The Return of the LA Stars, 2013

[Marmel]

The 2012 season had a shocking ending for the LA Stars. We were upset by the Rams in the Superbowl. It was a long off-season for a team that has grown accustomed to winning Superbowls. Some of our guys are nearing retirement, and there may be a long drought in the future for LA. We let one slip away, and Pinson vows now to let it happen again. Lincoln Shapiro's knees have been a problem for most of his spectacular career, and he decides to call it quits. He was a top WR for us, and in the league and he will be sorely missed.

Scout Courtney Blackwood has been with us from the beginning, but at 71 years of age, we feel a younger set of eyes will do the team good. We relieve him of his duties, but keep him on in an administrative capacity. Our new scout is Irving Fisher, 50 years old.

Amid much speculation about leaving the Stars, Coach Olin resigns for 3 more years.

Our attendance last year was 94.4%, 12th in the league. Our ticket prices will remain the same for yet another year.

We are offered the 1st overall pick this year for our top CB, Morris Nixon. I decide to take the trade and try to find a replacement in FA. He was a little overpaid, and a top pick is always nice.

We head into free agency with little cap room, which has been the norm lately. We put in an offer for LB Otis Musgrove, and CB Edwin Lane. Musgrove contemplates a similar offer from St. Louis, but quickly signs our lucrative 4 year deal. For the first time in years, we have an impact player at LB.

Backup QB Jimmy Asimov is once again getting 13-14 million dollar per year offers. Denver leads the bidding war right now. A couple weeks later, they bust the cap, and Asimov still sits there.

CB Edwin Lane signs with New England in week 7. I make a token bid on LB Marlon Yount. Once again, he was the LB I coveted in our first draft, but we went with S Kyle Bryant. He signs with Indy instead. We will now wait until week 18 and 19 to fill in our roster with capable players.

Draft.

Maybe I am just being paranoid, but it seems like my scout has some guys rated highly, that to me, look like almost certain busts. I will avoid them with my #1 pick, but may take a chance later on if they are still available.

1-TE Jeff Walker. A sure thing perenial all-star.
1-CB Bruce Aliabada. Best CB. A position we despartly need help in.
2-WR Tyrus Huntley. A very nice WR, should become our #2.
3-CB Ken Meadows, his current abilities are lacking, but if he can live up to his potentials, watch out.
4-C Larry Rainville, see CB Ken Meadows
5-DT Rico Carpenter. Solid contributor
6-QB JT Cote, a local QB from St. Mary's college
7-RB Ken King. Could become our #2 RB.

Coming out of camp, I am very disappointed to see the TE Jeff Walker, our #1 pick was a bust. Not a total bust, but I would not call him the total stud he was going to be. Everyone else looks fine, but that bust hurts.

[Marmel]

2013 Pre-Season:

We will go with the following starting lineup (# of 1st or 2nd team awards in career):

QB Troy Pinson, 5
RB Arnold Hammond, 2
FB Jeff Sanders, 5
TE Xavier Rigot, 0
WR Robert Colby, 0
WR Tyrus Huntley, 0
C Perry Farrow, 2
G Willie Grim, 0
G Luther Abrams, 3
T Jon Jensen, 5
T Kyle Murphy, 0

DE Nick Lucido, 0
DE Lewis Federer, 0
DT Brady Kolozdik, 2
DT Edwin Humphries, 0
LB Victor Boswell, 0
LB Otis Musgrove, 2
LB Nathan Lavery, 0
CB Grady Maxwell, 0
CB Bruce Aliabada, 0
S Kyle Bryant, 6
S Ray Bryant, 0

We go 4-0 in the preseason, including a 3 point win over St. Louis in a 2012 Superbowl rematch. We lose starting TE Xavier Rigot for 2-3 months.

2013 Regular Season.

Week 1:
Arizona (0-0) at LA (0-0). Troy Pinson throws for all 3 scores and we open the season with a 21-11 win over the Cardinals. CB Grady Maxwell is questionable, but Coach Olin says he will be able to go next week against perenial powerhouse Philadelphia.

Week 2:
Phily (1-0) at LA (1-0). The Troy Pinson/Donovan McNabb rivalry has been one of the best over the last 10 years. This may be the last time they meet. This one is a classic contest as both QB's have magnificent performances. Wade Richey wins it with a short FG as time runs out. Stars 31-28.

Week 3:
KC (0-2) at LA (2-0). Our first AFC game of the year, and our third straight at home to open the season. Hammond runs for 2 scores and we dominate 31-9. We have a few injuries, most are probable to go. the questionables will start, and Kyle Bryant is doubtful. He will dress for the game, but only come in if there is an emergency.

Week 4:
LA (3-0) at Seattle (1-2). Our first road test of the season. we hope the various injuries will not slow us down. We suffer our worst loss in many years in Seattle. 13-42. Pinson throws no TDs and 4 INTs! Coach Olin makes the mistake of sending Kyle Bryant into the game, and now he is lost for most of the regular season.

