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The 2010 USFL/WFL season kicked off today as 31 franchises chase the New Orleans VooDoo, who are chasing a threepeat. The VooDoo offense didn't set the world on fire today but they did eke out a victory over division rival Birmingham. We have all human owned teams this season and nobody is happier about that this week than Washington Federals fans. The Federals stunk under AI control last season but scored 36 today as they start 1-0. The West division was 0-4 today while the East was 4-0.

New Orleans beat Birmingham 9-3 in a defensive struggle. The teams combined for 366 yards of offense and converted just 3/31 third downs. Birmingham's longest drive was just 30 yards and their lone FG came after the defense intercepted James Wright. The VooDoo offense wasn't much better but they did have a couple of red zone trips that resulted in FGs. It's an ugly win but a win nonetheless. This is the 31st consecutive victory for New Orleans, with their last loss in Week 8 of 2008.

If you like offense, you loved San Jose's 46-33 win over Portland. The first quarter was back and forth, with San Jose leading 16-10 before owning the 2nd qtr for a 34-10 halftime lead. Portland owned the 3rd qtr, getting within 34-27. Each team then scored twice in the 4th, but Portland's scores were FGs while San Jose scored TDs. Myron Dustin is the new San Jose QB and he took over where Larry Henderson left off, completing 41/56, 520 yards, 3 TD and 3 INT. Lynn McLaurin caught 17 for 336 yards and a TD. Portland QB George Schacht threw for 355 yards and 3 TDs with Richard Petty catching 11 for 164 yards.

Southern California outlasted Los Angeles, winning 30-27 in OT. This game featured around 300 offensive yards for both teams (292 for SC, 304 for LA), 5 turnovers, 8 sacks, 2 defensive TDs and a kickoff return TD. The first 3 quarters were kind of ho-hum as Los Angeles led 14-13, with the Express extending the lead to 17-13 midway through the 4th. Southern California's Charles Tillman took the kickoff 98 yards to give the Sun a 20-17 lead. Later, the Sun would lose a fumble, with LA's James Tolliver returning it 42 yards for a TD. John Berrios took the lead back with a 15 yard TD pass inside the 2 minute warning but Los Angeles got a 31 yard FG as time expired to send the game to OT. On the 2nd drive of OT, Los Angeles QB Donald Davis was intercepted, leading to Raymond Evenson's 31 yard game winning FG.

Philadelphia got by Oakland 13-10. The Bell had a 13-0 lead early in the 4th while the defense had stymied the Invaders all day. Oakland's offense finally got going on their last 2 drives with a FG and a 91 yard TD drive inside the 2 minute warning. Oakland never got the ball again as Philadelphia ran out the remaining clock for the win.

Georgia beat Tampa Bay 9-7 thanks to a 4th qtr sack in the end zone by Charles Delacruz. The Force defense sacked Curtis Torres 4 times and intercepted him twice. Georgia only had 176 offensive yards and their TD came on a short field created by their defense. Style points don't count, just wins and Georgia is 1-0.

Thank goodness style points don't count because New Jersey beat Orlando 3-0 with just 110 offensive yards. New Jersey was 1/18 on third down and punted 16 times. The Generals defense had 3 sacks and forced 3 turnovers, including an INT late in the 4th to set up the offense at the Orlando 34. Howie "Stump" Schwab kicked a 37 yard FG at the 2 minute warning and that was the scoring for the day.

Houston beat Arizona 14-9 behind Dale Baber's 337 passing yards and a strong 2nd half defense. Arizona moved the ball well in the first half but the Gamblers made some adjustments while Baber led a TD drive to take the lead in the 3rd qtr. Houston could have won with less sweat had their kicker made any of his 2 FG tries. The Gamblers defense had 8 sacks and the offense had a pair of 100 yard receivers in Under Taker (5-127) and Randy Savage (7-104-1).

Chicago and Oklahoma had a wild 4th qtr with 4 lead changes before the Blitz came out on top 18-16. Oklahoma had a lethal QB/WR combo in Raymond Settles and Domenic Winstead last season so it was strange to see Settles line of 8/14, 115 yards and a TD. The Outlaws opted to run the ball 55 times, and while they held the ball over 41 minutes, they still lost. Chicago's offense didn't do much outside of 3 drives but it was enough. Eric Hansen led back to back 75 yard TD drives in the second half, getting a 41 yard TD run on a scramble and throwing a TD pass. The first TD gave Chicago a 7-6 lead and the next TD made it 15-9 after Oklahoma briefly took a 9-7 lead. The Blitz had a 2 point conversion after Hansen's TD pass. Settles found Winstead for a 39 yard TD for a 16-15 lead, leaving Chicago 1:17 on the clock. They used all of it and as the clock hit zero, Samuel Diaz made a 44 yard FG for the win.

Michigan beat Cleveland 20-6, their 3rd straight win over their division rival. Despite the score, there weren't many drives, in fact New Jersey punted more times (16) than total drives in the box score (15). It was a fast clock in this game because only 6 passes hit the ground as both QBs combined to complete 27/33 and both running games were gaining yards and churning clock. The Panthers got the better of it because they were able to put the ball in the end zone twice as their committee had 32 rushes, 189 yards and 2 TDs.

