Long island EFL

Long Island EFL T O U R N A M E N T OF C H A M P I O N S Atlanta Falcons (7-2) at Carolina Panthers (7-2) (Long Island Electric Football League NFC Championship Game) December 30, 2023. By Levi Vick. We are in the process of writing up LIEFL Super Bowl XVIII. For now here is the NFC Championship Game! We could never ask for a better matchup than this classic NFC Championship Game between two division rivals in the Atlanta Falcons (7-2) and the Carolina Panthers (7-2). Both teams are on a collision path game to the road less traveled. Atlanta's posse of "Dirty Birds" came with all they had, and a coach with a nasty attitude in Coach Johnny-Freeport, who came with them. It will be hard to walk away from this game when all is said and done. The Falcons have played amazing in playoffs and LIEFL-Hall of Fame running back and NFC Offensive Player of the Year Gerald Riggs, has been perfect, nothing short of sensational! But so too have the Carolina Panthers. We expect this game might be a high-scoring game considering the two offenses that are playing and that rampage they have created throughout the Tournament of Champions! The winner will play the high-octane AFC Los Angeles Chargers (8-1)! The Atlanta Falcons have the number two offense in the league with 128 points scored, but the Panthers are not far behind they were number three with 127 points, so expect fireworks! It's like we've seen in the tournament, every team playing the way tournament teams should play. On defense Atlanta ranked #18 in the league with 114 points scored against them. Carolina gave up 113 points ranked at #17. But all that stuff goes out the window in the playoffs. When the Falcons beat the Packers, we knew they meant business and the same thing goes for the Panthers, but the Panthers were ranked at a higher seed, and they beat Atlanta in Week #6. Hall of Famer Gerald Riggs rushed for 152 yards against the Packers and he had a huge 89-yard run from scrimmage which sealed the deal in their game. Against the Redskins Riggs had 64 yards rushing with one touchdown. Where Riggs has exploded as well is in all purpose yards category. He has 422 kick return yards on seven touches, and 66 yards in receiving with two touchdowns, totaling 30 touches all purpose for 704 yards with four touchdowns in the playoffs! Is he on fire? He's a scoring machine, but the Falcons dropped their game to the Panthers in week #6 of the regular season, 21-17. The Panthers had the advantage playing at home. This will be a little bit of a different game judging by the way the Falcons have to played. If they play the same way they played against the Redskins, this will be a game that we won't leave our seats! Coach Johnny-Freeport said, "Welcome to New York Football ...It's all about the matchups baby! And thank God these guys are in our division cuz we know every single player on that Panthers roster and what they can do, so they'll be no secrets. We're ready for war ... let's just get it on! Gerald Riggs was the NFC Offensive Player of the Year this season, so I'll take my chances. Let's not pick any bones about it, I don't like Matt-Zoo York or his team, and I don't care if he likes me either! This is a chance to go to the Super Bowl and win $3200 dollars. I'm not friends at this point! A lot of people don't understand what we play for in this hobby. We are serious and love competition. Money talks, and it changes everything about the game. The preparation for the game, the hours we put into it, the desire to win all comes with competition. In this league we play to win, we're not playing in some League like Levi Vick and Johnny Biggs played in with rolling dice, pivots, long counts, sticks, and the dilly dally. I'm your opponent, I'm your enemy, I'm here to try to win 3,200 dollars, and I'll be back next year for more. We are New Yorkers and if you never worked with New Yorkers or met New Yorkers you should try and meet a few. You will realize that we wear our attitudes on our sleeve. We don't pull punches with people. We will respect all but be disrespected by none!" Panthers coach Matthew York said, "Oh God, every time Johnny-Freeport opens his mouth and starts talking this stuff, he raises my level of determination even more. He gives us New Yorkers a bad label. He talks more trash than the trash itself. I can't deny that he's had a great tournament, but I'm well prepared for this game strategically and mentally, and I believe my Panthers are too." Yesterday's NFC Divisional Championship Game between the Chicago Bears and the Carolina Panthers was electrifying! Johnny-Freeport can say whatever he wants, but he knows Carolina is a mean lean fighting football machine. Nobody can deny that his Falcons and even the Ravens played some great football, which is Johnny-Freeport at his best. His Lions played great like this in 2016, it's whoever has the momentum. He always has some criticism for somebody. It's been wonderful that he's opened up his home for the last few games of this tournament. The Panthers rallied in a come from behind victory over the Bears in overtime 45-39, but Johnny-Freeport instead of watching the first half of football he watched the second half of how the Bears stopped the Panthers, and caught up to the power of the game and the speed! They now know Keary Colbert is a player. NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME OPENING KICKOFF: There's a lot of nerves flying before the opening kickoff. Panthers Greg Jones ran the ball back 52 yards to start the game. On first down DeShaun Foster ran for 4 yards, but he met nothing but white jerseys and a posse Dirty Birds on the helmets of the Atlanta Falcons on both 2nd and 3rd downs. The Panthers tried to pass the ball but they were rejected and denied on a big hit by Julio Jones in the backfield. Carolina decided to go for it on 4th down it's short yardage and they were denied again by the Falcons defense. That might have been a big mistake for Coach Matt Zoo York. Maybe his ego is getting involved in this game? But Johnny Freeport jumped in the air with a yeah baby all day! The Panthers used up a lot of clock. It was the Falcons turn. The Carolina Panthers defense came up huge on the first two downs, stopping Gerald Riggs in his tracks at the 46-yard line of Atlanta. But on 3rd down, it was Jamal Anderson who broke free for a 54 yard touchdown pass by Johnny-Freeport passing with the "Yellow Tudor kicker" right off the receiver's head. Freeport hit them on the fly after 34 yards so that was a great pass by Johnny Freeport with a little bit of luck involved! The Falcons take the lead 7-0! On the Panthers next return Greg Jones ran a blazing 100-yard kick return into the end zone to tie the score at 7-7! What a run by Jones who flew into the end zone to get this offense ignited for Carolina! On the last play of the first quarter Gerald Riggs ran back a lightning 86-yard kick return to the 9-yard line of the Panthers, as the first quarter closed. Oh this is a game! On first down, Riggs ran for eight yards, and on second down Gerald Riggs scored his first touchdown of the game from one yard out to give the Falcons the lead 14-7! The coach's roared watching Carolina Panthers Greg Jones run back his second consecutive 100-yard kick return of the half to tie the score at 14-14 with 11:39 remaining in the half! Greg Jones! On the next Falcons kickoff return Gerald Riggs ran a 52-yard ball back to the 48 of the Panthers. Riggs ran for two yards on first down, and three yards on second down, but on third down the Falcons and Johnny Freeport connected on another great pass to his man Jamal Anderson for a speedy 41-yard touchdown scamper to make the score 21-14 Falcons, with 4:06 remaining in a half! Freeport is on fire! On another great play by the Panthers in this fantastic game, Keary Colbert who was the star last game, broke Free from Jamal Anderson on a 40-yard pass play by Matt-Zoo York. Zoo threw 20-yards downfield with the Tudor Kicker, and he hit Colbert on the back to tie the score 21-21, with 1:43 remaining in the half! The Falcons called a time out! Johnny-Freeport wants more before the end of the half! The winner of this game will play the Los Angeles Chargers and their high-powered offense! Their offense is a major threat with LaDainian tomlinson, Lance Alworth, and playmaker Kellen Winslow Sr., whose game against the Colts was unbelievable and unstoppable! Back to the 1:43 remaining in the half. Oh my goodness! Gerald Riggs exploded for 100-yard kick return into the end zone to give the Falcons the 28-21 lead, with 1:30 remaining in a half and the Panthers called their first time out of the half with one remaining. What a run by Riggs! These guys really have elevated their game to an entirely different level tonight! And they're making it look easy! This is a really good Falcons team! Just when you thought nobody could beat the Panthers, here we go with the Battle of their season on the line! Again unbelievable! Greg Jones ran a blistering 89 yard kick return after being in the center of traffic at the 50 and he blazed another 40 yd before being tackled by a speeding Falcons cornerback Deion Sanders, almost as if they were alive and playing on the field. What a play by Sanders and Carolina calls their last time out of the half! Greg Jones is having the game of his life at 403 all purpose yards with two 100-yard kick returns for touchdowns! This is a game with a bring it all and boy have they brought it and made it one of the most exciting NFC Championship Games in the history of this league! Two extremely exciting Electric football teams! Unbelievable! The Panthers call their last time out of the half with 1:17 remaining. Imagine DeShaun Foster has only touched the ball three times and look at the offensive firepower that has come from Greg Jones this is what makes this team special. They had to get warmed up and they're warm up might have been too late because it gave the Falcons a chance to capitalize, and you can't make mistakes against Johnny-Freeport. One mistake can cost you the game. After the 89-yard tech return by Greg Jones, Jeff King broke free on first down for Carolina at the 11 yard line and King went into the end zone on a great Zoo-York pass to tie the score 28-28 with 1:03 remaining in the half, and the Falcons take their last time out before the half ends! Again, what a football game! This place is going wild! Gerald Riggs just exploded for his second 100-yard touchdown return! The special teams performances have been incredible and exciting! We can't even make this up. Riggs just blazed down the right sideline to give the Falcons the lead 35-28, and there's not enough time for the two teams to set up, or for Carolina to run one more back before the half! That gives the Falcons another advantage because they receive the ball in the second half, in an electrifying game indeed! Johnny-Freeport has lost his control, going crazy and for today anyway he has been able to back up his talk playing the psychological warfare game and it's working on Zoo, but Matt Zoo-York is not giving up. The Panthers are too good to give up. They have to find a way in the second half to stop Johnny-Freeports posse' and scoring machine that they have. Gerald Riggs is at 352 all purpose yards at the half with three touchdowns, including two 100 yard runbacks and his posse' mate Jamal Anderson has 95 yards in pass receptions with two touchdowns! These two have amazing speed! To kick off the third quarter Gerald Riggs ran back of 41 yard kick return. On first down, it was lights out Riggs launched a 59 yard touchdown run into the end zone for another Atlanta score just before the electrifying half ended, and the Falcons are starting to run away with it! Falcons 42 - Panthers 28, with 12:54 remaining in the third. Riggs is putting on a show! Johnny-Freeport is walking back and forth with his hands in the air! No doubt the Falcons are a team to be revered and for us, the Long Island Electric Football League gets better and better through the draft! This is a serious Falcons football team! It's been all fireworks from two fabulous football teams going into the half with the score the Falcons 35 the Panthers 28! Panthers outstanding return man Greg Jones ran back a 48 yard kick return on the Panthers first possession to start the 3rd quarter. Finally, the Panthers running game kicked in with a 12 yard first down by to DeShaun Foster and then on second down, Foster ran for 15 more yards, for another first down. After being stopped on two runs and pushed back four yards by the Falcons defense to the 28-yard line, the Falcons continued to force plays! The Panthers had to pass on third down with 5:45 remaining in the third quarter. Matt Zoo-York threw a beautiful pass to Keary Colbert for his second touchdown of the game! This one was from 29 yards! The Panthers catching up and the Falcons were still in the lead 42-35, with 4:36 remaining in the third quarter! Johnny-Freeport's Falcons have been relentless. After a 41-yard kick return for the Dirty Birds posse' Gerald Riggs ran for seven, and then 12 yards to the 43 yard line of the Panthers as the third quarter came to a close! These two teams who are the beneficiaries of an outstanding LIEFL draft. The Panthers have been consistent for five straight years, so too have of the Falcons, but the battle has been between these two teams in the NFC South Division. The Falcons have upped their game this season, and this is a result of great work by Johnny-Freeport. It's not over yet. Atlanta may earn a trip to LIEFL Super Bowl XVIII for the first time in their history, to play the Chargers! After being stopped on first down Gerald Riggs ran for 10 more and another first down. After two runs Riggs was stopped by Panthers star Kawaan Short, and the Carolina defense forcing a third down pass play, which the Falcons came up five yards short of the first down at the Panthers 20 yard line. Atlanta kicked a field goal to make the score 45-35 with 8:23 remaining in the game! After a 37-yard kick return by Greg Jones Panthers running back DeShaun Foster exploded on an amazing 63-yard touchdown run into the end zone! The Panthers are still in this football game, and the clock is running! On that touchdown play the score is Falcons 45 Panthers 42 with 4:34 remaining in the game! Without being biased on an unbelievable kick return Gerald Riggs just returned his third 100-yard touchdown of the game and that is hard to compete with! The greatness of the Hall of Fame player! Riggs blasted free on the left side of the field to make the score 52-42! Falcons in the lead! The Panthers called their first time out with one more remaining at 2:59 in left in the game! With the game in favor of the Falcons, Greg Jones returned a beautiful 56 yard kickoff return. And on a first down pass, it was Jones who broke free for a 44-yard touchdown right through the middle of the field to make the score 52-48, and the Panthers will go for two! From the minute we kicked off in one of the longest games we can recall, there's 56 seconds left in the game. Gerald Riggs will get one more return. Let's play the game! Gerald Riggs just ran his fourth 100-yard touchdown back to end the game with the Falcons dismantling the Panthers 59-50 in one of the greatest games in the history of the league. How does he do it? What a incredible game for Riggs! Now that is a Hall of Fame player Gerald Riggs! Riggs ran his fourth 100 yard kick return for a touchdown and he just exploded! Johnny-Freeport is going absolutely wild! One thing is for sure, the Falcons know how to score points and today Johnny Freeport exploded after the game! For the first time ever the Atlanta Falcons will head to LIEFL-Super Bowl XVIII to play the Los Angeles Chargers a hefty opponent in Ed Viggs. And what a season the Panthers had! They will take another crack at it next season but Johnny Freeport eliminated Matt Zoo- York. And it's going to be Johnny-Freeport's Falcons against elite coach Ed Viggs Chargers in a $3200 dollar Super Bowl battle! Gerald Riggs finished the day with Hall of Fame Numbers. Riggs rushed 13 times for 102 yards with two touchdowns, but on special teams, he killed it, with 8 touches for 620 yards with four 100-yard kick returns for touchdowns. Riggs had an unbelievable six touchdowns in the game! The Falcons are a relentless scoring machine. Jamal Anderson had two receptions for 95 yards with two touchdowns! The Atlanta defense battled head-to-head with great Panthers team who battled ferociously right till the end, but the NFC Offensive Player of the Year Gerald Riggs outlasted the Carolina defense! Carolina's offense was spectacular! DeShaun Foster was kept in check by their division rivals, but Greg Jones had a day! Jones returned the football 8 times for an incredible 542-yards, with two sensational 100-yard touchdown returns, a testament to the year the Panthers had. Receiver Keary Colbert had a second great game in a row, with three catches for 71 yards, with a 29-yard touchdown in the game! The MVP Trophy goes to Gerald Riggs! This is a showcase player, one of the best in LIEFL History! Johnny-Freeport said, "Matt Zoo-York now knows who the best coach in this league is, and we shut down their offense which was enough to walk away with the NFC Championship. Time to focus on Viggy now and his Chargers. The game is at my place! I knew I'd be here in this game, but I didn't know it would be my posse' who'd be the team winning!" Matt Zoo-York said, "You can't win them all, but the pace of the game from the get-go was one of the best games in any league I've ever been involved with. I am cheering for Viggy, not Johnny-Freeport!" This game might be the best LIEFL Super Bowl matchup ever. So, it's the Los Angeles Chargers, one of the most prolific teams in the league versus the Atlanta Falcons in what may turn out to be a high-scoring epic battle!

YES! WE HAVE TWO CLOCKS GLUED ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE BACKBOARD ON THE MAIN FIELD AND A TABLE NEXT TO OTHER BOARDS WHERE THE DEFENSE RESETS THE 40 SECOND CLOCK, AND THE OFFENSE THE 15M CLOCK ....ONE IS THE 40 SEC TIMER, THE OTHER IS THE 15 MIN TIMER. YOU WILL SEE IT IN THE SUPER BOWL PICTURES. THE OFFENSE SETS UP AT THE SAME TIME 40 SEC--THE DEFENSE SETS UP LAST AND WHATEVER ADJUSTMENTS ARE MADE MUST BE MADE BY BOTH OFFENSE AND DEFENSE AT THE SAME TIME WITHIN THE GIVEN TIME WITH NO ACCEPTATIONS TO THE RULE. WE PLAY BY OUR RULES NOT TUDOR RULES! I HAVE PLAYED IN A NUMBER OF LEAGUES AND TOURNAMENTS IN THE NORTHEAST, AND I THINK BY FAR THIS IS AS COMPETITIVE AS ANY LEAGUE I HAVE EVER COMPETED IN, WITH THE BEST RULES. EVERY COACH HAS DIFFERENT WAY OF DEALING WITH SETUPS AND TIME BUT THERE IS NEVER A COUNTDOWN ALLOWED--EVER. WE SET, WE PLAY, WE ALLOW ONE STOP TO PASS, NOT MULTIPLE STOPS, AND WE USE THE YELLOW TUDOR KICKER TO PASS, AND THE GAME GOES AT A FAST PACE. LEVI

