XFL to return?

[Tom Wolper]

I don't think it will. I'm posting this because I feel it will get some buzz in the coming months even though it seems like it's just a tool for leverage in Vince McMahon's upcoming TV contract negotiations for the WWE.

Scroll down, it's the second item:
https://www.si.com/wrestling/2017/12/18/wwe-clash-of-champions-results-recap-xfl-rumors

[Bob Jersey]

Too many questions, not enough answers. A revival would not arrive for at least a year, and TV availability might be a bear.  B

[Kevin M.]

Haven’t we established in prior threads that — for a myriad of reasons — football ratings are down, earnings at sports networks are down, and layoffs are common? As a business decision, it would make more sense to invest in an abacus company than a new sports franchise. 

On Tue, Dec 19, 2017 at 9:22 AM 'Bob Jersey' via TVorNotTV <tvor...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Too many questions, not enough answers. A revival would not arrive for at least a year, and TV availability might be a bear.  B

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Kevin M. (RPCV)

[Tom Wolper]

On Tue, Dec 19, 2017 at 12:57 PM, Kevin M. <drunkba...@gmail.com> wrote:

Haven’t we established in prior threads that — for a myriad of reasons — football ratings are down, earnings at sports networks are down, and layoffs are common? As a business decision, it would make more sense to invest in an abacus company than a new sports franchise. 

I would say all that means is it makes no sense to replicate the NFL. The NFL and media companies made their multi-billion dollar contracts under the assumption that the demand for NFL games would grow forever. Once the ratings drop everybody scrambles to make up lost revenue. A new league made to a smaller scale would not have those burdens. Even with falling ratings football still has the largest audience and largest revenues by far. And there's a large enough group of recent college players and NFL rejects to put together teams in a small league.

Two lessons from the previous version of the XFL: no broadcast network is going to touch it. And with the concerns with brain injuries, making rules to encourage more violent collisions will be very unpopular.

The main reason I think the idea of a new XFL will come to nothing (assuming it's not the equivalent of vaporware right now) is that there is a form of off season football being played now which is arena football. On the last page of the sports section of the print newspaper (I am that old) there is a roundup of "other leagues," for sports that do not have local teams. One thing I have noticed over the last few years is how the MLS is growing while the Arena Football League is shrinking. Without doing research, it looked a few years ago like the arena league had 20 teams while MLS had 6. Today the opposite is true. I don't think a new XFL would do any better than the arena league.

[Steve Timko]

The UFC had stolen WWE viewers. I wonder if this is aimed at weakening the UFC 's negotiating position as its contract expires. NBA ratings are up. MLB regular season ratings are up. The NFL is down. The UFC recently had its lowest rating ever for an original prime time show. Its show on Fox last Saturday got poor ratings despite a decent card, down almost a third from last year. WWE ratings are up. It could look like Vince McMahon is a man with answers.

Not sent from an iPhone.

[Bob Jersey]

ESPN (link):  McMahon filed with the govt to unload $100mil in WWE stock, "primarily to fund ... Alpha Entertainment LLC, ... to explore investment opportunities ... including professional football." Alpha also filed applications for XFL trademarks.

B

[daniel anderson]

I still remember the first game, not the Las Vegas game, but the other game in Orlando, the one where someone got hurt during the scramble for the ball.

[Tom Wolper]

On Fri, Dec 22, 2017 at 2:29 PM, daniel anderson <danieland...@gmail.com> wrote:

I still remember the first game, not the Las Vegas game, but the other game in Orlando, the one where someone got hurt during the scramble for the ball.

I recommend ESPN's 30 for 30 episode about the XFL. Everybody interviewed went on the record about their mistakes and shortcomings.

[Tom Wolper]

At 3 PM EST today Vince McMahon is going to announce the return of the XFL.

http://www.wwe.com/article/vince-mcmahon-announcement-alpha-entertainment?sf180235751=1

[Steve Timko]

Yeah and no network has signed on.

https://www.cbssports.com/wwe/news/this-is-the-xfl-again-controversial-football-league-set-to-return-in-2020/amp/

Not sent from an iPhone

[Jon Delfin]

C-SPAN?

