Well, all the big news happened within the past two days. So in lieu of some earth-shattering announcement, have this video of Bethel University guard/DT Michael Jasper working out. Jasper is 6'4 and 395 pounds and has been projected as a late-round pick or possibly a UDFA.
395 pounds and the man can still leap nearly three feet in the air. Any knocks on him? His 40 time is tragically slow even for a lineman (on either side of the ball), though Jasper could lose 50 pounds, possibly gain some speed and still be the biggest guy on the field. Looks like the kind of guy who could be worth a look in the UFL should he fall entirely out of the draft.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Baseless Speculation
 |
| "Turk." Not "Kurt." |
 |
| You try to find a picture of JP where he doesn't look stoned. |
Russell Politely Asked to Leave Town
The 2007 #1 pick and perhaps the biggest draft bust of all time (though some would give the title to Ryan Leaf) JaMarcus Russell's work ethic and drive are apparently so bad that his life coach has told him to leave town. Via PFT:
Dear UFL,
Stay far, far away. Don't even do it for the publicity.
Sincerely,
Nick
"The latest embarrassment for the former No. 1 overall pick: Russell’s “Life coach” John Lucas told Russell he would no longer work with him and asked Russell to leave Houston, according to Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports."Think about this. He was asked to leave a city. As in, John Lucas said to Russell not only that he was not interested in working with him, but that he wanted the former QB to not be in the same major metropolitan area as he was. If there was any more doubt that Russell would never return to pro football, I think this latest turn puts the final nail in the coffin.
Dear UFL,
Stay far, far away. Don't even do it for the publicity.
Sincerely,
Nick
Friday, April 8, 2011
The Other UFL
United Football League look out! There's another football organization with the initials UFL.
Yes folks, the Unicycle Football League is taking America by storm. Texas at least. Or... maybe parts of Texas. Man, where the hell was this on April Fool's day? It would've been the ultimate prank to post something legit that looks like it can't possibly be real.
 |
| Nothing I say can add to this. |
Yes folks, the Unicycle Football League is taking America by storm. Texas at least. Or... maybe parts of Texas. Man, where the hell was this on April Fool's day? It would've been the ultimate prank to post something legit that looks like it can't possibly be real.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Major League Sports: Minor League Cities
Hartford had a professional hockey club once. By the amount of Whalers paraphernalia still circulating around Connecticut, you might think that they still did. They worship in whispers: there's no major talk. The team has been dead for a while and thus there's no news to report. All a Hartfordian (Hartfordite? Hartfordiate?) can do is dream of the remains of this long sunk team, and chant their name to the dusky air. The cult of the Whalers is still very much around. Y'know, it kinda reminds me of something...
Oh god! Run, Hartford!
Could the UFL be the seed of a return of professional sports to Hartford? Maybe. Probably not. There's no denying that the entire state still laments the loss of the team. There's enough demand for Whaler merchandise that websites are willing to carry said gear, and even groups dedicated to bringing the team back. The states two minor league hockey teams are the Danbury Whalers and the Connecticut Whale.
If that's not enough to convince you, have a picture of Transformers star and hot chick Megan Fox in a Whalers t-shirt.
Really though, Megan, Transformers 2 was just awful. Maybe you're not the right person to make a case for things I like.
Maybe a better case for Connecticut's hunger for professional sports franchises could be made by Hobson Lopes in this Yahoo Sports article. Lopes is looking for a Major League Soccer team however, not an NHL one. He asks the question "If the UFL can bring a team to Connecticut, why not MLS?"
Why not indeed?
Hartford is sort of an odd duck as far as cities go. Its population is about 125,000, yet its metro area holds well over a million residents. This is roughly equal to Buffalo, NY, a city twice Hartford's size. A comparable city like Spokane Washington (200k) has a metro population half the size, and Oklahoma city, a town with four times Hartford's population has only slightly more residents in its metro area than Hartford.
