XFL Football Promises Same Game - New Attitude

Failure is the benchmark for upstarts seeking a piece of the action in professional sports: the American Basketball Association struggled and sputtered along for nine seasons during the 60s and 70s, leaving behind the adoption of the 3-point shot and the merger of four of it's teams with the NBA as it's only lasting legacy.

The World Football League and the United States Football League both self-destructed from a combination of fan apathy, financial bungling, and low television ratings while the NHL's lone competition, the World Hocky Association, proved to be only a minor irritant before it's long overdue collapse.

Stepping in as the next would-be challenger is the XFL, brainchild of World Wrestling Federation honcho Vince McMahon, A latter-day P.T. Barnum who's marketing genius and flair for the extreme turned the once low profile organization into a billion-dollar empire.

Expounding the idea that the NFL has grown bloated and stodgy with it's indifferent, millionaire players and stringent rules that hinder full-blown contact, McMahon's new league touts a return to the guts and glory days of pro football when smash-mouth, in-your-face play was the norm.

Tweaking the rules to promote more action and a quicker pace, the XFL has abolished the fair catch, which allows players to signal for no tackling by opposing players. Instead, punt returners will have a 5-yard "halo" of protection which members of the kicking team are forbidden to enter until contact is made with the ball. Punts traveling 25 yards or more are considered a live ball, recoverable by either team.

The nearly automatic kick for point-after-touchdown has also been replaced with a one-down play to run or pass into the end zone from the opponent's 2-yard line, while interceptions and fumbles can be run back for a one-point score for the defenders.

Other rule changes of note:

-The play clock is shortened to 35 seconds between plays and 25 seconds following any clock stoppage.

-Kickoffs MUST be run out of the end zone.

-Receivers or defenders need only one foot in bounds when making a reception.

-The "in the grasp" rule to protect quarterbacks in danger of being tackled has been nullified.

-The coin toss deciding the opening kickoff has been scrapped in favor of a dash for the ball, placed at midfield, between one player from each team.

Other inovations will allow an unprecedented chance to get closer to the action than ever before with cameras inside the huddle and suspended by wire overhead. Twenty players on each team will have microphones implanted inside their helmets to pick up the sounds of bones breaking and trash-talk while TV commentators and cameramen will prowl the sidelines to question coaches about blown plays and provide access to each team's respective locker rooms at halftime.

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