UFL Access and OurSports Central contributor Fran Stuchbury talks about the experience he had covering the UFL Championship.

I have always been a big fan of alternative football leagues. I covered the XFL its only season in 2001.  I was able to cover six ArenaBowls, two af2 ArenaCups and one CFL Grey Cup in Montreal in 2001. So I was looking forward to covering the UFL Championship game in Las Vegas.

I had a good flight from Philadelphia to Las Vegas. At the airport I met up with Nation Hahn, who is the news director of UFL Access, and his wife Jamie. That night we spent a lot of time walking around the strip and we were able to see the water fountain show at the Bellagio casino.

Wednesday both Nation and I went out to Sam Boyd Stadium to cover media day. UFL Commissioner Michael Huyghue gave his state of the UFL address. Huyghue said he was very pleased with the quality of play the UFL had this season. In 2010 they plan to have a six team league with a ten game schedule. When asked if each team would have a general manager next season, Huyghue response was Rick Mueller will still be the GM for all the teams but coaches will have a much more active role in 2010.

One key point the Commissioner made was each team will have a much stronger presence in their individual markets so ticket sales should increase significantly.

He was also very happy with the coverage TV partners Versus and HDNet have done all season long. The UFL did a great job by webcasting all the games so fans that did not have those channels could watch the games online.

After the Commissioner gave his league address I spoke to New York Sentinels owner Bill Mayer. Mayer said that Sentinels head coach Ted Cottrell  will probably be coming back as the team’s head coach next season and will do everything they can to make sure the Sentinels have a winning team next season. The Sentinels had a lot of inexperienced players compared to the Florida Tuskers, which had a lot of veteran players. Mayer said “the Sentinels need have a blend of experienced and young players. So expect in 2010 to see a revamped team that will give them the best chance to be an improved team.”

I then spoke to California Redwoods owner Paul Pelosi. Pelosi and UFL Founder Bill Hambrecht were both investors in the USFL Oakland Invaders. He said in the USFL most of the owners were not on the same page and some of them had different agendas like what was shown on ESPN documentary on the USFL. In the UFL, all the owners are on the same page on how the league should be run.

Pelosi also said the Redwoods will be looking to play games in Sacramento and San Jose in 2010.

I went down on the field and spoke to some Las Vegas Locomotives players. Offensive guard Martin Bibla who won an ArenaBowl with the Philadelphia Soul in 2008 was asked how would compare winning an ArenaBowl to winning a UFL Championship, his response was, “Anytime you get to go to a championship it’s a great honor, so winning in the AFL and winning here would be top notch.”

Kicker Graham Gano who played his college ball at Florida State said “It was awesome playing at Florida State. Coach Bobby Bowden is an awesome guy. Growing up I always wanted to play at Florida State, it was my dream school so being coached under Bobby Bowden was a dream come true. “

Las Vegas Locos head coach Jim Fassel was asked what his team needs to do this time around to defeat the Florida Tuskers after losing to them twice during the regular season. His response was, “We need to play better they are a talented football team, we need to eliminate mistakes and play hard against them.”

The Florida Tuskers took the field and I spoke to quarterback Brooks Bollinger. When asked about the play calling of offensive coordinator Jay Gruden an, Bollinger response was, “He has done a great job. People have given me credit for getting a lot of players involved with the offense, it’s a credit to him calling the plays and having the confidence in the running backs, wide receivers and tight ends we have to be able to plug them into different situations and do multiple things.”

Tuskers Tight end Jermaine Wiggins was asked how you compare playing in a Super Bowl to playing in the UFL Championship. His response was, “The way I look at it is, I played for the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. It was a great experience for me. I’m looking at hit like, hey it’s another opportunity to play in a championship and get a ring. You look at it as a game, and then celebrate when the game is over.”

Tuskers backup QB Chris Greisen was asked if he would like to play again for the Tuskers next season, his response was “Yes, I would be, especially if offensive coordinator Jay Gruden was back with this same offense. With Brooks Bollinger’s help too, just watching him and learning from him. I have been able to pick up this offense quite well and understand it. I would love to be able to come back.”

When I was about to leave media day I ran into UFL Director of Player Personnel Bret Munsey. I was in New Orleans when Munsey led the Philadelphia Soul to a 59-56 victory over the San Jose SaberCats at ArenaBowl XXII on July 27, 2008. Munsey had a regular season record of 30-18 with his three seasons with the Soul. When the AFL suspended operations in 2008, I was happy that Munsey was able to get another job quickly. I always spoke to him after every Soul home game with other members of the media.

That night I met up with another staff member of UFL Access, Ron Bodine who flew in from Delaware to see the game.

Thursday I had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with Nation, his wife Jamie and his friend Jon Broyhill.

Friday I got down to Sam Boyd Stadium early attending the UFL pre-game tailgate. They served some food and had some nice activities for the kids. I met another UFL Access fan from the message boards AndyG who flew in from San Antonio with his wife and two friends to see the game.

