 unanswered points to put the game out of reach. Both Eric Metcalf and TE Ken Dilger went over 100 yards receiving as John Kitna topped 300 for only the 2nd time this season in the win. The defense also held Rashaan Salaam in check (41 yards) and picked off Mark Brunell twice as the Dragons remained in Wild Card contention. They need a Houston loss and some other results to even out the tiebreakers and get that last slot, but at least they are still alive. PIT 31 NJ 6 The Maulers won their 5th in a row and locked up a Wild Card by shutting down the Generals in the Meadowlands. New Jersey could only muster 2 field goals against the Mauler D while Terrell Davis kept the rock moving, rushing for 122 yards and 2 scores to give Charlie Batch and the offense all the points they would need. Quintin Jones also had a big day with a forced fumble that he recovered and ran back for 6 to help the cause. PHI 23 OHI 36 Ohio moved back over .500 and one win away from their first playoff trip with a convincing win at home. Eddie George (95) and Keith Woodside (38) combined to lead a rushing attack that produced 133 yards and 2 scores. Qadry Ismail, one of the best free agent signings this year, added 2 scores as well as the Glory knocked off a tired and disheartened Stars squad. News that their coach was retiring did not produce a wave of energy for the Stars, who will finish the year in last place in the division for the first time in a long time. MEM 25 JAX 3 Memphis found an answer to the Jacksonville offense, something few have been able to do in recent weeks. The Showboats limited Jacksonville to a paltry 139 total yards and an 0-for-10 nightmare on third downs. Reggie White and company harassed Chris Chandler all game, and the offense got 2 TDs from FB Larry Centers as the Showboats locked up their first division title since 1992. STL 21 NOR 3 The Knights pulled within 1 game of Texas thanks to a stifling defensive performance against the Breakers. Six sacks and three picks for the Knights’ defense made life miserable for the Breaker offense all day. The offense struggled a bit, but scored 21 points thanks to the powerful leg of Ryan Longwell, who set a league record with 7 field goals in the game. POR 19 OAK 32 Apparently when your head coach resigns with 2 games left in the season, there is not a lot of desire to play hard for him on the way out. That is the lesson learned in Portland where the Thunder showed little spark and fell to the Oakland Invaders. Troy Davis had a strong day, catching 6 balls for 69 yards to go with his 45 yards rushing as Oakland won for the first time since Week 6. CHRIS DOLEMAN GOES OFF Just when we thought that the sack race would be between Phil Hansen and Michael Sinclair, last year’s sack champion makes a major statement. His 5-sack game against Birmingham ties Hansen’s league record with 5 sacks in one game. Doleman was all but unstoppable in this game, even when facing double teams from the rattled Birmingham line. He came close to setting a new record with a 6th sack on a couple of occasions, but in both Favre was able to get the ball away, though he did get called for intentional grounding on one of those throws. Doleman’s huge day also sets a new season record with 27 sacks in one year. He has a legitimate chance at getting to 30 sacks with the game next week, and, more importantly, the Renegades may just ride his QB-destroying run right into the playoffs. A win next week and they are in the Wild Card round, so QB’s beware. DAVIS PULLING AWAY For most of the season we have seen the league rushing lead shift hands (or is it feet?) with Robert Drummond, Ahman Green, Rashaan Salaam, and Terrell Davis all taking their turns atop the leaderboard, but with 1 game left it looks like Pittsburgh’s Davis is pulling away. He currently has a 85 yard lead on Rashaan Salaam in 2nd place, and with Salaam likely to get some rest in Week 16, it is Davis’s title for the taking. Not a bad way to get revenge on Coach Ditka and the Breakers who traded him in order to make room for Ricky Williams to take the spotlight in New Orleans. Now, Williams has proven to be a very good rookie, currently 5th in rushing with 1,022 yards in 15 games, but Davis is making a statement. If he can win the title, which now looks likely, and get his club into the playoffs, it will be a nicely chilled plate of revenge being served. GOING DEEP While Davis pulls away with the rushing title, and Shuler and Favre battle for the MVP, over at the league receiving title it is still anyone’s guess who will take it home. Yes, when we look at total receptions, Texas possession specialist Shawn Collins has a solid 10 catch lead on the competition (mostly Cris Carter in Philly and TE Keith Jackson in Denver), but when we look at yardage there are 3 guys all within range of each other for the title. Birmingham’s Lawrence Dawsey currently leads with 1,638 yards, but both he and Brett Favre may be rested next week, something unlikely to happen with Joey Galloway in Ohio, because the Glory need him and all their starters if they are going to squeak into the playoffs. Arizona’s Carl Pickens is currently third and would need a monster day to catch either Dawsey or Galloway, but with the Wranglers also desperate to get a W and a playoff spot, we would not be surprised to see Jake Plummer throw it to Pickens every chance he has. Should be an exciting game within the games next week. THE BEST TE IN THE USFL IS? We mentioned that Keith Jackson is currently among the leaders in receptions, which is itself an amazing thing for a TE, but it got us thinking about who is the best TE in the game today. Other than some delusional folks in Michigan who will say Butch Rolle, who basically only comes alive in the red zone to catch TD’s, everyone else looks at three contenders. You have Jackson, who is Mark Brunell’s safety valve and who can roll over smaller defenders. He leads all TE’s in receptions with more than 20 more than 2nd place Rolle. But when it comes to big plays, you have to look at Memphis TE Adrian Cooper, who is the only TE likely to go over 1,000 yards this season. He has fewer than 60 catches, but an amazing 17 yards per catch and 9 TDs already this season. Those are some monster stats. And yes, we can hear the cries from Tampa Bay, where Ben Coates was undeniably dominant last year, but this year his 70 catches and 850 yards are nice, but not enough to put him above Cooper or Jackson. You cannot go wrong with any of these three, but this year we might lean a bit towards Cooper as the big man having the biggest impact. One week left, and while this week’s action cleared up a lot of questions, several more remain to be decided. Here is what we know. This week’s results lock up three division titles, with Memphis assured of the South, Baltimore the Atlantic, and Los Angeles the Pacific. LA also locks up the #1 overall seed in the West as they hold the tiebreaker over Texas, a stunning turnaround from having the #1 pick in the draft this past offseason. Texas is in the playoffs in the Central, as are St. Louis and Michigan, both at 9-6. St. Louis actually could wrest the Central Division title away from the Outlaws with a win this week and an Outlaw loss in divisional play. With Texas likely playing with Tommy Maddox at QB due to this week’s injury to Stouffer, the Knights feel they have a fair shot of upending the Outlaws and snapping up that bye week. Pittsburgh, perhaps the league’s hottest club, has also assured themselves of a Wild Card as they moved to 9-6 this week. Behind them, battling for 2 remaining slots, are Orlando and Ohio at 8-7, both able to control their own destiny, and Washington and Tampa Bay both now at 7-8 and needing help. The easiest scenarios for both are for them to win and their division rivals (Orlando for Tampa, and Ohio for Washington) to lose. They would then flip-flop with those rivals and take a spot in the playoffs at 8-8. In the West Houston and Seattle are also both at 8-7, with Arizona trailing at 7-8. If Houston wins, they are in, regardless of the Seattle result, but if Houston loses it opens the door for either Seattle or even Arizona to sneak in as the #6 seed. The Kelly Stouffer injury is clearly the story of the week on the injury front. His shoulder injury will absolutely keep him out of next week’s game, and unless Texas wins next week, they could end up losing the division title and its bye, which means their first playoff game would be in 2 weeks, which may also be too soon for Stouffer to return. The playoff hopes of the Outlaws could well depend on Tommy Maddox to fulfill, and that worries quite a few in San Antonio. Birmingham will also be going into the playoffs shorthanded as they lose LB Lorenzo Styles to the IR with a significant hamstring tear. The Birmingham LB corps is not exactly world-beaters with Styles, but without him it will be a group that opponents will certainly try to expoit. The LA Express got a scare this week as Cade McNown went down with a concussion early in their game with Arizona. The good news is that he should certainly be back and ready to play in 3 weeks when the Express will host their first playoff game since returning to the league in 1995. McNown was unlikely to play in the season finale next week before the big hit knocked him out of the game this week, but now for certain he will be sidelined as LA finishes the season in Oakland, a game that means nothing to the Express despite the in-state rivalry. Finally, we are expecting Orlando to get another boost in their efforts to earn a Wild Card as they will be getting wideout Keenan McCardell back from injury in time for their season finale. That was in question for a while, but his rehab has gone well and he has been cleared to play. Without him in the lineup rookie Donald Driver has become a star, but now with McCardell back, he, Driver and Tamarick Vanover pose a threat to any defense. Add in the solid pass catching of HB Terry Kirby and the Renegades are a team to take very seriously. A huge week 12 with playoff spots on the line, home games to be locked in, byes in the mix, and a lot more. Memphis is in Tampa Bay in the big Sunday Night game, and the Bandits need to win (and get some help) to get a Wild Card. Memphis has clinched the South thanks to the Stallion loss, so they could rest some starters. Birmingham is also likely to rest some starters this week as they host the Bulls, as they are guaranteed the #3 seed and a home Wild Card game. Orlando gets in with a win as they host the Fire. In the East, Baltimore has the division locked up, so expect them to rest a lot of players at home vs. New Jersey. Pittsburgh is in good shape but want to finish strong so they are likely to put in a solid effort as they visit Philly. Washington at 7-8 and Ohio at 8-7 are both on the fringe, and we expect this one to be a battle to the final whistle with Wild Card spots on the line. In the Central, Houston at St. Louis is the only game pitting two possible playoff teams. Neither wants to lose this week, with the chance for a home game in the Wild Card round on the table. Texas has the division lead, but they will face the Breakers without Kelly Stouffer, and a loss, coupled with a Knights’ win would drop them out of the division crown and into the Wild Card round. Chicago is in Michigan and the Panthers may rest several key starters as they are assured a playoff spot and have very long odds at getting a home game in the Wild Card round due to tiebreaker issues with both Denver and St. Louis. Out West, Arizona still has slim hopes for a playoff spot but must travel to Denver, where the Gold are still hoping that a win gets them a game at Mile High next week. Seattle is in Portland and needs a win to make their first ever playoff appearance. Finally Oakland will probably be hosting LA’s B team as they play in a very anticlimactic California Derby to finish out the year.

