The United Football League announced today that it has signed Cutters Gloves as the Official Gloves of the UFL. In an exclusive agreement, Cutters will create customized gloves for each UFL team for both game and practice use.

“Cutters is a leading manufacturer of high-performance sports gloves and we are proud to be partnering with such an innovative company,” said Frank Vuono, COO of the UFL. “Cutters’ patented performance grip material will give our players greater security in holding onto the ball as they head into the end zone resulting in higher scoring games and increased fan enthusiasm.”

“Cutters is excited to be partnering with the UFL,” said Gary Bethea, Cutters’ Director of Sales. “The strong caliber of the coaches and executives, along with the growing enthusiasm for this new league, definitely makes it something to watch. And, let’s face it – you can never have enough high quality football.”

It should have been a great week for the UFL.  Certainly that is what the league was hoping for.  But, in the week where they officially released the names and uniforms of their teams for the “Premiere” season things did not go as well as they had hoped.

The biggest challenge was that the team names Florida Tuskers, Las Vegas Locomotives, New York Sentinels and California Redwoods, did not resonate with fans or the media. 

Now, to be clear, I don’t mind the team names, I think they are okay.  However I am only one person in the grand scheme of things.  Also, keep in mind that I said they were okay… certainly, the names did not WOW me.

However, one can just do a Google search and find plenty of recent media stories that are negative or poking fun at what they perceive are lackluster names.  In addition, fan’s tweets and blogs abound that are expressing outright dissatisfaction with the names. 

The bottom line is that the team names did not wow anyone.  The sad fact is that the names were supposed to generate much needed excitement, momentum and support for the league.

The next problem was the uniforms.  Since the league opted for a unified look and feel for its premiere season uniforms, there was not a lot of excitement generated in the uniforms.  In fact, by the time the league got to the west coast to unveil the Florida Tuskers and the New York Sentinels uniforms everyone already knew what they would look like.  The only guess was the uniform color.  Yawn!  Another missed opportunity to generate excitement.

Even the press conferences were lackluster.  The photos that were released were amateur at best.  Even the title cards on the easels looked like they were done with Microsoft Word “word art”.  Why not hire a graphic artist to do a professional job to the title cards?  Why not hire a professional photographer to take properly lit and framed photos of the press conferences?

The last and biggest let-down of last week was the signing of Michael Vick to the NFL’s Eagles.  This was sort of out of the UFL’s hands, and you know that they did the best they could to sign Vick.  However the UFL was not Vick’s first choice and he held out for a chance to get back to play big league ball.

The signing of Michael Vick was supposed to be the UFL’s big news splash.  Vick was the thing that would really put them on the map.  But it wasn’t to be, and it wasn’t their fault… or was it?  Does anyone else think that Michael Vick’s camp saw what the UFL was doing with what they perceived to be bush-league team names and lackluster uniforms and immediately became fearful that the UFL might be a very bad choice for Vick?  I am sure that it was a factor.

Don’t be fooled by other reports that the UFL has recanted and are now saying “good riddance” and that the UFL didn’t even want Vick.  They really wanted him.  After all, they were offering him 1.6 million for a relatively short season.

The UFL really has to take stock in the past week.  They need to learn from their mistakes or failure will surely come.  Another week like this and investors, who largely base their decisions on perception, will surely be fleeing.

The coming weeks present a giant challenge for the UFL.  All the UFL has to do and look back at other leagues that have come up and failed.  All of those leagues did not get any respect from the sports community, the news media and the fans.  The UFL is no different.  The league is going to have to try lot harder if they want the sports community to take them seriously.

It is being reported that the UFL could not come to an agreement with their proposed training facility in Vero Beach Florida “due to their budget restraints.”

According to reports, the UFL had initially discussed paying a total of $1.3 million for use of the field, lodging and meals from Sept. 15 to Nov. 25. The offer apparently went down to $600,000, a revision in the agreement that facility representatives characterized as “very disappointing.”

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/aug/14/united-football-league-wont-be-coming-dodgertown-v/

Tonight Michael Vick signed a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Michael Vick is back in the NFL, landing a job with the Philadelphia Eagles. Vick’s agent, Joel Segal, confirmed Thursday that the sides had a deal. Vick has not played in the NFL since 2006.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i9MWFBqsCgMR4ys-PkJog4BDd2BQD9A2BCOO0

This closes the chapter of the UFL courting Michael Vick to play with the Florida Tuskers in Orlando.

