It would be so much easier to total the two head-to-head scores. But, nooooooooooooo, let's see if we can make everyone's heads explode!

So, as I see it, this is the Seadragons' playoff dream to lose. As for the final opponents of both teams, Vegas is better than Orlando. Advantage Seadragons. They played head-to-head on March 18, Vegas winning 35-32. Advantage Seadragons. Vegas has a 32-point bulge on Orlando in total points for and against. Advantage Seadragons. Feel free to correct me on this if I am wrong.

Watch for Seattle and St. Louis to both be pouring it on this weekend.

The XFL is awesome!

You know what would be REALLY awesome? If the Rock and his partners got together and said, "You know what, this Nooch guy is a big draw and now a major personality in our league. Do we want to lose him to the NFL? No, we don't! How about we pony up a few million dollars for him, arrange some endorsement contracts, and offer him a future minor ownership stake with the option to buy in for more, all in return for a long-term contract?" These guys know what they've got. Nooch plays an extremely exciting brand of football and has fans on both sides of the stadium standing and screaming. I believe they would be crazy to not be looking at something like this, minus possibly the eventual ownership incentive.

Would Nooch consider such a deal in a league where he is da' man, or would he take his chances in the sh!tshow that has become the NFL, where he might get a $5-million contract over a couple of years from a team whose owner wouldn't know a talented quarterback if he smacked him on the ass, in a league where he would only see the field if he is lucky, and probably get cut and go back begging to the XFL?

If I were in Nooch's shoes, it would be an easy decision for me.

I guess a lot of what may drive such a scenario is whether the XFL made money or not. I believe they not only made money, but made a lot of it. Just guessing, though, from the league's unexpected popularity, and the translation of that popularity into TV and advertising money.

The XFL and USFL should combine forces and form one good solid league with proper backing and promotions. The XFL gate receipts just aren’t there to cover the high costs when they aren’t pulling $$$ from a tv deal.

Quote:Michael Huyghue ran the UFL as commissioner for its three seasons and said for all the hype and gloss ESPN and The Rock bring to the XFL, the league will rise or fall on getting paid by broadcasters. ESPN is not believed to be paying the XFL a rights fee, while Fox has reportedly budgeted $150 million over three seasons for the USFL.

“If you’re going to really run independent teams, in this era of high cost of insurance for concussions and medical care, and even just general salaries for 60 or so players on a team, you know, that’s quite expensive, and you’re just not going to generate enough money in the gate at the ticket sales to cover that,” he said. “There’s a reason why 70 percent of the revenues are generated through rights fee payments in the NFL, and in college sports. … It’s great that ESPN is participating, they’ve got inventory they want to push. But if you don’t get enough eyeballs, it just simply doesn’t matter.”

And Patrick Crakes, a former Fox Sports executive, said, “I guess my hot take is that there’s never really been room for one league, let alone two.”

(04-17-2023 08:28 PM)Polish Hammer Wrote:  The XFL and USFL should combine forces and form one good solid league with proper backing and promotions. The XFL gate receipts just aren’t there to cover the high costs when they aren’t pulling $$$ from a tv deal.

Quote:Michael Huyghue ran the UFL as commissioner for its three seasons and said for all the hype and gloss ESPN and The Rock bring to the XFL, the league will rise or fall on getting paid by broadcasters. ESPN is not believed to be paying the XFL a rights fee, while Fox has reportedly budgeted $150 million over three seasons for the USFL.

“If you’re going to really run independent teams, in this era of high cost of insurance for concussions and medical care, and even just general salaries for 60 or so players on a team, you know, that’s quite expensive, and you’re just not going to generate enough money in the gate at the ticket sales to cover that,” he said. “There’s a reason why 70 percent of the revenues are generated through rights fee payments in the NFL, and in college sports. … It’s great that ESPN is participating, they’ve got inventory they want to push. But if you don’t get enough eyeballs, it just simply doesn’t matter.”

And Patrick Crakes, a former Fox Sports executive, said, “I guess my hot take is that there’s never really been room for one league, let alone two.”

Good points, all. No doubt the money is not at the gate, but St. Louis averaged 35,000 in attendance all season. The top three were St. Louis, San Antonio, and Washington. What do these three cities have in common? They don't have pro football teams. Take it easy, Skins fans! I'm just kidding.

The two cities in the XFL leading in attendance are St. Louis and San Antonio, both with no NFL team. I can only imagine that the XFL front office is studying this very closely when considering where to establish their next teams. Likely candidates could be San Diego, Austin (no-brainer), Columbus, Oak City (no-brainer), and possibly El Paso. Honolulu might also be a good choice. It might even be a good idea to relocate the teams in NFL cities to those cities listed above begging for a football team to call their own.

