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Maniacal start Memphis beats Birmingham 22-20 at Legion Field
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- The football might not be scripted in the XFL, but that doesn't mean the made-for-TV league doesn't follow a formula. There was football for the sports fan and scantily clad cheerleaders for the workaday guy Sunday as the Memphis Maniax beat the Birmingham Bolts 22-20 in the opening game for both teams. Yeah, some profanity was broadcast over the Legion Field speakers. Players wore microphones on the field, and sometimes it really did sound like a locker room. Memphis' Rashaan Salaam scored on runs of 39 and 1 yards, and Marcus Crandell threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Daryl Hobbs. Jeff Hall added a 40-yard field goal. But close your eyes and it was just like being at a World Wrestling Federation show -- no surprise since the bawdy, in-your-face programming powerhouse owns the XFL jointly with NBC-TV. The music was loud, the fireworks were bright, the players were intense, and the cheerleaders were dressed -- mostly. The football wasn't all that good, especially at the start. Birmingham had only 65 yards rushing, and a lot of those came on missed tackles by the Maniax. Beer in hand, fan Tony Hale took in the whole show as he stood near a platform close to the cheerleaders. "I knew what it was going to be like -- I watch wrestling," said Hale. "But it's not wrestling. It's real football." It was real enough that there was a made-for-TV quarterback controversy less than 20 minutes into the Bolts' season. As Birmingham quarterback Casey Weldon struggled through a 10-of-21 first half, fans started chanting for backup Jay Barker, who led Alabama to the 1992 national championship. As the boos mounted, the camera zoomed in on Barker standing on the sideline in a purple baseball cap. A cheer went up. So this is what Vince McMahon was talking about when he said XFL broadcasts would "tell the story" without cue cards. The camera zoomed in again as Barker talked to a coach. The cheer got louder. "We want Barker" fans screamed. Barker never made it in and Weldon didn't fold -- he threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Damon Gourdine and followed that with a late, 32-yard TD throw to Quincy Jackson. "I played with Trent Dilfer [at Tampa Bay] for awhile, so I know what it's like to have a hometown favorite," Weldon told a sideline reporter who rushed up to him during the game before the boos died down. James Bostic had Birmingham's other touchdown on a 3-yard run. The crowd of 35,321 was about 4,100 people better than when the Canadian Football League, the last outdoor pro league to come through Birmingham, made its debut in 1995.
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