Playoff Picture: Baltimore, Memphis and Los Angeles have wrapped up their respective division titles, with LA also guaranteed the #1 seed only 1 year after finishing last in the league. St. Louis, Michigan, Denver, and Pittsburgh have also clinched spots in the postseason. Ohio, Orlando, and Houston can wrap up the last 3 spots with wins in Week 16, while Washington, Tampa Bay, Arizona, and Seattle need help from the opponents of those clubs next week to jump over them and into playoff position. Atlanta, Oakland, Portland, Chicago, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Jacksonville, and New Orleans have been eliminated from contention.

Playoff Picture: Denver has joined LA, Texas, Memphis, Baltimore, and Birmingham as playoff contenders. No division titles have yet been guaranteed. Atlanta, Oakland, and Chicago are joined by Portland and Philadelphia as teams eliminated from contention for a playoff spot.

The Bandits keep their hopes of a repeat alive with a gutsy performance in St. Louis, edging the Knights to move to 7-7 and within range for a Wild Card. St. Louis was undone by 2 turnovers, and, of all things, a return to the run game for the Bandits, just as we urged them to consider. Errict Rhett did not get a ton of carries, only 12, but the run game proved effective, with the elusive back averaging 6.1 yards on the day. This helped Troy Aikman get some man coverage on his big receivers, with Moss and Brooks both catching 7 balls each and combining for 179 yards and 2 scores on the day. St. Louis stayed close thanks to a solid performance from Jim Miller, going 30 for 43 for 373 yards and finding little-used TE Carlos Etheridge for 2 scores. St. Louis opened strong, with their first drive of the day leading to an Ahman Green TD run. Green would rack up 43 of his eventual 53 yards in the first half, leading many to wonder why St. Louis went away from him in the second half. Tampa responded with 2 drives leading to Mike Vanderjagt field goals, , but when Miller found Etheridge for a mid-period TD, St. Louis was out to a 14-6 lead. This score seemed to galvanize the Bandits, who essentially need to win their 3 remaining games to have a legitimate shot at a Wild Card. Tampa got 2 Troy Aikman touchdowns to close out the quarter, the first to their dynamic 2nd year receiver, Randy Moss, and the second to the always dependable Ben Coates. They would go into the half with a 20-14 lead, hoping their defense could contain the Knights and allow them to build on that lead in the 2nd half. Coming out of the gate with the ball in the 2nd half, St. Louis had other ideas. Miller hit on several big pass plays, including a 42-yarder to Patrick Rowe that put the ball on the 1-yard line. Ahman Green notched his 2nd TD on the day, and it was the Knights back on top 21-20. Tampa again responded with an Aikman to Moss TD toss, his second on the day, but the 2-point conversion failed, leaving the Bandits with only a 5-point lead. That lead would evaporate by the end of the 3rd quarter as St. Louis mounted a long drive capped off by Etheridge’s 2nd TD of the day, on his way to a career day (7 receptions for 76 yards and 2 scores). The Knights extended their lead to 32-26 early in the 4th with a Ryan Longwell 34-yard field goal. But we all know that a 6 point lead is hardly a safe space for a team to have in the USFL, and the tension of holding onto the 1-score lead was exactly what permeated the final half of the quarter. St. Louis got a stop on Tampa’s first drive after the Longwell kick, but on a 2nd and 4, the Knights gave Tampa Bay a lifeline when Bandit LB Bobby Houston (set to become a free agent this offseason) punched the ball out of the hands of Chris Howards hands, and Jerry Azumah, a good-looking rookie corner, fell on it to give Tampa good field position with just over 4 minutes to play. Tampa took advantage, moving within the 10-yard line on 3 plays. On 2nd and goal from the 8, Tampa showed pass with a 4-wide formation, but Aikman gave the draw to James Stewart and Tampa’s big back found a crease, broke an arm tackle and took it in for 6. The extra point put the Bandits up by 1 with just over 3 minutes left in the game. St. Louis would have to find a way back, at least into field goal range. The Knights got the ball back at the 25 after a touchback and Jim Miller connected with Hayward and Toomer to get the ball to the Tampa Bay 34. After spiking the ball, Miller completed a short pass to Hayward, but he could not get out of bounds. The Knights would be forced to burn their last time out just to stop the clock. On 3rd and 9 they brought out Longwell to try the 50 yarder, but when the kick went wide to the left, Tampa Bay could celebrate. Aikman took a knee, and the Bandits were at .500 and within the pool of 7-7 clubs chasing Eastern Conference Wild Cards. ORL 28 TEX 10 We stay focused on the Southern Division with another club that is making a late push for a Wild Card. Orlando knocked off the Central Division leaders in pretty solid fashion to pull themselves to 7-7 and into the mix. The Orlando D pressured Kelly Stouffer all day, with 2 sacks from Chris Doleman, and 5 overall, and with 4 big interceptions as Stouffer kept forcing the ball into coverage. Deon Figures, the former Memphis Showboat, came up big with 2 picks and one run back for 6 as Orlando got a huge win in their quest for a Wild Card. BIR 24 MGN 31 On Saturday, Birmingham struggled with Michigan and fell ½ game behind Memphis (who would play the next day), thanks to 105 yards from Panther HB Tyrone Wheatley and 5 sacks from the Panther D. Brett Favre still threw for 357, thanks in part to the return of Ernest Givens (6 for 113) to the lineup, but it was not enough as Michigan got late scores from Jeff Campbell and Butch Rolle to pull out and hold the lead on the visiting Stallions. Michigan, with the win, moves to 8-6 and puts itself back in the Western Wild Card hunt. MEM 24 HOU 27 Memphis could not take advantage of Birmingham’s slip the day before, as they too fell prey to a hungry Central Division wild card contender. Houston came back from a 24-17 deficit in the final 4 minutes, first with a Dan Campbell score to tie the game and then, after a risky onside kick call, the Gamblers got the ball back and Adam Lindsey nailed a 54-yarder to win the game with only 8 seconds left. The win moves Houston to 8-6 along with Michigan and St. Louis as things heat up out West. OHI 10 SEA 28 Seattle revived its slim playoff hopes by using home field and a rainy afternoon to knock off the visiting Ohio Glory. Corey Dillon had one of his best games of the year, rushing for 130 and a score, as Jon Kitna and the Dragon offense came alive in the 2nd half to score the game’s final 21 points, after trailing 10-7 at the half. The Dragon D also proved up to the task, sacking Kerry Collins 4 times and limiting Eddie George to only 47 yards rushing as Seattle moves to 7-7. PIT 20 ARZ 16 The Maulers are looking more and more like a contender as they win again, this time in Tempe. The defense again led the charge, limiting Arizona to only 35 yards rushing and keeping Jake Plummer locked into the pocket. Plummer would be sacked 7 times on the day as Pittsburgh used Godfrey Miles as a spy, keeping the elusive QB from running. Terrell Davis was the catalyst on offense, averaging 5.2 YPC on his way to 93 yards on the day. WSH 26 POR 23 OT The Federals are not out of the playoff hunt just yet, also moving to 7-7 with a big overtime win in Portland over the fading Thunder. Down 23-7 at one point, Washington got late TDs from Glyn Milburn and Travis McNeal to pull the game even and then kicked the winning field goal on their second drive in overtime. Portland got 104 yards from Robert Drummond but could not keep Kordell Stewart in the pocket as he kept plays alive with his feet on the way to the record-evening win. PHI 27 DEN 38 Denver locks up at least a Wild Card spot in the West with a home victory over the underachieving Stars. Rashaan Salaam looked ready for the postseason with 120 yards and 2 touchdowns on the day. Bobby Hebert threw for 303 yards and 2 scores, but Denver simply kept the pressure on all day, scoring on 3 of 4 possessions in the third quarter to pull away. NJ 12 LA 33 The Express had their biggest crowd of the season on hand to watch them dismantle the New Jersey Generals. Antowain Smith rushed for 80 yards and unheralded Curtis Mayfield led all receivers with 80 yards and a TD for LA. The Express defense, which has had a stunning improvement over 1998, got to Fischer 4 times and picked off three passes to boot. Aaron Glenn led the secondary with 9 tackles, a forced fumble, 5 passes