September 2023 - Adamsonmedia.com

Converging on a merging

Come on … you knew this was going to happen, didn’t you?

I mean when you think about it, the planned merger of United States Football League 2.0 and XFL 3.0 is the only outcome that makes sense. It was going to be hard enough for one spring professional football league to have long-term sustainability. But two?

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

That was never going to work.

They aren’t married yet – and they have to work through the prenup – but they did show off their engagement rings via a dual press release on Thursday:

Today, the United States Football League (“USFL”) and the XFL announced their intention to merge.

Subject to customary regulatory approvals and if the transaction is consummated, the new league will establish best-in-class operations based on the most recent seasons of both leagues. This historic combination will anchor professional spring football with substantial capabilities and resources to ensure future growth and continue to enhance the development of the collective players, coaches, and staff that are coming together.

More details regarding the new league will be announced at a later date.

Ah yes … details. That’s what we all want.

Sadly, I don’t have any for you because I’m not an insider. I get press releases from both leagues and showed up for USFL media availabilities and games in Birmingham last year, but I didn’t cozy up to sources.

I stopped getting paid to chase stories when I retired from the newspaper business back in 2017, and no longer have the energy or inclination to do it. Translation: If you’re looking for a scoop, I’m afraid you’ll need to look elsewhere.

That being the case, I’m quite content to sit back and wait and see what happens, although it is kinda fun to envision where all this is headed.

And in a perfect world, it would be a full merger with eight teams from the USFL and eight from the XFL.

Spoiler alert: it’s not a perfect world.

Those supposedly in the know are all over the map as to what the new league will look like; many are suggesting 12 teams will move forward in 2024 with four getting the ax.

One thing that seems obvious on the surface is that either the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL or Houston Gamblers of the USFL will have to go. Two teams in Space City are one too many in a spring league.

Unlike the USFL club, however, the Roughnecks have actually played in Houston. The Gamblers spent their first season in Birmingham and second in Memphis.

Speaking of that …

I hope the combined league will get rid of the hubs.

Yeah, yeah, yeah … it’s financially responsible and allowed the USFL to walk into living rooms before it ran into more markets, first with one hub (Birmingham) and then with four (Birmingham, Canton, Detroit and Memphis). And for two years, the FOX-funded circuit has been as much a TV show as a sports league, so their approach was smart.

But going into year three, I think it’s time to play where your potential fans live.

And if hubs go away, I would guess supporters of the Gamblers, New Orleans Breakers, New Jersey Generals, Philadelphia Stars and Pittsburgh Maulers might be worried those teams might go away, too, since they’ve never once played in the cities they rep.

Canton was “home” to the Generals and Maulers last season, and 2024 ticket deposits are already being taken for Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. So maybe it’s time for a modern version of the Canton Bulldogs to make their pro football debut in the … what should we call it?

National Spring Football League is getting the most buzz, and it seems logical. The USFL is owned by National Spring Football League Enterprises Co, LLC, and a trademark for that name has been filed.

I’d be fine with that because, honestly, I hoped the USFL reboot was going to be called something else back in 2022. I’m one of those “get off my lawn!” types who prefers that the United States Football League of 1983-85 is allowed to rest in peace.

And I’ll never understand the obsession with digging up the XFL brand over and over.

The NSFL is as good an acronym as any.

When it comes to rules, those of the USFL and XFL were fairly similar overall, with things like tiered (one, two and three-point) conversions, double forward passes, overtime “shootouts” and a scrimmage play that can be called in place of an onside kick. The USFL did have a traditional kick option for a single extra point, which I like better than the all run-or-pass choices in the XFL.

On the other hand, I hope the XFL’s kickoff rule is adopted.

The placekicker kicks off from his 25-yard line and the ball must be in the air and in play between the opponent’s 20-yard line and the end zone. The coverage team lines up on the receiving team’s 35-yard line with the return team stationed five yards away on the 30.

Each team has three players outside the hash marks on both sides of the ball and can’t move until the ball is caught by the returner.

The USFL’s was good, too (kickoffs from the 20, with kicking team members lined up one yard back and stationary until the ball is kicked to the receiving team that has eight or nine players set up between their own 30 and 40), but this is better.

I doubt the competition committee will start from scratch, so I imagine what we see in 2024 will be mostly familiar. (As a guy who loves a good gimmick, I still long for defensive scores where a team gets one point for an interception, recovered fumble or turnover on downs).

Whatever the case, I’m quite interested in how all this plays out in terms of TV coverage, number of games on the schedule, start of season, etc. And based on the executive structure of the league, we should find out fairly soon whether this was a traditional merger of equals or an absorption.

If we don’t see Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia at every photo op, we’ll know the USFL held the upper hand.

Most important of all, I think this gives organized minor league football its best path forward. There are many obstacles to overcome, but hopefully it can grow into a viable developmental/experimental outlet for the NFL.

