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Week 7 had a bit of everything. A shootout in the Steel City, the end of an undefeated season, a resurgent superstar, a huge Central Division showdown, and a stunner as St. Louis wins its second in a row. Sure there were some predictable outcomes, with all 4 expansion clubs losing again, but this is still one of the most unpredictable and volatile seasons we have seen in a long time. No one can figure out what is wrong in Birmingham, or how Chicago is scratching out wins each week, and yet, there it is. Welcome to the USFL where each week is an adventure. Two top competitors for GOTW this week as both the Chicago-Michigan and Oakland-Pittsburgh games were epics. We opted for the Maulers’ comeback on Oakland as our winner, simply because of the sheer drama of a 4th quarter rally, but if you can catch the highlights of the Chicago-Michigan overtime game, it is well worth it as well. Oakland and Pittsburgh was a shoot out from the beginning. Both clubs found holes in the opposing defenses, and both QB’s played some lights out football as Hebert and Risher battled for 60 minutes. It started out looking like the Maulers would take this one, as they had all the early momentum, building up a 16-7 lead after 1 quarter thanks to 2 TDs from Risher (1 to Rembert and 1 to TE Mike Shaw). Oakland threw in an Hebert to Milburn TD, but was behind the 8-ball when the second quarter began. The Invaders responded, rattling off 21 unanswered points as Hebert found Mark Duper for 2 scores and, sandwiched between those two drives, Siran Stacy scored on a juke & spin 13-yard run. After trailing by 9 after 1 quarter, the Invaders led by 11 going into the half. Pittsburgh would start to rally in the 3rd quarter. It was slow going however, and the Maulers could only muster a field goal to pull within 8 at 27-19. When Oakland added one of their own to return the lead to 11, things got desperate for the Maulers. Pittsburgh responded, and with 5 minutes left they again added 3 off the foot of Rafael Septien to pull back to within one score. After a solid 3rd down play by the Mauler defense forced Oakland to kick the ball away with just over 2 minutes left, the pressure was on Alan Risher to drive the Maulers down the field. Risher’s response was immediate, as he found Mike Shaw on a seam route that ended up going for 44 yards on the Maulers’ first play from scrimmage. They found themselves already deep in Oakland territory after that first play. Cap Boso then caught a ball for 8, Rozier ran for 3, Risher hit FB Ron Wolfley for 9 and then Boso again for 6, first and goal at the 9. 27 seconds left to play and first and goal. Risher went immediately to the fade route, and fond Raynard Brown in the corner of the endzone, Touchdown!! Pittsburgh was within 2 and on the PAT they went to their bread and butter, tossing the ball wide to Rozier, who finished the day with only 56 yards on the ground, but got the 2 he needed on this play to tie things up at 30. Into overtime for these two tired but determined clubs. Oakland would get the ball first, but a huge sack from Harry Colon on 3rd down forced them to punt it right back to Pittsburgh. The Maulers had the momentum and they made use of it, driving the ball into field goal range, thanks in part to two big receptions by Louis Lipps. When a 3rd and 10 proved too much for the Maulers to convert, they trotted out Rafael Septien to attempt a 55 yarder for the win. The ball barely crossed over the bar, but it was good and a jubilant Steel City crowd erupted in cheers as the Maulers got the win, improved their record to 4-3 and found themselves right back in the thick of the playoff hunt, 2 games behind Washington. For Oakland it was a tough loss, one that saw Hebert throw for 352 and 3 scores, but in the end it was not enough. They return to Oakland also at 4-3 and now a game behind Portland in the tight Pacific division. CHI 33 MGN 27 OT In another overtime thriller, Chicago, led by backup Dan McGwire, got the win on an OT TD run by Ricky Watters after a late John Carney field goal had tied them up with the homestanding Panthers. McGwire finished the day with 368 yards and 3 scores, and Ricky Watters kept pace with potential Rookie of the Year Tyrone Wheatley 105 yards yards to Wheatley’s 108. A huge divisional win for the Machine as they keep pace with Houston at 6-1. HOU 30 TEX 17 Houston arrived at 6-1 with a big road win in San Antonio against the rival Outlaws. Jim Kelly threw for 361 and 2 TD, including a beautiful out & up by Ricky Proehl for 30 yards to break open a 16-10 game. Texas got 103 yards from Reggie Cobb, but 7 penalties and a 4 for 14 conversion rate on 3rd down kept them from keeping pace with Houston. NOR 14 STL 27 Where did these Knights come from? Not only did rookie Todd Collins complete 72% of his passes with the team’s short passing game, but HB Darrell Thompson had a solid 72 yards rushing as well as St. Louis shocked the Breakers, snapping their 4-game win streak. Despite 78 yards from Erric Pegram and a solid 28 of 36 day from Jamie Martin, the Brekers were stymied on several drives by a combination of penalties and missed 3rd down conversions as St. Louis wins its second in a row. BIR 21 TBY 24 John Fourcade had his best outing as a Bandit and the Tampa defense did just enough to upend the Stallions despite 3 Brett Favre TD’s. With the Stallions D selling out to contain Errict Rhett (12 carries for 20 yards) it was all up to Fourcade. The veteran backup connected with Robert Brooks for 2 scores to pace the Bandits, the final toss, a 33-yard TD strike with 3:22 left in the game, was the game winner as Tampa Bay improves to 3-4 and sends Birmingham to yet another defeat. MEM 17 ORL 45 Orlando may be on to something as they demolish the Showboats at home in the Citrus Bowl. With Scott Mitchell tending to a sore shoulder, Craig Erickson stepped in and threw 3 TDs to pace the Renegades. Orlando benefitted from 4 interceptions of Mike Kelley as the Memphis vet had his second bad game in a row, prompting some to look at Heath Shuler on the bench and wonder when his chance will come. ATL 0 BAL 27 While many in Atlanta wanted to see Eric Zeier get the start, perhaps starting him off against Baltimore’s tough pass defense was not the way to go. Zeier completed only 17 of 41 pass attempts as Baltimore harassed and smothered the Atlanta offense all day. Chris Miller had a pedestrian 216 yard game, but it was enough as TD’s to Rob Moore and Oronde Gadsden more than covered what the Blitz needed for the win. ARZ 10 NJ 26 Herschel Walker returned to form this week, rushing for 133 yards and helping the Generals upend the visiting Wranglers. The defense kept Robbie Bosco at bay with 4 sacks and the offense controlled the clock, with TE Jeff Spek leading all receivers in a slow, methodical and time-killing gameplan that relied heavily on Herschel Walker’s 24 carries. LA 12 PHI 33 The Express found out just how tough Philadelphia’s front 7 can be, as Marcus Allen was limited to only 38 yards and Brent Pease was chased throughout the game. On offense, it was balance between the running of Charlie Garner (88 yds, 1 TD) and the short passing game of Chuck Long (25 of 35 with 2 scores) that did in the Express. Cris Carter does what he does best, scoring touchdowns, as he added 2 on the day to help pace the Stars to the win. POR 34 WSH 19 It seems many folks saw this road win coming for the Thunder as action on Portland was heavy in Las Vegas before the game. Those bets paid off as a big day from Robert Drummond (121 yards and 2 scores) helped the Thunder upset the undefeated Federals in RFK. Portland’s upgraded defense kept the Word-Kirby combo in check (16 carries for 52 yards combined) and Portland used a ball control offense centered around Drummond to keep the Feds from the ball. It all worked out to give Washington their first loss of the year and propel Portland to first place atop the Pacific Division. SEA 7 JAX 24 The other Northwestern club did not fare as well as the Dragons struggled on offense with David Klingler at the helm. The run game, with Roosevelt Potts sidelined, struggled to get anything going, and the defense had its own issues, allowing 131 yards rushing to the combo of Means and Morris, while Chris Chandler had a solid 272 yards and 2 TD’s on the day. DEN 26 OHI 14 Things started off well for the Glory as they raced out to a 14-0 lead on Denver, thanks to an Ernest Byner TD run and a short scoring toss from Hostetler to Kelley, but then the wheels fell off the proverbial bus, as Denver scored the next 26 points. Mark Brunell cranked up the intensity, completed 28 of 32 passes and threw for 3 scores, all the while aided by Rashaan Salaam’s best game yet, 112 yards on 16 carries. Denver pulled away and shut down the Glory for the rest of the game to take the road win. 1. Down Goes Frazier! Washington’s first loss of the year is our top story. While no one expected the Feds to go undefeated, the way they lost to Portland may prove to be a blueprint for others. By running the ball effectively, Portland took the pressure off QB Jack Trudeau and limited the effectiveness of Washington’s front 4 to rush the passer. By controlling the clock, and focusing on limiting the run, they kept the Federals to a minimum of drives and proved effective in setting up long 3rd downs, putting pressure on Majkowski to make big plays. It is not a strategy that every team can employ, but when we look at divisional opponents like New Jersey, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, all with strong run games, it could be a strategy that we see employed in key divisional games throughout the rest of the season. 