UFL

[celticdb15]

On their site they are taking in put on naming some of their new teams. I sent in the names Salt Lake City, Sky Hawks and the Hartford Capo's.

 

[Freedom]

Huh, the most fitting name I can think of for Hartford is the Actuaries, which is the worst team name I can come up with.

Hopefully, they'll take more white players.

 

[Don Wassall]

There's only going to be four teams for the first season, and three of them are going to be based in two cities:


http://www.lvrj.com/sports/39357742.html

 

[Solomon Kane]

Interesting, if Fassell is involved it looks to be a venture above the minor leagues. I've always thought both the WFL and the USFL could have survived if they had been more patient and prudent about building up their fan base. I hope they are more white friendly, maybe some of their white receivers and runners (I hope?) will attract NFL scouts.

 

[Freedom]

I've never heard of one team having two cities at the same time.

 

[foreverfree]

Solomon, the WFL could have been a little more honest with their fan base (and could have used owners that were more solvent). The Philadelphia Bell (who rode to practice in a rickety school bus worthy of Mestizo farm workers) drew 100,000 to their first two home games but failed to report that 90,000 were given free tickets (local store giveaways, etc.).

Most WFL owners either went broke or were broke to begin with but felt like owning a football team anyway. The New York Stars moved to Charlotte in midseason '74 when they couldn't draw flies on Randalls Island. Telephones were confiscated because of defaulted payments. Vehicles were confiscated. When the Birmingham Americans won the lone WFL championship in 1974, the police were waiting in the locker room to confiscate the uniforms. Finally the league gave up the ghost halfway through the 1975 season.

The USFL IIRC was doing fine (though some teams folded and others relocated more than once) through 3 spring seasons (I attended a Phila. Stars game at the Vet in '84 and a Balt. Stars game in College Park in '85) but risked everything on an antitrust suit against the NFL in '86, while preparing to play in the fall that year. The USFL won the suit but was only awarded $1 ($3 when tripled under antitrust award law) and gave up on playing forever, hanging on in the office a few months while the award was appealed in vain.

Freedom, the Green Bay Packers played two or three games in Milwaukee every *regular* season for many years. In 1967, to get into the Ice Bowl at Lambeau, the Pack beat the Rams in the West. Conf. playoff in Milwaukee, while Lombardi was installing his hot wires under the frozen tundra 100 miles up the road.

And does anybody remember the NBA's Kansas City/Omaha Kings? Or the ABA's Carolina Cougars (splitting games between Charlotte, Greensboro, and Raleigh?

As for the UFL, and the fact that it will have a sort/of LA team, the NFL must've taken it seriously enough to have NFLN report the other day that Industry, CA, in LA's eastern suburbs, is near a deal for a NFL-sized stadium in that town. The link below is from AP via Forbes but I first found out about it watching NFLN.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/02/13/ap6050335.html

John

 

[Don Wassall]

During WWII, the Steelers combined with the Eagles in 1943 and were known as the Steagles; in '44 they were known as Card-Pitt when they merged with the Chicago Cardinals.

 

[referendum]

I believe that the Celtics played a few games in Hartford every year during the 70's.

 

[PhillyBirds]

the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, a year or two back in the NBA?

 

[Don Wassall]

The Packers used to play several games a year in Milwaukee. The Bills are playing five regular season games and three preseason games in Torontoover the next five years.


The Expos played quite a few games in Puerto Rico during the end of their stay in Montreal before moving to D.C.

 

[Freedom]

It'll be interesting to see if a developing league can promote that way. A few talented white stars from local colleges could only help them out that way.

 

[Electric Slide]

I believe the Washington Bullets/Wizards while playing most of their games in Landover, did play a significant number of games in Baltimore until 1997 when they moved to Washington, DC. I'm sure there's some more situations like this in addition to the ones mentioned above.

 

[Don Wassall]

What I've read of this league so far isn't encouraging. Of the four head coaches, two are black (Dennis Green and Ted Cottrell) and two are white (Jim Haslet and Jim Fassel). Green and Haslet are as bad as it gets when it comes to ignoring white talent. Fassel isn't as bad but was trending that way his last couple of seasons with the Giants.

