PFT: United Football League and USFL, XFL Articles

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https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... n-st-louis

>>  76-year-old Wade Phillips is getting it done in the UFL.

Phillips, who coached the Bills, Broncos, and Cowboys in the NFL, has taken the San Antonio Brahmas to the UFL Championship game.

The Brahmas upended the St. Louis Battlehawks, 25-15, before more than 30,000 in St. Louis for the XFL Conference title.  <<

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https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... in-the-nfl

>>  After coaching against him in the UFL, Wade Phillips says Hakeem Butler belongs in the NFLAfter leading his team to the UFL title game, Wade Phillips made a point of singling out one of his opponents for praise.
 Phillips, head coach of the San Antonio Brahmas, spoke to St. Louis Battlehawks wide receiver Hakeem Butler while the TV cameras rolled and told Butler that he belongs in the NFL.
 “I’m going to tell everybody in the NFL that I talk to that you need to be playing,” Phillips told Butler. “You deserve it.”  <<

That was a cool catch by the camera team and good timing... shows Wade is a good guy and coach.
 

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https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... ed-ufl-mvp

>>On Saturday, he was benched for Matt Corral. On Monday, Birmingham Stallions quarterback Adrian Martinez was named the UFL’s MVP.
 Martinez led the entire eight-team league in rushing with 528 yards. He finished third in passing yards with 1,749 and was tied for second in passing touchdowns with 15.
 He rushed for 138 yards against Houston on April 27, the second highest single-game rushing output of the year.
 It still wasn’t enough to keep Martinez from being replaced with Corral in the second half of Saturday’s come-from-behind win over the Michigan Panthers. The Stallions trailed 18-12 when Martinez exited; the final score was Birmingham 31, Michigan 18.
 Martinez also might not play at all in the UFL Championship. Coach Skip Holtz told reporters after Saturday’s win that he doesn’t know who will start at quarterback against the Brahmas, and that the decision will be made later in the week.
  Holtz also hinted at the possibility that both quarterbacks will play. He’s already shown what he’ll do if the offense needs a spark. <<

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https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... jake-bates>> The Commanders aren’t the only team with interest in UFL kicker Jake Bates.Three other teams have requested to host Bates, with the Packers, Lions and Ravens wanting on his itinerary, Aaron Wilson of KPRC reports.<<

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... ndre-baker

>> A pair of former first-round picks worked out for the Cowboys on Tuesday.Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News reports that cornerbacks Gareon Conley and Deandre Baker tried out for the team. They also worked out linebackers Willie Harvey Jr. — as previously reported — and Noah Dawkins.Conley played for the D.C. Defenders in the UFL this year and was a Raiders first-round pick in 2017.  <<

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... ndre-szmyt

>> The Commanders need a kicker, after cutting Brandon McManus. Their options include a pair of UFL kickers.Via Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post, the Commanders will work out Michigan Panthers kicker Jake Bates and St. Louis Battlehawks kicker Andre Szmyt.  <<

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https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... nba-finals

>> Both UFL playoff games crack seven figures in audience, even with one against NBA Finals

The UFL is catching on.

A pair of playoff games from the past weekend generated more than one million viewers each.Via Mike Mitchell of SI.com, 1.1 million watched Saturday’s game between Michigan and Birmingham on ABC, for the USFL Conference championship.

On Sunday night, 1.274 million watched the game matching San Antonio and St. Louis on Fox, for the XFL Conference crown.

The Sunday night numbers have extra significance because most of the game was played against Game 2 of the NBA Finals.  <<

PFT has been ramping up UFL coverage during the season.  They are warming up and giving the UFL more coverage... the UFL is fueling their promotion and its gaining steam... at the perfect time heading into the Championship.  The strong showing into NBA finals and SNB got lots of respect.

[GDAWG]

I don't want Mike Florio to cover the UFL anymore.  Instead, I want him to go on a two hour epic, profanity filled tirade on his show explaining why he despises Aaron Rodgers.

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https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... s-per-game

>>  For its inaugural season, the UFL did very well on TV. At the box office, not so much.The eight-team league averaged 12,828 fans for the 40 regular-season games played over 10 weekends, via Sports Business Journal.The St. Louis Battlehawks led the way with 34,365 per game. Without those numbers, the league would have averaged 8,532 per game. <<

I would argue that TV is 1st, 2nd and 3rd priority over live attendance,  but the numbers are accurate for reg season.

That puts them at 513k fans in attendance at 40 games and over 553k thru Conf championship w/e,  That aint bad.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/A ... attendance

SBJ fails here stating the USFLRoughnecks, while in the USFL conf were using the XFL branded Houston moniker.  That's poor reporting.  - I do think the 2020 XFL season and lead up helped in general but not everywhere,

[MGB01]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... s-per-game

>>  For its inaugural season, the UFL did very well on TV. At the box office, not so much.The eight-team league averaged 12,828 fans for the 40 regular-season games played over 10 weekends, via Sports Business Journal.The St. Louis Battlehawks led the way with 34,365 per game. Without those numbers, the league would have averaged 8,532 per game. <<

I would argue that TV is 1st, 2nd and 3rd priority over live attendance,  but the numbers are accurate for reg season.

That puts them at 513k fans in attendance at 40 games and over 553k thru Conf championship w/e,  That aint bad.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/A ... attendance

SBJ fails here stating the USFLRoughnecks, while in the USFL conf were using the XFL branded Houston moniker.  That's poor reporting.  - I do think the 2020 XFL season and lead up helped in general but not everywhere,

Speaking of fails, Florio BRUTALLY flubs his math here, the league averaged 9751 minus StL (and, just using 2-5--BHAM plus the other three XFL markets, a more acceptable 11,543), not 8532. He comes to that figure by taking out StL attendance, but not the five StL home games.

You know if NBC wants to keep this clown as a commentator, yakker, white Stephen A go ahead, but stop calling him a damn insider or expert. You might as well go back and hire Keith Olberdork (who they just replaced with Florio anyway).

This I suspect is another reason he got rid of the comment section last year--that and his Pavlovian lapdogs were slowly disappearing.

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https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... -also-play

>>The UFL’s MVP will start in the UFL’s championship game.

It wasn’t the no-brainer it should have been. On Saturday, Adrian Martinez was benched for Matt Corral in the second half, because coach Skip Holtz believed the Birmingham Stallions needed a “spark.” Corral provided it. It wasn’t enough to ignite a full-blown controversy.

 Holtz, appearing Tuesday on WJOX in Birmingham’s Three Man Front, said that Martinez will start against the Brahmas on Sunday.

 “We would not be in this game right now if it wasn’t for Adrian Martinez and he will be our starter,” Holtz said.

 But it’s clear that, if the Stallions should need another spark, Corral will enter the game.

  “I am not looking to make this big quarterback controversy going into championship Sunday. We have two quarterbacks. You could see them both.” <<



 

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https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootba ... mvp-trophy

>>  In what could be a precursor to the first Super Bowl he works for Fox, the man who has received a trophy or two in his time will be handing one out.

Yes, Fox is putting Tom Brady to work for his $37.5 million per year. Via Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal, Brady will award the UFL Championship MVP trophy on Sunday night.

The game between the San Antonio Brahmas and the Birmingham Stallions will be played in St. Louis and televised by Fox. Brady won the Super Bowl MVP trophy five times in his career.

Frankly, Brady should be calling the game. It would be great practice for him, and it would likely add significantly to the Fox audience.  <<

PFT keeps pumping...