I went up to the press box and ran into Carl Paganelli, who was a former Supervisor of Officials for the Mid-American Conference, XFL, Arena Football, AF2 and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference. He was helping out with the UFL. One nice thing that has happened this season, according to Carl, is that there have been no complaints about the UFL officiating and he was saying he hoped there would be no problems with this game.

I then spoke to a guy who was a scout for the San Diego Chargers who came to the game to take a closer look at UFL players from Las Vegas and Florida. NFL scouts all season long have been in touch with UFL GM Rick Mueller asking about players.

The Las Vegas Locomotives defeated the Florida Tuskers in overtime 20-17. Here are my observations:

• The game was very exciting to watch, especially in the fourth quarter and overtime.
• DeDe Dorsey deserved to be named MVP of the game for his 66 yards rushing and two touchdowns. He also had four receptions for 32 yards. Dorsey made these comments on winning the championship game and being named MVP. “It was definitely fun and great to be the first to do it (win).  We got a lot of new experiences.  It means a lot, especially being the first-ever championship and the first to win it.  We will always have it.  But as far as being MVP, as long as we are winning I am happy.  That is all that matters to me.  Again, I am going to cherish this for a while.”
• After the game, Locos head coach Jim Fassel gave the game ball to Locos owner/UFL Founder Bill Hambrecht. Fassel was very happy Hambrecht started this league. “I want to thank Bill Hambrecht for having the guts to start a league like this.  I think it’s going to be here for a long, long time.  It is going to do nothing but get better too.  I loved this.  I loved coaching in this League and I just had a ball coaching these guys.  You saw the character and the toughness they have.”
• During the UFL season we saw Florida, New York and California make a lot of roster moves, meanwhile the Locos made very few moves this season. When I was in New York, covering the Locos/Sentinels game I brought that comment up to Fassel. He said he was committed to the players he brought into training camp and felt he could develop them into a championship team and that is exactly what he did.
• Tuskers QB Brooks Bollinger passed for 306 yards 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He will definitely be given a shot to play quarterback again in the NFL this or next season.
• The bottom line is the turnovers was the main reason the Tuskers lost this game and head coach Jim Haslett felt the same way. He said, “Obviously, the turnovers were the big point in the game. I told the players after the game that if you don’t take anything else away from this League, take away that you can’t have a couple of penalties in overtime and then throw an interception. Those turnovers are obviously what got us today.”

John Hahn a guy I have worked with on several arena football projects watched the UFL Championship game on TV and made these comments about the game:

“I thought from a video perspective, the broadcast was very professional. They had all the camera angles and replays, as well as the overhead shots. I actually thought the game would be a little more offensive and we would see more points on the board. But, in any championship, defense usually rules, unless it is so one-sided. The interview with the league commissioner at halftime was excellent. He seems genuine and honest about the direction of the league. Adding a couple more teams will make a difference in the coming years, but they are cautious and should be able to capitalize on their first year as time goes on.”

The UFL is doing the right thing by only adding two teams next seasons. We have seen other sports league fail because they expanded too fast. It’s a good, slow approach.

That night after the game I had the chance to hang out with some UFL fans and talk about the game we witnessed. Everyone I spoke to told me that it was the best UFL game all season.

Overall it was an outstanding experience. When the AFL suspended operations I was sad because I covered the league for 11 seasons.

When the UFL came I was glad I was getting the chance to reinvent myself. In February, I made an immediate splash by breaking the story that Jim Fassel would be named the UFL Las Vegas head coach.

I was able to attend the first UFL press conference and the unveiling of the New York Sentinels nickname and jersey that were both held in Manhattan. UFL public relations consultant Rachel Gary made sure I was able to get any one-on-one interviews I wanted.

When the UFL season started, I wanted to be able to give UFL players the recognition they deserved so I was able to do the OurSports Central UFL Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams player of the week.

Prior to the Championship Game, being able to attend my first UFL game in Long Island on November 4th was a lot of fun. My friend I went to the game with loved the VIP fan experience the UFL gave him. He got merchandise, coupons on food concessions and was able to be on the field when the teams warmed up.

The most important thing was doing a weekly internet radio show for UFL Access “Inside the UFL” with Nation Hahn. I did an arena football show with ArenaFan called “ArenaZone” for seven seasons. I was thrilled to be broadcasting again and enjoyed working every week with Nation Hahn. Nation knows the UFL inside out and we have become good friends over a short period of time. He did an outstanding job getting guests for the show.

It was nice being able to do interviews with UFL Commissioner Michael Huyghue, Locos running back DeDe Dorsey and other players. Ron Bodine and Dusty Sloan were good contributors to the show when we did a round tables discussion on UFL mid-season report cards and the championship game preview.

Unlike the XFL I’m happy the UFL will play a second season and I hope to be once again at the UFL Championship next season.

If you have any questions or comments about this column feel free to drop me an email at arenazone@yahoo.com and I will be more than happy to get back to you.