San Antonio beat Memphis 27-9 in a Southwest divisional battle. It was the Glenn Graham show as he ran for 40 yards and a TD, caught 12 for 109 yards and a TD, and returned the 3rd qtr kickoff 104 yards for a score. It was 27-0 San Antonio at that point before Memphis made a late late run. Thomas Santos threw a 100 yard TD pass to Walter Wiggins midway through the 4th but 27-9 is as close as the Showboats would get.

Shreveport beat Detroit 23-3 and the Steamer scored the first TD of the league as David Shuman returned the opening kickoff 101 yards for a score. I can imagine the USFL version of Scott Hansen on our red zone channel freaking out about the season starting with a bang as he starts 7 hours of non stop football coverage. It didn't get better for Detroit as Mark Lott threw INTs on the first 2 drives, allowing Shreveport to kick a couple FGs for an early 13-0 lead. Frederick Martin ran for 107 yards to lead the Steamer offense.

Pittsburgh beat Honolulu 24-3 behind 3 Brian White TD passes and a strong defense. Arthur Ortega caught 1 of the TD passes among his 3 for 116 yards and he added 44 on the ground. Defensively they intercepted 2 passes and had 5 sacks, holding the Hawaiians to 153 yards.

Florida scored the 2nd TD of the league as John Sanchez ran for a 75 yard TD on the first play from scrimmage. That play got the fireworks started and the teams combined for 880 yards, almost evenly split (441-439). The first half was a tight game as Florida led 17-13, but the Blazers pulled away in the 3rd qtr to win 27-13. John Sanchez finished with 146 rushing yards and 2 TDs while Don Aguirre caught 5 for 134 and a TD.

Boston beat Denver 23-10 as the Breakers force 5 turnovers. Bernard Smith threw 3 INTs and the Gold lost 2 fumbles while the Denver defense couldn't stop the Breakers BCBC. Boston ran 44 times for 189 yards and 2 TDs with Nicholas Walker's 97 leading the committee. Denver's Kevin Hillman ran for 122 yards in the loss.

New York did whatever it wanted in a 52-0 win over Charlotte. The Stars held the Hornets to 112 total yards, forcing 4 turnovers with 6 sacks and held them to 1/12 on third down. Offensively they ran 43 times for 219 yards and 2 TDs from James Luna. Sleepy Sandmann had 105 yards on the ground to lead the BCBC. QB Jamie Orman threw for 294 yards and 2 TDs and Richard Moore returned an INT for a TD.

Washington beat Baltimore 36-10 with a balanced offensive attack. The Federals ran for 247 yards and 3 TDs with most of that coming from James Ford (138-2) and Norman Thomas (104-1). Michael Erickson threw for 259 yards and a TD to Jacob Hazlett, who caught 7 for 120. It's only 1 game but this doesn't look anything like the 2009 Federals.

Week 2 is a little late but that will happen on weekends sometimes as half of my work week is Friday/Saturday night. It doesn't hurt that our "skip day" also falls on the weekend. We lost almost half of our undefeated teams as we went from 16 to 9 teams without a loss. The same on the flipside as we have 9 teams without a win, leaving 14 teams at 1-1. The East is the early beast as they have 3 of the 9 undefeated teams and are 6-0 outside of division play.

San Jose leads the league with 96 points scored, New York leads in point differential (+79) and the (NY) Stars are tied with New Jersey for fewest points allowed with 3. Charlotte is the early favorite for #1 pick in 2011 as they have the lowest scoring offense and their defense has allowed the most points. Baltimore isn't far behind and they don't have a kicker on the roster.

I preface everything with "It's EARLY". We're only 2 games in and there is plenty of season left for things to flip the other way good or bad. Speaking of early, Myron Dustin is on pace to break the single season passing record of 7,803 set by Portland's William Hill in 1980. Dustin is on pace for 8,360 yards with his 1,045 in 2 games. His 7 TD passes are 1 off the pace to tie the record 64 set by New Jersey's Don Ferguson in 1996, my math tells me 64 is exactly 4 per game. Both records seemed untouchable at one point, but clearly they aren't. It will take a lot of work and game engine luck to reach those lofty totals but if anybody can do it, Smirt can.

Putting Myron Dustin's start in perspective, he averages 522.5 yards passing per game, and only 4 other QBs can match that with TOTAL passing yards.

One stat I know won't last is Michael Erickson's yards per attempt. Erickson is currently at 10.95 yards per attempt and I had to go back to 2002 to find a QB who ended the season over 9. In the "distant" past, version 4.5, we routinely had top QBs reach that mark, at least I found a few in a quick look at the front page after sorting, but in today's MFN, 10.95 yards per attempt seems unsustainable. He could still have an excellent season, but as noted above Charlotte and Baltimore have allowed the most points so far and those are the teams Washington has played so far.

I haven't started posting career leaders yet but I was looking at the rushing leaders and noticed my ball carrier Vic Mackey was in the top 10. Mackey is currently 8th on the list with 9,642 career rushing yards, 859 yards behind all time leading rusher Scott Randall (Jacksonville, Shreveport, and Florida). This morning I decided to check if any of the top 7 are still active and #4 on the list is San Jose RB Brian Smith, who has 10,146 yards, 355 behind Randall's 10,501. Smith did most of his work for Chicago and given his current usage and lack of speed, the odds are against him. If Smith matches what he did in 2009, he'll still be a bit short.