May the marriage be a long and happy one.

Winning is everything

The captain stood at the head of the table, tapped his wine glass three times with a silver spoon, and smiled as the dinner guests took a break from their polite conversations.

“Thank you,” he said. “I just want to say how happy we are to have you on our Goldenrod Cruise Lines Pickleball Adventure. I know tomorrow is a big day with our competition beginning in the morning, and of course we’ll crown our champion at the end of the evening.

“So please … eat, drink – but not too much because we’ll be getting an early start – and enjoy yourself. We want this to be an experience of a lifetime for you all.”

The pickleball cruise drew an older crowd, and one not afraid to spend money. While it included ocean views and standard tourist stops typical of ocean journeys, it was designed for people who took the sport seriously.

And few took it more seriously than Timothy and Kathleen Miasma.

To say the pair were popular players in their local pickleball club in Seaside, Florida, would be a falsehood. The retired pharmaceuticals executives were, in fact, reviled.

Both had tempers that would manifest in uncomfortable and often inexcusable ways, and they had plenty of smashed paddles and torn nets to show for it. Being sore losers was compounded by the fact that neither were very good players; when it was competition time, they were among the first to exit.

But their wealth helped build facilities and courts, and even funded a pavilion (called the Timothy and Kathleen Miasma Pavilion, of course) that made all-weather play possible. The joke was that they were a “necessary evil.”

This time, though, they were taking their talents to the sea, and had made it known that they intended to be crowned Goldenrod Cruise Lines Pickleball Adventure champions.

They were paired against Bob and Betty Shipley in the first round of competition, and made a point to seek them out after leaving their dinner plates untouched.

“My wife and I look forward to beating you tomorrow,” Timothy said to the Shipleys, who seemed caught off guard by the boast. “This is a business trip for us, and you’re the first order of business. Winning is all that matters.”

It didn’t take long for the other passengers to realize the Miasmas were not the “fun couple” of the cruise, and any impromptu mini-social groups that formed made sure to exclude them.

As the drinking and feasting wound down, Timothy and Kathleen prepared to make their way back to the cabin – but not before one final pronouncement.

“This time tomorrow night,” Kathleen bellowed, “we will stand alone as champions. Mark my words.”

The Miasmas were up at dawn on tournament day, and after a leisurely early morning, they made their way to the courts on the main deck.

Trophies for first, second and third place were already set up on a table situated near center court, as well as ribbons that would be handed out to all the participants.

But while Timothy and Kathleen were already there when tournament officials arrived, none of the other players were anywhere in sight. And five minutes before the preliminary matches were scheduled to begin, the courts were empty except for the couple who had guaranteed victory the night before.

“Excuse me,” Timothy said, getting the attention of one of the tourney directors, Jan Edwards. “According to the rules, if the players don’t show up on their assigned court by the official start time, they have to forfeit the match. Well, the official start time will come and go soon and if the Shipleys aren’t here, we advance.

“Those are the rules.”

Edwards was more concerned with the complete lack of competitors than she was with the Miasmas’ tardy foes, but nodded in agreement.

“That’s correct,” she said. “But I think we have bigger problems than that. It’s not just the Shipleys who are late, so is everyone else – besides you. Something isn’t right.”

A half hour went by before officials noticed panicked waves from members of the ship’s crew. They scurried over to see what the excitement was about while the Miasmas looked on. Once the commotion settled, Edwards – following a subdued conversation with the ship’s captain – made her way towards them.

“I’m afraid I have some horrible news,” she said. “All of the rest of the competitors are dead. They were found dead in their cabins … every one of them.”

Timothy looked at the official with a gleam in his eye.

“Well,” he said. “We win the tournament.”

Edwards gazed at him in disbelief.

“There are over 30 people dead, sir,” she said, gritting her teeth as she choked out the sentence. “I don’t think anyone is thinking about pickleball championships right now.”

Kathleen walked over to the first-place trophy, grabbed it, and held it in front of her.

“I said we’d stand alone as champions,” she shouted. “And here we are.”

The victorious couple knew that in just a few days they’d be back in Seaside, and their trophy would no doubt be the envy of every other member of their club. They shared a quick kiss and then walked away with their hardware, discreetly tossing the flask of poison overboard.

Pelicans, Squadron look to help each other

**T.J. Saint enters his second season as head coach of the Squadron in 2023-24. (photo courtesy of Birmingham Squadron)**

The job of an NBA G League team is to develop players and do so within the system utilized by the parent club. And if the understudies win a lot of games along the way, that makes things even better.

As the 2023-24 season approaches, the Birmingham Squadron – the New Orleans Pelicans’ affiliate – has the tools in place to check all of those boxes.

“I think one of the things that’s the most important for us is you have to be at a point in your evolution where you can really use the G League team,” Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said earlier this week. “What we’ve had going on in the past, unfortunately, some of it was injury-induced. And then some of it was just a young team developing the guys that you would ordinarily like to say will be staples with the Squadron, but have been playing meaningful minutes with us.

