My UFL Review

Well, I'd say I've seen enough of the first United Football League game. If you've seen my Twitter posts, that sums up a lot of what I have to say, but not all of it. (Please note: I missed The Office and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia to watch this game.)

I would like nothing more than to see another professional football league succeed in this country. Unfortunately, the UFL doesn't look like it will be that league.

It's not because of the flashy design of the uniforms, which are terrible. It was such a pain how California and Las Vegas had similar jersey designs. It's not because refs are dressed like they work at a fast food restaurant. It's not even because it's a four team league. Well okay, a lot of it is because of those three reasons.

The UFL won't work out because it's not bringing anything new to the table. If you're going to compete with the NFL, you need to bring something that people haven't seen before. That's how it works in life. You can't just blow everybody away with a carbon copy of the NFL. You might get some of the people, but you won't get all of them. It's not a sustainable model.

The AFL was able to compete with the NFL in the 1960s because of the passing game. Sid Gillman and Joe Namath made the passing game sexy and that helped the AFL. The AFL had swagger. They had some goofy uniforms, but still brought something to the table.

The USFL had stars like Jim Kelly, Reggie White and Herschel Walker. They also played in the spring. That helped them out a lot. ESPN also got the USFL. Sure they folded, but they gave the NFL a run for it's money.

Hell, even the XFL went bold with their initiatives. People might not have liked the league, but at least they tried. The three things people will remember about the XFL are "He Hate Me," Tommy Maddox and the Opening Scramble.

It's interesting seeing the access on the field and at halftime, but it's not enough. If you're going to show us a locker room at halftime, you have to show more. The move seemed staged. The players all sat at their lockers like a high school team, while an assistant coach talked about the plans for the second half. It was a close game at halftime. Where's the emotion? Why no yelling from Denny Green?

If you want to light a fire, provide a spark. Do something bold! Don't be afraid to take risks and seek out innovative steps to improve the game of football.

If this is what we should expect from the UFL, I'll be surprised to see the league go for a second season. The league is just not that good and it's a shame. We'll see how the rest of the season goes, but I don't like the way it looks. The NFL has no reason to sweat over the UFL.

Tuesdays with Romo: The best division in football?

In the NFL, we hear a lot about who's the best team, but we never really ask about the best division. Much like the BCS in college football, the best division isn't an exact science. You have to factor in many different ideas.

Let's start this based on record. If you play in the best division, then it makes the most sense that you're going to have a fairly decent record, even if you're in last place. Last season, the NFC East and AFC South each had all four teams finish .500 or better.

The NFC East is currently the only division in the NFL this year with all four teams over .500. The AFC East and the NFC South each have three teams over .500 and one team at .500.

There is no guarantee that any division will have all four teams finish better than .500 for the year. In fact, since the league re-aligned in 2002, it hasn't happened yet. This season though, you never know. The Eagles and the Redskins need two more wins, while the Cowboys only one, to complete the task. Therefore, if you're looking at records, the NFC East is the best.

If you're a good team, you win on the road. The Giants went on the road in the playoffs last season and took it all the way to the Super Bowl. The Steelers did the same exact thing just two seasons prior. Last season, the NFC East won a combined 23 games on the road.

Up to this point of this season, the AFC South has the most road wins with 15 (Note: I typed this post before the ending of the Monday Night Football game from last night). The NFC East is in a close second with 14 road wins. As of right now, the edge goes to the AFC South in this category.

There is no exact science to this and I hope to pursue more angles on the quest to find the best division in football.

Photo Credit: Associated Press/NFL.com

Hump Day: Random Thoughts- July 2, 2008

Hey what do you know, we're only a couple of weeks away from the starting of NFL training camps. As you all know, this is the most boring part of the NFL season, where media outlets try to report any pertinent information.

Hell, I'm so desperate, I devoted a whole post to NCAA 09. Come on, you can't tell me you're not excited about it one bit! (FYI: The Zeppelin World Tour petition has 16,000 signatures. So keep signing up.)

This is boring! At this point, I'm willing to take any good piece of news. Maybe a Shockey trade rumor. Maybe a Terrell Owens incident. Hell, I'd settle for some Tony Romo rumors from US Weekly or People Magazine.

Do we really want to know who coaches think is the smartest non-QB player in the NFL, or the Dirtiest player? Why don't we go ahead and ask the question, Who has the best hair? Who is the biggest headache to deal with? And my personal favorite, who is their least favorite sports writer?

So how about this NFL rookie cap? Sounds like some crazy stuff, eh? I've developed a three step plan to make as much as much money as Matt Ryan.

