Wake-Up Call: UFL hopes to succeed where others have not

The Wake-Up Call greets you each weekday with news, views and a few Tampa Bay area sports offerings to anticipate for the day and night. We encourage suggestions and contributions.

Good morning!

The United Football League - rosters stocked with some familiar names, along with some unknowns - quietly debuts tonight.

The four-team professional league includes a franchise in Orlando, the Florida Tuskers, along with the California Redwoods, Las Vegas Locomotives and New York Sentinels (we'll say this for the UFL - the nicknames aren't bland).

The UFL features eight ex-Bucs - including defensive end Simeon Rice, running back Michael Pittman and safety Dexter Jackson, the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXXVII.

The head coaches - Jim Haslett, Ted Cottrell, Dennis Green and Jim Fassel - have name recognition and credibility.

There is modest television exposure with Versus and HDNet, along with a league-wide vow to control costs and expectations.

There is tonight's opening game (Redwoods at Locomotives) plus Saturday night's opener at the Citrus Bowl (Sentinels at Tuskers). The seven-week season leads to a Nov. 27 championship game in Las Vegas.

And, of course, there is everyone's first question.

How long will this thing last?

Haslett, former head coach of the New Orleans Saints who now leads the Tuskers, gives it a fighting chance.

The World Football League popped up in the mid-1970s - and the enduring image there is two teams of desperate players, who hadn't been paid for weeks and weeks, competing in the league's World Bowl championship game.

In the 1980s, it was the United States Football League, a happy memory for many, particularly in Tampa, where Steve Spurrier's crowd-pleasing Bandits quickly got the city's attention. But after three seasons, and an attempt to compete with the NFL in the fall, the USFL went away.

Now the UFL is here.

What's different?

Haslett said there are plenty of worthy football players walking the streets, looking for opportunities. He didn't mention the looming labor strife in the NFL, but that's a factor to not be overlooked.

"There is no other avenue now,'' said Haslett during a recent visit to Tropicana Field, where the Tuskers will face the Locomotives on Oct. 30. "There is no minor league, there's no NFL Europe, no AFL (arena league), there is nothing else. So it's going to be good players (in the UFL).

"There are a lot of guys who are just not NFL-caliber ready yet, but in probably two years, they will be. Just like a lot of high school kids who come out that, growth-wise, may not be ready to play college football, but in two years they are. I think that's what this league is."

Something clicked for Haslett when he held an open workout in Orlando. He hoped to spot a few players and maybe drum up some publicity.

Haslett said 1,080 players showed up.

"I realized ... all of them were pretty good players,'' Haslett said. "Now, a lot of them weren't NFL-caliber guys. They were college guys. You could see the difference between them. But you realize there's a lot of good football players out there who just want to keep playing.

"It's going to be a good-priced league. People are going to come and watch good players. You know, like college football. It will be a higher level than college because it's going to be guys that played in the NFL for a few years. I think if they (owners) are smart, it could make it."

In this case, it's the type of business intelligence that requires a long memory and the ability to learn from previous mistakes.

"I hope the UFL does it right and they don't go about it like the USFL did, where all of a sudden you're going to challenge the NFL and try to steal their players,'' Haslett said. "I hope they do it right and they get up to a certain number of teams, whether it's 10 or 12, and just stay there and know that this is not the NFL, but it's a good league.''

Here are some UFL names that you might know:

• Former Bucs assistant Jay Gruden (Chamberlain) is Haslett's offensive coordinator.

• The ex-Bucs: The Tuskers feature Jackson and Pittman, along with linebacker Patrick Chukwurah, wide receiver Chas Gessner and wide receiver Frank Murphy. Rice plays for New York. Quarterback Tim Rattay plays for Las Vegas. Tight end Nate Lawrie plays for California.

• Former University of Miami assistant-coaching institution Art Kehoe works with the California offensive linemen, while Mike Kruczek, the former UCF head coach, is offensive coordinator.

• Former Notre Dame linebacker Maurice Crum (Tampa Bay Tech), who went to rookie minicamp with the Bucs, plays for California.

• Las Vegas features the league's only player from the University of South Florida, guard Frank Davis.

• New York's roster includes tight end Ronnie Ghent (Lakeland), quarterback Ingle Martin (once a Florida Gator) and wide receiver Craphonso Thorpe (Florida State).

Tampa-St. Petersburg ranks 15th

In the annual "Best Sports Cities'' poll by The Sporting News, Tampa-St. Petersburg ranks 15th among nearly 400 cities and towns from the United States and Canada.

"The Rays' World Series run in 2008 is part of Tampa-St. Pete's story in our 12-month city snapshot,'' said Bob Hille, Sporting News chief of correspondents, who has coordinated the rankings since their expansion 13 years ago. "But remember that on any given day fans can see big-time sports - the Rays, Bucs and Lightning - and then throw in South Florida's strong football program and spring training baseball, and you've got some great ingredients for a fun sports atmosphere.''

