🏈 The XFL Is Already Changing The Game

A radical approach to transparency, amid other rule changes, has fans invested in the XFL after just one week. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: The XFL gives fans what they want ... we relive the magical weekend when Michael Jordan changed the NBA forever ... and we get ready for the All-Star break with a night of hoops action. The XFL, in its second coming, is only one week in — and already there is a love-hate relationship brewing with one of its primary innovations. When it comes to the league’s total access policy regarding play calls and coaching audio, the split is like this: Coaches hate it. Everyone else loves it. Unbound by precedent, history, convention and the status quo, the XFL is free to try out whatever it likes, and is making full use of that liberty. Prior to game one, much of the talk was about the altered rules for kickoffs, the differing option of one-, two- and three-point conversions, and a rapid play clock designed to keep the game rolling. Coming out of opening weekend, all the chatter is about the chatter — namely, the ability for viewers to hear every cough and spit that emerges from a coach’s mouth when he is trying to marshal his team to victory. [STORY IMAGE 1] It is a peek behind the footballing curtain unlike anything we have seen before, taking place in real time. It is fascinating, compelling and, frankly, highly educational. So, what did you make of it all, Jim Zorn? “Absolutely shocked,” Seattle Dragons head coach Zorn told the Seattle Times. “I think it gave a fan a chance to hear and see something they’ve never heard before, but I felt very exposed. I know it had to be fun for everybody, but not super fun for me to reveal all that stuff.” If I’m being honest, I enjoyed Zorn’s reaction almost as much as listening to the different calls during the games. Anything that gets a football head coach flustered is okay in my book, primarily because such things eventuate from uncertainty, and uncertainty breeds entertainment. Football is at its best when the sharpest minds in the game are trying to fix problems with a difficulty level far beyond the New York Times crossword. That’s what now faces Zorn, the Dallas Renegades’ Bob Stoops and all the other coaches around the league heading into the second round of games this weekend (FOX, Saturday, 5 p.m. ET and FS1, Sunday, 6 p.m. ET). [STORY IMAGE 2] A lot of thought went into exactly how to frame the XFL in its resurrection. FOX NFL and college football rules analyst Dean Blandino is head of officiating for the XFL, and he explained that in order to be successful, the league’s chiefs had a clear blueprint. The football had to be of a quality recognizable to NFL fans, and the additional pieces needed to provide an experience beyond what a viewer might usually get. “At the core of it all, it had to be real football — real, high-quality football,” Blandino told me in a telephone interview. “But with the XFL there is no history, so there was a blank canvas to try things out. That means everyone is in the same boat — they all have to adapt.” As the men with the playbook, the coaches are the ones who will have to do most to unlock the key to mastering the changes. “I was ready for it,” Stoops told reporters after his Renegades lost 15-9 to the St. Louis BattleHawks. “Hey, I'm in here to do my part, to help the league in any way I can. So that means participating differently than I had before. Yeah, there's people everywhere. Locker room, following you around. So, hey, I get it. I enjoyed watching it yesterday, the little bit I got to see. Hearing the play calls, the interviews. It's great access for people that are interested in it. I think it will just help continue to grow.” [STORY IMAGE 3] Brad Chisholm, a diehard NFL fan from Upland, Calif., was highly skeptical ahead of the opening games and didn’t have much intention of making the XFL part of his television schedule. Chisholm was at a bar last weekend when the XFL’s access got him hooked. “I was watching and quite enjoying it, but I couldn’t hear what was going on,” Chisholm told me. “Then I started getting texts from my buddies saying, ‘you got to hear this.’ So I went home to listen to the coaching access. For me it was the best part of the whole thing. You feel like you’re in the game. The NFL will never allow that.” He might be right — because the NFL doesn’t need to, because there is so much at stake, and because Bill Belichick might spontaneously combust if they tried it. For now, it is something that the XFL’s emerging fan base can enjoy and which its head coaches must get their heads around. [STORY IMAGE 4] “The best part of all this is that innovation breeds creativity,” Blandino added. “We have a lot of outstanding football minds in the XFL. They are going to figure out solutions. People are enjoying that access and transparency, whether it is a coach making calls or getting to watch and the replay official make his decision.” It is the early days, and let’s be real — the XFL has to sustain its initial buzz if it is going to avoid the fate of all the other secondary leagues that have come before it. But the opening signs are strong and already the audience likes what it sees — and especially what it hears. [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... Robby Kalland, Uproxx: “In timeouts on Saturday, we heard Pep Hamilton, the D.C. Defenders coach, talking with his staff in the booth about what they wanted to do out of the timeout and explaining that they shouldn’t go back to a certain formation and look too soon because they wanted to save that for later because of something he saw the defense do. The depth with which the broadcasts can go and show fans how much goes into these decisions — far beyond just picking a play off the call sheet — is really cool and peels that curtain back for fans.” Henry McKenna, USA Today: “As Saturday bore on, it became clear that the NFL should be monitoring the XFL not just for talent. (The XFL seemed like a natural minor league to the NFL — that much was clear from the start.) But as the XFL begins to reinvent itself, the league seems interested in bringing new concepts to the football field. The most successful experimentation came in how they handled their officiating. The XFL brought tremendous transparency.” Ben Kercheval, CBS Sports: “If you're looking for the big winner, it's the XFL's transparency on instant replay. The AAF also pushed this hard a year ago and it was a massive success. The overall ability to see and hear exactly what's going on in the replay booth makes for interesting television. More importantly, though, it's not hiding anything.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - The last time NBA All-Star weekend was in Chicago, Michael Jordan changed the league forever. [The Ringer’s]( Malooley relives]( that epic Dunk Contest. - Tiger Woods is on the verge of history — and still tinkering with his game, [Scott Cacciola details at The New York Times.]( - Yes, after throwing 30 interceptions in a single season, Bucs QB Jameis Winston really did get his eyesight corrected, [the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud reports.]( [THE BRADY HUNCH] [THE BRADY HUNCH] Most of the speculation around where Tom Brady will play next season has centered on how Brady feels about the Patriots. But what if, instead, it’s New England that’s done with Brady? According to one of TB12’s old teammates, former Pats TE Christian Fauria, “the Patriots are 100 percent done” and “okay and ready to move on” from Brady ([via CBS Sports](. Of course, that raises an entirely new question — if Bill Belichick & Co. are looking elsewhere ... who do they have their eyes on? [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( “It’s probably the best thing I’ve ever done.” When you’re as accomplished as LeBron James, that’s saying a lot — but he’s not wrong. Watch the video above and see how much it means to the King that Kent State has joined the University of Akron in partnering with the I Promise program to give kids free college tuition. Well done, LeBron. Well done. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Los Angeles Clippers at Boston Celtics (TNT, 8 p.m. ET) Tonight features the final two NBA games before the All-Star break, as the Clips look to rebound from a loss to the Sixers and the Celtics aim to make it eight wins in their past nine games. No. 16 Colorado at No. 17 Oregon (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET) The Pac-12’s top two teams square off, with the Ducks still unbeaten at home this season and out for revenge for their January road loss to Colorado. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( All Week 2 XFL games to go OVER: +1417 Friends, we should caution you: taking the under was a successful strategy in Week 1, so swinging to the other side of things in Week 2 could be tricky. But oddsmakers have adjusted to the Week 1 scoring (or lack thereof), which means there’s potential value on hoping for an offensive outburst this weekend. If you expect defense to continue to rule the day, though, parlaying the under in all four games will give you odds of +1132. A new FOX Sports app and website is coming. [Click here]( to be notified when the reimagined app is available. 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