The Sacramento Mountain Lions are bringing professional football back to Sacramento on Friday as they host the Omaha Nighthawks at Raley Field for their home opener. It's the first of four games the Mountain Lions will play at home this year, and the team now has former NFL coach Turk Schonert at the helm, bringing his experience at Tampa Bay and Buffalo to the team in its fourth season. Tickets for the game range from $15 - $45. Raley Field is a new venue for the team, which formerly played at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium. Though Raley Field is smaller than Hornet Stadium with around 6,000 fewer seats, team officials have said the staff and amenities at Raley Field make it attract

Over 120 men braved the heat on Sunday to earn a spot on the Sacramento Mountain Lions football team. Some players drove from out of state to attend the tryouts at the Del Oro High School football field in Loomis.   As temperatures quickly climbed into the 90's by noon, the open tryouts were up to full speed on the field. Each candidate had two chances to post their best times in the 40 yard dash, then the tryouts split up into specific skill drills.   More photos from the tryouts can be viewed here.

The Sacramento Mountain Lions today officially announced that Raley Field in West Sacramento would be their new sports venue. Jeff Savage, General Manager of the Rivercats and Raley Field, welcomed the opportunity to host the local United Football League team in the popular stadium along the Sacramento River. Along with the expected stadium change, the local UFL team introduced Turk Schonert at their new head coach, replacing Dennis Green who led the Molos through their first 3 seasons. Schonert, most recently offensive coordinator for the UFL Las Vegas Locomotives, enters his 15th year of coaching professionally. Previously, he’s worn an NFL coach’s cap with Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4 sea

The Sacramento Mountain Lions defeated the Virginia Destroyers in overtime Saturday evening 27-20 at Hornet Stadium. This is the first win for the Mountain Lions this season, making them 1-3. Despite having lost their other three games this season, wide receiver Joe West said he knew that the win was coming. “It was exactly what we expected, we prepared for this, and this is the outcome,” West said. The majority of the game seemed like a near stalemate in favor of the Destroyers. In the first quarter Virginia scored a touchdown and proceeded to hold back the Mountain Lions into the second quarter. With 11 minutes left on the clock, Sacramento grabbed a field goal and then held back the

Their opening game Saturday night at Hornet Stadium was a night of record-making, but that did not help the Mountain Lions as they suffered a loss at the hand of the Las Vegas Locomotives 23-17. The night was warm and the game was a sell-out as over 20,000 fans watched the game, making it the biggest United Football League (UFL) attendance at an opening game and beating last year by over 10,000. Yet despite the overwhelming attendance and inspirational rendition of the National Anthem by Pauletta Pearson Washington (Mrs. Denzel Washington), the game was ominous from the get-go for the Sacramento Mountain Lions when the Locos won the coin toss. After that it was a constant battle. Mounta

Did you know Sacramento has a professional football team?  That's right.  The Sacramento Mountain Lions, one of the four United Football League teams (the other three being Las Vegas, Omaha, and Virginia) start their season this Saturday at CSUS Hornet Stadium.  They face two-time champion Las Vegas Locomotives in what is sure to be an exciting opening game. Rookie Sacramento quarterback, Ryan Coburn, looks like he has the potential to be a good quarterback, but the Vegas defense is powerful, and in the past four meetings Las Vegas defense picked off eight passes, and allowed only one touchdown pass.  But Sacramento has new wide receiver, Reggie Willams, who played five seasons with the J

The Sacramento Lady Lions, the official cheer squad for the Mountain Lions UFL team, held their final team tryouts Friday night at Dream Ultra Lounge. The event bore little resemblance to last month’s preliminaries, which were six hours long, closed to the public and held in a barn in Rio Linda. The finals had a party atmosphere, befitting the locale. The public was welcome, so the 51 hopefuls were supported by friends and family as they vied for the 32 spots on the team. When I arrived at 5:30 p.m., there was already a line to get in, perhaps 100 strong. Dream is basically a large, square venue with an ample, curved, wrap-around bar smack dab in the middle. As you enter the club, the

A Feb. 4 breach-of-contract lawsuit brought against the United Football League concerning the Sacramento Mountain Lions Team is being resolved out of court. The lawsuit filed Feb. 4 by Runyon Saltzman & Einhorn Inc., a public relations and marketing firm representing the Mountain Lions, sought more than $250,000 in the lawsuit. “It is being resolved,” said Scott Rose, vice president of Runyon, Saltzman and Einhorn. “We’re in the process of working through that right now and signing agreements and arrangements for payments.” Rose added that both parties are pleased with the outcome, and that the agreement was reached within the last week. “It’s being amicably resolved and will be settle

Everything I know about cheerleading, I learned from "Bring It On," Cheri Oteri and Sue Sylvester. ("This is not a democracy, it's a cheerocracy. . . Go Spartans!. . . I'm all about empowerment. I empower my Cheerios to live in a state of constant fear by creating an environment of irrational, random terror.") In other words, I know absolutely nothing about cheerleading. I wasn't about to let this impediment prevent me from attending the Sacramento Mountain Lions Lady Lions Cheerleaders auditions, however. Held Saturday afternoon at the Sacramento Youth Football Training Center in Rio Linda, this was the first of two preliminary rounds leading up to the finals. Thirty young ladies show

The Sacramento Mountain Lions gave themselves one last chance at the UFL championship by trouncing the Omaha Nighthawks in front of a packed stadium Saturday night. Attendance was estimated at 20,000. The Lions won 41-3 by dominating the game on both sides of the ball and played their "best game of the year" according to Sacramento coach Dennis Green. The Sacramento offense set the pace on their opening play with a 59-yard Daunte Culpepper pass to Taye Biddle. Before the Nighthawks could finish back peddling they were behind by a touchdown. Many fans were looking forward to seeing Omaha quarterback Jeff Garcia in action. Unfortunately they (and the former San Francisco QB) had to wait a

