Football News Headlines

2010

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July

(Obituary) July 27, 2010 – Harry Galbreath, who was an offensive lineman in college and in the NFL, dies at the age of 45. Galbreath played college football at the University of Tennessee and was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the eighth round of the 1988 NFL Draft. He played for the Dolphins from 1988-1992. He then went on to play for the Green Bay Packers from 1993-1995 and the New York Jets in 1996.

(Obituary) July 27, 2010 – Jack Tatum, who had been suffering from diabetes for several years, dies of a massive heart attack at the age of 61. Tatum played college football at Ohio State under Coach Woody Hayes and was on the 1968 National Championship team that went undefeated. He was then selected in the first round of the 1971 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. Tatum played for the Raiders from 1971-1979 and helped lead the team to a win in Super Bowl XI in January 1977 over the Minnesota Vikings. His final season as a player was in 1980 with the Houston Oilers. He was involved in “The Immaculate Reception” play in 1972 in Pittsburgh. Tatum was the one who hit wide receiver Frenchy Fuqua, sending the ball into the hands of Pittsburgh’s Franco Harris, who scored the game winning touchdown on the play. However, he will always be remembered for the hit he made on New England Patriots wide receiver Darrell Stingley on August 12, 1978 during a preseason game in Oakland. The hit left Stingley paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of his life. The hit also earned Tatum the nickname, “Assassin.” Stingley died in 2007. (See related obituary on April 5, 2007)

(SIFL) July 28, 2010 – The Corpus Christi Hammerheads announced that they are leaving the Indoor Football League and joining the Southern Indoor Football League next season. The team has been in the IFL since 2009.

(AIFA) July 25, 2010 – The Baltimore Mariners defeated the Wyoming Cavalry 57-42 in AIFA Bowl IV, the championship game if the American Indoor Football Association. The game was played in Baltimore with a crowd of 6,075 fans on hand. Baltimore finished the season 16-0.

(IWFL) July 24, 2010 – The Boston Militia defeated the Sacramento Sirens 39-7 in the championship game of the Independent Women’s Football League. The game was played in Round Rock, Texas. The Militia ended the season with a perfect 11-0 record.

(Obituary) July 23, 2010 – Kaye Cowher, the wife of former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher, dies of skin cancer at the age of 54. Kaye played college basketball at North Carolina State. She also played professionally for the New York Stars and the New Jersey Gems of the Women’s Professional Basketball League. The couple met in college and was married in 1981. Bill Cowher is currently an NFL analyst on CBS.

(Obituary) July 23, 2010 – Dennis Byrd, who played football in college and in the old American Football League, dies after suffering a heart attack at the age of 63, Byrd played defensive tackle at North Carolina State and was drafted by the Boston Patriots of the AFL in 1968 where he played for two seasons. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame earlier this year and was set to be officially inducted this December. (See related article on May 27, 2010)

(High School) July 21, 2010 – The Kauai Interscholastic Federation in Hawaii has decided to move some of its upcoming high school football games from Friday night to Saturday afternoon. The reason? Endangered newborn seabirds in the area become confused by the lights at Vidinha Stadium and fall from the sky on their way to the ocean. The flight of the Newell’s shearwater birds to the sea begin on September 15 and they rely on moonlight to guide them. Therefore, all Friday night games after that date will now be played on Saturday.

(NFL) July 20, 2010 – The New York Jets will enshrine six former players into the Ring of Honor on August 16 during the first preseason game played at the new Giants stadium. The six former Jets are quarterback Joe Namath, running back Curtis Martin, head coach Weeb Ewbank, offensive tackle Winston Hill, defensive lineman Joe Klecko and wide receiver Don Maynard. A ceremony will take place during halftime of the Jets game vs. the New York Giants.

(SIFL) July 18, 2010 – The Columbus Lions defeated the Louisiana Swashbucklers 68-13 in the championship game of the Southern Indoor Football League. The title game was played in Columbus, Georgia.

(IFL) July 17, 2010 – The Billings Outlaws defeated the Sioux Fall Storm 43-34 in United Bowl II, the championship game of the Indoor Football League. It was the second consecutive year that the Outlaws have captured the IFL title.

(College) July 14, 2010 – The University of Michigan announced that, with the completion of its recent renovation, its stadium now has a seating capacity of 109,901, making “The Big House” the largest football venue in the country. Penn State is the second largest with a capacity of 107,282. In the NFL, the new Dallas Cowboys stadium has a seating capacity of 80,000 but with standing room it can hold up to 111,000.