Sentinels to Play “Home” Games at Hofstra, Giants Stadium & Rentschler Field

NEW YORK, Aug. 13 /PRNewswire/ — At a press conference today, United Football League Commissioner Michael Huyghue announced the New York franchise will be named the Sentinels and unveiled innovative team uniforms showcasing the Sentinels’ “Premiere” season colors of black, silver and green. The name “Sentinels” was selected after more than thirty thousand fan entries and interpretation from industry experts and an in-house creative team on what attributes the fans were seeking with their submissions. New York Sentinels Owner Bill Mayer and Sentinels Head Coach Ted Cottrell were also in attendance at the press event.

“It was critical to us that we took our time in selecting team names that we felt best reflected the local community while simultaneously defining the personality of the team,” said Commissioner Huyghue. “When selecting a name for the New York franchise, we wanted to pay homage to the individuals who protect the city including the NYPD, FDNY, the Port Authority and so many other dedicated organizations who bravely watch over the city.”

Previously, the UFL announced Miami-based GameWear Team Sports as the League’s official uniform supplier. Award-winning designer Ron Caruso of Purepartner created all the teams’ uniforms using derivatives of the official League logo for all the designs while making each one distinctive.

“The inspiration for the ‘Premiere’ season uniform design comes directly from the UFL shield and its foundation colors which represent ‘green grass’, ‘blue sky’ and silver for innovation,” said Caruso. “Throughout the uniforms, we used the dimensional ‘arc’ of the shield on the chest and supporting ‘arcs’ on the sleeves and pants. The unique font of the numbers reinforces the shield’s classic bold typeface with angles and dimensional treatments conveying depth and motion. The four uniform designs work together in a unified branded system, providing manufacturing efficiencies while allowing each team to retain its own unique and differentiated character.”

Yesterday, the United Football League announced the Florida Tuskers. Earlier in the week, the United Football League introduced the Las Vegas Locomotives and the California Redwoods. A complete listing of team names and photos of uniforms will be available on the League’s website, www.ufl-football.com, along with pictures and video from the press events.

“We are extremely pleased with the names selected for all of our teams and the overall ‘Premiere’ season uniform design,” said Frank Vuono, COO of the UFL. “Name selection for a new sports franchise can be an arduous process having to take into account the disqualification of many great possibilities due to trademark and copyright infringements. There was a team of experts including Charley Inc., Bendigo Company, GameWear Team Sports, Ron Caruso and Purepartner who assisted in the name selection and uniform design processes and we are grateful for all of their hard work.”

The UFL launched its Name the Team Campaign with the redesign of its website in February. From that time, more than thirty thousand entries were submitted. Fans who submitted the selected names will be notified and given the appropriate credit.

Mayer also announced that the Sentinels will play its three home games in its “Premiere” season at Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex on October 29(th), Hofstra University on November 4(th) and Rentschler Field in Hartford on November 14(th).

“In an effort to reach fans across the tri-state region, we are playing at multiple stadiums in our ‘Premiere’ season,” said Mayer. “The fan interest for the New York are a team has been immense and we want to expand our reach so that all fans may attend a ‘home’ game and be able to embrace the New York Sentinels as their team.”

The New York Sentinels’ first game will be in Orlando on October 10(th) and will be broadcast on HDNet at 6:00 PM Pacific. The Sentinels’ first home game is October 29(th) against the Redwoods at Giants Stadium and will be broadcast on VERSUS.

From the Orlando Sentinel:

The fact that the Tampa Bay Rays have reached an agreement to acquire an interest in the UFL’s Florida franchise plays a role in the team name. The Tuskers wil play three home games, two of which will be played in the Citrus Bowl, with the opener slated for Oct. 10 at 7 p.m., with the second home game Oct. 22 against California. The third Orlando game venue for Oct. 30 against Las Vegas will be played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orl-ufl-team-orlando-name-tuskers-081209,0,4537140.story

We can now confirm that the UFL Team in Orlando will be named the “Florida Tuskers”. 

Originally the UFL had registered the name “Orlando Tuskers” as a trademarked name, but later they also registered the name “Florida Tuskers” .  We can confirm that they have settled on the name “Florida Tuskers” as the name for the Orlando franchise.

The Uniform colors will be blue, black and white.  The premiere season identifier for the Florida Tuskers will be an “FL”.  The uniforms follows the pattern that has been established for all four teams of the UFL for the inaugural season. 

If anyone is wondering, a “Tusker” is a wild boar that is indigenous to the Forida wild-lands.

We welcome the Tuskers of the United Football League!

