The LA Stars

[Marmel]

Inspired by Quiksand's Black Squirrels, I will be starting a career in 2002 with the expansion LA Stars. The are in the AFC West, along with my geographical rival, and former occupant of my stadium, the Oakland Raiders.

I was lucky that my team ended up in the same division as my rival. I think this makes the rivalry that much more interesting.

Needless to say: FOF2001/Wall Street

I will be using my own rendition of Quik's house rules. His are a little too strict for my liking, and requires, for me, too much micromanaging.

A quik recap of MY rules:

Tickets prices must be lower (even if by $1.00) than Oakland.

I cannot haggle over contract prices or years. I must offer exactly what they are asking, except in the free agent market.
In the FA 20 step process, I cannot backload contracts, and I will use 25% as the maximum year to year increase.

I will not have a set number of California players on my roster, but I will make a conscience effort to keep California players on my roster, particularly UCLA players.

A key difference here is that I am allowed to use real NFL players. I like them, so I will use them.

I am allowing myself to sign non-rookie free agents outside of the 20 step process, but I will not sign a player if it appears that they have been a franchise tag casualty. There are just too many good players out there where the team cannot afford the franchise tag, so they let the player go. This rule is mostly a judgement call on my part, and I will not abuse this rule and "stock up" so to speak.

No unrealistic contracts. Another judgement call, and I just have to be honest with myself.

No initiating more than 1 trade every 5 years. However, I may accept any trade the computer offers me. No "Quiksand 7th round test." I usually refuse CPU initiated trades anyway, so this is not a big deal.

I will not use the franchise tag.

In the 20 step FA process, I can sign whoever I want, whenever I want. For me, this is one of my favorite parts of the game. I love to see which great players have opted for free agency, and see if I can "steal" them away. No restictions here except for the above mentioned 25% maximum increase to avoid backloading a contract.

Finally, If a take another teams coach I owe them a 2nd round pick, and if I take another team's scout, I owe them a 4th round pick. Somebody came up with this idea in another thread, and I think it is a terrific idea. I will probably trade my pick for their (current year plus 2) 7th rounder, or a scrub player to use as a roster filler. I cannot receive ANYBODY of ANY WORTH here.


[This message has been edited by Marmel (edited 01-11-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Marmel (edited 01-11-2001).]

[Marmel]

I don't know how good I will be at detailing this career. I certainly will not be nearly as good as Quik or the VC's out there. I will do my best. If there doesn't seem to be interest in it, or if I am overly frustrated with writing accounts of my season I will drop it.

This is my first attempt at doing this, so please bear with me, and let me know if there is anything you want to know about what is going on. Or if you have suggestions, feel free.....

[FishFan]

Dear Marmel-

Thank you for returning professional football to the wonderful city of Los Angeles. We have suffered through many years of watching those crack-crazy Oakland fans, who think Halloween occurs every Sunday of the football season, hoot and holler their way through the playoffs.

I will be purchasing season tickets this year, but keep in mind that I will be following your progress carefully. I will not hesitate to "cancel" my season tickets and jump on the Raiders bandwagon. I will even dress up in a silver and black Darth Vader costume if I need to. Don't worry about the first couple of years, though. I do not expect much success early on - just beat Oakland a couple of times!

All I ask is that you make wise, informed decisions that will have a positive effect on the team's future. Also, if you are struggling over a decision, do not hestitate to drop me a line. I just happen to be the ex-GM of the Champaign Corks of the FOFL. I have also written a few career threads and can give you some pointers, if you feel stumped.

Again, thanks for returning football to this great city of angels.

Your new super fan,

FishFan

P.S. I am sorry about the reference to the Miami Dolphins in my name - I gave up on them after they were outscored 120-12 in thei final game of the playoffs over the last three seasons.

[This message has been edited by FishFan (edited 01-11-2001).]

[This message has been edited by FishFan (edited 01-11-2001).]

Nice to see you start yours up Marmel. And nice to see you like my idea for offering compensation for other teams coaches/scouts, though I don't quite understand how you are implementing yours. I am simply hoing to trade the pick they are entitled to for the littlest amt I can and then drop the player or pick.

[Vaj]

Good luck on your career in Hell-A, Marmel. Please don't post any pictures of Jack Nicholson in Stars' attire.

On a more serious note, keep posting, even if no one else posts here. Maintaining a career thread can seem like a lonely endeavo(u)r, but many of us do read them, even if we don't let you know it.

[Axxon]

I say go for it Marmel. I have found at times that posting my career is difficult and I am still in search of my writing 'style' so to speak but every post seems to bring me closer to an understanding of what I want to do and how I can achieve it. I hope that your career will do the same for you. I will second what every one else is saying. I read all of the careers and I know that it can seem that no one is following your career when you are the only one posting but I think back on my own reading experiences and know that they really are and speaking as a 'they', we really enjoy the careers, so bring yours on

[Marmel]

Thanks for all the words of encouragement.
I shall start with the expansion draft late this afternoon!

[Marmel]

OK, here we go.

Our coach is Olin Lawrence. His only weak spot is linebackers and our scout has his back covered there. Courtney Blackwood is the scout, and he is pretty solid. Overall I am more than happy with these guys for awhile.

We head into the expansion draft not expecting too much. If we could get a few good players, I will be more than happy.

Just as I expected.....nobody worth mentioning here other than Jay Rupp, a decent punter out of USC. Pretty much a bunch of roster filler who won't be on my team once their contracts run out. I basically went for cheap contracts anyway.

On to FA! This is where I can pick up a few great players.

My first two offers go to WR Marvin Harrison and DE Lance Johnstone. Remember, I can only make offers to 5 players in the first ten weeks. I offer Harrison over $26 mil for 4 years, and Johnstone get $17 mil for 4 years. Pittsburgh signes Harrison immediatly for $21 mil over 3 years, but I still have the best offer on Johnstone. I put in a few more offers: WR Tim Dwight, DE Rich Owens, and C John Wade.

I am able to sign those last three, all by week 8, so I sit back for a couple of weeks.

In week 11, Chad Eaton has not accepted any of the 12 bids, so I put in a top offer and cross my fingers for this 8th year DT.

In week 15 Chad signes and suddenly I have a pretty nice defensive line. I pick up some more inexpensive roster fillers and head to the draft. I have the number 1 pick of course, and I need to make it count.

Wow! 2 of the best players I have ever seen are sitting atop the board. LB Marlon Yount and S Kyle Bryant are top-notch prospects. It's against my better judgement, but I go with the Safty. I am a little worried about a LB bust, and that would not be a good way to start this franchise.

My draft:
1-S Kyle Bryant-future 100/100/100/100/2/2/65
2-QB Courtney Duffy-nice looking guy from Michigan Tech
3-RB Bryce Blake-a decent looking RB from Tenn.
4-G Jerald Matthews-projects to be a great run blocker, decent pass blocking skills
5-WR jose McPhee - I was looking at this guy a couple rounds ago.
6-S Mike Donovan - UCLA product with good zone coverage
7-G Emmitt Stoutmire-UCLA, roster filler

I round out my roster and head to camp hoping for no busts and praying for a breakout.

Neither happens and I am more than happy to walk away with a team that has a few stars, a lot of filler material, and a lot of hope for a top 5 pick next year.

[Marmel]

2002 Preseason:
NY Jets at LA Stars, L 24-30.
Stars at Cincinnati, L 24-27.
Atlanta at Stars, L 10-13.
Buffalo at Stars, L 7-24.

0-4. Exactly how I expected it. But the good news is we have no injuries at all as we head into New York to face the Jets in the franchises first game.

