In the very first USFL, the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars made it to the championship three times during the 1980’s. The Stars won 2 of them. The USFL shut down for any chances for a three peat for the Stars like many of these spring football leagues that come into our lives like cicadas who hang out for weeks and then die. The Birmingham Stallions won the very first USFL championship in the reboot in 2022. Then the USFL hung around for the second year and the Stallions won it again. Then the USFL merges with the XFL, they call themselves the UFL, and the Stallions won the very first championship in this league on Father’s Day. Head coach Skip Holtz is the mastermind behind this Stallions dynasty who is the son of great college coach Lou who won a National Championship with the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

Skip Holtz has coached with his father at the college level for years. Skip took on a head coaching job leaving his father. His last job he was fired at Louisiana Tech in 2021. Holtz first crack at professional football he definitely has some highlights for his new resume. Skip is 32-4 in three seasons with the Stallions. He has won with a different quarterback each season. In the first season it was J’Mar Smith who was still on the Stallions roster this season. Then Alex McGough in 2023 was magnificent as he was MVP of the USFL and now is on the Green Bay Packers roster as one of their back up QB’s. This year they won it with former Cornhusker Adrian Martinez who was the MVP of the first UFL championship game. The first UFL championship also was the debut of Tom Brady as a Fox sports announcer for the upcoming NFL season.

Brady gave the MVP award to Adrian Martinez after the game. Then he was a guest in the Fox broadcasting booth and threw in his two cents of how the game was going at the time. If you are a Brady hater like I am, you may be muting the games he broadcasts on the NFL this coming fall. The first UFL championship was being played in St.Louis so the other former NFL quarterback stole the show over Brady.

Former St. Louis Ram Kurt Warner was well applauded when he was announced before the game kicked off. Warner won a Superbowl with the Rams when they were in St. Louis. The BattleHawks fans showed up to the game despite their team losing to the San Antonio Brahmas in the XFL conference finals. The BattleHawks fans did not fill the stadium when their team played, but the UFL championship was in their city so why not. When Kurt Warner’s name was announced in the pregame festivities, the crowd went wild. The first UFL championship between the Brahmas and the Stallions had 27,396 people in attendance. Obviously the league would have wanted the BattleHawks to make it for a instant full house and to me a better game.

THE GAME

The first half in the first ever UFL championship game was like two boxers just dancing in the ring exchanging a few jabs. It was a sloppy first half. The defenses were playing tough. The two offenses may have been trying to get the butterflies out of their stomachs. Poor Wade Phillips waiting 55 years to get to a professional championship witnessed his quarterback turn into Jay Cutler and it seemed like he did not really want to be there. Chase Garbers twice did a quarterback slide around the first down marker to come up short of converting the third down.

Garbers could have easily made the first down by putting his head down and running to the marker on both those plays that killed potential scoring drives. His play seemed to irritate other players on his own team. Garbers’ body language during this game is the tale of the tape. He was playing like the team was down 40 to 0 in the first quarter. The Brahmas had to burn a time out for Teez Tabor, a defensive back, to change his socks. In Tabor’s defense he did lead the Brahmas defense with ten tackles.The Stallions drew first blood with 40 seconds left in the first half. Adrian Martinez suddenly came to life & hit Gary Jennings for an 8 yard touchdown strike for the first ever score in the UFL championship history.

Martinez then converted the 2 point conversion hitting his other wide receiver Amari Rodgers and at the end of the first half, 8-0 Stallions. In the second half, the Stallions got the ball first. They drove down the field as Martinez capped the drive off with an 11 yard run for a touchdown. Martinez finished the day completing only 13-28 for only 98 passing yards with the touchdown pass. However Martinez scored two rushing touchdowns for the Stallions with 52 yards on the ground. He was awarded MVP of the game. His running back Ricky Person had a nice day on the ground fighting for 102 rushing yards on 13 carries against the number one defense overall in the UFL, the Brahmas. The Stallions defense is a very close number two to the Brahmas defense. On Father’s Day, the Stallions looked like they had the number one defense in the UFL as they pitched a shut out 25-0. Which is the first shut out of the season in the UFL’s first season.

The Stallions’ Kyahva Tezino punched out the ball on Brahmas wide receiver Jontre Kirklin as Birmingham recovered the ball. The Brahmas turnover would lead to another score for the Stallions and put the game out of reach. Tezino played against the Stallions in the 2023 USFL championship as he suited up for the Pittsburgh Maulers then. Maulers would not be one of the teams picked in the merger. The Stallions like all the surviving teams got to draft the players from the teams that did not make the cut. The Stallions added talent to a team already having tons of it.

From the legend of Scooby Wright, the Stallions top line backer from the beginning of the Stallions journey. Injuries the last two seasons have kept him inactive recovering in the Mystery Van. The Stallions have that core in place with moving parts if they need replacements. I’m sure the NFL will pluck some talent away from Skip Holtz this off-season. It will not matter because the Stallions organization will find replacements for those pieces that will fit in those vacated spots on the roster. Holtz seems to get the best out of all his players who put on a Stallions uniform. The UFL is many players’ second chance to get back to the NFL. These players the NFL has failed to develop for whatever reason. Holtz is definitely the quarterback whisperer. The Stallions have that team concept so it is a dynasty that you can’t help but root for. Skippy is definitely King of the spring dance as he has found his calling for at least right now.

I feel like this first ever UFL championship comes down to who shoots J.R? Between San Antonio and Birmingham, this is one of those Cowboy it up style of fan bases meeting in archtown. Wade Phillips is a true Texan. Then the Stallions fans wearing their cowboy hats waiting to slaughter the Brahmas like they did back in the days of the Alamo. The state of Texas versus the state of Alabama in a true hoedown. A true battle of the south in spring football. Let’s see if we can decide on the winner.

USFL CHAMPS: BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS VS XFL CHAMPS: SAN ANTONIO BRAHMAS

STALLIONS (9-1) Playoffs (1-0), BRAHMAS (7-3) Playoffs (1-0)

CONFERENCE RESULTS

Stallions knocked off the Panthers 31-18 to win the USFL conference.

Brahmas knocked off the BattleHawks 25-15 to win the XFL conference.

HEAD TO HEAD THIS SEASON

Brahmas beat Stallions 18-9 in week 9 their only meeting of the year.

We take the hot tub time machine back to 1985 in spring football of the original USFL.

