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As part of our midseason report, we present this week expanded league leaders as we normally do at the end of each season.

We arrive at the midseason with some big surprises around the league. Michigan, Washington, Portland, and especially Texas have outperformed expectations, while Baltimore, Tampa Bay, and all four 1995 expansion clubs have failed to live up to preseason optimism. We have surprise success stories like New Jersey's Spence Fischer or Atlanta's Tiki Barber, and we have some surprising letdowns, like Ohio's Joey Galloway, or Baltimore's Chris Miller. This is why they play the game, folks. What we saw on paper is not always what is seen on the field. And we have not even begun teasing Chris Berman about his pick of Seattle as a Summer Bowl club. Another case of a team letting up too early as Memphis thought they had this one in the bag but let up 16 unanswered 4th quarter points to allow Jacksonville to steal a dramatic home win in the final minutes. Heath Shuler played 3 near-perfect quarters, throwing for 4 scores, and guiding the Showboats to a 28-13 lead with just one quarter to play, but the Bulls came all the way back, thanks to two big-play TDs. Early on it was all Memphis as Heath Shuler threw a 1st quarter TD to Carl Pickens and then doubled down with a second scoring throw to Kirby Dar Dar. Down 14-3, Jacksonville got back in the game with a 24-yard scoring toss from Chandler to Owens, but Memphis would go on to score 14 to Jacksonville’s 3 points over the course of the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Shuler found both Joe Horn and Adrian Cooper for scoring tosses and it looked like the visitors were in control, up 28-13. But the fourth quarter belonged to the Bulls. The quarter opened with a dynamic Marquette Smith run, a simple counter tre run left that turned into a 24-yard touchdown scamper. The Bulls would get even closer on their next drive when they got the ball in position for Pete Stoyanovich to kick it between the uprights. Now down only 5 at 28-23, the Bulls and the crowd of 51,232, could feel the momentum on their side. The got the ball back with just under 2 minutes to go, down by 5. It would take them only 57 seconds to score as Chandler first used short passes to the boundaries to get Jacksonville into Memphis territory. Then, on a 2nd and 10, he threaded the needle to a streaking Terrell Owens, and the big receiver did the rest, shaking off a glancing hit from the strong safety and spinning his way into the endzone to put the Bulls up 29-28. They would fail on a 2-point conversion attempt, giving Memphis a chance to win with a field goal, but the Showboats could not muster a late drive to counter Jacksonville’s and the Bulls fans celebrated a key divisional win to move to 6-2 and stay atop the Southern Division, tied with Birmingham. BIR 31 ATL 28 Birmingham kept pace with the Bulls, but it was not easy as Atlanta looked game for a fight. The Fire got 4 TD’s from QB Cliff Stoudt, but the veteran also tossed 3 interceptions, the most damning being a pick-six off a deflection when blitzing LB Kevin Greene tipped the ball at the line, caught it himself, and rumbled to the endzone. TBY 27 ORL 37 Tampa loses their 4th in a row after a 4-0 start as the Orlando Renegades put together a balanced offense to control the clock and keep the Bandits from hitting on big plays. Terry Kirby led the way with 81 yards on 12 carries, getting an assist from Kantroy Barber with 19 yards in relief. Troy Aikman threw for 430 yards and 4 TDs but it was not enough as Orlando held the ball for over 34 minutes in the game. WSH 23 BAL 15 The Federals won the battle of I-95 by splitting carries between Thunder (Barry Word with 24 carries for 72 yards) and Lightning (Terrell Fletcher with 7 carries for 64 yards). The Feds also sacked Chris Miller 4 times and produced 2 more Miller interceptions (he leads the league in this dubious category). OHI 7 NJ 22 New Jersey got just what they needed from a home game against 1-win Ohio. Bam Morris averaged 4.6 YPC on 18 attempts, and the combo of Terry Glenn and Wayne Chrebet accounted for 13 catches for 133 yards in a Generals’ victory that moved them back to .500 on the year. PIT 24 PHI 31 Philly had Pittsburgh’s number, thanks to a late TD from Long to Cris Carter. Long finished the day with 4 TD tosses, while the Stars D picked off Robbie Bosco twice in the second half and held Mike Rozier to only 40 yards rushing on 18 carries. The big target for Chuck Long was not Carter, despite the late score, but TE Eric Green, who accounted for 140 of Long’s 285 yards passing. CHI 31 DEN 24 Chicago spoiled a home game for the gold by putting up 10 points in the final period to upend the Gold. Backup Alex Van pelt continued to overperform expectations, completing 29 of 40 passes for 328 yards and 3 scores, including 102 yards to WR Aubrey Matthews and TDs to Davis, Eccles and Wessley Walls. HOU 33 LA 13 The Express continue to flounder on offense as Jeff Garcia cannot spark the offense in relief of an injured Brent Pease. Antowain Smith returned to action and looked good (10 carries for 53 yards) but it was not enough as Chuck Hartlieb’s return for Houston was a 3 TD outing, aided by 74 yards rushing from Thurman Thomas. MGN 30 OAK 7 Michigan continued their impressive run as Tyrone Wheatley and Rodney Culver went off against an overmatched Invader defense. Wheatly averaged 7.2 yards a carry on his way to 174 on the day, along with 3 scoring runs. Culver backed him up and averaged even better, 8 carries for 73 yards, a 9.1 YPC average. NOR 20 POR 26 OT The Breakers played the Thunder tough, taking the home team into overtime before a Jack Trudeau to Lonnie Johnson TD ended the game with a Thunder win. Terrell Davis outrushed Robert Drummond 107 to 94, but Trudeau had the last laugh with his overtime TD. STL 45 SEA 14 The Knights must have gotten sick of us criticizing their lack of offense, because they went off on Seattle for 6 TDs, including two each from HB Darryl Thompson and FB Ironhead Hayward. Thompson was the game MVP with 158 yards on 18 carries, but Haywards also had a strong day, rushing for 52 yards and 2 scores. TEX 30 ARZ 10 Texas avenged their first loss of the year by taking their frustration out on the winless Arizona Wranglers. They outgained Arizona 400 to 186 in a game that never felt as close as the final score. Reggie Cobb had 22 carries for 96 yards and a score, while Kelly Stouffer threw for 293. ROOKIE WATCH: It’s midseason and that means time to evaluate how the rookie class of 1997 is faring. There have certainly been some hits in this year’s draft, but the one player brought in to save his team is just not finding life in the pros easy. Jake Plummer leads the 0-9 Wranglers, and while he has been able to start every game for Arizona, it has not gone well. The Wranglers, aside from being the league’s lone winless team, are 24th in scoring with only 13.8 points per game. Plummer is also struggling, having thrown 12 interceptions to only 9 TDs and completing only 55.7% of his passes. He needs a stronger run game, and more weapons in general if he is going to find success, but he is also very raw, and will need time. On the other side of the spectrum, Tiki Barber has done exactly what Atlanta drafted him to do. He leads the league in Yards Per Carry at 4.9, and his 533 yards have him on pace for a 1,000 yard season, the first for an Atlanta back. He has only scored once, something the Fire are hoping will improve, but they cannot complain about the balance on offense anymore as the threat of Barber’s runs have freed up Cliff Stoudt for the play action passing game Atlanta has always sought. While he has fewer yards than Barber, Jacksonville’s Kenny Bynum has proven to be the master of the big play. He leads the league with 5 runs of over 40 yards, and has scored 7 TDs on the season, backing up big back Natrone Means. The two other rookie starters at HB have struggled. Antowain Smith in LA has had some injury issues, and has only 32 carries after 8 games. His 5.1 average is strong, but he needs to be on the field more. In Seattle, Corey Dillon has had moments, but is averaging only 3.5 yards per carry behind a suspect Dragon line. Among receivers, the leader is Portland’s Matthew Hatchette, with 26 receptions for 425 yards. On defense we have a had a few immediate impact players. Philly’s Mike Crawford has 3 sacks and 4 forced fumbles as part of the improved Star LB corps. Al Harris in Seattle could reach 100 tackles for the Dragons, and Washington’s Michael Booker is seeing a lot of action, with 2 picks and a fumble recovery already on the books. SURPRISE STARS: The other big story this season has been the emergence of some surprise players. We have spoken quite a bit already about New Jersey’s 3rd-string-QB-turned-starter, Spence Fischer. The young Duke grad has moved the Generals back to .500 with his 4th win of the season and ranks in the top 10 of QBs by rating after finally accruing enough attempts to qualify. Kordell Stewart in Washington has also started his first full campaign as the Feds’ starter quite solidly, helping Washington rise to the top of the division, while throwing for 1,953 yards and a decent 8-5 TD-INT balance. Jeff Lewis in Michigan has been another pleasant surprise. Forced into action by a lingering injury to starter Doug Flutie, Lewis has held at nearly 75% completion rate, while throwing 5 TDs to 0 interceptions in his starts for the first-place Panthers. It helps that he has Tyrone Wheatley drawing a lot of defensive attention, but it is still a very impressive performance for the sub. The success of both Flutie and Lewis in Michigan has a lot to do with why we have a relative unknown, Panther wideout Jeff Campbell, leading the league in receptions and among the yardage leaders as well. Campbell has also shown a nose for the endzone, only 1 score behind Shannon Sharpe with 8 TDs for the league lead. Texas receiver Terrell Owens has also emerged this year, averaging 15.8 yards per catch and accounting for 6 scores for the 6-2 Bulls. Being paired with Brian Blades means it is rare for Owens to see double coverage and the big receiver is making smaller corners pay for the single coverage. On defense the big surprise is that it is 2nd year DE Tony Brackens, and not Dexter Manley, who is leading the club with 11 sacks, good enough for second in the league. Manley is still a danger, but has only 6 sacks on the season thanks to a lot of double-teaming. Those double teams have freed up Brackens on the opposite side and the big man is making offenses pay. Another defender busting out this season is Birmingham Stallion LB Kevin Greene. Greene is hardly new to the league, in his 12th season of pro ball, but this has been his most productive season to date for the Stallions. He is on pace for double digit sacks and is also among the league leaders in tackles. WHAT HAPPENED? If we are going to look at what is going right, we need to also point out what is not going as planned at all. It is safe to say that no one in Arizona, St Louis, Seattle, LA, or Ohio is happy about the first half of the year. The Wranglers in particular had very high hopes that they would rebound in their first year under Art Shell and with the rookie QB at the helm, but it has been tough sledding for the league’s worst offense. In St. Louis the problem has also been offense, as the Knights’ defense has shown signs of life over the past few weeks, but that offense has struggled (this week’s game not included). Of all these clubs, Ohio and Seattle have to be the biggest disappointments. Both were expected to make significant moves this year, with some prognosticators picking both as potential dark horse championship contenders. Instead we have 3 wins combined for the two 1995 expansion clubs. In Ohio the decline in production for Joey Galloway is staggering, and the slow development of Eddie George is not helping. In Seattle, Corey Dillon is struggling to find holes, and the QB rotation of Jon Kitna and Timm Rosenbach has proven ineffective. When we look at the expansion club coaches, we saw Dan Reeves lose his job last year, and things are not looking good for any of the other three. Without a stronger 2nd half, we may expect to see Woody Widenhofer (SEA), Rick Neuheisel (LA) and Nick Saban (Ohio) all out on the street in August. As another midseason report, let’s talk about attendance. We have not focused on this aspect of league finances in a while, in part because TV money and sponsorships have helped to make the league less dependent on gameday revenues, but also because as a whole the league has seen steady growth in attendance, with an overall average now solidly above 40,000. That is not to say that all clubs are created equally. Among the league leaders we have the usual suspects, clubs in good weather cities that have good clubs. Jacksonville, New Orleans, Birmingham, and Orlando are all in the top 10, along with Denver (always a contender), Washington, Philadelphia, and Michigan. Down on the other side we find Portland (popular but playing in a 34,000 seat stadium), LA (always a tough market), Atlanta, and St. Louis. Bad play has caused Arizona to drop from a solid opening day crowd to a 3 year low with only 21,000 attending their last home game. St. Louis started the season strong, and has a solid season ticket base thanks to optimism following last year’s playoff season, but attendance has been slipping after their weak start. Despite poor play Ohio, Seattle, and Memphis are still drawing decent crowds, though we are not sure how the Glory will do once the heat of summer and the misery of a 1-win club start to impact the numbers. So, the overall prognosis for the league remains strong, and while there are still concerns about the impact of the Rams in St. Louis, the 3-years of weak performances by the four 1995 expansion clubs, and the loss of fanbase in New Jersey after several sub-par seasons (and the loss of stars like Walker and Flutie), overall the situation is very solid for the league as a whole. Of course, this can all change if the current labor issues carry over into the offseason, or even impact the 1998 season, a worst case scenario for the league. We kick off the second half of the season with inter-conference play across the board. Even without any divisional games, we still have some really interesting matchups to look forward to as the USFL clubs cross the nation to play rarely-faced foes. Two games which immediately pop off the schedule page are Denver (5-3) at Pittsburgh (5-3), a battle of two clubs thick in the heat of divisional title fights. The same is true just down the pike in Washington, where the Federals host the 6-2 Portland Thunder. You also should be excited to see the Chicago Machine in Jacksonville to face the Bulls, with both clubs at 6-2. Michigan faces a good test against 5-2 Orlando, and it is a battle in Dixie as the New Orleans Breakers head to Atlanta to face the Fire, both stuck at 3-5 and needing a win to stay in playoff contention. In other matchups, we have the Texas Outlaws (7-1) in Memphis to face the 3-5 Showboats. New Jersey (4-4) hopes to get over .500 as they host the Seattle Dragons. Two disappointing clubs, both at 3-5, face off when Oakland visits Baltimore. Arizona is staring down an 0-9 start as they have to face the Philadelphia Stars in Veteran’s Stadium. Houston is visiting 6-2 Birmingham, St.Louis is in Tampa to face a Bandits squad that has followed a 4-0 start with an 0-4 2nd quarter. And, in a game I don’t expect many will tune in for, the 1-7 LA Express are in Columbus to face the 1-7 Ohio Glory.