defended and a pick. BAL 34 OAK 28 Oakland got a feisty performance out of their club this weekend, something sorely lacking in the last few weeks of Dan Reeves’s tenure, but it was not enough as Jeff Garcia again helped Baltimore score over 30 points for the second time in 2 weeks. He got some help as Baltimore’s D scored 3 pick-sixes against a flustered Cary Conklin, two from defensive POTW Donnell Woolford. JAX 44 CHI 17 Believe it or not, the Bulls are still technically alive for a Wild Card after a crushing victory against an overmatched Chicago Machine club. Terrell Owens, making a push for a new contract, had a big day, catching 9 balls for 152 yards, and Sedrick Irvin looked good both as a rusher and a receiver as Jacksonville took a 27-10 lead at the half and never looked back. They need 2 more wins and a lot of help, but they remain alive for now. ATL 0 NOR 27 The Breakers shut out the Fire in one of Atlanta’s worst performances of a bad year. Expect to see rookie Aaron Brooks in next week as Eric Zeier could get nothing going for the Fire. Atlanta needs to see what they have in Brooks, because Zeier simply is not proving he can be a permanent starter. For New Orleans Raynard Brown came up big with 8 catches for 112 yards, and Lamar Lathon led a tenacious defense as they harassed Zeier all game. COACHING DEPARTURES While we did not have another firing this week, we did get news from two clubs that will likely diminish the impact of Black Monday. Two longstanding coaches are stepping down after Week 16’s games conclude. The first, Portland’s Vince Tobin announced that he would finish the season as Portland’s head coach but will not return in 2000. Stating that he believes it is time to move on and seek other opportunities, Tobin preempted what was considered to be a likely firing later this summer. Expect the former Philadelphia Stars DC to seek a position in that role for someone in either the NFL or USFL next year. The second announcement came out of Philadelphia, again a preemptive strike from a veteran coach who is likely to be on the chopping block at year’s end. Raymond Berry, who helped guide the Stars to a league title in 1994 as well as 5 playoff appearance, announced this week that he will retire from coaching at the end of the 1999 campaign. Berry has been coach of the Stars since 1993, and to date has a record of 65-46 in that role. He came to the USFL after coaching the New England Patriots in the NFL and serving on several staffs as a position coach (WRs). Rumors in Philadelphia were that the Stars were already looking at a candidate who many view as a means of “returning to glory”, Jim Mora. Not the current head coach of the Memphis Showboats, but Jim Mora Jr., the current Defensive Coordinator for Chicago. Seems odd in a week when the Machine defense was ravaged by Jacksonville to speak of their DC getting a head coaching job, but with the obvious legacy connection in Philadelphia, and a pretty solid resume in the NFL, where Mora has served with San Diego, New Orleans, and San Francisco before following Marty Mornhinweg to Chicago this year, it is not that strange a pick. HITTING THE MEAT MARKET In our game analysis we hinted at a couple of players who might be opting to test the free agent waters this year. One who has made his desire to move on very clear is QB Chris Chandler of the Jacksonville Bulls. Chandler has had a decent season, his 5th with the Bulls, throwing for 3,828 through 14 games, with 29 TDs but also 18 picks (not a good number). His tenure with the Bulls has been a bit of a roller coaster, with the club making the playoffs in 1995 and 1997 only to flop the very next season. After a 3-win 1998 campaign, the Bulls seem to be stepping back up again, though are longshots to make the playoffs this year. Chandler has a solid receiving corps and a good young back in Sedrick Irvin, but his relationship with Head Coach Gunther Cunningham, a defensive guy, this year has been bumpy. Considered a 2nd tier QB, but certainly one that a club can win with, will make Chandler an attractive target in free agency, with both the NFL and the USFL. We would not be surprised to see Chandler end up with any number of USFL clubs, with Chicago, Atlanta, New Jersey, and possibly even Houston potentially in the market. With the only other realistically potential free agent QBs being backups like Scott Zolak, Jeff Lewis, Kent Graham, and possibly St. Louis’s Jim Miller, Chandler will certainly be a big target and he knows it. OTHER POTENTIAL BIG NAME FREE AGENTS Chandler is not the only name that will attract a lot of suiters. WR Terrell Owens may also be seeking his way out of Jacksonville, and he has made himself very attractive with his on-field performance even if his flamboyant and outspoken personality may not be for everyone. Herman Moore is less likely to move, but Washington is not known as a deep-pockets club, so if he wants a big payday, he may opt to leave the Federals to get it. Among running bakcs, the big names are going to be Texas backup Rodney Thomas, who certainly believes he deserves a shot at a #1 positoin. Philadelphia got Darrell Thompson in trade from Arizona, but he is unlikely to resign and play behind Charlie Garner, so expect the former Knight, Express, Wrangler and current Star to move on once again. On defense, Tampa Bay’s Bobby Houston may be a good commodity for a team looking for veteran leadership, though we expect that the market will be higher for Atlanta’s Roman Phifer or Portland’s Mike Vrabel. DT Luther Ellis in Houston may be a tough sign for the Gamblers, who also have to try to resign Michael Sinclair. Another club with a signing conundrum is Birmingham. With both Lawrence Dawsey and Marcus Robinson due for renewal this year, the Stalliions are almost certainly going to have to make a decision, signing one and letting the other go. Will the stick with the veteran or go for youth with Robinson? Other veteran receivers likely to be looking for a new home are Ricky Proehl in Chicago and Eric Metcalf in Seattle. They are just too expensive for their squads and no longer the threat they once were. Finally, do not be surprised if there is a hot market for interior linemen, with two really good ones, Chicago’s Leo Goeas and New Jersey’s Will Shields likely to seek both financial and on-field success with a new club. One more team punched their ticket this week, with Denver’s win locking up a Wild Card at worst. Amazingly none of our division leaders were able to clinch this week, so it may be Week 15 before we see those byes start to go off the table. Baltimore, LA, and Texas can all lock up their divisions with a win next week as all three have 2 game leads. Memphis and Birmingham are still neck and neck with both losing this week. Baltimore is hoping both fall at least once so they can sneak into the #1 seed and get home field for the playoffs, but they need to stay on track themselves to make that happen. Looking at the Wild Card situation, Pittsburgh, Michigan, St. Louis, and Houston, all at 8-6, all control their own destinies. Any of these clubs that goes 2-0 is absolutely getting in and could also end up hosting a playoff game. Seattle needs at least one team from the Michigan-St. Louis-Houston trifecta to fall, preferably twice, to jump up, but they too need to go 2-0 to make it happen. The same is basically true for Washington and Ohio as well, due to bad tiebreakers against Tampa Bay and Orlando, who sit above them with all 4 sitting at 7-7 with 2 weeks left. Again, go 2-0 and your odds are very good. Lose even one game and it may be over. Sounds like the playoffs are starting early for several clubs, and as fans that is good for us to be sure. Very few injuries to report this week, which has to make teams across the league happy. The Gamblers are perhaps the one club not happy with this week’s injury report as there is a good chance that half of the Blackjack Sack Attack, DE Kavika Pittman, may be done for the year after suffering a tear to his abdominal wall. That is a painful injury that can take a long time to heal, so Pittman may not be available even if the Gamblers make a playoff run. Pittsburgh also got some bad news as LB Steve Tovar was placed on IR after fracturing his left arm in this week’s action. Again, even with a deep playoff run, he will not be able to return. Finally, Portland guard Eric Still is being shut down for the rest of the year after nagging hip issues grew worse over the past week. He will be considering surgery to deal with a loose chip in the hip over the offseason. Our third and final Reebok redesign has been released this week, and what better time for a visual