(Long Island Electric Football League) Written By Levi Vick and Joey Pizz. Happy New Year! (Photo Left: Home of the Carolina Panthers, Downtown Charlotte, NC) We are late bringing this game to our readers and still behind in writing, but this game between Paddy Brannigan's #7-Chicago Bears (5-3) and last year's Super Bowl Champion Coach Matt Zoo-York, who coaches the #3- Carolina Panthers (6-2), is a great match up! If you have a league, put it out there on the Forum for all to read! We missed lots of reading because of the categories listed on the Forum. A category on "League Games" could be added to drive more traffic. The Bears are this year's Wild Card Cinderella team. This was a huge year for them because they surpassed 100 wins and to get to this game, they really battled through because of the play and success of running back Walter Payton and specialist Willie Gault. Gault finished #11 in all-purpose yards in the LIEFL with 23 touches for 1350 yards, with seven touchdowns, four for 100-yards! Payton finished #6 in NFC rushing with 39 carries for 512 yards with nine touchdowns! Chicago's front line dug deep in the trenches to play some gritty football. They opened the season winning 27-21, in overtime against the Falcons. Then they beat New Orleans 14-10, but they dropped two in a row to Green Bay 24-21, and the Las Vegas Raiders 28-24, on the road, both contenders. The Bears finished the season strong winning their 100th game against the Kansas City Chiefs 17-14! The Denver Broncos then beat the Bears in a tough game, 15-0 on several Bears mistakes back on November 22nd. Chicago clinched their season with a win over Coach Bobby Biggs Seattle Seahawks 21-17, to clinch the Wild Card spot. Leading up to this game, the LIEFL Historic Bears have had a rich history. The last time Chicago saw a playoff game was in 2000, when they went (10-4), beating the Miami Dolphins in the LIEFL-Super Bowl X, 45-38. Paddy Brannigan has to come into this huge NFC Divisional Championship Game with an attitude today and hope that his team is playing on all cylinders! They just pulled off a major upset against the #2 Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wild Card Game, beating the Rams 35-31! Walter Payton had two 100-yard rushing games this year, one against the Packers for 176 yards with three touchdowns, and the other was against Kansas City where Payton ran for 113 yards with two touchdowns. Payton played huge in the big games, but so did Willie Gault. Gault has been steady all season long. Against the Rams Gault exploded for five touches for 338 yards with two touchdowns, both 100-yard kick returns! Chicago has a great tight end in Mike Ditka. Ditka had a BIG 58-yard touchdown pass against the Rams, and he's as dangerous on the outside as any receiver in the game. This game really depends on how the front line of the Bears plays. One of the best things about this team is they play every minute and give their all! The Panthers are a whole different beast and one of the favorites to make it to the Super Bowl because of their lethal combination on special teams, and their running game is super with DeShaun Foster and Greg Jones. Something feels different about the Panthers this year. They've had some big moments, and most recently when they beat the Cowboys 48-47 in the NFC Wild Card Game. That was an incredible playoff game! It showed Carolina's resilience, but it shouldn't surprise anybody with the coaching of last year's Super Bowl Champion, Matt-Zoo York. Carolina is a very exciting team. They started off the season winning three straight before losing to Indianapolis 14-10, but on November 11th, the Panthers beat their division rival Tampa Bay Bucs in Tampa Bay 34-28 in overtime, and we knew they were not going to quit in a game. After that, they also beat division rival Atlanta Falcons 21-17, and then a "red hot" Houston Texans team 17-10! They have set a blaze to the NFC! This should be a great test going for the Panthers up against the Chicago Bears because the game could go either way. Just like the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Wild Card Game. One thing the Bears will have a challenge stopping is the Panthers rushing game. LIEFL-All Pro running back DeShaun Foster had two 100-yard rushing games during the regular season, and Foster also had the longest run of the season, a record 70-yard run, which was just broken by Falcons Gerald Riggs who ran an 89 yard run in the NFC Wild Card Game against Green Bay. Foster finished the season as the #3 Ranked rusher in the NFC with 38 rushes for 629 yards, including 12 touchdowns. He has been sensational! And so has Greg Jones, who everybody in the league wants, but not so fast, Matt Zoo-York is not ready to give him up yet. Jones ranked 18th in all purpose yards in the LIEFL with 23 touches for 1133 all purpose yards with four touchdowns, including a 100-yard touchdown run. This is a team on the verge of exploding. Jones ranked 10th in the NFC on kick returns. In the NFC Wild Card Game against Dallas, DeShaun Foster ran for 143 yards with three touchdowns, and Jones contributed by touching the ball seven times for 461 all-purpose yards with two 100 yard touchdown scampers. That's a combined 604 total yards with five touchdowns coming at the Bears between the two stars! No Fear from Brannigan and his Bears. They are excited to get this game on with and go after the Panthers. PANTHERS ADVANCE TO NFC CG AFTER RALLY TO BEAT BEARS IN OT! The kickoff in this game is highly anticipated! The winner will of this game will head to the NFC Championship Game to play the #5 Atlanta Falcons who are on fire! Atlanta upset the #4 Green Bay Packers 24-14, in the NFC Wild Card Game, and they bombed the #1 Washington Redskins in the biggest upset of the year 30-24, in the NFC Divisional Championship Game! Falcons running back Gerald Riggs has a total 30 touches for 704 all-purpose yards with four touchdowns. One of his runs set a new playoff record. He bolted 89 yards on a run against the almighty Redskins! Johnny-Freeport's "Dirty Birds" are flying high! Freeport has coached brilliantly with the Ravens and Falcons. He says he's ready for the winner of this game and he's anxious to get back on the field regardless of who is in his way. His Atlanta Falcons beat the #4 and #1 Seeds, so he is hungry for more with lots to prove. Freeport wants a rematch in the NFC Championship Game with Carolina, who beat the Falcons 21-17, in Week#6 of the LIEFL regular season. On the opening kick off Greg Jones returned the opening kick off 23-yards where he was clobbered by Bears tight end Mike Ditka who was blazing downfield. Great play by the Bears! The Panthers DeShaun Foster exploded 44 yards to the 35-yard line of Chicago on first down! Want to run! Carolina's Frontline hs such speed and power that they ran right through the Bears unexpectedly. On first down, Foster ran for another 20 yards, for another first down! And it didn't get any better for the Bears defense after making several adjustments. Coach Paddy Brannigan was working on the right combination on the line matchups to find a balance. On the next play, Foster took in a 15-yard touchdown to give the Panthers the 7-0 lead! For the remainder of the quarter the Bears used up all the time. LIEFL All-Pro Willie Gault ran back a fantastic 81 yard opening kickoff for the Bears! On the Bears opening drive, Walter Payton ran into a wall of Carolina defenders led by LIEFL All-Pro lineman and Pro Bowl Starter Kawaan Short. The Panthers defense stopped Payton on three straight runs. But on 4th down, Coach Brannigan threw a rocket to an open Willie Gault for a 28-yard first down. It would be tight end Mike Ditka who would score the Bears first touchdown on a 13-yard touchdown reception to end the first quarter, 7-7, the game is tied! This time on the kick return Greg Jones returned it 53 yards and the Carolina running attack began. On first down, DeShaun Foster blasted through the line for 16 yards and he did the same thing with the same exact yardage on second down, for another first down. The Panthers offense are electrifying. The Chicago defense has to figure this out. The Panthers are at 16 yard line of Chicago with 8:08 remaining in the half. Brannigan switched his linebackers around and started to make big moves taking players out of their normal spots. Great choices for the Veteran Brannigan. He put Mike Singletary in the middle behind Richard Dent, who he move to center and nose, and then he and Brian Urlacher on the outside linebacker position. The Bears did everything they could on defense, which slowed up the run a little bit. On first down, Foster ran for another 8 yards to the 8 yard line of Chicago. The Panthers kept moving forward. On second down, Foster exploded again, this time into the end zone to give the Panthers the lead 14-7 on a very impressive drive! With time running out of the half the Bears and Willie Gault returned to 54 yard blazing kick return whizzing past defenders on a beautiful play. The Bears found a way to get a few yards. Walter Payton ran 4-yards, but then he was stopped on second down. On 3rd down, it was Willie Gault again who exploded on the outside lane, and then he cut right towards the middle of the field for a 45-yard electrifying touchdown play by Paddy Brannigan and his Bears, tying the score at 14-14, with 2:01 remaining in a half! The Panthers call their first of two timeouts! Coach Patty Branigan was being very strategic here in a nail biter. Matt Zoo-York has to be very careful here. Carolina needs a big play before the half because the Bears will be receiving the ball to begin the third quarter. On the ensuing kickoff Bears tackle Steve McMichael, made a huge hit on Greg Jones stopping Jones at the 35-yard line on the kick return. The Panthers were forced to call their last time out of the half. On first down, with his back against the wall, Matt Zoo-York delivered a 65-yard touchdown pass to DeShaun Foster to give the Panthers the lead 21-14, with 1:25 remaining in the half! The Bears called their first time out with one more remaining in the half! Wow! The Bears would close the half with a field goal to make the score Panther 21 - Bears 17 at the half! To kick off the second half Willie Gault flew to the 47-yard line. and he was hit hard by linebacker Sam Mills for the Panthers. The Bears running game ignited on first down, with a 26-yard first down by Walter Payton. On the next two plays Chicago got clobbered by the Carolina defense again, bringing the ball back to the 48 yard line almost to midfield. And on third down, Mike Ditka broke Free and made an amazing 33-yard first down by just crossing over the first down marker! The Bears have no quit in them! On first down, Chicago aired it out and Willie Gault broke Free at the 25-yard line, scoring a beautiful touchdown for the Bears who take the lead for the first time in the game 24-21, with 2:13 remaining in the third quarter! Chicago knows better than to get too confident against this explosive Carolina team. Craig Jones launched from the end zone to the 30-yard line where he was about to go out of bounds, but he was turned in by DeShaun Foster and Jones darted right back toward the endzone for a 100-yard touchdown return to put the Panthers back in the lead 28 24! What a great play by this tandem, almost on cue! The third quarter ended! There are just 15 minutes left to go in the NFC Divisional Game and it's been exactly what we expected! Here come the fireworks! Willie Gault exploded on a tremendous 100- yard blazing touchdown run, handing the Panthers an unexpected special delivery Christmas present! Holy cow! Gault is on fire! The Bears we take the lead 31-28 with 14:48 left in the game, in another Blockbuster 2023 LIEFL playoff game! That run was so fast! Greg Jones ran back of 42 yard kick return for the Panthers opening drive in the 4th quarter. On first down, DeShaun Foster was hit hard in the backfield by Willie Gault, who made a great play for an 8-yard loss with 12:11 left in the game. Carolina Coach Matt Zoo-York knows how to pass great with the Tudor "Yellow Kicker". Zoo hit Panthers receiver Keary Colbert on a 68-yard pass reception on second down for a huge touchdown by Carolina! Keary who? The Panthers take the lead 34-31 and they're calling for a two-point conversion! What a play by Colbert! DeShaun Foster escaped at the two yard line for the two-point conversion to give the Panthers the lead 36- 31! Unreal! The Bears refuse to die against a relentless Panthers offense! This is going to be some finish. Willie Gault returned the football 46 yards after the Panthers scored. But what the Bears did next is what they've done in four separate occasions this year with their backs against the wall. Oh no he didn't! Walter Payton exploded for a 47-yard first down to the 7-yard line with 2:32 remaining in the game and the Bears just letting the clock tick away. The Panthers called a timeout with 2:11 remaining in the game. The game is exhausting. On the next play, Walter Payton escaped into the end zone for the touchdown on first down to give the Bears the lead 37-36 Chicago is going to go for the two-point conversion. Carolina called their last time out of the game with 1:59 remaining in the game! Just like that, Mike Ditka caught a pass in the corner of the endzone for the two-point conversion in to give the Bears the lead 39-36! The Panthers have no timeouts remaining and the Bears have both of theirs still. What great play making by Patty Brannigan and Matt Zoo York right down to the wire! It seems the only strategy left at this point is for the Panthers to get as much ground yardage on the kick return with possibly one chance to throw a pass and kick a field goal to tie the game. The Bears have to manage their timeouts properly in the event that there's some time left where they can get down field and kick a field goal of their own. It should be interesting. After a poor kick return by Greg Jones to the Panthers own 35-yard line, on first down Keary Colbert broke open for a 38-yard reception but Willie Gault made an awesome play stopping Colbert from scoring tackling Colbert at the 26-yard line of the Bears sending the game into overtime! WOW! CAROLINA WINS THE COIN FLIP and they elect to receive the ball in their home endzone! Unbelievable! There will be a 10-minute overtime quarter. Should the Panthers score a touchdown the game would be over. Greg Jones returned a stunning 58-yard kickoff return to start the overtime! On first down, DeShaun Foster ran for seven yards. The Bears stopped the Panthers on second down at the Chicago 40 yard line. Oh my goodness, with double coverage on him Keary Colbert becomes the hero on a 40-yard pass touchdown to win the game at 4:32 in overtime! Unreal! The Carolina Panthers (7-2) are going to the NFC Championship Game to face their division rival Atlanta Falcons (7-2) in a tremendous showdown! Boy did the Bears play their hearts out! Final score Carolina 45 Chicago 39 in 4:32 of overtime! This Chicago team is one player or two players short of winning a Super Bowl and they proved today, they could play with anybody! The playoffs are brutal! Bears star Willie Gault touched the ball eight times for 485 all-purpose yards with three touchdowns, including a 100-yard touchdown return! Walter Payton rushed the ball 12 times for 91 yards with one touchdown. And Mike Ditka touched the ball four times for 54 yards with a touchdown! The Panthers lit it up in the first quarter but the Bears defense slowed them down in the second half. DeShaun Foster for the Panthers rushed for 126 yards in the first half rushing, but he was completely shut down and contained by the Chicago defense in the second half on some great moves by coach Paddy Brannigan for the Bears. Foster finished 14 for 134 yards rushing with two touchdowns, and Foster had another touchdown on a beautiful 65-yard touchdown reception for his third touchdown of the game. Greg Jones was masterful with seven touches for 346-all purpose yards, including a 100 yard kick return, but he too was slowed up in the second half. The game winner for the Panthers was Keary Colbert who came out of nowhere for Carolina. Colbert had three receptions for a whopping 148 yards with two touchdowns including a 68-yard touchdown play and the game winning 42 yard touchdown catch! Terrific playoff game! The Los Angeles Chargers (8-1) await the winner of the Panthers-Falcons NFC Championship Game! What a Super Bowl we're going to have!

Thank you so much for your kind words Chris! It's my job to man the Forum for the league at the moment, and I am trying to contribute as much as I can on behalf of the LIEFLIn O'C's absence, our league feels that the NEFGM is wonderful! It serves as a reminder of how great this game is and your innovation for the museum is something that Tudor should have thought of. Your contributions to the game of electric football have been admirable. Our work is just beginning! Levi

The reason why the LIEFL is shutting down is because Billy O'C is retiring and headed to his home in Florida next June. It has been a great league and vetted hard! O'C has to figure out what's next. We would love it if he let us keep the league running by keeping the teams, but he has other plans. As for the ITZ bases, I am pretty sure they sound like they could add to the LIEFL intense competition. Thank you for the education on ITZ. How much are the player bases? It would be a hard sell to match some of the players in our league. If they are superior baes, we have to try them, but so far the level of competition here has been terrific. Levi

Long Island EFL T O U R N A M E N T OF C H A M P I O N S WINSLOW SR., CHARGERS ROPE COLTS IN AFC CG! HEADED TO LIEFL SUPER BOWL XVIII! INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (8-1) VS LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (7-1) December 30, 2023. The AFC Championship Game between the Indianapolis Colts (8-1) who are coming off an uplifting win over the Miami Dolphins, and the Los Angeles Chargers (7-1), should give Coach Joe Bino all the motivation he needs to play the Chargers. Bino is all about football culture, and brining a coaching attitude to the grid. For today's game Bino coach decided that the Colts were so good yesterday that they are hard to ignore, so he decided to relief Bobby Biggs from any more coaching, and rather, he will coach the Colts himself against coach Ed Viggs Los Angeles Chargers. This is quite an AFC Championship Game matchup with some big stars in our league playing head-to-head. After what the Colts did to the Miami Dolphins, Bino needs to be able to take the next step against the best coach in the league, Ed Viggs, the master of preparation, and Viggs must prepare to somehow contain and stay ahead of Colts running back and LIEFL Offensive Player of the Year, Joseph Addai. Addai is on a huge streak! He will have the great blocking of LIEFL-All Pro Robert Mathis and Mike Curtis in front of him. The Colts have to come up big on defense today in what is expected to be a very tight game. Bobby Biggs was fine sitting on the sideline, although he wished he had an opportunity. Coach of Viggs is going with LaDainian Tomlinson to return the football, but he said that as the game develops he will adjust. Nobody knows what's up his sleeve for this game. The AFC Championship game is underway! The Chargers hit the field with an attitude on the opening kickoff with coach Viggs shaking things up on kick offs. Viggs switched things around a bit, giving other people a chance. LaDainian Tomlinson assumed the leadership responsibility of returning the opening kick off which he took back 36 yards. On first down, the Chargers exploded through the Colts defense for a 32 yard first down! The Colts stopped the Chargers on the next set of downs, but on second down it was lights out! Tomlinson exploded for 32 more yards into the end zone to give the Chargers the lead 7-0! The Colts are going to have to bring their best game against the Chargers, just like they did with Miami! On the Colts first kick return it was Joseph Addai who exploded 64 yards to the Chargers 36-yard line. On the very next play it was Addai who ran right through the gut of the Chargers defense and into the end zone for a 36-yard touchdown scamper to tie the score at 7-7, as the first quarter came to a close! On the Chargers next return, Viggs decided to switch up the returns by using Kellen Winslow Sr., This is Viggs using psychology again pressuring Bino to think. Winslow had just two receptions for a total 85 yards this season without a touchdown. So after a speedy 49 yard kick return by Winslow, LaDainian Tomlinson picked up where he let off on the Chargers first series. LT busted free on first down for a 26-yard first down! The Colts came up big stopping Tomlinson on second down. On third down Tomlinson burst through the line for a 25 yard touchdown run to give the Chargers the lead 14-7! Joseph Addai ran back a beautiful 53 yard kick return on the Colts next possession, and he nearly broke free for a hundred yard Sprint, but the Chargers are speedy. Lance Alworth tackled Addai from behind at the 53 yard line on a great tackle. On first down, Addai exploded for a 45-yard run to the Los Angeles seven yardline! What an electrifying play! One advantage Los Angeles might have is speed. They just seem to be invested in every play, but that's not going to brush aside the number one offensive player in the league in Joseph Addai. On second down, the Colts offense had a colossal collision with the Chargers but Addai snuck through the LA front three for his second touchdown of the game to tie the score 14-14, with 9:26 remaining in the first half of this AFC Championship Game. What a matchup! On Los Angeles next kick return they switched it up with Lance Alworth, but then Viggs changed his mind again. It is Kellen Winslow Sr., again as The return Man unpacked 71-yards on the kick return, giving the Chargers great field position at the 29-yard line of Indianapolis. The Colts defense buried the Chargers on the first two runs, and then on third down they did a great job holding off LaDainian Tomlinson again, forcing a fourth down pass play. On first down, Coach Viggs connected with Winslow Sr., who broke free at the 29-yard line and in for the score to give the Chargers the 21-14 lead over Indianapolis, with 2:14 remaining in the half! The Chargers are in full beast mode! Indianapolis need a second to regroup to try to slow the pace down. Joseph Addai returned the ball to the 46 yard line on the kick return. On first down, Bino went to the air connecting with receiver Marvin Harrison who broke Free at the 47-yard line of the Colts charging 46-yards downfield to the 8 yard line of Los Angeles! The Chargers called a timeout with 1:02 remaining in the half. What a play by Harrison! On first down, Raymond Berry broke Free from the 8-yard line. Bino hit him with a great pass to tie the score 21-21 with :53 seconds left in the half! The Chargers used their last time out of the first half. Los Angeles needs a huge play here to close the half! Indianapolis still has one time out left in the half if they need it. Unbelievable! This is why coach Viggs is a tremendous coach! Kellen Winslow Sr., found a way to squeak right through the center of the field for an absolutely incredible 100-yard kick return to give the Chargers the 28-21 lead, with 42 seconds remaining in the half and the Colts call a timeout, their last of the half! Wow! Winslow Sr., showing his starpower and the Chargers always seem to find the magic! This is a Chargers team who in 2018, made it to LIEFL Super Bowl XIV, losing to the Los Angeles Rams 31-28! They've won Wow! Out of nowhere Kellen Winslow Sr., suddenly becomes the star of the first half with that kick return! And this is why the Chargers are so good because of the huge playmakers they have who perform under immense pressure! Nobody is betting against the Colts in this situation. We saw what they did against Miami. HALFTIME On the ensuing kickoff to open the third quarter, Indianapolis switched it up a bit. Surprisingly, they handed the ball over to Marvin Harrison who ran a beautiful fast 60-yard kick return to the Los Angeles 40 yard line tackled by Chargers tackle, Corey Clark. On first down, Indy gave the ball back to Joseph Addai. Addai ran for three yards, but on second down Addai exploded around the left end into the end zone for his third touchdown of the game to tie the score at 28-28! Electrifying! And the third quarter has 10:35 remaining! Wow what a play! This is a game of elite plastic athletes all the way with great matchups! Either one of these teams would represent the AFC just fine in a Super Bowl. On the Chargers next kick return, it was Kellen Winslow Sr., again! The tight end buzzed the ball back 36-yards. On first down, LaDainian Tomlinson exploded for 47-yards bringing the ball to the 17 yard line of the Colts, but the Indianapolis defense kicked in big time! Linebacker Mike Curtis anchored the inside game with Robert Mathis on defense! On third down the Chargers had to air it out. With 2:35 remaining in the third quarter it was Kellen Winslow Sr., again, out of nowhere, connecting on a 24-yard touchdown pass to give the Chargers the lead 35-28! Unreal! They are going crazy here at the Nautical Mile in Freeport, NY! Joseph Addai isn't finished! He stormed back a clean speedy 45 yard kick return, and he was hit hard by LA linebacker Junior Seau. The pace of the game is not as fast as the Dolphins-Colts AFC DCG game, but the room is as loud! Ed Viggs is doing his work like a master and Bino is right there with him! The fourth quarter started at the Colts own 45-yard line with Joseph Addai in the backfield. On first down the Colts lost 10-yards when Chargers BIG lineman LIEFL-All Pro Earl Faison broke through the line and through Colts lineman Bubba Smith and Quentin Nelson double-blocking him. There's always criticism in any League, and the criticism of the Indianapolis Colts in this game before it started of course came from our host Johnny-Freeport who said that Bino won't finish with a win. No comments here. On second down, it was Faison again who exploded through Quinton Nelson, tackling Addai in the backfield for another 10 yard loss. And the Colts have to get to the Chargers 45 yard line for a first down after losing 20 yards. Right now the Colts at their own 25 and they're forced to go up in the air. What a play! Bino hit Addai on a 36-yard first down pass! Exactly what Indy needed, as they bring the ball to the Chargers 39-yard line with 10:24 remaining in the game! On first down the Chargers defense stuffed the Colts again. But on second down, Joseph Addai busted through to the Chargers 35 yard line! One play later, Addai broke free for a beautiful 24-yard first down to the 11-yard line of LA, with 5:26 remaining in the game! The Colts have to tie this game and Bino is trying to kill the clock to keep the ball out of the hands of the quadruple threat that the Chargers have. Another unbelievable play by Joseph Addai! Addai ran right over Lance Alworth for a 7-yard touchdown run to tie the score at 35-35, with 236 remaining in the game! What a stunning kick return by Kellen Winslow Sr., who returned his second 100-yard touchdown of the game, and this one was unbelievable! He blazed right through the left side of the field and made it look easy as the placed goes wild! The Chargers take the lead 42-35 in a tremendous AFC Championship Game! The Colts took their first time out of the second half with 1:15 remaining in the game. Kellen Winslow Sr., saw not a single kick return this season. Coach Viggs always has his master plan, and this time under the pressure of the AFC CG! Electric football is a work of art for him! What a play! Back to the 1:15 remaining in the game. Indy speedy return man Marvin Harrison, ran back a stunner 72-yards to the 28-yard line of the Chargers, and the Colts call their last time out with :46 seconds remaining in the game. With the game on the line, Marvin Harrison breaks free from Chuck Muncie at the 28th and in for the touchdown on a great pass by Joe Bino to tie the score at 42-42, with 36 seconds left, and the LA Chargers call their first time out! What a game! It will be so hard to watch either of these teams lose! Amazing on the last kick return of the game Kellen Winslow Sr., blew the doors off the Colts defense by running a 58-yard return. The Chargers let the clock run down. They still had one timeout remaining, but they decided to kick the 42 yard field goal to win the game 45-42! The Los Angeles Chargers (8-1) are going to the Super Bowl again! What a heartbreak for the Colts! The Indianapolis Colts had a great tournament! They just came up short of time, and could that be because Bino might have been a little selfish? How would Bobby Biggs have played against coach Viggs in this game? We will never know. Indy has not a thing to be ashamed of, they played hard! It's official the AFC Championship game MVP goes to Kellen Winslow Sr., Winslow had eight touches for 467-yards, with four touchdowns, including two 100-yard kick returns for touchdowns! The Chargers played a phenomenal game. Every year they are in the mix, but this might be their strongest team yet. What Kellen Winslow Sr., did today earned him the AFC Championship Game MVP Trophy! The way Coach Ed Viggs executed, pulling off this surprise player to rise to the level of the game is nothing short of sensational. Bino was outgunned! Viggs said, "Bino's Colts are one tough team. In this game, you can't be afraid to take risks. My element of surprise was KW! He did all the damage in this game. It really opened eyes and hats off to the Colts who played a hell of a football game and let's not forget what Marvin Harrison. He was silent but deadly just like Winslow. Two great players! The Chargers are going to the Super Bowl!" It's unbelievable that Lance Alworth didn't touch the ball a single time today and he was their main kick return guy all year, but Viggs knew better than we did. It's unbelievable what he did. LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for 163-yards with two touchdowns, and his Chargers offensive barrage! Let's not forget Joseph Addai. Addai had 12 carries for 168 rushing yards, with four touchdowns, but he also had four kick returns for 241 yards totaling 17 touches for 445 all purpose yards, with four touchdowns! Marvin Harrison played a beautiful game with four touches for 206 yards and a touchdown as the Colts totaled 22 touches for 659 all purpose yards with six touchdowns!

