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UFL Team Coming To Omaha: Nighthawks

mmmtodd

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suh_fan93 Offensive Coordinator

suh_fan93

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Football: Nighthawks' targets include ex-Husker Green

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

Published Saturday May 29, 2010

 

 

The Nighthawks' general manager may soon be using permanent ink to jot down the names on Omaha's fall roster.

 

And a few of those players, Rick Mueller hopes, will have local relevance.

 

"I'm going to do everything I can to ensure that the best players are going to be on our team," said Mueller, the league executive responsible for drawing talent to the expansion Nighthawks. "But there's talent around Omaha. ... There are players who have ties to the Omaha area, to the Nebraska area, that we're (targeting)."

 

Who will be playing for Omaha's new franchise next fall?

 

It's too early to say. Mueller is expecting to have an answer in a couple of weeks, when some of the preliminary talks with prospective Nighthawks start reaching a more concrete level.

 

This much is known: Mueller's trying to add local flavor. The Nighthawks have talked extensively with ex-Husker and former NFL All-Pro Ahman Green, the veteran running back most recently with the Green Bay Packers.

 

The 33-year-old Omaha native is searching for a football job, and he's interested in coming home.

 

"It looks promising, but I'm just waiting still, keeping my options open," Green said Thursday from his home just outside Green Bay, Wis. "For me, it's not a fallback plan at all. I want to play football. The Omaha team would be a great fit."

 

The Nighthawks are also interested in Keith Eloi, the one-time UNO receiver who signed with the Washington Redskins after going undrafted last spring.

 

They've reached out to Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch, too. UFL Commissioner Michael Huyghue was Crouch's former agent. Crouch won't be playing, though.

 

"I'd love to play, but I've been done for a couple years," the former Nebraska quarterback said. "I'm pretty happy with not having anymore (surgeries). I've had eight operations, you know. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't stay involved."

 

Based on the positive reviews of two Huskers who played in the UFL's inaugural season, Crouch and anyone else who's listening to the Nighthawks' pitches shouldn't have any regrets associating themselves with the upstart league.

 

Cory Ross, who ended his NU playing career in 2005, was the league's leading rusher for Sacramento's franchise. Running back Marlon Lucky, done at Nebraska in 2008, joined the Hartford team for the final two UFL games.

 

Both are planning to return to their respective teams this fall, after a first-class experience that neither expected for a new league.

 

"For the first year, for me, I was very surprised with it," Ross said. "I just wanted to show people that I was healthy again and then try to get back in the NFL. But I got more than what I expected."

 

The UFL paid for players to stay in hotels at two locations — Casa Grande, Ariz., and Orlando, Fla. They practiced at those sites as well. For games, the teams flew in charter planes to the host city.

 

"I didn't know what to expect when I went in," Lucky said, "and I only played in two games. But for the first year, I thought it was legit. People shouldn't talk down about the UFL."

 

This year, the plan is to house each team in its city from training camp until season's end.

 

All players — with the exception of starting quarterbacks — will be paid a salary of about $50,000, according to Mueller. That does not include living and eating expenses, which are paid for by the league. Each team gets 52 on its fall roster.

 

So far, Mueller and the Nighthawks have league-wide rights to 40 players — 20 UFL-seasoned players from the expansion draft and 20 more unemployed prospects from all parts of the country.

 

Most have not signed contracts yet, the reason why half of the 40 names on Omaha's roster radar haven't been released, according to league spokesman Michael Preston. The Nighthawks' 20 selections from their expansion draft have been posted on the league website since April.

 

The five UFL teams will conduct a 12-round draft Wednesday. Any player not under contract in another professional football league is eligible.

 

The Nighthawks plan to open training camp with about 70 players.

 

"Players have a chance to come and show what they can do. That's what they're getting in our league," Mueller said. "We're going to afford them the opportunity to prove themselves."

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whateveritis1224 Travel Squad

whateveritis1224

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I think that's one of the biggest things that will make the Nighthawks successful in Omaha, the ability to get well known ex-Huskers on the team. That and keeping the ticket prices down to around what they are now (60 bucks for season tickets I think is pretty good). Keeping it accessible to the high school and college kids looking to go on a date, and also the families that want to have a good time with their kids.

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Bradr Scout Team

Bradr

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Per the Omaha Nighthawks twitter account: Ahman Green is now a Nighthawk!

 

http://twitter.com/OmahaNighthawks/status/15811991232

 

Ahman Green?! Ah crap, I revoke all previous statements. I'll bite now.

 

And in more important news:

 

http://www.ufl-football.com

 

I will be seeing all of you guys at Westroads on June 26

 

This fall the Nighthawks will have 32 of the best dancers in Omaha on the sidelines as Coach Jeff Jagodzinski leads the Nighthawks into battle at Rosenblatt. The dance and cheerleading squad, headed up by Shan Stavropoulos, is holding tryouts in the near future. Information below:

 

Preliminaries

Saturday, June 12

Registration: 8:30am

Auditions: 10:30am

I Think Fit Gym

2424 South 156th Circle, Omaha, NE 68130

 

Finals

Saturday, June 26

10:30am

Westroads Mall

1000 California Street,

Omaha, NE 68114

 

Omaha Nighthawks Cheerleader/Dance Director Shan Stavropoulos

Shan started dancing when she was 4 years old in Walnut Creek, California prior to moving to Omaha, NE. She then became a member of her high school’s cheer team, and dance team. Shan accumulated several dance team awards with her Ralston Ram High School Pom Squad and was named NDA All-American, voted a NDA Superstar and was recruited to teach summer dance camps as a NDA Instructor. Shan was also selected to perform in the Aloha Bowl in Hawaii. Shan then moved on to become part of the UNK Dance Team, where she was one of the main choreographers. She has judged many tryouts and competitions along the way, as well as choreographed for various events, schools and programs such as the UNO Dance Team, Nebraska All-Star Tigers, Skutt Dance Team, Marian Cheer Team, KWAA Panthers (just to name a few). Recently, she was the Director of Tryouts for the NebraskaWesleyan University Dance Team, and a hip hop instructor for Kitty Lee Dance Studio. Currently, Shan is the Coach and Choreographer for the UDA National Champion Millard West Dance Team, where she has coached and choreographed for the past 7 years. She has accumulated 18 Best Choreography Awards, 10 Best Costume Awards, 4 UDA Coaches Leadership Awards, as well as the team placing in the top 10 at UDA Nationals since 2003. Shan is very excited about the UFL bringing the OmahaNighthawks to her home town and is proud of the way the community has embraced the league.

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