Mackey seems like a better bet to be #1 as he still gets plenty of carries but with his injury history, he may end up waiting until 2011. His speed is still 80 in year 9, compared to 68 for Smith, who is in his 12th season. Mackey is currently a free agent after the season, and if the Generals stick with their usual M.O., they'll let him walk after the season. Will they still do that if he breaks the record? If he gets close but no cigar? Would he retire (10% chance now) or sign elsewhere in 2011?

The answer to the first question is yes, I'll let him walk if he eclipses Randall. The second question isn't as clear, but most likely yes, then try to sign him in free agency to a more team friendly deal. He currently wants a $45 million bonus on a new deal and I don't want to pay that much for a guy in season 9 regardless of injury history. When you factor in his lengthy injury list, it makes no financial sense. Best case scenario is I give him the Emmitt Smith treatment, he breaks the record this year then he rides off into the sunset to finish his career somewhere else.

This season, Mackey is 9th in rushing with 164 yards. Leading the league with 231 is Washington's Norman Thomas with Florida's John Sanchez (215) the only other ball carrier over 200. Thomas also leads the league with 4 rushing TDs along with San Jose RB David Babin.

With Myron Dustin throwing for so many yards, it's no surprise his #1 WR leads the league in receiving yards. Lynn McLaurin has 39 receptions for 548 yards already, more than twice as many catches and yards as #2. The slacker only has 1 TD reception though. Three receivers are tied for the lead with 3 each...Oklahoma's Domenic Winstead, Washington's Jacob Hazlett, and Pittsburgh's Eugene Williams.

We have 1 game in Week 3 between 2-0 teams as the New York Stars travel to New Jersey to face the Generals. There are no games with both teams winless.

I'm curious how Washington fares against Pittsburgh. The Maulers have been ruling the Atlantic for several seasons while Washington has looked good against leaky defenses so far this season. A good showing against the Maulers should boost their confidence as the season moves forward.

I'm also curious to see the stats Myron Dustin puts up against Charlotte. The Hornets have allowed 97 points in 2 games so there is a chance Dustin ups his yardage average tonight.

Orlando at Oklahoma is intriguing as well. Oklahoma lost in World Bowl XXXVI and the losing has continued so far in 2010 as they're off to an 0-2 start. Orlando is 1-1 thus far but the Renegades have won 10+ games 10 of the last 11 seasons so it won't be easy for the Outlaws to avoid an 0-3 start.

That's about it for now, I'll recap Week 2 in a separate post later this morning.

Week 2 game recaps...

Houston beat Oklahoma 35-21, improving to 2-0 and sending the defending Conference Champs to 0-2. Both teams filled the box score with passing stats but the Gamblers put the ball in the end zone early and often, building a 35-7 halftime lead. Dale Baber had 386 passing yards and 3 TDs, with Under Taker the leading receiver, catching 11 for 137 and a TD. Randy Savage had 111 combined yards with a rushing and receiving TD. Raymond Settles had 364 passing yards and 3 TDs for Oklahoma.

Jacksonville beat Birmingham 16-13 in a rematch from last year's Wildcard Round, which Jacksonville won 34-21. Birmingham took an early 7-3 lead before Jacksonville went on a 13-0 run to take a 16-7 lead after 3 quarters. Birmingham would cut the lead to 16-13 with a pair of 4th qtr FGs and the Stallions had the ball with 2:48 left with a chance to tie or take the lead. Russell Gall completed 4 of 7, taking the Stallions down to the Bulls 5 yard line. On 1st and goal, Gall was sacked by Gabriel Barry for the second time today, fumbling the ball away just like the first time and Jacksonville took over deep in their own territory. Birmingham only had one timeout left so the Bulls ran out the final 1:11 to secure the win. Gary May had 145 rushing yards for Birmingham.

Philadelphia beat Pittsburgh 53-24 in the Battle of Pennsylvania. Joel Jasso threw for 382 yards and 3 TDs, with Jason Wharton catching 12 for 158 yards and 2 TDs. The Philadelphia defense held Brian White to under 50% completions with 3 sacks and 6 INTs, one returned for a TD.

San Jose improves to 2-0 with a 50-0 win over Baltimore, whose owner hasn't been seen for 2 weeks. The team doesn't have a kicker on the roster and nobody is answering the phone or the door at the Stars headquarters. As far as San Jose is concerned, it was stat padding time as Myron Dustin threw for 525 yards and 4 TDs, Lynn McLaurin caught 22 for 212 yards while Scott Isaacs caught 7 for 117 and 2 TDs. McLaurin's 22 receptions were the 2nd most in league history and I have updated the single game records section. The SaberCats defense forced 4 turnovers, had 12 sacks and allowed just 31 total yards.

San Antonio beat Oakland 40-6 thanks to a big game by QB George Warner and a suffocating defense. Warner threw for 434 yards and 4 TDs with Daniel Cruz catching 10 for 224 yards and 2 TDs. Glenn Graham had a receiving TD and 200 combined yards if you add his kickoff return yardage, 141 if you don't.