2. We Traded for Who? Well, it was not the blockbuster that many in Dixie had hoped for, but Atlanta did swing a trade to acquire another running back. Just how excited Fire fans will be about NFL castoff Ricky Blake remains to be seen. The Fire sent CB Brian Mitchell to LA to acquire the little used bruiser from the Express. Blake, a small school product from Northwest Missouri, has seen action for Winnipeg in the CFL, and with both Dallas and Seattle in the NFL, but found himself without a job until signed by LA as a free agent. Blake is a big back, capable of breaking tackles, but he is hardly the big name that Atlanta fans were hoping to see. The Fire had made attempts at acquiring several backs, including Arizona’s Tim Lester, Jacksonville’s Owen Gill, and New Jersey’s Bam Morris, but were rebuffed. LA, which has focused its run game around Marcus Allen, has used Blake very little this season. He has only 14 attempts on the year to date, but may soon find himself in rotation with Bernie Parmalee and Fred McAfee as the Fire try to find some semblance of a run game to take pressure off of rookie Eric Zeier at QB. 3. Phil's Big Day: Can we just say that Phil Hansen had himself a day on Sunday. Not only did the big man garner 2 sacks to add him to the list of league leaders tied with 8 sacks on the season, but he also was in the right place at the right time when Albert Fontenot sacked Robbie Bosco, forcing the ball out and onto the ground. Hansen shook off his blocker, scooped up the ball, and rumbled 8 yards for the TD, his first career score. The North Dakota product finds himself among the leaders in the Defensive POTY chase after 7 weeks, with 8 sacks and solid play against the run. This TD might just be the highlight he needs as he finds himself in competition with Arizona’s Charles Haley, Oakland’s Ron Rivera and a pair of DB’s in Reggie Sutton (HOU) and Bruce Pickens (DEN). Of course, wins will matter quite a bit, and with so many players currently tied atop the sack leader list, if any were to break out, they might also be a frontrunner. But, that said, the former Defensive Rookie of the Year and still all-time single season sack record holder, Hansen, can point to this week and say on that day he was the best in the game. 4. Where's Marcus?: We know it is only Week 7, and we understand that the LA Express is an expansion team, but when your QB is also your leading rusher, you have a problem. And when you have a star of the quality of Marcus Allen in your backfield, and your leading rusher is still your QB, you have an issue. Brent Pease has been scrambling for his life in LA, and while he has had some success, including a 90-yard game this week, it is not what you want to build an offense around. Marcus Allen is the clear lead back, especially now that Ricky Blake has been traded, leaving only Lars Tate as an experienced backup, but his 3.6 yard average is not getting it done, and the fact that he is averaging fewer than 15 carries a game (He is around 11) is a sign that the playcalling by Head Coach Rick Neuheisel is simply not providing their star back the carries he needs to be successful. Allen has seen his numbers rise in the past 3 weeks, when he carried the ball 18 times against New Orleans and 11 against Arizona, but that is still clearly not enough. Of course, not all the blame can fall on playcalling. Penalties and lopsided scores have caused LA to have to pass more than even their former-QB-now-Head-Coach would like. A makeshift line also does not help, but until LA can find ways to get the ball into Allen’s hands, and provide him with holes to run through, the team will continue to struggle to win games. 5. Injury Update: Finally, a look at injuries this week which will impact games going forward, the good news is that this was a relatively clean week. That does not mean that all teams got off scott free, but there were no season-ending injuries and only a few that look to be costing players more than 1 game. Philadelphia will go into next week without TE Marcus Pollard, who suffered a concussion this week and is still having some side effects. Guard Joel Porter is likely out for Baltimore, as is DT John Randall, who is listed as “Doubtful” with a rib injury. Atlanta will miss one of their best players, as DE Dale Rogers is listed as questionable with an ankle injury, and Washington may keep QB Don Majkowksi out for safety’s sake after he suffered a hip pointer on an awkward slide in the loss to Portland. Potentially returning to action are St. Louis wideout Gary Clark, Portland DT Mike Golic, Birmingham WR Lawrence Dawsey, and Ohio HB Vince Workman, who jammed a toe this week, hard to do on natural turf, but that is the luck of the Glory so far this year. Things are getting crowded in the new Carson, CA stadium of the LA Raiders and LA Express as the fledgling Major League Soccer has come to an agreement to place their LA franchise, the “Galaxy” in the stadium. In fact, there will be several USFL clubs sharing stadiums with soccer clubs once the new pro soccer league gets started. The Ohio Glory will share Ohio Stadium with a Columbus-based team. The “Metrostars” (what is it with soccer names?) will play in the Meadowlands, becoming that stadium’s 4th tenant. Tampa Bay will host a club, as will Denver’s Mile High Stadium, and Washington’s RFK Stadium. Oakland was also thought to be a potential home for an MLS club, but eventually the new league opted for San Jose. So, what does this mean for USFL clubs. Well, likely it means some scheduling difficulties as both sports tend to play on Saturdays and Sundays, and it could lead to some weird lines on the field, particularly if there are weeks when one game is played the day after another. In most cases the USFL would have precedence on dates, but the league will want to work with MLS to try to ensure that there are as few dual-sport weekends during the USFL season as possible. Of course, new sports leagues are challenging, USFL fans know that. So while there are potential issues with shared stadia, more than likely, if MLS can survive its bumpy early seasons, having one more sports organization in a market may make it easier to get refurbishing or even new stadia approved as cities want to maximize profitability from any large project like a stadium build. As USFL and NFL clubs work to try to keep up with the Joneses on the stadium front, having one more ally could be a huge boost to their chances, especially if soccer can garner a different fanbase from American Football, thus expanding the pool of voices pushing cities to accommodate their professional sports clubs. Week 8 is an almost entirely intra-divisional week, with 2 exceptions, both involving expansion clubs. Lot’s of key battles to be fought this week, starting in the East where we find Baltimore headed up I-95 to face the Philadelphia Stars. New Jersey travels to Pittsburgh to face the surging Maulers, and Washington is at home with Ohio visiting. In the South Orlando will try to even their record by beating the struggling Birmingham Stallions in the Citrus Bowl. Jacksonville and Tampa have a huge Florida Derby game to play in Tampa Stadium, and Memphis will host Pacific club, as the Seattle Dragons come to town. Central Division battles are highlighted by Chicago at New Orleans. Michigan has a big game against fellow 4-3 club, Texas, and the Houston Gamblers try to avoid the upset when they travel to St. Louis. Out West it is division-leading Portland hosting the Denver Gold, while 4-3 Oakland hosts 4-3 Arizona in a big game for both clubs. And, for the first time this season we have 2 expansion clubs going at it as the Atlanta Fire try for their first win of the season against the visiting LA Express.