They were the San Antonio Gunslingers of the USFL back in 1985 as they played the Birmingham Stallions once when it counted in regular season. The Gunslingers won 15-14 versus the Stallions on April 7th of ’85.

The only loss of the year to the Stallions was from the Brahmas who snapped a 15 game winning streak dating back to 2023 for Birmingham. The Brahmas have beaten the two best teams in the league as they took care of the BattleHawks in St. Louis to get here last week. The Stallions had a game with the Panthers. They pulled away from Michigan late in that contest to beat the Panthers for the 3rd time this season. The Stallions had the best record in the entire UFL. The Brahmas were number two seed and prevailed in the XFL Conference game.

QUARTERBACK

Adrian Martinez has been one of the best quarterbacks in the UFL. Martinez is a duel threat who can beat you with arm or legs. Chase Garbers is a pocket passer that wants to pick you apart with precision passes. Garbers only played in 5 regular season games as he tallied up 750 passing yards with six touch down passes and two interceptions. Martinez tallied up 1,750 passing yards and had 15 touchdown passes with 3 interceptions. With the legs, Martinez was numbered in the league in rushing yards with 528 and scored 3 rushing touchdowns. Grabers completes 68.6% of his passes while Martinez is completing 58.5% of his passes. Garbers is the key to the Brahmas success. Back up quarterbacks you have to favor the Stallions. If I was a Stallions fan, Martinez makes me nervous the last few weeks as he has struggled behind center. He was taken out of the game last week for back up Matt Corral. Corral is my X factor in this game. Coming in Brahmas have the better QB 1.

EDGE: SAN ANTONIO

THE PLAY MAKERS

The Brahmas have the best two headed monster at the running back position. John Lovett is the guy they run in between the tackles as he had 5 rushing touchdowns for the Brahmas. Then Anthony McFarland can create havoc out of the back field and really juice up that passing game. McFarland can get chunks of yards in open field. He is a game changer.

The Brahmas offensive coordinator AJ Smith has one of the best offensive minds in the UFL. He has a trio of talented wide receivers that can make big plays that feature Justin Smith, Marquez Stevenson, and Jontre Kirklin. Kirlin finished number two in the UFL with 614 yards with 56 catches.

The Stallions have the best tight end in the game with Jace Sternberger. Sternberger hauled in 42 passes for 454 yards with 4 receiving touchdowns. The Stallions use a slew of running backs along with Adrian Martinez escaping the pocket for chunks of yardage. Ricky Person is a Stallions back that has found the end zone six times this season. The Stallions also have weapons in the aerial attack. They have Deon Cain, Marlon Williams who had 4 touchdown catches this season, Kevin Austin Jr. and Amari Rodgers.

EDGE: DRAW

In the regular season the Stallions offense were number one averaging 347.5 yards per game. The Brahmas averaged 296.6 which is 4th in the UFL. The Stallions led the league averaging 26.5 points per game. The Brahmas averaged 19.3 points per game which is number 6 in the UFL.

DEFENSE

The Stallions and the Brahmas are the best two defenses in the league. The Stallions’ Taco Charlton can get to your quarterback while AJ Thomas can steal the ball from your quarterback for the Brahmas. Both units have a ton of talent on the defensive side of the ball. The Brahmas defense is only giving up 15.3 points per game which is the best in the UFL. The Stallions are number two giving up 18 points per game. The Stallions defense leads the league in takeaways with 17. The Brahmas are surprisingly last in that category. The Brahmas have tallied 32 total sacks while the Stallions right behind them with 29.

EDGE: DRAW

HEAD COACHES:

Head to head Wade Phillips beat the great Skip Holtz only a few weeks ago. It took 55 years of coaching for Phillips to reach his first championship. Holtz has found himself a niche in spring football. Holtz is looking for a three peat as he’s coming into this game winning back to back USFL championships. He is 31-4 as the head coach of the Stallions. That’s impressive.

EDGE: DRAW

I feel that I’m more a USFL guy than an XFL guy. The Stallions would be the team I root for in this first UFL championship game. This game should be a doozy. Two dominating defenses should keep this game a close affair and winner takes this first UFL championship in the last minute of the game. I like the Stallions roster depth. I like they have done this, been to this point before, and had great success. In close games I like the Stallions kicker, Chris Blewitt, over the Brahmas kicker, Ryan Santoso, who has struggled down the stretch. I think it is very hard to beat Skip Holtz twice in one season. Matt Corral could be the guy that saves Birmingham like he did last week. Chase Garbers is still playing with that sore wrist, so we can’t forget about that. His back up is Quentin Dormady which the Stallions would love to see just because of takeaways. In the end I’m picking Stallions in this one. Until I see a team knock them off I have to go Birmingham.

OUR PICK: BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS

The annual Nathan’s hot dog eating competition has a beef with their 16 time champion, Joey Chestnut. The organizers of the Coney Island event banned Chestnut this July 4th for signing an endorsement deal with Impossible foods that makes plant-based franks. I don’t see the Michael Jordan of competitive eating suddenly going vegan. Nathan’s is acting like a wiener in this because you don’t want the champion of your event to be supporting the competition’s dog. Seeing Chestnut win the belt and then hock the vegan franks. Which are made out of what exactly? If hot dogs have the mystery meats and bones rolled up together, a plant based frank is what? Dandelions and chick weed. The 4th of July without Chestnut may be to some like Christmas without a Santa Claus. The games will go on and the bigger players will survive as well.

Guys like Joey Chestnut will not just sit on his buns and take the news about being banned from the 4th of July tradition of Nathan’s. Chestnut who is 40 years old and his arch rival Takeru Kobayashi who is 46 years old, he too was banned from Nathan’s about a contract dispute. They will square off on Labor Day weekend. The event will be streaming all over the entire world being on Netflix. Not sure what hot dog brand will be the pick of poison for these two. Could the plant base frankfurters that Chestnut now backs get some legs? Kobayashi, they call him the Godfather of the eating world in these competitions. Kabayashi has won six Mustard belts he has won competing at Coney Island. Last time these rivals squared off was in 2007. Kabayashi actually announced he was retiring last month from competitive eating for health reasons. You know the sport of eating the most hot dogs is like boxing. Mike Tyson coming back to the ring this summer. Kabayashi wants to take down Chestnut one last time in this Labor Day weekend melee.

