Caging the monsters

Teddy Dobrota knew all about monsters.

Every day – without fail – he’d tap his animation pod and watch Commander Chasley Carmichael round up man-eating creatures, cage them, and keep humanity safe from the forces of evil.

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

No matter the size or savvy of the beasts, CCC always got the best of them. Sometimes he’d subdue them with his stun gun, as he did the Martian Marsupial, and other times he’d wrestle them into submission using his own incredible strength, as was the case with the Swamp Hog.

And when he wasn’t watching CCC, Teddy was controlling him with his Commander Chasley Carmichael Interactive Hologram Game. He loved to see CCC fire up his jet pack, fly above a predator, and then drop a weighted chain net over it.

His favorite part was always opening the cage door, making CCC give a swift kick to the monster that forced it inside, then slamming the door shut.

On this particular Saturday, however, Teddy was going to see the real hero and the monsters he had subdued.

The Commander Chasley Carmichael Touring Detainment Center was finally making a stop in Harbor City, and Teddy’s father, Burt, had secured two VIP tickets to the event.

Not only would he have an opportunity to meet CCC and shake his hand, he would get to walk with him as he passed the cages holding the monsters.

“Teddy, you ready to hop on the tube and head to the show?”

Already wearing his green CCC jacket and black CCC Junior Commander’s Club arm band, Teddy didn’t have to be asked twice.

“Yessir!” he shouted. “I can’t wait!”

The transit tube trip took less than five minutes, and father and son arrived at check-in with tickets in hand. A dozen or so other kids – along with their guardians – had also secured VIP passes, and were quickly placed in the queue to enter the center.

Teddy could feel his heart racing, and he was so nervous his mouth was bone dry. As much as he enjoyed seeing CCC and the monsters in cartoon form and manipulating them when playing the game, the 10-year-old was actually about to come face to face with the real hero and some of the most dangerous life forms in the solar system.

The doors to the center opened and a robotic voice greeted the visitors.

“Welcome to the Commander Chasley Carmichael Touring Detainment Center. Each ticket holder will be allowed to ask one question. When the red light in the center of your pass starts flashing, you have 30 seconds to ask your question. Otherwise, do not speak. Do not touch the cages. Do not touch Commander Carmichael unless he extends his hand. Please enjoy your tour.”

Teddy and Burt were six rows back as the line began moving forward, and all eyes turned toward CCC, who was perched on a landing that encircled the cages.

In animated form, the hero had long, shiny red hair and his black, form-fitting uniform seemed to be molded over his muscles.

In person, CCC had close-cropped, reddish gray hair and his build was … lumpy. And instead of the booming voice associated with the animated CCC, the man himself sounded hoarse.

“I’m Captain Carmichael,” he said in a tone that clearly lacked enthusiasm. “I’ve traveled all across the globe and through the vastness of space to ensure human beings are spared the horrifying fate of a monster attack. What you’ll see is just a small sample of what I’ve done during my 30-plus year career of cleaning up scum.”

The first cage housed “Snowball,” a Yeti-like creature CCC had captured on Kepler-186f. Teddy expected to see a hulking abominable snowman with long, yellow teeth, razor-sharp claws and glowing orange eyes.

Instead, Snowball was slumped in a corner – its left hand shaking uncontrollably  and an open wound on its right shoulder. The  creature was wet, dirty and appeared to be scared.

A kid standing just to the left of Teddy held the ticket that produced the first blinking light.

“Commander Carmichael,” the young man asked, “Is Snowball sick?”

CCC gave a quick glance in the beast’s direction.

“I don’t know … maybe,” he said. “They might’ve just drugged him to keep him calm. The important thing is that it’s in there and we’re out here, so it can’t hurt us.”

As the tour continued Teddy noticed that the monsters were nothing like they appeared in the cartoons. Instead of being frightening, they merely looked frightened.

And each time a red light blinked, the question asked was answered with a flippant response:

“How many people has the Martian Marsupial killed?

“I’m not sure it killed anybody, but it won’t kill anybody now, will it?

“Do you ever feel sorry for the monsters?”

“No. Why should I?”

“What made you decide to be a monster hunter?”

“Money.”

Teddy’s light flashed just as the line had reached Swamp Hog’s cage. It wasn’t the giant boar with monstrous tusks he envisioned, but an underfed, brown pig-like animal whose teeth had been pulled.

“Commander,” Teddy asked. “Why is Swamp Hog so thin?”

CCC shrugged.

“Maybe he’s on a diet, kid,” he said, disdainfully. “Look – I just track ‘em down and bring ‘em in. I don’t really care what happens to ‘em afterward. Neither should you.”

Once the tour ended, Teddy and Burt walked quietly toward the transit tube. The child was obviously upset – never even bothering to shake CCC’s hand – and his dad figured he had gotten his feelings hurt by the Commander’s snarky response to his question.

They didn’t talk on the short ride home, and Teddy went straight to his room after they arrived.

A couple of hours passed before Burt knocked on the door – balancing a sandwich on top of a glass of water – and nudged it open.

“You need to eat something, bud,” his father said.

Teddy was playing the Commander Chasley Carmichael Interactive Hologram Game.

“I’ll eat in a minute, dad,” he said. “I’m almost finished.”

Burt looked down to see the Snowball character locking CCC in a cage – after delivering a swift kick to the Commander’s backside.

