Podcasts about birmingham stallions

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"McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday's 7am hour of Mac & Cube started off with the guys not buying the latest Brendan Sorsby injunction or the reasoning behind it; later, Tom Hart, from the SEC Network, tells us how little separates the top seeds in this SEC Baseball Tournament, how far he thinks Alabama & Auburn can go in this tourney, which teams actually have stuff to play for; and finally, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, starting QB for your Birmingham Stallions, says what's been the winning difference these last few weeks, what it takes to prepare for the same opponent in consecutive weeks, and how he's grown as a QB "McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Head Coach of the Birmingham Stallions AJ McCarron joined the 3 Man Front crew to talk team development so far this season, and preparation for the next two weeks against the Aviators! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday's 7am hour of Mac & Cube started off with a look at the kick times that have been announced for the '26 season; then, we have a Draft to pick the games we're most excited for in Weeks 1-3; later, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, QB for your Birmingham Stallions, tells us the best thing at coach AJ McCarron does to make DTR comfortable, what's the next step for this offense, and how they've prepared to take on Columbus this weekend; and finally, the guys continue their Game Draft through Week 5. "McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 2026 NBA Playoffs second round is heating up, and the Korner Booth crew has you fully covered. In the West, Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves evened their series against the San Antonio Spurs at 2-2 after a massive Game 4 performance. Edwards dropped 36 points, 16 of them in the fourth quarter, as Minnesota rallied back to knot the series. The big story? Spurs star Victor Wembanyama was ejected for throwing an elbow toward Wolves big Naz Reid early in the second quarter, and despite the no-suspension ruling, his absence opened the paint wide open for Minnesota to take over down the stretch. With Game 5 looming in San Antonio, this series is far from over. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder continue to make the Los Angeles Lakers look overmatched. The Thunder have yet to lose in the 2026 playoffs, and OKC's depth, defense, and efficiency, combined with too many Lakers turnovers, resulted in a third-straight double-digit victory. LA is on the brink of elimination and running out of answers against the defending champs. In the East, the New York Knicks made a statement, sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers out of the postseason. The Knicks advanced behind a swarming defense and a red-hot offense, with Miles McBride, starting in the wake of OG Anunoby's injury absence, dropping 25 points on 7-for-9 shooting from three in the clinching Game 4. New York is rolling and looks like a genuine Eastern Conference Finals threat. Then there's the Pistons-Cavs series, which has the makings of a classic. The top-seeded Detroit Pistons hold a 2-1 series lead after dropping a wild Game 3 to Cleveland. James Harden answered the bell with nine fourth-quarter points as the Cavs got clutch baskets down the stretch to earn their first win of the series. Can Detroit close it out, or will Cleveland's experience flip this thing around? We break it all down. On the football side, UFL Week 8 is upon us, with the playoff picture getting clearer by the week. Coming out of Week 7, the St. Louis Battlehawks improved to 5-2 with a 31-20 win over Columbus, the Louisville Kings crushed the DC Defenders 30-13 to snap their five-game winning streak, the Birmingham Stallions survived the Dallas Renegades 21-17 in overtime, and the Orlando Storm earned their fifth straight victory. With three weeks left in the regular season, every game matters, and we've got the full breakdown. And finally, breaking NFL news. After nine seasons with the Cleveland Browns, tight end David Njoku is heading to Los Angeles, signing a one-year deal with the Chargers worth up to $8 million. Njoku joins a Chargers tight end room that already includes Oronde Gadsden and Charlie Kolar, giving Justin Herbert and offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel one of the most dangerous position groups in football heading into 2026. We give our full take on the fit and what it means for the Chargers' Super Bowl window. #NBAPlayoffs #NBA2026 #Timberwolves #Spurs #AnthonyEdwards #Wembanyama #OKCThunder #Lakers #Knicks #76ers #Pistons #Cavaliers #UFL #UFLWeek8 #DavidNjoku #Chargers #NFLNews #KornerBoothPodcast

The 2026 United Football League (UFL) spring football campaign passed the halfway point recently. Through six weeks of the league’s ten-game regular season, each UFL team is now on a similar path.  The eight spring football franchises are experiencing a decline in attendance at the midway point of the 2026 season. The UFL replaced teams in San Antonio, Detroit (Michigan Panthers), and Memphis this year. Those franchises were relocated to Louisville (Kings), Columbus (Aviators) and Orlando (Storm). A primary reason for leaving San Antonio, Detroit, and Memphis was that all three teams played in large traditional football stadiums.  Those facilities cost the UFL a lot of money to lease. Small crowds of 10,000 fans or less for games played in 50,000 seat facilities looked really bad on national television, too. This new trio of UFL teams is playing their home games in soccer stadiums with seating generally less than 20,000.  The optics showing a crowd of 10,000 inside of a smaller football venue looks more visually appealing to home television viewers. Let’s count that as a win for the UFL.  However… The average attendance for those three new UFL franchises isn’t exactly turning heads, either. Through game 6, the entire league is averaging a little bit more than 10,000 fans per football home game.  