refresh than after a year that saw the club rise from the ashes and ascend to the best record in the league. That is what we are seeing from a reinvented LA Express this year, and when next year rolls around the look of the Express will be brand new as well. After 5 seasons with essentially a refreshed version of the 1983 look of the original Express franchise, the new look Express will be going a totally new direction in 2000. While the Speed Blue, Navy, and silver color scheme will remain the same, the LA monogram will be reduced to a secondary logo (and reworked in a more modern style) so that a new primary logo can be used as a rally point for the growing Express bandwagon. This week Reebok and the Express revealed the new logo, based heavily on the concept of speed. The logo which will adorn the stadium starting with the playoffs this July and will be the centerpiece of the uniform and marketing moving forward is a stylized Hermes/Mercury, messenger of the Greek and Roman gods and icon of speed. The logo features the head and helmet of the immortal speedster in profile, with large wings adorning the side of the figure. Designed as an image that evokes movement, power, speed, and classical grandeur, the Mercury figure will be seen on the new Express helmet and jerseys starting next fall. The LA logo will also be updated, now as a 2-color logo (speed blue and navy on white backgrounds) with a single motion line streaking across the monogram, separating the two colors. This logo will be used on the front of the jerseys in place of the team’s name found on so many jerseys, and will remain a prominent image of the club, though not as prominent as when its predecessor was the lone logo used by the team. The uniform will also undergo a significant update, with speed blue replacing navy as the primary jersey color. Navy will still be present in a big way, primarily as the color of the jersey sleeves on the home uniform, following the trend of yokes, side panels, and colored sleeves we have seen in recent years in the NFL, NCAA, and USFL. The helmet remains a metallic silver, but the stripes are now tapered from front to back, with a similar pattern on the pants as well. The club will primarily use silver pants with both jerseys, but a speed blue pant is available for both home and away as well. Two weeks left and both are down in the dirt divisional games. So many matchups with playoff permutations to deal with, these two weeks should be crazy. Let’s start out West with the Pacific Division. LA Wraps up the division title with a home win against last year’s Cinderella, the Wranglers. Denver has clinched, and is almost certainly a Wild Card, but that does not mean they don’t want to win in Seattle. The Dragons could make their way into the playoffs with some help, so this is also a big game for them. Portland is in Oakland for a game no one should have to watch. In the Central the big game for playoff impact is Texas at Michigan. This would be a huge win for the Panthers, who sit at 8-6 and would all but guarantee themselves a spot with a home win here. Texas will clinch the division if they can get the road victory. Houston is in Chicago, and a road win helps them a great deal as well, but the Machine have been playing spoilers pretty well this past month. We finish with St. Louis in New Orleans, where Mike Ditka is feeling the heat. A win against the Knights would be a huge help to his argument to keep the coach in place for 2000. In the South there are two big stories. Who will win the division, and will either Tampa Bay or Orlando make it in? The Bandits have the path of least resistance, playing in Atlanta for a team likely to start rookie Aaron Brooks just to see what they have in the young man. Orlando’s path to the playoffs is a lot tougher, having to travel to Birmingham to face a Stallion squad that is still in a heated race with Memphis for that bye week. The Showboats are in Jacksonville, hoping that the disarray around Chris Chandler helps distract a Bulls team that has been a threat, even at 6-8. Finally, in the Atlantic, Baltimore locks up the division with a win at home, against who other than their archrival Washington. The Feds, sitting at 7-7, likely need to win out to have any shot at the playoffs, so this should be a slugfest. Pittsburgh is in good position at 8-6 but cannot take the homestanding New Jersey Generals lightly. The Generals need a ton of help and 2 wins to squeak into the postseason, but they could come out with nothing to lose in this one. Finally, Ohio, losers of 3 straight, need to use home field to get back into the mix. A win against a 5-9 Stars team that has a lame duck coach could be just the thing to get them back on track.

Playoff Picture: LA, Texas, Memphis, Baltimore, and Birmingham have all clinched playoff spots. Atlanta, Oakland, and Chicago have been eliminated.

We finally have our first playoff teams punching their tickets to the show as Memphis, Birmingham, Baltimore, Los Angeles and Texas make it official this week. The Blitz get in with their first win thanks to the switch to Jeff Garcia at QB. LA pulled out a major slugfest with a very game Bulls squad to earn their ticket, while Memphis and Birmingham are gearing up for a race to the finish to claim the Southern Division. Pittsburgh is surging Tampa Bay and Michigan seem to be fading, and the fringe of the Wild Card spots is getting crowded with a cluster of 7-6, 6-7 and even 5-8 clubs still in contention. If you missed the Wrangler-Showboat game in the Liberty Bowl on Saturday night, you are likely kicking yourself right now. This one was just plain fun. Jake Plummer left it all on the field, but Shuler and Hearst kept right there with him all night long. In a game that saw more than 1,000 yards of total offense, Arizona racked up 477 yards, including over 100 yards rushing from their QB (most on a beautiful 75 yard run) while Memphis’s MVP candidate Heath Shuler threw for 458 yards against a Wranglers defense that just did not know what was coming on each play. The fun started on the first drive of the game, when Plummer hit Rocket Ismail for an opening shot across the bow of the Showboats. Memphis responded immediately with a long drive ending in a Shuler to Adrian Cooper TD pass. The two clubs would then combine for 4 TDs and a safety in the 2nd quarter as this game kicked into overdrive really quickly. First it was Garrison Hearst busting out for a 12-yard TD run, then Plummer found Carl Pickens for a tying score. Arizona got the ball back after a controversial offensive pass interference call on Joe Horn, and we got to see the first of Jake Plummer’s 2 TD runs, a broken play that turned into a 27-yard scamper for a score. Memphis responded with Cooper getting his 2nd TD on a drive that looked like it would finish out the quarter, but when Memphis’s Tydus Wynans muffed a punt the Showboats were stuck with a 1st and 10 at their own 2. The half ended with Garrison Hearst stuffed in the endzone by Broderick Thomas to give Arizona a 23-21 lead at the half. Memphis retook the lead in the 3rd with a Jeff Hall field goal, but then had a huge mental breakdown. On a 2nd and 3, the entire Memphis defense crashed the line to stop Olandis Gary, but Gary did not have the ball. Plummer had kept it and bootlegged to a totally open right side of the field. He was 30 yards down the field before any Memphis player got within diving range of him, and despite not being a track star, Plummer went untouched 75 yards for a score. You could almost see the veins in Jim Mora’s eyeballs from the press box after that play, but despite the shock of it, the Showboats did recover. They would go on to score the next 20 points in fact. They pulled within 4 thanks to another Hall kick just before the close of the 3rd, and then in the 4th they added a big play of their own, a 76-yard run and catch by Adrian Cooper, his 3rd TD of the day. That was followed by a solid defensive stance and then a Garrison Hearst 7-yard run. Add another Hall field goal and Memphis had taken charge at 44-31. But this game was not over. Plummer would find Terry Orr with a TD with just over 1 minute left to pull the Wranglers to within 6 points. The onside kick was absolutely guaranteed, and yet somehow the Memphis special teams still messed it up. Arizona recovered a looping kick without it ever touching a Memphis player and with 54 seconds left, they had a shot. Plummer would get them to the Memphis 39, but two straight Hail Mary plays fell to the ground, the one hitting Hines Ward on the hands, but contested by two Memphis defenders. It was close, but no cigar after an amazing performance by Plummer. And