Channing suited up for the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL in 2020.
After the league folded due to COVID, he returned to the CFL and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, whom he’d been with briefly before signing with the XFL.
In 2022, he played for the Philadelphia Stars of the USFL.
He’d intercept 7 passes for 121 yards and make 14 tackles.
Afterwards, briefly was on the offseason roster of the Washington Commanders.
Although drafted by the Battlehawks of the XFL 23, Stribling opted to resign with the Stars.
With the USFL and XFL merged, Stribling was drafted by the Birmingham Stallions in the 2024 player dispersal draft.
Ultimately ended up on the roster of the Battlehawks- but was cut during the regular season.
NOTES:
Channing was on a shortlist of players I really wanted since he was impossible to get TTM and he had… four(?) cards I was looking to get signed. Since players didn’t really pay any attention to me pregame, I decided to troll the Battlehawks players.
I yelled at Channing that he wasn’t fooling anyone, since he changed his number from 41 to 14. (Wikipedia even showed it as 41.) I then heckled him about his time with the Express. He smiled and after the game gladly came over and inked these 4 cards. When he looked at them, he called them ‘classic’.
Cards: Topps AAF 2019, Topps AAF 2019 Certified Acquired: 2019, EBay. 2019, TTM. IP 2020, Houston Roughnecks/ Tampa Bay Vipers Joint Practice Sent: 5/15 Received: 7/25 (71 days) Failure: TTM 2014 C/o The Kansas City Chiefs, TTM 2019, C/o The Atlanta Legends.
Aaron Murray played college ball at Georgia from 2009 to 2013 . A prolific passer, Murray threw for 13,166 yards and 121 TDs for the Bulldogs. Along the way he set numerous SEC passing records, and was the 2013 Capital One Bowl MVP. He parlayed his efforts into a 5th round selection by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014.
Aaron made the squad but didn’t see any significant playing time. He’d be cut in 2016 and then bounce around from the Cardinals practice squad to the Eagles practice squad, and then in 2017 briefly with the Rams.
After a brief hiatus, it was rumored that Aaron was planning to join the Alliance of American Football. He signed with the Atlanta Legends and then was subsequently protected by the team with the second overall pick of the 2018 Pick or Protect AAF Draft.
The Legends were a team in constant flux early in camp and into the season. Head Coach Brad Childress departed shortly into camp. Offensive Coordinator Mike Vick also was reassigned. The offensive playcaller- Rich Bartel- who took over as the OC departed after the 3rd game. Thankfully venerable Ken Zampese stepped in and filled the role through the dissolution of the league.
Murray was unseated as starter by Matt Simms going into the first contest against Orlando. He’d remain on the bench until the 4th contest of the season when the Legends played the Hotshots. With Simms ailing, and the Legends sitting at 0-3, Aaron came in and led Atlanta to a 14-11 victory. He’d go 20 of 33 for 254 yards and run 7 times for 54 yards in the upset. The following week, Murray was on fire, going 27/43 for 306 yards and a TD against the Express.
Murray was brought back down to Earth by the Commanders in Week 6, and a head injury in Week 7 against Orlando didn’t help matters much.
In the final contest against Birmingham, Aaron split QB duties with Simms starting the first half and Murray wrapping up the second half- to largely the same deflated results.
On a positive note, Aaron had the highest completion percentage in AAF history (64.8%) among qualified throwers. He’d also throw for 1048 yards 3 TDs, one 2 point conversion, and 7 picks.
I had been after Aaron since his days at Kansas City and while he was a pretty reliable signer there, I was one of the few that didn’t get anything. I tried again right after the AAF cards came out- which was almost a week before the league folded. Thankfully I did get everything RTSed from the team. Finally I decided to give him another shot via his home address. I was happy to get 1 of 2 signed by him- but I am still kicking the tires on picking up a Topps Now card of him from his win over Arizona.
Aaron later joined the Tampa Bay Vipers of the XFL for 2020. When the Vipers did their joint practice with the Roughnecks, I pulled two more AAF cards and decided to take a shot. I staked him out for the entire practice, and at the end, was able to get him, thanks to another fan who was able to get him over with a Georgia mini. Murray then signed these two cards for me a few seconds afterwards.
Dontez Ford started his college football career at Syracuse where he was initially classified as a free safety. After a year there, he transferred to Pitt in 2014. Injuries limited his experience at wide receiver, but in 2015 he had a solid year playing in all 12 games posting 26 receptions for 505 yards and 2 TDs. Over his college career he recorded 46 receptions for 843 yards and 5 TDs.
Dontez did not get drafted in 2016, but later signed a futures contract on January 1st, 2018 with the Detroit Lions. After being cut in September he joined the AAFSan Diego Fleet. He immediately asserted himself in the offense during the Fleet’s preseason contest against Orlando when Dontez caught 11 of 11 targets for 114 yards and a TD.
Dontez provided to be the big play weapon that the offense needed to stretch defenses at the X position. Paired alongside Nelson Spruce, Dontez and Nelson both ranked inside the top 10 in receiving. – The only pair in the league to do so. Ford set league marks in his final game (WK 6- BIR) – catching 3 passes for 182 yards, and being immortalized in his own Topps NOW AAF card. His destruction of the Iron would have only been more complete if he hadn’t injured his ankle during the 3rd quarter of the game.
“Dontez is that guy, like Torry Holt, that guy at the X position that we could choreograph plays just for him. That normal play can turn into a huge play and he demonstrated that. He made so many really big plays for us tonight. It was just unfortunate that he couldn’t stay in. But that’s who he is. He’s going to have a heck of a career in the NFL. He’s top notch, no question.”
– Mike Martz San Diego Fleet Head Coach
Unfortunately the ankle injury sidelined Dontez the remainder of the AAF season- and without him in the lineup, the Fleet lost to Birmingham and sunk their last 2 games. Dontez caught 15 of 28 targets for 435 yards and a TD in 6 games.
Ford’s numbers are very interesting to study. In his week 5 contest against Salt Lake City– he did all his damage catching long bomb passes. In his complete evisceration of the Birmingham defense, Dontez zigged and zagged 122 of 182 yards after the catch- on 3 catches.
His rehab stretched into the ‘off season’, and he was not present for the XFL combines, however I would think based off of his production he will make a welcome addition to any of the new teams or back to the NFL.
I had bought Dontez’s Topps Certified card off of Ebay for 4 bucks and then a few days later Mark (Mark’s Signing Bonus) contacted me and told me that Dontez signed a card for him and threw in an extra! I went onto EBay immediately and got Ford’s Topps Now AAF card for super cheap and then sent his base card, Future Stars, and the Topps Now card out. Ford responded lightening fast to my request and threw in at first what I thought was another Certified autograph card.
However, if you look closely at the left card (Player issue) versus the right card (Topps Certified), there are some subtle differences. First, the left one on the front does not have the gradient fade that the right card has above the team logo. Second, the left card just above the marquee, has the words ‘PLAYER ISSUE’ on it. The right one says ‘TOPPS CERTIFIED AUTOGRAPH’. Finally on the back of the cards the word Autograph and the autograph witnessing blurb on the back is not present on the Player issue card.
It should be assumed then that the players were handed these cards after signing their own for whatever purposes that they wanted- and that they are initially unsigned. I’m glad that I recognized the differences between the two, as I suspect once the market bottoms out and then the certified stock disappears over the years, that more of the Player Issue cards will slip into the secondary market. At this time I am unsure as to which cards- if either- will hold any value.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