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[Joe Hass]

Never thought I'd make a C-Span Ocho joke, but here we are.

[Kevin M.]

Based on the level of enthusiasm, I’ve seiscted some XFL team names:

LA Yawns

NY Snooze

DC Narcoleptics

Dallas Sighs

Portland Dull

Atlantic City F*ck Its 

On Thu, Jan 25, 2018 at 10:45 AM Joe Hass <hassg...@gmail.com> wrote:

Never thought I'd make a C-Span Ocho joke, but here we are.

On Jan 25, 2018 12:29, "Jon Delfin" <jond...@gmail.com> wrote:

C-SPAN?

On Thu, Jan 25, 2018 at 12:33 PM, Steve Timko <steve...@gmail.com> wrote:

Yeah and no network has signed on.

https://www.cbssports.com/wwe/news/this-is-the-xfl-again-controversial-football-league-set-to-return-in-2020/amp/

Not sent from an iPhone

On Jan 25, 2018, at 9:31 AM, Tom Wolper <two...@gmail.com> wrote:

At 3 PM EST today Vince McMahon is going to announce the return of the XFL.

http://www.wwe.com/article/vince-mcmahon-announcement-alpha-entertainment?sf180235751=1

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Kevin M. (RPCV)

[M-D November]

We joke, but when you think about it, McMahon doesn't NEED a network.  He's got a whole distribution apparatus in place via the WWE Network, although it'd probably piss off a lot of WWEN subscribers - especially if the price goes up as a result.

On Thursday, January 25, 2018 at 1:29:13 PM UTC-5, Jon Delfin wrote:

C-SPAN?

On Thu, Jan 25, 2018 at 12:33 PM, Steve Timko <steve...@gmail.com> wrote:

Yeah and no network has signed on.

https://www.cbssports.com/wwe/news/this-is-the-xfl-again-controversial-football-league-set-to-return-in-2020/amp/

Not sent from an iPhone

On Jan 25, 2018, at 9:31 AM, Tom Wolper <two...@gmail.com> wrote:

At 3 PM EST today Vince McMahon is going to announce the return of the XFL.

http://www.wwe.com/article/vince-mcmahon-announcement-alpha-entertainment?sf180235751=1

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[Tom Wolper]

On Thu, Jan 25, 2018 at 2:07 PM, M-D November <mdnov...@gmail.com> wrote:

We joke, but when you think about it, McMahon doesn't NEED a network.  He's got a whole distribution apparatus in place via the WWE Network, although it'd probably piss off a lot of WWEN subscribers - especially if the price goes up as a result.

Facebook Watch is dying to get something must-watch to build its brand. I think as we go forward in time the need to have a TV network partner will be less important. To attract a younger audience you need to put your content on the screens they carry, not expect them to sit in front of a TV set.

I posted a link I found in a tweet earlier today. In the responses to that tweet somebody said he'd be a supporter if the teams were in the southeast rather than in the big cities on the coasts. That shows me a way the XFL could succeed - put the teams in the SEC region or even across the south and recruit southern alumni who didn't get picked up by the NFL.

[Kevin M.]

Realistically there is little chance of profit for this concept. 

The good players won’t be wooed away from the NFL (or even the CFL), and the big thing about the XFL the first time around was the shock factor such as more scoring, more aggressive, more injuries, or more jiggling cheerleaders, and most of these are things the NFL had to shy away from due to changing times. Players suffering major injuries is taken seriously now. And cheerleaders sometimes wear pants and thick jackets to games. 

The only other thing that used to set the XFL apart were more camera angles and effects during the games, but TV coverage has evolved so much that there isn’t much more the XFL could do that isn’t already done at the NFL and even at the college level. 

Then you have the expense of renting stadiums/arenas (cost prohibitive to build their own) and putting a new infrastructure in place, and I just can’t see how anybody profits enough in the short term to make it worthwhile in the long term. 

