Week 4 Roundup

Call it the wild, wild West.

The USFL/WFL's West Division has suddenly become a three-way race and each horse in that race has some impressive victories. The Arizona Wranglers (4-0) completed a three-week, three-game sweep of Southern Division foes by beating the Shreveport Steamer, 23-14. The Portland Storm (3-1) knocked off Detroit, 20-13, just when the Wheels were beginning to look like the league's team to beat. The Oakland Invaders (3-1), defending World Bowl champions, rallied to beat the Oklahoma Outlaws, 41-34.

Bryan Demott (55), LDE, Portland Storm

The Wranglers have already won more games than they won all last season (3-13). Wide receiver Cory Robinzine, who left Philadelphia to sign a huge free agent contract with the Wranglers, caught five passes for 105 yards against Shreveport, including this double-tipped pass for a 34-yard TD.

With its back-to-back wins against Oakland and Detroit, the Storm might be the World Bowl favorite right now. Portland recorded four sacks against the Wheels, two by LDE Bryan Demott, and has averaged 6.5 sacks per game against four very good teams (San Antonio, Oklahoma, Oakland, Detroit).

Oakland trailed the Outlaws, 31-13, with less than 13 minutes to play. Quarterback Les Lacy threw a pair of hot-read TDs to make it 34-27. Lacy's 40-yard completion on a defensive overuse penalty led to the tying touchdown with 1:17 to play. Oakland got the ball back with 19 seconds to go and Lacy found WR Jonathan King for an 83-yard game-winning TD.

In other games Tuesday:

• New Orleans CB Larry Ackman intercepted a Washington pass at the 26 with 1:20 to play to preserve a 31-28 victory over the Washington Federals as the VooDoo improved to 3-1.
• The Georgia Force (4-0) handed New Jersey its fourth consecutive loss, 23-17, as CB Richard Glasgow intercepted Generals QB Doug Fluty twice.
• Boston QB Eric Pierce heaved an 80-yard bomb to WR Jonathan Miller with 1:27 remaining in overtime, giving the Breakers a 37-31 win over the Birmingham Stallions.
• The New York Stars (2-2) have doubled last season's victory total, thanks to a 17-10 win over the Florida Blazers. CB Gabriel Meza had eight tackles and a sack for the Stars.
• A failed 2-point conversion by Denver opened the door for San Antonio, and Gunslingers kicker Ronald Hensley booted a 44-yard field goal on the final play of the game to give his team a 16-15 win over the Gold.

Week 5 Preview

The Georgia Force (4-0) will find it tough to keep their record unblemished when they travel to Portland to face the red-hot Storm (3-1). The Boston Breakers (3-1) will be at Cleveland to face the Thunderbolts (4-0) in a battle of division leaders.

Welcome, setherick

Setherick, Orlando Renegades

Setherick has joined the USFL/WFL as coach of the Orlando Renegades. He takes over a team that is a combined 8-27-1 in its first three seasons.

Setherick had already been denied entry into the league once due to the "Mount Rushmore" clause, but is interested in studying a rebuilding process here, not total domination of the league. He is one of MFN's premier data experts and has been kind enough to share many of his insights in the community forums, helping dozens improve their teams significantly. If you want to pick someone's brain, folks, this is the brain to pick.