Where: TD Ameritrade Park
Radio: 1620 AM KOZN
GOING TO THE GAME?
Gates at TD Ameritrade Park will open at 5 p.m. for Thursday night's 7 p.m. game between Omaha and Virginia.
Tailgating will be allowed in the stadium's parking lots, which will open at 4 p.m. The lots will close 90 minutes after the game, and there will be charcoal dumpsters in the lots. Cost to park is $8.
The Nighthawks are not offering shuttle service from alternate parking areas as the team did last season.
The UFL Experience, an interactive family fun zone, will be set up in parking lot C. A pregame concert featuring Cold Steel will begin at 5 p.m.
The Nighthawks plan a halftime fireworks display.
One made a name for himself coaching football, the other as a financial wizard.
Thursday night, Marty Schottenheimer and Joe Moglia will find themselves as unlikely adversaries. They'll lead their Virginia and Omaha teams into TD Ameritrade Park for the opening game of the UFL's third season.
Schottenheimer, whose 200 regular-season victories rank sixth all time in NFL history, is back in the game as the head coach of the Destroyers. This will be his first time on the sidelines since January 2007, when his San Diego Chargers lost a playoff game that cost him his job.
Nighthawks safety Clinton Hart was a member of that Charger team. Asked if he was surprised to see his old coach in the UFL, Hart replied, "What I am surprised at is that he's not coaching somewhere in the NFL. But we're glad to have him in the UFL. He brings some more attention to this league.''
The 67-year-old Schottenheimer spent 30 years in the NFL. He said it's unlikely there will be a 31st.
"I have no interest whatsoever in returning to the sidelines in the NFL,'' he said. "What I am excited about is taking these youngsters and trying to help them become the best players they can be. The thing I missed most in my hiatus was the interaction you have with your players and the opportunity to teach and instruct.
"I was not a good player myself, but if I can take some of the knowledge I have gained and use it to complement my players' skill sets, they have a chance to be better players than I was. It gives me a chance to live vicariously through them.''
Moglia's absence from the game was much longer than Schottenheimer's. He spent 25 years in the investment business, building a successful executive career at Merrill Lynch and Omaha-based TD Ameritrade.
The itch to return to coaching, where he spent the first 16 years of his professional life, got the best of Moglia a few years ago. He spent the past two seasons as a volunteer at Nebraska, then accepted an offer to coach in the fledgling UFL last fall.
That adds a touch of irony to Thursday's matchup. Moglia originally was hired to coach the expansion franchise in Virginia. When the league decided last January to move its Florida franchise to Virginia, the UFL gave Moglia a chance to stay in Omaha and coach the Nighthawks.
He accepted, and the UFL eventually hired Schottenheimer to become Virginia's coach.
Moglia has stressed since taking the Omaha job that his mission is to give the city a football team that it can be proud of. That's kept him from getting wrapped up on the significance of getting back on the sidelines.
"I've been so focused on preparing the team, focused on what has to be done one day at a time, that I haven't worried what my role is going to be," Moglia said. "My concern has been with the process of getting this team ready for Thursday.''
Moglia, Schottenheimer and their players had to endure uncertainty just to get to this point. The UFL remains on shaky financial ground after losing $100 million in its first two years of operation. The league's directors considered pulling the plug during the offseason.
The original plan for this season to begin training camp in July and games in August had to be scrapped. A final decision on this season's fate came early last month, though league officials decided to suspend operations of the franchise in Hartford, Conn., and play on with four teams.
Commissioner Michael Huyghue said Wednesday that the UFL's owners remain committed, not just for 2011 but for future seasons.
"Our ownership group is strong,'' he said. "The end game for us is the same — keep playing great football."
Schottenheimer believes that's doable.
"The quality of the players has exceeded what I thought it would be," he said. "Frankly, I didn't know what to expect coming in. But the players I'm working with here are good football players.
"It's a matter of getting them integrated into our system, but I expect to see some exciting and entertaining football."
VIRGINIA DESTROYERS TO WATCH
• RB DOMINIC RHODES: One of the heroes of Indianapolis' victory in Super Bowl XLI, having rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown. Set UFL records for rushing yards (547) and rushing touchdowns (10) with Florida in 2010. NFL career totals include rushing for 3,286 yards and 26 touchdowns, catching 147 passes for 1,025 yards and four touchdowns and returning 147 kicks for 3,374 yards and two touchdowns.
• QB CHRIS GREISEN: Led Tuskers to UFL championship game last season after being elevated to starter in final three regular-season games. Threw for 664 yards and five touchdowns in the three victories, then passed for 346 yards and ran for two touchdowns in title-game loss to Las Vegas. As a collegian, directed Northwest Missouri State to the 1998 Division II national championship.
• CB AHMAD CARROLL: Selected in first round (25th pick overall) of the 2004 NFL draft by Green Bay. Has appeared in 57 NFL games, starting 28, for the Packers, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Jets. Has recorded three interceptions and 127 tackles in the NFL. Starred in football and track at Arkansas.
• DE JAY ALFORD: Former Penn State star was a third-round pick of the New York Giants in 2007 and played with the Super Bowl champions that season. Had a key sack of New England quarterback Tom Brady in final minute to help preserve Super Bowl victory. Saw action in 32 games, with three starts, in two seasons with the Giants. Knee injury forced him to miss the 2009 season, and he played four games with Oakland last season.
• CB KEIWAN RATLIFF: Second-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2004 after winning Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year award at Florida. Was the Gators' most valuable player in 2003. Has played in 76 NFL games with Bengals, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. Has five career interceptions, one of which he returned for game-winning touchdown for Indianapolis in 2008.
Contact the writer:
402-679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com
twitter.com/PivOWH
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