Week 6 of the USFL season brings us a major QB controversy, rising hopes in Pittsburgh and Texas, and More concerns in the South as every club in the division loses this week, and two doses of bad news for the Chicago Machine, though the club continues to get results. It all starts with QB injury news and a gutsy performance by the Machine. We start our recap of Week 6 of the USFL season with our Game of the Week, Tampa Bay coming into Chicago, where the Machine were dealing with the news they did not want to face, that their starting QB Scott Zolak was likely lost for the season. While early X-Rays did not reveal a break in his throwing arm, further testing proved the next worst option was the case, a full tear of the bicep from the elbow. There was significant ligament damage as well, meaning that Scott is in for a long recovery and PT regimen before he can return to play, and there is still a risk that he will not recover his full strength to his throwing arm even after a season away from the game. Chicago came in knowing they would need to rely on former Express draft pick, Dan McGwire at QB. McGwire, who was generally considered a bust for the Express/Knights, now takes on the mantle of a team that reached the Summer Bowl last year. He has the advantage of a strong defense and a solid run game with Ricky Watters, something his prior team could not boast. In his first game as starter he would face off against Troy Aikman and the Bandits. He would rely heavily on the defense to help him earn the W in his first start in 2 years. And the defense came up big right from the start. After an unremarkable 3-and-out on Tampa’s first possession, Eric Thomas jumped a hook route on Tampa’s second, grabbed the late throw from Aikman, and ran it back 42 yards for the opening score of the game. It was one of 4 interceptions the Chicago D would make on the day, 2 of Aikman and then 2 of John Fourcade, who came in when the Tampa starter took a brutal hit to the ribs in the 3rd quarter. The 7-point lead quickly grew to 10 as another 3-and-out gave Chicago good field position. It would be 10-3 at the half, and Chicago would never relinquish their lead as the combination of conservative O and aggressive D made it a rough day for the Bandits. McGwire would finish with a respectable 256 yards and 1 TD toss on the day. More importantly he protected the ball, opting for short passes and safety valves whenever things got heady. It is a formula the Machine may be able to use week in and week out to keep pace with Houston. For Tampa Bay, the loss drops them to 2-4 and their offensive woes continue to be a mystery as they certainly have talent on that side of the ball. But, in a game where Errict Rhett was held to only 19 yards on 15 carries, it seems clear that something is going to have to change in Tampa if they want to rally and remain in the playoff hunt. SEA 31 HOU 45 Houston’s defense had its issues, but the offense was too much for Seattle as Jim Kelly threw for 5 scores and Thurman Thomas rushed for 145 in the home win. Seattle, playing without the injured Dave Krieg, got a solid game from former Gambler David Klingler, but it was not enough against the explosive Gamblers. BIR 17 MGN 34 Once again the Birmingham offense sputtered against a solid D, with Brett Favre throwing 2 picks and no TDs. Joe Montana completed nearly 80% of his passes (30 of 38) and Tyrone Wheatley had a huge game, rushing for 141 and 2 scores as the Panthers double up the Stallions. JAX 26 NOR 35 The Breakers are solidly in a QB controversy as Jamie Martin again shines for New Orleans. Martin threw for 3 scores, and the Breakers got another strong performance from their run game as Erric Pegram and rookie Terrell Davis combined for 132 yards rushing. At one point it was 35-10 over the Bulls before the teams changed gears and Jacksonville was able to claw back to make the game look closer than it was. MEM 10 STL 26 Just when we thought the Showboats had turned a corner they lay an egg in St. Louis. It was a solid game for rookie QB Todd Collins of the Knights, who went 19 of 30 for 233, a score and only 1 pick. He was helped by a decent game from HB Darrell Thompson and a stronger than usual defensive performance that saw LB Mike Caldwell record 5 tackles, including 2 for loss, and a defensive score from CB Troy Vincent. ORL 10 TEX 27 The Central Division remains tight as Texas gets the win at home against the Renegades. Two early TD’s from Stouffer helped Texas build a 20-0 halftime lead, and while they relented a bit in the second half, a late Jerome Henderson pick-6 of Mitchell helped put the game away for the homestanding Outlaws. BAL 44 OHIO 3 A bad, bad day for the Ohio Glory, coming off 2 straight wins, as Baltimore just dominated in every way possible. Despite playing only a half due to a nagging shoulder issue, Chris Miller threw for 218 yards and 2 scores. His understudy, Cody Carlson added another 2 scores and the Baltimore defense was relentless all day as the Blitz roll to an easy road win in the division. NJ 10 WSH 19 New Jersey definitely played better with Walker back in the lineup, but Washington still got the better of them, largely because they were able to limit the All-USFL HB to only 47 yards on the day. Doug Pelfrey was Washington’s main weapon, kicking 4 field goals as the Federals came back from a 10-0 deficit with 5 consecutive scoring drives to take the home win. PHI 21 PIT 34 With a healthy Alan Risher back under center, the Maulers began to look a lot like last season’s playoff squad. Against Philadelphia’s vaunted defense, Risher went 24 of 37 for 270 and 2 scores, and while Mike Rozier did not top 75 yards rushing, he did score twice to pace the Maulers. Three Chuck Long interceptions helped Pittsburgh keep the Stars at arms length all day as Pittsburgh evened their record at 3-3 and sent Philly down to 3-3. Tightening up the Atlantic Division race with the Feds still out in front at 6-0. ARZ 19 LA 16 The Express seem to flip between good offensive days and good defensive games. If they could do both at once, they might be better than their 1-5 record. Against Arizona, LA did well on defense, but simply could not penetrate the Wrangler D to get on the scoreboard. It was a field goal festival as the two teams combined for 7 kicks and only 2 TD’s, with the 7th, and eventual game winner, coming with 3:27 left in the game. DEN 19 ATL 3 While most do not blame Cliff Stoudt for Atlanta’s anemic offense, he may have to make way to Eric Zeier just to try to spark something as Atlanta gains a grand total of 162 yards on the day against the Denver defense. The run game was awful, combining 3 backs and Stoudt scrambles for a grand total of 12 yards. For Denver the combo of Salaam (82 yards) and Smith (22) was enough to win on the road. OAK 10 POR 26 Oakland came into the game hoping to build on a slim divisional lead, but it was the Thunder who came away with a key win to level their record with Oakland’s at 4-2. The key to the game was balance as both Jack Trudeau and Robert Drummond had unremarkable but very solid games. The Portland defense, which is clearly much improved under head coach Vince Tobin, kept Hebert and Stacy in check, led by a solid day from DE Anthony Pleasant and 5 pass defenses from CB Dwayne Galloway. 1. QB Controversy: Our top story this week has to be the QB situation in New Orleans, where Jamie Martin has made it all but impossible for Coach Ditka to bench him now that Timm Rosenbach is ready to come back from injury. Martin, in three and a half games, has lit the league up, throwing for 857 yards, 9 TDs and only 3 picks. He has led New Orleans on a 4-game winning streak after an 0-2 start from Rosenbach. It seems inevitable that Ditka will name him the starter this week, in preparation for the upcoming game against St. Louis. What this means for Rosenbach, who had seen New Orleans as his team after rough QB battles in both Jacksonville and New Jersey, is still to be determined. He has been gracious in praising Martin to the press, but that was while he was injured and unable to play. Now that he is back, how will he handle holding that clipboard? Martin, who now qualifies for league leaders and debuted on the QBR rankings as the #1 QB in the league, is in a position to lock up the position. If his play continues as we have seen in the season so far, he may have just permanently cost Rosenbach a job. 2. QB Depth: QB is the focus of our second story as well. With Scott Zolak out for the year in Chicago, Dave Krieg likely to miss at least a month in Seattle, and Troy Aikman possibly losing a month as well, it is quickly becoming a triage situation around the league. As seems to happen every year, teams with solid backups can weathe the storm. Those who did not invest in depth at the position are likely to suffer. In Chicago, it is up to Dan McGwire to step up for the