The Pony Express
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|
Craig
James and Eric Dickerson was The Pony Express at Southern
Methodist from 1979 to 1982 |
SMU's Pony Express
once rolled like thunder
DALLAS,
TX
– Courtland Sutton is the highest drafted player from Southern Methodist
University (SMU) since the death penalty was handed down by the NCAA in
1980. Prior to this historic mandate, SMU was truly the "Wild Wild West"
of college football where lack of institutional control was the norm.
From the governor of the state to the president of university to the
athletic director to boosters and the head football coach, this was a
program that was way out of control by normal NCAA standards. This "win
at all cost" atmosphere created a big time college football program that
produced big numbers and big stars. No stars in college football at the
time were bigger than "The Pony Express" tandem of Eric Dickerson and
Craig James. The two studs alternated at tailback for most of their four
years in Dallas amassing 8,705 rushing yards and 78 total touchdowns to
lead the Mustangs back to national prominence. In the 44 games during
which they both played together, they each broke the 100-yard mark in
the same game 13 times. In an ironic twist, it is only
fitting that SMU's Sutton joins the BDFL's "Wild Wild West" team the
Western Hills Wildcats for the 2018 season.
See the complete 2018 BDFL Pony Draft
results by clicking here.
The story
behind the original "Iron Hand" and why he's known as "The Father of
Arkansas"
MOBILE,
AL
- Henri de Tonti was born near Gaeta, Italy in 1649, but worked mainly
for France as a soldier, explorer and fur trader. If he had an honorary
team in the BDFL (and this will probably happen), they would would be
known as the Arkansea Ironmen. This may need a little explaining, but
we'll get there. Henri was the son of Lorenzo de Tonti, a financier and
former governor of Gaeta,
who was involved in a revolt against the Spanish viceroy in Naples and
was forced to seek political asylum in France around the time of Henri's
birth.
His brother was Alphonse de Tonti, one of the founders of
Detroit. In 1668, Henri joined the French military forces and during the
Third-Anglo-Dutch War he lost his hand in a grenade
explosion. From that time on, Henri wore a prosthetic hook thus earning the
nickname "Iron Hand". You can't make this stuff up. He would later join Sieur de La
Salle in 1678 as an explorer in the New World. In the spring of 1682,
de Tonti journeyed with La Salle on his descent of the Mississippi River.
In 1686, de Tonti made it from the Port of St. Louis to the Gulf of Mexico without La
Salle and left several men near the mouth of the Arkansas River to
establish a trading post there on land granted to him by La Salle for
his honorable service. This location known then as the Poste aux Arkansea would become the historical
Arkansas Post, the first permanent European settlement in the lower
Mississippi River Valley region. For this establishment, de Tonti is known as "The
Father of Arkansas". In the early 1700s, Henri journeyed further down
the Mississippi to join Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, who had established
the Louisiana colony. De Tonti reached Iberville at Old Mobile and was
assigned to be the French ambassador to the Choctaw and Chickasaw
tribes. De Tonti and Iberville were able to negotiate with the tribal
chieftains and the Indians helped the French settlers establish a colony at the
Old Mobile site. The historic north district of present-day downtown
Mobile is named for de Tonti. In August of 1704 Tonti contracted yellow
fever and died at Old Mobile. In June of 2017, Rebecca Williams and Ben
Ross opened a brewpub in Mobile's De Tonti Square. They named it
Iron Hand Brewing in honor of the original Iron Hand, Henri de
Tonti. Well played.
Arkansea Ironmen:
De Tonti's honorary team
GILLETT,
AR - Arkansea is the French word meaning "Land of downriver people" for
the Quapaw indigenous native American tribe that occupied the
lower Mississippi River Valley region when Henri de Tonti arrived in
1686. Ironmen comes from Iron
Hand's followers who were rough and rugged explorers of the region. All
in all, de Tonti' story of exploration in this part of the country and
his iconic nickname make for a perfect honorary team in the BDFL. Look
for the Arkansea Ironmen to be a tough out in the BDFL's Throwback Week
of 2018.
The BDFL's
patented Progressive Priority Draft (PPD) process will be back for 2018
TITLETOWN
- Based on the success of the last four seasons, the BDFL will once
again follow the league's patented Progressive Priority Draft (PPD)
platform for pre-placing and drafting players for the 2018 season. The PPD formula has had
its skeptics over the years, but when the most vocal detractors are
some of the most successful teams, there is no denying the effectiveness
of the PPD process. All teams are required to
submit their proposed 16 player "priority" roster by position
knowing all other teams will be doing the same. All teams are
guaranteed to land their 2018 Pony Draft pick and any other
players they value more than any other team in this proven process.