The Outlaws fall for the first time this year, the Denver Gold have a major stumble, Orlando blows a 17-point lead, and Tampa Bay gets bombarded in a full week of divisional matchups as the USFL heads to the midseason mark. It was a big week for DB’s as several pick-sixes contributed to big wins, while in New Jersey the shine came off the Spence Fischer apple as the Federals overpowered the Generals. Epic comeback or epic collapse? It all depends on who you ask. Orlando raced out to a 17-0 lead in their matchup against Birmingham, but the Stallions ground out the next 18 points to edge the Renegades at the whistle. It was not a pretty win by any stretch, but it was a win nonetheless, and one which kept the Stallions atop the Southern Division while also showing that their much-maligned defense may actually be improving. The Renegades started the game in Legion Field in a commanding way. Their first drive lasted 9 minutes and 15 plays before Terry Kirby plunged over the right side to give the visitors a 7-0 lead. They would add 3 more in the quarter thanks to the right foot of Charlie Baumann. In the second quarter they did it again, a 7-minute drive over 11 plays that led to Mitchell hitting Bert Emmanuel for a scoring toss with just over 3 minutes left to play in the half. Birmingham would tack on a last second Olindo Mare field goal to finish the half, but down 17-3, things were not looking good for the homestanding Stallions. They looked even worse when on their first possession of the second half, Brett Favre came up hobbling after a tough hit. His day had not been much (8 of 10 for 146 and no scores) but with him out for the day, Danny Kanell would have to be the one to lead the comeback. One play after Favre went out, Mare hit his second kick of the day and it was 17-6, but after the Stallions’ D rose up to produce a three-and-out on the Renegades’ next possession, Birmingham would have another shot to close the gap. Kanell, who would finish the game with a respectable 10 of 19 day for 189 yards, got the Stallions into Mare’s range again, and with another swing of his leg the Stallions made it a one score game, 17-9. The Stallion D kept proving up to the task against the ‘Gades, who would end the day 3 for 12 on 3rd down, including 0 for 4 in the final period. The biggest play of the day opened the 4th quarter, as Kanell found an unguarded Lawrence Dawsey for a 51-yard TD to pull Birmingham within 2. The 42,000 fans in Legion Field had a sense that momentum had shifted and were in solid voice by this point of the game. The defense responded and with the Stallions down only 2 points at 17-15 after a missed 2-point attempt, they kept Orlando from crossing midfield. The offense took over with just over 1:30 to play, needing only a 4th Mare kick to steal the win. Kanel hit Ernest Givens and Shannon Sharpe on consecutive plays and after spiking the ball to stop the clock, Mare came out and booted the home team into the lead. Orlando was stunned, their huge lead erased, and their spirit broken, they could not rebound and the game ended on a desperation heave from Mitchell. Birmingham would move to 5-2 and Orlando would drop a game behind at 4-3. JAX 27 ATL 17 Like Birmingham, the Bulls also came into the week at 4-2, and like the Stallions they too emerged with 5 wins after a strong 120-yard day from Natrone Means helped put away the feisty Atlanta Fire. Cliff Stoudt was picked off 3 times, including a pick-six to open the game from Bulls DB Paul McGowan as the Fire fell back to 3-4 in this tight division. TBY 13 MEM 34 The Bandits also could have finished the week at 5-2 and atop the South, but Memphis’s Showboats had other ideas. Three takeaways, including 2 fumbles from Tampa HBs helped the Showboats get the home win against Tampa Bay. Heath Shuler relied on league leading TE Adrian Cooper, with 6 completions for 91 yards, while Moe Williams helped keep the defense honest. Memphis moves to 3-4 with the win, right back in the hunt. OHI 21 PIT 45 Don’t’ let the final score fool you, It was 42-0 after 3 quarters before the Glory got some easy points against the Mauler backups. Robbie Bosco and Raynard Brown were on fire, connecting for 3 TDs in the first half to put the game away early. Bosco would finish the week with 5 TD tosses, and backup Shane Matthews got to see some action in garbage time as Ohio was no match for the Maulers on this day. NJ 6 WSH 33 It seems clear that the Federals’ defense was not buying into the Spence Fischer hype out of New Jersey. The Feds blitzed early and often, producing 4 sacks and limiting New Jersey to 254 total yards on the day. Meanwhile, Barry Word had one of his better games of the season, rushing for 111 on 19 carries. BAL 27 PHI 14 The Blitz needed a win to get back into the hunt in the Atlantic, and they did what they needed to do to secure it in Philadelphia. The defense picked off Chuck Long 3 times and Barry Foster had a strong day with 2 scores and 107 yards. While the game was close through 3 quarters, the 10-point lead provided by Leslie Frazier’s pick-six of Long was enough to lock up the win for the Blitz. CHI 13 STL 10 Another defensive struggle for St. Louis, but they could not do enough to get the win as Chicago got a late Aubrey Matthews TD from backup Alex Van Pelt to pull out the 3-point win. The combo of Ricky Watters and Duce Staley helped the Machine control the tempo, combining for 107 yards rushing on 25 carries. HOU 10 NOR 20 Two clubs needing a win to stay relevant, and it was the homestanding Breakers who got what they needed. Jamie Martin had a strong game, completing 26 of 32 passes for 300 yards and 2 scores, while the combo of Terrell Davis and Erric Pegram combined for exactly 100 yards rushing. Houston, still playing without Chuck Hartlieb, struggled behind both Chuck Clements and Perry Klien. MGN 21 TEX 13 We had a feeling that Texas was due for a loss after winning their first three. They focused on Tyrone Wheatley and managed to hold the Panther back to only 47 yards on 23 carries, but in doing so they left receivers open for Panther backup QB Jeff Lewis, and the Northern Arizona product did just enough to get the win, throwing 2 TDs, both to the team’s leading receiver, Jeff Campbell. ARZ 16 OAK 21 We thought this could be a shot for Arizona to get their first win, but early TDs from Siran Stacy and Ed McCaffrey put the Wranglers in a hole, and they simply could not recover. The dagger came in the form of a 3-yard TD pass from Hebert to TE Christian Fauria in the 4th, just as Arizona had come back to within 1 point at 13-14. DEN 6 SEA 25 A shocker at Husky Stadium, where the 1-win Dragons upended the division-leading Gold. Kudos to the Dragon D, which held Denver to only 3 of 14 on third down conversions. Corey Dillon and Roosevelt Potts did lion’s work on the ground, combining for 95 Dragon rushing yards, while Tim Rosenbach, now subbing for a dinged-up John Kitna, completed 26 of 34 pass attempts to help Seattle get their 2nd win of the season. LA 13 POR 45 With both Brent Pease and Jeff Garcia ineffective, and no run game at all for LA, the Thunder rolled. Jack Trudeau went 22 of 27 for 217 yards and 2 scores, while Robert Drummond barely missed out on yet another 100-yard day, ending with only 91 yards, but 2 scores. With Denver’s loss to Seattle, the Thunder are right back into a tie for first in the division. WRANGLER FUTILITY: Optimism was high with the drafting and signing of ASU QB Jake Plummer, but with the Arizona defense floundering at 15th in the league in yards per game, and even worse at 22nd in points per game, a lot is falling on the young QB. Plummer has not played poorly, though his youth has shown at times, but there is just not enough support for him. The run game, led by HB Tim Lester, is 19th in the league, and the Wranglers have simply not been able to put themselves in good scoring position. Their 0-7 start is the worst in team history, and while HC Art Shell has the buffer all first year coaches get, the fans in Arizona are not willing to overlook losses each week just because the club signed Plummer. KNIGHTFALL: Another club who is underwhelming their fan base has to be the St. Louis Knights. This was a club that finished 1996 at 10-5-1 and had built real optimism in St. Louis as they competed against the NFL’s Rams. But this season their no-name defense has not been able to replicate the success of last season. They are still top 10 in the league against the pass, but it is simply not enough. Most of the blame has to fall on the offense, where the Knights average a paltry 14.1 points per game (good enough for 23rd out of 24 clubs) and are one of the worst passing clubs in the league. The loss of Rocket Ismail in free agency clearly has been an issue. In the past 4 weeks the Knights have scored 3, 13, 10, and 10 points. That is not going to get the job done. O-H-I-Oh, No!!!!: Ohio finishes out our tour of misery. Another club that was expected to make a leap this year, the 1-6 start for the Glory has been a huge disappointment. Sure, none of the 1995 expansion clubs have made the leap fans had hoped for (With LA at 1-6, Seattle at 2-5, and Atlanta the best at this point at 3-4), but Ohio has seemed to step back compared with last year’s promising 6-win season. Joey Galloway is not repeating his success from 1996, Eddie George simply cannot find holes to run through, and the defense is giving up over 30 points a game, including 34, 30, and 45 in the past 3 weeks. Coach Saban is under some pressure in his 3rd year to show growth, and the direction the Glory seem to be going is not what fans or ownership expected out of this year. THUNDER CLAPS: Let’s end on a positive note. Other than the 6-1 start in Texas the biggest positive swing is in Portland, where the Thunder are 5-2 and have a perfect 5-0 record against the Pacific Division. Their convincing win over Denver has fans in the PDX excited about the possibility that this club is finally ready to take the next step. As usual, Robert Drummond is impressing, with over 750 yards rushing in 7 games, and while the passing game only ranks 21st in the league, it has proven adequate to keep Portland among the league leaders in points scored (3rd with 28.3 PPG). The defense is just barely outside the Top 10, but has kept teams to only 22 points per game, well below the offense’s average. The Thunder have a few tough games coming their way, with New Orleans, Washington, and Baltimore on the schedule before they get a “bye” against Arizona. Their final 6 games of the year are all against teams with 3 wins or fewer at present, including 2 games against the winless Wranglers, so Portland could be in position to run away with the division if they can survive this next streak of 3 games against Eastern Conference Foes. As the league approaches the midpoint of the season, there are some teams really struggling with injuries, while others seem to have gotten off almost Scott free. That is the nature of the game, but it does not make life any easier for those clubs that have a laundry list of injured players. Arizona’s usually stout defense is struggling with both starting safeties out, including a season-ending injury to FS Martin Bayless. Denver is missing two defensive leaders as well, with Kurt Gouveia out for a month and CB Latin Berry listed as questionable. LA on the other hand may finally be getting healthy as both C Mark Tucker and HB Antowain Smith are expected back this week. Memphis has 5 players on the injured list, though most are expected back next week. DE Reggie White will miss this week, listed as doubtful with a hamstring injury, but should return in Week 9. Orlando also has 5 players on the report, including LB James Folston, out 4-6 weeks with a broken leg. Seattle is looking at possibly 1 more week with Timm Rosenbach under center as Jon Kitna continues to recover from a dislocated shoulder. They are also missing HB Derrick Loville, C Mike Flynn and SS Alton Montgomery. As negotiations between ownership and the USFLPA take a hiatus, and as we await the results of the USFL Hall of Fame vote, we have a bit of a lull in league news. The biggest news this week was the announcement this week that NIKE would be producing new looks for three clubs next year. Washington, Memphis, and Baltimore will be getting updates from the sports attire and shoe company. Nike still has 2 years on their contract with the league, and while there is expected to be competition for the contract that begins in 2000, for now the focus is on design updates. Washington is expected to seek a new logo and new style going into 1998 and rumors have them possibly returning to more of a white and green emphasis after a long stint of silver helmets and pants during the Don Majkowski era. For Memphis a new logo is not in the works, but we do expect some changes to their red and silver-blue combo. Baltimore is more of a mystery as to how dramatic their update will be. We expect the main logo to remain, as it is ubiquitous in the Charm City after their strong season last year, and there does not seem to be a need to update a pretty classic red, blue, and silver look, but the Blitz are looking at defining this club for a new era after years of frustration in the Atlantic Division, so we would not be surprised if they opted to mix things up a bit. Week 8 looks like another interesting one, especially in the Eastern Conference, where divisional games bring in some serious rivalry energy. In the Atlantic it will be 5-2 Washington facing off against the Blitz in Baltimore, while in Philly the Stars hope to rebound and to avenge an earlier loss to Pittsburgh. New Jersey is hoping to rebound as they host the Glory at the Meadowlands. In the South the big game is 4-3 Tampa Bay and 4-3 Orlando facing off in the Citrus Bowl, but in this division all games have playoff implications. Birmingham is in Atlanta hoping to move to 6-2, and Jacksonville hopes to do the same as they face off against Memphis in the Gator Bowl. With divisional games in the East, that means it is interdivisional play in the West. The best clashes here include Denver, coming off that shocking loss in Seattle, hosting Chicago. 6-1 Michigan in Oakland, New Orleans headed up to Portland, and the 6-1 Outlaws hoping to blow past the winless Wranglers in Tempe. St. Louis is in Seattle and Houston heads to LA to round out the schedule.

