http://www.lvrj.com/news/breaking_news/38887749.htmlFassel to coach new Las Vegas pro football team
Former New York Giants coach Jim Fassel will be the coach of Las Vegas' entry into the United Football League, a source confirmed on Tuesday. The UFL is an upstart league that is expected to begin play in the fall. The Las Vegas team will play at Sam Boyd Stadium. Fassel went 60-56-1 while coaching the Giants from 1997 to 2003. He took New York to the Super Bowl following the 2000 season, where it lost to the Baltimore Ravens. UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue would "not confirm or deny" Fassel's hiring, but said there would upcoming announcements regarding the league. Such announcements probably would cover the number of teams, which cities will be involved, who the coaches will be and how many games will be played.
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http://www.examiner.com/x-620-Pro-Footb ... -its-debutAre you ready for some more football? Once Super Bowl XLIII comes to an end and new NFL champ is crowned, a new league -- the UFL -- is ready to get into the game.
On the surface, the UFL looks like it could have a fighting chance for a few reasons:
1. The league desires to put teams in markets that are currently not homes to NFL franchises. Among the candidates for teams in 2009 are Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Orlando. San Francisco is also listed, which is a little strange since the last time we checked the 49ers do play there and the Raiders aren't too far away, but if the city has an appetite for more football, it could still work there. Check out the list of eight cities being considered. From previous reports, it sounds like six will be chosen for the '09 season will expansion possible as early as 2010.
2. The UFL seems heavy on fan involvement. From affordable ticket prices to the ability to help select team names, average Joe could be more than just a consumer. League commissioner Michael Huyghue's most recent blog entry indicates that fans can vote on controversial issues, including if Michael Vick should be allowed to play in the UFL, and on rules such as if field goals longer than 50 yards should be worth four points.
3. Games will be played on Thursday and Friday nights in the fall, a move that certainly can help wet the appetite of the football fan by being able to see some football before the big weekend of NCAA and NFL games.
The league appears to be heading in a direction of being made up of players who just missed out on making an NFL roster. That means the level of play should be very high, especially with the limited amount of franchises. Players who once had no or limited opportunities to turn somewhere else will now have a great platform to show off their abilities to try and get into the NFL, if that remains their ultimate goal.
Huyghue and league founder Bill Hambrecht recently appeared on Fox Business Channel to discuss the league and some upcoming news about it. Check out the entire interview in the UFL's Media Gallery.
So what do you think? Does the UFL have a chance? Share your commenta and vote in the poll below.
