United Football League begins tonight

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Are you a die hard football fanatic? Can you not get enough college & professional football? Well, tonight will put that to the test for millions of football fans out there. You see, tonight marks the beginning of the United Football League. You know, that spunky little league with a whopping 4 teams that lasts 8 weeks, and includes the Championship game on November 27th. Those 4 teams are the California Redwoods, Las Vegas Locomotives, New York Sentinels & the Florida Tuskers.

The league's maiden voyage will begin tonight at 9 pm, and can be seen on Versus. I will certainly check the game out tonight after the Dodgers playoff game. I am very curious to see the level of play in this league. While I don't think this league will last, I do think it's a very good idea to have a lesser professional football league to act as a minor league system for the NFL. I was always a fan of the Arena Football League, and this fills the void the now defunct AFL leaves behind. All four teams have good head coaches in Jim Haslet, Dennis, Green, Ted Cotrell and Jim Fassel.

The same can't be said about the players. The two most notable players in this league are JP Losman and Simeon Rice. As much as the league would like well known players, that is essentially not what his league should be about. There's now way they can go head to head with the NFL, and I don't think the UFL will try that. They should be positioning this league as a place to showcase your skills to the NFL. We've certainly seen players come out of the AFL (Kurt Warner), CFL (Doug Flutie) and NFL Europe (Jon Kitna) and make an impact in the National Football League. If you're reading this, than odds are you live in the Boston area or somewhere else in the state. Maybe you're even a Boston College football fan. If that's the case, than you might want to keep an eye out for two former BC players in the UFL. Linebacker Brian Toal plays for the Las Vegas team, and DeJuan Tribble will suit up for Florida.

I know I'll be watching at least a part of the game tonight. What about you? Will you give this league a chance? Hopefully, the answer is Yes!

What's the UFL all about?

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

So do you know anything about the United Football League (UFL)?

If the answer is no, that's OK.

I know it's a new football league that's coming this fall, but there's no way it can compete with the National Football League, right?

The NFL is the top dog, always will be.

It seems like the UFL is going to be a minor league feeder system to the NFL with former NFL players hoping to revive their career, along with coaches trying to get another taste of the NFL coaching ranks.

It's pro football so it can't be that bad, right?

The UFL just landed the face of the league, as of right now, with the signing of former first-round pick J.P. Losman, better known as Loserman to Buffalo Bills fans who didn't see much from their former starting QB.

It's a good start for the new league, however, which will play games on Thursday and Fridays in the fall with the season starting in October. The championship game is slated for Thanksgiving weekend.

There are four teams in the UFL's first season -- Las Vegas (where Losman will play), New York, Orlando and San Francisco.

The head coaches are an impressive bunch, all former coaches in the NFL. The head coaches lined up are: Dennis Green, Jim Fassel, Jim Haslett and Ted Cottrell.

The UFL knows it's talent and skill will not compete with the elite NFL, but knows it's a way for players who feel they've been overlooked by the NFL brass to try to get their careers back on track (Losman no doubt) or get a shot at big time football.

The league will be talked about on every sports talk radio show or television station for days and weeks on end if they lure Michael Vick to play for them. He would no doubt be the face of the league, and the league would get the exposure they so desperately need and want --both good and bad -- but people would definitely be talking about the league and know what it's all about. 

The defunct XFL had that buzz surrounding it years ago, but it fizzled faster than Losman's starting job in Buffalo.

I'm going to check this league out, you never know if your favorite NFL team will give one of these guys a shot.

It's football anyway, and just imagine watching UFL games on Thursday and Fridays, college football on Saturdays and various games televised during the week on ESPN, and the NFL on Sundays and Mondays?

Maybe that will be enough to get my weekly fill of football?

Are you going to tune in and give the UFL a shot, or do you think it's going to be a waste of time?