Scott Adamson, Author at Adamsonmedia.com

UFL back for Year 2

For fans yearning to watch professional outdoor tackle football again, the 47-day wait is over.

The United Football League begins its second season today when the St. Louis Battlehawks take on the Houston Roughnecks at TDECU Stadium. Kickoff is 8 p.m. E.T.

**Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Bluesky @scottadamson1960.bsky.social**

The lone Saturday game pits the San Antonio Brahmas at the Arlington Renegades (4 p.m.).

And on Sunday, the Michigan Panthers travel to Tennessee to battle the Memphis Showboats (noon) followed by the defending UFL champion and three-time spring football king Birmingham Stallions squaring off with the DC Defenders in Washington (3 p.m.).

To say the leadup to Game Week has been smooth sailing, however, would be a lie.

Last Sunday, Defenders coach Reggie Barlow stepped down to become the head coach at Tennessee State University, and on Monday Ken Whisenhunt took a leave of absence from his gig as Showboats coach after accepting the job in September.

Thus, Shannon Harris will serve as interim head coach for DC, while Memphis will be led by Jim Turner.

Barlow decided to return to his college coaching roots (he previously served as HC at Alabama State and Virginia State), and Whisenhunt departed for personal reasons.

“If and when Ken Whisenhunt is ready to return to the UFL family,” a league statement read, “we will welcome him with open arms.”

Perhaps the most serious issue is labor: as of this writing, players still don’t have a contract. The United Football Players Association (UFPA) filed a claim of unfair labor charges with the National Labor Relations Board on March 14, alleging – among other things – that the league had threatened to cut players who participated in “protected union activities.”

The good news, though, is that high-level, pay-for-play minor league spring football is back for a fourth year. The original USFL made it just three seasons, and the World League of American Football exited North America after two years, took two years off, and reformed with an all-European lineup of franchises.

(The 2009-12 United Football League lasted four seasons, but it played in the fall).

Although minor league ball is transient in nature, fans who’ve followed the spring game since its reboot in 2022 will see plenty of familiar faces. Chief among them is Arlington QB Luis Perez, who has been there – and there and there – done that – and that and that – and got enough T-shirts (and game jerseys) to fill a closet.

He’s even written a book titled The Spring King: A Champion’s Journey of Passion, Persistence and Unlimited Possibility.

Now 30 and a veteran of the Alliance of American Football, XFL 2.0, The Spring League, modern USFL, XFL 3.0 and now UFL, his shot at a full-time NFL roster spot is fading. Still, he’s been outstanding in spring competition.

Last year he led the UFL in passing with 2,310 yards and 18 touchdowns.

“To me, these leagues are super important, especially for the quarterback position,” said Perez, who has been on the practice squads of four different NFL clubs. “Because if you’re stuck on a practice squad where you can’t really get hit, can’t simulate the rush, can’t get live bullets besides the preseason, it’s a phenomenal way for quarterbacks to develop and I think me playing in these leagues and starting most of the games I played in, it’s helped me develop.”

A story I’m keeping a close eye on is the return of Alex McGough to the Stallions.

After being a key cog in Birmingham’s first two championships (he was USFL MVP in 2023), McGough was signed by the Green Bay Packers’ in July of ’23 where he spent most of his time on the practice squad. He ended up trying out as wide receiver in an effort to stick on the roster, but was ultimately released.

Now he’s back behind center and will compete with Matt Corral for playing time as Skip Holtz’s club seeks to continue their spring dominance.

“Just getting back to playing quarterback again kinda feels like, not really an adjustment, but a homecoming,” McGough said. “It felt good to sit in the room with Skip again and hearing him talk. We have a mutual respect for each other. I respect his coaching career and coaching style and the way he calls games, and I respect the way he teaches players.

“He’s not a big yeller/screamer, he just wants to help people. He always says he’s a teacher first, then a coach.”

Other returning spring ball standouts include DC QB Jordan Ta’amu, Michigan safety Kai Nacua and St. Louis wideout Hakeem Butler.

Yet. while the league is full of good players – some just a break away from trading up to the NFL – the main lure for me is the experimental nature of the game.

If you’re playing in the offseason, you need to be offbeat.

The biggest rule change for the UFL in 2025 is kickoffs, and it’s based on the NFL dynamic kickoff (which was a tweak of the XFL 2023 rule).