Michigan scored 3 rushing TDs in the first 15 minutes plus, then called it a day, winning 21-0 over Shreveport. Michigan was 0/6 on third down and QB Willie Reddish attempted just 7 passes all game, completing 6. Charles Keller led the rushing attack with 128 yards and 2 TDs.

New Orleans won their 32nd consecutive game and this one was similar to many others in that it was closer than it needed to be. The 2 time defending champs dominated the box score, out gaining Georgia 400-201, converted 10/22 third downs, and had 5 red zone trips to 1 for the Force. So how did they only win 16-10? New Orleans scored 1 TD in those 5 red zone trips, with 3 FGs, plus they committed the only turnover of the game. The VooDoo defense did their part, mostly keeping the Force at bay except for a 75 yard TD pass. Eventually they'll get burned as often as they play with fire, but until then, the VooDoo will keep shining their World Bowl trophies.

Washington is a surprise name on the 2-0 list, but with their schedule perhaps it shouldn't be a shock. The Federals crushed Baltimore last week and the Stars are about to be AI and this week they faced rebuilding Charlotte, winning 45-9. The Federals scored TDs the first 5 times they had the ball, then kind of used a 4 minute offense to run out the game clock. Michael Erickson threw for 376 yards and 3 TDs, Garry Lee caught 4 for 129 yards and a TD, Jacob Hazlett caught 7 for 99 yards and 2 TDs, and Norman Thomas ran for 127 yards and 3 TDs.

New York got out to a 24-0 lead en route to a 30-3 win over Boston. The Stars with an active owner ran for 217 yards and a TD while Jamie Orman threw 2 TD passes and the defense intercepted 3. James Luna led the way with 119 rushing yards and a TD, with Sleepy Sandmann adding 93. The win improves New York to 2-0.

New Jersey improves to 2-0 with a 20-3 victory over Arizona. The Wranglers took an early, short lived 3-0 lead before Apollo Creed returned the ensuing kickoff 101 yards for a 7-3 New Jersey lead. From there, the defense and running game controlled game flow as the Generals sacked Keith Carter 5 times and Vic Mackey ran for 120 yards.

Cleveland beat Detroit 13-6 today despite just 159 total yards. Detroit moved the ball well their first 2 drives but came away with just 6 points thanks to a missed FG and XP. The Wheels had 123 yards those first 2 drives but just 116 the rest of the game with 3 turnovers. Detroit had the 6-0 lead until the 3rd qtr, when they had a three and out following a Cleveland punt that pinned them inside their 10. The Thunderbolts used the short field to drive 58 yards for a TD, then they added a pair of FGs following Mark Lott INTs for a 13-6 lead in the 4th. Detroit got in scoring range late but needed a TD and failed on a 4th down play, allowing Cleveland to escape with the win.

Portland beat Southern California 19-13, evening each team's record at 1-1. Portland dominated the first half action but only led 16-3 as they had to settle for short FGs 3 times. The Sun got their offense rising in the 3rd qtr, scoring a TD and FG to get within 16-13 early in the 4th. Southern California couldn't get off the field however, allowing Portland an 11 play FG drive that took almost half the quarter. The Sun offense couldn't get moving again as the Storm hold on to win.

Honolulu beat Los Angeles 10-6 thanks to a Victor Russell TD pass to James Shick at the 2 minute warning. Not much sticks out in the box score other than a high 3rd down conversion rate for such a low scoring game. Honolulu converted 11/18 while Los Angeles was 5/13.

Memphis beat Tampa Bay 27-10 despite 3 turnovers. The Showboats took an early 3-0 lead before Tampa got on the board with a Curtis Torres TD pass. Dustin Michael returned the ensuing kickoff 103 yards for a TD to give the lead back to Memphis. From there, the Showboats controlled the scoreboard and the Bandits offense, except for one long FG drive. Memphis got 106 rushing yards and a TD from Randy Schmidt and 4 catches, 155 yards and a TD from William Beasley. Despite the 27 points, Memphis converted just 3/15 on third down, in contrast to the previous game above.

Orlando beat Florida 45-19 today behind Thomas Gilbert's 3 rushing TDs and a defense that had 7 sacks and 4 turnovers. Gilbert wasn't Orlando's leading rusher, Henry Ward had 80 yards and a TD, but Gilbert did run for 66 and 3 scores while adding 54 yards as a receiver. Rodney Maly had 4 of the Renegades' 7 sacks.

Denver beat Chicago 22-6 thanks to 5 FGs from Allan Hawk. The Gold had scoring chances their first 6 drives, getting a Harold Neely 5 yard TD run before Hawk kicked 4/5 FG tries for a 19-3 lead early in the 3rd. Chicago answered with a FG to get within 19-6 but the Gold defense stiffened and Denver went on to win the game to even both team's record at 1-1.

Week 3 is finished and we lost 3 undefeated teams while 5 teams got their first win. That leaves us with six teams at 3-0 and four teams 0-3. My Generals made the playoffs last season after an 0-5 start so there is plenty of time to turn things around.

