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UFL Notes Week 5 Notes

October 12, 2010 - United Football League (UFL 1)
Florida Tuskers News Release


JACKSONVILLE, FL - Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - How impressive is the parity in the United Football League so far this season? It is the best in professional sports.

If the 1-2 Sacramento Mountain Lions defeat the visiting 2-1 Las Vegas Locos (Friday, HDNet 11pm EDT) and the 1-2 Hartford Colonials earn a home victory over the 2-1 Omaha Nighthawks (Saturday, NESN, 3pm EDT) in Week 5, they will all join the Florida Tuskers (bye) at 2-2. Parity would be defined at the season midpoint.

Las Vegas head coach/general manager JIM FASSEL, who spent 16 seasons in the NFL, seven as head coach of the New York Giants, said, "It's awesome for the league. There's nobody that's superior to anyone else, and no one is inferior to the rest of the group. Nobody really knows who is going to win. It's healthy for the league."

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NOTHING COMPARES TO 'U'

In terms of both league-wide standings and the competitiveness within each game, the UFL not only goes toe-to-toe with both the National Football League and the Canadian Football League, it surpasses both.

In the five-team UFL, the entire league is separated by just one game (2-1 to 1-2). In the NFL, through October 11, the 32 teams' records ranged from 4-1 to 0-5, and while there are no undefeated teams, there are three winless teams. In the eight-team CFL, through October 11, the records ranged from 10-4 to 4-10, and three teams already have clinched playoff spots.

Of the eight UFL games played to date, five (62.5 percent) have been decided by a touchdown or less. In the NFL, the percentage was 48.7 (37-of-76) through October 11, and, in the CFL, the percentage was 41.1 (23-for-56) through October 11.

In addition, three of the eight (37.5 percent) UFL games so far have been decided by a field goal or less, while, through October 11, 25.0 percent (19-of-76) of NFL games and 17.9 percent (10-of-56) of CFL games were decided in the same manner.

"I think it lends to the fact that our talent level is better than it was a year ago," said Omaha Nighthawks general manager RICK MUELLER, who was the GM for all four UFL teams during the 2009 UFL season. "And we've got great coaches. It is competitive and high-quality football. It is certainly all positive for the league, and I think it's showing."

Of the eight games played in the UFL so far this season, five have been decided by a touchdown or less, three have been decided by a field goal or less and three have seen the deciding points scored in the final 31 seconds of regulation. It doesn't get much closer than that!

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EVERY GAME MATTERS: LOCOS AND NIGHTHAWKS HEAD INTO UNKNOWN TERRITORY

When UFL action kicks off on Friday, the Locos will travel to Sacramento for the first time to face the Mountain Lions, while the Nighthawks travel to Hartford, also for the first time, to play the Colonials.

The belief that 'every game matters' in the United Football League is underlined by the fact that all five teams are still in the hunt to earn a Championship Game berth at the midway point - and could increase or decrease their chances of making the postseason this weekend. Wins for the Mountain Lions and Colonials will trigger a five-way tie for the standings lead, but defeat for either 1-2 team at this stage could prove costly to title aspirations.

"It is important for fans to be at every game and tune in to every game broadcast because their team needs their support," said UFL Commissioner MICHAEL HUYGHUE. "Each and every game is crucial and every advantage fans can give their teams will count. Being only ten short weeks, our season makes every game critical."

Las Vegas has won two straight games to go from last place in the league to a tie for first. Sacramento is coming off the Week 4 bye, and is looking to begin to emulate the Locos. Join Kenny Rice (play-by-play), Paul Maguire (analyst), Ron Kruck and Paul Crane (sideline) for the clash on HDNet at 8pm Pacific Friday, with the pre-game show beginning at 7.30pm.

Omaha is playing back-to-back road games after winning in front of consecutive sellout home crowds at Rosenblatt Stadium. Hartford has lost two games in a row despite having second-half leads in both contests. Join Brett Haber (play-by-play), Scott Zolak (analyst), John Chandler and Tony Terzi (sideline) as the New England Sports Network (NESN) returns to cover the UFL at 3pm Eastern on Saturday. The Florida Tuskers have the Week 5 bye.

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LIVE STREAMING

Can't get away from work on Friday to catch kickoff or get home to switch on the TV to watch the Mountain Lions host the Locos in Sacramento in Week 5? Then take advantage of the live streaming options offered by the official UFL-Football.com website, Versus.com, Fanhouse.com and Boxee.TV to enjoy live online viewing of the game. There are no excuses for missing Daunte Culpepper's second home outing against the reigning UFL champions, even if it means sneaking on a pair of headphones while sitting at your workstation.

The Hartford Colonials clash against the Omaha Nighthawks will be available at UFL-Football.com the following day, Sunday, October 17 from 8am via the "Game Central" page. NESN is available in Hartford on channel No. 28 through Comcast Cable and nationally on DirecTV on Channel 628 and on the Dish Network on Channel 434.