Starting Offense:
QB Courtney Duffy
RB Bryce Blake
FB Kevin Turner
TE Damon Jones
WR Tim Dwight
WR Jose McPhee
C John Wade
G Chris Socha
G Jerald Mathews
T Damon Winslett
T Ed Ellis

We are starting a lot of rookies, and our offensive line is terrible Tim Dwight is our only star.

Defense (4-3):
DE Harvey Murray
DE Lance Johnstone
DT Chad Eaton
DT Shane Burton
LB Isiah Kacyvenski
LB OJ Childress
LB Ron George
CB Lance Brown
CB DJ Heath
S Kyle Bryant
S Desmond Hopkins

Clearly the strength of my team is the defense. A very good defensive line. 2 great LB's, and a decent secondary.

My roster rating is a 1, lowest in the league, as is all of my cohesion ratings.

[FishFan]

Originally posted by Marmel:
Tim Dwight is our only star.

That's even a little bit of a stretch...

[Marmel]

2002 Regular Season:
Stars(0-0) at Jets (0-0)
L 14-20. We were never even in the game as two very late touchdowns made it look respectable. We gave up 379 yards and gained only 244.
QB Duffy 19/31 240 1/2
RB Blake 7/4!!!!!
WR Dwight 5/106, the lone bright spot
WR 4/44 1 TD, scores in his forst pro game
S Kyle Bryant, 1INT-is the real deal Safety.
No injuries.

Week2:
Cincinnati (1-0) at LA (0-1)
The franchise's first home game fills LA with a sense of excitement. We know we need to lure fans to the stadium, so we plan an entire weekend of activities. We realize there are a lot of Raider fans in LA that we want to win over, so we hold a big bonfire in the parking lot. Anybody who tosses any raider gear into the bonfire gets a free LA Stars jersey. We have many famous Hollywood stars at the game. We give some of the stars luxury boxes, and hold drawings to have some of the fans sit with the Hollywood stars in the boxes. Fishfan wins one of the drawings and we see him sitting with Julia Roberts.
Sunday arrives and it's game time, and that is where the fun ends. We lose 26-0. We are outgained 329-179.
QB Duffy 19/29 167 0/2
RB Blake 7/15
S Bryant, 1 pick

Week 3:
LA (0-2) at Seattle (0-2)
W 35-16!!!! The franchise's first win, and everybody played great. Congrats STARS!
QB Duffy 19/30 229 5TD's/0 Int's!!!!!!
RB Blake 13/71
WR Dwight 9/125 3TD's
S Desmond Hopkins, 2 Int's

Week 4:
KC (0-3) at LA (1-2)
L 27-0. Wow, we still have not scored a single point for our home fans.
S Bryant with another INT
QB Duffy 15/40 194 0/3Int's - not getting it done.
DT Shane Burton bruises his sturnum and is out for a few weeks. Amazingly this is our first injury. Coach Olin is VG for injuries.

Week 5:
Minnesota (1-3) at LA (1-3)
L 20-23. At least we score for the home fans.
QB Duffy 25/38 305 1/1
RB Blake 17/44 - running game is dismal
WR Rogers 8/131 1TD

Week 6:
San Diego (2-2) at LA (1-4)
L 7-30. We didn't score until late. No stats to even speak of.
A couple of injuries, but they can go as probably.

Week 7:
Oakland (5-1) at LA (1-5). Oakland heard about our little bonfire in week 2 and are pissed off as they strut their 5-1 record into their old stadium. They throw us around and the game mercifully ends 27-8.
DT Chad Eaton out until the playoffs. Not that we will be there. Luckily, Shane Burton is ready to return.

Week 8:
Seattle (2-5) at LA (1-6)
W 19-9! It seems we have mastered this team. Furthermore, they were never even it the game as their points came in the 4th.
QB Duffy 20/27 178 1TD/0Int
WR Dwight 11/125 1 TD
S Kyle Bryant 3Int's.

[Marmel]

At the halfway point we are a dismal 2-6. Duffy's QB rating is 66.5
Blake has only rushed for 330 yards, 0 TD's
WR Dwight is 3rd in receiving yards with 637, with 4 TD's
WR Charlie Rodgers has 2 receiving TD's, 1 punt TD and 1 kickoff TD.
By 10, we have the most punts in the league. Yeah!
S Kyle Bryant is leading the league in Interceptions with 6. That 3 pick game really helped! His PDQ is 56.9, which is good for 2nd.

Week 9 is a bye week.

[Marmel]

Week 10:
LA (2-6) at KC (2-6)
L 28-54. We got schlacked! We actually outgained them 372-363. The 3 Int's killed us.
QB Duffy 25/40 293 4/3
RB Blake 10/74
WR Dwight 10/183 2TD's
WR's Wolf and McPhee 1TD each

Week 11:
LA (2-7) at Tampa Bay (6-3)
L 3-48. This is getting depressing. We did score first.

Week 12:
LA (2-8) at Denver (6-4)
L 17-27.

Week 13:
LA (2-9) at Oakland (10-1). Our team is actually scared to make this trip to Oakland.
However we had them on the ropes until they made an INT and returned it for a TD in the final 3 minutes. Damn! We outgained them too.
QB Duffy 20/31 176 0/2
RB Ellard 12/97 - closest to a 100 yard runner we have had so far.
S Bryant had another pick.

Week 14:
Denver (8-4) at LA (2-10)
L 3-24
DT Shane Burton gets hurt again and is out for a few weeks.

Week 15:
LA (2-11) at Chicago (6-7)
L 16-42.

Week 16:
Jacksonville (7-7) at LA (2-12)
W 20-12. Miracles never cease.
S Bryant, 3 more INT's

Week 17 (mercifully):
LA (3-12) at San Diego (6-9)
W 23-15. 2 in a row??????

We finish 4-12. Minnesota 4-12. Seattle 2-14.
Oakland wins the division at 14-2.

Final Stats:
QB Duff 269/499 2991 17/19 67.4
RB Blake 593 yards, 3.5 average, 0 TD's
We had exactly 1 rushing TD all year. The offensive line is my focus in the off-season.
WR Dwight 1317 yards (4th), 7 TD's
DE Lance Johnstone 14.5 sacks
LB OJ Childress 105 tackles
S Kyle Bryant 10 INT's - LEAGUE LEADER!
49.2 PDQ - LEAGUE LEADER.
It will be an atrocity if he does not get DROY.

[Marmel]

Season wrapup:
Oakland beats Washington 34-28 to take the FOF bowl victory. That hurts. We hate the Raiders.

Edjerin James wins the MVP.
Our Safety Kyle Bryant does win the DROY as well as being all 2nd team Safety.
DE Lance johson makes the first team.

We lost $9.35 million this year. Attendance was 60.1%, second lowest. Thank you New Orleans for not making us the least watch team in the league.

Our coaching staff stays in place as we move into free agency. My favorite time of year.

[Marmel]

We head into fre agency and look for help on the offensive line first and foremost. Then we just need help everywhere.

In the first 10 weeks, we bid on:
G Edwin Mulitalo
T Willie Anderson
LB Jeremiah Trotter

Cincy signs Willie in week 4, so we use our 4th bid on:
T Tarik Glenn

Trotter signs back up with Philly in week 5.
Our 5th and final bid goes to LB Wali Rainer. We need to get somebody!

Cool. Wali signs in week 6.
Tarik signs with Pittsburgh in week 7.
Mulitalo is my last chance......
and he waits until week 11 to sign. Alright, not bad.

