As for the AFL, hitting its midseason lull for the three bye weeks to give players a chance to recover a little bit (what LeBron James wouldn't have done for a bye week to recover during the NBA finals!), the league-leading Fremantle Dockers have finally hit a bit of a lull themselves, first losing to Richmond in week 10 and then barely hanging on to beat last-place Gold Coast by seven points this last Saturday!
This must give their pursuers some hope for a change - Sydney sits just one game behind at 9-2, riding a five-game win streak; West Coast and Collingwood both proved their form last week with decisive victories against top-level teams and sit at 8-3, two back; and the five spots filling out finals (and the dreaded ninth place) all hold teams with positive spin and records above .500 - GWS, Hawthorn, Adelaide, Richmond, and the resurgent Geelong Cats, reaching 6-5 following a great victory over Port Adelaide last weekend.
Slots 10-12 hold reasonably close contenders Port, Western, and North Melbourne, all with five wins after eleven rounds. Below that are two 4-7 teams moving in opposite directions: rising St. Kilda and plummeting Essendon. The bottom four figure to stay that way, although all show signs of life - Melbourne at 3-8, Brisbane at 2-8, and the one-win teams Gold Coast and Carlton contending for the wooden spoon.
Here are our Following Football ELO-style ratings as of today, June 17th, 2015:
Hawthorn (84.1) - Sydney (76.5) - West Coast (76.0) - Fremantle (70.4)
Geelong (64.6) - Richmond (59.9) - Port Adelaide (58.6) - Collingwood (57.6)
North Melbourne (55.6) - Adelaide (55.5) - Western Bulldogs (43.8)
GWS (43.6) - Essendon (42.7) - Gold Coast (27.8) - Melbourne (25.4)
St. Kilda (21.3) - Brisbane Lions (18.8) - Carlton (17.9).
Curiously, although Fremantle is 10-1, their rating is scarcely a point above their starting level of 69.1! Meanwhile, for example, 8-3 West Coast has jumped over seventeen points from their starting posture of 58.6! Hawthorn's bumpy season has not moved their rating significantly (less than a point from their initial score), and Sydney is exactly where it started. The biggest gainer is actually Collingwood (up 21.6 points), while the two 1-10 teams have both been down as many as 23 points before coming back up slightly to their current positions (Gold Coast down 19 from its opening; Carlton 20).
Predictions for Week 12: This week provides some confident choices for the Following Football punters, who have six games to pick again this week: Hawthorn big over Adelaide; West Coast "upsetting" Richmond (can't believe Richmond's favored!); Port Adelaide over Carlton big; North Melbourne defeating GWS, who lost two important players last weekend for the season; Western over Brisbane with ease, and Geelong annihilating Melbourne. Inside the AFL's own "tipping" competition, the FF predictors are in the top 1% on all fronts, inside the top 1600 of a 175,000 member contest! Which means: trust us! We know what we're doing! (We went five out of six last week, nailing one upset but missing our pick on another one.)
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Canadian update...
A great place to look for quick hitters on each of the teams in the CFL is the "Checking Down" column that runs on the cfl.ca page every week...This week, it includes some interesting pieces on the Michael Sam situation: Sam has left the Montreal Alouette camp amidst speculation that he's getting harassed - ironically, not about his homosexuality but for appearing on Dancing With The Stars over the off-season (especially instead of training to make a roster).
Also of interest last week was the Edmonton/Saskatchewan game held up in Fort McMurray, Alberta, opening the brand new stadium there, Shell Place (and it's gorgeous! Take a look!) To give you Yankees some perspective on life in Canada (or "Canadia", as my son keeps mistakenly referring to it), this is a thing there: The game was the most northerly CFL game ever played. Remember, in Canada, you're already pretty far north - everything is above the northern borders of the US, which means north of Minnesota, North Dakota, Maine, Ohio, etc... which means it can get COLD there. (Hockey. Remember?) And the farther north you go... Yeah, you got the picture now. Fort McMurray isn't ridiculously far, but it is 250 miles north of Edmonton, already above Canada's backbone Highway 1 by several hundred miles itself. They'll be playing a regular season game there in July, and Aerosmith hits the stage in July as well. The design of the stadium is brilliant: the stage sits at one end of the football field, waiting for seating to go in when they need it!
