Friday night kicked off the 2012 USFL season so it's time to review what happened. Late last season I was having glitches while writing these on both of my computers, so we'll see if that continues. If it does, I may have to try the new UI and see if that's better.

The champion New Orleans VooDoo opened their season against division rival Birmingham, and the champs got off on the right foot with a 36-17 win. James Wright threw for 372 yards and 3 TDs to lead the offense and Nicholas Reyes caught 2 scores among his 6 for 165 yards. Rookie Jacob Baker caught 7 for 109 yards in his debut, also chipping in 12 rushing yards and a TD. Birmingham turned back to Russell Gall at QB, and while he wasn't great, but he was 23/41, 245 yards and a TD. The VooDoo converted 11/17 third downs.

San Jose has been to back to back World Bowls, winning one and losing one. Last season they started 0-4 before they started a winning streak but there will be no bad start this season as San Jose beat Southern California 35-3. Myron Dustin was 55/72, 558 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, and 4 sacks taken. Dustin helped 3 receivers top 100 yards as Lynn McLaurin caught 19 for 154, Robert Moreira caught 8 for 115 and Aaron Bush caught 9 for 106. Charles Tillman had a combined 108 yards and 3 TDs, running for 66 and 2 scores while catching 4 for 42 and another TD.

San Antonio has been one of the best regular season teams the last several years but they lost in their lone World Bowl appearance and have been itching to get back ever since. Will this be their year? This was their week at least as they got out to a 21-0 lead en route to a 58-21 win over division rival Houston. Wm Kaiser intercepted Dale Baber and took it 36 yards for a score and a quick 7-0 lead. George Warner completed 24/32, 323 yards and 5 TDs. James Douglas and Daniel Cruz caught a combined 5 passes today, all for scores. Douglas caught 3 for 49 yards and 3 TDs while Cruz caught 2 for 1 yard and 2 scores. Eric Rodriguez didn't score but he did have a double triple, running for 144 yards and catching 6 for 138 more. Dale Baber threw for 331 yards and 3 TDs for Houston but he also threw 2 INTs. Under Taker caught 3 for 139 yards and 2 TDs.

Denver started the Barton McDonnell era today and the rookie 5th round QB completed 14/26, 287 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, and 4 sacks taken. Not a stunning debut but he did better than Oklahoma QB Stephen Morrow, who threw 0 TDs and 3 INTs. Morrow completed 37/68 for 393 yards but he also took 10 sacks. Denver led 13-10 after 3 quarters but one of their sacks came in the end zone in the 4th for a safety to increase the lead to 15-10 before McDonnell's 2nd TD pass finished the scoring. Domenic Winstead caught 11 for 137 yards for Oklahoma while Christopher Cook caught 4 for 114 for Denver. Three Gold players accounted for all 10 sacks with Bam Bam Bigelow leading the way with 5 while Jerry Franklin had 3 and William Sherrill had 2.

Honolulu beat Los Angeles 30-9 in a game that shows why you need a real punter. Los Angeles has no punter on the roster (PM Sent) so placekicker Lawrence Trujillo did the punting and had one blocked and returned for a TD. There may have been other blocks but 5 punts averaging less than 25 yards gave the Hawaiians great field position all game. Defensively, Honolulu had 9 sacks and 2 INTs. Dana Nelson had 4 sacks and Doyle Miller had 3. QB Victor Russell didn't top 200 yards but he didn't need to and he did toss 2 scoring passes in the win.

The Pacific Division all played each other Week 1 and so did the Atlantic. Washington beat Baltimore 27-3 behind 266 yards and 3 TDs from QB Michael Erickson. Fred Messer caught 6 for 187 yards and 2 TDs while Norman Thomas had a combined 128 yards (84 rushing and 44 receiving).

Pittsburgh beat Charlotte 22-7, with 9 points coming from the defense. Keith Carter got Charlotte on the board first with a 31 yard pass to Jerry Touchet. Pittsburgh then got a rushing TD and a FG for a 10-7 halftime lead. In the 3rd, Keith Carter was intercepted by Steven Payne, who took it 27 yards for a TD. The Maulers then added a FG and a sack for a safety to round out the scoring. Pittsburgh had 401 offensive yards with a strong running game as Andrew Paul and Kenneth Allen both had at least 90 rushing yards.

