Author: Scott Adamson

All sports, all the time

With the rollout of team nicknames on Wednesday, the XFL teased fans about what they’ll see when the rebooted football league kicks off next spring. It’ll be another in an increasingly long line of pro upstarts that are formed on the premise that gridiron fans have an insatiable desire for the game.

Scott Adamson’s sports column appears pretty much whenever he feels like writing it.

And that got me wondering … are there any other sports that fans yearn to see year round? You don’t ever hear much about that – at least I don’t.

Soccer is the exception because, frankly, it already is year round. If you want to find a competitive league in any given month, you can.

Today, though – just for fun – I’m gonna look at a handful of sports and wonder out loud (and in print) how they might fare if they played in their offseasons and were bankrolled properly.

Please be sure to keep a grain of salt handy as you read,

BASEBALL

Would there be an interest in a pro baseball league that starts, say, in November and ends in March? I realize there are already winter leagues, but they’re short, mostly of the instructional/ rehab variety, and designed to give players a nudge up the Major League Baseball farm system ladder.

What I’m talking about is a kinda/sorta “competitor” to the bigs, or at least one that would aspire to independent Triple-A status.

Teams would have to play in warm weather climates or in cities with a dome, so automatically you could forget major markets such as New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.

That would be a huge negative if this league was looking for a major TV contract.

With the “real” baseball season already at 162 games and a World Series that bleeds into late October, another league might be a tough sell. Considering I have a hard enough time watching the MLB these days anyway, I’m guessing the novelty would wear off quite quickly for me.

Still, if I ran it, two of my major rule innovations would be a two and a half hour time limit on regular season games and a home run derby (penalty kick-style) to break ties.

BASKETBALL

This sport is already almost year round thanks to the WNBA, which I enjoy watching very much. Still, a men’s league that started up right after the NBA crowned its champion would interest me, too.

I love watching the NBA summer league, and if a new circuit was formed that started in the hotter months and played until the fall, I’d definitely support it. Roundball is something I never, ever tire of, and if you put some good players out on a court, I’ll pay to watch them.

And there are plenty of great players across the globe that would easily fill roster spots. When you realize there are only 450 players in the NBA in a given season, that means there’s a whole lot of talent looking for work.

I think with the right marketing and media partners, a June through October basketball league would have a puncher’s chance of making it.

Rule changes would include teams having the option to take the ball instead of shooting free throws following a foul, and making traveling an enforceable call.

Then again if you wanted to go way outside the box, how about a co-ed pro league? Lineups featuring three men and two women and three women and two men would alternate each quarter, and the shifts would be determined randomly before games.

HOCKEY

Now that’d be a hoot. All you need are arenas, water filtration/advanced refrigeration systems and Zambonis, and you’re good to go.

Oh, and players – quality players would help. (Raiding the Kontinental Hockey League would be a good start to that end).

I fell in love with hockey back in the 1970s and the affair is still going strong. Therefore, if I lived in a town with a team that skated on Saturday nights in June, I’d gladly give it my money (even though it would be weird to wear shorts to a hockey game).

Rule-wise, I really can’t think of much I’d change. To me it’s one of those “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” kinda things. But … if I could do one thing, it would be to increase the goal size from 6×4 feet to 7×5 feet. Goalies have gotten bigger over the years, so maybe the nets should reflect that growth spurt.

The question, of course, is whether enough people would pay to see summer hockey to make it worthwhile.

Last year the NHL averaged 17,377 fans per game and drew over 22 million for the season. Open up the checkbooks to get a few name players, put franchises in hockey hotbeds, and who knows?

I can’t think of a single entrepreneur chomping at the bit to form such a league, but I’ll lend my encouragement if they do.

Yet while we might never see major attempts at second seasons for baseball, basketball or hockey, you can always count on football to give it a try. Aside from the XFL, the Freedom Football League and Pacific Pro Football are scheduled to debut next summer.

And since I keep hearing that everyone wants football 12 months out of the year, it’d be nice if one of these leagues actually proved it to be true.

 

Meet the new XFL

Three days before the 2019 college football season’s soft launch and two weeks ahead of the NFL regular season, the XFL got a chance to grab a piece of the spotlight.