Scores? You want pre-season scores? Well, besides Edmonton defeating Saskatchewan 31-24 up north, Montreal knocked off Ottawa 26-9, defending champ Calgary easily handled British Columbia 20-6, and Winnipeg upset Toronto by a touchdown, 34-27. This Thursday and Friday hold the last four pre-season games before the final roster cuts and the start of the season next Thursday night, on the 25th of June. Following Football has its ELO-style rating system in place and will finalize ratings and be providing you with the opportunity for predictions leading into each week of the Canadian Football League season this year!
Friday, June 12, 2015
On betting and gambling...
Proud to brag (against my Christian beliefs) that despite Port Adelaide's favored status, my Geelong pick held up, and they won by 23 in the Adelaide Oval Friday night, Aussie time.
The correct pick pushed me up into the top 1/2 of 1% in the various AFL "tipster" contests at afl.com.au - so let that be evidence that you can trust my prediction advice! The CFL site has a similar contest, so I thought I'd try it out this season as well, although my Aussie knowledge is definitely superior to my Canadian! Can't hurt to try, since they're all free to enter.
It's a far cry from risking my own money on someone else's athletic prowess and flukes of injuries and the whims and follies of men in the twenties. If you're going to gamble your hard-earned coinage, do it on your OWN abilities, or at the very worst, on something with some statistical basis for your projection.
And if you must gamble your money, KNOW WHEN TO STOP. Set a limit that you can afford, and stick to it. If you can't stick to it, NEVER GAMBLE. When someone with an addictive personality gets into the "I can win it back" mode, they're doomed. If, on the other hand, you enjoy gambling (whether it's sports betting or slot machines or poker or the lottery) as much as, say, a nice dinner out? Take forty dollars (or whatever the evening is worth to you), go enjoy yourself...but when that money is gone, YOU'RE DONE. If you can't stop then, DON'T START! No "just one more"s, no "but I was just about to get hot!"....
When it comes to sports, there are so many free competitions on line you can compete in - get the thrill of the bet without the painful side effects. You have no excuse to hamper your life and that of your family by throwing money down the toilet with nothing to show for it but regret.
The correct pick pushed me up into the top 1/2 of 1% in the various AFL "tipster" contests at afl.com.au - so let that be evidence that you can trust my prediction advice! The CFL site has a similar contest, so I thought I'd try it out this season as well, although my Aussie knowledge is definitely superior to my Canadian! Can't hurt to try, since they're all free to enter.
It's a far cry from risking my own money on someone else's athletic prowess and flukes of injuries and the whims and follies of men in the twenties. If you're going to gamble your hard-earned coinage, do it on your OWN abilities, or at the very worst, on something with some statistical basis for your projection.
And if you must gamble your money, KNOW WHEN TO STOP. Set a limit that you can afford, and stick to it. If you can't stick to it, NEVER GAMBLE. When someone with an addictive personality gets into the "I can win it back" mode, they're doomed. If, on the other hand, you enjoy gambling (whether it's sports betting or slot machines or poker or the lottery) as much as, say, a nice dinner out? Take forty dollars (or whatever the evening is worth to you), go enjoy yourself...but when that money is gone, YOU'RE DONE. If you can't stop then, DON'T START! No "just one more"s, no "but I was just about to get hot!"....
When it comes to sports, there are so many free competitions on line you can compete in - get the thrill of the bet without the painful side effects. You have no excuse to hamper your life and that of your family by throwing money down the toilet with nothing to show for it but regret.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Canada starts its pre-season! And, about the NBA Finals...
With a pair of games Monday and Tuesday evenings, the CFL has started its pre-season in preparation for opening night on June 25th! The Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeated the second-year Ottawa Redblacks (I refuse to write REDBLACKS every time this year - I felt like I was yelling at my readers!) 37-10 on Monday, and last night the Winnipeg Blue Bombers upset the Toronto Argonauts by a touchdown, 34-27, on the strength of too many Argo turnovers. I've noticed that the CFL, having only two pre-season games, uses its starters more than its neighbors to the south - listening to the first half last night, there was a real sense of playing a real game of football, not a uniformed scrimmage, although LOTS of men got into the action.
