Tag Archives: hornet stadium

Sacramento Mountain Lions Season Preview

Ok, ok, this isn’t a season preview. Who would take the time to preview the UFL season?! I don’t see myself even viewing, or re-viewing the season, so forget a preview. What I did want to do, though, is check out the roster and see if it’s worth heading out to the stadium and dropping a couple bucks to see Sac’s newest team. We all know about Daunte Culpepper and Dennis Green, after all, they are who we thought they were, but I’m curious who else is on the team. The UFL seems like it’s got to be an RFP hotbed. In the spirit of Doin Work, I’ll go through the roster in real time and share my thoughts on any names I recognize….

Otis Amey – The former San Francisco 49ers return specialist is apparently a Sacramento State alumni. I didn’t know Sac State even produced any pro football players, but Amey had a pretty solid run with the Niners. As a guy with NFL experience, surely he must be a starting wide receiver, opposite….

Antonio Chatman – I definitely recognize the name, but I thought I remembered Chatman on the Chargers, but apparently he never played for them. He spent time with the 49ers, Packers, and Bengals. Maybe I was mixing him up with Reche Caldwell??? Who knows, but a guy who played for multiple teams in the NFL must be a starter in the UFL, right?

Justin Goltz – I’ll be honest, I never heard of this guy before an hour ago. But I was checking the local news and saw this kid was the Mountain Lions’ #1 draft pick recently. They have arguably the biggest star in the UFL – which isn’t saying much – so why would they use their first pick on a backup QB?  You know what, who cares, it’s the UFL.

Chris Perry – Alright, now we’re talking. Perry didn’t do much with the Bengals, and I’m kind of surprised he’s out of the NFL already, but he was the man at Michigan. Depending on ticket prices, I’m thinking you can do a lot worse than seeing Culpepper and Perry in the backfield.

Tom Malone – May very well be my favorite college punter of all time. You may remember when Malone was at USC, he led the nation in yards per punt, but wasn’t eligible since the Trojans rarely punted the ball away. I’m surprised he didn’t last in the NFL, but I can’t wait to see him unleash an 80 yard punt through the thinnest air in the UFL. Oh wait, Vegas might be hotter.

Zeke Moreno – Another former Trojan, I’m a little less surprised he didn’t hang in the NFL. But something tells me he could be among the top linebackers in the UFL. But on a similar note, we could be among the top blogs that nobody’s read, so that doesn’t say much.

Dontarrious Thomas – Man, this guy was a stud in college at Auburn. The Vikings drafted him in the 2nd round in 2004, but he’s been out of the league since ’08. Apparently he led the team in tackles last season down in SF, so he figures to form quite a duo at linebacker with Moreno.

For season tickets to the Mountain Lions call 1-800-UR-TRIPN because no one should be buying season tickets for the UFL. I don’t care if there “as low as $40,” I’ll check out one game and go from there. Hornet Stadium happens to be on my way to work, and I gotta admit, the field looks pretty nice, but I can’t help but expect a high school football atmosphere. Do they even have a marketing department? Shouldn’t somebody be promoting this thing????


UFL Moving Two Franchises

I wouldn’t normally care about the UFL, let alone write a post about it, but they announced that the California Redwoods, who played last season in San Francisco, will move to Sacramento for the upcoming season. The New York franchise is also moving to Hartford, CT. Both teams struggled with attendance last season, and the UFL as a whole lost somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 million. This move is notable because it comes at a time when Sacramento’s viability as a pro sports town is in question. The Kings have long been the only major sports franchise in town, but their issues have been well documented. While the team sold out almost every game for its first 15+ seasons in Sacramento, the fan base got spoiled, and has recently lost interest with the poor results and lack of direction of the team. Fortunately, with the arrival and quick progression Tyreke Evans, along with other young pieces like Omri Casspi, Donte Greene, and the recent addition of Carl Landry, things are looking up for the Kings. A new arena remains the primary issue regarding the long term sustainability of the team in Sacramento.

The city recently lost the WNBA’s Monarchs, due to the Maloofs letting the team go. While Sacramento will never challenge San Jose as the boutique sport capital of California, inheriting the UFL franchise can be considered a step in the right direction. With the Raiders and 49ers playing just down I-80, NFL football has always been accessible to local fans. It’ll be interesting to see how the Redwoods fare at Sacramento State’s Hornet Stadium. I don’t see it being an overwhelming success, but hopefully they can draw more fans than San Francisco did, thus helping the case for the Kings’ new arena. In addition to the Kings mostly successful run in Sacramento, the Oakland A’s minor league affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats, has been a huge success in the 10 seasons they’ve been here, leading the minor leagues in overall attendance in each of the first 9 seasons. I can’t say I’ll be purchasing season tickets to watch Doug Gabriel and the Redwoods take the field week in and week out, but it’s definitely something to check out. I’ll at least have to catch a game to watch Denny Green roaming the sidelines and see if the UFL really is who we thought they were.