Half of the UFL franchises (Houston, Dallas, defending champion DC, and Orlando) still can’t pull more than 10,000 per outing to their games. St. Louis (which led the league in attendance in each of the UFL’s first two seasons) is averaging 25,700 per game to lead the league in 2026. Below is a chart showing the attendance for each UFL team through Game 6 last weekend. Ticket prices for UFL games across the league are relatively cheap You can buy a 20-yard line ticket to this Saturday night’s Birmingham Stallions home game against the Dallas Renegades for $15 and receive a free t-shirt, too! Let’s say that the average ticket price in Birmingham was $25.  If the Stallions attract a crowd of 15,000 to this Saturday night’s game, that translates into ticket revenue of $375,000 for the week. Over a five game home schedule, Birmingham would generate $1.85 million in ticket revenue. With a roster of 50 players making an average of $60,000 per season, the personnel cost for the Stallions is $3 million.  Let’s also estimate that total expenses for the Birmingham UFL franchise (lease payments, coaching salaries, travel, game day costs and administrative expenses) are (conservatively) another $3 million. Now, multiply that revenue shortfall by eight UFL franchises.  The numbers simply don’t work. What about the television ratings for the UFL? The television ratings for UFL games compared to the NFL are similar to upstart LIV Golf when compared to the PGA Tour. UFL spring football brings about 5% of the average number of weekly television viewers which the NFL attracts for its games in the fall. Television ratings in 2026 for the UFL have been difficult to quantify week-to-week.  In general, the four weekly televised games have settled into a predictable pattern. FOX (one of the minority owners of the UFL) is into Year #2 of providing a Friday night prime-time football game.  The six Friday night games in 2026 have averaged 638,000 viewers. For Friday, May 3, the UFL spring football game on FOX (which attracted 670,000 viewers) finished in dead last behind primary competitors CBS, ABC, and NBC. The CBS Friday night line-up averaged over 4 million viewers.  ABC attracted less than three million.  NBC (which featured horse racing from Churchill Downs) came in at less than 2 ½ million last Friday night. FOX cannot be pleased about getting curb-stomped in the TV ratings every Friday night for two straight years.  The network’s Friday night UFL spring football games have been unable to crack the one million viewer mark one single time in two years. A recent week of prime-time television ratings showed the FOX Friday Night UFL game finishing in 162nd place. In addition to trailing the four primary networks, the FOX Friday UFL game lagged behind top cable television offering on Fox News, ESPN, MSNow, TLC, HGTV, TBS, USA Network, Comedy Central, ESPN2, Food Network, Bravo, Hallmark, CNN, Discovery, History, and A&E. That stinks. ABC’s Saturday afternoon UFL games have shown the strongest viewer interest.  Last week’s Dallas Renegades at DC Defenders drew the league’s highest television audience of the season as 1,050,000 watched the game on Saturday afternoon, May 2. The television networks need the UFL to consistently attract more than one million weekly viewers Advertisers want their product to be seen by the greatest number of people in their desired demographic.  Football traditionally delivers a predominantly male buying audience and is highly coveted by certain advertisers. UFL games are shown on the “big” networks like ABC, FOX, and ESPN. That means that there are zero excuses why football fans are not finding and watching the games.  It is proof that most viewers simply aren’t interested in the product. Has the UFL been targeting the growing online gambling market to stay afloat? Like it or not, online sports gambling has been growing quickly.  Unfortunately, many college students are becoming increasingly involved with online gambling. The UFL football games (especially those shown every Friday night in the spring) represent “the only game in town” for some bettors seeking football-oriented gambling opportunities. It’s impossible to know whether the UFL or the owners of online gambling companies are actively pursuing younger audiences to wager on UFL spring football games. The lack of growth in the UFL’s television audience from year-to-year seems to indicate that the gambling factions are not having a sizable effect. Who is Mike Repole, and why has he become “Mr. UFL?” The first two seasons of the UFL were financially underwritten by an ownership team of FOX Sports (50%) along with wrestling/media star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, his ex-wife Dani Garcia, ESPN, and RedBird Capital Partners. The original set of owners has lost tens of millions of their own money during the first two UFL seasons. Last summer, billionaire entrepreneur/promoter Mike Repole became a partner in the UFL, too. He purchased an undisclosed interest after the 2025 season ended. Repole quickly jumped-in trying to remake the league with several of his own ideas. The enthusiastic Mike Repole is about as subtle as the Kool-Aid guy bursting through the wall. He has already told Oklahoma City that they will be granted a UFL franchise in 2028 once the city’s new soccer stadium is completed.  Repole wants the spring football league to double in size to 16 teams within the next few years. It was Mike Repole’s idea to move three franchises to Columbus, Louisville, and Orlando this season.  He also spearheaded the UFL’s move into smaller soccer venues in 2026 to save cash and look better on television. The 57-year old Mike Repole has also jousted with fans of the 2024 UFL league champion Birmingham Stallions franchise, too.  He let it be known that the Alabama-based franchise would be moved if local supporters didn’t show significant improvements in game attendance this season. (Note – the Stallions are #2 in UFL average attendance entering Week #7) Yes, Mike Repole has been a virtual one-man crusader for the UFL over the past year. Try as he might, the vital signs for his beloved UFL in 2026 are still the same. The UFL remains on life support Only the deep pockets of the UFL’s investors has kept this patient from an expected death. Let’s forget about the size of the football stadiums.  When only 10,000 paying fans show up to watch any professional sport with massive fixed costs like football, the sports league is going to lose tons of money and eventually cease to exist. Perhaps the UFL has been hoping to attract some type of life preserver from the National Football League.  