Everyone was sick of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots and that dynasty. Many now are sick of Patrick Mahomes and those irritating State Farm commercials. In sports you want to see new blood once in a while. We know Joey Chestnut is impossible to beat as he wolfed down 76 dogs in 2021 in ten minutes. A record that can stand for the ages. Last year he scarfed down 63 doggies in ten minutes. I remember trying to eat close to ten White Castle sliders and how I felt. Yikes! The 2nd place finish last year at Nathan’s belonged to 49 year old Geoffrey Esper who is ranked 2nd in the competitive eating world. With Chestnut out, does this open the door for Esper? These eating competitions like in the movie Rocky 4 have fatalities when Apollo Creed went down. In 2019, a California man died after being a part of taco eating competition in Fresno, California. Esper won that event when he ate 73 tacos in 8 minutes. Impressive. This 4th of July the big money may be on Esper but who knows because maybe some new talent may surprise us.

On the 4th of July I never thought to myself I must turn on the Nathan’s Hot Dog eating competition. I would watch it if I came upon it. I listen to the results on ESPN normally. I’m intrigued about this Labor Day competition between Joey Chestnut and Takeru Koybayashi. This may be a must see. That’s what they want. These two will probably rake in the riches of one event by themselves competing rather than all of the years doing Nathan’s. I’m curious about who wins this July 4th without Chestnut in the fold. I always like Man vs Food in his daily show challenges. I always looked on the restaurant walls of those challenges the establishment had by eating their biggest steak or burger in so much time.

The movie with John Candy, The Great Outdoors, comes to mind where he eats the 96 oz of steak. Then the pie eating competition in the movie, Stand By Me.

I don’t know how all these competitive eaters muster enough belly room for dozens of hot dogs, tacos, oysters as the list goes on about the food competitions they have done. When you’re on the highway and you see a wreck, your eyes look at it to see what’s going on. If I came across a food, I would have to watch. To see them sweat as the time limit is about to expire. Then to wonder how a skinny guy, 5’7″ weighing a buck twenty, could have enough stomach liner to hold all of that food inside without bursting. That poor toilet afterwards.

The Florida Panthers are two games away from winning their first ever Stanley Cup as a franchise. It was not that long ago that Joel Quenneville had this Panthers team playing some pretty good hockey and playoff-bound. Some of these guys Quenneville coached a few years back when he quickly had to resign after seven games into the 2021-22 season. It was Quenneville’s past that caught up to him in Florida. The head coach that won three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks had some issues of skeletons that fell out of his closet during his days in the Windy City. He was not the only one involved in the Kyle Beach sexual assault scandal. Quennville and the Blackhawks were a dynasty at the time and he was part of the cover up. Could Quennville have been the head coach with this Panthers team right now on thenverge of making team history? If he did not get caught covering up things. Let’s say if he did what was right back then, he could be about to hoist number 4 in his decorated coaching career.

Joel Quenneville’s first year as Panthers head coach was the 2019-20 season where Florida had a winning record of 35-36-8. The Panthers made the playoffs that year in that shortened season due to the pandemic as the team finished 4th in the Atlantic division. They lost to the Islanders in the qualifying round of the tournament in 4 games. The following year the Panthers finished 2nd in the Central division with a 37-14-5 record. They however lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. In the 2021-22 season, the Florida Panthers got out of the gates with a 7-0 record. Then suddenly the sky started falling and Quenneville was in the mix letting the sexual predator, Brad Aldrich, walk away from the Blackhawks franchise unscathed. This after what he did as employee of the Blackhawks to Kyle Beach and the other John Doe.

Joel Quenneville played in the NHL for 5 different teams over his career as a professional hockey player. He played most of his career with the Hartford Whalers which was seven seasons. He played 803 games in the NHL and scored 54 goals with 136 assists for total of 190 points. Quenneville will turn out to be a better coach than player. He landed his first NHL head coaching job with the St. Louis Blues. For the Blues, Quenneville got the Blues deep into the playoff in almost every season except the one he was fired from during the season. Quenneville would move on to Colorado then hit big in Chicago. In 25 seasons as head coach, Quennville has made the playoffs 20 times. He has a regular season record of 969-572-77 which is 2nd all-time in wins as a head coach. He only trails the great Scotty Bowman in wins all-time. Bowman has 1,244 of them. Quenville’s record in the playoffs is 121-104. With the Blackhawks, he went 76-52 in the playoffs.

On October 18, 2021 Joel Quenneville had no choice and had to resign as head coach for the Florida Panthers. The NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has still not reinstated Quenneville for the cover up. Like the Irish mother from the old country hiding the pregnant teenage daughter that is not married. Sweeping it under the rug worked, but eventually Quenneville and others’ hockey careers blew up when the shit hit the fan. The Panthers now have the guy who is 4th all-time in wins as a head coach in the NHL which is Paul Maurice. Maurice had the Panthers in the Stanley Cup finals last year only to lose to the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas won their first ever Stanley Cup and only has been around for a few years. This is the Panthers 3rd time in the Stanley Cup finals in their history as they lost one to the Avalanche back in 1996. The Panthers have made some savvy trades since Quenneville resigned from Florida. Imagine those trades would have occurred if he stayed there the entire time. That’s if he was innocent and not involved in the cover up. The Panthers had backlash from plenty of people around the country saying Quenneville should be fired. This was before he resigned. Some intriguing head coach openings this off-season and some teams were inquiring about the services of Joe Quennville. The NHL Commissioner has not backed down. We don’t know if Joel will ever get his chance to get 1,000 head coaching victories. He is 65 years old these days and age is catching up to him. Not sure any franchise would be 100 percent in on hiring Quenneville which could be a PR disaster waiting to happen. Some may say this is no big deal. You could say it is close to obstruction of justice. If you point local law enforcement in the wrong direction on purpose, you too can be sharing a cell with your pal you are protecting. Bettman and others in the NHL hope Quenneville will not come back at any point. They hope he quietly rides off into the sunset. Like Quenneville probably hoped Kyle Beach and the other guy would not come back to haunt him. Quenneville could have been even more special winning his 4th cup. Winning a cup with two different teams. Winning the first cup for a franchise. Perhaps he could have been closing in on Scotty Bowman’s NHL win total. The hockey gods may have had their say in the final chapter of the Quenneville story in the NHL.

