Connect with us

Published

on

The former president of the latest version of the United States Football League is launching a spring football league for high school players.

Brian Woods, who stepped down as the USFL’s president at the end of last year, said his Prep Super League will begin next year with a six-week season.

Woods said his league will use NCAA playing rules and will operate independent of high school state athletic associations, therefore giving players the chance to profit off their name, image and likeness without any restrictions.

League officials intend to have a season running from April 19 through May 24 with teams located in Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, New Jersey, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, and Tampa, Florida. Woods said he hopes to start hiring coaches in the next two to three months.

Woods said the league could supplement the recruiting camps and 7-on-7 programs that provide recruiting showcases for prospects during the months when they aren’t playing high school football.

“If you look at 7-on-7, you look at these camps, at the end of the day, none of them are 11-on-11 football,” Woods said. “None of them are going to give a quarterback, for instance, in a 7-on-7 situation, a live pass rush. So, if you’re looking to evaluate players in an actual football context, that’s what this league is about.”

League officials also said players will wear sensors to measure performance metrics that can be shared with college programs or professional leagues.

Woods said potential recruits could pay what he referred to as a “player development fee” to participate in the league. He compared it to the money that families of prospects in other sports pay for travel programs such as AAU basketball and said it could help fund the league. Woods also is hoping to get revenue from sponsorships and ticket prices.

Woods said players also could get an NIL benefit from playing in this league and the showcase it could provide. The league plans to launch an app that will offer live streaming coverage of games.

Players will be eligible to participate in the league only if they’re enrolled in an accredited middle or high school curriculum and live in one of the league’s 12 markets. Woods said he planned to target prospects entering their sophomore or junior years of high school this fall.

Woods noted that the arrival of the transfer portal has produced a tougher environment for high school prospects seeking to gain the attention of colleges that might be more willing to take a chance on players with college experience.

He believes that situation could make this type of league appealing to recruits as they seek a way to stand out.

Continue Reading

Sports

Follow live: Jets, Stars battle in Game 3 as series shifts to Dallas

Published

on

By

null

Continue Reading

Sports

Jung hits HR for mom while facing brother Jace

Published

on

By

Jung hits HR for mom while facing brother Jace

DETROIT — Josh Jung delivered a special Mother’s Day gift to his mom, Mary.

The Texas Rangers third baseman hit a two-out, two-run homer in the fifth inning off Beau Brieske at Detroit on Sunday. Jung’s brother, Jace, was in the Tigers’ lineup at the same position.

Before the game, Mary Jung delivered the game ball to the mound and her sons joined her on the field.

“My heart is just exploding,” Mary Jung said in an interview on the Rangers’ telecast. “I mean, I couldn’t ask for a better Mother’s Day gift. We’re all in the same place, to begin with. But then to watch them live their dream, do what they love to do, I couldn’t be more proud.”

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first home run by a player facing his brother’s team on Mother’s Day since at least 1969.

The Jungs’ parents, Mary and Jeff, have been in attendance throughout the three-game series. The brothers also started Saturday when Texas recorded a 10-3 victory.

Continue Reading

Sports

Yankees’ Stroman has setback in rehab of knee

Published

on

By

Yankees' Stroman has setback in rehab of knee

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — New York Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman had a setback as he tries to return from a left knee injury that has sidelined him for the past month.

Manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that Stroman still had “discomfort” in the knee after throwing a live batting practice session in Tampa, Florida, on Friday and will be reevaluated before the team figures out the next step in his rehabilitation process.

“He’s gotten a lot of treatments on it and stuff,” Boone said. “It just can’t kind of get over that final hump to really allow him to get to that next level on the mound. We’ll try and continue to get our arms around it and try and make sure we get that out of there.”

Stroman hasn’t pitched since allowing five runs in two-thirds of an inning against the San Francisco Giants on April 11. He was placed on the 15-day injured list the next day with what Boone hoped at the time would be a short-term absence.

But there is no timeline for the right-hander’s return, and Boone said the injury likely impacted the way Stroman pitched before going on the IL. He was 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA in three starts.

“Certainly that last start, I think he just couldn’t really step on that front side like he needed to,” Boone said. “I talk about how these guys are like race cars, and one little thing off and it can affect just that last level of command or that last level of extra stuff that you need. So we’ll continue to try to get him where we need to.”

Stroman had surgery March 19, 2015, to repair a torn ACL in his left knee. He returned to a major league mound that Sept. 12.

Stroman, 34, is in the second season of a two-year contract guaranteeing $37 million. His deal includes a $16 million conditional player option for 2026 that could be exercised if he pitches in at least 140 innings this year.

Last season, Stroman was 10-9 with a 4.31 ERA in 30 games (29 starts) when he threw 154⅔ innings, his most since 2021 with the Mets. Stroman struggled in the second half and did not pitch in the postseason, when the Yankees made their first World Series appearance since 2009.

In other injury news, DJ LeMahieu played for the second straight day on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday and could join the team in Seattle this week to make his season debut. LeMahieu had a cortisone injection last week in his right hip, dealing with an injury stemming from last year.

Continue Reading

Trending