The AI teams went 2-0 as both Portland and Philadelphia won. The Storm remain unowned but the Bell have a new owner, Alabama Tide.

Portland beat Memphis 23-20 on a last second Aaron David FG. Memphis ran the ball well with George Hoffman rushing for 148 yards and a score while Randy Schmidt had 67 yards and a score. QB Gary Westerfield was not up to the task however, completing 15/31, 181 yards and 2 INTs. Schmidt (3-54) and Hoffman (4-48) also led the Showboats in receiving. Curtis Torres threw for 301 yards and 2 TDs to lead Portland, with Marvin Leggett catching 3 for 104 yards and a score. This game was literally back and forth, with only Portland scoring back to back as neither team led by more than 7 at any point.

Philadelphia beat Cleveland 33-0. James Newkirk ran for 124 yards and a score while Jay Jones ran for 87 and 2 scores. Defensively, they held Cleveland to 71 total yards, with 3 turnovers and 7 sacks. Steven Foster led the team with 3 sacks.

Chicago beat New York 17-10 behind a defense that forced 3 turnovers and had 9 sacks. The Stars won the yards but the Blitz won the field position and the scoreboard. Marco Anderson led the offense with 102 combined yards, leading the team in rushing (66 yards and a TD) and receiving (4 for 36). QB Douglas Lee didn't have a great passing game but his 34 yard TD run early in the 4th gave Chicago a 10 point lead.

The Panthers beat the Wheels 44-7 in the battle of Michigan. Willie Reddish completed 25/31, 318 yards and 4 TDs to lead the Michigan Panthers offense. The Panthers spread the ball around with 5 different ball carriers combining for 190 yards and 2 TDs on 32 carries while 10 different Panthers caught a pass. William Barrett led the way with 7 catches, 99 yards and a TD. Defensively Michigan sacked Mark Lott 6 times and intercepted him once as they held Detroit to 218 total yards.

Orlando beat New Jersey 16-7 with the running game being the difference. The Renegades ran 36 times for 183 yards and a TD while the Generals gained 1 whole yard from 21 carries. Giuseppe Jones led Orlando with 132 rushing yards and the defense kept New Jersey off the scoreboard for the first 58 minutes of the game.

New Jersey's next opponent, Jacksonville, ran for 249 yards and 3 TDs in their 27-8 win over Florida. George Smith led the way with 131 yards and a TD on just 8 carries and the running game helped overcome the 2 INTs William Barron threw. Defensively the Bulls held the Blazers to 172 total yards, sacking Nicholas Meis 4 times.

Shreveport beat Arizona 9-3 in a FG kicking contest. In the equivalent of bringing a knife to a gun fight, Arizona brought a pair of WRs to a kicking contest. The Wranglers have a rookie kicker on the roster but he didn't do the FG kicking as WR Patrick McManus made 1/2 while WR Michael Chapin was 0/1. Shreveport actual kicker Oscar Hall was 3/3 on his kicks and the Steamer get the win.

Boston beat Tampa bay 17-16. Tampa Bay got off to a quick start, taking an early 10-0 lead before Boston rallied to tie the game at 10 at the half. The Bandits got a pair of FGs in the 3rd for a 16-10 lead but Jerry Parker's 13 yard TD pass to Francis Martin with 1:09 left tied the game and Felipe Norfleet's XP gave Boston the lead and eventually the win. Boston struggled on the ground on both sides of the ball, but their pass defense is still pretty good. Boston has been consistent in a lot of things and if they can figure out how to be an average run defense (they are usually among the worst against the run), their overall defense will be scary. Their pass defense has been highly rated for years despite the losses and it's not just because it's easy to run on them. When teams actually do pass on Boston, it's usually hard to have much success.

What do I know though? Not much based on recent results.