With labor concerns and their real potential impact for the USFL at the forefront of league news, it is hard to concentrate on the games at hand, but this week gave us some good ones. We had a classic Keystone Clash between the Stars and Maulers, another key divisional win for the Federals over the surprisingly slow-starting Blitz, a statement game from the Birmingham Stallions, and a nail biter between the Bulls and Renegades, and that is just in one conference. Out west we had fewer close games, but we did get St. Louis’s first win of the year (in a pretty ugly, hard to enjoy 10-0 game), a big road win for the Gold, and Texas retaining their status as the league’s only undefeated team. A lot to break down, so let’s get to it. Over the past decade and change the Keystone Clash between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh has provided us with some of the best rivalry football in the league. Sure, Philly also has a rivalry with New Jersey, and Pittsburgh fans also like to razz their neighbors from Ohio, but this in-state game has always held just that little extra edge of familiarity breeding contempt. This season is clearly no exception as both clubs raced out to 3-0 records and it seemed clear that the two team’s from the Keystone State would be battling over the Atlantic Division this year. This week’s game, held in Three Rivers Stadium brought out a healthy crowd of just over 41,000 fans on a windy, but warm Saturday night. It would be a battle of the league’s passing yardage leader, Robbie Bosco of Pittsburgh, and one of the league’s best play action passers in Chuck Long. It also featured quality at the HB position, in the receiving corps for both clubs, and two solid defenses. So it is no surprise that the game not only went down to the wire, but also went to an extra period before it was decided. Philadelphia started strong, scoring on a Charlie Garner 6-yard reception after the Maulers had opened the game with a field goal. Garner’s TD would be the lone 6-pointer of the first half as both defenses limited opportunities for the opposition. At the half, the game would be a very tense 10-3 in favor of the visiting Stars. This was increased to 13-3 after Chip Lohmiller capped off Philly’s 2nd half opening drive. Pittsburgh responded with a long drive of their own. Thirteen plays and 5 minutes later, Mike Rozier, the ageless wonder, ran off the right side for 4 yards to pull the Maulers back to within 3 at 13-10. Philadelphia answered with a score of their own, with Long hitting TE Eric Green on a huge play as the Mauler safeties were badly out of position on a play action play, leading Green to a 61-yard score. Pittsburgh would end the 3rd quarter with a field goal and the Stars took a 20-13 lead into the final period. The Stars grew their advantage to 14 points after Long found his other receiving TE, Marcus Pollard on a short scoring toss. With just over 13 minutes left to play, Pittsburgh needed to get serious. They started by quickly moving the ball down the field against Philadelphia’s 2-deep zone. When Bosco hit Louis Lipps for a 13-yard scoring toss, the Maulers were back within one score. They would get a chance to get that score thanks to their defense. On a 3rd and 6 the Stars went for a seam play over the middle, but this time safety Jay Bellamy was in position, stepping in front of Pollard and snatching the ball for the Maulers. Pittsburgh would waste no time evening the score, with Bosco finding Shaw for the game tying touchdown only 4 plays later. Philadelphia was unable to get the ball into field goal range for Lohmiller, so the game headed to overtime. The Maulers won the toss, and all the momentum was theirs as they drove down the field. A 6-point score would end the game, and that is exactly what the Maulers got when Dorsey Levins broke free from an initial bottleneck at the line, and raced 7 yards for the game winning score. The win snapped a 2-game losing streak for the Maulers and evened up both PA squads (along with the surging Federals) at 4-2 atop the contentious Atlantic Division. BAL 14 WSH 20 Washington finds a spot among the Atlantic Division leaders with a home victory over the surprisingly 2-4 Baltimore Blitz. Kordell Stewart threw for 234 and a key TD to Bill Schroeder as the Federals blitzed Baltimore, going up 20-0 at the half before the visitors made it a game in the second half. NJ 30 OHI 16 Spence Fischer’s improbable Cinderella story continues as the former Duke Blue Devil goes 23 for 28 for 202 yards and a TD. He got a huge assist from Bam Morris, who se 138 yards rushing was a career high. Ohio struggled against the front 7 of the Generals, with Eddie George still disappointing Glory fans with only 20 yards on 13 carries. ATL 20 MEM 27 Atlanta came close but could not pull off the road upset of Memphis, as Heath Shuler threw for 233 and 3 scores to lead the Showboats. Tiki Barber was the star for Atlanta with 106 yards on 13 carries as the Fire got within 4 after 3 quarters but could get no closer. BIR 48 TBY 19 The Stallions rolled their way to 4-2 and a share of first with a balanced attack. Brett Favre went 13 of 20 for only 265 but hit on 4 TD passes, while Mike Alstott and Stephen Davis combined for 125, with the big fullback adding two short TD runs to boot. Troy Aikman struggled all day behind a reshuffled line, getting sacked 7 times, including twice by Stallion DE John Copeland. JAX 23 ORL 24 The Bulls and Renegades also join the 4-2 club in the South, as Orlando gets the 1-point victory thanks to a last second Charlie Baumann field goal. Scott Mitchell threw for 2 scores, as did Chris Chandler in this nip & tuck battle in the Citrus Bowl. ARZ 14 MGN 34 Arizona remains winless as the Panthers pick off Jake Plummer 3 times and the combination of Doug Flutie and Jeff Lewis rack up 5 TD passes. Flutie suffered a turf-related injury to his foot, which took him out of the game (and could cost him a week or two) but Lewis came in and played like a savvy vet, completing 14 of 18 and adding 3 scoring plays to help Michigan to the big win. DEN 31 NOR 20 Denver got back on track and upended the Breakers, thanks to a 20-carry, 110-yard day from HB Rashaan Salaam. Mark Brunell also looked sharp against the Breaker D, completing 34 of 41 passes for 326 yards and 2 scores as the Gold reasserted their claim on the Pacific Division lead. LA 0 STL 10 In an ugly game all around, St. Louis held the shut out, a rarity in the USFL, and got just enough from Todd Collins to pull out their first win of the season. LA was held to only 208 total yards, including a paltry 23 yards rushing by the suddenly awakened Knights defense. OAK 21 TEX 38 The undefeated Outlaws scored early and often against the Invaders, with Quinn Early and Reggie Cobb contributing 1st quarter TDs to build a 14-0 lead that Texas would never relinquish. Cobb finished the game as the MVP with 25 carries for 168 yards and 2 scores. The Texas D also found a way to shut down Bobby Hebert, with his top receiver, Ellard, catching only 3 balls for 14 yards. POR 20 CHI 27 Chicago moved their mark to 4-2 and dropped Portland to the same record with a 4th quarter TD from Van Pelt to Calvin Williams. Van Pelt would finish with 287 yards and 3 TDs despite being sacked 5 times by the aggressive Thunder D. Ricky Waters would add 77 yards rushing to help pace the Machine, while Robert Drummond’s 112 were not enough for the Thunder to get the road win. SEA 13 HOU 16 Seattle nearly pulled off the upset, but a TD overturned as offensive pass interference against Robert Claiborne left them 3 points short of the Gamblers in the AstroDome. Houston struggled without QB Chuck Hartlieb, as both rookie Chase Clements and backup Perry Klien failed to reach 40% completion rate on the day. Meanwhile, Jon Kitna was knocked out of the game, leading Seattle to call on Damon Huard, who looked a bit rusty, going 11 of 31. UNSUNG STORY #1: This week we are focusing on the players and stories that have been flying under the radar and deserve a bit of spotlight. We start in Jacksonville, where the 4-2 Bulls have been getting strong performances week in and week out from their dynamic duo at receiver. Both Brian Blades and Terrell Owens are among the Top 5 in receiving yards, with Blades leading the league this week with 602 yards and Owens just barely behind with 562. The key with both is big plays, as neither one is in the top 20 in receptions (35 and 32 respectively, well behind league leader Jeff Campbell’s 45). Chris Chandler has been working the play action game with Natrone Means and Kenny Bynum drawing in safeties, and that has proven effective as both Blades and Owens can muscle out corners and win those 50/50 balls on the edges. We have never had 2 players from the same team finish in the Top 5 in receiving yards before, though the Michigan Panthers came close on a couple of occasions with their combo of Anthony Carter and Dereck Holloway back in the day. Could the Bulls keep up this pace and make it a first? We shall see. UNSUNG STORY #2: The last couple of years we have not had much to say about HB Reggie Cobb in Texas. The club has floundered and their lead back has been hampered by both injuries and inconsistency, but that is not the case this year. The Outlaws are undefeated and their bruising back is a big reason why. Cobb is among the league leaders with 540 yards, a respectable 4.5 per carry, and he is leading the league with 7 rushing TDs. Add on an 8th through the air, and he is among the leading scorers in the league. And he is doing this without a major threat in the passing game to loosen up defenses. Kelly Stouffer’s numbers are not by any means stellar. He is 19th among USFL QB’s with only 1,182 yards passing, and the top rated Texas receiver is Quinn Early, with 40 receptions but only a 12.2 YPC average. Yes, Texas is winning with defense (that sounds so odd to say), but they are also shortening games by giving Cobb a huge share of carries. Cobb has toted the rock 117 times, an even 100 more than the 2nd place back in San Antonio, Detron Smith, with only 17 carries. Seems pretty clear, if you want to stop Texas, you start by stopping Reggie Cobb. UNSUNG STORY #3: OK, to the defensive side. We get a lot of praise for sack leader Phil Hansen, and deservedly so, and CB’s often get some love for their interceptions, but there are some defensive stats, and the men who lead them, that don’t get enough love. The first of these is Tackles for Loss, which is a nice way of saying running plays stuffed behind the line. Arizona’s Broderick Thomas has always been a beast in this area, and despite the Wranglers having a rough 0-6 start, he is still a threat to quash any running play, with 15 TFLs leading the league. Passes Defended is another deceiving stats. Not as flashy as interceptions, but often just as vital to a defense, and here we find Old Man Rivers, Michigan’s Garland Rivers once again atop the list. Rivers has never been much for picks, but he will break up passes with the best of them, and this year his 15 PDs again lead the league, one more than Oakland’s Bobby Taylor. And finally, we look at Catches to Attempts, essentially how many catches were made against a defensive back compared to how many balls thrown his way. That can be a tricky stat because offenses will often throw at a corner they view as inferior rather than challenging the top shut down option on a defense. But when you get a CTA of below 50%, that picked-on corner is showing up big time. The best CTA among starters belongs to Denver’s Jamel Williams, who has been thrown at 54 times but only allowed 24 receptions. That is outstanding. Compare that, for example to one of the more touted CB’s in the league, Oakland’s Aeneas Williams, who has allowed 49 receptions to 62 attempts and you see how much more effective Williams has been. Anthony Tuggle may get more press in the Mile High City, again due to interception rate, but Williams is doing yeoman’s work on the opposite side. UNSUNG STORY #4: Let’s be honest, we don’t spend much time talking about punters, and we all agree that is OK, but we should at least recognize when we have guys doing their jobs at the peak of their position. We have 2 punters this season who are doing all their coaches could ask for and more. Jacksonville’s Chris Mohr is not only leading the league in punt average at 48.5 yards per kick, but has placed 11 of 31 kicks within the 20, a strong number to be sure. It would be even more impressive if he was not competing with Orlando’s Mitch Berger, whose 47.9 average is second in the league but who has placed 17 of 33 kicks inside the 20, a stellar 51% rate. That helps the Orlando D, and gives the Orlando offense some good field position. Both kickers are making life easier for their offensive and defensive squads, and that has helped both clubs reach 4-2 and a share of first in their division. So, while you may never make the cover of Wheaties, Mitch and Chris, you have our respect, well, as much as we can afford a punter. We are getting to that part of the season where injuries start to mount up and team’s fortunes begin to get negatively affected. Several QB’s went out this week, though most are expected to be back within a week or two. Among those knocked out of games this week we have Chicago’s Dan McGwire (ankle), Michigan’s Doug Flutie (turf toe), Seattle’s Jon Kitna (shoulder), and Houston’s Chuck Hartlieb (knee). Quarterbacks were not the only to suffer injuries, as several players could miss as much as a month of action, not the least of these being Denver All-USFL LB Kurt Gouveia, who broke 2 ribs this week and will likely miss 2-4 weeks. Houston CB Reggie Sutton broke his collarbone, as did Pittsburgh C Bryan Stoltenberg. Seattle could be without HB Derick Loville for 1-2 weeks with a sprain to his right knee, while the condition of their study DE Jim Reynosa is week to week with a hamstring. Reggie White also has hamstring issues and is listed as Doubtful for Memphis. Houston DT Luther Ellis is also doubtful with knee issues, and Tampa could be without WR Robert Brooks this week, after he dislocated two fingers on an awkward landing on Sunday. They say no news is good