rest of the year, but, as we stated earlier, he has both a defense and a run game to help him out. Things in Seattle are a little dicier, as the expansion club now looks to David Klingler to help them through the next month. Expect to see more touches for Roosevelt Potts as the Dragons try to take some pressure off Klingler. In Tampa Bay, it is former New Orleans Saint John Fourcade who will carry the team until Aikman can return to action. Fourcade has a career QBR of only 69.6 and has thrown 9 interceptions to 10 Tds over 3 seasons in Tampa. Behind him the Bandits have only untested Perry Klien. Could be a rough month by the bay for a team that has not started well. 3. Trade Challenges: Looking across the league at potential midseason trades, there is not a lot of potential for a blockbuster. We know that Atlanta has been working the phones in attempts to add a dynamic halfback, but with many teams using a rotation of backs, it has been hard for them to find a taker. QB is another position that will cost a team to find someone. Even some non-glamour positions like Guard and Defensive Tackle are feeling less than flexible on the trade market. With both NFL and USFL expansion this season, rosters feel thinner and teams seem dead set on retaining their talent and depth across the board. There will certainly be some trades, particularly as some of the weaker teams try to build for the future and some of the top clubs look to add a key piece to get them championship ready, but will we see a big name move? Not too likely. 4. Injury Report: Finally, we return to the injury list for an update on some key items this week. While the biggest item on the list was definitely Troy Aikman’s head/jaw injury, it was not the only one likely to negatively impact teams this week. Arizona lost their starting LT Kirk Lowdermilk for the year, a blow that will certainly affect an already iffy offensive production. Texas will miss one of their defensive leaders as Brian Bosworth could miss the rest of the year with a severe groin injury. In Washington it is LB Michael Barrow who could miss significant time with a hip injury, while in Seattle, injuries to starting wideout O.J. McDuffie and LB Scott Stephen could cost each as much as 2 months, which is essentially the rest of the year. Players potentially returning from injury include Rosenbach, highlighted above, WR J.J. Stokes in Arizona, DT Craig Veasey in Pittsburgh, WR Darnay Scott in LA, and Atlanta SS Robert Blackmon. An interesting turn of events in the courts as a little-discussed trademark case against the Chicago Machine has come to a decision, and one which does not favor the USFL club. The Machine were being accused of stealing their “gear-M” logo from Maitlin Mechanical, a small, family-owned machining shop in Saginaw, Michigan. While there was little evidence that the Machine were aware of, or directly linked to the small auto parts manufacturer, the court did find that the logo used by the Machine was nearly identical to the one used by the 30-year old machining company. While league officials as well as Chicago ownership hoped to settle the case out of court with a mediated agreement, the ownership of Matilin pushed the case. Some even went so far as to accuse the family of doing this for rivalry reasons, as the company is based in the heart of Panther fandom, but in the end, no mediation was possible. The court has ruled that Chicago is in violation of the Maitlin Mechanical trademark, and has ordered the Machine to cease and desist from use of the logo. The case is being appealed, and likely legal actions will allow the Machine to continue through the year with the current logos in place, but should they eventually lose their appeal, the franchise would need to develop a new logo package. A rare win for the little guy produces a major hassle for the USFL club in the league’s 3rd largest market. Week 7 brings us to a mixed slate of divisional and inter-divisional games, including some interesting showdowns of teams at the top of the league. Among the top-end clashes we find 6-0 Washignton at home against the 4-2 Portland Thunder. Oakland is in Pittsburgh to face the rejuvenated Pittsburgh Maulers, and Chicago, fresh off their trademark case, is in Michigan, facing the Panthers. In Texas we have a really interesting rivalry showdown as the 4-2 Texas Outlaws host the 5-1 Houston Gamblers in what should be a high-tension matchup of these in-state rivals. Birmingham is also in division as they face the Bandits, without Troy Aikman. Both clubs are 2-4 and a win is essential if they have any hope of a possible late season run. Memphis and Orlando are both in similar situations as the two 2-4 clubs face off in the Citrus Bowl. They all trail 4-2 Jacksonville, who have the undermanned Seattle Dragons in town. Meanwhile, 1-5 St. Louis, fresh off their first win of the year, have a tough matchup as the red hot New Orleans Breakers come to town. Arizona is in New Jersey for a rare matchup against the Generals, and our 3 remaining expansion clubs are all in tough matchups as Atlanta heads to Baltimore, LA is in Philadelphia, and the Ohio Glory host the Denver Gold.

“Not so fast, my friends.” Was the refrain from the Birmingham Stallions this week as they reminded everyone that they are not dead yet, knocking Jacksonville from the ranks of the unbeaten. Meanwhile, if you ever wanted to know just how central Herschel Walker is to the New Jersey Generals, just look at the film from this week’s Walker-less drubbing by the expansion Ohio Glory. Washington and Philadelphia had a tussle in the Vet and Tampa Bay may be in bigger trouble than imagined as they can muster almost no offense against the Showboats. Welcome to Week 5 in the USFL. It was the undefeated Washington Federals traveling up I-95 to face the defending champion Philadelphia Stars, and it was exactly the type of slobberknocker game that we want from these two, with both defenses making life difficult for the other squad. The Federals pull out the win on the road thanks in large part to the rushing duo of Word and Kirby, who combined for 123 yards, while Chuck Long spent the day avoiding the Feds’ pass rush and completing short tosses to check-down receivers. Philly got on the board first, as a long drive, assisted by a key roughing the passer call on Dexter Manley, helped the Stars put up 6 when Chuck Long found Joey Jones for a 1st quarter score. Washington bounced right back, putting up a Pelfrey Field goal as the opening quarter wound down. They would add to that score and move into the lead early in the 2nd as Majkowski found Mike Jones for a 9-yard scoring toss. 10-7 at the half and a game that was being fought in the trenches. Washington built up their lead in the 3rd as the lone score of the quarter was a Terry Kirby run from 7 yards out on a drive that started with a shanked punt from Rhon Stark. Philadelphia, while keeping things close, was having difficulty moving the ball. They would finish the game with under 300 yards of offense against a ferocious Federals’ front 7 led by 11 tackles and 2 sacks from LB Winston Moss. Dexter Manley got a sack and several solid hits on Chuck Long as well, and the front 7 of the Feds helped corral Charlie Garner, holding him to only a 2.2 YPC average. Washington extended their lead as the 4th quarte began, adding another Pelfrey FG to go up by 13 at 20-7. While Philadelphia did get another score on the board with 1:10 left, it was too little and too late as the Stars fell to 3-2, now solidly 2 games behind the 5-0 Federals, the league’s lone remaining undefeated team. JAX 26 BIR 38 The Feds are the lone undefeated team because Birmingham finally shook off the rust and put on a show against the 4-0 Bulls. Brett Favre found holes in the Bulls’ secondary, completing 32 of 40 passes for 403 yards, including 10 completions for 119 to fill-in starter Cedrick Tillman, and 2 TD’s to unassuming rookie HB Dino Philyaw. While Chris Chandler had a good game (217 yards and 3 TDs) it was not enough to keep pace with the awakened and angry Stallions. TBY 7 MEM 34 The other Southern showdown this week saw Memphis absolutely dismantle the Bandits in the Liberty Bowl. Mike Kelley went 20 of 29 and threw 3 TDs but the story was the Memphis D, which picked off Troy Aikman 3 times and held Errict Rhett under 100 yards. ORL 28 SEA 23 Orlando got their second win on the year by outdueling Seattle in a constant rain in the Pacific Northwest. Scott Mitchell threw for all 4 Renegade scores, including 2 to Bert Emmanuel. Seattle was not helped by an early shoulder injury to Dave Krieg which saw David Klingler come in and struggle, completing only 10 of 35 passes for the Dragons. CHI 31 ATL 13 The final Southern club, Atlanta, again struggled to find offense as they faced a tough Chicago D. Cliff Stoudt completed 30 of 49 but only for 233 yards, while Chicago