The Omaha Nighthawks, one of the five teams currently playing in the UFL, has sold out its first home game. It’s the first sellout in the short history of the league, which might be a little more impressive if Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium had more than 24,000 seats.

“The fans here in Omaha have been incredible and we thank them for making Friday’s first-ever Nighthawks game a sellout,” said Nighthawks Director of Business Operations Don Igo. “The game would have been a special occasion anyway, but with a packed house it will truly be an evening to remember.” [release]

Omaha will be playing the Hartford Colonials, which might be the first time that a pro football team has taken the field against an insurance company founded in the 1800s. Do those guys know about the forward pass yet? Or is their playbook still nothing but a stack of war bonds from 1913?

Pull on your Z. Cavaricci’s and slap on your, well, slap bracelets, because the United Football League has its up-and-coming finger directly on the pulse of football fan fever. Screw the NFL and their Dave Matthews Band playing with a huge New Orleans street jazz ensemble, and forget stupid old Green Day and their Meadowlands halftime show. No way, brah! The UFL is kicking off with the radical sounds of Sugar Ray. Unfortunately, Smash Mouth and the Nixons were unavailable due to not paying their phone bills.

Mark McGrath and Co. will play the halftime show of the season opener between the Las Vegas Locomotives and the Florida Tuskers this Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium. The Locos opened last season to a reported crowd of just under 15,000 people. The bad news is that local newspapers suggested it was closer to 5,000. The badder news is that the stadium holds 45,000. But the good news is that Sugar Ray is used to playing for crowds at bar mitzvahs.

Dance a little stranger and show me where you’ve been, NESN.com:

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been a little over a month since JaMarcus Russell was cut from the Oakland Raiders, and after getting passed on by the NFL, the big man is rumored to be taking his talents to the Omaha Nighthawks of the UFL. JaMarcus would be the second quarterback drafted in the first round to join the league, a trail blazed by the sex boat captain himself, Daunte Culpepper. A who’s who of fat quarterbacks, indeed. UFL scouts are looking for Jared Lorenzen, he shouldn’t be hard to find.

A source with knowledge of the situation tells us that the expansion Omaha Nighthawks could be signing Russell, who would team up with running back Ahman Green in the team’s backfield. –PFT

He’s being looked at by an expansion UFL team? That means the UFL is expanding, which is confusing on so many levels. Who’s going to UFL games? Apparently, the citizens of San Antonio and Omaha clamoring for a UFL franchise. They were so inspired by the play of Brooks Bollinger.

Omaha fans should be excited about a Russell-Green backfield, but they’re missing an Antwaan Randel-El type piece to make their offense suck. Never mind, they want to sign Eric Crouch. I tried to think of a reason they’d want Eric Crouch, but my brain almost exploded. If they’re looking for washed up Heisman winners to sign, I’m pretty sure Ron Dayne and Chris Weinke are looking for work, too.

Denny Green couldn't resist

Former Pro Bowl quarterback and noted sex boat enthusiast Daunte Culpepper will play in the UFL next season. Culpepper will be a member of the Sacramento Mountain Lions, who are coached by Denny Green. Green also serves as the team’s general manager. Unfortunately for both, Randy Moss will not be around to make them look way better than they actually are.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Culpepper is putting the finishing touches on a contract with the UFL’s Sacramento Mountain Lions, a deal that would make him the biggest name in the burgeoning league and would reunite Culpepper with Dennis Green, the Mountain Lions’ head coach and general manager. Green previously coached Culpepper with the Minnesota Vikings. –PFT

Denny Green is head coach and general manager? That’s a very questionable decision by Mountain Lions staff. Was Jim Fassel not avaible for an interview? He wasn’t? Oh, that’s just shameful. Denny Green also washes the uniforms and makes breakfast for the team every morning. He’s not much of a coach, but he makes a mean bowl of buttery grits.

The United Football League released its schedule today, and you didn’t have to be a training camp casualty to notice two distinct things about it. First, since the league has five teams this year, each team will have two byes during its 10-week campaign, which is nice for those strip clubs in town that had to give up their bouncers on Thursday and Saturday nights.

Secondly, the League’s newest franchise, based in Omaha, doesn’t have a name yet. This is an absolute travesty, especially since the Nebraska city has such a prominent reputation for technology, its zoo, and a rich history of racial tension. So I took it upon myself to suggest a handful of names for the UFL to choose from. No need to thank me, fellas. I’m here to help. Read the rest of this entry »

The UFL wrapped up his first season…actually, I don’t even know when the Las Vegas Locomotives won the inaugural UFL title. Because I didn’t care about this league. But I wanted to care. I wanted to give this league a chance, to celebrate another group of white guys dumb enough to think they could run a fall football league alongside the NFL and the NCAA. Instead, all I got was four crappy teams run with all the pageantry of an IRS audit.

Most damning was that the UFL did absolutely nothing to bring casual fans into the fold. Their publicity sucked. Their uniforms sucked. Their merchandise sucked. Their online presence–aside from streaming their games on their website, was non-existent. Where was the buzz, man? Where was the innovation? Who’s running the board of directors for this league? Stalin?

And yet the league is planning to expand…expanding to America, I hope. Because I’m not totally convinced that this league exists. Right now, it’s the Fake Moon Landing of sports, even if it is coming back for Year Two with more teams. Whether this league is financially healthy or not, it’s still a failure if you can’t cultivate anything from your fanbase other than bewilderment or apathy. Those traits don’t belong in sports. And they certainly don’t belong in Vegas.