it was “skin of their teeth” for the Southern Division leaders as they escaped with a home win in one of the most engaging and thrilling games of the year. STL 21 PHI 14 Bobby Hebert struggled against the Knights, throwing 3 picks and getting sacked 6 times as the Stars watched their playoff hopes fade. They did get a solid 122 yards from newly-acquired HB Darrell Thompson, but it was not enough as Ahman Green’s 114-yard day helped the Knights move to 8-5. TEX 44 WSH 28 The Federals defense seemed a shadow of its former self in this one as Houston racked up 327 yards passing and seemingly scored at will. Reggie Cobb contributed 3 touchdowns (2 through the air) as the Outlaws locked up the Central Division with a big road win. MGN 24 BAL 34 The Blitz switched to Jeff Garcia at QB and got their best offensive game since Trent Green went down. Garcia completed 65.7% of his passes and threw for 2 scores as the Blitz also got a good game from Derrick Fenner. Michigan moved the ball well, gaining 424 yards on the day, but simply could not score when they needed to, with a redzone pick from Flutie and a failed 4th and goal. HOU 15 PIT 20 In a battle of clubs that win with defense, the Maulers stayed hot and picked up their 3rd consecutive win. The Maulers held Houston lead back Dorsey Levins to only 16 yards rushing and picked off Chuck Hartlieb at a key juncture in the 4th to hold onto a slim but hard-fought victory. Charlie Batch looked solid again, completing 71.4% of his throws and finding both Terrell Davis and Freddie Solomon for scores. NOR 21 OHI 16 Ohio got caught in a trap game as they clearly looked past the Breakers and let this one get away. Jamie Martin threw for 2 scores and Ricky Williams averaged 4.2 yards per carry on his way to 93 yards and a TD for the Breakers. Ohio at one point was down 21-0 and fought to get back in it, but the deficit proved too big to overcome for a team not built for offensive explosiveness. CHI 15 NJ 18 New Jersey kept their playoff hopes alive by avoiding another Chicago upset. It was all about defense in this one as neither club did much on offense. Trailing 15-10 in the fourth, Spence Fischer made the play that was needed, hitting Wayne Chrebet with the game winner with 1:04 left to play. DEN 27 TBY 24 Tampa’s offensive woes continue as they could not overcome the Denver defense and two early TD passes from Brunell to Odessa Turner. The Bandits outgained the Gold 437-353 thanks in large part to 338 yards passing from Aikman (111 of it to Randy Moss on a persona best 11 receptions), but Denver kept the Bandits from turning yards into points, at least not enough points to get the win. POR 10 ORL 19 Portland watched as Orlando slowly built a lead thanks to 4 Charlie Baumann field goals and a late Terry Kirby TD run. Kirby would be key to this game, rushing for 71 yards on 14 carries 95.1 average) but also catching 6 balls for 92 yards. The win keeps Orlando in a crowded field for a Wild Card, while dropping to 5-8 all but ends Portland’s hopes. OAK 13 BIR 24 The Stallions were not at their best on Saturday, but it was still enough to get a double-digit win against the Bobby Ross-led Invaders. With Stephen Davis injured, FB Mike Alstott moved to halfback but rushed for only 38 yards in a slow-paced Stallion victory. Dave Brown got the start for a dinged up Cary Conklin, and his rust showed as he was sacked 4 times and completed just over 50% of his throws. SEA 24 ATL 15 Seattle got back on the winning side of things with a victory at Bobby Dowd. Both clubs struggled to put together long drives, but Seattle got what it needed when Kitna hit Courtney Hawkins late to pull out to a 2-score lead. LA 41 JAX 35 A really good game for fans that tuned in. LA needed everything they had to outpace a plucky Bulls squad, led by 5 TD tosses from Chris Chandler. TE Steve Johnson had a big game, catching 2 TDs and 6 balls for 84 yards. For LA, it was the run game that helped them get the W, with Antowain Smith and Michael Pittman combining for 117 yards on the day. Add in a 6 for 103 day from rookie Tory Holt and LA came out on top, locking up a playoff spot. Baltimore Rebounds Big After a rough 3 weeks in which Wally Richardson simply could not move the offense and the Blitz averaged only 11 points a game (18, followed by 9, then 6), the move was made to replace Richardson and see if the signing of former LA Express (and shortlived Chicago Machine) QB Jeff Garcia could do any better. Well, this week’s game against the Michigan Panthers may have given us the answer. Garcia went 23 of 35 for 283 yards and 2 TDs, which is not going to make him the MVP, but for fans in Baltimore it was certainly enough to inspire hope that when paired with their run game and their solid defense, the Blitz might not be watching their Summer Bowl hopes fading away. Garcia was effective connecting with the Blitz’s outside receivers, with both Rob Moore and Tim Dwight going over 100 yards on the day. He also largely avoided the Panther passrush, sacked only once and pressured into one bad throw leading to a pick. Overall it was a very solid performance, one which the Blitz faithful certainly hope he can repeat as Baltimore hopes to wrap up the Atlantic Division and head into a home playoff game. Plummer Has a Career Day in Loss There are a lot of things you can point to as reasons the Wranglers lost that shootout with Memphis, but don’t put the blame on Jake Plummer. Plummer, who currently ranks 6th in the league in QB Rating, certainly helped his cause and his club this week, throwing for 316 yards and 3 scores while also running for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a dynamic 75 yard TD run on one of the best bootleg fakeouts of all time. Plummer was certainly not perfect, completing only 28 of 51 pass attempts, but he hit on big plays, kept drives alive with his feet, and had his club up 31-27 after 3 quarters before Memphis dominated the 4th quarter. Last Rodeo For a Gunslinger? Rumors are swirling that this season may be the last for Bobby Hebert. The 2-time USFL champion with the Michigan Panthers spent several years in the NFL before returning to the spring, first with Oakland and now in Philadelphia. But, the time in Philly has not always been easy. His first year went quite well, with the Stars winning the Atlantic and Hebert throwing for 4,560 yards and 25 TDs. He may match those numbers this year, but without the wins to rally behind. To make it worse, he is taking a pounding. Hebert has been sacked 41 times this year and he does not have the same bounce-back ability he had in his first stint in the league. With Philadelphia doing some soul searching, and with Hebert approaching 40, it is not surprising that he may be wondering if now is the time to hang up the cleats rather than put in another season on what may be a rebuilding club. Of course it does not help his psyche that he has thrown 7 picks in just the last 2 games. That alone is enough to discourage a QB, even one with as much history and experience as Hebert. Hammering Away in Pittsburgh It was not long ago when Mauler fans were calling for the head of Emmitt Thomas, with the club sitting at 4-6, near the bottom of the division. But, after the return of Charlie Batch, and what has appeared to be a gelling of the Mauler defense, the club has won 3 in a row, all three against clubs with winning records at the time, and now Pittsburgh is on the cusp of locking up a Wild Card spot. The defense is ranked 2nd in the league for scoring at 18.9 points per game allowed. It is also 3rd in yards allowed, including the #1 run defense in the league. That covers up a lot of issues on offense, and also makes them dangerous when and if they find their way to the playoffs. Terrell Davis is closing in on both 1,000 yards and a possible rushing title. Andre Rison is looking like a solid #1 receiver, and Charlie Batch has returned form an injury that cost him 4 games, looking better than at any other point in the season. Things may just be looking up for the Steel City and for their embattled head coach. Season Award Races Heat Up As we come down to the wire this season, playoff spots are not the only battles we are tracking. There are three season award races that are too close to call. With only 3 weeks left in the regular season the MVP competition is clearly a two-horse race between the two QBs embroiled in a division race in the South. Both Brett Favre and Heath Shuler have good arguments to be made. Favre is leading the league with 4,543 yards and 41 touchdowns on the season, with Shuler in 2nd place in both categories, but Shuler leads the league with a 124.0 QB rating. The standard