pulled away from a 14-13 halftime lead, scoring 17 unanswered in the second half to take the road win. HOU 34 ARZ 24 In a battle of 3-1 clubs, Houston continued to show some offensive firepower, exploding for 17 points in the 2nd quarter and holding on to win as Arizona tried to rally in the 4th. Jim Kelly threw for 3 more of his league leading 15 TDs on the year, and backup Keith Woodside broke off a 24-yard TD run to help the cause. MGN 33 DEN 26 Joe Montana had his best game of the year, finding plenty of open receivers in the surprisingly porous Wade Phillips defense. Bobby Joe Edmunds caught 9 balls for 124 as Michigan edged Denver thanks to a late Tyrone Wheatley TD. NOR 50 LA 7 The Express faithful who came out to the team’s 2nd home game did not get what they were hoping for as Brent Pease struggled against the Breakers and New Orleans built a sudden and devastating 35-7 halftime lead on the beleaguered Express. For a second straight week QB Jamie Martin was on fire, completing 18 of 23 passes and adding 3 scores as New Orleans rolled to an easy W. STL 7 OAK 34 Things were not much harder for the Invaders as they dominated the punchless Knights in Oakland. In Todd Collins’s first start for St. Louis, he looked very much the overwhelmed rookie QB, tossing 2 picks and getting sacked 3 times by the aggressive Oakland D. Bobby Hebert fared better, though he was sacked 4 times by Knights defenders. He would throw for 253 and 2 scores to help pace the Invaders to a 4-1 start and sole possession of 1st in the Pacific. TEX 20 POR 15 Oakland takes over 1st place because Texas got a late score from Shawn Collins to upend the Thunder in Portland. Kelly Stouffer completed 30 of 43 and Reggie Cobb averaged 4.2 yards per carry to help pace the Outlaws, while the Outlaw D held Portland’s Robert Drummond to only 72 yards on the ground, and held down a late 4th quarter drive as Texas gets the road win. PIT 33 BAL 19 Alan Risher returned for the Maulers and it made all the difference as they had their best offensive game of the year to date. In a game that saw 6 consecutive drives end in field goals (3 for each club) and 8 total field goals in the game, it was Mike Rozier’s 2 early TD runs which helped put the Maulers on top. OHI 31 NJ 14 Without Walker for a second straight game, New Jersey struggled to make 1st downs, and too often provided Ohio with short fields to work with. Earnest Byner, edging Vince Workman with 12 carries to 8, made the most of his looks, rushing for a 5.8 YPC average, 69 yards and a score for the Glory. Jeff Hostetler looked comfortable against the New Jersey rush, despite 2 Phil Hansen sacks, completing 24 of 31 for 260 and a pair of scores as Ohio wins their 2nd consecutive game. 1. No Rush: The Atlanta Fire are apparently making offers in an attempt to find a running back. The combo of Bernie Parmalee and Fred McAfee have yet to combine for 50 yards in a game as Atlanta struggles to build an offense without a run game. They have reached out to several clubs, but to date have found no takers. With the NFL transfer window closed, there is not much hope of finding new blood from outside the USFL, so Atlanta is hoping to find a taker, but with an expansion roster, there is not a lot for them to offer except draft picks and they already traded away 2 of their 8 picks for next year’s draft as part of their initial roster-building strategy. It could be a long year for Coach Reeves as the Fire fall to 0-5 and still have not cracked 20 points in a game. 2. Too Good to Bench?: Jamie Martin’s success in New Orleans has to be making Timm Rosenbach nervous. Rosenbach, who has seen QB controversies before (he helped start one in New Jersey and in Jacksonville) has missed 2 and a half games, and in that time Martin has built up a 114.6 QBR, has thrown for over 640 yards and has a 6-2 TD-INT ratio, all better numbers than Rosenbach put up in his early season starts. The savvy backup has proven that his time on the bench has helped him understand the game, as he has completed nearly 80% of his passes in Mike Ditka’s run-first, short pass, protect the ball offensive gameplan. If Rosenbach is not looking solid when he returns to action, we could see a full blown QB battle in the Big Easy. 3. Back in Business: It took 5 weeks, but we finally saw from Birmingham and QB Brett Favre what we all expected. Sure, the loss of Ernest Givens in Week 1 is a major blow to this offense, and in hindsight, trading away Danny Knight from the receiving corps may not have been a good idea after all, but with Shannon Sharpe, Lawrence Dawsey and the emergence of Cedric Tillman, the Stallions have receivers for Favre to find. The bigger issue may be that teams are simply disregarding the threat of the run from James Joseph. Joseph is averaging a mediocre 3.7 YPC for the Stallions, who have really not been able to emphasize the run since the retirement of Joe Cribbs. Without that threat, defenses can tee off on pass rush, drop receivers into zones or double the top receiver, and in that way limit Brett Favre’s effectiveness. Of course, there will also be days, like this week against Jacksonville, where no strategy can keep Favre from having a banner day. For Birmingham, they have to hope those kind of days are more common as Favre’s arm may be their only significant weapon for a while. 4. MVP Battle: A very premature look at the MVP odds has several QB’s at the top of the rankings, with Bobby Hebert, Jim Kelly, and newcomer Chris Chandler topping the list. After that there is a bit of a gap before you find defenders like Houston’s Reggie Sutton, Philadelphia’s Lorenzo Lynch or Oakland’s Ron Rivera. The highest rated HB, Portland’s Robert Drummond, is 9th in the current Vegas odds for the title, though rookie Tyrone Wheatley is still the #1 ranked player for potential Rookie of the Year honors. Coach of the Year right now would have to go to Sam Rutigliano, who has spent most of the season for the unbeated Feds coaching from the booth after a sideline collision led to a broken leg. That he has been able to prep his team each week and guide them through the games from a seated position and with limited mobility is amazing. 5. Division Outlook: Looking at the divisions, we have strong competition in each, but we have to say that the Central looks like the most interesting. Other than sad sack St. Louis, the rest of the Central looks stacked. With all 5 other teams above .500 and with some surprises coming out of New Orleans and Texas, this division could be very close. We still like the look of Chicago’s defense, and Houston is looking solid on both sides of the ball, but we would not be surprised if Michigan, New Orleans or Texas took a shot at the title as well. On the other end of the spectrum we have the South, where Jacksonville is the only club above .500. Memphis and Birmingham had big wins this week, so perhaps a win streak is in the mix for one of the two, but right now, the South is not looking like a division that will place multiple teams in the playoffs, not with the Atlantic looking solid. 6. Injury Update: Finally, looking at injuries that will impact the next few weeks, this past slate of game has mixed things up a bit for a few teams. Chicago could be looking at some serious time without QB Scott Zolak, as issues with his throwing arm are still unsettled. He has gotten x-rays, and there is no sign of a fracture in his upper arm, but there is something impeding his throwing motion after a hard sack took him out of the game this week. Hopefully the physicians in Chicago will get a better sense of it this week. In Seattle it is more cut & dry. Dave Krieg will miss 4-6 weeks with a groin injury after an awkward scramble ended with an even more awkward slide/slump on the field. Krieg will be replaced by former Gambler David Klingler for the next month or more as Krieg rehabs the always tricky groin area. Other injuries of note include CB Leonard Bell of Arizona, expected to miss the rest of the year, Pittsburgh CB Sonny Gordon (6-8 weeks), St. Louis wideout Gary Clark (2-4 weeks) and Birmingham wideout Lawrence Dawsey (Questionable after a sprained wrist in the Stallions’ victory.) What is on tap in Week 6? Well, the entire Atlantic is in divisional games, with Baltimore in Ohio, New Jersey in Washington, and Philly headed across the state to face the Maulers in Pittsburgh. In the Pacific it is Arizona at LA and Oakland up in Portland, while Denver travels to Atlanta and the Seattle Dragons are in Houston, where David Klingler gets to play against his old team. Tampa Bay will try to get on track against a Chicago squad led by Dan McGwire at QB. Birmingham tries to make it 2 in a row but face a tenacious Michigan club in Pontiac. Jacksonville will face off against the Breakers in New Orleans, Memphis will be up the river a ways in St. Louis, and the Orlando Renegades visit Texas.