news, but in the case of the USFL owners vs. the USFLPA that may not be true. Despite ongoing meetings over the past two weeks, the two sides appear to be at an impasse over how the newly approved 6-division, 14-game format will impact player salaries. The USFLPA is hoping to retain all current contracts at their full value, but a strong cadre of owners is hoping to see a reduction in salaries to match the 1/8 reduction in regular season games. Complicating things even more are efforts by the USFLPA to build in changes to the league’s salary cap and exempt player system, hoping to provide more opportunities for players to be held outside the salary cap, while owners are looking to keep the topic firmly set on the salary structure for a shorter season. All the labor tension, while not impacting games, is certainly impacting perceptions of the league. If this remains unresolved going into the offseason, it may be a hard sell to get top rookies, and some free agents, to sign with the spring league, a prospect the NFL has to be ecstatic about. It was, after all, an NFL players strike back in the 80’s which really amped up the USFL’s signings of NFL talent and helped the spring league obtain a foothold in the market and a true “rival league” status. Now, with the USFL embroiled in its first true labor dispute, it is the NFL that looks to profit from the chaos. Among players expected to be impacted by the ongoing discord between the union and ownership are those veterans whose contracts expire at the end of the season. With no agreement on salary structure, it is nearly impossible for clubs to resign their top talent, which could lead to a much higher free agency number than we have seen in recent years, and far greater potential for top talent to leap over to the NFL. Among those looking at free agency this August we find some really pivotal players on almost every team, players like: ARZ-LB Bill Romanowski ATL-QB Cliff Stoudt BAL-DT William Perry, HB Barry Foster, WR Bill Brooks BIR-LB Kevin Greene, WR Ernest Givens, DE John Copeland CHI-CB eric Thomas, TE Wessley Walls, QB Dan McGwire DEN-LB Kurt Gouveia, WR Odessa Turner HOU-T Howard Ballard, HB Thurman Thomas, DE Michael Sinclair, WR Brett Perriman JAX-LB Vaughan Johnson, LB Jesse Armstead LA-LB Donta Jones MEM-DE Reggie White, T Bruce Wilkerson MGN-QB Doug Flutie, TE Butch Rolle NJ-HB Bam Morris, LB Dino Hacket NOR-T Troy Auzene, QR Qadry Ismail OAK-DT Tony Siragusa, WR Ed McCaffrey OHI-LB John Offerdahl, QB Jeff Hostetler ORL-WR Bert Emmanuel, DT Tracy Rocker PHI-DT Leon Lett, QB Chuck Long, DE William Fuller PIT-DT Dan Saleamua, LB Demetrius Dubose, WR Louis Lipps POR-T Bruce Armstrong, FS Vencie Glenn SEA-DE Jim Reynosa STL-FB Ironhead Hayward, CB Troy Vincent, DE Tony Tolbert TBY-DT Rollin Putzier, DE Fred Stokes, WR Shannon Baker TEX-LB Brian Bosworth, WR Lawyer Tillman WSH-DE Dexter Manley, LB Michael Barrow Any prolonged impasse between the union and the owners could lead to a significant windfall for the NFL, which could scoop up a good number of these players with almost no risk of the USFL signing any NFL talent. Even if the standoff does not extend into the late Fall and the second transfer window, the potential losses during the first transfer window, as well as the inability for clubs to restructure contracts and keep top talent from turning into free agents, could be a major blow to the league. So, basically the USFL and USFLPA have about 10 weeks to get this settled before the contracts of most of these players end and the free agent pool is flooded with talent. Divisional play highlights week 7 around the league, with a lot of teams trying to create space for themselves. We start in the Pacific where 5-1 Denver heads up to Seattle hoping to pull away from the Portland Thunder, who host the Express this weekend. Arizona will again try for its first win of the season as they head to Oakland to take on the Invaders. In the Central the big game is undefeated Texas hosting 5-1 Michigan. The Panthers may have to rely on Jeff Lewis again as Flutie does not appear able to go after suffering a turf toe injury this week. Chicago is in St. Louis and if the Knights have any hope of building back to relevance they need this game. Houston and New Orleans face off in a battle of 2-4 clubs that are desperate to get a 3rd win. In the South, we have a cluster of 4-2 clubs, which makes for good matchups this week. Orlando is in Birmingham in the only clash of teams atop the division, while Jacksonville travels to 3-3 Atlanta and the Bandits hope to get a win out of their game against Memphis in the Liberty Bowl. Finally, in the Atlantic, the 3-way tie atop the division will depend on each 4-2 club getting a win against an opponent they should beat. Pittsburgh has the easiest matchup, hosting 1-5 Ohio, while Philadelphia hosts Baltimore and Washington must hope they can slow down the suddenly dangerous New Jersey Generals.

In a week filled with questions, the long shadow of the owners meeting created an eerie sense of discomfort across the league. The game still went on, but all anyone wanted to discuss was the off-field tension between ownership and the players. And yet, with this year’s contracts still intact, the games went on. The league lost all but one undefeated club, and are also down to just two clubs who have yet to taste victory. We have a Cinderella story brewing in New Jersey as unknown 2nd year QB has the Generals winning games, and we have the Texas Outlaws defying all the odds to start the season 5-0. A back and forth fireworks show in the Vet as the Birmingham Stallions and Philadelphia Stars faced off on Sunday afternoon. In a game that seemed destined for a “last team with the ball wins” scenario, that is exactly what we got. While Philadelphia presented a balanced offense with Charlie Garner rushing for 96 yards, Birmingham abandoned the run pretty early in the face of a tough Stars line, and put the ball into the hands of Brett Favre, who reciprocated with a 4-TD, 439-yard performance. The first three quarters saw only 1 TD each before a frantic 4th quarter took the game to new levels. Shannon Sharpe started the scoring off in the 1st with a 65-yard TD reception on a perfectly designed out & up. Philadelphia would get their own big play in the 2nd quarter when Chuck Long found wideout Troy Brown from 35 yards out on a corner route, dropping the ball in just over the outstretched arms of the Stallion corner. After 3 quarters, the game was only a 16-10 affair, with Philadelphia holding the edge. But the quarter ended with the Stallions driving and on the first play of the final period they struck, with Favre hitting Cedric Tillman for a score that flipped the lead towards the visitors. Philly recovered the lead with a field goal on their next drive, but could not stop Tillman as he once again scored for the Stallions, putting them up 24-19 with 3:52 left in the game. Troy Brown was the big target for Chuck Long as he came up big with 7 receptions for 160 yards and 2 scores, his second coming on a 46-yard sprint to the endzone. The Stars were back on top, 27-24 with only 1:46 left, but 1:46 in the hands of an offense like the Stallions’ and with Brett Favre at the helm is hardly secure. Favre took over with the ball on the Stallion 31 after a good kick return. Within 5 plays he was closing in on the red zone. On a 2nd and 3 from the 26, the Stallions tried to pressure Favre, but that left Shannon Sharpe covered by a linebacker, which is never a good thing. Favre braced for the hit as he delivered the ball to his speedy tight end. Sharpe made the catch and shook off the safety on his way to the endzone. With only 33 seconds left, the Stallions retook the lead, 31-27. Needing a touchdown, the Stars were forced to play against a shell defense, and when Chuck Long’s desperation heave on the final play of the game found only the turf, the Stallions celebrated on the sidelines. The undefeated Stars now tasted defeat, and the Stallions were back in the picture in a crowded Southern Division. NOR 30 CHI 17 The Breakers got 2 TDs and 98 yards from Terrell Davis to upend the Machine in Soldier Field. QB Alex Van Pelt, again subbing for Dan McGwire struggled, throwing 2 picks to the Breaker D as Chicago was unable to come back from a 23-15 deficit. TEX 20 HOU 13 The Outlaws remain unbeaten by holding off the Gamblers despite 177 combined yards from scrimmage from Thurman Thomas. Reggie Cobb rushed for 109 and 2 scores to help the visiting Outlaws outlast the homestanding Gamblers. STL 13 MGN 16 The Knights defense returned to 1996 form, but the offense still struggled, with Todd Collins throwing 2 picks. Doug Flutie completed 69% of his passes, but also threw 4 picks against the Knights’ man coverage schemes. Were it not for a late Rodney Culver score, Michigan easily could have lost to the winless Knights. SEA 10 OAK 30 The Invaders win their second in a row in convincing fashion, outgaining Seattle by 100 yards and holding the Dragons to 3 of 11 on third down. Troy Davis had a good game in relief, spelling Siran Stacy as Davis rushed for 68 yards to Stacy’s 69. POR 36 DEN 14 The Gold were a bit overconfident in this home game, but 20 unanswered points from the Thunder put them in a hole they could not dig out of. Jack Trudeau went 28 of 33 for 340 yards in one of his better games in recent memory. Mark Brunell was knocked out of the game early and John Walsh struggled in relief. LA 31 ARZ 17 In a battle of winless teams, LA jumped out to an early 10-0 lead and never looked back. Bernie Parmalee started in place of the injured Antowain Smith and racked up 91 yards and 2 scores for the Express. ATL 34 OHI 17 The Fire moved to 3-2 with a road win in Columbus. Cliff Stoudt threw for 4 scores on a 22 of 32 passing day and the combo of Tiki Barber and Blair Thomas accounted for 135 yards rushing for Atlanta. JAX 28 PIT 23 One of the better games of the week, Pittsburgh held a lead late but a Kenny Bynum TD catch with only 1:39 left to play gave the win to the visiting Bulls and sending the Maulers to their second straight defeat. Chris Chandler would finish with 323 yards passing and 3 scores. TBY 23 NJ 29 What has gotten into the Generals and who the heck is Spence Fischer? The unknown QB went 41 of 59 for 396 yards and 3 TDs as the Generals shocked the Bandits in Tampa Stadium. New Jersey was aided by a big day for Phil Hansen and the D-Line, with Hansen accounting for 3 of the team’s 7 sacks of Troy Aikman. ORL 24 BAL 17 Orlando fell behind 17-7, but fought back to edge the Blitz in Memorial Stadium. Two Chris Miller picks and a rough day for Barry Foster kept the Blitz from moving over .500 as the Renegades come away with a big road win. MEM 3 WSH 32 It was all Federals in RFK on Sunday as Memphis was held to a humbling 9 yards rushing against the Washington D. line. Kordell Stewart left the game with a possible concussion, but not before he had built up a hefty 20-0 lead on Memphis. Eric Kramer wrapped up the game as two Federals backs went over 100 yards on the day, Word at 111 on 20 carries and Terrell Fletcher with 112 on only 13 carries, including a big 42 yard burst in the 4th. Mystery Man: So, just who is Spence Fischer and how has the unknown 3rd stringer led New Jersey to two straight victories? Fischer is a 2nd year pro out of Duke, selected by the Generals in the 6th round of the 1996 USFL Collegiate Draft. At Duke, Fischer threw for 9,019 yards in 3 seasons, tossing 48 career touchdowns. He was viewed as too cerebral and not physical enough prior to the draft, but the Generals signed him in the hopes that he would essentially hold for kicks, something he had done as a Blue Devil, and stand alongside their QB coach as they tried to decide between Rob Johnson and Tommy Maddox as the starter. Since coming in after injuries to both Maddox and Johnson, what has Fischer done? How about going 86 of 125 (a 68.8% clip), throwing for 840 yards, 6 TDs and no picks. He has propelled Terry Glenn to the top spot among league receivers in yards, and, even more surprisingly, has led the Generals to back-to-back wins over Birmingham and Tampa Bay, two clubs whose offenses should have destroyed New Jersey. All this after not appearing in a single game or completing a single pass in his first 18 games as a pro. So, there is no way the Generals replace Fischer with Maddox, now that the former UCLA QB is off the injured list, right? We don’t think so, at least not until he loses a game or has a bad outing. They say that a player should never lose his job to injury, but with the offense humming under Fischer, how can you pull him out now. The Generals have to ride this kid’s arm as far as it can take them or until it falls off. SECOND WIND: Robbie Bosco has found new life with the Pittsburgh Maulers. He currently leads the league with 1,547 yards passing after 5 games, and while his 7 interceptions are a concern for the Maulers, losers of 2 straight, his 12 TDs have been more than welcome. Bosco has never been a true gunslinger, always a bit on the conservative side, but with Raynard Brown, Louis Lipps, rookie Derrick Mason and veteran TE Mike Shaw, Bosco has the weapons to cut loose. The result is a more balanced offense, which, in turn, creates more holes for the ageless Mike Rozier. The Maulers have some issues on defense, the main reason they have lost these last 2 weeks, but with the #1 scoring offense and the 2nd rated passing game in the league, Pittsburgh is hoping that their trade for Bosco, a band-aid last year when Alan Risher went out, could be a solution for at least the next couple of years. WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: Remember last year when Ohio’s Joey Galloway was tearing up the stat book and led the league in receiving by what seemed like a country mile? Well this year he has gone MIA. Galloway does not even appear in the top 20 in receiving yards after 5 weeks with only 24 receptions, third on the team behind TE Chris Kelley (32) and flanker Robb Thomas (26). It does not help that QB Jeff Hostetler has been gimpy, essentially playing on one leg, or that he is leading the league in interceptions. And while Galloway has no