Scott Adamson writes about alternative pro football leagues because it makes him happy, Follow him on Twitter @adamsonsl

The rebooted league – set to kick off in February, 2020 – released its team nicknames and logos today in an effort to generate some buzz while fans are in a gridiron state of mind.

Taking the field for the inaugural campaign will be the Dallas Renegades, DC Defenders, Houston Roughnecks, Los Angeles Wildcats, New York Guardians, Seattle Dragons, St. Louis BattleHawks and Tampa Bay Vipers.

“The team names and logos were chosen exclusively to represent the spirit of football fans in their respective cities and signify fun and football – nothing more,” XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck said during the reveal.

In terms of creativity I’d have to give the nod to the BattleHawks, which is not a nickname you hear every day. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Wildcats is an extremely “meh” selection.

The Dragons logo is similar to that of the UAB Blazers (those of us who cheer for UAB notice such things), while the Renegades’ masked man is quite reminiscent of the Gotham Rogues logo from the fictional team in “The Dark Knight Rises.”

Design-wise I think my favorite is the Guardians, although it has a bit of a “Masters of the Universe” vibe.

That being said, packaging doesn’t mean a lot unless there’s a quality product inside, and that remains to be seen.

Unlike the ill-fated Alliance of American Football, which we now know banked on the hope of getting money instead of having actual money in the bank, the new XFL has a solid financial foundation.

League owner Vince McMahon has sunk $500 million into it (he cashed out a big chunk of his World Wrestling Entertainment holdings), which is reportedly enough to fund the league for its first three years.

So unless he gets a case of billionaire buyer’s remorse, he can prevent the XFL (a single entity business) from going the way of the AAF and folding before the first season is completed.

More importantly, the people associated with the league – coaches, players, team employees, etc. – can expect to get paid on time.

Bob Stoops was the first coach announced – he’ll guide the Renegades – and the rest of the sideline lineup features known commodities like June Jones and Marc Trestman.

And while rosters are obviously still in the works, the XFL is currently sending out “Commissioner’s Invitations” to top free agents.

Already the league has signed Landry Jones and is expected to add Ryan Mallett, both former college quarterback stars with several years of NFL experience. Getting guys like these is important because it shows the XFL is going after players talented enough to play in the NFL but who haven’t yet been able to crack the starting lineup.

And unlike the over the top, WWE-influenced XFL of 2001, this time the emphasis appears to be strictly on football. There will be some rule changes (reportedly one, two and three-point conversion options will follow touchdowns, for example) and that’s both expected and welcome. But the lowbrow gimmicks surrounding the game will be gone.

Of course while in nature spring is a time of renewal, the nature of spring football is to die and, in many cases, die quickly.

The USFL lasted three seasons, the original XFL was one-and-done, and the AAF closed up shop with still two weeks to go in its lone campaign.

Regardless of how first-rate this league looks – and so far, it does – surviving and thriving will defy all odds.

But for now, it’s mostly sunshine and rainbows for the new and improved XFL. Luck and company enter the traditional football season on a positive note, and get six months before they have to worry about hitting the right note with fans.

Getting serious about NISA

I spent so much time over the last several months laughing at the National Independent Soccer Association I never stopped to think that maybe the joke was on me.

Scott Adamson’s column on soccer appears periodically, usually when he’s feeling especially soccerish.

NISA? What does that stand for … the No Information Soccer Association? Or maybe it means Not Inspiring Supporters Attention.

See, for the longest time NISA’s marketing plan seemed to consist of doing no marketing at all.

Well, I take that back. Once a territory was named they put it on a pretty postcard and placed it on their website.

We’ve known a while, for example, that Charlotte would be represented in NISA. What we had trouble finding out was anything else about the club.

However, suddenly I find myself cramming on all things NISA, just in case a pop quiz comes up.

Quick … where is California United Strikers FC located?

Where and what is Stumptown Athletic?

Haven’t I seen the Philadelphia Fury somewhere before?

Not long ago I was all geared up for the National Premier Soccer League’s Founders Cup, which was to be a gateway tournament for the circuit’s pro initiative via the United States Adult Soccer Association. Clubs like the New York Cosmos, Chattanooga FC and Detroit City FC would carry the NPSL banner, and I’d follow.

That being the case, I could chuckle at NISA’s expense.