(IFL) July 12, 2010 – The new Arizona team in the Indoor Football League now has a name. The team will be known as the Tucson Thunder Kats. (See related article on June 14, 2010)

(IFL) July 9, 2010 – The new Arizona team in the Indoor Football League now has a name. The team will be known as the Tucson Thunder Kats. (See related article on June 14, 2010)

(Arena) July 9, 2010 – Quarterback Aaron Garcia of the Jacksonville Sharks, becomes the first player in Arena Football League history to surpass 1,000 career touchdowns. He now has 955 passing touchdowns and 45 rushing touchdowns. The milestone was achieved during a 67-56 win over the visiting Utah Blaze. (See related article on June 4, 2010)

(IFL) July 8, 2010 – The Indoor Football League announced that is has granted an expansion team to Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania. The team will play its home games at Stabler Arena beginning in 2011. Previously, the Lehigh Valley Outlawz played in the Continental Indoor Football League from 2006-2008.

(Arena) July 2, 2010 – The Arena Football League announced that it has signed an agreement with Eurosport 2, a European sports channel that broadcasts to 46 countries in 15 different languages. The channel will broadcast games from the NFL Network’s Arena Football Friday games on a tape delayed basis. The league previously had an agreement with Eurosport 2 in 2007 and 2008.

(Obituary) July 1, 2010 – Don Coryell, the man behind the “Air Coryell” passing attack in the NFL, dies at the age of 85. Coryell played college football at the University of Washington. He then became the head coach at Division III Whittier College from 1957-1959, posting a 23-5-1 record, and was the head coach at San Diego State from 1961-1972 where he posted a record of 104-19-2. He then became the head coach of the NFL St. Louis Cardinals from 1973-1977. He is best know, however, as the head coach of the San Diego Chargers from 1978-1986 where he led the team to the AFC championship game in 1980 and 1981, but was unable to advance to the Super Bowl both times. In 14 seasons in the NFL, Coryell posted a 115-89-1 record. He was the first coach to have 100 wins in college and in the NFL. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

June

(Media) June 30, 2010 – It was announced today that selected Canadian Football League games will be broadcast on the NFL Network this year, beginning with the CFL regular season opener tomorrow. A total of 14 regular season CFL games will be aired over the course of the season. Games will be shown live on Saturday nights in July and on Friday nights in September, October and November. The broadcasts will originate from TSN, Canada’s version of ESPN. The NFL Network has also been broadcasting live Arena Football League games on Friday nights this season. (See related article on February 9, 2010)

(Obituary) June 29, 2010 – Frank Rigney, a member of the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame, dies of an apparent heart attack at the age of 74. Rigney played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes and helped lead the team to a win in the 1957 Rose Bowl. He was selected in the fourth round of the 1958 NFL Draft by Philadelphia Eagles, but decided to sign with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL instead where he played for future Minnesota Vikings head coach Bud Grant. He was an offensive lineman for the team for 10 years and won four Grey Cup championships. After his playing career was over, Rigney became a color analyst for CFL broadcasts on television for CBC and CTV. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Winnipeg Football Club Hall of Fame in 1985.

(CIFL) June 26, 2010 – The Cincinnati Commandos defeated the Wisconsin Wolfpack 54-40 in the championship game of the Continental Indoor Football League. The game was played at the Cincinnati Gardens with a crowd of 2,758 fans in attendance.  

(College) June 25, 2010 – Florida State University announced that it will retire the number 10 in honor of former Seminole player Derrick Brooks. The retirement ceremony will occur on November 13 when FSU hosts Clemson. Brooks is the eighth football player in team history to have his jersey number retired.

(Obituary) June 23, 2010 – Ron Atchison, who was a defensive guard and tackle as well as an offensive center in the Canadian Football League for 17 seasons, dies of congestive heart failure at the age of 80. Atchison played college football for the Saskatoon Hilltops, a Canadian junior college team, from 1947-1949. He then went on to play for the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1952-1968 as a walk-on and helped lead the team to a Grey Cup championship in 1966. Atchison was named the league’s Most Valuable Canadian player in 1963 and 1964. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1978 and is also a member of the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. (See related CFL article on June 17, 2010)

(UFL) June 21, 2010 – The United Football League has granted a conditional franchise to Norfolk, Virginia. The franchise would be the sixth team in the league and would begin play in 2011.

(IFL) June 20, 2010 – A tornado ripped through Billings, Montana and destroyed the roof on MetraPark Arena, home of the Billings Outlaws of the Indoor Football League. The Outlaws defeated the Tri-Cities Fever 68-40 at the arena just the night before the tornado hit town.

(Arena) June 18, 2010 – The Arena Football League announced that three former teams will return to the league in 2011. They are the Philadelphia Soul, who won the 2008 ArenaBowl, the San Jose SaberCats and the Kansas City Brigade. That will give the league 18 teams next season.

(CFL) June 17, 2010 – Three Grey Cup championship teams are inducted into the Plaza of Honor at Mosaic Stadium, home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Plaza already honors 107 former Roughriders players and now will include the 1966, 1989 and 2007 Saskatchewan championship teams.