As we look ahead to the late 1990's in the USFL, which football stars do you think the league should strive to sign? Use the comments section to give your top choices or to write in names not on the list below. They cannot sign every top player coming out of the NCAA, and some will simply jump to the NFL instead, but there will be high draft picks in both leagues who opt for the USFL. Who do you feel would be a good fit for the more wide-open, fun-filled spring league? Class of 1996: WR Keyshawn Johnson, HB Lawrence Phillips, DE Simeon Rice, HB Tim Biakabatuka, HB Eddie George, WR Eric Moulds, QB Bobby Hoying, LB Teddy Bruschi, WR Terrell Owens Class of 1997: LB Peter Boulware, HB Warrick Dunn, TE Tony Gonzalez, WR Rae Carruth, HB Tiki Barber, QB Jake Plummer, DE Marcellus Wiley, LB Dexter Coakley Class of 1998: QB Peyton Manning, QB Ryan Leaf, CB Charles Woodson, HB Curtis Enis, HB Fred Taylor, LB Takeo Spikes, WR Randy Moss, HB Ahman Green, WR Hines Ward Class of 1999: QB Tim Couch, QB Donovan McNabb, QB Akili Smith, HB Edgerrin James, HB Ricky Williams, WR Torry Holt, WR David Boston, QB Duante Culpepper, QB Cade McNown, HB Kevin Faulk

One quarter of the season in the books and we have some stories to follow. Jacksonville and Washington are the surprise leaders in the league at 4-0, Birmingham cannot seem to find their feet, Chris Chandler is a darkhorse MVP candidate, and the expansion teams (at least some of them) are beginning to find ways to win. Fans in St. Louis are getting antsy about their club while Michigan Panther faithful have apparently found their next hero. It is all unfolding as the league hits the meat of its schedule and the early season jitters are turning into midseason form. Jacksonville silenced a lot of critics with a huge come-from-behind victory over the defending league champions on Sunday. The Bulls and Stars both came into the game with perfect 3-0 records, but skeptics of the Bulls loved to point out that their 3 wins were against winless expansion clubs and the 0-2 Memphis Showboats. A win against the undefeated defending champs would go a long way to silencing those naysayers, and that is exactly what the Bulls delivered. It was Jacksonville’s defense that surprised most as they held the Stars to only 240 total yards and all but eliminated the threat of Charlie Garner, who had started the season strong for the Stars. The offense did their part, primarily due to an outstanding game from Chris Chandler, who was called on to throw the ball 49 times on the day. Natrone Means struggled against the Philadelphia front 7, rushing 16 times for only 53 yards. It was the outside receivers who found room, often on play action to Means, with Brian Blades having his best game of the year, 8 balls for 151 yards and a score. For Philadelphia, the struggle to get Garner on track was real. He carried the ball 13 times, but with only a 1.8 YPC average, resulting in only 24 yards on the day. That put a lot of pressure on Chuck Long to deliver, and while his 202 yards and 65% completion rate were fine, that did not translate into points. And yet, despite their difficulties, Philadelphia took a 20-17 lead with 12 minutes left to play. Earlier scores by Gerard Phelan and Cris Carter were offset by Bulls TDs from Blades and Dokie Williams. After the Trout kick gave the Stars the lead, it would be up to the defense to bring the game home. They were successful in keeping the Bulls out of the endzone, but on two consecutive drives Jacksonville was able to get close enough for Pete Stoyanovich. The former Hoosier kicker connected from 21 yards and then 32 yards to move the Bulls up 23-20, the final kick coming with 17 seconds left on the clock. The win boosts Jacksonville to 4-0, a solid 2 games over Tampa Bay in the South, and means that they, along with Washington, remain the only undefeated teams in the league. Philadelphia is still strong at 3-1 but will need to regroup as they face those undefeated Federals next week. BAL 16 TBY 10 Baltimore’s defense is growing in confidence each week as they contained Bandit Ball, limiting the visitors to only 10 points. Derrick Fenner was the offensive star for the Blitz as he ground out 84 yards and a score to propel the visitors to the win. NJ 16 SEA 24 Seattle gets its first ever franchise win in front of 41,283 in Husky Stadium as the Generals clearly missed Herschel Walker in this game. Doug Flutie threw for 305 but also gave up 3 picks to the Dragon D. Seattle got a solid game from Roosevelt Potts, with 17 rushes for 75 yards and a score as Seattle notches the W. OHIO 21 BIR 18 Ohio gets the shocking win in Birmingham as the struggles for Favre and the Stallions continue. Favre threw for 301 and James Joseph had a strong day with 110 yards rushing, but they just could not convert yards into points. Meanwhile, Ohio got 98 yards from the combo of Workman and Byner, and the former Brown put Ohio up for good with a 4th quarter TD run (and 2 pt. conversion). PIT 21 MEM 24 The Showboats earned their first win, with 94 yards combined from Boone and Agie. Pittsburgh, playing with Pat O’Hara in for the dinged up Alan Risher, relied heavily on Mike Rozier, and while the veteran back rolled for 173 yards rushing, it was not enough to give a one-dimensional Mauler squad the road win. WSH 31 ORL 17 The undefeated Federals were dominant on both sides of the ball against Orlando, and got a surprise showing from backup Terry Kirby, who rushed for 113 yards on 14 carries to pace Washington. Add in some long balls to grey-haired veteran Joey Walters (4 receptions for 122 yards and a score) and the Feds pull away early in this one. STL 7 CHI 17 That Chicago D is legit, and that St. Louis offense is putrid. The Knights garnered only 16 yards rushing against a stacked front as Chicago dared David Archer to pass the ball, and Archer struggled to do so. Expect this game to trigger a switch to 1st overall pick Todd Collins as St. Louis needs to do something to spark some offense. MGN 13 HOU 45 The matchup of Montana and Kelly went decisively to the 2-time USFL champion. Kelly threw for 4 TDs, including 2 to rookie revelation Antonio Freeman as they used a 24-point 4th quarter to blow past the Panthers. Reggie Sutton took home Defensive POTW honors as well, with his 3 interceptions of Montana. TEX 14 NOR 30 The Texas Run & Shoot struggled against the solid secondary of the Breakers and New Orleans got a surprisingly poised performance from backup QB Jamie Martin to take the win. The star of the day was Qadry Ismail, who caught 8 balls for 94 yards, 2 TDs and even ran back a kickoff 56 yards when regular returner Ryan Yarborough got dinged up. POR 24 ARZ 28 The Pacific Division showdown was a GOTW contender as it had plenty of drama. Trailing 24-13 at half, Arizona’s D shut down Trudeau in the 2nd half, and when Robbie Bosco found Curtis Duncan from 36 yards out, the Wranglers secured their first lead of the day with only 6 minutes left to play. Portland drove for a winning TD, but a late Amp Lee fumble ended their hopes of stealing a road win in Tempe. LA 37 DEN 44 The upstart Express, hot off their first win as a “reborn” franchise, put a scare into the homestanding Denver Gold. Denver needed Mark Brunell heroics to pull it out after Brent Pease had 2 TD’s to Mike Pritchard in the 4th to even the score at 37. Brunell delivered, with a 15 yard TD to Odessa Turner with less than a minute to