It’s not that the NFL couldn’t have invested in the UFL from Day 1, though. It simply chose not to.  The NFL has watched any number of spring pro football leagues come and go.  That’s because football fans aren’t interested in the product. The NFL wisely understood that they “own” the fall sports calendar. NFL franchise owners want football fans to be salivating in anticipation of the league’s return every year. Remember that the NFL has already been through this with the American Football League back in the 1960’s. Once the AFL achieved significant momentum with football fans and grew its television ratings, the NFL purchased their youthful competitor to end the challenge. The UFL’s presentation on the field and for home television has been exceptional.   Games (though still a bit too low-scoring for me) are often entertaining to watch. I will award the UFL an “A” for effort. This spring football league and several others have tried mightily to get their product to take root.  Football fans simply have not reciprocated with an endearing love for spring pro football. The UFL’s owners have every right to lose as much money as they desire hoping that their football league will eventually gain traction with the public. When and if that ever should happen, the NFL is likely to respond. The post UFL Midseason Report – Still on Shaky Ground appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

Tuesday's 7am hour of Mac & Cube started off with the gang discovering why Cinco de Mayo is celebrated & how much power the NCAA actually has over collegiate sports; then, David Hale, from ESPN, tells us how the Duke men's basketball & Amazon Prime streaming deal came about, if this is something that College Football could replicate, and what the ACC's major takeaway was for the NFL Draft; later, AJ McCarron, head coach for your Birmingham Stallions, says what more he wants to see from QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, where the defense has grown this year, and how they've prepared to take on Dallas; and finally, the boys recap the UFL weekend action. "McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 2026 NBA Playoffs first round is officially complete, and it delivered drama from start to finish. In the biggest upset of the opening round, the Philadelphia 76ers knocked out the #2 seed Boston Celtics in a gripping Game 7 victory, 109-100, sending shockwaves through the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder continued their dominance with a commanding sweep of the Phoenix Suns, cementing OKC as a legitimate championship contender heading into the second round. The Minnesota Timberwolves proved they're no longer a feel-good story; they're a real threat to take down the defending Western Conference powerhouse, the Denver Nuggets. In the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors went the distance in a bruising seven-game series before Cleveland punched their ticket to round two. The Detroit Pistons survived a feisty Orlando Magic squad, the New York Knicks made a statement by dominating the Atlanta Hawks, the Los Angeles Lakers narrowly escaped Houston in a hard-fought battle, and the San Antonio Spurs handled the Portland Trail Blazers convincingly. We break down every first-round series, the key performances, turning points, upsets, and what each team needs to do to advance deep into the 2026 NBA Playoffs. Then we shift over to the gridiron for a full Week 6 UFL recap. The St. Louis Battlehawks got things started Thursday night with a dominant 16-3 road win over the Louisville Kings — a statement performance that has St. Louis looking like a force in the UFL standings. Friday, the Columbus Aviators bounced back in a big way, defeating the Houston Gamblers 24-17 in a game that answered some serious questions about Columbus's resilience. Saturday's action saw the DC Defenders dismantle the Dallas Renegades 24-6 at home in convincing fashion. The weekend closed out with one of the best games of the UFL season so far, the Birmingham Stallions pulled off a 20-17 road upset over the Orlando Storm in a thriller that came down to the wire. We've got full recaps for all four Week 6 UFL games, key player performances, and a deep look at the updated UFL standings heading into Week 7. #NBAPlayoffs #NBA2026 #UFL #UFLWeek6 #BasketballHighlights #SportsRecap #76ers #Celtics #OKCThunder #Timberwolves #UnitedFootballLeague #DCDefenders #BirminghamStallions #KornerBoothPodcast

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Wednesday's 7am hour of Mac & Cube started off with Greg revealing he lied to one of his kids as well as the guys looking back at Auburn's and Oklahoma's Spring Games; then, Berry Tramel, who covers Oklahoma for the Tulsa World, tells us where his opinion shifted after their Spring Game, what John Mateer needs to be successful in 2026, and why it's Playoff or Bust for the Sooners; later, AJ McCarron, head coach for your Birmingham Stallions, says why he made those QB changes & named Dorian Thompson-Robinson the starter, how great it was to have that massive crowd at Protective Stadium, and how they plan to move forward & face the DC Defenders; and finally, Greg explains what it takes to learn a new system and become the starter in short time like DTR will for the Stallions. "McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday's 9am hour of Mac & Cube saw David Eckert, who covers Texas for 24-7 Sports, tells McElroy & Cubelic how Spring Ball went for the Longhorns, what Will Muschamp has brought to the team, and if it's championship or bust down in Austin; then, we recap the wild weekend in the UFL including a massive trade pulled off by your Birmingham Stallions; later, Cole & the boys lay out how they'd fix the Stallions; and finally, a few Bad Box Scores to make you smile as we close out Monday. "McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hour 1 of Monday's 3 Man Front featured our big takeaways from the Auburn A-Day game, fans voicing their frustrations with the Birmingham Stallions & Steve Irvine talking all things UAB! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gene wraps up today's show.