But lower division soccer is a sports tornado, and sometimes it’s hard to tell what’ll turn to debris and what’ll be left standing. Now that the sky has cleared somewhat, we can survey the damage.

The Founders Cup floundered due to player insurance issues, and several clubs like Miami FC (two-time defending NPSL champion) pulled out. Thus, it was downgraded to the Members Cup, and currently serves as a one-off tournament.

NPSL Pro – or whatever it might’ve been called – is NPSL No. My main hope in the aftermath is that the NPSL (in its traditional form) continues to be a viable circuit for adult amateur soccer.

But the other league – the one I was making fun of? Yep, it survived the storm.

Chattanooga FC and Detroit City FC jumping to NISA is a done deal as of Thursday, and it was a logical next step in light of all that’s happened. Both clubs wanted to go pro, the NPSL’s pay-for-play initiative never materialized, and the United Soccer League’s League One is on the opposite end of their philosophical spectrum.

In other words, if they wanted to compete in a league in which their players got a check, NISA was really the only box they could check. They’ll officially begin play in the spring of 2020.

Oakland Roots SC was also announced as a new NISA member, but gets a head start by being part of the inaugural fall campaign.

(As for my beloved Cosmos’ future, it’s once again up in the air. At this point I wonder if they might wind up like the Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings, wandering from town to town playing local clubs).

“Bringing Chattanooga FC, Detroit City FC and Oakland Roots SC all in to NISA at the same time is very exciting,” NISA Commissioner John Prutch said via a news release. “These clubs truly represent their communities and are proof the open system for soccer is the best way forward. Each has built their support the correct way and that support will sustain them and NISA for years to come. Congratulations to each of them (owners, staff, players, and supporters) for taking that step to play professional soccer.”

CFC and DCFC are two of the strongest voices in independent American soccer, and I’m glad they get to be loud and proud together. Oakland has also seemingly done everything right to get up and running, and brings its own indie vibe to the game.

So with the most recent clubs joining the party, I can only hope NISA’s landing is better than its leap.

When it was first announced back in the summer of 2017, I was genuinely excited about the possibilities. Fans could have an ownership stake, by its fourth season there’d be a promotion/relegation system (likely in concert with the North American Soccer League), and it would be more in line with international football – right down to a fall season.

But the NISA that begins play in a few weeks has changed dramatically from the league that was on the drawing board two summers ago.

Not long after the announced launch, co-founder and general counsel Jack Cummins died unexpectedly following a brief illness. Co-founder Peter Wilt later left the league to oversee the Forward Madison franchise in USL League One.

And with the NASL dormant – and on life support pending the outcome of a lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation – a major pro/rel path is blocked.

But apart from that, NISA did itself no favors in terms of introducing itself to American soccer supporters.

For a time it existed as little more than a website featuring the aforementioned postcards. Getting information about coaches, players and venues was like going on a poorly planned scavenger hunt – you didn’t even know what you were looking for.

And with exhibition matches slated for August 31 and clubs still holding tryouts, it all seems like a rush job.

Here’s the thing, though … I bought a piece of Chattanooga FC because I believe in their mission. And that mission – like the purpose of Detroit and Oakland and, hopefully, the vast majority of other NISA members – is to be community-first, community driven organizations.

They want their footprint to be more than a cleat mark, and

NISA offers that chance. With the promise of an open system, maybe the way Chattanooga, Detroit and Oakland promote themselves will inspire the umbrella organization to up their public relations games as well.

The fall lineup, billed as “NISA Showcase,” features Atlanta SC, California Strikers FC, Los Angeles Force, Miami FC, Oakland, Philadelphia, San Diego 1904 FC, and Stumptown Athletic.

Aside from Chattanooga and Detroit, clubs in Baton Rouge, Norwich, Connecticut, and Providence, Rhode Island are expected to start competition in the spring of 2020.

Oh, and as for my homework, I found out that California Strikers FC is located in Irvine; Stumptown Athletic pays homage to Matthews, North Carolina, which was once known as Stumptown; and the Philadelphia Fury’s roots go back to the original North American Soccer League.

Obviously, I have no idea whether NISA will flourish or flop – no one does. But I have to give it a chance.

It’s here, and it’s no longer a laughing matter.