UFL appears to be on life support

I really hate to hear the UFL (United Football League) is struggling.  By no means did I think it would supplant the NFL as the top pro football league in the country, but I thought it would at least catch on and be a respectable "minor league".

If you haven't watched any of the leagues games or payed attention to the UFL it's worth checking out.

http://www.ufl-football.com/

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - The struggling United Football League will
move ahead with four franchises instead of five and play a
condensed regular-season schedule starting Sept. 15.
      The second-tier pro league announced Wednesday that the Hartford
Colonials have suspended operations. That leaves the UFL with teams
in Omaha, Neb., Norfolk, Va., Las Vegas and Sacramento, Calif.
      Each team will play six regular-season games instead of eight,
with three at home and three on the road. The top two teams will
play a championship game.
      The UFL has lost more than $100 million it its first two years.
      The UFL said last month that it would push back the start of the
season a month, fueling speculation that the league would fold.
     
      (Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Ready For Some (More) Football!

As we approach Super Bowl XLIII the majority of sports talk the next two weeks will no doubt focus on the NFL.
Rightfully so...the Pittsburgh Steelers may be America's 2nd favorite team (as a Bengals fan it hurt to write that) and the Arizona Cardinals represent a great story.

If you dig deep you'll find football fans soon get another outlet to feed their voracious appetites. A new pro league is in the works and set to begin late summer or early fall 2009. The United Football league is being organized by former Jacksonville Jaguar VP for personnel Michael Huyghue, now the first Commissioner of the UFL.

Currently the UFL has six cities named as a potential home for one of the inaugural franchises.

• Hartford, CT
• Las Vegas, NV
• Los Angeles, CA
• New York, NY
• Orlando, FL
• San Francisco, CA

UFL Commissioner Huyghue posted on his blog at the official UFL website a few differences between the UFL and the NFL.

• Games will be played exclusively on Thursday and Friday nights
• Fans can buy stock in the team
• Field goals over 50 yards are worth 4 points
• $20 million dollar salary cap

I am very skeptical of a new league, but will welcome it with open arms and hope it's not as gimmicky as the XFL (cheerleader locker room cameras and created story lines between commentators and coaches). Before we get too excited don't forget other leagues which tried to tackle the NFL beast:

• 1982-87 United State Football League
• 1973-75 World Football League

Will you support another football league? Let me know what you think.

For more information on the United Football League go to:

• http://www.ufl-football.com/
• http://www.unitedfootballleagues.com/

UFL Prepares For Second Season

Most of you probably are still unaware of the newest pro football league (United Football League). Friday the schedule for the leagues second season was released.

I am not paid by the UFL to promote their product I simply like football. It's worth devoting some of your time to following. The NFL should not fear the UFL ever becoming a major competitor.

I do think Roger Goodell should resurrect the idea of a developemental league (NFL Europe) and work out a deal to make the UFL it's minor league. It would have to be less expensive than NFL Europe.

The UFL currently consists of five teams:

Florida Tuskers

Hartford Colonels

Las Vegas Locomotives (2009 Champions)

Sacramento Mountain Lions

UFL Omaha

Countdown To Football...UFL Style!

Back from vacation and ready to roll. If you read this blog with any regularity you will notice I just had a vacation at the end of June...Now another a little over a month later!

Well... Due to football season and television ratings periods Sports Director Todd Richards and I have a small window to take our vacations, so they get crammed in over the summer. No more vacation time for me until after Christmas. I'll do a better job to post at least 4-6 times a week.

Ok...On to the business at hand... In one of my first posts I wrote about the upstart UFL (United Football League). Click the link to revisit the earlier blog post.

To be honest...My first thought was... "Can it work and ultimately survive in our NFL dominated country?"....Safe bet - It won't last. No matter how long the UFL exists I will do my best to become a fan and support the league. I just hope the league and game stay on a more traditional path and avoids the pitfalls of the XFL. Remember the this rule? No coin flip to determine possession they let a player from each team try and recover a fumble. Sounds like something I did playing football with friends in my backyard (when I was 12).

For what it's worth...The start of the UFL is fast approaching. It will be interesting to see how the media covers the inaugural season.

--- --- --- ---
RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - The United Football League will play its first game Oct. 8 in Las Vegas.
The UFL announced the schedule for its inaugural season Thursday. The four teams will play six games each through Nov. 20. The championship game will be Nov. 27 in Las Vegas. Games will be on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
San Francisco will play at Las Vegas in the first game. The other two franchises are in New York and Florida. They face off in Orlando on Oct. 10.
Games will also be played in Hartford, Conn., and Los Angeles.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

UFL begins tonight (Thursday Oct. 8th)

Are you hungry for more pro football?  The United Football League begins its inaugural season tonight when the California Redwoods and the Las Vegas Locomotives kick off at 8:00 pm.

The games will be broadcast on Versus and HDNet.  You can watch tonights game online at the leagues official website www.ufl-football.com.

I'm anxious to watch tonight.  With Major League Baseball playoffs and college football tonight I can't imagine they draw much of an audience.

There is at least on tie to the Heartland.  Former Murray State linebacker Nathan Williams is on the New York Sentinels roster.

The Sentinels open the season Saturday night at Florida. The game can be seen on HDNet.

Drum roll please....The moment (I'm sure) you have all been waiting for... my UFL predictions.

Las Vegas over Florida to win the UFL Championship.

I like the Locomotives for two reasons.

• Head Coach - Jim Fassel (former head coach of NY Giants)
• Quarterback - JP Lossman (former QB of the Buffalo Bills)

Back To Work....

Now the moment I get to "pat-myself-on-the-back". Friday night the UFL wrapped up it's inaugural season with Las Vegas beating Florida to win the Championship.

Hmmm!!! Didn't someone make that prediction back in early October prior to the start of the season!

Oh yeah...That was me!

Here is the link to my (brief) Nostradamus-like vision:

http://frymanfromthesideline.blogspot.com/2009/10/ufl-begins-tonight.html

It's not that impressive since I had a 25% chance of getting it correct...but I'll take it.

It's good to be back to work after five days off spending time with family and eating more turkey than any human being should consume in that short amount of time. If I shovel in any more the tryptophan might knock me into permanent hibernation.

No eay way to get back into the swing of things...There is a ton of stuff going on today. SIU football playoffs, Mizzou hosting Kansas (could be coach Mangino's last game at KU), SEMO & SIU hoops, High School basketball tournaments, the Pepsi shootout and Valle Catholic playing for a MSHSAA Class 1 state title.

Won't be easy trying to cram all that into a 3:30 second sportscast.

It's Official: Johnson Lands In Cincinnati

The Cincinnati Bengals officially introduce former KC Chiefs running back Larry Johnson today (Tuesday) at a press conferece scheduled for 2:00 pm central.

I think it's a bold move (and a good move) for Cincinnati and LJ. He goes to an organization known for giving players second and third chances (Chris Henry, Tank Johnson, Cedric Benson). Most importantly he goes to a winning team and a team not expecting to carry the offense on his shoulders.

If LJ ruins this opportunity he might find himself looking for opportunities with the UFL or CFL.

Cincinnati story about LJ.

Kansas City reacts to LJ signing

More Chiefs news:
Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe is suspended for four games for violating the league's performance enhancing drug policy. The suspension begins immediately. Bowe will return for the December 20th game against Cleveland.