Indiana win? Check.
Halifax win? Check.
Louisville win? Check.
Providence no longer winless? Check.
Boston faltering? Check.

It's been a good week for me.

1965 Trade Deadline

Tuesday, August 17, 1965 - 8:32 AM ET
The Royals kicked off the trade day craziness by selling. While the team had shown that they are somewhat competitive this season, after back-to-back losses and a desire to focus on building the team would make a couple of trades. The first would send 33-year-old LB John MacDonald to the Raiders for a 2nd Round Pick and LB Ronald Palmer. The Raiders are missing LB Deon Wiggins for what could be most of the season, so they are hoping to get some backup with the veteran in the lineup.

Tuesday, August 17, 1965 - 8:48 AM ET
Within the next half hour, the Royals made a second trade that would send veteran WR Benedict Spencer to the Blue Wings for a 4th Rounder (plus both WR Billy Bond and WR Houston Parker to balance the rosters). Spencer had been the 5th WR on the Royals roster this season, and while he was fine with the role, he had asked if there was an opportunity to move to a better spot on another team, the Royals have the go-ahead. His spot on Buffalo will not be starting, but he will likely see the field especially with the struggling WR Daniel Irons needing some more support.

Tuesday, August 17, 1965 - 11:31 AM ET
The next move was the big one of the day. The Toronto Steelheads were in dire need of a top-tier LB due to the fact that both LB Daniel Carpenter and LB Rusty McVee were on the verge of retirement. So with the Gold Stars’ struggles, they were able to close on a deal for LB Sebastian Andrews III. The full deal would be LB Sebastian Andrews III and a 3rd round pick to the Steelheads in exchange for Toronto’s 1st round pick, LB Kenneth Mercer, and Boston’s 5th round pick. 

Andrews had only been acquired by the Gold Stars last trade deadline after he had been flipped from Montreal to Indiana and then to Providence. Andrews is a solid defender and he is right in his prime which should be good for the Steelheads to build around on the back end with the change of the guard coming to this offseason. As for Providence, they do give up the strong LB, but they do get a 1st round pick which is tough to come by prior to the actual draft, and a 24-year-old LB in Mercer who might be able to find himself as a #3 starter.

Tuesday, August 17, 1965 - 1:42 PM ET
Providence was back on making moves later on in the day with a swap that many more predicted would happen earlier. The Tigers have had a need at TE since Tranquille Rousseau had gone down with an injury. So they decided to go out and grab veteran TE Micheal Bowman III in exchange for a 2nd round pick and TE Danny Harmon. Bowman has been a solid scoring presence on the Gold Stars over his 11-year career, so he should be a great piece for the Tigers to add as they make another (and potentially final) push for the McCallister Cup.

Tuesday, August 17, 1965 - 2:59 PM ET
Toronto ended up being a little busier with another deal coming just before 3. They have noticed they have been a little weak in the WR core so they decided to go out and get a solid threat in WR Ben Roland from the Blacksmiths. Roland should help alleviate some of the pressure from WR Edmund Landry and provide another strong weapon for QB Todd Baker. Pittsburgh would receive WR Johnny Starwood and a 3rd Round Pick for the Wideout. It is likely WR Moe Schafer will slide into the WR3 spot for Pittsburgh down the stretch.

Tuesday, August  17, 1965 - 5:40 PM ET
Everything quieted down for a while, but then there was one last trade that was made just ahead of the 6 PM ET deadline. A deal that had actually been talked about originally in the offseason was finally put through. Both the Royals and Mariners had been discussing a move that would send RB Don Gregson to the Mariners for DB Ole Snurlson, but the Mariners ended up being hesitant on the move, but now that they saw a need for a backup RB to help take some of the load off of RB Ronald O’Sullivan they would make the move. The full deal would be RB Don Gregson, a 4th round pick, and DB Anthony Poirier to the Mariners for DB Ole Snurlson and RB Aaron Walken. The Royals were not using Gregson due to having both RB Corbyn Knight and RB Wally Morton, so they moved him to get a young 25-year-old DB that could help with depth in the secondary down the road. The remaining players were more roster moves to keep even rosters.

Last edited by Wallflower (12/22/2021 1:47 pm)

Enigmajones wrote:

Just a question, how do you come up with the scores? Is there some kind of simulator?

Well, it ultimately boils down to dice rolls. That's how I have been doing it the whole time. In recent seasons, I have written a small program that just does the dice rolls for me, and then randomly spits out a score that can help me figure out how a game goes. However, for the actual like "box scores" and who scores and everything, that is all just up to me, tho I still use dice sometimes to add some randomness, like which of the 3 WRs scored or something like that. Ultimately, the dice (the initial roll/running of the program) decides who actually wins the game, but I decide what happens in the game to get the result based on the dice.