Week 5:
LA (3-1) at San Diego (3-1). In a span of 1 week, the Stars have lost all their confidence, despite being 3-1. This will be a tough test, physically and mentally for the Stars. Pinson gets pulled in the second half, but we still lose 31-20. This team seems to be falling apart right now. We lose CB Lamont Hoffman for the season from a broken foot, and newly aquired LB Otis Musgrove won;t be seeing much PT either.

Week 6:
LA (3-2) at Oakland (1-4). The Raiders smell blood, and our team thinks it is going to lose this week. Even the importance of the upcoming Oakland game does not make them respond with any passion during the week's practice sessions. Somehow we pull this one out on a 56 yard TD pass with under a minute to play. 31-24 Stars.

Week 7:
Miami (3-3) at LA (4-2). We regain some of our confidence, and a win here could put get us back on track. We defend our home field 31-14, and things are starting to look better in LA. The cloud is lifting and the emergency has seemed to go away for now.

Week 8:
Seattle (3-4) at LA (5-2). We face the Seahawks on our field this time around, and we rarely lose at home. The trend continues as we win 34-10. Musgrove will once again start at MLB for us next week, after playing a backup role due to injury over the last 3 weeks. Bryant, Hoffman and Rigot are still a few weeks away from being ready to play.

Week 9:
San Diego (6-1) at LA (6-2). This is a big conference showdown. The winner will have the inside track to the title and a first round bye. The Chargers seem intimidated by our awesome home field dominace and they go home with their tales between their legs as we win this one 24-13.

Week 10:
LA (7-2) at New England (1-7). Why is it that these games make me the most nervous. I hate playing on the road against a lousy team. Coach Olin doesn't seem to get let the players know that these teams, despite the losing records, don't like to lose at home. I confer with him, and tell him the necessity of winning this game. The players respond to his message and win 27-7. Otis Musgrove goes back on the IR, possibly lost for the season.

Week 11:
Bye.

Week 12:
LA (8-2) at KC (3-7). Kyle Bryant and TE Xavier Rigot will come off the inactive list this week and be in the starting lineup. Did I ever mention how I hate playing at Arrowhead Stadium? I am happy to leave with a 14-6 victory. We lose LB Malcolm Ramsey, but Lamont Hoffman will return next week.

Week 13:
LA (9-2) at Washington (5-6). Dan Snyder has predicted his team will beat us, then make a run into the playoffs. Oh yeah, Snyder is still the laughing stock among us franchise owners. We roll, 29-10.

Week 14:
LA (10-2) at Denver (5-7). As we take the field in Denver, I spot that guy who people have claimed to be Quiksand. I run up into the stands in hopes of catching him red-handed. However, when I get to his seat, that person in gone. In the seat I find a few autotote horseracing tickets that seem to be losers. The mystery continues. The day only gets worse, as we drop a close one 26-24.

Week 15:
Oakland (5-8) at LA (10-3). It's annual "Beat Oakland" week in LA and the Raiders strut their crappy 5-8 record into town. As they make their way to BioClone Stadium they are ridiculed by the ill-mannered Stars fans. Unspeakable things are tossed from the rabid crowd of Star fans and the Raiders run for cover. Although the final score suggests a close game, it wasn't. We win 27-20, but the Raiders failed to score an offensive TD until there was less than 1 minute left to play.

Week 16:
LA (11-3) at Baltimore (12-2). This game will likely determine the #1 AFC seed, and frankly we don't want to hit the road anymore this whole season, so the team is jacked up for this showdown. Cade McNown the Raven's QB is having an absolutly spectacular season. He has already thrown for over 4100 yards and 30 TDs. The game was back and forth for the 1st half, but they blew it open in the 2nd. Our comeback attempt fell short and we lost 28-21. We will have to settle for the #2 seed.

Week 17:
Denver (6-9) at LA (11-4). We make it look easy and win 38-7 in the season finale. We officialy have the #2 seed. Balitmore finished 14-2 and are clearly the team to beat in the entire NFL. St. Louis was the best team in the NFC this year with a 13-3 record, adnd they will try for the repeat.

[Marmel]

Year end stats:

QB Troy Pinson, 285/481 (59.2%) for 3,452 yards, with 26 TDs and 17 INTs. QB rating of 84.6. A very un-like Pinson year.

RB Arnold Hammond, 746 yards with 11 TDs. the 11 TDs is 2nd in the league. He is definitly tiring, but can still get it in the endzone.

WR Robert Colby received for 1,334 yards with 11 TDs.

Lucido and Federer, our two DE's, had 13.5 and 12.5 sacks, respectively. A nice year for our "bookends"

Despite playing in only 9 games, Kyle Bryant managed 5 INTs.

