Monday, February 12, 2018

From The Commissioner's Desk




Just a few notes on the State of the League as we enter our fourth season:

Schedule

This is the fourth year of the USFL/WFL's round-robin scheduling. That means, by the end of this season, every team in the league will have played every other team in the league at least once.

The final pairings of divisions for non-conference games will take place this season. They are:

  • Pacific Division vs. East Division
  • West Division vs. Southeast Division
  • Southwest Division vs. South Division
  • Midwest Division vs. Atlantic Division

There have been just a few schedule anomalies over the first three seasons. There are a handful of teams that have played each other every season in non-division play. They are:

  • Memphis Showboats (2) vs. San Jose SaberCats (1)
  • Oklahoma Outlaws (2) vs. Arizona Wranglers (1)
  • Denver Gold (2) vs. Memphis Showboats (1)
  • Michigan Panthers (3) vs. Houston Gamblers (0)
  • Chicago Blitz (3) vs. San Antonio Gunslingers (0)
  • New Jersey Generals (3) vs. Georgia Force (0)
  • Birmingham Stallions (3) vs. Charlotte Hornets (0)
  • Boston Breakers (2) vs. Birmingham Stallions (1)
  • Washington Federals (2) vs. Philadelphia Bell (1)
  • New York Stars (2) vs. Charlotte Hornets (1)

Competitive Balance

Of the USFL/WFL's 32 franchises, 24 have made at least one playoff appearance over the league's first three seasons. Of those 32 teams, 27 have had a winning record at least once in three seasons.

GM Firings

Back in late January, I posted a poll on whether our league should be able to remove owners for underperformance. Thirteen voted that we should; six voted that we should not. That poll was to help me gauge the feeling of the league's members on this issue. If we ever decide to go that direction, we will put it to a formal vote. For now, I am going to stick with the "common sense" advocated by Los Angeles Express owner mwd65. To date, I have removed only owners who have stopped actively trying to improve their teams. From what I can see, we have 32 owners who are trying. So, for now, that's what we'll go with.



User-Created Leagues

As of today, there are 22 user-created leagues listed publicly (I know there are a handful of leagues that are not). I am surprised at how little added value some of these leagues offer. No blog. No website. Nothing in the forums. Not even a peep from the commissioner. No trade committee. No enforcement of cheating penalties.

What is the point of creating a league no different than any other MFN or Custom league? Maybe set-it-and-forget-it leagues are just my pet peeve. But I think there should be more motivation for joining a user-created league than just being able to take part in an allocation draft.

Seven of those leagues already have at least 10 openings, a negative trend I think will continue. We currently have 17 of the original 32 owners still on board. While I am disappointed that number is not higher, I hope no one has left because they think there is something better out there.

Retirements

Two players taken in the first round of the 1974 allocation draft have announced their retirements. Boston RB Nicholas Wingfield (20th overall pick) scored 19 TDs in his three seasons with the
Nicolas Wingfield, RB, Boston
Breakers and rushed for 2,390 yards. Los Angeles Express MLB Matthew McKamey (23rd pick) was credited with 245 tackles and 35 hurries in three seasons.

Five of those original 32 players have changed teams since the allocation draft--SS Shawn Arzola (Tampa Bay/Oakland), WR John Sanders (Michigan/SoCal), WR Bruno Fredericks (NY/Birmingham), QB Agustin Crook (Denver/Birmingham), and QB Chester Dougherty (Houston/Cleveland).

Free Agency

Free agency 1977 hasn't been the circus we witnessed in 1976, but some recognizable names have still changed jerseys over the offseason. My next blog post will track some of those changes, including a perennial All-Pro candidate who moved across the country.




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