play to give Denver the W. ATL 13 OAK 26 Atlanta is still struggling to find a run game as the combo of McAfee and Parmalee combine for a 1.5 YPC average against Oakland. Add to that an inability to cover Henry Ellard (8 receptions for 166 and 2 scores) and Atlanta just did not have what it took to take down Oakland on the road. 1. Bullish on Jax & DC: The undefeated first quarter of the season by both Washington and Jacksonville is the talk of the league. Neither team was expected to finish above third in their divisions and yet here they are atop the standings. In Washington it has been the defense taking the lead, as the Feds have allowed only 50 points in 4 games, and have given up only 50 yards per game on the ground. In Jacksonville the decision to snag NFL free agent Chris Chandler has paid immediate dividends as he leads the league with nearly 1,300 yards in 4 games. He is also 3rd in TDs with 9 on the season. Adding Chandler and HB Natrone Means has helped Jacksonville reinvent their offense, much to the delight of Coach Jim Fassel, who starts his USFL career with straight wins. The road ahead is tough for both teams, with Jacksonville headed to Birmingham (who cannot be as bad as we have seen so far) and Washington facing the Philly Stars this week, and we don’t imagine either will make a serious run at 16-0, but for both fan bases the start of the season has been all they could have hoped for and both clubs look poised for continued success as the season continues. 2. Gambling on Freeman Paying Off: Houston is on a roll thanks to both their high energy defense (5 picks in this week’s game against Michigan) and the strong run of QB Jim Kelly. The 12 year veteran has thrown for 11 TDs and only 1 pick in the last 3 wins for the Gamblers. He has started to build a rapport with his new weapon, WR Antonio Freeman, who seems to be the perfect counterbalance to Brett Perriman, allowing Ricky Proehl to return to the slot, where he is best. Thurman Thomas is averaging only around 65 yards a game on the ground, but the balance he brings as a receiver is still fully in effect. This is the Houston offense we have expected to see and which failed Coach Willsey last year. They face tough challenges in the Chicago Machine defense and the re-energized New Orleans Breakers, but Houston is looking up to the task, at least so far this year. 3. Rookie Watch List: It has not taken long to spot some real contenders for Rookie of the Year. 4 players have really shown in the early stages of the season. In Houston it is wideout Antonio Freeman with 20 receptions for 273 yards and 4 scores. Michigan’s Tyrone Wheatley is among the league leaders in rushing with 358 yards in 4 games. Atlanta’s Tyrone Poole has been the star of their defense, and already has 2 picks and a defensive TD. And in Oakland CB Bobby Taylor is also looking solid, locking down the #2 CB position and already snagging a pick and a forced fumble. Yet to take the stage are the QB’s, with Todd Collins still waiting his chance in St. Louis (likely to come next week), Eric Zeier still learning from starter Cliff Stoudt in Atlanta, and Kordell Stewart more than happy to watch Don Majkowski lead the Federals to a 4-0 start. 4. Slow Starts: Looking at the other side of the coin, there has to be disappointment with the way several league stars have opened the season. Brett Favre has yet to find his mojo, throwing 8 interceptions to only 5 TDs in his first month. David Archer, well the less said the better in this case. And Joe Montana has not had an easy go of it with Michigan either, though neither he nor the Panthers are panicking at this point. Among the halfbacks, the clear concern is with Marcus Allen, who has struggled behind the makeshift LA line. Allen has only 28 carries after 4 weeks, and is averaging a mediocre 3.5 yards per carry. The issue in LA seems less Allen’s skills as it is the playcalling and the lack of dynamic blocking schemes. Coach Neuheisel is going to have to find a way to get Allen involved more if LA wants to win some games. 5. Injury Update: Finally, looking at injuries from this week’s games, we start with TE Tony McGee in LA. The big TE will likely be out about 4-6 weeks with a torn bicep muscle. Seattle will miss LB Scott Stephen for at least the same timeframe after he broke a bone in his lower arm. Arizona guard Todd Kalis could miss 2-3 weeks with a leg injury, and Arizona will be without rookie wideout J.J. Stokes for a game or two after he sprained a knee against Portland. Tim Rosenbach may miss another game for New Orleans, but with the strong outing from Jamie Martin this week, that may not be a major issue for the Breakers. Expected back this week are HB Barry Foster (BAL), HB Derrick Loville (SEA) and QB Alan Risher (PIT). The Maulers need Risher back as backup Pat O’Hara did not impress this week. One month in and some good news to report from our 4 expansion clubs. While wins have been hard to find, fans have not. Each club had strong opening day attendance, with Ohio leading the pack at over 44,000 in Columbus, and while, as usual, it seems that LA is lagging a bit behind other cities, the Express had a respectable 36,000 at their home opener. Playing in Angel Stadium is not ideal, and the Express ownership is still pushing sales of 1996 ticket reservations for the new Carson stadium that is in final stages of construction. Weather has helped, as Ohio has largely avoided bad winter weather this March, but now as we head into the warmer months it will be interesting to see how Atlanta’s decision to play outdoors in Bobby Dodd Stadium will impact things when the heat and humidity start. In Seattle, rain does not seem to discourage football fans, and the Dragons have sold more than 27,000 season tickets for their first year at Husky Stadium. It seems fans have also embraced the green & gold as the Dragon jerseys have outpaced sales of the other 3 expansion clubs. Ohio is second, then Atlanta, and once again. LA is proving a tough market. Finally, we can report that the league is looking at one of the 4 expansion cities as a potential host for the 1998 Summer Bowl. The Bowl is scheduled for Denver this year, New Jersey and San Antonio in ’96 and ’97, but LA, Columbus, and Seattle are all serious bidders for the 1998 championship game. Atlanta is not under contract with Bobby Dodd beyond 1998, but could make a bid if they can come to an agreement for the Georgia Dome, as it is unlikely the league would place the game outdoors in Atlanta in August. That is just too muggy for football. The week’s big matchup is in the Atlantic where Philadelphia hosts 4-0 Washington with first place on the line. In the South, Birmingham is going to have a tough chore to get their game righted, as they also face an undefeated foe, the Bulls. Tampa and Memphis face off in another key Southern Division game. The entire Atlantic is in division games with Pittsburgh visiting Baltimore and Ohio coming to the Meadowlands to face the Generals. In other games we have Orlando making the longest trip in the league as they fly to Seattle to face the Dragons. LA hosts the New Orleans Breakers, Oakland has St. Louis in town, Texas is in Portland, and Michigan is in Denver. Another big game to watch is the 3-1 Gamblers headed to the desert to face the 3-1 Arizona Wranglers. And finally, on Sunday night, the Atlanta Fire get a prime time game as they host the Chicago Machine.