Oakland beat Georgia 19-0. Daniel Fleming got the scoring started with a 5 yard TD run then Todd Mack kicked 4 FGs for the Invaders. Georgia QB Adam Patrick was sacked 7 times and the Force had just 52 total yards today. Daniel Roberts led the Invaders sack parade with 3.

good recap as usual greg you forgot to mention though tampa coach had a brain fart and never changed his line up from pre season line ups,gg though boston deserved the win

Week 2 is in the books and we have ten teams 2-0, ten teams 0-2 and twelve teams 1-1. San Antonio has scored 112 points already, no way they keep up a 56 point per game pace but an excellent start nonetheless. On the flip side four teams have scored less than 10 points and another 5 teams are below 20.

The teams giving up the most points so far are Houston and Michigan, the two teams lit up by the Gunslingers. Better days are likely ahead for the Gamblers and Panthers.

New Orleans beat Shreveport 14-0 thanks to a pair of TD passes by James Wright. Overall, the VooDoo had a bad offensive game as Wright took 3 sacks and completed 6 passes to Steamer defensive players, but the VooDoo defense kept Shreveport off the scoreboard. New Orleans had 3 sacks and forced 3 turnovers of their own.

San Jose beat Orlando 35-16. Myron Dustin completed 42/58, 518 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs, and 2 sacks taken. Dustin also had 20 yards rushing and a TD. Lynn McLaurin caught 15 for 189 and both TDs while Robert Moreira caught 5 for 149. San Jose scored 2 TDs in the 1st qtr with successful 2 point conversions after both for an early 16-0 lead, then Orlando kicked a pair of FGs to get within 16-6. That's as close as they could get as the Sabercats pulled away.

San Antonio beat Michigan 54-13. The Gunslingers ran for 220 yards and 4 TDs, led by Michael Barry, who ran for 144 and 2. George Warner completed 21/38, 360 yards and 2 TDs, with Jesse Anderson catching 9 for 170 yards and a score. Willie Reddish and the Panthers offense tried to keep up but Reddish ended up taking 4 sacks and throwing 3 INTs. Even special teams was good for San Antonio as kicker Dennis Lovett made all 4 FG tries and all 6 XP, punter Charles Clayton averaged over 50 yards a punt and Glenn Graham averaged over 30 yards a kick return.

Pittsburgh got past Houston 28-25 in OT. Houston got out to a 7-0 lead on a Rob Van Dam TD run before Pittsburgh kicked a FG. Dale Baber accounted for the next 2 scores, one on a TD pass to Chuck Iceman Liddell and one on a pick six to Pittsburgh's Steven Payne. It's the 2nd already this season for Payne, who also had one last week against Charlotte. The score was now 14-10 Houston and the Gamblers extended it to 17-10 before the 4th started. Thomas Hampton then threw a pair of 4th qtr TD passes, with a Dale Baber TD pass in between. Hampton's first TD pass tied the game at 17, Baber's TD pass along with a 2 point run gave Houston a 25-17 lead, then Hampton's pass at the 2 minute warning made the score 25-23. Allen Ramos ran in the game tying 2 point conversion, then David Sisemore lost a fumble after a reception, but Pittsburgh couldn't get into FG range before time ran out.

In OT, Houston got the ball first and QB Dale Baber was injured on a sack and had to leave the game. Backup Chris Miller came in and promptly threw an INT, allowing Stephen Marino to boot the game winning 48 yard FG.

Chicago is off to a 2-0 start after they beat Detroit in a FG kicking contest 12-3. The Blitz and Wheels combined for 408 yards and 1 red zone trip, with Detroit committing the only 2 turnovers, both INTs by QB Mark Lott. Samuel Diaz made 4/5 FG attempts to kick Chicago to victory. The Blitz sacked Detroit QBs 7 times, 4 by Thomas Lomax while the Wheels sacked Douglas Lee 4 times.

Boston is off to a 2-0 start, their first such start since 2003. The Breakers ran for 142 yards and 2 TDs and the Stars did the defense a favor by only rushing 6 times. New York threw 55 passes and netted 200 yards before sacks against a team with good pass defense and poor run defense. The Stars fumbled twice and trailed 16-3 late, and got their TD with just 20 seconds left.