We are able to sign LB Sam Cowart and some backup players the rest of the way. On to the draft.

[Marmel]

There is nobody I can justify taking on the OL with my first pick, even though I need somebody. I decide it is time to draft my future star QB with my first overall pick.

1-QB Troy Pinson-all 80's plus
2-RB Arnold Hammond - I know I need OL, but this guy should have been a top 10 pick.
3-G Winston Russell - quality guard
4-T Vincent England - OK in a pinch
5-QB Jermaine Izzo - backup QB from Stanford
6-DE Tommy Ismail - need position
7-CB Archie Strong - another Cardinal

I should have picked an OL instead of the RB, but overall I am happy with this draft is there are no busts. QN Pinson should develope very nicely, and he could potentially be my QB for the next 15 years.

No breakouts and no busts sends us to the preseason with better players than last year, but not a bright outlook. I would be happy with a 6-10 season this year.Oh, Al Del Greco retired by the way. we won't miss him.

Cohesion is again last everywhere. The good news is our roster is a 38, which ranks us 20th.

We have this starting lineup:
QB Troy Pinson
RB Arnold Hammond
FB Rob Konrad
TE Damon Jones
WR Tim Dwight
WR Jose McPhee
C John Wade
G Edwin Mulitalo
G Jerald Mathews
T Dusty Taylor
T Damon Winslett

Tackle is our weakest position. We are solid at C and G.

Defense:
DE Harvey Murray
DE Lance Johnstone
DT Chad Eaton
Dt Shane Burton
LB Sam Cowart
LB Wali Rainer
LB Isiah Kacyvenski
CB DJ Heath
CB Lance Brown
S Kyle Bryant*
S Jeffrey Bernstein

The secondary needs help, but Bryant is a one man wrecking crew.

[Marmel]

2003 Preseason:
Giants at LA, L 13-14
LA at Carolina, L 24-27
Jets at LA, L 6-31
LA at Tennessee, L 10-27

0-4, not a good sign. Chad Eaton is out 2-3 months and that is going to really hurt.

2003 Regular Season:
San Diego (0-0) at LA (0-0). The season begins, everybody is tied for the division lead. W 13-10! A win is a win. We outgained them 363-177.
RB Hammond 18/94
QB Pinson 21/26 218 1/2
WR Dwight 7/113 1TD
S Bryant 1 pick

Week 2:
Oakland (0-1) at LA (1-0). The stadium is buzzing with anticipation as the week 1 victory coupled with the Oakland loss gives the fans hope against the hated Raiders.
L 6-7. Again they got us at the end of the game with a TD pass in the final 6 minutes.
RB Hammond 13/78
QB Pinson 12/25 87 0/0
LB Wali Rainer 11 Tackles

Week 3:
LA (1-1) at Seattle (1-1)
W 27-21. We were outgained 361-295, but the W is what counts.
QB Pinson 18/27 161 0/1
RB Hammond 17/136 3TD's - our first game with a100 yard rusher. Hammond was a great 2nd round pick.
WR Dwight 9/100
S Bryant 1 pick

Week 4:
LA (2-1) at Jets (0-1-1)
L 20-30. Things were going a little too good.
RB Hammond 9/64
QB Pinson 20/37 326 1/0
WR Banks 7/134 1 TD
WR Dwight 6/111

Week 5:
LA (2-2) at Denver (3-1)
L 14-24. We were up 14-0.
RB Hammond 14/41
QB Pinson 10/16 162 2/1
WR McPhee 7/144

Week 6:
LA (2-3) at Jacksonville (2-3)
W 34-9. Our biggest point differential to date.
RB Hammond 20/193 2 TD's
QB Pinson 16/24 112 1/0
S Bryant 3 picks.....he is making a habit out of getting 3 INT games.
DT Chad Eaton is ready to come back.

Week 7:
LA (3-3) at KC (3-2)
W 20-17. Antoher big road win. We had a 102 yard kickoff TD return and Matt Stover hit a 56 yard FG with 0:00 on the clock for the win.
S Bryant with another INT

Week 8:
Seattle (3-4) at LA (4-3)
W 26-15. If the playoffs ended today, we would be in.
RB Hammond 22/111 2TD's
QB Pinson 31/38 296 0/1
LB Cowart 1Int

[Marmel]

Midseason. We are 5-3. Denver is 7-1 and Oakland is 5-1-1, so we are third in the division. S Bryant is second in INT's this year. WR Dwight is 6th in receiving yards, and RB Hammond is having a sensational rookie year. He has 758 rushing yards, which places him third. We have a real chance for the playoffs this year, much to my surprise. Let's try to keep it going.

Week 9: Bye week

Week 10:
LA (5-3) at Oakland (5-2-1). A battle for 2nd place in the division, and our first real oppurtunity to beat the Raiders.
L 3-23. We just didn't come to play. G Winston Russell out until the playoffs.

Week 11:
Denver (7-2) at LA (5-4).
L 0-24. It's obvious we can't compete with the big boys yet.

Week 12:
LA (5-5) at San Fran (5-5). A must win if we are to make it to the playoffs.
L 25-28. We gave up a TD with under 2minutes to go, and QB Pinson threw 4 INT's.

Week 13:
Cleveland (5-6) at LA (5-6)
L 21-27.
RB Hammond 21/110 1TD

Week 14:
St. Louis (7-3-2) at LA (5-7)
L 13-14. We lose on a late 4th quarter Marshall Faulk run.

Week 15:
KC (7-6) at LA (5-8)
W 27-13. this one was strictly for pride.
RB Hammond 18/91 3 Td's
Bryant and Bernstein each had a pick
(If you are wondering why QB Pinson's stats are not being listed, is because they are too embarrassing to him.)

Week 16:
LA (6-8) at San Diego (4-10)
L 7-35. This is just embarrassing.

Week 17:
Carolina(7-8) at LA (6-9)
L 13-17. I fitting end to the season. 6-10. 4th in the division. Denver 13-3, Oakland 10-5-1, KC 8-8

[Axxon]

Hey, your team is still young and showed a lot of heart and has room for improvement. Just having a season under their belts should help Pinson and Hammond have great years next year.

Good luck.

[henry296]

Marmel,

What do you classify as "stealing another's team coach". I can only make offers to coaches without contracts. If someone had their contract expired is that "stealing".

Todd

Todd, as it was originally laid out by moi, stealing another teams coach or scout is outlined as if they were employed by someone last year, ie when you look at them they say expired and the team that they worked for.

Hope this helped.

[Marmel]

Oakland makes it to the Conference championship, but loses to Tennessee, who go on and beat Green Bay for the title.

Kyle Bryant, our all-star Safety only gets 2nd team this year. RB Arnold Hammond wins OROY, a no-brainer decision there.

Coach Olin's contract is up this year, but we quickly renew the contract. We are not going to give up on him after only 2 seasons.

We lose over $32 million this year. We need to run profits SOON. Attendance is at 61.7%, thank you to San Diego this year for keeping us out of the basement in that category.

Oakland has significantly raised it's ticket prices, and feel guilty, but raise our prices as well. Like I said, we need to turn a profit real soon, and this can only help, I think.

We head into free agency with 36 players under contract, and we need to bulk up the OL and the defensive backfield.

Hmmmm, I get a trade offer for QB Duffy, a second round pick last year, and since he does not figure in our future I take the trade. I get the 6th pick in this year's draft, plus a old, but useful CB. What a homerun for out team!

My biggest need is a tckles, so my first bid goes to Mo Collins. DE Vonnie Holliday also get a nice offer from me.

