UFL gears up for season — Final countdown begins

 I see the United Football League is ready to pump up the pigskin and begin its inaugural season with one of four teams located in Las
Vegas. The first game is set for Oct. 8.

That means only one thing: The deathwatch has begun.

Las Vegas is the Roach Motel for oddball, minor-league sports franchises. Teams check in, but they don’t check out.

The list is long, but suffice to say not even a blind bookmaker would place odds on the UFL prospering here in the desert.

But, hey, good luck anyway to the, uh, Las Vegas Locomotives.

I’d like a dollar for every time a sports writer uses the “derailed” and “off the track” metaphors in the coming weeks.

And, really, how can the Las Vegas team fail with this partial roster?

Pos.     Player                        College
TE       Bergen, Adam            Lehigh
OG      Boone, Jason             Utah
DT       Bryant, Wendell         Wisconsin
LB       Butler, Ezra                Nevada
OG      Davis, Frank              South Florida
OT      Joyce, Brandon          Illinois State
WR      Kircus, David             Grand Valley State
NT       Kolodziej, Ross          Wisconsin
LB       Lehman, Teddy           Oklahoma
DT       Long, Gabe                Utah
LB       Moore, Brandon          Oklahoma
LB       Palmer, Ronnie           Arizona
QB      Rattay, Tim                  Louisiana Tech
RB      Thompson, Tyson        San Jose State
WR     Thurman, Andrae        Arizona
DB      Turnbull, Nick              Florida International
LB       Toal, Brian                   Boston College
RB       Whitehead, Terrance  Oregon
CB       Williams, Chaz           LA Monroe