ufl

In the football world the second week of September is a wild one. While we regular folks get our kids ready for school the NFL world has to get the team rosters cut down to the league limits.

The United Football League and Omaha Nighthawks have made it official; they have signed RB Maurice Clarett after a workout with the team last Saturday.

So the Hartford Colonial got on the field at training camp yesterday, and we got our first look at this revamped team.

For the United Football League to be successful, they are going to have to grow in market fan bases and not worry so much about being a national sport, at least for now.

There are several effective arguments to be made, that the NFL needs a developmental league, somewhere along the lines of what the NBA has with their D-League.

We can make an effective argument beyond the fact that two 2010 draft eligible QB's (Tim Tebow, and Mike Kafka) may have their career derailed, because these is no such league in place.

There is nowhere for them to hone their skills, beyond the UFL. However, there are several business related issues that prove the NFL needs a D League of their own.

As the premier season of the UFL comes to a close this week, and the league looks to expand into new markets for year two, we have to wonder if this league belongs in the big market of New York.

The New York Sentinels have the second worst average attendance behind just the California Redwoods. They are averaging just 6,637 fans per home game and in a town like New York that makes them insignificant.

Granted this team is 0-5 and will likely finish year one without a win, but a new league can ill afford its New York team to draw so poorly.

When we start to understand why the XFL failed, and how the UFL learned from that we must first remember that 50% of the XFL was owned by NBC, and the cable TV market was a lot different way back in 2001.

Now days the television audience has been severely fragmented and the low TV numbers that cost the XFL its spot on NBC may be perfectly acceptable for a cable channel like Versus.

Over the past week the UFL has announced 38 players that will play for their teams in both New York and Las Vegas .

Based on these players signings we can start to assess exactly what kind of league we are going to see when the UFL takes the field in October.

Read more: http://www.inquisitr.com/32483/what-kind-of-league-will-the-ufl-be/#ixzz0NYO2LLoi

JP Losman has become the first big, OK maybe not big, but first name associated with the new UFL. Losman has signed a deal and will play for the UFL's Las Vegas franchise under Head Coach Jim Fassel.

When the United Football League debuts in October, Michael Vick could be one of its players. Michael Huyghue, the commissioner of the new four-team league, says the UFL is willing to give Vick a place to play -- provided there are no pending legal issues.

His rights belong to the Orlando franchise. Vick already has served an 18-month sentence in federal prison for his involvement in a dogfighting...