Young Guns Win Again - Vulcans Upset ‘Dillos:

It has happened before in the Big Daddy Football League. It’s called “beginner’s luck.” Championships in the BDFL have been won by teams in “their first year.” The Bulletin is getting the Elias Sports Bureau and the old WARTS (Woosiers Accurate Real Time Scoring) to confirm, but the *Fairfield PowerSleds, the Gulf Coast Gamblers, and the Mt. High Blue Deacons all won the title in their inaugural season in the league. [*Note: the Sleds won in the first year of the league, so anyone that won that season would have qualified, per se.] At any rate, the newby’s this season, the North Birmingham Vulcans have been steady all season, but they have really started to “refine iron,” in the Big Daddy Championship Series (BDCS). In round one, the Vulcans knocked off the top-seeded Mayors and in the semi-finals, Nic Hand’s “young, but naïve,” Vulcans pulled another upset, this time defeating the Duncanville Armadillos, 35-26. It was a close game, but the rookie’s pulled away down the stretch and stand a 50-50 chance of escaping the “Null Set Club,” before their membership cards are printed. As for the ‘Dillos, K.P. & Company took the loss in stride. The “little ol’ team from Texas – by way of Charlotte,” vowed to be back next year. “I probably shouldn’t have turned down that Pasadena ticket from Nic,” said K.P., noting that, that decision may have cost him in the “jinx / karma” department.    

Upset City - Blitz Chases Cheetahs Outta BDCS:

For years and years, the Druid City Blitz has tried to escape the restrictive confines of the “Null Set Club.” Jerry Fritz has tried nearly everything. In 2023, Fritz pulled off a pretty decent draft in August and he has supplemented his team with at least three WORM moves during the season. But, most importantly, his “Gritz Blitz” has come with the heat at the right time of the season. The Blitz defense showed up and showed out in the semi-finals, holding the Southside Cheetahs to just 13-points, in route to a gutty, 29-13 vict’ry. The Sin Wagon just couldn’t get rolling, they couldn’t get the shotgun snaps right on every play, and they couldn’t stop the “blitz up the middle.” It was a sad ending to another very good season for the Cheetahs. Meanwhile, daBlitz is on “cloud nine,” and hopes they can pull it together in time to come up with a winning strategy for the Big Daddy Bowl. The good news for both teams is that most – if not all – of their key players will be playing in meaningful games in Week 18 of the NFL season, which should lead to a very good Championship Game. Either way it goes, the BDFL will crown a new champion after the final whistle sounds, and the Commissioner will present the Grand Daddy Trophy to Jerry Fritz or Nic Hand.    

Mayors Bounce Back – Put Epic A.W. on Bullets:

Week 17’s biggest lopsided A.W. – and only A.W. - occurred on the hallowed grounds of Legion Field. The Magic City Mayors, who were a week late in their “championship mode,” destroyed the Benton Bullets, 53-15, in a game that was never close. Mayor Arrington’s Cronies suffered a key injury the week before and were stunned in round one of the playoffs by the upstart Vulcans. Arrington was not going to let that happen in Week 17. The Mayors bounced back in a bid way against the beleaguered Bullets. It seems the ol’ Bullerino spent all of this energy in the regular season and fighting to circumvent the old, proverbial, “Bullet Rule.” Once that was accomplished by the Bentonites, they just didn’t have anything left in the tank. Borrowing a line from Crandall Russell in one of the famous Gardendale vs. McAdory games of the late 1970s, Bullet simply said, “I’m pooped.” The Rockets and Yellow Jackets staged three epic games in the 1979 season. They met in the regular season with McAdory winning 14-7. Being the best two teams in Jefferson County, they met again at Legion Field in the Dental Clinic. The Yellow Jackets scored late to defeat the Rockets, 19-13. Then, in the first round of the playoffs, McAdory traveled to Gardendale to face the Rockets one more time. This time, the Rockets prevailed behind a new 5-3 defensive scheme designed by legendary GHS assistant coach, Dale Cook. (Cook is in the AHSAA Hall of Fame with head coaching stints at Ramsey – before GHS – and afterwards at his native Cullman High School and later at Corner.) In what The Bulletin believes was the first game of the threesome in ’79, Head Coach Ed Bruce at halftime, challenged his team. He said they all looked tired, except for RB – Crandall Russell. Expecting Crandall to “back him up,” he said something like, “You ain’t tired are you Crandall?” Russell’s legendary reply was, “Yeah coach, I’m pooped.”    

Bellcows Drop Freebirds in Consolation Game:

In the so-called, “other” game, the Fieldstown Bellcows dropped the Fultondale Freebirds like they were shooting doves in Old Man Kelsey’s field on the outskirts of Fieldstown, where the shots could be heard as far away as Black Creek. Old Bocephus and Bell Head attempted to “get the game outta the way,” as quickly as possible to make room for more college football watching. The plan worked for the Bellcows who escaped with a 32-23 vict’ry over the F’Birds. Actually, the strategy kind of backfired when both teams had to suffer through a tough game on New Year’s Day out in California. Not to jinx each other, but at the same time, Belrose and “Jammin’ Jaimie” Hand said, “We should not have sent Nic and the Commissioner out to Pasadena, they just couldn’t get the job done like Bullet and K.P. did against Texas.”  

Big Mullet and Beyond:

In the essence of “time and space,” The Bulletin is skipping the Big Mullet Series. Congrats to the PowerSleds and the Gamblers who will apparently play for the first draft pick in the Pony Draft of future, rookie NFL players in the Spring.    

“It’s all about the kids.” – JrBDFL Update”

In an interesting move, the JrBDFL closed its season a week early. Apparently, a lot of the “other” leagues end on Week 17 in the NFL, because of all of the weird things* that can potentially happen in the last week of the NFL season. So, a new champion has been crowned in the Junior League. Jacob Wood’s North Canton Bulldogs captured the JrBDFL championship by knocking off the two-time, defending champions coached by Matthew Hand’s roommate, Hayden Roberts. So, congratulations to Jacob Wood. (* potential weird things being: -teams that clinch not playing their starters, -bottom dwellers “mailing it in,” –teams “tanking” for a higher drafting position, and –interim coaches being unpredictable and last but not least, -a generation being “scared” of the unknown, different, or difficult… everyone afraid of “boldly going” into the future.) P.S.: Milton Hand won the championship in his “other” league.  

Happy New Year from The Bulletin!