Speaking of the Generals, they hosted the New York Stars in a battle of 2-0 teams. New York got out to an early 13-3 lead before New Jersey scored the game's final 16 points for a 19-13 win to improve to 3-0. Toward the end of the game, Jamie Orman threw an INT to seemingly thwart the Stars' comeback attempt but Vic Mackey lost his 3rd fumble of the game to give New York another chance. The Generals defense held firm, forcing a turnover on downs, then the offense ran out the remaining clock. Mackey had a good game other than his fumbles, finishing with 128 yards on the ground.

Washington came into their game against Pittsburgh 2-0, with some media questioning their schedule. The Federals came out of the gate ready to go as they got out to a 24-6 halftime lead. Michael Erickson threw 2 TD passes and Norman Thomas had a TD run, ending the game with 101 rushing yards. The second half was a different story as Washington only had the ball 4:04. Their first drive was a 1 play drive that was a sack in the end zone for a safety, followed by a three and out, one play INT drive, and a 4 play drive that ended in a punt. The Maulers safety made the score 24-8, then Pittsburgh got a Kenneth Allen TD run, a FG, and a Brian White TD pass to Felix Vaughn to make the score 25-24 Pittsburgh with 9:25 to play. Washington had their final four and out drive before Pittsburgh ran the final 7 minutes off the clock to hold on for the win that ties these teams atop the Atlantic at 2-1.

Last week I said New Orleans needs to be careful keeping games too close. The VooDoo seem to have received the message as they dominate today's game, winning 39-0 over Shreveport. James Wright threw for 337 yards and 3 TDs while the running game had 192 yards and a TD. Defensively they held the Steamer to 51 total yards and had 5 sacks with an INT. Bradley Schilling caught 5 for 129 and a TD while Charles Grogan caught 6 for 100 and a TD.

Philadelphia improves to 3-0 with a 41-14 win over Boston. Joel Jasso only threw for 230 yards but he tossed 5 TD passes as the running game did the heavy lifting. Gary Simmons ran 15 times for 100 yards while Gerald Moore had 96 yards on 11 carries. The Bell defense held the Breakers to 157 total yards with 3 sacks and 2 INTs.

There are 3 teams that have allowed less than 20 points this season and I've already talked about 2 of them (New Orleans 13, New Jersey 16). Michigan has the stingiest defense so far, having allowed just 9 points after today's 7-3 win over Detroit. Surprisingly Detroit QB Mark Lott did not throw an INT, but he was sacked 9 times as the Wheels only ran the ball twice today. Michigan ran for 191 yards and a TD by Brendan Tullis that the Panthers defense made stand up. Willie Reddish threw 3 INTs but Detroit kicker John Everhart missed 2 FGs as the Panthers improve to 3-0.

San Jose has been winning with offense and that continued today in a 38-17 win over now AI Charlotte. Myron Dustin did his Larry Henderson impersonation today, completing 44/62, 365 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT and 6 sacks. Charlotte hung around in the first half, trailing 16-10, then got within 24-17 with a kickoff return TD but the Hornets couldn't sustain drives against the SaberCats defense and their offense was too much to stop. Lynn McLaurin caught 18 for 156 yards.

San Antonio improves to 3-0 after blitzing Chicago 34-13. George Warner threw for 400 yards and 4 TDs while Glenn Graham had a double triple with 3 TD receptions. Graham ran for 122 yards while catching 9 for 105 and the aforementioned TDs. Daniel Cruz caught the other TD among his 9 for 129 yards. Defensively they held Chicago to 152 total yards with an INT and 3 sacks.

Houston put their 2-0 record on the line as they traveled to Florida to face the Blazers. The Gamblers got out to a 10-0 lead on a Snake Roberts TD run and a FG before Florida cut the lead to 10-7. Houston had a chance to increase the lead and went for it on 4th and goal from the 4 but the pass was incomplete. Houston would add a FG later for a 13-7 halftime lead. John Sanchez put Florida in the lead with a 2 yard TD run and a FG early in the 4th made the score 17-13 Florida. Dale Baber got the lead back for Houston with a 14 yard TD pass to Under Taker but the 2 point pass failed, making the score 19-17. Florida would punt, then intercept Dale Baber, setting up a FG for a 20-19 lead just inside the 2 minute warning. Dale Baber drove Houston down the field but they had to settle for a 57 yard FG try that fell short, giving the Blazers the win that puts them in first in the Southeast.

Orlando and Oklahoma are perennial playoff teams that are off to slow starts this season. The Outlaws were especially desperate for a win, being 0-2 coming in, and they were playing without their top playmaker Domenic Winstead. Raymond Settles led Oklahoma to the 31-10 win throwing 3 TD passes, 2 to Raymond Russo. Steven Huddleston caught 5 for 136 yards while Gary Kahn ran for 117 yards and a score. The Outlaws defense allowed just 151 total yards and intercepted Dwayne Byrd 3 times.

Denver took sole possession of first in the West with a 10-7 win over Los Angeles. The Express missed a pair of FGs and Donald Davis threw 2 INTs in the 4th qtr, with the second one leaving a short field that helped Denver get the game winning FG. Charles Williamson ran for 106 yards in the loss.

I'll finish the rest of the games after work, if I try to do it now it will be rushed.