In short, the city doesn't have the population any major league team would look for. The state does. There are five cities in Connecticut with populations of 100,000 or more: Waterbury (110k), Stamford (120k), Hartford (125k), New Haven (130k), and Bridgeport (145k). This is absurd for the third-smallest state in the union. By comparison, the second smallest, Delaware, has nothing in the 100,000-200,000 range. Neither does Vermont. New Hampshire (4th smallest) has one. Rhode Island has only one.
And there's the rub. There's no one city that really sums up the state's identity. No community that we truly feel proud of. Hartford gets that little extra edge because it's the capitol, and because it has history. Mark Twain said of it "Of all the beautiful towns it has been my fortune to see, this is the chief... You do not know what beauty is if you have not been here." Connecticut has become a state full of third-tier cities. There are plenty of people here to support major league teams, but we lack a great big metropolis that would attract these organizations. I'm not sure that there's a cure for that, but I hope that some will see the UFL in Connecticut and think to themselves "Hey, maybe this can work."
One last thing: last year at a party I overheard a guy talking about the possibility that the struggling Tampa Bay Rays might relocate to Hartford. I don't see it happening due to the lack of a usable baseball stadium, but can you imagine that? The potential for a rivalry with Boston would be amazing. In fact, I think it would go something like this.
 |
| "Did somebody say whalers? I frickin' LOVE whalers!" |
Could the UFL be the seed of a return of professional sports to Hartford? Maybe. Probably not. There's no denying that the entire state still laments the loss of the team. There's enough demand for Whaler merchandise that websites are willing to carry said gear, and even groups dedicated to bringing the team back. The states two minor league hockey teams are the Danbury Whalers and the Connecticut Whale.
 |
| Pic courtesy of Totalprosports.com... you even reading this? |
Really though, Megan, Transformers 2 was just awful. Maybe you're not the right person to make a case for things I like.
Maybe a better case for Connecticut's hunger for professional sports franchises could be made by Hobson Lopes in this Yahoo Sports article. Lopes is looking for a Major League Soccer team however, not an NHL one. He asks the question "If the UFL can bring a team to Connecticut, why not MLS?"
Why not indeed?
Hartford is sort of an odd duck as far as cities go. Its population is about 125,000, yet its metro area holds well over a million residents. This is roughly equal to Buffalo, NY, a city twice Hartford's size. A comparable city like Spokane Washington (200k) has a metro population half the size, and Oklahoma city, a town with four times Hartford's population has only slightly more residents in its metro area than Hartford.
In short, the city doesn't have the population any major league team would look for. The state does. There are five cities in Connecticut with populations of 100,000 or more: Waterbury (110k), Stamford (120k), Hartford (125k), New Haven (130k), and Bridgeport (145k). This is absurd for the third-smallest state in the union. By comparison, the second smallest, Delaware, has nothing in the 100,000-200,000 range. Neither does Vermont. New Hampshire (4th smallest) has one. Rhode Island has only one.
And there's the rub. There's no one city that really sums up the state's identity. No community that we truly feel proud of. Hartford gets that little extra edge because it's the capitol, and because it has history. Mark Twain said of it "Of all the beautiful towns it has been my fortune to see, this is the chief... You do not know what beauty is if you have not been here." Connecticut has become a state full of third-tier cities. There are plenty of people here to support major league teams, but we lack a great big metropolis that would attract these organizations. I'm not sure that there's a cure for that, but I hope that some will see the UFL in Connecticut and think to themselves "Hey, maybe this can work."
One last thing: last year at a party I overheard a guy talking about the possibility that the struggling Tampa Bay Rays might relocate to Hartford. I don't see it happening due to the lack of a usable baseball stadium, but can you imagine that? The potential for a rivalry with Boston would be amazing. In fact, I think it would go something like this.
 |
| 2008: Sox/Rays battle royale. Wish I'd been there. |
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Colonials Release Protected Players List
You've almost certainly heard by now that the Hartford Colonials (and every other UFL team) has released their list of protected players for the 2011 season.
