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

A fun and exciting game between the Omaha Nighthawks and the Sacramento Mountain Lions took place on Saturday. The second game of the season started with Jeff Wolfert kicking off to Mountain Lions Aaron Woods. The fleet-footed Woods returned the ball 15 yards and the game was underway. Hornet Stadium was filled; over 17,600 spectators of all ages were in the stands cheering on the home team. Fans came to watch an exciting game and enjoy great food and the company of hometown supporters on the sunny day. The game started with some momentum for the Mountain Lions but ended with a missed field goal. The Nighthawks drove down to the Mountain Lions end of the field but they too missed a f

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

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

While Sacramento was recovering from their football hangover that was the Super Bowl, the Sacramento Mountain Lions made Martin Bayless defensive coordinator on Tuesday. In 2010, Bayless was the special teams coordinator as well as the defensive backs coach for Sacramento. The previous year Bayless was the defensive backs coach for the California Redwoods. Bayless played 13 years at Safety in the NFL (1984-1996) and was voted San Diego Chargers Man of the Year in 1990 and 1991 as well as the Kansas City Chiefs NFL Man of the Year in his final season as a pro. After his playing days Bayless spent some time in the Buffalo Bills’ front office as the director of player development in 1998.

When Daunte Culpepper was taken by the Minnesota Vikings in 1999 and he put on the purple No. 11 jersey, the party started for him, but that fun only lasted for so long. With guys like Cris Carter and Randy Moss, he was thrown to the lions with lions on his side. Not many young quarterbacks are given an opportunity like that. But for Culpepper and Minnesota it wasn't smooth sailing for as long as they would have hoped. Soon after Carter’s departure, Culpepper would follow suit. In 2005, after he went down with a knee injury, he found himself calling Miami, Oakland and Detroit home in a span of just three years. Since 2006, Culpepper has been in two of the toughest cities to play: Oaklan

When the Dallas Cowboys travel to play the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday, a familiar face to the Sacramento Mountain Lions faithful will be seen. The 6-foot-1 225 lb Safety, Andrew Sendejo, will be suiting up for the Cowboys after signing a contract on November 29. In Sacramento, Sendejo, led his team with 48 tackles and ended up tying for second in the UFL. He made it known that he was thankful for his opportunity in Sacramento and appreciative of his time here. “I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to come play in the UFL, because if it wasn’t for the UFL I probably wouldn’t be where I’m at. I’ll always remember my time in Sacramento.” Going from the Californ

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

Daunte Culpepper threw four interceptions and fumbled once in the Mountain Lions’ 26-3 home loss to the Las Vegas Locomotives Friday night at Hornet Stadium. In the post-game press conference, Lions Coach Dennis Green was visibly upset at his team’s performance. “We had so many opportunities, and gave them all away,” Green said. Coming off of a bye week and unimpressive rushing games prior to Friday night (just 146 yards rushing on 63 carries in three games), the Lions had a considerably more effective ground game with Cory Ross running for 71 yards on 15 carries and Steve Baylark running for 46 yards on only four carries. Green remarked that his team moved the ball well, with run bloc

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

Monday afternoon the Sacramento Mountain Lions arrived via two Amador Stage tour buses on the Capitol Greens on the west side of the Capitol building. They quickly demonstrated their prowess, signed autographs and were gone in a flash it seems. I had never heard of them until last night. Thanks to Wikipedia, I am now enlightened. The Sacramento Mountain Lions are a professional American football team based in Sacramento, California that plays in the United Football League. The franchise originated as the California Redwoods, and played its home games in San Francisco and San Jose. The team will play its 2010 home games at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, home of the Sacramento State Ho

  Foothill High School was off the hook on Thursday night. Not only was it host to an open house for the high school (Welcome Back Mustangs!), but your Sacramento Mountain Lions had commandeered the football stadium for their second mock football game of training camp.               We arrived at dusk and found the front parking lot full and street parking at a premium. (Footballs siren song had pulled three friends into the adventure with me).               We entered the front of the campus, and I asked one of the back-to-schoolers where we could find the football field.               "Oh, it's way back there," she replied, pointing off into the distance.               We passed thr

Interview with Sacramento Mountain Lions quarterback Daunte Culpepper. Culpepper was a star with the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL and also played for the Oakland Raiders.

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