Of course, I only listened to the first half of the Canadian game because there was a MUCH more important event going on just south of Toronto a few hundred miles! I know the ball's the wrong shape (and the court's wooden and much more indoors), but you've GOT to admire the work of LeBron James and what's left of the Cleveland Cavaliers, already distant underdogs to the Golden State Warriors before superstar Kyrie Irving went down...remembering the loss of Kevin Love in the first round of the playoffs...and of Anderson Varejao in December for the season...and then to have Iman Shumpert re-injure his shoulder in the first quarter last night and have it mostly useless the rest of the night...and yet somehow, they're leading the 67-win Warriors two games to one after winning last night! Normally, I'd be a Warrior fan - I grew up in NorCal, and remember the last Warriors title, forty years ago; they play a beautiful brand of basketball, and I have as much admiration for them as any team I've watched play. But if the Cavaliers somehow won this series? No team with at least 65 wins has ever failed to win the Finals, let alone to a team fourteen games below them, let alone to a team missing its 2nd and 3rd best players, let alone to a team whose now-second best player is an undrafted Aussie from St. Mary's University who looks like an accountant and has to show his ID to get into the locker rooms!!
Essentially, LeBron James is willing a team of castoffs and second stringers to a title riding his coattails. On Jimmy Kimmel's show last night, he referred to the series as being "tied up 1-1 between Golden State and LeBron James", and he's not that far from the truth. Matthew Dellavadova has been literally unbelievable, JR Smith and James Jones have played over their heads, Timofey Mosgov and Tristan Thompson have had their coming-out parties in this playoff series...but it's all because of The Man. It's fascinating to hear the distinction the announcers give Curry and James: Curry is "the MVP", but LeBron is "the best player in the world".
Yep. That's about the size of it. And if he wins this series more or less by himself, to bring that mystical title to starving Cleveland?
There would be no words for it. Unprecedented. And he's halfway there.
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Week 10 in footy - Freo goes DOWN!
Yes, Fremantle suffered its first defeat, oddly enough at the hands of middling Richmond and in dominating fashion, much worse than the 97-70 score indicates. Richmond scored the first five goals and never looked back, dominating the game from the opening horn. Strangely, ruckman Aaron Sandilands set another record, for positive clearances, and Richmond managed a mere 36 entries into the forward 50...yet Fremantle suffered a 27-point loss!
Saturday's scores included a narrow Carlton loss to Adelaide, 99-90, that saw the dramatic and traumatic end to a legend's career - Chris Judd, twice a Brownlow medalist as best in the league, already in an "extra" season extending his career into 2015, blew out an ACL in the first quarter that put him on a 10-12 month rehab track that made immediate retirement a no-brainer. (Recall this post to understand what a revered player Judd is.) Other games included Sydney coasting over Gold Coast 93-41 (they never bothered getting out of first gear), Geelong holding Essendon goal-less in the first half en route to winning 122-53, and Port Adelaide surprising Western 100-62.
GWS eased over Brisbane by 30, 97-67, and Hawthorn glided past St. Kilda by a score of 132-69 on Sunday, but the big game was the Kangaroo smackdown of West Coast, pulling away to win 85-75 at the end in a wind-blown game in Tasmania. The announcers referred to it as a "four or five goal wind", meaning they expected the team playing towards the wind to score that much more - and in the first half, they weren't disappointed. But to the surprise of all in the last, North Melbourne managed to score just as many as the Eagles did to hold on for a victory.
The very Commonwealth holiday Monday matchup between Collingwood and Melbourne on the Queen's (official) Birthday went the way of the Magpies (as it seemingly always does) by 25 points, 110-85, although the Demons were tied close to three-quarter time!
This coming week is the first of three "bye" weeks, with just six games each week while a third of the teams take a hiatus to lick their wounds (and if you're Gold Coast, find enough healthy players to field a team next week). Here's the line-up:
Geelong/Port Adelaide Friday night (great game potentially! I'll take Geelong...)
Fremantle/Gold Coast Saturday afternoon (on the other hand...)
Essendon/West Coast Saturday twilight (hard to imagine the Dons winning in Perth)
Sydney/North Melbourne Saturday night (should be the Swans despite NMK's last game)
GWS/Collingwood Sunday afternoon (best game of the round - flip a coin! I'll take the Pies)
Melbourne/St. Kilda Sunday twilight (should be close - I'm thinking the Saints...)
Saturday's scores included a narrow Carlton loss to Adelaide, 99-90, that saw the dramatic and traumatic end to a legend's career - Chris Judd, twice a Brownlow medalist as best in the league, already in an "extra" season extending his career into 2015, blew out an ACL in the first quarter that put him on a 10-12 month rehab track that made immediate retirement a no-brainer. (Recall this post to understand what a revered player Judd is.) Other games included Sydney coasting over Gold Coast 93-41 (they never bothered getting out of first gear), Geelong holding Essendon goal-less in the first half en route to winning 122-53, and Port Adelaide surprising Western 100-62.