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The final hour of Friday's 3 Man Front included a brand new edition of #PatPonders, our excitement for the Birmingham Stallions' home opener and much more!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Birmingham Stallions QB Matt Corral joined the show on Thursday to talk about this weekend's home opener against Orlando, playing for AJ McCarron & more!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday's 7am hour of Mac & Cube started off with a recap of Michigan beating UConn and bringing another national championship to the Ann Arbor; then, Cole & Greg say what they've learned about Bama so far this Spring - focusing on the QBs and offensive line; and finally, Matt Corral, QB for your Birmingham Stallions, tells us what he wants to improve after the tough loss to the Houston Gamblers, how AJ McCarron has excelled at being coach, and what they've done to prepare to take on the St. Louis Battlehawks. "McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No video coverage of the 2026 CFL Combine was provided, was this a missed opportunity?  Calgary General Manager and Head Coach Dave Dickenson wants a new stadium for the Stampeders by the early 2030's.  Taylor Elgersma is held off the UFL's Birmingham Stallions opening day roster due to a work-visa issue.  The NHL considers a major expansion. (CFL on CBC theme music and game audio used with express permission; podcast recorded March 30, 2026).

Springtime means a return of increasingly warm temperatures (ugh), pollen galore (yuck), and a very eventful initial weekend of sports. Major League Baseball’s 2026 season opened as all 32 teams began tied for first place with a 0-0 record After this past weekend of opening games, it should come as no surprise that the homeless “Athletics” are off to an 0-3 start.  Voodoo dolls in Oakland seem to be having their desired effect on this wandering baseball franchise! The former Oakland Athletics vacated the Bay Area last year and temporarily moved into a minor league baseball stadium in Sacramento.  This team is simply known as the “Athletics” today.  They will remain in Sacto for 2026 and 2027.  A new indoor baseball stadium is under construction in Las Vegas and is expected to become home for this downtrodden franchise starting in 2028. The UFL returned, too.  It’s a good thing St. Louis still has their team! Spring professional football’s UFL began its third year with four games played over the weekend.  The St. Louis Battlehawks attracted more than 31,000 fans to watch its 16-10 win over the defending champion DC Defenders on Saturday in the Battledome. Three other UFL home teams failed to attract even 15,000 patrons for Game #1. The new Louisville Kings franchise were welcomed by 14,000 fans in their inaugural game being played in Kentucky.  They watched the Birmingham Stallions rally to score the game-winning touchdown with two minutes left in a 15-13 victory over the hometown Kings Friday night.  A Sunday night gathering of 11,000 cheered as Orlando “Stormed” to a 23-16 victory over the Columbus Aviators.  The Dallas Renegades pulled a quaint crowd of less than 9,000 fans to its debut game in Frisco, Texas on Saturday. As stated in my league preview last week, the UFL continued to have problems getting most of its teams to score points.  Only two of the eight teams in Week #1 tallied 20 or more points. Are the NFL referees going on strike soon? An under-the-radar story this weekend involved the growing tension between the NFL and its referees union.  The NFL Referees Association may be recommending a strike soon.  The current collective bargaining agreement between the refs and the league is set to expire on May 31. NFL owners have angered the referee union by wanting to raise the probationary period from three years to five and make playoff assignments based on performance rather than seniority.  As you might expect, the referees union looks at those issues differently. A referee strike last occurred in 2012 and lasted three games into the NFL’s regular season.  After several botched calls during the opening weeks of the regular season, the owners and referees finally reached an agreement in late September, 2012. This weekend’s news indicated that the NFL owners are preparing to move forward if there isn’t a new deal soon.  They are compiling a list of possible replacement referee candidates from the ranks of college football.  If a new deal with the NFL referees’ union is not reached by May 1, the football league may be planning to hire and train a set of new referees for the upcoming football season. Golf – first, let’s have some good news! PGA golfer Gary Woodland’s last professional victory came at the 2019 US Open.  About three years ago, the golfer underwent a very delicate surgery to remove a lesion from his brain.  Just two weeks ago, Woodland told the media that he had developed PTSD during his difficult recovery from brain surgery. Sunday’s final round saw Gary Woodland holding a one-shot lead starting the final 18 holes at the Texas Children’s Hospital Houston Open.  He raced out to a 4-under par 31 on the front nine in posting a final round 67 to win the event by five shots. The Houston crowd chanted, “Gary…Gary…Gary!” on the closing holes as Woodland tried to remain focused on the task at hand. Woodland once played on both the Kansas Jayhawks basketball team and on college golf team.  He wisely chose to play professional golf for his post-college career.  