Oakland signs my DT john Thornton away, even though I had a higher bid. Then having the highest bid on Collins and Holliday, I lose them both in week 7. Back to the drawing board.

So I try for T Victor Riley and DT Chris Hovan, and lose them both the very next week of bidding. Looks like nobody wants to play for the Stars.......

We leave free agency with ZERO signing.....that really hurts. We do have the 6th and 7th picks in this years draft...let's hope for the best.

Draft picks:
1-DT Brady Kolodzik, amazing looking DT to pick up the slack in the DL.
1-T Kyle Murphy, huge potential in run blocking, excellent pass blocker as well.
2-CB Courtney Weber, he will step in and start in week 1.
3-WR Deron Lucas, a very solid #2 behind Tim Dwight.
4-FB Jeff Sanders, he might be a bust, but he looks like he could have went in the 1st round
5-K Raymond Booker, Stanford product who will take over FG duties from aging Matt Stover
6-QB Heath Abrams, strictly a backup and I break a personal vow of mine never to draft a Notre Dame QB
7-RB Perry Cote, winner of the "fastest man in the draft" award.

We come out of camp. The FB was not a bust, and he will start immediatly. I am quite happy there. The WR lost some luster, but will still be the best #2 man we have. Everybody else looks great, and we are pretty happy with the team.

The 2004 season to follow later (probably tomorrow).

[Marmel]

2004 Season:

Our roster rating is an 11. This seems way low to me. Hopefully we will prove it wrong. I want at least 8 wins this year.

Our starting roster:
QB Troy Pinson
RB Arnold Hammond
FB Jeff Sanders
WR Tim Dwight and Deron Lucas
TE Damon Jones
C John Wade
G Edwin Mulitalo
G Jerald Mathews
T Vincent England
T Kyle Murphy

DE Harvey Murray and Lance Johnstone
DT Chad Eaton and Brady Kolodzik
LB Isiah Kacyvenski/Wali Rainer/Sam Cowart
CB Ronnie Brandford and Courtney weber
S Kyle Bryant and Jeffrey Bernstein

We go 1-3 in the preseason and lose CB Ronnie Bradford for 2-3 months. We have no depth at CB so this will hurt.

Week 1:
San Diego (0-0) at LA (0-0)
W 35-10. Nice start.
QB Pinson 10/14 222 2/0 just what we needed
RB Hammond 23/51
RB Blake 11/73 1TD
S Bryant 1 Int, TD - still the real deal.

Week 2:
LA (1-0) at Oakland(0-1). We are 0-4 against Oakland, but played them very tough both times last year. We need to get that 1st big win against them right now!
W 24-17! This is clearly the biggest win in our franchise's history.
RB Hammond 24/102 1TD
QB Pinson 14/22 177 1/1

Week 3:
NY Giants (2-0) at LA (2-0). Are we for real?
W 35-3. Apparently we are for real! We sit atop the division at 3-0. Denver is at 2-1.
RB Hammond 19/119 3 TD's
QB Pinson 19/28 263 1/0

Week 4: bye

Week 5:
LA (3-0) at Indy (3-1). This is big road test for us.
W 23-20. We win this one with a 27 yard field goal with only :20 on the clock.
RB Hammond 19/76 2TD's
S Bryant 1 INT
RB Blake is questionable for next week, but will suit up since he is off the bench for a few carries here and there.


Week 6:
LA (4-0) at Seattle (2-3).
L 7-12. This was a real letdown, as our touchdown came very late in the 4th quarter. We'll shake it off and come back next week, I hope.
QB Pinson 12/26 167 1/4
RB Hammond 10/9
Uninspired play all around

Week 7:
LA (4-1) at Denver (4-1). For sole possession of 1st place.
L 7-10 in a defensive battle. We score early on a Pinson QB sneak. they tie it with 4:00 to go and then win in OT on a 34 yd. FG on the first possession. We never saw the ball in OT.
DE Johnstone 3 sacks
TE Damon Jones is doubtful for next week and will probably miss a few weeks.

Week 8:
LA (4-2) at Philly (3-3)
L 15-38. Things are going south in LA.
No stats to report.

Week 9:
Buffalo (4-3) at LA (4-3)
L 17-24. After winning 4 straight, we now lose 4 straight.
RB Hammond 15/133 1TD
QB Pinson 8/16 84 1/2 this is unacceptable
S Bernstein 2INT's
S Bryant 1INT

Midseason report:
We are 1 game out of the playoffs right now. Denver leads the division at 6-2.
RB Hammond 611 yards places him 8th, but 7 TDs places him 2nd.
Nobody else shows up statistically.

Week 10:
Arizona (6-2) at LA (4-4)
L 14-34.
QB Pinson finally has a good day in the loss:
14/23 198 2/0
S Bryant with an INT

Week 11:
KC (2-7) at LA(4-5). A must win if we have any hope of salvaging this season.
L6-21. My team forgot to show up for this one.

Week 12:
Oakland (5-5) at LA (4-6). This becomes our Superbowl for the year.
W 24-17. There is reason to celebrate in LA as we sweep the "might" Raiders.
Nobody was statistically impressive, but they played together as a team for the first time since week 4.
RB Bryce Blake out until next season with torn knee cartilage.

Week 13:
Denver (8-3) at LA (5-6).
L 10-16. denver returns the opening kickoff in OT for 99 yards and a TD. Game over.
S Bryant had 3 INT's. that is his 3rd time doing that, I believe.

Week 14:
LA (5-7) at KC (3-9)
L 17-27. the team has given up on me.
We just look to finish out the season with some respectability.

Week 15:
LA (5-8) at Pittsburgh (8-5)
L 24-27. The kicked a 19 yard FG with 0:00 on the clock. We are better than our record indicates. We have lost some real tough games against very good opponents. This was one of those "good" losses if there is such a thing.

Weel 16:
LA (5-9) at San Diego (3-11). We need to win out final 2 to improve upon last year's record.
W 27-7.
RB Hammond 31/146 2TD...he wishes he could play the Chargers every week.
Safety's Bryant and Bernstein each had 2 Int's. Maybe I should nickname my safety tandem the killer bees.

Week 17:
Seattle (7-8) at LA (6-9)
W 30-0. We improve by 1 game over last year, and have gained some confidence down the final stretch to take into the offseason.

Final record 7-9. 2nd place in division. Denver wins at 12-4.

QB Pinson had 16 TDs and 17 INTs. He needs to improve in a hurry.
RB Hammond rushed for 1336 yards, good for 6th in the league. His 13 TDs was tops!
I have nothing to say about my WR's, nor my DL and LB's.
S Bryant tied for the league lead with 9 INTs
S Bernstein had 5.

Cincinnati beats Tampa Bay for the title.

G Gerald Mathews and S Kyle Bryant receive 1st team awards.

[Marmel]

Off-Season.

We stick with our coach and scout. We have gone from 4 to 6 to 7 wins, so they are on the right track.

We lost $30 mil last year, an increase of 7%, woohoo!

Attendance was at 68.3%, thank you to New Orleans and San Diego, who were lower than me.

Oakland has kept ticket prices the same, so we do as well.

As we head into free agency, Tackle is still a big need, but I will take any good players I can find.
My first 3 offers go to DE Jevon Kearse, T Jon Jensen, and CB Chalres Woodson. Landing any one of these three would be a huge boost.

I have to up my offers after 2 weeks, but I am still in the game. I put my fourth bid in on a real nice 5th year WR Harvey Urena.

In week 5 Kearse goes to Baltimore and Woodson goes to Minnesota.

My 5th and final bid of the first ten weeks goes to a 5 year DT Junior Ioane.