(College) June 17, 2010 – The University of Utah accepts an invitation to join the PAC-10 Conference in 2011. They will be the 12th team in the PAC-10. The Utes previously played in the Mountain West Conference. (See related article on June 10, 2010)

(NFL) June 16, 2010 – Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach John McKay will be inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor at Raymond James Stadium on December 5. McKay coached the team from 1976-1984. His team went 0-26 in its first two seasons, but advanced to the NFC championship game in 1979. Currently, the only other member of the team’s Ring of Honor is Hall of Fame defensive end Lee Roy Selmon. (See related obituary on June 10, 2001)

(NFL) June 16, 2010 – The New York Jets announced that they are selling a limited edition wine called Jets Uncorked. The wine is a 2008 Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon and was created specially for the team and its fans to celebrate the opening of their new stadium this fall. Only about 8,000 cases of the wine were produced and will sell for $27.99 a bottle or $56.99 for a 1.5 liter magnum. They are available on the team’s web site. Some Manhattan restaurants will also carry it.

(IFL) June 14, 2010 – The Indoor Football league announced that an expansion franchise has been granted to Tucson, Arizona. The team will begin playing in 2011.

(Obituary) June 14, 2010 – Thomas “Rock” Roggeman, a defensive coach at East Carolina, dies after a year-long battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma at the age of 47. Roggeman played college football at Notre Dame where he was a nose guard. He had been at East Carolina since 2004, but had also spent time as an assistant coach at Louisville, Eastern Michigan and UNLV as well as three Division I-AA schools; Alabama State, Alabama A&M, and Murray State.

(College/Canada) June 14, 2010 - The University of Waterloo in Ontario has suspended its football program for one year after nine players tested positive for steroids. The university’s football stadium had just recently undergone a $1 million renovation project including the addition of a new Field Turf playing surface. The school is a member of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference of Canadian Interuniversity Sport, Canada’s equivalent to the NCAA. 

(CFL) June 11, 2010 – The Canadian Football League announced that the 2012 Grey Cup championship game will be played at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. It will be the 100th playing of the Grey Cup. Toronto last hosted the game in 2007.

(College) June 11, 2010 – The University of Nebraska announced that it is leaving the Big 12 and joining the Big Ten Conference. The Corn Huskers will be the 12th team in the conference beginning in 2011. Also, Boise State announced that it is leaving the Western Athletic Conference to join the Mountain West Conference in 2012.

(College) June 10, 2010 – In what is sure to be the first of many teams switching conferences, Colorado announced that it is leaving the Big 12 and joining the PAC-10 Conference. The move is tentatively scheduled to take effect in 2012. The Buffalos are now the 11th team in the PAC-10.

(CFL) June 8, 2010 – The Canadian Football League announced that it is going to allow the use of helmet radios for coaches to communicate with quarterbacks beginning this season. The NFL has been using radio helmets since 1994. NFL teams use a 40 second play clock, but CFL teams only have 20 seconds.

(College) June 7, 2010 – The Big House is going smoke-free. The University of Michigan announced that smoking will not be allowed at all in Michigan Stadium beginning with the start of the 2010 football season. Previously, smoking had been allowed in the concourse areas of the stadium, but not in the stands. The entire school campus is set to be smoke-free beginning in 2011.

(CIFL) June 5, 2010 – The Fort Wayne Firehawks shut out the Chicago Cardinals 48-0 in the regular season finale for both teams. Fort Wayne finished the season with a record of 6-4 and are the third seed heading into the Continental Indoor Football League playoffs. The Cardinals finished the season 0-10. The Firehawks themselves were shut out earlier this season by the Wisconsin Wolfpack 49-0. (See related article on April 16, 2010)

(Obituary) June 5, 2010 – Nelson Stokley, a former college football coach at Louisiana-Lafayette, dies from complications of Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 66. Stokley played quarterback at LSU and led the team to the 1966 Cotton Bowl and the 1968 Sugar Bowl. He was also an assistant coach at LSU from 1969-1973. He was the head coach at Louisiana-Lafayette from 1986-1998 as well as the school’s athletic director from 1988-1992. He coached his own son at the school, Brandon Stokley, who went on to become a wide receiver in the NFL for the Denver Broncos.

(Arena) June 4, 2010 – Aaron Garcia, quarterback of the Jacksonville Sharks, sets a new Arena Football League record for career touchdown passes in a 64-56 road win over the Chicago Rush. Garcia threw seven touchdown passes in the game and ended the night with 936 touchdowns over his 16 year AFL career. He broke the record of 931 previously held by Clint Dolezel, who won ArenaBowl XV in 2001 playing for the Grand Rapids Rampage and finished his playing career with the Dallas Desperados in 2008.