This seems like a good spot to take a break. I'll post more soon.

Continuing with Week 2, Honolulu beat Portland 22-16. Victor Russell threw two first half TD passes as the Hawaiians led at the half 14-13. The score remained the same until 3:12 left when Aaron David made a 35 yard FG to give Portland a 16-14 lead. Victor Russell then led Honolulu down the field and Brian Copley's short TD run gave the Hawaiians the lead back. Victor Russell threw a 2 point conversion to make the score 22-16. Portland still had time but needed a TD. Up to this point, Honolulu had turned the ball over 4 times, Portland none, but Curtis Torres was intercepted to stop the comeback attempt.

Denver beat Arizona 27-6. The Wranglers defense played tough, getting 4 sacks and 4 turnovers but the offense couldn't sustain drives as John Adams completed less than half his passes and was intercepted 3 times. When the Wranglers were in scoring position, 3 different position players combined to make 2/4 FG tries. Denver rookie QB Barton McConnell had a rough day with 2 INTs and 4 sacks taken but still managed 254 passing yards. Patrick Molina ran for 2 TDs, Kevin Hillman 1, and Hillman led the Gold in rushing with 81 yards and receiving, catching 11 for 109.

Jacksonville beat New Jersey 20-17, thanks to an 84 yard TD pass from William Barron to Jose Berry on their first play from scrimmage and a 110 yard kick return to open the second half by Jeremy Alleman. New Jersey got a big game from Raylan Givins, 200 total yards, with 178 yards and a TD coming on the ground. The rest of the Generals offense didn't help out enough and the Bulls improve to 2-0.

Washington beat Georgia 24-3 as William Flock ran for a TD and caught a TD pass. The Federals defense sacked Adam Patrick 10 times and intercepted him once, holding the Force to 74 total yards. Michael Erickson threw for 251 yards and 2 TDs, getting 100 yard receiving games from Fred Messer and William Flock. Messer caught 5 for 118 and Flock had 6 for 106. Sylvester Adams had 4 sacks for Washington and Ricky Belt had 3.

Tampa Bay beat Los Angeles 17-6 to even their record at 1-1. David Fields threw a TD pass, James Harrison ran for a TD and the Bandits defense sacked Donald Davis 5 times. LOs Angeles again had their kicker pull double duty as a punter and the field position predictably suffered. Hopefully that will get fixed if he ever logs in.

Oklahoma beat Memphis 20-12 in a battle to stay out of the Southwest basement. Both QBs threw for over 300 yards but also had more INTs than TDs. The first half was all FGs as Memphis led 9-3 but Stephen Morrow had 2 long TD passes in the second half. The first one went 57 yards to Michael Hagler and the second was a 55 yard score to Domenic Winstead in the 4th as the Outlaws come from behind for the win. George Hoffman had 156 combined yards for the Showboats, including 113 receiving.

Birmingham beat Oakland 21-12 for the first successful stop on the Russell Gall Redemption Tour. Gall was once a top QB in the league who had a rough 2011, but today he completed 22/30, 262 yards, 2 TDs and 1 sack taken. Both TDs came early in the game but Gall couldn't convert either 2 point attempt. The rest of the game was all FGs until inside the 2 minute warning, when a Domingo Robinson 65 yard TD pass to Harry Warnke cut the lead to 21-12. The 2 point try failed but the onside kick was successful. Oakland still needed to score twice and Robinson was intercepted before scoring once and the game was over.

Florida beat Philadelphia 10-6 in a game without big plays. Longest play of the game covered 21 yards, with Nicholas Meis throwing a 2nd qtr TD pass to John Sanchez for the game's only TD. Philadelphia drove deep into Florida territory inside the 2 minute warning, but trailing 10-6, a FG did no good. Facing a 4th and 1 at the 3, James Huson knocked down the Joel Jasso pass to preserve the win for Florida.