Junior signs in week 6, and that really shores up my D-Line.
In week 10 the WR urena signs on, and he may become my number 1 receiver.
I still have the high bid for T Jon Jensen......I really need him to sign.

YES! I sign Jon Jensen and DE Grant Winstrom in week 11.

That will pretty much wrap up my free agent signings as I am running low in cap space. But it was my best period to date.

So we move on to the draft, and I have pick number 12.

1-WR Lincoln Shapiro, an off-the charts WR!
2-C Rick Newhart, should step in next year as starter
3-S Rod Corbett, rounds out our all-star Safety unit.
4-TE Will Matney, a need position and a Cal product.
5-CB Lewis Vance, another need position and a Stanford Grad.
6-TE Rondell King, possible breakout and a need position.
7-RB Edward Bryant, another speedy guy who might breakout.

We come out of camp and see the RB Bryant did break out a little bit, he should help us out in the backfield. Everyone else changed very little and we are once again happy with the outcome of the draft.

We have a roster rating of 78, which places us 8th overall, and surprisingly, 1st in our division.

Our starting lineup:
QB Pinson, 3rd year starter now
RB Hammond, see above
FB Sanders, 2nd year starting
TE Damon Jones, a very weak position for us
WR Urena and Dwight, with out 3 reserves, this is our strongest position suddenly
C John Wade, has started every game at C
G Edwin Mulitalo, career at the start of a downslope
G Jerald Mathews
T Jon Jensen, can't say enough about his presence on the OL.
T Kyle Murphy, starting to develope nicely.

DE Grant winstrom and Lance Johnstone, a solid pair
DT Kolodzik and Ioane, another solid pair
LB Cowart, Rainer, Kacyvenski, all three are good all around LB's
CB Weber and Brandford, still our weakest spot, but improving
S Bernstein and Bryant, need I say more?

2005 Preseason:
2-2, the two losses were both by 1 point.
No major injuries.

[Marmel]

2005 Regular Season:

Week 1:
LA (0-0) at Denver (0-0)
W 21-3. We slam the divisions defending champs in Denver.
RB Hammond 17/100
QB Pinson 20/31 205 2/0
WR Lucas 3/39 2TDs
S Bryant, 2INTs

Week 2:
LA (1-0) at Oakland (1-0). The Oakland crowd is extremely riled up as the look to avenge last year's sweep.
W 24-21. Oakland's furious 4th quarter rally falls just short.
RB Hammond 22/154 2 TDs
CB Bradford is banged up. He will suit up next week, but will not start.

Week 3:
Indy (1-1) at LA (2-0)
L 20-30. They scored 17 unanswered points in the 4th quarter.
RB Sanders 4/105 1TD
RB Hammond 18/11

Week 4:
LA (2-1) at Minnesota (2-1)
L 9-10. We must stop the bleeding NOW!

Week 5:
KC (1-2) at LA (2-2)
L 3-13. I can;t believe this is happening, and I don't know why.

Week 6:
Seattle (1-3) at LA (2-3)
W 21-16, a MUCH needed win to get back to .500
RB Hammond 23/148 2TDs. When he has a good day, he seems unstoppable.
S Bernstein with a pick

Week 7:
San Diego (2-4) at LA (3-3)
W 30-0. I am glad we have them twice a year.
RB Hammond 23/100
S Bernstein with 2 more INTs

Week 8:
LA (4-3) at NY Jets (4-2). this is a good road test for us.
L 17-34....we fail the test miserably.
RB Hammond 16/109 1 TD

The good news is that the division leader Denver is only at 4-3, while we sit in 2nd at 4-4 after 8 games.

Mid-Season stat report:

QB Pinson 109/204 1138 5/5
RB Hammond 164/701 6TDs. Leads league in yards, 2nd in TDs
WR Dwight 375 yards and 3 TDs
WR Urena 279 yards and 0 TDs
WR Lucas 172 yards and 2 TDs
LB Rainer 68 tackles, leads the league
DE Johnstone 7.5 sacks is good for 4th
S Bernstein 3 INTs
S Bryant 2INTs
CB Weber 2INTs

[Marmel]

Week 9:
LA (4-4) at Green Bay (4-3)
L 23-26. We keep losing the close ones.
A 39 yard FG in OT gave this one to the Pack.
RB Hammond 21/142
QB Pinson 20/32 273 2/2
WR Urena 9/125 1TD
S Bryant 2 INTs

Week 10: bye

Week 11:
LA (4-5) at KC (3-6)
W 28-16. This keeps us in the hunt. We are 5-5, Denver is 6-4.
RB Hammond 24/203 2TDs. What a performance!
QB Pinson 16/29 185 1/0

Week 12:
Oakland (4-6) at LA (5-5). Can we sweep them 2 years in a row? It would be a huge achievement for this young team.
W 16-13. With 34 seconds left we hit a 34 yard game winning FG and sweep the Raiders back to Oakland for 2 straight year! The streets of LA are being rioted and everybody is happy!
We did, however, suffer some bumps and bruises. Everybody will suit up next week, but a few guys will be coming of the bench. T Jensen and LB Cowart are 2 of the mian guys.

Week 13:
LA (6-5) at San Diego (4-7). We CANNOT have a let down on the road.
L 21-24. Disappointing as Denver opens a 2 game lead. A 34 yard FG with 4 seconds left does us in.

Week 14:
Tampa Bay (9-3) at LA (6-6)
W 38-29. Our biggest win this season!
RB Hammond 28/142 2TDs
QB Pinson 18/25 283 1/0

Week 15:
Denver (9-4) at LA (7-6). this single game could make or break our entire season.
W 22-21. We score 2 TDs and a 52 yard FG in the final 11:00 to win this one.
RB Hammond 21/76
QB Pinson 19/31 217 2/1

Week 16:
LA (8-6) at Seattle (5-9). We have a tendancy to let down in these types of game.
L 19-27, and we do it yet again.

Week 17:
Detroit (7-8) at LA (8-7). As it stands now we hold the final wildcard spot. This is going to be a real dogfight. Thankfully it is at home and the stadium sells out.
W 38-0 and the Stars are going to the playoffs in just their 4th year of existance!!!! More rioting in the streets of LA!!!!!!

We finish the season 9-7. Denver at 10-6 will host us in Wildcard weekend, and we know we can beat them, because we did it once this season!!!!

Final stats:
QB Pinson 241/412 2733 16/8 83.2 rating, good for 11th in the league. He showed incredible improvement from the first to second half of the season.
RB Hammond 302/1516 12TDs 5.0 average. Led the league in rushing yards by 180 yards. 2nd in TDs
WR Dwight 794 yards 5 TDs
WR Urena 646 yards 2 TDs
WR Lucas 584 yards 5TDs
LB Rainer 114 tackles, good for 8th
S Bryant 8INTs, tied for 2nd

[Marmel]

I will get to the playoffs tonight, since I am not one of the lucky people who have the game loaded on their computer at work.

Anyway, I wanted to just let you all know how I go about doing this. I have both FOF2001 and this web site open. I look at my next matchup and tell you who I am playing with both team's records. then I make some sort of comment, if I feel one is necessary. Then I sim the game, and make another comment if necessary. I like to post the stats of a particularly good, or particulary bad performance. I also check the injury report, however I don't describe it unless there is a serious injury, or an injury to one of my star players. I have been extremely lucky in this career in that I have had the fewest injuries I have seen yet. I have only had one injury that lasted more than 3-5 weeks. this in itself keeps my head coach on our staff.

