Victor keeps churning

The first time I met running back Darius Victor he was playing rock/paper/scissors with a group of kids outside a doughnut shop in Homewood, Alabama. It was the day before the New Jersey Generals and Birmingham Stallions were set to lift the lid on the new United States Football League in 2022, and he was there to hype the new spring gridiron product.

The last time I talked to him he was sitting in the postgame presser after the Generals had lost to the Stallions in the Year 2 USFL season opener, 27-10.

Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Threads @sladamson1960 and Adamsonmedia on Facebook.

And next time?

Hopefully that’ll come on April 13 when the Stallions host Victor and his new team, the Memphis Showboats, at Protective Stadium. He’s one of those guys you instantly like – and cheer for even if he plays for a team you might normally cheer against.

After the Generals and seven other teams failed to make the cut in the USFL-XFL merger that created the new United Football League, Victor was one of the hottest commodities in the dispersal draft.

The man who made “Thick Thighs Save Lives” a rallying cry (and a T-Shirt slogan) during his USFL days now takes his wrecking ball running style to the land of the Delta Blues.

“It all feels pretty good,” Victor said during a training break at UFL Central in Arlington, Texas. “We’re coming together as a team and picking up the plays that are being installed. I think we’re doing pretty good. We’re meshing together. We all have the same type of common goal, and that’s always good when you’re trying to build a team and win ballgames.”

Victor – a 5-9, 209-pound dynamo – is a veteran of spring leagues. The 30-year-old has been on training camp rosters with two NFL franchises and one Canadian Football League club, but he first earned notice as a member of the New York Guardians in XFL 2.0 in 2020.

That league was cut short largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Victor returned to the new USFL in 2022.

He did not disappoint, earning Offensive Player of the Year honors with 1,131 rushing yards (1,433 rushing and receiving) and 18 total touchdowns.

Last year the Towson State product rushed for 554 yards, had 189 receiving and scored seven TDs – even managing to throw for one.

“I’ve been very grateful for these leagues,” he said. “Without these leagues I wouldn’t still be playing,  so I’m just grateful for the opportunity for these leagues to pop up and for me to be able to show the world that I can still play football.

“I appreciate the opportunity, and it’s extended my football life for sure.”

Memphis offensive coordinator Doug Martin has high praise for the ‘Boats’ new ballcarrier.

“Victor’s exactly what we saw when we played against him last year,” Martin said. “He’s hard to bring down. He’s really bright, he’s really intelligent … he understands the game really well and understands past protections really well. He’s probably a little bit ahead right now because of that.”

Victor likes being in Martin’s system and he’s also a big fan of new head coach John DeFilippo, who coached the New Orleans Breakers last season and replaces Todd Haley in Memphis.

“He’s a great guy,” Victor said. “He’s a player’s coach, for sure. He always has a player’s best interests at heart no matter what’s going on and what we’re doing. And it’s crazy … he’s like a database of random plays and information. He’s very knowledgeable. He’s been around the game for a while and it’s great just to pick his brain and learn from him.”

Memphis opens the season on Sunday, March 31, when the Showboats travel to Houston to take on the Roughnecks.

It’ll be another opportunity for Victor to live up to his “Thick Thighs Save Lives” motto.

“It’s a way for me to pay homage to my lineman,” Victor said. “They have thick thighs, and I hide behind them. And I also plan to break a lot of tackles with my thighs.

“So, watch for it.”

The T-shirt cannon

Every molded plastic chair was taken in the hazy, glass and steel arena, and those without a place to sit pressed against the aluminum rails separating the seating area from the concrete floor.

Shoving matches were already taking place in the stands as everyone packed inside was hoping to secure the best possible spot.

Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Threads @sladamson1960 and Adamsonmedia on Facebook.

Time was when The People’s Arena in downtown New Mega-annum City was filled, basketball or ice hockey was the draw. Jamal Felker remembered the days of coming here with his father and watching the New Mega-annum Tarantulas of the World League of Professional Basketball play.