Birmingham came into the season as a prohibitive favorite, but once again seem to be having difficulty finding their rhythm to start the year. After losing 2 straight to open the season a home game against a struggling expansion club seemed the perfect tonic for what ails the club, but despite getting the win in the end, this game did nothing to boost confidence in Birmingham. Seattle came close Saturday afternoon to becoming the first expansion club to win a game as they held a 21-12 advantage midway through the 4th quarter. It would take a 2-minute drill and a last second field goal to upend the Dragons as Birmingham shook off just enough rust to get the job done in the end. Seattle seemed well on their way to a huge upset as the 14 point underdog went into the half with a 14-3 lead thanks to TD runs by Torey White and Roosevelt Potts. Potts would end up as the leading rusher with 51 yards, while Derrick Loville added 34 on 10 carries. Seattle played a time-consuming possession game, limiting Birmingham touches in the first half. Add two Stallion turnovers in the first half and the Dragons were looking good. The 2nd half opened with a promising sign for the Stallions as Favre hit rookie HB Dino Philyaw for a quick score, but when the 2pt conversion failed, it remained 14-9. A field goal late in the quarter brought Birmingham to within 2 points at 14-12, but Seattle was not done yet. The Dragons took the ensuing kickoff and drove down to the Birmingham 12, thanks in part to two big penalties by Birmingham, an offsides on 3rd and 3, thanks to some Dave Krieg inflection at the line, and a roughing the passer 2 plays later. Seattle got what they wanted on 1st and 10 from the 12 as Roosevelt Potts took the toss wide right and just leveled a CB on his way to the endzone. Seattle was back up by 9 at 21-12. Birmingham did not panic, we will grant them that, and with nearly a full quarter to go they had time to mount the comeback before a nervous 44,303 in Legion Field. With 8 minutes to play, Favre hit TE Walter Reeves with a 2 yard scoring strike, and it was again down to a 2 point game. Seattle struggled on their next drive, eventually failing on a 4th and 2 from the Birmingham 44 yard line. The Stallions also had a hard time moving the ball, needing 8 plays to get to the Seattle 27 yard line. With time running down they trotted on reliable vet Scott Norwood, and with 27 seconds on the clock, Norwood got the Stallions the win, but a win that is not going to instill much confidence in the Stallion faithful. ARZ 10 CHI 19 Arizona struggled against a hard-hitting Chicago Defense on a cold, Saturday afternoon with sleet and icy rain. Chicago relied on Ricky Watters (89 yds) and short passes (TE Walls led the team with 88 yards) to earn a tough win on a tough day. DEN 7 HOU 28 Houston’s offense got rolling early and Jim Kelly had a POTW game as the Gamblers looked solid on both sides of the ball. Thurman Thomas contributed 83 yards passing but was held to only 47 on the ground by the Denver D. LA 24 MGN 21 The first expansion win of the season was an unexpected one as LA snuck up on the Panthers in the Silverdome. Brent Pease threw for 3 scores as the Express held their own in all three phases of the game. OAK 21 NOR 31 Bobby Hebert was held to only 16 of 31 as the New Orleans defense mixed zones and man coverage effectively all game. The Breakers also got solid days from all 3 HB’s they used, Pegram, Mayes, and rookie Terrell Davis. POR 24 STL 20 The Knights were game at home, but David Archer threw 4 interceptions that sunk their chances. Add in 146 yards from Robert Drummond and it was enough for Portland to move to 3-0 atop the Pacific. ATL 10 TEX 30 Texas’s Run & Shoot ran over and shot up the Atlanta defense. The stars came out in Texas as Cobb rushed for 123 and a score and Metcalf caught 9 balls for an equal 123 and a TD of his own. BAL 23 NJ 10 Baltimore showed that their defense could handle the Generals, especially after Herschel Walker left the game with what appears to be a broken jaw. Rookie Kyle Brady showed some moves for the Blitz as he caught 4 balls for 91 yards, including a 68-yarder to open the game up. OHI 20 PHI 31 The Glory had some success against the vaunted Philly D, but in the end Philadelphia had more than enough to secure the win. Chuck Long threw 3 interceptions against the Ohio D, but also found his own receivers for 2 late scores to help secure the win for the home team. PIT 3 WSH 42 Either the Federals are really good or Pittsburgh is having issue. Maybe a bit of both. Don Majkowski threw for 3 scores, and Herman Moore brought in 113 yards and score, but the story was Pittsburgh’s absolute inability to get any offense going. Mike Rozier had 15 carries but gained a stunning 8 yards on the day against the front 7 of the Federals. JAX 20 MEM 17 After two straight wins against expansion clubs, Jacksonville got a bit more respect this week by knocking off the Showboats in Memphis. On a rainy afternoon, Natrone Means and his 98 yards rushing helped the Bulls edge Memphis. ORL 10 TBY 34 Errict Rhett reminded everyone why he was USFL Rookie of the Year last year with a 105 yard, 2 TD day against the Renegades. Eric Truvillion also had a strong day with 5 catches for 93 yards and a score. 1. INJURY UPDATE: Injuries may be the top story of the week as several teams lost key players, though fortunately we are looking at 1-2 weeks out for most of the injured stars. New Jersey will be without Walker at HB for at least 2 weeks as he had to have his jaw wired shut after fracturing the bone early in the Baltimore game. Jacksonville and Baltimore may also be shorthanded in the backfield at least next week as Jamie Morris and Barry Foster are both likely out. New Orleans got the win but may have lost Timm Rosenbach for 1-2 weeks. Pittsburgh’s Alan Risher is also questionable after suffering a shoulder injury in the game this week. The more long lasting injury concerns were all for USFL defenses, with Chicago LB Mark Munford likely out for the year with a broken hip, Ohio DE Larry Roberts also dealing with a hip injury that could cost him up to 10 weeks, Arizona DT Sean lee expected to miss 2 months, and Generals CB Kirby Jackson out up to 3 weeks with a neck injury. 2. GROUND GAINS: Our second story of the week is the apparent early season rebound of the run game in the USFL offensive strategy. Big games from halfbacks have been important factors in the success of several clubs, not the least of which is Portland, relying on Robert Drummond to get the job done. In Michigan, rookie Tyrone Wheatley has over 250 yards in his first 3 games in the league. Others finding early season success include Philly’s Charlie Garner (2nd in the league with 274 yards), the heir apparent for Kelvin Bryant, Tampa’s Errict Rhett, and Texas’s Reggie Cobb. In Chicago, Ricky Watters, who struggled in his first 3 seasons, seems to be on an upward trajectory, gaining 1,042 yards last season and is on pace for more this year, with 227 yards after 3 games. 3. FEDERAL POWER: It seems the league needs to be concerned about the resurgence of the Washington Federals. After a rough 1994, Washington looks to be playing some excellent ball to start the year. They are currently 2nd in the league in scoring with 95 points in 3 games, and 2nd as well in points allowed, a paltry 33 in 3 games, that is an average score of 33-11, which has to scare the rest of the Eastern Conference. Another team to keep an eye out for are the 3-0 Portland Thunder. Yes, they are solid on offense, which we all expected, but after 3 weeks they are 3rd in scoring defense, which is the area the Thunder usually failed miserably at. Seems the hire of Vince Tobin as their new head coach has already begun to pay dividends for the Thunder D. 4. STALLION STUMBLES: If you want an answer for why Birmingham has started the year looking shaky, just take a gander at the turnover margin stat, where the Stallions are already at negative 6. Nine turnovers, including 7 interceptions from Brett Favre, are the main culprit, a pace of turnovers the defense cannot match with its takeaways. It also does not help that Birmingham just does not seem to have a reliable run game, forcing Favre to play “hero ball” to get wins. The Stallions have only 85 yards rushing after 3 games, which amazingly is not last in the league (Atlanta has been horrid, with only 70 yards in 3 games.) For the Stallions to turn the ship around, they will need to find a run game to complement Favre and Favre is going to have to make smarter decisions. News from Baltimore as the city council has rejected the proposed public-private financing for a harborside stadium for the Blitz. While not entirely unexpected, the loss still hurts the Blitz’s long term future in Baltimore. Memorial Stadium is desperately in need of updates if it is going to remain a viable option into the next century, and while fans love Camden Yard downtown, the cost of a new stadium for the Blitz seems more than the cash-strapped city can justify. Unlike cities such as LA, Houston, or Tampa, where the NFL and USFL have worked together to offer more municipal-friendly financing plans, Baltimore does not have an NFL partner to help spread the cost. The city, once a bastion of NFL support when the Colts were a dominant club in the Unitas years, now seems to have resigned itself to defeat in trying to attract a club. The expansion bid failed to garner much support with the fall league, as the NFL opted for growth markets in the South (Charlotte and Nashville). So, what can the Blitz do? They can try to work with the city to get some much-needed updates to Memorial Stadium, or start looking for another local option, perhaps as far away as the U. of Maryland, which is actually closer to DC than Baltimore. And with several cities missing out on USFL expansion, you know the pressure will be on the Blitz to at least consider the option to relocate once again. It is a tough bind for a city that has seen a lot of hard times, and which simply does not have the will or the wallet to invest in a new stadium for their USFL franchise. Let’s take a look at our 0-3 teams, desperate for a win this weekend. Seattle came close last week and now they head home to Husky Stadium where the Generals come in without Walker. Ohio is on the road again, and they will get their shot at the Stallions in Birmingham. Memphis could not handle Jacksonville last week, but they have a shaky Pittsburgh team coming to the Liberty Bowl this week. St. Louis has a much tougher task, heading up to rival Chicago to face the Machine. And finally, the hard luck Atlanta Fire have just had a tough start with a lot of quality foes to start the season. That continues as they head to Oakland to face the Invaders. The best game of the week? That is a tough call but we are going with a battle of 3-0 clubs as Philly heads down to Jacksonville to face the Bulls. Baltimore @ Tampa Bay and 3-0 Portland in Arizona is also one to catch. Other games this week include LA @ Denver, Texas @ New Orleans, Michigan @ Houston, and the white hot Washington Federals in Orlando.