The league held its draft today, 96 players in all. Among the familiar names taken are Adam Archuleta, Nate Jackson, and David Kircus by Las Vegas; Chas Gessner, Tim McGarigle, Rob Petitti, Anthony Schlegel, and Bo Schobel by Orlando; San Francisco and New York appear to have avoided drafting semi-well-known white players altogether. Surprisingly, Haslet is the coach of Orlando, while not surprising at all, Green is the head coach of San Fran.

http://www.ufl-football.com/press/2009/06/19/_premiere_season_draft

 

[Freethinker]

Why should we believe for one second that this league is going to be fair.

From the UFL website: "The executives behind the UFL are experienced NFL franchise builders. Commissioner Michael Huyghue has over 20 years of NFL management experience and is considered the architect in establishing the Jacksonville Jaguars as the winningest franchise of the NFL within a five-year span in his role as the team's Senior Vice President of Football Operations."

On a positive note, LB Brian Toal is being given a chance by the Las Vegas team. I hope he re-establishes himself as the dominate player he was before injuries.Edited by: Freethinker

 

[Colonel_Reb]

If nothing else, it will be interesting to observe the racial characteristics of the league as it takes shape.

 

[Don Wassall]

From the UFL website: "The executives behind the UFL are experienced NFL franchise builders. Commissioner Michael Huyghue has over 20 years of NFL management experience and is considered the architect in establishing the Jacksonville Jaguars as the winningest franchise of the NFL within a five-year span in his role as the team's Senior Vice President of Football Operations."

The winningest franchise in the NFL? What five year span was that? From 1996 through '99, Jacksonville went 9-7, 11-5, 11-5, and 14-2. In the ten seasons since, they have had three winning records. The Colts, Steelers, Patriots and others would beg to differwith that assertion.Edited by: Don Wassall

 

[Quiet Speed]

From the UFL website: "The executives behind the UFL are experienced NFL franchise builders. Commissioner Michael Huyghue has over 20 years of NFL management experience and is considered the architect in establishing the Jacksonville Jaguars as the winningest franchise of the NFL within a five-year span in his role as the team's Senior Vice President of Football Operations."

Nice find. Reading further from that section, Paul Pelosi is a financial backer of the league.

I can see it now. If the whole thing goes belly up, wife Nancy secures a government bailout along with the government owning majority interest of the UFL. With his sports background, ultra liberal Bill Bradley is appointed sports czar by Obama. The NFL, from pressure and concern about competing with UFL games televised on PBS, accepts bailout money. Bradley immediately bans Matt Jones for life stating it was a hate crime for Jones to respond to Joey Porter after Porter questioned NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's handling of an impending suspension of Jones. Bradley does not specify whether Jones's crime was racist or homophobic. He goes on, though, to explain he knows hate when he sees it and Jones's comments were very hurtful to all right thinking Americans. His next priority will be to investigate and determine if Tony Romo‘s, Jason Witten‘s, and Jason Garrett‘s normal but effective working relationship is insensitive to minorities on the Dallas Cowboys.
Edited by: Quiet Speed

 

[Freethinker]

From the UFL website: "The executives behind the UFL are experienced NFL franchise builders. Commissioner Michael Huyghue has over 20 years of NFL management experience and is considered the architect in establishing the Jacksonville Jaguars as the winningest franchise of the NFL within a five-year span in his role as the team's Senior Vice President of Football Operations."

Nice find. Reading further from that section, Paul Pelosi is a financial backer of the league. I can see it now. If the whole thing goes belly up, wife Nancy secures a government bailout along with the government owning majority interest of the UFL. With his sports background, ultra liberal Bill Bradley is appointed sports czar by Obama. The NFL, from pressure and concern about competing with UFL games televised on PBS, accepts bailout money. Bradley immediately bans Matt Jones for life stating it was a hate crime for Jones to respond to Joey Porter after Porter questioned NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's handling of an impending suspension of Jones. Bradley does not specify whether Jones's crime was racist or homophobic. He goes on, though, to explain he knows hate when he sees it and Jones's comments were very hurtful to all right thinking Americans. His next priority will be to investigate and determine if Tony Romo‘s, Jason Witten‘s, and Jason Garrett‘s normal but effective working relationship is insensitive to minorities on the Dallas Cowboys.