1. Get in shape
   
   
2. Learn an NFL playbook
   
   
3. Profit (You figure out how to get from step two to step three.)
   

Just follow those three steps and Gene Upshaw will fight to make sure you get the most out of your guaranteed money.

Speaking of guaranteed money, it's good to see Matt Ryan pick up what Commissioner Goodell is laying down. Thank goodness Ryan understands! I was worried sick that the money would turn him into the illegitimate child of the Monopoly Guy. Damn it Ryan, you can take Park Place and Marvin Gardens, but you'll never take the Pennsylvania Railroad from me!

So the Kansas City Chiefs have a rule in place that bars standing at games in Arrowhead Stadium. That's all fine and everything, but what happens to people who get stuck behind Yao Ming at the game? This rule is dumb. There is also a text message system in place to rat out any person that decides to be a hooligan and actually have the nerve to stand. ZOMG!

Our long National Nightmare is over, the 2008 NFL Record & Fact Book was recently released. The book contains statistics, histories of teams and even some rules for you to chew on. There are some things you'll never see in the book. Like:

• How many commercial deals Peyton Manning gets in a year...
  
  
• How many horrible outfits Clinton Portis keeps in his closet...
  
  
• The number of suits Mike Nolan wears to bed...
  
  
• The number of Vizios that are in LaDainian Tomlinson's home...

Thanks for playing along guys.

Sunday Random Thoughts: A Busy Day In Sports

I know this is weird. I know it's weird because I'm writing about non-football related sports. That's okay, I'll have some more of the schedule preview up and ready to go on Monday. This is a new Oh No Romo segment that I want to try out. It's called the Sunday Random Thoughts. I'll be giving my own personal random thoughts on things. Hopefully, this will work out for the better because I am a completely random person. It's time to get things started.

Ohh, how busy it can be in this wild and crazy world of sports. This weekend was a good one for sports.

De La Hoya Wins, Setting Up Showdown for Mayweather in the Fall

One year removed from his first fight with Floyd Mayweather, Jr., 35-year-old fighter Oscar De La Hoya picked up a unanimous decision (119-109 twice, 120-108) victory over former 'Contender' contestant Steve Forbes.

De La Hoya needed that win. He's reaching the end of his career and closing in on a rematch with Mayweather.

The fight itself started out interesting, but slowed down as the rounds progressed, favoring De La Hoya the entire way.

He went in and got out with a win. Now we wait for the De La Hoya-Mayweather announcement.

Big Brown Wins Kentucky Derby

The 134th Kentucky Derby came and went, but it didn't go without a victory and a somber defeat.

Big Brown, the 2-1 favorite at post time, won the Derby at a time of 2:01 3/4. The horse remains undefeated and will be a huge favorite in the Preakness in a few weeks. For jockey Kent Desormeaux, it's his third Kentucky Derby win. He won two previous times in 2000 with Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000 and Real Quiet in 1998.

Unfortunately, some sad news to report from the Derby. Eight Belles, a Filly (young female horse for those who didn't know) broke two ankles shortly after the race and was euthanized on the track. It's a sad story and it brings back memories of Barbaro at the Preakness in 2006. My thoughts and prayers go to the trainer and owners of Eight Belles.

NBA O NBA

Two second round games were on tap for Saturday night.

The defending champs hit a roadblock. The San Antonio Spurs lost game one of the Western Conference semifinals on the road to the New Orleans Hornets, 101-82.

Hornets power forward David West had a strong night, leading all scorers with 30 points. West also had nine rebounds.

Small forward Peja Stojakovic scored 22 and guard Chris Paul scored 17 and had 13 assists.

Spurs guard Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 19 points.

This is not a good way to start out the Conference semifinals if you're the Spurs. The Spurs and Hornets battled back and forth for most of the game, only to fall flat late.

Game two is on Monday night. We'll see if something happens.

MEANWHILE, The Pistons have moved on from their first round series with the 76ers, crushing the Magic, 91-72. A couple thoughts before I move on to the next game.

Does anybody else think Stan Van Gundy sounds like Chris Farley's Matt Foley character from SNL? I'm not saying he looks like him or anything, but he has to sound something like him, if only a little.

Also, is Mike Fratello trying to restore his youth by going blonde? I didn't think he was that old to begin with.

MLB-ing Our Way to the Top

Brandon Webb is on his way to another Cy Young season. The Diamondbacks pitcher is 7-0 to start the season. If I had to make a prediction about how many wins he'll get before he loses, I would pick nine. How many games will Webb win this season? I pick 21.