Xfl

New Espn Film Examines Xfl’s Short Life, Legacy

... of "Where Hope Grows" held at Arclight Cinemas Hollywood on Monday, May 4, 2015 in Los Angeles. (Photo by John Salangsang/Invision/AP). New ESPN film examines XFL’s short life, legacy. XFL color commentator and Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura smokes a cigar in the broadcast booth before the inaugural game of the XFL between the Las Vegas Outlaws and the New York/New Jersey Hitmen in Las Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2001. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch). More Columns/Blogs. THIS WAS THE XFL. A look at the defunct XFL, the subject of an ESPN documentary that debuts at 6 p.m. Thursday. FORMED: 2001, by pro wrestling magnate Vince Mc Mahon and TV sports executive Dick Ebersol. DISBANDED: 2001. TEAMS: Orlando Rage, Chicago Enforcers, New York/New Jersey Hitmen, Birmingham Thunderbolts, Los Angeles Xtreme, San Francisco Demons, Memphis Maniax, Las Vegas Outlaws. MILLION DOLLAR GAME: Los Angeles ...

Tougher Version Of The Nfl? That Was The Xfl's Goal

... Getty Images. About that: Then, as now, the NFL was a witless behemoth, an institution that did right by all the wrong stakeholders and wrong by all the right ones. It moved too slowly except when it saw an opportunity to pander. It deserved and deserves much of the criticism it got and gets. Yet this particular attack was opportunistic and fatuous—the NFL wasn’t tough enough? The changes time had brought to the league were mostly good ones, supporting rather than stifling its best athletes. So Vince Mc Mahon of all people was going to restore the glory of pro football. Could such a nonsensical, vapid idea go anywhere? Well, no, not without the help of a desperate media. But with Ebersol in search of any football-like programming to boost his ratings after CBS won the AFC television contract in 1998, NBC bought ...

From Nfl To Xfl And Back

... long. Maddox went 6-10 in his only full season as an NFL starter, and didn’t inspire confidence in Steelers management. But at the end of the season, Maddox still thought he was the Steelers QB of the future. “When I left the facility that Friday they told me they were probably going to draft an offensive linemen,” Maddox said in an interview last year. They didn’t. The Steelers selected Ben Roethlisberger with the 11 th overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, and the Maddox Era was over in Pittsburgh. Steelers Stats (two seasons): 532/896, 6250 yards, 38 TD. Maddox started three games in 2004, but was supplanted by Roethlisberger. He filled in briefly in 2005, and won a Super Bowl ring as Roethlisberger led the team to a SBXL win over the Seahawks. The following offseason the Steelers released Maddox, and his NFL career was over. Rick Rosenis a sports contributor to Heavy. Rick is a graduate of William Paterson University, and also works for MLB Advanced Media. He is passionate about all sports, but will only break things when the NY Giants are on. You can follow him ...

Xfl Hall Of Fame

... Jan. 14, 2017. (Credit: Anthony Lanzilote). The "Babba Cam" at an exhibition on the XFL football league at Cooper Union in Manhattan on Jan. 14, 2017. (Credit: Anthony Lanzilote). A San Francisco Demons helmet on display at an exhibition on the XFL football league at Cooper Union in Manhattan on Jan. 14, 2017. ADVERTISE HERE. (Credit: Anthony Lanzilote). Cheerleader uniforms at an exhibition on the XFL football league at Cooper Union in Manhattan on Jan. 14, 2017. (Credit: Anthony Lanzilote). People check out the championship trophy at an exhibition on the XFL football league at Cooper Union in Manhattan on Jan. 14, 2017. (Credit: Anthony Lanzilote). Jerseys at an exhibition on the XFL football league at Cooper Union in Manhattan on Jan. 14, 2017. (Credit: Anthony Lanzilote). Cheerleader uniforms at an exhibition on the XFL football league at Cooper Union in Manhattan on Jan. 14, ...

