For football fans still suffering from the San Francisco 49ers’ devastating loss to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship game, the Super Bowl may have lost some of its sparkle. But with Sacramento’s great bar scene, one can’t help but be drawn to the festivities. The Giants face the New England Patriots in Sunday’s game, a rematch of the Super Bowl game four years ago in which the Giants ended the Patriots’ perfect season. The Sacramento Press found these spots to celebrate – or drown your sorrows. BarWest Burgers & Wings 2724 J St. 476-4550 19 flatscreen televisions, one 10-foot projection screen At BarWest, the festivities start at 9 a.m. with an eating contest. The brave can t

Sacramento State hosted the 58th annual Causeway Classic football game, its rivalry game against UC Davis Saturday at Hornet Stadium. The Hornets were hoping to win its third Causeway Classic game in four years, but unfortunately the Aggies did not let that happen as Davis defeated Sac State 23-19. Sac State did not score until the second quarter when freshman defensive lineman Ben Cowger sacked Davis quarterback Randy Wright, causing Wright to fumble the ball into Davis’ end zone allowing Cowger to recover the ball for a Hornet touchdown. Davis however would answer back with a touchdown of its own when freshman running back Austin Edmondson rushed to the end zone from the 8-yard line

The Sacramento Mountain Lions defeated the Virginia Destroyers in overtime Saturday evening 27-20 at Hornet Stadium. This is the first win for the Mountain Lions this season, making them 1-3. Despite having lost their other three games this season, wide receiver Joe West said he knew that the win was coming. “It was exactly what we expected, we prepared for this, and this is the outcome,” West said. The majority of the game seemed like a near stalemate in favor of the Destroyers. In the first quarter Virginia scored a touchdown and proceeded to hold back the Mountain Lions into the second quarter. With 11 minutes left on the clock, Sacramento grabbed a field goal and then held back the

A fun and exciting game between the Omaha Nighthawks and the Sacramento Mountain Lions took place on Saturday. The second game of the season started with Jeff Wolfert kicking off to Mountain Lions Aaron Woods. The fleet-footed Woods returned the ball 15 yards and the game was underway. Hornet Stadium was filled; over 17,600 spectators of all ages were in the stands cheering on the home team. Fans came to watch an exciting game and enjoy great food and the company of hometown supporters on the sunny day. The game started with some momentum for the Mountain Lions but ended with a missed field goal. The Nighthawks drove down to the Mountain Lions end of the field but they too missed a f

Did you know Sacramento has a professional football team?  That's right.  The Sacramento Mountain Lions, one of the four United Football League teams (the other three being Las Vegas, Omaha, and Virginia) start their season this Saturday at CSUS Hornet Stadium.  They face two-time champion Las Vegas Locomotives in what is sure to be an exciting opening game. Rookie Sacramento quarterback, Ryan Coburn, looks like he has the potential to be a good quarterback, but the Vegas defense is powerful, and in the past four meetings Las Vegas defense picked off eight passes, and allowed only one touchdown pass.  But Sacramento has new wide receiver, Reggie Willams, who played five seasons with the J

The United Football League announced today that it is moving its 2011 season game schedule to begin in mid-September, consistent with the past two years. The new season had been slated to begin on August 13, 2011. “We originally moved up our season to meet fan demand during the slow month of August,” said UFL Commissioner MICHAEL HUYGHUE. “We felt, and still feel, that playing meaningful games during August would benefit the UFL. Unfortunately the uncertainty gripping pro sports given the NFL and NBA lockouts created a destabilizing impact throughout the industry. Ultimately this delayed our ability to secure television agreements and other related business matters. “We believe though th

The Sacramento Lady Lions, the official cheer squad for the Mountain Lions UFL team, held their final team tryouts Friday night at Dream Ultra Lounge. The event bore little resemblance to last month’s preliminaries, which were six hours long, closed to the public and held in a barn in Rio Linda. The finals had a party atmosphere, befitting the locale. The public was welcome, so the 51 hopefuls were supported by friends and family as they vied for the 32 spots on the team. When I arrived at 5:30 p.m., there was already a line to get in, perhaps 100 strong. Dream is basically a large, square venue with an ample, curved, wrap-around bar smack dab in the middle. As you enter the club, the

A Feb. 4 breach-of-contract lawsuit brought against the United Football League concerning the Sacramento Mountain Lions Team is being resolved out of court. The lawsuit filed Feb. 4 by Runyon Saltzman & Einhorn Inc., a public relations and marketing firm representing the Mountain Lions, sought more than $250,000 in the lawsuit. “It is being resolved,” said Scott Rose, vice president of Runyon, Saltzman and Einhorn. “We’re in the process of working through that right now and signing agreements and arrangements for payments.” Rose added that both parties are pleased with the outcome, and that the agreement was reached within the last week. “It’s being amicably resolved and will be settle

As I got ready to lay my head down on the pillow for the evening, I started wondering what my son would be doing when he grew up.  With all his talent, the possibilities were endless.  Visions of grandeur were dancing in my head.  He’ll be running down that 300-foot dark-green pasture – picking them up and putting them down, crossing white line after white line. They say he’s lightning-fast. Great hands, quick feet. No one can catch him, and Lord knows they’ve tried. A natural. A definite “blue-chipper,” they whisper in the stands. But what about the beating he’ll take? Being hammered game after game after game. It takes a toll, you know. I know he has pads on, but so does everyone else.

