Brian Kuklick is left to run the show, but after two sterling performances in Brohm’s place, head coach Galen Hall and the Rage faithful seemingly have little to worry about. If the offense remains well-rounded and the defense stout, the Rage shouldn’t have to worry about Kuklick, unless he starts making costly mistakes. Besides, the Rage has clinched the Eastern Division title. Kuklick just needs to prepare for the playoffs.

The Rage has no players with outstanding statistics (including Brohm), because the team is a good all-around unit. Plus, Hall keeps the team well-grounded and modest. If Kuklick can step in and not make waves or mistakes, the Rage will do just fine. But I still think the Los Angeles Xtreme is the team to beat at this point.

• Enforcers RB John Avery rushed for an XFL-record 170 yards in Sunday’s 13-0 win over Birmingham at Soldier Field. Avery had two touchdowns in the game, one from 73 yards and one from nine yards out. The nine-yard TD run was his first under 20 yards. Avery is putting on quite a show for those NFL scouts who may be watching, and most XFL observers would be hard-pressed not to consider him the league’s top player, though L.A. Xtreme QB Tommy Maddox is right there with him. Maddox is also putting on quite a show himself. I would be shocked if one of these two players is not on an NFL roster next season.

• The Xtreme is looking better and better as the season winds down. Last week, it torched the Las Vegas Outlaws’ defense, which is very highly regarded throughout the league.

• XFL president Basil V. DeVito Jr. told Pro Football Weekly that "a lot of cities" have called his office, inquiring about XFL expansion franchises. In limited (I stress "limited") research on the Web, I’ve seen two cities rumored to be in the running: Washington, D.C., and Portland, Ore.

• On the broadcasting side, Jesse Ventura has become more bearable, but really, he still doesn’t belong in the booth. Bringing Mike Adamle into the mix is good, but I feel as though it was just a move to try to deflect some of the attention away from the governor. Adamle and Matt Vasgersian by themselves would not make a great team, but Ventura adds very little. Now that he isn’t pushing the envelope against a Rusty Tillman, he’s been better. We’ll see what happens this week, when the New York/New Jersey Hitmen return to the NBC first-game broadcast.