One of the greatest American-born players in the NHL has decided to hang up the skates after 18 years on the ice. Joe Pavelski was born in Plover, Wisconsin. Played college hockey in his home state at the University of Wisconsin. Pavelski was drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the 7th round of the 2003 NHL draft. Pavelski played for those great Sharks teams that seem to make the post-season every single season. Pavelski will go down as one of the best Sharks players of all-time. The last 5 seasons Pavelski has been suited up for the Dallas Stars. The playoffs is where Pavelski thrived turning into Mr. October in baseball words. He is known as Captain America as he was the leader of the U.SA squad in the Olympics and other world tournaments. The Star were eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers in the conference finals and at the age of 39, Pavelski wants to skate off into the sunset and call it a career.

Joe Pavelski debuted with the San Jose Sharks in 2006 and played 13 seasons on the west coast. He did not want to walk away from the only franchise he knew that had drafted him. Sometimes in the sporting world, teams and players change directions as Pavelski got a nice deal to play for the Dallas Stars. Pavelski would play 5 seasons in Dallas. Pavelski was a 4X all-star and had 14 seasons where he at least scored 20 goals. In the playoffs he scored 74 goals, the most by an American player. He led Team U.S.A .to a silver medal in 2010 in the Olympics played in Vancouver. In 2016, he was captain of the U.S.A. team in the 2016 World Cup held in Toronto. Those international teams called him Captain America. In 2015, he was named the Captain of the Sharks. In 2016 post-season, Pavelski led the Sharks in goals with 14 in that 24 game playoff run that was cut short in game six in the Stanley Cup finals as they were beaten by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Only time the Sharks had made it that far. In 2020, Pavelski helped the Stars get to the Stanley Cup finals. Pavelski though would be 0-2 in the Stanley Cup finals as he’d go down as one of the best players never to win the big game.

Joe Pavelski at 39 years of age definitely has longevity as he played in all 82 regular season games for the Stars in regular season. This season was very productive as he scored 27 goals while dishing out 41 goals. In 19 games in the recent post-season, the Captain was not his normal self as he only tallied one goal with 3 assists. This was the same guy at the age of 34 that led the Sharks with 38 goals in the 2018-19 season. Last year in a Stars uniform, he had 4 goals against the Seattle Kraken. In 18 seasons, he has tallied 476 goals while dishing 592 assists in over a thousand games played. In Sharks history, he is second to only Patrick Marleau in goals scored with 355. He is 3rd all-time in points on the Sharks all-time list with 761. He’s 4th in assists with 406 and 3rd in games played with 963.

All those great players from those talented San Jose Sharks teams seem to be hanging up the spikes. Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, now Captain America. Joe Pavelski during his Sharks days was also nicknamed “Little Joe” playing with the bearded beast in Thornton. All these guys will have their number hanging one day in the rafters of the shark tank. All should be future NHL Hall of Famers as well. Pavelski is a true competitor that never stopped working on his craft. He would practice harder then anybody on the team. He looked deep into game situations and came up with ways to improve himself. If that happened to him, how would he make it better. Off the ice his wife and Joe took in rookie center last year for the Stars, Wyatt Johnston. The 21 year old center scored 32 goals being around Joe. He’s a team guy first. Great teammate and asset to any organization. It’s a shame he never won a cup as it seemed the Sharks were destined to get there at some point to win it all. I compare those great Sharks teams to how the Vegas Golden Knights have done since they came into the league as an expansion team. Golden Knights won a cup already. Pavelski is 6th in points and goals by American born players which is really very impressive. We know hockey is mostly Canadian players. Pavelski is high on the list of some very special talent made in America. Pavelski now will take his gold game to new heights and is a guy who will definitely be missed. Should go down as a type of guy you would want to build you team around, especially anybody who is called Captain America in his circles.

The playoffs have arrived after a very nice ten week season in year one of the UFL. It’s Stallions, Panthers, Brahmas, and BattleHawks… oh my. They are the 4 teams left standing after a ten week season. The Stallions are trying for a three peat as they won the last two USFL titles. The Panthers are looking for that 1983 magic. Could AJ McCarron be the next Kurt Warner in St.Louis winning it all? The city of San Antonio has finally found a permanent home at the Alamo Dome. Those spring teams of the past they want to forget as they want to be like those great Spurs teams that collected championships. The playoffs start with two rematches from week ten. Which two teams will you meet in St. Louis for the first ever UFL championship? We take a stab at it and throw out two predictions as we preview the playoff match ups. Hope you enjoy.

USFL CONFERENCE

#2. MICHIGAN PANTHERS (7-3) AT BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (9-1)

HEAD TO HEAD THIS SEASON: Stallions swept the 2 games versus the Panthers in regular season.

The number 3 is a very important number for both the Stallions and the Panthers. For the Stallions they are looking to win their third championship in a row. For the Panthers they are looking at number 3 as third time is the charm after losing to the Stallions twice this season. Last week these teams met in Birmingham for the final week of regular season, and the Panthers shot themselves in the paws late in that game with a commanding lead of 16-6. Jake Bates missed a walk off field goal for the Panthers. It was 20-19 Stallions win as they clinched the number one seed. The first meeting was another close game earlier in the season as the Stallions prevailed. At the time, Skip Holtz was rolling out two quarterbacks to see what he had. The Panthers are no slouch as they won 5 straight games before losing to the Stallions in the final week of the season.

THE BREAK DOWN

THE QUARTERBACK POSITION

The quarterback position is the most important position on the field. The Stallions have this advantage as they have one of the best quarterbacks in the UFL with Adrian Martinez. Martinez is a duel threat quarterback that can actually beat you with his arm and legs. He has struggled a little bit the last few weeks. Does that open up the door for the Panthers to prowl?

The Panthers kryptonite is the quarterback position. The Panthers have played musical chairs all season with the quarterback position. Started off with EJ Perry. Then Danny Etling. Bryce Perkins got some time and there may be another two names we are not mentioning. The Panthers are going with Etling as he’s been pretty good. He needs a strong running game with the stingy defense and not make any mistakes to win versus a good Stallions team.

EDGE: STALLIONS

THE PLAY MAKERS

The Stallions have a factory of play makers. They can run the ball using a three headed monster back field that consists of CJ Marable, Ricky Person, and Larry Rountree. They have the best tight end in Jace Sternberger. The have a trio of wide receivers that can kill you in any game that features Deon Cain, Marlon Williams and Kevin Austin Jr.

The Panthers I would give the slight edge to their running game that features Matt Colburn. He could be the X and Y factor when it comes to beating the Stallions. The Panthers have some talent at the wide receiver position with Marcus Simms, one of the best in the league, and Siaasi Mariner who has emerged as a nice weapon for Michigan.

