Xtreme Takes Good With the Bad

A day after NBC got a new-low 2.1 overnight rating for an XFL telecast, the Los Angeles Xtreme drew a sparse crowd for what was billed as the XFL’s “game of the year” Sunday at the Coliseum.

The announced crowd was 20,382. That’s tickets sold. There were maybe 14,000 people in the stands as the Xtreme beat the Orlando Rage, 31-6.

The Rage (6-1) came into the game as the most productive offense in the XFL, averaging 25.8 points a game. It did not score until the fourth quarter.

“This was the first game in which we excelled in all three areas--special teams, defense and offense,” Xtreme Coach Al Luginbill said.

The Xtreme improved to 5-2, retained its hold on first place in the XFL’s West Division and now appears to be the team that was the preseason favorite to win the championship.

Luginbill was particularly pleased with the defense, which was ranked seventh among the XFL’s eight teams.

“Our defense was an angry group of men, and I mean in their profession,” Luginbill said. “Last week, I was embarrassed by our defense against the [Birmingham] Bolts. We were ranked seven in the league and I’ve never coach a pro team ranked that low.”

Offensively, Tommy Maddox completed 19 of 25 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns. He also scored on a quarterback sneak.

Orlando lost quarterback Jeff Brohm on the first play of the second quarter. He sustained a separated right shoulder when he was sacked by Xtreme linebacker Juan Long.

Keyshawn Johnson of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who came to watch Xtreme linebacker Herrin Errick, who was his roommate for one year at USC, said he enjoyed the game.

“Football is football,” Johnson said. “Players run, catch the ball, hit--I don’t see anything wrong with the quality of play.”

There were no strippers in the hot tub at the east end of the Coliseum Sunday. Instead, disc jockey Big Boy of Power 106 FM, who reportedly weighs 525 pounds, was in the hot tub along with a friend of equal proportions.

The Xtreme announced Sunday that its final home game, against the San Francisco Demons, has been moved from Sunday, April 8, to Saturday, April 7, to accommodate NBC.

The 2.1 overnight rating NBC got for Saturday’s game between the Las Vegas Outlaws and the Birmingham Bolts was the lowest for a prime-time sports event.

The all-time, prime-time low national rating for a sports event was a 2.3 for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals between Dallas and New Jersey last year on ABC.

“Everybody was fully aware the number would go down, going up against the NCAA tournament,” NBC Vice President Kevin Sullivan said. “This is no surprise.”

NBC’s XFL broadcast aired opposite Stanford’s 90-83 victory over St. Joseph’s on CBS. That game got a 6.4 overnight rating.

NBC got a 10.3 rating for its first XFL telecast Feb. 3, and ratings have declined steadily since then.