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UFL PLAYERS OF WEEK 4

Watch the UFL Week 4 recap and the plays that earned Player of the Week awards here: http://www.ufl-football.com/UFLWeeklyHighlights

United Football League Players of Week 4

Offense - Dominic Rhodes, RB, Florida Tuskers

Defense - Isaiah Trufant, CB, Las Vegas Locos

Special Teams - Nick Novak, K, Florida Tuskers

************************************************* IT'S ALL ABOUT SUCCESSFUL UFL ALUMNI

Former United Football League kickers making game-winning field goals in the National Football League is becoming a habit.

On Sunday, Washington kicker Graham Gano hit a 33-yard field goal 6:54 into overtime to give the Redskins a 16-13 home win over the Green Bay Packers.

Gano was 3-for-4 on field goals, hitting from 26, 45 and 33 yards and missing from 51. He also had an extra point. In five games this season, Gano is 11-for-14 on field goals and 8-for-8 on extra points for 41 points.

"I was definitely glad I had the chance to redeem myself," said Gano, who missed a chance at a game-winning field goal in Week 2 vs. the Houston Texans. "I didn't really see it go through at all. My whole thought process going out there was just to keep my head down."

For the Las Vegas Locomotives during the 2009 UFL Premiere Season, Gano was 11-for-13 on field goals and 18-for-18 on extra points for a league-high-tying 51 points. He also was 2-for-3 on field goals and 2-for-2 on extra points in the UFL Championship Game, kicking the decisive game-winner in overtime. Gano went on to play in four games for the Redskins in 2009, and was 4-for-4 on field goals and 6-for-7 on extra points for 18 points.

Last week, Atlanta kicker Matt Bryant hit a 43-yard field goal with two seconds to go to lift the Falcons to a 16-14 home victory over the San Francisco 49ers and won NFC Special Team Player of the Week honors. Bryant made 10 of 12 field goals and 21 of 21 extra points for the Florida Tuskers in 2009 and shared the league scoring record with Gano with 51 points.

************************************************* 2010 UFL STANDINGS

TEAMWLPCT.PFPAHOMEROADLas Vegas Locomotives21.66762541-11-0Omaha Nighthawks21.66757652-00-1Florida Tuskers22.50097840-12-1Hartford Colonials12.33373701-10-1Sacramento Mountain Lions12.33351671-00-2

UFL WEEK 5 SCHEDULE

(All times local)

Friday, Oct. 15 Saturday, Oct. 16

Las Vegas at Sacramento, 8 p.m. PT (HDNet) Omaha at Hartford, 3 p.m. ET (NESN)

Pregame show airs at 7:30 p.m.

Bye Week

Florida

UFL WEEK 5 PREVIEWS

Las Vegas Locomotives (2-1) at Sacramento Mountain Lions (1-2) - Friday, October 15, 8 p.m. Pacific

ALL-TIME SERIES: Las Vegas 2, Sacramento 0.

LAST MEETING: Las Vegas Locos 16, California Redwoods 10 (November 14, 2009).

BROADCAST: HDNet - Kenny Rice (play-by-play), Paul Maguire (analyst), Ron Kruck and Paul Crane (sideline).

NOTES: Locos running back DEDE DORSEY has 352 yards from scrimmage (162 rushing, 190 receiving) in his first two games of the season... Las Vegas cornerback ISAIAH TRUFANT is tied for the league lead with two interceptions... Locos kicker STEVEN HAUSCHKA was 3-for-3 on field goals and 1-for-1 on extra points in his UFL debut in Week 4... Las Vegas has run for 288 yards in the last two weeks after running for 61 yards in Week 1... Mountain Lions quarterback DAUNTE CULPEPPER has posted 760 yards and six touchdowns through the air in his first three UFL contests... Sacramento safety ANDREW SENDEJO (five) and cornerback RONNIE PRUDE (four) account for half of the team's 18 pass breakups this season... Mountain Lions punter TOM MALONE is second in the league in punts inside the 20-yard line with eight... Sacramento has three interceptions in three games after the franchise had just two in six games in 2009.

Omaha Nighthawks (2-1) at Hartford Colonials (1-2) - Saturday, October 16, 3 p.m. Eastern

ALL-TIME SERIES: Omaha 1, Hartford 0.

LAST MEETING: Omaha 27, Hartford 26 (September 24, 2010).

BROADCAST: New England Sports Network - Brett Haber (play-by-play), Scott Zolak (analyst), John Chandler and Tony Terzi (sideline).

NOTES: Nighthawks running back SHAUD WILLIAMS has 286 all-purpose yards in three games... Omaha middle linebacker NICK GREISEN has 22 total tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss in his first three UFL games... Nighthawks kicker JEFF WOLFERT is 4-for-5 on field goals and 5-for-5 on extra points in 2010... Omaha is averaging 24.0 yards per kickoff return as a team... Colonials running back LORENZO BOOKER is averaging 16.5 yards on 11 catches and 5.3 yards on 19 carries... Hartford safety EMANUEL COOK has 12 total tackles this season... Colonials kicker TAYLOR MEHLHAFF is 6-for-6 on field goals in 2010... Hartford leads the UFL in team rushing with 117.3 yards per game.

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