(Obituary) June 2, 2010 – Joe Gardi, a former head football coach at Division I-AA Hostra University, dies after suffering a stroke at the age of 71. Gardi coached at the school from 1990-2005 and posted a 119-62-2 record. He was also an assistant coach in the NFL with the New York Jets from 1976-1984. Hofstra dropped its football program following the 2009 season. (See related article on December 2, 2009)

May

(NFL) May 28, 2010 – Two employees of the Dallas Cowboys reach an out-of-court settlement with the Pennsylvania company that built the team’s practice bubble. Special teams coach Joe DeCamillas and team scout Rick Behm two were injured when the team’s practice bubble collapsed in a wind storm last year. Behm was paralyzed from the waist down and DeCamillas suffered a broken vertebrate in his back. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed. The structure collapsed in winds estimated at 55-65 mph, but it was built to withstand winds of 90 mph. (See related article on May 2, 2009)

(College) May 27, 2010 - Fourteen new members are selected for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. The players include wide receiver Desmond Howard from Michigan, defensive lineman Dennis Byrd of North Carolina State, center Ronnie Caveness of Arkansas, defensive lineman Ray Childress of Texas A&M, guard Randy Cross UCLA, running back Sam Cunningham of USC, quarterback Mark Herrmann of Purdue, wide receiver Clarkston Hines of Duke, defensive back Chet Moeller of Navy, halfback Jerry Stovall of LSU, linebacker Alfred Williams of Colorado and the late Pat Tillman, who played linebacker at Arizona State. Coaches include Gene Stallings of Alabama and Barry Alvarez of Wisconsin. Howard won the Heisman Trophy in 1991. The official inductions will occur in December at an awards dinner in New York and enshrinement will take place in the summer of 2011 in South Bend, Indiana.

(CIFL) May 26, 2010 – The Marion Mayhem of the Continental Indoor Football League have ceased operations due to financial problems. The team was the last original member of the league which began in 2006. The remaining regular season games on the Mayhem’s schedule will be counted as wins for the opposing teams. (See related article on March 9, 2010)

(NFL) May 25, 2010 – The NFL announced that Super Bowl XLVIII will be played at the new Giants Stadium in New Jersey on February 2, 2014. It is the first time that the game will be held in a cold weather city without a domed stadium.

(NFL) May 24, 2010 – The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the NFL must be considered 32 separate teams and not a single entity when it comes to selling official team jerseys and hats. The ruling came about because of a lawsuit brought by American Needle, Incorporated. The company was upset when the NFL signed an exclusive 10-year deal for team apparel with Reebok in 2001. American Needle had been supplying the league with official team caps. The Supreme Court ruling overturned a previous ruling by a lower court.

(Obituary) May 21, 2010 – Stan Jones, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, dies of heart disease at the age of 78. Jones played college football at the University of Maryland and helped lead the team to a national championship in 1953. He joined the Chicago Bears in 1954 and played for the team through 1962. He was traded to the Washington Redskins in 1963, which was his final season as a player. Jones went to seven straight Pro Bowls from 1955-1961. He was one of the last two-way players in the NFL playing on the offensive and defensive lines. Jones then became an assistant coach as well as a strength and conditioning coach in the NFL. He worked for the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots, retiring in 1992. He came out of retirement shortly after that, however, to join the Scottish Claymores of NFL Europe. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991. 

(CFL) May 20, 2010 – A ground breaking ceremony is held on the sight of a new 33,000 seat stadium for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. Cost of the stadium is $115 million and it is set to be completed in time for the 2012 season. The stadium will be located on the campus of the University of Manitoba and will be home to the school’s football team as well.

(CFL) May 20, 2010 – Businessman David Braley, who is the owner of the Toronto Argonauts and the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League, is appointed to the Canadian Senate by the Prime Minister. Braley at one time was also the owner of the CFL Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

(IFL) May 19, 2010 – The Indoor Football League announced that the Alaska Wild will be a traveling team for the remainder of the season due to financial troubles. The remaining three home games on the Wild’s schedule have been suspended at this time.

(Obituary) May 14, 2010 – Norman Hand, who was a defensive tackle for 10 years in the NFL, dies of hypertensive cardiovascular disease at the age of 37. Hand played college football at Mississippi and was drafted in the fifth round of the 1995 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. He played for the Dolphins from 1995-1996. He also played for the San Diego Chargers (1997-1999), New Orleans Saints (2000-2002), Seattle Seahawks (2003) and the New York Giants (2004).

(College) May 11, 2010 – Four players and two coaches will make up the Divisional Class of this year’s College Football Hall of Fame inductions in South Bend, Indiana. The coaches are Willie Jeffries, who coached at Wichita State, Howard and South Carolina State and Ted Kessinger, who coached at Bethany. The players include Troy Brown, a wide receiver from Marshall, Emerson Boozer, a halfback from Maryland Eastern Shore, tight end Mil Morin who played at Massachusetts and Brian Kelly, a linebacker from California Lutheran. Inductions will take place on July 16-17.