EDGE: STALLIONS

THE DEFENSE

Both the Panthers and Stallions defense are lean mean fighting machines. The Stallions front seven may be the best in the UFL. Carlos Davis is a mad man on the field who can create havoc and kill your quarterback for the Stallions. The Panthers’ Breeland Speaks led the UFL in sacks with 9.5 this season. The Panther defense allows 19 points per game while the Stallions only allow 18 points per game. The Stallions are ranked two in the UFL averaging only allowing 259.5 yards per game. While Panthers are 4th and allowing 263.1. The X-factor, the Stallions defense, has not been the same after John Chavis, their defensive coordinator, had to leave the team. Overall I give both defenses a draw.

EDGE: DRAW

The Panthers have the better kicker in Jake Bates, but outside like last week his long distance kicks don’t hit like they do at Ford Field inside the dome. I like the fact that Skip Holtz has been here and done that. I thought perhaps history could repeat itself as this is the very first season of the merger that formed the UFL. Let’s take the time machine hot tub back in time when the Panthers won the very first USFL championship in 1983. This philosophy does not work all the time. It’s hard to beat the same team three times in one season. I like the Stallions chances. They have the better team. They get it done at home.

OUR PREDICTION: BIRMINGHAM

THE XFL CONFERENCE

#2.SAN ANTONIO BRAHMAS (7-3) AT #1.ST.LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS (7-3)

HEAD TO HEAD THIS SEASON: BattleHawks swept the two game series

The Brahmas and BattleHawks finished with the same record of 7-3, but the division belongs to St. Louis beating San Antonio twice. Last week the Brahmas and BattleHawks faced each other in the last game of the season. St.Louis escaped with the division title with 13-12 injury. St.Louis has lost 2 out of the last 4 games. St.Louis was playing without their starting quarterback, AJ McCarron, who had an ankle issue for two of those games. McCarron returned last week and was very rusty but still helped his team pull out a key victory. The Brahmas thrive when Chase Garbers is the team’s starting quarterback. He missed six games this season due to a wrist injury. Garbers re-injured that wrist in the first half in last week’s game.

Which quarterback will make it on the field for this Sunday’s playoff game? It is the million dollar question? I like AJ McCarron over Chase Garbers injured or not. McCarron has more experience and grit to get through the pain. I like St. Louis’ back up situation with Manny Wilkens over the gift wrapper Quintin Dormady for San Antonio.

EDGE: BATTLEHAWKS

PLAY MAKERS

The Brahmas and BattleHawks have a slew of play makers. I like St.Louis having the better receivers as San Antonio has the better back field. The BattleHawks can give opposing teams mismatches with AJ McCaron’s biggest target in the league, Hakeem Butler. They also have the XFL leading in 2022 wide receiver Jacour Pearson who played for the Seattle Sea Dragons. Pearson starting to gel with McCarron. The Brahmas have some great weapons in Jontre Kirklin, who’s their number one guy. They have old reliable Cody Latimer as well. The BattleHawks has the edge. San Antonio’s running back Anthony McFarland is a game changer. McFarland can carry the ball and catch balls out of the back field for chunks of yardage. When he gets in the open field, good luck. The Brahmas also can attack you with John Lovett. The BattleHawks bring Jerry Saylors to the table – one of the best ball carriers in the league. I think the play makers are a wash for both teams in this match up.

EDGE: DRAW

On offense the Brahmas get the yards per game as they average 296.6 yards per game which is 4th in the UFL. The BattleHawks average 272.1 yards per game which is 6th in the league. Points it flip flops. The Brahmas average 19 points per game which is 6th in the league. Then BattleHawks average 26 points per contest which is number two in the UFL.

DEFENSE

The Brahmas and BattleHawks have two of the best defenses in the league. I think the 4 best defenses have made the post-season this year in the UFL. The Brahmas give up the least amount of yards in the league. The BattleHawks are third in that department. The Brahmas defense surrenders 15.3 points per game which is number one. The BattleHawks are not too shabby either surrendering 20.2points per contest which is 4th in the UFL. The Brahmas get to the quarterback as they have 32 sacks which is good for number one in that category. The BattleHawks fall to number 7 with only 19 sacks. The BattleHawks are ball hawks tallying up 9 interceptions which is good for number 2 overall. The Brahmas are down at the bottom number 8 getting their hands on the ball in the air. Wade Phillips head coach of the Brahmas knows a thing or two about defense as that is his jam. Brahmas get the edge on defense.

EDGE: BRAHMAS

These teams are evenly matched. The biggest factor in this game is an advantage for St. Louis. The crowd!! The stands will be packed and that will play a factor on any visiting team. I think St.Louis has the edge on special teams. I like the BattleHawks coaching staff having an edge over the Brahmas. St.Louis has multiple X NFL players on their staff that know the game and scheme well. Anthony Becht is 3-0 life time over Wade Phillips’ teams dating back to 2023. I like AJ McCarron doing his Tom Brady imitation and taking his team to the championship in his own backyard.

OUR PICK: BATTLEHAWKS

This off-season, the Buffalo Bills have signed a pair of intriguing projects to their roster that have never played the game of football. Both players have a similar skill set to the game of football in other sports they have played. In the 7th round of the NFL draft this season, the Bills selected Travis Clayton who hales from England. He’s a huge specimen at 6’7″ weighing over 300 pounds. Clayton is a former rugby player who dabbled in other sports such as boxing. The NFL has an international program to find talents out of the states. Then not too long ago, the Bills made another interesting signing. This time it’s a wrestler, Gabe Stevenson. Stevenson is a decorated gold medal winnerin the ring for his county U.S.A in the Olympics. He has spent time in the WWE fighting. Rugby and wrestling are similar to football in many ways. If the Bills want to rumble, these guys could put them over the top.

The Buffalo Bills Head Coach, Sean McDermott, is very familiar with the sport of wrestling. McDermott in high school won back to back prep titles in school outside Philadelphia where he hales from. He went 61-0 while getting taken down one time. Now Gabe Stevenson wrestled at the University of Minnesota where he went 85-2 in his Golden Gophers uniform. McDermott played college football as wrestling probably helped him with foot work, tackling, and leverage. Stevenson stands 6’1″ weighing 265 pounds. Could Stevenson use his wrestling skills on the football field? He has never played football so this will be raw talent the Bills coaching staff will have to mold. Only one athlete won a gold medal at the Olympics and won a Superbowl. That is Bob Hayes. Not saying the Bills are going to be Superbowl champs even though Josh Allen could easily slay the AFC dragons in his way and make it to the promised land. Allen is capable of winning any big game on any given Sunday. Adding athletic people with bodies to play football has worked on every level of the game at every age group. Could Stevenson be a pass specialist to go after the opposing quarterback on 3rd downs? Something about a guy with the mind set of taking you down if you get in my way is not a bad thing.