“That’s a bit of a twist, isn’t it, son?”

Teddy looked up at his father, his eyes welling with tears.

“Not really,” he said. “Monsters belong in cages, don’t they?”

The United Football League

OK, so one league with eight teams merges with another league with eight teams and the result is … one eight-team league?

That’s the new reality of spring professional football now that the USFL and XFL have blended parts of their families to form the United Football League.

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

The UFL – not to be confused with the original UFL (1961-64) or the second UFL (2009-12) – is comprised of four XFL survivors (Arlington Renegades, DC Defenders, San Antonio Brahmas and St. Louis Battlehawks) and four former USFL clubs (Birmingham Stallions, Houston, Memphis Showboats and Michigan Panthers). Houston – known as the Gamblers during its two USFL years – has rebranded as the Roughnecks, which played in both the 2020 and 2023 XFL. They’ll be led by Curtis Johnson, who was the head coach of the Gamblers last season.

Skip Holtz (Stallions), Mike Nolan (Panthers), Bob Stoops (Renegades), Reggie Barlow (Defenders) and Anthony Becht (Battlehawks) return to their respective teams this spring. Wade Phillips, who coached the Roughnecks last year, has moved to San Antonio.

John DeFilippo coached the USFL New Orleans Breakers in 2023 and has taken over as boss of the Showboats.

Fox and ESPN will be the primary broadcast partners.

Arlington, the defending XFL champion, will play the two-time defending USFL champion Birmingham to kick-off the inaugural season on March 30. No site has been officially announced but speculation is that the game will be contested in Arlington, where league headquarters are located.

Training camp opens there on February 24.

Birmingham, Houston, Memphis and Michigan will play in the USFL Division, with Arlington, DC, San Antonio and St. Louis populating the XFL Division.

Gone from the USFL contingent are the New Jersey Generals, Breakers, Philadelphia Stars and Pittsburgh Maulers, while the XFL shuttered the Orlando Guardians, Seattle Sea Dragons and Vegas Vipers.

This merger, as it turns out, is really a combination of contracted leagues. Russ Brandon (former President and CEO of the XFL) will be the President and CEO of the UFL, while Daryl Johnston (former USFL President of Football Operations) will assume a similar role with the new venture.

Dany Garcia and Dwayne Johnson broke the news on FOX on New Year’s Eve, and unveiled a logo that was obviously inspired by the 2023 XFL logo. That leads me to believe the UFL will have more of an XFL “feel.”

That seems even more true if Arlington follows the hybrid hub model utilized by XFL 3.0. The Washington Post reports that’ll be the case, with teams practicing and living in the area throughout the regular season.

Teams will travel to their home and road games – well, Arlington will already be home – but the other seven teams will have to fly or drive to their host stadiums.

Think of it as a situation where the kids spend all week at their boarding school but get to see their parents on the weekend.

It’s better than the USFL hub situation, but not as good as a home team having, you know, an actual home.

“From day one, our mission has been to expand the game of football and be a league of opportunity, culture and innovation,” Johnson said. “As we come together to create the UFL, we can build something powerful, exciting and very cool for football fans – a spring league with lasting impact for all the players with a dream to play pro football and the ‘hardest workers in the room’ mentality to make their dreams come true.”

Added Garcia, “This new venture is possible because of a shared visionary mindset, a profound passion for the game, and first-hand experience living and creating the opportunities that football makes possible. As a unified spring league, we are able to deepen our commitment to unlocking and surpassing the dreams of our players, coaches, staff and fans. This league represents continued legacy and evolution, and we look forward to building the universe of spring football.”

While all of us who enjoy alternative football are glad it’ll return for a third consecutive year, I was hoping more than eight clubs would tee it up next spring.

I didn’t necessarily expect a 16-team league, but I thought surely there’d be 12. Eliminate the redundancies (Houston Gamblers and Roughnecks) and weed out a couple of the clubs that generated little fan interest, sure. But now 2024 basically just takes us back to 2022 where players were fighting for roughly 400 roster spots instead of the 800 available in 2023.

This’ll result in a higher concentration of talent on each club, of course, but it also means less opportunities for guys who want to keep playing for pay.

From a fan standpoint, the USFL cuts make the most sense. Despite branding themselves New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Houston and New Orleans, the Generals, Stars, Maulers, Gamblers and Breakers never once played in those cities.

It’s hard to feel a sense of loss when you lose something you never really had.

I do feel for the folks who supported Orlando, Seattle and Vegas in XFL, but I think the biggest loser in the merger might be Canton.

Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium hosted the USFL playoffs and championship in 2022, and last year the city was also the home base for the Generals and Maulers.

The league asked a lot of the fans in northeast Ohio to come out and support teams that weren’t theirs, and now they’re left with nothing.

As for the biggest winner, that would be the Canadian Football League. While there is only roster room for 20 international players per club, the CFL now has eight less teams south of its border to compete with.

Naturally, my hope – and the hope of fellow spring football supporters – is that the UFL takes root, expands, survives and ultimately thrives.

To do that, it’ll need to widen its footprint by entering more major markets (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, for example); identify roughly 20,000 host city fans willing to show up for games week in and week out; and become a TV product that draws eyes long after the novelty of “offseason” football wears off.

To that end, here’s wishing not just one Happy New Year to the United Football League – but many happy years to come.