Former Sacramento Mountain Lions safety Andrew Sendejo has been promoted to the Dallas Cowboys active roster. He was signed to the Cowboys practice squad on Nov. 24 and he joined the active roster today. The Cowboys cut defensive end Jimmy Saddler-McQueen to open up a spot for Sendejo. Sendejo, a rookie from Rice University and a Texas native, will be in uniform when the Cowboys play at the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, December 5. “It’s awesome being moved up to the active roster and my goal now is to stay there and contribute wherever I can,” said Sendejo, who grew up a Cowboys fan. Sendejo participated in his first practice with the Cowboys today, although it was a light one. He wil

The planets and stars aligned with Hornet Stadium Saturday night as the Sacramento Mountain Lions absolutely embarrassed the Omaha Nighthawks 41-3 in front of 20,000 live fans. Omaha’s loss eliminated them from championship game contention and may give Sacramento (4-4) a chance to compete against Las Vegas (5-2) if Omaha can defeat Florida (4-3) next week. Sacramento coach Dennis Green said the Mountain Lions lived up to their potential this game and, playing the way they did, they are as good as any team in the UFL. “This was clearly our best game of the year,” Green said. Right from the coin toss Sacramento did everything right, opening the game with a flea flicker from running back

Are you ready for some women's football? Even though the Sacramento Sirens, the local professional woman’s football team, doesn't kick off the new season until next April or so, like any pro sports team, they’re working year-round to put a better product on the field. On Saturday, Nov. 6 and Dec. 4, the Sirens will hold tryouts for next year’s team of prospective football players and future superstars of the gridiron at Will Rogers Jr. High School. Will Rogers is located at 4924 Dewey Drive in Fair Oaks. After 10 years of banging helmets in Sacramento, several of the longtime stalwarts are retiring this season, which will open up many new spots on the team for prospective players. The S

The Sacramento Mountain Lions UFL football team hosted the Hartford Colonials Saturday night at the Spanos Sports Complex at CSUS. The Lions entered the game hoping to scare away the ghosts from their loss to the Colonials in the season opener in September. However, Hartford edged out Sacramento, 27-26, in the closing seconds of Saturday's game. Over 13,000 fans, many of them in Halloween costumes, filled the stadium just hours after the wet weather had subsided. Sacramento took an early lead in the first quarter when John David Washington caught a short pass from Daunte Culpepper and ran it in for a touchdown. It was Washington's first touchdown of the season and his father, Denzel, was

The Sacramento Mountain Lions are looking to avenge their loss in this season’s opening game with a victory over the Hartford Colonials Saturday night. “We’ve got to try to see if we can get that win back from Hartford, and with three games to go, I think we’ve just got to get out and play very well in the second half of the season,” Head Coach Dennis Green said after the team’s practice Wednesday. The Colonials (1-4) beat the Mountain Lions (2-3) in the Sept. 18 opener. The teams are part of the United Football League, a professional league in its second season. Last year’s season was six games, but this year’s season has been expanded to eight games. “You play everybody twice, and the

Game day discount for fans who bring in food for River City Food Bank FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – SACRAMENTO, CA – Tuesday, October 26, 2010 – The Sacramento Mountain Lions and Goodwill Industries are partnering to offer a $5 ticket discount to fans that make a donation to the River City Food Bank. Donations will be accepted at all Goodwill locations as well as the Goodwill truck in FanFest at Saturday’s game. The food bank, which burned down early last Thursday morning, is in need of supplies and food to continue to serve the community members who seek aid every day. As the Mountain Lions’ charity partner, the Goodwill has been offering a $5 ticket discount to people who make a donation t

Daunte Culpepper threw four interceptions and fumbled once in the Mountain Lions’ 26-3 home loss to the Las Vegas Locomotives Friday night at Hornet Stadium. In the post-game press conference, Lions Coach Dennis Green was visibly upset at his team’s performance. “We had so many opportunities, and gave them all away,” Green said. Coming off of a bye week and unimpressive rushing games prior to Friday night (just 146 yards rushing on 63 carries in three games), the Lions had a considerably more effective ground game with Cory Ross running for 71 yards on 15 carries and Steve Baylark running for 46 yards on only four carries. Green remarked that his team moved the ball well, with run bloc

In their first Big Sky Conference game of the season, the Sacramento State football team upset No. 20-ranked Weber State 24-17 in front of 7,000 fans at Hornet Stadium on Saturday night. The Hornets improve to a 2-1 overall record and 1-0 in Big Sky Conference play for the season. The win on Saturday night puts them in a first-place tie with Eastern Washington University in the Big Sky Conference standings. The Hornets’ ground game was impressive, totaling 245 yards for the night against the Wildcats’ 102 yards. Running back Bryan Hilliard notched his second consecutive 100-yard rushing game, finishing with 136 yards on 32 carries and a touchdown made in the last minutes of the game. Run

With only two weeks left in training camp before the United Football League commences regular season play the Sacramento Mountain Lions coaches are taking their final looks before deciding on their final roster. Coaches yelled instructions during practice and the players went through the drills at the Harvard Corporate Center. Around my work there’s been a lot of fantasy football talk as the National Football League begins league play next Thursday and the excitement is in the air. UFL games will be played on Saturday evenings so, if you like football you can watch professional football games at least 3 different nights a week. Some people might think that’s too much but I tend to differ w

The UC Davis Aggies football team will have their hands full when they open the 2010 season against the California Golden Bears. But don’t expect an upset according to long-time Cal radio play-by-play voice, Joe Starkey, who appeared this week in an episode of the Davis Sports Deli Podcast. “I don’t see anything like it did with Stanford five years ago,” Starkey said, referencing UCD’s improbable 20-17 victory over the Cardinal in 2006. “I just think you’re talking apples and oranges,” he continued. “Stanford at that time was a very, very bad football team with poor coaching. Everything about the program was in trouble. This is not the Cal football team.” Indeed, the Aggies will have a

Interview with Sacramento Mountain Lions quarterback Daunte Culpepper. Culpepper was a star with the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL and also played for the Oakland Raiders.