In San Francisco, fans have packed Pac Bell Park, along the way setting attendance records for the league and dubbing the stadium "The Hell Hole." Perhaps nowhere in the United States will you find more passionate fans than in Frisco.

Jesse Ventura didn't do his homework before games and it showed.(AP)

The Xtreme also have reason to hold their heads high, regardless of this Saturday's end result. The team was arguably the most consistent in the XFL. Led by the XFL's Player of the Year, quarterback Tommy Maddox, the Western Division champions ended the season with an impressive 8-3 record, along the way humbling several teams, including the then-undefeated Orlando Rage.

The showdown of the two California franchises has all the makings of a classic, but unfortunately, the headlines won't reflect that Sunday morning. If all publicity were indeed good publicity, the XFL would be in great shape. But, alas, that adage has been proven wrong as it pertains to the upstart league and its suffering ratings. The three letters have indeed been the subject of discussion all over the media, but for all the wrong reasons.

Now as the league approaches its final game of the year and likely its final appearance on the Peacock Network, it's worth looking back at all the XFL did right. And there was plenty of it.

Here is part two of the XFL's season report card

Production: B+

If there's one place where the World Wrestling Federation should have been looking to incorporate some of its style into the league, this is it. The WWF production values aren't just good for a wrestling show, they rival those of any other pro sports programming. While the WWF signature could be found in the XFL's preseason promos featuring players scrimmaging through landmines and receivers catching cannonballs, the production seemed to drop a notch once the season began. The mid- and late-season promotional packages were largely good, but several of the wishy-washy attempts at selling the "heart" of the league reeked of desperation.

The live production work during games also ranged from poor to excellent. From the first game, the audio and video problems were noticeable. To avoid airing four-letter words uttered by players, several seconds of dialogue among the announcers were dumped out, making for a very annoying listening experience. The locker room cameras during halftime also didn't live up to expectations, with constant losses of audio and shaky camera work. On the field, the innovative camera angles were also problematic, and even dizzying at times.

Perhaps more importantly than how things aired on TV is what aired. The league made some clearly questionable decisions in cutting back and forth between games during especially crucial moments. Adversely, there were times when producers would have been wise to dump a particularly dull contest and switch to the B-game before every viewer switched away.

Still, the in-your-face WWF production style was evident, especially with the players being miked. The raw grunting and screams of agony relayed to viewers made some fairly routine tackles seem especially grueling. But as with many things, television production is far more noticeable when there is a problem than when things run smoothly. By and large, the league did a good job of making this new product visually appealing to television viewers.

Innovations: A

If we never hear the saying "neither fish nor fowl" by sports reporters when referring to the XFL, it will be too soon. But they said it for a reason. Football fans looking for top-quality play were disappointed after the first few weeks of lackluster games, and fans expecting the innovative gimmickry that Vince McMahon had made famous were also a bit underwhelmed. In retrospect, it is clear that a lot of the league's hype about how some of their rule changes would revolutionize the game was just that -- hype. The no-fair-catch rule was hardly noticeable for the most part, as were some other subtle modifications. Weeks into the season, league officials even second-guessed some of the rule changes and changed them again. Some fans felt that with as many flags being thrown during some games -- some even for unsportsmanlike conduct -- the rules should have been relaxed further.

However, two rule changes in particular did have a significant impact on the games and were, in most XFL fans' eyes, a large improvement over the NFL. The "scramble" to decide who gets possession at the beginning of the game quickly became one of the league's highlights, and even made for some pretty dramatic moments -- certainly more dramatic than "heads or tails." And the mandatory 1-point conversion after a touchdown made for plenty of uncertainty and excitement.

The XFL is already eyeing some changes for season two, which will probably be better thought-out than some of the changes we've seen thus far. The most interesting is the option for additional points during the post-touchdown conversion.

But rule changes only account for so much of the innovations produced by the XFL. Viewers knew they were experiencing something unique even before the XFL's first play took place. With enormous video screens at the end zones, speakers blaring every grunt of the players on the field, and names like "Death Blow" stitched on players' jerseys, the XFL did an incredible job of carving out their own attitude in pro sports. Where most sports teams thrive on having players blending in, the XFL demanded individuality from all its players. Sideline reporters were there to pick the brains of the players during significant moments in the games, and sometimes seemingly to just pick a fight.

Among some other innovations with varying levels of success: Cameras on players, the all-access halftime show, pyrotechnics during home-team touchdowns, etc.

And how can we forget the cheerleaders? All innuendo aside, the league did a great job of having the lovely ladies of the XFL serve as a show within a show. All the talk of the dancers being glorified strippers was way overblown. Their outfits were flashy, but certainly not in poor taste. They were just a fun and innocent diversion and certainly did their job in getting the crowds riled up.