Otters will go all the way!

This is awesome! Love the details in the brackets and still looking at your innovation. How many games do these teams play? Standings? Stats etc? Levi

Agreed Terry! There should never be a doubt as to the HOF Players are. They are the go-to guys that shake and make the game what it is. Those are the guys we can brag about to people who know nothing about electric football. They are distinctive members of an elite team or those who are playmakers and game changers! in the LIEFL it is the coaches who make the choices. We have a very organized way of doing things. Levi!

I think with your posts we need to read! I am sure I personally read some, but they looked more like responses to others than about your league, but love to check it out. Nothing we do is disingenuous, but of course we apologize if that's what you think. I have read insightful responses that you write since I have been on here in the Forum. Most recently I read about a video you commented on that involved the Franchise players and a lengthy drawn out video, so I do read what I have time for. Peace! Levi

We don't take anything anyone writes as negative because the Forums are open dialogue. We enjoyed sharing. Heard of the ITZ bases, and please tell us more about how you think they may/may not outperform the combo of bases we are using. We read about them on here, but yet to purchase any. We think the system we have been using via the Drafts, best player bases with fierce proven track record seems to get results. But we are always open to trying ITZ. Maybe we will purchase. The video we did was in 2017, then when Gale Sayers died, Billy O'C did a tribute. We put the video out there for fun! Thanks so much for the feedback! Levi

H A P P Y N E W Y E A R! We are a bit behind with the writing because of all of the New Year festivities, but the last full-writeups from the Long Island Electric Football League are coming! On the way are the 2023 final LIEFL write-ups which will include the NFC Divisional Game, and the AFC and NFC Championship Game along with tonight's LIEFL Super Bowl XVIII! We will surprise you with the outcome. Tonight's Super Bowl will be played at Johnny-Freeport's home in the Nautical Mile at 6pm! There will be no pre-game write ups, just play-by play analysis. Since we're only averaging 19 readers, with very little interaction in the Forum, our write ups will be short, but we hope you enjoy the rest. It has been more of a labor of love writing the articles. Thanks to our few readers, Terry, Daryl, Chris, and a few other loyal readers we've taken great pride in keeping you informed because we love reading about your electric football passion too! As our 2023 LIEFL season winds down, we wish you and your families a great 2024! We hope the New Year brings you great joy, peace and prosperity. The LIEFL will close its doors next June, 2025 in our last season ever. At that point Commissioner Billy O'C will decide what if anything we will write as participants of the Tudor Forum! Below is our anthem LIEFL video from 2017. Enjoy!

Long Island EFL T O U R N A M E N T O F C H A M P I O N S (Long Island Electric Football League) Written by Levi Vick. December 30, 2023. Today's alternate coach for this AFC Divisional Championship Game between the Miami Dolphins (6-2) and the Indianapolis Colts (7-1) and is a exciting. We have the six-time LIEFL-Super Bowl Champions Miami Dolphins chasing a seventh title in the league, but can Indy be the spoilers? They don't care about Mimi's titles, they have NO FEAR! Rookie Coach Bobby Biggs has a mighty task because he's in the biggest spot of his LIEFL career, but Bino thinks Biggs is the best fit for the Colts. The league doesn't! Lots of Questions Surrounding Bino's Choices: Coach Johnny-Freeport said, "Have you guys looked at Biggs record this year? He won like four games all season." Bino said, "This is a new season and I want Biggs to have an opportunity to take on a great team in the Miami Dolphins, but Biggs knows better than to get into a verbal argument about Bino's choice. Biggs knows the Colts are very capable, but can the rookie coach withstand the pressure? "I love this team, and who would be crazy enough to not respect one of the best players in this league. I have played in several leagues and there is nobody, and I mean nobody, who I have seen with the talent of Joseph Addai, in any league. This league is fiercely competitive, and I am giving the league a B+ Rating because every league in the world has room for improvement, and I am so grateful to Billy O'C for being such a great commissioner, really he's the man! Never seen a league run like this guy runs the league. Dues, Rules, Order, Pace, Sponsors, and Discipline in his league, with a full spectrum of players, Draft, and 32-team 67-Big Men, and a $3200 dollar payout to the winner, C'mon' man, said Bobby Biggs!" Indianapolis played a great first AFC Wild Card Game, beating a reluctant Raiders team 35-28! The Dolphins rolled over one of the toughest teams in the league 42-31, scoring six touchdowns from every level.The Dolphins may be chasing their seventh Super Bowl, but not if Bobby Biggs and the Colts can help it! It should be a great offensive war especially with Joseph Addai on the field going up against Mercury Morris on offense. If Addai can play the way he has all season long this one ought to be a great game! The same can be said for Miami with the quadruple threat of their high-octane offense they can unleash. With The Mark's Brothers, Mark Duper, and Mark Clayton, anything can happen! The tandem totaled 399 all-purpose yards against the Bills, with three touchdowns! Miami has the #7th Ranked defense in the LIEFL behind Indianapolis #6th Ranked defense! And, on offense Miami Ranked #15th in the LIEFL behind Indianapolis #3rd Ranked Offense in the league. The Colts have the gem! Joseph Addai is the LIEFL Offensive Player of the Year, voted on by the coaches. In 2023, Addai, stormed the league with a trailblazing 64 touches for 1767 all-purpose yards, with 12 touchdowns! And Indy has Marvin Harrison and Raymond Berry who can unleash their own offensive firepower! Addai will have his hands full though, up against the proven Dolphins frontline led by LIEFL All-Pro's Larry Little and Jason Taylor! If the special teams performs for both of these teams, this could be a very high scoring game. It's really all about the coaching and in Billy O'C absence, this league has run very smooth and we expect no different today. COLTS SPLASH ON DOLPHINS 52-45 HEADING TO COLOSSAL MATCHUP WITH CHARGERS IN FIRST AFC CG! The opening kickoff for the AFC Divisional Championship Game!With a full house everybody wanted to see this game between Bobby Biggs playing with the Colts and Joe Bino playing with the Dolphins with the downtown Indianapolis skyline in the background. Joseph Addai had the engines driving on a 44-yard kick return blasted by Mercury Morris at the 44 yard line of the Colts. One play later on a blistering run, Addai ran through the three hole 56 yards around the Left end with pep, and the place was going wild, giving the Colts the lead 7-0, with 12:46 remaining in the first quarter! Wow the energy is unbelievable! Ah, oh man! The fireworks have started early! Dolphins Mark Duper returned a 41-yard kickoff for the Dolphins and in one play, Mercury Morris blasted around the left side of the Colts defense for a 59-yard touchdown to tie the score at 7-7! No way! No sir! At the moment Joseph Addai is not having it! Addai just returned 100-yard kick return Christmas present for Joe Bino's Dolphins, to put the Colts ahead 14-7, with 8:13 remaining in the first quarter! What an AFC Divisional Championship Game and match up! Who's going to slow down the pace? It's a show, an electrifying show worth the and watch! Colts superstar Joseph Addai, the LIEFL Player of the Year, came to hook these Dolphins their way! Addai deserves that label "superstar" he has earned it this season! Colts Coach for today Bobby Biggs, has something in common as the underdog in this league, and he's answering all the questions that everybody had when they doubted him before today's game! We have a long way to go. On the next kick return Miami's Mark Duper ran a scorching 65-yard return to set up Mercury Morris. Morris blazed around the left side of the Indianapolis defense for a 35-yard touchdown run into the end zone with 5 minutes remaining in the first quarter! Tie score, 14-14! Don't leave your seat folks! We are watching some tremendous talent on the field! It's ok to boast as an outsider watching this game. Already you can feel that this is going to be a heartbreaker for somebody! Coach Bino is very happy with the Dolphins performance and the Miami front line! What a game! On the Colts next kick return Joseph Addai again, exploded on a 58-yard run. And it only took one more play for Addai to show the league what a superstar can do. Addai marched a 42-yard touchdown run through the left side of the Dolphins defense to give the Colts a 21-14 lead, in an electrifying game literally! This is one for the ages! We invited Lonell Powell to film the Super Bowl because no one films an electric football game like Powell. We will see if he can do it! The first quarter came to a close and what a first quarter it's been! Indianapolis 21 - Miami 14! Listen to this. Colts running back Joseph Addai had an unthinkable 300-all purpose yard first quarter with three touchdowns already! Mercury Morris has been phenomenal as well. Morris has 94 rushing yards with two touchdowns, and Mark Duper as 106-yards on kick returns already! SECOND QUARTER: My goodness! Mark Duper kicked off the second quarter with a thrilling 100-yard kick return to tie the score at 21-21! This one's going to be historic! We wish we were making this up, but clearly Joseph Addai is not going to surrender today. Addai just ran back his second 100-yard kick return of the half to give the Colts a tight 28-21 lead, in a magical game. Trying to search the right words for this game is impossible! Addai with blazing speed just turned on the afterburners in this LIEFL game of electric football! How do they do it? Marvin Harrison followed Addai running from the other side of the field, also with blazing speed. This Indianapolis Colts team is a very fast! On the Dolphins next kick return it was Mark Duper again who returned another great kick 42-yards. On first down, the Dolphins wouldn't be stopped. Mercury Morris ran for nine yards. On second down, Morris bolted for a 49-yard blast into the end zone with Mark Clayton hooked onto Raymond Berry as his lead blockers. Unbelievable! Morris used Clayton as his blocker all the way downfield and into the end zone to tie the score at 28-28, with 7:27 remaining in the half of this special football game! These are once in a lifetime games that will always be treasured in the LIEFL, especially when the magic comes alive like it has today! The Indianapolis Colts coach Bobby Biggs has played an enormous game. Biggs showing the coaches that he is the real deal on this last drive of the half. After a 56 yard kick return by Joseph Addai, the Colts were very strategic and winding down this clock to end the half, forcing Miami to use both of their timeouts with a barrage of five short runs with Addai doing the power work, with a total 27-yards after a key third down catch by Raymond Berry! Berry's catch gave the Colts the first down to set up the 27-yards by Addai! Indianapolis landed in Miami territory at the eight yard line, with 1:03 remaining in the half. The Colts took their last time out of the half. Unbelievable! of all the people to come through for the Colts it was Bronko Nagurski who was double covered in the end zone, but he made a key touchdown catch to give the Colts the lead going into the second half! Nagurski rarely sees the football. He's just a blocking back, but not to Bobby Biggs. He saw something in Nagurski that no one else has this season and he used it to the Colts scoring advantage by throwing a gorgeous missile to Nagurski between two defenders, right on the numbers to put the Colts ahead 35-28! That was an End to the one of the best first halves of electric football ever! COLTS 35 - DOLPHINS 28 THIRD QUARTER: The Colts have the advantage! That risky pass by Bobby Biggs could win him this football game, and it will be Biggs may play in the AFC Championship Game if they win, but it's not a guarantee especially when $3,200 dollars is on the line for Bino .. Batta Bing! On the Dolphins opening kick return to begin the second half, Mark Duper ran back of 42-yard kick. Mimi's offense kicked in. Mercury Morris ran for 21-yards, then 4 yards, and then on second down, he was stopped by a Colts defense like we've never seen before! They were ferocious! On a third down pass attempt, Bino's Dolphins had nobody open and the Colts stopped the drive, forcing a fourth down, with 6:40 remaining in the third quarter! The Dolphins kicked a 43-yard field-goal, which made the score 35-31 Colts in the lead! Miami is in trouble with the ball going back to Joseph Addai and the Colts! What a way to capitalize! Joseph Addai brought his best game with him today as he opened up the Colts first possession with another mind-boggling all-world 100-yard kick return to put these Indianapolis Colts in Championship form, beating a great Dolphins team, 42-31! The Colts have the lead with 5:06 remaining in the third quarter with the clock running! Oh my God! What's stopping the Colts now? Coach Bino is stunned! But why should he be, Addai is the Offensive Player of the Year in this league, and he's stopping nothing short of making a plastic figure statement on "his third" 100-yard kick return of the game! This guy has lit up the Dolphins defense like no one else! It has been exhausting watching this game. On Miami's next kick return by Mark Duper ran back 41-yards. And it only took Mercury Morris in one play to run 59-yards into the end zone on an another blistering run to score for the Dolphins. The Colts still have the lead 42-38 with the third quarter ending! There's 15 minutes left to go in the game, and boy this one's been historic! It's been nothing but action-packed offense and defense by two tremendous football teams! Bobby Biggs is no fool and it's speculation at the moment, but could it be for one second that Bino underestimated, thinking he had a weak opponent in Biggs, and that Biggs would make mistakes with the Colts? Man has Bobby Biggs delivered! The Indianapolis Colts have a slew of franchise players. LIEFL All-Pro Linebacker Robert Mathis is a towering 67-Big Man, and he and Quenton Nelson, along with Bubba Smith and Elmer Collett have been super this year paving the way for Addai! Joseph Addai just ran back his seventh kick return of the game to the Colts own 39 yard line after that last Miami touchdown. He was stopped on his first two runs, but on third down Bobby Biggs aired it out, connecting with receiver Raymond Berry for an explosive 60-yard first down to the two yard line of Miami, with 10:13 remaining in the game! Wow what offense today! On the Colts next possession, after three attempts running, Joseph Addai was denied by the Miami defense and Jason Taylor with Larry Little on all three runs, forcing a fourth down. It was Raymond Berry who broke free again, covered by Mercury Morris in the end zone, but Bobby Biggs has skills. Biggs, the risk taker through another rocket hitting Berry right on the numbers to give the Colts the nail, hammer, and coffin after drowning the Dolphins and taking the take the lead, 49-38! Incredible game! With 2:40 remaining in the game a startled Joe Bino called a time out! A coach should never get their hopes too high in this league. We are sure Bino has to be asking himself all kinds of questions, like why didn't he play with the Colts and why the Dolphins? We may never know. Miami switched it up a bit before the next play by handing the kickoff to Mark Clayton on this next kick return. Duper has had enough. Clayton ran an amazing 82-yard kick return until he was tackled by another Indy tough guy, Tony Parker. Miami called the first time out of the second half with 1:58 to go in the game. They Dolphins lined up for a passing play. And wide open was Mark Duper who blazed into the end zone from 18-yards to give the Dolphins another score! Colts 49 - Dolphins 45! Miami refuses to surrender! They better accept it at this point given the way Addai is playing! The Dolphins called their last time out with 1:33 to play in the game. After an 11-yard first down, the Colts kicked the game ending field goal from the 20-yard line to upset the Miami Dolphins 52-45, as the Indianapolis Colts (8-1) advances to their first ever AFC Championship Game to face the Los Angeles Chargers (7-1) in what is now expected to be a fantastic showdown! ! This game will go down in history for our loyal readers which is a few of you! We hope you enjoyed the reading! Coach Joe Bino said after the game, "I don't think I ever imagined Bobby Biggs would play this great, but that's why I picked him, because I wanted a game. Now I've seen him play, and I like what he does. It's okay if we lost. How can I knock Joseph Addai with the game that he played today. If there was an all world team, he'd be on it and so would Mercury Morris. I can't be upset if I give my all, and I really didn't make any mistakes in the game. This team just got outperformed and the Colts were the better team." The Dolphins defense gave up major yards. The Colts touched the ball 24 times for 742 all-purpose yards, with seven touchdowns, including Addai's 300 yarder returns for touchdowns, and one thing's for sure, the Chargers are not facing the same old Colts, they came to play right out of the gate! Miami wasn't too shabby themselves. The Dolphins touched the ball 17 times for 667 all purpose yards, with six touchdowns, including Mark Duper's 100 yard kick return. Duper had seven touches for 349-yards with two touchdowns! Mercury Morris ran all over the Colts with nine rushes for 236 yards, with four touchdowns including two 59-yard runs. But we can't ignore the player of the day Joseph Addai who ran like a superstar! Addai carried the ball 13 times for 136 yards with two rushing touchdowns, including a 56-yard Touchdown run, and he killed it on kick returns on special teams, with seven touches for a whopping 523-yard performance with three 100-yard explosive touchdown runs and five total touchdowns! He put on a show! That is what the LIEFL Player of the Year is supposed to do against a great teams! Miami is not a good team, they're a great team! The Dolphins finish (7-3) in a highly competitive league. Miami will be back to rey again. Bobby Biggs said, "I'm so grateful for the opportunity to play in this historic game. The Colts played like it was their last game of their plastic lives, and they brought the show, they came to life for an hour and we beat one of the most historic teams in the league. It was beautiful to witness an offense who can play anyone around. We came out of nowhere this year! I just hope they could do the same thing against the Chargers, and I hope Bino lets me finish their season out, but what a great matchup! This league could sell tickets to watch the games if they wanted to for sure. This was an electric football show at its best! The intensity and toughness of the teams is fantastic. The Colts will compete when the season is over with the champion of the Nassau League which has already been agreed upon. That is Levi Vicks old league.