Final 2018 BDFL rosters are to
be completed on GDN18.
Dissecting
the BioCats first BDFL title run
GLEN
OAKS
- Things do not happen by chance, nor happenstance in the BDFL. In 2017,
the Western Hills Wildcats won their first BDFL title and climbed out of
the infamous Null Set Club. Some look at it as luck, but in the BDFL, we
know better. The Wildcats scored the most points for the season with
508. They also posted a 12-5 record which was the second best in the
league behind the high-flying Freebirds who posted the best record in
league history at 15-2. So, where did this success come from? First off,
they sent in an envious PPD Original Submission to jump start the BDFL
Genuine Draft process, clearing 10 roster positions, including the nucleus of
their team (Prescott, Ingram, Gronkowski, Landry and Matthews). This
pristine PPD OS earned them the first overall draft pick on Draft Night
2017
where they drafted Freeman to solidify their backfield. They avoided the RICKA Rule, but picked up Mack for Sproles in the Supp Draft. They
passed on the Waiver Wire Week and stayed hot in the BDCS by upsetting
the Freebirds in Big Daddy Bowl XVI to bring home the Grand Daddy Trophy
and their first BDFL title. What started well, ended well, which is the
moral of this story and the real secret behind the Wildcats first BDFL
championship title.
Throwback
Week 2018 to pay tribute to the BDFL's most notable honorary teams
NO MAN'S LAND
- Yes, this is a bit bizarre, but fantasy football is just that. So
staying with the bizarre, in 2018 the BDFL will use Throwback Week to
honor 16 legends who have passed away, but all have played some part in
history and had some type of influence on those in the BDFL. Some like
Hank Williams, Bear Bryant, John Wayne, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash,
Merle Haggard, Ronnie Van Zant, Glen Campbell, Gregg Allman and Tom
Petty are known to most, while some others like William Gerst, Frank
Pabst, Warren Zevon, Harland Sanders, Jack Daniel, Henri de Tonti and Kenny Stabler may not be as well known, but all will be honored during
the league's Throwback Week 2018. Here are the honorary BDFL teams being
considered at this time for TBW18: Kentucky Buckets, Gainesville
Breakers, Georgiana Drifters, Tupelo Kings, Jacksonville Freebirds,
Tennessee Studs, Lynchburg Shiners, Moro Bottom Bears, Muskogee Okies,
Wichita Linemen, Folsom Prison Blues, London Werewolves, Macon Ramblers, Milwaukee Blue Ribbons, Glendale Dukes,
Arkansea Ironmen and the Ono Island Snakes.
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The Mt. High Blue Deacons are in full attack mode as they
prepare for their "Second Crusade" in the BDFL |
Blue Deacons are bringing their crusade back
MT. HIGH - The
BDFL's latest entry to the fray answers to a different calling. From
high atop Mt. High in southwest
Blount County comes the hard-charging Blue Deacons, once again. Their first crusade in the
BDFL was in 2014 as a full-season replacement team for the jet-setting
Jugtown Juggernauts. The Dark Knights, as they are known to their loyal
local Mt. High followers, did an admirable job that season finishing their
maiden campaign with a respectable
10-7 win-loss record and a vict'ry in the Big Mullet Bowl of the
post-season Big Mullet
Series (BMS) which was good for a ninth place finish in the league. This time
around,
known as their "Second Crusade" into the BDFL, the Blue Deacons have their sights set on
something much bigger, a BDFL championship title. Playing in the Yellow Hammer
Division in 2014, The Crusaders, as they are known in the Snow Rogers
area of North Jefferson County for their conquering exploits in the area
during the 1990s, will be competing in the Green Horn Division this time around
which fits them accordingly. Look for the Blue Deacons to be better than
the team they are replacing which isn't saying a whole lot, but
the league's competition and the expectation level of this franchise has definitely increased.
The Blue Deacons will have their traditional Green Horn divisional rivals, but will
have other
natural inter-divisional rivalries with the Woosiers because of the proximity
of Smoke Rise and with the Bullets, Armadillos, Wizards and Grenadiers for varied and
unspecified reasons at this time.
Mt. High: Home of the Blue Deacons
empire
MT. HIGH
- This hamlet in
southwest Blount County, Alabama is
also known as
High Mount, High Mound, or Highmound. The unicorporated community located approximately two miles west of
I-65 and the Smoke Rise community and is approximately 25 miles north of Birmingham.
Mt. High also is just southwest of the legendary Rickwood Caverns which
has been a hideout for the Order of the Blue Deacons for years.