Part of the fan experience was the “T-Shirt Cannon”; each time the Tarantulas scored a 3-point basket, a crew of young people armed with pressurized cylinders would fire T-shirts into the crowd.

Jamal got lucky once – the night the Tarantulas beat the Ocean City Tsunami in a playoff game. Following a 30-foot bucket from team star Rod Arrington, a tee was fired right where Jamal was sitting.

Although there were a sea of arms reaching for the same prize, he was able to snatch the shirt out of the air and cradle it against his stomach.

On the front of the white garment was the team logo – a fierce black and gold spider – while on the back was a list of sponsors, including the New Mega-annum Pest Control Company.

Jamal always thought that was funny … a team with a spider mascot funded by a company that kills, among other things, spiders.

But the Tarantulas were long gone, just as organized professional sports were now nothing more than bittersweet memories. And the irony didn’t seem nearly as humorous these days.

Ever since the Cyber Wars and the formation of the Corporation of Nations, only the extremely wealthy could afford – and had access to – recreation and entertainment.

Jamal had heard there were still elite sports teams, although apparently only the elite knew about them.

But with food, housing and healthcare in short supply, “the little people” didn’t have the luxury of cheering for men and women playing a child’s game. Instead, three times a year they’d pack into arenas like this one hoping to catch a T-shirt – and catch a big break.

As the lights in each section of The People’s Arena dimmed, the spotlight glared on what used to be center court. Two people armed with T-shirt cannons were situated at each end, while three lined up on either side of the floor.

The hype guy – a man wearing a red fedora and oversized yellow sunglasses – stood in the middle, holding a microphone.

For the price of seven Corporation Credits, people could spend 30 minutes inside the arena in hopes of being on the receiving end of a launch.

This was the 17th time Jamal had attended one of these events, and each was identical. Over half an hour, 10 shooters – known as the Launch Crew – would fire 20 shirts apiece into various sections of the crowd.

The hype guy would whip them into a frenzy with prompts such as, “The next shirt goes to the loudest section!” or “Let’s see your dance moves, beautiful people!”

Perhaps 18,000 were inside today, but only 200 would walk away with a coveted tee.

“Are you ready, New Mega-annum City?” screamed the hype guy who – as far as Jamal knew – had never given his name. “Show me your best dance moves!”

Everyone rose and everyone danced, some simply swaying awkwardly while others gyrated like they were possessed. The automated lighting moved across the arena, ultimately stopping to showcase some of the more enthusiastic performers.

The cannons then fired simultaneously, sending shirts sailing to every part of the arena.

One – propelled from the end of the floor closest to Jamal – hit a young girl squarely on her head. But before she could reach up to grab it a sea of adults pounced on her, hitting and clawing in an effort to seize the prize.

The “winner” was a tall, heavyset man in his mid-50s, who quickly pulled the tee over his head and raised his arms in triumph.

The barcode on the front of the shirt was scanned by one of camouflaged security personnel, who escorted him to the “ready room” while the young girl lay crying and bleeding.

The scene repeated itself for the next several minutes; T-shirts went flying, along with bodies.

Roughly 20 minutes into the event Jamal got his chance. He had noticed one of the Launch Crew members always seemed to aim between section 213 and 214, so he worked his way up to the area.

As one of the cloth projectiles came his way, he charged toward it, snared it with his left hand, and never broke stride as he deftly ran down the steps.

A youngster had caught his eye earlier – one who reminded him of himself during those simpler times when arenas were for sports and T-shirts were worn for fun.

He grabbed the startled child, quickly pulled the tee over his head, and forced a smile.

“Go, kid,” he said. “Be brave and good luck.”

The member of the security team charged with scanning the code looked at Jamal, shook his head, and then took the child away.

Jamal hoped he had done the right thing.

The T-shirt meant the kid would be transported to one of the space stations floating far above his dying planet. Yes, he’d be used as a laborer at a Corporation of Nations warehouse, but at least he’d be assured of food and shelter. He’d have a chance to grow up – and maybe even grow old.