Looking back at my posts, I am not sure if I am including enough detail in between games, and it seems like I am including too many stats for the game itself. I may try to adjust this and give a description of what the team attitude is as we play games, and just report final scores. Only giving stats when they are "Player of the week" worthy stats.

Also, for playoff games, I always watch the games, so I will be hitting the pause button often and describing the action on the field to you.

That's all for now.

[Marmel]

2005 Post-Season:

We actually swept the division winning Denver Broncos, and we travel out to Denver to face them in the Stars' first ever playoff game. We have set up huge TV's in the LA Coliseum and let fans in for free to watch and party, and hopefully celebrate.

At the ceremonial coin toss, we invite Fishfan to midfield since he is officially the first fan of the Stars. He is in the books as the first season ticket holder of our franchise. We win the toss and take the ball. Pinson runs a draw for 5, then hits Dwight for 11, then Hammond breaks one off for 54 yards and a touchdown. 7-0 Stars.

Denver gets a couple first down, but they miss a 49 yard field goal and we take over with decent field position. We get the pass and run going. The defense is on their heels as we mix it up down to their 20 yard line. Facing 3rd and 8 Hammond breaks loose for another TD! 14-0 Stars. We trade field position for most of the rest of the half, until Gus Frerotte hits Cole for a TD inside the 2 minute warning. 14-7 Stars. We trade punts for the entire 3rd quarter, and nobody even comes close to scoring. We head into the championship quarter with a 7 point lead.

With about 9 minutes to play we recover a Denver fumble at their 22. We hand off to Hammond for three straight plays. Results, TD. Stars 21-7. The crowd is eeirly silent. Denver responds with a 53 yard strike to Cole, and then a 13 yard TD pass from Gus to Rod Smith, to make it 21-14. 5 minutes to play. We are able to pick up 4 first downs before we punt. Denver has it at their 8 yard line with 1:09 to play, no time outs. First play goes to Rod Smith for 26 yards. Incomplete. Then to Cole for 18 yards, and they are at out 48 with :38 to go. We stop them on all three downs, which sets up 4th and ten. Frerotte connects with Rod Smith for 27, which takes them down to our 21 yard line. they snap the ball with :01 on the clock for the final play of the game. Everything seems to be happening in slow motions. Frerotte drops back, looking, looking, he fires....our DE almost gets his hands on it as it sails into the endzone. the ball is tipped and somehow, someway, Cole comes down with it. TD 21-21. We go to overtime. That was a heartbreaking play for all the Stars fans back in LA. the team looks deflated going into OT, and Uncle MO is clearly with the Broncos.

Denver wins the toss in OT and will start with the ball. Too many times we have seen this happen, where we don't even get a offensive touch in OT. We desparetly need our D to step up. We are able to hold them to 1 first down and we take over at our own 23. Hammond breaks one for 21 yards to get close to midfield. Pinson to Urena for 7, Pinson scrambles for 6. 1st down at their 43. After a loss then a 12 yard gain we face 4th and 2 at thier 35 yard line. Coach Olin huddles with his coaches and discuss what to do here. They decide to try the 52 yard field goal. The kick is up, it is straight.......IT IS GOOD!!!! STARS WIN! STARS WIN! I can't believe it, THE STARS WIN! Coach Olin gets the old gatoraid bath and our kicker, Booker is carried off the field. Final score LA 24-Denver 21. Arnold Hammond wins the game MVP for his 122 yard, 3 TD performance.

We travel to 13-3 and #1 seed Pittsburgh for the Divisional round. We are completely healthy and bring a team brewing with confidence out to Pittsburgh. Their QB is Jeff Blake, and Jerome Bettis is still the RB out there. If you remember, they stole Marvin Harrison from me in a bidding war during FA a few years back, so we have to deal with him as well. They are a passing team, and on D, they sit back in double coverage and rarely blitz. They make you beat them on the ground, and that is our strenghth.

Pittsburgh wins the toss, and they start moving the ball with ease. They aim for the endzone, but Bryant step in and picks it off at the 1 yard line and returns it to our 31. We cannot take advantage though and only gain 5 yards, then punt. Again they move with ease, but our D tightens up in the red zone and hold them to a FG. 3-0 Pitt. Pinson is picked off by Shields and he returns the ball down to our 20 yard line. Uh-oh. Blake hits Spense on a post pattern on the first play for the TD. 10-0 Pittsburgh. The end of the 1st arrives with us having 21 yards of offense and 1 first down. Bettis caps off a 9+ minute drive to make to 17-0. We get something going but have to settle for a FG. 17-3 at the half.

Midway through the 3rd Balke connects with Starvin Marvin Harrison to make it 24-3, and this one is all over but the crying. Final score: 31-3.

Our guys had a taste of the playoffs and vow to return next year.

Pittsburgh beats Tampa Bay for the championship.

FB Sanders and G Mathews make the first team.
RB Hammond, P Rupp and S Bryant make 2nd team. Rob Johnson from Buffalo gets the trifecta, while Lawyer Milloy for Pittsburgh gets the Superbowl MVP.

If you remember in that first draft I was contemplating between a LB and S Bryant. While i am very happy with Bryant, I thought I would go take a look at LB Marlon Yount. He is a 98 in every catagory, and has had over 100 tackles the past 2 seasons. 7.5 sacks last year. He was 1st team this year, and 2nd team last year. Plus he has a championship ring with Cincinnati from last year.

Also, recall that our star RB Hammond was a 2nd round pick. I still cannot understand how he fell that far. My good luck, I guess.
Finally, our FB, who was 1st team this year was a 4th round pick who I though might be a bust, but took a chance on anyway. Glad I did. QB Pinson was a 1st round choice who is improving year to year, and looks to have a brilliant 2006 campaign.

[Marmel]

Off-Season.

We lost $33 million this year. A drop of 11%. We need to turn this around immediatly. Oakland significantly raised their prices, so I will follow suit. 69.8% attendance puts us next to last yet again, just in front of New Orleans. We quickly bypass the coach/scout hiring and keep our guys in place.

We head into free agency with with some decent cap room after I cut some overproced, underachievers. LB and CB are my biggest needs. I put offers in for LB Jake Klug and CB Shawn Springs. Springs signs right away, and we fill a big need. I have always been weak at TE so I offer some cash to TE Jay Riemersma. Miami signs the LB Klug, so I go to my 4th target of FA, LB Lewis Sinclair. However a couple weeks later he signs with Washington. I am still the high offer on Riemersma. I notice our old friend QB Courtney Duffy has been cut by Atlanta. They gave me a 1st round pick for him a couple of years ago. He has not been productive in the South, but still asks for $6mil a year. RB Bryce Blake is getting bids for over $10 mil for 2 years, and I will not be able to bring him back. We lose Sam Cowart to Baltimore and Riemersma to New Orleans. My final offer of the first 10 weeks goes to TE Freddie Jones. Freddie signs in week 10. That wraps up our free agency period. We head to the draft with the 23rd pick.

Draft:
1-CB Cris Newcomb, 100 potential in run and zone D, 56 in man2man. 97 in INTS.
2-G Luther Abrams, I almost took him with my first pick, potentials of 92/100/66
3-TE Xavier Rigot. Excellent TE who will challenge for starting job.
4-RB Dale Weiner, should be an ample backup to replace Blake.
5-LB KC Dellesandro, best LB available.
6-DT Max Light, best DT available, from Cal.
7-DE Sedrick Blushman, from USC

Everybody looks fine coming out of camp, and we head into 2006 with the hopes of returning to the playoffs.