Announcing: B

If there's one thing most XFL proponents and bashers alike can agree on, it's that the Jesse Ventura experiment was a failure. It was naive to think that the acting governor of Minnesota would have the time to do his homework on the league, the rules, and the players. Perhaps it was more naive to think he'd care. While "The Body" made for one of the best wrestling announcers in history during his run in the 80's, his gruff style didn't translate well on the gridiron. Ventura was simply irrelevant and often served as more of a distraction, with his lame attempts to be "controversial," than he did as an asset.

Nonetheless, the WWF's main goal in signing Ventura was to draw headlines, and if nothing else, they were successful in that aspect. Come January 2002, the only politician we'll probably be seeing at XFL games will be Mr. McMahon. But while he was the most visible of the XFL's announcing team, his merits, or lack thereof, certainly didn't reflect on the rest of the broadcasters.

Jim Ross got a "RAW" deal when McMahon pulled him from the NBC A-Game just two weeks after putting him there. Ross was by far the best announcer the league had and was able to do what Ventura couldn't -- bring his style of wrestling commentary to football without making a jerk of himself. Ross was always informed, always excited and always prepared to make the big calls. He's long been considered the best wrestling announcer in the business, and certainly proved his skill in his new venture.

You can't blame McMahon for wanting to move away from all the wrestling tie-ins, but Ross should have been the exception. While Jerry Lawler could not draw the distinction between wrestling commentary and football commentary, Ross did just that and did it well. At the very least McMahon should have acknowledged that Ross' demotion had nothing to do with his ability.

After a rough first few weeks, Matt Vasgersian seemed to get into the groove toward the middle and late in the season and has earned his spot as lead announcer. He brought a good blend of knowledge and humor, while not trying to take the focus off the game. Mike Adamly, who most WWF fans recognized only from his American Gladiators days, also helped balance out Ventura's ignorant comments and was probably the best football guy in the NBC booth. It may not be fair yet to rough on Dick Butkus, since he was thrown into the awkward position of filling in for Lawler midway though the season. He did the best he could, but hopefully he was just an interim color man.

The broadcast team for the league's secondary television outlets varied widely, with no announcer sticking out as particularly great, yet nobody coming off too bad either. Brian Bosworth may have been the most unfairly scrutinized of all the announcers. Some critics felt obliged to goof on the "Boz" just because of his hokey past and eccentric demeanor. But Bosworth always seemed prepared and offered plenty of insight on what the guys on the field were thinking and feeling. He was certainly different, but there's nothing wrong with that.

Drama: A

Adversely, this is where the league should not have tried too much to emulate the WWF. The crazy world of pro wrestling thrives on scripted feuds because fans expect them, and perhaps more importantly, the performers have been trained to deliver on that front. Asking football players, coaches, and even cheerleaders to do the same is a recipe for disaster. The XFL was at its worst when it pitted Jesse Ventura vs. the most apathetic archrival in history, Hitmen head coach Rusty Tillman. The "feud" was so clearly transparent it surely alienated more fans than it intrigued.

Early in the season, the league tried another few stunts along the same lines, having cheerleaders talk down the visiting team's dance squad, and having players cut scripted, wrestling-style promos in the locker room. They went as far as having a chopper parked outside the stadium during one game to escort a player's pregnant wife to the hospital if she went into labor. The XFL was not so lucky.

All these moves were that much more trivial, considering a lot of the real drama going on with some of these players. The most riveting drama during the season took place when the league was not even trying.

Jeff Brohm dominated the league as the Orlando QB, but tragically went down to injury during the tail end of the season. Without Brohm steering the ship, the red-hot Rage collapsed within weeks. There were the Enforcers, written off halfway though the season with the worst record in the league. With XFL All-Star John Avery working his magic, the team made an inspired comeback all the way into the playoffs. Writers laughed at the concept of Maddox, who had a very forgettable cup of coffee in the NFL, quarterbacking a pro football team. He went on to capture player of the year honors and may still win a championship ring.

In New York alone, the stories were endless. Charles Puleri, the Hitmen's starting QB for the first three weeks of the season, was booed out of his hometown after another horrible performance but promised he'd be back. Surely enough, Puleri got the chance to shine in the team's last game of the season after QB Wally Richardson was on the DL. Puleri gave his best performance of the season, won the game for the Hitmen and, during the locker room celebration, was rewarded with the game ball and a standing ovation by his teammates.

There were plenty more stories like this, and they were no accident. The formula was there from the inception of the league for real human-interest stories. These players were very real people. They were guys who were killing themselves on the field with hopes of pocketing just a few thousand dollars. They were roofers, Dairy Queen owners, and other blue-collar working men who were given a chance to play the game they love on a national stage and jumped at the opportunity.

You can't script stuff like that.