Travis Clayton was part of the International player Pathway program of the NFL. This program is designed for overseas athletes to test their skills to see if they can showcase their talent for NFL teams. Clayton has never played football but has played rugby. Any European will tell you rugby is a tougher sport than football because they play without helmets or pads. Clayton played on the wing for his hometown team, Basingstoke. The wing’s job in rugby is similar to a job on the offensive line of football team. Clayton has the weight, height, and wingspan of NFL lineman. He also has that big man speed that NFL teams want for their team. Jordan Mailata was a former rugby player who has thrived with the Philadelphia Eagles at the offensive line position. Clayton will need to get his reps in. He is not a sure thing either. Clayton has also dabbled in boxing so he knows he will need to get the foot work down for football like he did in the ring.

The Bills will look like geniuses if they find a stud offensive lineman in the 7th round. If you can get a nice back up option for your teams offensive line in the 7th round, that is a win. Gabe Stevenson is a sleeper pick up as they signed him off the streets. More like off the wrestling mat. The Bills could stash both Travis Clayton and Gabe Stevenson on the team’s practice squad until they are ready to go. The Bills may find out quickly they may not be worth it as pre-season could tell them the tale of the tape for the both of them. If they show talent, they could be a factor late in the season. It the Bills were like the Warriors movie.

These guys would come out to play and beat up on any of the opponents in the league. This is not hockey having a goon on the team to disrupt the other team. A Patrick Mahomes body slam by Stevenson would sure be worth it. Not a sack where the Bills get penalize. Just a tackle that knocks that stupid look off Mahomes’ face. Then using the Great Brit to prevent any of those nasty Bengals defenders from getting in the Josh Allen VIP section behind center. It’s up to Sean McDermott and company to harness the talent out of these massive specimens and train them to attack like a junk yard dog in the ring.

The UFL playoffs are on the horizon. The guy above, no worries should not be there, unless he changes his hat and swaps out the body painting with another team’s colors. The Stallions, BattleHawks, Panthers and Brahmas, all animal names, are in the post-season. Which leaves the Defenders, Renegades, Showboats, and Roughnecks. The teams that don’t use an animal nickname are out early for summer vacation. The final week of this UFL season will sort out where the playoffs will be next week. The Stallions finally lost and will play the Panthers twice in the next two weeks. The BattleHawks and the Brahmas will face each other twice in the next two weeks. Who will be the XFL conference winner? Who will be the USFL conference winner? Who will be the toilet bowl winner? Either the Roughnecks or the Swampboats? They are not the Showboats as that name has sunk after week one. Let’s sort it out and you get back to me.

#1.BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (8-1)

The thoughts of the 1972 Dolphins were in the back of my mind about this year’s Stallions season. Seeing the Stallions go undefeated and then going perfect in the playoffs and winning their third championship in a row would have been cool. Would have been history as well. Sometimes a team needs a loss to get back on track. In week 8, the Stallions found themselves battling with the Roughnecks. Then last week the Brahmas knocked the Stallions down a peg giving them their first loss of the year.

Suddenly that Stallions defense is being scored on the last two weeks. Birmingham’s defensive coordinator, John Chavis, has been out the last two weeks with an undisclosed reason. Chavis has been the heart and soul of the Stallions defense for the last three seasons. Suddenly the Michigan Panthers are breathing down the necks of the Stallions as the USFL conference is not locked yet. Can the Stallions be compared to the Russian boxer, Drago, in Rocky 4? First sign of blood he crumbles like a house of cards. Skip Holtz and this Stallions team are too talented to fold at the first sign of trouble.

#2.SAN ANTONIO BRAHMAS (7-2)

The Brahmas have beaten the BattleHawks and now gave the Stallions their first loss of the year. All season in the UFL it seems the talk has been on Birmingham the best in the USFL conference and St. Louis being the best in the XFL conference. The Brahmas have their starting quarterback back in action, Chase Garbers. The Brahmas have a three headed monster at the running back position with John Lovett, Brycen Allen, and Anthony McFarland. This has been the X factor the last few weeks.

Garbers has play makers in the receivers room. San Antonio has a solid defense. They have Wade Phillips as their head coach with decades of experience. The BattleHawks and Stallions meeting in the championship is not set in stone. San Antonio may be the number one seed in the XFL conference by the time week 10 concludes.

#3. MICHIGAN PANTHERS (7-2)

Don’t suddenly sleep on the Michigan Panthers as they have quietly been stringing together a slew of victories and locked up a playoff spot. The Panthers battled the Stallions to a close game in the first meeting when they faced off. The results were a loss. Now the Panthers find themselves one game behind the Stallions in the final week of the season facing Birmingham with a chance to take the USFL conference. The Panthers and Stallions will face off with each other the next two weeks no matter what. Football is all about the quarterback in which Michigan has had success with multiple guys.

The latest quarterback for the Panthers may be the guy. Bryce Perkins is a duel threat Quarterback that has legged out 143 rushing yards with two touchdowns. He has thrown two touchdown passes as well. Michigan has a solid defense. They can run the ball. They have some good solid receivers. They play a clean game every week and don’t hurt themselves. Perkins could be the X factor in the playoffs.

#4. ST.LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS (6-3)

If the BattleHawks want to do what Tom Brady did with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and play the big game in your own back yard, they need AJ McCarron back in the fold.

Manny Wilkens has played well the last two weeks filling in for an injured McCarron. The BattleHawks are 1-1 with Wilkens behind center. A healthy McCarron for the playoffs is the key for the BattleHawks right now. The BattleHawks are a better team with AJ than Manny behind center. It’s that simple. The BattleHawks face the Brahmas in week 10 for the XFL conference title. No matter what happens in the game, these two teams will meet again in the post-season. The final game of regular season is where they play that post-season game. The Brahmas have beaten the BattleHawks in the very first game of regular season. A healthy McCarron for the playoffs is key, but I’m sure the BattleHawks want to eat their cake and ice cream at the same time. And want AJ hosting the fun next week in St. Louis.