[Marmel]

We go into the 2006 season with the following starting lineups:

QB Troy Pinson. If he can play like he did in the 2nd half of 2005, we will have a great year.
RB Arnold Hammond. The real A Train.
FB Jeff Sanders. 1st teamer last year.
TE Freddie Jones. Newcomer to LA.
WR Harvey Urena. Needs to step up as the #1
WR Tim Dwight. Demoted to #2 after sub-par year.
C John Wade. 5th year LA starter
G Edwin Mulitalo, looking for a resurgance this year.
G Luther Abrams, this years 2nd round pick already has current ratings of 48/56/72
T Jon Jensen, our best Offensive lineman
T Kyle Murphy, completely developed and ready to start.

DE Grant Wistrom/Lance Johnstone, we are trying to squeeze a few more productive years out of these guys.
DT Brady Kolodzik/Junior Ioane, bost LA draftees who are now starting
LB Kacyvenski/Rainer/Childress, these three are OK, but it is our weakest position
CB Shawn Springs/Courtney Weber, a 1000% increase over last years tandem.
S Bryant/Bernstein. The killer bees.

2006 Preseaon:
We go 3-1 in the preseason, but have a couple injuries of note. We lose Grant Wistrom for 2-3 months. DT Kolodzik and WR Shapiro are out for a couple weeks. This is our first time with real injury problems. We will see who steps up.

2006 Regular Season:
Obviously, our goal is to make a return trip to the playoffs. We really want to advance further than last year. We realize a bowl trip is unrealistic, but don't tell that to my guys. We look to take the division from 2 time champion Denver, and of course we would love to make it 6 in a row against Oakland.

Week1:
Denver (0-0) at LA (0-0). We have a chance to make an early statement to Denver and the rest of the AFC West. We score first and hold on for the 20-14 win. Hammond runs for 148 while Pinson throws for 1 TD and 0 INTs. Pinson suffers a bruised shoulder, but will play next week. WR Lincoln, and DT Kolodzik will return next week as well.

Week 2:
Seattle (1-0) at LA (1-0). We jump out to the early lead, but they storm back in the 4th to send it into OT. Tim Dwight shows he is not ready for retirement as he hauls in a 52 yard TD catch for the win, 34-28. Pinson goes 29 of 40 for 389, 3TDs/1INT. WR Urena steps up with 100+ rec. yards.

Week 3:
LA (2-0) at Indy (1-1). Our first road test of the season is against a good Colts team. Hammond runs wild for 177 yards and 2TDs, the last coming on a 1 yard plunge with under 2 minutes to play for the win. Our safety tandem records a pick, the first of the season, by Bernstein.

Week 4:
Atlanta (2-1) at LA (3-0). First out of conference game this year. The lead went back and forth all day until we kicked a 32 yard FG for the win with 3:00 on the clock. 30-27. Hammond goes for 123 and a touch. Pinson 17/25 270, 2TDs/1INT. Lance Johnstone with 3 sacks.

Week 5:
LA (4-0) at Kansas City (1-3). Arrowhead is always tough to play at. We fall behind early but fight back behind Hammonds 2 4th Quarter TDs to take the 30-20 win. Pinson also throws for 2TDs with 0 INTs. CB Shawn Springs will miss a few weeks and that will hurt us badly.

Week 6:
LA (5-0) at Oakland (3-1). The resurgent Raiders host us in this bitter division rivalry. that are quite sour at losing 4 straight to an expansion team. the black hole is out in full force as we strut our perfect record up to Oakland. This one goes back and forth all day until Gramatica hits a 19 yard chip shot with no time on the clock to win this one for the Raiders 20-17. We accept defeat but circle week 16 on our calendars. We welcome Grant Wistrom back to the starting lineup next week.

Week 7:
LA (5-1) at San Diego (3-3). We usually rock the Chargers, but they are improved this year. They get an 80 yard completion at the end of regulation and push in the 2 pt conversion to send it into OT. Denfense dominates until Tim Dwight returns a punt 82 yards for a TD and the win. He has now won 2 games for us in OT, and to think I came very close to cutting him this past offseason. DT junior Ioane will miss a few games.

Week 8:
New England (3-3) at LA (6-1). Bledsoe has struggled this year, but the Patsies are always dangerous. A 2TD performance by Hammond, coupled with a FG with :22 left on the clock gives us the 23-21 win.

[Marmel]

2006 Mid-Season Report.

We are 7-1 and have the best record in the NFL. We lead our division by 2 games over 5-3 Oakland and 5-3 Seattle. Some stats at the 8 game mark:

QB Pinson 142/229 1,760 yards 12TDs/4INTs. He has the best rating in the league at 95.6. Trent Green and Dante Culpepper are close behind.

RB Hammond leads the league in rushing with 839 yards. He is thrid in TDs with 7.

Our receiving corps really splits up the yards and TDs so nobody stands out, but I very much prefer this as the Defenses don't know who to cover.

Lance Johnstone is 2nd with 9.0 sacks.
Safeties Bernstein and Bryant only have 2 INTs apiece.

[Marmel]

Week 9:
New Orleans (3-4) at LA (7-1). My team has had a habit of overlooking these types of games. ....And they do it again. We were never in the game as we fall 27-14.

Week 10:
bye. We welcome Springs and Ioane back to the starting lineup as we head into the stretch.

Week 11:
KC (2-7) at LA (7-2). We really need to show up for this one and not overlook the Cheifs. They score last with a 37 yard FG......but we win 51-3.

Week 12:
LA (8-2) at Seattle (6-4). Seattle and Oakland are tied for 2nd place, 2 games back. Oakland lost in the early game, so we could pretty much wrap up the division with a win here. Our defense dominates and Hammond scores twice as we win 21-3.

Week 13:
San Diego (5-6) at LA (9-2). We just look to keep rolling. Hammond scores 3 TDs, Pinson throws for 2 and over 300 yards. Our defense is playing spectacular lately and we roll 35-9. Ioane is out until the playoffs. There was some finger pointing at Coach Olin for bringing him back too early, but I stand behind the Coach 100% in his decision. I thought it was just an unlucky break we had.

Week 14:
LA (10-2) at St. Louis (7-5). St. Louis has a playoff spot on the line, so they are really going to bring it. Again, it is a healthy dose of Hammond, Pinson and our D. We win on the road 34-10. On a side note, our D has let up only 25 points in the last 4 games.

Week 15:
LA (11-2) at Denver (7-6). We face another team with its playoff life on the line, and that is dangerous for us. Hammond again. this time in OT for the 23-17 win. We have been to OT 3 times this season and are 3-0.

Week 16:
Oakland (9-5) at LA (12-2). This is our biggest game of the year. We look to redeem ourselves for this season's earlier loss. The Raiders have rallied to 9-5 and are playing their best football of the year. The Stars faithful come out in full force and there are many fights and arrests in the parking lot prior to the game. This one threatens to get very ugly. Hammond romps for a buck twenty five and 2 scores. Ouyr defense strangles the Raiders and we send them home in a black and silver body bag, 31-10. Like I said though, it was going to be a tough one, and we lose Safety Bernstein until the playoffs. Good thing we will have a bye week.

Week 17:
LA (13-2) at San Fran (3-12). They prove to be tougher than their record indicates, but a win on the road we take, 20-15.

We finish the season 14-2. Better than I could have imagined in my wildest dreams. We have home field throughout the playoffs, and like I said in the preseason. this team has no right being where they are, and shouldn't make the superbowl, but again, don't tell my players that. They don't realize they are not supposed to be this good, this early on in their careers.