“And I think we’ve reached the point now where we have a level of depth of quality young players that we can feel really comfortable assigning, guys like (guard) Dyson Daniels and (guard) Kira Lewis. I think we’re in a place now where we’ll be able to assign young players of that ilk to be really positive players.”

T.J. Saint is entering his second season as head coach of the Squadron, and spent Saturday morning overseeing local player tryouts at the Lakeshore Foundation.

“We’re extremely balanced as a team,” Saint said. “Technically, right now, we have two roster spots to fill. One of those will for sure be filled through the (G League) draft (on October 28). And to be quite honest, the second could come very well come from the local player tryout here. We’ve got 60-plus players signed up and I really, really appreciate guys who are going after their dream or goal, and honestly, who believe in themselves. It’s just really cool to see.”

This season G League teams will be allotted three two-way players. Guard Dereon Seabron was the Squadron’s lone active two-way player in 2022-23 since power forward E.J. Liddell was sidelined by a torn ACL and missed all of last year. Seabron averaged 18.4 points per game for Birmingham during the regular season and 14.3 points during the in-season tournament (Showcase Cup) portion of the schedule.

“What’s really neat for us is we’re finally at a point in our development where the players that we have on two-way contracts we anticipate we’re going to be able to send to Birmingham,” Griffin said. “(Center) Liam Robbins, who was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year at Vanderbilt, is a player that we anticipate will be with us at that point. He’s certainly going to be part of training camp … he’s looked tremendous here in our gym.

“(Center) Trey Jemison, who finished last season with UAB and Coach (Andy) Kennedy, will be coming back with us, and both of those guys will add some size to the Squadron team. Since Zach Hankins (now with Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Basketball Premier league) left us, that’s something we’ve sorely needed.”

Griffin adds that the relationship between the Pelicans – who finished 42-40 a year ago and lost their play-in game to Oklahoma City – and Squadron should be more reciprocal during the G League team’s third season in the Magic City.

“There’s Dereon Seabron, who was a tremendous member of the Squadron last year and is with us as a two-way player,” Griffin explained. “We don’t need him to be able to play minutes immediately with us, and so he’ll be able to continue his progression there, which excites us. Liam’s got the potential to be a meaningful NBA center on both sides of the floor. So, getting to leave a player of that caliber there is good for us and will be significant for the development of the Squadron. Whereas before we couldn’t use it like that, we’re at a critical juncture where we’ll benefit from it more.”

Saint says the roles of the two-way players in Birmingham will be well-defined this time out.

“The two-ways that we’ll have in Birmingham on any assignments will all be at different positions,” he said. “So, they’ll all get a lot of time, and that’s the whole point of this. We want to win, and for the players here to be a conduit of winning down here so they can be a conduit of winning with the Pelicans.

“But it’s really about developing the young guys so they can eventually play big games and make contributions for New Orleans down the line – this year or the year after.”

The 2023-24 Birmingham coaching staff includes newcomers Joe Barrer, Jonathan Mitchell and Jalen Cannady, and Adam Barnes takes over the role of general manager of basketball operations.

“Joe was the former head coach of the Lakeland (now Osceola) Magic, and he beat us three times last year,” Saint said. “It’s a huge addition to get a former head coach who sees the game in a unique way and is a super high character person.

“Jodie Meeks is back in his second year and has 10-plus years as an NBA player, and we just added Jonathan Mitchell, who was on the (2007) Florida national championship team. The thing that’s really neat about those three assistants is Jonathan won a title in college as a player, Jodie won an NBA championship as a player with the Toronto Raptors, and Joe won a G league title with the Lakeland Magic as an assistant.”

The Squadron is shifting to the Eastern Conference for 2023-24 and will face six new opponents for the first time in franchise history – the Cleveland Charge, Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Motor City Cruise, Long Island Nets, Westchester Knicks and Windy City Bulls.

Birmingham opens the season at home against the Austin Spurs on November 10 as part of the G League’s Showcase Cup. The Squadron finished 11-21 in the 2022-23 regular season and 6-12 in Cup play.

Before a new G League campaign, though, local fans will get to see Pelicans stars of the future and present (such as Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram) when New Orleans plays the Houston Rockets at Legacy Arena on October 12 in an NBA exhibition game.

Last year’s preseason clash between the Pelicans and Atlanta Hawks was a sellout, and tickets for next month’s matchup are already on sale.

“We’ve got some local guys with ties there who really look forward to coming back,” Griffin said. “Obviously, Herb Jones and Kira (former Alabama Crimson Tide standouts) will be a big part of what we’re doing, and I would expect you’d see both of them in this game fairly liberally.”

Tickets can be purchased through the Squadron website birmingham.gleague.nba.com or by calling 205-719-0850.