UFL Access Week in Review

The United Football League has learned the lessons of failed professional football leagues not named the NFL – slow and steady most likely wins the race.

While UFL fans (myself included) eagerly await confirmation from the league on such issues as playing venues, team names, assistant coaches, a schedule, etc., with less than six months to opening kickoff, the measured approach to all things UFL information is a refreshing change from other leagues that have over-promised and under-delivered.

Take for instance this week’s news. It doesn’t seem like much, but knowing that the UFL has a respected business in The Leffler Agency to handle advertising and ticket sales, and that the Casa Grande practice facility continues to move forward, are two welcome developments.

The Leffler Agency’s clients list includes the Baltimore Orioles, Baltimore Ravens, the Preakness Stakes, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the athletic departments at George Mason, Penn State, Rutgers, Temple, Cincinnati, Nebraska and Villanova. This can only enhance the UFL’s already solid pre-play profile.

As for Casa Grande, it would be a good thing for the UFL to have a central location for its operations for this season. Having all four teams in one spot for practices, scrimmages, treatment, etc., can’t be anything but positive as the league attempts to build a base to build off of in 2010. If the Casa Grande deal can’t be completed, it won’t be a big hit to the league, since there is a good chance the UFL higher-ups have contingency plans in place.

Quick Hits

Not only does the UFL look better and better each day because of what it’s doing, it’s getting help from other leagues who can’t get their act together. The Arena Football League could be on the verge of completely disappearing after its acting commissioner resigned, the United National Gridiron League has announced just a schedule and not much else, and the “New USFL” has scrubbed its Web site of all previous information, only promising an “exciting announcement” soon…

If the UFL wants some “name recognition” among its players, it could do worse than Boise State rookie running back Ian Johnson. Johnson, who will be 24 when the UFL season begins, is rated as a 6th-to-7th-round pick in this month’s NFL draft, but there is no guarantee that a) he will be drafted and b) he will make an NFL roster. Johnson, who was a key figure in Boise State’s upset of Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, would be a better “name” for the league than the likes of Michael Vick, Plaxico Burress, Matt Jones or any other ex-NFL bad actors.