Unfortunately, it seems that the newest football league hasn't learned from these mistakes and is going to try and challenge the National Football League (NFL), which I like to refer to as the biggest monopoly in the world. The United Football League (UFL) has now waded into the football pool, with the league premiering this year in a six-game season that will play during the NFL season (strike one). According to the league's internet site, the UFL will "play its regular season games on Thursday and Friday evenings in the fall, with the first regular season game kicking off in October and the Championship game scheduled for Thanksgiving." Yes, short season, but there are only four teams in the league.

The UFL has many problems. It is going to try and compete against the NFL and do it with inferior talent on the field and on the television. Yes, the UFL has four coaches with NFL credentials (Jim Fassel, Jim Haslett, Dennis Green, and Ted Cottrell), but you can't give these guys inferior talent and expect them to compete. The league will boast former NFL players like Odell Thurman (whose jersey this unfortunate Bengals fan owns), J. P. Losman, Michael Pittman, and other NFL castoffs. (Note: the official site does not have rosters; these are players rumored to have signed with one of the four teams).

The worst move by the UFL is the channel that the league will utilize: Versus. Nothing against the channel, but how did using Versus work out for the National Hockey League (NHL)? So we are putting a lesser product on a lesser channel -- this sure seems like the pattern followed by other failed sports leagues. I mean, at least the XFL used NBC. This is Versus, folks. You may as well put the games on local public access; you have as much chance of getting viewers.

The UFL says that it will succeed because it will "look and feel substantially similar to the NFL and will cater to those markets underserved by professional football." Let's take a look at that statement. Yes, the product will look and feel substantially similar to "real" football, but substantially similar doesn't mean "the same." Let's face it, UFL players will be there because they were great college players that couldn't cut it on the highest level -- the NFL. So, the notion that the game will be substantially similar to the NFL is correct.

My biggest bone of contention is that the teams are going to be located in markets "underserved by professional football." So, are there teams in Maine, Oklahoma, South and North Dakota, or Wyoming? Nope, how about California (which has the Raiders, Chargers, and 49ers), Florida (which has the Jaguars, Buccaneers, and Dolphins), New York (which has the Jets and Giants), and Las Vegas. Yes, Las Vegas is a good place for football expansion, but I think that the NFL would never have been there thanks to potential betting issues. The California Redwoods (yes, that is the name) will be located in San Francisco, home of the 49ers. The New York Sentinels (strong name, applause from me) will be located in "the only city with more than one team in each of the four major professional sports," taken from the UFL site. The Florida Tuskers (seriously?) will be based in Orlando, home of the Magic. Finally, the Las Vegas Locomotives (oh dear) will be located in Las Vegas and is the one team with a legitimate chance to draw well.

So, the team names are bad, the logos are all based on the UFL logo, and the uniforms (which are all ugly) are all based on the same template and colors, with a different color as the main color for each team (just look for the team uniform guidelines here). Is this league destined to fail? Honestly, the UFL is trying to cull the best coaching talent available and the best players available, but the best players and coaches available are already playing in the NFL.

Nothing against the new league, I just think that it is destined to go the way of the XFL, USFL, WFL, NFL Europe, and the AFL.