Football.

It's what makes summer's end tolerable.  The spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down. 

This year, at least here in Sacramento, the medicine is gonna go down especially easy.

This year, Sacramento has a team to call it's own.

On Monday, the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League opened training camp at the Harvard Corporate Center.

Tuesday, UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue visited with the team, the first stop on a tour that will take him to each of the five cities that are currently home to UFL franchises.

I attended both afternoon practices and was among the handful of media who got to speak with commissioner Huyghue. 

As far as I'm concerned, summer can't be over fast enough. I'm ready for some football.  Mountain Lions football.

I hear the doubters who have seen teams such as the Sacramento Surge and the Sacramento Gold Miners go the way of the dodo.  But this isn't the WFL, USFL, XFL, WLAF, ALF or any of the other many leagues that have come and gone over the years.  The UFL has a really good chance of succeeding where so many other leagues have failed.  Here's why:

–The UFL picked the right man to lead it.  

    Commissioner Huyghue spent the better part of an hour answering myriad questions.  His passion and charisma were on display.  He believes in this league, and you can't help but believe in him.  If you aren't swayed by his words, then there is always his experience. He was the first general manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team he helped lead to a 14-2 record and the AFC Championship Game in only it's second year of existence. 

–They're in the right places. It was a mistake to have teams last year in New York and San Francisco.  Moving those teams to non-NFL cities (Hartford and Sacramento) was a move that had to be made.  When asked about his vision for the future of the league, Huyghue said that they'd hope to grow to as many as 12 teams, all in non-NFL markets.  He mentioned Portland, Los Angeles, San Antonio, Salt Lake City  and even Vancouver, British Columbia, and Monterrey, Mexico, as possibilities. 

–They're playing at the right time.  Fall is football season. If you want your league to survive, it has to play it's games in the fall.   As much as we like football in this country, after the Super Bowl, football season is over.  Spring is baseball’s territory. 

–They're playing the right game. Football as God intended. The field is 100 yards long.  Four downs to make 10 yards.  Touchdowns are worth six points.  The game is 60 minutes long, divided into 15-minute quarters.  No scrums for the ball, no walls on the field, no gimmicks.  It's the identical game to the one we grew up watching and playing. 

–They're really good.  The UFL has a lot of talent.  The rosters are chock-full of players who starred in Division 1 college football, many of whom have NFL experience.  Heck, Sacramento alone has three players who I've had on my NFL fantasy teams in years past.  Daunte Cullpepper and Jeff Garcia are the starting quarterbacks for Sacramento and Omaha.  You could make the argument that they are better than the guys starting for the Raiders and the Niners.  The difference in talent between the last 10 guys on an NFL roster and the first 10 off is negligible at best.  

In certain instances, some of the guys who don't make the team may be more talented than some who do. 

–They aren't trying to compete against the NFL.  The NFL is a behemoth. The UFL isn't going anywhere – competing against the NFL would be folly.  If anything, the UFL will be acting in conjunction with the NFL, as a de facto developmental league.  

The seasons run concurrently, with the UFL's ending in November and playing its games on Saturday evenings.  Every NFL team has scouts assigned to the UFL.  

Last season, 43 UFL players were picked up by NFL teams following the UFL season.  Football is a violent sport, and injuries are always happening. In years past, if you were a player who didn't  catch on with a team out of training camp, you'd spend your fall on the couch waiting for a call.  Now there are slots for 260-odd players to spend their fall playing football, getting into game shape, learning from great coaching staffs and becoming better football players.  

Huyghue asked rhetorically,  "If an NFL team needs to add a player in mid-November, why would they ever pick anyone up who wasn't playing in the UFL?"  Left unsaid: They wouldn't.  It's in the NFL's best interest for the UFL to succeed, and even grow.

If you too are ready for some football, the Mountain Lions practice twice a day at the Harvard Corporate Center at 2241 Harvard St.  Morning practice is at 8:15, and afternoon practice is at 3:15. The practices are open to the public.