(College) May 10, 2010 – The University of California announced that it will play its 2011 home football games at AT&T Park, home of the MLB San Francisco Giants. The change in venue is due to renovations that will be taking place at Memorial Stadium. The college stadium holds 71,700 fans, but the seating capacity for football at AT&T Park will only be about 45,000.

(UFL) May 5, 2010 – The nickname for the Omaha franchise of the United Football League is announced. The team will be known as the Omaha Nighthawks. The team logo and colors will be announced at a later date. (See related article on April 15, 2010)

(Obituary) May 3, 2010 – Nick Rogers, who was a linebacker in the NFL for four years, dies in a single-car accident at the age of 30. Rogers played defensive end in college at Georgia Tech and was drafted in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played for the Minnesota Vikings in 2002 and 2003. In 2004, he played for the Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts. He also played in three games for the Miami Dolphins in 2005. In 2008, Rogers played in the Arena Football League for the Colorado Crush.

(CFL) May 2, 2010 – The Canadian Football League held its annual college player draft. With the first overall selection, the Saskatchewan Roughriders selected linebacker Shomari Williams from Queen’s University. A total of 47 Canadian players were selected over six rounds by the eight CFL teams.

(Arena) May 1, 2010 – Head coach Tim Marcum of the Tampa Bay Storm becomes the first coach in the Arena Football League to earn his 200th victory. The milestone came as a result of a 62-61 win over the visiting Arizona Rattlers. Marcum’s overall AFL record is now 200-95.

(Obituary) May 1, 2010 – Bob Karmelowicz, who was an assistant coach in the NFL and at the college level for over three decades, dies at the age of 60. Karmelowicz played college football at the University of Bridgeport. He went on to coach in college at Washington State, Illinois, UNLV, Texas-El Paso, Massachusetts, Arizona State and Miami. For the past 18 years he was an assistant coach in the NFL with the Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins, Cincinnati Bengals and, most recently, the Detroit Lions.  

April

(Media) April 25, 2010 – Television ratings for the NFL Draft on ESPN were the highest ever for the network. The three-day telecast drew 3.7 million viewers and was up 27 percent over the 2009 draft coverage.

(UFL) April 23, 2010 – The United Football League announced that Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA Dallas Mavericks, has become an investor in the league. He will not, however, be a team owner.

(College) April 23, 2010 – The Mid-American Conference announced that it now has agreements with five post season bowl games. They have already had ties to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in Detroit, the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Alabama and the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho. The MAC now also has ties to two secondary bowls, the Papajohns.com Bowl in Birmingham, AL and the new Dallas Football Classic at the Cotton Bowl. (See related article on April 8, 2010)   

(College) April 23, 2010 – The NCAA announced that it has approved 35 bowl games for the next four years. This was the first time that the NCAA has approved bowls on a four-year cycle, mainly because that’s how long conferences have agreements with the bowl games. The bowls will still be reviewed each year. Applications from two new bowl games were also rejected by the NCAA, the Cure Bowl in Orlando and the Christmas Bowl in Los Angeles.

(NFL) April 22, 2010 – The first round of the NFL Draft was conducted for the first time in prime time. Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford was the first overall selection by the St. Louis Rams.

(College) April 18, 2010 – The blue artificial turf at Boise State is being replaced by Field Turf free of charge. Fans have complained for the past two years that there was a glare coming from the light-reflecting fibers of the playing surface. The glare could be seen from the stands as well as on television. The replacement will begin on June 21 and should be completed by July 30. 

(Obituary) April 17, 2010 – Michael Martin, a former team executive in the NFL, dies of cancer at the age 68. Martin was an assistant general manager with the New York Jets during their Super Bowl championship season in 1968. Martin went on to become vice-president of the rival World Football League in 1974. In 1975, he became the general manager of the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League. The Cosmos won league titles in 1977 and 1980. Martin’s father, Townsend Martin, was one of the original owners of the Jets.

(College) April 17, 2010 - The spring game at Alabama attracted a crowd of 91,312 fans to Bryant-Denny Stadium. The record for attendance at a spring game is 95,722 which occurred last year at Ohio State. (See related article on April 25, 2009)

(CIFL) April 16, 2010 – In a rare occurrence for Indoor football, the Wisconsin Wolfpack shut out the Fort Wayne Firehawks 49-0 at Fort Wayne. It was the fifth shutout ever in the Continental Indoor Football League, which began playing as the Great Lakes Indoor Football League in 2006.    

