DJ Steve Porter Is 3-For-3: You Play To Win The Game 2010

Simply, you play to win the game...

DJStevePorter has a 2010 version...
((HT: DJStevePorter))

Rome Keeps NAIA Title Game Through 2010

Initially, the game was supposed to be up for grabs after the 2009 season, but the NAIA and the city of Rome, Georgia got to agree on keeping it around for another year. ((Pictured, are the co-chairs of the title game committee- Shorter AD Bill Peterson and Bob Berry, thanks to our own selves))

The biggest issue for keeping the football championship game around long-term will be a SPLOST vote on November 3rd. Part of that sales tax will go toward a proposed US$3.36-million improvement of Barron Stadium- which would include the installation of SprinTurf at the facility.

The grass surface currently maintained by the city of Rome takes an absolute beating during football season with high school and college games taking place ((sometimes on back-to-back days)) from August through December.

The previous host city was Savannah, Tennessee. The facility was the home of the title game for 11 seasons, but did not draw the raves that Barron Stadium and Rome have drawn by comparison.

"The entire host committee did a fantastic job hosting this event in 2008,” said NAIA Manager of Championship Sports Dennis Green. “The Rome community truly embraced the event and we look forward to coming back in 2010. Shorter College, the city of Rome, and Floyd County have committed to making this a memorable experience for everyone involved and the NAIA is excited about the possibilities for this event.”

Not everyone is in favor of the SPLOST and the turf... Frank Stephenson, an economics professor at Berry College ((the rival school to host Shorter College)) claims the following in an op-ed piece in the Rome News-Tribune...

"...it’s hard to imagine that these effects from hosting the NAIA Championship are large when the lodging benefits are apparently minuscule. Spending more than $3 million on Astroturf and other renovations in pursuit of economic benefits from hosting the football would be a dubious proposition in the best of times. Doing so now, with many families struggling and local unemployment exceeding 11 percent, is unconscionable."

Those of us at OSG HQ would maintain that:
A) To think it's just for the NAIA title game is extremely short-sighted. You have local high schools that get to play football on the surface, which turns into a mud pit by the time you get to the post-season in the first place.

B) The use of the facility expands into spring sports for local high schools and, possibly, other NAIA title games as well- once again counteracting the cost-benefit analysis and not making the stadium a one trick pony... AD Peterson alluded to that kind of a chase in his remarks.

Professor Stephenson, to the best of OSG's knowledge, did not garner that idea from the presser since ((we're fairly sure)) he wasn't in attendance.

Here's your highlights from the presser, thanks to the Rome News-Tribune


Shorter College AD Bill Peterson gets the last words here:
"We are certainly excited about this extension and the opportunity to host another NAIA Football National Championship,” said Shorter College Athletics Director Bill Peterson. “This is a big event for Rome, Floyd County and for Shorter College and we plan to do everything we can to make this a great game.”

It could be the start of something really big and long-lasting on November 3rd...

United Football League Has Coaches

[HT/AP]

Former NFL coaches Dennis Green (The UFL is what we thought it would be), Jim Fassel and Jim Haslett will lead teams in the new United Football League.

The league plans to debut in October with four teams in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Orlando and New York. It announced the coaches Wednesday.

Ex-NFL defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell will coach the New York franchise.

Green, the former Vikings and Cardinals coach, will be in San Francisco. Fassel, who led the Giants to the Super Bowl, will coach Las Vegas. Haslett, the ex-Saints coach, will be in Orlando.

The UFL is an outdoor professional football league. Teams are scheduled to play games in Hartford and Los Angeles along with the home markets.

The league also announced that the San Francisco franchise will play games at AT&T Park.

"When seeking coaches for the UFL we set out to find the most outstanding individuals to lead our teams," said Commissioner Michael Huyghue. "We sought leaders with successful NFL backgrounds, who were excellent communicators and teachers of the game and were excited about building new franchises. We were fortunate to find four individuals who embody these attributes. These men are truly winners in every sense of the word."

The gang in the OSG HQ are puzzled by this quote by the commish. What the UFL has attracted are three of the most mediocre head coaches in the NFL and a former NFL defensive coordinator who was on everyones list but never got hired as an NFL head coach. Sure that trio got into the playoffs some years but only Fassel sniffed the Super Bowl and then his NY Giants team got embarrassed.

At least one of those coaches can claim a championship at the end of the "premier" UFL season to put on their resume.

Is "7" Headed For The UFL...?

((HT: Howard Balzer/cbssports))

Those of us at OSG HQ would venture to say that we had talked about this idea before, but we'll let Howard Balzer give his version since he tells us who the new UFL head coaches are.

The fledgling United Football League, set to play in four cities beginning in October, will officially announce its four head coaches at a news conference in San Francisco on Wednesday.

In addition to former New York Giants coach Jim Fassel, who will lead the Las Vegas team, the UFL has hired Dennis Green as San Francisco's coach, Jim Haslett for Orlando and Ted Cottrell for New York. All except Cottrell have been head coaches in the NFL.

It is also believed the league is trying to have former NFL quarterback Michael Vick play in its inaugural season.

Each team will play six games, with the championship game expected to be played in Las Vegas during Thanksgiving weekend. The UFL has announced a deal for a Thursday night game of the week to be televised on Versus, which is also home for NHL games.

Each team will have three "home" games, but all won't be played in the "named" city. New York will play a game in Hartford, Conn., Las Vegas will play a game in Los Angeles and San Francisco will play a game in Sacramento, Calif.

Fassel was last a head coach with the New York Giants in 2003, Green with Arizona in 2006 and Haslett was the interim coach for St. Louis last season. Cottrell is a longtime NFL assistant who was fired by the San Diego Chargers during the 2008 season as defensive coordinator. He was a coach with the USFL's New Jersey Generals in 1983-84.

Said UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue, "With the confirmation of four teams and the announcement of an infusion of a $30 million investment to operate the league, the UFL is excited to bring affordable, accessible football to underserved markets this October. [This] will allow us to set the foundation within the cities we feel would be a good fit, demonstrate the terrific talent of the coaches and players at our high level of competition, and integrate innovation into all aspects of the league so we are ready for expansion in 2010."

Head coaches will reportedly be paid $500,000 for the season.