[Marmel]

2013 Playoffs:

We open the playoffs with a home game against the Austin Rattlesnakes. On offense, the pass more than the league average, but mostly short and screen passes. On defense they sit back in a 4 man zone and blitz the hell out of their LBs.

LA wins the toss and receives. We quickly go three and out, which has been our playoff trademark. Rupp gets off a beauty of a punt, and Austin will start on their 1 yard line. Our defense is fired up and are hungry for a safety. They have different ideas, and work out of the hole for a 1st down. They get to midfield before they punt us back, depp in our own territory. We gain 0 yards and punt after 3 plays. They will start thier next drive in our territory at the 43. We hold them to a punt. Nice job defense. Pinson finally starts throwing the ball and we cross midfield.

The 2nd quarter opens with us punting it away for a touchback. They go three and out and millions of TV viewers are switching over to the reality based show called Antartica, looking for some excitement. It looks like they changed their stations too early. Pinson completes 3 straight passes of over 10 yards and we are on the 1 yard line. He hits TE Rigot for the TD and we lead 7-0. Our D does its job again and get us the ball back at midfield, but they intercept Pinson's first pass and get the ball right back. The half ends with a clutch 55 yard field goal for Austin, and the score is 7-3.

We kickoff to start the 2nd half. They move the ball into what seemed like field goal range, but they elected to punt. Our running game is doing nothing. We have a total of 35 rushing yards. Pinson faces yet another 3rd and long, and this time he throws the INT, which is run back for the TD and now we trail, at home by 3, 10-7. Jordan gives us a 56 yard kickoff return and we immediatly threaten to regain the lead, as we are set up on their 40 yard line. 6 plays later, backup RB Wiggins score the go ahead TD. 14-10 Stars. Our defense holds them again. In fact, our D has completly stiffled their game. they currently have 130 total yards of offense as they punt it back to us. We eat up a lot of clock and drive into the redzone as the 3rd quarter expires.

At the start of the 4th quarter, we kick a FG to extend the lead 17-10. They get thier most sustained drive of the game, but got nothing out of it as they kcik a 43 yard FG, but miss it short. Pinson and Hammond look like themselves of 5 years ago on our next drive. Pinson capps it off with a TD pass with under 4 to play and we lead 24-10. The game ends with a 27-10 final.

St. Louis will return to the Superbowl. We will travel to Balitmore for the AFC championship game and a chance to take revenge upon the Rams for last year's Superbowl.

We win the toss, receive, get called for holding, and start the drive on the 3 yard line. We dig out of the hole and advance to midfield before we punt the ball to them. They go three and out and we get it back. We move the ball into FG range and Rickey kicks the 44 yarder to score the games first points. 3-0 Stars. They pick up a first down, but McNown was picked off and we take over. Pinson goes for the kill and starts throwing downfield, connecting twice. The quarter ends with us on the 23 yard line.

2 plays into the 2nd quarter, FB Sanders score on a 6 yard run and we lead 10-0. We have totally taken the crowd out of the game with our defense and our 10 points. The crowd goes even more silent as we recover the fumbled kickoff. we set up at their 21 yard line. We have to settle for the FG, so we lead 13-0, but that was a small victory for them and they hope to build off of it. They start throwing down field and we can't stop McNown. They get inside our 30 yard line. A couple of plays later they are on the scoreboard. 13-7 Stars. When Baltimore intercepts Pinson's first pass and returns it all the way to the 6 yard line, the crowd comes alive. We have lost all the advantage we built up and now may find ourselves losing. The Ravens waste no time and take it in on the first play. 14-13 Ravens. We go three and out and the momentum is with them, and they are running with it. They cross midfield and get into the redzone at the 2 minute warning. They score with :29 seconds left and we go into the half trailing 21-13, after leading 13-0.

They open the 2nd half with the ball and show no signs of slowing down as they immediatly cross midfield. A holding call forces them to punt, which they shank and we get decent field position. Pinson leads us down field, but the drive stalls and we take 3 to cut the lead to 21-16, Ravens. Our defense has begun to play good again, and they force the punt. Pinson throws 2 consecutive 20+ yard passes, then Jeff Sanders powers his way through the middle of the line, and is shocked to see open field in front of him. He walks into the endzone after a 40 yard run. We miss the 2 point conversion and only lead by 1, 22-21. They get 4 completions to get to the 48 and teh 3rd quarter is over.