There were six games I didn't get to this afternoon so let's resume...

Oakland got by Portland 10-5 in a game dominated by the defenses. Portland got the ball first and QB George Schacht fumbled the snap on the second play to give Oakland a short field. The Invaders took advantage three plays later when Domingo Robinson threw a 13 yard TD pass to Miguel Gilbert. George Schacht followed that with an interception on the next play, leading to an Oakland FG and a 10-0 deficit for the Storm. Oakland would turn the ball over twice early in the 2nd qtr but Portland could only cash in a FG to trail 10-3. Portland would add a safety in the 3rd when Oakland recovered their own fumble in their end zone and that concluded the scoring. Portland kicker Aaron David missed a pair of FGs that could have changed the outcome.

Memphis beat Cleveland 32-19 behind 4 Gary Westerfield TD passes. It wasn't all good for Westerfield as he also threw 3 INTs, including each of the first 2 drives of the game. Cleveland took one to the house for a pick six and the XP gave the Thunderbolts a 7-0 lead. Westerfield led Memphis back though, throwing 2 TD passes in the first half and the Showboats led 17-13 at the break. Memphis had 2 long TD drives in the second half, sandwiching a Cleveland TD as the Showboats win to improve to 2-1. William Beasley caught 2 TD passes while Randy Schmidt had a combined 163 yards, rushing for 88 and catching 7 for 75.

Arizona got their first win of the season, beating Southern California 16-10 in a defensive struggle. Arizona managed just 216 total yards and John Adams took 4 sacks and threw an INT. Southern California managed 231 yards with John Berrios throwing 3 INTs and taking 5 sacks, losing a fumble in the end zone on one sack. Sidney Dion brought Berrios down while Calvin Vanmatre fell on the loose ball for the Wranglers lone TD of the day. The Sun had two 4th qtr drives end just inside Wranglers territory as their comeback bid fell short.

Honolulu beat AI Baltimore 24-6 thanks to a big game from RB James Shick. Victor Russell threw for 245 yards and 3 TDs with an INT but Shick led the offense rushing and receiving. Shick caught 8 for 96 yards and a TD, adding 67 yards on the ground for 163 combined yards. The Hawaiians only led 14-6 late but scored 10 points in the final 2:27 for our final score of 24-6.

Tampa Bay beat Jacksonville 13-9 for their first win of 2010. Each team had over 300 yards of offense but Tampa Bay had the game's only TD, a 79 yard Curtis Torres TD pass to Joshua Colvard. That TD broke a 6-6 tie in the 3rd qtr and Jacksonville managed just a FG the rest of the way to take the L. Colvard ended the day with 4 catches, 100 yards and the TD. Jacksonville had the 300 yard passer as William Barron threw for 323 and Larry Stafford caught 9 for 122 yards but it's hard to win only kicking FGs.

Birmingham got their first win of the season 17-10 over Georgia. The Stallions got 17 the hard way and the game's first 3 scores were defensive. Birmingham sacked David McKibben 5 times, twice for safeties in the 1st qtr as Birmingham took a 4-0 lead. Russell Gall threw 3 INTs for the game with 2 coming in the 2nd qtr. His 2nd INT was returned 15 yards for a TD by David Roberts as Georgia took a 7-4 lead. Gall bounced back with a short TD pass in the final minute of the first half to make the score 11-7 Birmingham. Georgia would cut the lead to 11-10 with a FG late in the 3rd but the Stallions got a pair of 4th qtr FGs and held on for the win.

100 Point Club - Offense

San Jose 134
Philadelphia 107
Washington 105
San Antonio 101

100 Point Club - Defense

Charlotte 135
Baltimore 110

Stingiest Defense Points Allowed

Michigan 9
New Orleans 13
New Jersey 16
New York 22
San Antonio 28

Combined Division Records (Records w/o division games)

Pacific 6-6 (4-4)
West 5-7 (4-6)
Southwest 8-4 (6-2)
Midwest 5-7 (2-4)

Southeast 5-7 (2-4)
South 6-6 (2-2)
Atlantic 4-8 (1-5)
East 9-3 (6-0)

New York is 5th in scoring with 95 points so far, and 6th place Pittsburgh is more than 3 TDs behind with 73 points.

Two divisions are currently tied, the Atlantic (Pitt/Wash 2-1) and the East (Phil/NJ 3-0). Four division leaders have 1 game leads while 3-0 Michigan and New Orleans enjoy early 2 game leads.

New Orleans has won 33 games in a row now and they have to be nearing the all time record for consecutive wins if they haven't broken it yet. I really should know this but I'll have to research it.

Los Angeles is a tough luck 0-3, losing week 1 by 3 points in OT, followed by a 4 point loss and a 3 point loss. The Express have a tough 4 game stretch starting tonight against 2-1 Honolulu, followed by San Jose (3-0), Washington (2-1), and San Jose again.

Detroit is 0-3 with their last 2 losses by one score. The Wheels need to score more points as their 12 is a league low.

Baltimore finally signed a kicker thanks to AI, we'll see if the AI starts him or keeps the position player there. The Stars could use a real kicker as they've scored 16 points in 3 games.

