More to Come in March (Stay Tuned)!

There has been plenty going on in the short month of February, and unfortunately that doesn't create much time to blog as of late.

I am currently getting things together for the Boys of Summer APBA Baseball League. A 16-team, 16-owner computer league through APBA's Baseball for Windows game. We will be entering our 7th season. 

I also have a downstate trip to Jackson, Michigan for the 5th Greater Michigan APBA Baseball Tournament on March 2nd (Saturday). It will have 60 attendees competing by playing the Basic Card game presented by APBA Baseball. 

More 1995 No Expansion (DK Sports) to come in March. I am actually three weeks through that season, and have only posted maybe half-of-Week 1 on this site. So believe me, there is plenty to come, lots of fun things to report!

Jets' 3 Pickoffs Key in 23-13 Victory over Colts

Hawks' Defense Factor in Erickson's Debut Win, 17-12

Lions Outlast Rams, 24-13

Chiefs Capitalize off Raiders' 6 Turnovers, 19-13

Giants No Match for Cards, Centers in 27-13 Loss

Teams of the Past is a Thing of the Past

Some readers may be curious of what happened to my 'Teams of the Past' project. That project was being conducted on my old computer that took a fatal crash.

The good people at DK Sports allowed me to re-download the items that I purchased in the past, but nothing of course could be done about that Teams of the Past project. I have labeled those works under 'Teams of the Past' on The Sideline portion of the blog, along with a new label called 'The Lost Season'.

I would like to revisit a similar project in the future, maybe with a few better teams to fill the league out, it's all a possibility, but for now I am powering through with the '1995 No-Expansion' project.

The APBA 1989 NFL Football Season will be halted for now. It was something that I was going to start back in November, but after a long mishandling of the item in the mail (which took a month to get here), I went back to DK Sports and got interesting in my current 1995 project.

Don't get me wrong, 1989 will happen, but it will be some time until I feel like launching, and when I do, it will probably be a long slow burn.

Peete Commands Eagles to Victory, 16-10

Husted Kicks Game-Winning FG, Bucs win 20-17

Bills, Thurman Too Much for Fins, 30-21

Last Minute Preseason Signings

Preseason Roster Cuts

1995 Transactions (Preseason)

1995 NFL Draft

1995 NFL No-Expansion Season (DK Sports)

My latest NFL project...

What if there was no Carolina Panthers or Jacksonville Jaguars? How would the 1995 NFL Draft play out? Who would Mark Brunell be quarterbacking for? Who would draft Kerry Collins? All these exciting questions are answered in my alternate 1995 season, which I have labeled "1995 NFL No-Expansion Season" -- which I will be conducting through DK Sports.

I did the 1995 NFL Draft as if I was drafting them back then, not taking players like Curtis Martin first overall, when he was a real-life 4th round draft pick. I will go about all drafts like this, it will make nice week-to-week, season-to-season drama, watching teams go up-and-down. It should be very interesting.

APBA Football: The 1989 NFL Season

It's safe to say it has been awhile, but this site will finally get rolling as I will be rolling some dice on my next APBA project, the 1989 NFL Season.

The 1989 APBA Football set kind of fell into my lap. I mentioned online that I was getting back into NFL Football when my friend Craig, mentioned he was selling his 89' APBA set, it proved to be perfect since I was originally looking to land the 1990 APBA Football set for its stars. I was going to use its stars towards a blend project that had players of the past merged with today's players. That project will eventually involve its Greatest Teams sets and All-Time Team sets.

For the time being, and to get myself seasoned for that project, I plan to replay the 1989 NFL Season (Well... for the most part), by playing entire Week 1, selected games between Weeks 2 & 15 (70+ games) and Week 16 games that have playoff implications.


I remember the 1989 NFL Season well, I remember the season going all the way to the final weekend to figure out the fates of the teams in the AFC Central. Bernie Kosar (pictured right) and the Cleveland Browns won the division with a 9-6-1 record, while the last place team, the defending AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals were 8-8. Four other teams just missed the playoffs in the Kansas City Chiefs (8-7-1), Indianapolis Colts (8-8), Miami Dolphins (8-8) and the Los Angeles Raiders (8-8).

The AFC Central alone has me excited about this project. The Bengals kind of choked, considering they had the best scoring differential in the division (+119)... Their scoring differential was also 2nd best in AFC & 3rd best in the entire NFL. The Browns won their 4th Division title in 5 years, as this team is end of that great run of Cleveland teams, while the team would not return to the playoffs until 1994 under Bill Belichick. The Houston Oilers were a competitive bunch with consistent playoff appearances under Jerry Glanville, and although 1989 was Glanville's last season, the Oilers would continue trips to the playoffs through 1993 under quarterback Warren Moon.

The AFC had only one 10-game winner in the top-seeded 11-5 Denver Broncos, while the NFC had 7 teams that had 10-or-more wins, but only 5 of those NFC teams moved onto the playoffs. The Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers (both 10-6) were left out in the cold.