This promises to be an exciting 4th quarter. The game is everything is was built up to be. We will see if the playoff experienced Stars can hang on against the younger Ravens. Our defense is having trouble stopping the pass. Kyle Bryant has seen enough and he finally makes the big defensive play. He intercepts McNown's pass and takes off for 53 yards, down to their 17 yard line. Hammond finishes it off with a TD run and we lead 29-21. They come right back and score the TD. They lineup for 2 points, to tie the game, but a stretched out Kyle Bryant preserves the lead by tipping McNown's pass away at the very last second. We take the kickoff with 6:01 to play. 29-27 Stars. We go 4 and out this time, and have to punt it back. I think Coach Olin regrets going for 2 way back when. I would feel much more comfortable being up by 3 instead of 2. Great pass defense and a sack forces them to punt and we get it back with 2:55 to play. Obviously we will look to just eat up the clock. We didn't do a great job of that, so the Ravens get the ball at the 19 with exactly 2 minutes to play, no timeouts, and they trail by 2. They quickly face a 3rd and 4. Pinson drops back to pass and fires to WR Holcombe, but Walsh steps in front of the pass and makes the INT. He returns it down to the 37 yard line and all we have to do is kneel down and we are going back to the SUPERBOWL!
Final score 29-27.

[Marmel]

The week leading up to the Superbowl has been pretty wild. This year's Superbowl is being held in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Thursday night a crew of Rams ran into a crew of Stars and some pushing and shoving occured. Our backup RB threw some punches, but ended up getting himhelf hurt pretty badly. He injured himself and due to detrimental conduct to the team, has been cut from LA.

The Stars are anxious to take the field and beat the Rams and exact their revenge against the team that beat them last year. The Rams look to repeat as champions.

St. Louis wins the toss and receives. On thier first play from scrimmage, Kurt Warner connects with his WR Borders for 59 yards. 2 plays later he hits Grier for the TD, 7-0 Rams. We drive deep into their territory, but instead of attempting a 55 yard FG, we punt. They continue thier dominance on offense and take it right down the field again. Warner hits Grier for their 2nd TD connection of the day and its 14-0 Rams. Our guys don't fold up though. Pinson leads them downfield and as the 1st quarter expires we face a 4th and 3 from the 23 yard line.

The 1st play of the second quarter sees us kick the FG to get on the board. 14-3 Rams. Our defense finally steps up on their next possession and CB Hoffman makes an interception to set up Pinson and co. in Rams territory. Veteran WR Robert Colby makes the 3rd down TD catch and we close to within 4, 14-10 Rams. The Rams go right back to work. They are shredding our secondary for 162 yards already, but this time, our other CB Russell makes the INT and once again our offense will start in Rams territory. Backup RB King takes in a 18 yard run and the Stars have taken the lead, 17-14. Again the Rams move the ball through the air with ease. We cannot stop them. They drive all the way down field, score the TD and lead 21-17 at the half. They have 224 passing yards at halftime. I spoke too soon, the Rams recoved our fumbled kickoff and added a short FG to end the half. 24-17 Rams.

We have the ball to begin the 2nd half. A holding call and a sack force us to make a long 3rd down conversion. Instead Pinson throws into double coverage and it gets intercepted by the Rams. Our defense basically escorts the Rams to the endzone and now we trail 31-17. Pinson leads us back down field. we get into at least FG range when Pinson takes a sack, and now we have to punt. Our defense comes out an actually forces a punt. I think it is the first Rams punt all day. We try to get something going, but as we once again threaten to score, their defense steps up, this time with the INT in the endzone for the touchback.

The 4th quarter begins and we trail by 2 TDs. They have the ball after the touchback. Their RB breaks a 60 yard TD run early in the 4th and that should just about do it for us. We trail 38-17.

We get completely dominated and the final tally is 48-20 Rams. They win back to back Superbowls and we are left to doubt the ability of this team. Those 5 straight wolrd titles of the Stars are ancient history now, and Troy Pinson feels especially bad. In a tearful post-game speech he says he doesn't know if he can come back next year after this loss.

Cade McNown wins the MVP award and our following players were recognized for their on-field achievements this year:

FB Jeff Sanders, 1st team
WR Robert Colby, 1st team

[Marmel]

It is a long off-season for the Stars, but Pinson changes his mind during the offseason and decides he wants to play again, and win another title before he retires.

Kurt Warner decides to retire, like John Elway, after winning back-to-back titles.

Coach Olin and Scout Fisher will be back for 2014.

Our attendance for 2013 was at 97.6%, top ten in the league. Financially, we took a big loss for the first time in a few years. We lost an astounding $82 million dollars. Management is very unhappy. Luckily the Raiders have finally raised their ticket prices, so we will as well, $1 less then them in every catagory.

[Marmel]

The Stars seem to have a little case of bad luck going on. Now don't get me wrong, I am happy that we made the Superbowl 2 years in a row. But, after winning five of them, just making it there is not cutting it for us as long as Pinson is QB'ing this team.

Also, we had a majot draft bust last year. We drafted a TE #1 overall. Granted, it may be quite a stretch drafting a TE #1, but we have not really had an impact guy at this position, and I find that a great TE really improves the passing game. My TE's usually pick up a lot of 1st downs on 3rd and 7+ yards. Anyway, this guy was a major bust, and I can only hope that the computer will offer me some type of trade for him, just so I can get rid of his ridiculously high salary.