drops on the year, something is keeping him from being the centerpiece of the Ohio offense. Seems odd to say, but by all accounts the Glory are trying to avoid throwing to Galloway, who is always matched up against the best shut down corner of the opposition, but if he has the talent we saw last year, the Glory have to find a way to get him the ball. As the USFL and USFLPA begin negotiations behind closed doors on adjustments to the CBA after the league’s decision to move to a 14-game season, we turn our attention elsewhere, to more positive news. Another spring brings us another USFL season, but it also brings us voting season for the USFL wing within the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This year will mark the third class into the Hall. The selection committee has nominated 9 candidates for up to 5 nominations to join the 9 players who already represent the USFL. There are several new candidates, eligible because their final season was in 1992, and several returning after missing out in 1996. Here are the nine nominees. Let us know in the comments section which of these nine (up to 5) you believe merit induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame for their performance within the USFL. FIRST YEAR NOMINEES HB Joe Cribbs (BIR): Played 9 seasons for the Stallions, rushing for a total of 12,557 yards (currently 4th all time), a lifetime average of 4.4 Yards per Carry. He scored 98 total touchdowns, 83 rushing and another 15 receptions (also 4th all time). He was named All-USFL 7 times in 9 seasons, was the 1984 Offensive Player of the Year, and was named a Player of the Game 51 times. DE Bob Barber (WSH, BIR): Bob Barber played 10 seasons in the USFL, starting all 16 games for Washington in the league’s inaugural season before moving to Birmingham, where he spent 9 seasons and started 150 games at DE. He amassed 104 sacks over his 9 years, which is currently 9th in league history, and recorded 10 or more sacks 7 times, including a season high of 15 in 1985, his second year with the stallions. In addition to his sack total, he recorded 71 tackles for loss, forced 23 fumbles and recovered 7 in his long career. WR Jackie Flowers (ARZ/CHI-BAL): Flowers began his career in Arizona, but moved to Chicago (and then to Baltimore when the Blitz moved), where he completed 10 seasons as a USFL wideout. He retired with 739 career receptions for 11,803 yards and 93 touchdowns. Known for his speed and his willingness to leap to catch balls that might seem out of reach, Flowers was named an ALL-USFL player 4 times in his 10 year career. SS William Cesare (BIR, CHI): A 2 time All-USFL player at Strong Safety, Cesare retired after splitting his career between the Birmingham Stallions and Chicago Machine. He left the game with 82 passes defended, 13 interceptions, and 945 tackles (2nd among Safeties) to his name. Cesare was known as a violent hitter, and was unafraid to take on rushers out of the backfield. His best season was 1986 with Birmingham, when he recorded 104 tackles, including 14 in one game against Pittsburgh. DT Eddie Weaver (LA, ARZ): Weaver is another 10-year veteran, working the trenches for the LA Express and Arizona Wranglers. He retired with 381 tackles, 47 tackles for a loss, and 33 sacks, all Top Ten among DTs in the USFL’s 14 seasons. He was named an ALL-USFL player 6 times. C William Copley (BOS/NOR): A three-time All-USFL player at center, Copley holds an amazing distinction among offensive linemen, Despite playing in 154 games, starting 153 of them for the Breakers, Copley is cited as having allowed only 2 sacks in his entire career. Often regarded as one of the best pure pass blockers in the spring game, Copley also helped lead the way for the rushing of Breaker backs like Richard Crump and Marcus DuPree. REPEAT NOMINEES HB Craig James (WSH): James was a nominee last year, barely missing the 75% of votes needed to be inducted. He is one of three returning players in the 1997 pool. A 2 time All-USFL player at Halfback, James still holds the Federals’ records for rush attempts (2239), yards (8,908), and touchdowns (53). Both in rushing attempts and yards he remains in the Top Ten of USFL backs. HB John Williams (MGN): A four time All-USFL selection and member of 2 USFL title teams with the Panthers, John Williams was known as a bruising runner. He retired with 7,311 yards rushing and 53 rushing touchdowns. DT Jumpy Geathers (BOS, MGN, PHI): A six-time All-USFL selection and key defensive cog in the 1987 Michigan Panthers championship, Gaethers retired with 43 sacks (4th all time for a DT), 368 tackles, and 67 tackles for loss. Considered one of the first pass-rushing DTs, Gaether’s power rush was an early predecessor for later stars like Jerome Brown and Michael Dean Perry. The highlight of Week 6 is divisional play in the Eastern Conference, with Baltimore-Washington and Philadelphia-Pittsburgh representing not only strong rivalry games, but also key playoff showdowns among clubs playing very good ball right now. Even New Jersey vs. Ohio has some cache after the sudden turnaround of the Generals. In the South the big game is 3-2 Birmingham at 4-1 Tampa Bay, but keep an eye on Jacksonville (4-1) at Orlando (3-2) as well, as these Florida rivalry games tend to be tight matchups. Atlanta is in Memphis, and the Fire, a surprise at 3-2, could get solidly over .500 with another win against a slumping Showboat squad. In the Western Conference, we have inter-divisional games, with the best of the bunch being 4-1 Portland, hot off their win in Denver, visiting 3-2 Chicago. St. Louis will try to get their first win of the year as they host the LA Express, while 1-4 Seattle and 1-4 Houston face off in what can only be dubbed a Disappointment Bowl. Arizona is still winless, but heading to 4-1 Michigan hardly seems the way to get off that bad rut. Denver hopes to rebound as they head to 2-3 New Orleans, and the only undefeated team left, the Texas Outlaws, are back in the Alamo Dome to face off against the Oakland Invaders, winners of 2 in a row.

A week highlighted by a surprising decision from the league owners, potentially throwing player relations into turmoil, overshadowed a pretty solid set of games this weekend. We will discuss the owners’ decision to alter both the league schedule and division structure, as well as the swift reaction of the USFLPA in our “Around the League” section, but first, let’s focus on this week’s games, which featured a shocking upset, and some real nail-biters to conclude the first quarter of the year. Had anyone picked the New Jersey Generals, starting their 3rd string QB due to injury, coming down to Birmingham and stealing a win from the Stallions only 1 week after Brett Favre threw for 5 scores, they would have had a grand time in Vegas. This was one nobody saw coming. We fully expect that the Daily News and the NY Post both had some really choice headlines prepped for the Generals getting blown out. But, while Birmingham’s offense did have some success against the Generals’ decent defense, we were all amazed at how successful the Generals were when they had the ball, but no more surprised than the Stallions themselves. The game started off badly for the Stallions from the onset. Expecting New Jersey to almost exclusively rely on the run, Birmingham was caught time and again by the play action pass on early downs. On their first drive, New Jersey QB Spence Fischer completed 4 of 6 passes, including a short connection with Malcom Floyd to go up 7-0 after only a few minutes of play. Birmingham seemed ready to respond, but then lightning struck on the 3rd play of the game when Brett Favre was sacked by, who else?, Phil Hansen. The star QB for the Stallions landed awkwardly and came off the field looking whoozy. He would not return, though initial tests seem to indicate only a mild concussion and a neck pinch. Untested Danny Kanell would take over the reins for the Stallions. After receiving the punt, the biggest play of the day for New Jersey, as yet another fake to Bam Morris fooled the Stallion safeties, and when Terry Glenn got a step on the corner, Fischer cut loose on a deep ball that caught Glenn in stride for a quick and painful (for the Birmingham crowd) 2nd touchdown. The Stallions were now down 14-0 and were without their catalyst on offense. They would go down 17-0 before putting their first points on the board, a nice deep seam route by Shannon Sharpe. At the half, a couple of field goals had brought the score to a 20-10 deficit for the home club. Birmingham fans started to feel a bit better as the Stallions battled back to a 20-20 tie in the third, thanks to a Kanell to Givens toss for 35 yards and a quarter-ending Olindo Mare field goal. Givens would finish the game with 6 receptions for 118, but this would be his only score. For New Jersey, Terry Glenn proved fatal to the man coverage of the Stallions, catching 9 balls from Fischer for 157 yards, including the big 72-yarder in the first quarter. Birmingham had tied up the game, but they would never take the lead, as the next two scores belonged to the Generals. A long 11-play drive, this one featuring solid runs from FB Dexter McNabb and backup HB LeRoy MacElroy, led to a short TD to Jeff Spek, Fischer’s 3rd of the day to no picks. This was followed by an Adam Vinatieri field goal and with only 2:13 left to play, the Generals were back up by 10. Birmingham mounted a comeback and got the break they needed when Lawrence Dawsey found a hole in the zone and then escaped a tackle by safety Jason Sehorn, to romp for 52 yards and a TD. Birmingham, with 1:33 still to play attempted and recovered the onside kick. They had difficulty moving the ball and barely made it into field goal range, the New Jersey 37, with a clock stoppage at 3 seconds. Olindo Mare came on to try to equalize the score, but 55 yards proved to be just a bit outside of his range as the kick failed to reach the crossbar, though it was on target. A huge sigh of relief from the Generals, but a cry of disappointment from the 45,670 in attendance who expected to take the game to overtime. The win was the first of the season for the snakebit Generals, whose defense has come close to winning them games all year, but who have struggled at QB with both Tommy Maddox and Rob Johnson having major interception issues. Fischer, who was seen only as a warm body on the bench, had the best performance from a General QB all year, 34 of 46 for 359 (largely on deep balls thrown off play action) and 3 scores. So, with Maddox expected back next week, does Coach Knox go back to his original starter, or give Fischer a 2nd game to show his stuff? As for the Stallions, they should have Favre back next week and can perhaps write this one off as a fluke loss on a day when their offense did well, but nowhere near what they expect in a typical game. The bigger issue in Birmingham is defensive consistency, as the Stallions’ D seems to have all the issues they suffered through last year despite having several new starters and a new coordinator. CHI 29 HOU 24 A good game in Houston, where the Machine shut down Houston’s run game and forced Chuck Hartlieb to try to beat them in the air. Chicago too played with a backup QB as Dan McGwire was a gametime scratch after injuring his elbow in practice. Alex Van pelt was not asked to do much, as the Machine combined carries for Ricky Watters and their rookie back, Duce Staley, to control the clock. Van Pelt did connect on 2 TD’s but the true heroes of the day for Chicago were on defense, where Houston’s Thurman Thomas was held to only 36 yards rushing. MGN 31 NOR 24 Michigan helped to secure their spot among the early Central Division frontrunners by edging New Orleans with two 4th quarter scores, a 12-yard Wheatley run that included a picture perfect stiff-arm, and an 18-yard toss from Flutie to Weegie Thompson. New Orleans got 2 TDs from wideout Herman Fontenot but could not muster one last score to tie the game late. STL 3 TEX 30 The Outlaws remained one of 4 unbeaten teams in the league and kept St. Louis winless with a thoroughly dominant win at the Alamo Dome. Kelly Stouffer completed 24 of 31 passes and threw 2 scores before going out in the 4th with a hip stinger, while Todd Collins threw two picks to help the Outlaws run away with this one. Add in 101 yards from big HB Reggie Cobb and the Outlaws had this one in the bag early. ARZ 3 DEN 33 After a surprise loss to Arizona at home last year, Denver was ready for the Wranglers this time around. Mark Brunell threw 2 TDs and kicker Jeff Wilkens connected 4 times as the Gold dominated. Leslie O’Neill dominated, with 2 sacks, 2 fumbles forced and 2 recovered, including a 6-yard TD off of a sack-strip-recovery of Jake Plummer. LA 14 OAK 44 The battle of two winless California teams went all Oakland’s way as Siran Stacy and Troy Davis ran all over the LA defense. Stacy finished as this week’s offensive POTW, with 133 yards and 3 scores while the diminutive Davis added 79 yards rushing and score of his own. Jeff Garcia threw for 391 in an attempt to come back, but 2 picks and too many drops by his receivers kept this game from ever being competitive. POR 27 SEA 24 The Northwest Border War was tight all the way as both clubs played through a light mist in the Emerald City. Robert Drummond rushed for 115 and while Seattle’s rookie back, Corey Dillon was contained, the speedier Derick Loville found success on the edges, rushing for 83 yards only 11 carries for the Dragons. In the end it was the right foot of Al Del Greco that put Portland on top, and while Seattle had a shot for a Hail Mary on the final play of the game, the ball from Kitna did not find a target and Portland came away with a big divisional road win to move to 3-1. BAL 31 ATL 14 Atlanta has been playing well of late, but Baltimore came in motivated to show that they were not a shadow of last year. The defense produced 3 takeaways and Barry Foster rushed for 92 yards and a score to pace Baltimore to the road win. Bill Brooks continued to be his reliable self, catching 8 balls for 102 yards, while TE Kyle Brady also had a big day with 7 receptions for the Blitz. OHI 13 JAX 27 The Bulls move to 3-1 with a home