D-3 Players in the Pros

Started by Knightstalker, August 18, 2005, 02:19:49 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

FCGrizzliesGrad

Quote from: jknezek on February 01, 2016, 09:09:01 AM
Yep. The lack of concrete plans is why I feel this stuff is mostly vaporware. We've seen it before. Minor League Football is a very expensive proposition. The teams are large, so the payroll is large, relative to the gate. The travel expense is immense with that many players, and the insurance is crippling. The expenses make minor league football a difficult pipe dream. It will need to be subsidized by the NFL if it is ever to become a reality. And that means the NFL has to realize it is worth the expense to NOT have players being brought in off the street late in the season to fill out depleted rosters.

I also think regional leagues, like soccer's PDL, is the best bet. Especially now that PDL is tied to MLS. For football you have to be able to bus the teams around, because there is no way you can afford flights. So set up 4 regional leagues of 4 teams each. Each team plays a home and home within the region making for 6 game seasons in May/June, then the regional champs play a 2 round playoff. That takes you to the end of June, and players can rest a bit before the lucky ones get called in to NFL camps. After NFL cut down day, the minor league teams reform in September, practice for 2 weeks, then run a single round robin for 3 weeks within the region. Champs do playoffs again and that creates a pool of players with 3-5 game weeks experience ready for late season NFL call ups in playing shape.

I could see something like Panama City Beach, Mobile, Birmingham, Chattanooga, or Jackson MS forming a league. All cities with limited FBS football and no professional football. In the north east you could do Providence, Harrisonburg, Brooklyn, and Hartford. I'm sure someone could figure a midwest league and a west coast league with bus distance teams.
West I'd say places like Portland, Sacramento, Boise, Spokane, Salt Lake City, maybe Vancouver.
Midwest could have places like Fargo, Sioux Falls, Omaha, Des Moines in the north or Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Little Rock, San Antonio, Austin, El Paso, Albuquerque to the south
Football picker extraordinaire
5 titles: CCIW, NJAC
4x: ODAC:S
3x: ASC, IIAC, MIAA:S, NACC:S, NCAC, OAC:P, Nat'l
2x: HCAC, MIAC, ODAC:P, WIAC
1x: Bracket, OAC:S

Basketball
2013 WIAC Pickem Co-champ
2015 Nat'l Pickem
2017: LEC and MIAA Pickem
2019: MIAA and WIAC Pickem

Soccer
2023: Mens Pickem

Bartman

Here are the locations of the MLF:

Alabama Airborne
Arkansas Attack
Florida Fusion
Northwest Empire (Eugene, OR)
Oklahoma Nation
Ohio Union
Texas Independence
Utah Stand

Hmm...Trump and the USFL only lost $160MM 30 years ago with a pro spring/fall league...but that was almost offset by the $1 they won in the suit against the NFL.  I am sure the league will learn from past mistakes.....right ???
"I never graduated from Iowa, but I was only there for two terms - Truman's and Eisenhower's."
Alex Karras
"When it's third and ten, you can take the milk drinkers and I'll take the whiskey drinkers every time."
Max McGee
"I love football. I really love football, As far as I'm concerned, it's the second best thing in the world".
Joe Namath

Mr. Ypsi

Quote from: Bartman on February 01, 2016, 08:14:28 PM
Here are the locations of the MLF:

Alabama Airborne
Arkansas Attack
Florida Fusion
Northwest Empire (Eugene, OR)
Oklahoma Nation
Ohio Union
Texas Independence
Utah Stand

Hmm...Trump and the USFL only lost $160MM 30 years ago with a pro spring/fall league...but that was almost offset by the $1 they won in the suit against the NFL.  I am sure the league will learn from past mistakes.....right ???

YIKES!!  That a LOT of flying.  I'll predict that they either fold before they even start, or don't even finish the first season.

jknezek


Ron Boerger

Also fascinating that there STILL is no announcement from the MLFB group itself.   Wikipedia links this as its source for the team names

http://sporrepor.com/spor-repor-break-mlfb-news-bros-daily-repor/

and the SPOR report describes itself as "a satirical/parody sports news website dedicated to liking sports, attempting to be funny...and that's about it. "   There are several other articles talking about these team names, but OMG, if you're a new league don't you actually try and publicize your franchises?   That you don't says you haven't lined up facilities, practice locations, and other minor details ...

Those are some seriously lame names, too.  And where, pray tell, is the "Texas" Independence located?   Lot of ground to cover.   The SPOR article strongly implies San Antonio (b/c of the picture of the Alamodome and other activities held there) but there is ZERO in the local press.





jknezek

If you search those names, at least the more... unique... like Alabama Airborne you will find Major League Football has filed for a trademark on them as of last month. The trademarks aren't approved yet, but it appears like someone is trying.

I still can't believe they will get this off the ground this spring unless there is a whole lot more groundwork that has been done and not yet released. I did see some small newspaper articles with local info about the Utah and Arkansas teams popping up in the last few names.

It appears there is something more than just rumor, but I'm still not willing to bet it survives a full seasons of 10 games plus playoffs as is mentioned starting in April. I simply don't see how they think they can afford nationwide travel and if they are renting larger than h.s. stadiums I have no idea where they think the fans are going to come from when they have done no team building so far.

In comparison, the Alabama Hammers, a new 4th tier (roughly) professional soccer team here in Birmingham, has been doing a full on push for fans with local business promotions, facebook presence, media push, camps with local teams, merchandise pop up sales and more for several months already. They are planning to play in a field with seats for a few hundred, tops, and every game outside of the playoffs is within driving distance.