The off-season leading up to the 2014 regular season will be coming soon, and we need to improve our secondary. The Rams absolutly torched us in the playoffs through the air, and this needs to be addressed. We have little cap room, but I am willing to cut just about anybody on the defensive side of the ball to bring in some quality guys. I don't know how our D fell apart so quickly, but it will be my #1 priority to repare it. If you remember, I traded my best CB for that #1 overall pick TE that busted.

I want to sure the fans of the LA Stars, that we are making every effort to get another championship ring for Troy Pinson, Arnold Hammond and the rest of the LA Stars franchise. Management realizes that when these 2 players retire (especially Pinson), there may be some bad seasons in our future. When we were awarded a franchise in 2002, I would have been estatic if we were able to win 1 Superbowl by now. The fact is, we won 5 straight thanks to Troy Pinson and Arnold Hammond. We also participated in 2 more Superbowls (losing both to the Rams). I don't think myself, or anybody associated with the Stars could have dreamt this, but now that it has happened, there is heightened pressure on this team to perform like that year in and year out. I will work my hardest to get players that will help this team win again.

Thank you.

[Marmel]

Free Agency:

With not much money to spend, the only guy I aquire is LB Lawrence Strumer. He is an excellent 7th year LB.

Draft:
1-WR Stan Powell, Should be our 2nd WR behind Robert Colby
2-RB Bob Torgerson, Hammond has lost a lot of skills and we need somebody to take over.
3-FB Gilbert Cook, not really a team need, but way too good to pass up here.
4-CB Ellis Lazer, need help in the secondary. but it was an extremely weak draft there.
5-DE Leo Kelly, strictly a need position
6-S Brock Sims, see above
7-G Trevor Coat, see above, hope for a breakout

We come out of a brutal training camp. The guys complained that Coach worked them too hard this year. Coach said it will do them good. No changes in anybody coming out of camp. We will go with the following lineups for the 2014 season:

QB Troy Pinson
RB Arnold Hammond
FB Jeff Sanders
TE Jeff Walker (has replaced Xavier Rigot. this was my major bust, he looks to have rebounded with a much better camp this year)
WR Robert Colby
WR Stan Powell
C Perry Farrow
G Luther Abrams
G Willie Grim "Reaper"
T Jon Jansen
T Kyle Murphy

P Jay Rupp
K Wade Richey

DE Nick Lucido
DE Lewis Federer
DT Brady Kolozdik
DT Edwin Humphries
LB Lawrence Stermer
LB Otis Musgrove
LB Victor Boswell
CB Grady Maxwell
CB Bruce Aliabadi
S Kyle Bryant
S Raymond Bryant

Offensively, we are basically the same team. We have a new starting TE, but that is about it.

Defensively, our LB group has made a huge improvement in the last 2 years. We now have one of the leagues best. Our front 4 is above average. Are CB's are suspect, but capable. Our brothers at the Safety position are starting to get older, and slow. They are still fine.

Preseason:
We go 3-1 in the preseason, and nobody on our team has so much as a hangnail. I love my coach's training program!

[Marmel]

2014 Regular Season:

Week 1:
LA (0-0) at KC (0-0). For the first time in about a decade, we have a losing record after we fall 27-24 at Arrowhead.

Week 2:
LA (0-1) at Seattle (0-1). Already an important game between the two teams that usually finish 1-2 in the division. We start the season in an 0-2 hole as we fall 20-16 on the road.

Week 3:
LA (0-2) at Denver (1-1). Another division road game. Our guys can't wait to get back to the friendly confines of BioClone Stadium. We take our 2 weeks of frustration out on the Broncos as we roll 51-12. Rookie RB Torgenson gets 2 rushing TDs.

Week 4:
Baltimore (1-2) at LA (1-2). Robert Colby has caught for over 100 yards in every game this season. This week he does it again, and hauls in 2 TDs as we take it 27-20.

Week 5:
LA (2-2) at Detroit (2-2). A tough NFC opponent, on the road, makes for an intense week of practice. The extra practice pays off as we make some key plays and pull out the win 27-24. Colby has 188 receiving and 2 TDs this week. He is having one of the best seasons ever so far.

Week 6:
bye week

Week 7:
Sand Diego (2-4) at LA (3-2). A 13-3 win as everybody did a little bit of work and there was no standout player. Great Defense.

Week 8:
LA (4-2) at Chicago (3-4). Soldier field is blanketed in snow, even though it is only October. The fans are out in full force and Chicago thinks they can pull it off. Coach Olin has the Stars ready though and the Bears get snowed out, 35-6.