(UFL) April 15, 2010 – The United Football League announced that it has granted an expansion team to Omaha, Nebraska. A “Name the Team” contest will be conducted to solicit fan input. In 2010, the new Omaha team will play its home games at Rosenblatt Stadium, which is the home of the Omaha Royals minor league baseball team as well as the College Baseball World Series. Eventually, the team will play at the new TD Ameritrade Park, which is set to open in 2011. The UFL now has five teams heading into its second season this fall.   

(College) April 15, 2010 – The NCAA approves three new rule changes. Wedge blocking on kickoffs will now be banned as well as messages on the black stickers many players wear under their eyes during games. Those changes will take effect in 2010. The NCAA also addressed taunting. Currently, if a player is flagged for taunting on his way into the end zone, the team is given a 15-yard penalty on the extra point, two-point conversion attempt or the ensuing kickoff. Under the new rule, which will take effect in 2011, the penalty will be enforced from the spot of the foul and the score will be disallowed.

(CFL) April 14, 2010 – The Canadian Football League announced that it has made a change to its overtime rule. Teams will now be required to either run or pass for two points in overtime rather than kick an extra point. Under CFL rules, each team gets a possession from the opponent’s 35-yard line in overtime.

(College) April 14, 2010 - The Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame inducted six new members. They are quarterback Joe Montana and receiver Kris Haines of Notre Dame, tailback Phil Harris of Texas, middle guard Warren Lyles of Alabama, head coach Jackie Sherrill of Texas A&M and Mississippi State and Wilber Evans, who was the first executive director of the Cotton Bowl.

(College) April 12, 2010 - The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in Detroit announced that it has secured commitments from the Big Ten and Mid-American Conferences to provide teams to the bowl game thru 2013. The Big Ten will send its eight bowl eligible team while the MAC will send its number one or number two team. If the Big Ten does not have enough bowl eligible teams, then the bowl will get a team from the Sun Belt Conference. 

(NFL) April 11, 2010 - Texas Stadium, the former home of the Dallas Cowboys, is imploded. The Irving, Texas landmark was home to the Cowboys from 1971 thru 2008.

(College) April 8, 2010 - The Mid-American Conference signs a four-year deal to send its third bowl eligible team to the Humanitarian Bowl. This agreement comes as a result of the cancellation of the International bowl. The MAC team will face a team from the Western Athletic Conference. (See related article on March 25, 2010)

(UFL) April 6, 2010 - The former United Football League franchise known as the California Redwoods has a new name. The team will now be known as the Sacramento Mountain Lions. (See related article on March 3, 2010)

(College) April 2, 2010 - The Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina will have a new sponsor after this year's game is played. The bowl will seek a new sponsor for 2011 after failing to come to terms with their current sponsor on an extention. The bowl was previously known as the Continental Tire Bowl.

March

(College) March 31, 2010 - The University of Michigan is looking for suspects who vandalized the playing field at Michigan Stadium over the weekend. A six-inch by four-foot piece of the block "M" at the center of the field was cut from the artificial turf. The cost of the damage is estimated at $1,000.

(College) March 25, 2010 - The International Bowl, which has been played in Toronto since 2007, is folding after it was unable to renew its contract with the Big East Conference. The Big East recently signed an agreement to send a team to the new Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. The International Bowl hopes to return in the future. (See related article on March 9, 2010)

(Obituary) March 25, 2010 - Elijah Alexander, a former NFL linebacker, dies of bone marrow cancer at the age of 39. Alexander played college football at Kansas State and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1992. He also played for the Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts and Oakland Raiders. Alexander ended his playing career after the 2001 season. His cancer was diagnosed in 2005.

(NFL) March 23, 2010 - NFL owners approved a change in the overtime rule, but only for the playoffs. Beginning this season, if a team scores a touchdown on the first possession in overtime, the game is over. However, if the team with the first possession scores a field goal, then the other team gets a possession of their own. If the second team also scores a field goal, then the game becomes sudden death from that point on. The change passed by a vote of 28-4. The only teams to vote against the change were the Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens.

(College) March 18, 2010 - The University of Michigan will host Notre Dame in the first ever night game at The Big House next year. The game is set for September 10, 2011 and will be televised nationally.

(Arena) March 16, 2010 - The Milwaukee Iron of the Arena Football League have guaranteed that they will make the playoff this year, or season ticket holders will get next year's season ticket package for free.

(SIFL) March 16, 2010 - The Houston Lightning of the Southern Indoor Football League will not participate in the 2010 season. The team was not able to secure an arena for the upcoming season.