Long Island EFL T O U R N A M E N T O F C H A M P I O N S JOHNNY-FREEPORT'S DIRTY BIRDS BELIEVE ... IN A SHATTERING UPSET OVER THE UNBEATEN REDSKINS HANDING THEM ONE HUGE LOSS! We have changed the Super Bowl to Sunday December 31st at 6:00 p.m., because of the holiday season we fell a little bit behind this year but here we go ready to finish strong. Washington Territory in DC. Written by Levi Vick. 3,200 dollars is on the line! This was one of the most highly anticipated matchups of all-time really, and it's a party at Levi Vicks tonight in a double-header event between the red-hot "Dirty Birds" Atlanta Falcons (6-2) who upset the Green Bay Packers 24-14 taking on the undefeated Washington Redskins (7-0), but not so fast. Johnny-Freeport's Falcons are rolling on all cylinders coming into this game both on offense and defense, and the Redskins have been sitting waiting. Coach Viggs said before the game that he knew this would be a tough day, but so did Johnny-Freeport, whose dreams for his Ravens faded away when the Chargers showed that they were the better team in there 28-21 win in the AFC Divisional Championship Game earlier in the day. This game between the undefeated Redskins and the Atlanta Falcons has an entirely different tone to it. Some of the greatest players in the league are involved in this game. No doubt Gerald Riggs has been one of the greatest players all time but the one thing missing is a Super Bowl win for Atlanta. Riggs has all the numbers, and the Falcons have all the offense they need to prove it, but can they beat the almighty Washington Redskins who have had a tremendous season? Coach Viggs said this is a time to focus, and a time to recognize that he has a chance to make more history in this league, but one tiny error can change the historic direction of Washington. Nobody has ever gone undefeated in the seven game season LIEFL format. Viggs is very superstitious, so he told us he's not talking before the game. His focus is on winning. On the other end of the spectrum when it comes to coach Johnny-Freeport this could be the greatest upset in history if the Falcons beat the Redskins, and the attitude amongst coaches that will have to eat their words for doubting Johnny Freeport's talent. It will be interesting, but those Atlanta Falcons are as gritty as they come, but the Redskins have the home field advantage in D.C., Gerald Riggs versus Tony Green, what a great matchup! Pay at the door to see this one! It's hard to mentally prepare for one game, but two in a row at this professional level brings on some great coaching. It's almost like a wrestling tournament ... The last man standing is the winner! Washington's Tony Green is coming off the game of his life with five 100-yard touchdowns totaling 500-yards in the last game of the season against the Giants. It was a historic game! Today's game can be historic as well, but Johnny-Freeport can control that with a win. On the opening kickoff Tony Green ran a blazing 50-yard kick return to set himself up for the undefeated Redskins. Washington had a hard time getting the ball going on the ground and on first down, running into a wall of Atlanta defenders! The Atlanta defense came up strong once again, stopping Green at the line of scrimmage. On second down, Green ran for a 5-yard gain. He was stopped again on third down, but on 4th down the caught a 9-yard pass to get the first down for the Redskins. The next series green started with a 10 yd first down. On the next two plays the Atlanta Falcons defense came up big with LIEFL All-Pro lineman Bill Fralic hitting Green hard behind the line of scrimmage for a 13-yard loss. Wow! The Redskins were forced to pass on third down, and Skins fullback John Riggins managed to catch a seven yard pass on the play, forcing a fourth down situation. Coach of Viggs had no choice from the 30 yard line but to kick a 30-yard field goal to give the Redskins the 3-0 lead as the first quarter came to a close! Viggs used the entire quarter to score and keep the ball out of Atlanta's Gerald Riggs possession. At the start of the second quarter Gerald Riggs touched the ball for the first time in the game and he ran 60-yards on the Falcons first kick return. After two failed runs facing a hard hitting Washington Redskins defense, on third down Falcons receiver Austin Hooper exploded 45-yards into the end zone to give the Atlanta the lead 7-3, with 10:13 remaining in a half. Hooper had a great defensive game last game. What do we have going on here? These two coaches have such intensity that it's hard to ignore as they hone in on the game. So now Johnny Freeport did the same thing as he did last game by using Julio Jones as a decoy and instead, Freeport connected with the speedy Hooper for the touchdown with the Nation's Capital in the background. On Tony Green's next kick return of the game he ran it back 87 yards on a stunner. The Washington running game has had trouble all year and against this Falcons "Dirty Bird" defense, they were stopped on two straight plays, but on third down, Redskins receiver Art Monk ran a crossing pattern from the 22 yard line into the end zone to give the Redskins to lead 10-7 with 3:48 remaining in the half and the Redskins called their first time out of the half. On the ensuing kickoff Gerald Riggs ran back another beautiful 59-yard return. On first down, the Falcons wasted no time. They went right back to Riggs for a 10-yd pass play to bring the ball to the 31-yard line of the Redskins with 1:36 remaining in the half, and the Falcons called their first time out with one more remaining. The pace of the game is extremely fast. On an explosive first down play Gerald Riggs caught a 31-yard pass and took it into the end zone for the score with 1:19 remaining in the half the Redskins called their final timeout with the score 14-10 Falcons in the lead! To close out the first half Tony Green ran the ball back 48-yards and Coach Viggs waited till there were 2 seconds remaining on the clock to kick the field goal from 48-yards away to make the score 14-13, with the Atlanta Falcons beating the Washington Redskins at the half! In a great game the second half started off with a boom as Gerald Riggs launched a 58-yard kickoff return to open the second half. Riggs then ran for an 11-yard first down until he was stopped, but then he ran for another 11-yard first down as the Falcons worked their way downfield to the Washington 25-yard line eating up the clock and the gridiron. Coach Johnny-Freeport aired it out, firing the ball connecting with a wide open Gerald Riggs in the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown pass! The Falcons went for the two-point conversion which Julio Jones caught at the two yard line with Jones running it in for the two points to make the score Falcons 22 - Redskins 13 what may be the making of a blockbuster upset! This game is even better than television for entertainment. For sure, there's lots of excitement and hard-hitting in this game with 3:14 remaining in the third quarter! Tony Green returned Washington's next kick return 44-yards, followed by a 6-yard run to midfield. That ended the third Quarter! There is 15 minutes left in the game! And at this moment it looks like it's a possible historic upset in the making. On the Redskins next play, Tony Green exploded for 35 yards to the left side of the field on a great touchdown run! Falcons 22 Redskins 19! The Redskins will go for the two-point conversion. And Art Monk caught a sharp pass at the end of the Right side of the end zone to score on the two-point conversion, making the score Falcons 22 Redskins 21, with 9:04 remaining in the game! Gerald Riggs wasn't finished yet! Riggs exploded for a 58-yard kick return on the next kickoff for the Falcons. After being stopped on first down, Riggs blew the doors off the Redskins defense with a 42-yard touchdown scamper into the end zone to give Atlanta the 28-21 lead, and Atlanta will go for the two-point conversion again. Wide open in the endzone on the conversion was Austin Hooper who caught the two-point conversion to make the score 30-21 Falcons are in the lead! A shocker! Coach Viggs was in disbelief! After a 49 yard kick return by Tony Green the Redskins aired it out on first down with Coach Viggs hitting Green for a 12-yard first down with 1:32 remaining in the game, and the Redskins called their first time out with one remaining. On the next play Art Monk caught a 21-yard first down from Viggs to bring the ball to the 19-yard line, and the Redskins called their last time out with 1:18 remaining in the game. The magnitude of this game is coming to its conclusion with Coach Viggs starting to realize that his Redskins are going to lose their first game of the season against a fantastic football team.! The Falcons have been knocking at the door for years and they realize that they still have a huge obstacle to overcome in the game between the Panthers and the Bears. The Panthers have owned their division rival Falcons. But let's see if Johnny Freeport can figure it out. The Redskins decided to kick the useless field goal from the 4-yard line with no time left to set up, and the Atlanta Falcons will sit and wait to play the NFC Championship Game against the winner of the Panthers and the Bears!!! Viggs still has his Chargers left in the tournament. This loss is very hard to accept for Ed Viggs, but he shook Johnny-Freeport's hand and told him what a great coach he is, giving Freeport the respect he deserves after achieving a major upset that shattered the Redskins dreams of being the first undefeated team in the seven game season format! What a way to end with Freeport saying nothing for the first time! It was great play calling great play calling by Johnny-Freeport using decoys, outside runs, involving different players who haven't been scouted, and mixing it up. The Atlanta Falcons (7-2) were just too much for the Washington Redskins (7-1) today. LIEFL Hall of Fame Falcons running back Gerald Riggs, had 15 touches for 365 all-purpose yards, with three touchdowns in the game. Riggs rushed nine times for 64 yards, with a 42 yard blazing touchdown. He had four kick returns for 235-yards, with a long run of 60 yards, and in receiving, he caught three passes for 66 yards with two touchdowns, including a 31 yard touchdown! Gerald Riggs gets the game ball again! This offensive player is hard to match and he would be a huge star in any League! Go Falcons! Atlanta will play the winner of the Bears-Panthers game! Is the magic with the Falcons?

Long Island EFL T O U R N A M E N T O F C H A M P I O N S (Long Island Electric Football League) Written By Levi Vick. It has been another exciting Tournament of Champions this season. The intensity and rise to battle has certainly not what we expected. The final four are some incredible matchups. In fact, it's all about the matchups at this point. We finally reached the AFC Divisional Championships, and in this case Coach Ed Viggs Chargers are one of the most winningest teams in the league, but they are not without flaws. Ravens coach Johnny-Freeport is a master at exposing people's flaws. He's been doing it his entire career professionally. Let's start with the Chargers defense. Los Angeles had the #2 ranked defense in the league. They allowed only 74 points against opposing offenses, but this year on offense, the Chargers offense wasn't what it usually is. They were #13th in AFC offensive rankings with 100 points scored, tied with Cincinnati. THE FINAL FOUR PRE-GAME: Who will be the Iron Giant of 2023? The Los Angeles Chargers have been a very consistent electric football team, all except the Championship Games. The Chargers fell short in LIEFL-Super Bowl XIV against the Los Angeles Rams, 31-28. Since that time Los Angeles has not made many changes on either side of the ball prior to this year. In 2019, in the AFC Divisional Championship Game, Los Angeles lost to Buffalo in one of the most disputed games in LIEFL Playoff History 49-48, in a huge contentious issue over time. Then in 2020, the Chargers lost to Miami in the AFC Championship Game 32-27, and finally, in 2022, LA lost to Miami for the second consecutive time in the AFC Divisional Championship Game, 42-35! Will the Chargers fold against the red-hot Baltimore Ravens? Suddenly, underdog Johnny-Freeport has become the hunter instead of the hunted in the league, which brings great drama to some exciting games in this Davey versus Goliath matchup! That answer to the "who will fold" question is up to Coach Johnny-Freeport's Wild Card #5 Baltimore Ravens (4-4) to answer. The Ravens are at Coach Ed Viggs #1 Los Angeles Chargers( 6-1) in the first AFC Divisional Championship Game, and facing Coach Joe Bino's #2 Indianapolis Colts (7-1) are Bino's the Wild Card #6 Miami Dolphins (6-2), who will square off in a war! Coach Bobby Biggs will be the alternate coach selected by Coach Joe Bino to play with Bino's Indianapolis Colts. This decision was questioned by the league, but Bino thinks that Biggs play-style compliments the Colts play! It is Bino's choice. In the NFC Divisional Championship Games it will be the Coach Ed Viggs #1 unbeaten Washington Redskins (7-0) hosting Coach Johnny-Freeport's Wild Card #5 Atlanta Falcons (6-2) in the first game, followed by Game two between Coach Paddy Brannigan's Wild Card #7 Chicago Bears (5-3) will play Coach Matt Zoo-York's Carolina Panthers (6-2) at Carolina! On paper, it may seem like a mismatch between the Ravens against the Chargers, but reality is, Los Angeles has been in this spot many times before as seven-time AFC West Champs, and Chargers Coach Ed Viggs sees Johnny-Freeport's determination in his chase for a Super Bowl win. Since the 2008 inaugural seven-game season format in the LIEFL Los Angeles has a (38-18) regular season record, and in the postseason they are (5-4) with three AFC Championship Game and one Super Bowl appearance! What is different about the Chargers this season is a slow but systematic change in how Coach Ed Viggs sees his offense. Instead of LaDainian Tomlinson being the major shareholder touching the ball, Viggs is trying to get other players to score more points in his offensive system, but so far, his analytics has failed. Tomlinson finished #8 in AFC rushing with 38 carries for 401-yards with seven touchdowns, versus his 2022 numbers where the star had 55 rushes for a league best 743-yards rushing with 12 touchdowns. That is a major shift for the Chargers offense, and in looking at these numbers it is clear that Viggs plan is not working. He thought that Lance Alworth would be the difference maker, but Viggs started using Alworth mid season. Alworth has performed great, but it seems Tomlinson needs the touches to stay in the game. Alworth has taken away 11 touches and 672-yards, including four touchdowns from Tomlinson by handling the kick return responsibilities, but Viggs contends that the Chargers have had the same results, a (6-1) record. "These big games on paper are nice, but they may be misleading when it comes to productivity and reality on the field. What is missing in stats is coaching decisions. I would say that 75% of my losses are my own doing. We all can improve and that is my goal, to always improve so my teams perform better. I don't get entangled in the emotional side of things. The numbers that matter to me are the wins and the losses, and in the big games like this where as coaches we need to be ready for anything. We beat the Ravens once, and we will have to beat them again if we want to make a Super Bowl. Johnny-Freeport and I have the same goal, but it comes down to who wants it more. I think we have equal coaching ability and I just have to bring some surprises today," said Coach Viggs. CHARGERS ADVANCE TO ANOTHER AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME AFTER SILENCING RAVENS OFFENSE IN A GAME OF EXECUTION! After what we've seen in Johnny-Freeport's Ravens, the excitement filled the air! No one really knew what to expect, but the former athletes Ed Viggs certainly had his game face on, and a towering and imposing 6'4" 250 pound Johnny-Freeport came walking through the the door to play! Viggs is an all-day 60 minute guy. He won't give in! On the opening kickoff Lance Alworth ran back a fast 54-yard return. On the field, Chargers LIEFL All-Pro running back LaDainian Tomlinson LT, has been a great running back behind a mountainous front line led by Earl Faison, Ernie Ladd, and Russ Washington, but from the opening kickoff it was evident that the Ravens came to battle! This isn't the same Ravens team that we saw in the last week of the regular season. It's beautiful to watch teams grow, and the Baltimore aura has arrived! It took the Chargers of the entire first quarter to score a touchdown in a battle Los Angeles expected. LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 12 yards on first down. Tomlinson was met with great resistance by the resurging Ravens defense led by Willie Anderson, Marshall Yanda, and LIEFL All-Pro Jon Ogden. On the next play, the Ravens stopped Tomlinson again! Then on second down Tomlinson ran for three yards. On 3rd down, he was stuffed again behind the line of scrimmage. It took two more running plays for Coach Viggs to decide to pass the ball when he connected with receiver Kellen Winslow Sr., on a 19-yard pass play, bringing the ball to the Baltimore 13-yard line. LaDainian Tomlinson finally got into the end zone on a big 13-yard run as the first quarter came to a close with the score, Chargers 7-0, in the lead. Coach Viggs strikes first, using up the entire first quarter. The Ravens came storming right back with a 56-yard kick return by LIEFL All-Pro Derrick Mason. Jamal Lewis picked up where he left off the last two games with a relentless Ravens running attack. Lewis had a 12-yard first down on his first run, and then on second down he exploded 33-yards into the end zone to tie the score at 7-7! What a play by the Ravens. They seem in sinct and the teamwork is incredible. It was Coach Ed Viggs again, killing the clock with a 66 yard kick return by Lance Alworth. On first down, LaDainian Tomlinson who ran for two yards and then LT exploded for 27 more yards on second down as the Chargers found suddenly found themselves at the four-yard line of Baltimore. On the next two plays Los Angeles got roughed up and stomped back 16-yards with an attitude by the Ravens defense to bring up a third down, where they called a time out with 2:28 remaining in the half! What a great war! We don't know really what Johnny Freeport did to inspire these Ravens, but they are playing tough! Picking up on the play on 3rd down with 2:28 remaining in the half, it was receiver Lance Alworth who broke free at the 21 yardline and into the end zone to give the Chargers the 14-7 lead! The Ravens have to call their second timeout! Holy cow! Derrick Mason returned a short 41-yard kick on the ensuing kickoff, but did he make up for it on the first play from scrimmage with a 59-yard bomb into the end zone on a great pass play by Johnny Freeport to tie the score at 14-14! Running side by side with Mason was Tomlinson on the coverage! And like magic the game is tied with 23 seconds remaining in the half! The Chargers used their first time out of the half! This game is all about executing the big plays! On the ensuing and final kickoff for the Chargers in the first half, Lance Alworth ran back a stunning and speedy 87-yard kick return to the 12-yard line of the Ravens! Los Angeles had to make a choice here. It's like deja Vu from the Falcons-Packers game with the choices. It seemed coach Viggs had to make a similar choice yesterday and that play didn't work out for his Packers. Let's see if the Chargers have any luck. So what will he do on this play? Does he choose to take the lead by three, or does he go for it all and the shoot for the touchdown? Coach Viggs chose to go for it all! And on a trick play Viggy ran a clever quarterback sneak around the Ravens defense from 12-yards away, into the end zone to take the lead, 21-14! "Booyah Viggs said!" What a play! Don't think Johnny-Freeport expected that one. Viggs just clenched his fist in what is becoming a very intense battle! It has been an awesome game by both teams. The teams are basically an even matchup. It's all about execution and Alworth should have been in the end zone on that 87-yard run back, but it just wasn't meant to be. The pressure cooker is cooking in this AFC Divisional Championship Game battle! To open up the second half, Ravens star Derrick Mason ran back 45 yard kick return. And on first down for Baltimore, the Chargers defense went wild as Kellen Winslow Sr., pulled down Jamal Lewis for a huge 12-yard loss, bringing the ball back to the 33-yard line of the Ravens. Johnny-Freeport cannot let the Chargers gain the momentum! This time Jamal Lewis was stopped on his first two runs at the 33-yard line. On 3rd down, Lewis grabbed a great 27-yard first down at the Los Angeles 39-yard line. Then Lewis ran for 9 yards on first down until the Ravens were stopped on the next two plays, with 4:29 remaining in the third quarter, the Ravens had nobody open on 3rd down. This play forced another very difficult decision for Coach Johnny-Freeport under harsh pressure. At the Los Angeles 41-yard line, the Ravens decided to go for it because at this point they had nothing left to lose. They needed the first down desperately. Snap! And on 4th down, Baltimore couldn't get the first down, and the Ravens have to turn the ball over to the Chargers at their own 45-yard line with 3:12 remaining in the third quarter. Coach Viggs is going to have no quit in him. And after two runs totaling six yards by LaDainian Tomlinson, the buzz sounded for the end of the third quarter. There is just 15 minutes left to go in the AFC Divisional Championship Game and the Chargers are at the 50-yard line. They have to get to the 36 for the first down. Wow! On third down, Lance Alworth bolted 50-yards into the end zone to put the Chargers ahead 28-14, with 14:39 remaining in the game! The Chargers and coach Ed Viggs is coaching a brilliant game! The crazy part about this game is Viggs has to face Johnny-Freeport again with his unbeaten Washington Redskins against the Atlanta Falcons in the next game today! The two will take an hour break after this game and then come back at it! Los Angeles has the venom spewing in the chase for a title, and boy did these Chargers come to play today! There is no doubt who the better team is today. Derrick Mason ran back a 37-yard play. Mason has had a tough day! The Chargers defense came up huge after the 37-yard kick return by Mason as Kellen Winslow Sr., made a big tackle in the backfield for a 3-yard loss. So far no talk from Johnny Freeport, and so far, things have not turned out the way he planned.On second down Jamal Lewis ran for an 11-yard first down to the 47-yard line of the Ravens, with 9:39 remaining in the game. The clock is ticking away! On a beautiful third down play by the Ravens, Johnny-Freeport executed! He connected on a 19-yard pass play to Derrick Mason to bring the ball to the 41 of the Chargers with 6:25 remaining in the game! No quit in Freeport! After a one-yard run by Jamal Lewis, Johnny Freeport went up in the air again and connected with tight end Mark Andrews on a 17 yard first down to the 23-yard line of the Chargers, with 2:51 remaining in the game. The Ravens called their first time out! On a tremendous third down effort, Derrick Mason was hit hard in the end zone by LaDainian Tomlinson while Mason scored on a 23-yard touchdown to bring the Ravens within reach, with the Chargers ahead 28-21 with 2:39 remaining on the game clock! It was Lance Alworth again who ran back the final kick return of the game to the 50 yard line. The Chargers wasted no time, they wanted more! On first down, Baltimore gave Alworth the ball,but he was hit hard by Ravens tight end Mark Andrews. The Chargers called their first time out of the second half with 15 seconds remaining in the game, and they're setting for a pass play. Ed Viggs gave the handoff to Lance Alworth who brought a 5-yard pass play to the 45-yard line of the Baltimore Ravens, and that ended the game right there! The Los Angeles Chargers advance on a huge win against a stubborn Baltimore Ravens football team. Johnny-Freeport walked away without saying anything. He just shook Viggy's hand knowing that he'll have another chance to play another great football team, the undefeated Washington Redskins against the Atlanta Falcons coming up next! Viggy said nothing! Los Angeles Chargers 28 - Baltimore Ravens 21 The Chargers will wait for the winner of the Dolphins- Colts game! The Ravens were slowed down by a determined Los Angeles defense. They played hard, holding a great running back in Jamal Lewis to 11 carries for just 66-yards with a big 33-yard touchdown run for Lewis. It was Derrick Mason who struggled in this one. Mason had seven touches for 281 all-purpose yards with two receiving touchdowns! Baltimore had 20 touches for 391 all-purpose yards with three touchdowns against the Chargers. Los Angeles also totaled 391 all-purpose yards on 19 touches, with four touchdowns! The hero of the day was Lance Alworth who had seven touches for 328 all-purpose yards with two touchdowns, including a huge 87 yard kick return when the Chargers need it most! LA awaits the winner of the Miami-Indianapolis AFC Divisional Championship Game to play the AFC Championship Game.

