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Spring Football League

The SFL is now four weeks into its fourth season link .

I founded the league and served as commissioner for the first three seasons. This year, I'm running the Oklahoma Hawks -- the team that I established when the league began. I gave the team up to avoid any conflicts of interest (been in too many leagues where that has happened).

The original owners of the SFL met on a forum hosted by a USFL site during the summer of 1999. We were all fans of that league, and we began a discussion about how a spring football league would fare now (mind you, this was BEFORE the XFL was a glimmer in Vinny Mac's eye). One thing led to another, and viola, the SFL was born.

The league began with teams in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Raleigh-Durham, NC, Washington, Orlando, Pontiac, Chicago, Birmingham, Columbus, Memphis, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Denver, San Antonio, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Seattle, Phoenix and Sacramento.

During our inaugural 2000 season, the league was divided into an Eastern and Western Conference with two five-team divisions.

EAST - Atlantic Division
Boston Centurions
Carolina Chivalry
New York Red Raiders
Philadelphia Bulldogs
Washington Wave

EAST - Central Division
Birmingham Predators
Chicago Mob
Columbus Explorers
Michigan Stags (Pontiac)
Orlando Rockets

WEST - Midwest Division
Colorado Scramblers (Denver)
Dallas Six-Shooters
Memphis Bombers
Oklahoma Hawks (Norman)
Texas Marshals (San Antonio)

WEST - Pacific
Arizona Ambush
Honolulu Volcanoes
Los Angeles Stars
Sacramento Bandits
Seattle Orcas

For our player pool, we "raided" the CFL, NFL Europe, the Arena League and even landed several NFL "castoffs" and "second-stringers."

The Dallas Six Shooters lured QB Mark Rypien out of retirement (two years before he made a real-life comeback as a back-up with the Indianapolis Colts). The Michigan Stags were able to interest Barry Sanders in football again (this was before we realized that he was contractually tied to Lions even though he had retired -- ah well). Colorado's owner (a Broncos fan) brought John Elway aboard as a part owner (interesting to note that he is now an owner in the AFL) along with a vast array of Arena league stars on offense: QB Clint Dolezel, WR Gary Compton, WR Cory Fleming, and WR Curtis Caesar.

Bad boy Jeff George landed in Sacramento, QB Eric Zeier tried to resurrect his career in Phoenix, Trent Dilfer went to Honolulu after being dumped by the NFL's Tampa Bay Bucs (the next fall, he would subsequently jump back to the competitor's league and help guide the Ravens to a Super Bowl victory), Neil O'Donnell went to Boston with the promise of being a starter again. Seattle lured CFL stars QB Dave Dickensen and DE Joe Montford. Philadelphia became the SFL's version of the "Over-the-Hill" gang. QB Jeff Hostetler signed with the team, and former Eagle RB Vaughn Hebron handled the bulk of the running chores. In Birmingham, former Auburn QB (and long-time Carolina Panther back-up) Dameyune Craig became the trigger man. In DC, it was long-time CFL vet Danny McManus. The Orlando Rockets signed Cowboy's backup Jason Garrett to drive the ship. Memphis signed injury-prone NFL bust Heath Shuler, hoping a return to the Volunteer state would rejuvanate his career.

As for coaches...
New York hired Bill Belichick during the summer of 1999;
Boston hired Charlie Weis;
Carolina hired Mike Daily
Philadelphia hired long-time CFL coach Don Matthews;
Washington hired Mike Hohensee after flirting with both Joe Gibbs and Marty Schottenheimer;
Birmingham hired Terry Bowden;
Columbus hired Ray Rhodes;
Michigan hired former Eagles LB John Bunting;
Orlando hired former Northwestern miracle-man Gary Barnett (who would become the first coach to lose his job during the tumultous first season);
Chicago gave the reigns to Mike Ditka (fresh from his hasty departure from New Orleans);
Dallas hired Jack Pardee (he became the first man to coach in five leagues -- WFL, NFL, USFL, CFL, and now the SFL);
Colorado hired Arena guru Tim Marcum;
Texas snatched former Cowboys' coach Chan Gailey;
Memphis lured Bill Arnsparger back to the gridiron;
Oklahoma hired Barry Switzer;
Los Angeles hired Ken O'Brien;
Arizona hired Jerry Glanville, but he resigned after the final preseason game. They then threw a ton of money at Jimmy Johnson, who joined the soon to be sinking Ambush ship just days before the start of regular season.
Seattle hired Jim Zorn;
Sacramento hired Turner Gil (Sacramento was originally slated to play in Lincoln, Nebraska, but was "sold" to a new owner and was moved out to the West coast prior to our first season); and
Honolulu hired June Jones.