Christian Okoye runs through the Saints.

It should be noted that the high win totals in the NFC also had a lot to do with the 1-15 Dallas Cowboys and 3-13 Atlanta Falcons, especially in the NFC East with Washington finishing in 3rd place. Washington probably wishes that they were not the lone team to lose to Dallas that season, which definitely hurt their chances of any postseason.

Another thing to remember is that only 5 teams from each conference move on to the playoffs -- all 3 division winners, plus two wild card teams that play in a Wild Card Game.

Other interesting seasons facts, 3rd-year Packers quarterback Don Majkowski has the best year of his career in 1989, passing for 4,318 yards, Joe Montana (49'ers) wins MVP, and Christian Okoye unleashes the nightmare for 1,480 yards rushing. The San Francisco 49'ers would win their last Super Bowl under Montana, as the Niners would destroy the Denver Broncos, 55-10 in Super Bowl XXIV.

The great thing about APBA Football, their fates all might be different this time around in 1989.

Troy Aikman, Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas & Deion Sanders all made their rookie debuts, kicking off fantastic Hall of Fame careers

The Morning After (Super Bowl LI)

Ryan congrats Brady after amazing comeback by Pats.

Woke up this morning, still in shock that Tom Brady & the New England Patriots came back from a 28-3 deficit to win Super Bowl LI... I then quickly shifted from what I was feeling to what a poor Atlanta Falcons fan in the state of Georgia is feeling like right now. When you look at how many sports championships the city of Boston has, compared to the lone one championship Atlanta has (1995 Atlanta Braves), it seems pretty unfair... but that is the life of sports, it can seem unfair, but the truth is there has to be a winner & there has to be a loser.

The game was looking like a blowout at 28-3, and through 3 quarters it was appearing that the big highlight of the game was Lady Gaga's halftime show. My friend Charles was on his phone, on NFL.com, placing his vote for Devonta Freeman of the Falcons, as Super Bowl MVP.

Throughout the game, I was texting my wife who was watching over her brother in the hospital, the scores, for awhile her responses were "F@#% Yes!" (I believe she actually hates the Patriots more than me) -- then as I started texting her 28-9, 28-12, she said she started feeling that annoying feeling that all of non-Patriot fans know all too well!

I remember at one point in the 3rd, when Brady through an incomplete, my friend said something on the lines of Brady being off -- I disagreed, take away the first quarter, his stats were starting to compile into something really good. I noticed that the Patriots have controlled the clock as well, but still even at 28-9, we were still laughing when that extra-point bounced off the uprights -- I said out loud "Wow, you know it's not their day, when they can't kick extra points!"

When the score became 28-12, I joked that all the Patriots need now, is 2 touchdowns & 2 two-point conversions... note to self, never joke about such things EVER again!

I said at half-time that the Falcons key was to never let up, although aggressive in some regrettable decisions that would come later, I felt they were not as aggressive everywhere else, they were not attacking like they were in the first two quarters... they should have been running it more & eating that clock up as well. I spoke about the Falcons at the half, to not let up, everyone at the party looked at me as if I had two heads, with one of them saying something "I think this game is over."

There was that part in me, was thinking "Yeah, dude it's over..." and then there was the realistic me thinking, I have seen them comeback time & time again in the regular seasons from 14-17 points down. So when it was 25 down, I'm thinking it's just one more extra play here & there from deficits they have come back from the past, but.... this will all be avoidable with the Falcons running the clock and 3rd quarter down.

When the Matt Ryan fumble happened, that's when I heard the trouble horn go off -- New England scored easily and the two-point conversion was flawless, a direct snap to the running back. I said to myself, if they accomplished that two-point conversion with such ease, the next one will be just as easy.

Now to the  Falcons' next-to-last drive of the 4th, in which Julio Jones made that excellent catch... it was like watching a horror story on what happened next. They didn't get much on a run after that, than an incomplete, then came a holding -- it was like the Falcons suddenly panicked.. a far cry from what we were watching in the 1st half.

When the Patriots got the ball back, and were down 28-20, I think myself & everyone in the room knew that suddenly New England was in the driver's seat; The Patriots committed two turnovers early on, and we know after watching the Pats all these years that they got all that out of their system already.

Also that Julian Edelman catch -- Are you frickin' kidding me?!

The Pats of course, tied the game up, and when they won the coin-flip for the very 1st overtime game in Super Bowl history -- we knew it was over. Watching the Pats storm downfield was disgusting, they did it with such ease, they executed it beautifully. The Falcons defender got a arm out to deflect the pass, when we saw the replay, he may have had a chance to pick that --- the very next play the Pats' White punched it into the end zone.

Now personally, I and everyone in the room, and probably across the nation DID NOT see that ball break the plank, but.... you know damn well, that the very next play the Pats would have got it done, so no debate there... like I said, they won the game when they won that coin-flip.