Charlotte beat Baltimore 9-3 in a FG kicking contest. Jerry Touchet led Charlotte, rushing for 74 yards and while QB Keith carter took 6 sacks, he didn't turn the ball over. That all led to 3 short Myron Gilbert FGs. Inside the 2 minute warning, Baltimore had driven deep into Charlotte territory but needed a TD. Facing 4th and 1 from the 13, Hector Bednar's pass fell incomplete, preserving the win for Charlotte.

Southern California outlasted Cleveland in OT 19-16. Both teams moved the ball well between the 20's but drives died in the red zone as 1 TD was scored in 6 trips combined. The Sun ran for 233 yards and a TD as 5 ball carriers had between 25-71 yards. Michael Broughton threw for 243 yards to 10 different receivers for Southern California while Cleveland's Carl Langlois threw for 286 yards to 11 different receivers. Regulation time ended with the game tied at 16 and Southern California added a FG on the first OT drive. Mark Vasquez intercepted Langlois on the ensuing drive to seal the win for the Sun.

Here is what i think without being funny or self-motivate. (see other thread) if you are away since 1925, are not fielding a punter and have not even hit 1 scouting button for the game then i want my 2nd to the last play qb injury reversed and nullified.

Time to deal with my garbage scenario. *steely cobalt eyes, dogged determination*

Boston on a 3-0 start? Is this their best start? Kuddos to you Doug!

I checked and found several 2-0 starts and three starts of 3-1 where they lost week 3 then won week 4. Had to go all the way back to 1974 to find a 3-0 start for the Breakers. They tied Washington Week 4 for a 3-0-1 record before winning 8 more in a row to start 11-0-1 before a Smirt led Arizona team gave Boston their first ever loss. They would lose 2 more in a row before righting the ship Week 16 against my Generals. Boston earned a BYE, beat Pittsburgh 44-14 in the Divisional Round before losing 64-20 to Florida in the first ever Conference Championship Game.

Thanks!!

The Week 3 version will be somewhat short. Got sidetracked by real football last night and a draft and free agency today, plus work tonight.

New Orleans beat Baltimore 59-12 behind 7 James Wright TD passes. Nicholas Reyes caught 4 scores among his 11 for 270 yards. Wright finished 23/39, 415 yards, 7 TDs, 1 INT and 2 sacks taken. The VooDoo ball carriers combined for 183 yards and a TD while the defense held Baltimore below 200 yards.

San Jose beat Los Angeles 60-3 with just 404 yards of offense. The SaberCats were ready for a placekicker trying to punt and they blocked 3 punts that resulted in TDs. They also wrapped up their scoring with a defensive TD when Roy Clark caused a sack/fumble in the end zone. When San Jose had the ball, they moved it well despite taking 8 sacks. Myron Dustin threw for 372 yards and 4 TDs, 2 to Scott Isaacs. Aaron Bush caught 14 for 185 yards.

San Antonio beat Denver 27-9. The Denver defense put up some resistance to the San Antonio Scoring Machine but the Gunslingers still had enough offense to power through for the win. George Warner threw for 3 TDs and 2 INTs for San Antonio, with James Douglas catching 2 scores. The Gunslingers defense forced rookie QB Barton McDonnell into 2 INTs and 5 sacks.

New Orleans, San Jose, and San Antonio are all 3-0, as is Honolulu after their 20-9 win over Chicago. Honolulu led 10-9 at the half and won the second half 10-0, sacking Douglas Lee 6 times in all, 5 by Dana Nelson. Both teams spread the ball around in the passing game with 18 different players catching a pass and neither QB topped 200 yards so no stat lines to mention.

Washington beat Charlotte 16-0. The Federals gained 464 yards but managed just a Michael Erickson TD pass and 3 Raymond Hosmer FGs. That was enough today though, as the Federals defense kept Charlotte out of the red zone and had 6 sacks to improve to 3-0.

Rounding out the 3-0 teams is Boston, who beat Florida 19-14. QB Jerry Parker completed 15/19, 98 yards and a TD, completing a pass to 10 different receivers. Nicholas Meis threw a pair of TD passes as the Blazers led 14-10 after 3 but Nicholas Walker's 1 yard TD run and George Sheehan's sack of Meis in the end zone in the 4th qtr was the difference as the Breakers come from behind to win.