Part of the challenge for each owner was not only to manage his team's performance on the field, but to do well on the bottom line as well. I would have loved to use FOF to sim the league, but it didn't me the flexibility I needed. We ended up using Action PC.

FIRST SEASON NOTES OF INTEREST:

We played an 18-game schedule like the USFL.

Chicago and Arizona were involved in a massive 23 player trade at the conclusion of the preseason. It was reminiscent of when the owners of the USFL's Chicago Blitz and Arizona Wranglers essentially swapped franchises prior to the 84 season. Since the trade seemed to unfairly benefit Chicago (and the Arizona and Chicago owners were friends), most of the other owners protested with cries of "foul" and "collusion." Because of the trade, Jerry Glanville walked off the team in disgust, and was replaced by former Dolphins' and Cowboys' coach Jimmy Johnson (after the Arizona owner through a huge wad of cash his way).

The Philadelphia Bulldogs terrorized the league during the first half of the season, racing out to a 9-1 record. However, the "Over the Hill Gang" ran out of gas down the stretch, dropping 7 of their last 8. They watched Boston and Washington catch and then pass them to claim playoff spots during the final week of the season. The Dogs (10-8) finished out of the playoffs.

Barry Switzer installed what he called "pro-bone" offense for the Oklahoma Hawks. Mobile QB Nealon Greene was the pivot in this option-style attack. NM State stand-out Denvis Manns emerged as the Hawks' most dangerous tailback, leading the team in rushing.

Rookie RB Devin West (Univ. of MO) shared the SFL's Rookie of the Year Award with Oklahoma's Denvis Manns.

Eric Zeier of Arizona, playing behind a pourous line of journey-men and semi-pro players was sacked an amazing 105 times during the season.

Barry Sanders won the SFL rushing crown with 2,169 yards and a gaudy 6.4 YPC (Unfortunately for Barry, the Stags finished 7-11).

Clint Dolezel was the SFL's Kurt Warner and led the league with a 104.6 rating (271-454-4095, 37TDs, 13 INT)

The Dallas Six-Shooters won the Midwest Division crown on the final week of the season by winning a 37-35 shoot-out with the Colorado Scramblers at the Cotton Bowl.

After starting the season 0-3, the Washington Wave, minus starting QB Danny McManus (out with an injury), won a week 18 contest against Western powerhouse Seattle to sneak into the 2000 postseason.

Colorado Scramblers won the league attendance mark.

The Chicago Mob finished out of the playoffs and deep in debt. It is rumored that the team finished nearly $20 million in the hole. Only a last minute emergency loan from the league office kept Chicago's players from staging a mutiny and walking off the job.

In the East: Boston won the East with a 11-7 record; Birmingham won the Central with a 11-7 record; Columbus (11-7) and Washington (11-7) were the wild-cards.

In the West: Dallas won the Midwest with a 12-6 record; Honolulu won the Pacific with a 13-5 record; Colorado (11-7) and Seattle (11-7) were the wildcards.

PLAYOFFS:
EAST

Columbus went to Alumni Field in Boston and spanked the Cents 20-10. Boston's Neil O'Donnell, who has been a quietly effective component in the Boston attack during the season, reverted to the form he displayed during Super Bowl XXX and tossed five interceptions.

At Legion Field in Birmingham, the Predators rattled the Washington Wave 26-17 behind the passing of Dameyune Craig.

WEST

After defeating the Scramblers 37-35 in week 18 to clinch the Division, the Shooters had to win another barnburner with Colorado, this time 49-42, to advance to the semi-finals. Dallas QB Mark Rypien tossed five TD passes.

Seattle ambushed Pacific Division champ Honolulu 27-10 at Aloha Stadium.

SEMI-FINALS

Birmingham clipped divisional rival Columbus 27-13 at Legion Field.

Dallas manhandled Seattle 41-21 at the Cotton Bowl

CHAMPIONSHIP

Mark Rypien won MVP award (for throwing five TDs) as the Six-Shooters downed the Predators 44-21 to win the first SFL Championship Game. The Preds couldn't overcome a terrible start by QB Dameyune Craig and gave up big plays on defense consistently.

You can review the 2000 season in detail on the old league website link .