Wrestlemania, Xfl Fond Orlando Memories For Broadcaster Jim Ross

... for wrestling promotions around the world, and will call boxing at about 20 events this year on CBS Sports Network – more chances to stay in the live sports world that he so clearly loves. We spoke on the morning of broadcaster Brent Musburger’s final game with ESPN after more than 40 years behind the mic. “I met Brent Musburger a few times – he’s a good man – but there’s no way in hell he’s going to retire,” Ross said. “Once you get that rush, it’s hard to give that up. He might not call games for ESPN anymore, but he’ll be back on the air somewhere. Same with me.”. Wrestle Mania week: Full schedule of events ». Ross, who turned 65 last month, said his Ringside shows, especially when wrapped around big wrestling pay-per-view weekends, serve as a celebration of the sport. “I’ve been a wrestling fan my whole life, and for so many years a lot of us have been, for lack of a better word, bullied,” Ross said. “We’ve been teased, kidded, eyes rolled from our peers and family ...

What The Hell Is 'he Hate Me' Doing Now

... Warrior, and Hulk Hogan)—had no idea he would become the face of the entire league. “I saw it as an opportunity to play professional football,” Smart says. "I got to show people my personality and creativeness. Being able to put whatever you want on the back of your jersey—what’s better than that?". Smart was drafted by the Las Vegas Outlaws, one of eight teams in the XFL, and immediately formed a bond with fellow running backs Ben Snell and Chrys Chukwuma, who nicknamed themselves Thoro (Snell’s dad used to always refer to him as a thoroughbred) and Chukwagon (self explanatory). WWE chairman Vince Mc Mahon, who promised in a press conference a year earlier that he would bring the fun back to professional football, followed through by allowing players to choose a nickname to wear on the back of their jerseys, a stark departure from what Mc Mahon described as the No Fun League nature of the NFL. “XFL players were encouraged to be themselves and had the choice of what ...

This Was The Xfl' Director On The League's Legacy, Donald Trump Rallies

... League.'”. In terms of theatrics, it definitely bested the NFL with its pro wrestling DNA, changing rules to encourage more violence and creating a broadcast-friendly game. But the league never got close to the NFL’s popularity or quality of play. Ratings dropped quickly after its stratospheric launch. The XFL ultimately burned bright and fast, lasting all of one season. “I hadn’t seen my father fail at anything. It felt like another one of those crazy ideas, yeah, that they were going to figure out,” director Charlie Ebersol, son of Dick, tells EW. “From my perspective, it seemed like these guys had figured how to make everything else work. It’s just going to be another one of those things. I don’t think I realized that anything other than that was actually possible.”. See This Was The XFL‘s new trailer ...

The Unlikely Legacy Of Vince Mcmahon's Xfl

... entertaining aspects could be like. From the Sky Cam, to on-the-field camera angles, to mic-ing up players during games, to player introductions, and even nickname jerseys, it’s hard to watch a major professional sports event, especially the NFL, without seeing the impact the XFL left. “[It's] a little flattering, I suppose,” Mc Mahon says bitterly in the documentary. “It opened the door to the type of aggressive marketing production,” Charlie says. Just look at the UFC. “They drag the fight world, kicking and screaming, from a very drab, very boring event to a massively successful and entertaining mixed martial arts property. The UFC was marketed and approached and branded very similarly to how the XFL was. I think the XFL laid the groundwork for people to understand that people wanted this type of aggressive, in your face production and marketing around ...

This Was The Xfl’ A Fun Look Back At The Mess

... But mostly the league failed to deliver on its promise of quality football along with old-school mayhem. Charlie Ebersol recalled a line from announcer Matt Vasgersian in the film in which he says, “I think people were expecting death in the games and were sort of disappointed when they didn’t deliver on, like, murder.”. League executives also had to fight traditionalists in the coaching ranks, notably Hitmen coach Rusty Tillman, who resisted XFL wrinkles with an eye on future employment in the NFL. “He was part of a small group of people involved with the league who were absolutely hell-bent on making sure none of the innovations that were promised would ever happen,” Dick Ebersol said. Ebersol still believes that with another $20 million from each partner, they might have been able to make it work. “We could have had at least 20 decent offensive players in the league,” he said. “The football was terrible, and the toughest thing in the world for me was walking out of that stadium that ...