I also think your idea of combining the XFL and USFL makes a ton of sense. Everyone's a winner! Instead of competing, they could create a bigger, stronger, more viable organization that would eventually compete with the cesspool we call the NFL. The new league would have a better product, a more exciting game, and it is only a matter of time before they would have enough money to compete for the blue chip players.

Purple, I'm pretty sure the Skins/Football Team/Commies fans in here agree with your assessment that DC didn't have a football team before the Defenders showed up lol. I could see San Diego, Oakland, and either Austin or El Paso as good gets for the reasons you laid out above. Not sure about Columbus or Honolulu. Ohio already has three pro teams - Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns/Skidmarks, and Ohio State. Hawaii may have a football rich culture (maybe June Jones would want to be the HC there!), but the travel expenses for a fledgling league might be too much at this time. On the East Coast, maybe Charleston, SC; Savannah, GA; or Hartford, CT would be good options? Hartford almost convinced the NE Patriots to move there back in the day, and I'm sure they will say that during every broadcast if given the option. Another far flung option... Fargo? Rabid fan base looking for something more exciting than annual trips to Frisco?

(04-18-2023 07:54 AM)AssyrianDuke Wrote:  Purple, I'm pretty sure the Skins/Football Team/Commies fans in here agree with your assessment that DC didn't have a football team before the Defenders showed up lol. I could see San Diego, Oakland, and either Austin or El Paso as good gets for the reasons you laid out above. Not sure about Columbus or Honolulu. Ohio already has three pro teams - Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns/Skidmarks, and Ohio State. Hawaii may have a football rich culture (maybe June Jones would want to be the HC there!), but the travel expenses for a fledgling league might be too much at this time. On the East Coast, maybe Charleston, SC; Savannah, GA; or Hartford, CT would be good options? Hartford almost convinced the NE Patriots to move there back in the day, and I'm sure they will say that during every broadcast if given the option. Another far flung option... Fargo? Rabid fan base looking for something more exciting than annual trips to Frisco?

LOL, might as well put a team in Harrisonburg as Fargo. The weather and demographics don't really support it. They don't even fill that dome up for their own games any more. Draw about 15k fans. Richmond could work possibly.

(04-18-2023 10:48 AM)JMURocks Wrote:  

(04-18-2023 07:54 AM)AssyrianDuke Wrote:  Purple, I'm pretty sure the Skins/Football Team/Commies fans in here agree with your assessment that DC didn't have a football team before the Defenders showed up lol. I could see San Diego, Oakland, and either Austin or El Paso as good gets for the reasons you laid out above. Not sure about Columbus or Honolulu. Ohio already has three pro teams - Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns/Skidmarks, and Ohio State. Hawaii may have a football rich culture (maybe June Jones would want to be the HC there!), but the travel expenses for a fledgling league might be too much at this time. On the East Coast, maybe Charleston, SC; Savannah, GA; or Hartford, CT would be good options? Hartford almost convinced the NE Patriots to move there back in the day, and I'm sure they will say that during every broadcast if given the option. Another far flung option... Fargo? Rabid fan base looking for something more exciting than annual trips to Frisco?

LOL, might as well put a team in Harrisonburg as Fargo. The weather and demographics don't really support it. They don't even fill that dome up for their own games any more. Draw about 15k fans. Richmond could work possibly.

As I said, it's a huge reach of an option, but that's the sort of market the XFL/USFL should be looking to reach; a place that has sports fans but are unrepresented.

Honolulu is out as the travel cost would be way too large for a league on this sort of budget and the locals probably wouldn't fill the stands.

(04-18-2023 07:54 AM)AssyrianDuke Wrote:  Purple, I'm pretty sure the Skins/Football Team/Commies fans in here agree with your assessment that DC didn't have a football team before the Defenders showed up lol. I could see San Diego, Oakland, and either Austin or El Paso as good gets for the reasons you laid out above. Not sure about Columbus or Honolulu. Ohio already has three pro teams - Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns/Skidmarks, and Ohio State. Hawaii may have a football rich culture (maybe June Jones would want to be the HC there!), but the travel expenses for a fledgling league might be too much at this time. On the East Coast, maybe Charleston, SC; Savannah, GA; or Hartford, CT would be good options? Hartford almost convinced the NE Patriots to move there back in the day, and I'm sure they will say that during every broadcast if given the option. Another far flung option... Fargo? Rabid fan base looking for something more exciting than annual trips to Frisco?

Yeah, I love your choices of Charleston and Savannah, but Fargo? Actually, if they can pack 20,000 drunk Canadians into the Fargodump to watch the smelly Bisons, then Fargo may be a fine choice.