Week 9:
LA (5-2) at Oakland (4-3). Oakland is having a little bit of a resurrgance this year, and they know a win against LA could bring them back into the spotlight after so many years of bad football. Our guys are pumped up as always for the annual whipping of the Raiders. We snuff out Oakland hopes and crush them in their own house, 31-16.

Mid-Season Report:
LA 6-2, Oakland 4-4 in the division
4 other teams in the AFC have 6 wins.

QB Troy Pinson 173/271 (63.8%) for 2,240 yards, 17TDs and 8INTs. 98.2 rating, places him 3rd in the league.

RB Hammond is having an atrocious year, and I suspect this will be his last.

WR Colby 802 yards and 6 TDs.
WR Tyrus huntly, 2nd year pro, has 401 yards and 4 TDs.
WR Stan Powell, rookie, has 351 yards and 2 TDs.

Kyle Bryant has 4 INTs, Raymond has 3.

[Marmel]

We have 6 home games to finish out the final 8 weeks of the season:

Week 10:
Tampa Bay (5-3) at LA (6-2). Tampa is always one of the best teams in the NFC, so this should be a well-played tough football contest. We prove a bit better this week and win 29-21. On a bad note, we lose starting center Perry Farrow for the rest of the season.

Week 11:
LA (7-2) at San Diego (3-6). I was afraid we would overlook this one considering we have a rematch with the Chiefs next week, but these guys know how to focus on the task at hand. We win 27-10. Just when I was about to write Hammond off, he scores a TD in 2 consecutive week.

Week 12:
KC (3-7) at LA (8-2). They beat us in week 1, but Coach Olin guarantees we get our revenge this week. Who is going to doubt Coach? Pinson throws for 3 and we win easily, 37-14.

Week 13:
Denver (4-7) at LA (9-2). We need OT to get past Denver. We win 30-27, but perhaps we were looking ahead to Oakland's annual trip to BioClone Stadium.

Week 14:
Oakland (6-6) at LA (10-2). Its annual "Beat Oakland" week in LA and some of the festivities that are held outside the stadium include: The world's largest bonfire, as we burn anything black and silver. Also, there is a "guess who FishFan comes to the game with" contest. It turns out to be a different girl every year since the Julia Robert breakup, so it's tough to guess. Finally, to end the festive week, we have the meet the players day on Friday. Fans are given total access to the stadium and can hang out and talk to the players after practice for the rest of the evening. Truly the fan's favorite event of this exciting week. The game is almost secondary to the events, and it always proves to be a snoozer. This year is no different and we shit them out 30-0.

Week 15:
Buffalo (3-10) at LA (11-2). I don't know how this game was so close, but we won anyway, 16-13.

Week 16:
LA (12-2) at Austin Rattlesnakes (6-8). This young expansion team is finally showing signs of life. We don't want to get bitten on the road here, so Coach sets a curfew before the game. We are fighting Pittsburgh for home field. We win 22-0 and a win next week will give us home field advantage. We lost our 2nd string C this week, so both our #1, and #2 Centers are out for the season.

Week 17:
Seattle (2-3) at LA (13-2). Pittsburgh gets upset by the 49ers so home field is ours before we even take the field. The only thing we want to take out of this game is healthy players. We win 33-9, and nobody gets hurt.

Season recap:

We finish 14-2. We lost our first 2 games, then rattled off 14 straight to end the season. We hope to make it 3 more straight. Pittsburgh looks to be our toughest AFC competition. In the NFC, there are quite a few good teams, but Atlanta, St. Louis and Dallas look to be the best 3.

QB Troy Pinson 327/534 (61.2%) for 4,101 yards with 28 TDs and 13 INTs, for a 92.3 rating, 3rd best in the NFL. 4,101 yards was a career best for Pinson.

FB Jeff Sanders 426 yards, 3 TDs
RB A. Hammond 415 yards, 3 TDs

WR Robert Colby's production slipped in the 2nd half of the season but he still ended up with 1,458 yards and 9 TDs.

WR Tyrus Huntley had 9 TD catches as well.

DE Nick Lucido had 11.5 sacks.

S Kyle Bryant had 7 INTs and brother Raymond had 6 INTs.

[Marmel]

2014 Playoffs:

Baltimore comes to LA for the Divisional round of the playoffs. They sport a 13-4 record. They are led by Cade McNown, and he was the league MVP last year. A tough 1st round playoff game to say the least.

Baltimore wins the toss and receives the kickoff. touchback. Our defense holds them to 2 yards and they punt. On our first play from scrimmage, the old, over the hill RB Arnold Hammond goes right up the middle for 70 yards and the TD! 7-0 Stars! On the Ravens next possession they get 1 first down, then they punt. We are plagued by penalties, and Pinson, trying to make up ground throws an INT. The Ravens get the ball near midfield. They hit a long pass play to get inside our 40, but a sack and 2 batted passes later and they punt. Pinson goes 4 for 6 on our next touch, but Richey misses a long 50 yard FG. The 1st quarter ends with the Ravens just moving past midfield.