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Kevin M. (RPCV)

[Steve Timko]

I don't know that XFL cheerleaders were any more jiggling but the camera work was leering, what was referred to in "Full Metal Jacket" as fur and early morning dew.

Ultimately advertisers will determine if the XFL succeeds and McMahon might be plugged into them because of his WWE franchise.

Not sent from an iPhone

[Tom Wolper]

On Thu, Jan 25, 2018 at 4:29 PM, Steve Timko <steve...@gmail.com> wrote:

I don't know that XFL cheerleaders were any more jiggling but the camera work was leering, what was referred to in "Full Metal Jacket" as fur and early morning dew.

Ultimately advertisers will determine if the XFL succeeds and McMahon might be plugged into them because of his WWE franchise.

Not sent from an iPhone

On Jan 25, 2018, at 1:12 PM, "Kevin M." <drunkba...@gmail.com> wrote:

Realistically there is little chance of profit for this concept. 

The good players won’t be wooed away from the NFL (or even the CFL), and the big thing about the XFL the first time around was the shock factor such as more scoring, more aggressive, more injuries, or more jiggling cheerleaders, and most of these are things the NFL had to shy away from due to changing times. Players suffering major injuries is taken seriously now. And cheerleaders sometimes wear pants and thick jackets to games. 

The only other thing that used to set the XFL apart were more camera angles and effects during the games, but TV coverage has evolved so much that there isn’t much more the XFL could do that isn’t already done at the NFL and even at the college level. 

Then you have the expense of renting stadiums/arenas (cost prohibitive to build their own) and putting a new infrastructure in place, and I just can’t see how anybody profits enough in the short term to make it worthwhile in the long term.

I think the original sin of the XFL was to try to scale to the NFL at its beginning. That was due to the partnership with NBC who did not have any pro football. If the league front office and team operators concentrate on building a sustainable league before getting stars in their eyes the XFL can have a chance. To get a following they have to become popular with gamblers and fantasy players. And for the first couple of years they have to concentrate on building local presence and filling their stadiums. And for stadiums there should be local college stadiums available. And San Diego and Oakland will have (outdated) NFL stadiums.

[Steve Timko]

Here it is. The XFL kicks off this weekend.

https://www.cbssports.com/xfl/news/xfl-2020-schedule-dates-times-and-matchup-information-as-new-league-readies-to-kick-off-after-super-bowl-liv/  

--

[Tom Wolper]

On Sat, Feb 8, 2020 at 2:23 PM Steve Timko <steve...@gmail.com> wrote:

Here it is. The XFL kicks off this weekend.

https://www.cbssports.com/xfl/news/xfl-2020-schedule-dates-times-and-matchup-information-as-new-league-readies-to-kick-off-after-super-bowl-liv/

I watched most of the early game on ABC and about half of the late game on FOX. The games and the broadcasts were okay. The league didn't pretend to rival the NFL and the broadcasts didn't have the bombast or the cheerleaders of the 2001 XFL. There are some rule changes from the NFL and the best is to keep the clock running and shorten the play clock. All of the offensive players have speakers in their helmets so they can hear the play called in from the sideline and don't have to huddle. That picks the pace of the game up a lot.

ABC put a reporter on each sideline and they would go live to players after big plays. That backfired when they talked to a player who had been flagged for unnecessary roughness and he said, "We were just trying to do our fucking jobs." They seemed less enthusiastic about doing those interviews afterward. FOX didn't have sideline reporters so each network can present the game in their own way.

I won't watch every game on OTA TV. But it's watchable enough that I'll tune in here and there.

[Kevin M.]

Aaaaaaaaaand the XFL is dead... again. Everybody laid off (not furloughed). 

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Kevin M. (RPCV)

[M-D November]

The shame of it is that the football was actually decent this time around, the rule changes actually added to the game, and they finally figured out the presentation (read: remove anything that wreaks of WWE).

Hopefully some of the players (and some of the rule changes) get picked up by the NFL for next season.

M-D
Apparently running a spring football league is a bit like attacking Moscow in the winter...It's never going to end well.