The Orlando press conference is at 1:30EDT.  The Florida Tuskers of the UFL will become official. News will be available on http://uflfansite.com

If green means GO then yes, they are ready to go!

First of all I would like to add that “Redwoods” is a much better name than “Rockfish”. This is a vast improvement. Keep in mind that nobody in the Northwest is going to malign the vaunted Redwood, and therefore nobody is going to complain about this name. I also believe that the league can successfully market this name, and by using “California” in the name they are likely planning to market the team across the entire State. This could work to build up state-wide support for the UFL before the team gets to roll out teams in other California markets.

The uniforms are nice as usual. The colors are green, blue and white with a CA as a shoulder patch.  However it is already starting to seem repetitive, and we have only seen two of these “cookie cutter” uniforms so far. I believe it was a good trade-off to have similar uniforms for the first season, but I am starting to think they should have revealed all the uniforms at once. The critics are already starting to growl about these uniforms and there are two more opportunities for the criticism to gain momentum.

Lastly, I was thinking that the uniforms for the “Redwoods” might be red. I guess that is what happens when you switch from a fish to a tree one week prior to the team name reveal.

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ — At a press conference today, United Football League Commissioner Michael Huyghue announced the California franchise will be named the Redwoods and unveiled innovative team uniforms showcasing the Redwoods’ “Premiere” season colors of green, blue and white. The name “Redwoods” was selected after more than thirty thousand fan entries and interpretation from industry experts and an in-house creative team on what attributes the fans were seeking with their submissions. California Redwoods Owner Paul Pelosi was also in attendance at the press event.

“It was critical for us to select team names that we felt best reflected the local community while simultaneously defining the personality of the team,” said Commissioner Huyghue. “The Redwoods, large, strong trees native to California, symbolize many traits that the UFL and the California franchise plan to embody. The Redwoods and the UFL are reaching for the stars and are eco-friendly.”

Redwoods’ owner Paul Pelosi wanted his team’s name to possess attributes that signified strength, respected the environment and suggested growth opportunities.
Previously, the UFL announced Miami-based GameWear Team Sports as the League’s official uniform supplier. GameWear Team Sports is one of the leading athletic uniform outfitters in the country and has worked extensively in growing the sport of football on the grassroots level. Award-winning designer Ron Caruso of Purepartner created all the teams’ uniforms using derivatives of the official League logo for all the designs while making each one distinctive.

“The inspiration for the ‘Premiere’ season uniform design comes directly from the UFL shield and its foundation colors which represent ‘green grass’, ‘blue sky’ and silver for innovation,” said Caruso. “Throughout the uniforms, we used the dimensional ‘arc’ of the shield on the chest and supporting ‘arcs’ on the sleeves and pants. The unique font of the numbers reinforces the shield’s classic bold typeface with angles and dimensional treatments conveying depth and motion. The four uniform designs work together in a unified branded system, providing manufacturing efficiencies while allowing each team to retain its own unique and differentiated character.”

Yesterday, the United Football League introduced the Las Vegas Locomotives at a press event. Similar events will be held in Orlando on Wednesday and in New York on Thursday. Photos of each of the team’s uniforms will be available on the League’s website, www.ufl-football.com, along with video from the press events.

“We are extremely pleased with the names selected for all of our teams and the overall ‘Premiere’ season uniform design,” said Frank Vuono, COO of the UFL. “Name selection for a new sports franchise can be an arduous process having to take into account the disqualification of many great possibilities due to trademark and copyright issues. There was a team of experts headed up by Jeff Sofka of Bendigo Co., and included Charley Inc., GameWear Team Sports, Purepartner, and many others who assisted in the name selection and uniform design processes and we are grateful for all of their hard work.”

The UFL launched its Name the Team Campaign with the redesign of its website in February. From that time, more than thirty thousand entries were submitted. Fans who submitted the selected names will be notified and given the appropriate credit.

Coach Dennis Green who was unable to be in attendance at the press conference due to a previous commitment gave the name high marks. “The true measure of success for a football team is how we produce on the field. The UFL’s success will also be measured in how we connect with the fans in our community. With the Redwoods’ name, we are showcasing our plan to firmly set roots in the community and our desire to cultivate this team into a successful franchise.”

The California Redwoods’ first game of the season will be in Las Vegas on October 8(th). The Redwoods’ first home game will be on Saturday, October 17 at AT&T Park against the Florida franchise. Tickets go on-sale tomorrow and can be purchased by calling Tickets.com at 800.225.2277 or logging onto www.tickets.com.