NEXT: 2001 Season

2000 Season Leading Passers

Code:

                     Att Cmp    C% Yards  In    I%  Lg  TD   TD%  Rate

  1 Dolezel    COL   454 271  59.7  4095  13   2.9  71  37   8.1 104.6

  2 Arellanes  CBS   476 283  59.5  4019   8   1.7  60  28   5.9  99.4

  3 Craig      BIR   445 272  61.1  3682  17   3.8  64  34   7.6  97.0

  4 Dickenson  SEA   477 293  61.4  3655  13   2.7  55  30   6.3  94.8

  5 Pawlawski  NY    376 216  57.4  3396  19   5.1  80  31   8.2  94.0

  6 Rypien     DAL   510 298  58.4  4395  24   4.7  77  39   7.6  92.6

  7 Shuler     MEM   488 273  55.9  3782  13   2.7  61  31   6.4  91.1

  8 O' Donnell BST   486 282  58.0  3749  16   3.3  71  25   5.1  86.0

  9 Dilfer     HON   419 237  56.6  3077  13   3.1  67  22   5.3  84.4

 10 Blake      CHI   510 262  51.4  3539   7   1.4  75  22   4.3  82.5

 11 McManus    WAS   548 326  59.5  4087  19   3.5  77  19   3.5  79.8

 12 Garrett    ORL   515 285  55.3  3560  23   4.5  65  24   4.7  73.9

 13 Hostetler  PHA   484 253  52.3  3262  24   5.0  58  21   4.3  67.5

 14 George     SAC   576 327  56.8  4175  37   6.4  66  25   4.3  67.3

 15 Miller     MIC   455 228  50.1  3070  23   5.1  56  18   4.0  64.1

 16 Hoying     CAR   492 252  51.2  3159  25   5.1  50  17   3.5  61.9

 17 Crandell   TEX   464 232  50.0  2884  25   5.4  61  19   4.1  60.8

 18 Leigh      LA    500 240  48.0  3277  31   6.2  73  23   4.6  58.9

 19 Greene     OKL   317 155  48.9  1907  13   4.1  54   6   1.9  57.1

 20 Zeier      AZ    423 212  50.1  3140  34   8.0  63   9   2.1  48.4

2000 Season Leading Receivers

Code:

                     No  Yds  Ave Lg TD                       No  Yds  Ave Lg TD

  1 Muhammad   TEX   92 1157 12.6 48 11   21 Jackson    WAS   64  982 15.3 51  6

  2 Mustafa    HON   85 1317 15.5 67  9   22 Quayle     SEA   62  774 12.5 31  6

  3 Finneran   DAL   84 1427 17.0 77 16   23 Anderson   WAS   62  812 13.1 43  6

  4 McCullough MEM   84 1558 18.5 57 13   24 Sellers    NY    62 1041 16.8 59 12

  5 Benjamin   CBS   83 1466 17.7 60 14   25 Coates     BST   61  678 11.1 47  6

  6 Fleming    COL   82 1122 13.7 56  8   26 Miller     LA    61  696 11.4 49  3

  7 Gaiter     CAR   81  880 10.9 34  6   27 Mitchell   OKL   60  722 12.0 32  4

  8 Harris     DAL   80 1228 15.4 60 11   28 Ceaser     COL   60 1111 18.5 71  9

  9 Flutie     ORL   76 1030 13.6 65  7   29 Blades     SEA   58  796 13.7 33  3

 10 Pitts      SEA   75 1022 13.6 54  9   30 Brown      BST   58 1002 17.3 61  4

 11 Burks      SAC   75  954 12.7 48  6   31 Brown      NY    57  975 17.1 59  6

 12 Jefferson  BST   73 1257 17.2 71 10   32 Ashley     COL   53  834 15.7 60  9

 13 Ismail     CHI   73 1612 22.1 75 14   33 Timpson    PHA   53  777 14.7 58  5

 14 N.Williams HON   73  884 12.1 54  4   34 Cooper     ORL   53  878 16.6 55  6

 15 Jeffers    MIC   72 1078 15.0 44  6   35 Thompson   MEM   53  441  8.3 30  6

 16 Early      SAC   70 1058 15.1 66  2   36 Still      MIC   52  733 14.1 33  4

 17 Mickens    CBS   69 1138 16.5 60  8   37 Howard     BST   52  728 14.0 48  4

 18 Dowdell    PHA   68  962 14.1 50  4   38 Davis      TEX   52  729 14.0 44  5

 19 Nash       BIR   64  829 13.0 34  6   39 Shannon    LA    52  647 12.4 48  9

 20 S.Williams TEX   64 1094 17.1 66  5   40 Sharpe     ORL   52  695 13.4 60  6

2000 Season Leading Rushers

Code:

                    Att  Yds  Ave Lg TD                      Att  Yds  Ave Lg TD

  1 Sanders    MIC  339 2169  6.4 67 16   21 Bennett    CAR  107  668  6.2 28  3

  2 Rhett      DAL  312 1539  4.9 30  9   22 Jenkins    NY   136  632  4.6 27  3

  3 Hill       BST  339 1526  4.5 27  8   23 Williams   OKL  159  569  3.6 25  2

  4 Thompson   MEM  324 1351  4.2 29  2   24 Harris     CBS  150  569  3.8 25  4

  5 West       LA   259 1331  5.1 29  4   25 Denson     TEX  160  568  3.6 21  5

  6 Manns      OKL  254 1298  5.1 46  4   26 Broussard  SEA  155  561  3.6 34  6

  7 Pringle    COL  272 1270  4.7 32  7   27 Greene     OKL   74  558  7.5 24  5

  8 Phillips   HON  271 1158  4.3 24  8   28 Anderson   DAL  122  526  4.3 28  5

  9 Kaufman    BIR  275 1153  4.2 23  5   29 Kimborough HON  163  520  3.2 22  2

 10 Black      SEA  247 1064  4.3 26  4   30 Salaam     ORL  116  513  4.4 26  3

 11 Murrell    CAR  267 1000  3.7 25  5   31 Stewart    OKL  176  499  2.8 27  3

 12 Wheatley   CHI  230  956  4.2 21  2   32 Means      TEX  103  461  4.5 22  3

 13 Burse      SAC  187  935  5.0 29  1   33 Zellars    CHI   82  448  5.5 33  4

 14 Green      WAS  219  931  4.3 27  3   34 Leigh      LA    60  447  7.5 32  1

 15 Hebron     PHA  199  913  4.6 25  9   35 Amerson    HON  107  435  4.1 29  5

 16 Aska       NY   210  799  3.8 25  4   36 Pearson    TEX  137  401  2.9 15  5

 17 AbdulJabba CHI  188  793  4.2 31  7   37 Benning    SAC  142  386  2.7 23  3

 18 Davis      ORL  209  787  3.8 28  3   38 Turner     BST   93  385  4.1 24  4

 19 Hoard      AZ   260  759  2.9 24  3   39 Russell    PHA  100  375  3.8 26  2

 20 Williams   CBS  189  706  3.7 22  4   40 Mc Elroy   OKL   80  364  4.6 22  1

2000 Team Offense

Code:

                   Run   Pass  Total  Play                      Run   Pass  Total  Play

 1 Dallas        148.1  243.9  392.0   6.0   11 Washington     93.6  237.1  330.7   5.1

 2 Colorado      117.1  246.6  363.7   5.8   12 Orlando        99.3  210.8  310.1   5.0

 3 New York      118.3  212.3  330.7   5.5   13 Memphis       111.2  206.4  317.6   5.0

 4 Michigan      158.8  178.6  337.4   5.4   14 Honolulu      130.6  196.4  327.0   5.0

 5 Birmingham    117.7  210.6  328.3   5.4   15 Sacramento     97.1  207.3  304.4   5.0

 6 Seattle       110.8  211.9  322.7   5.2   16 Philadelphia  111.1  201.1  312.2   4.9

 7 Chicago       131.4  203.7  335.1   5.2   17 Carolina      144.1  185.9  330.0   4.9

 8 Columbus      107.1  225.9  333.1   5.2   18 Texas         102.4  204.4  306.9   4.9

 9 Los Angeles   127.3  186.0  313.3   5.1   19 Oklahoma      190.1   98.0  288.1   4.4

10 Boston        117.6  207.5  325.1   5.1   20 Arizona        67.4  142.8  210.3   3.6

2000 Team Defense

Code:

                   Run   Pass  Total  Play                      Run   Pass  Total  Play

 1 Texas         132.1  165.6  297.7   4.7   11 Chicago       127.9  189.9  317.8   5.1

 2 Seattle       100.6  213.1  313.7   4.7   12 Birmingham    114.9  213.2  328.1   5.1

 3 Honolulu      120.4  175.6  295.9   4.8   13 New York      119.7  231.3  351.0   5.2

 4 Dallas        111.4  185.8  297.2   4.8   14 Columbus      107.9  216.7  324.6   5.2

 5 Oklahoma       91.7  183.1  274.8   4.9   15 Washington    106.8  207.7  314.5   5.2

 6 Philadelphia  123.8  185.7  309.6   4.9   16 Carolina      101.3  220.9  322.3   5.2

 7 Boston        128.2  197.4  325.6   5.0   17 Sacramento    134.9  205.9  340.8   5.2

 8 Michigan      117.6  219.9  337.5   5.0   18 Colorado      125.4  209.3  334.7   5.3

 9 Los Angeles   130.0  193.0  323.0   5.1   19 Orlando       136.1  198.6  334.7   5.3

10 Memphis       132.8  186.2  318.9   5.1   20 Arizona       137.6  218.7  356.2   5.5

Just to let everyone know, I was the Hawks owner during the first three seasons. Barry Switzer resigned just over halfway through the first year due to his marriage and the teams lack of success with the Pro-Bone. Mike Stoops was hired in his place.