reasoning at this point is that if Memphis holds onto 1st place in the Division, the MVP will go to Shuler, but if they stumble and Birmingham swoops in, then Favre gets the upper hand. We know that the Offensive POTY will go to whichever of those QBs who is not MVP, but the picture is a lot murkier on the defensive side. It seems a given that even if he wins the Sack race, Phil Hansen is not going to pick up another Defensive POTY. Writers and GMs are just not going to give the award again to an outstanding player on a team that is not going anywhere. If the Generals were a dominant defense, then perhaps he would have a chance, but they are midling right now, and that means that Hansen, for all his individual talent, is not having a huge impact. So, who is in a better position? There are 3 players right behind Hansen with 20 sacks already, Kavika Pittman and Michael Sinclair, both in Houston, and Chris Doleman in Orlando. The fear in Houston is that Pittman and Sinclair will split the vote and a player like Doleman will benefit from that. If the award could be split between two players, the combo of Pittman & Sinclair, known as the “Blackjack Sack Attack” in Houston, should share the title, but the POTY has never been split before. A third Gambler also has a shot at the Defensive POTY, as Ashley Ambrose is only 1 pick behind league leader Izell Reese. He may be a longshot as his 89 tackles are a sign that he is also giving up a lot of catches. Our darkhorse pick if all the DE’s cancel each other out is St. Louis strong safety Rodney Harrison. Harrison sits at 3rd in the league with 102 tackles, many of which are due to his role against the run as much as his play as a pass defender. In addition to his 100+ tackles, Harrison leads all DBs with 7 sacks, which makes sense considering how St. Louis has him playing near the line quite often. Add in 2 picks and 2 forced fumbles, and Harrison may very well be deserving of POTY honors. Finally, the Rookie of the Year contest may be closer than many think. Yes, a strong case can be made that Cade McNown deserves the nod because of the transformation of the Express from one of the worst clubs in the league to a frontrunner. Clearly McNown has had a huge role in the sudden metamorphosis in LA, and he is currently third in QBR with a rating of 101.2. His 32-5 TD-INT ratio is very impressive for a rookie, heck, it’s impressive altogether. So, no shock if McNown wins this. But, we should also recognize that there are several other rookies making strong cases. WR Donald Driver in Orlando has been a revelation for the Renegades, with 85 receptions for 1001 yards and 6 TDs to date. He went from a 2nd stringer to a spot player to full time starter in just the first few weeks of the year, and he has earned that position each week. In New Orleans, the hopes for Ricky Williams were really high, and despite the struggles of the Breakers this year, Williams has been a consistent bright spot. His 906 yards have him in the top 5 in the league and have given New Orleans an offensive identity it desperately needed. His odds of winning ROTY are slim since the Breakers are still on the outside looking in at the playoff hunt, and because people still balk at the high price New Orleans paid to sign him. And, lest we forget the defense, there are a couple of rookies in the defensive mix who may well make All-USFL in their first years and should certainly be finalists for ROTY. DE Mike Rucker in Birmingham has been a beast for the Stallions all season. Racking up 17 sacks so far in his rookie season, he could be a mainstay in the Stallion passrush for years to come. Less highly touted, and perhaps, less recognized outside of his home club, Baltimore’s Tyrone Bell has been a key to the Blitz defense since he took the field as a starter. The speedy CB has only 2 picks this year, but with 83 tackles, 3 forced fumbles, 3 recoveries, and 3 defensive touchdowns on the season he has been a joy to watch. He gives up a few too many short balls, but when he guesses right and gets his hands on the ball, he is as dynamic as anyone in the league. It took until Week 13, but we finally have the first of our playoff spots assigned. No division winners yet (which can only build excitement for the next 3 weeks), but we have 5 teams who are guaranteed a slot in the postseason. LA locked up their first playoff spot since returning to the league in 1995, and the first for a member of the 1995 expansion class. They have a 2 game lead over Denver, so the right results this week could lock them up their first division title as well. Texas is right there with LA at 10-3 and they too have a 2 game lead, with St. Louis at 8-5. Baltimore got in at 9-4 thanks to some tie breakers, but they have two clubs behind them with both Ohio and Pittsburgh sitting at 7-6. A win this week could be huge for the Blitz, but it likely will come down to the final 2 divisional games to decide this. Things are even closer in the South where Memphis and Birmingham are both locked in a tie at 10-3. Both are guaranteed a playoff spot, but both desperately want to win the division and get the coveted Wild Card bye. They have already split their season series, so it comes down to who can go 3-0 with what’s left on the schedule. Memphis has Houston, Jacksonville, and Tampa Bay left to play. Not an easy route to 13-3. Birmingham’s path is a little easier with Michigan, Orlando, and Jacksonville left to play. The Wild Card race is about as messy as we have seen in years. Yes, either B’ham or Memphis will take one spot of the 8 available, and both St. Louis and Denver look good at 8-5, but beyond that we have a total cluster with 10 clubs at either 7-6 or 6-7, fighting over 5 likely spots. And we cannot even count out some of the 5-8 clubs, though their odds are not great. Pittsburgh is the hottest of the Wild Card contenders after winning their 3rd game in a row this week. Orlando has won 2 in a row to get back in the hunt, while Michigan has lost their last 2 and seems to be losing focus. It is hard to say if Week 14 will clarify anything here, though Denver and St. Louis would do well to win this week to avoid falling back into the pit of 7-6/6-7 clubs. As we come down to the end of the year and clubs begin to lock in playoff spots or clinch positions, the temptation will be to rest some players. If this week’s injuries say anything it is that the decision to avoid injuries to key players late in the year can be a very necessary one. This week we saw 4 key contributors on 4 likely playoff teams go down, three headed to IR, unable to assist the clubs down the stretch or into the playoffs. RT Jason Odom in Denver is done for the year after tearing his ACL in what appeared to be a non-contact injury. Birmingham lost LB Lorenzo Styles to a hamstring tear, a position the Stallions were already weak in getting just a bit weaker. In St. Louis the concern is for TE Reggie Kelly who is done for the year with a broken leg. Kelly finishes his first campaign with a very solid 59 receptions for 480 yards and 6 TDs. Finally, LA will be without CB Ray Crockett for the next 4-6 weeks. That means he could return if the Express reach the Conference finals, but likely no sooner. We have a rarity in the USFL, two back to back inter-conference weeks, both scheduled just before the season finishes up with divisional play. This time it is the Atlantic clubs headed out to the Pacific Division and the Southern Squads heading to the Central Division. Games you will not want to miss include Pittsburgh at Arizona, where both clubs need to win to position themselves for a Wild Card. The same is true when Ohio heads to Seattle to face the Dragons. New Jersey’s playoff hopes rest on them getting a W in Los Angeles against the 10-3 Express. Birmingham is in Michigan and cannot afford a loss as they stay tied with Memphis. Memphis will have a tough game as well as they visit Houston. St. Louis is hoping they can use home cooking to knock the defending champs, Tampa Bay, out of playoff contention in a Championship rematch that may be very heated indeed. Orlando is on the outside looking in, but a win at Texas would move them back to .500 and contention. Washington is in Portland and hoping their playoff aspirations still have life. Baltimore hopes to win 2 in a row with Jeff Garcia at the helm as they face the rudderless Oakland Invaders. Jacksonville is in Chicago and Atlanta visits New Orleans in the two least compelling games of the week with little for any of the clubs to play for.

Playoff Picture: No clubs have clinched a playoff spot as of yet. Oakland and Atlanta remain the only clubs eliminated from contention.