Long Island EFL Tournament of Champions The Playoffs are brutal! The Final Four have arrived! With two major upsets in the tournament so far, we saw the Rams fall to the Bears 35-31, and in another tremendous upset we saw the Ravens stomp the Broncos 31-25! Will there be another upset in the 2023 Tournament of Champions? Indeed there is! Which Green Bay Packers (4-3) will show up today against the "Dirty Birds" Atlanta Falcons (5-2). For sure, this is a great game scheduled between Coach Ed Viggs Pack and the huge winner of the Ravens Broncos battle yesterday, Johnny-Freeport, who had perhaps, the upset of the LIEFL Tournament of Champions thus far! Coach Ed Viggs Green Bay Packers started the season like trail blazers on a mission with wins over New Orleans, Carolina, Chicago, and division rival Detroit, but that changed Midway through the season when they lost a tough battle to the NY Giants, then the Las Vegas Raiders, and finale they dropped the season finale to the Kansas City Chiefs, 24-21. That was a blow to Coach Viggs, but he vows revenge in his own way. The one thing that has been solid for the Packers all year long is running back Terdell Middleton the NFC Rushing Champion and LIEFL #2 ranked rusher who best out the usual rushing God, Gerald Riggs. Middleton balled his way through opponents with 674 yards rushing with 12 touchdowns, and that says something about the Green Bay Packers offensive line. LIEFL All-Pro Cullen Jenkins lead the way. The Packers have to be one of the most underestimated teams in the NFC, but they proved their worth in LIEFL-Super Bowl XVI when Sterling Sharpe ran back a 100-yard kick return on the last play of the game with seconds left to beat the Miami Dolphins 52-49 in a Super Bowl stunner! The Pack needs to manage the clock, control the ball, stop Gerald Riggs, and most of all, they need that high-calibur playstyle from Sharpe today.The Packers have to take risks and unleash Sharpe in order to stay in this game, and the Falcons just have to rise to the occasion on the road and do what they do best, score points. The Atlanta Falcons come into this game once again as a Wild Card Team after a tremendous disappointing upset loss in last year's Wild Card game when the Falcons lost the the NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers 37-31, in overtime! But judging by the way Johnny-Freeport just played against the Denver Broncos, in his Ravens upset, Freeport showed us some serious discipline, and his ability to play under immense pressure in a fast-paced game was Freeport t his best. He will need to be sat his best against the Packers and coach Viggs today. Freeport loves to set the pace and he loves to control the narrative. The league is very mindful of this character. The Packers have dropped in defense this year, or the competition has improved. At #12 in the LIEFL, Green Bay better show immense pressure to the Falcons, or it's going to be a long day because they are playing a better than average offense in Atlanta who ranks #2 in the LIEFL. Atlanta is at #18 defensively. Stopping the best offense in the NFC will be a challenge for Green Bay, but Coach Viggs will never tell his plans. Besides receiver Julio Jones, when Gerald Riggs gets the ball opponents never know what is going to happen. Johnny-Freeport has relied heavily on Jones who was the NFC Receiving Champion this year, to make big plays when Riggs gets stopped in the running game. Jones also won the LIEFL Best Receiver Award! Freeport said he doesn't care about awards, he wants titles! Coach Kevin Mac said, "One of the biggest problems is the expectations coaches have after a Bowl victory. We can't expect the same teams to win back to back to back titles in this fiercely competitive league, and with the great LIEFL Draft we hold annually. We are seeing that to win a $3200 dollar Super Bowl is getting harder and harder." Coach Paddy Brannigan said, "But, if a team has great players, then that's that. The talent has to continue to improve and process improvement is everything in this league. That's why the draft is so important. To win two titles in this league or I am sure, any league these days, is next to impossible with the competition out there." JOHNNY-FREEPORT'S DIRTY BIRDS KNOCK OFF THE PACK ... ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST! The Green Bay Packers opened the game with Sterling Sharpe returning a 46 yard run. The Packers emerged immediately on some nifty running by this year's NFC Rushing Champ, Terdell Middleton! On the first four plays from scrimmage, Middleton ran for two, 39, five, and three yards, landing the Packers at the 5-yard line of Atlanta. Middleton could not get in though! He was pushed back by a wall of Falcons to the 15-yard line by a ferocious defense. On the Packers next play, Don H u s t o n broke free on a pass play from Coach Viggs for the score from 15-yards away to give the Packers the lead 7-0! Green Bay used up nearly the entire first quarter time clock. That told Johnny-Freeport the obvious, that when Coach Ed Viggs Packers get the ball, their number one priority is to keep the ball out of Falcons running back Gerald Riggs hands, by managing the clock. Riggs ran just two plays back to end quarter, one was the 34-yard kick return, and on the next play, he was stopped on first down by the Packers defense. To begin the second quarter, Gerald Riggs burst 16-yards right through the gut of the Packers defense, and then on second down he ran for another 23-yards with the Falcons front line barreling through the Packers defense again. This time on first down, Green Bay stepped up with Ray Nitschke making a monster tackle on Riggs. On second down, Riggs ran for another 10-yards to earn another first down for the Atlanta at the Green Bay 17-yard line, where the Packers stopped the Falcons on second down. The Pack front three of LIEFL-All-Pro Cullen Jenkins, Willie Davis, and Reggie White, pushed the Falcons front line, but the Dirty Birds led by LIEFL All-Pro Bill Fralic battled right back. Atlanta was at the 19-yard line of Green Bay with 5:57 remaining in the half. This game has been mostly a defensive game so far but a darn good one! On first down for Atlanta, Green Bay's Don H u s t o n crushed Gerald Riggs in the backfield for another 8-yard loss, bringing the ball to the Green Bay 28-yard line with second down coming. On third down with huge coverage on Falcons receiver Julio Jones by the Packers, Johnny-Freeport had a play of his own up his sleeve when Jamal Anderson came out nowhere from the left side of the field and he was wide open to catch a 28-yard touchdown play to tie the score at 7-7, with 3:08 remaining and a half in the Packers call their first time out of the half! WOW! This is turning into a great war between Viggs and Freeport! After a 41-yard kick return by Packers Sterling Sharpe Viggs had all the faith in the world in Terdell Middleton as Middleton exploded on a 59-yard touchdown run on first down to give the Packers the lead 14-7, with 1:19 remaining in the half! It forced the Falcons to take their first time out of the half! What a run by Middleton as he got away from the Falcons defense to score! With 1:19 remaining in the half Gerald Riggs returned an electrifying 61-yard kick return to the Packers 39-yard line. Johnny-Freeport decided to air it out, but there was no one to throw to and instead the quarterback ran for a 10-yard first down bringing the ball to the 29-yard line with the clock running as the Falcons kicked the field goal from the 29 to make the score Green Bay 14 - Atlanta 10 to end the first half! Both teams toughed it out! The Falcons will get the ball to start the third quarter! To kickoff the third quarter Gerald Riggs ran back on 92-yard blazing kick return going out of bounds at the eight yard line! What a run for Riggs and great way to start the third quarter! The Packers stop the Falcons on first down for a 1-yard loss, but on second down Gerald Riggs busted through the three hole and into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game on a huge play with 11:26 remaining in the third quarter, the Falcons are in the lead for the first time, 17-14! On the ensuing kickoff Sterling Sharpe ran back a swift 45-yard kick return to set up Terdell Middleton. On first down, Middleton ran for 5 yards, but on second down he was blasted hard in the backfield by Julio Jones for a loss of a yard. The ball is at the Green Bay 44-yard line on third down with 6:06 remaining in the third quarter. On a risky play Viggs decided to keep the ball on the ground and he picked the guy who got the Pack here all year, Terdell Middleton, who ran for 12-yards for the first down. Viggs is smart. He's doing the best he can to keep the ball out of Gerald Riggs hands. On first down Middleton ran for another seven yards, but he was stopped on second down by the Falcons defense and that was the end of the third quarter! So we are in the last quarter of play with Atlanta in the lead 17-14 over Green Bay with 15 minutes left to go in the game! It's third down for the Packers. On a huge play it was Middleton again who grabbed the first down on a 15-yard pass to set up the Packers at the eight yard line with first and goal to go! What a battle by these two coaches! There's 12:16 remaining in the game. The Packers set up on 4th down in an I-Formation after Sterling Sharpe came up 1-yard short of scoring a touchdown! It leaves coach Viggs an opportunity to kick the field goal or score the touchdown, and he chose to take the risk and run from the one yard line for the seven points. That play may turn out to be the key play of the game. It didn't happen, Terdell Middleton was stopped at the 4-yard line by Falcons lineman Claude Humphrey, and the ball went back to the Falcons! Do we have another upset in the making? Johnny-Freeport is "in-the-zone" playing championship football! There's 4:42 remaining in the game. And what might be the biggest mistake of Ed Viggs LIEFL career with the score 17-14, he let his Packers down as they were stopped on the last play and on Atlanta's first run Gerald Riggs had six yards followed by an 89-yard electrifying run from the line of scrimmage to the one yard line and Johnny-Freeport is going out of his mind! Freeport said, "Stop that Viggy! ... Yes baby yes, just win!" Prime Time Gerald Riggs ran quite the play and it forced the Packers to take their last time out! Freeport took full advantage of another score from one yard out as Jamal Anderson scored his second touchdown of the game, and the Falcons are going to earn a trip to Washington to play the undefeated Redskins (7-0) in what promises to be a battle of Titans! On Sterling Sharpe's last kick return of the game, he returned the ball 32-yards to end the game in a colossal upset with the Falcons winning the game 24-14 over the tough Green Bay! The Falcons had 17 touches for 378 total yards with three touchdowns. It was Gerald Riggs who carried them with 11 rushes for 152 yards including a game-stuffing 89-yard run, plus a touchdown. Riggs did a lot of damage on kick returns with three touches for 187 yards on kick returns with a 92-yard blast to stop Viggs Green Bay Packers. In hindsight, even if they scored that last touchdown, Atlanta had everything in them to score again! Terdell Middleton had 16 carries for 153 yards, with a 59-yard touchdown run. He totaled 17 touches 168 for one touchdown in the game. Sterling Sharpe had five touches for 183 all-purpose yards, with his longest play 46 yards. Green Bay as a team totaled 23 touches for 366 yards with two touchdowns, and the longest one was a 59-yard run. Atlanta topped them with 17 touches for 378-yards and three touchdowns with Gerald Riggs 92-yard return being the longest! What a game Johnny-Freeport upsets coach Ed Viggs! Viggs said, "I'm not going to sit here and make up excuses. We played a really good game against an excellent team, and I gotta tip my hat to JF, because he played a hell of a football game, and he's playing like a coach whose mission is to win a Super Bowl. Towards the end of the game I realized I still have one more shot at his Falcons, and that's going to be with my Redskins." Johnny-Freeport said, "That was a fantastic football game and we will be ready for Viggy's Redskins just like we were ready for these tough Packers."

