Griffons on the skids
PA only undefeated team, WN and NK at 4-1

Fans of the God Squad have only seen an apparition this year. The New York Griffons lost their 3rd straight game of 1997, falling this week to the Wisconsin Cheeseheads by a 48-26 count. The 3-game losing streak ties a NY club record, which lost 3 in a row only once before — weeks 11-12-13 in 1992. QB Mark Brunnell’s first start of the year for the Griffons was not memorable. His negative-2 point performance is the worst of the year at the QB position.

The PA Wildcats remain the only undefeated team in the league, by virtue of their 49-19 win over New Denver while the previously unbeaten Syracuse Blizzard were snowed by Mercer 74-21. The Mustang’s Tony Martin had 29 points, tying a season high at the WR position.

NIKEtown marched on and holds a 2-game lead in the Paterno Division. The swoosh beat up on the Mission Viejo No Llamos by a 52-29 count. The team formerly known as the Pittsburgh Pachyderms drop to 1-4. FFL insiders are speculating that the lack of a new team name and new team mascot for the former Pittsburgh franchise is beginning to provide a big distraction to the team. NOTE: The Pachyderm score here reflects a correction from earlier postings.

The tightest contest of the week saw the Richmond Rattlin’ Raptors squeak out a 32-31 victory over Keystone. The Longfellows, after winning their first 2 games of the year, have now dropped 3 straight.

The Miami Muffdivers and the Newport Beach Nightmare continue to be the hard luck teams of the league. Miami scored 40 points this week and Newport scored 45, yet both teams lost. The Muffs lost to Dallas 75-40, as new Armadillo Stan Humphries — acquired off waivers — put up 21 points while RB Robert Smith added 23. And Carolina played Freddy Kruegger, slashing up the Nightmare by a 65-45 count. RB Napolean Kaufman scored 20 points for the Big Bang.

 

 

Cats hold a tea party
It’s official: Wildcats are moving to Boston

The Pennsylvania Wildcats are moving to Boston, team owner Ron Yeany told the Fantasy Football Flyer on Tuesday. The Boston Wildcats will open the 1998 season at a stadium in Lynn, Massachusetts — a north shore suburb of Boston. The new team offices are less than one block from an Atlantic coastal beach.

While the team will play a few games in the second half of this season at the new location, the team will officially remain named the “Pennsylvania Wildcats” through the end of the 1997 season, Yeany said.

The Wildcats will be the third team in less than a year to move out of the state of Pennsylvania. The Butler Blowfish moved to Syracuse near the end of last season and the Pittsburgh Pachyderms were moved to Southern California a few weeks ago. The Wildcats move will leave the Keystone Longfellows as the only team based solely in Pennyslvania. The former State College Bandits are now owned by a consortium that splits time between Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

One team owner, however, has reportedly speculated that the move to Boston is a “farce” and will only be a temporary move until the team can build a new stadium north of Los Angeles. The source also speculated that the “lame duckers” would draw the smallest crowds in the league once this news hit the streets.

Yeany, however, stressed that the move to Boston is a done deal and should not be considered a “temporary” situation. When asked to comment on the reports that this move was a “farce,” Yeany said “When you’ve got the only winless team in the league, you have to concoct wild rumors to distract your fans. I have no other comment on the matter.”

 

Rice: Priced to sell
Armadillos looking to clean house

The Dallas Armadillos, owners of a 3-2 record on the strength of some of their new and young talent, have placed some of their “stars” on the auction block — including Jerry Rice.

This communiqué was received recently at the offices of FFF:

“Priced to sell – pre owned – gently used starting players from previous Juggernaut offenses. Available for any reasonable trade – Dan Marino, Thurman Thomas, Jerry Rice. Please send all inquiries post haste to PSUpaul1@aol.com.”

Fantasy Football Flyer has also learned that at least 2 team owners have taken exception to Dallas’ handling of Jerry Rice this season. Dallas has placed Rice on IR, but Rice has NOT been placed officially on the NFL’s injured reserve list. At least two team owners have pointed out the problem to the Commissioner’s office. No word yet from Commissioner Trzeciak as to a resolution of the situation.