#5.ARLINGTON RENEGADES (2-7)

The Renegades have the best quarterback in the UFL’s first season with Luis Perez. The Renegades have won 2 out of their last three games. Arlington leads the league in heartbreak losses this season. They put up 36 points on a very talented BattleHawks defense last week in a win. The defense of the Renegades has been able to get the turnovers, but at the same time they are the town’s whore when everyone can score.

The Renegades will always be the XFL 2023 champions. If the Renegades did not win the XFL last year, would they have been one of the teams to make the merger of the UFL? Seems like other teams have better attendance in the XFL other than Arlington, like Seattle. Last week they said the Renegades are the best 1-7 team to face. This week they may be the best 2-7 a team faces. Lucky them.

#6.DC DEFENDERS (4-5)

The Defenders had explosions on offense last week putting 36 points on a bad Memphis team. The Defenders could quietly finish the season with an even record of 5-5 after going 9-1 in the 2023 season of the XFL. Jordan Ta’amu may be the best average quarterback in spring football. His numbers look decent and does not turn over the ball. You never hear about the big play Ta’amu makes to get his team the victory. Hitting the receiver in stride as he takes the big hit by the defender. The big run to get the first down. On defense the former Bounty gate president Greg Williams on defense not making the payments out on the bounties? Soft dense this season for Williams unit.

The DC Defenders of greatness is in the past like the great Atari game Defender. The poor play from DC makes a cog in forming a good beer snake on the weekend.

#7.HOUSTON ROUGHNECKS (1-8)

The Roughnecks are the Gamblers from last two seasons in the USFL. Whatever fancy wrapper you want to put on CJ Johnson’s club.

They will never be close to the Gamblers of the 1980’s without a quarterback. That is this team’s down fall. They need a Jim Kelly behind center like they did in the 1980’s. The Roughnecks were mostly dreadful this season. Then they started to compete and lost close games at the end like the Gamblers did last year and the year before. They have a shot at staying out of the UFL toilet bowl with a rematch versus the Showboats this weekend. This team may need a new head coach and have to find something better behind center for next season, not just a uniform change.

#8.MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS (1-8)

The Showboats have now lost 8 straight after winning their first game of the season. Could they book end this miserable season by sweeping the Roughnecks in their last game of the year? What will it matter as this team has too many questions. The talent is there or was it?

The Showboats were better with Cole Kelly as their quarterback in 2023, than the signings of Case Cookus and Troy Williams. Look as Darius Victor at running back. He was a legend with the Generals the last few seasons. He had his best game in a Showboats uniform last week gaining 98 yards on the ground. Other than that game, he has been a bust. Memphis needs to reshape the trenches on their defense and offense is obviously a glaring problem. They don’t need to bring back Todd Haley as their head coach. It looks bad now, but the best thing they did was get rid of that scum bag.

It amazes me that Antonio Brown, former NFL wide receiver, has the balls to throw insults at other people while he is a complete joke. Brown, who is active on social media, was bullying the NCAA’s all-time leader in points in women’s basketball. Caitlin Clark was the number one pick recently in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever. Clark has taken on the reigns of professional basketball like she did at Iowa University, scoring points and helping her new team win basketball games. She may be developing herself as one of the best in the game. Then along comes a guy like Brown who was a great receiver in the NFL, no question there. This is a guy who’s not operating with a full deck in his mindset. Out on social media launching crude remarks about Clark and bullying her on the internet like those people that use their Facebook account as a soap box to say stupid things. Talk about throwing rocks at glass houses as Brown filed for bankruptcy recently. This from a guy that made over 80 million dollars in the NFL. If someone needs to be showered with crude remarks, it should be Brown rather than Clark.

Antonio Brown owes 3 million dollars to 8 different creditors. Which includes 1.2 million to the truck driver Brown assaulted back in 2020, in one of many incidents this blockhead has been involved in. Brown’s greatest hits album includes off the field as he threw furniture off a balcony in 2018. His reckless act there meant he almost hit a toddler. Then not long after, he was arrested for driving recklessly. In 2019, he was being investigated for domestic abuse. His personal chef sued him. His personal trainer accused him of sexual assaulting her. Then he ran the Albany Empire arena football team he was owner of into the ground. Then everyone’s favorite episode of Brown leaving the field in New York. He took off his helmet along with his shoulder pads as he was shirtless while firing up the fans. He called it a day and career at the same time.

Why is Antonio Brown targeting Caitlin Clark? Is this like the school playground pull the girls pony tail and throw insults at them because you really like her? Clark has blocked Brown on social media as anyone would. Everyone has that annoying friend you block on Facebook because of the stupid things they post non-stop. Brown has compared Clark to the days Mel Gibson had the long hair.

He evens refers to Clark as Cousin It on the Addams Family show. Brown would say the Cracker of the day targeting Brown. Recently Brown stooped to a level saying, “bush confirmed.” Does Clark deserve this kind of abuse? What did she ever do to Brown or others? She’s just playing basketball, her sport & her passion. People have come to Clark’s defense which is always good as people do more standing around than getting involved in sticky situations.

Antonio Brown, I hate to say, is a sure thing first ballot hall of fame football player. I don’t think you will see Caitlin Clark at the ceremonies in Canton, Ohio. Brown played in 146 games in a 12 year career that featured the team that drafted him, the Pittsburgh Steelers, then Patriots and ending with his walk off with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He caught 928 passes for 12,291 yards with 83 touchdown receptions. Imagine what he could have had if he was not suspended by the NFL. Imagine if he was still playing today he could have had 1,000 catches and been closing in on 100 touchdown catches. He was a 7X Pro-Bowler and he helped Tom Brady, another of his nemesis, win a Superbowl with the Buccaneers. Was it the hit from former Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict that made Antonio Brown squirrley? This was back in the 2015 playoff when Pittsburgh faced Cincinnati.

Burfict was one of the dirtiest players in the NFL, and he was head hunting when he knocked Brown to the ground. Brown instantly would have a concussion where he probably lost half of his marbles in the process. You don’t wish that on anybody, but some could easily say he deserves that because Brown is a despicable person. The continuation of his stupid remarks seems to always have dark clouds behind him like filing for bankruptcy. Bad things should happen to bad people. The creditors, who I really don’t root for, are getting screwed by this guy’s mishandling of his money. Brown’s mistakes are being flushed away by filing for chapter 7. What comes around goes around as Brown will find himself in hot water once again. Then Caitlin Clark, maybe perhaps Brown is jealous of. Clark may rewrite women’s professional basketball like she did in college with the Hawkeyes. She will pad her bank account and set her family up for generations to come. She will be the poster child of the WNBA. The funny thing is Brown’s remarks on social media will make Clark’s legend become bigger. The future of Brown, as dark clouds will gravitate to him, will be murky at best.