Some of the rankings data includes a city's number of teams, their regular-season won-loss records, playoff berths, bowl appearances and tournament bids, championships, applicable power ratings, fan fervor and attendance.

Here's the top 20:

1. Pittsburgh

2. Philadelphia

3. Boston

4. Chicago-Evanston

5. Los Angeles

6. New York

7. Phoenix-Tempe

8. Miami

9. Dallas-Fort Worth

10. Detroit-Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti

11. Houston

12. Nashville

13. Atlanta

14. Washington

15. Tampa-St. Petersburg

16. Minneapolis-St. Paul

17. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill

18. Denver-Boulder

19. Salt Lake City-Provo

20. Indianapolis

Meanwhile, Orlando was 27th, Gainesville was 41st and Tallahassee was 74th.

Former Rays in postseason

Last year at this time, the Rays were preparing for Game 1 of their American League playoff series against the Chicago White Sox.

This year, we can still watch Rays in the postseason - a flock of former Rays, that is.

In fact, here's our starting lineup of former Rays in the postseason:

First base - Eric Hinske, Yankees. Versatile player who began the season with the Pirates, bound for their 17th consecutive losing season. Got a lifeline to the Yankees and is trying to reach his third consecutive World Series with his third different AL East team (2007 Red Sox, 2008 Rays). Batted .226 with seven home runs and 14 RBIs.

Second base - Julio Lugo, Cardinals. He once added shortstop stability for the Rays, but has since bounced from the Dodgers to the Red Sox to the Cardinals. Batted .277 for the Cardinals, who have given him a home at second base.

Shortstop - Brendan Harris, Twins. Multi-purpose infielder who was traded to Minnesota last season. Batted .261 with six homers and 37 RBIs.

Third base - Nick Green, Red Sox. Green, a multi-purpose infielder who played with the Rays in 2005-06, batted .236 with six homers and 36 RBIs for Boston.

Outfield - Delmon Young, Twins. He was once the draft's No. 1 overall selection. Centerpiece of last season's trade to Minnesota that brought Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza to the Rays. Batted .284 with 12 homers and 60 RBIs.

Outfield - Joey Gathright, Red Sox. Electrifying speed makes him an excellent pinch-running candidate, a valuable commodity in a short series.

Outfield - Rocco Baldelli, Red Sox. The former first-round pick and sentimental favorite of last season's postseason run with the Rays now gets another shot at reaching the World Series. For Boston, he batted .253 with seven homers and 23 RBIs in 62 games.

Catcher - No ex-Rays at this position.

Starting pitcher - Scott Kazmir, Angels. Traded from the Rays in August (coincidentally or not, Tampa Bay never recovered). He's 2-2 with a 1.73 ERA in six starts with the Angels. His successful track record against the Red Sox and Yankees could be a big factor in a potential playoff run.

Starting pitcher - Jason Hammel, Rockies. Remember spring training, when the Rays were deciding between Jeff Niemann and Hammel for the starting staff's No. 5 spot? Hammel was shipped to the Rockies, where he's 10-8 with a 4.33 ERA.

Relief pitcher - Trever Miller, Cardinals. Valuable left-handed member of the Rays' bullpen last season. With St. Louis, he's 4-1 with a 2.06 ERA in 70 games.

Manager - Hal McRae, Cardinals. No, McRae isn't the Cardinals' manager (that would be Tony La Russa). But McRae is the batting coach and he's well-suited to manage this group of postseason ex-Rays.

Another hall of fame for Atlanta?

The College Football Hall of Fame recently announced plans to relocate from South Bend, Ind., to Atlanta.

According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Doug Williams and James Harris will announce Friday the formation of the Black College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. Williams, the Bucs' coordinator of pro scouting, and Harris, senior personnel executive with the Detroit Lions, both played quarterback at Grambling.

Khabibulin gets 300th win

Former Lightning standout Nikolai Khabibulin, now with the Edmonton Oilers, became the 24th NHL goaltender to get 300 career victories with Tuesday night's 5-4 shootout victory against the Dallas Stars. Khabibulin stopped all three Dallas shots in the shootout, including one attempt from his former Lightning teammate, Brad Richards.

Birthday wishes

Happy birthday to former Bucs cornerback Donnie Abraham, who had 31 interceptions from 1996-2001, good for second place on the club's all-time list behind Ronde Barber (37). Abraham is now head football coach at Gibbs High School. Today, Abraham turns 36.

The Answer Man

Here's the answer to Wednesday's trivia question:

As part of the trade that gave the Atlanta Falcons the No. 1 overall pick (and quarterback Michael Vick) in the 2001 NFL draft, the Falcons and San Diego Chargers flip-flopped first-round picks. With the No. 5 overall selection, the Chargers picked TCU running back LaDainian Tomlinson.