Starting tonight, kickoffs will start from the 30-yard line after being at the 20-yard line last season. The 10 remaining players on the kickoff team will line up at the receiving team’s 40-yard line. All kicking team players were at the 20-yard line, including the kicker, in 2024.

The receiving team’s set up zone will stretch from its 35-yard line to the 30-yard line and at least nine players must be in that zone. Last year, the receiving team had to have a minimum of eight players, but no more than nine players, in their set up zone, which was the kicking team’s 30- to 40-yard lines (10-yard zone).

The landing zone will be from the receiving team’s 20-yard line to the goal line, and if the ball doesn’t reach the landing zone, it will be spotted at the 40-yard line.

Finally, there are two touchback spots: the 35-yard-line for balls kicked into the end zone and the 20-yard line for balls that hit in the landing zone and then enter the end zone.All touchbacks were placed at the 25-yard line last season.

The onside kick option has been eliminated completely and replaced by the fourth-and-12 scrimmage play from a team’s own 28-yard line.

There has also been an upgrade to coach’s challenges. Each head coach will get a second challenge if the first is successful, and the head coach can challenge any officiating decision if his team has a timeout remaining.

Otherwise, the “greatest hits” from the UFL’s first season return, such as the tiered one, two and three-point conversions, overtime shootouts from the five-yard line and the option of a double forward pass behind the line of scrimmage.

As was the case last year, all the teams will be based in Arlington during the week and travel to host cities for games.

So, if you’re ready for football again, you’ve got 12 consecutive weeks of the UFL, ending with the championship game on June 14.

Enjoy.

A passing storm

Duff and Lifesaver huddled at the bottom of the stairwell, which, Duff figured, was probably the safest place in the house.

A tornado warning had been issued, and all those in its path were urged to take immediate cover. The voice coming through the television was insistent.

Stay away from windows, go to a basement if you have one, or shelter in a hallway, closet or bathroom if those are your only options. This is a serious situation.

The stairwell leading to the garage at Duff’s house was 13 steps deep and covered by walls on either side. The bottom step was a favorite spot for Lifesaver, a small, ginger cat who was mostly fearless but always put aside his bravado during inclement weather. The first clap of thunder would send him slinking to his safe space, where he would curl into a ball and rhythmically twitch his ears.

When that happened, Duff would lean over the railing and talk to the cat in a calm, soothing voice.

“It’s OK, buddy,” he’d say. “We’ll take care of each other just like we always do.”

Duff’s wife had been gone for 10 years, and Lifesaver came along three years later. As the calendar kept flipping, Duff was less inclined to go out and socialize, and instead preferred the company of his feline. Once he became a “cat person,” he couldn’t imagine life without a furry friend.

And the kitty seemed to like the arrangement, too. He loved shadowing Duff as he went about his daily routine, and always snuggled beside him when the old man reclined in his easy chair, cracked open a cold one and watched baseball.

As the wind howled mercilessly and the hail pounded the metal roof, Duff gently stroked Lifesaver from head to tail.

Take immediate shelter. If you are in the counties of Douglas, Lincoln and Buchanan, you are under a tornado warning. Extensive damage has already been reported.

“I guess we should probably go to the garage, but I really don’t want to,” Duff said as Lifesaver looked up at him and slowly blinked. “Nah … we’re gonna stay right here unless we have no other choice.”

Duff had groceries delivered and used a ride-hailing service when he went out, so his 2009 CR-V had been sitting idle for several years. It most likely still ran just fine, but now it was simply 3,500 pounds of melancholy. When Duff looked at it, he thought of that spring day in 2018 when he grew so despondent he decided he didn’t want to see another day.

With the garage door closed, he planned to get in, crank it up, close his eyes and quietly slip away.

But as he opened the door and plopped down in the driver’s seat, he heard a noise coming from the corner where his tools were stored. He walked over to inspect, and saw the head of a small kitten peering at him from behind the mud-caked blade of a shovel.

Duff reached in and grabbed the puff of orange fur, who just barely spilled over the palm of his hand.

“Where did you come from, little one?” he said as the cat meekly mewed. “How did you even get in here?”

Duff pulled the kitten close to his chest, kissed it on the head, and then walked over to his car and closed the door.

Since then, the pair had been inseparable, and Duff figured this was the ninth or tenth time they had ridden out a tornado at the bottom of the stairwell.