When I was a little lad growing up in the burbs of Chicago, the first go around of the USFL was around in the early 1980’s. Back then Chicago had a pony in the race.

The Chicago Blitz played their games at Soldier Field. Former Buffalo Bills head coach Marv Levy was the team’s head coach for at least one season. I liked watching sports along with playing them. Extra football even with the great Bears team, meant it was still fun to watch a league with young stars and has beens of the NFL. From Jim Kelly, Reggie White, & Doug Flutie who was drafted by the Bears. The league had Hershal Walker, Steve Young, and Doug Williams. Plenty of other names that should be listed. I’ve been watching these leagues come and go from World Football League to the original XFL. Then the AAF, followed by the reboots of the USFL and XFL. I finally found a weekend to venture out and went to Michigan’s Ford Field to see the Panthers play. The Panthers, a USFL original, were playing the Memphis Showboats, another team from the 1980’s. Both Panthers and Showboats play in the USFL conference which gives me that walk down memory lane of the original USFL as now the merger calls this league the UFL.

The two teams closest to me in a weekend driving trip are the Michigan Panthers or the St.Louis BattleHawks. I went with Michigan just because they were originally an USFL team over St. Louis. Since the reboot of the USFL, I have adopted the Pittsburgh Maulers as my team to root for. Maulers did not make the merger cut with the XFL and USFL so the Panthers are my spring team for at least this season. Ford Field right next to the Detroit Tigers stadium home of the Lions, a dome, was a very nice venue to watch a spring football game. I like how the Panthers made Ford Field feel like it was their dome over the Lions with the blow up Panther walking in.

The Panthers logo was plastered all around the field in their color scheme as well. The fans of the Panthers were not filling Ford Field like the BattleHawks, but for a Spring football game they did get a nice crowd. On television you will see empty seats that paint a picture that these teams do not draw fans. The Michigan fans love their Panthers & many people were decked out in the Panthers merchandise. Sure they had fans with their Lions gear on. Let’s not forget the University of Michigan gear people wore. Then my favorite fans, the people that take their game to the Halloween level.

The one Memphis Showboats fan stole the show. The fan wore his yacht captain hat or perhaps a sovereign from the old 80’s show called The Love Boat. He had his chest painted in Showboats colors. Memphis may be the place to fan watch next season. We sat on right behind the Showboats sideline.

I noticed some fans wearing number 41 with the name Reaves on the back of it. Greg Reaves is the starting linebacker for Memphis who wears 41. Has to be his family.

After the game, the Reaves family walked down the stairs of the main concourse to the first row seating to say hello to Greg. Watching him play football still and in a professional league has to be exciting. As the game went on, the music plays during the stoppages of the game on the jumbo tron and they show fans all over the stadium. One guy had a sign that basically said last time I was at a Panthers game was back in 1983. Those Panthers won the first ever championship led by Bobby Herbert who went to play many great years at quarterback for the New Orleans Saints.

The Panthers fans were into the game from start to finish. When the Minnesota Vikings get a first down, you hear that Viking horn go off. Every stadium has their thing. The Panthers had a growl of their jungle cat after each first down the offense got throughout the game.

The Panthers and Showboats both play in the USFL conference as I notice UFL was not written on the Michigan merchandise. I first wondered if this was some stuff leftover from last season. They play in the USFL conference so it was hand stitched on the two shirts I purchased. I did not mind because my bucket sports list has a USFL game. On the field, the Showboats are one of the worst teams in the league while the Panthers clinched a playoff game in this match up as they won a close one. The Panthers I would say dominated the first half as they used duel quarterbacks. A former Michigan State star quarterback threw a touchdown strike to Cole Hikutini as the Panthers drew first blood with 6 points. This was a very good football game, not sloppy, but both teams failed for points after the touchdown throughout the game. The UFL rules are no extra points by the kicker. The league has a 1 point try or 2 point try and final three point try being the furthest. You have to run a play to convert one of the three options. The first quarter was action packed as Memphis quickly tied the game with Case Cookus to his wide receiver, Daewood Davis, on a 65 yard touchdown hook up. The Panther found the end zone again with Matt Colburn in a 1 yard roll in the end zone for a rushing touchdown to take the lead.

It was 18-6 at halftime. In the second half, Memphis made this a game and eventually tied the ball with another Daewood Davis touchdown, his second of the game. The Showboats had journeyman Josh Love in the game at that time. In the 4th quarter, the Panthers running back Reggie Colburn iced the game with his second touchdown of the game. Panthers win and they even made the playoffs. It was the Panthers last home game of the season and they will meet up with the Birmingham Stallions in the playoffs in Alabama. The remaining two games for Michigan don’t really mean anything as they can rest players and practice to get better. The Stallions will not be easy task. The Panthers have made the playoffs back to back years. It was the Maulers that beat them last year in the USFL. Maulers then would lose to the Stallions who are a powerhouse of spring football the last three seasons.

My final thoughts on my first game ever going to one of these spring flings were positive. These games are not the NFL. These games are not arena football or something out of Canada. First, I like the play on the field. Many of these guys have now been facing each other over the last few years in these leagues so you’re getting rivals established. Many of the players have had a cup of coffee in the NFL. Then you have guys like AJ McCarron of the BattleHawks who has NFL experience and a few others like him. It felt like professional football. Then the league finds gems out of young players that did not cut the mustard with the NFL. Because they get playing time. The league reminds me of college football guys that love to play the game. It was not like an arena football game or minor league baseball game that sometimes seems centered around kids. Believe me, they had kids there and they were loving watching football. Michigan has a solid fan base and I can see it getting bigger by the year. I thought it was the perfect amount of people just for beers, food, and bathrooms. I would love to see the masses of BattleHawks fans in St. Louis, which could be next year’s trip. Ford Field was easy in and out of that stadium. Some said if the Tigers were playing around the same time, it may have been difficult for the easiness. I enjoyed a good Founders tall boy can of beer. Watched a great game in AC on a hot day. Charlie Sheen used to say winning…