The planets and stars aligned with Hornet Stadium Saturday night as the Sacramento Mountain Lions absolutely embarrassed the Omaha Nighthawks 41-3 in front of 20,000 live fans. Omaha’s loss eliminated them from championship game contention and may give Sacramento (4-4) a chance to compete against Las Vegas (5-2) if Omaha can defeat Florida (4-3) next week. Sacramento coach Dennis Green said the Mountain Lions lived up to their potential this game and, playing the way they did, they are as good as any team in the UFL. “This was clearly our best game of the year,” Green said. Right from the coin toss Sacramento did everything right, opening the game with a flea flicker from running back

The Sacramento Mountain Lions UFL football team hosted the Hartford Colonials Saturday night at the Spanos Sports Complex at CSUS. The Lions entered the game hoping to scare away the ghosts from their loss to the Colonials in the season opener in September. However, Hartford edged out Sacramento, 27-26, in the closing seconds of Saturday's game. Over 13,000 fans, many of them in Halloween costumes, filled the stadium just hours after the wet weather had subsided. Sacramento took an early lead in the first quarter when John David Washington caught a short pass from Daunte Culpepper and ran it in for a touchdown. It was Washington's first touchdown of the season and his father, Denzel, was

The Sacramento Mountain Lions are looking to avenge their loss in this season’s opening game with a victory over the Hartford Colonials Saturday night. “We’ve got to try to see if we can get that win back from Hartford, and with three games to go, I think we’ve just got to get out and play very well in the second half of the season,” Head Coach Dennis Green said after the team’s practice Wednesday. The Colonials (1-4) beat the Mountain Lions (2-3) in the Sept. 18 opener. The teams are part of the United Football League, a professional league in its second season. Last year’s season was six games, but this year’s season has been expanded to eight games. “You play everybody twice, and the

Are you ready for some football? Saturday night, professional football made its triumphant return to Sacramento. The 20,000 fans who packed into Hornet Stadium were treated to a barnburner, as the hometown Mountain Lions battled back from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit for a dramatic victory over the visiting Florida Tuskers. For many fans, the evening was a win long before Daunte Culpepper found Rod Windsor deep down the sideline for the game-winning 33-yard touchdown pass with 37 seconds remaining. Two hours before kickoff, the parking lots surrounding Hornet Stadium at Sacramento State were packed with joyous revelers, basking in the opportunity to cheer for professional football

Football. It's what makes summer's end tolerable.  The spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down.  This year, at least here in Sacramento, the medicine is gonna go down especially easy. This year, Sacramento has a team to call it's own. On Monday, the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League opened training camp at the Harvard Corporate Center. Tuesday, UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue visited with the team, the first stop on a tour that will take him to each of the five cities that are currently home to UFL franchises. I attended both afternoon practices and was among the handful of media who got to speak with commissioner Huyghue.  As far as I'm concerned, s

On Friday August 20, the UFL's Sacramento Mountain Lions held a special Meet & Greet event for season ticket holders and fans at the team's facilities on the campus of the California State University, Sacramento. Information provided by the Mountain Lions Ticket Sales staff indicated the event was scheduled to take place from 6-9pm. Initial pictures and autographs for fans were followed by player introductions by Head Coach Dennis Green, and performances by the Mountain Lions cheer and dance squad. Thereafter, players and fans reconvened for more pictures and autographs. By about 7:30pm, a few players needed t leave in order to tend to other commitments. Wide receiver Fred Otis Amey, who

  The UFL's Sacramento Mountain Lions Wide Receiver Fred Otis Amey hosted an official signing party last night at the California State University, Sacramento Alumni Center. The event featured an appearance by members of the Mountain Lions cheer and dance squad, catered food, a video segment, the unveiling of a unique FOA logo, a raffle with prize giveaways, a benediction, and music - featuring a live performance by FOA himself. The Mountain Lions had staff on site, as did Team Dynamix - the event organizer. Representatives from My Athletic Resume, a local enterprise focused on building personal resume websites for athletes, were also present. Several members of the CSUS Athletic Departme

On Friday, July 30, the Sacramento Mountain Lions Cheer and Dance team finals were head at Barcode on Arden Way at 9pm.  The event was originally scheduled to be held at Venue Events Center located at 1417 R St. at 8pm, but a power outage reportedly due to a blown transformer under SMUD control forced a last minute schedule and location change. Noticeably distressed, dance team Director Lindsay Shoemaker scrambled to secure an alternate location.  Demonstrating why she is in fact the team's leader, when put to the test inside the eleventh hour, she found a way not only to come through, but to create an even better atmosphere.  Barcode, despite being a fair distance away from midtown Sacra

With the preliminaries complete, the Sacramento Mountain Lions cheer and dance team will hold the final qualifying round on Friday, July 30 at Venue Events Center located at 1417 R Street, next to Burgers & Brew.  Beginning at 8pm, the final round is open to the public, with an after-party to follow shortly thereafter. The preliminaries were held at the Venue Events Center on Saturday, July 24, from 1-5pm.  With nearly 60 registered participants appearing, many of whom who also participated in the recent Sacramento Kings dance tryouts held at the California State Fair.  Those tryouts were held at Cal Expo the previous Saturday and Sunday, and it seems the Mountain Lions tryout atmosphere