I am going to defend Honolulu, though. I don't think the travel would be much, if any, more than traveling from DC to Seattle or some of the other XFL stadiums. Folks might be surprised by the following a pro team in Hawaii would attract. Oahu is an island of over one million people. Granted, not all are football fans and the main sources of recreation there involve sun and surf, but I believe 30,000 locals would turn out. It's a bit of a captive market and nowhere on the island is more than an hour from the stadium. Don't let attendance at the joke of a Pro Bowl or the weak-ass college bowl games be an indicator.

On the other hand, the ninth Hawaiian island, Las Vegas (it is actually called that in Hawaii because so many Hawaiians have moved there), is one of the crappiest draws in the XFL. I think Honolulu is still worth a try.

(04-18-2023 01:53 PM)Polish Hammer Wrote:  Honolulu is out as the travel cost would be way too large for a league on this sort of budget and the locals probably wouldn't fill the stands.

I don't think travel is an issue as XFL teams fly every game anyway. There would certainly be SOME cost difference, but I don't think it would be prohibitive.

As for filling the stands, I'm just not sure. UH used to have a pretty good, but not great, following when they played in Aloha Stadium, where I understand they no longer play. They are playing in a 9,000-seat stadium now, I hear, until their new stadium is complete, but not sure when that will be.

It sure is fun watching some of these games, but they don’t do that great at the gate or on tv

Quote:#XFL Week 9 TV Ratings (Average Viewership, per Nielsen)

Saturday: Houston-Vegas (ABC): 878k

Saturday: Orlando-San Antonio (ESPN2): 235k

Sunday: D.C.-Arlington (ESPN): 670k

Sunday: St.Louis-Seattle (ESPN): 570k

(ESPN+ streaming numbers not included)

I really wish they would add the streaming numbers. I always watch on ESPN+ or Sling, and I don't think either is included in these numbers.

(04-19-2023 07:55 AM)AssyrianDuke Wrote:  I really wish they would add the streaming numbers. I always watch on ESPN+ or Sling, and I don't think either is included in these numbers.

My guess is ESPN considers those numbers “proprietary” and doesn’t necessarily want competitors to know them. Nielson may not have a good way to measure this without ESPN agreeing.

St. Louis won today (53-28) and put up some points, so Ben and Seattle need to show up tomorrow and get that W. Also, AJ McCarron had a big game (420 yards and 6 TDs), so Ben really needs to perform, get that W and have a good day statistically to get that MVP.

Do we know what they need to to do to win the tiebreaker? Seems like it is down to the last criteria. Rooting for Nooch!

(04-22-2023 10:03 PM)84Breeze Wrote:  Do we know what they need to to do to win the tiebreaker? Seems like it is down to the last criteria. Rooting for Nooch!

It comes down to the points and since St. Louis scored 53 Seattle has to put up at least 34 points but has to keep the points allowed down. Confusing system, hopefully this can explain things:

Quote:https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news...nanppf7vi9

Quote:Assuming STL does not outscore SEA by 20 points this week, the Battlehawks would need a variety of things to happen that look something like this:

STL win vs. ORL (with ORL scoring minimal points) (53-28)
HOU scores at least 6 more than ORL (?-28)
ARL scores at least 2 more than ORL (?-?)
VEG scores at least 7 more than ORL (?-28)
VEG scores at least 6 more than HOU (?-?)
VEG scores at least 2 more than ARL (?-?)

(04-23-2023 07:40 AM)Polish Hammer Wrote:  

(04-22-2023 10:03 PM)84Breeze Wrote:  Do we know what they need to to do to win the tiebreaker? Seems like it is down to the last criteria. Rooting for Nooch!

It comes down to the points and since St. Louis scored 53 [b]Seattle has to put up at least 34 points but has to keep the points allowed down.[/b] Confusing system, hopefully this can explain things:

Quote:https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news...nanppf7vi9

Quote:Assuming STL does not outscore SEA by 20 points this week, the Battlehawks would need a variety of things to happen that look something like this:

STL win vs. ORL (with ORL scoring minimal points) (53-28)
HOU scores at least 6 more than ORL (?-28)
ARL scores at least 2 more than ORL (?-?)
VEG scores at least 7 more than ORL (?-28)
VEG scores at least 6 more than HOU (?-?)
VEG scores at least 2 more than ARL (?-?)

Any idea what they have to keep Vegas scoring down to?

Seattle better get it in gear tonight if they want to score 34+ and get the W. First drive started with promise then fizzled, rest have been bad. Certainly not playing inspired by the playoffs and/or loss of a teammate.

(04-23-2023 06:42 PM)Polish Hammer Wrote:  Seattle better get it in gear tonight if they want to score 34+ and get the W. First drive started with promise then fizzled, rest have been bad. Certainly not playing inspired by the playoffs and/or loss of a teammate.

I hear you. They have quick strike capability, but what they are running looks like ball control offense. Dumb!

They need a few designed runs by Nooch to loosen up the D.

Just a wild tiebreaker scenario lol but not a very good start by DiNucci and Co.