(UFL) March 14, 2010 - The new Hartford, Connecticut team in the United Football League finally has a name. The team, which played last season as the New York Sentinels, will now be known as the Hartford Colonials. (See related article on February 16, 2010)

(Obituary) March 13, 2010 - Cliff Livingston, a former linebacker in the NFL, dies from complications of dementia and Parkinson's disease at the age of 79. Livingston played college football at UCLA and signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 1954. He played in four championship games while with the Giants including the famous 1958 overtime game against the Baltimore Colts. He was traded to the Minnesota Vikings after the 1961 season and played there for one season. Livingston finished his playing career form 1963-1965 with the Los Angeles Rams. After retiring as a player, Livingston worked as an actor and stuntman. He was also featured in ads for Schlitz Beer and Marlboro cigarettes, where he portrayed the Marlboro Man. Livingston's brother, Howie, was also a running back for the Giants from 1944-1947 and also played for the Washington Redskins. Howie died in 1994.

(High School) March 12, 2010 - Natalie Randolph, 29, is introduced as the new head coach of the boys varsity football team at Calvin Coolidge Senior High School in Washington, D.C. Randolph is believed to be the first woman in the country to become a head coach at the varsity level. From 2006-2008, she was an assistant football coach at H. D. Woodson High School, also in Washington, D.C. Randolph played football herself as a wide receiver for the D.C. Divas from 2004-2008, first in the National Women's Football Association and later in the Independent Women's Football League. The Divas were NWFA champions in 2006.

(Obituary) March 10, 2010 - Merlin Olsen, who played in the NFL and was also an actor on television, dies of cancer at the age of 69. Olson was diagnosed with mesothelioma last year. He played college football at Utah State and won the 1961 Outland Trophy as the nation's best interior lineman. Olsen was the third overall selection in the 1962 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. He became part of the Rams' famed "Fearsome Foursome" defensive line of the 1960's along with Rosey Grier, Lamar Lundy and Deacon Jones. Olsen played for Los Angeles for 15 years before retiring as a player in 1976. He played in 14 straight Pro Bowls and was the NFL MVP in 1974. Olsen was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982. After his playing career was over, he was a broadcaster for NFL games on NBC as well as an actor. He appeared on the TV show Little House on the Prairie from 1977-1981 as well as the show Father Murphy from 1981-1983. He was also a TV spokesman for FTD Florists. The football field at Utah State was recently named in his honor and the school is making plans to erect a statue of Olsen at the southwest corner of Romney Stadium. He is also a member of the Ring of Honor at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis where the Rams play today.

(CIFL) March 9, 2010 - The Marion Mayhem of the Continental Indoor Football League will field a team in 2010 after all. A new owner for the franchise has been found. This brings the league back up to six teams for the 2010 season. (See related article on December 24, 2009)

(College) March 9, 2010 - A new college football bowl game is announced. The Pinstripe Bowl will be played for the first time this year at the new Yankee Stadium on December 30. It will feature a match up between the number three team in the Big East Conference and the number six team from the Big 12 Conference. ESPN has agreed to broadcast the bowl game for the next six years.

(UFL) March 3, 2010 - The California Redwoods of United Indoor Football announced that they are making their permanent home in Sacramento, California in 2010. Last season, the team split its home games between San Francisco and San Jose. The Redwoods will play their home games in Hornet Stadium at Sacramento State.

(NFL) March 2, 2010 – The NFL announced that the Pro Bowl will once again be played the weekend prior to the Super Bowl when it returns to Aloha Stadium in Hawaii in 2011. The date of the game is set for Sunday, January 30.

February

(Obituary) February 23, 2010 – Mosi Tatupu, a fullback and special teams player in the NFL, dies at the age of 54. The cause of death was not immediately known. Tatupu played college football at USC and was selected in the eighth round of the 1978 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. He played for the Patriots from 1978-1990 and finished his playing career with the Los Angeles Rams in 1991. After his playing career was over, he spent time as the head coach at King Philip Regional High School (where he coached his son, Lofa) and he was also an assistant coach at Division III Curry College from 2002-2007.

(College) February 22, 2010 – The thick rimmed glasses once worn by Penn State football coach Joe Paterno are auctioned off for charity. The winning bidders, a married couple who are both Penn State graduates, paid $9,000 for them. Paterno recently underwent eye surgery to correct his poor vision and does not need the glasses anymore. The money raised will go towards supporting Penn State Public Broadcasting. 

(College) February 20, 2010 – Ten individuals were inducted into the Black College Hall of Fame in Atlanta. The inaugural class of enshrinees include running back Walter Payton from Jackson State, wide receiver Jerry Rice from Mississippi State, defensive end Deacon Jones who played at South Carolina State and Mississippi Valley State, linebacker Willie Lanier of Morgan State, defensive tackle Buck Buchanan from Grambling State, running back Ben Stevenson from Tuskegee, running back Willie Galimore from Florida A&M and running back/linebacker Tank Younger from Grambling State. Also inducted were coaches Eddie Robinson of Grambling State and Jake Gaither of Florida A&M. (See related article on October 9, 2009)

(IFL) February 19, 2010 - Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon is introduced as the new owner of the Chicago Slaughter of the Indoor Football League. McMahon led the Bears to a victory over the New England Patriots in the 1985 Super Bowl.

