"Inside the USFL" Show....Week 2

Welcome everyone to the week 2 edition of "Inside the USFL". I am your host, Professor Pigskin, and we have a great show lined up for you this week. We'll have highlights from all this weekends games, my lock of the week pick for the upcoming games, a special section I like to call "Professor Pigskin's List of Da Mans" in which I tell you who "Da Man" is that leads the league in yards and scoring, and finally, we're supposed to take a call from the Commissioner. Let's kick things off with the highlights....


Thursday night Boston visited Pittsburgh, and came away with a 27-21 victory. Here we see Drew Bennett of the Breakers elude a Mauler defender on the way to a 61 yard touchdown with 6 seconds remaining in the first half. Pittsburgh rallied late with 2 TD's in the 4th, but couldn't make it all the way back.


On Sunday in Jacksonville, the Bulls and Stallions battled closely until a wild play broke it open for the Bulls. Birmingham QB Matthew Stafford attempted a pitchout to RB Shaun Alexander that went WAY behind Alexander. Stafford was the closest Stallion to the ball after the pitch, and he tried to run to fall on the loose ball, but as you can see above, the referee prevented the rookie from getting there. Bulls linebacker Adrian Wright scooped it up and went in untouched for the score, and the Stallions never recovered. Final Score, JAX 34-BIRM 17.

In the other early Sunday Game, Arizona traveled to Denver for a barnburner. After the Gold's Jay Cutler threw a pick on his first pass attempt, both teams got it rolling to the tune of a 27 point first quarter. Wrangler RB J.J. Arrington (above) racked up 185 yards and 3 TD's on the way to a 39-37 victory for Arizona.


In the Sunday afternoon game, Michigan held on to defeat San Antonio on this toe-tapper by Torry Holt (above) in the final minute. Holt had 117 yards and 2 TD's in his teams 30-24 victory.


In rainy Washington on Sunday night, the Federals and Generals took the game into overtime, and still couldn't get it settled. Final score 34-34. Above, the Generals' Larry Johnson goes airborne for the score.


And finally, in the Monday night contest, Oakland took control early and never looked back, 33-21. Chicago's Terrell Owens had a big night in the loss, tallying 157 yards and a TD.


Okey-doke..... here's my list of "Da Mans". Arizona QB Sam Bradford leads all passers with 623 yards. Arizona also has the leading rusher in J.J. Arrington who has 224 yards. The leader at wide reciever is Drew Bennett of Boston with 322 yards. The leading scorer is San Antonio's Rhett Bomar, who has 7 passing TD's on the season.

Next weeks games are as follows:
EAST
(0-1-1) NJ@BIR (0-2)
(0-1-1) WAS@BOS (2-0)
(2-0) JAX@PIT (1-1)

WEST
(1-1) MICH@ARI (2-0)
(1-1) SA@CHI (0-2)
(1-1)DEN@OAK (1-1)

That brings us to my lock of the week. My choice for the sure fire winner of a ballgame this next weekend is.....

San Antonio..... over Chicago. In honor of my choice, i have dressed up as the Gunslinger from the logo. Quite a nice outfit really..... very slimming; plus the hat is cool, and i already have the moustache.

Well, apparently the Commissioner is too busy to talk with me this week.... something about having a league to run. I'll let it slide this week, but mark my words..... talk we shall. Until next week, this has been Professor Pigskin for "Inside the USFL".

Week 1 wrap-up

Well, week 1 is in the books, and it was a great start to the 2009 USFL season. Some stars emerged, and some teams showed they are better than their cousins from the past would have lead you to believe. Above you will find a watercolor version of week one as seen through my eyes.... apparently, my eyes wandered to the sideline during the 2nd half of the Gunslingers' shalacking of the Invaders. That's Gunslinger Girl Cheri S., who likes Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain.

Anyway, check back soon to see what week 2 holds in store. I thought i would have to deal with some T.O. monkey business by this time, but it's been pretty quiet in Chicago. The Blitz take on the Invaders in Oakland monday night.... it's not wrong for the commissioner to rock the boat a little in the name of ratings is it? I'll consult my Pete Rozell Handbook....

Gene Sanny
Commissioner

WEEK 1 KICKS OFF

Week one of the USFL season kicked off Thursday night in chilly Chicago. The game was touted to be a big matchup of Terrell Owens versus Anquan Boldin, and it didn't disappoint, with Boldin racking up 2 Td's and Owens reeling in one. It was a back and forth game all the way through and ended in overtime when on the first possesion, Arizona's J.J. Arrington scampered in untouched from 23 yards out. Heisman winner Sam Bradford was named the player of the game with 361 passing yards and 3 touchdowns for Arizona. Final score: Arizona 37, Chicago 31.



The weekend slate of games kicked off in Boston, where the Breakers eeked out a victory over the Stallions. The game was pretty quiet until two drive ending picks by Birmingham rookie Matthew Stafford resulted in 2 TD's by Boston. The Stallions had a chance to force overtime late in the game, but missed a field goal and Boston hung on for the win, 27-24.



The Pittsburgh Maulers visited Washington on Sunday for a wild game. It seemed like someone forgot to remind the Federals they were supposed to be the worst team in the history of professional football, as they built a 17 to 3 lead, but the Maulers quickly reminded them as they came back and then forced overtime on a touchdown pass to Marvin Harrison with no time remaining. Trent Green then hit Harrison again in OT to end the game before the Federals could even get the ball. Final score Pit 23, Wash 17.



In Michigan, Denver overcame a 21-0 deficit to beat the Panthers. The Gold stormed back on the strength of 2 Tatum Bell touchdowns and pulled out a 24-21 victory.



A couple of rookies helped San Antonio dismantle the Oakland Invaders on Sunday night, 27-7. Quarterback Rhett Bomar debuted with 262 yards and 4 TD's, and WR Michael Crabtree added 195 yards and 2 TD's for the Gunslingers.



Monday night's game pitted the Jacksonville Bulls at the New Jersey Generals. Donald Trump was in attendance to witness Duece McCallister of the Bulls rack up 144 yards rushing and 3 TD's as the Bulls rolled over his former team, 36-17. Trump stated he's interested in a return to the USFL, but (yours truly) the Commissioner responded that "I'm still not over what he did to the league the first time."

Week 2 schedule:
BIRM-JAX
BOS-PIT
NJ-WASH
ARI-DEN
CHI-OAK
MICH-SA