Now 41, Gary Woodland picked-up his fifth career PGA win in Houston and a paycheck for nearly $1.8 million. His emotional win in Houston also came with an invitation to play in The Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia in just ten days. Golf – Tiger Woods flipped his SUV and earned a DUI charge in Florida Now 50 years of age, Tiger Woods captured the spotlight once again on Friday.  Golf’s biggest name since Jack Nicklaus was placed under arrest near his home in central Florida after flipping his Land Rover vehicle at a high rate of speed. Tiger Woods’ SUV quickly came upon a truck which was slowing to turn into a driveway. Woods lost control of his vehicle.  The SUV flipped onto its side and Woods safely crawled out of the passenger-side window.  Fortunately, there was no oncoming traffic around when the accident occurred. Woods agreed to a breathalyzer test for alcohol, but he then refused to submit to a lawful test for DUI. He was briefly taken into custody late Friday afternoon and released on bond after several hours at the local jail. I was a bit surprised to learn that Tiger Woods still had a valid driver’s license after having more than one past issue involving driving while impaired. This might be a good time for Tiger limit his future driving to the tee boxes at the golf course. NCAA Basketball – March Madness Mauls SwampSwami’s men’s bracket I don’t know which game surprised me more over the past few days. The #2 seed University of Houston faced #3 seed Illinois on Thursday night with the game being played in the Cougars’ home city of Houston at the Toyota Center.  The Cougars were playing in their seventh year of making it to the Sweet 16 round or further. Houston clanked three-pointers, two pointers, and hardly ever shot a free throw in losing to the Fighting Illini 65-55.  The Cougars shot only two free throws in the entire game. This game was U-G-L-Y from start to finish.  The halftime score was Illinois 24, Houston 22.  Coach Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars again failed to bring the school and their long-time coach a first national championship trophy in men’s basketball. And, yes, ol’ SwampSwami picked Houston’s Cougars to win it all this year.  Drat! Congratulations to Illinois and coach Brad Underwood!   After knocking off Houston, the Fighting Illini downed upstart #9 seed Iowa 71-59 on Saturday to advance to the Final Four on Saturday in Indianapolis.  It will be Illinois’ first trip to the Final Four in 21 seasons. The 62-year old coach Underwood was a longtime assistant coach who received his first Division I coaching job at Stephen F. Austin. He took the Lumberjacks into the NCAA March Madness field twice in three seasons while in Nacogdoches, Texas prior to joining Illinois in 2017. Yet another head-scratching game in this weekend’s NCAA March Madness men’s tournament was Sunday afternoon’s massive collapse by #1 East seed Duke in losing at the buzzer to #2 UConn 73-72.  Duke led by as many as 19 points in this game before committing a turnover and allowing a 30 foot 3-pointer by Huskies guard Braylon Mullins (his only made 3-point basket of the day) with less than one second remaining. Duke’s first three games in the NCAA tournament were closer than most of us expected.  The Blue Devils struggled against #16-seed Sienna (71-65).  Third round foe and #5 seed St. Johns kept Duke off balance until a final minute surge lifted the Devils to an 80-75 win. Duke had no shortage of high school All-Americans on its team again this season.  A few of these “rentals” move onto the NBA later in the spring.  Duke’s starting five featured one senior, one sophomore, and three freshmen. Contrast that to UConn’s starting five which included two seniors, two juniors and just one freshman. When Duke had Connecticut down by 19 points, the Huskies played like a veteran group and kept fighting hard until the end of Sunday’s game. As for the Dukees, the coach’s inability to keep his team together from one year to the next has kept this fading basketball powerhouse out of the winner’s circle for ten straight seasons. Regional furniture seller could lose a millions soon! Both the Connecticut Huskies men’s and women’s teams have advanced to their respective Final Four national semifinal games at the end of this week. Jordan’s Furniture (a New England based chain) stands to lose millions of dollars if both Huskies teams should win their Final Four opening games later this week. The regional furniture retailer offered customers a full rebate for merchandise purchased between January 20 through February 16 if both University of Connecticut basketball teams advance to play in this year’s NCAA title games. A representative for the furniture store said the company had purchased some form of risk insurance in the event the company needs to pay off millions to its customers soon. No matter how they “couch” it, Jordan’s Furniture may want reconsider promotions which involve “bedding” against the state’s favorite college basketball teams! The post Baseball returned, Tiger was jailed, and my NCAA Picks are toast (again) appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

"McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday's 7am hour of Mac & Cube began with the guys recapping their spring breaks and what it's like being at Disney Parks in this era; then, Paul Finebaum, from the SEC Network, tells McElroy & Cubelic how big of a hit the SEC's reputation took in basketball, what this Spring means to Lane Kiffin & LSU, and what to expect this fall from the SEC; and later, AJ McCarron, head coach for your Birmingham Stallions, tells McElroy & Cubelic what it was like getting his first win in the UFL, where he wants to see QB improvement, and what Cole is like as a sideline reporter. "McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ah, yes.  Springtime means the return of your favorite eight United Football League (UFL) spring football teams for a third consecutive season. Except for the San Antonio Brahmas, Michigan Panthers, and Memphis Showboats, that is! Those three UFL teams were vaporized last summer to become a part of league history. The UFL moving trucks have been busy during the off-season United Football League team locations in San Antonio, Detroit, and Memphis were replaced with new franchises in the states of Florida, Ohio, and Kentucky. The Orlando Storm, Columbus Aviators, and Louisville Kings will join the Birmingham Stallions, DC Defenders, Houston Gamblers, and St. Louis Battlehawks in 2026. In addition, the former Arlington Renegades moved across town to morph into the Dallas Renegades.  But even the name “Dallas” is a bit misleading.  The Renegades will play this season in Toyota Stadium – a 24,000 seat soccer stadium in fast-growing Frisco.  That city is 25 miles north of downtown Dallas. The UFL has smartly downsized its stadiums and cut more costs this season. All eight UFL teams still practice at the same facility in Arlington, Texas on weekdays and then fly to play games on weekends in each team’s respective home market. All but two of the eight spring football franchises will play in smaller soccer venues beginning this season.  The new stadiums generally have a seating capacity of no more than 25,000. The Houston Gamblers vamoosed from the 40,000 seat football stadium at the University of Houston in favor of a more “right sized” environment at the downtown home of the Houston Dynamo soccer franchise. Wisely, the UFL owners have learned that the optics of showing thousands of empty seats on nationally televised football games is a very bad look for TV.  The high costs of leasing a traditional football stadium was another big factor in making that switch, too. The St. Louis Battlehawks (which led the UFL in home attendance with more than 30,000 fans per home game) will continue to play in the 60,000 seat Dome at America’s Center. Locally known as the “BattleDome”, the indoor football stadium was the former home of the NFL’s St. Louis Rams prior to the team moving to Los Angeles. Birmingham will continue to play in UAB’s state of the art 47,000 seat football stadium.  The league smartly cordoned off the upper deck last season, so the actual seating capacity for Stallions home games is about 25,000. When is the first UFL football game this year? The 2026 UFL season picked a bad time to get started (again).   This weekend’s season openers will have stiff competition from the men’s and women’s NCAA March Madness college basketball tournament. Game #1 of the new UFL season is this Friday night (March 27) at 7PM CDT on FOX. The Birmingham Stallions visit Kentucky to play in the first-ever home game for the Louisville Kings. Saturday, March 28 will feature an afternoon doubleheader.  The opening game will start at 11AM CDT on ESPN as 2025 champion DC Defenders invade the St. Louis Battlehawks.  The second game (3PM CDT on FOX) has the Houston Gamblers riding up I-45 to play their intrastate rival, the Dallas Renegades. Sunday’s final opening weekend game will pit two new entries taking the field for the first time. The Columbus Aviators take flight to central Florida to play the Orlando Storm at 7PM CDT on ESPN. The UFL added a giant source of cash as billionaire Mike Repole joined the ownership team Who is Mike Repole, you ask? If you have heard of beverage brands such as VitaminWater and BodyArmor, it was entrepreneur Mike Repole who built and sold those companies to Coca-Cola for a cool $12 billion. That means that the UFL just added another financial partner with deep pockets.  Mike Repole is about to learn that the UFL and every other prior spring football iteration has been a gigantic money pit. Last season’s UFL was owned by former WWE wrestling legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his ex-wife Dany Garcia along with Fox Sports, Disney (ESPN), and private equity investor Redbird Capital Partners. The privately-held United Football League is not required to publish annual financial reports.  They are quite tight-lipped about the league’s finances. It’s not a secret that the UFL has posted annual losses into the tens of millions of dollars. A lot of cash is required to pay stadium leases, players, and other significant costs One source reported that Ford Field in Detroit (former home to the now-deceased Michigan Panthers franchise) cost the league $500,000 per home game. That’s a cool $2.5 million per season for just one stadium’s rental fees. Last year’s Michigan Panthers averaged less than 12,000 fans per home game.  Their average ticket price in 2025 was about $25.  That generated about $300,000 in ticket revenue per home game for a season-ending total of about $1.5 million. Ouch. But wait, there’s more. Each team had 45 active players on the roster in 2025.  The average salary per player was about $60,000.  That’s another $2.7 million per team – just for the player salaries. Coaches are another significant expense.  