GWS eased over Brisbane by 30, 97-67, and Hawthorn glided past St. Kilda by a score of 132-69 on Sunday, but the big game was the Kangaroo smackdown of West Coast, pulling away to win 85-75 at the end in a wind-blown game in Tasmania. The announcers referred to it as a "four or five goal wind", meaning they expected the team playing towards the wind to score that much more - and in the first half, they weren't disappointed. But to the surprise of all in the last, North Melbourne managed to score just as many as the Eagles did to hold on for a victory.
The very Commonwealth holiday Monday matchup between Collingwood and Melbourne on the Queen's (official) Birthday went the way of the Magpies (as it seemingly always does) by 25 points, 110-85, although the Demons were tied close to three-quarter time!
This coming week is the first of three "bye" weeks, with just six games each week while a third of the teams take a hiatus to lick their wounds (and if you're Gold Coast, find enough healthy players to field a team next week). Here's the line-up:
Geelong/Port Adelaide Friday night (great game potentially! I'll take Geelong...)
Fremantle/Gold Coast Saturday afternoon (on the other hand...)
Essendon/West Coast Saturday twilight (hard to imagine the Dons winning in Perth)
Sydney/North Melbourne Saturday night (should be the Swans despite NMK's last game)
GWS/Collingwood Sunday afternoon (best game of the round - flip a coin! I'll take the Pies)
Melbourne/St. Kilda Sunday twilight (should be close - I'm thinking the Saints...)
Monday, June 8, 2015
Another felon released in the NFL
Brandon Spikes was released by the Patriots today after his damaged car was found abandoned on I-495 in Foxborough a day earlier. Last week, the Chicago Bears released Ray McDonald after the latest of his domestic assault and dog attacks and other abuse and violent behaviors. No team seems to have the slightest interest in signing the talented McDonald, either.
What's the NFL coming to when you can't play in the league just because you're a certified felon with a large and recent history of unsafe behavior and no sign of changing?
(Good on ya, NFL!)
What's the NFL coming to when you can't play in the league just because you're a certified felon with a large and recent history of unsafe behavior and no sign of changing?
(Good on ya, NFL!)
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Talk about bad injury luck - here's a young man I admire
Through five or six years of hard knocks, recurrent injuries, strenuous rehabs and more bad luck, Anthony Morabito has had more than his fair share of occasions to demonstrate his resilience, his positive morale, and his character.
And he's continuing to do it in spades.
Morabito, who apparently has lost yet another season to injury now as bone bruising and other knee issues continue to plague the Fremantle recruit, showed how he's overcoming more injuries than any one player should ever have to deal with.
Head coach Ross Lyon talked about him earlier this week, and this quote stood out for me:
"He puts it into context that this is just a football injury and says, 'I look around me and I see real tragedy'. So he's in pretty good shape."
The idea that he can realize that spending six years chasing your dream to get three games total out of it (so far) is nothing compared to the real human tragedies all around us all is remarkable maturity for a twenty-three year old who's seen more than enough already.
Watching the game against Melbourne up in Alice Springs last season, when his name was called at the last minute - the team rushed his parents up the desert to see him play! - and to see that crowd of people cheer his every move was one of the most heart-warming things I heard all year.
Morabito was a very high draft pick in 2010 - he has talent!
And someday...he'll get to show it off again....
And he's continuing to do it in spades.
Morabito, who apparently has lost yet another season to injury now as bone bruising and other knee issues continue to plague the Fremantle recruit, showed how he's overcoming more injuries than any one player should ever have to deal with.
Head coach Ross Lyon talked about him earlier this week, and this quote stood out for me:
"He puts it into context that this is just a football injury and says, 'I look around me and I see real tragedy'. So he's in pretty good shape."
The idea that he can realize that spending six years chasing your dream to get three games total out of it (so far) is nothing compared to the real human tragedies all around us all is remarkable maturity for a twenty-three year old who's seen more than enough already.
Watching the game against Melbourne up in Alice Springs last season, when his name was called at the last minute - the team rushed his parents up the desert to see him play! - and to see that crowd of people cheer his every move was one of the most heart-warming things I heard all year.