Just as Lifesaver rolled over to get a belly rub, the hail stopped, and the roaring wind had settled into a whimper.

The tornado warnings for the counties of Douglas, Lincoln and Buchanan have been lifted. The tornadic activity has moved to the west and these counties are now under a severe thunderstorm watch. The dangerous weather should be moving out of the area within the hour.

Duff stood up and Lifesaver took a big stretch. Both headed up the stairs.

“We survived another one, buddy,” Duff said. “Why don’t we celebrate by watching some baseball.”

The evolution of women’s basketball

On this day in 1969, West Chester State College – under the umbrella of the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women – won the first national championship in women’s basketball.

The Golden Rams defeated Western Carolina, 65-39, in front of 2,000 fans in West Chester, Pennsylvania, with Pat Ferguson scoring a game-high 20 points. The competition was organized by West Chester coach and assistant professor of health and physical education Carol Eckman, now known as the “mother of the collegiate women’s basketball national championship.”

Humble beginnings?

Quite.

The game barely rated more than a few lines in newspapers, with the Philadelphia Inquirer burying a six-paragraph report (under the headline West Chester Wins Title In Girls’ Tourney) on page 12 of its sports section.

But while all sports evolve to varying degrees, what women’s roundball fans saw then and what they see now are wildly different games altogether.

West Chester claimed the crown by playing six-on-six basketball, a style that featured three forwards and three guards. But get this – only forwards were allowed to shoot the ball and had to stay in the frontcourt while the guards stayed in the backcourt. In other words, forwards played only offense while guards played strictly defense.

Yet while Title IX (passed in 1972) was a catalyst for making women’s basketball more like the men’s game – five-on-five, full court, shot clock, etc. – the NCAA didn’t sponsor a women’s national championship game until 1982. Up to that point, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (which grew from the CIAW) coordinated events before dissolving in 1983.

The NCAA voted to sponsor a women’s hoops championship in January, 1981, at its 75^th annual convention (surviving a legal challenge from the AIAW), and the inaugural NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament field was announced on March 6, 1982. Louisiana Tech was named the top seed in the 32-team bracket.

The first tourney game was held on March 12, 1982, when Penn State hosted Clemson. The homestanding Nittany Lions won big, 96-75, with a crowd of 2,553 witnessing history.

Louisiana Tech, which claimed the AIAW title the previous season, went on to win the championship thanks to a 76-62 conquest of Cheyney State (current LSU coach Kim Mulkey was a member of the Lady Techsters and made the All-Tournament Team), and women’s hoops has only grown from there.

And I’m glad, because I’m a big fan and have been for years.

Aside from the fact that I enjoy the sport in general, women’s basketball – especially elite women’s basketball – has always impressed me due to the fundamental aspect of it. While the men’s game is often played above the rim, the women rely more on sharp shooting and defense. If you want to learn about how the game is supposed to be played from a technique standpoint, a good women’s matchup is the best teaching tool.

In fact, when I look back on my sports writing career, some of my favorite moments involved covering women’s basketball. During the decade I worked in South Carolina, one of my beats was Anderson University, a Division II school.

The Trojans were a perennial powerhouse and regulars in the annual DII regionals. Man, they were fun to watch, playing aggressive “D” while launching – and landing – bombs from beyond the arc.

And I also got to write about the University of South Carolina, just as Dawn Staley was building a dynasty in Columbia.

Watching the Gamecocks play meant at times I was watching near perfection.

So, I’m thrilled at how far the game has come. Not only do many NCAA teams play before packed houses, but they feature incredible athletes.

The leading candidate for Player of the Year this season is JuJu Watkins, who averaged 24.6 points per game for Southern Cal during the 2024-25 regular season. She’ll lead her team against UNC Greensboro today.

Other members of the Associated Press First Team All-American team are Paige Bueckers, UConn; Lauren Betts, UCLA; Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame; and Madison Booker, Texas.

All of them, by the way, are playing in the NCAA Tournament.

Hidalgo had 24 points in the Fighting Irish’s 106-54 romp over Stephen F. Austin on Friday, while Betts tallied 14 points to lead the Bruins to a decisive 84-46 victory over Southern in oprning round play.

If you’re a fan of college basketball, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. You’ll see some blowouts to go along with a few startling upsets, and learn to appreciate teams you hadn’t even thought about until now.

And thanks to pioneers like Carol Eckman, the Big Dance is coed.