Even relatively unknown coaches will cost a UFL team about $1 million annually. Don’t forget the cost of insurance, transportation costs to and from the games, practice facilities, home office costs, and a lot more. Yes, the UFL is losing money with every game they play Television advertising is the largest revenue source for the UFL. However, the television ratings in 2025 dipped 20% below 2024’s mediocre numbers.  The UFL’s average weekly television audience last season was less than 800,000 viewers per game.  Even the league’s title game failed to attract more than one million television viewers. Until the UFL can capture and sustain at least one million television viewers per game, the league’s television revenues will be insufficient to cover the costs of operations. The UFL receives a set amount from its television partners (ESPN and FOX Sports).  In return, the networks pay for the production costs of each telecast.  They also retain the vast majority of the revenue generated from ads sold within each football game. The more home viewers tune-in to watch UFL games, the more money the networks will be able charge to advertisers.  The UFL must produce results for the networks this season.  It’s that simple. The UFL’s costs of operations seem relatively fixed.  The league can improve its financial picture by growing additional home stadium revenues (higher attendance and/or higher ticket prices).  Revenues from annual television fees will become more significant once home viewership grows by 50% over the puny 2025 TV ratings. That’s why new investor Mike Repole’s billion dollar checkbook is so important to the UFL this year. The other owners are, most likely, tapped-out. What’s new in the UFL for this season? Aside from my rather gloomy financial comments, the on-field product for the United Football League will feature some rather interesting innovations this spring. A 4-point field goal is coming! If your kicker can somehow clear the crossbar from 60 yards or more, a field goal will be worth four points in the UFL.  This new 4-point field goal option sounds good, until you realize that a missed attempt will hand the football over to the opposing team near midfield. Pass receivers need only one foot in-bounds for a legal catch! This is the same rule being used in college football.  The UFL felt like the NFL’s “both feet must be in bounds” rule was also a little bit dangerous for wide receivers. Another reason for the “one foot in-bounds” change by the UFL is get teams to score more points. The UFL has struggled with relatively low scoring games during its first two seasons.  Teams which first reach the 20 point mark generally win most UFL spring football games. No “tush push” in the UFL! This should have been outlawed by the NFL, too.  My personal thanks to the UFL for getting rid of this rather odd-looking and often dangerous play where the quarterback is shoved by his own players for a first down or into the end zone. No punts allowed from inside the 50-yard line This is yet another attempt to improve overall scoring in the UFL.  Today’s punters have become quite proficient at landing the football inside of the opponent’s ten yard line.  Statistically speaking, most offenses do not move the football 90 yards downfield for a touchdown or even a field goal after being pinned near their own goal line to start a drive. Summary: UFL televised games will be shown on FOX, FS1, ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 again this season. There is a ten game regular season beginning this Friday, March 27 and ending on Sunday, May 31.  There are two semifinal playoff games on Sunday, June 7.  The league championship game will be played on Saturday, June 13 with kick-off at 2PM CDT on ABC. New UFL financial backer Mike Repole is pushing hard to make the spring football league more fan-friendly this season. He said, “The UFL exists to innovate.  If we’re not making the game more exciting and fan-focused, we’re not doing our job.” As usual, I will track the attendance at UFL home games in addition to the television ratings this season.  Both measures must improve by 15% or more, or you could be watching the final season of UFL spring football unfold over the next 2 ½ months. The post Ready or not, UFL Spring Football returns this Weekend appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

"McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday's 9am hour of Mac & Cube started off with Deon Cain & Tae Crowder and Tre Norwood & Jaydon Mickens, from your Birmingham Stallions, joining us in-studio to preview the upcoming UFL season; then, Cole & Greg say what they're looking forward to watching this year in the UFL; later, the guys breakdown today's Alabama vs. Hofstra NCAA Tourney game; and finally, we make our Friday games predictions official. "McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Daniel Isom talks about his local ties to St. Louis, winning with the Birmingham Stallions, and much more!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thursday's 7am hour of Mac & Cube began with more (annoying) lawsuits in the realm of College Football; then, Tyler Siskey, the new OC for your Birmingham Stallions, tells us how excited he is for (most of) the new UFL rules and why he'd like to see junior college football return to Alabama; later, the guys think it's wild to see the son of Philip Rivers commits to NC State; and finally, Cole isn't a fan of the latest QB trying to get a 7th year of eligibility. "McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Birmingham Stallions head coach AJ McCarron stopped by 3 Man Front on Thursday to update us on training camp for the Stallions & weigh in on the new rule changes coming to the UFL this season. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The third hour of Thursday's 3 Man Front featured Birmingham Stallions' head coach AJ McCarron giving us a training camp update, our thoughts on some proposed rule changes across college football & your calls/texts!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EPISODE 339 ECU FB Alum Noah Henderson previews his upcoming season with the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL by Pirate Radio 92.7FM Greenville

"McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday's 9am hour of Mac & Cube started off with Ari Wasserman, from On3 Sports, telling us who are his top returning QBs for 2026, why Byrum Brown is probably being slept on, and where non-conference schedule is affecting teams; then, Cole wonders if coaches are calling out their players for poor performances now because kids are being paid; later, AJ McCarron, head coach of your Birmingham Stallions, says how he's preparing to put himself into game situations, what fans can expect from this version of the Stallions, and how cool it is to have a bobblehead of himself; and finally, we lay out our TV watching weekend plans, thanks to TD's Fine Furniture in Sumiton. "McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Alabama QB and current HC of the Birmingham Stallions AJ McCarron joined the 3 Man Front crew and discussed his transition into the coaching role, the mindset of the team this season, how the roster is shaping up, and will we get a shirtless game?! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Birmingham Stallions safety JoJo Tillery joined the 3 Man Front crew live from Craft's 280! After five years with the team, he told us what it's like to be a veteran, the time he spent in CFB and the NFL, and so much more! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday's 9am hour of Mac & Cube got underway with AJ McCarron, head coach for your Birmingham Stallions, telling us how it's been since he was named coach, what went down during the UFL Draft, and what he thought about Ty Simpson's 2025 season; then, the guys try and make sense of the potential 9-game redshirt rule; later, Cole & Greg come up with ways to make the regular season better without having to expand the College Football Playoff; and finally, a few wild Bad Box Scores of the Day wraps up our Wednesday. "McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning" airs 7am-10am weekdays on WJOX-94.5!!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A.J. joins the show to discuss the opportunity as HC with the Birmingham Stallions and what drew him into the political realm and what his political future holds after football. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jonathan Zaslow and Amber Wilson are in for Evan, Canty and Michelle in New York City on this Christmas Eve program. Draymond Green and Steve Kerr have tempers flair, leading to Draymond leaving the court. Have Draymond's antics become too much for the Warriors? Then, AJ McCarron, new Birmingham Stallions head coach and 3x national champion QB for the Alabama Crimson tide. Plus, should we change where the games are played in the 2nd round of the College Football Playoff in the future? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jonathan Zaslow and Amber Wilson are in for Evan, Canty and Michelle in New York City on this Christmas Eve program. Draymond Green and Steve Kerr have tempers flair, leading to Draymond leaving the court. Have Draymond's antics become too much for the Warriors? Then, AJ McCarron, new Birmingham Stallions head coach and 3x national champion QB for the Alabama Crimson tide. Plus, should we change where the games are played in the 2nd round of the College Football Playoff in the future? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jonathan Zaslow and Amber Wilson are in for Evan, Canty and Michelle in New York City on this Christmas Eve program. Draymond Green and Steve Kerr have tempers flair, leading to Draymond leaving the court. Have Draymond's antics become too much for the Warriors? Then, AJ McCarron, new Birmingham Stallions head coach and 3x national champion QB for the Alabama Crimson tide. Plus, should we change where the games are played in the 2nd round of the College Football Playoff in the future? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

(00:00-14:44) Happy birthday DMX. People seem to love that Josh Schertz. AJ McCarron is the new head coach of the Birmingham Stallions. DMX giving sermons at Lambert. Keep that same energy. They want us to talk Missouri State. Doug wants more Americans in the MLS.(14:52-27:15) Doug, how old do you think Sia is? Breaking news: Beau Pribula is entering the transfer portal. Mizzou 6.5 point favorites in The Gator Bowl. Do they give the keys to the program to Matt Zollers? Speedy Quis transferring.(27:25-34:21) Why yes, we have discussed AJ McCarron becoming coach of the Birmingham UFL squad. Do we get back into the TMA boxing match game? Blues wearing the new whites at home tonight. Drink on Twitter posting about Zollers being the QB heading into the Gator Bowl.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.