1965 Week 9

Louisville Thunder - 22, Providence Gold Stars - 12 - Thunder Stadium - August 20, 1965 - 7 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
3-0 LOU - FG K Frank Hughes
2nd Q
3-7 PRO - RTD RB Rashed Smith
10-7 LOU - RTD RB Rodney Clark
3rd Q
10-10 PRO - FG K Maurice Lafayette
13-10 LOU - FG K Frank Hughes
13-12 PRO - Safety DL Craig White
4th Q
19-12 LOU - PTD QB Leonidas Dumont -> WR Sammy Moss
22-12 LOU - FG K Frank Hughes

The Thunder kept up their hot streak despite becoming heavily shorthanded in the secondary with S Johnny Berger leaving with an injury. 
The Gold Stars’ struggles continued despite their upset of the Blue Wings last week which might have been caused by the trades they had made over the deadline.
RB Rodney Clark returned for Louisville and had a solid outing with a touchdown and 93 yards on the ground.
The Thunder do manage to keep themselves in the fight in the west, but without Berger, the battle could be a lot more difficult down the stretch. 

Boston Independents - 21, Indiana Victors - 14 - Richardson Stadium - August 21, 1965 - 12 PM ET - Weather: Clear
1st Q
7-0 BOS - RTD RB Kendall Morgan
2nd Q
7-7 IND - PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Silas Peyton
14-7 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> WR Evan Clanton
3rd Q
4th Q
14-14 IND - PTD QB Lyle Painter -> WR Ed Edwards
21-14 BOS - PTD QB Nathaniel Braddock -> WR Evan Clanton

Boston and Indiana had a strong duel that came down to the final drive of the game where Braddock was able to lead a clutch game-winning drive.
Indiana kept in the fight, but they could not stop the monstrous drive from Braddock and the Independents.
WR Evan Clanton continued to show how he has improved this season with a 2 touchdowns game that puts him at 8 on the season.

Montreal Rouge - 13, Buffalo Blue Wings - 26 - Mount Royal Stadium - August 21, 1965 - 3:30 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
0-7 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR Daniel Irons
0-10 BUF - FG K Ryan Perch
2nd Q
7-10 MTL - PTD QB Gene Bishop -> WR Taylor Karis
7-17 BUF - PTD QB Charles Lemieux -> WR Zachariah Pembroke
3rd Q
7-20 BUF - FG K Ryan Perch
13-20 MTL - RTD RB Scott Mallad-White
4th Q
13-23 BUF - FG K Ryan Perch
13-26 BUF - FG K Ryan Perch

The Blue Wings rolled into Montreal to snap a 2-game losing streak while the Rouge continued to struggle with more and more mistakes throughout the game.
Charles Lemieux played really well in his home province, throwing a pair of touchdowns, one of which required him to make a stellar escape from the clutches of DL Lucas Kipling before throwing it to Pembroke in the endzone.
Another loss puts Montreal in a much more difficult spot with 3 games to go; QB Gene Bishop, who still leads the league in passing touchdowns, is certainly frustrated with the team’s play this season, feeling like his teammates are letting him down.
That’s to no surprise with 3 fumbles coming from offensive players that were not named Gene Bishop.

Toronto Steelheads - 38, London Tigers - 29 - Anderson Stadium - August 21, 1965 - 7 PM ET - SNF - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
7-0 TOR - PTD QB Todd Baker -> WR Edmund Landry
7-3 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
7-6 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
2nd Q
14-6 TOR - RTD RB Max Tracy
21-6 TOR - PTD QB Todd Baker -> WR Samuel Petri
21-9 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
3rd Q
21-12 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
21-19 LDN - RTD RB Austin Andrews
28-19 TOR - QB Todd Baker -> WR Ben Roland
4th Q
31-19 TOR - FG K Bob Randall
31-26 LDN - PTD QB Riley Kiernan -> TE Micheal Bowman III
31-29 LDN - FG K Nimrod Handsworth
38-29 TOR - RTD RB Max Tracy

The Steelheads bounced back from back-to-back losses with a strong offensive performance against the Tigers. 
WR Ben Roland and LB Sebastian Andrews III both made impacts in their first game with the Steelheads, specifically Roland who opened up the offence for Baker. 
K Nimrod Handsworth continued to be clutch for the Tigers kicking 5 field goals in the loss.
TE Micheal Bowman III also found the endzone for the Tigers in his first game as the team was able to use some similar plays they would have used for the injured TE Tranquille Rousseau.