Long Island EFL T O U R N A M E N T OF C H A M P I O N S JOHNNY-FREEPORT'S RAVENS SHOW THE NASTY SIDE OF ELECTRIC FOOTBALL WITH THEIR HISTORIC UPSET OVER BRONCOS 31-25! (Long Island Electric Football League) AFC Divisional Game. Even though Baltimore lost at LA 21-13 in the season finale to the LA Chargers, Ravens running back Jamal Lewis busted out with 139-yards rushing, Baltimore battled with a vengeance and Baltimore made a statement that they are not the worst team in the playoffs, but that Johnny-Freeport wants his opponens to think that they are. Freeport thinks psychological warfare can work on anyone. The Ravens pushed the Chargers to the limit and perhaps if it wasn't for Lance Alworth the outcome might have been different. The winner of the Baltimore-Denver game will have the honor of playing the #1 Seed Los Angeles Chargers (6-1), while in the Second Round of the AFC Playoffs the Miami Dolphins (6-2) will play play at the Indianapolis Colts (7-1), but not before the NFC Wild Card Game between the Atlanta Falcons (5-2) and the Green Bay Packers (4-3)! The reason why the league has seen the numbers drop for LaDainian Tomlinson is because coach Ed Viggs decided to get more players involved in his offense. Viggs explained that the more players involved on offense, the more damage his team can do scoring. Viggs said, "Johnny and Brannigan can play but so can we! We beat Brannigan's Broncos 21-14 in Week #4, and I am fully aware that Brannigan's defense is a "BAM D". We held Terrell Davis to just 14 yards in that game. I learned that there are other great players in my lineup that I can get the ball to. I was able to get the ball to Alworth who ran back a 100-yard touchdown untouched in that game. He keeps forgetting that he has to get through a highly competitive Broncos team before he gets to my Chargers. At this level I am not going to analyze games, I am just not. All I am saying is I will be ready to compete!" The Ravens offense has to pick up against the number one defense in the league in the Broncos. It's going to take the Ravens all the offensive firepower they have. Leading the way is always Raves lineman Jonathan Ogden, but Denver's defense has big weapons. With Von Miller at linebacker, Karl Mecklenburg at the nose, and Paul Smith who switches from right defensive end to left defensive end, the Ravens offense will have their hands full for running back Jamal Lewis to succeed. The Broncos have played fantastic on the road, and they have not lost a home game this season. This is a Broncos team who beat the tough and gritty New England Patriots in the season finale on New England's home turf. Expect Denver with Terrell Davis to be explosive today. Both of these teams have a chance to make franchise history! The Broncos have had enough of years of not making a Super Bowl, but do they have what it takes to win a Super Bowl? With the #1 defense in the league, and a high-octane offense, Denver has as good a chance as anyone else in this league. It's all about who has the momentum. The Rams in the NFC looked too far ahead, and that is a dangerous thing when there's money involved. It's every man for themselves at this point. Basically, the entire seven game season is a warm up for these amazing playoff games. The hero's and playmakers emerge in the big games and that can carry over to making a Super Bowl. For Coach Patty Brannigan and his Broncos, it's time for Terrell Davis to work past statistics and focus on a Super Bowl. Playing against his pal Johnny Freeport will be an amusing game but when it comes down to putting the soldiers on the field that's a whole different story. These are two fierce competitors. Brannigan has the coaching momentum woking in his favor after coaching his Chicago Bears to the upset victory over the Rams in the first round AFC Wild Card Game! In this game Brannigans Broncos has to come out and be the Boss! Brannigan said, "I have a great plan in my mind and I'm confident that my Broncos will show up to play. My mindset is to focus on every play and meet the challenge of the Ravens. It's been an incredible tournament so far, and I still cannot believe that game between the Cowboys and Panthers last night. What a game that was. After watching the Panthers execute I think they can go to a Super Bowl. But really, Levi should have made that field goal. That was his second mistake of the game. His first was going for the two-point conversion and being stopped earlier in the game. Sometimes foreseeing can work against a coach, especially the good coaches. He may have underestimated what Matt Zoo-York can achieve under pressure. The Cowboys loss was a simple difference between one point, but I think that's the best playoff game I've seen in years! ... Coach Johnny Freeport and his Baltimore Ravens (3-4) showed up big time in the last game of the season against the Chargers. This time Johnny-Freeport "Walked the Talk" against the #1 defense in the LIEFL. This is where the magic of electric football takes over whether we want to believe it or not. How can a (3-4) team like the Ravens match a (6-1) team like the Broncos and win? Johnny-Freeport, as much as we can tolerate, showed us how in this game! That is what makes great leagues work, that on any given day, any team in the LIEFL, any coach, can be outgunned, outplayed, and better prepared, especially when the is incentive is money. "But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, there's a lot of playoff football left,said Coach Joe Bino. " Great coaching wins games PERIOD! This game is a testament to a terrific draft, great coaching, and executing the game plan in a fast paced, gritty league.The kickoff between the Ravens and the Broncos was intense. Lead playmaker for the Broncos, Terrell Davis, ran back a 40-yard opening kickoff return. On first down, the Broncos ran for four yards, but on second down Davis exploded for 20-yards to the Ravens 44-yard line. The big Denver Frontline kept feeding Davis the ball as he ran for five more before being stopped on second down. On 3rd down, Broncos Coach Paddy Brannigan threw a very short pass to his favorite receiver Ed McCaffrey. McCaffery launched 39-yards into the end zone to give the Broncos their first score, 7-0. Denver worked the clock leaving just 1:24 in the first quarter. Ravens kick returner LIEFL- All-Pro Derrick Mason ran back a 52-yard kick. The Broncos defense stopped the Ravens on first down. On second down, Baltimore running back Jamal Lewis, who had a great game against the Chargers last week, ran for a 19-yard first down bringing the ball to the 29-yard line of the Broncos as the first quarter came to a close! "Yeah, all day baby ... We came to play like you are coming to rob our Mama and you are gonna have to knock us out to take Mama from us," screamed Freeport! Free was for real! The Denver defense exploded in the second quarter stopping the Baltimore Ravens and Jamal Lewis on the first two runs totaling a 27-yard loss. Baltimore had to dig in and defend the trenches. On third down, Ravens Coach Johnny-Freeport found Jamal Lewis wide open on a very close play 17-yards from the line of scrimmage, and Lewis ran the ball 57-yards into the end zone for the touchdown to tie the game 7-7, with 10:35 remaining in the half! Wow! On the ensuing kickoff for Denver, Terrell Davis ran back a 41-yard play. Davis ran for 5 yards on first down, but then he was stopped on second down, forcing a third down pass play. On 3rd down, Paddy Brannigan again, connected with his favorite receiver Ed McCaffrey on a 62-yard touchdown play to give the Broncos the lead 14-7, with 3:45 remaining in the half! That was a pretty play! McCaffrey has been electrifying! No words from Brannigan in response to that great play he made though. Johnny-Freeport's Ravens stormed right back with an attitude, and a 96-yard kick return to boot by Derrick Mason! Brannigan's Broncos called a timeout with 2:48 remaining in the half, and Baltimore threatened at the four yard line of Denver on first down. On first down, it was superstar Derrick Mason striking again, this time into the endzone to score his first touchdown of the game, tying the score at 14-14, with 2:33 remaining in the half! Denver called their final time out of the half! It was Denver's turn! Terrell Davis returned the ensuing and closing kickoff of the half to 48-yard yardline where he was clobbered by Derrick Mason! Mason does it all! On shaky ground, with less than 1:45 to go in the half, the Broncos made a pass attempt to Ed McCaffrey again. The speedy McCaffrey took it 27-yards for a first down to the 25-yard line of Baltimore, but the clock was ticking away. The Broncos had no timeouts left. Denver settled for a 27-yard field goal with three seconds left in the half. The Ravens called their final time of the half, right after that play. That left the door open for Derrick Mason to run one more back before the half ended for the Ravens! The Ravens are playing a super game against one of the best teams in the AFC, and although Baltimore didn't show much of a running game in the first half, they've been very strategic in their approach to this game with the score 17-14, Broncos in the lead with three seconds remaining going into the second half. To end the half, Mason almost broke free, but instead, he ran into his own man at the Broncos-30 yard line as the first half ended! The play calling has been questionable at times by both coaches. Brannigan was having a little bit of difficulty under pressure here, but so was Johnny-Freeport. The half would allow the coaches a five minute break to reassess. To kick off the third quarter and second half, Terrell Davis kicked off the third quarter with a 60-yard kick return followed by a first down six yard run. But on second and third downs, the Baltimore Ravens defense came out of nowhere and stopped both the Broncos running attack, and passing attack! What did Johnny Freeport do in that haltime to ignite the Ravens defense? Terrell Davis would literally stun everyone on 4th down, when he came up short of the first down at the 29-yard line, turning the ball back over to the Ravens in the making of what might be a major upset! With the score still 17-14, Denver's lead, Johnny Freeport went absolutely wild, yelling "Yeah baby, yeah baby, that's what I'm talking about! Don't forget about my defense too in Your articles he said to Levi Vick!" This is the turning point in the game! With 3:10 remaining in the third quarter, the Ravens have the lead 21-17, and they're getting the ball back and hungry for more! This is where coaches have to rise to the occasion, and we hate to admit it, but Johnny-Freeport did! Here we have the best defense in the league in Denver against the #12 defense of the Ravens. Baltimore was ranked #14 in AFC offense this season, but the Ravens at this second are a very dangerous (3-4) team with this coach. The unexpected could happen to anyone. Never in a million years did we expect Terrell Davis to run out of bounds on that pivotal first down play. After checking Davis' player base, there was no lint or anything stuck to it and it's a fair play, fair game, and Johnny Freeport is capitalizing on that play! When the Ravens got the ball back, Jamal Lewis and the Baltimore offense ran the ball down the Broncos throat with Smash-Mouth electric football. First Lewis ran for an 18-yard first down, and then he dashed for 11 more yards for another first down to the 39-yard line of Denver as the third quarter came to a close! All of the sudden the Ravens had the momentum! What a turn of events! We wouldn't believe it if we didn't see it. These Ravens have the same stingy, nasty attitude as their coach Johnny-Freeport. They continued to battle against that highly-touted Broncos defense, with another 7-yard run by Jamal Lewis. Johnny Freeport doesn't mind his team being tested. We noticed that in their loss last week to the Chargers, the Ravens played with a different intensity. There was a change in their attitude, and with Jonathon Ogden, Willie Anderson and Marshall Yanda in the trenches, the Ravens are well prepared. The two greats at the left and right tackle Tony Siragusa and J'von Parker have been solid, tearing it up in this game. Parker has two tackles. It's Derrick Mason who has hit Denver with all the unexpected stuff, and that's changed the way opponents have to play them. Mason has four tackles in the game, two in the backfield on Terrell Davis. Sometimes when a coach gets to this point in the season with nothing left to lose, they have to be more like Johnny-Freeport by focusing on the task at hand, by taking full advantage of every play! Freeport is putting it all out there, every last bit of it! Unbelievable! Oh my, Ravens Jamal Lewis broke free at the 5-yard line for a touchdown catch to make the score 28-17 Ravens! This place is going bonkers! Paddy Brannigan and his Broncos have their backs against the was. It is a major upset in the making! Just can't believe it! Johnny-Freeport is unhinged going wild saying, "Bring it on, I'll back my talk up with anybody in the world! Just show me the money!" Oh boy. There's no settling in this game with just 8 minutes remaining in the game, the Broncos have to find a way to seal the leak on their defense, but the Ravens offensive running game is taking no prisoners. The momentum is certainly not Denver's side. The #4 Broncos had better have some tricks up their sleeve because Freeport's nasty Ravens are coming for the Broncos to make a statement! You all know playing in your own leagues that anything can happen in the playoffs, but really, we never thought this could happen. The Broncos worked so hard, played so many tough and tight games, and they're being completely embarrassed by a resurging Ravens defense packed with missiles, and they're not finished yet. Denver has to settle people down here by coming up with a big play, with 8:01 remaining in the game! If they win this game, the Ravens and Johnny-Freeport head to Los Angeles to play the #1 LA Chargers, but don't count Freeport out against Coach Ed Viggs and his Chargers. They're is $3200 dollars on the line, and just think of it that way, that Brannigan may have made a $3,200 dollar mistake. Sometimes when a mistake like missing that Davis first down happens, it becomes the one-mistake game. That is the impending difference between winning and losing in the LIEFL! This is true humiliation for Brannigan, especially to someone like Johnny-Freeport, an in-your-face coach. The mouth of the league backs down to no one. The #1 Denver defense will receive No Mercy here from Johnny Freeport that's for sure, he is all over it. Freeport's Ravens defense is playing smash mouth football, giving the Broncos a taste of their own medicine. Derrick Mason's having a tremendous defensive game also. On the Broncos next kick return, Terrell Davis was crushed at the 32-yard line by Derrick Mason! Wow! On first down, the Broncos exploded into an open field by Bart Scott who made a tremendous open-field tackle at the 47-yard line for a gain of 21-yards for Terrell Davis to the Ravens 47 yard line. As we sit here watching this game, we're still totally stunned. We can't reverse time and as the old saying goes in Toy Story, "You can't rush art". On first down for the Broncos the Terrell Davis ran another first down for 10 yards, and suddenly the Denver Broncos have awakened with 4:50 left to go in the game. Davis ran another first down for 20 more yards to the Ravens 17-yard line, with 3:21 remaining in the game! The Broncos called there first time out of the second half, with one remaining. We are running out of time folks. The Cinderella journeymen Baltimore Ravens defense are shocking the LIEFL world! On the Broncos next play, Terrell Davis ran a beautiful 17-yard touchdown play into the endzone! And this is going to force the Broncos to go for two. Denver took their last time out of the game. Denver Tight-end Shannon Sharpe scored on the two-point conversion to make the score 28-25 Baltimore, with 2:48 remaining in the game with the clock is running. Ravens Coach Johnny-Freeport saw no reason for Baltimore to stop the clock. They can run that victory clock out and win this game! Holy cow! In what is the biggest upset of the tournament thus far, the #5 Baltimore Ravens(4-4) kicked a field goal to add insult-to-injury, making the final score 31-25, in a Baltimore Ravens pouncing over the #4 Denver Broncos (6-2)! Coach Paddy Brannigan did not want to add anything to the comment section here, but Johnny Freeport wouldn't stop talking! Freeport said, "You see, these fools in this league can't handle my talk. Be mad, be whatever, but I am coming to play! It's okay for once I'm not going to say much. We'll see you against the Chargers. The momentum turned today and beating the Broncos was a great first step. We embarrassed them!" It was Jamal Lewis' 12 carry 134 running attack, and his 57 yard touchdown catch that was the difference in the game because the Ravens managed the clock like pro's! Derrick Mason finished the day with 6 touches for 332 all-purpose yards for a team that produced 19 touches for 523 total yards with four touchdowns! Go Ravens! Johnny-Freeport's Ravens now play the LA Chargers (6-1) in the AFC Divisional Championship Game and the winner of that will play the winner of the Indianapolis Colts (7-1) and Miami Dolphins (62) Divisional matchup, which will be played tomorrow!

LONG ISLAND EFL TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS VICKS DALLAS PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR WAS ONE MISTAKE SHORT OF VICTORY IN PANTHERS 48-47 WIN OVER COWBOYS IN AN INCREDIBLE WILD CARD BATTLE ! (Long Island Electric Football League). NFC Wild Card Game. What a matchup! Coach Levi Vic's Dallas Cowboys (5-2) have been a little overshadowed in the NFC East because of the outstanding football play of the Washington Redskins. In today's game against the Carolina Panthers (5-2) these two teams are evenly matched. The Cowboys have Michael Irvin and Terrell Owens at the ends and the Panthers have two guys you probably never heard of, Keary Colbert and Jeff King. The reason why most people never heard of them is because of the Panthers running game with DeShaun Foster and on special teams star Greg Jones. They will will bring the game to the Cowboys today, but Terrell Owens and his tandem partner Michael Irvin can unleash some very fast damage on opponents in these 60-minute games. Like most of these top notch playoff games, this game is going to come down to coaching, and last year's Super Bowl Champion Matt Zoo-York is at the helm for the Panthers. Zoo-York, the South Bronx native, lives for these high pressure games, but he contends that Coach Levi Vick is an outstanding coach who has no fear. Who could forget the LIEFL star coach who took his Wild Card Kansas City Chiefs to a LIEFL Super Bowl XVII victory over the San Francisco 49ers! Zoo York coaches these underrated Panthers, who may be his ticket to the NFC Championship Game for a first time shot at a Super Bowl. It depends on who shows up to play, and it all depends on the Dallas Cowboys defense who have been very good this season. The Cowboys should not be ignored. Emmitt Smith was the number #4 guy in NFC rushing this year. Smith has been very consistent behind the blocking of starting Pro-Bowl Lineman Larry Allen, but Allen will have to have a great game against Carolina's LIEFL-All-Pro Lineman Kawaan Short. These two players are the starting Pro Bowl centerpiece for the NFC. The Panthers have had a difficult path getting here. They began the season with two road games against Arizona and Green Bay which they split. Green Bay just got the better of them 24-21. The Panthers did beat their division rival Atlanta Falcons 21-17, and then the contending Houston Texans 17-10 in the last two games of the season, but they also beat Tampa Bay after they lost to the Colts. Their one flaw is, Carolina hasn't had much luck against the big contenders, losing to Green Bay and Indianapolis against Joseph Addai, who has played incredible this season. It has been a magical season for many players. Zoo-York knew that he needed to go back to the basics and get his running game going because when DeShaun Foster is in the game teamed with Greg Jones, these two players together are special and the Panthers are a lethal no-quit team. Depending on who's going to show up today,the question is, will the Panthers rise to the occasion to hang with the tough Dallas Cowboys? Zoo said, "Listen regardless of who says what about Coach Vick, he is an experienced skilled coach who won two back-to-back Super Bowls in his previous Nassau County League. He is a great coach!" Matt Zoo-York's Panthers last season lost in a huge upset if you recall in the NFC Wild Card Game to Minnesota 31-24, in the 2022 season. Zoo said he spent some serious time contemplating that loss. "I know it's a game, but really it made feel very upset because this is a really good team, and my decisions were costly enough for me to rethink my play under pressure." But nobody can deny that these Panthers have been banging the door down for the past three seasons before this one, and before the pandemic. The past three of four seasons the Panthers have been NFC South Division Champions. That means they are still a team who can compete. In 2019, they lost in the NFC Championship Game to the Los Angeles Rams 45-38, and the season before that they lost to Los Angeles again in the NFC Championship Game, 45-31. The front line of the Panthers led by Kawaan Short and Chris Jenkins has been outstanding. The biggest bright spots come with rankings. And kick returner Greg Jones ranked #10 in the NFC with 18 touches for 1046 yards, with two 100-yard touchdown runs! KICKOFF! Dallas Cowboys (5-2) at Carolina Panthers (5-2) The opening kickoff was exciting. Panthers returner Greg Jones ran back a 38-yard return before he was clobbered by Tony Dorsett. On first down, Panthers running back DeShaun Foster ran for a 16-yard first down. The Panthers first play on the line was explosive, and they didn't stop there. Foster ran for another three yards, and then 18, before being stopped by the Dallas defense when Cowboys defensive tackle and LIEFL-All-Pro Randy White dragged Foster down behind the line of scrimmage for a loss. But on the next play Foster exploded 33 yards on a power run into the end zone, giveing the Carolina Panthers the lead, 7-0! Carolina used much of the time clock up on that first drive in the first quarter. And Terrell Owens on the ensuing kickoff ran back an electrifying 100-yard touchdown score to tie the game at 7-7! What a play by Owens! There is nothing like championship football when it comes to electric football. Panthers star Greg Jones ran the next kickoff back 45 yards, where he ran out of bounds. On first down, DeShaun Foster ran for seven yards and then on second down the Cowboys defense came up big and stopped the Panthers for a loss of seven yards. Coach Matt Zoo-York decided to pass as the second quarter started. It was a beautiful play on third down to receiver Jeff King who ran a 60-yard play to the two-yard line! This gave the Panthers more time to work the clock. Dallas Coach Levi Vick kept his cool under pressure. The Dallas defense started to play strategically, and on first down Dallas ran the Panthers back for a 5-yard loss on the play with 11:27 remaining in the half. On second down, it was DeShaun Foster running an end-around to the right side, squeaking into the end zone for the touchdown to give the Panthers the lead 14-7 with 10:38 remaining in the half! Gorgeous run! On Terrell Owens next kick return he was brought down at the 46-yard line by linebacker Panthers linebacker Kevin Greene, to set up Emmitt Smith in the Cowboys offense for his first run. On first down, Smith was stopped after gaining one yard. The Panthers defense crushed him on second down also on a big tackle by Carolina's Kawaan Short. Dallas and Coach Levi Vick had to go to the air on 3rd down. It was a close call, but Terrell Owens broke free for a 10 yard first down bringing the football to the 43-yard line of the Panthers with 4:11 remaining and a half, keeping the Cowboys drive alive and well! The Panthers defense came out hitting hard and stopped Smith on second down. But on third down, Emmitt Smith exploded for 21-yard first down to the Panthers 23-yard line, forcing the Panthers to call a timeout with 1:39 remaining in the half. When the play resumed, breaking Free on the third down pass play, Levi Vick found Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin who blazed 23-yards into the end zone to tie the score at 14-14! That last play forced the Panthers to take their last time out of the half! Dallas brought out the big guns and Vick hit the reliable Michael Irvin who keeps the Cowboys in the game with 1:18 remaining in the half! On the ensuing kickoff this place went crazy when they saw Panthers star Greg Jones take back a 100-yard kick return into the end zone to give the Panthers the 21-14 lead on a stunning play! Just like that the game changes! Levi Vick couldn't believe his eyes! The Cowboys called a timeout with 1:06 remaining in the half! We have an amazing game! On the Cowboys next return, Terrell Owens was slammed at the 48-yard line by DeShaun Foster. The Cowboys were stopped on the next play on a 4-yard past completion to Tony Dorsett at the 48 yard line where the Cowboys were forced to kick a field goal because they were close to running out of time, and with seconds left the Cowboys made the score 17-21, with the Panthers in the lead. The Cowboys got the ball right back to begin the third quarter in a tight nail biter here! Wow! To begin the third quarter and second half, Terrell Owens opened with electrifying 100-yard kick return for a touchdown, his second of the game, to give Dallas the lead 23-21! Interesting, Coach Vick called for a two-point conversion! You really get to see how good these teams are when they play a 60-minute game, and the players who don't get to touch the ball much during the regular season go all out and games like this. Levi Vick is coaching like a championship coach, but so is Matt Zoo York, last year's Super Bowl Champ. Terrell Owens took in the two-point conversion in to make the score 25-21, Cowboys in the lead! Owens is having quite the game as the champions rise to the occasion with much at stake. Dallas takes the lead with 12:28 left in the third quarter! It almost forces the Panthers to go for two if they score again because as of right now a field goal at the end of the game may not win the game for the Panthers. We shall see! The Panthers came roaring back with a 53-yard kick return by Greg Jones who ran out of bounds at the Dallas 47-yard line. The Dallas defense has to come up big in this next series. On first down Panthers running back to DeShaun Foster opened up with a 14-yard running play to the Dallas 33-yard line. But the Cowboys came up big on defense stopping the Panthers on the next two plays after they made some adjustments, putting Cowboys lineman Ed "Too-Tall" Jones in the Nose position on defense. This Forced Matt Zoo-York to pass at the 39-yard line of Dallas with 6:15 remaining in the third quarter. On a huge third down play Zoo-York connected with Jeff King on a 39-yard touchdown play to give the command back to the Panthers, and they'll go for two points! DeShaun Foster took in the two-point conversion into the end zone to give the Panthers the lead 29-25, with the third quarter almost finished with 2:49 remaining! The third quarter came to a close on a 64-yard kick return by Terrell Owens who has had an amazing game, and with seconds left in the third quarter Emmitt Smith ran around the right side 36-yards into the end zone to give the Cowboys the lead back 33-29 after Michael Irvin's two point conversion for the Cowboys to start the fourth quarter! What an exciting game! The effort that these two teams have made has been beyond impressive. On the ensuing kickoff after the Cowboys took the lead but Greg Jones ran back of 45-yard kick. The Panthers determined, gave the ball to Greg Jones for one play for a 5 yard run. And on second down, it was DeShaun Foster who exploded to the inside of the three hole for a 50-yard touchdown scamper to give the Panthers the lead back with the score 35-33! The Panthers scored with Greg Jones taking in the two-point conversion with 10:13 remaining in the game, to give Carolina back the lead, 37-33! After regaining the momentum Terrell Owens wasn't having it he ran back another 100-yard touchdown return his third of the game, 39-37 Cowboys! The Cowboys delivered with their third two-point conversion of the game with 6:51 remaining in the game and the Cowboys are in the lead 41-37! You can't believe the excitement here! Believable! Greg Jones just ran back 100-yard kick return on the ensuing kickoff to give the Panthers the lead again with 4:06 remaining in the clock is running! This is the best coached game we've seen Levi Vick coach in his third season LIEFL career! 43-41, the Panthers have the lead! The Panthers are setting up for the two-point conversion which will make the score 45-41 if they score! Jones scored the two-point conversion to put the Panthers ahead 45-41 with 2:36 remaining in the game! The Cowboys called their first time out of the second half with one remaining in a stunner! We knew this would be a good game, but this is one of the best games of the year! The excitement is incredible! The game got better and better. It was Terrell Owens turn to return the ball again. Owens returned a 35-yard kick return. But on first down Levi Vick hit Emmitt Smith on a smoking pass for a 65-yards touchdown downfield into the end zone to give the Cowboys the lead 47-45! The Cowboys will go for a two-point conversion which will make the score 49-45 Dallas, with 59 seconds remaining for the Panthers who took their first time out. If they are lucky the Panthers will get two plays off! OMG Carolina Stopped Dallas on the two-point conversion attempt! Maybe Vick should have rethought that play? Maybe they should gone for the extra point instead of the conversion, but too late now. The Cowboys lead 47-45! And the Panthers called the last time out with 34 seconds remaining in the game! That might have been a huge mistake for Levi Vick with nobody open in the end zone on the conversion. Putting the ball back in Panthers star Greg Jones hands was dangerous, but Jones ran the ball back 80-yards on his last kick return! The Panthers kicked the field goal to make the score 48-47, but it's not over yet! Dallas called their last time out with 18 seconds left in the game. One great kick return can put them in field goal range to win the game! And with four seconds left after a 38 yard kick return by Terrell Owens for the Cowboys, this place went wild when Levi Vick missed the 62-yard field goal attempt, which went just right of the goal post! The Cowboys suffer a crushing defeat 48-47 in an all-time game! The Panthers earned every bit of it and they advanced to the next round! The Dallas Cowboys (5-3) will never live this one down, and the Carolina Panthers (6-2) will face the Chicago Bears (5-3) in a tremendous NFC Divisional Game next! After the game Coach Levi Vick said, "I blew it." Matt Zoo-York said, "I knew I could win but I also had a little luck on my side. We have to be ready for the Bears because they are just s exciting as Dallas." One mistake costs the Cowboys the game and a chance for $3200 dollars! Panthers running back DeShaun Foster rushed for 9 carries for 143-yards with three touchdowns, and Greg Jones played like the star he is in this league with seven kick returns for 461 yards, including two 100-yard touchdown returns, and he had two 2-point conversions as well! Terrell Owens had a record day for the Cowboys. Owens exploded for eight touches for 517 all-purpose yards which included three 100-yard touchdown runs for Dallas. Running back Emmitt Smith had just 58 rushing yards on five carries, but he had a huge 65 yard touchdown play for a touchdown. Smith finished the game with 6 touches for 123 all-purpose yards on the day with two touchdowns! This might have been the Cowboys best season in their history. They'll be back. What an incredible game!

