Chas Gessner and Jermaine Wiggins are other former Jets players drafted by the Orlando team of the UFL. Check out this link for the rest of the draft. I scanned it very quick and saw one former NFL Pro Bowler. UFL ORLANDO NT BLEDSOE, FRED (ARKANSAS) QB BOLLINGER, BROOKS (WISCONSIN) FB CRUZ, RONNIE (NORTHERN STATE-SD) DB DOSS, MIKE (OHIO STATE) DB FASSITT, GREG (GRAMBLING) WR GESSNER, CHAS (BROWN) TE HEINRICH, KEITH (SAM HOUSTON STATE) NT LONG, RIEN (WASHINGTON STATE) DB MASON, GRANT (MICHIGAN) LB MCGARIGLE, TIM (NORTHWESTERN) RB PERRY, CHRIS (MICHIGAN) T PETITTI, ROB (PITTSBURGH) OG PILLAR, ZACK (FLORIDA) DE POWELL, ERIC (FLORIDA STATE) LB SCHLEGEL, ANTHONY (OHIO STATE) DE SCHOBEL, BO (TCU) WR THOMPSON, DOMINIQUE (WILLIAM & MARY) CB TRIBBLE, DEJUAN (BOSTON COLLEGE) NT TRIPPLETT, LARRY (WASHINGTON) DB VINNETT, DARIUS (ARKANSAS) T WAND, SETH (NORTHWEST MISSOURI ST) TE WIGGINS, JERMAINE (GEORGIA) RB WILSON, QUINCY (WEST VIRGINIA) DB WRIGHT, TJ (OHIO UNIVERSITY)
chris perry was a pretty big star at michigan, really fell off the map after a sting with the bungels.
The league drafted Bollinger. Where's the crazy dude that thought he was the next coming of god, when you need him. Bollywood!?!?!?!?! I got Chad Gessner mixed up with Chad Cascadden and thought he played defense. I'm wrong...Chad Gessner is a tall WR that apparently couldn't catch a break, but could be a star in the UFL.
Utah Quarterback Brian Johnson was drafted by New York. Las Vegas looks like they have a pretty decent team... Supposedly, JP Losman and Tim Rattay are joining the UFL too. Losman is expected to sign with Las Vegas in the next few weeks.
Of course, in keeping with the fine tradition of NY sports teams. Please then explain something to me. If the league hasn't even seen its first game yet, how is it that the "New York" team is playing its games in Connecticut? It's not like they're pulling a "NY Jets Shea-NJ" on us- they've never stepped foot on my beloved soil!!! Are they afraid that if the team is identified as being from CT that it won't draw any fans?
So let me get this straight: an upstart new football league is formed to bring football to fans that have not had football available locally and three of the four places they choose to setup shop are NY (3 teams including 2 nominally representing NYC), San Francisco (2 teams) and Orlando (3 teams in Florida already including one just 90 minutes away in Tampa/St. Pete?) What a load of hooey. The Las Vegas team will probably draw some people but the other three locations are just speculative longshot attempts to get the NFL to buy the league out. And it's a verrrrrry longshot. UFL Mission Statement: "To fulfill the unmet needs of football fans in major markets currently underserved by professional football by providing a high quality traditional football league comprised of world class professional football players. The UFL will serve the communities with pride, dedication and passion, and uphold a leadership role in the development of football worldwide. The UFL will provide every fan with an affordable, accessible, exciting and entertaining game experience." Looks like an attempt to make pigs fly to me.
I lied, I know nothing about where their playing. I was just making a guess on the fine state of ny sports teams.
Just pulled this off the UFL page relative to NY team: Facilities and Stadiums. There are several facilities in the New York City metropolitan area which could host a UFL team. The most appealing venue may be the Mets’ new baseball stadium Citi Field in Willets Point in the New York City borough of Queens, which will seat 45,000 in spring 2009. Historically, New York City baseball stadiums have been great venues for professional football. The Mets’ Shea Stadium was home to the American Football League, then National Football League, Jets from 1964-83 and the NFL Giants in 1975. Yankee Stadium was home to the Giants from 1956-73. The new Yankee Stadium, set to open spring 2009 with seating for 53,000, would also be ideal for a UFL team. Another possible UFL venue is Laurence Wein Stadium at Columbia University in Manhattan. The stadium currently seats 16,500 with the possibility for expansion. Placing a UFL team in Wein stadium would make the UFL team the first major professional football team to play in Manhattan. Hofstra University’s James M. Shuart Stadium, which opened in 1962 on Long Island, currently seats 15,000 but could also be expanded. Shuart Stadium has served as the site for the NCAA Championships, Nassau County and New York City State High School Championships in football and lacrosse, world championships in men's and women's lacrosse, professional soccer, commencement exercises and cultural events. Within the past decade, Shuart Stadium has received a new artificial turf playing surface, several sections of new chair-back seating, a new sound system and a $3.8 million Field House in the south end zone. Shuart Stadium also served as a home for the Long Island Rough Riders of professional soccer's A-League. Other possible UFL venues include Major League Soccer’s Red Bull New York, which is currently building a 25,000 seat stadium in Harrison, New Jersey (11 miles from New York City) and is planned to open in the summer of 2009; Rutgers Stadium (40 miles south of New York City) with a seating capacity of 41,500; and Princeton Stadium (50 miles south of New York City) which seats nearly 28,000.
There's a direct quote below about the UFL trying to purport itself as an NFL minor league for journeymen and UDFAs. I think it may have some sort of hope to survive in that aspect, seeing as the NFLE is gone and the arena league not quite the same game as translated to the NFL level. UFL thread in the BS Forum Upstart UFL Plans To Work With NFL, Not Try To Challenge United Football League (UFL) Commissioner Michael Huyghue yesterday said that the new league's goal is to "work with the NFL," according to Matt Barrows of the SACRAMENTO BEE. Huyghue yesterday at a press conference said, "I think the robust feeling that 'we're going to take the NFL on' is a foolish ploy." Under the UFL's plan, all four teams would "have an affiliation with NFL divisions." The UFL, which is scheduled to begin play in October, plans to "experiment with gadgets -- GPS devices inside footballs, cameras to document halftime speeches -- but the rules won't stray far from NFL rules." The league "might use NFL officials for its games." Huyghue said that the league's S.F. franchise plans to host two games at AT&T Park and one at Sacramento's Hornet Stadium, though the details of that game are "still being worked out." Huyghue noted that the S.F. franchise "ultimately could wind up in Sacramento depending on attendance/interest in the two cities." S.F. Owner Paul Pelosi said the 49ers have "made it clear that they want to be in San Jose, elsewhere. ... So we might end up -- will probably end up -- being the only team up here." The league this season also will have franchises based in Las Vegas, Orlando and N.Y., and "plans to either expand to six or eight teams next season." Hartford and L.A. "appear to be the leading candidates for expansion" (SACBEE.com, 3/11). Huyghue said that Las Vegas' home games will be played at Sam Boyd Stadium, and that the team's ownership group will be announced in a "couple of weeks" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 3/12).