Sound play belies uncertain financing

I don't know much about investment banking. I see the letters IPO and think someone forgot the H and spelled IHOP wrong. People mention a Dutch auction, and I assume it's a new soccer formation.

Bill Hambrecht would consider my portfolio not worthy of lining a bird cage.

But basic math is a different story. I learned enough to realize that a red number of $120 million over a three-year period isn't good, that even if you have the money to burn, sooner or later the excitement of trying to build something wears thin as the fire of debt becomes uncontainable.

Hambrecht, however, isn't yet prepared to stop sending up helicopters and spraying the United Football League with green cash in hopes long-term survival is possible.

The man who founded the UFL still believes it might not go up in smoke.

"It has been a hurdle," he said. "Look, every good business I have ever invested in loses a lot of money when it gets started. This is no different. This has taken a lot of money, but no more than a lot of others.

"I think Apple went through $100 million before it really got going."

Yeah, but it has the Rayman Jungle Run app, so it was all worth it.

Hambrecht was at Sam Boyd Stadium on Wednesday night along with a few thousand football fans who put the D in die-hard, there to watch the Las Vegas Locomotives and Virginia Destroyers welcome the UFL to a fourth season.

They announced a crowd of 5,277, which is only possible if 2,500 of those folks spent the entire evening in the bathroom.

Las Vegas won 19-6 in a game that lasted less than 2 hours, 45 minutes, meaning for the first time since the Super Bowl, a regular-season professional football game was officiated by people with a clue.

There were no flags thrown in the first quarter.

Just one coach's challenge all evening.

No bad calls throughout.

But that always has been the UFL. The quality of football never has held it back. The Locos had just a week of practice to prepare for the opener and were only flagged twice for 12 yards.

Jim Fassel can prepare a team and coach it.

The problem has been, well, everything else.

You would think a clean financial slate would be the best answer to continuing this venture, but not all UFL debts have been paid. The four-team league still owes others money, including businesses locally.

Hambrecht insists anyone still expecting payment are from disputed claims, that there was a "looseness" in the way some deals were made.

I would assume his league bears a majority of that responsibility.

If not, who?

There is no league office. No commissioner. No proof one way or the other what one attorney tweeted Wednesday night - that the league is hiding assets, avoiding accountability and hoping for one last cash grab by owners - is true.

When you lose this much money and struggle to pay this many people on time, any benefit of the doubt is no longer applicable.

"We thought we could fund each franchise in the public market through IPOs, but the financial crisis in 2008 did away with that idea," Hambrecht said. "We hope we can do it at the end of this year. It will be interesting to see if we ever get the kind of support in Las Vegas as we have in places like Omaha and Virginia and Sacramento, but I understand all the entertainment options available here.

"If we had gone away to (settle all financial issues), we wouldn't have come back. We want to settle with everyone. We are negotiating. I think we're in pretty good shape."

Pretty good shape is relative, depending on if you have been paid or not. One thing that can definitely help is the league's television rights agreement with CBS Sports Network, which will air two games per week (on Wednesday and Friday) during the two-month season.

I have no idea how many of 46.3 million subscribers who have the station will watch a UFL game, but without a TV presence, there is no fourth season.

The UFL lives, then, barely. The football again appears better than average. Those who attend Locos games again appear to enjoy the experience. Bill Hambrecht again appears willing to lose money.

"If it catches on," he said, "this could be a great business."

Hand it to these investment banker types.

They don't give up easily.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on "Gridlock," ESPN 1100 and 98.9 FM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.