A good week for the Outlaws as they open a lead on their division, a really bad one for the Bandits as they fall out of contention for the division title and potentially out of the playoffs as well. But perhaps the biggest day this week was for Texas backup QB Tommy Maddox, who got his first start in San Antonio, thanks to a nagging injury to Kelly Stouffer, and just lit the Alamodome on fire. We start this week's rundown with that amazing day and the big win for the Outlaws. You have got to love a good divisional slobberknocker, even when it is two dome teams playing in air conditioning on turf (especially when it is almost 100 degrees outside). That is exactly what we got when the Central Division leading 8-3 Texas Outlaws hosted the 7-4 St. Louis Knights in the AlamoDome. A win and the Knights are tied for first, but a loss to the Outlaws put them 2 games back with only 4 more to play. The line for this game shifted from Texas -7 to pick-em upon the late news that Kelly Stouffer would be unable to play and former General Tommy Maddox would be guiding the Outlaw offense. In the end, that pick-em was pretty dead on, as these two clubs needed extra time to settle the game, and nearly all 15 minutes of the extra time as well. Truth be told, it probably should not have been as close as it was. Texas got 4 TDs from Maddox in a stellar sub performance. The much-maligned UCLA product would complete 38 of 53 passes in relief, throwing for a whopping 476 yards against what was supposed to be a stellar Knight defense, and hitting 4 different receivers for scores. Yes, he did throw 2 picks, and one of those was vital as it produced a pick-six that put St. Louis up 7 in the 4th, but the Knights also needed a punt return TD (from Anthony Miller) and solid performances from their run game just to stay in this one. Texas looked the better team all day, finding holes in the St. Louis secondary on a regular basis. While the Knights corralled both Reggie Cobb and Rodney Thomas (70 yards combined) the threat of the run left the Knights’ secondary vulnerable all game long. After St. Louis went up 10-0 in the first on a Chris Howard TD, Texas got two Maddox TDs, one each for Jeff Query and league receptions leader Shawn Collins, to pull right back into the game and go into the half up 14-13. The only score of the third quarter was Miller’s 48-yard punt return TD, but that was enough to give the Knights a 21-14 lead with the 2-point conversion. Texas would not get the game tied until the 10-minute mark of the final period, when Maddox hit Brian Alford for the game-tying score. On their next drive, Texas would push the pass a little too much and Troy Vincent picked Maddox off, returning the ball 41 yards to rebuild a 7-point lead with little over 1 minute left. The game looked to have gone the visiting Knights’ way, but Maddox found what he needed to pull out the win, driving the ball down to the St. Louis 22-yard line, using all 3 timeouts and spiking the ball to create a 2nd and 10 at the 22. Then, rather than throw into the endzone, the Outlaws, having noted a weakness in the structure of the Knights’ zone coverage, used an inside screen to upend the Knights. Rodney Thomas caught the ball at the 17, and rumbled all the way to the endzone. It took the referees a solid 30 seconds to make the call, but replay held it up, and with only 2 seconds left on the clock the Outlaws tied up the game. In overtime, both teams struggled to find game-winning magic. It looked to all present like this game might end in a tie, but on a fluke play, the Knights’ DB tripped over his own feet, freeing up Robb Thomas, who took the ball deep into St. Louis territory before stepping out of bounds. With just over 1 minute to play, Texas did not play around with killing clock, as any points would win the game. On 1st and 10 from the St. Louis 24 they went for the field goal and Tim Seder kicked it true, giving the Outlaws the win and a solid 2 game lead over three different Central clubs, all now sitting at 7-5. With only 4 games to play, Texas has a chance to clinch next week, relying on their better divisional record to possibly lock up the division crown, a title they last held in 1997. After a rough 8-8 campaign last year, it seems that Coach Pardee has Texas ready to dominate the Central Division once again. MGN 11 HOU 34 The Outlaws gained ground on both St. Louis and Michigan as the Panthers fell to the Houston Gamblers in the Astrodome on Saturday. With the win the Gamblers now find themselves tied at 7-5 with both Michigan and St. Louis and in solid playoff contention. Houston had a strong day running the ball with Faulk and Levins combining for 118 yards rushing, while the defense held Tyrone Wheatley to only 29 yards on the ground. Faulk, who led the team with 63 yards rushing, also caught a 48 yard TD pass, reminding many in Houston of former All-USFL back Thurman Thomas. NOR 12 CHI 18 The final game in the Central Division this week lacked both the excitement and the importance of the first two. Chicago outplayed New Orleans at home to earn their 4th win (now winning 3 of their last 4), thanks in large part to a defense that held Ricky Williams to 59 yards rushing and allowed only 3 of 14 conversions on 3rd down. Jeff George had his best game in Chicago with 171 yards and 2 TDs, while throwing no picks on the day. DEN 3 POR 21 The Portland Thunder proved that Denver was not the only club with a home field advantage as they used a sloppy field on a rainy Sunday afternoon to upend the Gold and move to 5-7 on the season. Neither team could do much on offense, but a pick-six from Je’Rod Cherry and two short TD passes from Akili Smith to Matthew Hatchette proved more than enough to defeat a punchless and careless (10 penalties) Denver offense. OAK 10 ARZ 31 The Wranglers had little trouble defeating an Oakland squad that appears to be in disarray and which struggled under both Cary Conklin and Dave Brown. Jake Plummer returned to action after a one week absence and threw for 3 scores to lead the Wranglers. Carl Pickens continued his hot streak with receptions for 61 yards and 2 scores on the day as the Wranglers even their record at 6-6. SEA 20 LA 25 It was not an easy home win for the Express, but with a late Tory Holt TD they knocked off the Seattle Dragons and expanded their lead to 2 games in the Pacific. Cade McNown threw for 301 yards and 2 scores to lead the Express. Jon Kitna threw for 264 and 2 scores despite suffering 7 sacks on the day, including 2 from LA’s defensive leader, Santana Dotson. MEM 48 PHI 24 The Showboats were all business on Sunday, doubling up the Philadelphia Stars in front of a dejected Veterans Stadium crowd. Heath Shuler was on fire, throwing 6 TD passes in the game, including 2 to tight end O.J. Santiago as the Showboats rolled from the opening whistle. Four interceptions against Philly QB Bobby Hebert made it somewhat easier as Memphis pulled away after a 21-14 halftime lead. Joe Horn also had a big day with 150 receiving yards and a touchdown. ATL 17 WSH 40 Atlanta looks like a team with nothing left in the gas tank after a thorough shellacking by the Federals. Washington’s D held Atlanta to only 246 total yards, including a pitiful 19 yards on the ground as Tiki Barber left the game early. Kordell Stewart played only 3 quarters but threw for 282 yards and 2 scores as the Federals rolled to an easy victory and back to .500 at 6-6. JAX 27 BAL 6 The crisis in Baltimore deepens as Wally Richardson completed only 41.7% of his throws and a tired Blitz defense could not contain Chris Chandler and the Bulls for a full 60 minutes. Terrell Owens finished with 129 yards and a TD on 8 receptions as Jacksonville got the road win and moved their record to 5-7. TBY 17 PIT 38 Either Pittsburgh has found some defensive magic or the Bandits offense is in bigger trouble than we thought. Tampa has just not been as explosive this year as in last season’s title run, but losing by 21 to Pittsburgh was not expected and has to worry Coach Seifert. Troy Aikman threw two picks and Randy Moss was held to only 53 yards receiving as the Maulers turned a 17-14 halftime lead into a big win. Charlie Batch looked phenomenal after returning from injury, throwing for 4 TDs and completing 27 of 40 passes. ORL 37 OHI 23 Ohio struggled to contain Terry Kirby, who found holes all day long on his way to 130 yards rushing and 2 scores. Add in a solid 23 of 33 for Scott Mitchell and the Glory were in the hole pretty much the entire game. Kerry Collins threw 3 picks, including a bad one in the red zone early in the 4th which seemed to drain the Glory’s will to win. The game all but ended when Orlando’s Kevin Williams picked off Collins and returned it 47 yards in the final 2 minutes, cruising to the endzone and sealing the Orlando road win. BIR 45 NJ 30 The Stallions built up an early 21-7 lead in the 1st quarter and never looked back in this one. Brett Favre went 22 of 33 for 463 yards and 5 scores as he connected on several deep balls to both Lawrence Dawsey and Marcus Robinson. Dawsey would finish with 3 TDs on the day as the Generals simply had no answer on defense despite 3 sacks from Phil Hansen. A Big Day out of Nowhere What a day Tommy Maddox had in this week’s GOTW!! Maddox, who was only notified he would be starting on Thursday, threw for 476 yards and 4 TDs in the overtime win against St. Louis. He had thrown a grand total of 12 passes for 28 yards all season up until this week, mopping up at the end of games vs. Portland and Michigan, and out of nowhere he gets the start, tosses 53 passes (completing 38) and beats one of the toughest defenses in football like they were a JV squad at the local high school. This came as a shock to the Knights, but clearly someone in the Outlaw coaching staff had faith in him to keep calling pass plays. Maddox, who averaged 161 passing yards per game with 13 starts over 5 seasons (4 with New Jersey) has never even sniffed 300 yards much less nearly 500 in his pro career. Give the kudos to Jack Pardee and the Outlaw staff for finding weaknesses in the Knights’ defense and ways in which Maddox and the Outlaw offense could exploit them. With Kelly Stouffer ready to return to action this week, we expect Maddox will be back on the bench, but clearly Texas feels that if needed they can now call on the former UCLA product to be ready to step up. Where Did the O Go? That is the big question