Interesting Week 4 Games

Michigan (3-0) @ Houston (2-1)
Oklahoma (1-2) @ Memphis (2-1)
Philadelphia (3-0) @ New York (2-1)
San Jose (3-0) @ Pittsburgh (2-1)

San Antonio's Glenn Graham is 7th in the league in rushing yards, 6th in receiving yards and first in receiving TDs.

Career Rushing Yards Watch

1) Scott Randall (retired) 10,501
4) Brian Smith, San Jose 10,153
8) Vic Mackey, New Jersey 9,770
43) Matthew Goebel, Memphis 6,796

It shouldn't be too long before Mackey catches Brian Smith for top active rushing leader given their respective roles. Previously I only looked at Mackey and above but this morning I was curious about the next highest active ball carrier and had to go to page 2 to find Goebel.

Raymond Settles is the active passing yards leader with 51,136 yards, which is 13th all time. There is no way he catches Tony Dean's 72,313 yards as Settles is in his 14th season.

Settles is also the active TD pass leader with 362, good for 8th all time. Tony Dean is #1 of course, with 624. Jon Snow is next with 545, followed by Melvin Driggers' 437.

Getting back to just 2010, Lynn McLaurin is on pace to be the latest San Jose WR to set the single season reception record. Harold Hedberg caught a then record 182 passes in 2004 before Jacob Newman broke it in 2006 with 213 catches. Lee Ramos gave the record a run in 2007 but fell just short, hauling in 209. There have been 5 seasons with a 150+ catch receiver and they are all by SaberCats.

McLaurin has 57 through 3 games, which if he could keep this pace he'd finish with a ridiculous 304 receptions.

I say ridiculous because 304 is a ridiculously high number, way higher than the current record of 213. It won't be easy for McLaurin to break the record even though he's ahead of the pace. He needs 12 catches a game from here on out to tie Newman.

Week 4 is in the books, and speaking of records I did some research into longest winning streaks. I did only look at the teams with perfect 19-0 seasons. New Orleans broke the record last season with their first playoff win.

The previous record was the 1976-78 Detroit Wheels, who won 27 in a row. The Wheels won their last 4 regular season games, all 3 post season games to win the World Bowl, then they repeated in 1977 with a perfect 19-0 season. Heading into 1978 they had won 26 in a row since losing to Cleveland Week 12 of 1976. Detroit won Week 1 to push it to 27 in a row before Cleveland ended the streak Week 2 with a 24-22 win.

New Orleans last lost Week 8 of 2008 to Birmingham 20-0. The VooDoo were 6-2 at the time and they won their last 8 games and all 3 post season games to win the World Bowl. In 2009 New Orleans finished the regular season 16-0, giving them 27 in a row to tie Detroit's record. They beat Orlando in the Divisional Round to break the record on their way to back to back championships.

The VooDoo entered this season winners of 30 straight games and that streak continued until tofay, when after 3 quarters it looked like New Orleans would finally lose. Jacksonville had a 24-13 lead heading into the 4th but the VooDoo scored 2 TDs with failed 2 point tries to take a 25-24 lead with 4:36 to play. Jacksonville still had a chance but the aura of the champs kicked in and the Bulls ended the game with a lost fumble and 2 INTs as New Orleans added FGs to eventually win 31-24.

Yet another Houdini act for the back to back champs. Hats off as the VooDoo find ways to win, and the streak is 34 and counting.

San Jose beat Pittsburgh 31-22 after taking a 20-0 1st qtr lead. The SaberCats scored a TD on their first 3 possessions (1-3 in 2 pt tries) for that lead before Pittsburgh came back in the 2nd and 3rd to get within 23-22. Myron Dustin threw a TD pass after the 2 minute warning and the 2 point pass made it a 2 score game and they hold on to improve to 4-0. Lynn McLaurin had a double triple, running 8 times for 123 yards and catching 10 for 225 and a TD. The 10 catches hurt his record pace but he's still on track to shatter the receptions record.

Speaking of records, New Jersey's Vic Mackey got 133 yards closer to Scott Randall's all time rushing record as the Generals win 21-6 over Boston. The Generals are now 4-0 thanks to their defense and running game, but if they don't start scoring TDs, the losses will come. The Generals scored their 21 points on 7 Howie "Stump" Schwab FGs, with three kicks from 54 yards.

San Antonio improves to 4-0 with a 29-6 win over Detroit. The Gunslingers were without stud Glenn Graham who was injured, and they had to settle for too many FGs but the offense did more than enough for the win. Defensively they intercepted 2 Detroit QBs 5 times total and sacked them 4 times, holding the Wheels to a pair of FGs.

Michigan took their stingy defense down to Houston and the Panthers did limit the Gamblers aerial attack, sacking Dale Baber 8 times and allowing just 205 passing yards before the sacks. While New Orleans are the current best team in the league, Houston still has the most championships. Defense has been the problem in Houston lately, and while their pass defense is still near the bottom of the league, their run defense is the best. The Gamblers allow less than 1 yard a carry and that was a big reason Michigan was 0/4 in the red zone, settling for 4 FGs. Houston was able to score a couple TDs for a 17-12 win over previously undefeated Michigan.