(CIFL) February 18, 2010 - The Columbus Aces of the Continental Indoor Football League will not compete during the 2010 season due to a lack of sponsors. This now leaves the CIFL with just five teams for 2010. One team, the Miami Valley Silverbacks, is a traveling team. The Aces hope to take the field in 2011.

(AF1) February 17, 2010 - Arena Football One has changed its name. Since purchasing the assets of the former AFL a few months ago, it will now be known as the Arena Football League.

(UFL) February 16, 2010 – The New York Sentinels of the United Football League are moving to Harford, Connecticut for the 2010 season. The team will play its home games at Rentschler Field, which is located on the campus of the University of Connecticut. The team will be renamed in the coming months.

(College) February 13, 2010 - A museum dedicated to the late Grambling State head football coach Eddie Robinson opens. The museum is located in a former gymnasium on the school's campus.

(NFL) February 12, 2010 - NFL owners voted unanimously to give commissioner Roger Goodell a five-year contract extension. Goodell became commissioner in 2006 and will continue to serve the NFL through March 2015. However, he will not receive any increase in salary.

(AF1) February 9, 2010 - The NFL Network has signed a one-year agreement with Arena Football One to air a game of the week. The games will air on Fridays.

(IFL) February 9, 2010 - The Amarillo Dusters, formerly of arenafootball2, have a new name. Now that the team has joined the Indoor Football League, it will now be known as the Amarillo Venom.

(CFL) February 9, 2010 - The Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League have a new owner. He is David Braley, the owner of Orlick Industries Ltd, a Canadian auto parts manufacturer. He also currently owns another team in the CFL, the British Columbia Lions.

(Media) February 8, 2010 – Yesterday’s Super Bowl XLIV was the highest rated show ever on television. An estimated 106.5 million viewers watched the game. It beat out the 1983 final episode of the TV series M*A*S*H.

(LFL) February 7, 2010 - The Los Angeles Temptation defeated the Chicago Bliss 27-14 in the Lingerie Bowl. The championship game of the Lingerie Football League was played in South Florida.

(NFL) February 7, 2010 - Super Bowl XLIV is played in Miami. The New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts by the score of 31-17. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees was named the game's MVP.

(NFL) February 6, 2010 -  The members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010 are announced. They are guard Russ Grimm of the Washington Redskins, wide receiver Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks, running back Emmett Smith of the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals, cornerback Dick LeBeau of the Detroit Lions, running back Floyd Little of the Denver Broncos, linebacker Ricky Jackson of the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers and defensive tackle John Randle of the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks.

(Obituary) February 4, 2010 - "Bullet" Bill Dudley, who was the NFL MVP in 1946, dies at the age of 88. Dudley played college football at Virginia and was the Number 1 overall selection in the 1942 draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. After his rookie season, he spent the next two years serving in the Army during World War II. Dudley returned to play for the Steelers in 1945 and 1946. He also played for the Detroit Lions from 1947-1949 and the Washington Redskins from 1950-1952. Dudley was a running back, a passer, punter, field goal kicker and he also played defensive back. After his nine-year NFL playing career was over, he was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1966-1975 and Virginia's Board of Visitors from 1976-1984. Dudley was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1956, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966 and the Virginia Sports Hall of fame in 1972. In 1990, the annual Dudley Award was created to honor the top college football player in the state of Virginia.

(AF1) February 4, 2010- The Dallas franchise of Arena Football One finally unveils its name and logo. The team will be known as the Dallas Vigilantes.  

(IFL) February 4, 2010 - The Arkansas Twisters, formerly of arenafootball2, have a new name and logo. Now that the team is a member of the Indoor Football League, it will be known as the Arkansas Diamonds.

(CFL) February, 2, 2010 – Five new members were selected for induction into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. They are punter Bob Cameron, who played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, wide receiver Don Narcisse, who played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, defensive player Elfrid Payton, who played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Montreal Alouettes, Toronto Argonauts, Edmonton Eskimos, Baltimore Stallions and Shreveport Pirates and quarterback Tracy Ham, who played for the Edmonton Eskimos, Toronto Argonauts, Montreal Alouettes and Baltimore Stallions. Ham led the Stallions to the Grey Cup championship in 1995, the only U.S. team to ever win the league title. Also selected was Joe Pistilli, who was involved in junior football in Quebec for 42 years and was with Football Canada for 29 years. 

(NFL) February 1, 2010 - Television ratings for yesterday's Pro Bowl game in Miami were the highest since 2000. The game, which was televised on ESPN, was watched by an average of 12.3 million viewers. This was the first time that the Pro Bowl had been played the weekend prior to the Super Bowl. It was also the first time since 1979 that the game was not played in Hawaii.

January