The 2nd quarter begins and our defense stuffs the Ravens and forces them to punt yet again. We complete a few 3rd and short chances, then Pinson starts airing the ball out. A 22 yard pass to Colby sets us up at their 7 yard line. 1 play later, Powell catches the TD pass. 14-0 Stars. Our defense is sufforcating the Ravens. They get 1 first down, then punt once again. They have 12 rushing yards and 50 passing yards and the half is almost over. We tack on a FG, and there is less than 2 minutes in the half. 127-0 Stars. We kick off, and the Ravens fumble the ball! King recovers for LA and now we have the ball at the 25 yard line, plenty of time to get the TD and nail this game down before halftime. 3 incompletions later, we settle for 3, 20-0 Stars.

The 2nd half begins and we start out with the ball. FB Sanders gets stuffed on 3rd and 1 and we punt. For the rest of the 3rd quarter, their offense is stuck in Park. We add on a FG, and are threatening to score as the quarter ends. 23-0 Stars.

4th quarter: We kick a FG to make it 26-0 Stars. To spare you the boring details, we win 29-0. We rack up 174 on the ground and 345 in the air, against their 21/86. Complete domination, and a real defensive improvement over last year's playoffs for our guys.

St. Louis upsets top seeded Atlanta to keep their 3-peat hopes alive. They travel to Dallas this week. In the AFC Pittsburgh travels to LA. Superstar QB Jamie Lake (4618 yards, and 31 TDs this year) and RB TJ Reis ( 1800+ yards rushing this year) lead their offensive juggernaut (sp?) to the great city of LA. Our defense will have it's hand full.

Pittsburgh wins the toss and receives. They come out firing, but a timely sack forces them to punt the ball. Pinson throws on every down to lead us to the 17 yard line. Pittsburgh, now expecting pass, gets fooled by the handoff to Hammond and he goes 17 for 6. 7-0 Stars. Another sack by our defense forces another punt, and we take over. Their offense has not lived up to their billing yet. Our first play is another Pinson pass, this time to the wrong team. The Steelers will take over at our 31. They move right inside our 10 yard line, but on 3rd down we sack their QB. They decide to go for it on 4th down, Lake fires the ball, but DT Brady Kolozdik gets his big mitts on it and it falls incomplete. Pinson takes the field and starts firing the ball for 22, then 17. Pittsburgh is backed up on their heels and strictly playing the pass now. That is when Coach Olin calls for only the 2nd run of the day. 2nd run=2nd TD as Hammond goes 49 yards for the score. 14-0 Stars on absolutly brilliant offensive playcalling by Coach Olin.

The 2nd quarter begins and the Steelers have the ball. They try to run on 3rd down, and get stuffed. They have -5 yards on the ground. They have to punt. This time we open with a running play, to FB Sanders. Apparently, Pittsburgh is still playing pass, because Sanders rumbles down field stiff arming defenders and dives into the endzone after a 67 yard, oxygen depleting run. 21-0 Stars. Three and out for Pittsburgh gives us the ball back yet again. Now they have no idea what to expect, and we mix up the run and pass beautifully, go all the way down field, eat up the clock and tack on 7 more. 28-0 Stars and the rout is on. Finally, the high powered Pittsburgh offense gets on track and they score quickly to make it 28-7.

At the start of the 2nd half, we have 168/195 yards rush/pass. They have 7/113. It is clear that no team can run on us in these playoffs. A very sloppy 3rd quarter sees them kick a long field goal to make it 28-10. Not much action until late in the 3rd when Pittsburgh hits a 50 yard pass to set themselves up in our territory. the clock runs out and we go to the 4th with the Steelers attempting a comeback.

2 plays into the 4th, they get the TD, but miss the 2pt conversion. The score is 28-16. The Steelers offense is so dangerous that they are far from out of this game. We get a big run from FB Sanders, but after that we have to punt back to them. Their first play is a 32 yard strike, and now Coach Olin is getting pissed off. A few plays later they have a 1st and goal at our 8 yard line. Coach Olin is not even watching the game. He is chewing the Defensive coordinator a new a-hole on the sidelines. Our defense doesn't want to face Coach Olin after giving up a TD, so they strap it on and keep them out of the endzone. They settle for 3 and it is 28-19 Stars, 6:30 to play. We go three and out, but manage to eat up 2 and a half minutes on the game clock. They go three and out as well, but we are pinned back on the 7 yard line. A 10 yard run and a 7 and 9 yard pass dig us out of the hole and the clock keeps ticking. Hammond and Sanders get couple of runs for a 1st down and we are at the 2 minute mark. Pinson takes a couple of knees and we are in the Superbowl for the 3rd straight year again. This time, Pinson vows to win it all!