win over the Glory. Jeff Hostetler looked a bit flustered as he was sacked 3 time and also threw 3 picks in a game where he just was not connecting with his best receiver. Galloway finished the day with only 3 receptions, far below his average. Meanwhile, the combo of Owens, Blades and TE Steve Johnson combined for 238 yards from Chris Chandler as Jacksonville tried to keep pace with Tampa Bay. WSH 6 TBY 12 The Bandits remained undefeated despite having a rough day offensively as their defense held the Federals out of the endzone. It was all up to the kickers in this one as Dean Biasucci’s 4 field goals outpaced Doug Pelfey’s 2 to give Tampa Bay the win. For Washington it was all about the pass rush, as the D-line got to Aikman 6 times, while for Tampa Bay it was about run-stopping, with Barry Word held to only 69 yards on the ground. PIT 35 ORL 42 A Citrus Bowl Shootout as the Renegades evened their record by knocking off the unbeaten Maulers. Scott Mitchell found holes in the Mauler secondary all day, throwing for 297 and 4 scores, but Robbie Bosco seemed to be able to equal him, with 324 yards passing and 4 scoring tosses of his own. At one point in the 3rd, Orlando trailed 35-25, but came on strong in the final period, with scores from Terry Kirby and Danta Whittaker to overtake the visiting Maulers. PHI 30 MEM 20 The Stars proved to be rotten guests as they outperformed the Showboats in front of 41,200 Memphis faithful in the Liberty Bowl. Charlie Garner rushed for 98 yards and Chuck Long found TE Marcus Pollard for 2 scores as the Stars built up leads of 27-10 and 30-13 before finishing with a 10-point victory. Memphis’s 4 turnovers (2 fumbles and 2 picks from Shuler) were the downfall of an offense that otherwise moved the ball well. The ‘Boats now find themselves at 1-3, while Philadelphia is all alone atop the Atlantic at 4-0. Who now?: Of all the surprises this year, perhaps the biggest so far is the Texas Outlaw defense. In 4 games the Outlaws have given up a total of 35 points. This is the same squad that gave up an average of 22 points a game last year, decent but hardly earth-shaking. Now, with few signings to speak of, the Outlaws start out the year holding teams to an average of 8.5 points per game. But, before you rush off and anoint these Outlaws the new ’85 Bears, take a close look at who they have played. The began the season holding Seattle to 9 points, then got the Generals and held them to 6, after squeaking by the Breakers 24-17, they got St. Louis at home and held them to 3. Now, that is 3 of 4 games without giving up a touchdown, but Seattle, New Jersey and St. Louis are a combined 2-10 after 4 weeks and are all bottom 10 offenses. Texas takes on Houston this week. If they can hold the Gamblers under 10 maybe we start taking them a bit more seriously. Who now #2? The next “when did that happen” is in Denver, where the Gold lead the league with 132 points in 4 games, that is an average of 33 points a game. How is that happening? Well, balance may be the answer. The Gold are averaging 108.8 yards per game on the ground and 259.5 in the air, good enough to get them the 6th best yardage rating in the league. The other factor is the short fields they are getting from their #1 ranked defense. Denver is giving up a paltry 37.8 yards per game against the rush, and that produces a lot of long 3rd downs and a lot of short fields. But again, we have to look at who they have played. After solid but relatively close wins against Houston (35-20) and Birmingham (20-17), the Gold have feasted on the bottom of their division, beating LA and Arizona by a combined 73-3. Now, that may be a testament to a team that is clicking on all cylinders, or it could be that the gap between Denver and the two 0-4 clubs in the Pacific is just that big. Denver faces 3-1 Portland this week, and that game should give us a lot more insight into whether this Gold team is truly golden or fool’s gold. What the what?: There are a lot of fingers being pointed around the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. An 0-4 start will do that, but if you want to look at reasons why one of the favorites to win the division is floundering, just take a look at penalties. St. Louis stands head and shoulders above everyone else with 41 penalties for 316 yards in 4 games, that is an average of over 10 per game. Ohio is next at 33, but for sheer self-sabotage, the Knights are clearly on top. St. Louis has other issues, of couse, as they are 20th in the league in yards per game, 20th in points per game, and 22nd in points allowed, but if there is one thing they need to fix right away it is team discipline. You will not win a lot of games giving up 80 yards a game in penalties. Arizona, who cannot afford any losses to injury, got a big one this week as free safety Martin Bayless was lost for the season with a neck injury that had folks scared for his ability to ever play again. Fortunately it looks like Bayless will be able to recover full use of his limbs, but he is certainly done for the season, and only he can determine if he will attempt to come back in 1998. New Jersey also lost a player for the year as guard Jesse James fractured his hand in 3 places on a play that still, after several replays, does not seem to indicate how it happened. Yes, James landed awkwardly on the hand, but it is hard to see how this led to the type of multiple compound fractures in the small bones of his hand that have been reported. Pittsburgh lost 3 offensive linemen in their loss this week, a big reason why they fell to Orlando, but it looks like at least one, big Center John Burch will be able to go next week. Backup center Bryan Stoltenberg and tackle Bernard Williams may not be so lucky and both could miss up to 4 weeks. In other injuries, LA will be without rookie HB Antowain Smith for at least 2 weeks with a fracture in his left wrist. Seattle TE Keith McKeller will be out for 2 weeks with a hamstring injury, while Ohio may miss Joey Galloway for at least that long after limping off the field with a non-contact knee injury. Jacksonville lost two key defenders at least for next week as both LB Vaughan Johnson and FS Mark Carrier will not be able to suit up. Texas could play their big game this week without Kelly Stouffer, who was listed as doubtful after injuring his hamstring late in the game last week. St. Louis will be without Amani Toomer due to some swelling on the knee, and Ohio is listing tackle Joe Valerio as doubtful with a broken collarbone. The biggest USFL news did not come from the playing field but from the board room as the USFL owners met and voted on sweeping changes to the structure and scheduling of the league. On the agenda was a recommendation from a special task force charged with addressing the uncomfortable overlap of NFL and USFL season, the current transfer window policy, and the potential to both restructure the 24 clubs and the 16-week season. The proposal called for a reduction of the season from 16 to 14 regular season weeks, a further delay to the beginning of the season, pushing it from late March into early April, and a reforming of the divisions into 6 divisions of 4 clubs each, with three division winners in each conference and three wild card clubs, a playoff expansion of 2 teams from the current format. The benefits of this proposal lie mostly with the ability for USFL teams to use the preseason to sign NFL talent. With the transfer window running through February, teams could sign players and have them participate fully in preseason camps. The shortened season means the USFL playoffs would end at the same time in early August, which then allows the NFL their primary transfer window, a concession the USFL fully knew they would need to make in order to keep the senior league committed to the twice annual transfer window concept instead of opening a Pandora’s box of potential poaching of rosters and front offices 12 months per year. The downside, and it was potentially huge, was twofold, first the potential loss of revenue from ABC, ESPN and FOX with two fewer weeks of play. The second, and perhaps trickier issue, is that of USFL player contracts, designed for a 16-week season. Would the league agree to maintain all current salaries and simply redistribute them to fewer payments, or would the owners insist on prorating the value of each contract, essentially removing 1/8th of their value due to the 1/8th reduction in games played. Several within the task force and among league owners felt the first issue was negotiable. With the 1995 expansion and with growth in audience, the networks had done very well with USFL ratings well above the guidelines set forth in the most recent contract negotiations with the three networks. And with both NBC and CBS interested in the USFL as a spring sports option, the competition, it was argued, would force the existing providers to agree to maintaining the current revenue levels for the league despite the reduced number of regular season games. By adding 1 additional playoff team per conference, essentially shifting from a Wild Card weekend of only 2 games to one with 4 games, while maintaining a divisional weekend also of 4 games (with the 2 Wild Card game winners facing the 2 best division wines who had byes), the networks would gain more playoff games, the most watched USFL games of the year. The issue of the USFLPA and player contracts would be a much tougher issue. Few among ownership would feel comfortable maintaining the current salary scales with 2 fewer games for each club. The consensus was that the players would have to give on this issue, with the expectation that greater competition between USFL and NFL clubs for talent would in the end cause the market to rise, benefiting the players in the long run. Of course, the USFLPA denounced this position, railing against the idea that their current contracts would essentially lose an eighth of their value, while NFL players would face no such penalty while also benefitting from the same competition. What was expected to be a close vote ended up skewing considerably to the position of the task force when indications from both ABC and FOX seemed to point to a good probability of restructured network agreements leading to a much less significant cut in revenue than initially anticipated. It seems the gambit of increasing playoff football in August (a time of little pro sports competition) at the expense of regular season football in March (a time of heavy competition with NCAA basketball, MLB season opening, and late season NHL and NBA action) was paying off. While no official tally of the votes was released, with the owners presenting a unified front, reports from those in the room when it happened seem to indicate that rather than a 13-11 or 14-10 vote, the decision was closer to 19-5 or 16-6 in favor of realignment and a shortened schedule. The league would shift its format in 1998, reallocating clubs into six divisions. New Jersey, Philadelphia, Washington and Baltimore would form the Northeast Division. Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, and Atlanta the Southeast. Pittsburgh, Ohio, Michigan and Chicago would now be the third and final division in the East, the Midwestern. In the Western Conference Birmingham, Memphis, New Orleans, and St. Louis would form the Mid-South Division. Houston, Texas, Arizona and Denver the Southwestern, and LA, Oakland, Portland and Seattle the Pacific Division. From these 6 divisions, 12 playoff teams would be chosen, 3 division champions and 3 wild cards in each conference, with the top two division champions getting playoff byes. The season would be reduced to 14 games, with each division opponent facing off twice (6 games), each club playing 4 games against other foes from the same conference, and each division in one conference playing the 4 clubs from a matched division in the other conference, with the matches rotating among the three divisions each year. The reaction to the vote from the USFLPA was swift and stern. The USFLPA would demand a new CBA be drawn up ahead of the 1998 season, unilateraly setting November 1st as the deadline for such an agreement to be put into place or the league could face a potential walkout of its players. Could this decision actually lead to the first player strike in the 15 year history of the USFL? Unlike the senior fall league, the USFL had managed to avoid major labor strife over its history, but this decision seems to have sparked a furious response among the players. Just how this might impact the current season, much less the potential for a stoppage of play or delay to the season in 1998 is as of yet unknown, but it does appear the battle lines have been drawn. As USFLPA officials respond to the league owners,and tensions reach an all-time high between management and labor in the league, the season goes on with Week 5. The West once again is in division, while the tables turn in the East as now we see Southern teams head north to face their Atlantic Division opponents. Among the more interesting inter-divisional Eastern games we find 3-1 Jacksonville headed to Pittsburgh after the Maulers’ first loss of the season. 2-2 Birmingham should have Favre back as they head to Philly to play the Stars, while in Washington, the 2-2 Federals hope to stay in the hunt as they face the 1-3 Showboats. Orlando, hot off their big win over Pittsburgh must now face the Blitz in Baltimore, while Tampa Bay takes their 4-0 record to New Jersey to face the Generals. Finally, the Atlanta Fire are in Ohio to face the Glory. In the Central we see more battles on the horizon as New Orleans heads to Chicago to face the 3-1 Machine. Texas and Houston face off in a very different dynamic than we have seen in recent years, with the Outlaws 3 games better than the Gamblers after 4 weeks. St. Louis tries to get their first win of the year but are on the road against a solid 3-1 Michigan Panthers club. In the Pacific the big game is Portland (3-1) at Denver (4-0), with first place on the line. Seattle and Oakland meet in a battle of 1-3 clubs, while the division’s two winless clubs, LA and Arizona meet in the desert. Someone has to get a W out of this one, right?