Speaking of 4th qtr comebacks, Portland came from behind to beat Georgia 26-23. Wilbert Wolfe ran for 117 yards and a pair of 1st qtr TDs to give Georgia an early 14-0 lead (1 for 2 on 2 point tries). Portland fought back to get within 20-14 at the half with the Force adding a 3rd qtr FG to lead 23-14 heading to the 4th. David Babin had a short TD run, Adam Patrick was sacked in the end zone (only sacked twice all game, low number for him), and Aaron David made a FG with 4:39 left to give Portland the lead. Georgia barely missed a long FG attempt inside 2 minutes and Portland improves to 2-1.

Oakland improves to 2-1 with a 15-3 win over Detroit. The Wheels benched Mark Lott and while William Oquendo didn't throw any INTs, he did take 8 sacks, 4 by Brian Stalter. The Invaders ran for 161 yards as a team with Daniel Fleming getting a late TD run to seal the victory.

Oklahoma beat Cleveland 31-10 behind 3 Stephen Morrow TD passes and 204 yards rushing from the ball carriers. Gary Kahn led the rushers with 92 yards and a TD while Domenic Winstead led the receivers, catching 4 for 102 yards and 2 TDs. Morrow finished 25/35, 345 yards, 3 TDs, and 2 sacks taken. Defensively, they held the Thunderbolts to 68 total yards, with their lone TD coming on a 104 yard kickoff return by Jerry James.

Michigan beat Southern California 38-6 thanks to 370 yards and 3 TD passes by Willie Reddish. Reddish found 9 different receivers with Kristopher Wrenn leading the way with 7 for 84 yards. Ball carrying was the same, 174 yards and 2 TDs from 6 different players.

Tampa Bay beat Jacksonville 27-2 thanks to Carl Gillard's league record 334 yards rushing with 2 TDs. Gillard also "scored" the Bulls' 2 points, being tackled in the end zone but I'm sure that's forgotten after a record breaking performance. The Bandits defense kept the Jacksonville offense off the board and the win ties these teams at the top of the Southeast.

Memphis beat Pittsburgh 29-20 for their first win of the season. The Maulers were 2-0 coming in and Thomas Hampton threw for 340 yards and 3 TDs but he also threw 5 INTs. The Showboats leaned on the running game today, with George Hoffman rushing 30 times for 159 yards and Randy Schmidt gaining 102 and a TD on 14 carries. Hoffman (40 yards) and Schmidt (34 yards) were the team's leading receivers.

Philadelphia beat Orlando 19-9. The Bell opened the scoring with a 66 yard Joel Jasso TD pass to Matthew Nealon and closed the scoring with a 99 yard Jason Wharton kickoff return TD after Orlando cut the lead to 12-9 in the 4th. Neither team ran the ball well and the only 100 yard player was Orlando's Joseph Calkins, who caught 8 for 102.

Houston beat Arizona 23-9 behind backup QB Chris Miller. Miller was the goat (in a bad way) last week when he came off the bench cold and threw an INT in OT but he had all week to prepare for today. Miller was 20/33, 222 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT and 3 sacks taken. Chuck Iceman Liddell caught 2 early TDs from Miller as the Gamblers took a 14-0 lead. Arizona didn't run well but QB John Adams completed 19/21 for 203 yards and a TD. The Wranglers are still using position players to kick and they made 1/2 FGs.

Shreveport and Birmingham played to a 7-7 tie. Frederick Martin had a 74 yard TD run in the 1st qtr, finishing with 124 yards, then Russell Gall found Mohamed Manno for a 40 yard TD in the 2nd. That was it for the scoring and now both teams are 1-1-1 on the year.

New Jersey beat New York 15-6 in a FG kicking contest. Jamie Orman had a miserable day for the Stars, completing 13/32, 89 yards and 3 INTs. Those turnovers helped set up some of Howie "Stump" Schwab's 5 FGs as the Generals get their first win of the year in ugly fashion.

I signed and cut a qb to a high contract as a mis-direct. I wonder if i hoodwinked hellbringer into thinking he would face a watered down offense or an alt game plan.