Hey sooner...

The Hawks are 4-1 so far and are leading in the Midwest. We've got a big game in Norman against the Shooters this weekend. Mike Stoops has the D purrin'.

I was actually the owner of the Washington Wave, although I don't remember in which season. I was kind of overwhelmed however, and so I doubt anyone even knew I left.

My favorite part of the league was the artwork done to make it look like our teams were actually on the field. Whomever did those, deserves much praise, they looked 100% authentic.

Neuqua

Thanks for the compliment! At one point I had considered switching over to graphics from Madden, but despite all the improvements in this area, the images still look video-gamish to me. So as long as the SFL continues I'll probably contribute retouched photos.

2000 ALL-SFL Selections

QB - Clint Dolezel, Colorado Scramblers
RB - Barry Sanders, Michigan Stags
FB - Tony Burse, Sacramento Bandits
WR - Brian Finneran, Dallas Six-Shooters
WR - Muhsin Muhammad, Texas Marshals
TE - Cameron Quayle, Seattle Orcas
LT - Reuben Brown, Boston Centurions
LG - Jon Zatechka, Birmingham Predators
C - Jason McEndoo, Seattle Orcas
RG - Matt Elliott, Michigan Stags
RT - Fred Childress, Dallas Six-Shooters

DE - Simeon Rice, Texas Marshals
DE - Dan Footman, Philadelphia Bulldogs
DT - Winfield Garnett, Dallas Six-Shooters
DT - Tim Beauchamp, Los Angeles Stars
LB - Ben Hanks, Dallas Six-Shooters
LB - Derek Strey, Seattle Orcas
LB - Tedy Bruschi, Boston Centurions
CB - Antonio Banks, Honolulu Volcanoes
CB - Derek Stingley, Columbus Explorers
S - Martavius Houston, Oklahoma Hawks
S - Charles Emanuel, Carolina Chivalry

KR - Gizmo Williams, Philadelphia Bulldogs
PR - Billy Davis, Carolina Chivalry
K - Carlos Huerta, Washington Wave
P - Travis Colquitt, Los Angeles Stars

ALL SFL - Second Team

QB - Dameyune Craig, Birmingham Predators
RB - Errict Rhett, Dallas Six-Shooters
FB - Jamie Kimbrough, Honolulu Volcanoes
WR - Isaiah Mustafa, Honolulu Volcanoes
WR - Andy McCullough, Memphis Bombers
TE - Ben Coates, Boston Centurions
LT - Tony Berti, Washington Wave
LG - LeShun Daniels, Sacramento Bandits
C - John Himebaugh, Birmingham Predators
RG - Rob Murphy, Orlando Rockets
RT - Kevin Sargent, Los Angeles Stars

DE - Joe Montford, Seattle Orcas
DT - Paul Garasmanis, Colorado Scramblers
DT - Gary Holmes, Los Angeles Stars
DE - Kendrick Gholston, Dalls Six-Shooters
LB - Terry Houzah, New York Red Raiders
LB - Tony McCombs, Memphis Bombers
LB - JoJuan Armour, Sacramento Bandits
CB - Deion Figures, Washington Wave
CB - Perry Carter, Philadelphia Bulldogs
S - Reggie Tongue, Honolulu Volcanoes
S - Eddie Anderson, Philadelphia Bulldgos

KR - Jimmy "Jet" Cunningham, Dallas Six-Shooters
PR - Desmond Howard, Boston Centurions
K - Lui Passaglia, Honolulu Volcanoes
P - Aaron Langley, Seattle Orcas

SFL Most Valuable Player - Clint Dolezel, Colorado
SFL Offensive Player of the Year - Barry Sanders, Michigan
SFL Defensive Player of the Year - Antononio Banks, Honolulu
SFL Offensive Lineman of the Year - Reuben Brown, Boston
SFL Defensive Lineman of the Year - Dan Footman, Philadelphia
SFL Offensive Rookie of the Year - (tie) Devin West, Los Angeles; Denvis Manns, Oklahoma
SFL Denfensive Rookie of the Year - Terry Houzah, New York
SFL Coach of the Year - June Jones, Honolulu