Morabito was a very high draft pick in 2010 - he has talent!
And someday...he'll get to show it off again....
Coming up on AFL week 10!
After nine weeks, with Fremantle still poised on top of the ladder, clear by two, we used the AFL Ladder Predictor to play the "what if" game...you know: What if things go the way we predict they will game by game? Who finishes where?
Well, here's what we got:
> Fremantle and Sydney should easily claim the coveted top two spots in finals, four games clear of everyone else (the only teams with fewer than seven losses, we think). Freo first, Swans second, but no undefeated season (they're not beating Hawthorn in Tasmania).
> Slots 3 through 6 are tight. We have Hawthorn 3rd, GWS 4th, Adelaide 5th, West Coast 6th, but wouldn't be surprised by any shuffling within that group. Remember, #3 and #4 get the "double chance", where they can lose game one to Freo or Sydney and still live to host next week...and if they beat them, they get a week off and host the preliminary final! Also remember that the Hawks and Eagles have (and are likely to hold onto) a huge percentage advantage.
> It's the race for the last two spots that will really be interesting! Our predictor came up with Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs hanging on for 7th and 8th places, barely ahead of Port Adelaide, North Melbourne, and Geelong, with another game back to Richmond and a big gap to Essendon, whom we don't see holding up as the season progresses.
> Can Melbourne win seven? Can the Saints win five? And who takes the Wooden Spoon: Carlton or Gold Coast? We have them both with two wins, and mere percentage points apart, but the Blues to be slightly behind the Suns with a thrashing in round 23 by the Hawks the difference.
> Will any of that come true? Remember, we're the folks who said North was going 18-4 this season: Don't trust our prognostication skills! (On the other hand, we're in the top 1-2% in the AFL Tipping Competition - picking winners - so maybe we know SOMETHING!)
Here are our picks for Round 10:
Fremantle beats Richmond by 20-30 points at home. No one beats Freo in Freo.
Adelaide over Carlton with ease; well over the 30 point spread.
The only thing keeping Sydney from beating Gold Coast by more than the 44 point spread will be pity...
I'm picking Essendon over Geelong, against the oddsmakers (not a huge risk - it's a 4 point spread).
Western would like to win in Adelaide, but Port Adelaide needs to win this game...
GWS by a ton over Brisbane, once they get into third gear...
Despite the close (3 point) spread, I'm taking West Coast over the Kangaroos by a LOT!
They've gone WLWLWLWLW so far this season; how badly do you think Hawthorn wants to break that pattern against St. Kilda? "A hundred point margin" badly?
Despite the chinks in Collingwood's armor, I'm still taking them over Melbourne this time.
Well, here's what we got:
> Fremantle and Sydney should easily claim the coveted top two spots in finals, four games clear of everyone else (the only teams with fewer than seven losses, we think). Freo first, Swans second, but no undefeated season (they're not beating Hawthorn in Tasmania).
> Slots 3 through 6 are tight. We have Hawthorn 3rd, GWS 4th, Adelaide 5th, West Coast 6th, but wouldn't be surprised by any shuffling within that group. Remember, #3 and #4 get the "double chance", where they can lose game one to Freo or Sydney and still live to host next week...and if they beat them, they get a week off and host the preliminary final! Also remember that the Hawks and Eagles have (and are likely to hold onto) a huge percentage advantage.
> It's the race for the last two spots that will really be interesting! Our predictor came up with Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs hanging on for 7th and 8th places, barely ahead of Port Adelaide, North Melbourne, and Geelong, with another game back to Richmond and a big gap to Essendon, whom we don't see holding up as the season progresses.
> Can Melbourne win seven? Can the Saints win five? And who takes the Wooden Spoon: Carlton or Gold Coast? We have them both with two wins, and mere percentage points apart, but the Blues to be slightly behind the Suns with a thrashing in round 23 by the Hawks the difference.
> Will any of that come true? Remember, we're the folks who said North was going 18-4 this season: Don't trust our prognostication skills! (On the other hand, we're in the top 1-2% in the AFL Tipping Competition - picking winners - so maybe we know SOMETHING!)
Here are our picks for Round 10:
Fremantle beats Richmond by 20-30 points at home. No one beats Freo in Freo.
Adelaide over Carlton with ease; well over the 30 point spread.
The only thing keeping Sydney from beating Gold Coast by more than the 44 point spread will be pity...