I'm not going to go into much detail over the obvious ones. Andre Dixon was a no brainer of course. Michale Spicer gets added because he tied for the team lead in sacks and was one of better pass rushers on the team last year. There are a few head scratchers though, either guys who are missing or guys who you'd think the team wouldn't be worried about protecting.
Markee White and Patrick Carter were not on the list of protected wide receivers, which doesn't mean that neither could play for the team, just that the Colonials didn't feel the need to tell other UFL teams "hands off." While it seems at first glance that the team is focusing on players who have not signed with other leagues--White is in the AFL now, and Carter signed with the Dolphins' practice squad--I'm a little worried at the lack of a standout #1 receiver.
There are a lot of offensive linemen coming back. No offense to these guys, but I hope to see some competition between them and some new recruits in training camp. Last year's O-line was spotty outside of the home opener. It seems that right tackle Pete Clifford is still on the roster. Clifford struggled a lot last year and I'm curious as to what the coaches see to inspire continued confidence in him as a starter.
Jy Bond of all people is a weird choice. He was the worst punter in the league last year in terms of yards per punt, which is pretty much the main thing you're going to be looking for on fourth downs. This doesn't seem like the kind of guy you'd need to keep other teams away from. I guess there's something to be said for consistency.
On the plus side, as I recall there were only nine players that made it from the New York Sentinels to the Colonials. Kinda suggests that the team is getting better, eh?
I'm not going to go into much detail over the obvious ones. Andre Dixon was a no brainer of course. Michale Spicer gets added because he tied for the team lead in sacks and was one of better pass rushers on the team last year. There are a few head scratchers though, either guys who are missing or guys who you'd think the team wouldn't be worried about protecting.
Markee White and Patrick Carter were not on the list of protected wide receivers, which doesn't mean that neither could play for the team, just that the Colonials didn't feel the need to tell other UFL teams "hands off." While it seems at first glance that the team is focusing on players who have not signed with other leagues--White is in the AFL now, and Carter signed with the Dolphins' practice squad--I'm a little worried at the lack of a standout #1 receiver.
There are a lot of offensive linemen coming back. No offense to these guys, but I hope to see some competition between them and some new recruits in training camp. Last year's O-line was spotty outside of the home opener. It seems that right tackle Pete Clifford is still on the roster. Clifford struggled a lot last year and I'm curious as to what the coaches see to inspire continued confidence in him as a starter.
Jy Bond of all people is a weird choice. He was the worst punter in the league last year in terms of yards per punt, which is pretty much the main thing you're going to be looking for on fourth downs. This doesn't seem like the kind of guy you'd need to keep other teams away from. I guess there's something to be said for consistency.
On the plus side, as I recall there were only nine players that made it from the New York Sentinels to the Colonials. Kinda suggests that the team is getting better, eh?
Friday, April 1, 2011
Destroyers Sign Quarterback Jeff George
Hot on the heels of yesterday's UFLAccess article on teams’ QB situations, the Virginia Destroyers have signed long-time NFL veteran and former Washington Redskin Jeff George. George was on the roster for the Marty Schottenheimer led 2001 Redskins, who compiled an 8-8 record.
“Some people might laugh about it. I've been hearing the excuse, 'You're too old,' but I look at guys now playing near 40, and if you can throw it like I can throw it ... Why wouldn't you take a look at me?" the 43-year old George has said. “I know it’s a young man’s game, but you can’t tell me I’m not better than some of the quarterbacks that are out there.”
If the Destroyers make the UFL championship, George could have a record setting season. At 43, Jeff George would tie the late great George Blanda for the oldest quarterback to play in a championship game.
“I’m thrilled to have him aboard,” said Destroyers coach and GM Marty Schottenheimer. “Jeff and I have some history, and I know firsthand that he has more experience than any ten quarterbacks you can name. He’ll be a brilliant addition to what we’re trying to do here in Virginia.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)