Some post season stats:
QB Pinson is incredible in only his 4th year. He completes 261/412 for 63.3%. He throws for 3,513 yards, 24 TDs and only 7 INTs. His rating is best in the league at an astronomical 102.7.

RB Hammond runs for 1,546, beating out Olandis Gary by 20 yards for the league lead. He also led the league in rushing TD's with 17.

WR Shapiro only played in 15 games, and did not start any of them but picked up 9TDs and 900+ yards receiving.

Lance Johnson had 16.5 sacks, 5th in the league.

Our safeties had an off year with only 3 INTs each.

[Ctown-Fan]

My 1st year expansion Fargo Fridgid Frogs are eagerly awaiting the playoffs. The LA Stars are an inspiration! Good Luck.

[Marmel]

Junior Ioane is our only injury for the playoffs, but he is only questionable, and since this IS the playoffs, he will start.


2006 Playoffs:
Well, it was bound to happen.............the Oakland Raiders strut their 10-6 regular season record and first round playoff win into their old stomping grounds of the LA coliseum. They know they have not won here in three years, and they feel this would be the perfect time to break that streak. Our team knows this Raider club is for real and are pretty tense the day before the game. Coach Olin knows he has to break the tension, so being the great motivator he is, he shows the film "The Replacements" in the locker room on Saturday night. The guys have a great time watching the movie, and it really breaks the tension as they kick back and take thier mind off the game for a little while. Sunday morning arrives and the team is ready to kick some Raider ass.

The fans are going wild in the parking lot. Numerous fights break out, and the police even have to use tear gas at one point. Hey, this is LA, that is normal, right? The game is delayed for 45 minutes, but finally the stadium is jam packed with Stars fans. The foundation is literally shaking at kickoff time.......

We win the toss and receive, however we go three and out. Gannon strikes for 54 yards to Brady, then Britton runs 28 yards for a TD, and you can hear a pin drop in the Coliseum as Oakland goes up 7-0. We get a good return out to the 41, and convert 4 3rd downs, the final one a Pinson pass to Urena for the TD. 7-7. Our D holds, then Pinson and Hammond lead the Stars down field. The 2nd Quarter opens with Pinson hitting a streaking Shapiro for 25 yards and a TD. 14-7 Stars. the crowd is reaching record breaking decibel levels. The defense holds them again, and P Gonsalves shanks the punt. LA takes over at the Raiders 32 yard line. We tack on 3. 17-7 Stars. Punt. INT. Punt. We have the ball deep in our territory. LA drives down field and caps it off with a 8 yard TD pass to Tim Dwight. 24-7 LA. You can;t even hear yourself think as the crowd screams and yells in utter delerium. Halftime.

Oakland is 3 and out to start the second half. Tyrone wheatley gets into a shouting match with one of the Stars fans. I can;t be certain, but it looked like FishFan. Wheatley is penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct, and we have it 1st and 10 at their 24. One play later, Shapiro for the TD 31-7 Stars. Late in the 3rd quarter, Gannon hits Bradley for a TD, and its 31-13, as they miss the extra point. We take on 10 more and finish off the Raiders 41-13. One again we order some body backs and ship the Raiders back up north to Oakland. We stamp the body bags DOA. The wild celebrations kick off in downtown LA, and the insurance claims total $350,000,000 by Monday morning. Hammond rushed for 124 yards and Pinson threw for 5 TDs in this win.

Conference Finals:
NY Jets (11-6) at LA (15-2). East Coast meets West Coast in this Conference championship game. The most unlikely of teams, the LA Stars, are one game from the Superbowl, in just thier fifth year of existence. They have exceeded all expectations, even the GM Marmel.

The Jets are led by Trent Green.

LA wins the toss and receives the kickoff. 3 and out. But we intercept their 3rd down play and take over at thier 19. 3 plays later, Hammond dives over the pile for a 1 yard TD run. 7-0 Stars. Both teams get a few short drives going, but after a few punts, the 1st quarter is over. Early in the 2nd, the Stars drive and Hammond caps it off with a 13 yard TD run. 14-0 Stars. We tack on a FG with :17 left in the half to make it 17-0. As the second half begins, defenses rule, and both teams are forced to punt a couple of times. Oakland pins us at our own five, but we work our way out of it up to mid-field. That is where Hammond breaks the game open with a 50 yard run, TD, 24-0 Stars. The crowd, in unison, is chanting SU-PER-BOWL, SU-PER-BOWL. Fireworks are being shot off in the parking lot. Green leads the Jets right back down the field for the score, and the crowd lowers their tune, just a bit....24-8 Stars. On the Stars next play, Pinson hits Hammond for 35 and the crowd explodes again....but 4th down comes up, the kicker can't even hear with all the crowd noise and he misses the FG. Still 24-8 as we start the 4th. The Jets never even threaten and teh Stars win the AFC championship 24-8.
Hammond is the MVP with 171 yards and 3TDs.

[Marmel]

The superbowl:

We will face 13-4-1 Carolina, who upset the favorites, Tampa Bay 19-18. Carolina is led by Chris Sommers and Tim Biakabituka. They have 8 injured players.

LA wins the toss and receives. On TV they show the graphic that the Stars have won every game in the playoffs after winning the coin toss. Hammond and Pinson go right to work and Booker kicks a FG to make it 3-0 Stars. Carolina mixes the run and pass very well and they tie it at three on their first possession. Hammond runs for 7, 30 and 28, and it only takes us 3 plays to get the games first touchdown. 10-7 Stars and we head into quarter number 2. Hammond seems to have been injured on the extra point play....we will see if he returns. This could be bad news for LA.

We force Carolina to punt and we take over at our own 44. Weiner is in for Hammond. He gets stuffed on 2 running plays but Pinson connects on 3rd down. Weiner is stuffed on the next 2 downs and we are forced to punt. We clearly are not the same team without Hammond. Carolina pins us at our 2 yard line. Weiner loses 1 yard on 1st down. then he finally breaks one for 12 yards, then another for 20 yards. Pinson connects on a few passes, and finally hits Dwight for 34 yards and the bid TD with under 2 to play in the half. 17-3 Stars. Carolina runs a few draws and is forced to punt with 1:00 left. LA blocks the punt! Johnstone recovers at their 19 with :50 to go and we could put this one away right here. We settle for the FG. 20-3.

As the third Quarter begins, Carolina makes short work of a long field. Our D holds them at the goal line and they shank the FG. Still 20-3 Stars and the fans back in LA are starting to feel it.......

Punting rules the rest of the 3rd quarter and we head into the final 15 minutes of the 2006 season with the Stars leading 20-3.

In a pretty boring 4th quarter. both defenses play great. We tack on a field goal and win the 2006 Superbowl 23-3. It is a tremendous accomplishment for such a young team. This exceeded my greatest expectations. Especially the way we dominated all season long and throughout the playoffs. The fuyture of this franchise is going to be measured up against this magical season of 2006, and it will be tough to ever duplicate this kind of magic. congratulations LA Stars on winning the SUPERBOWL!!!!!

In a very Defensive game, Wali Rainer won the Superbowl MVP award for his 8 tackle, 1 sack performance.

Our very own Arnold Hammond wins the trifecta: League MVP, OPOY, and 1st team RB.

Troy Pinson is 1st team QB.
Edwin Mulitalo is 1st team G.
Jon Jensen is 1st team T.
Jeff Sanders is 2nd team FB.
Freddie Jones is 2nd team TE.
Luther Abrams is 2nd team G.

[SirFozzie]

Wow.

Congrats...

I had the Miracle on Ice soundtrack running through my head when reading the end..


"Do you believe in miracles....


YES!"