Merry Christmas! The Long Island Electric Football League announces our year-end TOUGH GUY AWARDS for our 67-BIG MEN League! In our last season of league write-ups, proven track players in any league set a precedence for great players. Before this evening's NFC Wild Card Game gladiator battle between the Dallas Cowboys (5-2) and the Carolina Panthers (5-2) the league has its final results in on LIEFL BEST PLAYER AWARDS! There is always second guessing when it comes to awards, but this is how we stand. What a season it's been! The last week of our season brings lots of recognition and we'd like to thank the loyal readers who found fun in our reports. Indianapolis Colts Running Back Joseph Addai has been the centerpiece in the league as an offensive player not just this season, but every season. Joseph Addai topped the league with one of the best seasons on record. Addai has 8220 career all-purpose yards for the Colts with 61 touchdowns! He performed better than any other player in the LIEFL this season, and the Colts beat the Raiders in the Round 1 AFC Wild Card Game. Addai was #3 in the AFC and #7 in the LIEFL in Rushing with 43 carries for 539 yards, with 12 touchdowns, including his long run of 50 yards from scrimmage. His all-purpose performance was one of the best ever in the history of the seven game format in the LIEFL. He was the #1 all-purpose player in the entire LIEFL with 64 touches for 1767 yards with a total 15 touchdowns, including a 100-yard touchdown run. And in kick returns Addai was #5 in the AFC and #11 in the LIEFL with 18 touches for 1148 yards with one 100-yard touchdown! All that would make his season more memorable is LIEFL Super Bowl title! Not far behind was the master of the metal gridiron Gerald Riggs, another great LIEFL offensive player. Riggs set the record for all-purpose yards in a seven game season back in 2019, with 78 touches for 2339 yards with 21 touchdowns! This season Riggs was #3 in LIEFL Rushing, #2 behind Addai in the LIEFL in all-purpose yards with 68 touches for 1741 yards, with 11 touchdowns, three of them for 100-yards! That is hard to top, but Addai topped Riggs this year as the Falcons battle for a Super Bowl title! The defensive choice of the Denver Broncos was the correct one. The Broncos outplayed some of the best teams in the league with epic defensive plays by Von Miller, Paul Smith, Karl Mecklenburg, who limited LIEFL opponents to just 72 points allowed. But the LIEFL Defensive Player of the Year has to be Detroit's Lomas Brown who dominated had 10 tackles on opponents, making big plays when the Lions came back in the season. Brown and Vikings Tackle Carl Eller are two of the best of the best defensive players for the second season in a row. Congratulations! LIEFL Offensive Player of the Year: IND-Joseph Addai AFC Offensive Player of the Year: IND-Joseph Addai NFC Offensive Player of the Year: ATL-Gerald Riggs AFC Defensive Player of the Year: Denver Broncos “Orange Crush” NFC Defensive Player of the Year: T-DET-Lomas Brown-10 2023 LIEFL TOP 20 RUSHING 1. Holmes-KC 39-682-11/59 2. Middleton-GB 46-674-12/60TD 3. Riggs-ATL 48-659-7/61TD 4. Simpson-BUF 41-632-13/52TD 5. Foster-CAR 38-629-12/70TD 6. Smith-DAL 49-584-7/66TD 7. Addai-IND 43-539-12/50TD 8. Watters-SF 49-519-6/67TD 9. Payton-CHI 39-512-9/65TD 10. Bell-NYJ 41-508-8/53 11. M. Pruitt-CLE 53-454-5/52 12. Davis-DEN 50-448-5/49TD 13. Lynch-SEA 34-426-9/63TD 14. Morris-MIA 58-406-5/49TD/ Byars-PHI 41-406-8/65TD 15. Tomlinson-LAC 38-401-7/54TD 16. Bussey-DET 47-375-5/70TD 17. Barkley-NYG 43-371-6/56TD 18. Bush-NO 40-360-6/50 19. Anderson-AZ 48-338-4/49 20. Taylor-JAC 47-332-7/30TD 2023 LIEFL TOP 20 ALL PURPOSE YARDS 1. Addai-IND 64-1767-12/100TD, 99 2. Riggs-ATL 68-1741-11/3X100TD 3. Lynch-SEA 55-1675-14/3X100TD 4. Bussey-DET 69-1626-11/5x100TDS 5. Green-WAS 51-1589-11/8x100TD 6. Casper-LVR 27-1471-6/3X100TD 7. Taylor-JAC 63-1436-9/2X100TD 8. Davis-DEN 65-1414-8/3X100TD 9. Jay Brown-BUF 21-1409-6/6X100TD 10. Bradshaw-NYG 23-1367-5/5x100TD 11. Gault-CHI 23-1350-7/4X100TD 12. Giles-TB 25-1340-6/4X100TD 13. Dayne-HOU 56-1326-7/100TD 14. Bush-NO 58-1272-8/2X100TD 15. Carmichael-PHI 22-1232-3/2x100TDS 16. Sharpe-GB 23-1171-2/81 17. Bruce-LAR 22-1157-5/100 18. Jones-TEN 23-1133-4/100TD 19. Mason-BAL 19-1131-5/5x100TD 20. Collinsworth-CIN 20-1053-6/5X100TD LIEFL TOP 20: KICK RETURNS 1. Jay Brown-BUF 21-1409-6/6X100TD 2. Bradshaw-NYG 21-1345- 5/5x100TDS 3. Casper-LVR 21-1323-3/3X100TD 4. Green-WAS-18-1319-8/8x100TD 5. Swann-PIT 20-1298-5/5X100TDS 6. Gault-CHI 19-1249-4/4X100TD 7. Bussey-DET 19-1217-5/5x100TDS 8. Hill-KC 22-1200-3/3x100TD 9. Carmichael-PHI 20-1172-2/2X100TDS 10. Lynch-SEA 19-1159-3/3X100TD 11. Addai-IND 18-1148-1/100TD, 99 12. Mason-BAL 18-1117-5/5x100TD 13. Taylor-JAC 18-1104-2/2x100TD 14. Sharpe-GC 21-1097-0/81 15. Dayne-HOU 19-1096-3/3X100TD 16. Riggs-ATL 19-1077-3/3x100TD 17. Jones-CAR 18-1046-2/2X100TD 18. Collinsworth-CIN 14-976-5/5X100TD 19. Duper-MIA 20-975-3/3X100TD 20. Gronkowski-NE 15-877-3/3x100TDS LIEFL TOP 20 RECEIVING YARDS 1. Jones-ATL 7-247-6/50TD 2. McCaffery-DEN 5-244-5/55TD 3. Swann-PITT 7-226-3/37TD 4. Moore-TB 5-202-2/45TD 5. Jefferson-MIN 8-191-3/56TD 6. Taylor-WAS 5-190-3/47 7. Mark van Eagan-LVR 4-178-4/51TD 8. Gray-AZ 4-175-3/73TD 9. Moss-NE 5-167-3/63TD/Jones-TEN 4-167-3/55TD 10. Owens-DAL 4-164-3/60TD 11. Giles-TB 4-159-2/50TD 12. Griffin-HOU 3-153-3/57TD 13. Gonzalez-KC 3-152-1/68 14. Casper-LVR 6-148-3/48TD 15. Ditka-CHI 3-140-1/79TD 16. Bavaro-NYG 4-139-1/48 17. Bruce-LAR 3-138-4/55TD 18. Hurns-JAC 2-119-1/62 19. Alworth-LAC 3-107-2/53TD

LONG ISLAND EFL TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS (Long Island Electric Football League) Written by Coach Joey Pizz, Paddy Brannigan, and Levi Vick. AROUND THE LEAGUE: The talk around the LIEFL is about the Washington Redskins (7-0). Already league mouth, Johnny-Freeport is calling out the undefeated Redskins saying, "If Viggy looks at his stats he will see that his Redskins didn't play many contenders. His opponents were (16-26). So, if he plays my Falcons, we'll see who is who in the league. I don't see Viggs Redskins winning the Super Bowl, but I do see Gerald Riggs and my Falcons beating the Packers and then the Redskins." But that is not totally true about the teams being contenders. Long Island Sports Hall of Fame Inductee Andrew M. Slawson said, " Washington beat the Giants (3-4) twice 17-6 and 35-31, the Cardinals (2-5) 17-14, the Cowboys (5-2) 14-10, the Seahawks (1-6) 14-10, the Jets (2-5) 14-0, and the Patriots (3-4) 10-7. I would argue that all of the teams are fierce competitors, and if you watched Viggs unleash Tony Green in the season finale, what he did touching the ball five times and scoring five 100-yard touchdowns has never been done in the history of the league! Will Green do the same in the NFC Divisional Championship Game, probably not, but the Redskins to me, have all the tools and the electric football genius behind them coaching in order to win. The guy never talks trash, Viggs comes to dominate on the field. He is not concerned with who he is playing, that never comes into the equation. He is logical, unemotional, and grounded." Absent as a coach, LIEFL Commissioner Billy O'C said, "Great coaching is when a coach comes to execute a game plan, and he consistently wins. That is Viggs in the game of electric football. Coaches around the country would love his style of play. He will put on a clinic against the Falcons, and his other team, the Green Bay Packers. He said that if he has to play the Packers, Bobby Biggs agreed to play with the Pack. Viggs is a class act all the way. I am not going to miss this game against Miami and Buffalo today!" Watching how Coach Ed Viggs plays the game, maybe someone can learn from his style. "We have our own legends in the league who have won many tournaments. I am not criticizing, but it's not like some leagues where they don't even put a ball in the runners hands, or they have to touch a piece of foam on the field to make a catch without passing, or calling sweeps, and or having long countdowns before a play even starts. To me that totally interferes with the fast-paced continuity of the play and game. Viggs is hitting guys on the fly with the Tudor kicker/passer from 30,40, 50 yards out in a one-stop league. He is a rare high-skilled coach who is respectful to everyone, even the coaches he beats. He is a master at tweaking his player bases, and he plans so well that he becomes a bigger challenge than the teams he plays with, that's the ultimate compliment when you receive respect from other coaches," said Coach Paddy Brannigan. Ed Viggs is the kind of man who as a child played up, with the older kids twice his size hitting him, but he never quits. And the greatest part of electric football is that it keeps us connected to our childhood. What does Johnny-Freeport say to all this? Johnny-Freeport said to Brannigan, "Phooey, Viggy is beatable, and Bobby Biggs was all talk too. The guy won four lousy games as a new coach. He ruined the Seahawks this year. I think the Seahawks are one of the best teams in the league, and the guy couldn't even win with Marshawn Lynch?" The next AFC Wild Card Game today is a colossal division matchup between the Miami Dolphins (5-2) and the AFC East Division Champion Buffalo Bills (5-2), but it also puts Coach Joe Bino in a precarious predicament because Bino coaches both teams. Bino wanted Coch Ed Viggs to coach one of the two teams, but Viggs declined, so next up with all of his teams out of the playoffs is Coach Joe Pizz, a qualified coach. Pizz loves Buffalo. Today will be his game with the Bills. The Dolphins are chasing a seventh Super-Bowl title in this league. The teams of the 70's might get beaten up by these new version of the Miami Dolphins. Miami has won a record 28 playoff games with 8 loses in this league, and they've lost their last four LIEFL Super Bowl's. Coach Bino wants to be the guy who changes that, but Miami has a mountain to climb. Since Buffalo receives the ball first, Miami has to keep the pace and control the clock, but Bino has to play well under pressure. The talk of the league right now is Coach Joe Bino. We already watched the NFC Wild Card Game Rams toboggle with Coach Joe Bino miscalculating a third down play against the Bears, costing the Rams to advance to the Division Game in their loss to the Chicago Bears yesterday, 35-31. Bino's clock management collapsed once. Is he ready for a high-stakes game like this? Who's the Boss in town may vary depend on who you cheer for to win this game. The Bills beat Miami for the Division title 13-7, in OT in the season finale, but when it comes to chasing an AFC title, perhaps Buffalo has a score to settle with Miami. Forget about it if anyone thinks that Mercury Morris and OJ Simpson are stoppable. "Although their last game against each other was a defensive matchup, I wouldn't expect this one to be, said Matt Zoo-York," No one will ever forget how the Bills commanded the league in the 2017 playoff Tournament of Champions. The Bills plain and simple, DOMINATED every team including the defending Super Bowl Champion Detroit Lions! Bills superstar OJ Simpson unleashed a Super Bowl journey, never before witness in this league. The Bills beat up everyone as the AFC Wild Card Team. Simpson set the record for all-purpose yards, rushing yards, and touchdowns in a LIEFL Super Bowl with seven! Buffalo will be ready for Miami again! Miami Dolphins (5-2) (LIEFL Historic Rank #1 163-42 EST. 1972) Buffalo Bills (5-2) (LIEFL Historic Rank #13 87-85 EST. 1978) In researching the Bills history a bit in the LIEFL archives saved for each team by our Founder, the first time Buffalo made the LIEFL playoffs was in 1980. After going (2-12) in the 78-79 season, Buffalo competed in wars! They finished 2nd Place in that 1980 season, beating the San Diego Chargers 17-7 in the Wild Card Game. Then they lost to a very tough defensive Denver Broncos team in the AFC Divisional Game 24-14. The Bills did fall to the Dolphins in 1995, 14-13 in the AFC Divisional Game in a battle. And then in 2020, Buffalo lost to Miami again 31-21, in the AFC Championship Game. The Dolphins have done lots of winning in the 60-minute games. Let's see what this one brings! The difference in this one might be how the #1 kick returner in the AFC Jay Brown performs for the Bills. Brown has 21 touches for 1409 kick return yards with six 100-yard touchdown returns! Is this Buffalo's year? DOLPHINS HOOK BILLS DEEP TO THE BLUES IN 42-31 THRASHING! Gametime in the league is a special time, especially in the pressure chase for $3200 dollars is on the line in the LIEFL Tournament of Champions. The coaches chat a little and then a monitor is always present for these BIG Games. We forgot to mention our monitor. This year's monitor is Bobby Biggs. He is the man who will decide the right vs wrong, the catch vs the miss, the tackle vs the missed tackle. Biggs said, "In the good leagues, it is everyone's responsibility to have great sportsmanship and to play fair. We must remove our own bias as a monitor, that's Billy O'C's motto. He is a great commissioner for sure, and he's probably my biggest fan as a coach. After losing my last game, he told me the first year in any league is a learning year, so come back next year and make them pay!" The LIEFL motto is Respect all--Fear none! On a great opening 70-yard kickoff return by the #1 Kick returner in the AFC Jay Brown, the Bills had to make moves early on to fault the Dolphins defense. Objective One: Get OJ Simpson the all and block. The Bills "Electric Company" led by Marcell Dareus launched Simpson for an 18-yard first down, but the Miami Dolphins defense surged through the Bills front on second down to stop Simpson on the next run, and the Bills struggled from that point on. On Buffalo's next two runs they lost 15 yards. Finally, Buffalo was forced to pass and Coach Joey Pizz connected with OJ Simpson on great pass instead of going for a field goal, but unfortunately Simpson veered right and turned out of bounds, short of the first down. The Bills may have sealed their fate on the play. That's right! Opponents can't afford to make those kinds of mistakes against the great teams. Buffalo turned the ball over to Miami. Dolphins Coach Bino decided he was going to really work the clock, and with less than a minute left in the first quarter Bino aired it out after Mercury Mars ran for three, 12, and 19 yards, the Buffalo #9 ranked defense in the LIEFL stopped the Dolphins, forcing a third down play at the Miami 35-yard line. Coach Bino brought out his weapons finding receiver Mark Clayton who broke free for a 65-yard touchdown pass into the end zone to give the Dolphins a stunning 7-0 lead, with the first quarter closing on the play! To kick off the second quarter Jay Brown ran back a speedy 43-yard kick return to set up OJ Simpson. But the Bills Electric Company ran into a wall of Miami Dolphins defenders. On the next three plays, the Dolphins completely shut down the Bills offense, holding them to a field goal! The Dolphins remained in the lead, 7-3. Buffalo certainly has not played their best football thus far. Miami's turn again. Mark Duper ran back of 50-yard kick return, and one play later the Dolphins found a weakness in the Buffalo Bills defense as Mark Clayton caught another super 50-yard touchdown pass on first down to make the score 14-3 Miami, with 6:25 remaining in the half. The Dolphins came to play today! We don't usually see Miami pass, but Bino has lit the Dolphins offense up to get the best out of them, and he's done a great job against a powerhouse Bills team. Clayton has blazing speed! Bino has a plan! The Bills need a big play. Jay Brown and the Bills have to start to control the pace of the game, but Miami is doing a tremendous job stopping the Bills from running the ball. On the ensuing kick return Brown exploded for an 80-yard return. On first down the Dolphins denied Bills running back OJ Simpson. Coach Pizz decided to go up in the air, and with two Bills receivers covered running side-by-side with two Dolphins defenders, the risk was high, but Pizz was desperate. Pizz launched the pass anyway and it was an incomplete 30-yard pass attempt to Bills receiver Andre Reed. Buffalo called their first time out of the half. The Bills were totally shut down by the Miami defense, and after the 10-yard loss by the Bills, they earned 10-yards back on a OJ Simpson run, forcing a fourth down field goal from the 20-yard line, Buffalo's second of the game, to make the score 14-6, Dolphins in the lead. Coach Bino called the first time for the Dolphins with just 58 seconds remaining in the half. On the next play Bino lit the scoreboard up again! On a spectacular pass on first down, Joe Bino hit the bottom of Mark Duper's player base right on the money, so hard it bounced straight up in the air as Duper ran into the end zones for a 28-yard touchdown play to give the Miami Dolphins a commanding lead 21-6, with 20 seconds left to go in the half! Buffalo called their last time out. The coaches are in disbelief here. OJ Simpson seemed to be turning instead of his usual straight forward running. Pizz played around with Simpson's player base to no avail, he's been unproductive with 36 total yards in the game. Pizz will work on this before the second half. The Miami Dolphins defense has dominated like savages playing on all cylinders. The winner of this game will play at Indianapolis against the Colts. Running out of time in the first half, Bills Jay Brown returned a 58-yarder. The Bills tried to kick a field goal, but Pizz' kick went far left. Miami went into the locker room at the half with a 21-6 lead! In order for Buffalo to come back in this game they have to hold the Dolphins at least once on defense, but more importantly they have to start scoring and get something going. Credit the Dolphins defense, Jason Taylor has been on fire! ... To open the third quarter, the Bills regrouped with a super 45-yard kick return by Jay Brown. Brown has been very steady and productive in this game, running with a vengeance! On first down, OJ Simpson was stopped. Then on second down, Simpson blasted through the Dolphins defense for one yard, bringing the ball to the Buffalo 46-yard line. But on 3rd down, the Bills decided to run again when OJ Simpson exploded to the left side of the Dolphins defense for a 54-yard beautiful touchdown run to get the Bills back in the game 21-12, with 10:45 remaining in the third quarter on a great run by Simpson! Buffalo went for the two-point conversion to make the score 21-14, with the Bills closing in on the Dolphins. Miami came right back on a 51-yard kick return by Mark Duper. After two runs by Mercury Morris that were stopped by Buffalo, On third down Miami's Larry Csonka bullied his way into the endzone on a 49 yard touchdown reception to give the Dolphins a 28-14 lead, with 1:59 remaining in the third quarter! What a play! Wow! Jay Brown ran right back down the middle of the field, and then he cut right for a blazing 100-yard kick return! The Bills have shown two fast touchdowns to end the third quarter, and the Dolphins maintain the lead 28-21, but Buffalo is catching up! Mark Duper and Mark Clayton have been the game changers today. But then add playmaker Mercury Morris and Larry Csonka into the mix and you have a quadruple-threat lethal football team. The Dolphins stormed right back with a 48-yard kick return by Mark Duper. To be sure the Bills knew that the Dolphins were going to dominate, Mercury Morris on first down did an end-around run for 52-yards into the end zone to give the Dolphins the 35-21 lead, with 13:14 remaining in the game! Morris showed some incredible speed on that last play. All of a sudden the Bills came alive and after a 40-yard kick return by Jay Brown. On this series of play, OJ Simpson found his running game behind the Electric Company with runs of 25, 20, and finally Simpson bombed into the endzone for another 20-yard run to score again for Buffalo 35-28, with 7:19 to go in the game and the Dolphins remain in the lead, 35-28! Better late than never! The Dolphins starting to lure the Bills deep into the ocean with nowhere to swim, and they ran down the Buffalo defense after a 35-yard kick return, this time by Mark Clayton, who was tackled by Buffalo Linebacker Shane Conlin. We thought Buffalo's had hope. The Dolphins put that idea to sleep fast. Mercury Morris would run twice more for 5 yards, and then he ran for a first down another 11-yards. But on the next play with another run to the right side this time, Morris exploded 49 yards into the end zone to give the Dolphins the 42-28 lead over the Bills! What a game for the Dolphins as they totally impress in the playoffs. We never ever would have guessed that the Bills would take this kind of a beating, especially after beating Miami in the final week of the season to win the division title 13-7, in OT. With 1:35 remaining in the game the Bills called a timeout. If you ever want to be the great team in the playoffs and win the big game, these Dolphins know just how to do it! Don't forget, this is a rebuilt Dolphins team who have been in the mix for the last four straight seasons after Billy O'C gave away all his runners and rebuilt for the benefit of the league. With seconds to go in the game Buffalo would kick another field goal to make the score 42-31, in a winning rampage by the Miami Dolphins who knock the Bills out of the playoffs in dominant fashion! The Dolphins have a record 30 playoff wins! The battle-hardened Miami Dolphins (6-2) and Coach Joe Bino played a super game unphased by the pressure. They'll be on the move to take on the tough Indianapolis Colts (7-1) in the Divisional Game! This is a chance for the Colts to make a statement if they want to be an elite team. The four-threat offense of Miami has everyone in the game. Mercury Morris exploded for 11 rushes for 151 yards with two touchdowns on the day! Mark Clayton had two huge touchdown catches for 115 yards, and Mark Duper had five touches for 249 all-purpose yards along with a 28-yard touchdown catch! Larry Csonka had a huge play on a 49 yard touchdown catch! Miami did it all, finishing the game with 20 touches for 599 total offensive yards, with six touchdowns, stunning the Buffalo Bills in this AFC Wild Card Game! The Buffalo Bills (5-3), finished the game with 508 all-purpose yards, with 423 of the yards coming from Jay Brown, including Brown's 100-yard kick return for a touchdown. OJ Simpson turned it around in the second half finishing the game for Buffalo with 83 rushing yards on 12 total carries, with a touchdown! The game we expected from the Bills was carried away deep in the ocean by the Dolphins in typical Dolphins defensive fashion. Coach Bino said, "I give the game ball to Mark Clayton who is always ready to compete. He ran back five straight 100-yarders in practice, so I knew he wouldn't stutter today. I did my talking on the field and I have to credit Pizz for playing hard. I think the first series of the game became the most important. I know what it feels like when I make mistakes, like in the Rams game, but this time we dominated." Pizz said, "Hats off to Bino. The Bills didn't play to their full potential and, I have to say Miami looks so tough. They just had it their way and took it to us." 42 Miami Dolphins (6-2) 31 Buffalo Bills (5-3) 2023 DOLPHINS AFC EASTERN DIVISION.doc WILLIES BUFFS 2023.docx

