By Michael Lipinski, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The reborn United States Football League did what other Spring football leagues were unable to do, they made it through a season.  The season, according to ownership and investors, was deemed a success.  The USFL and Fox Sports have already announced that season two of the league will kickoff next Spring.  But where is the million dollar question.  

The Birmingham “bubble” made sense for season one especially with uncertainty around the pandemic and local rules.  But the bubble environment made for an odd looking affair with nearly empty stadiums, unless you were watching the hometown Birmingham Stallions.  That won’t work for season two.  

If the USFL wants to be taken seriously they will need to move most, if not all, of their teams into the home markets.

Having the players and coaches in the community will increase their visibility and create connections with fans. The USFL doesn’t need to be the NFL to be successful especially in a sports crazed city such as Philadelphia. Case in point, the Blazers, Firebirds, Phantoms, Soul, Kixx, RiverSharks, and Wings all enjoyed decades of success here. 

They were here in the Delaware Valley. They lived here, practiced here, and more importantly they played here. 

Playing “here” might be the hardest part of the equation. Where will the Philadelphia Stars play if they move to the region? 

By Michael Lipinski, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Philadelphia Stars bid for a USFL title came up short on Sunday night at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. The Stars fell 33-30 to the top seeded Birmingham Stallions in the USFL Championship Game in front of 20.000-plus fans at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.  

Philadelphia, winners of six of their last seven, defeated New Jersey to reach the title game. Birmingham, the only team to have a regular season home field  advantage, defeats New Orleans in the semifinals. 

Stars’ quarterback Casey Cookus was 17-for-29 with 3 TDs and no picks before leaving the game in the second half  with an apparent knee injury.  He was relieved by KJ Costello who immediately threw a pick six to Birmingham’ s Scooby Wright to extend the Stallions lead to 10-points. 

Scooby Pick Six + Drone Cam = 🔥🔥🔥

Can't get enough of these Championship Drone Cam angles ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/l0vSDNAVpu

— USFL (@USFL) July 4, 2022

What is it with Philadelphia quarterback and nail-the-coffin interceptions late in the game?

By Michael Lipinski, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Philadelphia Stars (6-4) upset the New Jersey Generals (9-1) 19-14 in the USFL playoffs to advance to the USFL Championship Game on Sunday, July 3 in Canton, Ohio.  

THE @USFLStars DON'T QUIT 🌟@_hardtime3 takes back the lead with a HUGE punt return TD pic.twitter.com/0e1TB8iDAT

— USFL (@USFL) June 25, 2022

What’s old is new again, or something like that.  It’s only appropriate that the Stars, the winningest team in the original USFL, have punched their ticket to the title game.  Even more so doing it by beating their “rival” from the Garden State (of Alabama) in the process. 

The Stars will take on the winner of the Birmingham-New Orleans semifinal.  

By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 

An hour weather delay before opening kickoff was a bad omen for the Philadelphia Stars. Two missed field goals and costly turnovers ultimately were what cost them a victory, as the revived United States Football League returned this past weekend in Birmingham, Alabama.

Led by head coach Bart Andrus, the Stars were edged 23-17 opposite the New Orleans Breakers Sunday evening, with starting quarterback Bryan Scott completing 25 of his 36 passing attempts for 202 total yards, one touchdown and one interception.

By Michael Lipinski, Sports Talk Philly Contributor

It’s been a busy week for the returning USFL, here’s a look at the noteworthy news from the league. 

USFL Playoffs & Championship Game Headed to The Hall- In an ingenious move, the USFL will hold the playoffs and championship game at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. The first round of the playoffs begins June 25 from Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, home of the NFL Hall of Fame Game. 

Uniforms Unveiled- The league unveiled the uniforms for the eight returning teams. All of the uniform sets harken back to the original USFL with a modern touch. 

By Michael Lipinski, Sports Talk Philly Contributor

The reboot of the United States Football League (USFL) is less than 60-days away and we know now what the Stars will look like on the gridiron. 

By Michael Lipinski, Sports Talk Philly Contributor

Major football news broke on November 22 when Fox Sports announced the return of the United States Football League (USFL) after a 37-year absence.  Little was known about the league at the time of the announcement other than the teams that would make up the revived USFL.  We now have more information, particularly the league “draft,” training camp dates, and an interesting caveat regarding league eligibility. 

As first reported by Philly Stars Blog and confirmed by Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, a memo was sent to all NFL Players Association contract advisors advising (ironically) that a “player selection meeting” will take place on February 22-23.  In order to be eligible for the fancy titled draft, the player must sign with the league prior to that date.  An interesting rule for the USFL is what age a player is eligible to be drafted into the league.