St. Louis cannot get by Dallas, so it will be the Cowboys vs. the Stars in the Superbowl. It is being played in San Diego this year, a familiar stadium for us.

[Marmel]

I just wanted to thank the loyal fans of the LA Stars for their support of the first 13 years of this team's existence.

I will be moving into a new house next week, and along with that will be a new computer. I hope to play this Superbowl, and then maybe another season or two this weekend before I move.

I will attempt to transfer my franchise to my new computer. Hopefully, I will be able to figure out the process and the LA Stars will continue to win championships. There will probably be a break in the action after this weekend though, unless the move goes particularly well.

Further, I would like to include more off the field detail in this career thread. I feel like I am not detailing the offseason moves as much as I should. Also, I feel that maybe my playoff game descriptions are a little long-winded. I am looking for any feedback from the readers. I write with you in mind, and want to deliver things that I would like to see. I think we all agree that Quiksand has some of the best career threads, and I am trying to borrow some elements of his threads, but make mine different enough to be unique in this "forum of a 1000 dynasties."

Also, I would love to incorporate the fans in my dynasty. The loyal reader should notice references to FishFan and Quiksand (although I am not sure if Quik would be an LA fan ) So, if you would like to pick a roll, for example: the total fanatic, the bandwagon fan, the Raider fan, the football hater, whatever you can come up with, I would love to be able to interact with you as this dynasty moves forward.

Just wanted to say thanks for reading about the Stars!

Your Dedicated GM,
Marmel

[FishFan]

Who did I come to the game with this year? After the all-night drinking binge, I can not remember.

Keep up the good work, Marmel. Not a bad dynasty thread for your first attempt!

[Marmel]

Fish, at the Oakland game, the paparazzi saw you come to the game with Jamie Pressley, but they also have picture of you leaving the game with Anna Kournikova. For the record, Julia Roberts was seen with Jay Leno. I still can't figure that one out.

I was with Drew.

Barrymore, not Carey

I think I will pop in from time to time with roles of varying degrees but I suspect I'll play the greedy agent the most

[FishFan]

*photo removed at Marmel's request - he did not want to give readers the impression that this thread was about kickass golfers*

Hal Sutton is not a bust!

[This message has been edited by FishFan (edited 02-13-2001).]

[Marmel]

How dare you scar the LA Stars dynasty. this is a thread of winners, not 1st round busts! I ask you to delete that horrible picture!

[FishFan]

I'll delete it for now, but it's coming back after he wins the Masters.

[Ctown-Fan]

Originally posted by TheRoyalOne:
I was with Drew.

Barrymore, not Carey

I must say that being at the game with Drew would be a lot more fun. After the game however . . .wait he does hang out with attractive women. More than any one man his size could handle, and I am, of course, single again. Maybe I should fly out to LA and check these Stars out.

BTW, Marmel I really enjoy the Stars posts, and agree that any discussion of golfing friends, be they busts or not, should be left to the GD section, where everyone can suffer

[Marmel]

Ctown, you should come out to the new LA. We have a championship football team in the Stars. You might not have heard, but the Lakers and Clippers merged, and the Lakers have won 5 titles in the 2000's. Shaq is retired of course, but Kobe is finishing out his last couple of years here.

Also, since Mario's comeback in hockey, Wayne Gretzky has decided to unretire as well. He said if Gordy and Mario can do it, so can he. So the Kings are quite a draw as well.

Of course, the Dodgers still suck in the new LA, but hey, everything can't be perfect.

[Ctown-Fan]

Marmel,
General Manager and Director Of Football Operations, LA Stars.
5252 Stars Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 55555

Dear Marmel,

I have recently considered moving to the Los Angeles area. Attached is my resume for consideration for the position of Player Programs Coordinator.

I believe that my expereinces working with future NHL players at the University of Maine has prepared me well for such a position with your franchise. As an added bonus, I am well versed in many of the *ahem* bad elements your players might find in a city such as LA.

Please review the attached resume at your lesiure. Also, please note I have also attached a personally signed rejection letter from Dwight Clark, Director of Football Operations, of the Cleveland Browns. While I was not offered the position in Cleveland, the esteemed Mr. Clark was glowing in his response to my resume (Note: This is actually true).

I would be happy to start working with your young players as soon as possible, and believe that I can help them develop into strong young adults, who manage to aviod the problems that come with associating with FishFan and other negative elements from around the league.

Thank You for Your Time,
Ctown-Fan

[Marmel]

I was re-reading these thread, and I really, really miss this team. It is far and away the most fun I have had playing FOF (2 or 2001). I am going to have to see if my dad, who has my old computer, kept FOF2001 on it and see if I can't retrieve the file and try to transfer it to my computer again.

I am still working on the terrible three thread. I have been busy the last week or so, but now I have a little more time and will get that going again, hopefully tonight.

GO STARS!!!!!!!