George Dickson, Bob Leahy, and Kent Stephenson were the offensive coaches. Chances are Christine Michael was on your fantasy team at some point through various NFL stops from 2013-18. 27 at the Washington Federals (22–16 in OT) and April 4 at home to the Denver Gold (29–21). The USFL's first collegiate draft was held on January 4, 1983. Sheikh spurned the Panthers to sign with the New York Giants of the NFL. In the playoffs, the Panthers hosted the Western Division champion Oakland Invaders before a USFL-record crowd of 60,237. The Panthers also had a few key players with NFL experience. A. Alfred Taubman, one of the nation's leading real estate developers, headed the ownership group that included Judge Peter B. Spivak and Max M. Fisher. The Panthers then dropped their next four contests, losing on March 12 to the Tampa Bay Bandits (19–7); Mar. The A-11 Football League (A11FL), a planned spring football league which had intended to start play in 2015, had announced its intention to revive the Michigan Panthers for one of its charter franchises. On July 17, 1983, the Panthers captured the USFL's first championship with a 24–22 win over the Atlantic Division champion Philadelphia Stars. Linebacker John Corker had played three seasons for the Houston Oilers. According to personnel director Mike Keller, the only colleges within reasonable driving distance of Detroit would not even consider opening their doors to a Panthers team playing in the fall, meaning that they would have had to play home games on Wednesdays or Thursdays. The Pontiac Silverdome was the home of the Panthers. When is the first XFL game? The Panthers' late season surge (counting the playoffs, they went 13-2 to finish the season) was fueled by the addition of NFL-comparable talent at several positions. Next weekend (Feb. 23) will be the first time the St. Louis Battlehawks will play in front of their hometown fa… Michigan held its first training camp at City Island Stadium in Daytona Beach, Florida, sifting through over 75 players. Michigan is home to four major-league professional sports teams, all of which play in the Detroit metropolitan area.The Pistons played at Detroit's Cobo Arena until 1978 and at the Pontiac Silverdome until 1988, when they moved into the Palace of Auburn Hills where they played for 28 years between 1988 and 2017, before moving back inside city limits to Little Caesars Arena in Detroit in 2017. They are better structured, they have more money to invest in the league, and most importantly, they have better players than they did 20 years ago. The Panthers used this draft to select two placekickers. Detroit/Pontiac. Future Buffalo Bills linebacker and children's book author Ray Bentley was also a Michigan Panther. Receiving Yards: 1220 (1984), Derek Holloway. Dornbrook and McGriff would both make USFL all-league teams in 1983. The WWE may have hinted at an XFL revival when they dropped this video on their channel recently. 19 at home to the Oakland Invaders (33–27); Mar. Michigan, USA The Panthers were expected to romp to another Central Division title in 1984. On Monday, March 7, 1983; the Panthers opened the season with a 9–7 win over the Birmingham Stallions at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. Wrestling promoter Vince McMahon is set to return to professional football nearly two decades after the one-and-done XFL season of 2001. XFL schedule: How many games do teams play in the 2020 XFL... XFL teams on alert after player tests positive for coronavirus. It turned out to be the Panthers' last game. As a result, after the merger between the Oakland Invaders and the Oklahoma Outlaws collapsed, Taubman quietly approached Invaders owner Tad Taube about a possible merger with his Panthers. Since the XFL officially canceled the rest of the 2020 season due to health concerns, players around the league are now officially allowed to sign with NFL teams. One of Michigan's largest college towns could make a perfect home base in Michigan for the new league if they don't get overshadowed by the boys from the Big House or the Green and White. He also had no desire to compete with the Detroit Lions. However, Taubman knew that he wouldn't have even begun to be able to go head-to-head with the Lions even if he'd been inclined to do so. For the love of football. Then, on May 23, they and the Birmingham Stallions were tied 20–20 in the fourth quarter. Vince McMahon takes reporters questions and reveals how he believes the new XFL will re-invent the game of football. Sports and wrestling industry media widely reported the relaunch of a Vince McMahon football league in the days leading up to the announcement. 3 pick in 2020 NFL Draft. You shouldn't be, the largest city in Michigan's Upper Peninsula is filled with scrappy, rough-and-tumble individuals who would fit right in with the lifestyle of the nascent league. Plus the city has an arena ready to go. Alex Rodriguez and Jose Canseco: What is the beef between them all about? Not only was he a decades-long Lions fan, but he was a longtime friend of Lions owner William Clay Ford. They initially didn't disappoint, sweeping their first six games. The coaching staff was rounded out by Larry Coyer, Pete Rodriguez, and Dick Roach (Defensive coaches). However, Taubman believed the Panthers would not have been able to get a lease for the Silverdome in the fall. The new league is set to launch in 2020. Consider that the Grand Rapids area is the 38th largest metro area (CSA) in the country, larger than Memphis and Birmingham, other cities that often get non-NFL pro football franchises. And with the Lions grasping failure from the jaws of success season after season with no Super Bowls and scant few playoff appearances to show for their efforts, Lord, Mr. Ford, isn't Detroit ready for some new football blood? Tackle Ray Pinney and Tyrone McGriff had played for the Super Bowl Pittsburgh Steelers teams. And there are no other cities in Michigan that fit the bill of the ornery underdogs than the mid-Michigan rust-belt burgs of Flint and Saginaw. If there are any cities that could encapsulate the smashmouth attitude of the original XFL, it's Flint and Saginaw. Due to expansion, they were now in a Central Division with three expansion teams and a Blitz squad that had swapped nearly all of its players with the last-place Arizona Wranglers. When the vote to play in the fall passed, the Panthers and Invaders announced their merger, with Taubman as majority owner of the Invaders. This was the first professional football game ever broadcast on ESPN. The additions on the offensive line, combined with installing rookie Bobby Hebert as quarterback, helped the Panthers win 11 of their next 13 contests to finish with a 12–6 record. However, in the sixth game, a win over the expansion San Antonio Gunslingers, star receiver Anthony Carter broke his arm and was lost for the season. The game went into overtime and was won by Birmingham thanks to a 46-yard field goal by Stallions placekicker Scott Norwood. [1]. They also tabbed Michigan WR Anthony Carter in the USFL Territorial Draft – a process whereby USFL teams could protect up to 25 graduating seniors from a series of local universities. They are also drawing early interest from fans in bigger numbers, which is huge. Serbian kicker (via Central Michigan) Novo Bojovic kicked the winning field goal from 48 yards out in the waning moments. Their slow start was attributed mostly due to a very porous offensive line that struggled to create holes or time for their offensive stars. When the league owners met to vote on moving to the fall, Taubman sent his son, Robert, with a message for the commissioner—if the teams voted to move to the fall, the Panthers would merge with the Invaders, with the Invaders as the surviving team. The Panthers would bounce back with a 42–7 thrashing of the stellar Tampa Bay Bandits, coached by future Florida Gators head coach Steve Spurrier. But with the way Michigan's college teams have been playing lately, there's likely room for another game in town. The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League (USFL) in the mid-1980s. The new XFL is forming under the umbrella of Alpha Entertainment, a company founded by McMahon that will be separate from the WWE. Hebert was named MVP of the game, throwing for 319 yards and three touchdowns. This city is due for a winner. One was Novo Bojovic, and the other was Michigan's Ali Haji-Sheikh. Needing to win their last two games against Oklahoma and Chicago just to make the playoffs, Michigan did just that, finishing 10–8.