1979 Week 8 Roundup: Wheels on a Roll

Mario Valencia, Detroit Wheels

Not to get too punny, but the Wheels are on a roll.

Detroit, after an 0-2 start, won its sixth in a row Tuesday by pummeling the defending World Bowl champion Los Angeles Express, 41-13. Mario Valencia fired five TD passes, including 67 yards to John Risinger and 59 yards to Paul Lee.

CB Eric Spann picked off three of the five interceptions thrown by LAX QB Gene Nowlin. Oddly enough, only 12 players recorded one or more tackles for the Wheels. Detroit had won the previous two World Bowls before the Express claimed their first title last season.

The Wheels (6-2), at the midway point of the season, now hold a two-game lead in the American Conference wild-card race. Detroit still trails the unbeaten Cleveland Thunderbolts (8-0) by two games in the Midwest Division. LAX (4-4) fell back into a three-way tie in the Pacific Division with the Honolulu Hawaiians and Southern California Sun.

In other Week 8 games:

• The Washington Federals set a franchise record with their third consecutive victory, surprising the Florida Blazers, 27-23. Cory Martin scored the go-ahead TD for Washington late in the third quarter on a 79-yard run.
• Honolulu MLB Douglas Oneal had 4 tackles, 2 sacks, and 2 interceptions during a 34-23 win over the Michigan Panthers that gave the Hawaiians their third consecutive win and pulled them into a three-way tie for first place in the Pacific Division.
• The West Division is starting to get tightly bunched, with first-place Oakland only two games ahead of last-place Arizona. The Pittsburgh Maulers beat the Invaders, 25-10, as new QB Scott Deal improved to 3-0 as a starter.  Arizona scored all of its points in the first half while beating the San Jose SaberCats, 41-21. Dennis Houde, Steve Cody, and Cory Robinzine all had 100-plus receiving yards for Arizona. The Wranglers are hanging in there despite a murderous first-half schedule and now play only one team with a winning record the rest of the season.
• Memphis Showboats QB Antonio Wilson passed for 544 yards and six TDs in a 69-17 win over the Boston Breakers. Wilson, who is seriously mulling retirement, has thrown for 3,360 yards and 27 TDs in the first eight games (96.77 QBR).

Week 9 Preview

Two of the league's three undefeated teams meet in The Big Apple when the New York Stars (8-0) host the Oklahoma Outlaws (8-0). The other unbeaten team, the Cleveland Thunderbolts (8-0), will host Pacific Division co-leader Southern California Sun (4-4). The Memphis Showboats (6-2) at the Oakland Invaders (5-3) looks worth watching. The Denver Gold (4-4) are at the Portland Storm (4-4) in a key West Division game. The second-place New Orleans VooDoo (4-4) will look to knock off the South Division-leading Shreveport Steamer (6-2).

Coach's Profile

adamsneeka

Today we profile yet another international coach, adamsneeka (Jacksonville Bulls) from Australia. By my count, he is the eighth USFL/WFL coach from outside the U.S. since the league began. "The NFL was hard to come by when I was younger, so the first two games I saw were the Elway-led Super Bowl wins and the biggest pro sports team in Brisbane are the Brisbane Broncos of the National Rugby League (NRL), so it was a natural fit," Adam said. "I am father to a 3.5-year-old daughter and a nearly 2-year-old son. I am also husband to a fiery Croatian who, as of this message, is 9 days from due with our third child, another son."

Playing MFN Since: September 2015

Hometown (town, state): Brisbane, Australia

Current residence (town, state): Gold Coast, Australia (south of Brisbane on the eastern side of Australia)

Day job: Scheduler/allocator for multinational supermarket chain

Favorite teams (all sports): 'Merican: MLB Blue Jays, NBA Spurs (former Sonics fan), NHL Flames, MLS Sporting Kansas City. Aussie: League - Broncos, AFL - Lions, Union - Reds.

A real-life sports experience: I am a weightlifter. I can deadlift 360kg (793 pounds). I weigh 125kg/275 pounds at full competition weight, so less impressive, at 105kg I lift about 200kg.

A fantasy sports experience: I play MFN.

Coach's Corner: (tip for a new MFN coach): Persistence. The victories are much sweeter when they are against those who once bested you.