I'm picking Essendon over Geelong, against the oddsmakers (not a huge risk - it's a 4 point spread).
Western would like to win in Adelaide, but Port Adelaide needs to win this game...
GWS by a ton over Brisbane, once they get into third gear...
Despite the close (3 point) spread, I'm taking West Coast over the Kangaroos by a LOT!
They've gone WLWLWLWLW so far this season; how badly do you think Hawthorn wants to break that pattern against St. Kilda? "A hundred point margin" badly?
Despite the chinks in Collingwood's armor, I'm still taking them over Melbourne this time.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Technically NOT the kind of futbol we cover here...
...but it's HUGE news for the soccer fans around the world: FIFA president Sepp Blatter has resigned, due to the corruption scandal that's hit the World Cup bidding (Qatar? Really?).
In any good organization, the buck has to stop with the boss, and without any change in the process of prosecution, Blatter undoubtedly had no choice. It's a sad day in the world of sports in general.
Monday, June 1, 2015
Are you kidding me, Alabama Board of Ed?
Reversing its winter decision, the Alabama Board of Education has decided (doubtless because of immense negative public reaction) to reinstate football at Alabama-Birmingham. Now. After many players have transferred...after it's too late to start the program up in time for the 2015 season...after giving the state higher education system a good-ol'-boy black eye the size of a football that won't go away any time soon.
The backtracking in this article alone is unbelievable; one can only imagine what actually went on behind the scenes... This may not exactly be "weasel coaches", like the tag implies, but it sure is a weasel school board!
The backtracking in this article alone is unbelievable; one can only imagine what actually went on behind the scenes... This may not exactly be "weasel coaches", like the tag implies, but it sure is a weasel school board!
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- UAB will play football in in 2016, reversing an earlier decision to drop the program.
The decision, announced Monday by university president Ray Watts, comes after an overwhelming public outcry, a strong showing of monetary support and a new school-commissioned study examining the financial ramifications of supporting the three dropped programs.
On Dec. 2, Watts announced that he would disband the football, rifle and women's bowling teams after a report from CarrSports Consulting found that UAB athletic expenses would grow to $38.5 million by 2019 while revenue would increase by less than $1 million. At the time, the university, which said it subsidizes roughly two-thirds of the athletic department's operating budget, said the difference over the next five years would be an extra $49 million with football, including a projected $22 million needed for football facilities and upgrades.
UAB became the first major college football program to shut down since Pacific did so in 1995. It came on the heels of the program's best record in a decade (6-6) under first-year coach Bill Clark and the team's first taste of bowl eligibility since 2004. Despite a prolonged struggle to gain fan support in a state dominated by Auburn and Alabama football, UAB doubled its average attendance in 2014 to more than 21,000 per game.
But a second report released last month from College Sports Solutions, commissioned by UAB, came to the conclusion that reinstating the three programs and continuing on without them were both "viable options." The report said the school would operate on an annual $3.165 million deficit if it brought back the programs, but noted that a return would "foster much goodwill and stimulate a substantial amount of spiritual and financial support from alumni, donors, ticket holders, friends, students, faculty and the community" in addition to "positive national attention to the University."
Justin Craft, a former UAB football player and chair of the UAB Athletics Assessment Task Force, said more than $27 million had been raised to make up for the deficit, including a $7.5 million gift contingent on UAB building a stadium on campus. In all, he said the word of mouth fundraising brought in more than 600 pledges.
"The city has rallied around the program," Craft told ESPN.com on Sunday night, before a decision was reached by UAB. "It has truly become Birmingham's team. The first step is the support, but the second step is to invest."
The Birmingham City Council announced it would make a $2.5 million pledge ($500,000 per year for five years) and the UAB Undergraduate Student Government Association would make a $550,000 pledge if the school brought the football, women's bowling and rifle programs back.
Fielding a football team in 2015 is improbable, according to Craft, who said the goal will be to return to action in 2016. Craft said that Clark has expressed an interest in remaining the head coach, but only if it's "done the right way."
Since the news of UAB football's shutdown, several players have transferred. Wideout Jamari Staples landed at Louisville, linebacker Jake Ganus went to Georgia and offensive lineman Victor Salako enrolled at Oklahoma State, among others.
Conference USA bylaws mandate that its member schools have an FBS-level football program. Without one, UAB would be kicked out of the conference in 2016, losing a reported $2 million per year.
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