[Joe Hass]

On Mon, Apr 13, 2020 at 12:30 PM M-D November <mdnov...@gmail.com> wrote:

Apparently running a spring football league is a bit like attacking Moscow in the winter...It's never going to end well.

http://www.espn.com/30for30/film/_/page/small-potatoes-who-killed-the-usfl  

Fundamentally, the USFL was doing fine, until one of their owners pushed them to directly challenge the NFL, which backfired so spectacularly the league had no choice but to fold.

You will *never* guess who that owner was. And by "never", I mean "immediately".

[Mark Jeffries]

Showtime is currently airing (both on the various channels and on demand) an episode of the British series "Urban Myths" called "Andy and the [REDACTED]," based on the premise that Andy Warhol was brought in as a judge for the cheerleader auditions for said owner's USFL team, held in the basement of said owner's famous multi-use building.  A virtually unrecognizable Jack McBrayer plays Warhol, while said owner is played by Anthony Atamanuik, who played said owner on Comedy Central's "The [REDACTED] Show."  It's on the Internet in its original UK version ("A Sky Original"--Sky Arts to be exact) in a ridiculously long link.

"Andy and the [REDACTED]" is episode 2 of series 3 of "Urban Myths," and I don't know if any other episodes have played here.  The series 3 episodes are "Bleak House Guest" (Hans Christian Andersen is Charles Dickens' house guest from hell), "The Trial of Joan Collins" (Random House took her to court in 1996, claiming that her novel was "unreadable"), "Grace Under Pressure" (a burglar breaks into Grace Jones' NY apartment), "Madonna and Basquiat" (self-explanatory), "Paul McCartney" (IMDB has no description), "Mick Jagger and Princess Margaret" (Kelly Macdonald plays the princess--for the most part, the famous people in this series are played by unknowns) and "Princess Diana, Freddie Mercury and Kenny Everett" (the Princess of York attempts a night out with the commoners, Everett was a British radio DJ and TV host).

Mark Jeffries

Saints Spotlight Editor
spotl...@gmail.com

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[Jon Delfin]

Random episodes of Urban Myths* are listed as available "on demand," but "Andy ..." is listed separately, on its own.  

* season 1 eps 2, 4, 5

season 2 eps 1, 2, 4, 5, 8

nothing from season 3

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[Brad Beam]

From: tvor...@googlegroups.com [mailto:tvor...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Mark Jeffries

>"Andy and the [REDACTED]" is episode 2 of series 3 of "Urban Myths," and I don't know if any other episodes have played here.

 

On my TiVo Guide, “Urban Myths” has instead been listed under specific episodes, so for example I’ve seen “Timothy Leary introduces Cary Grant to LSD” and “Johnny Cash and the Ostrich.”

 

_   _

|_>|_>  Brad Beam- Belle WV

|_>|_>  http://www.facebook.com/74bmw

[Adam Bowie]

Sky Arts is an odd channel, that's largely thought of existing only as:

1. a way of getting more upmarket viewers to subscribe to Sky, even though they end up watching the more mainstream channels, and;

2. to give Sky, when it was owned by Murdoch, a way to say, "Look we do cultural stuff like the BBC too..." when they were dealing with regulators

It's found a niche in showing endless re-runs of André Rieu concerts (cheesy popular classical shows), the odd opera or ballet, concert films from throughout history, and documentaries on film-makers either made by Sky or imported from US channels. Add to this a handful of upmarket reality shows (e.g. Watercolour Challenge, Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year, Master of Photography - all of which are OK), and you've got the channel.

The other thing they do is do commissions of short playlet-type things like Urban Myths - only a handful of which I've seen. They also let stars write and direct their own short plays, which means you can get people like Idris Elba doing something for them. I'm pretty sure that with Urban Myths they had to tread very carefully, as libel law in the UK is pretty tough!

Adam

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[Dave Sikula]

Good heavens, but I love Urban Myths. Having played Sam Beckett in a play about his relationship with Andre the Giant, I particularly appreciated that one. Some of them are better than others, but the overall batting average has been pretty high.

--Dave Sikula

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