The greatest comeback in Super Bowl history was now complete, but was it the greatest game ever? This seemed to sprout like weeds on my Facebook feed, and I quickly (and confidently) can say...

NO

This game was not even the best game of THIS post-season, that belongs to the Dallas-Green Bay NFC Divisional Playoff Game that we experienced 3 weeks ago. Was it the greatest game in the minds of every Patriots fan ever? Yeah, Probably.

If I was to rank the Super Bowls quickly from the top of my head, they would go down as this... (from #10 to #1)...

• #10) Super Bowl XXIII (San Francisco 20, Cincinnati 16) - The game itself was a snoozer for about 45 minutes or so, but it all ended with a beautiful drive by the calmest man on the planet in Joe Montana -- Joe Cool indeed "Hey is that John Candy?!

• # 9) Super Bowl XXXVIII (New England 32, Carolina 29) - The game was low-scoring and quiet in first half as both teams were figuring each other out, then it became a shoot-out between the two teams' passing games -- back & forth, until Adam Vinatieri for the second time of his career, kicks a game-winning Super Bowl field goal for Patriots.

• # 8) Super Bowl XLIX (New England 28, Seattle 24) - The game lived up to it's hype, and to the very last second, when Seattle head coach Pete Carroll did the unthinkable, and not ran the ball with 'sure thing' Marshawn Lynch to put the game away (Everyone in the stadium & nation were expecting him to have the ball). If there was ever a time, I felt that the winner should have an asterisk next to their name & a game where the team that lost, really coughed up one up -- it was this one! 

• # 7) Super Bowl LI (New England 34, Atlanta 28) - The first-ever overtime in Super Bowl history, matched by biggest comeback history (25 pts down), all brought together by the greatest Super Bowl champ of all-time in Tom Brady. This game has the ability to move up this chart in time, as it all sinks in, but it's not the 'Greatest Game of All-Time'. 

• # 6) It's a tie... Super Bowl X (Pittsburgh 21, Dallas 17) & Super Bowl XIII (Pittsburgh 35, Dallas 31) - Sure, I sort of cheated here, but it's two match-ups between two classic teams which featured many of the same players. It was tough to choose between the two, so I clumped them... between Lynn Swann's catch in X & XIII's drop by the "sickest man alive" Jackie Smith, both games had plenty of drama and still stand the test of time. 

• # 5) Super Bowl XLIII (Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 23) - I remember that game having a bit of everything, in so many ways it feels like a duplicate to games such as XXXVIII (Pats-Panthers) & possibly that of my other choice (XLIX) -- plus great plays by Santonio Holmes & James Harrison.

• # 4) Super Bowl XXV (N.Y. Giants 20, Buffalo 19) - First game decided on a field goal, Scott Norwood's name would echo across upstate New York in a negative way (Football's equivalent to Bill Buckner). The game was during a tough time for our country (Desert Storm) and Whitney Houston's National Anthem still reigns supreme!

• # 3) Super Bowl XXXIV (St. Louis 23, Tennessee) - A magical season for both teams came down to a game that would literally would kickoff the close Super Bowls trend that we know today. This game came down to clutch tackle & a fierce comeback by the Titans; A very exciting time as the 'Greatest Show on Turf' Rams were led by Kurt Warner, who literally came out of nowhere -- one of the best feel-good stories ever in all-of-sports.

• # 2) Super Bowl XXXII (Denver 31, Green Bay 24) - John Elway finally gets his, while Terrell Davis had a huge night. 

• # 1) Super Bowl XLII (N.Y. Giants 17, New England 14) - Perfection stopped, by perfect script. Great defense, plenty of drama, all capped off with Eli Manning (somehow) escaping to connect pass to David Tyree (WHO?!)

At the last second I juggled XLIII to #5, bumped LI from #9 to #7, I feel a lot better about this list now, and although I have personal favorites like my Dallas Cowboys dominating the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVIII -- I needed to be as unbiased as possible. 

Now onto Tom Brady and why I think he will retire after all of this...

• It's perfect: Go out on top of with unbelievable 25-pt comeback (31 unanswered points).
• It's the perfect screw-you to Goodell; Banned for 4 games due to "Deflategate", march team back to Super Bowl, end on the highest note possible with first-ever Super Bowl overtime.
• His body language, coach Bill Belichick's body language & the way they celebrated -- when Tom Brady crouched down on the field, and he had all those cameras taking pictures of the back of his jersey (facing up to cameras) it was like an iconic Michael Jordan moment to me.... I looked up at my friend, while watching this go down, and I said "He's going out on top, this is it, he's retiring"... My friend responds "I think you're right".
• Re-watch those celebration moments New Englanders, you may exactly see what I am talking about.
• He won his 5th Super Bowl, setting a record for QB's, passing Joe Montana, and has now officially won the best QB in Super Bowl history, if not the best QB ever... period.

These are my responses of the game, I'm sure I will get some flack on where this game stands in Super Bowl history or a debate if this is truly the end of Tom Brady, but seriously, what better way to go out?!