<![CDATA[Deadspin: united football league]]> http://tags.deadspin.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/deadspin.com.png <![CDATA[Deadspin: united football league]]> http://deadspin.com/tag/unitedfootballleague http://deadspin.com/tag/unitedfootballleague <![CDATA[The United Football League Is What We Thought It Was!]]> Denny Green and Jim Fassel are back coaching pro football, and there may be a spot for Michael Vick as well. Welcome to the wonderful world of the UFL!

Offcials of the new league held a press conference in San Francisco this morning and announced, among other things, the four head coaches for its inaugural season: Green will coach the San Francisco franchise, Ted Cottrell will coach the New York franchise, Jim Fassel is at Las Vegas, and Jim Haslett is at Orlando. According to its web site, the UFL was designed for "the enjoyment of fans in major markets where professional football is not played."

Which is why there's a San Francisco franchise? Hey!

The new league, which debuts in October, is also not above throwing around Vick's name. From Newsday:

I asked commissioner Michael Huyghue about Vick, and he said that the league would be open to signing him. The three requirements: 1. Vick would have to complete his sentence on charges of running an illegal dog-fighting operations (he is due to complete his sentence in late July). 2. He'd have to be released by the Falcons, who still own his contractual rights. 3. The UFL would have to get positive feedback from the fans about Vick's inclusion in the league.

Also, games will be played in Los Angeles and Hartford, even though those cities will not have franchises. Actually no one officially has a franchise: The players will all train in Casa Grande, Arizona, and travel to the different cities for games over the six-week season, which ends on Thanksgiving.

I notice that the league's big investor is Paul Pelsoi, husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He actually heads a group that owns all four franchises. Fun fact: He was Paul Tagliabue's roommate at Georgetown.

Far be it from me to question the wisdom of starting a new professional football league to compete against the NFL during a recession. I'm just looking forward to seeing Vick negotiate the right-field corner in AT&T Park.

Green, Fassel, Haslett To Coach In New League [San Francisco Chronicle]
Michael Vick Could Have A Home In The UFL [Newsday]
United Football League [Official Site]

]]> http://deadspin.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5168427&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[This UFL Logo Is Easy To Swallow, But Hard To Take In]]> Remember that Communications 101 class you took where you'd spend hours inspecting the Land O Lakes package with a magnifying glass to search for penis-shaped trees? That was fun. But thankfully the United Football League has taken a less than subtle approach with its subliminal message. Yes, it very well could be a football launching a star out of it — or, as Ufford says, a "clam eating a starfish" — but whatever it is, it's obviously meant to titillate the senses in a way that most other professional football league logos do not. You know, ones that don't rely upon the questionable imagery of a pistachio deep-throating a Christmas ornament.

And what in the shaft-filled gash is the United Football League, you ask? It seems to be positioning itself as CBA-type farm system for the NFL, and is set to officially start its season in the fall of 2009 even though it's still deciding on locations for its 8 teams.

Its motto isn't helping either : "Where the future stars come to play!"

Oh. That's catchy. Stars come to...wait a second.

Umm... [With Leather]

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