Hi folks. Taking a short break from the 1997 USFL simulation to comment on today's release of the uniforms for the 8 teams that return with the new USFL (USFL Lite). I consider myself something of a sports branding aficionado, as you can probably tell by this entire site, and the USFL is a passion of mine, so I was really hoping the new version would stick pretty close to the original. Mostly they did, but there are some changes I would make to really get the "chef kiss" of approval from me. Here are your 8 USFL 2022 uniforms with my comments. BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS I like that they stayed very old-school with these uniforms. Wide pant stripe, traditional sleeves, custom but not crazy font. They also do have a gold set of pants (not pictured) which is good, because the white on white is not my favorite look. The helmet stripe tapers and does not go the full length of the helmet, an acceptable modernization. I give the Stallions a solid A for not overthinking this one. PITTSBURGH MAULERS The Maulers went a bit off base from the original look, but it still works for me. I like that they decided to go with the yoke. It is something I am toying around with as well for this club. I also like the single helmet stripe. But, with this one I do have a few misses: No grey pant set, and very little grey at all. Pant stripe shoud have been purple-orange-purple instead of another single color stripe. They have a nice keystone & hammers secondary logo. I would put that on the sleeves instead of repeating the helmet logo. I give the look an A- for those three issues. I am not taking off points for them having monochrome socks, because all of the teams do the same. No stripes on any of them. Seems a mistake to me, but at least they did not go with all white socks like so many NFL teams. I hate that look. TAMPA BAY BANDITS The Bandits stayed relatively close to their 1980's uniform, more or less. I like the way they handled the sidepanel & pant stripes, so that the same stripes continue from one to the other (not all clubs were so lucky). The helmet stripe is basic, but works, and while I am not a huge fan of the secondary "bandit head" logo, i like that they have separate logos for the sleeves and the helmet. My main beef continues to be that weird front leg on the main logo's horse. Just seems wrong. A for effort and for not going too crazy tryin to be "kewl". NEW JERSEY GENERALS Folks who are saying there is too much red in this new USFL league have a point. Part of that is just that they did not include any Western teams, so they missed out on the quality colors of LA, Oakland or Denver. The choices of Philly, Birmingham, Tampa, and New Jersey were good ones, but I am hoping they get up to 12 teams and add some of those western looks. As for this uniform, it is perhaps the best of the bunch. They kept the basics from 1983, added stars on the sleeves, but again did not repeat the same logo as the helmet (no oak leaves). Adding a colored cuff to the look is also a good touch and I love that they kept the extra wide red pant stripe with thin blue lines instead of equalizeing all 3 stripes. Solid A from me. MICHIGAN PANTHERS So much to like, and yet... I am not sold on them. They clearly pay tribute to the original Panthers, but the new logo is not as good as the old one, and the pants seem too dark. The sleeve stripes on the home jersey (blue & white instead of blue & champagne) just don't work for me, while the ones on the white jersey are great. So, it's a "close but no cigar" feel from me on this one. B+ HOUSTON GAMBLERS This one is the first full miss for me. It's not that they went crazy, but they made some choices that I really question, such as... Getting rid of the helmet stripes. Going with numbers on the sleeve and no stripes or secondary logo. Two different sets of grey pants, with the dark grey both too dark and too blue. The sidepanel stripes that don't match the pant stripes. Basically borrowing Tampa Bay's pants for the lighter grey set. I just think they overthought this one. Have 1 pair of light grey pants and either a white pair or a black pair. Move the numbers to the shoulders and add a small logo on the sleeves. Remove the side panels on the jersey and go with a wide black-red-black stripe on the pants. Houston should have been an easy slam dunk like New Jersey, but they strayed too far. It gets a C because "I know you can do better work than this, Johnny". PHILADELPHIA STARS Another case of overthinking it if you ask me. The basics are all there, gold & red, main logo on helmet, but then they had to go with side panels again, and the half-&-half almost barber pole stripe just does not say "Stars" to me. When you have a pretty basic shape as your logo/identity, why look elsewhere? Just add some stars. I would remove the helmet stripe alltogether, add the team name to the logo like originally in the 80's, and maybe go with a single red stripe with some sublimated stars or one star at the hip. One last thing here. The original logo they released had orange as a transitional color between the red & gold. Incorporating orange into the uniform would have helped distinguish it from Birmingham, as would a white facemask (again as in the 80's). I think they missed a good opportunity with the orange element here. This one gets a C- and again because they overthought the design. NEW ORLEANS BREAKERS I should preface my comments by saying that the Breakers were the club (and the look) that made me fall hard for the USFL in 1983. Loved everything about the original look. Cannot say the same about this version. The pants are the 1 thing they got right, and only because they didn't change anything. The new helmet design is a major downgrade from the original. You end up with a huge royal blue semicircle at the back, instead of the cool wave pattern. The lines of the helmet do not feel fluid and oceanic. It is too minimalist to work. I am also not a fan of the jerseys for 2 reasons. First, they should have kept the lighter blue as the primary jersey color, not the royal. They also could and should have created a greater tonal difference between the two blues, closer to navy & sky than two versions of royal blue. Finally, those sleeve "waves" do not work for me at all. I am sure there is a way to depict this that would work, but this is not it. Again, it is not like this is a monstrosity like the Washington Commanders, the Alarm Clock Buccaneers, or the horrid CLEVELAND browns jerseys, but it is a huge letdown for the club that went from one of the best looks in the real USFL, to a pretty bad redo in this version of the league. D is the best I can give it, and that is only because they kept the pants. I am now a bit happy they did not bring in the Wranglers right away. Scared what they might have done to those gorgeous pant flames. I expect some of you will disagree. That's why we have a comment section. I will say that I appreciated that they debuted the Generals with Flutie's #22, the Panthers with Carter's #1 and the Stars with Kelvin Bryant's 34. That was a nice touch for those of us old enough to catch it.

The Atlantic Division is getting chippy, the South is all about aerial assault, and Texas and St. Louis surprising some folks, but not in the same way as the USFL completes its third week of action. We had a clash of titans as the Maulers faced off against Pittsburgh, and a pure clinic put on by Stallions’ QB Brett Favre. Houston proved they still had some firepower behind them, and a nice rivalry game in Michigan as the Machine and Panthers squared off in a Central Division Clash. Let’s get to it with the big game in Baltimore. Robbie Bosco is earning some believers with his play in Pittsburgh. A whopping 424 yards passing on 31 of 45 helped the Maulers upend the Blitz in Baltimore, keeping Pittsburgh undefeated while dropping the Blitz to a surprising 1-2. Bosco did throw two picks, but with touchdowns to Shaw, FB Nick Sualua, and rookie Derrick Mason, he did his part to earn the road win. Baltimore was in this one the whole way, with Barry Foster rushing for 85 yards and Chris Miller throwing for 3 scores himself, but three picks also hindered the Blitz offense and put the defense in the rough position of having to defend a short field. The Maulers scored 17 points off of turnovers, and that was more than the margin of the game. Tied at 21 after 3 quarters, Pittsburgh took an initial 4th quarter lead when Bosco found Mason on a rub route that left the corner 2 steps behind and Mason able to find paydirt. Baltimore was able to respond with a Miller TD toss to Alexander Wright, but Pittsburgh had over 2 minutes left, and they milked the clock as they drove down into field goal range. The winning score was actually a pretty safe play that should not have led to 6, as Bosco dumped down to his fullback, Sualua, on a 2nd and 3 from the 33, but great blocks out in front by WR Raynard Brown and TE Mike Shaw sprung Sualua, who rumbled all the way to the endzone for what would be the winning score. Pittsburgh now stands with Philadelphia at 3-0 atop the Atlantic, while Baltimore finds itself 2-games back and tied for 4th in the division. What is even worse is that in 3 games the Blitz D, viewed as the core of the team, is giving up an average of 26.7 points and 392 yards per game. That has to change if these Blitz are going to live up to expectations this year. The Maulers are showing they have some offensive skill, averaging 449 yards per game (1st in the league) after 3 weeks, with Robbie Bosco leading the league in passing yards, something no one could have predicted. OAK 21 POR 24 We start our scoreboard roundup out west, where the Invaders scored 14 in the 4th to make this one closer than it initially seemed. Robert Drummond was unstoppable, rushing for 178 on 32 carries as the Thunder relied on the ground game, but two late scores made this one close as Bobby Hebert hit Johnnie Morton to bring Oakland within 3 at the 2-minute warning. But, with that run game Portland simply never gave Oakland another shot, and with the win moved to 2-1. DEN 44 LA 0 This one was ugly early and never got any better. All 3 Denver QB’s got to see action as Mark Brunell threw for 3 scores and then took a well-deserved break midway into the 3rd and up 34-0. Jeff Garcia did not make a strong case to remain the LA starter, throwing 4 picks and scoring a QBR of only 32.3 on the day. ARZ 24 SEA 27 Arizona looked good for 3 quarters, holding a 24-14 lead thanks to 149 yards rushing from Tim Lester, but in the 4th, Jon Kitna, playing for the dinged up Timm Rosenbach, found his groove and led Seattle to 3 scoring drives, including a TD pass to Robert Claiborne and a late Mike Hollis FG for the win. NOR 17 TEX 23 Texas held off the Breakers and moved to 3-0 thanks to solid games from Stouffer and Cobb. The defense was the key for Texas as they sacked Jamie Martin a painful 9 times, including 2 from LB Levon Kirkland and 2 from Brian Bosworth, not known as a pass rusher. The Outlaws’ multiple blitz packages were just too much for the shellshocked Breaker line. HOU 41 STL 27 The much-heralded Knights defense was nowhere to be seen as Houston QB Chuck Hartlieb threw for 3 scores, despite completing only 48% of his throws. Add in TDs from Mario Greer and the always dangerous Thurman Thomas, and Houston ran away with this one. Houston’s new slot receiver, Willie Jackson proved that he could take up for the loss of free agent Ricky Proehl, catching 4 balls for 151 yards, including a back-breaking 69 yard TD for the Gamblers. CHI 29 MGN 24 The Central Division is going to be a dogfight all year if this game is any indication. The two clubs swapped scores all day as Ricky Watters rushed for 117 and a score while Doug Flutie threw for 3 touchdowns, including 2 to wideout Jeff Campbell. It came down to an onside kick at the end, as Michigan tried to double up on late scores, but rookie back Duce Staley was there on the hands team for Chicago and pounced on the ball to preserve the win for the visitors. TBY 27 JAX 19 Another big day for the running backs in the USFL, and Errict Rhett certainly cashed in with 143 yards on 23 carries. Add in 3 touchdowns from Aikman, and the Bandits come away with a big win in a Florida showdown. Jacksonville got a big day from Brian Blades (152 yards and a score) but neither Natrone Means or Kenny Bynum could get anything going on the ground as Jacksonville falls from the ranks of the undefeated. MEM 27 BIR 35 Over 56,000 were on hand in Legion Field, including a sizeable Showboat entourage, as the Boats battled the Stallions. Brett Favre put on a show for the crowd as well, throwing for 353 yards and 5 scores to lead the home team. But it was not all Favre’s arm. The combo of HB Stephen Davis and FB Mike Alstott had plenty of success as well, combining for 144 yards on only 22 carries. Memphis stayed in it thanks to 3 touchdown tosses from Heath Shuler, but were down 15 in the waning minutes and a late Joe Horn TD was not enough