But after seeing all the violence at The People’s Arena – and the increasingly grotesque nature of the humans who filled it in hopes of being shipped off to a “better world” – Jamal was unsure if he was helping or hurting the child.

All he could do was hope, even though any hope that remained for the residents of New Mega-annum City came at the end of a T-shirt cannon.

Nets sweep Squadron

The Birmingham Squadron hosted its annual Literacy Day this morning at Legacy Arena, with kids from 35 local schools helping the New Orleans Pelicans’ NBA G League affiliate draw far and away their biggest crowd of the season.

And what lesson did the 4,544 fans learn by watching the Squad tangle with Brooklyn’s developmental club, the Long Island Nets?

Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Threads @sladamson1960 and Adamsonmedia on Facebook.

Well, they discovered this is a really good brand of basketball.

And in this particular matchup, it was Long Island who played it best.

University of Alabama product Noah Clowney led Long Island and all scorers with 33 points and he had plenty of help as the Nets took a 134-124 decision to sweep the two-game set.

Keon Johnson came off the bench to score 22 points in a winning effort, followed by Kennedy Chandler (20), Kaiser Gates (18) and Kyler Edwards (17).

Malcolm Hill had 29 points for Birmingham, Dereon Seabron added 26, Jordon Hawkins – assigned to the Squadron from the Pelicans today – chipped in 19, Izaiah Brockington and Karlo Matkovic each finished with 15 and Jalen Crutcher added 10.

Long Island finished with a 42-33 rebounding advantage and Birmingham had 17 costly turnovers.

“Long Island is very, very good,” Squadron coach T.J. Saint said. “They’re very physical. We lost because they were more physical. Rebounding is for sure our Achilles’s heel. It’s something I’ve already thought about how to teach next season, but come at it from a totally different approach.

“It’s so valuable … we’re 17-2 on the season when we win the rebounding battle.”

Birmingham trailed by eight points entering the fourth quarter of a game in which Long Island always seemed to stay a step ahead.

A Crutcher three at 9:01 tightened things up to six at 104-98, but the Nets then reeled off five straight points to grab a double-digit lead.

The eventual winners maintained a healthy cushion the rest of the way, improving to 16-11 and jumping into the third playoff position.

Birmingham dropped to 13-15. With just six games left and three and a half games out of the sixth and final postseason spot, its hopes of playing into April are fading.

“If we don’t make it, they’re the team I’m pulling for,” Saint said. “I like that team a lot.”

Matkovic – who had seven points over the first 12 minutes –started the game with a slam. But after Johnson’s 3-pointer at 4:49 put the Nets in front, 24-21, they led the rest of the frame. At the end of one Long Island was ahead, 31-29, with Clowney pacing the leaders with 11 points.

Long Island led by as many as 12 in the second quarter but Birmingham started chipping away at the deficit late, cutting it to 73-66 at halftime.

Hawkins and Hill – each with 14 points – helped the hosts get back in the hunt, although Clowney, Gates and Chandler’s combined 47 points kept the Nets on top.

The Squadron got as close as two in the third stanza, but Long Island refused to give up its advantage.

An 83-81 lead grew to 92-81 with under three minutes left in the quarter, and when the buzzer sounded Mfon Udofia’s charges still showed the way, 98-90.

The home team never got closer than six the rest of the way.

Next up: The Squadron travels to Wilmington, Delaware, on Friday to take on the Delaware Bluecoats at Chase Fieldhouse.

Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. The teams will meet again on Saturday at the same venue with a 5 p.m. start.

OTD in 2022: The Squadron dropped a 110-104 overtime decision to the Texas Legends.

Jared Harper led six double-digit Birmingham scorers with 25 -points, and also dished out 10 assists to get the double-double.

Zach Hankins got a double-double of his own with 19 points and 17 rebounds, and Zylan Cheatham joined the club with 10 points and 10 boards.