UFL-Vegas Signs JP Losman

((HT: UFL-Football.com))

The United Football League announced today that its Las Vegas franchise has signed former NFL first-round draft pick Jonathan Paul “JP” Losman for the League’s “Premiere” season.

“I have followed JP’s career since his early days with Buffalo where he impressed me with his raw talent, passing accuracy and on-field competitiveness,” said Jim Fassel, Head Coach of the Las Vegas franchise. “JP has all the attributes of a great professional quarterback and I am truly looking forward to working with him. I am anxious to start the season with JP at the helm of this Las Vegas franchise and show what we can do on the field.”

Losman, a first round draft choice in 2004 by the Buffalo Bills, spent five seasons with the club. He served as Bills’ team captain in 2007 and his 63.43 completion percentage was the fourth-single best season mark in team history. In 2007, Losman also threw the longest touchdown pass in the AFC and fifth longest in team history with an 85-yard pass against the Jets. He was a two-time team captain at Tulane, setting career records for lowest interception percentage in school history with a mark of 2.73 (27 INTs in 987 attempts). Losman finished his collegiate career ranked in Tulane’s all-time Top 10 in 18 categories including third in touchdown passes (60), completions (570) and passing efficiency (129.81). He also ranks in Conference USA’s all-time Top 10 in ten different passing and total offense records

“The United Football League is providing me with the opportunity to play the sport I love at a high level and for that, I am extremely grateful,” said Losman. “There are many players just like me who possess the skills to compete at the highest levels and just need the playing time to showcase their talents. The United Football League is filling that void and giving more players the opportunity to play. I am excited to get back out onto the field and represent Las Vegas during the League’s first season.”

The United Football League is a new professional football league that will kick-off its “Premiere” season this October. Featuring high-quality traditional football played by world-class athletes and former NFL coaches, the UFL will host four teams in six cities. The UFL’s goal is to provide fans with affordable, innovative and entertaining game-day experiences. The UFL’s games, which will be broadcast live on VERSUS in HD, will take place primarily on Thursday evenings and will culminate with a Championship Game over Thanksgiving weekend in Las Vegas.

True to form, ESPN's Jonathan Coachman got to play the role of heel sports-anchor and interview JP on ESPNEWS...

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.

UFL On The Move, Fassel Signs On

While the economy continues to tank the sports world continues to feel the pain. As noted the CBA is packing it in for the rest of the season and may never be heard from again. NASCAR can't even sell out the Daytona 500, stock car racing's signature race, where tickets still remain on sale.

Fear not sports fans, there is good news. Another football league, the United Football League is in the works and planning to kick off this fall. According to a source the UFL has already hired a Super Bowl coach.

According to the Las Vegas Review/Journal, former New York Giants head coach Jim Fassel has been hired to become the head coach of the Las Vegas franchise. That's strange since the league hasn't officially named Las Vegas as a franchise.

UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue would not confirm or deny Fassel's hiring.

There's more on that from the Las Vegas Journal/Review right here.

In fact the UFL has not even decided which cities will receive a franchise but lists 8 potential markets on its website.

For you future UFL fans, check out there website at http://www.ufl-football.com/

Reportedly, billionaire Bill Hambrecht and Google executive Tim Armstrong are the money behind the UFL. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban also is believed to be involved in the league. I wonder how their stock portfolios are doing.

We here at the OSG headquarters see nothing wrong with more football. Good luck in this economy.

Photo Courtesy: Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images