as they needed a second. ORL 14 ATL 17 Coach Lewis may have found something in Atlanta. The defense played exceptionally well against Orlando, allowing only 3 third down conversions, and the combo of Tiki Barber and Blair Thomas had some success, with the two rushing the ball 33 times to keep pressure off of Cliff Stoudt. Stoudt responded, hitting Ernie Jones and Terrance Mathis with touchdowns as Atlanta pulled off the home upset of Orlando. WSH 31 OHI 14 Kordell Stewart played a conservative but effective game, throwing for 2 scores with no picks, and the Federals got a huge pick-six from linebacker Michael Barrow to pull past Ohio and secure a win. Ohio QB Jeff Hostetler struggled, throwing 3 picks and getting sacked 4 times by the Federal pass rush. With Washington not turning the ball over all game, those three takeaways from Hoss were huge in the Washington win. PHI 16 NJ 13 It took until the 4th quarter of their 3rd game, but the New Jersey Generals finally scored a touchdown. A 27 yard Bam Morris run actually put the Generals on top 13-9 at the halfway point of the 4th, but could not hold the lead as Charlie Garner scored just before the 2-minute warning to earn the W for the visiting Stars. With Maddox out for the game, and Rob Johnson going down early, it was little-used third stringer Spence Fischer who actually led the Generals to their first 6-pointer of the season. Bam Morris rushed for 125 as the Generals relied heavily on the run, but in the end the Stars were just good enough to pull it out. Go Deep South: If aerial assaults are your thing, head to the USFL Southern Division, the 3 top rated QB’s in the league (Favre, Aikman and Stoudt) all reside in the Southern Division, with Favre also leading the league with 10 passing TDs after his 5-score week against Memphis. And this is not to say that Orlando, Jacksonville, or Memphis don’t have passing attacks either. Heath Shuler has thrown for over 880 yards in Memphis, and Jacksonville has 2 receivers in the Top 5 in yards (Brian Blades and Terrell Owens.) It comes at a cost to running backs, with the South being the only division without a back in the Top 10 for rush yards (Errict Rhett is 12th in the league and the top rusher in the division). But, if you like the deep ball you can watch Favre and Shuler air it out, for controlled high-efficiency passing, check out Cliff Stoudt in Atlanta, who is completing a ridiculous 78.2% of his passes. The South has a bit of everything for fans of the passing game. RUNNING WILD: We cannot get over some of the big games had by running backs this year. In a league known for passing, we have seen some explosions out of the running game. Whether it was Charlie Garner’s Week 2 game (139 on 17 attempts), Kenny Bynum’s unexpected 155-yard day, Blair Thomas coming out of nowhere to gain 110 in Week 2, or Errict Rhett’s 143 this week, we are seeing big games from unexpected players pretty much every week. It seems just a question of time before we see a 200-yard day in one of these games. It is just a question of who and when. We still may be a ways away from Joe Cribbs’s record 262 yards in a game against Memphis in 1986, but a 200-yarder may be on the way. RECORDS TO WATCH: Speaking of single game records, here are a few to keep in mind as USFL offenses seem to be in midseason form already. Aside from the Cribbs single-game rushing record, we have Jackie Flowers’s record 229 receiving yards from 1986, Trumaine Johnson’s record 15 receptions in a game against Birmingham from 1993, Mike Rozier’s 34 carries against New Jersey in ’92, and Troy Aikman’s 1994 record 68 pass attempts in a single game. On defense, the records we keep an eye on are Lester Lyles’s 4 interception game from 1991, Phil Hansen’s 5-sack game against Michigan, also from ’91, and John Corker’s longstanding record for tackles, set at 18 in one game back in ’87. And, just in case you are a fan of special teams, the record for most fieldgoals in a game is 6, set by Brian Speelman of Denver back in 1983. The longest field goal? That would be David Trout’s 60 yarder in his final season with Philly, 1994. As if things were not rough enough for Coach Knox and the Generals, it looks like they are going to have to get inventive at QB as Rob Johnson is now expected to miss up to 4 weeks, to go along with Tommy Maddox, who is still listed as questionable. New Jersey will have to give the start to the untested Spence Fisher, and have called up rookie Todd Bouman from the practice squad. Maddox could conceivably return to action in another week, so this may be a short term issue, but certainly not what New Jersey needs as they try to shake off an 0-3 start. Several more players join the 3-6 week recovery path, including Houston CB Reggie Sutton (collarbone), Seattle QB Timm Rosenbach (shoulder), Atlanta TE Frank Wycheck, and Pittsburgh FS Alton Montgomery. LA, who has not looked good in their 0-3 start, will be without rookie HB Antowain Smith 1-2 weeks due to a fracture suffered in this week’s game, while St. Louis receiver Amani Toomer could also miss 2 weeks with swelling in his knee, believed to be an issue with his meniscus. Denver will be without WR Mark Carrier (doubtful) this week, and Texas will have to get by without both HB Rodney Thomas and LB garth Jax. As we wait for news out of the league owners’ meeting, we pause to take a look at a huge point of intrigue this season. While the USFL is all about the present, with all 24 clubs doing what they can to qualify for the 1997 playoffs, we cannot help but wonder what folks in the front office are thinking about the prospect of not one, but two franchise QB’s coming out in the 1998 draft. Whether you prefer the cerebral play of Tennessee’s Peyton Manning or the gunslinger mentality and big arm of Washington State’s Ryan Leaf, it is undeniable that the 1998 draft will provide some lucky USFL or NFL teams a chance to sign a QB who could lead them to glory for a decade. Not since the 1983 draft where we saw Elway, Kelly, Marino and 3 other quarterbacks selected in both USFL and NFL drafts have we had this much hype for potential draft picks. Of course, now, certainly more than in 1983, these two QB’s have options. They can do, as Elway did, and play teams against each other to try to end up in the best possible situation, but they can also pit the two leagues against each other, using each as leverage against the other. It is something of an unprecedented situation where these young superstars have more leverage than ever before. But just where could they end up if they end up in the USFL? We are going to put our fortune teller hats on and take a look at the most likely landing spots for both Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf, working from the premise that one or both end up in the USFL rather than the fall league. PEYTON MANNING: A heady QB who makes reads both pre-snap and on the fly, has a solid arm and great football IQ. He is seen as the next potential Joe Montana. Cool under pressure, analytical in his approach, and with enough physical skills to get the ball where it needs to be on time and in a spot the receiver can use. So, where are the best fits for this Tennessee Volunteer? PHILADELPHIA STARS: Chuck Long is a fine QB, but hardly an icon, and he is not getting any younger. Signing Manning would be a coup for the Stars and with a club built on solid defense, Manning would have a relatively easy transition to pro ball. But, by all accounts Philadelphia will is expected to be drafting at or near the bottom of the first round, so unless a major trade allows them to leap past many more contenders, this is a longshot at best. ATLANTA FIRE: Yes, the Fire invested in UGA product Eric Zeier only 3 years ago, but Zeier has been having trouble adjusting to the pro game or getting past grey-haired vet Cliff Stoudt. It is entirely possible that the Fire will cut their losses, trade Zeier to one of the other QB-needy clubs, and swing for the fences with Manning. It would be a huge boost to the Atlanta fanbase, a big enough market for Manning to cash in on national advertising contracts, and a club that very well could be positioned for the first pick in the draft. NEW JERSEY GENERALS: The ideal scenario for the league as a whole, desperate for the NY area franchise to revive its lagging attendance and national appeal, this placement would not only be a boon for the Generals, but for Manning as well, giving him the option of becoming one of the most marketed football players in the country. A true win-win if the league and the Generals can make it happen. RYAN LEAF: Less polished than Manning but with a cannon for an arm and a gunslinger’s mentality, Leaf is the QB for a team and a coach that is looking for a higher risk, higher reward scenario. Leaf will produce “big play” football, always exciting for the fans, but also unpredictable. More Favre or Kelly than Aikman or Montana, having Leaf under center will put butts in seats but will he put rings on teammates fingers? Where would he best fit in, with more adventurous teams, of course. SEATTLE DRAGONS OR PORTLAND THUNDER: Either club in American’s Great Northwest would love to have a big-name player to market and to draw attention to a region that tends to get ignored in the bigger national consciousness. With Jack Trudeau reaching the end of his career in Portland, and with Seattle still very much unsettled at QB, the time is right for either club to make a play for Leaf, but is this a market that would be attractive to him? Would he choose either over going to an NFL club like the Giants, Cowboys, Dolphins, or Raiders? HOUSTON GAMBLERS: If the Gamblers are looking to find the next Jim Kelly, Leaf seems the closest analogue we have seen since Brett Favre arrived on the scene. Huge arm strength and no fear of trying to squeeze the ball in. Leaf could remind Gambler Nation of a young Kelly right off the bat. Houston is not expected to be in a top draft position, so this might require some trading to get into position, but that is certainly not out of the realm of the possible. LA EXPRESS: If the USFL bigwigs want Peyton Manning in their NY market, they would almost certainly love to have Leaf in Los Angeles. Again, the marketing potential is huge, the chance to bring some life to a notoriously hard market for the league, and to sell national NY vs. LA games on a regular basis. LA certainly provides the cache that Leaf might want if he is interested in getting those outside dollars, and why would he not want that? If the USFL were able to pull off the double down and lock in Manning-Leaf, NY-LA battles for a generation, it might be the biggest coup in league history. Yes, we realize that just drafting either QB at #1 or #2 is risky, trading to get to that lofty draft position is even riskier, as there is absolutely no guarantee that at club would not trade away the farm only to have their QB pick sign with the NFL. That is a major factor in the calculus, and the main reason why we hesitate to see a club like Philadelphia, Houston or Portland leveraging the club to get to #1. The thing is, even without trades the odds that either New Jersey or Los Angeles will end up with the #1 pick is pretty decent. The perfect market could just be there waiting for the QB of their dreams, perfect for the club, the player and the league. We won’t know, of course, until the USFL season ends and the draft order is chosen. We may not really know until December, when the NFL season ends and their draft order is also set. That will make for some tense months for both leagues, and all because we have 2 college ballplayers who look like can’t miss superstars waiting to emerge. Week 4 flips the script with the Western Conference playing divisional matches while the East plays across divisions. Look for sparks in the very tight Central Division as all these games are essential. Chicago is in Michigan, where the Panthers hope to even both clubs’ records at 2-2 with a win. Michigan and New Orleans are a similar battle of a 2-1 club with a 1-2 club, while St. Louis, surprisingly stuck at 0-3 is visiting equally surprising 3-0 Texas in a game they simply have to win to have any chance at climbing back into the race. In the Pacific Division we have a battle of 0-3 clubs desperate for a win as LA is in Oakland for a Highway 1 Derby. In Seattle it’s the Northwest Border War as Portland heads to Husky Stadium to face the Dragons, and in Denver, the 0-3 Wrangler have a tough draw as they face the 3-0 Gold at Mile High. In the Eastern Conference, the big passing attacks of the Southern Division face off against the stout defenses of the Atlantic, with the headline game being Pittsburgh at Orlando. Phliadelphia is in Memphis as they try to stay unbeaten, while Washington faces off against Tampa Bay. Ohio will be in Jacksonville, New Jersey, still seeking their first win, has a tough one against Brett Favre and the Stallions in Birmingham, and Baltimore, trying to get back to .500, is in Atlanta, who have won 2 in a row.