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Friday, February 24, 2023

OT - 2023 Spring Football thread

XFL - Let’s try this again, shall we?

We started an article with that exact phrase in 2020, when we previewed the return of the XFL after two decades in stasis. And you know what? For a month, it was a lot of fun. Though viewership was beginning to trend off by the end of the season, XFL games were quick and exciting, in front of crowds of about 15,000 people, or even 20,000 in Seattle and St. Louis. Social media was fun and buzzy, and we saw a number of players who would go on to make minor impacts in the NFL, including Taylor Heinicke and P.J. Walker. Things were going quite well. We were enjoying it!

And then a global pandemic hit and the world shut down. The XFL was no more. Without games to play, the league quickly went bankrupt. Vince McMahon ended up selling the XFL to a consortium led by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson—got to keep it in the proverbial family, right?—and, after three years, we’re going to give this another shot.

The XFL will kick off its third season this Saturday, February 18, with games being broadcast on ABC, ESPN, FX, and FX2.

...

Of course, the spring football world is different than it was in 2020—the XFL is not alone. The USFL is also coming back, with their regular season kicking off on April 15 over on NBC and FOX.

Lance Reddick! Lance him! Posted: February 24, 2023 at 01:12 PM | 7 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: football, off-topic

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1. Lance Reddick! Lance him! Posted: February 18, 2023 at 01:12 AM (#6117741)

The XFL was actually good in 2020, so I'm giving this a try. If there's no audience for it, then it'll go the way of the Pop Culture Extravaganza.

2. Lance Reddick! Lance him! Posted: February 18, 2023 at 10:51 PM (#6117854)

Getting to hear the offensive coordinator tell the quarterback "Do X if it's Cover-3 and Y if it's Cover-1" makes these the best football broadcasts around despite the ESPN Z-team being on the call.

3. Starring Bradley Scotchman as RMc Posted: February 25, 2023 at 07:58 AM (#6118572)

I'm so old I remember the AAF.

Thanks to the XFL and USFL (and the CFL), every single week (but one, the week before the Super Bowl) in 2023 will feature a pro football game.

And apparently arena football is coming back next year!

4. Lance Reddick! Lance him! Posted: March 05, 2023 at 11:36 PM (#6119599)

Getting to hear the offensive coordinator tell the quarterback "Do X if it's Cover-3 and Y if it's Cover-1" makes these the best football broadcasts around despite the ESPN Z-team being on the call.

Unfortunately, not all coordinators are so explicit in their instructions after calling the play. But most of the color guys -- particularly Tom Luginbill -- are doing admirable work pre-snap, and it really has no peer in any sports broadcast.

And sooner or later, the camera and mic in the replay booth will be the next broadcast innovation that actually ends up making its way to the NFL.

On the other hand, the sideline interviews tend to detract from the experience and should be done away with. It's nearly always some variation of "'Walk us through that interception.' 'Just making a play for my team.'"

And something needs to be done about all audio, including from the booth, cutting out to protect the audience's virgin ears from swearing. It's dumb enough that this is done at all, but are sports broadcasts really so primitive that field audio, player mics, the coaches over the headset and the announcers are on a single channel in the sound mix?

5. Brian White Posted: March 06, 2023 at 10:42 PM (#6119757)

I know there's actual football going on right now, and maybe people don't care about the NFL combine and/or draft.

However, there's talk of Anthony Richardson possibly going #1 overall.

To which I say:

...what?

6. tell me when i'm telling 57i66135 Posted: March 07, 2023 at 12:59 AM (#6119771)

I know there's actual football going on right now, and maybe people don't care about the NFL combine and/or draft.

However, there's talk of Anthony Richardson possibly going #1 overall.

To which I say:

...what?

this happens every year. richardson was already a borderline top 10 prospect before he lit up the combine; then he lit up the combine.

over the next 2 months, scouts are going to pour over his college tape, and if it's cleaner than people expect, he might be taken #1 overall. if his tape isn't good (from the little i saw, eh, i'm skeptical); someone will still talk themselves into taking him on as a project with a top 20 pick.

7. kirstie819 Posted: March 11, 2023 at 03:30 PM (#6120194)

In the end, the most important thing is to be kind to yourself and realize that you are worthy of taking care of yourself. Life can be hard, but with a little self-care, you can make it a little easier. So take some time out of your day for yourself, and give yourself the love and respect that you deserve. grandmaembroidery.com

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Friday, February 24, 2023

OT - 2023 Spring Football thread

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