Pittsburgh Blacksmiths - 15, Ottawa Royals - 18 - OT - Riverfront Stadium of Pittsburgh, August 22, 1965 - 1 PM ET - Weather: Cloudy
1st Q
0-3 OTT - FG K Ira Foster
0-6 OTT - FG K Ira Foster
2nd Q
0-9 OTT - FG K Ira Foster
3rd Q
0-12 OTT - FG K Ira Foster
7-12 PIT - RTD RB Stavros Black
4th Q
13-12 PIT - PTD QB Mike Key -> WR Wilson Queensgate
15-12 PIT - 2PT RB Stavros Black
15-15 OTT - FG K Ira Foster
Overtime
15-18 OTT - FG K Ira Foster

It was death by field goals for the Blacksmiths who, despite scoring a pair of touchdowns, could not keep up with the leg of Ira Foster, who was the only Royal to score all game.
Ottawa’s offence struggled to get into the endzone, but they were consistent enough to make it down to field goal range 6 times.
Pittsburgh did struggle in the first half offensively with QB Buck Murphy, so they decided to make a change in the second half to QB Mike Key who did light a spark and got the team back into it and into overtime, however, they were not able to score in the extra frame.
Rookie LB Sam Wheeler also had his first forced fumble of his career in his first start for the Royals.

Halifax Mariners - 9, Long Island Raiders - 20 - Atlantic Stadium - August 22, 1965 - 4 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy
1st Q
0-7 LI - PTD QB Stanley Troyer -> WR Troy York
2nd Q
3-7 HFX - FG K Elvis Franklin
3-10 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
3rd Q
3-13 LI - FG K Henderson Schumacher
6-13 HFX - FG K Elvis Franklin
6-20 LI - RTD RB Dareion Fields
4th Q
9-20 HFX - FG K Elvis Franklin

The Raiders rolled on to their 4th straight win, taking down the Mariners for yet another game where they didn't allow more than 10-points. 
The offence certainly has had things easier without needing to light up the field to win games this season.
Halifax’s offence was smothered by the Raiders’ defence; QB Michael Benedict had an especially rough game with 2 interceptions and a fumble.

Injury Report
OL Sal Valcano BOS - 8 Weeks
DL Pat Butler HFX - 2 Weeks
S Johnny Berger LOU - 3 Weeks
S Gilbert Lopez LOU - Day-to-Day
S Charles Clerk TOR - Day-to-Day

Players of the Week

OFF: K Ira Foster OTT - 6 Field Goals, 3 made over 40 yards.

DEF: LB William Washington II - 12 Tackles, 1 Pass Defended

Standings
WEST
Buffalo 6-3
Indiana 6-3
Toronto 6-3
London 5-4
Louisville 5-4
Pittsburgh 2-7

EAST
Boston 6-3
Long Island 6-3
Halifax 4-5
Ottawa 4-5
Montreal 3-6
Providence 1-8

Power Rankings
1 - Long Island +2
2 - Buffalo +2
3 - Boston +2
4 - Indiana -2
5 - Toronto +1
6 - London -5
7 - Louisville -
8 - Halifax -
9 - Ottawa +1
10 - Montreal -1
11 - Providence -
12 - Pittsburgh - 

Week 10 Games
BOS (6-3) @ LDN (5-4) - AUG 27 - 7 PM ET - Friday Night Football
*BOS clinches a playoff spot with a Win and HFX Loss 
IND (6-3) @ BUF (6-3) - AUG 28 - 12 PM ET
*BUF clinches a playoff spot with a Win + LOU Loss + HFX Loss + OTT Loss
*IND clinches a playoff spot with a Win + LDN Loss + HFX Loss + OTT Loss
PIT (2-7) @ LOU (5-4) - AUG 28 - 3:30 PM ET
MTL (3-6) @ OTT (4-5) - AUG 28 - 7 PM ET - Saturday Night Football
TOR (6-3) @ HFX (4-5) - AUG 29 - 1 PM ET
*TOR clinches a playoff spot with a Win + LDN Loss + HFX Loss + OTT Loss
LI (6-3) @ PRO (1-8) - AUG 29 - 4 PM ET
*LI clinches playoff spot with a Win + OTT Loss

Wow, the West is tough. At least Louisville won, it was a rough week for my other teams. I'm loving how many things are needed for different playoff possibilities. Overall it feels like most teams are fairly evenly matched, just Providence, Pittsburgh, and Montreal that don't seem to be up to snuff.