I'm willing to bet on the Hammers making it a full season or more. I got my scarf from my wife for the holidays. Anyone want to take the essentially unheard of Airborne? Both start play at about the same time...

Hawks88


Ron Boerger

#802
Quote from: Hawks88 on February 08, 2016, 04:13:29 PM
Uh-oh. One of the investors apparently hasn't kept up their end.

http://www.mlfbmedia.com/major-league-football-inc-provides-company-update/

Never a good sign when one of your first formal actions as a league is a lawsuit ... also interesting that they are talking about suing one Robert Queen, Jr. when a Michael Queen is listed as the EVP of Finance.    Hmm...

Also (from the article):  "Major League Football Inc. is a publicly traded, professional spring football league [...]" - publicly traded WHERE?    Investing $100 could probably get you a million shares ...

Also:  "For additional information on MLFB's nationally accessible ticket database and our sponsorship opportunities, go to http://mlfb.fanfurnace.com [...] to sign-up for your tickets now" ... also not a good sign when the web site you're directed to for tickets brings up a blank page.

EDIT:  Here's the stock:  http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/mlfb  ... it's been around for years, surprisingly enough.     $0.59/share with a market cap north of $25M is too rich for my blood  :o

EDIT 2:  The last 10-Q makes interesting reading.   http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-q-major-league-football-inc-2015-12-15 - and here is just what fell through:

QuoteOn October 20, 2015, (i) the Company and the Investor agreed to rescind in its entirety the Original Purchase Agreement and entered into an Amended and Restated Securities Purchase Agreement (the "Amended Purchase Agreement"); (ii) the Company agreed to refund all funds it received from the Investor; and (iii) the Investor agreed to return all securities it received from the Company. Under the Amended Securities Purchase Agreement, the Company will sell to the Purchaser in exchange for $20,000,000 and a right of first refusal to purchase a Company franchise in Missouri City, TX (the "Right of First Refusal") either (i) 26,666,666 shares of Company common stock in the event the closing occurs on or before February 1, 2016; or (ii) the lesser of (a) the number of shares of common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing 20,000,000 by the Company's 20 day VWAP price of the Company's common stock during the twenty (20) consecutive trading day period beginning on the last trading date prior to the Closing Date or (b) 26,666,666 shares of common stock, in the event the closing occurs at any time after February 1, 2016. The entire $20 million sale and purchase of the common stock is expected to occur on or before February 1, 2016, subject to customary closing conditions. The Right of First Refusal vests on the closing date of the sale and purchase of the common stock. No assurances can be made that the closing will occur or that the Right of First Refusal will vest.

Hawks88

Quote from: Ron Boerger on February 09, 2016, 08:41:26 AM
Never a good sign when one of your first formal actions as a league is a lawsuit ... also interesting that they are talking about suing one Robert Queen, Jr. when a Michael Queen is listed as the EVP of Finance.    Hmm...
I had noticed this too.  ::)

Quote
Also:  "For additional information on MLFB's nationally accessible ticket database and our sponsorship opportunities, go to http://mlfb.fanfurnace.com [...] to sign-up for your tickets now" ... also not a good sign when the web site you're directed to for tickets brings up a blank page.
I can understand this still being a blank page considering they haven't announced the cities yet. I mean if they are playing in Montgomery there's a chance I could go to a game or two. I don't see me going to Birmingham for it though.

jknezek

Quote from: Hawks88 on February 09, 2016, 10:27:24 AM
I can understand this still being a blank page considering they haven't announced the cities yet. I mean if they are playing in Montgomery there's a chance I could go to a game or two. I don't see me going to Birmingham for it though.

I'm in Birmingham and I don't see me going to these games. But who knows? Maybe football deprivation will drive me to desperate acts. Then again, I don't think they will play a game, so it's probably a dead issue.

FCGrizzliesGrad

Quote from: Ron Boerger on February 09, 2016, 08:41:26 AM
EDIT:  Here's the stock:  http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/mlfb  ... it's been around for years, surprisingly enough.     $0.59/share with a market cap north of $25M is too rich for my blood  :o
Apparently it closed at just $.40/share today :-\
Football picker extraordinaire
5 titles: CCIW, NJAC
4x: ODAC:S
3x: ASC, IIAC, MIAA:S, NACC:S, NCAC, OAC:P, Nat'l
2x: HCAC, MIAC, ODAC:P, WIAC
1x: Bracket, OAC:S

Basketball
2013 WIAC Pickem Co-champ
2015 Nat'l Pickem
2017: LEC and MIAA Pickem
2019: MIAA and WIAC Pickem

Soccer
2023: Mens Pickem

jknezek

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14748865/major-league-football-new-spring-league-begins-taking-shape

ESPN has now officially stepped in with free publicity. They still have a giant financing hole, haven't announced cities for play, a schedule, or started practice. But darn it, ESPN is on board with some names that most college football aficionados will shake their head and go, "oh yea, I remember him. Didn't make it, huh?"

Ron Boerger

Ah, so that's why the stock bounced back to $0.59 yesterday. 

jknezek

Saw this article the other day on Major League Football:

http://www.bradenton.com/news/business/article60832856.html

Apparently they found a new investor but it's costing them franchises, something that originally they didn't want to do. SO the whole financial underpinning of the league looks to now be subject before they even open their first camp. But they have a nice headquarters!

Ron Boerger

Lordy, a $100 m line of credit (in addition to the $20M investment).   That's optimism on the part of the firm making it available.

Stock's over $1!   I should have bought!   :D