New York beat Philadelphia 34-10 to hand the Bell their first loss of the season. The Stars got 98 rushing yards and a TD from James Luna and Sleepy Sandmann had 70 and a TD. Perry Nelson was the leading receiver, catching 7 for 141 yards and a TD. QB Jamie Orman had a stress free game, completing 23/34, 277 yards and 2 TDs with 0 INT and 0 sacks.

Honolulu beat Los Angeles 26-0 for their 3rd win in a row. This rematch from Week 2 was quite a different game as the Hawaiians dominated today, gaining 434 yards to 165 for the Express. Victor Russell threw for 360 yards and a TD and Michael Marmon booted 4 FGs.

Washington beat Southern California 37-9 to improve to 3-1. The Federals got out to an early 31-0 lead thanks to a pair of Michael Erickson TD passes, a 75 yard punt return TD from William Flock, a James Ford TD run and a FG. Norman Thomas ran for 141 yards for Washington. Defensively the Federals had 5 sacks and 2 INTs.

Oklahoma beat Memphis 28-16 for their second straight win after an 0-2 start. The Outlaws are still without Domenic Winstead but Steven Huddleston caught 4 for 133 and a TD to help fill the void. Raymond Settles threw for 304 yards with 2 TDs, 2 INTs and 2 sacks. Memphis QB James Westerfield didn't throw an INT today but he was sacked 12 times, 7 by Jeff Bingham.

Georgia beat Shreveport 9-4 in a final score that's sure to be a scoragami. They talk about that on red zone channel, and scoragami https://nflscorigami.com/keeps track of different final scores. There has never been a 9-4 final in an NFL game. This game was all about defense and/or inept offense as they combined for 228 total yards. Shreveport sacked David McKibben 8 times today and it's the second consecutive game McKibben has been sacked for a safety TWICE. That was it for the Shreveport scoring as they managed just 96 yards all game. Georgia had 132 after sacks and they managed 3 FGs for the win.

Chicago beat Cleveland 20-17 behind 105 rushing yards from Marco Anderson and 2 rushing TDs from Christopher Davis. The Blitz broke the 17-17 tie with a FG midway through the 4th and the defense made it stand up.

Orlando beat Florida 18-12 in OT. Orlando got a 2nd qtr Dwayne Byrd TD pass but the XP was no good and the score remained 6-0 until the 4th. Florida would cut it to 6-3 with a FG but later, Nicholas Meis was strip sacked by Dennis McCauley, leading to an Orlando FG. With 4 minutes to play, Dwayne Byrd was sacked in the end zone by John Jones to make the score 9-5 Orlando. Florida took the free kick and Nicholas Meis capped off the drive with a 1 yard TD pass to Russell Camarillo, giving Florida the 12-9 lead. Orlando got the game tying 45 yard FG at the end of regulation, got the ball to start OT and drove down the field. Thomas Gilbert provided the walk off win with a 7 yard TD run as the Renegades even their record at 2-2.

Birmingham struggled to score points early but their defense kept Baltimore in check as a strong 4th qtr gave the Stallions a 23-7 win. Birmingham played keep away, nursing an early 7-0 lead with a running game that had 175 yards and a TD on 40 carries. Russell Gall had a TD pass and Jeffrey Long kicked 3 FGs. Baltimore got their TD on a kickoff return by Rodger Brown.

It was West Division week and Denver scored first for a 7-0 lead over Portland. The Storm went on a run after, scoring the next 24 points for a 24-7 win.Everett Cramer had 106 receiving yards for Denver but not much else stood out in the box score. This win and the next game result have created a 4 team logjam in the division, with 3 teams 2-2 with Arizona 1-3.

Oakland had 403 offensive yards to 148 for Arizona as the Invaders win 20-6. Four ball carriers combined for 39 carries and 206 yards for Oakland not counting the kneeldowns at the end, with no ball carrier gaining more than 71 yards. Domingo Robinson threw 2 TD passes on 19/24 passing for 223 yards.

AI Charlotte got their first win of the season as they defeat Tampa Bay 24-3. James Sadler had 77 rushing yards and 2 TDs and a 71 yard punt return TD to lead the way for the Hornets.

I was looking at the career receiving leaders and I bet nobody can guess the player or team of the player with the most receptions without looking it up. To save you the trouble, he's still active. TE Donald Maclennan of Southern California is in his 14th season and he has 1,052 receptions and counting.

There are just 3 players in the 1000 reception club, with Cam Dalton (retired NY Stars) second with 1,023 then Benjamin Jones (retired New Orleans) with 1,005.

Benjamin Jones is the all time receiving yards leader with 15,839 and all time receiving TD leader with 138.Thomas Whitley (retired TB) is second in both with 13,843 yards and 130 TD catches.

I may or may not do a recap of week 5, depends on how I feel when I wake up and what's going on. I should have done it already but I didn't have time before work Friday and I just didn't feel like it afterwards. I don't wake up early enough to do it before work Saturday so I was going to do it after work.

That plan was foiled when MFN was down this morning. Everyone got an error message when trying to do anything and the site just got back up in the last 10 minutes or so. Now is the time of morning I start breakfast and get a few hours sleep.

Maybe I'll do an express version, we'll see. I'm just happy to be able to set a game plan.