in Tampa Bay, where the Bandits have been over 30 points only once (a 35-31 loss to Birmingham) since Week 2. They have been alternating wins and losses since winning 2 in a row in weeks 3 and 4, and in that time they have scored 20, 26, 16, 10, 27, 31, and 20. This is a club that was absolutely electric on offense last year, blowing through the league on their way to a title, but now sits at 6-6 and outside of a Wildcard spot. They still rank in the Top 5 in yards per game and passing yards per game, but have dropped to 10th in scoring. Have defenses figured out how to defend both the deep ball of Moss and Brooks, and the underneath routes of Ben Coates? Is the problem Troy Aikman, the offensive line, or the play calling? Bandit fans want to know and want improvement as the club is on the fringe of being out of the playoffs altogether only one year after looking like a dominant force in the league. One of the issues may be the lack of running game, leading to a one-dimensional offense. Tampa Bay sits at 23rd in the 24 team league in rushing, averaging just over 50 yards a game. That is not a serious threat on the ground, with Errict Rhett being more active as a receiver than a runner. Just like Birmingham in recent years, when a club abandons the run altogether, they struggle to win games and score points, even with a dynamic passing game. So, maybe the answer is to find ways to make the run more of a threat and get teams to put more players in the box, freeing up the receivers. Seems obvious, but it has been 12 weeks and the Bandits have not done it yet. Coming to Life? After an abysmal 1-6 start, the Chicago Machine have won 3 of their last 4 games, including big wins against both St. Louis and Texas. It has not always been pretty, but the Machine seem to have started buying into the coaching style and philosophy of Marty Mornhinweg. What is odd however, other than the sudden turnabout, is that the Machine seem to be doing it with defense, keeping all 4 of their last 4 opponents at or under 20 points. Mornhinweg was thought of as an offensive coach, a specialist in the West Coast offense who was going to revive the career of Ricky Watters and provide Chicago with a short passing game. But Chicago went out and traded for Jeff George, more of a deep ball thrower, and while George has not exactly lit up the league, the Machine Defense has steadily improved and now sits in the top ten in both scoring and passing yards allowed (1st overall with only 211 per game). So ,do we give kudos to Coach Mornhinweg for bringing in some shared sense of purpose, or do we look to his defensive coordinator, Jim Mora Jr. (Yes, the son of Memphis head coach Jim Mora Sr.) as the real reason for the recent success? An Early Exit We had a sense that a midseason firing would happen this year, we just were not sure where. Well, that is answered, and the answer is Oakland. The Invaders this week relieved Head Coach Dan Reeves of his duties with the club, less than 2 seasons into his tenure with the Invaders. After a somewhat promising 9-7 season in 1998, Reeves’s club has tanked, now sitting at 2-10. QB Ryan Leaf, prior to his injury this year, had significantly regressed, and the defense has been an absolute nightmare, sitting at 23rd in points allowed and dead last against the run. The highly touted Reeves came to the USFL with Atlanta after a solid career in the NFL, mostly with the Denver Broncos. He has not found success in either Atlanta or Oakland, and now suffers the indignity of a mid-year firing. He will be replaced on an interim basis by his defensive coordinator, former Georgia Tech head coach Bobby Ross. And yes, we realize that with all the woes on defense, Ross does seem an odd choice, and very likely a choice who will not be given much chance of earning the permanent position. Expect Oakland to go after an established coach in the offseason, with the early favorites being either Texas DC Ray Rhodes or former NFL head man and current Denver Gold DC Dom Capers. Still nothing final, but when we reach Week 13 we have our first potential clinching scenario. Memphis can clinch a playoff spot with a home win this week, as long as they get a lot of help. They need at least 1 of the 6-6 clubs to lose. That combo, a Showboat win and a loss from Pittsburgh, Washington, or Tampa Bay, and the Showboats lock up the first of 12 playoff spots. No one else can officially clinch this week, though a lot of clubs can make it all but official with wins. We do have our first official elimination with both Atlanta and Oakland now both officially out of the playoff chase. I think most of us thought they were out weeks ago, but the mathematical models say that it is now official. Meanwhile, we now have 2 clubs, Texas and LA, with 2-game leads in their divsions. Neither can lock up the division this week, but gaining 1 more game on their closest division rivals could make Week 14 the decider for each. Meanwhile, Baltimore has lost 3 in a row, but Ohio was not able to even things up in the Atlantic, and Memphis and Birmingham look to be taking it down to the wire in the South. We have reached that portion of the season where the injuries for some clubs are really beginning to mount up, and while this week was not a particularly bad one on the injury front, it does appear that several clubs may have to hit the free agency wire just to field a full roster. Among those looking at multiple weeks out of action we have WR Brian Stablein in Jacksonville (wrist, IR), HB Leeland MacElroy in New Jersey (collarbone, 2-4), SS Torrian Gray in Oakland (foot, 2-4), HB Stephen Davis in Birmingham (ankle, 1-2), WR Ricky Proehl in Chicago (quad, 1-2), TE Jim Kleinsasser, also Chicago (Jaw, doubtful), and LB Trev Alberts in St. Louis (knee, questionable). Likely to return to action are DE Jevon Kearse (JAX), HB Mike Cloud (BAL), G Larry Allen (TEX), QB Kelly Stouffer (TEX), WR Hart Lee Dykes (HOU), and WR Kevin Dyson (PHI). Fans in Birmingham got a pre-playoffs surprise this week when the club revealed a very different look for the 2000 season. The Stallions did not just go for a uniform tweak here and there, they pulled out all the stops, with a new logo, new font, and new uniforms. Basically the horse theme and the colors of crimson and metallic gold remain, but there is a lot of new in this look. Let’s start with the logo, a Stallion, from the midsection up, raised up in a vertical position as if bucking a rider or preparing to deliver some hoof blows to a foe. This is not the placid trotting horse of the original logo, but a wild, powerful beast of a horse, ready to take on all comers. There are clear parallels with the revised Denver Bronco logo from a few years ago, and with more detailed logos in general being the trend in pro sports. The logo features white and gold in addition to the trademark crimson, which means that when displayed on the helmet it will not be a silhouette figure any more but a full three-color logo. The logo will be displayed on the helmet, which will also feature three stripes, all tapered from back to front, a central crimson stripe and two tapered white stripes which only reach about the midpoint of the helmet. The jerseys remain crimson and white with gold piping, and traditional block numbers. They now feature a simplified sleeve striping pattern, with a wide crimson stripe with a thinner gold stripe separated by white on the road jersey, and a thick gold stripe with separated white stripe on the home crimson jerseys. The final new feature is collar piping on the jerseys, with a front “V” at the base of the collar, outlined with two thin stripes (gold on white jerseys and white on the crimson) and the addition of the new block letter font “Stallions” on the chest. The pants follow a similar striping pattern with a thick crimson stripe and a thinner, separated, white or gold stripe. The club will have both white and gold pant options, interchangeable with either jersey to create 4 different looks. The look is a dramatic shift from the longstanding “running horse” logo which has adorned the Birmingham uniform since 1983, but still retains much of the dynamic animal power of the original. The new logo and uniforms will first take the field when Birmingham takes the field for preseason in February 2020, but before then there will be a wide range of new merchandise, from hats to tees and sweatshirts, available for sale both at the stadium, at sporting goods stores and major department store chains like Belk, JC Penney, and Walmart throughout the south, and, available for order on the USFL website as well. Three weeks left, and so much up in the air, you have to love parity. This week brings us the rare interconference slate, but with so many teams desperate to make ground or secure positions in the playoffs, there are few games that don’t have huge meaning for both clubs. We start with the slate of Atlantic clubs hosting Central Division foes. St. Louis, now 2 games back of Texas, is in Philadelphia, where the 5-7 Stars cannot afford a loss this week. Texas will be in Washington, who have crawled back into the playoff picture at 6-6. Michigan is hoping Baltimore has not solved their QB situation as they would love to get a road win at Aetna Stadium. Two late risers meet in Pittsburgh when the Gamblers come to town to face the Maulers. Ohio hopes to rebound as they host the Breakers, and Chicago will be in New Jersey, where the Generals’ playoff hopes are on life support at 5-7. The other games this week have the Pacific Division visiting the South. Of those games the most intriguing is the 7-5 Denver Gold facing off against the struggling Tampa Bay Bandits, whose chance of a repeat title hinge on staying above .500 to make the playoffs. Portland and Orlando are both hoping a win keeps them in the Wild Card mix as the two 5-7 clubs meet in the Citrus Bowl. Arizona has the toughest draw as Memphis at home has a chance to clinch a spot with a win. LA is in Jacksonville, which has proven a tough place to play over the past month. Birmingham can take over first place with a home win against the Oakland Invaders and a Memphis loss to Arizona, and finally, Seattle, whose playoff hopes have been dimmed by a losing streak, is in Atlanta, in what may be the Fire’s best chance in the remaining weeks to eke out a 2nd win this season.

Playoff Picture: No teams have clinched a berth or been eliminated as of Week 11.