Week 3 Game of the Week:
A Fantasy Bowl IV rematch features two-time defending champion Wisconsin Cheeseheads and defending points champ New York Griffons. New York is off to a fast start again in 1996, and the Cheeseheads have fallen on some hard times, with Steve Young mysteriously absent from the overall point race and Errict Rhett threatening to hold out all year. New York’s self-proclaimed God Squad of Herman Moore, Carl Pickens and Isaac Bruce have scored as many points between the three of them than a couple other teams have scored through the first two weeks.
Also keep an eye on: Pennsylvania vs. Pittsburgh – – The Pachyderms are riding strong behind former Wildcat Brett Favre, who isn’t loosening his grip on the MVP title. The Wildcats’ have their own version of deity: the trio of Barry Sanders, Marshall Faulk and Curtis Martin leading the RB point race while the receiving triumvirate of Robert Brooks, Quinn Early and Chris T. Jones leads the league in receiving points.
In the bag: Carolina vs. Richmond – – Hurricane Fran ripped through Carolina’s back yard (literally) downing trees and causing damage at the Rupert household. Expect the Big Bang to do the same this week with the Raptors, who are still without Michael Irvin and have a non-existent running game (Ki-Jana who?).
Our own Jerry Jones…
The NFL has Jerry Jones, but we’ve got LA Riot! owner Sam McClain, who exceeded the FFL roster limit by drafting Fred Barnett and placing him on IR when he had not actually been placed on IR by his NFL team. McClain’s inattention to this matter drew the ire of some other owners, none of whom spoke out louder than former commissioner and New York Griffons owner Nick Fisher, who nearly melted his AOL phone line from the amount of email posted to draw attention to our renegade owner’s tactics.
McClain, it seems, had been extended the benefit of the doubt by Commissioner John Trzeciak, who was aware that McClain was out of the office for over a week. But when the emailbox started overflowing, Trzeciak instituted a deadline for LA to either drop a player or lose WR Deion Sanders (LA’s final draft pick). A day after returning to the Riot! offices, McClain dropped Barnett, ending the roster infraction.
In a private email message to team owners, which was anonymously leaked to the press, McClain apologized for “cowardly dodging” his responsibilities to the league and even making his own Mom “an accomplice to this heinous crime by having her aid and abet me, harboring me from the FFL law.”
But will the renegade owner stop at that? Sources tell FFF that McClain has secretly been talking with representatives from both IBM and Hard Rock Cafe, undoubtedly trying to swing exclusive merchandising deals that would lock out other teams from these rich royalties. Fantasy Football Flyer has vowed to put our crack investigative team of reporters on this story until we uncover the ugly truth.
Expansion team report
A nightmare through two weeks
From the Newport Beach Inquirer
The feeling in the Nightmare camp has been disaster so far. Poor coaching and even worse play has doomed the Nightmare. In Week 1, the Nightmare “pulled a Nibs,” playing someone who wasn’t even suited up.
The rookie wide receivers have been a disappointment so far. Keyshawn Johnson pulled a “Waugh” in week one (catching only one ball) and bitched to the media all week. A few more catches for Keyshawn in week 2, along with a touchdown, has provided some consolation.
Another rookie WR, Eddie Kennison, looks strong, but who the hell is quarterbacking for the Rams? Was it Raquel Walsh in week one? If it wasn’t Raquel, he sure threw like her. Eric Moulds shows the most potential, but he may be a year away. Rumor has it the Nightmare might be thinking “prospect” with Moulds.
Running backs? Need we say more?
Fortunately, the media has been kind. As a matter of fact, speculation is running high that the Nightmare might only be the second worst team in Southern California.
Week 2 Game Summaries
Pennsylvania 77, Los Angeles 36
Seven of eight starters scored for the Wildcats, 4 of them in double digits, as the Cats scratched their evil nemesis from the West Coast. WR Robert Brooks led the charge with 20 points, followed by Barry Sanders’ 17, Quinn Early’s 14 and Jim Everett’s 13. The Riot! were paced by kicker Jason Elam’s 12 points. LA’s failure to call in a lineup, while not affecting the outcome, cost the team a few points as they had attempted to play RB Leonard Russell via a Saturday-night email message, which was disallowed by Commissioner Trzeciak.
New York 76, Richmond 33
All 8 starters scored for the Griffons, and kicker John Kasay came within 2 points of setting an all-time kicking record. Kasay’s 20-point weekend set the pace for NY, while QB Mark Brunell added 14 and RB Edgar Bennett and WR Herman Moore each contributed 11 points. Richmond QB John Elway’s 16 points account for nearly half of the Raptor’s total. The Raptors have yet to score a point running this year
Mercer 62, Dallas 28
The Mustangs have come out of the gate strong and look as though they have a lineup which could contend for their first ever division championship. Mercer’s week 2 charge was led by QB Jeff George’s 12 points. RB Terry Allen and WR Tony Martin added 11 each, and kicker John Carney chipped in 10. Only one starter failed to score. The Armadillos, who are having some trouble getting the running game started this year, were paced by kicker Chris Jacke’s 13 points. Dallas also was caught by a lineup snafu, calling in 4 WRs and 1 TE for their lineup. Commissioner Trzeciak had to substitute RB Bernie Parmalee for WR Haywood Jeffries.
Miami 62, Newport Beach 30
The Muffdivers awoke after a sluggish week 1 to down the expansion Nightmare. Rookie RB Eddie George’s 17 points helped pace Miami. TE Ken Dilger also added 17 points, while RB Jerome Bettis added 14 and WR Jake Reed contributed 11 points. The Nightmare, which tried to play a RB already on Keystone’s roster, was led by kicker Doug Brien’s 9 points
Carolina 41, Butler 33
The Big Bang managed the narrow victory over the Blowfish, as Big Bang owner Wayne Rupert managed to contact his opponents but was unable to contact the Commissioner in light of the aftermath of Hurricane Fran. WR Terance Mathis’ 12 points led the way for Carolina, while WR Kevin Williams’ 11 points paced the Blowfish.
Pittsburgh 38, Keystone 35
QB Brett Favre’s 17-point Monday night performance provided the comeback necessary for the Pachyderms to pull off the narrow victory over the expansion Longfellows. Derrick Alexander added 8 points for the Pachyderms. The Longfellows were paced by QB Jim Harbaugh’s 12 points and K Jeff Wilkin’s 11 points.
State College 25, Wisconsin 15
The Bandits manage another low-scoring win, and improve to 2-0 despite scoring only a combined 49 points through their first 2 games. Wisconsin drops to 1-1 and has to be wondering when Steve Young is going to show up (2 points through 2 weeks). State College was led by QB Stan Humphries’ 8 points. The Cheeseheads were paced by Emmitt Smith’s 11 points.
fflgoo 