LONG ISLAND E F L T O U R N A M E N T O F C H A M P I O N S (Long Island Electric Football League). Written By Levi Vick. The NFC Wild Card Game between the gritty #7 Chicago Bears (4-3) and the #2 Los Angeles Rams (6-1) is a great one. The Rams return to the spotlight this season is because of hard work and strategic decisions by Coach Joe Bino on the field. Bino took over for Billy O'C after O'C played just ten games, and he's done a terrific job winning! Bino is (16-4) in his 20 games coaching this season, and he is the guy to beat in the league at the moment. Of course, Ed Viggs at (20-8) is right there again as the Top Dog! The big news is all four of Bino's teams qualified for the playoffs. The Rams, Dolphins, Bills, and Colts, who just edged the Las Vegas Raiders 35-28 to advance to the Divisional Game. Bino said, "This is a great Rams team, and if they're on, stay out of their way. Matching up against the Chicago Bears is a better matchup than people think, but the game will be won managing the clock. I love the Bears too, and Paddy Brannigan has finally crossed over to the elites. He is an excellent coach." BEARS (4-3) (HISTORY: 101-73 LIEFL Rank #5 All-Time) RAMS (6-1) (HISTORY: 90-88 LIEFL Rank #11 All-Time) With LIEFL-Super Bowl XVIII scheduled for December 30, it is official! All of the coaches in the LIEFL voted in favor of the single coach $3200 payout to the winner of this year's Super Bowl. The Los Angeles Rams sit at (90-88) in their LIEFL career as a showcase team, and they know a little about Super Bowl's and winning. Since 2016, the Rams are (27-16). They've won four division titles since 2008. Of the nine times Coach Billy O'C's Rams have qualified for the playoffs, they have won two LIEFL-Super Bowls! Los Angeles won back-to-back LIEFL Super Bowl's in 2018 SB XIV, and 2019 SB XV, but it's been a while for Los Angeles because the league competition has improved dramatically through a great draft system. In the first ever LIEFL Tournament of Champions in 1976, the Rams lost to the then Oakland Raiders 21-14, and the Chicago Bears beat Oakland Raiders in LIEFL-Super Bowl II, 20-19! Back then we were trading players in our league. In looking at the records we had Mercury Morris, Lawrence McCutcheon and Lydell Mitchell who were the running backs at one point in the Rams lineup during the early seventies. Who could forget Tudor's nicely painted players of the era. We almost wished we never sold all of the original teams because of what might be their worth today. The player bases were super and still being used today on our offensive running players today! Rams running back Wendell Tyler still has his original player base. Tyler is a key staple to LA's offensive success along with the Reverend Isaac Bruce, who came out of the 2018 Draft. Los Angeles has the #9th best offense in the LIEFL and on defense they soured at #4! While Wendell Tyler didn't cap top-ten in rushing, he rushed for 298 yards on 46 rushes, but the number that concerns the Rams is his two touchdowns. Tyler sits at #14 in NFC rushing compared to last season where he ranked #7 with 48 rushes for 459 yards, plus nine touchdowns. That is a big difference. file:///C:/Users/willi/Downloads/1976%20Long%20Island%20Electric%20Football%20Championship%20Tournament%20(2).pdf The Bears on the other hand have been a BOOM in the NFC with the resurgence of a power style running game behind linemen and bad boys Wally Chambers, Don Hampton, and Richard Dent. Chicago has been very consistent this season, just like the Rams. The way Willie Gault and Walter Payton have rallied, gives Chicago a better than average shot at beating these Rams in an upset. Gault has been explosive at #6 in the NFC with 23 touches for 1350 yards with seven touchdowns, including four 100-yard touchdowns, and a trip to the Pro*Bowl! This number #2-#7 seed slot is a dangerous position to be in as the Rams very well know, especially after being upset by the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Wild Card Game 2020 tournament 51-45, after Los Angeles won two back-to-back Super Bowl titles. They missed out on the threepeat. This game will not be a walk over for anyone, and it may very well turn into a nailbiter! Chicago Coach Paddy Brannigan said, "The Bears could surprise. We will come back like the midnight Express. This rebuilding process for us has been three or four seasons in the making. We've banged on the door, but we couldn't breakthrough into the tough NFC playoff bracket of elite teams. Now we are here and we are going to play our best. My guys Gault and Payton, have to compete with a four-man-threat in that LA offense. Nobody talks about our tight end Mike Ditka, but he is alive and well. Ditka is just waiting for the call to get busy. I love the ambience of where we are playing today in Levi Vick's basement. He has a huge completely finished basement. It is like a Sports Memorabilia Trophy Hall with a huge set up of Vick's own electric football and NFL jersey collection. It's beautiful." The Bears are no stranger to winning a title in this league, winning LIEFL-Super Bowl II, beating the Miami Dolphins in LIEFL-Super Bowl X, 45-38 in OT! But the question is, can the Bears win with this team at (4-3)? Which powerhouse will rise to the occasion? Lots of coaches think the Redskins will be upset by the Falcons, and they also think the Chargers, who are at 99 wins, will be upset by Denver, but Coach Ed Viggs said,"The guys in this league said stuff like this when my Packers were in question before we beat the Dolphins in Super Bowl XVI in 2020. It's mostly Johnny Freeport doing all the talking, but what else is new, no worries. I like the Broncos and we have been neck-and-neck as rivals. One thing I have to be able to do is run the ball. I wasn't happy with LaDainian Tomlinson's first outing when we beat them 21-14. LT only had 41 rushing yards with a touchdown in that game. The Denver defense is the best we have seen in this in a long time. But in his new role returning the football, Lance Alworth will be the game breaker that we feel will get us to the next level. He has blazing speed and his set-up's are as good as anyone in this league. And, I still have Kellen Winslow as the secret weapon." The Kansas City Chiefs last year became one of the elite teams, only to fold this season. To think that that team last season, who put on such a show throughout the 2022 playoffs, did not qualify to make the playoffs this season, is mind boggling. That shows the continuous growth and evolution of the league. But we have to contend that the 14 teams involved in the Tournament of champions made it here uncontested. The weakest team out of the 14, because before yesterday, they didn't have much of a running game, was the Las Vegas Raiders. We were so wrong about the Raiders running game. Watching Raiders running back Bo Jackson rush for 186 yards against an elite defensive team like the Colts was a sight that exposed the REAL Colts under pressure. What a game it was! There has to be a balance or the teams would never have made it this far, and the Raiders pulled off some stunning victories and earned back the respect for their play. The Redskins are the team to beat and they might be one of the best teams we've seen in a long time. BEARS COME OUT ROARING! KICKOFF: This has to be one of the most exciting and anticipated matchups in the NFC. The Rams opened the game with an Isaac Bruce 46-yard kick return. It took nine plays for Los Angeles to get into the end zone. On three first downs, Los Angeles marched their way downfield to the 8-yard line using the entire first quarter to kill the clock and score. With 40 seconds left in the first quarter, Wendell Tyler went right up the gut of the Bears defense for an 8-yard touchdown run to score the first points of the game. Rams 7- Bears 0 as the first quarter comes to a close! 0 7 Second Quarter: The Bears answered right back with an explosive kick return of their own. Willie Gault bolted from the endzone for a beautiful 100-yard kick return for a touchdown on the Bears first possession! Gault is on the first squad Pro Bowl team for a reason. Gault exploded towards the Middle of the field, but with a Little help from Brian Urlacher he swiveled left through the Rams defense into the endzone to tie the score at 7-7, with 14:42 remaining in the first half. In one play someone came to play today! Gault is on fire! 7 7 Los Angeles stormed right back though, with a stunning 80-yard kick return by the Reverend, Isaac Bruce, who rant out of bounds at the 20-yard line of Chicago. It only took one play for the Fab-Five to get going as they opened up a hole on the right side of the field for Wendell Tyler, who then cut left running right into the corner of the end zone to make the score 14-7, with 11:40 remaining and a half! This is a war! 7 14 The points are racking up fast as we watched Bears star Willie Gault take his second consecutive 100-yard kick return into the end zone to tie the game at 14-14, with 10:05 remaining in the half! Gault is untouchable! He got a Little help from Tackle William "The Refrigerator" Perry who turned him right towards the left side of the field as Gault sped away with the return! 14 14 On the ensuing kickoff Isaac Bruce had a great setup, taking the ball 59-yards to the Bears 41-yard line. On first down for Los Angeles it was Wendell Tyler again who crushed through the Bears defense for a 26-yard first down. Chicago's defense rose to the occasion. Willie Gault made a great play in the backfield tackling Wendell Tyler on second down, behind the line of scrimmage for a loss on the play. But on 3rd down Tyler exploded 20-yards into the end zone for his third of the game with 4:22 remaining in the half to give the Rams the go-ahead lead 21-14! Both teams look outstanding! We could already feel that this is going to be a heartbreaker! 14 21 On the Bears next kick return, Willie Gault returned another beautiful kick 60-yards to the Rams 40-yard line, with 2:27 remaining in the half as the Bears called their first time out! On Chicago's first actual running play of the game from scrimmage in their third series, Walter Payton ran for six yards and then the Rams called their first time out of the half with one remaining at 1:56. On second down, Payton exploded around the right side of the Bears offense for an 18-yard first down to the 17-yard line of the Rams with 1:38 remaining in the half. The Bears were forced to take their second time out. We've seen LIEFL All*Pro Walter Payton do this all year with his sudden bursts of power through the line as he runs in stealth mode behind his blocker Brian Urlacher. Payton has been spectacular! To kick off the second half the Bears have the advantage of the receiving team so this one should be very interesting. And on first down the Bears wasted no time. Willie Gault burst into an open field on the right side of the field to score on a 17-yard pass play, tying the game at 21-21! The Rams called a timeout with 1:27 remaining in the half! This is a game! Coach Bino has not played under this kind of pressure in a long time. Gault has scored his third touchdown of the game! On the Rams final kick return of the half Isaac Bruce ran back a beautiful 50-yard kick return, but he was smashed by "The Fridge" William Perry for Perry's fourth tackle of the game! The Bears are going wild! In what would become the key play of the game, with 1:18 remaining on the clock to end the half, Los Angeles Coach Bino decided to go for it all instead of kicking a field goal, but all the Rams managed was a first down on a Wendell Tyler 11-yard catch. What a mistake by Coach Bino, and it could be a costly one. The two teams headed into the locker room with the game tied at the half, 21-21! 21 21 Third quarter action Wendell Tyler racked up the yards with 13 carries for 116 yards with three touchdowns on Coach Bino's ground offensive. Willie Gault has three touches for 260 yards with two touchdowns, both 100-yard returns, and he also has a 17-yard catch for a touchdown! Gault quickly showed his star power! The third quarter kicked off with a blazing Willie Gault 42-yard return with blazing speed. Gault was met by Wendell Tyler on the collision at the 42!. Chicago wasn't about to back down to the Rams. Running back Walter Payton carried the ball three times but the Rams stopped him at the line of scrimmage each time. But on third down, Coach Patty Brannigan unleashed Mike Ditka, who might have make one of the biggest plays of the game with a great pass by Brannigan which hit Ditka right on his number. Ditka took the reception 58-yards into the end zone for the score, walking the nose of the sideline to give the Bears the lead 28-21 with 8:35 remaining in the third quarter! Unbelievable! Chicago has the lead for the first time in the game! 28 21 Championship teams never quit! Bino's Rams came rolling right back with a 52-yard kick return by Isaac Bruce to set up Wendell Tyler. Tyler ran for 11, 7, and then three yards for the first down. Then Tyler exploded on a 28-yard run right through the left side of the field again for its fourth touchdown of the game to tie the score at 28-28 with the third quarter coming to a close! It's a nailbiter! 28 28 With 15 minutes left in the 4th quarter between the Los Angeles Rams and the Chicago Bears in this NFC Wild Card Game has been fantastic. The matchup was as good as we thought. Everything looks good on paper until the teams get on the field. On Willie Gault's next kick return, he ran into a wall of Rams who stopped him at the 36-yard line with nowhere to run. But the Bears would not give in. Chicago had an offensive wall of their own. Walter Payton had runs of 14 yards, then 10, three, and he exploded for a 20-yard first down to the your line with 8:18 remaining in the game with the clock still running! The Bears continued to work the clock down with big runs by Walter Payton. The Rams defense came up big on the first three plays of the next series, but it was Willie Gault, yet again, who broke free at the 30-yard line of Los Angeles to score his fourth touchdown of the game! What a play by the Bears! Chicago retakes the lead 35-28, with 2:42 remaining in the game! 35 28 The Rams were forced to take their first of two timeouts in the second half. Paddy Brannigan's Bears gave the Rams all that they can take in a very strategic battle. Los Angeles needs a huge play here. They took all their timeouts with seconds left in the game, and on a huge high pressure play for Coach Bino, Isaac Bruce crossed over the middle and of the field, but there wasn't enough time left for the Rams to score the touchdown, so instead, they had to settle for a field goal! What an amazing surprise for the Christmas Bound Chicago Bears (5-3), as the Bears pull off a major upset over the Los Angeles Rams (6-2) 35-31, ending the Rams hope for a third Super Bowl appearance! The Bears played an unbelievable game! This room is going wild! Chicago now advances to the NFC Divisional Game to face the winner of the Dallas Cowboys-Carolina Panthers game! After the game Bino said, "Hey you can't win them all. The Bears are a great team, and I made one mistake that cost me the game." Coach Paddy Brannigan said, "Hats off to Bino. He hasn't played under this kind of playoff pressure, and especially in these fast paced games, a coach has to make split-second decisions that could be the deal-breaker or maker in the game. That's the LIEFL!" For the Bears, Willie Gault finished the day with seven touches for 385-all-purpose yards with four huge touchdowns, two of them for 100-yards as the Bears offensive leader! The Los Angeles Rams were cut just short of advancing in the playoffs. Isaac Bruce had seven touches for 351-all purpose yards, and Wendell Tyler produced four touchdowns on 17 carries with 165 yards on the ground game. NFC Wild Card Game: FINAL SCORE: 35 31